Paper, Papel, 紙, Papier

No matter what country you live in "paper" is the biggest clutter problem. Most of my organizing clients have "Tackle Paper Piles" as their number one item on their list of things to organize.

Here are some ideas to stop the madness of paper piles.

It take a few weeks or months to stop the junk mail, but here are some things to do to start now.

RECYCLE: Don't take the paper into your house. Put a recycle bin close to where you enter your door after you've picked up your mail. Recycle, recycle, recycle! (Don't recycle any papers that have personal information on them.) Which brings me to my second point: A shred pile.

SHRED:  Make a "To Be Shred" pile. (This is a great little job for  your older children to do for you) Shred anything that has your social security number, credit information, anything that is personal information. Make sure this pile doesn't get ignored very long, or you'll have a big job ahead of  you.

STOP CATALOGUES: The best way to stop unwanted catalogues is to call the company direct and make sure you have the address label with  you. They may ask you information from that label to stop the catalogue.

USE A SERVICE:
www.catalogchoice.org
www.dmachoice.org/dma/member/home.action

GET A FREE CREDIT REPORT: This helps you to see what credit cards you have that you do not use. Some credit card companies sell your information to other businesses that will send you unwanted mail.
www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/freereports/index.shtml

OTHER PAPERS: (Receipts, legal documents) Here is an IRS website to help explain what and how long you should keep records.
www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=98513,00.html

Happy Recycling!

A Quick Organizing Tip....from my house (car) to yours.

For those of you that have teenage drivers, this is a great tip, in case your teen every needs to find the insurance card and registration. (I hope they never do!)

This is a photo of my glove compartment in my car. I placed a clear adhesive label pocket, credit card size, onto the front of the compartment door and that is where the insurance card is stored. I also have a colored envelope with "Car Registration" written, in big letters, on the envelope in the glove compartment.

These label pockets are also great to stick on bins and place the label inside. When the contents change, you can change the label. The label stays clear and dry.   You can purchase the labels online at  www.allbrightideas.com.

I'm Baaack! Ready to get organized for the holidays??

Sorry I've been gone for so long. Even those that are organized can get thrown off schedule with events foreseen and unforeseen.

Can I just say that I'm so glad to see that some of my organizing genes have been inherited by my children? My second daughter started college this fall. Due to the scheduling of BYU-Idaho, she is off track in December, meaning she will head to school for less than 14 weeks and then she's home again. I think the strategy for packing is different in this situation and luckily she has winter semester off in a cold climate like Rexburg, Idaho. (Frankly, I don't think she would have fit in my husband’s Prius, with all her stuff, plus her winter coats and shoes!)

Months before she started packing for college, I had her keep a list of things she used on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. (Having my organizing genes, she loved doing this,which helped immensley.) She listed items she used for personal care, kitchen (she is in a cooking dorm), at her desk, clothes she wore, etc… This list became my prized possession, and bartering tool, just like the “Temple of Doom” and the whip was to Indiana Jones.

When it came time to make the official packing list, it was a simple task. We read down the list, perusing over the items, marking essential and non essential items. We came to an agreement on what we needed to purchase and gather, and then I pulled out the suitcase to pack and the two bins to fill. Believe it or not it was that easy. The bins she filled with items she could leave in Rexburg when she came home for winter break and the suitcase was for the items to bring home. She also had a big duffel bag to fit all of her bedding and computer bag for her laptop.

Advanced planning is the key……..and like packing for college, advanced planning can make the holidays easier.

The other day I started to think about the fast approaching holidays and made a list in my mind of what I needed to do before they were here. I wrote down those items and broke them down to essential and non-essential. The top of the essential list was “Make memories, not pies!” Why did I write that? It seems like every year after the holidays my husband and I always say, “I wish we would have made time to attend this holiday event or done this service, we’re going to plan better next year.” If we had put all of the food planning into planning our memory making activities, we would share more memories as a family, and our waistlines would be smaller.

I’ve got a plan on how to accomplish this this year. After we have eaten our Thanksgiving dinner and we’re all sitting around looking through the newspaper for Black Friday deals, I’m going to pull out the December event page of the paper and start marking the December calendar with every event we want to attend.

I’ll post that calendar on the front of our refrigerator for all to see. Each week when we have our family planning meeting, we’ll look to the calendar and schedule around those events. We’ll be planning so far ahead we will be able to invite friends to attend with us!

