Tag: DIY

Quick Fixes for a Better Closet

I received photos of a stranger’s closet via text last week.  (It sounded funny to me as I typed it, but it is not an uncommon occurrence, and the stranger isn’t strange at all!)

A participant from a recent presentation asked questions  about her oddly shaped and slightly frustrating closet.   I love these questions!  And regardless of the size or status of your closet, there are steps I suggest to EVERYONE, including this class participant, to give you more breathing room and make your closet work better for you!

Try one of these suggestions this week, or all of them!

      • Pull all unused hangers off your closet rods.  Toss or recycle the old or decrepit ones, and set aside the ones you may use as you hang clothes up today.   When you’re done clearing space today, put all the extras in the laundry room.

      • Collect and recycle the empty shoe and shipping boxes, then toss out the shopping bags, dry cleaner bags, tags, pocket lint, tissues, etc. from the floor.
      • Collect all those Errands-To-Be-Run items – for return, repair, donate or share?  Yep – send them all on their way.  Pack them into the car, and add the errands to this week’s to-do list.
      • If space is tight, consider moving move all non-clothing items elsewhere.  (For example, more-than-one-piece-of-luggage, keepsakes, excessive bedding, gifts to be given, bags of clothing donations, fans, furniture?)  Send these under the bed or into storage elsewhere in your home.
      • Swap your clothes for the season.  Yes, I know it may seem like a hassle, and I also know some items can be worn all 12 months but some… can’t or shouldn’t be worn all 12 months.  Store these in storage bins or totes under the bed or on the top shelf of the closet.  Your clothes will last longer safely folded away instead of hanging and collecting dust, and you will reap major space benefits by clearing away items you won’t wear for a while.
      • Swap out your shoes for the season, too.
      • Move that safe on the floor. (Yes, everyone keeps their safe on the floor of their closet and thieves know it.) Hide it somewhere clever while freeing up some closet space.
      • Now that you have more breathing room, use your vertical space better: install over the door shoe racks on the back of the doors, or jewelry storage on a blank wall.

Try one, try all!  And enjoy some breathing room in your closet this week!

When Your College Student Moves Home For The Summer

May is a busy month most years.  But this year, we added an extra layer to the already busy month, when my college student son who lives on campus (the other lives at home) moved home for the summer.  With all of his stuff.

I’ve published over 430 blog articles on my web page.  That’s a lot of articles.  But moving a young adult back home was uncharted territory.   Whoooo, boy.

My sons are either the luckiest people ever or completely tortured for having a mother who is also a certified professional organizer.   I prefer to go with “lucky”, they may have a different opinion.  But here is how we handled Moving Home For Summer!

The Move Home begins long before the big day.

  • The Moving-Home process really starts when your student leaves for the school year.  DO NOT take over your student’s bedroom or storage space when they go away to school. And
  • Keep an inventory of what moved to college with your student.
  • Clear as much out of the bedroom as possible before your student moves home.  I have spent a couple of hours in my son’s room while he’s been away, clearing out clutter, containerizing keepsakes, etc.  I know, ideally your children will do this themselves.  Ideally…
  • Plan for the Big Stuff:  In April, I cleared out one side of his closet to make room for the large storage boxes we sent off to school with him.  Expect to use under-bed storage, too.
  • In March, my son brought home a large suitcase full of stuff he knew he wouldn’t need anymore, to start the process.

Day of:

  • I did not help with the actual pick up / load up  / drive home day.  Son and husband tackled that day, bless them both.  Obviously, my son’s stuff did not come home from college nearly as tidily as it moved TO college, but they loaded up and got home in good time, so props to them.  The two packing tips I would share are 1.  zip-ties to bundle hung clothing together, and 2. reusable shopping bags for the last 10 minutes to toss the last of the random stuff into.
  • Unpack the car when you get home.  All of it.  Yes, all of it.
  • Accept that the mess will grow before it shrinks.

