Photo Credits: By Rubbermaid Products
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Spring Clutter Removal
By
Julie Riber
Every spring you plan on cleaning out all the closets, deep
cleaning the cupboards and maybe even having a garage sale to remove all
the clutter in the basement or garage. It seems like you never have the
time or the weather is so nice you would rather be outside. The kids
have started their spring sport programs with practices and games. Your
time is limited.
Spring cleaning can be accomplished if you follow a few tips and have it planned on your calendar. Try to schedule 2 hours or more on the weekends or during the week if time permits. Choose the area to clean based on the weather. When it is 70 degrees or above and sunny out, clean out the garage. You will want to take most items out to spray out the salt and chemicals that have accumulated on your garage floor over the winter. Tracking those in the house is bad on any type of flooring you have. Install some shelving units to get items off the floor. Thinking vertically will allow you to remove more items off the floor. The wall space in the garage is the most under utilized. Make use of it and remove the clutter.
Spring cleaning also includes the yard, such as the leaves that you missed on the last rake. Many leaves end up under the bushes, get those out on the nice spring days. Review your perennial plants to see if they survived the winter. Give them until the first of June to bloom in case they are late bloomers.
Save the rainy April days for the closets and the basement. If you have children, choose a rainy April day to go through their wardrobe. Do not try to do it all in one sitting. Try on short sleeved shirts one day and shorts the next. The warm weather happens gradually, so you have time as long as you do not have to donate all their clothes from last year. Make a list of items they will need and then on sale days, go out a buy them.
Your wardrobe should also be examined. Decide what you wore last year and what you did not. Styles change for the stores as well as for you. Most people do not wear in their forties what they wore in their twenties. Decide on what you like and keep items you will really wear. Maybe you changed careers and your current job is more casual. Keep only the dress items that are classic, not trends. Some colors are trendy too. Keep the basics such as black, brown, and navy.
Shoes change too, so donate those clumpy shoes. Look at the top of your closet. Is there space that is not being utilized above the top shelf? If so, consider storing sweaters in cloth containers over the winter. Individual stacking shelves can be purchased to extend this area and to store those winter clothes on. If you have an older closet with just one rod, consider buying an attachable rod to separate shirts and pants. This will double your space and leave your clothes looking nicer than when they are all jammed in a small space. Get shoe racks that can be stacked but that are also sturdy. This will remove more items off the floor.
Look through the coat closet and decide what coats are no longer needed. Maybe your child barely fit into it at the end of the season. Put it in a bag or container to sell in the autumn along with the clothes they grew out of. Throw out any gloves that no longer have matches and hats that no longer fit.
If you tackle a space at a time, it will get done and seem less daunting then tackling the entire project over one weekend.
Spring cleaning can be accomplished if you follow a few tips and have it planned on your calendar. Try to schedule 2 hours or more on the weekends or during the week if time permits. Choose the area to clean based on the weather. When it is 70 degrees or above and sunny out, clean out the garage. You will want to take most items out to spray out the salt and chemicals that have accumulated on your garage floor over the winter. Tracking those in the house is bad on any type of flooring you have. Install some shelving units to get items off the floor. Thinking vertically will allow you to remove more items off the floor. The wall space in the garage is the most under utilized. Make use of it and remove the clutter.
Spring cleaning also includes the yard, such as the leaves that you missed on the last rake. Many leaves end up under the bushes, get those out on the nice spring days. Review your perennial plants to see if they survived the winter. Give them until the first of June to bloom in case they are late bloomers.
Save the rainy April days for the closets and the basement. If you have children, choose a rainy April day to go through their wardrobe. Do not try to do it all in one sitting. Try on short sleeved shirts one day and shorts the next. The warm weather happens gradually, so you have time as long as you do not have to donate all their clothes from last year. Make a list of items they will need and then on sale days, go out a buy them.
Your wardrobe should also be examined. Decide what you wore last year and what you did not. Styles change for the stores as well as for you. Most people do not wear in their forties what they wore in their twenties. Decide on what you like and keep items you will really wear. Maybe you changed careers and your current job is more casual. Keep only the dress items that are classic, not trends. Some colors are trendy too. Keep the basics such as black, brown, and navy.
