Category: Organize Your Stuff

What Do We Do With Other People’s Stuff?

A class participant recently asked: “What do we do with items received from family members who have passed away?”She explained that she has received 2 or 3 households full of items over the years. She needs to downsize, but is still burdened with all these extra collections.

We are often blessed with items received from loved ones, and when that loved one passes, we are reluctant to purge the items.  I know this is a complicated, personal process, friends, and I’m sorry.  But we still have to proceed, and make decisions about these belongings.  Think about these statements:
  • Your loved one who is gone would not want to burden you;
  • Respect your loved one, and appreciate the love and the sentiment behind the item / gesture, even if you choose to let the item go;
  • When our family or friends are boxing things up after a funeral, grief and stress may keep them making good decisions;
  • Letting go of stuff does not mean that you are letting go of the person; and
  • You didn’t choose these items, and are under no real obligation to keep them (cold, I know, but true).

Here are some tips to make things go:

  1. Know what is enough, and what is too much.  One set of china is enough, any more may be too much.  Keep your favorite, and sell / donate / re-gift the rest.
  2. Be selective and choose a few small favorites, then do something with the favorites. Treat these as treasure – use them, frame them, bring them out of storage.
    • A client recently bought a display case for her uncle’s collection of antique silver tea balls, and they look beautiful. The display adds character and not clutter to her home, and allows her to appreciate her uncle.
  3. Consider your loved one, and donate their items to a charity in their honor.
  4. If a family member disapproves of your decisions to purge certain items, ask them to get involved in the process with you, soliciting suggestions for how to respectfully purge items while celebrating the person who has died.   001
    • Another friend shared “We received the coveted toothpick holder collection from Grandma [like mine from my Grandma, shown in picture!], and stored them for several years wondering what to do with them. I chose a few that spoke to me, and my daughter chose a couple that spoke to her. The balance I took to the next family party and explained that everyone needed to take one to remind them of Grandma – whether it was a special food; fishing; or a good memory. At the end of the party, the toothpick holders were going home with everyone who would cherish them & remember Grandma.”  Thanks S.K.!
  5. Practice your gentle and polite response.  For example, “We are preparing to move / downsize / have a child / send a child to college, etc.; and we know we won’t be able to keep everything we have.  We’ve carefully chosen to keep these few items, to celebrate so-and-so.”  Don’t apologize.
  6. If a loved one passes things on to you when you they are still around… that is a little tougher, I know.
    • A friend responded to last week’s question with a description of the engraved (with someone else’s message) crystal goblets she recently received.  Yikes!
    • Your loved one may actually expect to see the items again!  One idea is to keep one cabinet shelf of just those types of items, 1 or 2 of each, and, with the goblet example, serve just that person with one of the glasses.  If she is pleased, good job! and now you’re done.  If she doesn’t notice, good job – you’re done. Another idea is to keep the item boxed up, with an expiration date on it to purge after a year.

Finally, make decisions now from your own Stuff.  If you have want to pass something on to someone, consider passing it on now, so you can share the joy and the reason for the gift.  If you don’t want to pass it on just yet, write a note to the next generations about the item and why it is important, then tuck the note inside.

I hope these ideas help!  If you have any more suggestions, please share and I’ll pass them along.

Wait – What? I’m Supposed to Have Summer Organizing Projects?

It’s feeling like summer.  My older sons are out until August, and the youngest is counting the hours until Friday noon.

I don’t know if this happens in every house (probably not), but when the kids get out of school and the weather turns warm, my thoughts turn to…. Projects!  (I know, I may be crazy).  Of course, my thoughts also turn to summer travels and relaxing with friends and family, but summer is a great time to make progress on projects.

Wait – What? I’m Supposed to Have Summer Organizing Projects?

Yes, you are.  Why?

