Category: Organize Your Stuff

Monday, January 14th is National Clean Off Your Desk Day!

Monday, January 14th, 2013 is National Clean off your Desk Day!  Spend an hour and make your Desk work for you!  Focus on visual results, and save acting on ideas for another day. Corral your papers into meaningful places, so you can see what you have and start getting things done.

Most folks are capable of sorting and piling papers into categories of their own choosing. But mid-sort, they find they need to reclaim their work space, and the papers get piled together again and set aside, instead of finding a new home. So the desk stays a mess, and they never feel “done”.

Another challenge with papers is that they typically represent something else, like a memory, an event, a task to complete or an idea we want to keep. Acknowledging that, you need a physical storage system for your papers and ideas, and the motivation and perseverance to finish and maintain your system. Here is what you need to do:

  1. Remove non work related items from your desk.
  2. Set up a physical system for Passive Papers (Idea from Freedom Filer, and tweaked for my clients!).
    1. Passive Papers have been acted upon, and now wait for a pre-determined time until they are no longer needed for reference (e.g., receipts, paid bills, balanced bank statements, etc.).
    2. The storage system consists of 24 hanging folders in an open top vertical holder on your desktop (preferred) or a very near desk drawer. Label the folders 2 for each month, with a “- Even Year” or “- Odd Year” tacked on the end. You will end up with two full years of folders, one set for this year, 2013 (ending in “- Odd Year”), and one for last year (“ – Even Year”).  “January – Odd, Februrary – Odd” etc.  The Even Year folders will hold last year’s papers from your desktop, and the Odd Year folders are for adding to during 2013. Few papers need to be kept longer than one calendar year.
  3. Set up a physical system for Active Papers, also in an open vertical folder holder on your desk top, with folder names based on What Actions To Take or By Project, or sometimes, both! For Example:
    1. What Actions To Take: Receipts for Reimbursement; Calls to Make; Bills to Pay; Forms to complete and return; or Coupons, gift cards and shopping ideas.
    2. By Project (examples from my desk): Past clients to check in with; Proposal for Home Office and Productivity Class Series; LLC Research and Paperwork; Event Folder, May Communion Party.
    3. Strategic Management, product development ideas
  4. Set up a box for Archival Papers / Treasures. Archival Papers are long-term record keeping papers, like home purchase papers, filed taxes, appliance manuals and warranties, wills, etc. Treasures are school project, travel papers, received greeting cards, photos, etc. These are all projects for another day, get them off your desk.
    1. Grab two bags, one each for papers to shred later and recycling, and start distributing your desk papers to their new homes. Grab a notebook and jot ideas down as they occur to you, do not get distracted and lose focus.
  5. Now, Get Up and Put Your Stuff Away. You have distributed your papers to your new folders, but you may have other items that need to go elsewhere in your home or office. Get up and Put Them Away in their final homes. Even if this 10 minutes is in the middle of your project, Get Up and Put them away. Then bask in the glow of your clean desk top, and keep going. A fellow organizer calls this the Stand And Deliver step, but I can’t find out who that was, and I would happily give her credit. The point is…. Embrace “Done”! And feel good about your efforts!

Happy New Year! 7 Ways To Clear Clutter This Week

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I love the hustle and bustle of the holidays, but I also love the calm and clarity that follow.  Here are 7 ways I’m clearing clutter this week, give one or two or all seven a try!