The Week After the Move Home:

  • I have to chuckle, my son just keeps saying he didn’t realize he had so much stuff, and so much he doesn’t need.  These have been teaching moments, to help review his belongings and determine what he does and doesn’t need.  There were a few days when stuff wasn’t getting put away, until he and I realized there was older stuff in his drawers that he had to make decisions about and probably get rid of, to make room for the stuff he does want to keep.
  • Unpack everything.  If food moved home, plan to use up what is perishable.  If items are shelf stable – dried goods, unopened hand soap or shampoo, etc. – consider repacking them for the move back to school to save $$ on restocking.
  • Wash everything (or mostly everything). Dishes, bedding, yep, just wash it all.  He cleaned the toaster and the coffee maker.  Review everything, and make sure it’s all clean.  You REALLY don’t want to find a dirty dish or old towel in three months.  Ew….
  • And, once the stuff is clean, re-pack it.  Kitchen items with kitchen items, books with books, room decor / cords / lamps, etc. all together. Most of the storage cubes in his closet are already re-packed and ready to go back so school in August.

Please, learn from our experiences!  And enjoy your summer with your family!

Managing Transitions: Change of Seasons – 85 Tuesday, 40 Thursday

It’s October in the Midwest, my favorite time of year.  One of the traits that makes it my favorite is its capricious nature.  Take, for example, the second week of October, when I started this blog article.

  • Tuesday, October 9 – sunny and 85 degrees…
  • Thursday, October 11 – the low temperature was around 40 degrees  overnight.
  • Less than 48 hours, 45 degree differential.   Wow.

The onset of cold weather can trigger a number of events.  For example:

  • That week, the cold weather triggered my van’s low tire pressure sensors, since cold air contracts.  A quick and free stop at the Toyota dealer on my way out of town on a road trip took care of that in no time!  Or…
  • Friday evening that week, when it was 58 degrees inside my house and only getting colder overnight, it was time to turn on the heat.

From an organizational point of view, there are a number of tasks that come with colder weather!  Tackle a couple of these this week, and get a handle on your Autumn!

Transition your closet for colder weather.

  • Review your summer items.  Donate or toss anything that is too tattered to wear again, or that no longer fits or appeals to you.
  • Take special items to the cleaners, making sure to pick them up again in a week!
  • Pack up, or move to the back of the closet, any clothes that you know you want to keep but that you won’t wear again until Spring.  And then finish bringing forward or unpacking your colder weather clothes!
  • Practice the same review and rotate process with your shoes, too!

Check out that basket or pile of things by the door.

  • In  my house, there’s a basket near the back door, and this week we swapped baseball caps and rain ponchos and to stocking caps, ear muffs and gloves. It’s time to put away the beach towels and summer sports gear, as well.
  • Review the pile of shoes.  As much as I love wearing sandals (And I do. love. wearing. sandals, like these in the picture – my new faves!), it’s time to put the summer shoes away for the season.  Toss or donate shoes that are too small, too beat up, or without a mate.  Wash what you can, take in any items for repairs, and put away the summer stuff.  I store my off- season clothes and shoes together, on the top shelf of my closet.  Not so far that I can’t get them out again if I really need them, but certainly not in the way.

Transition Your Home, and Get Cozy:

  • Get your furnace cleaned and checked out;
  • Switch your fans to spin clockwise for winter;
  • Empty your garden hoses and turn off the water to your outdoor spigots;
  • Put the “cold weather bag”, as one client calls it, back in the car filled with an extra blanket or 2, Clif or granola bars, window scrapers, jumper cables, etc.;
  • The first weekend in November, change your clocks, change your smoke detector batteries, and test your CO2 monitors, as well; and
  • Get cozy.  Last week, I bought new pillows for our family room couch and added comfy throws to a couple of arm chairs, plus I checked my inventory my tea and cold weather beverages!

Look around and see what you can do to manage your seasonal changes this week!

Big Summer Organizing Projects – You Need a Plan!

I presented my Large Organizing Projects presentation the last two evenings at local libraries.  This is a popular class this time of year because those big organizing projects we tackle in the summer, like garages or basements, can be intimidating!

It is understandable to feel overwhelmed, but don’t let that feeling stop you from positive action!

You need a plan.  

