Tag: Organizing

It’s Time to Edit Your Entryway for Spring!

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Winter accessories bag

Winter accessories bag

Have you updated your entry way – Front door, back door, mud room – for Spring yet?  Yes, it is time!

First, pull out everything in your entry way.  Sort your stuff into

categories, and purge / recycle / donate what needs to go.Coats / outerwear:

  • Review all your outerwear.  Completely purge old, ill fitting, extra or outgrown coats, sweaters, jackets, etc.
  • Wash the items you want to keep, or take them to the cleaners this week, and make a note to pick it up next week, so you don’t forget!
  • Re-hang your Keep items on sturdy hangers, and put them at the very back or end of the closet.
  • Pull to the front of the closet the outerwear you need for Spring, like rain gear and lighter jackets.

Accessories:

  • Review hats, gloves, mittens and scarves, and toss the old or unmatched items.
  • Wash and completely dry everything, then place the items you want to keep in a clear bin or 2 (approx. 12 qt size), labeled “cold weather accessories”, or in an XL Ziploc bag (check out Target in the wraps and bags aisle) with all the air squeezed out.
  • Store the bin or bag on the highest shelf.  You can still see it, but it’s out of the way.
  • Pull to the front of the closet the stuff you need for Spring, like umbrellas and baseball caps.

Shoes and boots:

  • Review and completely purge old, ill fitting, extra or outgrown shoes.
  • Clean the mud or salt off the ones you want to keep, then store them in a ventilated and lidded plastic bin.
  • Label that bin “cold weather shoes” and store it on the floor in the back of the closet, or use a few smaller bins and store those on the top shelf, too.  Just don’t store any really heavy containers up high.  Why?  First, really heavy containers can overload shelves.  Second, you will have to pull the containers out again in the Fall to use your cold weather items, and you run the risk of injuring yourself when you pull the really heavy containers down.

Sporting equipment / Toys:

  • Free up some entry way space, and store off-season sporting equipment in a well-labeled bin in the garage or basement.
  • If you go the same places often, you could also pre-pack a “Park” bag (sunscreen, hat, hand wipes, band aids and a small snack, for example), or a “swim lesson” bag (towel, suit, shower shoes and goggles) and leave those bags ready to grab and go.
  • If you use your front hall closet like we do, try making a “front steps” basket or bucket, for small things like side walk chalk and bubbles.  The basket comes out for play time and gets tucked away when play time is over.  I worked in a closet a couple of weeks ago, and last year’s bubble bottles and side walk chalk really wrecked the closet floor under all the winter boots and shoes.  Yuck.

Hardware / Home Improvement Items:  The Ice-Melt and snow shovels can go to the garage, thank goodness.  And out come the door wreaths and flags.  Collect small hardware items and tools into a well-labeled bin or two.

Take this opportunity to wash down walls, vacuum the floor, and add some storage.

My over-the-door coat rack

  • Every entry way needs coat storage, accessory storage, and lots of shelves and vertical storage. You may have some of this in place already, but you can always add to your storage options.
  • Hang an over-the-door shoe rack, or mount it directly to a wall.
  • I am in a lot of closets, and most have one closet rod, and one shelf right above the rod, then 2-3 feet of unclaimed storage above the one shelf and below the ceiling.  Add at least one more shelf 12-18 inches below the ceiling to maximize your storage space and give you room for off-season and rarely used items.
  • Command Hooks (by 3M) are awesome for maximizing your vertical storage.  Check out the display at your local home improvement store.  They are inexpensive, easy to install, and solve lots of storage challenges.  Use them to hang bags and accessories, brooms, baseball caps or umbrellas.  The ideas are endless!

Spend a little time this week updating your entry way for the new season, and you will thank yourself for months to come!

6 Tips to Tweak Your Weekends!

Recently, my brother and my niece conversed on Facebook about their “Thursday Feeling”.  Apparently, many people experience a lift, a “Whew, I’ve almost made it!” feeling on Thursday as they look ahead to the weekend.  I’m not on board yet with their “Thursday Feeling”.  Improving our weekends is a work-in-progress, so I asked my readers to share thoughts on weekends.

Based on your responses, we would ideally spend our weekends sleeping in, not cleaning the house, accomplishing home projects, playing outside, doing homework (either ours or helping our kids with theirs), shopping, watching movies, relaxing and eating good food and ice cream. Ideally.