The days are longer.  It’s warmer in the garage / attic / basement, if that’s where the projects are.  Our energy is higher. There may be extra people (read kids) around to help. So here is how:

  • Grab a clipboard.  Yes, a clipboard.  Seriously – don’t you feel more confident and in charge when you carry a clipboard? Julie McCoy, Cruise Director always knew what was going on, right?  (I just totally dated myself, but so be it).  Grab the clipboard with some paper and pen.
  • Walk around every room of your house with your clipboard, and then outside, too.
  • Look at every room as though it’s the first time.  Walk with someone, and explain the space to them. Saying things out loud can help us process our ideas.  Jot down thoughts.
    • First, appreciate the positive aspects.  (“I really love that couch.  I love the way the light fills this space. I still love this paint color, etc.”)
    • Now consider what you might like to change about the space.  Be realistic, but dream big.  Making changes can breathe new life into our spaces.  I love my great room, but rearranging the furniture the other day made me love it even more.
    • Now consider what organizing projects could help your spaces:
      • De-clutter?  Always a good step.
      • De-furnish?  I walk into so many rooms that have way too much furniture.
      • A good cleaning?  A very simple solution.
      • Invest in an organizing solution?  Perhaps your space could use new book shelves, a better closet system, or under-bed storage for off season clothes or bedding?
      • Be specific.  Don’t just write “organize bedroom” on your list.  Try – “clean out dresser drawers”, “purge old shoes”, “clean out under bed”, “hang new art work”, etc.
  • When you’re done, you may have a lengthy list.  Don’t get overwhelmed, you only need to tackle a few!
  • Looking at your list, determine what projects your family can complete over the next few months. Why?
    • Decision makers.  I live with 4 other people.  If I want to make an organizational change, I ask opinions from the other people who live here, out of respect.  This is easier in the summer, when my family is home more.  Kids may be home from college, and spouses may have a free day here and there.
    • Extra hands.  For example, we have A LOT of books in our house – the bookshelves have gotten full. This past weekend, each son went through his bookshelves.  Three bags of books are ready to donate to our local library, plus three bags of garbage left, too!
  • Pick just one room to start, and just one project. For example, “Family Room: Organize DVD collection”.
  • Now list the steps, and who can help.  The steps may include
    • “collect  cases and loose DVDs, put them together” (20 minutes, son #3),
    • “alphabetize the DVDs” (5 minutes, son #3), and
    • “review and purge unneeded DVDs for sale or donation” (20 minutes, everyone).
  • I find projects are more manageable, for me and my sons, when broken into smaller pieces.

So, what’s it going to be this summer?  Getting that garage ready for next winter?  Finally clearing out the attic, to get ready for selling the house next year?  Maybe just tidying up all the closets?  Tackle those projects!  Walk around, write them down, break them up, and share the load!  Then hit the beach or the trail! Enjoy!

Dealing with Re-Entry: Managing a Tired Brain

Maybe it’s just me, but sometimes I struggle with what I call Re-Entry.

Travel Luggage Chest Clipart

We are very lucky that we get to travel often to visit with family out of state. And I’ve gotten really good at the getting-ready-and-packing / coming-home-and-unpacking process over the years. But with this weekend marking the unofficial start of summer, I’m out of practice, it seems, as my brain was total mush when we got home today.

So, my first hour home was spent reminding myself how to manage Re-Entry, after a weekend away. Here’s what works for us, maybe it will work for you, too!  First things first (30 minutes):

  • (5 minutes) Unload dirty clothes and start a load of laundry. (We carry a dirty laundry bag when we travel, to facilitate that first load of laundry when we get home and also to keep any left-over clothes we’ve packed smelling fresh.)
  • (1 min) Drink a really big glass of cold water. I don’t know about you, but I always seem to arrive home from trips slightly dehydrated.
  • (5 – 10 minutes) Unload the car all the way. Yes, ALL THE WAY.
  • (10 minutes) Put away perishable food from the cooler, grab a snack or start dinner (or lunch or breakfast, depending on the clock).  Like the commercial says, You aren’t you when you’re hungry. I find it easier to manage the unloading / unpacking / putting away tasks when I’m not also famished.
  • (5 minutes) Check the snail mail box, and any voice mail messages.

The next 45-60 minutes:

  • (5 minutes) Clean up from your snack / meal.
  • (10-20 minutes) Unpack your suitcases / bags, put away clean, un-worn clothes, shoes and toiletries. Yes, AWAY.
  • (5 minutes) Put the bags / suitcases away. Yes, AWAY!
  • (10 minutes) Depending on how you manage your tech, check your emails and such, but just for emergencies.  This is not time to get work done, just to make sure there’s nothing that needs your immediate attention.
  • (10 minutes) Move that laundry through the process. I didn’t have time for cleaning on Friday, before we left town. So this afternoon, I had a mound of clean but unfolded laundry to tackle before I could move today’s laundry along.
  • Head to the grocery? That’s where I’m headed. I am loathe to get back in my car, but we need some staples for the work and school week ahead, so I’m off.
  • If you’ve been on a long road-trip, or if there was a beach involved, stop off at a car wash and give your car a wash and your rugs a vacuum.

So, there you go.  If you struggle with that first hour at home after a weekend trip, keep this list in mind. And if you happen to have helpers with the unpacking process, this list will help you delegate tasks!

Happy and Safe Travels!

This Week’s Menu Plan Is To Not Cook  (a.k.a., How Many Foods Can we Serve on a Bun?)

I gave up last week.  On dinner.

You see, it’s volleyball season for one son, soccer season for another, and the season of end of year concerts and banquets for all three.   Lately, even when I cooked dinner, no one was around to eat it.  And when my family finally got home for the day, they wanted quick and easy food, and not re-warmed tilapia (I guess I see their point).

I often don’t have time to cook – that’s nothing new.  And I know what to do about that challenge – cook extra on the weekends, use my crock pot, make dinner in the morning and just re-warm it at dinnertime, etc.  But the “not having time to cook” challenge coupled with the “no one is home at an actual dinner time” and “we want quick and easy food” challenges have complicated things a bit.  I had to rethink my usual menu planning strategies.

So I gave up on cooking dinner.  Gave in.  Call it what you want.  I gave up, and then asked the questions: “What can I make that my family will actually still eat?  On their own time that isn’t fast food and still has some semblance of nutrition?” And the answer has to do with French rolls, burger buns, bread and tortillas. Here’s what worked:

  • double batch of homemade meatballs, frozen, to be warmed as needed and served over spaghetti or on a French roll 
  • double batch of tuna salad, for my lunches for the week
  • purchased (Costco and GFS) 5 lb tub of Italian beef and au jus, also to be served on a French roll (I told you, I gave up!)
  • double batch of Sloppy Joe meat
  • pre-sliced ham, for cold sandwiches and grilled ham-and-cheese 
  • quesadillas
  • scrambled eggs and toast
As long as all of these items are on a plate with fresh cut veggies or fruit (and perhaps chips), they are an acceptable dinner for all of us, whenever we get around to eating dinner.This article is not written to encourage you to give up on dinner!  It was written as a new take on previous meal planning blogs, and to encourage you to look at current challenges at home or at work through an organizational lens and seek out creative ways to solve your challenges, in this case, dinner!
I promise to cook again.  And soon.  I actually miss it, so this experience has been good in lots of ways. But we still have 10 days left of the season, so don’t look for me in my kitchen until next week.  Until then, we will be creatively filling our french rolls and our tummies.
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7 Solutions to Get My (and Your?) Morning Back on Track

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This is not the blog I planned to publish this week.
But as I drove home from a very early morning client, I considered what I need to focus on today to make tomorrow morning run more smoothly.  We have simple and wonderful systems in place.  Our mornings typically work really well, and all 5 of us know our parts and make the essential stuff happen.
However….. This week…  we could improve.  Let’s just leave it at that.
So here is part of my plan for today.  Maybe one of these solutions will resonate with you, too?  If your morning is a scramble, give them try!
Solution #1: Put ALL the laundry away.
There was a scramble for pants this morning.  Sounds funny when I spell it out. Other days, we scramble for clean socks or a favorite hoodie, but today it was pants.  I occasionally entertain the idea of buying more of certain items to lessen the chance of running out, but we really don’t need more of anything, we just need to maintain the established system, and put ALL the laundry away.  It’s clean, its just not where its supposed to be.

Solution #2: Another set of keys.
A family member has misplaced his keys.  This one little foible has complicated things, by necessitating other family members having to come home to let the lost-key family member in the house, plan around them, etc. We used to have a back-up key, but a winter garage break-in caused us to change our ways.  And Yes, I know, the real answer is for lost-key son to find his keys.  But today’s solution is to suck it up and get another set of keys made.

Solution #3. Stock the Mom-Envelope.
The Mom-Envelope, with $40-ish dollars in small bills, is sadly empty.  A trip to the bank will solve the emptiness, and the Mom-envelope will be able to again solve morning scrambles for a few $$ here and there.

Solution #4: A Full Tank of Gas.
Luckily, I gassed up the other day.  But as I did, I recognized how having a full tank of gas eliminates a lot of worry (or conversely, worrying about running out causes a lot of stress.)

Solution #5: Fully charged technology.
The strategies are having multiple chargers and just one place to charge stuff (the kitchen counter).  Mysteriously, last night we discovered some of the chargers have wandered off, so a goal for today is to round them all up and keep them where they belong.  I have also started carrying an extra charger in my car.  A recent quote from the Minimalists reads “If your phone is constantly ‘about to die,’ then maybe it’s not the phone that has a problem.” (click here for the full article)

Solution #6: Communications.
My youngest is a rock star when it comes to reviewing the plan for his day.  Before going to sleep, and again in the morning, he reviews out loud what’s in store for his next 24 hours or so.  “Ok, Before-Care, then Band and Boy Scouts, right?  And I already packed my lunch.”  This helps us both to plan ahead and remember the details.

Solution #7: A Clean kitchen counter.
A quick way to de-rail movement in my morning is a messy kitchen.  Can’t make my coffee, eat breakfast, make smoothie, work on breakfast for the little guy, etc.  We left early and in a hurry, but that is the first thing on my list after I publish this!

So look around, and see where you can get your morning back on track!  Whether with these solutions or some of your own!

I’m A Superhero!  My Shelves Will Help Me Save the Planet! 

We celebrate Earth Day this week, April 22nd.

Earth-Day-Images-Free-3
I try to practice Earth Day Every Day, from two directions: setting an example by being eco-friendly in our home and business; and encouraging and informing others with eco-friendly resources. So here are three steps to becoming an Environmental Super-hero, and my real-life Earth Day organizing project (elapsed time, 45 minutes-ish).

Here is how to make positive changes in your behavior, to make Earth Day Every Day:

1.  Know your “Why?”:  Why should we take better care of our environment, on a personal or local level?
  • Obviously, it’s good the environment, which helps all of us.
  • I want to set a good example for my sons, my community and my clients, by choosing environmentally sound practices like recycling and conservation.
  • I want to do Good, even when no one is watching.
  • Being eco-friendly can save money.
  • I despise clutter and stagnant “stuff”, so keeping things moving around, either for charitable donation or recycling, makes me happy.
  • What’s Your “Why”?

2.  Establish and Maintain Eco-Friendly Habits:
  • Decide for yourself and your family / business what type of eco-friendly strategies you want to employ.  We choose:
  • Conservation: My 5th grader’s class talked about water conservation a few months ago, and he brought home a great little tool, a 5-minute shower timer that hangs in the shower. I also recognized an unconscious habit just this morning: as we leave the house in the morning, I walk around turning off lights and fans.
  • Charitable Donations: we have a bin in the laundry room for clothing cast-offs to donate to charity.
  • Recycling: paper, glass, plastic and metal, plus responsibly disposing of EWaste.

3.  Establish Space for your Eco-Friendly Habits:
  • I’m the first to admit that sometimes, the right and eco-friendly thing to do feels like a hassle.
  • I spent time in my garage over the weekend, cleaning up our recycling practices by dedicating garage space for recycling / returns / donations.
  • You see, my clients often ask me to recycle the clutter they choose to purge, and I’m happy to help.  Clothing and household items donated to local charities; books donated to my local library; e-waste dropped at local E-Waste recycling sites.  I don’t always have a chance to drop stuff off right away, though, so stuff accumulates in my van / garage (because it NEVER comes in my home).  And we suffer when items linger (as CLUTTER!) in our garage until I can drop them off at their appropriate eco-friendly destination.
  • So, finally, after assembling dozens of similar shelving units for clients, I bought and assembled chrome sh001elves for my garage. This tall (6 feet) set of shelves can hold all the recycling items as they pause on their way to drop-off, plus my extra organizing supplies and any client returns I might have after a job.  My van is much cleaner now, thank goodness, as is my garage, and my habits will be easier to maintain.
  • So a trip to Home Depot, a little $$ and an hour of my time will help me keep my garage and van cleaner while I protect the environment by using and encouraging eco-friendly clutter destinations.  Seems like a worthwhile investment to me!

So, this week and every week, and this Earth Day and Every Day, what can you do to be a little kinder to our environment? Be a Hero!  Choose your “Why”, Create Your Habit, and Make Some Space!

In honor of Thomas Jefferson’s Birthday today, here are Jefferson’s Ten Rules

Jefferson’s Ten Rules

  1. Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.
  2. Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.
  3. Never spend money before you have earned it.
  4. Never buy what you don’t want because it is cheap.
  5. Pride costs more than hunger, thirst and cold.
  6. We seldom repent of having eaten too little.
  7. Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly.
  8. How much pain the evils cost us that never happened.
  9. Take things always by the smooth handle.
  10. When angry, count ten before you speak; if very angry, count a hundred.

I post this with the utmost respect and appreciation.

It’s Time.  Why now?  Why Colleen? ….. Well, Why Not?

It’s Time.  Why now?  Why Colleen? ….. Well, Why Not?

A friend challenged me to write a blog to help her share my business with others.   She asked “Why should we get organized now?”  And “Why should people call you to help?”

Why Now?

Well, you name it – Spring, Mother’s Day, more organizational resources and products than ever before – it really is a great time to get organized.

Why Me?

My friend mentioned that “awkward moment” people experience, when they think about calling an organizer or asking for help.  Because we’re vulnerable, and fearful of sharing our “stuff box” (messy closet, scary basement, crammed file drawers).  As I listed the reasons why people should hire an organizer, and specifically me, this article took shape.  So, M.D., here are my answers to the “Why Now? Why Colleen?” questions:

I won’t judge.   

You’re a good person, with strengths and God-given talents.  And perhaps Organizing isn’t one of them.  And that’s OK, because organizing is a strength for me.  So let’s work together on getting you organized so you can focus on the areas where you DO EXCEL.

I will be more compassionate with you than you are with yourself.  (see “I won’t judge”)

I DO know where to begin, even if you don’t.

A statement I often hear is “I’m so overwhelmed, I don’t know where to begin.” I understand.  But here’s the thing – I do know where to begin.  We will list the projects, prioritize and pick a place to start.  I will help you organize and come up with a system that works for you.   Every client, every project, every time.  I DO know how to get organized, even if you don’t, and I am here to help.

I am bound by confidentiality.

I will keep your information confidential, as a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers, and because I’m a good person.  Your private life should stay private, and preserving my reputation and business success requires me to be trustworthy.

I am objective.

Some clients prefer to organize with me rather than family or friends because I won’t get bogged down with past hurts or expectations.   I am completely unemotional about and unattached to your stuff.

This is my business, and I am an Organizing Expert.

I really do love what I do for a living.  I am committed to my clients, I am insured, and I have many great resources for you.  I know several solutions for your organizational challenges, so we can create personalized solutions for you in your home or office.  My clients are individuals, as are their systems.  When I mentor potential professional organizers, I immediately mention that just being an organized person is not enough.  We have to come with solutions specific to our clients.

My agenda is always Your agenda.

Organizing and organizational coaching are all about YOU.  Making your home and office work their best for You.  I may be the organizing expert, but my business exists because of You.

So, yes, It’s Time to get organized, and I may be just the person to help.  And then again, I may not be, but I can point you towards the right person who CAN help.

So, Why Not Now?!

Organizational Truth #42: When we want to break our habits, that’s when we need them the most.

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Organizational Truth # 42: When we want to blow off our good habits the most, that’s when we need them the most.  Routines and good habits help us restore order to our disorder; bring focus to our scattered brains; and prime the productivity pump when our motivation has run dry.

I was reminded of this Organizational Truth last night.  We had a truly great weekend; participated (ok, walked) in a local 5K for a really great non-profit organization; visited with guests and friends at our house and at a party; had a fabulous evening downtown with dinner, great friends and a concert of one of our favorite bands; and sang at Palm Sunday Mass.

Come Sunday night, I was very tired.  I’d earned a Sunday evening of laying around, and I could easily justify abandoning my usual Sunday night prep-for-the-week hour.  But I also deserve an organized, productive and less-stressed week.  So, even though I really wanted to blow off my routines, I knew they’d serve me well and that I needed them more than ever.  I took a breath, and got to work.  I:

  • Cleaned up from dinner and started the dishwasher.  Again.
  • Had the 10-year old pack his lunch for today, unpack his bag from camping (oh, add that to the list of fun), and get his backpack ready for school.
  • Started laundry. Again.
  • Tidied / swept the bedrooms, collecting random laundry items and stuff, and emptying trash as I went; and then the family spaces as well.
  • Wiped down the bathroom surfaces and floor, and emptied trash.
  • Checked my email accounts, and ruthlessly deleted anything that I didn’t need.
  • Checked my Evernote To-Do list, and deleted or moved to Monday everything from the weekend.
  • And THEN, I curled up with my new book. (Insert contented sigh…)

Truth be told, this isn’t the blog I had planned to write today.  But when I woke up this morning to a tidied house, the kids mostly ready for school and a clear vision of what I needed to do this week, I appreciated the great value in my Sunday night maintenance hour that prepared us for our week.

HOW, you say?  HOW to maintain your habits when your Get-Up- and-Go got up and went?

  1. Set a timer to keep you moving.  Use your smart phone or a kitchen timer, set it for your allotted time, race the clock to get your routines / habits done, then go do something fun when the timer sounds.  I use timers all the time, for myself and with my clients.
  2. Set a timer because then you know you get to stop soon.  This can help us get and stay motivated, too!
  3. Crank some tunes.  Seriously, it helps.  Not so much when I’m writing a blog or coaching phone clients, but staying on task while plowing through emails, assembling marketing materials or working with clients?  Oh yes, we need music!
  4. Enlist aid.  Get help from the humans around you, or phone a friend to chat as you fold laundry or wash dishes (hands free, of course, so you don’t drop the phone in the sink), to make the mundane routines more enjoyable.
  5. Decision making slows us down and trips us up. Determine what YOUR Getting-Started / Making-Progress / First-10-Minutes-When-I-Sit-Down-At-Work Routine looks like.  Write it down, pin it up, make it simple.

So establish routines and good habits, and then use them all the time, especially when you don’t want to!  You’ll thank yourself later!

Is There Something Scary in Your Medicine Cabinet?

This is Clutter Awareness Week AND National Poison Prevention Week, and our bathroom cabinets are a common place for both clutter and potential poisons to be lurking!

This week, I challenge you to organize your bathroom drawers and cabinets, and since each of us has a bathroom, THIS MEANS YOU!

I am reading a book called “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” by Marie Kondo.  The author admitted to being confused once when cleaning out bathroom drawers.  She cleaned out one, and the next day went to clean out another, but mistook it for the first as the contents were so similar.   I would agree.  Most of us have the following items in some combination in our bathroom drawers or cabinets:

  • Over the counter medications, current and expired
  • Prescription medications, current and expired
  • Current and expired toiletries like face lotions, deodorant, cosmetics, hair products
  • Contacts, contact solution, eye glasses, eye washes
  • Dust. Hair.
  • Dental picks, old toothbrushes and floss
  • Sample size toiletries; purchased, picked up via traveling or hotel stays, or received in the mail.
  • Cleaning supplies, for ourselves or the bathroom
  • Unattached single pills, with or without packaging
  • Used disposable razors.
  • Depending on your family composition, hair accessories, shaving supplies, 17 different shampoos, etc.
  • Well, you get the picture.

And so much of this is Clutter and potentially dangerous.  So, how do we tackle this project?

Carve out some time. But don’t let this project overwhelm you!  Bathrooms are very manageable projects.  Tackle it all at once, or a drawer or cabinet a day for 20 minutes, and the end result is still the same.

Get cooperation from the decision makers in your home. The other people in your home can help with the project, or you can box up their stuff as guide them through the decision making process.  Talk to them about expiration dates, safety, and inventory control, just like I just did with you!

With each item, review if it is needed, used or loved. If it’s none of these, toss it!

    • So many of the items in a bathroom are intended to improve our lives, but using them improperly can have the opposite effect.  Using expired or questionable items just to save a few dollars can be dangerous.
    • Expired medications can change chemically, and deliver weak or unexpected results.  And old razors or random Qtips?  Ewwww!
    • If you have no idea how old an item is, side with caution and purge it.  Practice saying this with me: “Is using this worth the risk?”.  (The answer of course is “No!”)
    • The safety of you and your family is worth a few hours spent cleaning and a few dollars spent!

Once you get rid of the icky and / or dangerous stuff, Take some tips from Retail Inventory Management:

  • Use the products you have on hand before you buy more
  • Use the Use oldest items first
  • Store similar items together so you can see what you have in “stock”
  • Make a note of the items you need to have on hand, and do a quick inventory before you head to the grocery.  Keep the list handy, and make this pre-shopping inventory step a habit.

So spend a little time this week, and get rid of those monsters lurking in the bathroom!