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Entries Tagged 'Decluttering' ↓
A sure-fire way to create stress is to leave things that need to be done waiting to the last minute. And then when you hurry, the chances are really good that something will get messed up and cause even more stress-haste makes waste, and that ain’t no joke! In the last week I was keeping busy with a big client move-in project as well as some volunteer projects I’ve taken on. One project is to help organize our annual neighborhood bbq-fun! I’m all about delegating, so several days before the meeting, I printed information & tasks that needed to be completed. That way all the women at the meeting would have the info. in front of them while we talked. Well, when the day rolled around for the meeting, my client appointment went an extra 2.5 hours longer than I was expecting. How grateful was I that I had already put together the packets of information and everything was ready in time for the meeting!
To stay on top of all types of home organization tasks, just think ahead so you don’t have a last minute crunch session. Here are 5 examples of great ways to do this:
1) Several days before someone’s birthday or anniversary, put it in your calendar to send them a card so it gets there on time-lovely!
2) Keep a donation box or bag handy at all times so you can toss things in as you go. Any time a charity truck rolls by, you are ready to let go of some clutter-super!
3) Having company over for a nice dinner? Set the table the night before so you can enjoy visiting with less stress-awesome!
4) Place a note in your calendar to schedule dental & doctor appointments a couple of months before you need the appointment to ensure that you get in when you need to-fabulous!
5) Plan meals for a month and shop for as many ingredients as you can, such as the canned and non-perishable items, so you don’t have to keep running to the store-great!
There are many opportunities to think ahead every week to help you stay on top of your own home organization projects & activities!
Tags: clutter, DIY organization, home, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, home organization projects, stress
Home Organization Myth #5 (and final myth of the series): The “One In, One Out Rule”
Technically it sounds good… Anytime you bring something new into your home, you send something else out of your home. A great way to keep balance, peace & harmony. Ahhh, but it’s not always practical. And, even worse, if you currently have closets that are crammed, shelves that are heaped and couches that are covered, removing one item when you bring one item in isn’t going to cut the mustard sister. It’s also kind of tedious to think about removing an item when you bring in something new.
So, step number one would be to get your clutter under control by going through your belongings and getting it down to what you need and give those items a ‘home.’ Once everything is in place, then you can work on controlling how much comes into the home.
How do you keep a balance in your home?
1) When I am standing at the store looking at something cute, I really do picture where I would place it or how I would use it. If I can’t figure it out right there in the store, then it doesn’t come home.
2) Remember, you aren’t getting a good deal if you spend good money on something you don’t need-even if it is on sale!
3) Keep a donation bag or box available at all times so you can toss in items that you come across that no longer fit or don’t work well for you anymore. This is the “easiest” way to keep things moving out of your home on a regular basis. It’s a fabulous way to teach children to keep things moving as well. My kids come into my office and toss clothes into the donation bag that don’t fit anymore.
4) Ask people to give you time & activities instead of stuff for special occasions and holidays.
5 home organization myths BUSTED!!
Tags: balance, clutter, control, DIY organization, home, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, home organization myth
Organized & Calm Home
Home Organization Myth # 2:
“You have to be perfect to be organized.“
Nope! Being organized is actually about:
1) Making decisions about what items you still you love, use and need.
2) Finding a home for those items that you decide to keep.
3) Letting go of the items you no longer have use for.
Once you have the items you are going to keep in a “home” such as a labeled bin, basket or drawer, they will be easy to find and easy to put away until the next time you need them.
We are all busy and we use our homes, we get stuff out, laundry piles up on the couch or the bed. This doesn’t mean you aren’t organized. What it means is you are busy and you are using your home. When you have organizing systems in place, it boils down to being able to restore order in your home easily and quickly when you do have time to put things away. Ideally, this will happen at the end of each day so you can start the new day fresh.
I am a professional organizer and sometimes I have dishes in the sink and sometimes I only have enough time to dry the clothes but not fold them right away. And it’s all OK. My house is not cluttered with things that I don’t use and I can find anything I need quickly.
Home organization boils down to not having more than you need and being able to easily put things away and then find them quickly again. You are off the hook, you don’t have to be company-ready 24/7-phew!
