Do I really use this?

Do you ever go through a box of items or through a closet and find something you have not used in a while but you swear you will still use it?  Even better, do you tell yourself that this object has an important function?  I have several experiences like that a day when working with a client.  Often times this new found treasure displays some tell tale sign of not being used or handled for a long period of time.  At that moment I often challenge my clients to think about whether or not they really use this item or if they simply think they use it. 

First off, if this item is so important and so functional, why has it remained buried only to be found right at this moment?  If it was so useful why were you not using it?  This can be a hint that the item does not need a home with you anymore.  If you need more convincing look at the state it is in.  This will tell you right away whether or not your perceived need of the object is justified. 

I was working with a client the other day when we came across many empty tall kitty litter bins.  They were her husband's so we could not just throw them away without asking.  I did still inquire as to why they were there and if they were truly needed.  She said he used them for sports storage and that they were important and should be kept.  I began moving them over to his pile of stuff to sort through when I pulled over a bin with an awful odor.  Two mice had died in it, and one had already decomposed into just bones!  These bins had been sitting there so long that two mice had been able to die in them.  There was the tell tale sign that these bins had not been used for a long time. 

So I challenge you, do you really use this?

Clothes pin picture frame

While working with a client in her bedroom this past week I noticed a beautiful picture frame on her wall.  The frame had wire strung through it and clothespins attached to the wires.  Each clothespin held a photograph, some recent and some taken a couple years back.  I stopped to admire the attractiveness and ingenuity of this picture solution. 

It is a great way to display photos without the hassle of a scrapbook or the expense of  buying multiple frames.  The pictures can be rotated in and out as often as you want.  It can be a cute method for showing off pictures from a recent trip, family event or perhaps some candid shots of the kids. 

While this type of frame can be found at places like Amazon.Com, this wall decoration can easily be made from an old or battered frame rejuvenated with a bit of paint, wire or string and clothespins.  Be creative and get those photos off the computer and onto the wall for you to enjoy!

Defeating "overwhelmed"

Often times I find people are overwhelmed by the amount of items they need to go through in a space.  The room is frequently viewed as a whole entity, the individual boxes, piles and trinkets melding into one giant mountain that must to be scaled.  I began working in a room today that was almost impossible to turn around in because of the clutter in it.  My client felt a bit discouraged by the sheer volume and the time it would likely take to get the room back in order. 

I reminded her that when tackling a space like this you need to see the individual pieces, not all the clutter at once.  Instead of thinking, “I need to get this entire room sorted,” think, “I need to get that box sorted.”  Pick a single area, pile or container to start in and  focus there.  Your goal should be to accomplish that one task.  When you break down a space into little goals it will be easier to mentally conquer.  

How to effectively use your paper planner

Anyone who knows me can tell you that I prefer using an old fashioned paper planner over the new electronic panning tools any day.  The idea of Blackberries, PDAs and smart phones with calendars have never appealed to me.  Paper and pencil in my hand have always won out over the newest technology breakthrough.  My planner never crashes, never takes a few days to become accustomed to and never messes up a sync between itself and the computer. 

The paper planner system only had one flaw.  If you are like me and use a large wall calendar at home in addition to your more portable planner, you run the risk of forgetting to put appointments on the calendar that you made while being out and about.  I feel a large calendar is very important to the overall time management process.  It is essential   to see a whole month at a time to be sure you are pacing yourself properly.  However, how do you overcome the schedule disaster that can occur should you forget to transfer an event from your planner to your home calendar?

I came up with a very simple solution.  Post-it® Half Inch Flags are a great little invention.  The little dispenser can easily be adhered (glued or taped) to the inside cover of your planner.  Every time you make a new entry in your datebook, simply flag the page with the tiny Post-it®.  Now you will never forget to add the date to your wall calendar.  Even if you walk in the door with a kid in each arm and start making dinner, you can pick up your planner two hours later and remember that you have appointments to add to your home calendar.  

