by The Organizer Lady dot com on January 15, 2010
The master bedroom should be a comfortable place to rest and relax. The more organized the bedroom is, the easier it is to relax. You won’t have to take time to look for things, which not only saves time, but also is less stressful. Look around the room and see what things you can remove and give a new home.
Start with the dressers and remove things from the top that are just creating clutter. If there are things, like makeup, that you use all the time, why not find a better way to store them. There are nice organizers that will fit into most any décor. Drawer dividers can also help keep things organized in the dresser itself.
Exploring under the bed can be an adventure. There are many nice storage boxes that fit under most beds. The boxes come in many sizes and materials, including plastic, cardboard and wood. The wood and plastic ones often come with wheels, for easy access. Some have lids that are hinged in the middle so you can pull them out from under the bed part way and access the belongings inside. The great thing about the boxes is you can store anything from books to out of season clothing in them.
The closest are usually an area that needs a good bit of work to organize. The best thing is to decide what you want to store there and fix the closet to do what you need done. There are a great number of closet storage systems that can be adapted for just about any size closet to maximize the storage space. Even just adding another bar to hang shirts on can increase your storage space. But there are nice shelve systems that can incorporate hanging clothes, as well as shelves and boxes for things that can be folded. There are also the shoe racks that can be hung on the back of the closet door.
One of the more recent additions to storage options are vacuum storage bag. These are great for storing out of season clothing. You can get more in each bag for the space once the air is sucked out of the bags. These bags will slide under the bed, or on shelves, saving room for other things.
By approaching the master bedroom one area at a time, things will fall into place. By keeping up on the clutter on a daily basis, the room can remain a place to escape it all.
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by The Organizer Lady dot com on December 12, 2009
Let’s face it; holidays can be a pain in the neck. I know there are those out there who love everything about the holidays, the hustle and bustle, the frantic preparations, sleepless nights, meal preparation, shopping and tucking gifts away only to forget where they are hidden. But some of us enjoy the hustle and bustle on our own terms. As a profession organizer I have 8 tips on how to declutter during the holidays to make them happier and less stressful.
Essential tips to a sizzling holiday meal:
1. Get yourself a holiday journal. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Start writing in it what you are going to have at your holiday meal. Keep this book as a template for future years. We are creatures of habit and what we do once we will probably do again. The next time we do it will be easier as we will have our notes saying what worked and what didn’t work. Be sure after the day is over and before you forget write what you liked and what was a flop. (If cousin Louie’s rolls are rock hard next year ask someone else to bring them). We think we’ll remember but often we don’t.
2. If you are assigning others to bring dishes for the meal write their name down by their assignment in pencil and notify them of what you want them to bring. If it is in pencil it is easy to make changes. Also tell them how many to prepare for. Tell them what you are going to furnish and give them choices of what they can bring.
3. Based on your menu write down your shopping list and then check to see if you have the ingredients. The things you don’t have write on a separate list to take to the store. Buy as many things as you can ahead of time. By doing this before the last minute you may be able to find sales on items you need. And remember the paper products.
4.Take a page out of a calendar you aren’t using or print one from the internet and paste this in your holiday journal. Since you will want to have your home looking its best write down things you want to see done each day before the holiday. Delegate to family members chores that they can succeed in doing. For instance young children can fold napkins; a teenager could arrange flowers, plan games, dust the folding chairs and get them out of storage etc. Make up a chart in your journal listing who is to do what chore and have them mark it off when it is done.
5. Plan plenty of time to clean the silver, get the bugs out of the light fixtures, dust the rungs on the chairs, check to see the linens are clean and pressed and any other things you want done.
6. Write down who is coming to dinner and arrange for table and chair space. You may need to borrow chairs so planning ahead will prevent headaches later. Make place cards for the table settings. All of these things can be done well in advance.
7. Schedule your hair appointment or manicure appointment. This will be a time for you to relax and regroup.
8. On the calendar if you don’t get something done on one day move it to the next day or the next. This will help you not to procrastinate.
9. Remember to include things on your list to do like clean out the refrigerator so you’ll have room for holiday leftovers.
These hot tips on how to declutter for the holidays can make your holiday go a whole lot easier and almost carefree.
About the author:
Marilyn, a professional organizer and author is passionate about organizing for women and seniors in clearing clutter from their lives. Her new book “Go Organize!” will be in bookstores Dec 2009. Visit her website http://www.marilynbohn.com. Marilyn is a published author and professional organizer. She invites you to visit her awesome website http://www.marilynbohn.com. for easy organizing. She is a sought after public speaker who is passionate about teaching women and seniors how to organize their life and reduce clutter in their homes and office. You can buy her new book ‘Go Organize! Conquer clutter in three simple steps’ in major bookstores, Amazon and her website December 2009.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marilyn_Bohn
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by The Organizer Lady dot com on December 12, 2009
Decluttering your mind is like decluttering your home. You throw out what you don’t want and keep what you need. By taking control of your life you can make better decisions and focus on the things that matter the most. Here are 7 tips to declutter your mind and to help improve your quality of life.
