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.

Organize your bathroom

Have you looked under the bathroom sink lately? Are you afraid? Will everything spill onto the floor if you open the medicine cabinet? Do you save all of your old soap in order to “do something with it” at a later date? Do you have a hard time finding grooming supplies when you need them? If you answered yes to any of these questions, it is time to reduce the bathroom clutter!

You will need some cleaning rags, cleaning products and trash bags. It should take about an hour to get your bathroom completely organized. Try to carve out that time in your schedule and do it all at once.

The first step is to empty out everything under the sink, in the medicine cabinet, out of drawers and clear out any other storage areas in the bathroom. Often times, the tub area itself, can have shelves or other storage. These need to be cleared off too.

Starting with the medicine cabinet, check the expiration dates on any medications. If you had an abscessed tooth five years ago and got a prescription for pain killers, they are probably expired. And, in this day and age it must be said, prescriptions drugs can be a temptation to people whether they live in your household or are visitors. Expired medications may not be effective anyway and should not be taken.

First aid items also might have an expiration date. Remove old bandages or other supplies that should be sterile, but are no longer.

Goopy old containers of lotion, makeup or other skin and hair care products that are not being used, are wasting valuable storage space. Storage is at a premium in the bathroom. Get rid of things that do not belong.

Cleaning and personal care products that are located under the sink must be organized. You know which items you never use and which ones are keepers. Maybe the products you do not use, could be used somewhere else in the house. If not, toss them.

Prioritize everything in the bathroom. There is more storage elsewhere and might be more appropriate to store some things in the kitchen or basement where there is ample space. Just beware of transferring clutter from one room to another.

If you really need more space, invest in some storage for the bathroom. Some people use the space over the toilet tank for shelving or an extra cabinet. Do not add unnecessary clutter though, only add storage if there is room and you absolutely need it. If there are drawers in the bathroom, dividers can be installed. The dividers will help keep makeup and hair care products more ergonomic and easier to find.

Clean off all of the surfaces before you put anything away. Wipe out the shelves inside the medicine cabinet, the back of the toilet, any shelves or drawers and under the sink. Clean every storage area.

After you figure out which products made the cut, it is time to put everything away. Put cleaning products toward one side and personal care products on the other. Try to put the less used items toward the back of the cabinet, so they do not get knocked over while reaching for items that are used more regularly.

When everything was just thrown under the sink or stuffed in a drawer, it was hard to find what you needed. That problem is now eliminated. Once the bathroom is organized, you will find that it is easier to keep clean.

Organizing Grandma’s Recipes

Many people have recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation. Typically, they come to us on index cards, worn pieces of paper, backs of envelopes and/or other creative formats of yesteryear. Knowing how to organize these recipes will make a huge difference in making these treasured recipes user-friendly.  If you are looking for clutter solutions in the kitchen, organizing recipe cards is a good way to start.

Traditional recipe boxes are not accommodating. If the recipe does not fit on a tiny card, folding the paper and stuffing it into the box is not a good solution. Old, hand-written recipes that are on paper can be easily torn, edges frayed or have food spilled on them. The old file box does not cut the mustard anymore. 

There are several solutions to the recipe problem. A photo album is one method. Photo albums come in a variety of sizes, and can meet the needs of nearly any paper size. If most of your recipes are on file cards, a small album will do. Photo albums have a plastic film to cover the recipe to help protect the paper. 

A three-ring binder is another good choice. You can get plastic page protectors to keep the pages safe. The recipe simply slides down into the protector.

By using either of these two methods, you can add either old, hand-written recipes or printed-out pages from the computer. If you only use 1-2 recipes from a cookbook, think about copying those recipes and donating the cookbook to make additional room in your kitchen. The recipes in the page protectors can be easily removed to make notes, corrections or additions.

While creating organizing solutions for your best recipes, you can make this chore into a family activity. Everyone can sit around the table and talk about which dishes are their favorites, which ones they do not like or new meals they would like to try. Printing out or writing the recipes on colored paper, even with different colored or metallic inks can add flair to your recipe collection. By adding tabs, you can divide the recipes into sections either by the type of food, country of origin or whatever method makes the most sense to you.

Of course, in the digital age, people like to store all of their records on the computer. There are a few ways to do that. You can scan or take photos of all of your handwritten or typed recipes. Even favorites from books can be scanned. They can be saved into a folder named “Recipes” on your computer. Use the name of the dish as the name of the file so you can sort them alphabetically.  

It is easy to take a screen shot of a web page with your recipe on a website. You can then save it as a .jpg file and store it on the computer with your other recipes. If you decide to make the item, print out the page if you need it or just refer to the page on the screen to avoid wasting paper.

Simply bookmarking the page where you got a recipe does not always work. Sometimes you cannot remember where you saved the page, or what page had which recipe. You have to go through each bookmarked site to find the page you want. A solution to this problem is to save the bookmark with a name you choose. Then make a bookmark folder called “Recipes” and store them in that folder.

Whether you like the old-school book or the new-fangled computer folder, organizing and saving your recipes will be sure to keep the family’s favorites right where you need them. Check back with us for more professional organizer tips.

Where Does Clutter Come From?

"Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway."
Dumb Little Man Tips for Life

Where Does Clutter Come From?

According to Patty Kreamer, owner of OrganizedAtoZ.com, clutter comes from overbuying, inefficient filing systems, papers that never stop coming in, moving, overstuffed rooms in your home and changes in your life that affect your space and stuff.

Wow – that about sums it up and I couldn't have said it better myself! Let's look at the first item she mentions, overbuying. I would have to say that in my travels, that seems to be very high up on the list of causes of clutter. Many of my clients LOVE to shop, they get great joy from shopping, they especially find it hard to resist a bargain/sale/deal. May I also add that they love to purchase items that they think/hope will help them get organized – books, containers, binders, label makers, bins... I'm guessing you know what I'm talking about . Those particular items cause lots of clutter, too.

So how do we combat overbuying? One option is to just say 'no.' That reminds me of when people used to tell me to 'just eat less' in order to lose weight. Well, for someone like me, that wasn't a helpful response because on my own, I couldn't say no. If you can't say no to overbuying, then it might be time to get some outside help. Here are some resources that may help you:

• Stopping Over Shopping  
• Anxiety and Stress Disorders Institute of Maryland 
• Enlist an accountability partner who will support you in your quest to  limit shopping.
• Spend 15 minutes a day making decisions about what can be donated  or given away and then actually remove the items from the house that  day or at least put them in your car to be taken somewhere the next  day.

In future issues, I will talk about the other reasons we have clutter and how to combat this ever-growing problem for so many of us. In  the meantime, easy does it wins the race — 10-15 minutes a day making decisions about ANYTHING will greater reduce your stress. Try it, you might like it!

Have you heard about these?
(I don't have personal experience with these  but they sounded fun to me!)

1. Tradesy.com - Upload a picture of an unwanted piece of clothing to Tradesy and determine the value using the site's pricing algorithm. When the item sells, Tradesy sends you a pre-paid package addressed to the buyer; as soon as you ship it, the money is deposited into your PayPal account.(from Parade, Jan 13, 2013)

2. ChesapeakeReStore.org - They accept appliances, building materials, cabinets, furniture, housewares, lighting, plumbing, tools and more. They say they offer free, easy pick up!

3. Packing Pro – a $2.99 app that helps you pack by providing customized lists ranging from Pre-trip tasks to essentials. The app syncs with iCloud, allowing users and family members to share lists on multiple iOS devices.

Got Valentine's Day Cards?

I don't want to be accused of being heartless, especially on Valentine's Day, but this would be a great time to practice letting go of greeting cards that are no longer useful. This is very scary to a lot of people and here are some gentle tips for lessening the card piles that may be lurking in your home.

1. Dispose of any card that just has a signature but no personal handwritten note.
2. Get rid of any card that a teacher 'helped' your child make - only keep the ones that were made with their precious little hands but if there are too many, keep a few that speak to you the loudest.
3. Consider scanning some cards and saving them on a flash drive or on your computer.
4. Find a big box and put all the cards in that one box. When you run out of room in your box, then you must start getting rid of the less special ones.
5. Let go of the envelopes to dramatically reduce volume -- if you save the envelopes because you're afraid you don't have the addresses, rip off the return addresses and keep them in a "Contacts to Enter" file in a file drawer.

I know you can make a dent in your piles of cards – even one card a day is progress and remember - we are aiming for progress not perfection.

Declutter countertops

It seems like every kitchen needs more counter space, no matter how many square feet are available. The toaster, can opener, blender, microwave oven, bread maker, fruit bowl, coffee maker, knife block, cookie jar, canisters, juicer – so many items – make the countertops prime real estate.  

There are some appliances made to fit under cabinets including can openers, coffee makers, microwaves and even televisions. Keeping most appliances tucked away in cabinets or a pantry can help reduce clutter. Some appliances are used daily, like coffee makers, and need to be handy. But those appliances that are used occasionally, should not be grabbing precious counter space.

Sometimes you or a family member will place something down on the counter and it suddenly becomes the permanent home for that item. The more often this happens, the less space is available for cooking. The counters are meant for preparing food and not storage. 

So, how can you deal with cluttered counters? First, you must tell yourself the hard truth – some things in the kitchen are going to have to go. Start by clearing off the counters completely and go on from there. Everything should have a home. If there is nowhere to put the item, maybe it is not something you really need. If the item is necessary, find it a permanent spot in cabinets, on shelves or in drawers. 

Plenty of metal shelving and plastic bins are perfect for kitchen storage. If the item in question is old, broken, rusted or never used, it should be purged.

Some people keep cookbooks in the kitchen, but rarely use them. If you use them often, find a place where they can be stored. Add a little cookbook shelf that is within easy reach. However, if you seldom use recipes, keep them where your other books live and retrieve them when you need them. 

Bottles of wine, spices, magazines, newspapers and plants do not belong in the kitchen. Even hanging plants can get in the way. Do you like to read the morning paper while having your coffee? Get a magazine rack, which does not take up a lot of space, and put it in the kitchen. Use that for magazines and the newspaper to keep them off your valuable countertops. Lazy Susans or a wall-mounted spice rack can free up space. Remove duplicate spices or expired containers. Some storage racks can go on the inside of pantry or cabinet doors. Think vertically. Make use of walls whenever you can. A magnetic strip can go on the wall for your spatula, favorite chopping knife or other metal utensils you want to keep handy.

Once you get your counter space back the way it should be, you will discover that food preparation is easier. Knowing where all of your cooking supplies are will help as well. Sometimes this is easier said than done, but try to keep everyone in the family in the habit of putting things away. Your kitchen will look cleaner, and in fact be easier to clean, once everything is put in its place. 

Finish the job or find someone who will

Do you start several things and rarely finish them? You are not alone. We all have an ambitious moment that somehow dissolves away into procrastination. One terrific side effect of reducing your clutter, is getting things accomplished.

People who like to save things that might be used later, can add a lot of clutter to basements, closets, garages, under the bed, really anywhere they can stash things. Those accumulated objects take up a lot of space: plastic containers, yarn, nuts and bolts, fabric, broken pieces of jewelry that could be remade into something new – you get the idea.

Avoid feelings of guilt that come from throwing things away if you do not need them. Our grandparents taught us to never throw anything away if there is the tiniest possibility that the item can be repurposed or used at a later date. It is actually okay to recycle a plastic soup container that came with your Chinese carry out. It is not a sin to give away yards of fabric that you will probably never use.

Take a look at all of the projects that are partially finished. Maybe a friend who likes to sew could take that half-made skirt and do something fantastic with it. She would surely be thrilled to have it while you may never pick it up again.

There are times when you start a project, get part of the way through it and realize it is not really what you want. Maybe you cannot afford to finish it. Other times you have good intentions, but the task never really gets off the ground.

Schedule time to work on the unfinished projects. Simply scheduling time to do your project will help you accomplish it. Do not start a new endeavor if you have not finished the last one.

When you do finish what you start, there is a wonderful sense of accomplishment. It feels great to finally get that job done. Next time, try to pick a project that can be finished in a short amount of time. Pick something that really excites you and will help propel you to the finish line. Once you see how good it feels to complete a job, you may be more likely to finish the next one.

People can have terrible feelings of guilt over the unfinished project. There is no reason to feel so guilty. We are all busy. We have work, kids, lessons, spouses, sports – it is never-ending. There are things that are a lot less important than your job and family. If you do not have the time to finish this task, hobby, repair job, home improvement, etc., find someone who is willing or scrap the project entirely. Even if you pass along the task to someone else, you are now finished with it. Considered that a completed job because it is no longer on your plate.

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!