Springtime downsizing

Spring is upon us. And with spring comes new life. In order to transfer that feeling to your home, consider purging some unnecessary objects. Once the downsizing has been accomplished, you will discover the renewal associated with spring.

Clearing out closets and removing clutter is a wonderful way to feel better about yourself. You will be surprised at how free you will feel when you have more available space and less chaos. 

To get started, set up bins for sorting – keep, throw away and donate/sell.

Ask yourself the following questions:

Do you use the item? 

Has it been used within the last year? 

If not, is it just wasting space in your home?

Do you have two objects that do the same thing? 

If one works better than the other, can you get rid of the lesser item?

Is it a decorative item? 

Is it enhancing your home or adding to your weekly dusting? 

Might it look better hanging on someone else’s wall, or on another person’s shelf?

As the seasons change, people often change their wardrobe. Now is the perfect time to go through the closets and purge. Most of us change sizes throughout our adult lives. How many items in the closet actually fit? Ideally, the only items in your bedroom closet should be the ones you wear now. Things that no longer fit or rarely worn items can go in less desirable locations, if you are not willing to part with them.

It is not necessary to do everything in one day. Trying to do too much makes the task feel overwhelming. Try to clean out one closet at a time. When you break the tasks into smaller chunks, it becomes a lot more manageable and less daunting.

If you are a parent, I am guessing that you would rather not have to nag your children to clean up their rooms.  By reducing the volume in their rooms, it could make for a much happier home. Less clutter could equal less nagging!

When cleaning bigger areas, start small, like the entryway of your home. What belongs? What should go? Is anything broken?

Keep your standards high. Does this deserve to be in your home? Is it worthy? Consider each unnecessary object. Does the piece deserve a place in your home? Is it helpful? Is artwork, or other decoration, beautiful?

At the end of your downsizing, go through the sale/donate box. Items that you feel are worth the effort to consign, list on ebay or Craig’s List should have a “due by” date so that they are not hanging around too long collecting more dust. Once the due date arrives, it can be donated. It is a win/win to donate items to those in need and benefit from the tax donation receipt.

Do not take your clutter into the next season. Downsizing will cleanse your soul and your home. At the same time, it might even add to your wallet.

Win/win by donating your excess to Hurricane Sandy

There are many, many opportunities to support those affected by Hurricane Sandy.

In addition to donating money, I urge you to look through your closets and drawers (especially your children's closets and drawers) to see what you can give.

Here's a sampling of what we gave to the cause:

• excess winter coats that we had just in case 'a friend' needed it
   
• pants that my kids said they didn't like (translation - I'm never wearing them) 
   
• long sleeved shirts that my son refuses to wear due to hot classrooms
   
• hand me downs that in my heart of hearts knew we wouldn't use
   
• pajamas that I really didn't wear that often (it didn't hurt that my husband noticed/commented that I had 2 drawers of pjs!)
   
• sweat jackets that were piled on the closet door hooks that we really could live without.

• one of the 8 packs of toilet paper that came in my Sam's Club Value Pack of toilet paper. 

Now is a perfect time to let it go.  We were able to drop off items at our local synagogue and I saw numerous mentions on Facebook about other drop off locations. 

Go for it - you will be glad you did!
 

Warm woolen mittens.....

BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE!

I just came in from walking the dog and realized that it’s already time to pull out the winter wear and get everything organized. There’s nothing more guilt-producing than your child asking for gloves because they’re freezing during recess! Just follow these simple guidelines and YOUR child will be the envy of the playground (or possibly share one of their gloves with a friend).

1.  Gather/find all the scarves, hats, gloves, mittens and boots in the house.
Invite (or order) each family member to try on their boots hats and gloves to make sure they still fit.
2.  Toss all the unwanted items in a donation bag (and either place in your car for a drop off or contact a charity to pick them up or check out a consignment store). Just heard about a great on line store Dashing Bee.
3.  If your children are ‘particular’ and not into sharing their items, then take a giant zip lock bag or lidded box or even a plastic case that your new blanket came in, and label it and put that child’s mittens, gloves, hats and scarves in there. Another option is to have 1 bag for scarves, 1 bag for gloves, 1 bag for hats and 1 bag for gloves and mittens. Main thing is that when they are sorted by sex or size or type, it’s a lot faster and easier to get them.
4.  Store boots in a large clear box or large clear zipper bag, but be brutal in limiting how many pairs per person. The more options you have, the more stress you get. Less is more in all matters relating to winter wear, toys, clothes (catch my drift here?).
5.  Find a place to store the winter stuff - a place that’s near the morning departure location (mud room, laundry room, hall closet) and if you don’t have a place, think about finding a piece of furniture that may house the items.
6.  Enjoy the peace and serenity that will come on the next chilly morning when you can direct your children to their bag or box of stuff while you sip happily on your hot tea.