Hopefully, this is something you haven't thought about in organizing for the holidays. (All the other organizing tips for the holidays you can read in the magazines that are currently on the racks in the stores or on the web) I think tomorrow I’ll purchase a cute little holiday colored notebook to jot down notes on our holiday events, the “must sees” and the not so “must sees”.

Where does time go??

I was checking my last blogging date and I couldn't believe that it was almost two months since I have last blogged! Crazy how time flies! I did finish all my organizing projects while the family was away. They were quite happy to see all their "ducks" in a row. (Or should I say, their drawers, clothes hanging in the closet, dresser tops so clean and organized) You're probably wondering if they are still that way now that two months have passed.  I can honestly say "YES". Of course, with a little weekly maintenance from the "Organizing Ninja". The work has paid off.

My daughters and I have determined what clothes they haven't worn in the two months and that's not because the seasons have changed. We live in Seattle, summer won't be here until after the 4th of July. We were able to get rid of camis that they thought they would wear some day and haven't worn during this time. (I secretly put rubber bands around the ones I haven't seen in the laundry for a few weeks, and that proved my point when the day of judgement arrived. Ha!) I love it when that happens.

The past two months have gone so fast, we have sent our oldest daughter on a 18 month LDS mission to Brazil. Before she left, she again attempted to go through the bins that had her name labeled on the front. After spending full day of reminiscing she realized that half of the stuff she had saved she really didn't need anymore.  She downsized to two bins labeled with her name on them, and off she went with two suitcases for her new life in Brazil. That really makes one realize what it is that is REALLY needed.

I've made it through the Senior finals and ready to see my next daughter graduate from high school. She's already telling me not to put her stuff in a bin when she heads to BYU-Idaho, she will return in December for three months. Darn! I was hoping to convert her room into an exercise room. Ha!

I started a new list of to-do's and with Spring approaching I got busy with new and existing clients wanting to get organized before a moving date or summer's arrival. My list waited, client's projects were finished, and I started on MY list. Well, as life has it, my hand was injured and I haven't been able to do too much for the past week. But in situations like this you learn great lessons in delegation and prioritizing.

When unplanned things happen in  your life you need to ask yourself, "What is the most important thing I need to accomplish?" When you answer your question, you realize that not many of those "to-do's" were that important and most can be delegated to loving friends and family that ask what they can do to help. It's called eating some "humble pie" and letting others help you!

So while I'm sitting here at my computer thankful that I can type, a little slower than usual, I realize that it is a good thing to be organized before you happen upon life's little set backs, because that order and simplicity helps in times like this.

I'm sure Spring has hit in most parts of the world, so start with the little baby steps of getting organized. While you're getting out your Spring wardrobe and putting away the winter, stop and look at those articles of clothing that you don't remember wearing and give it to someone that may be able to next winter. Get ready to have the kids home for the summer, organize summer chores, activities, easy and quick meals to eat on a busy, hot summer's day. The best advice I was given as a young mother was to enjoy the Spring, don't worry about Spring cleaning because the kids will be home all summer and will mess it up, save it for Fall when they are back in school. Have fun with your kids, family vacations, build memories, not clutter!

Day Three of Whole House Cleaning and Organizing

Today after getting my massage...I know I'm suppose to relax, eat bon-bons and watch a movie...I just couldn't, time is of the essence. I began cleaning and going through the kids' bathroom cabinets.

• Checking expirations dates on items in the medicine cabinet.
• Inspecting the hairbrushes, and throwing them in the wash machine for a good cleaning.
• Making lists of  "need to purchase" items, hairbands that are on their last leg, ready to snap and put an eye out, make up used down to the nubbins, dental floss, etc...
• Looking over the towels in the linen cabinet, tossing mascara ridden washcloths. You can purchase a stack of washcloths at Costco or Target for a few dollars. I use to take worn towels and cut them into washcloth mits and sew them together. It was easy for my little ones to wash with a mit than to hold a big wash cloth.
• I counted beach towels, getting ready for Summer...in my dreams.
• Stocked up on TP in the bathroom cabinet
• Ended with a quick clean and left the bathroom shiny and decluttered!
• Then headed to the store to buy the items on my list.
• Put a pork roast in the crock pot to make BBQ pork sandwiches for a family having a baby this week. A good excuse to have a real dinner for myself. I hate cooking when no one is home to eat it!

