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As parents, we can sow the seeds to help our children learn many lessons that will carry them through life. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention organizing, but today I want to talk about MONEY! I didn’t really have many lessons about money growing up, the only one that really stands out in my mind is a conversation with my dad when I was a teenager. I remember my dad talking to me about setting up a budget and to remember to account for gifts that I would need to buy for people that month. Well, as it turns out, there’s a whole lot more to learn than that and I had to learn by good example from others and by reading books on the topic.
Not everyone will agree with me on this one, but with my kids, I haven’t tied allowance to chores. I took a parenting class many moons ago, and the instructor felt that chores should be expected as part of living in the home together and teaching kids about money should be a separate issue. So, I went with that.
These are the steps I took to teach my own kids about money:
- I gave them 3 piggy banks: One for savings, one for spending and one for charity.
- I gave them a set amount of cash each month that could be divided into each piggy bank. If they received $20, then $9 would be to spend, $9 would be to save and $2 would be for charity.
- My kids could pull from charity whenever a need arose that pulled at their heartstrings.
- When they received a gift of money, they had to save half and could spend the other half how they wanted to. As they’ve gotten older, the percentages have shifted.
- We opened savings accounts that earned interest for the portions that they had to save.
- Now that they are older, they receive pre-loaded debit cards for school clothes and they have to make the most of it by looking for good deals and even through thrift store shopping.
- When they each received $1000 from a family member, they were allowed to spend $100 and then took $900 to a financial planner to invest in mutual funds. They could really make this money work in their favor if they just let it grow. Every other month they add a contribution.
Don’t overlook the opportunity to teach your kids how to be wise with their money at a young age. Even if they go broke in their 20′s by running credit cards sky high, at least you will know that you did what you could when you could.
To make sure I cover all my bases today, here are some bedroom organizing tips to help your kids too! 
Tags: budget, DIY organization, home, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, kids organizing, organizing kids bedrooms
Sue Anderson, Founder, and her beautiful family.
- Baby Items
- Bolts & Washers
- Cemetary Plots
- Chargers
- Golf Carts
- Hair Care
- Medical Equipment
- Modems
- Office Equipment
- Packing Peanuts
And the list goes on and on…
Please make sure you read Sue’s personal story about how the Stuff Stop came about from her own personal family experience of being in need as well as being the owner of a professional organizing company. The Stuff Stop has been created from Sue’s heart to help other people around the U.S. You may want to have a tissue handy.
Congratulations to you Sue and may your company grow and help others beyond your wildest dreams!!
Tags: DIY organization, home, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, professional organizing company, Sue Anderson, The Stuff Stop
It can be so much easier to boot excess belonging out of your home if you feel like you know where it’s going and you feel good about where it’s going. I personally just want to get stuff we aren’t using out of my house and I’m good with any local donation truck that may be rolling through. But if you need to go a step further, consider these 7 options to send off clutter for home organization:
- Donate to a charity that is near and dear to your heart. In our area, we have a thrift store that you can donate to who sells the items and uses it for a battered women’s shelter. Maybe you can’t donate money, but your belongings can still raise money-yeah!
Just being able to imagine the group of people you are helping, may be just enough to let your belongings go!
- Pass down children’s items to younger children in your family, neighborhood or church. Clothing, toys and books in good condition can be so appreciated by young families. Just be sure to ask if they need them in case storing your items creates a burden in their home.
- Pass down items to young people just starting out or starting over. Perhaps you know someone who is getting their first apartment or you’ve just read about a family in your area that suffered through a home fire. This is a great opportunity for you to go through your extra linens, dishes and small appliances to see what you can part with.
- Join Freecycle in your area, a grassroots community dedicated to keeping items out of landfills by giving away items for FREE! I used to to get free play chips for our outdoor play area a few years ago.
- Sell it: Sometimes it’s hard to just give away stuff that you’ve spent perfectly good money for. You have options such as consignment stores, antique malls, craigslist, eBay, an eBay trading assistant or a garage sale. Always remember, your time and energy to sell these items is valuable too, make sure it’s worth it to sell.
- Recycle it: If you can keep items out of the garbage and thus the landfills, more power to you! Here in the northwest, we’re particularly fussy about this so be sure to recycle cardboard, paper, bottles, plastic bags, cell phones, batteries and whatever else you can recycle in your area. If you live in WA State: dial 1-800-Recycle
- Shred it. If you’ve got sensitive documents lying around, you may feel better if you drop them off with a local shredding company to get them out of your house. Be wise with documents with bank account numbers, social security numbers, tax ID numbers and credit card numbers on them.
Whatever it takes to get it out, just let it go, you’ll love it and you have a chance to help someone else! For more ways to declutter your home, please read more here.
Tags: clutter, craigslist, declutter your home, DIY organization, ebay, eBay trading assistant, garage sale, hme organization blog, home, Home Organization, recycle, send off clutter
Not everyone associates with color, but when you do, please embrace it even in your organizing systems! Spruce it up, spice it up, color it up!