The smart home

I checked my mail the other day and saw the new 2012 IKEA catalog sticking out of the pile.  This time it wasn't the trendy and organized room on the front cover that caught my attention but the quote:  “A home doesn't need to be big, just smart.”

To me this sentiment sums up what an organized home is.  Organization doesn't have as much to do with the size of your space as it has to do with how you use it.  You can have all the room in the world in a huge home, but if you fill it with clutter all the organization products you buy will not help.

On the contrary, you can have a wonderfully organized space even if it is small, or smaller than you would like.  While creative storage is more necessary in a small space than in a large home, it is more important to carefully choose what stays in your home. By setting higher standards for what you keep you will free more space and save it from unneeded clutter.

Think about that today as you go through your home and look for ways to make it smarter!  Remember, size is not the solution but what you put in it!

Preparing for school papers

School is officially here, and with it comes the often daunting task of keeping up with school papers.  Homework assignments that need reviewing, the permission slips for another field trip, the sports schedules and the list can go on an on.  The paperwork often gets lost, stuffed down in the bottom of a messy backpack or submitted after its deadline.  Staying on top of school papers doesn't need to be hard and frustrating!

First, choose a spot in your home, most likely your kitchen or entry, that is easily accessible to you and the kids.  If the school papers are not located in an area convenient and central it will be difficult to use your new system without a lot of effort.  Second, choose a paper storage method best suited to you and the age of your children.  There are many options and creative solutions available so it is essential that you think through the way in which it will be used and if everyone involved will be able to implement the system effectively. 

Paper trays stacked on top of one another are a popular solution.  A desktop file with manila folders works for some families, and still others who like their counter tops free of paper will use wall mounted magazine files.  Once you have picked your storage solution assign each child, you and your spouse a slot and label them.  Now you are ready to go!  When a child comes home with documents for review they go in your slot.  When you have completed the task the paper goes back in the child's slot or filed depending on the action needed.  The kid's slots can be used for any documents they are responsible for, or used as a temporary landing zone for art and other school papers that will need to be filed or added to the family calendar. 

Third, maintain your system.  Paper building up in the slots should be routinely purged and tossed or purged and filed.  The school paper management system will quickly become unwieldy if it is not inspected for excess on a regular basis.  Now enjoy the new home your papers have and your clean fridge and counter tops!

Quick and easy drawer organizers not from the store

I was in the process of setting up my home office when I hit a snag.  There were no containers to separate and divide the space in my desk drawers.  It was silly to drive out to the store right at that moment to buy partitions and inserts when I had other tasks to attend to, but I didn't like the idea of placing all my supplies and necessities in the drawer where they could all mingle, get mixed up and become frustrating to use before I was able to shop.

I sat in my chair, letting my eyes wander hoping to get some sort of revelation.  My gaze fell to one of the check boxes I just received in the mail.  That was it!  I had about four check boxes from various accounts in my possession.  Why did the boxes need their covers?  Instantly my problem was solved.  I now had a neat little space for my extra pens, my phone charger cable and usb drive (not to mention the battery charger) and a place to neatly stack my index cards and sticky notes. 

My drawers were now easy to use and I could see everything at a quick glance.  The large hard drive and various other over sized items didn't bury my little office supplies because they were neatly stored in the check box covers.  This reinforced the truth that organizing solutions don't have to be pricey and from the store...Two months later I have not gone shopping for dividers because my drawers work just fine with a home-made solution!

What to do when hobbies create clutter

Too many hobbies can lead to a lot of stress producing clutter.  Do you have a wide range of interests?  Chances are that if you do, you often change focus from one to another often and quickly.  While it is good to have variety in our lives, the rapid change and varied hobbies often lead to clutter in our physical environment.  As you take up different projects and acquire materials for them, the old usually get left behind, unfinished and without a home. 

