Clutter Conversions

Change of Season = Change of Clothes

     With the change of the season comes the changing of the wardrobe and if you are like most people you do one of two things. You leave all of your summer and winter clothes in the closet and drawers all year long or you switch out the clothes from storage based on the season.

     Here are some tips if you switch out clothes for the season. When storing away your summer clothes only pack up the ones you actually wore and donate the rest to Goodwill, Salvation Army or other charity, sell them in a yard sale or put them in a consignment shop and make yourself a little cash. Storing clothes that you have not worn for the season takes up valuable storage space.

     Use colored containers for storage and place an index card on three sides of the container and on the top listing its contents. Be cautious storing them in attics or basements due to humidity, dampness, bugs or rodents. Place wooden cedar pieces inside each container which are available at most home stores. If you do not have a lot of storage space but you do have a garage, you can purchase overhead ceiling hanging shelves for your garage. They are very durable and can hold up to 300lbs.

     Use the "hanger trick" to decide if you should pack up an item this spring. When you pull out your winter clothes and hang them in the closet, place the hangers on the rod with the opening of the hanger facing out towards you. Once you wear the article of clothing and go to hang it back in the closet, place the hanger on the rod the normal way. At the end of this winter season any clothes that are still on the hanger with the opening facing you, it is safe to assume you did not wear the item through the season and you should be able to donate it.

School is back in Session and I am Stressed!

It is really important to start a scheduling system at the very beginning of the school year so that everyone has a plan, knows what each other is doing and to avoid chaos and stress!  The key to starting the school day off without total chaos and stress is to be prepared, plan ahead and create routines.  There are various morning routine charts available online at www.parentingresources.suite101.com. The night before you should prepare the lunches, put everything in the backpack that needs to be returned to school and sit it beside the door you exit.  Put signed papers in the backpack.  Make a prioritized, written schedule for the next day of everyone's activities.  Take advantage of the timer on the coffee pot so the coffee is ready in the morning when you are.  Have the kids do a nightly fifteen minute pick-up so there is no clutter to work around in the morning. I recommend you start the morning routine two weeks before school starts so that it is not a shock to everyone the first day of school and you have time to make any necessary adjustments to each persons routine.  Preschoolers can really benefit from a morning routine.  They are at the age where you can teach them about making decisions and they want to help with just about everything.  Leave enough time in the mornings to allow them to do as much as possible on their own as appropriate.  Kids learn by example and by making choices.  Do not rush them.  Minimize distractions for them.  Keep the items that distract them put away.  They are easily distracted by their toys and books and do not have any understanding of time. Do Not Over Schedule!  It is really easy to do as the kids get older and become involved in after school activities.  Having a centralized calendar with everyone's activities on it will make it much easier to see if activities are overlapping and to gauge the amount of activities being done.  It is recommended that kids should not be involved in more than three after school activities.  You need to leave time in their schedule for friends, family, studying and rest.

Modular Mates

Modular Mates by Tupperware® are wonderful food storage containers for the kitchen.  They can free up 1/3 of the space in your cabinets or pantry.  They are very durable and come with multiple colors for lids to choose from so that you could color code your items.  For example: pasta may be stored in containers using red lids, while cereals have blue lids.   They stack well and come in many different sizes.  Modular Mates® are also excellent at keeping bugs and rodents out of your food while being stored in your pantry or cabinet.  To see these or order them contact tupperwaregal@verizon.net or log onto www.my2.tupperware.com.