  • Set a date, create a deadline!
  • Don’t get overwhelmed!
  • Enlist aid.
  • Plan your attack.
  • Assemble your supplies.
  • Don’t be a butterfly.  (Get to it, and if you get distracted, get back to it!)

Give your self a deadline, and stick with it.
“Everyone needs deadlines… If we didn’t have deadlines, we’d stagnate” – Walt Disney

Without a deadline, we may never feel the urgency, the drive, to accomplish a project.  Real or imagined, deadlines get us moving!  Create your own if you don’t have one!  Finish the project by: July 1.  July 31.  The time the kids go back to school, the time your company comes in (insert month name here).  Make an appointment, if that would help!  Order the dumpster to be delivered, or the donation truck to pick up!  Schedule a friend or family member to come and help you on a certain Saturday morning for a designated couple of hours.  Having that scheduled time in mind will help you get things done!

If your big project is intimidating, imagine it as a series of little tiny projects!  For example… “cleaning the garage” may feel like a major undertaking, but imagine setting a timer and tackling one small pile of stuff or one small area every day, instead of jumping in all at once.  Conquering a shelf or drawer at a time, and then allowing a break or a change of task, can helps us make progress in small steps towards a big finish line!

Enlist Aid.  Some folks like to organize alone, but many of us benefit from having company!  Your assistant doesn’t have to be a professional organizer, they might be a friend who’s opinion you value, a family member or two that are willing to do some heavy lifting, or even a paid service like movers or junk haulers.

Plan your attack.  If you have helpers, plan the work around skill and activity levels.  And DO NOT START with opening up every cabinet or dumping every box.  Pick your starting spot, and move steadily from there.  No zig zagging, no making a bigger mess!


Once you have your plan of attack, consider your supply list.  Plan on having garbage bags to bag garbage or items to be donated, boxes for oddly shaped items that need to go, storage containers for the items you plan to keep.  I always have sharpie markers, post-it notes, packing tape and scissors with me, too.  Have cleaning supplies on hand – for example, if you’re working in the garage, plan to sweep up in the spaces you clear before putting stuff back!

Don’t be a butterfly! 
In my organizing classes, I remind people that butterflies are not very good organizers.  They fly lightly from here to there and may be lovely to watch, but we won’t get very far in our organizing projects if we fly from here to there without getting anything done.  So, when your work day arrives, Get To It!  And if, during the process, you get distracted, Get Back to It!

Organize Your Closet Week: the “Three Month” Question and Your Habits

Show of hands, who has a huge closet with unlimited space?  AND can always find what they’re looking for and look fabulous?

Well, if your hand is still up, this article may not be for you.  For the rest of us, though… we with small closets and no build-out option, or who aren’t effortlessly stylish… this article is for you.  (A caveat – I am not the person to give fashion advice.)

Today is the first day of Spring, and this is National Organize Your Closets Week.  Let’s spend time in our closets so they will serve us well!

First, grab 2 garbage bags – one for wire hangers to go back to the cleaners, and one for actual rubbish – and fill them up! Next, bundle up the dirty laundry and get it out of your way.

If your space is limited and the closet is looking crowded, make some decisions.  For example, yesterday I started swapping out cold weather clothes for some lighter fabrics and lighter colors.  Let’s face it –  we are probably ready to move into Spring, even if the weather isn’t ready!

“Three Months” is 1 Season.  I kept repeating “Three Months.”   Think about it – a season lasts three (ish) months.  Here in Chicago, the weather can change 30 degrees in a few hours, but Spring is Spring.  I have dark, heavy clothes that I won’t wear again until Fall, regardless of how cold the weather gets.  If I need to make room in my closet, I can hang just the items I’ll wear in the next three months, storing colder weather clothes and really hot weather clothes on a high shelf or under the bed.

“Three Months” is 1 size.  “Three Months” also works for sizes. I have clients with multiple sizes of clothes cluttering their closets.  Again, ask the “three month” question.  Do the math – a healthy weight loss strategy suggests losing a pound a week.  In three months, that would be an amazing 12 pounds!  12 Pounds may move you up or down one size from your current size, but only one. If you want to keep your much-smaller clothes, go for it, but don’t store them in your closet if you don’t have room.  And purge the too-big stuff, so you’re not tempted to backslide!