I recieved a text from one of my daughters asking if I had thrown away her stuff. Are they reading my blog?! I doubt it, they just know their mother all too well. He, he,  he!
Well, I'm making a list of what I can do tomorrow. I'm starting the day of with a little service, watching my friends' children for a few hours, I wonder if she knows she's inviting the "Ninja Organizer" over to her house?!

Ninja Organizer

Wow, it's been almost two months since I posted on my blog....where does time go? Wherever it goes, it goes too fast! When days get long and dark in Seattle, I head to sunnier climates to visit my family, so that's where it has gone these past two months. My oldest daughter will be leaving in two weeks to serve a full time mission for our church in Brazil. That's my other excuse, getting ready to send my daughter off for 18 months to a foreign country. Well, that's enough excuses for me, I'm on an organizing mission this week. I sent my husband and children to Utah for Spring break, while I stay home and become the "NINJA ORGANIZER".

This is the Ninja Organizer....organizes her children's rooms and husband's belongings secretly while they are away, leaving no trace that the Ninja has been there. How do I do this you ask?

 I'll share with you my little  "secret Ninja tips".

1. I take the clothing that has been hanging on my teenage daughters' hangers for a season and turn the clothing inside out. After observing the clothing not in the laundry or turned inside right, I can honestly say it's safe to donate to a better cause. You may think that they will catch on to my secret, well, that's why I alternate my system, I get two different hangers, both white in color and slightly different, and place the item in question on that hanger, then observe.

2. Same goes for dusty shoes....shoes worn do not accumulate dust!

3. I match socks to their mate. If there isn't a mate, I gather the single socks in one place, after going through all my daughters' drawers, try to find the mate, if no mate, they are gone. If needed, I buy new socks and place them in their drawers, the only trace left by the Ninja. (It softens the blow when they see the other items that are gone.) Who can argue when there's fresh socks in your drawer, folded so cute!

4. A good black Sharpie pen is crucial to a Ninja's work. I write a date on the clothing label when I purchase it for my husband, which would be ALL of his clothing. When clothing starts to look worn or stained and he says, "That's brand new, I just got that shirt." I can  honestly tell him just how old it is and there's no arguing with the Ninja, out it goes. NINJA NOTE: Socks can't be marked, but you can tell the wear by placing your hand in the sock and reading your palm.

5. I also use the black sharpie when sorting through my daughters' bathroom. I mark the date of the items when I purchase them so when I sort I know just how old that item is. If there's an item that hasn't been dated, I mark the current date so I  have a benchmark the next time I sort.

6. A good Ninja organizer must do some mending and repair. Necklaces that are in a drawer and not on  my daughters' dresser are a sure sign something is in need of repair, same goes for miscellaneous buttons, a good ninja can find the place where that button fell from and replace it, leaving no trace.

Those tips are the freshest on  my mind, I'll get out my Ninja Sharpie and make a list of other Ninja secrets I use this week. I just remembered one, reward the Ninja for her hard work....I just scheduled a massage for the last day of the week. Ahhhh!

Please share any Ninja tips you might have by leaving a comment.............

Spices and Herbs

The best way to tackle a spice/herb cabinet is to understand a little about them.

We'll start with little basics on the difference between a spice and a herb.

Spices are grown in the tropics or subtropics and have colors of brown, red, orange, black or anything other than green. FYI...the word "spice" comes from the word "species" Latin, which were goods brought by caravan from tropical islands of southern Asia. Wares and assorted traded goods were called "species", which became "spice" in English.

Herbs are grown in more temperate climates, Europe and U.S. and are green in color.

The biggest enemy to spices and herbs is light. Spices and herbs are usually sold in grocery stores in clear glass or plastic containers and in large quantities. The reason I've learned, is that spices and herbs can have a longer storage life if they are in dark, cool containers, but that would not sell spices and herbs as frequently as manufactures would like. In reality, we would like to buy smaller quantities because recipes generally don't call for a large quantity of spice or herbs. If you are able to, it's better to purchase your spices in bulk at stores like Whole Foods or other bulk type stores. When you buy in bulk it saves you money and you can buy the quantity you need, especially if you're using a new recipe.

Each person has their more common spices and herbs that are used. It's good to take note of these spices and herbs most used in your kitchen. This will help you to know what you should keep and dispose of or give to a friend that uses that spice.

Storing spices
It's best to store spices in a dark, cool container. The refrigerator is the ideal place to store all spices and herbs. Do not store your spices above your stove, the heat will destroy them.
I love my small tin containers. The containers can be found in most kitchen stores or stores like Bed Bath and Beyond. The tin keeps the temperature cool.

I print out a label and place it on the front of the tin or if you store it in a drawer you can place it on the top. I print a second label with the date purchased, that way I can keep track of how long I've had the spice.

How do you know if the spice and herbs are expired?

Herbs usually loose their flavor after a year or so and get dried out. The oils in the herbs are what gives the flavor. If in doubt you can rub a small amount of the herb in your palm and see if there is still an odor on your palm, if it crumbles and smells like hay, toss it!

Spices keep longer than herbs. If the spices are in whole form, they last even longer, except for mustard seeds and sesame seeds, they can go rancid. If the spices are old, you may need to use more of the spice or you can choose to throw it away and buy new. You may also to the palm check to see if the spice still has a kick.

There are many ways to store your spices and herbs in a cabinet.

** Tiered shelf inserts, they look like little steps and you can adjust the width.
** Stack the tins on top of each other. The smaller tins take up little space.
** Single or doubled turntable,  comes in various sizes and materials.

I use a combination of these items in my cabinet. (Photos below)

Check out http://www.thecontainerstore.com/ , look under kitchen category.

Learn more about spices and herbs....great resource "The Complete Spice Book"
Author Maggie Stuckey

My spice cabinet photos:

Spice tins with labels

Tiered spice/seasoning shelf

Doubled Turntable

I put the large  Costco seasonings/spices on their side and label the top lid

Where is January going?

January is flying by.We've had some wonderful news in our family, my oldest daughter is going to be serving an 18 month mission for our church, in Brazil. Preparing all the paperwork for her VISA kept me pretty busy! I do have to say that we were able to get it done in 6 days, and I contribute that to my organized files...it makes tasks like this so much easier!

I left you hanging in December with the Pantry organizing...I'm working on the next,  "In My Kitchen" organizing post. I'll concentrate on the next area, the Spice cabinet. There is really a lot to know about spices, like how do  you know the 25 year old tumeric is still good?! Believe me, I have come across items in people's spice cabinets older than me.

I'll be posting this information next week.........until then keep up the good work on your New Year's resolutions! (I'm hoping it is to be more organized!)

Holiday Down Time

I don't know about you, but during the holidays I have some downtime when the kids are in their PJ's watching movies and just relaxing. Now don't get me wrong, I love to relax and sleep in, but after a while I get a little bored and need something constructive to do. So I have some end of the year things I do to fill this time.

Family Medical History....

Throughout the year as I recieve insurance EOB (Explanation of Benefits) I write on the EOB the reason for the doctor visit and any other information. I put them in a file and at the end of the year I sort them according to family member, and then put them in date order. I record the information in a Microsoft Excel file, titled "Medical History 2009".  I have columns for recording information: Family member, Date, Doctor, and Reason for visit. I take the EOB's and input the information for each family member.
I then shred the EOB's and start with a clean file for the new year.

This medical history has been a very helpful resource to keep track of appointments, patterns of sicknesses. An example, one of my children for three years straight visited the doctor in February and November for the same reason each year. I mentioned the pattern to my doctor and it turns out it's a specific allergy. So around those months an allergy medicine is taken and we don't have those doctor visits anymore.

This downtime is a good time to sort out files. I take one file at a time and while watching a movie or sitting around visiting with my family, I sort the file. Make sure you have a bag for recycle and shredding.

It never fails during winter break, my kids say, "I'm bored!". Yes, my children still haven't learned to say that around this mom! I spend time with each child going through their toy box or closet and clean out to make room for the new items recieved as Christmas gifts.

Well, I'm off to put away my holiday decorations, which always leads to a good house cleaning!

Happy Holidays to All!

If your new year's resolution is to be more organized.............check back in 2010!

Welcome to my pantry!

As promised, here is my personal pantry. Enjoy! (Disclaimer...I'm not a professional photographer. :-)

I used scrapbook letter stickers to label my bins.

