Painting Makes All the Difference

April 06, 2016

Hello Friends,

During the "spruce" step when organizing a home, it often becomes glaringly apparent that not only do rooms need a thorough cleaning, but paint is badly needed. This is a very important step and one that my clients are eager to complete. There is nothing quite like being in a freshly painted room,

except maybe stepping into a brand new car!

This has been my "uniform" this past week as I was busy prepping my home for painting,

I've seen clients do it themselves or ask willing family members to paint rooms for them but in my case, I hired it out, but did all the prep.

I tried to trade for organizing services, but my painter friend would have none of it. In fact, he got a little nervous when I suggested it.

Hmmmm...I wonder what his attic looks like?

If you're considering painting a space in your home, here are some

tips.

Take before pictures.

Looking at them may help you decide what to move back in after your done. Plus it's fun to show friends, family and Facebook after painting is complete.

Hoping for a treat!

These cranberry walls are pretty, but dated. There were gold brocade drapes too - yikes. Time for a change!

This kitchen had yellowish walls that over time became more yellowish.

This side entry was dark and tunnel like, leading to a basement. The wood on the walls was scarred and poorly patched in many places.

The office had very dirty walls and very large holes from a cable project gone awry.

There was so much clutter on the walls and many, many nail holes underneath it all, which is why it stayed up there. I'd rather look at clutter than a lot of nail holes.

How about you?

Move everything out, including what's on the walls.

Luckily there was one room in the house that was recently painted, so everything went in there. Using

furniture moving pads

will make it easy for one person and quick work with two.

Likely you'll find many treasures,

like the knob to our air conditioning unit

and a lot more cleaning. I ended up calling carpet cleaners as there were many pet stains that were uncovered. Gross.

Dust the walls

, or in my case,

wash

scrub the walls. Use a mild detergent and a large industrial sponge.

I admit, I got a little misty when I washed this wall...but reminded myself I have a picture...and everything has an expiration date.

Our family growth chart

In the kitchen, a ladder came in handy to wash the wall at the tops of the cabinets and I discovered this! YUCK.

Seriously friends, don't judge. When's the last time you cleaned the top of your kitchen cabinets?

Spackling.

Buy a good quality spackling compound. Vinyl spackle is nearly impossible to sand off once it dries.

Who knew?

The painter happily redid much of my hack job,

he gets paid by the hour.

Don't use the paste kind, it balls up and flakes and is very messy. Find the kind that is like ice-cream. It goes on easily, dries fast, and a light sanding will remove all but what's in the hole.

Taping.

It's worth going to a paint store and buying the best quality masking tape you can afford. I like the 1.5" size. Then as you lay the tape on your moulding, use a small scraper and press the tape down on to the flat surface that the paint could spread to. Paint likes to seep, and pressing the tape will eliminate all the little air pockets and make for a perfect seal.

Here's the finish!

BEFORES AFTERS

The new paint color really makes the woodwork POP!

Those trash/recycling bins need to move.

That laundry basket needs a new home.

This side entry finish is my favorite. It looks so much cleaner, brighter and more welcoming. Just what I was aiming for. My entire downstairs feels lighter and happier. JOY

Want to guess how long it took to move everything back?

If you could paint any room in your home, which would it be?

The Besta Media Storage - Part I

March 30, 2016

Hello Friends,

This week's organization project started with this DIY hack job.

This was once a huge cabinet for media storage that our neighbors

unloaded

generously gave to us. We removed the upper cabinet to make room for the big screen TV which didn't fit in the space. We're thrifty and resourceful.

But along with being ugly, it never really worked all that well either.

The stereo components (

don't laugh, we're old school!)

didn't all fit in there.

I can hear you laughing! A tape deck? Really?

And, when the stereo is playing, the door has to be kept open as it gets pretty hot in there!

One day I just got sick and tired of looking at it and dealing with it

(ever felt that way?

). So my strong, smart friend, Heather & I jumped in the car to go to the

best furniture store on the planet.

to shop for a new one. As many of you know, Ikea is built intentionally like a maze and as you wind your way around like little mice, it is exhausting. The customer service was lacking that day, and I ended up in the warehouse twice looking for the right pieces, which meant I ended up on the second floor twice to get help. I was so grateful for Heather! She caught their design error right away and saved me hours of frustration.

FYI: Bring a friend to help you, plan on wearing really good walking shoes and bring a snack for the ride home.

I chose

BESTA

for my new cabinet because you can design it for exactly what you need in it, which is an organizer's dream come true

and it has it's own video, so you know it's a rockstar!

I'd sorted all the music CDs and had my family sort all the DVDs last year, so I knew before shopping the amount of storage I'd need.

The cassette tapes are another matter entirely.

But since I mentioned it, let's delve in. Cassette tapes are obsolete. I have a stack of them. Not that I want to listen to them as the quality isn't great, but I plan to make a list of the music on them and then upload the songs on to newer technology. There is nothing like hearing a favorite song from long ago and instantly recalling the memory that you had while listening to that song.

Recently, I've read if you get Alzheimer's, they've had a lot of success with

regaining memory with music

. Keeping my cassette tape music is like having JOY insurance for my old age.

But I digress...

This unit has baskets that slide in and out. They hold a large volume of CDs for both my husband and I.

HERS

HIS

Notice that HERS are neatly labeled on the spines. It only takes a few minutes and is such a time saver when looking for say, Dexy's Midnight Runners

(just kidding although now I have "Come on Eileen" stuck in my head.)

These totes came as part of the BESTA system. They fit perfectly in the drawers and come folded flat in two sizes. No measuring required!

Look how nice and neat they all fit! I even sorted HERS by genre and alphabetized HERS.

My husband has some sorting & labeling to do first.

When organizing, it's very important that all like items are gathered first. I suddenly remembered I had a lot of CDs stored in my car as I found a stack of empty CD cases in the HERS basket.

This car CD organizer is so handy. It attaches with elastic to the windshield visor and then it flips open. When my boys were small, they had one side and I had the other and then ipods were invented...

sigh.

But alas, there was one CD leftover that I couldn't figure out who the artist was.

Any guesses, anyone, anyone?

So in a flash of inspiration, I popped it into the CD player and behold found another 4 CDs!

Remember to check everywhere that like items could be hiding in your house!

It's a good idea to keep a few clear CD cases on hand in case some get broken. Plastic gets brittle as it ages.

The DVDs, which were on a shelf, underneath where the TV was, went into a larger tote, along with the larger CD cases. Can you see the 1/3rd empty space in the middle? It's a goal to always have some empty space and in this case, it was short lived. The remote and some spare cords filled this up very quickly.

So did you guess the mystery artist? As soon as I heard "My Redeemer Lives" I knew right away.

Now I just need help putting my new BESTA together so I can happily install the stereo components and totes. All in good time.

What piece of furniture would you replace if you could?

What's the most ancient piece of technology that you own?

Spruce for Spring

March 16, 2016

Hello friends!

It's been over a month since I've blogged. I was traveling for a couple of weeks, even helped with an organizing project - more on that later - and then got the dreaded respiratory influenza and was laid up for 3 weeks.

In the meantime, my husband has taken a job in another state and moved into a rental there, while I stay here and fix up our house to eventually sell in a year or two. We actually are loving this temporary separation with visiting privileges.

#revitalizedmarriage

If feels good to be back to work and blogging and well, life in general. Interesting how being sick is like being in some sort of twilight zone where life stops but also life goes on. I am spending this week catching up with everything that was postphoned.

So being sick, I was literally laying around for weeks and my favorite thing to do when I'm too sick to do much else, is to windowshop online. I believe it's called "Internesting" and it's a

THING

My favorite stores to visit from my internest are:

I've spent many hours organizing my home over the past year and "winnowing" which is a clever word for discarding/donating/selling many, many things that no longer fit, are needed, have no place, served their use etc.

So it felt just right after my long illness and with spring approaching to refresh my house and spend some quality time "sprucing".

After long hours researching online and really feeling what sparked joy, I headed to the stores and picked out all of this loveliness.

Before I had gold brocade drapes in the dining room and sage green velvet drapes in the living room. The house always felt dark and closed in, which is a cozy feeling in the winter, but I want to live differently now.

I replaced all the drapes with these light and airy linens. The words diaphenous and ethereal come to mind.

When the sun comes out (as it surely will), the light pours in these rooms and I love that I can sit with the drapes closed, have privacy and yet still see out and enjoy the sun!

Yes we have sliding glass doors in our living room that open into an office.

Doesn't everyone?

I dream about installing French doors one day. Instead of heavy drapes covering this doorway and hiding what's behind there, these drapes entice and beckon.

Don't you think?

Next up was the bathroom. Before we had black and gray towels - yes, I said black towels. Being that I lived in a house of men, black and gray made a lot of sense.

Not anymore!

These new towels are different shades of dusky blue and light aqua. I chose different textures and sizes as well. Because JOY.

I splurged and got some new artwork for the walls too.

That cell phone booster with it's winding power cord needs to be moved!

I couldn't resist this spring time visitor with it's perfect bowl for barettes and jewelry.

Then it was on to the master bedroom. I've always wanted lots and lots of pillows as I often like to spend time reading and writing in bed with a hot cup of tea.

This bedding is so girly and fun!. I brought home all the pillows, chose these 3 and returned the rest.

The floor rug has a lot of textured loops and memory foam. If you haven't tried memory foam under your feet, I highly recommend it.

Finally, I had to add this turtle to my side entry.

It's a little reminder to take things slowly.

Sprucing doesn't have to involve a big project or be expensive. It can just be adding a small detail to your space that makes you smile.

This spring, what's on your spruce list?

The Discarding Day

February 10, 2016

Going cabin crazy yet? It's a real thing here in snowy, northern Wisconsin where I live. Every winter I read in the newspaper about some guy going cabin crazy and hacking up his wife and sticking her in the freezer or some such horror. No lie.

I always wonder what living in their house was like?

I imagine there was a lot of clutter.

It's touted that living in clutter can be disturbing, but will it lead you to kill someone? Probably not, but for some of us it does have serious psychological ramifications. This article in

Psychology Today

by Sherrie Bourg Carter, Psy.D says it best.

Messy homes and work spaces leave us feeling anxious, helpless, and overwhelmed."

I don't know about you, but I'd rather feel

calm, empowered and joyful

as I go about my day.

So what can be done? Once a week, hold a

Discarding Day

Pick a day, put it on your calendar

repeating for the entire year.

When that day arrives, pick one type of item from the following list to discard and go to it.

At the end of the year, you'll have discarded 52 types of items in your home and it will only have taken you minutes each week.

It goes fast. Promise.

The Discarding Day List*

Phonebooks
Old condiment packets
Old maps
Old fire extinguishers
Manuals to items you no longer own
Bags you no longer use (tote bags, plastic grocery bags, purses etc.)
Old hair accessories
Old dish sponge
Broken flashlights
Expired canned food
Old pillows
Newspapers, magazines and books never read
Old sunscreen
Broken umbrellas
Puzzles with missing pieces
Scarves never worn
Junk mail
Gifts you don't like
Suitcases you no longer use
Your toothbrush (buy new)
Expired coupons
Old greenting, holday and birthday cards
Old pots and pans
Clothes you've never worn
Broken jewelry
Old bed linens
Dead batteries (dispose of properly)
Candle holders
Recipe books never used
Worn out shoes
Mismatched plastic containers
Ink-less markers
Gifts/letters your ex gave you
Trial sized cosmetics/hotel samples
Games you never play
Wire or dry cleaning hangers
Old electronic cords/accessories
Old children's artwork
Old undergarments
Broken glasses/sunglasses
Broken items you'll never fix
Old phones/phone cases/phone accessories
Outgrown baby/kid clothes
Unused wedding gifts
Old schoolwork papers
Perfume/colonge you don't like
Broken crayons
Scraps of wrapping paper/ribbons/bows
Expired make-up
Old spices
Unmatched and holey socks
Torn towels

*This list was adapted from

here

Now that's what I call, PROGRESS.

Quick, start today! Choose peace, calmness and joy.

I don't want to read about you in the newspaper.

Is anyone's clutter making you crazy?

What's the first thing you'll discard from the list?

Is It Still Under Warranty?

February 05, 2016

A few months ago I blogged about manuals & warranties and how to keep them organized with this

post.

After I wrote it, I put together my own manual and upon completion, took it one step further, based on a great tip that I learned from a client,

which I'll share later in this post.

If you've been putting this organizational task off, but would still like to do it. You can follow along here, step by step.

First, gather up all of your manuals & warranties, along with a 1 1/2 inch binder and lots of clear plastic sleeves. If you have more manuals then can fit in one binder, you can certainly use 2 or 3.

As you can see, most of mine were in folders, filed away in the filing cabinet. The idea as that if something goes wrong, one can easily locate the binder and all of the information you

(or the repair person)

needs is at your fingertips.

By compiling them in a binder, makes the manual easy to find if you decide to sell the machine and if you ever sell your home, the buyers will love you!

Manuals you'll want to include are: Dishwasher, Refrigerator, Stove, Microwave, Garbage Disposal, Washer, Dryer, Water Heater, Water Softener, Freezer, Humidifier, Air Conditioner, Thermostat, Fans & Lighting,

I even included the Compost Bin!

The cover doesn't have to be anything fancy, and be sure to label the spine.

You'll see why at the end of this post.

If you use a binder with a clear sleeve, you can simply type up an index and slip it in

Then it's a matter of simply slipping each manual & warranty into a sleeve. I placed mine alphabetically, but if you're using more than one binder, you may want to place them by category such as one binder for the kitchen, one for the basement, etc.

After that step is complete, it's a good idea to make tabs so it's easier to locate each manual. You could use something like

this

. Or

if you're like me

, use what you have.

I used a very thin sharpie to write the name of each machine on the tab.

After it was completed, we purchased a new humidifier, so I just wrote it in on the cover and added it to the book. No need for perfection here.

Then I decided to take things a step further...

One of my clients told me that now that she's organized her warranties, she logs the expiration dates into her online calendar. Then as that date approaches, she evaluates how the machine is working to decide whether to contact the company or not about a repair or replacement.

Brilliant!

At our house we're always kicking ourselves that the warranty has already expired - usually within a few months of us taking action on a glitch or a break. Always too late.

So, I used this

template

and logged in all of the information for each machine. But, it didn't take very long as all of the warranties require a receipt!

Of course our receipts for most of these purchases are long gone or the warranties had long expired.

Here's to long living machines and a new practice of filing the receipt with the manual & warranty from now on.

I did find the receipt to the water heater though....25 years old.

Not good.

When I went to put the binder back in the filing cabinet...

uh oh, forgot to measure.

So I tried it this way.

That just takes up SO much room for potential files!

In the end it went here, next to our books on home remodeling in our "library". I've easily located it 2 or 3 times since it was placed. Place yours where it makes the most sense. Like with like.

Color coding books makes for a restful space.

It's easy to create a separate calendar just for appliances in your online calendar program. Remember the final step of logging in your warranty expiration dates!

What is the oldest appliance in your home?

Would replacing it save you time or money?

Pssst...What's the Password?

January 29, 2016

Remember the days of yore when we were children and we only needed to memorize one secret password to get into the neighbor kid's tree fort?

Well, sad to say, those days are gone. Fast forward to our digital life that was unimaginable back then.

Now we use many, many passwords in our daily life and most of us use them multiple times a day. Why is this exactly? Because they must be kept secret so we don't become victims of internet fraud and identity theft.

Harumph. It is especially frustrating to be locked out of a website and time consuming to wait for the inevitable password reset. AND it can be very frustrating to keep track of all these passwords and very tempting to use this one instead.

Don't do it.

Instead, download my free Password Log with a separate page for secret questions/answers by signing up for my

Quarterly Newsletter

. It is my gift to you.

Truth be told, mine looks like this right now.

Seriously.

On the flip side is a piece of paper with the headings:

COMPANY WEBSITE USER NAME PASSWORD

and I might add, everything is neatly typewritten. The problem is adding to this list isn't easy, hence all of the post it notes!

But this week I've transitioned!

On your log, list the following categories to make it easy to find what you need.

Financial companies; banks, credit cards, mortgage companies, paypal, turbotax, inveestments

Email sites; gmail,

Social media accounts; facebook, twitter, pinterest, blog readers, linked in, skype

Music sites; spotify, pandora, itunes

Media sites; photobucket, netflix,

Travel sites; travelocity, fare compare, student universe, state park sites

Restaurant sites; pizza delivery

Selling sites; Craig's list, ebay

Services sites; Angie's list, vistaprint

Shopping sites; ioffer, REI, sierra trading company, target, macy's, walgreens, amazon

Health sites; mychart

Phone sites; tmobile

Insurance sites; life, home, auto

If you begin today, you'll have a complete list in no time! Just add them as you use them.

If you like it typewritten, remember to delete the actual document on your computer and instead store it on a

(labeled)

flash drive or external hard drive. That way if your computer is ever hacked or stolen, your passwords are safe.

I keep our password log in a clear plastic sheet in the freezer

(kidding)

. If I actually told you where I keep all our passwords, I'd have to kill you.

(kidding)

If you're more of a notebook person, this is a clever password log from

Amazon

All kidding aside, keep your password log in a private, secure place that only family members know about....

that is if you trust your family members.

And

do your boss a favor and have a password log at work. I read recently that when 9/11 occurred, the private investment firm of Cantor Fitzgerald had to call hundreds of family members of the deceased, as all the passwords died with their employees. They asked them very personal questions in the hopes of discovering their passwords so they could access the information that was stored in the cloud from their computers to keep the company running. What a hassle!

Oh and don't forget to write down the secret questions and answers too! You may not know all of the answers to your spouse's secret questions. So plan a date night and start writing them down.

What street did you grow up on?

What was the name of your first pet?

What was the name of your kindergarten teacher?

Dream job?

First instrument?

Dream car?

Applied to college but didn't attend?

And these you might be sure to agree on.

Place of wedding reception?

Favorite song?

Name of best man at your wedding?

What city did you meet your spouse?

This way if something happens to one or both of you, your private information can easily be accessed. You might want to keep a copy of your passwords in your safety deposit box along with your will,

but that's another topic.

Whatever you do, don't keep them on your computer in case you get hacked.

How do you organize your passwords?

Have you figured out a different way to recall them easily?

No More Pasta

January 21, 2016

Friends, how many of you set a new year's resolution around food, dieting or weight loss?

Oh my, the hands raised could fill up a room!

(my hand is raised too!)

I've decided to be very intentional this new year about what I put in my mouth. And that decision led to an early morning session of organizing.

Sometimes, organizing one shelf can make all the difference.

This shelf is a prime example of how simply filling a space with containers does not organize it.

All this had to go! Per my new year's resolution. No.More.Pasta

(at least until I hit my weight goal).

When I emptied out all those

Tupperware

containers, I found this growing in the bottom of a couple of them....ICK

Evidently I don't eat as much pasta as I thought.

In messy cupboards, there are always a few items that don't belong. Best to relocate them. Store like with like.

Who knew we had dips and hot cocoa? PARTY.

These all held pasta!

They've been replaced with grains and beans

(alphabetized of course)

. Is couscous a pasta?

Pasta is ready to leave the house.

It's going to the next college student who visits.

So long pasta, maybe we'll see you in a few months.

What would you do with all those empty containers?

What shelf in your home is bugging you right now?

Hop on over to my

Facebook

page to see a quick kitchen reorg.

Preserving Family Memorabilia

January 14, 2016

Every family has something that they are proud of.

Often it is objects; a momento from emmigrating to this country, a relic from a war, some thing from an era gone by such as the family farm or something related to their cultural heritage.

It could also be something handmade; scrapbooks, embroidered household items, knitted sweaters, handcrafted furniture, or even something as large as a family home that was built by hand.

My Grandma Sokolitz

If I ask myself what my extended family was proud of, it would be my grandmother's recipes. She was Hungarian and emmigrated to the United States when she was 5. Back in the 1920s, women spent much of their time cooking for their household and because it was that depression era, they were thrifty and creative with the ingredients they cooked with. She was a master chef by her own design, and closely guarded her recipes, deciding to share them with a few close family members, when we showed some interest and she realized her days were numbered on this earth.

In my experience I've found that clients let these sorts of items accumulate in their homes either because they wanted them saved when they were offered or more likely, someone in the family passed away, and so these objects were simply passed on.

In many instances, these valued things are stored in boxes, stacked up in basements, garages, attics where they are out of site. Often no one remembers the contents much less where they are located.

When the time comes to deal with these items

(and the time always comes...)

family members can be dismayed to discover that these once valued items have been ruined by mold, dust, rust and decay and now regardless of preference, they must be thrown away.

This process can be extremely hard and filled with anxiety and sadness, which is why many people choose to hang on to such things long after their usefulness has passed, their joy forgotten. It is just too hard to face all of that emotion and decision-making when what we really want to be doing is to go out and about, enjoying our lives.

It's no mystery why the clutter we inherit can take over valuable space in our homes and leave us feeling hopeless to do anything about it.

But back to my grandmother....

Before she passed away, I was lucky enough to inherit a large shoe box crammed full of her recipes. Excited to have them and be able to cook with them, I opened the box.

To my dismay, it was filled with recipes alright, but most of them were from other women in her neighborhood, many were scratched out on the backs of Crisco labels, and some were incomplete or indecipherable.

So, just like all of my clients, I closed the box and put it on a shelf in my basement....for 22 years,

3 states and 4 houses later.

Until now....

I unpacked the box!

I spent a few hours sorting the recipes into categories. It wasn't easy, but it sure was fascinating!

What do you think this is for?

Rolling dough into noodles!

There was another tool in there that I couldn't bear to photograph or keep, once I found out what it was. It was a bundle of chicken feathers, neatly tied together. I found out from my Dad that it was used to brush eggwash on to pastry.

Eeeew, out it went!

There were a couple of recipe books that I quickly flipped through, looking for notes from my grandmother in the margins. And I cut out a few of the recipes too.

There were many recipes written on ephemera like this label from a can...

See the edits handwritten at the top? The edits make it HER recipe.

How about this?

A recipe written in Hungarian!

This made me cringe, but I couldn't look away.

Then there were interesting other things that had nothing to do with cooking.

How to keep flies away and how to grow violets? Hmmm.

This made me think was she looking for a job?

Or merely figuring out which pens still had ink in them?

But I digress...

I took pictures

(obviously)

of everything that wasn't a recipe as during the sorting process, I decided that I would indeed compile all the recipes and photos into a digital book for my family as a surprise for Christmas!

First I had to winnow down the 50+ recipes into the 30 that were truly her own and for that I needed the help of my Dad. Without knowing exactly what I was up to

(it was a surprise after all)

, he went through the stacks of recipes with me and even told me a few stories along the way.

I've heard it said that when the oldest person in your family passes away, it's like the library burned down, so this was a special time with him hearing more about our family history.

Then the real work began....typing them all up. It took looking up incomplete recipes online using Google translator for Hungarian recipe websites. I wanted each entry to have the correct Hungarian name for the food and a picture too! Thank you

Google Images

Then it was off to the virtual world of

Walgreens Photo Books

to create this masterpiece. They have hundreds of book templates

(even a recipe template to my delight!)

and many choices for the book itself - softcover, hardcover, etc.

Plus they always have a sale or special going on!

It was simple to upload all the food pictures and the photos of the ephemera I had. Then I copied and pasted the recipes from my word document into the templates.

It took a little fiddling to get it all just right and truth be told,

there are a few minor errors,

but

done is better than perfect!

I was able to create it in a day, order multiple copies and pick them all up that evening. How does this even happen?

Here's how it came out.

There are photos of the ephemera throughout; such as this cookbook cover.

I just HAD to include these specialties.

(Cringe.)

And, my family LOVED it! A fitting tribute to a great cook and the memories made around her table.

AND I threw out the box of recipes and freed up some space in my basement - BONUS!

Pardon the flour dusting...I'm off to bake!

What inherited objects in your home could you turn into a digital family memory?

Do it soon, "before the library burns down."

Happy New Year & A New Book!

January 06, 2016

Happy New Year everyone!

Here's to a year of decluttering, sorting, containerizing and storing only the things that bring us joy.

Check out Marie Kondo's new book! If you liked

The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

, this book

shows and tells

MORE about her process. Loads of illustrations too.

I'm excited to fold like the master.

Buy it!

If you want a sneak peek

read this!

There's even a short video of Marie folding an underwear drawer!

This is a brave woman to show us her underwear.

If you have the book, what's your favorite quote so far?

New Year Possibilities

January 02, 2016

We're off and running into the new year!

If you're like me, you're sitting in a beautifully organized space

(my library)

, in a favorite chair, wrapped in a blanket, next to a space heater

(it can never be too warm)

, absorbing the sunshine streaming through the window, enjoying a cup of Chai.

Ahhhh, this is how I welcome in the new year s.l.ow.l.y.

Have you set goals and intentions in the new year? Perhaps you've decided to get more organized this year

(as many people do)

This is a BIG goal and what does it really mean? In our busy lives today there are many facets to living in organized spaces and having an organized life. Once a person grasps the enormity of the task of "getting organized", it can be difficult to know where to start. Once a start has been made, the work can quickly become overwhelming and then inertia sets in. BAM! another year come and gone with very little organizing progress.

INSTEAD....

I recommend you pick just one small area of your life to focus on. If this is the first time or the last time you've decided to "get organized", choose an area that is close to your heart.

What area of your life, makes your heart beat a little faster with anticipation and excitement?

Ask yourself, if my ________ was/were organized, how would that feel?

(Insert an area of your life in that blank space.)

Here are a few ideas:

Car

Craft/Hobby Supplies

(pick just one!)

Email Account

Cell phone

Holiday Decorations

Jewelry

Calendar

Gardening/Yard Tools

Cookbooks

Shoes

Top desk drawer

Paperwork Pile

(just one!)

Photos

(for one child, or one vacation, or one special event)

If you start with organizing something you

love,

you're more likely to finish it. If you start with something small, it can be a quick win and the feeling of success will inspire you. And who knows where good feelings can lead?

At the end of 2016, you might just be living a more organized life.

What area came to your mind first?

If you tackle it, I'd love to hear how it went and how it feels now.

Write your comments below by clicking on the "pencil" icon.

Happy New Year friends!

An Unexpected Holiday Gift

December 23, 2015

This holiday season, we received a very generous gift of 1/4 of a cow!

We were very excited at the prospect, but alas, we'd recycled our big, old upright freezer when the kids went to college. So a shopping we did go. But first we did a little research.

Question:

Exactly how big of a freezer does one need for 1/4 of a cow?

Answer:

7 cubic feet.

And a new freezer appeared.

I got excited! I'd never organized a freezer before! So we move it into place in our basement and then...da da da daaaaa.

The Bad News:

The placement of the freezer resulted in an extensive 3 day nearly-all-nighter project, involving removing a defunct, leaky water softener that came with our house, rerouting pipes to the water heater, installing valves and changing out pipes the width of our basement. Thankfully, our handy neighbor came over to help my very handy husband.

We love our neighbors.

The Good News:

We now can run the washing machine, the dishwasher, flush a toilet, and run water in every sink all at the same time while simultaneously someone takes a hot shower. We actually tried this! This may seem normal to all of you, but to us, this is EPIC, never before dared, as we had literally NO water pressure due to bad plumbing and woe to the person taking a shower if someone else used water. Not good.

But it's all good now and this is an organizing blog after all...so let's get back to the task at hand.

Except there were more issues with the space...

All these Christmas decorations had to be moved to create enough space for the freezer. This was a fortunate event and good timing. What with Christmas coming, I had been meaning to sort and organize these boxes anyway.

Isn't it interesting how one fairly small organization project can quickly spiral into not only a home remodeling project, but also into more organizing?

This is real life folks.

Okay, now back to the freezer and more importantly, the meat!

The first step is to write a date on all the meat. Since the paper packages were already marked 12/15, I decided to be consistent and mark all the plastic packages with the same date.

As an alternative, packages can be marked with the date they will expire, so you'll know when to use them by. Here's a chart showing how long frozen food will last to mark your food accordingly.

The next step was to write an inventory. I used

this one

that I found on the internet. I slipped it into a clear plastic sleeve after I filled it out and I am storing it right in the freezer!

I love this idea of writing the inventory directly on the freezer with a dry-erase marker, but I'm not brave enough to do it on our brand new freezer.

Are you?

Next I loaded the large packages in the bottom of the freezer

And loaded the steaks on the shelf.

Next the ground beef I set in the basket that came with the freezer. I tried a couple different ways of stacking and the picture on the right is the one I decided worked best. Easy to grab and I fit in one package than the picture on the left.

However, it turns out there are 79 packages of ground beef.

That's right, 79 pounds.

Can you say "taco night" every night?

I had to come up with another storage solution.

Reusuable shopping bags! Genius.

I filled them up and set them on top of the large packages.

Notice the handles are laying across the top so they can easily

(well, maybe easily isn't the right word, they are heavy!)

be lifted up out of the way to access the meat underneath.

Once we eat down that 79 lbs of ground beef, I'll be investing in 4 of

these

beauties as they stack perfectly according to the reviews and have folding white handles. Perfect in stacks of 2 next to the shelf/freezer basket.

Label the bins according to food type and your freezer is forever organized!

Finally, the freezer inventory is laid right on top inside the freezer.

I'll be attaching a pen nearby on the outside of the freezer of course.

If you want a pen you can freeze, try this

one

There is no end to what clever people will research and publish on the internet.

Thank you internet people, thank you

WAIT! I know you all want to know what happened to the pile of Christmas stuff?

Remember this

post

and this closet?

After I cleaned it out that messy closet, it has sat nearly empty since July and now I know why. It was just waiting for all the Christmas

clutter

beloved decorations to be stored there. I plan to get a few more plastic totes to replace the boxes, but it's looking good so far.

I sorted out just a few things that were no longer needed, including one of those train sets that goes around the tree. Sold it in a couple of hours on Facebook. BONUS.

And that's a wrap - pardon the Christmas pun.

What is the most unusual item stored in your freezer?

Who's inspired to create a freezer inventory?

Give the Gift of Organizing

December 17, 2015

There are so many benefits to getting more organized and did you know that it is

one of the top 3 New Year's resolutions

set by many people? Help your friends and family reach their goals in 2016 by giving them the gift of organization.

Working from my experience with clients, here are some of the very best reasons to get organized.

Be able to find whatever you need whenever you need it.

If you're tired of this endless question

"Where is the ______?"

Getting organized can eliminate it entirely or at least give you an answer to say instead of "I have no idea."

Saves money.

Or in this case, FIND money! Every client I've worked with so far has found money in their house that they didn't know they had.

But back to saving money...getting organized means no more buying in excess because you know exactly what you own. When you run out of something, you truly run out of it because it's only kept in one place

and you know how much you have

. No more overbuying

and overspending.

May improve your health

Face it, if you're able to walk into a room and not trip over something, you're going to be able to reduce the chances of being injured in your own home. Dust loves clutter. If you're not able to clean surfaces regularly, dust will accumulate and can cause or exacerbate allergies. Piles of paperwork can be a fire hazard. Stuff piled in corners or closets can mask leaky pipes, crumbling drywall and even mold. Clearing out the clutter is good for your health.

Adds ease to living

While I can't promise that getting organized will transport you to a sandy beach, I can say that organizing helps my clients save time and energy. No more starting the day in a frantic rush trying to find the car keys. Being organized creates space in one's life.

Reducing the amount of stuff one owns, can be transformative.

Getting rid of stuff leads to the most exciting aspect of getting organized...what happens next. My clients say time and time again, that once they got organized, it changed their lives in ways they couldn't imagine.

What are you hoping for in the new year? Organizing could be the catalyst that makes your dreams come true.

Are you struggling to find the perfect gift for that special someone? Give the gift of organizing in the form of a gift certificate. They may say it's the best gift they've ever received.

Do you have your holiday shopping done yet?

If you could help someone get organized, who would it be?

A Few of My Favorite Organizing Things

December 10, 2015

Sorry it's been a couple of weeks...

I've been taking writing classes to improve my writing on this blog, and it's kinda sorta taking over my life...in a good way! That is keeping me busy along with getting ready for the holidays. I happen to love Christmas and all the preparations leading up to it.

Speaking of the holidays, here are a few of my favorite organizing things. Maybe you have an organizer on your gift list

or someone who needs to get more organized?

Happy Shopping!

The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

This book has inspired thousands of people to declutter, just one category at a time.

My secret wish is to be trained by her and I even contacted her to see if it was possible. Unfortunately, the reply was in Japanese but Google translator said the word "wait" was in there and "patience". So maybe it can still happen.

A Label Maker

Clients are always asking me which kind to buy. My own is one that my husband got as a gift and never used, so I inherited it and free is good. But I love this handy one and it even comes with a tape cartridge.

Buy lots of tape when you order it. You are welcome.

Magnetic Notepads

I love these so much! If you're my client,

(and you have a frig that takes magnets)

, you get one free! They can be found in the dollar section of Target where they can be found for yes...$1. These make great stocking stuffers!

Gift Card to the Container Store

Seriously, if you haven't visited this store yet, you haven't lived. It's an organizers dream come true. My favorite aisle has little plastic boxes, stacked to the ceiling, all color coordinated in different sizes. I like to go and stand there, it's my happy place. Someday I'll have a client that needs small items organized like a rainbow.

A girl can dream right?

Light Angel

This motion-sensor LED stick-on light works indoors or out and lasts for 100,000 hours. Use it under sinks, in closets for entryways, anywhere that is dark. I installed 2 outside at our house. Now I can actually get the key in the door on the first try! This makes a great gift for an older adult.

Let there be light.

Drawer Organizers

They come in wood, metal, plastic - you name it. Because when you need the scissors, you need to be able to find the scissors. And the tape, and the phone charger, and the staples...

Pegboard Organizers

For the handy wo/man in your life. If you've got a pegboard, these are amazing! Many more options to choose from. You'll want them all.

Trust me.

Jewelry Stackers

I've had my eye on these for awhile now. They are so luxe and practical at the same time. Tarnish resistant too and they'll just as easily set into a drawer as they will stacked up on a dresser.

The princess in me wants a set.

Now that you've seen my favorites.

What's on your organizing wish list this year?

A Heart Full of Gratitude

November 26, 2015

“

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

―

Melody Beattie

Just a little note of thanks today for following my blog and my adventures as a professional organizer. I'm so very grateful to my clients and many friends who have trusted me to help them get more organized this year. It's hard for me to put into words how much it's meant to me to work with you, and how close to my heart I hold you all.

So far, getting organized has turned out to be life-changing for my clients in ways that they could never have expected and I am so happy that I get to be part of their story.

They tell me that because of organizing, they've found precious time in their days for volunteering, for devoting time to new interests, getting ahold of their finances, more time for spiritual pursuits and even for love. It's so exciting to hear their stories after we've done the work.

For me, living an organized life, gives me more time to be creative. I love having large blocks of uninterupted time to make, create and write. My creativity brings me joy and I'm grateful for that too. We all need a little joy in our lives.

This centerpiece I made with a $10 bouquet of flowers,

dried plants from my yard and a pumpkin from a friend's garden!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

What are you grateful for this Thanksgiving day?

Where do you find joy?

6 Things I Learned in the First 6 Months of Professional Organizing

November 18, 2015

Well friends, it's been 6 months already since I opened my car doors to start my organizing business. I say car doors because I work from other people's homes and the car is the door that I open first on the way there, although I have been known to ride my bicycle too from time to time.

Here are 6 important things I've learned so far:

#1. When taking before & after pictures, be sure to have the wrist strap of the camera securely around one's wrist. Otherwise it could be dropped at just the right angle to damage the focusing lens, rendering it unusable. Ah yes, I always wondered why the wrist strap was on there.

My new

camera

and yes, the wrist strap has been attached.

#2. Take before photos BEFORE starting to organize. This has happened to me so many times that now I'm requesting the client to take the pictures themselves and text them to me on my phone before I show up! I'm like a kid on Christmas morning, I can't wait to get started and then I pause to realize mid-way through, I'd forgotten to take the picture...oops.

Pictures are so important because they show the comparison of where we started and the progress being made. And sometimes when we're in the middle of a project that is taking the time it takes, we may need some bolstering of our spirits as we soldier on towards completion.

#3. Don't show frustration. I'm only human and sometimes an organizing situation can become downright frustrating to solve! I've learned that it's not only clients that need a break, I do too. It can be as simple and drinking a glass of water, ducking out to use the restroom for a few minutes or even walking up or down a flight of stairs to clear my mind. Organizing takes time and I've learned that the best solutions are often the ones that present themselves after all the sorting is completed.

#4. Draw diagrams. I learned this from a client that dictated dimensions of a closet to me over the phone. We had a good laugh when I realized she was telling me measurements from the bottom up and I was writing it out from the top down. Drawing a map of the space and then entering in the dimensions and labeling as I go, has been a lot more helpful than just a picture of it, when shopping for storage solutions.

#5. Have a tighter cancellation policy. I started out with 24 hours, but increased it to 48. I do quite a bit of research and preperation for my clients before working with them. It can be disappointing for me when they cancel without enough notice. This way we are both committed to the work and I have plenty of notice to squeeze in another appointment if a cancellation happens.

#6. Never throw anything away without permission. Luckily for me, I had set this as S.O.P. for myself (

Standard Operating Procedure)

. My clients laugh at me, but I do not throw ANYTHING away without asking first. And good thing too. On more than one occasion, I've held up some scrap of paper with scribbled handwriting or some unidentifiable little plastic gizmo and the client shrieked with joy,

"I've been looking for that!"

and so it goes.

I wonder what I'll learn in the next 6 months?

Any guesses?

One (or Two) of These Things Doesn't Belong

November 11, 2015

So, if you've been following along the past couple of weeks, I've been on a reorganization terror in my kitchen. It all started here, with this cupboard. The one I featured last week in my post

"The Woe of Plastic Containers"

This cupboard is directly above the coffee and tea station that sits on the countertop.

One problem that has frustrated my morning routine is that the mugs for coffee & tea are far, far away in this other cupboard.

Can you see how close to the ceiling this cupboard is? My kitchen was built for giants. Those two shelves with the mugs are quite a reach!

It seems easy enough to just switch the mugs with the plastic containers....it was, except that some of the shelves had to be adjusted for height first. Which means, everything had to come out of the cupboard....nothing is ever simple.

This revised cupboard we know from my previous post, did not stay this way for long, but it was a step in the right direction.

It is so helpful to have all the summer seasonal glasses in one place, stacked up neatly, along with champagne and wine glasses all together.

(Those prep bowls ended up getting moved, you'll see later.)

I debated hard on keeping those champagne glasses...after all, how often have I really used them? In the end I kept 6 as part of a fantasy, hoping that each of our boys will get engaged one day and we can celebrate the happy couples.

I know right?

After some tweaking a week later, this is what I settled on. I found a nice little holder for my pot lids and got them out of the stove drawer and spread out all the bowls on the shelf as well.

Now that

my dishes

have more room, maybe I can finally complete the set!

For the other cabinet, the mugs from two shelves barely fit here. There is more winnowing that must be done, but I knew my husband would have to make some decisions.

Never organize someone else's stuff.

His mugs are on the left, mine on the right.

The

"Yeah I did it!"

mug plays applause when you push a button on the bottom. How could I part with that?

Where does this stuff even come from?

This is working out a lot better! Coffee, tea and mugs all in one place. Happy Dance!

But wait...what is that thing hanging under the cupboard?

Friends, I date myself here. I'll be removing this antique next.

If you could change one thing about your kitchen, what would it be?

Do you have a favorite mug? Tag me on

Instagram

so I can see it!

The Woe of Plastic Container Storage

November 04, 2015

Don't try this at home!

For the past 12 years, I've had these stored in a cabinet underneath my kitchen counter. Tired of fishing around in there, bent over, unable to see anything but what was in front, I moved them to this cabinet, above the glasses.

This friends, was worse.

Now I could definetly see what I was fishing for, but unfortunately, because these containers are so slippery, they usually slid off the shelf as well as requiring some really creative stacking as shown here on the left.

I tried this shelf out for a week and then decided to move them over here to a larger shelf.

But after another week of fighting with this new shelf I'd chosen

with the same problems

, I decided to invest in storage and move them all to a bin.

I'm all about exploring my options.

This is an

Elfa

drawer and it installs inside a cabinet or closet on a runner frame so it can easily be pulled out to access what's inside.

The cabinet I chose is very deep, so this drawer made great use of otherwise

unusable space

(

translation: space that becomes a catch all for whatever gets mashed back in there

Genius! I even installed it myself

(this girl is learning some skills!)

I realize that this storage solution won't work for everyone. Some might like all their lids arranged by size in a rack and all their storage containers stacked neatly by type, and that is fine. We can do that.

But not me! Throw it all in a bin and call it good!

Before During After

After showing my husband, he suggested we buy new containers. Bonus!

Want to guess what's in that blue-lidded storage container on the right?

Answer: This mess from "What a Difference a Drawer Divider Makes"

Of course not all of these items made the cut.

Who says you've got to keep everything in a drawer or on a shelf?

So how do you store your plastic containers? Stacked or piled?

Seriously friends, does every container have a lid?

The Top Drawer

October 28, 2015

Friends, we left off here....

I know this has kept you up some nights...what will she put in this top kitchen drawer?

Here's a hint.

I love to cook, so my spices have always been front and center on my kitchen counter.

As you can see, the jars came pre- labeled and as I have different spices, I had to make new labels.

Over they years, these labels have started to peel off and the lids started to look a little grungy.

Also this...

These are the additional spices I use often that don't fit in the spice rack! Aggravating.

It's always been a little dream of mine to have all my spices in one place. A girl can dream right?

Now that the top drawer is empty (

and lined with

grip

), let the work begin!

Do the research,...the jars must fit the drawer. I chose

these

from #thecontainerstore. They come with either chrome or white plastic lids. I love my choices. I ordered 40! Did you know you can order online and have them shipped to the store for free? Who knew?

These are helpful too. I only had to label 6 that weren't on these pre-made labels.

And one of these was a lifesaver

along with a tiny teaspoon.

Let the filling

and labeling

begin!

There were a lot of stickers to remove....I really dislike manufacturer labels...ask my clients! If you're going to make it your own, you've got to remove the label.

This perfect line-up makes me happy. I hadn't measured across the drawer, only the depth, so this was a happy surprise!

I closed the drawer in between filling, so that the spillage didn't seep into the drawer. Here is a sneak peek of my progress.

Oh it made my heart sing when I was finished! I especially love that the jars all fit perfectly in the drawer by width and length. Notice there are 3 jars unclaimed

(as of yet anyway).

There was some excess space at the back of the drawer, so I located a couple of plastic rectangular containers and placed all the excess spice in their containers in there. I know I'll use up what I have this way.

Bonus that the containers fit exactly and thus keep the jars from rattling around. The grip liner helps too.

The jar filling took some time, but the clean up took a lot more. Why are projects often like this?

These miscellaneous glass and plastic jars may come in handy in my art studio or the garage later. Soaking off the labels is a necessary chore.

All sparkling clean, ready for repurposing!

Before After

What will go in the gap on the counter? NOTHING. Now the pitcher with the spoons and the oil/salt/pepper tray can be easily moved when more counter space is needed.

Here's a handy way to find out if a spice you own is still good or not.

What's your kitchen spice count?

Do you keep your spices in a cabinet, a rack, a drawer or somewhere else?

What a Difference A Drawer Divider Makes

October 22, 2015

These 4 drawers have given me lots of trouble over the years.

Sandwiched right between the stove and the dishwasher, many kitchen items have been stored here and forgotten. It's always been a bit of a mess. There have been some challenges.

Currently, the top drawer holds kitchen utensils. Not knives, never knives. All sharp objects in my kitchen are in a separate drawer. No need to reach in to a mess and cut myself

(my biggest cooking fear)

. I am sure some people can keep their knives and utensils in the same drawer, living together happily. I am not one of those people.

The next drawer is obviously very messy. What's all in there anyway? Hard to find and grab what is needed in the moment.

Next is towels and rags. My husband complains that he cannot tell a dishrag from a dish towel. There may have been arguing. Well, who can tell them apart in this mess?

Eww, that potholder needs laundering.

Next is all the items that don't fit anywhere else in the kitchen. This could be classified as a "junk drawer" but all the items go together, so it's my "kitchen junk drawer". Birthday candles, cheesecloth

(for mulled cider of course!)

, twisty-ties, plasticware, napkins, string, paper plates, pilfered restaurant mustard & ketchup packets, and other necessary items.

Last is the "bag drawer". Garbage bags, small paper bags, and plastic shopping bags. The cat wandered in to see what was going on. She may have climbed into the drawer too at one point.

This drawer has been organized for quite some time, ever since I learned how to fold these sweet little triangles out of those pesky plastic shopping bags.

Kitchen origami, swoon.

To organize the other drawers, there was shopping involved. Kitchen drawer organizers are amazing. Just be sure to measure carefully. It is so disappointing to come home with the wrong size.

When it's the right size, ahhhhh...I love how all the handles are pointing the same way. Easy to grab them.

Can you guess what this is?

I love that it fit perfectly at the back of the drawer.

Next up, that messy dish towel/dish rag drawer. Rags on the left, towels on the right. Marital bliss is restored.

Hey, what about this drawer?

Stay tuned! A creative solution is coming, and as some of us know, creativity takes time,

and in this case, a little muscle.

Doesn't this look

much better?

Before After

There is something so restful about having a beautifully organized space.

So, I know you're thinking...what's going in the top drawer?

Wait and see!!!

Honestly, when's the last time you laundered your potholders?

Enter your guess naming the mystery utensil in the comments below.

Post your messiest kitchen drawer and tag my

Facebook

page!

An Organized Back Entry

October 16, 2015

Front entries are easier to keep organized, because they welcome everyone into the house. There is usually a closet to store coats and shoes in and they are often small separate spaces or part of the larger living room.

Back entries are another matter. They often become a catch-all for all sorts of things that may or may not have a permanent place to be kept. Often items are set here as if in a holding area until they can be moved somewhere else such as a garage or basement.

More often, these items never get moved.

The truth hurts.

If not kept tidy, back entries can become extremely cluttered. It can be hard to remember what is actually stored there as well as hard to identify what things are. And we all know that if we can't find it, that it can be quite frustrating!

Sometimes we even will go buy another two or three of something because not only have we forgotten we own it already, we've forgotten where we put it!

Sound familiar?

This is before...

It was definetly a challenge to find anything in here.

First we removed everything and thoughtfully considered which items should be kept in this space

Note: If your back entry is unheated and you live in a cold climate, then anything that shouldn't be frozen, needs to be moved.

I'm reminded myself of this tonight as there is a freeze warning!

In this space we kept, among other items:

Tools

Nails, screws, hooks etc.

Coolers and lunch bags

Lightbulbs

Electrical cords

Twine & wire

Gardening supplies

Painting supplies

Brooms, dustpans, dusters

Work gloves

Everything must be sorted out and containers need to be located. We found storage containers for everything we wanted to keep!

Be sure to look around your home before buying any containers. You might already have the perfect thing to store your lightbulbs in.

This is after...

I am a fan of clear containers as you can see what's in them.

I also love labeling all the containers as well as the shelves. This makes it so easy to see/read what you have at one glance, and most of all, put it back when you're doing using it.

Labels can be a big help if you have children in your home.

It's fine to have some empty space. No doubt you will find something to put there!