Shoes change too, so donate those clumpy shoes. Look at the top of your closet. Is there space that is not being utilized above the top shelf? If so, consider storing sweaters in cloth containers over the winter. Individual stacking shelves can be purchased to extend this area and to store those winter clothes on. If you have an older closet with just one rod, consider buying an attachable rod to separate shirts and pants. This will double your space and leave your clothes looking nicer than when they are all jammed in a small space. Get shoe racks that can be stacked but that are also sturdy. This will remove more items off the floor.
Look through the coat closet and decide what coats are no longer needed. Maybe your child barely fit into it at the end of the season. Put it in a bag or container to sell in the autumn along with the clothes they grew out of. Throw out any gloves that no longer have matches and hats that no longer fit.
If you tackle a space at a time, it will get done and seem less daunting then tackling the entire project over one weekend.
Julie Riber is a professional organizer in the central Ohio area.
She has been organizing homes and businesses for over 4 years. She is a
member of the National Association of Professional Organizers and
President of the Ohio Chapter of NAPO. http://www.transformare.net
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Julie_Riber
Getting The Spring Cleaning Completed
By
Julie Riber
If you feel like you are going to rip your hair out when you hear
spring cleaning, you are not alone. Many think that spring cleaning
means to clean every inch of your house in a month's time. That is
impossible for anyone to do and unrealistic. This article will help you
decide what to clean and how to do organize as you go.
Spring cleaning should be different every year. You should choose different areas to tackle each year. For instance, as your children get older, their rooms might need a spring cleaning as they move from elementary school to middle school or middle school to high school. Certain closets probably do not need to have a spring cleaning every year as they are not used as frequently as others.
The first step in spring cleaning is to list all the areas that really need it this year. Concentrate on those areas that have not been completely emptied in the past two years. The next is to prioritize them in the order in which they are to be completed. Consider the weather if one of them is your garage. The next step to complete your spring cleaning is to make an appointment with yourself for that area. If you can give 2 hours once or twice a week, put those in your appointment book. If you do not schedule the time, you will never get it done.
On your first appointment, remove all the items from the area and give the shelves, or carpet a good cleaning. Take a look at all the items and decide what items got put there by mistake and remove them from the area. Make sure to sort all the items into groups. Sorting has no right or wrong way, but only the way it makes sense to you. Sorting allows you to see how many of any one item you have. Maybe you have it in a variety of colors or you have duplicates. It is time to make the tough decision on what stays and what goes. Anything broken or torn should go as well as any item not used or missed in the last year. Keep only items you must have or use consistently.
Your second appointment should be used to put all the items left back in an organized manner. Make sure you label any bins or baskets you might use to contain small objects. If it is not labeled, how is anyone else suppose to know what goes in the container? You, too, might forget. Buy only containers you needs. I see clients everyday who buy many containers, but do not use them, or use them incorrectly. They end up with hundreds of containers cluttering up their home. Remember, being organized is not just storing items in a bin. It requires you to really decide if you need the items contained.
The last step is to donate the items you no longer need. There are hundreds of charities out there waiting for your unneeded stuff for others to use and enjoy. Now, you have completed a spring cleaning project. It is time to move on to the next one.
Spring cleaning should be different every year. You should choose different areas to tackle each year. For instance, as your children get older, their rooms might need a spring cleaning as they move from elementary school to middle school or middle school to high school. Certain closets probably do not need to have a spring cleaning every year as they are not used as frequently as others.
The first step in spring cleaning is to list all the areas that really need it this year. Concentrate on those areas that have not been completely emptied in the past two years. The next is to prioritize them in the order in which they are to be completed. Consider the weather if one of them is your garage. The next step to complete your spring cleaning is to make an appointment with yourself for that area. If you can give 2 hours once or twice a week, put those in your appointment book. If you do not schedule the time, you will never get it done.