The larger labels I ordered from etsy.com, JK Designs

The white bins are great....IKEA!

Tupperware changed kitchen in the 60's, Costco has changed kitchen in the 90's and on...

Clean containers, food quality, are a great visual.

Little bins and lazy susans are great for miscellaneous items.

I don't know about you, but I have to designate a special shelf that is for school lunch supplies only.

That is the only way I can guarantee there are treats and chips left for the next days lunches. :-)

Small bins found at Container Store are nice to hold paper goods,  easy to find and reach,

 something kids always need and need it quick!

I like  to keep my potatoes and squash in a basket so that it's dry and airy.

I also have my flour and sugar 5 gallon buckets as back up for the smaller sugar and flour bins.

I find I get better success from my children refilling the smaller bins when they don't have to go out to the garage to do so. It takes up a lot of space, but the benefits outway.

Some of my favorite things....a holder for those store plastic bags. It also helps

monitor how many you can save. I use a  magazine rack from IKEA to hold my paper bags. It keeps them

up and off the floor and easy to see what sizes I have.

So that is my pantry, which us to be an area where I had a butler service (counter and shelves below and above) and a smaller pantry on the opposite of the butler service. I saw how much wasted space

there was and I had my husband close it off and make a large pantry. It's been great! It makes for a nice phone booth too when my kids are too loud and I need to talk on the phone. He, he!

Hello and Happy Autumn!

Sorry I haven't posted for a long while. Organizing still goes on...organizing how to pack my suitcase for my trip to Omaha and New York.
Now let the organizing begin in my pantry. Upon us are months of baking, preparing, cooking and to have your pantry stocked saves you time and money.

First let's start with a list of basics for your pantry...

Baking powder
Baking soda
Beans, canned: black beans, red kidney, white
Beans, dried: red kidney, great northern, lentils, split pea, black, pinto
Bread crumbs
Broth, dried and canned: beef, vegetable, chicken
Cereal
Chocolate: unsweetened squares, semisweet chips, cocoa powder
Cooking spray
Cornmeal
Cornstarch
Crackers
Dried fruits: raisins
Extracts: vanilla, lemon, almond, orange
Flour: All-purpose, whole wheat, cake, bread
Fruit preserves, jam, jelly
Garlic, fresh
Gelatin: powdered, unflavored
Milk: boxed, powdered, evaporated milk
Nuts: almonds, peanuts, walnuts, pecans, pine nuts
Onions: red and yellow
Pasta, dried: spaghetti, linguini, angel hair, fettuccine, penne, noodles
Peanut butter
Potatoes, fresh
Rice
Soup: canned and dry bouillon
Sugar: granulated, confectioner's, light and dark brown
Tomatoes: canned whole, crushed, chopped, puree, sauce, fresh
Tuna, canned
Yeast, dry active (I keep my yeast in the freezer. It extends its life)

This list is an idea, but you need to specialize it to your needs.

Next post....how to organize them in your pantry.... ideas from my pantry.

A Blog Follower's Question

What do you do if you are married to a collector who wants to keep EVERYTHING?? How do you convince those that you organize to throw away or get rid of things?? I need help in convincing my husband he doesn't need to keep stuff. Hope you can help me - and others who are married to the same problem --- Heather, Seattle, WA

This is a difficult task to accomplish....first you need to ask yourself, what am I storing and why? We often look at other's "stuff" and think ours is more important!

After being married for a year, living in small college apartments, and moving all of my husband's stuff from apartment to apartment, I challenged my husband to a "Get Rid of Our Stuff Night". Convenience was the key...there was a dumpster right below our apartment balcony. We took each of our boxes full of "stuff" and had the other look through it. We would hold up an item from each other’s box and asked for a good justification to keep it.

This is how the evening went...

Husband: "What do you need this Michael Jackson "Thriller" album for honey?"
Wife: (Me) “Well, maybe one day it'll be worth something and the songs remind me of college days when I met you. It doesn't take up much space".
(How could he resist? Yeah! I got to keep it.)
Wife: (Holding a rope maker), "Why do you need this rope maker that's made of cut 2” x 4” and 4 nails?"
Husband: "Well, when I have a son, I hope to show him how to make rope, like I did as a Boy Scout."
Wife: "Honey, let's just hope you have a decent job so when and if we have a son, you will be able to afford to buy a 2” x 4” and 4 nails.” (Side note: After three girls we finally had a son, and yes he can afford to buy all the materials to make that rope maker!)
Over the balcony and into the dumpster the rope maker went.

