by The Organizer Lady dot com on February 25, 2010
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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by The Organizer Lady dot com on October 6, 2009
Let’s face it, there are some things that we don’t like to do either because we think they are hard or we don’t know where to begin or how to do them. A few years ago I was making one of my daughters her freedom quilt (this is a red, white and blue quilt I give them on their 21st birthday). I was appliquéing blue snowflakes onto a white background. I hit a wall and I couldn’t continue making the quilt. Just the thought of sewing on it almost made me ill. Another daughter suggested I make only 21 blocks instead of the number I was aiming for. That one small suggestion is all it took; I changed the pattern and was able to finish creating this beautiful quilt.
If you are stuck with clutter and you want to change but don’t know where to start I have several tips on how to get rid of clutter in four rooms in your home.
1. Office: When you think of the paper in your home do you cringe from the sheer volume that you have to deal with every day? How long has it been since you saw the top of your desk? Are papers scattered all over your house? Do you blame yourself for the paper clutter in your home? You are not alone if you feel this way!
To get rid of clutter designate a place for everything and after using it put it back in its place. Keep the things you use most often within arm’s reach. Things you don’t use as often keep in a drawer. Extra supplies can be stored where you can get to it readily but not so close that it creates clutter in your work area. Store supplies in a closet, on a shelf or in drawers.
2. Children’s Bedrooms:
Do you ever blame your kids or “get after them” for having a messy room? Maybe they aren’t at fault. Do they have places to put their toys, books and craft items? Create places for these things by using containers to hold their toys and other items. These can be kept in the closet, under the bed or in attractive containers in their room.
Sort through their toys every 4 to 6 months and donate those that they don’t play with. You will be making someone else happy and will get rid of clutter at the same time. Things can also be given away by listing them on a website such as Freecycle or Craigslist. As crayons get broken and paint dries up or note pads are all used immediately throw them away. This is a simple way to get rid of clutter rather than waiting for things to pile up.
3. Bathroom:
Get rid of clutter on the counter by having containers for the things you use most often. Cosmetics can be kept in containers and either kept on the counter or placed in drawers. If you have products you don’t use, get rid of them. There is no need to hold on to them just because you bought it, clutter does not bring back the money you spent. Let it go or return it for cash or credit.
Do you keep medicine in your bathroom? This is not the best place because of the humidity in the room. Declutter your medicines by going through all the boxes and bottles and checking the expiration dates.
4. Garage:
I don’t know about you but this is a place where I only think about when I drive my car in or out or I need to find a tool or something else that is stored there. It is so easy to clutter this space because it is “there” but not an area we are in all the time like other rooms in our homes.
To get rid of clutter in the garage set up activity zones. Group like things together such as placing all of the sporting gear in one place, gardening tools in another and other tools together in their space.
Using the walls and the ceiling for storage helps you make better use of the space and it increases the useable space you have. Several storage solutions are available such as plastic bins (label what is in them by using a 3 X 5 card and tape it securely to the end). Peg boards are great to hang up a variety of tools. Cabinets can be used to store paint, tools or other items. The items are out of site yet are convenient to use.
Get rid of clutter by streamlining what you have and say goodbye to old stuff you never use or things you don’t like.
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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by The Organizer Lady dot com on August 14, 2009
(ARA) - The average closet offers a not-so-roomy 5-foot by 2-foot amount of space. And for average people, that is not a whole lot of room to work with when it comes to storing all their clothes, shoes and accessories.
Given changing fashion trends and seasons, closets can be some of the most cluttered spaces in the home. When the seasons change, it’s an ideal time to get your closet clean, organized and ready for the new season.
“The goal of an organized closet should center on the ability to open the door and, in one quick look, see everything you own,” says Katie Baker Jones, fashion merchandising instructor at The Art Institutes International — Kansas City. “This makes that crucial decision of what to wear immensely easier.”
“Fashion is meant to change, so embrace it,” she adds.
Baker Jones advises getting rid of any articles of clothing that haven’t been worn in the past year. One option for letting go is to donate your clothes to local charities like the Salvation Army or Goodwill. If clothes are fairly aged, another option to consider is donating them to a college. Some colleges collect clothing pieces from past decades for fashion students to study and gain insight on fashion trends.
Another tip: if you are still using wire hangers, use plastic ones instead, as they are better for your clothes. Baker Jones explains that the soft curves of plastic hangers “ensure better draping of your garments.” Using plastic hangers also gives your clothes some room to breathe, thus reducing wrinkles and making your garments easier to find.
Tired at the end of a long day? While flipping your shoes off may seem like the most convenient thing to do, don’t. “Adding a shoe rack to a door or the floor of a closet is another cheap way to utilize closet space while at the same time protecting your shoe investment,” says Baker Jones. You can find shoe organizers for as little as $9 at discount stores.
Once you’ve gone through your closet, gotten rid of unnecessary items and parted with your less than “in-style” pieces, it’s time to pack some of your winter clothes away. For short-term storage, plastic containers will do. “If you keep seasonal garments in a relatively temperate and dry location throughout their ‘off season,’ they should welcome you back next year unharmed,” says Baker Jones.
However, in some instances, you may want to consider leaving certain garments in your closet. “Never sprinkle moth balls directly into a box of unprotected clothing or allow textiles to come in direct contact with untreated wood. If you have the space, just keep your wool garments in your closet, but rotate them to the back,” says Baker Jones. “Furs should never be stored in the house. The investment of professional, cold storage is well worth it.”
One last thing before you start your closet makeover — avoid using chemicals when cleaning out any closet. Baker Jones says that any chemical you use has the potential to get on your clothing and either damage the textile or irritate your skin.
By following these simple guidelines, cleaning out your closet for each new season will be easy. Soon you’ll be on your way to expanding your closet’s potential and protecting your wardrobe at the same time.
To learn more about The Art Institutes schools, visit www.artinstitutes.edu/nz.
Courtesy of ARAcontent
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by The Organizer Lady dot com on March 28, 2009
As your children continue to get more toys with each passing birthday, Christmas and other special occasions, space becomes a premium, and clutter can begin to take over. So how do you keep it in check and still enjoy giving them new things? You have to balance “out with the old and in with the new”. If there are toys that are broken, or games and puzzles with missing pieces, they can probably be thrown away.
Why not set aside different times of year that you go through all of the toys and decide what needs to be given away? This can be a month or so before birthdays and Christmas. However, if you wait until after they get new things, they might be more willing to part with the older toys. It is important to talk to the children about it beforehand, if they are old enough to understand. Let them help decide which toys they might want to give away.
As the children go through their toys, let the younger siblings see if there is anything they’d like to keep from their older brothers or sisters, but if they do they have to give up something from their toys. Try to keep it even with how much the kids are getting rid of, as you don’t want them to feel like they are sacrificing more than the others.
If the weather is nice, you could even encourage your children to participate in a family yard sale. They get to keep the money for any of their things they sell. This takes a bit more thought and organization. First, they have to make sure that what they are selling is in good enough shape to sell, and that all the pieces are there.
One important thing to keep in mind, especially with the younger children, is to give them time to adjust to the idea of giving things away. Young children can often be generous with their things, but then later realize they gave away a “favorite” toy. Let them practice for a few days, or even weeks. Put the things away in a box where they can’t get them. If they realize they don’t miss the toys, then they should be ok with going ahead and getting rid of them.
It is also good to encourage sharing their blessings by donating some nicer toys and games they’ve outgrown. There are many charities that take gently used books, toys and games, including hospitals and shelters. This is a great way of not only reducing the clutter in your home, but also helping someone less fortunate.
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