Where can you easily incorporate color in your life & in your organizing systems?
Walls
- Wherever you’re working, a space big or small, find a color that you love for the walls! Think about how you want to feel when you’re working in the space as you choose your colors. Do you want to be productive, energized, calm or invigorated? If you aren’t sure what to choose, work with an interior designer who specialized in color.
Folders
- You may want to choose file folders for your file cabinet in vibrant colors.
- You may want to use decorative or colorful folders for your action system.
- You may want to use folders in colors that you associate with: green for money for the “Bills to Pay” folder, red for urgent for the “To Do” folder.
Colorful bins & baskets
- If you’re going to stash it in a bin or basket, make it attractive to your eye.
Colorful labels or picture labels
- This is a great one for children’s toys. Consider taking photos of the toys in a bin, printing and laminating it and then taping it to the front of the bin. This will help teach kids where to put things away!
Holiday Storage Bins
- When the holidays roll around, so do the colorful organizing bins in the stores. Perhaps you would like to have all green bins for Christmas and all orange bins for Halloween. This will make them stand out so you can find the holiday decor you are looking for quickly!
Think about how you relate to color and get creative where you incorporate it into your organizing systems! For tips on how to enjoy your office space, please click here.
Tags: DIY organization, file cabinet, folders, holiday organizing bins, home, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, labels
Monday Mantra for Women: “Today I will treat myself to something special because I am a special woman.” What will you treat yourself to today? Chocolate, a bubble bath, a pedicure, a bouquet of flowers? You deserve it!
Tags: Balance-Family, DIY organization, home, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, Monday Mantra for Women, Self, work
Oh boy, oh toys! Toys, toys, a mixed blessing of stimulation for the young mind and clutter for the family room floor. A birthday rolls around: Toys. Christmas rolls around: Toys. A trip to Target: Toys. Quick stop at a garage sale: More Toys…
Let’s think outside the toy box today and look at options for 5 clutter-free gifts for kids:
Clutter-Free Gift #1: Buy a Beloved Membership
- This is something I wish more grandparents would do for young families, it’s expensive to go for fun outings!
- Ideas for memberships: Your local zoo, the local children’s museum, aquarium or a punch card for open swim sessions at the local pool.
Clutter-Free Gift #2: Pay for Lessons
- Again, another great one for grandparents, aunts or uncles to help young families. As a stay-at-home mom, I would have loved this!
- Ideas for lessons: Gymnastics, swim, dance, horseback riding.
Clutter-Free Gift #3: Books
- Ok, I’m on a slippery slope with this one since it’s “stuff,” but I love books for children, they are small and they can easily be passed on when they are outgrown or you can organize your own book exchange.
- For tips on organizing books for children, please watch my short video (under 2 minutes).
Clutter-Free Gift #4: Share an Activity
- This is what memories are made of, spending quality time together. Think about what the child in your life loves and do that.
- Ideas: Go to the movies, volunteer together, go see an Imax show, go to the auqarium, go to the park & then for ice cream or bake together.
- Being on a budget, I had my daughter and her friend bake & frost a cake for his birthday. His mom was a little skeptical, but he came home talking about how great it was and they actually did it two years in a row!
Clutter-Free Gift #5: A Pony-Just Kidding! Gift Cards for Services
- This option is more for older kids/teens, but gift cards are welcome for iTunes, massages, pedicures, manicures and movies.
Give clutter-free gifts this year when special occassions roll around and see how great it feels!
Tags: clutter-free, clutter-free gifts, DIY organization, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, organizing, organizing books, organizing kids, toys
My kitchen is small and my preference is to walk in and see clutter-free counters so it doesn’t make my kitchen look even smaller. Plus, just by my nature, I don’t like to see too many things out all at once in any area of my home. I believe the kitchen is a very important room to keep organized and functional so we can prepare meals quickly and easily. The more we have to push past stuff and search for stuff, the harder it is to work efficiently. Since cooking isn’t my favorite task of the day, I’d rather get in and get out!
Here are 5 Strategies to Clear Your Kitchen Counter of Clutter so you can work efficiently whether you love to cook, bake or not so much!
Decluttering Strategy #1: Throw Away Trash
- Grab a trash bag and look for all the trash that can be tossed on the spot: food wrappers, fast food containers and recycle items such as pop cans (OK soda cans East Coast, I hear ya) and beer bottles.
Decluttering Strategy #2: Let Go of the Extras
- Go drawer by drawer, cupboard by cupboard and let go of items that you have too much of or that you no longer use. Kids no longer using sippy cups? Let them go. Do you have 30 coffee mugs when you can get by with 10, let 20 go. Chipped dishes that you never use? Let them go.
- Letting go of the extras will free up space to put things away and not leave them out on the counter.