Spring Time = Garage Time

Spring and Fall are the best times of the year to organize your garage because it is not too hot or too cold.  A lot of people find this to be an intimidating task but it does not have to be.  Here are some suggestions that will help. 1) Decide The Goal Example- I want to be able to easily locate my tools, picnic items, camping gear, sports equipment or possibly make room for my car. 2) Devise and Write a Plan Ask yourself: A) What is it going to take for me to accomplish this goal (money, help form others, etc.) B) How much time am I going to devote to this project (an entire weekend or break it down into smaller projects) 3) Mark it in your Planner If you do not mark it down in your planner, it is less likely that you will carry out the plan. If you are breaking the job down into smaller projects, decide when you are going to do each one and write it down. 4) Sort and Purge Put like items together and have separate areas for donate, trash, belongs somewhere else or to someone else. 5)Take advantage of wall and ceiling space Use Shelving units, add cabinets or overhead hanging shelving units. Cabinets are for storing chemicals such as pesticides and vehicle maintenance items such as grease, oil and gas because you can put locks on them if you need to keep young children from reaching them or store them on upper shelves.  Overhead hanging racks can be used to store camping gear,  holiday decorations or tubs of clothing.  Visit www.garagetek.com for garage storage ideas or products. 6) Dispose of the unwanted or not needed items quickly. If you are worried about how to dispose of the junk or items that you no longer want or is not recyclable, Junk Genies will come and pick it up. Many local nonprofit organizations will pick up items you want to recycle or donate for a reasonable fee. 7) Finally reward yourself! If you have chosen to break the job down into smaller projects, reward yourself after each part of it is completed and definitely reward yourself after the entire project is finished. You deserve it!!

Hurry! Get in the Car!

Do You Find Yourself Rushing Around Every Morning?

Are You Completely Stressed Out Before You Get to Work?

There are thousands of parents who are trying to get the kids dressed, breakfast and lunches prepared, backpacks packed in the morning, as well as, themselves ready for work and by the time the family is headed out the door, parents are already stressed and tired. 

Are you one of these harried parents?  Do you hear yourself say, "There's never enough time in the mornings to get everything done?" 

Here are a few "In A Snap" tips that will make your mornings much more enjoyable!

1. The night before, set out the children's clothes they will be wearing to school the next day.
2. While you are preparing supper, make the children's lunches, put them in their lunch bag and designate a place in the refrigerator that you will put it every night.
3. Every night before the they go to bed, set aside about 5-10 minutes for each child to pack their back pack.

 

Develop this plan and make it a part of everyone's routine every night.  By doing these 3 things, you will be teaching your children how to plan and organize while at the same time reducing everyone's stress in the morning.

Our guarantee:  You will save yourself at least a half hour every morning!  Relax and enjoy that extra cup of coffee.

My Garage has become a storage unit (but not for my car)!

Spring and Summer is the best time of the year to get your garage back in shape.   Remember how you felt when your first bought your home, how excited you were to have a garage to park your vehicle in?  Well somehow, over time, it has become a mini-storage for all kinds of "stuff" and your vehicle gradually lost its home.  Now is the time to take back control of your garage and give your vehicle its "home" back. 1)  Plan on at least two days to complete the project (the more help you have, the quicker it will go). 2)  Check to make sure it is not calling for bad weather.  You should plan to store the items you will be keeping on a porch or under a canopy if you cannot get it returned into the garage before nightfall. 3) Pull everything out of the garage and divide it into categories (lawn equipment, sports equipment, tools, chemicals, toys, household repair items).  If you find things that have mysteriously ended up in the garage that actually belong in the house or to your neighbor, now is the time to return it. You will also need to have a designated spot for donations, yard sale, trash and recyclables. 4) After you have completed the sorting and purging process, you have a realistic view of how much "stuff" you are going to be keeping that will need a home in the garage.  Take inventory of the items left and decide where and how you are going to store them.  This is the point that you decide if you need to purchase hooks, racks, cabinets, shelving units and/or plastic tubs and bins. Measure the space you plan on putting the items to make sure you have enough room to use a shelf, cabinet or bin before purchasing them or take the measurements with you to the store so you know what size you need to get. 5) Install the storage units, place the items in their new home and label each one!  If you do not label them, they do not have a home.  You will not know where to find the item you are looking for and will not remember where to replace it when you are finished (neither will anyone else).  Take a look in the photo gallery section of this website under garages for some before and after pictures. **** The people at GarageTek specialize in garage organizing products that include flooring, hanging ceiling systems, cabinets, shelves and lighting, as well as, workshop solutions and accessory racks.  You can contact them at (804) 354-5353 or (757) 888-8200 or visit their website at www.garagetek.com.

