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Archive for the ‘Declutter Your Home’ Category

4 Tips For A Complete Home Inventory

Friday, April 5th, 2013 by admin

Did you know Liberty mutual has a Home Gallery app available for iPhones, iPads and android devices to create your home inventory?

You know for years we have been told to inventory our homes in case of a fire, burglary or other emergencies, but have you done it?

Take photos and assign details to items.
Photograph a room and “tag” multiple items within the photo.
Scan item barcodes for images and descriptions.
Import photos from your iPad. Best of all, everything can be exported via email as an attached file to make a claim.

I suspect other insurance companies do this also. Check with your insurance company if you are interested in this form of home inventory.

Click here to get your app today and start de-cluttering your home.

Have you inventoried your home items? If not what are you waiting for? You can take photos or videos and store them on a USB port.

You know if you get rid of clutter you’ll have less to inventory. Now there’s a reason to de-clutter.

Posted in Declutter Your Home, Get Rid Of Clutter | 1 Comment »

Vibrant Monday Focus

Monday, April 1st, 2013 by admin

Monday Focus:

Happy April Fools in case you forgot what day it is.

Have you fooled anyone today? That used to be a big tradition to do in our home and it was a lot of fun. I hope to go to a quilt store on this first day of April.

Our focus is to get rid of clutter if you have too many vases. A student of mine said she lets her local thrift store her vases. When she needs one she buys it cheap and then donates it back when she is through with it.

One of my clients needed to get rid of her clutter of vases. She had a small kitchen and two entire cupboards were filled with vases she no longer used.

Take inventory of those you have
Keep the ones you actually use on a regular basis
Let go of those you never use
Keep them where they are convenient to get to when you want them

Do you need to de-clutter your vases?

Posted in Declutter Your Home | 1 Comment »

Brain Teaser Helps De-Clutter?

Thursday, March 28th, 2013 by admin

Let’s have some fun today. Have you been de-cluttering your home and you need a brain teaser for a change of pace? You have come to the right place.

You have 12 black socks and 12 white socks mixed up in a drawer. (Now there would be a reason to de-clutter wouldn’t it?) You’re up very early and it’s too dark to tell them apart. What’s the smallest number of socks you need to take out (blindly) to be sure of having a matching pair?

I am not sure I agree with the answer but here it is…

3 socks. If the first sock is black, the second one could be black, in which case you have a matching pair. If the second sock is white, the third sock will be either black and match the first sock, or white and match the second sock. (I say not necessarily, but then what do I know about matching socks in the dark?)

Happy Thursday to you and blessings on you as you de-clutter in the light.

Posted in Declutter Your Home | 2 Comments »

Monday Focus: Sunny Ideas For Dog De-Cluttering

Monday, March 25th, 2013 by admin

Monday Pet De-cluttering Focus:

I was contacted last Thursday by a writer for some ideas on how to de-clutter dog items. She was writing a column for Dog World. Or was it Pet World? I don’t remember. I thought—-would this be a good focus for this week?

Items to de-clutter for your dog:

Toys that are old, broken or of no interest to your dog
Pet carriers or cages that are no longer used
Collars or harnesses that don’t fit
Leashes that don’t match, or are the wrong length or strength
Lumpy or soiled bedding, ratty blankets, frayed towels
Treats or food your dog doesn’t like or that you have stopped giving to them
Expired medications

I don’t have a dog but I do have a cat. It is simple to de-clutter her things because all she has is her food and my lap. Whenever I sit down she comes from whatever room she was napping in to jump on my lap. The little sweetie. She is over 11 years old and is not interested in playing with toys. She is one of the 25 to 30% that isn’t drawn to cat nip either.

Do you have a dog or a cat? Do you need to de-clutter their toys and things? How often do you do it?