  1. Return stuff to other people:  Hooray!  My kitchen counter is clean again!  Last week, it held a roasting pan, a pie pan, an instruction book for someone else’s gift, a holiday cookie tin and a few other random items, none of which belonged to me.  The tin was the last to go, but as of yesterday, everything is returned!
  2. Donation / Recycling Clutter:  Drop off donations and recyclables, or at least put the next charitable donation pick-up date on your calendar and plan to have a bag ready.  Then start filling that bag!!  We have a couple of bags already filled with donated Christmas decorations, toys and outgrown kid and adult clothes.
  3. Purge cardboard:  I feel like we’ve been swimming in shipping boxes and toy packaging.  The recycling bin filled up quickly over the holidays, but there’s more room this week!  Collect the boxes, break ’em down and lug ’em out.  You’ll be glad you did!
  4. Plan a Returns Day.  Place a shopping bag by the door.  As you go through your home and routines this week, look for the items you intend to return and place them and their receipt in the bag.  If you can’t find the receipt, spend a little time looking for it, but don’t get hung up on perfectionism.  Even if you can’t find the receipt, a smaller amount of store credit or cash back is better than holding on to an item you know you won’t use just because you can’t find the receipt.  Spend an afternoon, and run those errands to return the items.  Cha-ching, money in your pocket and the clutter goes away!
  5. Clear the Catalogs:  Clean off the coffee table, reading pile and kitchen counter.   Call the 800# on the back of the catalogs or go to www.Catalogchoice.net, and remove yourself from mailing lists.  Subscribe online, if you’d like, and you may get regular promotion notices and coupons.  To avoid email notices, skip the subscription, open your web browser, create a bookmark folder called “shopping”, bookmark the page in your browser, and add it to your shopping folder, then toss the catalog!
  6. Phone clutter:  Ugh!  I am tired of the solicitation calls on our home phone line!  Register all phone numbers (cell, too) with the National Do Not Call Registry at www.DoNotCall.gov, if you haven’t done so.  And this month I will answer all calls on the home line, and request that the caller remove me from their list, which they legally must do if we ask.
  7. E-Mail clutter:  I am happy that a few people un-subscribed last week.  As a blogger and newsletter writer, it should not make me happy, but I was proud of those 4 folks on my mailing list for deciding to let go of something that was not working for them. Good for them.  Of course, now that they have un-subscribed, they will never know that I applauded their efforts.  And remember, I welcome your suggestions and comments for improvement, to keep my content meaningful and useful for you.

Yeah, you!  Look around, you’re feeling lighter and looking better already!  Way to go!

The Day the Decorations Come Down!

It’s that time of year again, When the Christmas decorations come down!  Do yourself a favor for next year, and try these 5 ideas today:

  1. Permanently purge the stuff you did not use this year. We have a pile of items we have not used for a couple of years, and most will go away permanently, via donations or recycling.
  2. Invest in quality storage containers. Stackable, sturdy plastic, bug proof.  A client had pests in her storage area over the summer, and her boxes and favorite decorations were destroyed.  Water and moisture, mice and termites are just some of the threats to your treasures.  We use 18 gal. Rubbermaid or Sterilite containers.  Clear containers are great, too, and allow us to see what is inside, but clear ones can be more expensive than comparably sized containers.  Also available are containers made specifically to store ornaments.
  3. Tag your ornaments.  We received an ornament from a friend tagged with a label listing the date, her name and a wish for us. I love that idea, and will tag a few more this year myself!  Next year and for years to come, we can remember where our favorite ornaments came from and appreciate our friends anew.  This will also help on that day far in the future when I distribute ornaments to my sons as they start their own homes and families.
  4. Last-In First-Out Box.  In a recent blog, I mentioned my Last-In First-Out box, and a few of you asked me about that.  Here is the explanation:  In one well-labeled container, I place all the things that I use for the duration of the Christmas Season.  For example, around December 1, we put up just a few things, like our nativity scene, heirloom advent calendars and table runners.  Those are the first-out decorations, and the extent of our decorations until mid-December.  They are also the last items to go back into storage.  So we keep those few things that we use for all 6 weeks in their own container.  That way, I only have to grab one container to get us started, that same one stays open in the laundry room (the entrance to the crawl space) as we put things away, too,  and is placed on top of the pile until next December.
  5. Make some notes about this year to review next year. Here are a few of mine:
    1. More Christmas cards next years.  I underestimated our numbers, and had to reorder cards and buy more stamps before I could mail my business New Years cards.
    2. I noted our menu for the various meals we hosted, and party ideas that worked or not.
    3. I listed gift giving challenges and successes.
    4. I added “Christmas photos” to my October list, to print them sooner.  I love the collage photo cards now available.  I can use great parts of a number of photos instead of relying / waiting for one perfect (yeah, right) family photo.
    5. I have a spreadsheet, too, for my holiday planning, but I make these Christmas notes in a notebook, and they are personal and reflective, more like a journal to keep from year to year.

