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Entries Tagged 'Home Organization' ↓
Don’t let clutter live in your home with you forever, start the countdown until you kick clutter to the curb! It’s easy to set stuff aside thinking that you’ll get to it “someday,” that you’ll use it “someday” and that you will fix it “someday.” But “someday” never comes. Slap “someday” silly by creating deadlines for yourself and you’ll know exactly when “someday” has arrived.
Follow these easy deadline decluttering tips:
#1: Create a clutter withdrawl box. As you start purging your stuff, you may come across things you just aren’t sure you are ready to part with yet. Go ahead and put them in a box labeled: “Clutter Withdrawl” and then place a note on your calendar to donate the box. If you have to get something out, that’s OK. If you don’t, you can feel good letting the whole box go. The shorter the timeframe on your calendar, the less time you will have to store it. Aim for 3 months or less.
#2: Expired Stuff:
- Food: Don’t get sick, it’s not worth it. Plus the co-pay to go to the doctor will probably be more than the expired food-go hog wild and treat yourself to new food.
- Coupons: Expired coupons don’t work, say no more.
- Newspapers: It’s old news, let it go. There’s more news on the way!
- Medications: This will give me a freakout-I used to be a back office medical assistant. Please don’t even think about taking old medication, take it someplace where it will be disposed of properly (which means not down the toilet).
#3: Things to fix. Place things that need to be fixed on a shelf and address them once a month. Either fix them, take them to be fixed or throw them out after a month.
#4: Gifts to Give: If you must keep a box, bin or drawer of gifts to give, then make sure you give them. Whenever a holiday or special occasion comes up, go to your gift stockpile first before going hitting the mall. Keep your inventory moving, if it’s not gone by the end of the year, donate it.
#5: Clothes that don’t fit: You’ve got one year baby to get in a smaller size. Make sure you are being fair to yourself and are not keeping sizes that aren’t realistic to get back into. Our bodies change as we get older and it’s not fair to think you should get into your jeans from high school-15 years ago.
Make sure you keep clutter moving right along so you won’t get overwhelmed by yourself. If you need decluttering tips to help get you started, please read more right here! 
Tags: clutter, Decluttering, decluttering tips, DIY organization, home, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, timer
Who likes to clean the house, raise your hand… Waving hand, OK, I admit it, I personally would rather clean the house than cook! But my disclaimer is that I do make homemade meals every day because I want my family to eat healthy food. But if I had a choice between a toilet brush and a basting brush, my bets would be on the toilet brush. Somehow cleaning gives me a sense of satisfaction and completes a job that shouldn’t have to be done again right away. With cooking, it’s only a few hours and there you go again.
But, being a busy mom, there are times when the deep cleaning doesn’t get done around here. The house looks clean, but I know it’s not really, really clean. I have ledges in my house that need dusting that are so high they require a ladder. And like everyone else, I have blinds that need dusting, appliances that need to be pulled out, cupboards that need wiping and the list goes on and on. So what do I do? I call my mom! You’re never, ever too old to need your mom. So what can you do?
Get a cleaning companion! Having someone help you will make it so much easier to get through your list for the following reasons:
1) It makes you accountable to get ‘er done when you have a date and time set with someone else, whether it’s your mom, spouse or good friend (they must be a good friend if they are helping you clean).
2) It’s more fun to have someone to talk with while you work; definitely more fun than whistling while you work.
3) You’ll have someone to hold the ladder for you. I’m a chicken when it comes to the top rungs of the ladder, I feel so much better when my mom is at the bottom to catch me.
4) The work will get done faster with two people. Who wants to clean all day? I like it, but I’m not crazy.
5) Chances are you will do something fun when you are done, like go out for lunch together. I don’t like to cook all that much, but I love to eat!
If you’re struggling to get everything done or maybe just overwhelmed on where to start on your cleaning, get a cleaning companion and tackle it together! For more quick cleaning tips, please feel free to stay right here and read more!
Tags: cleaning companion, deep cleaning, DIY organization, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, Quick cleaning tip
Monday Mantra for Women: “I am an amazing woman, period.” Repeat.
