Tag: #organizing

Simplify NOW for Holiday Season

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The calendar doesn’t lie, we are heading into the Holiday season fast and furious!  With the hustle and bustle of the holidays comes stress and chaos. Say Yes to Less now and simplify your life so the holidays are less stressful.  This will allow to enjoy more time with friends and family. …and isn’t that what the holiday season is really all about?

5 ideas to help you start decluttering BEFORE the holiday season takes over:

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  1. Holiday Decorations.  Throughout different stages of our life, our decorating needs change as does our taste in decor.  Have you recently become an empty nester?  Donate the kid-focused decorations to Goodwill and try a new color scheme. Your local Goodwill Store is also a great place to start your new holiday decor collection; or if you are crafty, look in the aisles of Goodwill for things you can paint or #repurpose or #upstyle and make your own.  Just got married?  Time to start building your holiday decor collection!  Be sure to only keep what fits in your storage space.

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  1. The Kitchen.  Ask yourself how many things in your kitchen you really use.  If you haven’t used the turkey platter in 20 years, donate it to Goodwill and free up room in your kitchen.  Have a set of holiday dishes you love, but are missing a few pieces? Goodwill is a fantastic place to search for those random pieces to complete your collection.

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  1. Kids Stuff.  Now is the time to go through all the toys and games and pare down by donating gently-used toys to Goodwill.  Why not brighten someone’s day when they find that treasure you’ve donated?  Since I know many of you will have a ton of this kind of donation, here is a helpful tip:  did you know you can also use a Goodwill Drive-Thru to get help with unloading?

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  1. Closets.  As you change your closets over for the new season, it is the perfect time to access those out-of-season things.  Did you wear it over the summer?  Is it showing signs of wear?  Donate what you don’t love and what doesn’t get worn to Goodwill.  And when you are filling your closet with your current season clothing, make a shopping list of the things that are missing.  Maybe you don’t have a scarf or mittens to match your winter coat?. When you are at Goodwill donating, take a look to see if you find something perfect to add to your closet!    

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  1. Garage. Over the summer, we all drop things in the garage when we’re busy having fun during the warmer months.  Now that the weather is changing, clean up that clutter!  Bring in all the outdoor planters and pots, organize all of the storage areas in your garage and fill your car with those things you really don’t need cluttering up your garage…and donate them to Goodwill.  In the Spring, you will be so happy you did this now!

Say Yes to Less and have a less stressful holiday season!

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Back To School Organization

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Back to school organization isn’t as overwhelming as it seems. Preparing for this exciting time takes energy, effort, and can be expensive. However, if you are organized, it will take a lot of stress out of this time of year.  I recommend heading to your nearest Goodwill store to look for fun and unique containers for school supplies.


Organizing School Supplies

Back to school organizing means being organized for the first days and weeks of school.  This organizing begins at home and will become habit. For example, you might have a drawer in your house that can be emptied and used for school supplies…extra pens, #2 pencils, markers, erasers, tape, glue, etc.  While at Goodwill, look for square or oblong containers that fit in your supply drawer.   Sort your supplies so pens are not mixed in with  markers, for example. Have a home for these things to make it easier and less expensive to restock your backpack. Don’t re-purchase crayons and glue, shop in your supply drawer!

Backpack Storage and Organization

Backpacks need a home. Ideally, hang backpacks near the entry/exit door of your home. If you do not have a mudroom with lockers or cubbies, create your own.  Use simple, sturdy hooks at eye level. This encourages the habit of getting home from school, emptying the backpack of homework and other papers, and hanging the backpack directly on the hook.

If you don’t have space for hooks, try a door organizer. The one pictured was intended for handbags, but works perfectly for backpacks.

No more searching all over the house for the backpacks or the papers that need to return to school.

Paperwork Organization

Back to school organizing means dealing with mountains of paperwork.  Create a home for all that paper – shop at Goodwill and look for containers suitable for holding temporary papers.  For example, baskets and trays work well.  Label the containers with words that suggest action, such as “Homework to do”,  “Mom to sign and return”, or “Put on calendar.”