So, while your memories are still fresh, take a few minutes now to reflect on and savor your holiday season.  And take a few more to make next year’s holiday season even better!

Holiday Planning Checklist: Week-by-Week

This from my 8 year-old last week…

“Mom, did you ever have the feeling that the clock is moving way too fast? I swear, it was 8:15 and 10 seconds later it was 8:23.”

Yes, sweetie, I’ve had that feeling.  All the time, actually!

I presented a Holiday Planning Class last week.  Giving that class always motivates me, too!  The most well received hand-out was the Holiday Planning Weekly Challenge.   I shared it with a client, too, and she couldn’t believe that preparing for the holidays could be that easy. I won’t say “easy”, but “simpler, less stressful and better prepared” sound pretty great.  Here are some suggestions to make your season better, tweak these suggestions to fit your life.

Week of November 19

  • Appreciate your friends and family members, and all the good things in your life.
  • Finalize Thanksgiving Menu
  • At Thanksgiving, tell or email family about upcoming Christmas concerts, children’s programs and parties
  • Pantry-shop to get rid of clutter, and stock up on cooking / baking  supplies
  • Hang outside lights, don’t turn them on
  • Plan Holiday Party:  dates, guests lists and menus, and choose invitation and RSVP deadlines
  • Buy multiples of your standard hostess gift, like nice wine or candles.  Make sure it’s something you use, in case you have extra left over
  • Encourage kids and adults to purge and donate
  • Heavy clean and de-clutter, or make some calls for assistance!

Week of November 26:

  • Stock up on gift certificates for teens, stocking stuffers, teachers etc.
  • Buy Stamps, while you can still get Holiday stamps!
  • Stock up on cooking and baking supplies
  • Complete your Christmas Card list, and confirm addresses (keep a copy for next year!)

Week of December 3:

  • Stock up on gift certificates, stamps, and cooking or baking supplies
  • Have Christmas photo taken, or start letter
  • Plug in or turn on Christmas lights
  • Complete out-of-town shopping / wrapping
  • Start Christmas shopping for local recipients
  • Find and clean holiday dishes and tins

Week of December 10:

  • Take out the “First Out” Box.  Our “First-Out” box is also our “Last In” box.  It contains the items that are used for the entire Advent and Christmas seasons for us, like our crèche, some children’s books, our Advent Wreath and candles, etc.
  • Continue to stock up on gift certificates, stamps and cooking and baking supplies (spread the costs out over several weeks)
  • Finish teacher gifts, like gift certificates and cards
  • Check decorations; donate any that will not be going up this year!
  • Start Cards
  • Ship all out-of-town packages
  • Complete Christmas Shopping
  • Holiday donations, service projects

Week of December 17:

  • Finalize Christmas Menu, who is bringing what
  • Decorate the house, and buy / set up the tree
  • Finish shopping and gift wrapping.  Load into labeled bags or boxes, one for each of your destinations
  • Start baking cookies
  • Mail out your Christmas Cards
  • Take a breath, and take a break.  The house is decorated, your gifts are bought and wrapped, cards are mailed, travel plans are completed, and donations are made.  Sit calmly in your living room, reveling in the beauty of your stress free holiday prep and beautiful decorations.  Go to a party or 2!

December 24, Christmas Eve:

  • Last minute baking / cooking for Christmas Eve
  • Family Christmas Eve traditions
  • Make ahead dishes for Christmas Dinner, if possible
  • Lay out outfits for Christmas morning Mass

Christmas:  Tuesday, December 25:  Enjoy!!!

Week after Christmas:

  • Invest in some sale priced Rubbermaid or Sterilite storage containers
  • Put your decorations away by category and label the container
  • Remember to put your “Last In” away last, so you can grab it first next December!

Take steps now to make your holidays more peaceful and enjoyable!

Your Car Is Cold! 5 Ways to Clear Garage Clutter!

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What is the purpose of your garage?  

Car storage, first and foremost.  For many, though, the car sits outside all winter while clutter lives safe and warm inside.  Make space by getting of some garage clutter!