The key to effectively managing your interests and the stuff they produce is to go for quality over quantity.  It is better to have a few hobbies you can manage and keep under control than many that dominate your space.  Additionally, set deadlines for interests that include project outcomes, like a scrapbook, a piece of knitting etc.  The deadline should be realistic.  Some things take months to complete.  If you keep postponing the deadline then you know the project is not important enough to make time for.  Prioritize what is most important to you so you don't end up with many interests and not enough time.   

Keeping your fridge paper free

Is your fridge covered with a collage of recently created summer camp projects and artwork?  Have you been showered with all the papers from your children's wonderful days at camp?  Pretty soon you'll have school art papers to display again and the fridge is full!

Papers on the fridge can make it difficult to get at food and it also creates a look of clutter in the kitchen.  Instead of displaying art and projects in the kitchen, get a bulletin board for each child and put it up in their room.  On it they can can hang all their precious summer projects without taking over the kitchen.  As another option you can cover a sturdy piece of cardboard with colorful or plain fabric and let them decorate it for a personal touch.  Goodbye buried fridge!

De-clutter your desktop

There is only one thing you must know for maintaining a clutter free desktop: Keep only items you use regularly on the surface of your desk.  The desktop is prime real estate and should only be home to things essential to your everyday work, such as laptop, writing tools, phone and maybe a few active files.

If you must keep active paperwork on the desk, put it in file folders for each project and place the folders in some sort of desktop file holder.  Some file holders come with drawers and cubbies for pens, paper and frequently used office supplies.  Others can be open file stands or enclosed file boxes,  ensuring there is a product out there to suit your specific needs. 

Simplicity is best, so try to keep the essentials down to a minimum.  Adding shelves above a desk is a great way to store resources you access regularly, and drawers can be used for items you don't need at your fingertips.  Once again the rule is to only allow items that are essential to your everyday work a place of honor on your desktop.  

Being organized makes life so smooth!

Being organized and living your life in an orderly manner really does make your day so much easier!  I am getting married in a few weeks, and my fiance and I were discussing the things we have left to do.  From almost day one of the wedding preparation he and I used a time line and task list to remember everything we had to do.  

Having this tool was so helpful!  With it we were able to work on every task in a timely manner, always seeing where we were at and knowing where we were going.  This whole process has been more relaxing and less stressful then it would have been if we had left everything to the last minute, or didn't have a clear picture of what needed to be done.

This realization today was a nice, personal example of how approaching life in an organized fashion really does make everything easier.  Of course there are going to be little fires to put out...life always has a way of throwing those my way.  But at least I will be prepared!

Organize power adapters once and for all

My clients have some of the coolest organizational ideas!!  Especially my tech clients, the guys who deal with computers,wires and cables everyday.  I always enjoy learning about solutions other people create to make their lives easier.  This one is a simple but smart gem!

Every house seems to have an abundance of homeless and unclaimed power adapters.  It's easy to hold onto all of them because you are not sure what device belongs to which power adapter.  The last thing you want is to throw a way a power source to a machine you still use!  To avoid this problem it helps to label the adapters in some way.  But why invest in labels that peel off, don't work or cost money? 

My client took a fine tip permanent marker and simply wrote on the body of every adapter.  Brilliant!  He listed the device it powered and the voltage.  I was shocked to see that the red or black permanent marker would show up on black adapters as well.

Once you write on the adapters either store them with the device they belong to or put them all into a small container with the rest of your household utility items, labeing the bin “power adapters”.  Problem solved!

Jump start your tax preparation for 2011

So maybe your 2010 tax filing experience wasn't especially smooth.  Perhaps you found yourself gathering paperwork and data at the last minute, only to miss information and duplicate your efforts a few times.  Did you ever need something, like a letter or receipt to prove a deduction, and then spend precious time searching for it? Though the 2010 tax season is not quite over, now is a good time to get 2011 off to an organized start with some easy steps!