Last weekend was just right.  Dinner out on Friday night with family, then an event at church.   Saturday morning, all 5 of us participated in a 5K around our neighborhood, raising money for a local cancer organization.  Then we spent time with my young niece, knocked out an organizing project, took naps and watched movies.  Sunday started with family traditions, then Mass, brunch, and more relaxing.  It was lovely.

In reality, weekends can be hectic and choppy.  Personally, I start out with Cub Scouts on Friday.  We have such a great time, but I am typically in charge of some planning and running our meetings, so when most people are winding down on a Friday, I’m revving up.  Occasionally, I take Saturday clients because that is the only time some of them are available.  Then we, like many of my readers, have multiple sporting or creative events, shuttling the kids here and there, fitting in house cleaning and home projects.  Sundays always start with family and Mass, but may end up filled with work or projects or more commitments.

So how can we tweak our weekends?  Where can we find that Thursday feeling?

  1. Align expectations. Trouble occurs  when I anticipate a lazy weekend, and my husband plans a family day of  yard work.  My teenagers want to sleep until noon, I want bedrooms cleaned by 10 am.  If you share your life with others, make sure to align your expectations with theirs.
  2. Communicate.  A friend shared her family’s weekend strategy with me.  She and her husband have a “meeting” on Saturday morning over coffee to discuss their weekend plans and expectations.  They write down the scheduled events, the need-to-dos and also the hope-to-dos.  She says “It feels good to have a list that we work on TOGETHER”, everybody gets at least a few things accomplished and her family feels better about their weekends.
  3. Don’t schedule too much.  Try to leave some “white space”, as my friend Jan would call it, and choose to relax how you would like.  Be selective when signing up for activities and accepting invitations.
  4. Shop during the week or on-line.  I avoid the mall like the plague every day, but especially on the weekends. Shop during the week when the stores are less crowded.  You can also automate your shopping. I shop on-line with Melaleuca.  I love the household products, but mostly I love that they ship to my house monthly.  I use Reliv as my nutritional supplement. I place my order quarterly and it arrives on my doorstep.  I use Amazon.com for gifts and harder-to-find items.  Less time at actual stores means more time for me and my family, and that is worth any money spent on shipping.
  5. Stick with routines. Schedule at least a few things.  A mother of 4 young sons admitted that she prefers the structure of weekdays.  Everyone seems happier during the week.  Unstructured time is when the kids get rowdy, and sometimes into trouble. Stick with bedtimes and meal times, and I mean all of us, not just the kids!
  6. Find your weekend somewhere else.  Because my weekends tend to be busy and not terribly relaxing, I have worked to find “weekend” time (relaxing and rejuvenating time) during the week.  Every other month or so, I might schedule a massage, or catch a chick flick at the theatre on a weekday (none of the fellows in my house would want to go with me anyway!).

So, what will you try this week to make your weekend better?  How will you promote that “Thursday Feeling”?  Slow down and enjoy!

A Tuesday Morning Bedtime Story

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Today’s blog was named by Leslie and inspired by Bridget.  Thanks ladies!

I was pondering today’s “productivity” blog while I organized our bedding… then Ping!  Light Bulb!  How about I share the bedding ideas with you instead?

Last week, I realized the bedding drawer in the guest space was a lot fuller than our bedding chest on the main floor.  Today’s project was to review what we have, purge unnecessary sheets and pillow cases, and re-allocate the ones we’re keeping.

Also, while working with a client recently, she asked “Don’t you have dozens of mystery sheets that are never used and match nothing?” Um, No, I don’t, but I was motivated to complete this project!

Here’s how it went:

  1. I finished all the laundry and then collected all our sheets together in one place.  We have 5 people living here, with 3 twin beds and one queen bed.  In our basement we have guest lodgings of two more twin beds and a queen size Aerobed.
  2. I sorted the sheets into piles for twin and queen size, then matched up the flats and fitted with the cases.
  3. I folded the sets together, with the folded flat sheets wrapped around the folded fitted sheets and cases.  I put one set of queen sheets and 2 sets of twin back in the basement guest space and stored the rest in the bedding chest in my room.
  4. The “donate”  pile held three random sheets that match nothing, an old set of queen sheets and some Buzz Lightyear twin sheets that have been through 3 boys and are ready for retirement.   I answered a Facebook request from a mom looking for twin size bed sheets for her little boy’s bed, and offered her our Buzz Lightyear sheets.  I am glad they will be loved anew by another little boy! I bundled the rest of the “donate” pile together and will drop it off at the animal shelter this week with some old t-shirts.