“Three Months” also works if stuff just isn’t working.  I re-tried a few items that I didn’t wear at all this winter, and nope – I just don’t like them anymore.  Gone, gone, gone.

Ok!  With these decisions made, I bet your closet is feeling more spacious! Let’s set it up to work for us!

Think about your habits:

Start with what you use every day.  My day- to-day clothes, sturdy pieces for working with clients and running around, are straightforward and conveniently stored (first thing I see when I open my closet).  Think Levi’s and Land End. I know, not exciting.  I told you not to take fashion advice from me.  But they work.

What isn’t working?  Where I stumble is getting ready for presentations and professional music events (did you know?  I’m also a liturgical musician).  Short of Garanimals for adults, I need to organize my closet to make the matching of neutral, professional skirts with a layer, a jacket or sweater and probably a scarf.

Solve the Problem. To help me put together outfits, I grouped my items by category (skirts and pants, jackets, sweaters, shells, etc.) then by color.  I hung up my favorite drapey sweaters instead of folding them up so I can find them quicker.   And I brought the Fabulous to the front to make them easier to see. Meaning:  Fellas?  Ties.  Ladies? Scarves.

Finally, I’ve been pondering how to remember a great outfit when I manage to put one together, for reference when I am looking for inspiration.  Smartphone? Print them? IPad? Still thinking about that one.

Spend some quality time in your closet this week, make some space and then make the closet work for you!

To:

Receive more ideas and suggestions like these;
Book time with me in person or virtually;
Arrange a presentation for your upcoming event; or
Discover the benefits of Organizational Coaching;

Please contact me.

Call / text 708.790.1940
Online at  http://peaceofmindpo.com
www.Facebook.com/MColleenKlimczakCPO
Via Twitter, @ColleenCPO

9 Things Every Closet Needs! Tips for National Clean Out Your Closet Month

Did you know?  January is National Clean Out Your Closet Month!

Today, I want to suggest how to celebrate Clean Out Your Closet Month with some ad-ins that will keep your closet organized every day of the year! Check them out!

EVERY CLOSET NEEDS…

  1. A basket / bag for dirty laundry. This keeps random bits from piling up, and makes that dirty  laundry more like to get washed!
  2. A basket / bag for regular trips to the dry-cleaners or tailor (optional).  Ours dry-cleaner bag lives in our laundry room, and we have a weekly errand for taking in and picking up.
  3. A basket/ bag and a path for items to leave.  Our home has a system for getting rid of no-longer-needed items.  These items go into the dirty laundry basket with everything else and get laundered, then tucked in the “Donate” or “Off-To-Our-Cousin” baskets that live in our laundry room.
  4. A wastebasket.  Rubbish needs a path and a receptacle to leave a space.  Show me a closet littered with plastic dry cleaning bags, clothing tags, dirty tissues and general trash, and I’ll show you it lacks a wastebasket.
  5. Good hangers. I’m not suggesting you spend a fortune on your hangers, but invest in plastic or felted hangers to take good care of your clothes and give your closet a tidier appearance.
  6. A few extra hangers, but only a few.  One of the first and easiest steps to making more room in a closet is to clear out all the empty hangers.  Trust me, some have dozens taking up precious rod space!  Once all your clothes are hung and the closet is organized, keep all but 3 or 4 of your empty hangers in your laundry room instead of in your closet.
  7. An Ish-Hook or 2.  I have 3 hooks in my closet for clean-ISH clothes.  Clean-ISH, that you plan to wear again soon.  You know – the pajamas you only wore once? or the track pants and sweat shirt you put on when you get home from work?  Perhaps the jeans you wore for a little while but plan to wear again tomorrow.  It’s not worth it to wash them all, or to hang them all up again, so we need a way to keep them close at hand but not strewn about your space!
  8. A clear floor.  Imagine with me:  You’re standing in your closet, trying to get dressed in the morning. Or perhaps you have clean laundry to put away.  Now imagine trying to do these regular tasks while stepping on clothes or shoes, or dodging shopping bags or neglected empty suitcases.  Having those physical obstacles in the way will likely keep you from completing the simple maintenance tasks needed to make your closet work well for you.
  9. A plan! Every month or so, I get the itch to review my closet and drawers, straightening and purging as I go.  I encourage my sons to do the same, at least a couple of times a year.  This quick but regular maintenance keeps my clothes and closet organized and relatively clutter free all year long!