What makes garage organizing a challenge? 

Garages become a catch-all, a dumping ground for our clutter.  Everyone uses the garage, so it becomes the holding place for all undecided items.  In addition, most of the stuff in the garage is just big, both the space and the items stored in it.  And when the clutter piles up, the task becomes so overwhelming, we just can’t tackle it.  The garage is the last area we care about, though it may be the first one we see when we come home.

I would suggest that garages are unique and deserve our respect.  They are truly multi-functional space, with stuff for all members of the household.  And whether we respect the garage or not, winter is coming and no one wants to scrape frost or snow off their car every day!  Here are 5 suggestions to help you Clean Out your garage!

Cardboard – toss it, seriously.

We keep boxes for just in case: in case we need it, in case we have to return an item, in case we up and decide to move.  Most of these just-in-cases never come to pass.  Collapse and recycle your cardboard with your weekly pick-up, or drop off at a local collection location. If you must keep your boxes, nest the small ones and break down the big ones to store flat.  You reclaim lots of space, and a roll of packing tape will restore them later.

Purge appliances and E-Waste like computers, televisions, cords, etc. 

If the item works, try Facebook groups, like buy / sell / trade groups or local groups.  Whether the items works or not, you can also find a place to recycle it:

  • SCARCE.org/Recycling-Events for events in the Chicago Suburbs
  • www.EWorksESI.org, for electronic waste locations and events in Dupage County
  • Solid Waste Agency of North Cook County, https://www.swancc.org/
  •  Check your local community for permanent E-Waste drop-off locations
  • Seasonal E-Waste Collections
  • Assistive Technologies: 7550 W. 183rd Street, Tinley 708-444-2836
  • Call the EPA at 217-524-6713, or visit their website  to find E-Waste collection locations near you!  (Thank you, ME!)
  • Com Ed will collect your old but working refrigerator and pay you $50. Click here for more info

Purge Paint / Hazardous Chemicals:

For more information about hazardous waste disposal sites in your area, click here:  https://www2.illinois.gov/epa/topics/waste-management/waste-disposal/household-hazardous-waste/Pages/default.aspx, or google it for your area.  You can also take the quick way, and purchase paint thickener packets from Home Depot (I’m told cat litter works as well) and add it to partial can of unwanted paint.  Once the paint thickens and hardens, it can be disposed of with regular household waste.

Purge Other People’s Stuff:

If you need help organizing your garage, enlist aid.  Call friends and family, especially the people who have been storing things at your house.  Ask for their assistance with clearing out the garage, and using firm but loving language, ask them for help and tell them the time has come for their stuff to go.

Maximize Vertical Storage:

Imagine all the stuff on the floor of your garage stored vertically on the wall.  Great, right?  There are snazzy garage storage systems like Gorilla Racks or Metro Shelving, but you can reap benefits for a lot less money, too.  For less than $100 at Home Depot, you can purchase some free standing shelves for bulky items, and nails or hooks to install on the studs for hanging storage for items.  I spent 10 minutes in a client’s garage recently, pounding nails into studs for vertical storage.  You can also store stuff in the garage rafters, or suspended from the roof beams.  We hang our bikes from rafter hooks over the winter, above my husband’s car, and clear space in the garage for easier movement.

Finally, once you have cleared your garage clutter, determine zones (storing like items together) and homes (permanent spots) for things, or you will end up right back where you started.  In garages, zones are based on categories like: Seasonal (holiday), Yard / Outdoor, Garden, Hardware, etc.

Spend an hour or two in your garage this week, and you will thank yourself all winter long!

BOO! Starting Your Projects Doesn’t Have To Be Scary!

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Does this sound familiar? “I am so disorganized, I don’t even know where to begin” Or “I walk into my [office, closet, kitchen, basement], and it is so overwhelming, I turn around and leave.” Or even “I am sure my house is the most disorganized house ever.”

Starting your organizing projects doesn’t have to be scary. Even if you don’t know where to begin, I do. Or we can figure it out together. Here are 3 ways to make getting started less scary!

Before you begin your project, take a few moments to envision the end product.

If you want to organize your child’s room (something we have to tackle soon, to make room for new toys!), envision what “clean” and “organized” look like. Clothes away, books on shelves, toys in storage containers, right? If you consider that end picture, you realize you require clothes storage, a book shelf and some storage containers, and the habits to make it all happen. Like magic, there is your plan!

Is your end product an efficient home office environment? Perhaps the vision for your office is more about process instead of actual space. Perhaps you envision yourself working at your desk, managing multiple projects, being creative, competently taking care of business. That Vision helps you decide what you want to do with your office space, too. Dream big! Then sketch it or write it down, to help you stay motivated.

With the vision of your End Product in mind, you are better equipped to tackle the project.

Choose a Donation Destination for your extra items.

Purging clutter is much easier when we know that someone else can need or use the items. Is your clutter paper? Imagine bags or boxes set up with these labels: “Recycle, trash, “shred event” or shredder, magazines for the dentist office or nursing home.”

Closet project? Perhaps your destinations are “Cleaners / Repair, off-season storage, donate, give to friend/sister/neighbor”. Choose a destination for your items; resale shop, charitable donation, garage sale, etc. Once we know where things are going, it is easier to let them go!

For charitable giving, it helps to put a personal face on our items. Knowing a homeless man will be warmer this winter helps us let go of those old overcoats in the closet. Old glasses gathering dust in our homes can go to the Lion’s Club for redistribution. My clients often have drawers of old cell phones, ink cartridges and broken cameras that they gladly send with me to be recycled at our local elementary.

We had just received a huge influx of hand-me-downs from very generous friends when Hurricane Katrina hit. Friends in Gulfport, MS told us of a family, with two boys about my sons’ age, who lost absolutely everything. My then 7-year old ask me why I was packing things up to send away, and when I explained, he thought for a moment and then pulled out toys to send to those boys who had nothing. Extra soccer balls, games, books, etc. How easy it is, even for a child, to let go of extra things to others in need.

Pick a Starting Spot and Stick With it.                                                                         

Have you ever spent an hour or two working on an organizing project, but when you step back and look around, you don’t see any visible improvements? Or you cast about a room, here and there, crossing and re-crossing your own path, spending lots of energy for little gain.

Often, my clients start our session with “I’m so overwhelmed, I don’t know where to start.” So, typically, I will walk in the door of the space we are working on, turn to the immediate left of the door, and declare that very spot as our starting point. We progress steadily around the room from there. Left to right, right to left, top to bottom – this is not the secret, though I prefer Left to Right around the room. Just sticking with the starting point and working around the space makes your next starting point obvious, too, so you can continue next time.

So, don’t be scared, starting an organizing project can be easy if you just keep these tips in mind!

Reclaim Your Entry Way, aka Where the Shoes Are

Second installment of Ask The Organizer, from my friend Victoria, via Facebook:

“How about the “cool weather drop and go”?  Where everyone who walks in the door takes of their layers and drops them on the floor or as they walk, in little piles all over the place radiating from the doorway?  Hats, shoes, coats, bags, whatever is in their hands…etc.”  I love that image!

The regular chaos at our back door drives my husband and me crazy, too.  It is a nice space, but with everyone coming and going and dumping and loading, it clutters quickly.  If your entry way clutters quickly too, here are three key components to consider when improving the “Cool Weather Drop and Go”?

#1:  Maximize Your Vertical Storage.

Climb the walls, hang on the doors, install shelves, and use under-furniture storage.   Look around your entry way.  If there is empty wall space or door surfaces, use them!   Make the most of this high-traffic area.

Did you know? A door is not just a door. It is a willing holder for an over-the-door coat rack or shoe holder. A door right next to our back door holds both. The OTD coat rack, with the highest hooks in the room, holds the adults’ coats and bags. On the other side of the door is a plastic OTD shoe holder that holds shoes plus cleats, shin guards, volleyball knee pads and baseball caps.

There are two other coat racks mounted on walls near the back door, at varying heights for my sons’ bags and coats.  And we even use low storage:  There’s a  canvas storage bags under my couch for rarely used cold weather items like scarves and boots.  Shelves, hooks, baskets, maybe even a snazzy and sturdy shoe tree like this one we just bought (Container Store, $30 well spent).  You name it – utilize your vertical space.  Climb the walls, hang on the doors, and go low.  Get Creative!

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#2:  Horizontal Staging Space

Every entry way needs flat space nearby, for lining up backpacks and other items to leave, and for unpacking bags as people come home.  The last thing I do when I leave is make sure the flat space is empty.  If it’s not, someone probably forgot to take something with them.  The flat space should be empty 90% of the time, waiting for folks to come or go.  Don’t clutter it with stagnant stuff; keep things moving in and out.

#3 Habits:  Habits and Routines maintain systems.

The Habit of Entry:  We have both a front and back door to our home, but I encourage my boys to get in the habit of always using the back door.  The garage is in the back, all the storage solutions like the coat racks and shoe holders are at the back door, and for safety sake I don’t want strangers driving by to see my sons using a key to get in the front door of an empty house.

The Habit of Stop and Drop:  A client suggests a stop sign right inside the door, for the kids to pause and take care of their stuff before going any further into the home.

The Habit of Daily Maintenance:  When I call the boys to set the table for dinner, I also require them to clean up and hang up their stuff. Homework goes back into backpacks upon completion. Sports uniforms and band instruments get lined up the night before. Total number of coats or shoes at the door per person is 2 coats or 2 pair.  Any more than 2 get put away in closets.

The Habit of Regular or Seasonal Purging.  Last week, I went through hats and mittens with a client, purging all the itchy or unmatched hats and gloves.  Always purge clutter at the end of a season, and put the rest away.  Soccer season ended last week, so we put away the cleats and shin guards until next time.  And the little guy’s cleats will not live to see another year, so they are in the donate bag already.  With colder weather on its way, I also went through summer hats, purged a few and put most away, and stocked the accessory basket with hats and gloves.

So, this week, how can you use Vertical Space, Horizontal Staging Space and better Habits to make your entry way more organized and efficient?  Well, Let’s Go!

Reclaim the Top of Your Refrigerator

I was having a writer’s block last week and asked my Facebook Fans and Friends to suggest blog topics.  They really came through for me, so thanks to all for the inspiration!

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One of the first to responses was “What to do with all that [stuff] that has accumulated on the top of my refrigerator” (see above, front and side views).  I love this question because we have all probably been there, wondering the same question.  And I also love it because spending half an hour on this one little project is going to make you feel great about your kitchen.

So, here’s what you do, if your fridge looks like this one….  Tackle the project using Julie Morgenstern’s SPACE.  Sort, Purge, Assign a Home, Containerize and Equalize.

  1. Grab a step-stool, a clean counter, and perhaps a young helper and Clear It All Off and wash it down
  2. SORT Your stuff.  In these photos, I would say Cook books, Lunch boxes, Mail and Papers, playing cards, school supplies, vitamins?  Group your items into different categories that make sense to you.
  3. PURGE your stuff.
    • You choose what stays and goes.  Some things DO belong up there, and some things DO NOT.
    • Trash old, outdated or mysterious food products, broken items (like the green bowl), and old mail.
    • What goes somewhere else in the kitchen or home?  What’s in that Target bag?
    • What can stay? Things that only the parents / tall people use; seldom used items; big single items that don’t look too cluttered.
  4. Steps 3 and 4 ASSIGN A HOME AND CONTAINERIZE are the really important steps in this project.
  5. ASSIGN A HOME  There are challenges with tall spaces like the Fridge top.  Small things get lost. It is great storage space, but lacks structure and physical boundaries.  One rough open or close of the door can send stuff flying.  I look at that bundle of mail, and imagine the whole thing hitting the floor and flying everywhere.  Gravity.  Ever have a box of cereal dump on your head?  If we store big clunky items up there, we risk pulling things down on our heads.
  6. Containerize:
  • We need to get creative when it comes to containerizing on the Fridge top.
  • Use the space well but strive for a streamlined visual presentation.
  • Our fridge is tucked under our cabinets.  I need easily moved storage solutions if I want to access those hard to reach cabinets.
  • I suggest Book Ends, Baskets and Boxes, well labeled, for fridge-top storage.
  • Use bookends for cookbooks, or for boxes of cereal or crackers.
  • Baskets offer a nice visual while covering up their contents.  These two baskets are on top of my fridge.  The left one holds our lunch bags, and the right one holds recycling items like batteries, medications, etc., until drop-off day.
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  • Boxes, like lidded photo boxes, can corral small or seldom used items like recipes, holiday cookie cutters, etc.  They can be purchased inexpensively at a craft store and can match your kitchen colors, or just choose white to make them blend in to the landscape.
  • The Fridge top is great for items that are not too big and bulky like large serving dishes or serving baskets.  I have large serving trays at the back of my fridge-top, covered with a cloth.

7.  The last step of the organizing process is to Equalize, or maintain.  Tidy up the top of your fridge when clean your kitchen, or make a date to do it once or twice a year.

So, the next time you have 30 or 60 minutes, you can complete a project just like this and improve a room and your life.  Who knew?  Friend-who-sent-me-the-pictures, I would love to see an after-picture!

P.S. A few words about:  Cookbooks.  Do you need and use the cookbooks you have?  I have some cookbooks in a cabinet, but my go-to resource that I use multiple times a week is a large white 3 inch binder.  I’ve assembled the binder over time, adding favorite recipes to different categories like “baking” or “meal ideas”, etc. I still have a few cookbooks for inspiration, but the binder is the best. I have pockets for recipes I collect that I want to try, and plastic page inserts to slide the magazine pages or papers into (plastics means I can wipe them off if I spill). When I need to read the recipe, I stand the binder up in a large plate holder.

Prep Your Car, Closets and Home for Cold Weather

It was 80 degrees on Thursday, with a high of 51 on Friday.  Must be October in the Midwest!  There are lots of things you can do to make the transition to cooler weather go smoothly.  Try one of these ideas this week:

In your Car:

Pack your Winter Car Safety Bag:  I always carry the basics, like jumper cables, first aid kit and bottled water.  But as I pumped gas this morning in the thin and chilly 37 degree air, I wrote a note-to-self to re-pack extra gloves and earmuffs, additional blankets and sweatshirts, and a replacement box of granola bars.

In Your Closets:

  1. Swap out warm-weather clothes for cold-weather clothes in your closets and dressers.  Review the warm-weather clothes, and purge old, tattered, stained or otherwise undesirable items now before putting them away.
  2. Do the same for your warm-weather shoes.  Purge old or uncomfortable ones now.  Take all shoes that need repairs to a reputable shoe repair shop, and put the rest away for the season.  You’ll be amazed at how spacious your closet is without the summer clothes and shoes!
  3. Take warm-weather clothes that require dry cleaning to your cleaners now, so you can store them clean this winter.
  4. Find your winter coats and blankets, and take in any that require cleaning now instead of on that first really cold day!
  5. Make a note to pick up all the repairs and clothes at the cleaner in a week!

In your Home:

We tend to have a party in October, which offers great motivation to super-clean my house.

  1. Un-furnish / Clear out:  In addition to regular cleaning, I un-furnished a few spaces, stored window fans, cleaned the ceiling fans, purged old electronics to the E-Waste recycling in my area, and generally cleared the decks.  It felt great, and the house feels lighter.
  2. Make service appointments this week:  Have your furnace checked, the gutters cleaned, the landscape winterized, etc.  Make the appointment, or do it yourself, but do it SOON!  A few weeks ago, we had the HVAC guy out to clean the furnace, and I had the carpet cleaners out the same day, so we’re looking good!
  3. Set up a Reading Area:
    1. This is a personal goal I want to share.  I have a backlog of professional and non-fiction reading on my reading shelf.  I get through fun fiction because I read that as I go to sleep, but I’m not getting very far on the professional reading I need to actually retain.
    2. We are a houseful of readers, and I am so glad.  The most important determining factor for raising a child who is a reader is If There Are Books in your home.  We have LOTS, and we have always encouraged reading while modeling the behavior ourselves.
    3. I want to step up my reading, get through my pile and learn new things.  I need dedicated space for reading, like a corner of my loved but underutilized living room.  I am adding a new lamp, another snuggly blanket, an attractive basket to hold my books and a coaster, of course, for my coffee or tea.  Also in the basket will go a pad of paper and pen, since I get lots of really great new ideas when I read new things!  I also need space in my schedule to make it happen, so I’m adding some blocks of time.