Tags: DIY organization, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, home organization myth, organized, professional organizer
Organized Kitchen
Not everyone has the facts when they think about getting their home organized and how they are going to go about it. Sometimes the misconceptions people have about getting organized holds them back from just jumping in and doing it.
Here is the first of five home organization myths from a professional organizer to give you the real story!
Home Organization Myth # 1:
“You have to spend a lot of money to get organized.”
You don’t have to run out and purchase a whole bunch of organizing products to get started. First weed through what you want and what you don’t want. Decluttering will lighten your load and will leave you with less to store. Less to store means buying fewer organizing products.
You can even take advantage of any free storage containers you may already have on hand. Anything that is a container that will ‘contain’ things will work. You can use items that you have on hand such as:
**Shoe boxes
**Large fruit trays with individual compartments (love these under bathroom sinks for personal care items)
**Ziplock bags
**Whip cream or butter tubs (just don’t save up a whole bunch for ‘just in case’ and end up with tub clutter!)
Look around for free items before you go out and spend money so you can keep your home organization costs down and debunk myth #1!
Tags: container, Decluttering, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, home organization myth, Organizing Products, professional organizer
Organized Home
Not everyone has the facts when they think about getting their own home organized and how they are going to go about it. Sometimes the misconceptions people have about getting organized hold them back from jumping in and doing it.
In the next 5 days, I will publish one home organization myth each day so you have the real story from a real professional organizer.
1) You have to spend a lot of money.
2) You have to be perfect to be organized.
3) You have to get organized all at once.
4) Touch it once.
5) One In/One Out
Follow me for the next 5 days so we can bust home organization myths and get you on the fast track to creating an organized home! Click here if you would like step-by-step instructions to declutter your home.
Tags: declutter your home, get organized, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, home organization myths, home organized, money, organized home, professional organizer
When it comes to home organization, it takes two things to make it happen: 1) Decrease the amount of stuff that you have. 2) Increase your storage space. Sometimes you have to be a little bit creative when it comes to stretching your space, look up, look down, look all around! If you need a little bit of help, here are 10 ways to stretch your space:
1) Look up and use the ceiling such as with this great overhead storage unit for the garage. Stuff over, car under.
2) Use hooks on the wall to maximize storage. Great for garden tools like shovels & rakes in the garage!
3) Use available space under your bed. A storage container with wheels and tight fitting lid is ideal.
4) Use wall space, walls are a blank canvas waiting for shelves & hooks!
5) Use organizing products. The options abound!
6) Use wall racks to increase storage-especially great in garages!
7) Look for overlooked areas that you can use for storage: 
8) Use doors-another blank canvas waiting for hooks. You can even purchase hooks that just slide over the top of the door. No nails, no holes but a place for your towels or robes!
9) Take advantage of height or stacking.
10) Part with some of your stuff-send it off to another room or even off to another person or charity!
Make decisions on what to keep, let go of the excess and then use any or all of these tips to stretch the space that you do have!
Your Home Organization Expert-Monika
Tags: DIY organization, garage, Home Organization, home organization expert, hooks, increase storage, Organizing Products, overhead storage units, storage container, stretch space
Garage Organization Project
Don’t lift a bag, don’t lift a label, don’t lift a box, just lift a pencil as your first step to starting your home organization project. Your first priority should be to write down your goals for how you want to use your space. If you just start grabbing things and decluttering willy nilly (yes I said it), then it won’t be as clear or easy for you to know what to keep and what to get rid of.
Take this garage organizing project for example, I always ask clients, “What’s your goal for your garage?” “Do you want to park in your garage?” “Do you want to use your garage for storage?” Clients will vary in how they want to use their garage. Some want to park inside. Some want to park outside and use the garage for storage and activities inside such as ping pong. The only right answer is what works for you!
In this particular garage, we were focusing more on organizing for storage.
Organized Garage Storage Unit
When you know how you want to use your space, it will make it much easier when you’re making decisions about your stuff. Does this item fit in with your goals for the garage? If not, let it go or move it to the room that it should live in.
Having goals also makes it easier to know where to store things. If you know your goal is to have all of your camping gear accessible, then you know you should make a camping gear section storing all camping gear together.
Make it easier to meet your home organization goals, but starting with, well, a goal!