Spend some time taking care of your closet this week, and it will take care of you every day!

To:

Receive more ideas and suggestions like these;
Book time with me in person or virtually;
Arrange a presentation for your upcoming event; or
Discover the benefits of Organizational Coaching;

Please contact me.

Call / text 708.790.1940
Online at  http://peaceofmindpo.com
www.Facebook.com/MColleenKlimczakCPO
Via Twitter, @ColleenCPO

300 Words About Gift Wrapping, Then We All Have Things to Do

300 words about Gift Wrapping.  Keeping it brief, since we all have things to do.

During high school and college breaks, I worked at a a great local Hallmark chain, Don’s Card Hut in Kalamazoo, MI.  Much to my delight,  I could spend my whole shift this time of year just wrapping gifts for customers!

So I know a few things, let me share…

  1.  DO NOT WAIT UNTIL CHRISTMAS EVE!
  2. Set up a folding / banquet table today, and plan to leave it up for a few days (this may be the only time I will ever say this.).  Mine is in the basement.
  3. Collect your wrapping tools (tape, scissors, pens, etc.) and place them in a shallow container on the table.  Expect to misplace them as you wrap, but at least you will start strong!
  4. Gather the gifts you have bought for your loved ones.  This step provides an opportunity to check your gifts so far, and make plans for finishing your shopping (SOON!!).
  5. Match up the gifts with the necessary wrap. Inventory your supplies, factoring in additional wrap for the gifts you haven’t bought yet and for the wrapping needs of anyone living in your house (they WILL be wrapping on Christmas Eve.)
  6. Go shopping for your gift bags / wrapping paper / tissue paper / gift tags / ribbons, etc.
  7. Get wrapping!  Do not wait!
  8. If you have multiple destinations, set up and label boxes near your wrapping area for each destination, and add your wrapped items as you go (For example, “Christmas with my family in Michigan”, “Christmas Eve”, etc. ).
  9. Collect the receipts for purchased items. Keep yours in a labeled envelope for Just In Case.  Place the gift receipts for each household in their own envelope with the family name on them, and plan to hand the envelope off to that household when you exchange gifts.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Creating a Landing and Launch Pad Where There Isn’t One

Many of our homes were built around the idea of “everyone uses the front door”.  Larger entrance, coat closet, etc.  However, many of us do not come and go from that front door.   Last week, a friend asked if I could help with her new homes’ back door / drop zone / launch pad.  In her words,

  • there is no place for coats and bags;
  • the space is small and hard to manage;
  • adding in winter accessories like glove and hats makes the problem worse;
  • taking coats to the bedrooms makes no sense;
  • everything gets dumped at the door, and is now spreading into the kitchen; and finally,
  • “I’m gonna lose my crackers!”

Picture this:

  • The back door is where all five family members exit and enter.  
  • For scale, when the back door is open, it spans the entire width of the space.
  • The back door leads directly into the dining area in the kitchen.
  • The back door landing is a step down from the kitchen, and is the landing for the stairs going down into the nicely finished basement.

The family is quite organized, and they have done a lot to maximize the space they have while settling into this new (new to them) home.  There is a small set of hooks next to the door for keys, umbrellas and the dog leash.  There is a counter a few feet from the door where family members can drop their bags as they come home.   But they lack coat / accessory / bag storage.

We all may have an organizing challenge like this….

Often-used space that occasionally drives us crazy!

Spaces that every family member uses!

Spaces that can make or break our daily routines and flow!

Spending a little time and energy organizing these spaces saves us hours of headache (and yelling) in the future!

