The 7 Killer B's of Decluttering

Do you have items in your space that you are having a difficult time parting with? Ask yourself if they are in keeping with your larger goals
I have a list of excuses that my client's always seem to come up with while we are decluttering their space. We now post them up as the "But List". Read through the list and see if you are using any of the excuses to avoid disposing of an item:)

Here they are, in no particular order

1. But..... I am going to fix in one day.

2. But.....I need it just in case.

3. But.....I will sell it at a yard sale or online.

4. But.....It might be worth something someday.

5. But.....Someone else may be able to use it.

6. But.....I paid perfectly good money for it.

7. But.....(insert name here) gave it to me.

30 Tips for Organizing through the month of April

Chose one of these ideas per day and you will see how much you can accomplish.

1. Do one small organizational task daily, no matter how small. Clean out one drawer or the top shelf in your pantry. Just think: After a month, you'll have checked 30 things off your to-do list.

2. Ensure that you have a proper landing zone for when you walk through the door. Is there a place for keys, mail, groceries, paperwork or do you need to create a space?

3. Pick up or look after the mail only once a week on the day that you have time to deal with the incoming mail.

4. Open the mail over the shredder or recycling bin, and get rid of the junk immediately. This forces you to make quick and definitive decisions so nothing piles up in your hallway or anywhere else.

5. Set up files to handle the mail, READ, ACTION, FILE and TOSS (RAFT) Give a date to the action files.

6. Clean out your fridge the day before garbage day. With a clean fridge you will know what you need for groceries. http://www.stilltasty.com/ will tell you if the food in your fridge, freezer and pantry is still good to eat.

7. Have a menu/meal planner. Not only does it save you time and money, you will find that you will eat better meals. You can start with a week, two week or even a month at a time. Make double or triple the recipes to have some on hand in the freezer. Help your kids plan the menu and even prepare and cook some of the meals.

8. Store frozen foods and meats in easily accessible, labeled plastic bins. You'll never freeze your fingers hunting through your well-stocked but overpacked freezer again.

9. Go through your kitchen to see if you are truly using everything you have in the kitchen. Do you really use the breadmaker, the large food processor?
Put all appliances that you do not use on a regular basis under the counter.

10. Keep you counters clean and ready for food prep.

11. Increase accessibility and capacity.You can do this by adding extra shelves, pullout shelves, rotating inserts and tilt-out bins.You can double or triple the storage in your cupboards.

12 Use cork. blackboard or magnetic boards on the inside of your kitchen cupboards for lists, notes, calendars. If covered with magnetic paint, they can accommodate papers and notes that might get knocked off a fridge in a small space.

Time to Spring Clean and Organize Your Vehicle

Your vehicle is your mobile first impression. With the warmer weather upon us please take advantage to spring clean your vehicle, both inside and out.

Interior Car Cleaning

If you spend a lot of time in your vehicle and especially if you have kids, you will probably have accumulated a little bit of clutter and some undesireable odours over the winter.

Clear out garbage, declutter extra toys, papers, unused articles from inside your car. Make sure to check under seats and in the trunk for anything that could be hiding, especially food. Clean the dashboard, consoles, door panels and interior windows. Remove floor mats and vacuum the carpets and seats.

There are many safe and environmentally friendly cleaning products to help clean your car. Get the family involved, they might be inspired to clean up immediately after a drive instead of doing a massive clean.

Exterior Car Cleaning

If you a like me, you will be taking your car through a commercial car wash before doing the fine tuning of cleaning the wheel wells and inside of the door..

Maintenance

Restock the car with tissues, maps, umbrellas and anything else you or your family requires in your car. Organize the trunk so that you have your shopping bins, first aid kit, and roadside emergency kit.

Ensure that baby seats are mounted correctly.

Keeping your car clean and organized is a simple maintenance step that makes a big difference to how your car looks and how you’ll feel driving it. Make it fun by inviting friends or family to help you out.

Two questions that I am always asked as a Professional Organizer

When I am out and about these are the two questions that I am always asked.


1) What are the basic steps to cleaning a child's messy room?

The first step for organizing a child’s messy room is to decide the all the functions the room has to perform. It is to be used for sleeping, playing, reading, studying and socializing? In addition to the bed, what other furniture is required in the space?

Does the child need a dresser and if so do all the drawers function, can they slide out easily for the child to use. Go through the clothes and ensure that all clean clothes can fit in the dresser. If they do not all fit in the dresser, there are too many clothes. Routinely go through clothes to see if they fit and if the child actually wears that item. If the labels scratch or armholes are uncomfortable, chances are the child never wears that article of clothing, time to pass it on. Hanging clothes need proper sized hangers and rods at a level that the child can reach. Need extra storage under the bed, use an old dresser drawer and attach castors to the bottom of the drawer.

If the child likes to read and owns many books is there enough space for the books. I routinely see piles of books in children’s room with out enough bookcase space. Only have enough books that will fit in the book case(s). Use containers or baskets on the book case shelves to hold a group of books. That way when a child takes a book out all the books do not slide and slip of the shelf. Regularly donate books or use the library.

Decide if toys are to be stored and/or played with in the child’s room. How are they going to be stored? Make the storage easy for the child. Open storage with pictures or labels help the child return the toy to the correct area. Rotate toys so there are only a few toys out at a time.

2) How can parent’s best make sure that the child's room stays clean and organized?

One of my best tools for keeping a child’s room organized is by having the parent’s set a good example that organization is an important part of life. This is accomplished by setting up daily routines that follow the natural rhythms in your home. Teaching them to be organized is teaching them to value their belongings and space. Taking pride and being grateful for what they have.