My point, don't throw anything away without the owner’s consent. It's important to build trust when trying to downsize "collections".

It’s also helpful to ask the right questions......

1. What memory does this bring to you? Is important enough to keep?

2. How long has it been since you've used this item?

3. Do you still fit into it? Will you ever? (HA!)
I mark the month and year purchased on the back of the tag on my husband's clothing...I win the arguement everytime.

4. Can we creatively display this if it's that important to you?

Photo below: My husband lived in Spain for two years and took 100's of slides. We had many shoe boxes of slides. After 15 years of marriage, I felt it was time to look through these slides. Hours later and many fun memories shared, we ended up with 15 slides that he remembered the people or the places photographed. Most of the slides we saved were of him with beautiful scenery in the background. For a birthday present that current year, I had three photos made from his favorite slides and a map of Spain, matted and framed. It now hangs on our wall for everyone to enjoy.




I have also framed items that can't be put in a scrapbook, for instance, my daughter went to China for a humanitarian trip. She purchased a traditional "rice paddy" hat for $2 USD and carried it everywhere she went for 2 weeks. I took a stitchery she recieved from a villager and framed it with her hat above it. Be creative!



5. What’s the worst thing that could happen if we got rid of this?

6. These items take a lot of storage, what else could we put in this place that we will use more often?

7. Let’s put these items in a box and mark it with the date. If we haven’t opened this in a year, than let’s donate it or throw it away.

8. Can this information be accessed on the internet? Is it current information?

9. Can we take a photo of it?

10. Do you really need 100 of this one item? Group the like items so they can visually see how many they reallly have of one thing.

Remember patience is the key!

FYI…….I still have my “Thriller” album, it’s worth nothing but the memories. However, its fun to show my kids the size of an album compared to an iPod file. I’ll save it for my grandkids, along with my high school letterman’s jacket, which by the way, has been used many a Halloween for costumes!

A great article to read in Real Simple magazine by Erin Rooney

http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/life-strategies/inspiration-motivation/10-ways-let-go-stuff-00000000010583/index.html

Analog Photos...550 Billion in American Homes!

The other day as I was driving to a client's home to help them organize, I was listening to National Public Radio. (I have to confess, I'm an NPR junkie! I feel like a smarty pants learning new things as I drive about town.) The topic on NPR was "Scanning Old Photos A Shoebox At A Time". Sam Allen the CEO of Scancafe did a study and he discovered that there are 550 billion analog photos sitting in shoe boxes or other types of storage in American homes. Yikes!

When I was living in Omaha, two friends and I opened a storefront scrapbook store. Customers would bring their boxes, old magnetic albums, etc..., into the store to seek help to get those photos in a safe place. It was sad to see some of the photos beginning to fade and memories lost.

I bring this up to remind you as the kids go back to school, take a few minutes in your day and locate your photos. Make sure they are safely stored, PVC free and archival safe!

A great Christmas gift to add to your 2009 Christmas list would be to have your photos scanned. Once you have them all on a disk you are able to make various copies to give to your family members.

There are local businesses that have this service, Costco has just began scanning photos and converting slides, there are online services, Scancafe.com (The CEO mentioned their business is in India, so the photos are shipped, that makes me a wee bit nervous), Scandigital.com. Another alternative is to make your own book bound albums with companies like Snapfish.com or Shutterfly.com. Don't forget your VHS tapes too. If the VHS tapes are not viewed a few times a year the tape begins to fade.

In this time of digital photos we tend to download our photos onto our computers and forget about them. Remember to back up your harddrive in case your computer crashes or use an online service to back up your computer regularly, Mozy.com is a great resource and if you don't have large files it's free.

Different Ways to Categorize Your DVD Collection

I let my son (10 years old)take charge of the DVD organizing and he wanted to alphabetize the DVDs. Alphabetizing works in our family because we don't purchase many DVDs, not since we subscribed to Netflix. Let them store DVDs for me! Just like the public library stores books for me.