A few tips I have picked up along the way:

  1. For years, I purchased only white sheets so that I could bleach them all and keep them cleaner.  Since it is difficult to determine sheet size at a glance, I noted a T or a Q on a discreet corner.  If you use all the same color, you could also separate the sizes of sheets by storing them on a different shelf or in each room.
  2. I grew tired of white bedding, though it did have its advantages.  I am slowly making the switch to color and patterns in our bedding:  any new twin size sheets I purchase are striped, and any queen size sheets  will be a solid color.
  3. I have also heard the suggestion of storing the two sheets and the extra pillow      case if there is one folded together in the matching pillow case.  That works for some, but not for me.
  4. We store our guest bedding in a dresser drawer in our guest space, and everyone else’s bedding in the chest at the foot of our bed, so extremely tidy edges are not necessary.
  5. We don’t keep a lot of extras.  Two sheet sets for each of our beds (and one is on the bed), and one set each for the guest beds.  Fewer items mean less clutter.
  6. Once and for all, Here is how one person can fold a fitted sheet to lay flat while keeping it off the ground (I learned from a pro – Literally!  I used to help out at my dad’s Laundromat in high school, and the tiny and efficient Shirley showed me the trick):
    1. Grab two adjacent corners and bring them together, and do the same for the other end.
    2. Fold the flat size in half, so all the fitted corners fit together.
    3. Grasp one end of the flat side in each hand and pull flat across your chest,       then fold into thirds down your front, rounded elastic side in first, and the flat side in last.
    4. Starting at the bottom (the lumpiest part), fold up in thirds so that you are left with straight sides and edges.

So, collect the bedding that you have; sort it into sizes and sets; determine what needs to go away either because it is old or ill fitting or scratchy; and choose a storage place close at hand for the items you intend to keep.  Another quick project that will make your life easier!

Beat The End-Of-Vacation Blues

Image       We got home yesterday from camp.  Two sons were gone for two weeks, and one son and I were gone for one week.   For the month leading up to camp we plan and dream and get excited, and we have a really great time while we’re there.  So we’re sad when it is over, and that sadness is compounded by the realities of ending a vacation; by 9 am on check-out day, I need to pack up a week’s worth of stuff and clean my little cabin in the woods, then drive 10 minutes up the road and pick up the tired, slightly smelly Boy Scouts with all their gear.  Then we drive 3 hours for home.

I’ve read blogs and tips recently for planning your vacation, but no one seems to talk about organizing the end of your trip.  So let me be the first!

Before you leave:

  1. Tidy up the house and finish all the laundry. Check out these two blogs on the topic: “Did You Remember to Pack the …..”  and “Going Away Checklist” .
  2. Leave yourself frozen meals, or restaurant gift certificates to use upon your arrival (better yet, carry the number to the pizza place and gift certificates with you and pick up dinner on your way home!).

While still on vacation:

  1. Use a laundry bag while on vacation, to keep the clean and dirty separated.
  2. Pack your stuff and luggage (and car, if you’re driving) with unpacking in mind.  Put similar items together.  Put your toiletries in one large bag, and that bag goes straight to the bathroom to be      unloaded.  Our dirty laundry was in two large bags placed right inside the door of my van, to schlep to the laundry room ASAP.

Upon Arrival Home:

  1. Unload the car all the way.  Yes, all the way.  Dirty laundry, apple cores and fast food wrappers really stink after a day.  And it’s easier to get back into the swing of things when stuff is where it belongs.
  2. Start the first of many loads of laundry. My hubby is the coolest, and has been doing laundry for the last 24 hours.

Within a day:

  1. Unpack all your bags and put your stuff way.  Living in chaos makes the end-of-vacation blues even worse.  Yes, put it all away.
  2. Clean out your luggage, vacuum it (I think we brought a pound of sand home from camp!) and let it air for a day or two.  Then store other luggage inside, and put it all away.  Yes, away.
  3. Keep your travel toiletry bag in your bathroom or linen closet, to collect samples and items for next time.