On your first appointment, remove all the items from the area and give the shelves, or carpet a good cleaning. Take a look at all the items and decide what items got put there by mistake and remove them from the area. Make sure to sort all the items into groups. Sorting has no right or wrong way, but only the way it makes sense to you. Sorting allows you to see how many of any one item you have. Maybe you have it in a variety of colors or you have duplicates. It is time to make the tough decision on what stays and what goes. Anything broken or torn should go as well as any item not used or missed in the last year. Keep only items you must have or use consistently.
Your second appointment should be used to put all the items left back in an organized manner. Make sure you label any bins or baskets you might use to contain small objects. If it is not labeled, how is anyone else suppose to know what goes in the container? You, too, might forget. Buy only containers you needs. I see clients everyday who buy many containers, but do not use them, or use them incorrectly. They end up with hundreds of containers cluttering up their home. Remember, being organized is not just storing items in a bin. It requires you to really decide if you need the items contained.
The last step is to donate the items you no longer need. There are hundreds of charities out there waiting for your unneeded stuff for others to use and enjoy. Now, you have completed a spring cleaning project. It is time to move on to the next one.
Julie Riber is a professional organizer in the central Ohio area
for over 5 years. She helps organize individuals spaces, time, and lives
and she helps businesses streamline processes, increase productivity,
and organize their spaces. She is a Golden Circle member of the National
Association of Professional Organizers and Immediate Past President of
the Ohio Chapter of NAPO. Sign up for her free monthly newsletter with
organizing tips. http://www.transformare.net
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Julie_Riber
What You Can't Afford in This Economy
By
Susan Stewart
What you can't afford in this economy is to be DISORGANIZED. Here's why:
Buying duplicate items because you couldn't find what you needed or you didn't remember you had it in the first place wastes money.
Questions to ask:
Do you have more than 3 bags of pasta or spaghetti sauce in your pantry?
If your entire house were searched, would more than 3 staplers turn up?
When it comes time to get out the holiday decorations, are you unable to find them all and end up purchasing new ones each year?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be wasting money by purchasing things you do not need.
Food uses a bigger portion of the budget than is needed.
Questions to ask:
Does your lack of meal planning lead to eating out more than twice a week?
Do you often go out to eat simply because the kitchen is so cluttered that the thought of cooking is completely overwhelming?
When you grocery shop, do you shop without a list?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be spending more money on food than is necessary.
1 in 4 adults say they pay bills late (thus incurring late fees) because they lose them.
Questions to ask:
When a bill comes in the mail, do you have a consistent place to put it?
Do you have a schedule you follow for paying your bills?
Do you feel in control of the mail and have a system for dealing with it?
If you answered no to any of these questions, you may be wasting money on late fees.
Buying duplicate items because you couldn't find what you needed or you didn't remember you had it in the first place wastes money.
Questions to ask:
Do you have more than 3 bags of pasta or spaghetti sauce in your pantry?
If your entire house were searched, would more than 3 staplers turn up?
When it comes time to get out the holiday decorations, are you unable to find them all and end up purchasing new ones each year?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be wasting money by purchasing things you do not need.
Food uses a bigger portion of the budget than is needed.
Questions to ask:
Does your lack of meal planning lead to eating out more than twice a week?
Do you often go out to eat simply because the kitchen is so cluttered that the thought of cooking is completely overwhelming?
When you grocery shop, do you shop without a list?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be spending more money on food than is necessary.
1 in 4 adults say they pay bills late (thus incurring late fees) because they lose them.
Questions to ask:
When a bill comes in the mail, do you have a consistent place to put it?
Do you have a schedule you follow for paying your bills?
Do you feel in control of the mail and have a system for dealing with it?
If you answered no to any of these questions, you may be wasting money on late fees.
Susan Stewart is a professional organizer and the founder of
Perfectly Placed Professional Organization and Design in the Phoenix
area. Perfectly Placed simplifies the domestic lives of women through
organization. You can find out more about Susan and Perfectly Placed at
her website: http://www.perfectlyplaced.org
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Susan_Stewart
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