However, frequent DVD buyers should avoid alphabetizing...it'll be a continual shuffling of DVDs.
Other suggestions from my wonderful readers:
1- The best way is to cut the DVD jackets and place them in the DVD holder. If the DVD is gone, then you'll know which one is missing.
2- Group by ratings G, PG, PG-13, etc....
3- Have separate binder for children's video's and non-children videos
4- Group by genre, i.e., Westerns, Comedy, Romance, etc...
5- Type up your DVD list on the computer for safe keeping and put all your DVDs in the binder. (I know that's not very organized, but think of all the space you're saving!)

My Children's Summer Organizing Project

I think my children know better than to say, "Mom I'm bored!" during the summer break. Before school ended, I thought of some organizing projects that they could do during the summer when they pulled the "I'm bored card".

The first project was organizing our DVD collection into a DVD binder. This project was brought on sooner than expected with the need for my husband to mount our flat screen television to the wall. He had to mess up my cute television cabinet and my already organized DVD storage shelf. How dare him! :-) When the television goes on the wall, there's no need for a storage cabinet....so my kids came to the rescue.

One child read off the title of the DVD and the other typed the title into an Excel spreadsheet. As soon as all the titles of the DVD's were inputted, they could use the "A to Z" format in Excel to put the titles in alphabetical order. They printed out the excel sheet and placed it in the front of the binder to be used as an index.

Next, they made a template to measure the size of the binder DVD pocket to cut out the label for each DVD.

The list they had printed out gave them the order in which to place the DVDs alphabetically in the binder. They started with the first DVD cover and cut the main title fonts and photo to fit in the pocket. (Some DVD covers slip out of the plastic jacket on the DVD case, others are cardboard. If you don't have a case, you can always go to the Internet and print out a title and photo )
They first put the cut out label into the pocket and then placed the DVD in the pocket. This will make the removal of the DVD easier and the label will stay in the binder.

Now we have over 75 DVDs in one little binder!

The left over cases were put in a box and listed on FreeCycle.org. They were gone the next day! BTW...Freecycle is a great resource to give items away to others than can use them.


Every time they open the DVD case, they are so proud of their project! When a child helps with a project they take ownership and thus, help to keep the system successful!

Happy Summer....where is it going?!

Hello! I know it's been a month since my last post, but it seems just like yesterday! Our family's summer is going so fast. Of course, living in the Northwest, summers are very short, come late and leave early, so we take advantage of every sunny day!
I have been doing some organizing with my children and will post those projects real soon!
Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all enjoying your summer!

Baby Steps

The first step in organizing your home is DESIRE. If you have no desire you won't do it!

Second, start one room at a time and remove anything thing that doesn't belong there, i.e., lawnmower in bedroom, wrench in the nursery. Ha, you know what I mean!

Third, obtain 3 boxes for sorting and title them:

1. Things that belong in another room.
2. Give away/garage sale box.
3. Not sure of. (Let it sit a month and if you don't use it,put in box #2 or )
4. TRASH BASKET

Now the fun begins!

While you're sitting there in front of your "project" sorting, ask yourself these 3 questions:
1. Do I really need this?
2. How long has been since it's been used?
3. Do I need so many?

Think "Out of sight, out of mind", not "absence makes the heart grow fonder."

Then ask yourself how did these things get here, let's look at the questions perhaps not asked before bringing these little projects home.

1. Where am I going to put it? (When purchasing something.)
2. Do I really need this? ( Perhaps borrow that pasta maker before purchasing it.)
3. What can I do without? What do I really need? ( Keep a list of things you'd like to buy then decide what can you live without.)
4. Why did I say "Sure I'd love to have that!".( Learn to say,"No thanks!" when your mother- in-law is trying to clean out her house.)
5. Is this item time consuming to maintain? If yes, is it worth it to me to spend that time.

Now you have things that you NEED, right?....Let's organize those items.

Group and store items together, i.e., books, tapes, suitcases etc..
1. Use drawer dividers
2. Use Rubbermaid bins, Ziploc bags, boxes etc.

I suggest using temporary containers until you know those items are definitely keepers.


Things to keep in mind when organizing:
1. Store things where you use them
2. Have a trash can in every room.
3. Be motion minded. Delete steps, i.e. have cleaning items upstairs and downstairs.

The more steps it takes to complete the task the less success you will have! This really applies to children. (No lid on the dirty clothes hamper)

Where is the month of May going?