Tags: DIY organization, home, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, Monday Mantra for Women
So, what did you get stuck with this holiday season that made you say, “Really?” A sweater that’s two sizes too small? A coffee maker but you don’t drink coffee? Cutesy holiday decor that doesn’t fit in with your very mature holiday theme of all clear and white decor? Hmmm, so, now what do you do with this stuff? You may be tempted to:
1) Leave it in the box and toss it on a shelf or in a closet just in case you decide to use it someday. Can you see a clutter theme starting here? I can, but I’m cool like that.
2) Use it just once to be “nice.”
3) Save it to sell this summer at your garage sale. Ooooooooh, careful who you invite to your garage sale, slippery slope, slippery slope…
Don’t sweat it, regift it! Really, it’s OK!
The number one key to regifting is…Are you ready? “Be sneaky Sis.” OK, not sneaky as in being shady, but sneaky as in: Do not hurt anyone’s feelings. So, selling the stuff at your next garage sale, probably not a good idea unless you know your gift givers won’t be coming.
Here are 5 golden rules to live by when regifting:
1) Remember who you got the item from so you don’t have a mishap when you give it away. You can put a note on the item with the gift giver’s name on it to help you remember.
2) Only regift items that you truly believe your recipient will like and use. Maybe you won’t use the coffee maker, but you have a coffee lover in the family who would love to have it.
3) Make sure you don’t leave evidence such as a gift receipt from a year ago or card that may be tucked inside the box.
4) Only give gifts that haven’t been used before. I read one story on the web about someone who received a popcorn maker that had popcorn kernels in it-ewwwww, come on!
5) Make sure the gift wrap is fresh, rewrap or get a new box or gift bag if needed.
Another article I read was about a guy would sell gifts he didn’t like on eBay and then use the money to buy new gifts for other people, now that’s a clever idea! Too bad I didn’t think of that.
Always be sure to thank your gift giver, whether or not you like the gift, they still put time, money and energy into getting you the gift. Unless of course they were regifting-oh snap!
Tags: clutter, DIY organization, ebay, gifts, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, regifting
What’s on your New Year’s Resolution list this year? To lose weight? To take up a hobby? To get organized perhaps… I know someone who can help you with that .
This year getting back in shape and losing weight it on my list, which is unfortunate because in years past I was thankful that I didn’t have to add this one. But, it is what it is, 12 Reese’s Peanut Butter Holiday Trees later, dang they were good though. I can’t blame it all on the ‘trees’ though, there were many brownies and chocolates leading up to those oh so yummy trees.
It’s all good when you start off the new year ready to roll and ready for a fresh start and positive changes. You’re pumped up, you’re motivated, you’re ready! But what about a few weeks down the road? How do you keep your commitment and see those resolutions all the way through? Well, here are two super awesome websites to help you stay on track and reach those goals as you put down the peanut butter cups.
Habitforge.com: Habit forge will help you with the 21 day process of creating new habits.
You can use this site to tackle your new habits solo or you can get on board with a group that is working on a similar goal to yours. Habit Forge will send you a daily email to check in with you. The steps involved with this site are as simple as 1-2-3:
1) Decide & Act
2) Check your email
3) Succeed in 21 days
Woohooo!
Stickk.com: Stickk will help you reach your goals with awesome accountability-accountability is key for me when I’m working on my own goals!
1) Choose your goal either through the drop down menu of goals or create a custom goal.
2) Choose your stakes-oh snap! You don’t have to, this is optional, but you can choose an amount of money to place on your credit card if you don’t meet your goals each week. This money will go to the person or organization of your choice.
3) Choose a referee to monitor your progress-again, optional.
4) Choose support from other members of the Stickk community.
If you’re finding that you need a boost to kick the Reese’s habit and reach your goals (ok, maybe it’s just me with a Reese’s ‘problem’), then take advantage of these free sites to keep you motivated and reaching your goals! For more tips on reaching your goals, please read more here and I’d love to hear what your own goals are. To your success!
Tags: changes, DIY organization, get organized, goals, habitforge.com, habits, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, New Year's Resolutions, Reese's, stickk.com, tips on reaching your goals
Monday Mantra for Women: “I will envision in my mind how awesome it will feel when I reach my goals. I will use this as a tool to to keep me motivated to strive for reaching my goals.”
Tags: DIY organization, home, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, Monday Mantra for Women
Got clutter and need to hide it? Now, of course I can’t recommend shoving everything in a box and hiding it in the closet now can I? That wouldn’t be very professional organizer of me, but I do know that we all have paper and stuff that we need to keep but we don’t necessarily need or want to look at it 24/7. So here are 5 quick and dirty ways to camouflage clutter:
Mask the Mail
Make it look like it actually belongs on the counter by placing it in an attractive basket until you can process your mail. I always say, “Place it where you pile it.”