Tags: Decluttering, DIY organization, Garage Organizing, goals, Home Organization Blog, home organization project
Are you are feeling overwhelmed by your home organization projects? Do you have lots of piles in lots of rooms and don’t know where to get started? Sometimes people don’t even get started because they feel so overwhelmed and don’t know how they will ever get through it all. Well, there is light at the end of the tunnel! You CAN get through it and see progress, see empty spaces and clear your counters!
Here is the serious dent that was made in this garage in only about 2.5 hours:
Garage in Need of Organization
Garage Partially Decluttered
There’s still work to do in the second photo, but we were able to finish the rest of the garage during the next round in about 3 hours.
Organized Garage Shelving Unit
Here are 5 organizing tips to help you see the light if you are feeling overwhelmed by your clutter:
1) Remember this is not TV and your project doesn’t have to be finished in one day.
2) Choose one room to start with, then choose one area to start with within the room.
3) Work in one area until it is done and then move onto the next area in the room.
4) You may have to move items that will no longer stay in the room you are working in. This could mean moving them into another room which will make that room look worse for a while. Remember, you can only work in one area at a time, so preserve your goals in one room before you worry about the next one.
5) Make it more fun with music, snacks and a helper.
You CAN see light at the end of the tunnel! It starts with decluttering one small area at a time, staying consistent and keeping at it. Be sure to reward yourself along the way too!
Tags: declutter, garage organization, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, home organization projects, organizing tips, room
Organized Tax File
Death and taxes-guaranteed. Stress at tax time does not have to be guaranteed! Tax season is often a tough time of year as people search for important documents, receipts, checks and missing papers. This is a new year, a year that you can organize your tax documents so you can find the papers that you need quickly and decrease your stress level at tax time.
Follow the following 5 home office organization tips to beat tax time stress:
1) Create a folder labeled “Taxes” for your file cabinet to place all tax documents & information that you receive throughout the year. An example may be a letter you receive from your accountant.
2) Label a large envelope “Charity” and place all charitable receipts that will then be stored in your “Taxes” file.
3) Create a template on your computer listing all of the tax documents you need every year. This will give you a checklist to make sure you have everything you should have at tax time.
4) Create archive files for old taxes in case you are ever audited or if you just need to refer back to something from a previous year. Read more about how to organize your archive taxes.
Organized Archive Taxes
5) If you have a lot of receipts to save, such as for a home based business, stash them in labeled envelopes or use an accordion file labeled by category. This will separate, label and give receipts a home until you need them.
Each one of these home office organization tips only take a few minutes to implement and it’s well worth your time and energy now to save time and stress later!
Tags: archive taxes, home office organization, home office organization tips, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, organize, tax documents, tax file, taxes
Magazine Clutter
Magazines=lots of words, lots of pictures, lots of products, lots of knowledge, lots of C-L-U-T-T-E-R… Yes, clutter.
Please tell me that you know rationally that you will never, ever have time to catch up with piles and piles of magazines. Magazines on the the couch, on the table, the floor, on the nightstand, in the bathroom too.
What do you do if magazines are multiplying in your sleep, getting you further and further behind? Try any and all of these 10 Decluttering Tips to lighten your load:
1) Reduce volume by being picky about what you allow in your home, discontinue all magazine subscriptions that you are no longer reading.
2) Do a major purge to give yourself a clean slate. Let all of the unread magazines go so you can read only the new information coming in.
3) Recycle, recycle, recycle.
4) Share a subscription with someone else. Read only what you want and pass it on knowing your friend won’t want outdated info.
5) Take magazines to your local library, libraries will often sell them to raise a little bit of money for programs.
6) Read magazines in your local library, sit and read what peaks your interest and go home without them.
7) Check out your favorite magazine websites for articles & recipes.
8) Just say no to magazine fundraisers instead of trying to be nice by ordering something you don’t want.
9) Donate old magazines to a local hospital.
10) Donate old magazines to a local doctor or dentist.
You will let go of a lot of guilt when you let go of a lot of magazines, just do it, trust me! Click here for more helpful home decluttering tips.
Tags: clutter, home, home decluttering tips, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, magazine clutter, magazines, recycle, subscriptions