Organizing kids clothes

Another area in your home where organization is key is the kids bedroom closet. Simply decide on your next day’s outfit the night before and set it out (don’t forget the shoes). One easy way to organize the next days outfits is to find hanging storage cubes at Goodwill. Having 2 of these storage units makes things even easier. One for tops and one for bottoms.  Label days of the week for each cube to eliminate morning frustration. Get your kids involved with choosing outfits by allowing them to choose tops, and you add bottoms.

This smart move will give you extra time in the morning for a healthy, relaxing breakfast.

Have a Happy, Organized School Year!!

This months guest blogger is Cathy Fairchild from Say Yes to Less.

Get in touch with Cathy at:  http://www.sayyestoless.guru  

Find Cathy on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/sayyestoless.guru/

Marie Kondo Tidying Up

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Marie Kondo has sparked a tidying up revolution.

Marie Kondo is the best-selling author of “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” and “Spark Joy”; she also has a Netflix series, “Tidying Up With Marie Kondo”.  Her goal is to help you tidy their spaces by choosing joy.  Through that, she offers tips and tricks to help you become more organized and intentional with your belongings.

There are numerous benefits to decluttering things around your home. For instance, less clutter creates lower stress.  Also, this tidying up revolution has led to an increase in donations to Goodwill!  This time of year spring cleaning means decluttering. Here are some easy tips from Marie’s book as you start your home decluttering projects:

Here are some examples of folding your t-shirts to stand up in a drawer.  The idea behind this is you can fit more in your drawers, and be able to see everything that is stored there. Your folding technique doesn’t have to be perfect, and it only takes a second to fold your clothes this way.

1.    When starting your decluttering and tidying project, begin with clothes and end with sentimental items.  Regarding organizing clothing, Marie says, “The key is to store things standing up rather than laid flat.”

It seems like a lot of work to follow Marie’s advice and pull all your clothing out of closets and drawers and put everything in a pile.  She recommends you touch each item of clothing and ask yourself if it “sparks joy.” If the answer is “no,” donate to Goodwill and let it spark joy for someone else!

This is also the advice of our resident Goodwill Fashion Guru, Kathy Friend.  According to Kathy, “If you touch everything in your closet, you will quickly decide to rehang it or refold it and put it away.” Many times you will determine you don’t like an item enough to put it away in your wardrobe.  Kathy also suggests storing items you are not ready to part with. “We all have things in our closet we aren’t ready to donate. Put those items in a box and store it away from your closet. In a few months you may be ready to donate it to Goodwill.”

Keep the things in your closet to a logical ratio of 75% tops and 25% pants. Use this info graphic as a guide.

2.    Kondo’s mantra for tidying up, “to truly cherish the things that are important to you, you must first discard those that have outlived their purpose.”

Your life is changing and transitioning.  For example,  you go from living with parents, to living on your own. And then you may have children, and then send them to school.  Before you know it, the nest is empty.  Are you storing things that have outlived their purpose and belong in the past?  Donate those things to Goodwill Keep things that are helpful in your future and let someone else cherish things that brought you to where you are today.

 

3.    Regarding paper clutter, Kondo says, “Make sure that you keep all papers in one spot only. Never let them spread to other parts of the house.”

Paper clutter can cause stress in your home.  Make this step a priority. First, dedicate a spot in your home where all paper lives (it does not have to a separate home office – it can be a corner in the living room or dining room, or possibly a guest room).  Next, recycle junk mail before it even comes into the house.  Finally, make a date with yourself to deal with your paper – if not daily, then every 2-3 days.  Having paper all over the house almost guarantees that important events and bills will fall through the cracks.

I am so glad this wasn’t sparking joy for someone and they donated it. Look what I found on a shopping trip to Goodwill!

4.    “Believe what your heart tells you when you ask, ‘Does this spark joy?’”

You might feel this step is a bit crazy, however, this “yes” or “no” question is just what is needed to decide whether to keep an item or donate to Goodwill.

That is to say there is no “magic” for decluttering and getting organized.  It takes time and effort, both mentally and physically.  Make a date with yourself and get started, or hire a professional to get you on the right track.

This month’s guest blogger is Cathy Fairchild

Get in touch with Cathy at:  sayyestoless.guru  or find her on Facebook