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Are you feeling overwhelmed, stressed out and frustrated every time you walk into your office? That’s no way to work! I’ve got 7 easy office decluttering tasks that you can tackle in your office and each one will take less than 10 minutes. Set the timer for 10 minutes every day and see what you can accomplish in just 7 days!
Office Decluttering Task #1: Recycle your phone books because you are now using google. This should take maybe 2 minutes, 1 to track them down, 1 minute to walk to the recycle bin, easy peasy!
Office Decluttering Task #2: Recycle or move software boxes to another location other than your immediate workspace.
Office Decluttering Task #3: Declutter your bulletin board. After a while we just tune out the ‘important’ stuff we placed on the bulletin board. Declutter by removing papers, schedules, cards and phone lists that are no longer relevant.
Office Decluttering Task #4: Remove garbage & dirty dishes. Gather up the coffee cups, plates and silverware that have gathered from lunch and get them outta there. Look around for wrappers, fast food containers and empty Starbuck’s cups and get them outta there!
Office Decluttering Task #5: Remove items that are not office related. Which of these don’t look like the other? Has your desk turned into a dumping ground for items that belong elsewhere? Gather toys, beauty supplies & small tools and return them to ‘elsewhere.’
Office Decluttering Task #6: Let go of extra office supplies. Do you have old binders, hanging file folders and 3 extra staplers? Maybe it’s time to dump them or donate them depending on their condition; don’t clutter your “prime real estate” with stuff you don’t use.
Office Decluttering Task #7: Minimize personal mementos. Now, I”m not saying you can’t display your pictures of your old Aunt Betty’s glamour shots, but do keep the volume down. Too many nick nacks, photos and cards on display make for a visually cluttered office. If you must keep them, put half away and switch them out by rotating every few months.
For more tips on how to get organized in your office, please read more right here! And if you have a comment, I’d love to read it right here!
Tags: declutter, decluttering tasks, DIY organization, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, office organization, recycle, software, Starbucks
Thank you to everyone who followed us on our DIYorganization facebook page to enter our Kindle Fire Contest! The winner will be announced:
Monday, February 6th!
Tags: Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, Kindle Fire
- Photo Courtesy of Amazon
Don’t miss out on entering our Kindle Fire Contest on the DIYorganization facebook page before February 1st! Follow these instructions:
1) “Like” us on facebook
2) Click on “Deals” on the top, left side of page
3) Click on “Share with Friends” to share on your page
4) Click on “Skip” to enter your info. to be included in the contest
Good luck!!
Tags: Amazon, contest, DIY organization, home, Home Organization, Kindle Fire
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