Posted in Cut Clutter, Declutter Your Home | No Comments »

There Is Hope For De-Cluttering

Tuesday, March 19th, 2013 by admin

“Hope is the only bee that makes honey without flowers.”—Robert Green Ingersoll (An orator during the golden age)

What does that even mean? It was in my planner on today’s date. Does it have anything to do with de-cluttering our homes? HUM

I know when I am as busy as a bee I sure get a lot of de-cluttering done in my home. As you know I did the drawer that held my quilt patterns. Now I am going to tackle the second drawer that has stitchery patterns and who knows what in it. That is a project for later today.

What are you de-cluttering in your home this week? And is hope a bee?? That is confusing if you ask me. Can you explain it?

Posted in Declutter Your Home | 2 Comments »

De-Cluttering Equals A Peaceful Home–Or Does It?

Tuesday, March 12th, 2013 by admin

Show ‘N Share

This nightstand needed some de-cluttering. There were books and magazines that had been read that were recycled, things that didn’t belong were taken to their homes. What a surprise to even find Christmas books and here it is March.

De-cluttering is easy with a goal in mind. This person had the goal of no clutter on top and everything in the drawers’ to be things she used currently.

De-cluttering is fun and very rewarding—don’tchathink? My mailman I told you about yesterday said he is still trying to let it sink in that it feels good to de-clutter. This took me by surprise as everyone I associate with or work with as a professional organizer immediately feel a weight lifted from their shoulders and a different energy in that space.

Do you feel a different energy when you de-clutter your home?

Posted in Declutter Your Home | 2 Comments »

Candid Tip On De-cluttering

Thursday, February 7th, 2013 by admin

I am preparing to teach an organizing class at one of the local high schools for community education this week. My daughter and I were talking and she said she can’t stand it when a teacher says, “Oh, this is easy”. This sets so many people up for failure because when they try it and have problems or can’t do it they feel they are a failure. (NOT SO!)

Don’t be fooled by those who say organizing is easy. If you don’t find that it is easy you may become discouraged. Everyone is different and what is easy for one person may not be for another—so don’t believe it unless you do it and it is easy for you.

Everyone learns differently and does things differently. That is why I give a lot of different tips on organizing so that hopefully I can make it simple and perhaps even easy for you. I find de-cluttering my home fun and for me it is easy—but that doesn’t mean someone else feels the same way.

How do you feel about organizing? Is it easy? I suspect that sometimes yes, sometimes not so much. My daughter was knitting a scarf and she complained that they said it was easy. As we talked she realized it was easy, but it took a long time to do.

We sometimes get this mixed up—it may be easy but time consuming so we say it was hard. Your opinion?

Posted in Declutter Your Home, Organizing Clutter, Professional Organizer | 3 Comments »

Let’s Be Honest About Your Clutter Magnet

Monday, February 4th, 2013 by admin

Monday Focus:

I was chatting about de-cluttering with my friend and what our goals were going to be to clear clutter. She said, “My clutter magnet is as strong as ever”. I laughed out loud and said I just had to share this on my blog.

How is your clutter magnet? When we toss something on a flat surface (bedroom floor, table, closet floor, book shelf, top of the dresser, or let’s say the bathroom vanity instead of putting it where it belongs, other items are attracted to that area—see, just like a magnet.

How is your clutter magnet. It continues to be a problem with so many of us. Just a couple of tips:

Consciously decide to put things away where they belong—then you can forget about them.
Have homes for everything that lives with you.
Teach your family to put things away after they use them.

I suspect this is a lifelong quest for most of us to lessen our clutter magnet so it is easier to de-clutter, or not get piles of clutter in the first place.

Focus on doing something to lessen your clutter magnet.

Posted in Clutter, Declutter Your Home | 2 Comments »

One To Three Secrets to De-cluttering Your Home

Thursday, January 31st, 2013 by admin

“Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience”—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wow! Does this ever apply to de-cluttering our homes. Do you ever get impatient when you are clearing clutter and just toss things where there is space or on a flat surface instead of being patient and finding a home for the item?

If you said yes you aren’t the only one. Patience is a virtue that can be applied to de-cluttering and getting rid of clutter. You’ve heard me say this before: