|
Newsletter Archives
December 2009
Wrapping It Up
November 2009
Prepare the Pantry
October 2009
Costumes & Decorations
September 2009
Enough
August 2009
Help for the Home Office
July 2009
Getting Crafty
June 2009
A Better Bedroom
May 2009
Eco Organizing
April 2009
Getting Ready to Garden
March 2009
The Path To Clutter
February 2009
Easing Into Downsizing
January 2009
Organizing For Renovation
December 2008
Organizing For Next Year
November 2008
More Of My Favorite Organizing Tools
October 2008
Making Life Easier
September 2008
Clearing The Closet
August 2008
How To Let Go Of Stuff
July 2008
Managing Medical Records
June 2008
Road Trip Organizing
May 2008
Collections Instead of Clutter
April 2008
Getting Ready for Tax Time
March 2008
Where to Begin
February 2008
When You Want to Help
January 2008
Top Ten Causes of Disorganization
December 2007
Organize for Air Travel
November 2007
Organize for Small Spaces
October 2007
When Life Happens, Reorganize
September 2007
Bathroom Organizing
August 2007
Paper Organizing
July 2007
Uncluttered Kids' Rooms
June 2007
Top Ten Organizing Tools
May 2007
Grapple The Garage
April 2007
Managing Your Time
March 2007
Spring Organizing
February 2007
Help for Caregivers of Aging Parents
January 2007
National Get Organized Month
December 2006
Year End Organizing
November 2006
Give Thanks for Being Organized
October 2006
Holiday Kitchen Organization
September 2006
In Case of a Weather Emergency - Organize!
August 2006
Back to School Organizing
July 2006
Declare your Independence from Summer Clutter
|
ORGANIZING TIPS OF THE MONTH: SEPTEMBER 2009
ENOUGH
How much stuff should you keep? The short answer is—enough. Enough to use, enough to avoid clutter and overwhelm. Having difficulty deciding what is enough? Contact me.
- School Papers: The truth is every piece of paper your child or grandchild touches is not a masterpiece. Only keep the pieces that are truly creative, touching or funny. Toss the coloring pages, practice sheets, and anything made with food. Make it a goal to keep the papers in one bin per child. Purge when it gets full.
- Clothes: Take all your clothes and sort them into categories. Then you will see if you are overwhelmed in one or more styles or colors. Be honest about what you need. Donate the extras in good condition. Do donations seasonally.
- Dishes and Glasses: Set the everyday dishes and glasses out on your counter. Do you really need 25 coffee mugs and 15 plastic souvenir tumblers? Let the excess go so you can have room in your shelves for what you need. Store fine china and stemware safely and compactly in quilted china keepers.
- Shoes: Love the shoes—up to a point. Gather them all and set them neatly, in pairs, where you can see what you have. Be honest about getting rid of ones that hurt, do not have mates, are out of style or you never really liked. You are left with the ones you use.
- Magazines and Newspapers: Unless you are keeping professional journals for reference, there is no reason to keep old magazines and newspapers. Clip or pull articles of interest as you read them, then file them, and recycle the rest. If you are keeping a stockpile of unread periodicals, take a deep breath and let them go. There will be more coming soon.
- Holiday Decorations: Decorations are fun but they also require effort to put up and take down. Decide how many bins represent your level of energy and interest. Restrict the amount of decorations to that space. If you add more, get rid of things that are tired.
- Toys: Don’t use a room as your container for toys. You will eventually fill it and be overwhelmed. Limit the number of toys by creating homes for them in bins, baskets, or shelves. If toys exceed the storage places, then it is time to purge and donate.
- Books: Always a sentimental favorite. This is a good time to remember that when everything is special, nothing is special. Go through each book. It may make it easier if someone else holds the books up for you to see so you won’t feel as much attachment. If it is a fiction book you won’t read again, donate it. If it is non-fiction, decide if the information is current or easily available somewhere else.
- Photos: Boxes and bags of unsorted photos are not memories; they are clutter. Take a batch of photos at a time and go through them. Get rid of duplicates, poor shots, unidentifiables, and unending scenery. Do a quick sort—lay out cards or sticky notes with headings on a large table or, if necessary, the floor and deal out the photos as you go. Store by subject in photo boxes. You will be ready to make albums if you wish.
- Plastic Ware: Plastic storage containers seem to have a way of cloning themselves in the cabinet. They never wear out and never store neatly. Take control of the plastic. Pull all the pieces out so you can see what you have. Surprise! How much do you really need? Which pieces do you use? Match lids to the ones you want to keep. Donate or recycle the rest. Resist the urge to save all margarine tubs and yogurt cups. Recycle instead.
©Cheryl Harrell, 2009 All Rights Reserved
|