Decluttering Strategy #3: Stow Small Appliances
- Have your counter tops turned into small appliance parking lots? Only keep the most frequently used small appliances out within easy reach. For most of us, this will include a toaster and a coffee pot. Use that extra space you created in the cupboards to store less frequently used items such as juicers and waffle irons.
Decluttering Strategy #4: Stretch Your Space
- Use organizing products to your advantage to stretch your space to hang up your paper towels & hand towels.
Paper Towel Holder from Organized A to Z
Towel Bar from Organized A to Z
Decluttering Strategy #5: Keep a Flow Going
- Make sure dishes don’t end up on the counter and in the sink because the dishwasher needs to be cleaned out. Be sure that someone in your home (or you) has dishwasher duty so you can load it up instead of backing it up.
For even more kitchen organizing strategies, you can keep reading more right here cuz that’s how I roll.
PS: These photos are from my kitchen on a bad day-see, I’m not perfect.
Tags: clutter, clutter-free, Decluttering, decluttering strategy, DIY organization, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, kitchen counter, Kitchen Organizing, kitchen organizing strategies
Please be sure to follow me on facebook to enter our Kindle Fire contest until February 1st!
Just follow these instructions:
1) “Like” my DIYorganization facebook page.
2) Click on “Deals” on the top, left side of page.
3) Click on “Skip” and enter your name, email address and then click on “Get This Deal.”
4) You are then entered!
5) Please also click on “Share this deal with your friends” so we can make it a BIG contest!
Thank you and good luck to you!!
Warmly,
Monika
Professional Organizer
Tags: DIY organization, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, Kindle Fire, professional organizer
I have found that books tend to be a hard item for people to let go, there are some real book lovers out there! People often equate books with knowledge and they don’t want to get ‘rid’ of knowledge. I also love to read, but I have never felt compelled to have a large library as I don’t really enjoy re-reading a book. Anyone who knows me well, knows that most books that I read come from the library or occassionally I will purchase a used book through half.com (a division of eBay) if it can be used as a reference book for my business.
Books do give us knowledge, but it’s OK to let books go, you don’t HAVE to keep them forever. Here are 7 tips to help you let go of books:
- You can always take notes on pertinent points in a book and keep the notes in a folder on your computer instead of keeping the book.
- Determine if the information in the book is the most up-to-date that you can find. Perhaps you would rather google information on the symptoms and treatement for diabetes then read about it in an encyclopedia from 1976-I know I would!
- Most libraries will take your books to sell them to raise money through “Friends of the Library” for awesome programs in your community. This is a great way to contribute in your community and make space on your bookshelf.
- Ask yourself what is the worst thing that can happen if you let the book go and regret it? You can get it again if you need to by buying another one, borrowing a copy or checking it out from the library.
- Let books go that you don’t believe you will read again. Keep books that you will re-read or use as a future reference. Again, make sure the information will be accurate and up-to-date in the books you keep.
- You can make some money on your books. You can sell them at a garage sale, through a used book store or through half.com.
- You can always pass them on to someone else that will enjoy them. You can organize a trade with friends or donate them. Most parents enjoy receiving children’s books so their kids have something new to read.
There’s nothing wrong with having books, just be sure to keep the ones that you love, have space for and that you will read again!
Tags: books, DIY organization, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, library
I’d like to think that if I totally lived alone, my house would be “just so” all the time. But I know that wouldn’t really be the case. I may be a professional organizer, but I still get busy and I still leave pajamas on the bathroom floor and make-up on the counter when I’m in a hurry. I leave clean clothes piled on my bed until I can get around to folding them and I leave dirty dishes on the counter until I unload the dishwasher. And that’s OK. Most people don’t want to live like their home is a museum, it makes them uncomfortable and it can make company uncomfortable too, like they are afraid to ‘mess’ something up. Company should feel like they can come in and sit down with a up of coffee in a real home.
How about just keeping a balance between clutter-free and comfortable with the goal being able to easily restore order by knowing where things go and not having too much of any one thing? I think that sounds reasonable! Here are some examples of “cool clutter” that can make our home feel like a home.
- Magazines & books that we are reading laying on a coffee table or bedside table, just not stacked to the ceiling please.
- Clean laundry on the couch or bed waiting to be folded.
- A puzzle or game in the process of play on the dining room table.
- Backpacks on the floor in the entry-who cares really? Pick your battles.
- A chair in the master bedroom piled with clothes that need to be hung up that you chose not to wear in a dressing frenzy.
- Small appliances out on the kitchen counter that you use regularly such as the toaster & coffee pot. Keep what you use regularly close at hand.
- A few toys out and about that your kids are actually playing with.
- A Lego masterpiece in the making.
Make sure you make your home a home so you, your family and company can feel good there. If you need some tips for controlling clutter to help you achieve a balance, please read more right here!
Tags: clutter, DIY organization, home, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, tips for controlling clutter, toys
