Professional Organizer | Clearing Clutter | Motivational Speaker | Salt Lake City, Utah

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Organizing For Your Pets

Thursday, April 30th, 2009 by admin

We have two kitties that we love and adore. Cats are pretty easy to take care of as long as we remember:

•Cats know how we feel. They don’t care, but they know.
•Cats are smarter than dogs. You can’t get eight cats to pull a sled through the snow. — Jeff Valdez
•You own a dog, but you can only feed a cat.

All of the above is so true. Whether you own a dog or have a cat there are some things you can do to simplify your life when it comes to organizing for the animals.

Keep all of their toys together in a container. You may need small containers in a few rooms for their toys. For dogs keep their rawhide and other treats in a container with a lid. An over the door shoe organizer is another good place to store toys and leashes. If your cat loves cat nip (not all cats do) and gets into it, keep it in the freezer until you are ready to give it to them.

One last thought: Dogs come when called. Cats take a message and get back to you.

Posted in Office/Paper Work | 3 Comments »

Is Information Overload a Problem In Getting Rid of Clutter?

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009 by admin

Your life simplified–in your quest of getting rid of clutter. How many pieces of mail did you get today? How many catalogs and how many magazines have you received this month? How many have you read?

I have a favorite magazine that is due to renew but I am going to give myself a rest and not renew it for at least 3 months so I can get caught up with all the past issues. After I have done this to my satisfaction I will restart it. It is a magazine I use for resource information so it doesn’t go out of date. But I just keep getting more and feeling bad I don’t take the time to read it so this is the way I am simplifying my life in this one area right now.

In getting rid of clutter if you feel you are on information overload limit the information you are sending to your brain. Cut back on the number of publications you subscribe to. Limit yourself on the number of websites you visit for information. (Keep mine on your list).

This is one way of getting rid of clutter and simplifying your life. What have you been doing to simplify your life?

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Clearing Clutter With Beautiful Containers

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 by admin

Simplify, simplify, simplify that is our theme for the week. When we have the goal of clutter control in our homes there are many ways to accomplish this.

I had a charming woman who lives in Australia and watches my videos on YouTube leave me the funniest message and I just had to share it:

“My husband is convinced that I buy stuff just so I can buy organizing stuff so it’s all organized, he says I spend more time organizing my craft supplies that using them (which is probably true) but I love to have things neat and know where everything is. STILL it looks like a bomb has hit my craft area because I’m trying to stuff MORE stuff into a space that isn’t big enough, I should purge, I know I should purge (I hear you telling me TO purge) but I just can’t, because I just know the milli-second I get rid of it, I will need it!”
Side view:
Can you relate to this? I certainly can. I buy organizing “stuff” because I know it will help me in my ongoing desire of clutter clearing. This cute box at the top I bought two years ago and it has been waiting for a home. It is collapsible so it wasn’t taking up much room. And now look what I did with it. This drawer has never looked so organized. The front is red and the sides are brown/black.

I love clearing clutter and just organizing in containers within drawers makes things more accessible and easier to find. And it limits the amount of things that can “live” in the drawer.

Looking down at the box:

What is your favorite way of clearing clutter? (Press on the word comment and let us know—or if you are the first it will say no comment).

Posted in Clutter | 1 Comment »

Getting Rid of Clutter Simplifies Our Lives

Monday, April 27th, 2009 by admin

Are you on overload and you want to simplify your life so you have more time for yourself and your family? Let’s talk this week about how to simplify your life. As a professional organizer I suggest it may be as easy as getting rid of clutter.

I have a drawer that I thought was organized because all the extension cords were there almost neatly wrapped up and some floor cleaning pads.

I bought some cute cloth containers at IKEA last week and I was on a quest on how I could use them. I am always on the lookout for cute and useful containers and I am always getting rid of clutter so these two go hand in hand.

I first took everything out of the drawer with the pads and cords and I was in for a big surprise. Other things had started living there too instead of going to their own homes after they were used. (Wire, paint brushes, sand paper, and a few other things). They all have their own homes so vacation was over for them as I put them back where they belong.

I contained all of the extension cords so they now take up MUCH less space. AHHH, already I have simplified. I even gave a few cords away as I found I had way more than I can use.

What a simple thing it was getting rid of clutter to simplify my life.

What have you done this week to simplify your life?

Posted in Blogroll, Clutter, Clutter Clearing | No Comments »

Filing 101

Friday, April 24th, 2009 by admin

My friend knows how much I love to file with the Freedom Filer system. She was sick and tired of all the paper clutter she had in her home so she came to me and bought the system this week. As we were talking she shared this experience with me:

They had their kitchen tiled and were very happy with the job that was done until a few months later when the grout began to come out. They want to contact the man who did it but their dilemma now is that they don’t know what they did with the man’s contact information. She realizes if she had had a working filing system she would know exactly where to find his information. (It would be in the orange category under Service Providers if she used the Freedom Filer system). It is just that simple.

A good filing system by color and category saves so much time, frustration, money and emotional trauma. If you don’t have a place for every piece of paper that comes into your home I suspect you have a lot of clutter or at the very least a certain amount of frustration when looking for important papers.