If the parent’s room is messy how do they expect the child to have a clean and organized room? Also reduce the amount of items going into the room. The room is a fixed space and not a balloon. I regularly have the child sign a contract with parents/grandparents/aunts/adults that states “instead of buying …. (the child) a new toy, game or cute object, I (the adult) will apply the same amount of money to the child’s education fund.

Find out and use what organizing style the child has (visual, spatial, sequential) and use strategies best suited for the child’s organizing style. This may be a far different style than that of the parent’s and parents need to recognize that fact.

Ensure that everything that enters the child’s room has a home. The item can only go away if it has a home.

My final comment is to make organizing fun, easy and effortless.

5 STEPS TO DEVELOPING A COLOUR SCHEME FOR YOUR HOME

DEVELOPING A COLOUR SCHEME.


STEP #1 Determine the mood of the room and what activities are to take place in that room. Find your inspiration


Examples: a piece of artwork, rug, pillow, a room from a magazine, or even a favourite article of clothing. Choose three main colours.


STEP #2 Make a list of all items that are staying in the room; of all architectural details; and items that you wish to add to the room.


STEP #3 Determine your most colourful item. Determine how wall colour fits into your scheme.


STEP #4 Create a sample (story) board (show example) using your colour and fabric samples, photos of items you want included (furniture and fixtures), a sample of the hardwood if applicable. This sample board can be done on a piece of foam core board. Assemble all the pieces on a board.


STEP #5 Take sample board to the paint store in order to make some preliminary colour selections.

Discover your Sense of Home

Most of us are aware that sights, sounds, textures and smells affect the way we feel. Which ones make you feel comfortable and fulfilled? Are there colors or objects that inspire you? Which of your belongings and photographs offer pleasant memories? What reflects who you really are?

A Positive Place

Your space should express who you are through its design, color, furniture, accessories and photographs. Is your space uncluttered, comfortable, safe, & functional? Is there beauty, color, and character? Do you feel relaxed yet energized in your space? Are you prepared and on top of things, allowing time for what really matters to you?

Feeling the Effects of Our Environment

Living in an environment that is poorly designed, disorganized, or not visually pleasing has a negative impact on your productivity and mood. Many of us settle for unsatisfactory spaces due to lack of money, time, or creative talent. As we view our surroundings on a regular basis we grow accustomed to the things that initially bothered us. However, research shows these initial concerns continue to affect us.

Turn Your Space Into a Home

Whether you want to fine-tune your environment to reflect who you are or need a complete makeover, turn your space into a home. Your living space can be transformed regardless of how small your budget may be. Start by evaluating what has prompted your desire for change. It could be an upcoming event, a houseguest, new baby, relocation, marriage, or divorce. Maybe you just know you need some change. Then work together in discovering what "home" is to you and others living with you while defining the purpose of the space. Next assess what is working and what is not. Then carefully consider what must be organized or eliminated, re-arranged and displayed

Go ahead - make your home your own.

Kindness Week Challenge

I am a Professional Organizer and thought that it would be fun to put a little organizing in my Kindness Week challenge.

We all accumulate items over time, they seem to grow when we are not looking. We look at piles of stuff with which we have not dealt and sometimes feel a twinge as we look at our homes. So lets lighten the load and help others while we are doing a little "decluttering".

So my challenge is this: try to fill 3 bags of articles that are in good condition but are not needed in your home. Yes, just three bags and the size is of your choice. Then donate the articles to the charity of your choice.

If you have been travelling and have collected the hotel size toiletries, donate them to a shelter or mission.

Go through your pantry and see what you can donate to the Food Bank.

Go through your closet to see if you have any business suits that you can donate to those who need a suit for a job interview.

For other ideas or daily challenges go to http://www.kindottawa.ca/

Thank you for helping.http://www.kindottawa.ca/

Matching socks - Not!

I was reading a post earlier today about the time it takes to match clean socks from the laundry. That does not happen in this house. We enjoy life far too much to spend time matching socks. For myself, I purchase by the batch black tube socks that just get laid flat in the drawer so that I can grab and go. Husband buys only matching grey sports socks or black socks. Teens on the other hand belong to the facebook fan page "I do not wear matching socks". They look very colourful exiting the door in the mornings.

The point to all this is, if you do something that annoys you or bothers you, find another approach to make you life easier. My approach to being organized is a bit about being lazy and easy to accomplish.

Twitter and Me

I have to thank Twitter and the people that I have "met" on Twitter for some of my life changes. I have learned so much from people that are much younger that I. It is similar to a daily cocktail party. It is also an accountablity session - people checking in with you to see how you are doing that day.

Thank you.

Vision Boards

Creating a vision board for yourself can be a powerful learning tool. It can be used a a guidepost for where you are now and where you want to be.

Choose words, pictures, photos and colours that inspire you. Use a bulletin board painted the same colour as your wall and get started. It is an organic process so it will change and evolve over time.

To get started, you should determine what are your goals and how are you going to achieve those goals. Choose items to place on the vision board that are in keeping with those larger goals.

New Year, New Me

I don't make New Year's Resolutions as I can not keep them. This year I made goals created from my vision board. This has been far more fun and obtainable.

I am now in my fifties, there is no denying that fact. I know who I am and how I got here, it has been a wild and crazy ride. I actually feel empowered by my age as I have nothing to prove to anyone.

So far this year I have lost 3kilograms, a nice slow and steady progress. I am now a Yoga junkie and loving it. Only doing Hatha yoga as I am still a beginner. I have decided that I feel too young to go all grey haired, I did try it on for size and didn't like it. Still working on being caffeine free.

I know that I am enjoying life more, laughing lots and loving every moment life has to offer. I am grateful to be here.