At each of my two presentations last week, I asked the participants “What is your Next Step?  What one thing that I mentioned today resonates with you?  What will you try?”  Weather proof your car?  Finish transitioning to Fall in the closet?  Head to the Dry Cleaners?  Make some service appointments?  Dedicate some reading space?

Well, what are you waiting for?  Let’s Go!

Organize Your Car and Commute

At a class last week, a participant asked:  What can you suggest for organizing my car?

A little background on the participant – she is a busy teacher and mom.  She reports to being in her car up to 3 hours a day, with getting her kids to school and daycare, helping out her own mother and commuting to and from work.  Plus, she and her husband are a one-car family, so she and her car really do get a workout!!

And I appreciate her honesty.  The first thing she did when she parked next to my car in the lot was to look in my windows, to see if I was truly organized.  Everyone does, I like that she admitted it!

So, what can I suggest?  Here goes….

Start with a clean car.  Here is a blog I wrote on Organizing Your Car, outlining the basics of cleaning and clearing out your car: http://colleencpo.wordpress.com/2012/06/05/1040/ .  Check out this blog first, and schedule an hour this week to get this done.

I think this participant was really asking for higher level organizing ideas, to make the process run more smoothly.   So, once the car is clean, how do we keep it clean and uncluttered, and streamline our commuting process?

Keep it uncluttered:

  1. Establish a place in your car for your vitally important pieces, like your cell phone and wallet or purse.  Every time I get in the car, my purse goes in the exact same place.
  2. Make sure to keep your purse or wallet off the empty passenger seat beside you, for safety’s sake and to discourage smash and grabs while stopped at stoplights.
  3. Commit to emptying your car every day.  Keep things moving in and out of the car.  Trash, clothes, paper, outerwear, sports  gear, whatever.   Your car is for transportation, not long term storage.
  4. If you have stuff to pick up or drop off to other locations today, make a list and keep the list visible.  Better yet, keep the items visible if you can, like in the foot well of the passenger seat.

Streamline the Commuting process:

  1. Keeping the car and commute simplified starts inside the house, at your back (or side) door.
  2. Near your door, set up a Staging Area, a flat space for your items staged to leave.  Line up      briefcases, and handbag, errand bag, school backpacks, activity bags, etc.
  3. Keep activity gear in specific bags, like band instrument and music in it’s own bag, or the softball gear for practice, to encourage your family members to get their stuff and in out of the car.  If your child is old enough to be in an organized activity, they are old enough to carry their own bag and be encouraged to help out.  (I say this, and yes, my sons still forget stuff.  We are human and we are working on it!)
  4. I always have an “errand bag” hanging by the door for receipts and return items, mail for the post office, library books or other items to drop off with friends around the neighborhood.  I add to the bag inside the house as things come up, and then take it with me when I run my errands.
  5. Check your schedule the night before and in the morning, make sure you have what you need, and make sure the Staging Area is clean (meaning everything is loaded) when you leave the house in the morning.
  6. Don’t load items you need right away into the trunk or back of the car, for fear of forgetting them back there!
  7. If you run errands for others, try different colored shopping bags for each destination.
  8. When you or your passengers leave the car, listen to the flight attendants in your head.  “Secure your tables?  No.  “Restore your seats to the upright and locked position?”  Well, no, not really.  I meant “check under your seats and around you for your personal items, and make sure to take everything with you when you go.”  Create a verbal check list / chant for everyone:  “coat, backpack, lunch, coat, backpack, lunch…”  or whatever works for you.
  9. When you pick up, repeat the chant so bags and outerwear come home from work or school, and repeat the chant again when you get back home, to bring everything back inside the house!

So, I guess the moral of today’s blog is to clear out your car, and then focus on the commute process to make things run more smoothly!  See you on the streets!