1. Many people are list makers because it helps them not only remember what to do, but it helps them to prioritize. A brain dump of what’s stored in your head onto a notebook will help to declutter your mind and you will have a lot less thought juggling. Write down your thoughts and feelings as it can be therapeutic.
2. Deal with problems as they arise. If there are problems with people, take a few days to gather your thoughts. You don’t want to act in haste. Don’t put it off with excuses. The longer you leave the problem, the more stressed you feel as it will be a constant reminder and if it’s a recurring problem with a person, it can escalate and become worse.
Holding grudges takes a lot of energy. Instead forgive and give yourself peace of mind.
3. Surround yourself with positive people as they have a lot of positive energy.
4. Organize your life by adding and omitting items on your list, delegating home responsibilities and planning ahead. Set a schedule for yourself. Unexpected situations will happen, but at least you can look at your list and decide what to do next.
Your home should be clutter free too. A cluttered home depletes your energy and clogs your mind. The more you look at the mess, the more stressed you become and the idea of cleaning the clutter is overwhelming, but once you start organizing and eliminating you’ll feel better even when you’ve tackled a small area.
5. Learning to say no is important. Don’t take on more than you can handle or clutter your mind with unnecessary thoughts.
6. Some people don’t like to ask for help because they think it’s a sign of weakness, but it’s not true. Talking it out and sharing your thoughts with a friend about a situation can help you look at things in a different perspective instead of rehashing your own thoughts in your head.
7. Taking a break is another important task to do and many people don’t take advantage of it because they feel like it’s a time waster. Take frequent breaks of 15 - 20 minutes between your work schedule to refresh and re-energize your mind. A longer break like going on holidays is a great way to rejuvenate, re-evaluate and declutter your mind to focus on other things that are also important in life.
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by The Organizer Lady dot com on November 10, 2009
by The Organizer Lady dot com on October 6, 2009
An aunt visited us a few years ago just after we had our living room carpet replaced with blue carpeting. As we visited she said she didn’t like the color blue. I was amazed that anyone could not like the color blue. After all the sky is blue and the ocean is blue.
Now I have no room to talk as I don’t’ like the color brown—in textiles anyway. I like beautiful wood. I think I have finally figured out why I don’t like this color.
When I was a little girl all the girls (including me) wore ugly brown (I think they were actually dark tan) long socks to school. We didn’t wear pants to school then and my legs would get cold where the socks ended and flesh was exposed.
I would grumble and complain that I had to wear them when it got cold. The only time I was happy to have them is on Christmas Eve because we would put out a sock for Santa to fill and then I would search for the longest sock to be filled.
I always hoped when they were packed away for summer they wouldn’t come back.
This is the time of year when winter socks, clothes, scarf’s, gloves, mittens and coats need to be rotated into the closet. Clutter control begins with taking out the clothes that are worn in the summer and replacing them with winter clothes. As a professional organizer I recommend doing this an orderly fashion.
Step 1: Take out all of the clothes in your closet that you wear only in the spring and summer. Look at each one of these items and evaluate them before packing them away. Ask yourself these questions:
·Do you still like them?
·Do they need mending?
·Do they fit?
·Are they stylish or do they need to be remolded or donated?
This is the first step in clutter control. Now neatly fold them and place them in containers that have lids. Move these to another closet if you have room or place on a shelf in your bedroom. To make more space clothes can be rolled instead of folded.
Step 2: Take out all of your winter clothes from the bins and closets where you hung them. Next shake out the wrinkles and iron if you must. These clothes go back in your drawers or hung up in the closet.
Also hang up the fall and winter coats. Take your light jackets and put in another closet until warm weather returns. If you kept clothes you no longer like or are sure you won’t wear again now is the time to get rid of them. Donate to a charity so others can enjoy your generosity. That is what I wished would have happened to those ugly brown socks I had to wear.
It isn’t your grandmother’s (or great grandmothers) closet any more. There is a lot more to clutter control than she was thinking about in her day. We have more clothes and accessories than she ever had. To make room in our closets for our clothes we need to rotate them in and out as the seasons change.
It would be nice if the weather was either hot or cold but it doesn’t happen that way. There are warm days that require cooler clothes and then the next day it is cold. This is typical fall weather so as you pack away your cool weather clothes keep out one to two shirts and short pants that you can wear while the weather is making up its mind what it is going to do. You can always remove them from your main closet and drawers when the weather settles and pack them away with the rest of your clothes.
Now is a good time to sort through your jewelry and see if you want to keep it all or update your wardrobe with new pieces.
Rotating clothes for the seasons makes more room in your closet, keeps you on top of clutter control and reminds you what clothes you do have to wear.
Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com
Marilyn is a professional organizer who works with women and seniors in clearing clutter and providing organizing tips. Visit her website www.marilynbohn.com for free organizing tips on her blogs, articles and videos.
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