Spring = Organized = Clean

the closet divas tips:

It’s that time of year we begin to daydream about – SPRING! What are we going to do with all this extra daylight? One thing I know for sure – dust more!  All that glorious light comes through our windows to expose the hidden layers of dust and piles of belongings that has accumulated over the dark, winter months.

When I think of spring, I think of fresh and new. This is a great time of year to de-clutter and reorganize the “buildup of belongings” that built-up over fall and winter. It is perfect, because the weather is fluctuating; it’s not quite sure what it wants to do. And, fishing hasn’t started. You can have your projects completed in time to enjoy, guilt fee, our great Alaska summer.

To help you get started, use the following five steps to guide you through a de-cluttering and organization process. I believe in keeping things real simple. Pick one room or area of your home or office you can complete in a limited amount of time. This could be a linen closet in the hallway, craft area in the family room or a child’s closet, the process is always the same. Whatever the area or the size of the project, plan your time to stay with it until the project is complete. Dragging projects out can lead to discouragement. Keeping it simple will set you up for success and give you motivation for the next looming project.

These five steps can be applied to any project you take on, whether you do-it-yourself or hire a professional organizer

1.    Select one space or area for your de-clutter project. Take some time before you begin and define or re-define the use for this space. Then imagine how you want it to look when you are finished.

a.   Consider what storage containers, baskets or other solution you may need and have them on hand. This will save you time and keep you on track.

2.    Start by removing and sorting all the items from this area.

a.   Take the opportunity to clean while everything is off shelves or out of the area.

3.    Keep, donate/give away, and sell. Create three piles and as you remove and sort, place things into one of these piles. If you are not the person who can sell items online, at a consignment store, or a garage sale, then you just have two piles.

a.   Think about whether you “love it”, “hate it, “like it” to help guide you through this process.

b.   For clothes, remember the 80/20 rule. We wear 20% of what we own, 80% percent the time. So, if it doesn’t fit or hasn’t been worn in a year, let it go!

4.    Group all like items together (this can begin during the sorting process), i.e. blankets, sheets, and towels or pencils/pens/crayons, notebooks, and paper. The plan is to have items ready to place back into your space, together in one place.

a.   Prepare to place your belongings back into their designated space so fold, stack, organize

b.   Place small items into bins, baskets, containers. This keeps them confined so they are not floating around. This also allows you to pull out just the containers you need and then, put them back when you are done.

5.    Take action on the keep, donate/give away, or sell. Place all the items you decided to keep back onto the storage areas.

a.   This could be on shelves, into drawers, baskets, or containers.

b.   Hang or store clothes according to a system that works for you. Long to short, short to long, color coded. There is no right way to do this, but keeping like items together is the standard.

On-going Organization Tips:

·         Put things back in their designated spot, immediately, after you are finished with them.

·         If you haven’t used something for a while (one year for clothes), ask yourself “Will I ever use this again?” “Do I really need this?” If you answer, “No”, then let it go.

·         Identify areas of your home that attract clutter and set aside time once a week to just keep up with every day “clutter-ups”.

Amazing Craft Room Ideas

"All You Need is LOVE"

“All You Need is Love”
It was a simple message in a song written by John Lennon, credited to Lennon/McCartney. The Beatles first performed the song on Our World, the first ever, live global television link. Over 400 million people in 26 countries were estimated to have viewed this satellite broadcast on June 25, 1967.

According to Wikipedia, the Beatles were asked to come up with a song containing a simple message to be understood by all nationalities. "It was an inspired song and they really wanted to give the world a message," said Brian Epstein. "The nice thing about it is that it cannot be misinterpreted. It is a clear message saying that love is everything."

As Valentine’s Day approaches we all think about the one we love and what to get them? We can shower them in flowers, give them a box of candy, and even propose marriage. OR, think outside the box and give the gift of organization. We have gift certificates available that can go toward the closet of her dreams or an awesome entertainment center for his man cave.

You are asking yourself what does this have to do with getting organized. Everything! A well organized life offers more time to be with the one you love the most. You can do this with the gift of organization.

For Valentine's Day, think outside that box of candy you are planning to give the one you love. It will be gone in a few days and all the guilt sets in.

Instead...  give a gift certificate toward the closet of her dreams or that entertaiment center for his man cave.

Go, Get Organized!: Organization Tips from “The Closet Divas”Since our...

Go, Get Organized!: Organization Tips from “The Closet Divas”Since our...: "Organization Tips from “The Closet Divas”Since our focus this month is the pantry area, I am offering five tips that I generally follow. The..."

Organization Tips from “The Closet Divas”

Since our focus this month is the pantry area, I am offering five tips that I generally follow. These will help you get your pantry better organized and keep it maintained over time. These tips will work no matter the size of your pantry or storage cupboards.

1.       Sort items in your pantry by categories by grouping all like items together such as dry goods, sauces, specialty foods, and even your cleaning products. From there create sub-groups like placing all your tomato items in one area and from there organize them by crushed, sauce, puree, etc. Follow this exercise with soups, canned veggies and fruits, and so on.

2.       Store items you use the most at eye level.

3.       Store small or like items in wire baskets or clear plastic containers. This can work for miscellaneous teas or spice packages, even packages of pastas or beans. These items will stay contained and you can simply pull out the container and get what you need without disturbing other items stored around them.

4.       FIFO first in, first out this is a universal method of keeping your pantry items current. Place new items behind the ones currently stored. You may have to move things around a bit, but you will always be using food, ingredients or even dry good or cleaning products that are not out of date. In fact this method can help you sort through your supplies and cull out those that are out-of-date.

5.       De-clutter! This is the main purpose for organizing your pantry or cupboards and the perfect opportunity to purging all those items taking up valuable space. We all purchase on impulse or for that special, need-to-try, recipe and then those items are never used again. There is no better time to set aside items to donate to local food pantries, such as the Alaska Food Bank or Bean’s Café.

Here is an extra tip for those of you who have deep reach-in pantry shelving like me. The five tips mentioned above will work just as they are intended by installing portable, pull- or roll-out shelving or drawers. This is a fairly simple install. Plus there is a wide variety available; so finding a solution to meet your needs will be fairly easy.