My organizing tip of the day is to set up a working filing system, get rid of paper clutter in your home, start slow when doing this and enjoy the journey which will lead you to a more peaceful life. (Sorry if that sounds corny—it is true).

Posted in Clutter, Office/Paper Work, Time Management | No Comments »

Pill Bags Cut The Clutter When Traveling

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009 by admin

In case you missed reading the comment from Ellen on my Organizing on The Go blog here is an excellent suggestion from her on how to pack all of your meds when you travel that will help with clutter control when on the road.

•Ellen from Calahan Solutions.com said:
“A new favorite bag is Ezy Dose(R) Pill Pouch. These little zip-close pill bags have a writable space to record the day of the week and whether the pills are for morning, evening or other. About half the size of snack-size plastic bags, they eliminate the need to take pill bottles or plastic daily reminder systems while traveling. At about 3 cents per bag, I save mine for reuse”.

She said she buys hers at Walgreens but they may be available at other stores that sell Ezy products. They also make other pill organizers.

Thank you for this timely clutter control tip. Summer is just around the corner and traveling will be made easier with these little pill bags.

Posted in Car Organizing, Health, Vacation Tips | No Comments »

Happy Earth Day

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009 by admin

Happy Earth Day!

The idea for Earth Day evolved over a period of seven years starting in 1962. For several years, it had been troubling Senator Gaylord Nelson that the state of our environment was simply a non-issue in the politics of the country. In November 1962, his idea was to persuade President Kennedy to give visibility to this issue by going on a national conservation tour. The President began his five-day, eleven-state conservation tour in September 1963. It was the germ of the idea that ultimately flowered into Earth Day.

On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in coast to coast rallies protests against the deterioration of the environment.

The first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species acts.

As you reduce clutter in your home think of reducing clutter before is starts. Buy less of the things that become clutter. When reducing clutter rather than throwing things in the trash, donate the items and recycle. Reducing clutter in our homes can be a blessing for others and may make it easier for us to part with possessions we have been holding on to.

Posted in Clutter | No Comments »

Exploding Potatos And A Filing System

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009 by admin

What does an exploding potato have to do with setting up a good filing system and getting rid of clutter have in common? Read on to find the answer….

When I was a teenager I was taught to poke a potato with a fork a few times before baking it in the oven. I was told if I didn’t do this it would explode while baking. The one time I didn’t poke a potato it did blow up and made a big mess in the oven. I had learned my lesson.

Yesterday I was having a great time getting rid of clutter from a set of drawers I remembered I needed to bake potatoes for dinner. I thought I had poked all of them but alas one exploded in my oven making a big mess. Luckily I have an oven mat in the bottom of my oven (that I have raved about before) which made cleaning up EASY.

However, as I was cleaning it I wondered what cleaning solutions I could use on it. Because I had filed the information in my paper filing system (under Warranties (Misc)) I could refer back to it. When I filed it I thought I would never need it, but I had forgotten how it said to clean it so I was happy I had taken the few seconds to file it. As you know Freedom Filer is my favorite filing system.

It is wonderful having a filing system that is easy, efficient and saves me time!

Posted in Office/Paper Work, Time Management | No Comments »

Senior Moments Be Gone

Friday, April 17th, 2009 by admin

I am always amazed at all the free services we can use to help us remember everything we want to remember that can also help with clutter control. I just came across a website called Evernote.com and I signed up to use this service. Whether you are a senior or you have senior moments this may be something you want to check out.

Instead of jotting notes and then misplacing them; send text or images to the site by e-mailing, sending a photo from your cell phone or copying online material into your account. The service stores and catalogs your data. You can save to-do- lists, photos and copies of business cards.

The basic service is free or you can pay only $5.00 a month for a premium account which includes more storage and faster image recognition. I am looking forward to using my account to copy online material so I can find it faster.

Have you ever used a service like this? If so how did it work for you? Did it help with clutter control in your life?

Posted in Clutter Clearing, Seniors, Time Management | No Comments »

Reduce Clutter With A Key Ring

Thursday, April 16th, 2009 by admin

I remember the first “Savings Card” I received from a grocery store. I always wonder why they don’t just lower their prices instead of printing these cards. Through the years I have collected a few cards that I have to search through when I am at the checkout stands. It is certainly not conducive to getting rid of clutter.

I have some good news. Now there is a service where we can combine all of our cards on just one card which means that is helping to reduce clutter. It is called “Key Ring Thing” and it is free except for shipping and handling which is a very reasonable price. They are hoping in the future it will be free.

This is what it does:
1. Consolidates all key ring tags.
2. Consolidates all club numbers.
3. Consolidates all store discount cards on one easy to read card.
The card is the size of a credit card only thinner. It holds 6 stores. It is never a security risk.

I printed out my temporary one and am excited as it is helping me with clutter control in my wallet and getting rid of clutter at the same time.

Their web site is keyringthing.com

Happy Birthday to my granddaughter whose first birthday is today. She is a sweetie!

Posted in Clutter, Clutter Clearing | No Comments »

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