-Create a folder or binder for “Taxes 2011”.  Keep it accessible (but not out on the desk) so you can easily file without extra work

-Make sub categories within it, such as “Charity” for any non profit donations you make, “Medical Expenses” for any health related purchases you can claim, “Tax Documents”  for all end of the year statements you will receive, and/or whatever other headings your information would fall under.  For example, if you are renovating your home and some of the expenses are tax deductible, make a folder for that project

-You can store the paperwork a couple ways: Use a hanging folder labeled “Taxes” as the main file, then use manila folders to organize the interior categories.  If that isn't quite your style use a binder labeled “Taxes” and use dividers with pockets to keep the contents separate.  You could also use a colorful expanding file tote

However you do it, by creating a home for all your tax related paperwork you will save much energy and aggravation when 2011 arrives!

Disconnect to be more productive

We live in a culture and society where distractions abound.  Families sit down to have dinner and the TV is on.  People go to the theater to see a movie and spend a good portion of the movie texting a friend.  We often don't give others our undivided attention, continuing to work on the computer as they speak to us.  We are bombarded by distractions through out the day.

This carries over into every aspect of our life, including organization and managing our time.  Have you ever begun a project, only to have another task or person catch your attention?  When you finally remember what you were doing, all momentum is lost and you have made little progress on the original project.

When you are trying to accomplish a particular task, whether it is organizing your desk or working on a project, be sure to disconnect and limit the distractions you think will come.  Tell others around you that you will be unavailable for a half hour.  Put your phone on silent and do not answer it for a short time. 

Then, choose not to use distractions as a tool to procrastinate.  When a task or project becomes difficult it is easy to look for a diversion, something to take your attention so you feel justified in not continuing your work.  Many people check their email constantly, trying to delay and put off the work they know they need to accomplish.  Make an effort to focus, and do not look for ways to stall projects that are uncomfortable and hard. 

By limiting distractions from the outside and from the inside you will find yourself being much more productive and effective.  

Organize your makeup

Sometimes the organizing solutions I find are from an excited, creative client! A couple weeks ago I visited a woman to begin work on her disheveled closet. When I arrived, she was anxious to start and very excited about making her closet functional and beautiful.

Her enthusiasm about having an organized bedroom manifested itself while she went shopping for bins and baskets to use in the closet. She kept her eyes open for other items that might help her organize another part of her life and came across a small plastic tote. It was a great answer to her makeup issues! It was portable, see through, had divided sections and allowed you to expand the product if needed. I was hooked!

The product she found was the Medium 3 layer Craft Organizer by Snapware. She put all of her brushes in the top tray, large bulky cosmetics in the second tray and used the bottom divided section to house all her small lipsticks and other cosmetics. She was so excited and felt as though she had found the perfect solution to her former makeup woes.

Unfortunately I have not been able to find the exact product online. It is available in Target stores but I have not successfully located the exact tote on their website. So I am sharing a link I found on Amazon.Com for a very similar tote. The second link is for Target's generic version of the product.

Storage Tote at Amazon.Com.  

Storage Tote at Target.Com.

Try out this great product and think of other areas in your home it can be used!

You mean I can't organize just once?

It is a common assumption that once you put an organizing system in place it will always work and function exactly the way it did in the beginning indefinitely. Even more widespread is the thought that one is a failure if the system does not continue to serve the purpose for which it was intended. Both of the previous outlooks lead to a lot of frustration and and a sense of inability to rise to the task.

The reality is life varies constantly. When your schedule, routine or responsibilities change it is important to recognize that the organizing system supporting you must mold to the new development. Do not beat yourself up if your methods need to modify to fit the new dynamic you are facing.

The best approach is to take stock of what works in your current system. Then identify the changes you must make in your system to make it fit your current needs. For example, if you now take the kids out through the garage instead of the front door it is ok to move the coat and boot storage so it is convenient to your new point of exit and entry. What once worked may not be the best solution anymore.

When your system no longer feels as though it functions properly, take an honest assessment and see if there is a change that needs to be made.