A day or two after:

  1. If you are gone for more than a week, give yourself an extra day at the end of your trip for catching up, doing laundry and generally easing back into real life.  If there is a time difference between home and your vacation destination, expect a day or two to re-adjust for sleeping and bedtimes, too.
  2. Lower your standards for a couple of days, too, sticking with survival mode and the essentials, and slowly easing back into your normal pace.

Finally, make a point to print up those photos, remember your good vacation times and chat about it with loved ones.  Don’t let the end-of-vacation blues taint your good memories!

Two New Ways to Improve Your Morning!

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It is so easy to get off track during the summer months.  Without the structure of school days, we may forget to eat a healthy breakfast at a regular time, abandon basic personal hygiene (for teenagers!) and generally take way too long to get out the door, leaving much undone.

Here are two tools to help your mornings flow more smoothly:  The “Morning Line-Up” and “Back to Ready”.

We use The Morning Line-Up every day:

  1. Start out with a clear bathroom counter.
  2. Take out all the items you need to get ready; we’ll call these the Usual Suspects in Your Morning Line-Up.  Every day, lay all the Usual Suspects on your empty counter.
  3. My Usual Suspects include Antiperspirant, Face Lotion with SPF 30, toothpaste and brush, hair products, contacts and solution, lip stain and powder, etc.
  4. Next to these are my kids’ deodorants, toothbrushes and pastes, a comb and fingernail clippers (someone always needs those).
  5. Now, as we use the item in our Morning Line-Up, we put the item back in the cabinet (or drawer, or basket under the sink, which ever you prefer).
  6. You can make this even easier by dedicating one shelf / basket / etc. for just your Usual Suspects.

This idea reaps multiple benefits:

  1. At a glance, I know what I have used or not, and I don’t forget things.  And I know when I need to nag my sons to finish.
  2. We can add new habits to the line-up, if there is something we want to improve upon.  For example, I added my contacts and solution to my Line-Up when I decided to wear them more regularly.
  3. I have a client cultivating a “Swipe and Swish” habit to tidy up the bathroom every morning.  So she adds Windex and paper towels to her counter as part of her Line-Up.
  4. The Morning Line-Up can also be used to improve other areas of your life, for example, nutrition.  When I got forgetful about my daily vitamins or supplements, I bought one of those daily medication sorters.  Now I leave it on the counter in the morning, and put it away when I am done.

The other tool I want to offer you is “Back To Ready”. 

This is a proactive, positive step to help me and my clients get a handle on our lives and our homes. “Back to Ready” means we feel ready for whatever the week throws our way.

Working from home, I find it difficult to focus on work when my home feels unfocused.  In my defense, to a casual observer my home would not look cluttered.  But I know when things are left undone, and because of who I am and what I do, I have a very low tolerance for any sense of disorganization.

So Back to Ready is very important for my success!  What does “Ready” look like?

  • Beds made;
  • Bedrooms tidied up / surfaces cleared off;
  • Clothes and shoes (oh, the shoes!) dealt with— Dirty ones in the hamper, clean ones put away;
  • Breakfast dishes in the sink or dishwasher, table wiped off;
  • Bathroom cleaned up, towels hung up, surfaces clear, mirror wiped clean;
  • Papers gathered together for me to work on them, or purge or shred them.

“Back to Ready” takes 30 minutes on a Monday morning (you pick your own day!).  It involves starting laundry and a sink of soapy dishwater, going room by room and collecting clutter, emptying trash and vacuuming.  I start it before the kids go to school, so they can tidy up their rooms and put away whatever clean laundry they may have.   And we pick Mondays because we are very hard on our home on the weekends!

Pick one spot to start, and start there every week.  You can choose the easiest room first (my youngest son’s), or the most public room first (the entry way and living room), or the hardest room first (kitchen).  It’s up to you, just choose.  Now, only spend a few minutes in each room—this is not major cleaning, this is just maintenance between cleanings, and preparing for the week ahead.

Carry a notebook, too, to jot down the random ideas that come up during this particular exercise.  The ideas could read “Need laundry detergent, need snacks for baseball, bake cookies for friend, teenager needs new dress shoes,  change smoke detector batteries, etc.”

I hope these two ideas help you get yourself and your family out the door in a calm and organized manner.  Summer is a great time to try something new when it comes to morning routines, so give them a try and see what works for you.  Enjoy!