Controlling Crafts!

Crafts can take on a life of their own, especially when you are an artsy/creative type person.  Every scrap, swatch or button has limitless potential and for many people, it seems wise to hold on to it all because “You never know when it will come in handy.’  The consequence of this way of thinking is CLUTTER. 

There are a few things you can do to tame the crafts. Most importantly, beware of impulse buying. Before you step foot into a crafts store or department, plan ahead what you are going to buy. Resist great sales of the things you already have plenty of. So many people have unopened scrapbooking items, yarn, fabrics, kits and more....and due to space limitations, end up having to get rid of the excess in order to make a room functional again.  Try this on your next shopping trip – if there is a "too great to resist" product that you see, ask them to hold it for you for 24 hours. If you still want it in 24 hours, then you can return to the store. If you lose your craving to have it, then you can celebrate the extra gift of space you have given yourself.

Next, gather all of your crafts from all over your home and spread them out on the floor. Group like things together. For example, find all of your yarns and group them by color or texture. Get rid of the yarns that are either old, smelly or have insufficient quantities. Then, find a container to hold the yarns. Containers don’t have to be fancy. Ziploc flexible totes are a great new product in two sizes that works well for yarn.  If you have many knitting needles, take inventory of what you have. Write the sized needles you have on an index card and you can even carry it with you to help you not buy the same sized needles again for your next project.

If drawing or painting is your thing, gather everything together and put all of your brushes together, all of your paints together, all of your paper together and all of your miscellaneous painting tools together. If you have 8 of the same exact brush type, perhaps you can let a few go. If you have paper that is faded, crumpled or not something you use anymore, recycle it! If you have spiral pads with very old sketches, perhaps you’re willing to rip out the ones you love most and let the rest go or scan them.  

Plastic bins can be useful for various supplies. Bins of all sizes are available at local stores and if there are lids, you can stack 2-3 on top of each other to allow you to easily access them. Make sure you evaluate what you have before you purchase containers. You want to make sure your containers are the right size for the quantities you have.

There are lots of little supplies like beads, buttons, bangles and more that go along with crafting. Some toolboxes or fishing lure cases can be used to organize the smaller items. If all of your beads and buttons are in one spot, you will not waste precious time searching for them when you need them.

For people who craft, there may be project bags all over with projects in various stages of completion. Ideally, you should finish old projects before you start new ones, but that’s a real challenge for many people. You might want to assign a space for “unfinished projects” so they are at least tucked away and not taking up valuable floor or shelf space. If you have a project that has sat unfinished for more years than you can remember, it might be time to say farewell. Just close your eyes and let it go. Sometimes new space is more important than holding on to unfinished business.

If you have some knit or crochet projects that are halfway finished, either finish them or frog them. Frogging is a term used for when you un-knit or un-crochet a project because you… rrrrrrippp it, rrrrripppp it! If you know you will never finish it, or if it not turning out the way you had hoped, better to frog it and put the yarn away for another project later.

Paints, glue, glitter, markers and other artistic products can dry out, spill or otherwise make a mess if they tip over. Take inventory of what you have and if it is unfit for use, get rid of it.  You’ll also be able to see how many of each type of item you have which will help you in your quest to not overbuy the same items.

Location is another important thing to pay attention to when organizing. The rule of thumb here is to place the crafts that you use the most in the most convenient, easy to reach spaces. Items that are used periodically should be in farther away spots. You will be amazed at the time you will save in placing the more frequently used items in nearby spaces.

Crafting is a wonderful way to spend your spare time. Giving a personalized or homemade gift can be much more appreciated than something purchased from a store. But the supplies for your crafts should not overrun your home.  Keep them at bay in their own area, either in a room, closet or cabinet, depending on how much space you have for the items. It will be easier to find what you need when you know where everything is kept.