Here’s How:

State your purpose for the space. For my client, the purpose of the back door space may be “An attractive space that helps with timely and stress-free arrivals and departures”.   Once you state your purpose, Pare Down what is in the space to only the items that feed your purpose. My friend’s back door / landing pad space should be

  • geared towards a quick and easy transition, typically exit;
  • aesthetically pleasing;
  • as clutter-free as possible.
  • If you look at something, and you feel yourself frowning as you wonder “Who’s is this? Why is it here?  What were they thinking?”, those are all good indicators that something doesn’t belong in the space you are working on!

Once you know the Purpose of the Space, Look up and down and all around for storage solutions!

Keep it Safe!

Since this space is a heavily traveled walk way – in and out of the house and also up and down the stairs  – safety is very important.  Storage solutions will need to keep the walk way and stairs clear.  I will recommend coat hooks as solutions, but only on one side of the stairwell, to keep it as clear as possible.

Shelves, shelves and more shelves.

  • Any empty walls can be considered storage space.  To keep the walk way clear, I may recommend shelves high on the walls for baskets of accessories or off-season items.
  • Shelves, too, near the ceiling could hold decorative baskets with extra accessories, if needed.
  • Add shallow shelves above the command center in the kitchen, and add baskets for extra sunglasses, charging cords, and maybe one for each family member.

That Door Has Potential!   Consider the door itself in the organizing solution.  

  • Invest in an over-the -door coat rack; and / or
  • invest in an over-the-door shoe rack, for shoes but also for accessories; and/ or
  • if the door is metal, purchase heavy duty magnetic hooks for coats, like these…

Install some – okay, maybe a lot of – hooks:

  • Everyone gets a couple of hooks for their own bags and coats.
  • Consider key hooks, especially if any one shares a car.
  • Command Hooks are a personal favorite, too, for this type of challenge.
  • Double deck your hooks:  Consider installing two lines of hooks – the upper set (at eye level)  for accessories and keys, and the lower set, installed 6-8 inches below the upper set, for coats, umbrellas or longer hanging items.
  • Since my kids were little (and would take off with my car keys!), my handbag has been hung on a high, heavy-duty hook near the back door, with my keys securely clipped to it.

Expect and embrace maintenance.

  • I really wish I could say that once we organize a space, it will stay organized forever.  However… that is not typically the case.
  • Once a week, clear everything and put it away.   The shoes and coats will slowly migrate back to the landing / launch, but at least once in a while, the space is clear.
  • Keep an empty storage bench at the bottom of the stairs, for that day when you have a house full of people and you just want the space cleared!
To:

Receive more ideas and suggestions like these;
Book time with me in person or virtually;
Arrange a presentation for your upcoming event; or
Discover the benefits of Organizational Coaching;

Please contact me.

Call / text 708.790.1940
Online at  http://peaceofmindpo.com
www.Facebook.com/MColleenKlimczakCPO
Via Twitter, @ColleenCPO

Kitchen Upgrades Without a Remodel

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We spent our summer with a Kitchen Remodel Project.  I say I spent my summer with it because

it was my constant companion.  Most days, amidst working and family and living our lives, I was also planning / orchestrating / cleaning or occasionally waiting for activities centered on the Kitchen, and by extension, my office.  No summer va-ca for this girl.

HOWEVER,
IT
LOOKS
AMAZING!
We are so glad we undertook this project this summer!  The happiness outweighs the now dimming memories of washing dishes in the bathroom sink (also where the coffee maker lived for 3 weeks), the refrigerator in the corner of my dining room for 12 weeks, the lack of a home offices for 3 months while I still ran a business from home, etc..  But I digress.
What I really want to share with you are the Parts of the New Kitchen that Have Improved our Days! (and how to achieve similar benefits without a kitchen remodel).  There are many more than 5 things that we LOVE about the new kitchen, but this is a good start!
  1. Under-cabinet lighting!  This is truly a game changer.  In the Old Kitchen, we had ceiling track lighting.  As soon as we stood at a counter to work on food prep or anything else, we would block our own task lighting.  The under-cabinet lighting makes the whole kitchen GLOW, while providing task lighting any where we need it!  This is a simple upgrade. You can purchase ropes of LED lighting that simply plug in at any home improvement store.