Hello Everyone! May is flying by. I think next to November and December, May is one of the busier months. Graduations, weddings, end of school year activities, you name it, everyone seems to be busy.
I went to the stationary store yesterday and stocked up on graduation cards. I usually am so organized that I purchase one generic "high school" graduate gift and then I'm finished with the gift purchasing. I'm realizing that teenagers would rather get a check in the mail and spend it how they want. I'm fine with that, it's easier for me and I'm all for easy! I probably don't even need to put the check in a card,just wrap it in recycled paper and be done with it. Ha! We know they all go for the money and don't read the card. Perhaps their mothers read the card and then put your name on a "Write Thank You Cards" list. Yes, I still make my kids sit down and write thank you cards and no emails can be sent, just the good old handwritten notes.

I have been working on my garden this month and have not posted on my blog. I apologize, when we get a sunny day in Seattle it must be taken advantage of for we can't be guaranteed it will be back the next day.

Here are photos of my garden project. Our garden is on a friend's property and they have been gracious enough to let our family and two others garden together. Of course, I'm in charge of organizing the watering and weeding schedule. It's a great opportunity to teach your children the value of hard work and healthy eating.

Organizing Your Kids' Bathroom

I am a mother of 4 children, 3 being teenage daughters. (My poor son) There needs to be some sort of organization in a bathroom being used by 4 kids, especially with all the "accessories" teenage girls need.

Here are some organization methods that have worked for me...

I was an organizer on a mission to find extra space in this room. I had my husband install a medicine cabinet for extra storage. As he was installing the medicine cabinet, his curiousity took over and he looked beyond the insulation and lo and behold there was a 3' x 5' empty space. I jumped for joy....we could install cabinets in that wall for extra storage! (Sometimes to gain extra storage you have to think outside of the box. And have a handyman husband.)

The cabinet has been a great place to store linens and towels.

I was once told, by a mother of 7 children, that the best thing she ever did for herself was to buy all white linens, towels and children's socks. I have always remembered that and have bought all white towels. You can bleach them clean, just like the hotels. (Exception: Beach towels!)

I also buy the stacks of white washcloths, that are inexpensive, so when the make up stains no longer wash out I can move them to my rag basket and bring out new ones. I stock up on hand towels and washcloths at Costco. I keep a stack in the back of the cabinet for "guests only".

The containers that house my washcloths and extra pillowcases are from IKEA. I fold the pillowcases into the flat and fitted sheets so they are always together. The extra pillow cases are for camp, sleepovers, etc....

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Towel bars wouldn't give us enough space, so I came up with this idea. (So very Martha Stewart of me!) Each child has their intial over their towel hook. (Towel hooks purchased at the Restoration Hardware outlet! Great buy!) Having the intials over their towel hook prevents the Three Bear comments...."Hey some one used my towel!" and it also helps me know whose towel is missing on laundry day!

(I'm in a big debate whether to change the "S" to "G"uest, "S" went away to college, what are your thoughts moms??)



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Hold on to your hats, this is the bestest idea yet, well at least I was pretty proud of my idea.

My children use the Sonicare toothbrushes and the Sonicare heads were finding their place all over the counters. It was driving me crazy! One day my son was cleaning the bathroom counters and he had the brush heads stuck to the metal corner under the dry wall. Wow...I didn't know they were magnetic. I checked with a Sonicare expert and asked if it would harm the heads to be mounted on a piece of metal. The answer was "NO", so I took my black IKEA metal message bar and cut it to fit the space above the counter, on the wall and "VIOLA", my problem solved.


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Drawers and Cabinets

There is a face plate, in most cabinets, in front of the sink. There is a product that can be purchased at stores like Home Depot that will turn this space into useable space. Photo below is the result....

Under the sink cabinets

When placing storage containers under the sink, remember to measure the space, the plumbing tends to make odd spaces for storage.

TIP: Increase your odds of children putting things back in their places by designating a space for everything. There will never be a question of "Where does this go?".

Now this drawer below will never be neatly organized, but my kids know what items go in this drawer.

Shower and Toilet area......

I hung a cabinet on the wall to house items that need to be on hand, like TP.

There are all kinds of over the toilet storage available.

I hope you enjoyed this little tour through a room that most "visitors" to my home don't see.