I've been helping clients with closets all week! I do love me a good closet re-do mainly because I know it will make a lasting, positive difference every day for the closet owner. Our closet is one of the few places in our homes we utilize, without fail, on a daily basis. It can be a source of headache-inducing chaos. Or, properly organized, our closet can be a source of relaxing calm before we charge out the door to meet the storms of our too-busy days.
Fall is a great time to organize your closet. Don't forget to use the S.P.A.C.E. process from Julie Morgenstern: Sort, Purge, Assign a Home, Containerize, and Equalize. You won't know you need to purge white blouses until you realize through
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It's been bugging me that I haven't found the time to post in awhile. I heard recently that you don't "find" time, you have to "make" the time to do things that are important to you. So, I'm making time here this afternoon. John and Mimi are having a super full Daddy-Daughter Day. They went out canvassing this morning, doing their part for the tight Virginia governor's race. Then to their fave pre-movie dining spot, T.G.I.Friday's. And finally, where they sit at this very moment, the 3-D, double-feature Toy Story and Toy Story 2. I'm sure Mimi is loving life. John, not so much.
I just ran across a note I had scribbled which is actually what inspired me to write this post. It reads:
Let go
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I've got an end-of-summer decluttering buzz going on! There is something about the beginning of the school year that feels very New Years-ish to me! Here are a few easy tips to help get you going on those tasks around the house you've been putting off during these busy summer months:
1. Set a timer for 30 minutes and play beat the clock. Focus on one room, one closet or just a general swoop around the house. When the time goes off, that's it! Pat yourself on the back for accomplishing something.
2. Turn on your favorite music. It's amazing how much zippier I feel when I've got some old B-52s or No Doubt blaring throughout the house! Time really does fly when you're listening to whatever
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We had a great time "car camping" at Bull Run Park last Friday. Yes, the Friday of the torrential thunderstorms. Luckily, the storms stopped as we were pulling into our campsite so we quickly put up our tent and picnic canopy. As the next wave of rain came, we were cozily ensconced under the canopy, snacking away, enjoying our friends, and keeping (relatively) dry.
Since camping season is upon us, I've been thinking about organizing camping gear. Especially if you're facing a rainy set-up, you want the most essential things packed close-at-hand. You also don't want to finally find the salt and pepper just as you are packing up to leave!
Here are a few tips for family-style gear
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Oh gorgeous days! They won't last forever (or even a few weeks) so now is the time to take advantage of the relatively cool 80-something-degree days to declutter and organize your garage. Think about it -- is that where you want to be when the thermometer hits 95 degrees or so?!
It's actually pretty easy to make a big difference in a garage in a relatively short amount of time. It tends to be a catch-all for all manner of big, bulky stuff that we're not sure we really want or need anyway. Seasonal items also often end up in the garage as well as just plain, old trash!
First things first. Take a really hard look at the current contents of your garage. Using my favorite organizing method from
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OK, so I can't help thinking of Scarlett O'Hara's famous "Fiddle-dee-dee" line while I'm trying to figure out the whole Twitter thing.
I resisted it for the longest time. I really didn't want to be a Twit. Or a Twitterer. Or whatever they call themselves.
Then I signed up a few months ago and did exactly nothing with it. Then I went to the NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers) conference a couple of weeks ago and felt totally out of the loop! All the Twitterers seemed to be having so much fun.
OK, back at home and trying again. I've got a few followers. I'm following a few people. We'll see if it snowballs as people keep telling me it will. Or if I discover I am not really
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Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up. A.A. Milne
As any self-respecting mom knows, A.A. Milne is the creator of Winnie the Pooh. This gentle, very Pooh Bear quote really boils organizing down to its essence. If you get something organized on the front end, your day-to-day "doing it" is not all mixed up!
The client who sent me this quote (a mom herself) mentioned in the same email that her husband absolutely loves working in his newly organized home office.
It's amazing how putting in the hours organizing a home office can pay real dividends in the way you feel about working in that office. And doesn't how you
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I was thinking this morning about how you know when you are organized enough. My house definitely wouldn't fall into the minimalist, pristine category that I think a lot of people envision when they think of being organized.
John is fond of saying "physician, heal thyself" when I start talking my organizing talk. That's my cue to remind him that I can pretty much put my hands on whatever it is that he's searching for that day! Yes, he is one of those husbands. And, yes, I am one of those wives.
That's one of the reasons I love Kathy Waddill's book "The Organizing Sourcebook". Her approach calls for organizing with nine strategies of "reasonably organized people". I like that! You don't
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About seven more weeks of kindergarten and our girl will be on her way to first grade. Hard to believe. I remember last summer feeling so ambivalent about letting her ride the school bus. She really, really wanted to ride the bus with all her neighborhood friends. I was having a hard time letting go of the prenatal through right-this-minute brainwashing we all undergo regarding the safety of our spawn in a moving vehicle. So I was just supposed to put my precious on a bus driven by a stranger with no seat belts whatsoever? One day she's in a five-point restraint and the next day she's totally free to be bounced right out the bus window in the event of a collision?!?
I did get over it. John
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Call me crazy but I love to help organize kid's spaces! It's nice to play a small part in helping a child build good habits for keeping their space organized.
The National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) has some good tips for getting started organizing the children's areas of your home:
1. Have bins and boxes on lower shelves so that a child can put away the toys. Have the child label the bins and boxes.
2. Provide low hooks to hang up sweaters, pajamas, jackets, book bags, etc.
3. Take children with you when you go to donate unused items. This helps them learn to part with things.
4. Encourage your child to choose their outfits for the next day before they go to bed at night.
Here
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Ah, sunshine! I can't decide if being sick during yucky, gray days is better than being sick during gorgeous, sunny days. I had to take being sick during the yucky, gray days earlier this week. I do know that it made me really appreciate feeling well and able to enjoy beautiful days.
BTW, I can't believe I'm already acclimatized to Northern Virginia weather. I'd still be wearing sweaters (and truth be told, maybe even a coat!) in Austin on days like yesterday - a heretofore "chilly" 68 degrees! Instead, I was shucking off my jean jacket and going around in my short-sleeved shirt with my car windows down. I never noticed how many beds of tulips there are around Vienna. Nice.
John rode his
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