Archive for the ‘
Clutter ’ Category
Do you miss the the TV show, Clean Sweep as much as I do? Well, if your cable company offers Oprah’s OWN Network, you’re in luck.
Peter Walsh, Professional Organizer Extraordinaire, is continuing his quest to help people get out from under their mountains of clutter in a new show called “Enough Already!.” I had the chance to watch the ‘sneak peek’ episode on Sunday night–it was an eye opening look at a family is crisis and the decluttering of their home.
I enjoy watching him but mostly, I listen to him with the ears of someone in the same profession, trying to pick up a tidbit or two that I could use to assist my own clients. He talks often about having a ‘vision’ for a room. A vision defines a space–once you know what you want for a room, you’ll know exactly what items should be in it and what items do not meet the vision of the room and should not be allowed to take up space there.
The mom on the show was having a tough time letting go of items that had memories attached to them. Here’s what Peter said to her. I thought this was brilliant…
“There are two main types of clutter. There is ‘Memory’ Clutter. That’s the stuff that reminds you of an important person, an achievement or an event in the past. Then there’s ‘I Might Need it Someday’ Clutter. That’s the stuff you hold on to in anticipation of a whole lot of imagined futures.”
“And the moment they take over, what happens is that the ‘Memory’ Clutter holds you in the past and the ‘I Might Need it Someday’ Clutter holds you in the future. So what it does, is it robs you of being in the present.It robs you of enjoying the only thing you have which is NOW.”
If you have ‘Memory Clutter,’ keep the items with the most sentimental value and photograph the rest. Have ‘I Might Need it Someday’ Clutter? Think about what your ‘vision’ for the future is and only keep items in line with that vision–just like the room.
Want to watch? Enough Already! is on Mondays at 8pm on OWN. I’ll be in front of my television listening and learning.
How’s that Winter Cleaning comin’ along?
The guys at Goodwill were happy to see me and I was happy to see more of my garage.
But what if you have more Winter Cleaning donations than your vehicle can hold? What if you don’t have the time during the holidays to deliver them to the thrift shop yourself?
Certain organizations will pick up donations from your doorstep–rain or shine. Many of them place postcards in your mailbox a week or two before they will be in your neighborhood. I just received a postcard from Big Brothers Big Sisters with the tag line: ‘Yes. We want the shirt off your back.’ I thought that was pretty clever…
Here’s a short list of organizations that offer free pick up of donations at your home:
Big Brothers Big Sisters (Northern New Jersey)
877-336-8828
www.njpickup.org
Vietnam Veterans of America
www.clothingdonations.org/service.htm
(Most US states)
Lupus
1-888-44-LUPUS
www.lupuspickup.org
(Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia)
The Salvation Army
1-800-SA-TRUCK
www.satruck.org/donate-goods
Keep cleaning. Then pick up the phone and set up a time for a pick up. You’ll be glad you did.
I took my own advice and met a goal I had set for my second year of blogging.
In my Anniversary post, I said that I wanted to post more pictures on my blog. Here’s a picture of a bunch of misc. items.
These bags are from my own ‘Winter Cleaning’ as I discussed in my last post. My husband and I recently spent five hours in our basement making it a more functional space for us as a family. While doing that, we found many items we no longer wanted and decided to donate. Tomorrow I’m loading up my SUV and making a trip to the
Goodwill on Rt 17 in Paramus, NJ.
What’s going to come out of your ‘Winter Cleaning?’
We all know about Spring Cleaning, but what about Winter Cleaning?
The Winter Cleaning I’m talking about has little to do with a dust rag and a mop. It has more to do with purging. Take a look around your home. Do you have a lot of ‘stuff’ you don’t know what to do with?
There are many people who are out of work or who are living on less this holiday season. Consider donating your unwanted items to local thrift stores or international charities. Those toys your children no longer play with make inexpensive holiday gifts when purchased from a thrift shop. The clothes that no longer fit you will keep someone warm, dressed for work, and feeling good about themselves.
So when you’re finished reading this blog post, think about what you can take to your local donation center. There’s no need to wait until Spring to do a thorough ‘clean-out.’
I love to watch Peter Walsh in action. If you don’t know who Peter Walsh is, check out Oprah‘s website. He’s been her favorite Professional Organizer for years. He does incredible work with people drowning in clutter.
On Thursday’s
Rachael Ray Show (7/22) he’s at it again, helping a ‘messy mom’ get organized. I can’t wait to watch…
In an attempt to bring you correct information, I have scoured the Internet looking for the correct date for National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day. Some websites say it’s November 14th or 15th and some say the holiday was declared to be the third Wednesday in November by the Whirlpool Corporation (which would make it the 18th this year).
Regardless of the exact date, it’s a good idea to clean out your refrigerator from time to time. Believe it or not, food can be clutter. Don’t you have to make room for the Thanksgiving turkey and all the trimmings, anyway?
A while back I wrote an article about this very topic. If you’re not sure where to start, check out my article, 6 Tips for Organizing Your Refrigerator.
Bonus Tip: Use a marker or pen to write the ‘I opened it’ date on food items you don’t eat often. This will prevent many a stomach ache from food that’s been around too long.
When I start working with a client, I introduce a few basic organizing principles to them.
So, here are two tips for minimizing clutter and saving time that I shared with them–they’ll work for you, too…
1. Give Everything You Own a Home (A Place for Everything and Everything in it’s Place)
I know it sounds a little like micromanaging but most of the items you own have logical homes. Your toothbrush lives in a spot in the bathroom. The TV Guide and remote live somewhere near the TV. Unless the item is out of the ordinary, it shouldn’t take long to come up with a logical spot for all of your belongings to live.
I’ll tell you a little story…
Once upon a time there was a new husband and wife who took their tape measure with them when they went shopping for items for their new home. Upon returning home, they would drop the tape measure wherever it landed and the next time they went shopping they had difficulty finding it. Until one day when the wife (that would be me if you haven’t figured that out already) said, “Why don’t we just pick ONE spot to house the tape measure? That way, we’ll always be able to find it when we need it.”
Long story short, that tape measure is still in the same home we created for it almost 9 years ago. It takes us no time to locate it when we need it and it is easily returned to it’s ‘home’ after a day of furniture shopping.
2. Immediately Dispose of Items Not Needed
Clutter is anything unfinished, unused or unresolved. But, it can also be items you just don’t need anymore like expired medicine, clothes beyond repair, and food that’s turned blue in the back of your fridge. These items have what I call, “The Duh Factor.” They require very little thought when it comes to their disposal due to their poor condition. When you see them, you’re most likely to say, “Duh, I should have gotten rid of this a long time ago. It’s taking up valuable space in my home!” Getting rid of this type of clutter is easy and is a great way to start chipping away at your crammed closets and cabinets.
The best example of clutter that can be tossed immediately is JUNK MAIL. I’m convinced that even if you live in a shack in the woods, catalog companies and charities will still find you. When your mail comes, grab the pile and immediately toss the junk mail in your recycle bin (remove your name and address first). Thanks for saving a tree… 😉
Take 15 minutes a day to try out these tips. You’ll soon see a difference in your home and notice that you have a bit more extra time in your day. Not bad, eh? Well, ‘duh…’
Contact Stacey to Get Started!