Organize.com
Spice up Action Folders
Place papers that you need to take action on (such as bills to pay) in decorative file folders. This is actually mine from my office from Staples.
Folders from Staples
Close the Door on Clutter
Again, I can’t condone shoving stuff behind closed doors, BUT if you have items you are using and you don’t want to see them all at once, consider storing those items behind cupboard doors like this one from Home Depot.
Smuggle it in Solid Baskets & Bins
If you’re anything like me, you don’t like to see all of your stuff at once. In my family room, I tuck my DVD’s in a basket from Ikea so I see the basket when I walk into the family room, not the DVD’s. Consider using attractive baskets or solid color bins instead of clear bins.
Solid Bin from Organize.com
Attractive Baskets from Organize.com
Banish it to a Box
Office supplies, small tools, light bulbs and batteries aren’t attractive, but you can hide them in boxes that are-yeah! Look for boxes that fit your decor, taste and budget.
Box from Organize.com
Box from Organize.com
It is A-OK to dress up your paper and your stuff and turn clutter into an attractive keeper! But if you’ve got clutter that actually needs to take a hike, here are 5 decluttering tips to help you get it out!
Tags: decluttering tips, DIY organization, home, Home Depot, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, organize.com, Staples
Maybe I should start with what we are not looking for when we work with you on your home organization or office organization projects: We are not looking for a reason to judge you for your current circumstances . We are really, truly there because solving organizing issues is what we are good at, it’s what we thrive on and we love jumping in and finding solutions for your organizing woes.
So, today I’ll share 5 things professional organizers are looking for when we work with you:
1) What has changed in your life? We don’t want to know because we are there to judge, we want to know because it will give us a better understanding of how things got off track and what emotions you may be dealing with. Our approach will be different if you’ve just had a death in your family versus helping you make room for a new spouse in your home.
2) What’s already working for you? If you’ve got some systems in place that are working well already, it will help us understand how you tick. Maybe you’re using colorful folders because you associate with color or you like your space to look bright and festive, well, that helps us so we don’t suggest something you won’t like such as using drab, grey folders. It can also help us with clues on how you are naturally comfortable working-maybe you are a die-hard piler instead of a filer, we can deal with that.
3) What’s not working for you? That’s where we are really doing our work and brainstorming with you. Where are the problems and why are you struggling? Why isn’t your current file system working for you? How come the kitchen counter keeps piling up with paper? Why aren’t the bills getting paid on time? How come the paper to be recycled is piling up instead of being recycled? This is where we really listen to you and work with you on solutions that will work with your natural habits and inclinations. If I set up a system that works for me but doesn’t work well for you, then I haven’t done my job.
4) How can we stretch your space? The minute I hit your door and start listening to you, I’m looking at the space with fresh eyes and a fresh perspective. I’m looking at ways to keep what you need close at hand and ways to stretch your space so the items you are keeping will fit in the room. In your garage, that may mean suggesting overhead storage racks or wall shelves. In your office, it may mean asking you to consider removing the large wall photo and installing shelves to store resource books & extra supplies. In your child’s closet it may mean suggesting that you move the clothes down and add more shelves to house toys.
5) Are you ready for change? By the time people call us, they are usually ready for change and ready to make decisions on what to keep and what to let go. I’m not there to tell you what to do or what to get rid of, but I am there to help you reach your goals and move through the process with you to make that happen. It’s critical that clients are ready and open to making decisions and ready to move forward on changes in their home or office.
Currently, there are about 4200 professional organizers out there in the U.S. as members of the National Association of Professional Organizers and we’re all out there ready to help make your life better and reduce your stress around getting organized. Try it, you might like it!
Tags: clients, DIY organization, home, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, National Association of Professional Organizers, professional organizers, space
Monday Mantra for Women: “I will make sure my current goals are very specific so there is no doubt about what I want to accomplish. I will include the steps I need to take to meet each goal so I know I am going in the right direction.”
Tags: DIY organization, home, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, Monday Mantra for Women
Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones, may you enjoy a wonderful holiday together!
Tags: DIY organization, holiday, home, Home Organization, Merry Christmas