Spring and Summer is the best time of the year to get your garage back in shape.   Remember how you felt when your first bought your home, how excited you were to have a garage to park your vehicle in?  Well somehow, over time, it has become a mini-storage for all kinds of "stuff" and your vehicle gradually lost its home.  Now is the time to take back control of your garage and give your vehicle its "home" back. 1)  Plan on at least two days to complete the project (the more help you have, the quicker it will go). 2)  Check to make sure it is not calling for bad weather.  You should plan to store the items you will be keeping on a porch or under a canopy if you cannot get it returned into the garage before nightfall. 3) Pull everything out of the garage and divide it into categories (lawn equipment, sports equipment, tools, chemicals, toys, household repair items).  If you find things that have mysteriously ended up in the garage that actually belong in the house or to your neighbor, now is the time to return it. You will also need to have a designated spot for donations, yard sale, trash and recyclables. 4) After you have completed the sorting and purging process, you have a realistic view of how much "stuff" you are going to be keeping that will need a home in the garage.  Take inventory of the items left and decide where and how you are going to store them.  This is the point that you decide if you need to purchase hooks, racks, cabinets, shelving units and/or plastic tubs and bins. Measure the space you plan on putting the items to make sure you have enough room to use a shelf, cabinet or bin before purchasing them or take the measurements with you to the store so you know what size you need to get. 5) Install the storage units, place the items in their new home and label each one!  If you do not label them, they do not have a home.  You will not know where to find the item you are looking for and will not remember where to replace it when you are finished (neither will anyone else).  Take a look in the photo gallery section of this website under garages for some before and after pictures. **** The people at GarageTek specialize in garage organizing products that include flooring, hanging ceiling systems, cabinets, shelves and lighting, as well as, workshop solutions and accessory racks.  You can contact them at (804) 354-5353 or (757) 888-8200 or visit their website at www.garagetek.com.

My Garage has become a storage unit (but not for my car)!

     Spring and Summer is the best time of the year to get your garage back in shape.   Remember how you felt when your first bought your home, how excited you were to have a garage to park your vehicle in?  Well somehow, over time, it has become a mini-storage for all kinds of "stuff" and your vehicle gradually lost its home.  Now is the time to take back control of your garage and give your vehicle its "home" back.

1)  Plan on at least two days to complete the project (the more help you have, the quicker it will go).

2)  Check to make sure it is not calling for bad weather.  You should plan to store the items you will be keeping on a porch or under a canopy if you cannot get it returned into the garage before nightfall.

3) Pull everything out of the garage and divide it into categories (lawn equipment, sports equipment, tools, chemicals, toys, household repair items).  If you find things that have mysteriously ended up in the garage that actually belong in the house or to your neighbor, now is the time to return it. 

     You will also need to have a designated spot for donations, yard sale, trash and recyclables.

4) After you have completed the sorting and purging process, you have a realistic view of how much "stuff" you are going to be keeping that will need a home in the garage.  Take inventory of the items left and decide where and how you are going to store them.  This is the point that you decide if you need to purchase hooks, racks, cabinets, shelving units and/or plastic tubs and bins. Measure the space you plan on putting the items to make sure you have enough room to use a shelf, cabinet or bin before purchasing them or take the measurements with you to the store so you know what size you need to get.

5) Install the storage units, place the items in their new home and label each one!  If you do not label them, they do not have a home.  You will not know where to find the item you are looking for and will not remember where to replace it when you are finished (neither will anyone else).  Take a look in the photo gallery section of this website under garages for some before and after pictures.

**** The people at GarageTek specialize in garage organizing products that include flooring, hanging ceiling systems, cabinets, shelves and lighting, as well as, workshop solutions and accessory racks.  You can contact them at (804) 354-5353 or (757) 888-8200 or visit their website at www.garagetek.com.