  2. Clear counters.  Our counters were always clear before, but now that they are also beautiful, I am truly loath to leave anything on them.  One of my favorite (and cheap) purchases to complete the project was this dish drain that fits over the smaller side sink and can be easily slid over or rolled away (Amazon.com, ILifetech Roll-Up Dish Drying Rack).

  3. Zones.  Inspired by hotel stays and our occasional house guests, I now have a breakfast station.  My coffee maker lives on this small counter, along with the fresh fruit basket and napkins. In addition, the cabinet above houses breakfast bars and Pop Tarts (my sons’ quick breakfasts of choice), our daily vitamins and supplements, the toaster, and coffee / tea / hot chocolate supplies, etc.

  4. Cabinets that reach to the ceiling. Our old cabinets ended about a foot from the ceiling.  The tops were dusty, and storing stuff up there looked cluttered, so we never used the space. If you don’t want to remodel, you can also re-imagine how you use your cabinets.  Use the bottom shelf or 2 for daily use items, the middle shelf for items you use once a week, and the top shelves for items you use less often but would still like to keep accessible.

  5. Our SUPER QUIET new dishwasher.  Our kitchen opens into our family room, so the quiet dishwasher has made relaxing in the evening much easier.  You can achieve the same quiet results by running your dishwasher when you’re not around, either while you’re sleeping or at work.
    There are more kitchen remodel tales to tell, most of them good, and all of them with a happy ending!  But spend some time in your kitchen this week, and think about how you can make small changes with big, positive impact!

Sandals to Boots and Baseball Caps to Stocking Caps

Fall is in the air.

It was 49.2 degrees this morning.  The forecast calls for a high of 70, but let me tell you, it was very dark and chilly at 5 am.

In response, all day I have been mulling over my “It’s really Fall now” list of things to do, to clear clutter and stay organized.  Perhaps you have that list, too?  Perhaps you are looking for some suggestions?  Here are a few!!

  1. Check your entry way, and swap out your accessories for the new season.
    Clean out the accessory basket by the door, review the contents, toss the old or broken items (empty bug spray bottle, beat up shopping bags), and put away all but a few of your absolute favorite warmer weather items (just in case you really do need that base ball cap again). Now re-stock the basket with hats and gloves, umbrellas and scarves.
  2. Check your entry way, and swap out your shoes for the new season, too.  So long flip flops, hello boots and wellies.  Toss the old or unmatched flip or flop, get rid of all but the last pair or two of sneakers (“Truly, dear, no one needs 4 pairs of old sneakers for ‘yard work.'” ).  Take in any shoes in need of repair, and put away the rest.  Then make space for the colder weather shoes and boots.   Do the same with sport items.  Play it Again Sports, anyone?
  3. Look around your home, and make note of projects and repairs to be completed.  Make some plans or make some calls.  Get on the schedule with service providers now before their schedules fill ip around the holidays.  Better to maintain – furnace checks and regular carpet cleaning – than to pay for last minute or emergency repairs or replacement.
  4. Pantry and Fridge shopping.  Check your cabinets and fridge.  Check your expiration dates and use up some of the foods you have on hand, to clear clutter and make room for holiday / seasonal items.
  5. De-furnish.  We have a 2 x 5 table sitting in the basement.  We moved it over the summer when our old kitchen cabinets and counter top were installed in the laundry room.  We should have put it in the crawl space at the time, but we didn’t.  It currently serves no purpose.  It goes AWAY today.  At a client’s yesterday, we collapsed 2 folding tables and a couple of chairs and put them away – they’ve been up for YEARS.  A client with a penchant for small side tables (they’re EVERYWHERE, and hold only clutter) took 3 or 4 to a local resale shop.
    In the interest of clearing physical and visual clutter, what small (or large) items could you do without? Put them away or let them GO!
  6. Drop off stuff.  Bags of donations, like clothes or books or shoes?  Recycling?  Items to be returned to a store?  Stuff that belongs to other people?  Take those piles / bags and boxes that are next to the door or already in the car, and get them Gone, gone, gone!!

6 tasks are enough for this week.  Next week’s list holds tasks like finishing switching the closet to Fall, window washing and putting away the deck furniture, but those can wait until then!!

What will you do this week to Embrace Fall, clear clutter and get organized?