Monday’s Spr
ing Clutter Clearing Focus:
For you early birds and those in other countries my blog will be posted in detail later this week because I will be on KUTV, a local T.V. station on a show called Fresh Living. We tape at 10:00 and it airs at 1:00 MST. Then the segment will also be posted here on Thursday.
The subject they asked me to talk about is spring cleaning. Cleaning does go hand in hand with organizing. So come back for some clutter clearing tips as seen on T.V.
“Success isn’t how far you got, but the distance you traveled from where you started.”—proverb
As a professional organizer working with women to organize clutter they express frustration that it takes longer than they think to organize their clutter. (Once their things are organized they no longer think of it as clutter).
I am one of those who want things done now—forget the journey, let alone enjoy the journey. I have 5 photo albums that have needed labeling on the outside saying what trip photos were inside and others that needed journaling. One was from last November.
I got them all out Monday and with a sigh I tackled them. What surprised me was how far I got by doing them a little at a time. I only have ½ of one album left to journal. It was great fun looking at the photos because all these great memories came back to me.
Technically this wasn’t organizing clutter but the saying sure fit me!
I was given this practical and cute organizer to help with organizing clutter, for Christmas. We had been to Cheyenne Wyoming earlier in the year (2010) and at the visitor’s center we were given these cute glass boots.
Now, before I accepted it I had to have in my mind where I would put it and what I would use it for. It served me pretty well for several months. The pens were a bit crowded but it was okay because I liked the memory of our trip.
When I was sent this cute organizer that fits around a mug I saw just how cluttered my pens were in the boot. Sometimes organizing clutter is hard because we just “put up” with things without realizing it. Look at the difference just a container makes. I didn’t realize I was putting up with clutter until I saw the difference this little organizer made. It is attractive and practical. I love it.
When organizing clutter it is perfectly acceptable to give up one container for another—and don’t feel guilty about it either. My boot went to the recycle party in the sky.
Today I am going to share my adventure of being (sort of) in a bordello last week. Have you ever read or seen the magazine “Where Women Create”? It is fabulous eye candy magazine showing women’s studios. We were graciously invited to visit their studio in Ogden Utah. Talk about creative! They have lots and lots and lots of things that are beautifully organized. They are masters at organizing clutter.
As we were walking through this historic building on 25th street (a street that in the early 1900’s was the red light district) and talking about organizing clutter we noticed the floor was painted different colors to represent rooms.
Talk about creative, to preserve some of the history of this very old red brick building (inside and out) she has painted the floor in different colors the size of the rooms that were long ago the upstairs rooms of the bordello.
Jo, the creator of the magazine and her staff were so gracious to show us around, serve cup cakes, hot chocolate and they even gave us a goodie bag. They made organizing clutter look easy, which it is when we surround ourselves with things we love, that light us up and inspire us. What inspires you?
Before becoming an organizing expert I came from a social work background having been a social service worker for over 24 years. I was a child abuse investigator for many years. To this day I can’t watch any T.V. program that has anything to do with abused children or women. It is my observation that when a person is down then others join in teasing or whatever and I can’t stand that.
I have observed that is how it is with clutter in the kitchen, in the office or in the bedroom. The easiest way to organize clutter is to put things away before “other things” can join in and create piles of clutter.
It is surprising how easy it is to organize clutter when we don’t allow even a tiny amount to accumulate—as that often leads to bigger and not better piles of clutter.
Do you have a room where clutter likes to join other clutter?
Today is September 1st. Monday I needed an extra quilt on my bed. Last night I took it off. Tomorrow it is supposed to get sheet weather again. Nothing is as constant as change. Organizing clutter in our homes is just as changeable.
Organizing clutter is fun and easy and lasting when:
A long time blog reader said she has a place for her husband’s keys and when he leaves them “around” she just puts them where they belong. She commented the other day (I could just hear the surprise in her voice through the printed word) that he had put them where they belong.
A friend wondered how to get her husband to organize all the clutter on the bathroom counter. I suggested a basket for him to put his stuff in. Organizing clutter was never so easy, just a basket keeps everything together and off the counter.
The moral to these stories is never give up on organizing clutter. When there is a will there is a way to organize clutter. What’s your story?
I was standing in the checkout lane at our local Ace hardware store and I was looking for my sunglasses down in my purse. Out loud I said to no one in particular, “what makes its way to the bottom of your purse the fastest”?
Immediately the clerk replied, “My keys”. The other clerk said, “My cell phone”. Other things are lose change, tissues, receipts and glasses.
If you need to organize clutter in your purse I recommend the Purse Perfector. Everyone I know who uses this LOVES it and never has to search for anything in their purse ever again.
I don’t use a purse organizer because I buy purses that organize for me—there are pockets all around the sides and I have a planner that does the rest for me. Oh, I take that back. I also have two humbug bags. I use one for tissues and one for this ‘n that like lotion, clippers, floss etc.
How do you organize clutter in your purse?
Show ‘N Share Tuesday means I had to organize clutter somewhere so I organized in my fabric closet. I tell you things go along fine and then bam I get in a hurry and I just start stuffing—the worst of it all in this closet was the batting.
It is fun to organize clutter because I always find a few things I forgot I had. When we were in Leesburg VA three months ago I bought two pillow covers and I forgot I had them. What a fun find.
I made 8 aprons for a party and I had put all the left over fabric back into the same large plastic bag I had the fabric in to begin with. I took the time to fold the left over’s and put them in a bag that they now fit in better which saves space.
I sat and listened to my book on tape—“Evening Class” by Maeve Binchy, it is a good read, I recommend it. Anyway while I was listening to it I wrapped my embroidery floss onto those little plastic thingies. That was fun and relaxing—see organizing clutter can be fun.
What did you do this week to organize clutter that you will share with us?
We picked lavender among the rocks in a neighbor’s back yard. The smell of lavender is calming and we love it. We make over 11 different things with freshly picked lavender. Every year we learn new things to do with it.
I had tied the lavender on sticks to hang up and dry. My daughter had painted my sewing room walls and when I held the lavender up to it, it looked gorgeous. But I didn’t know how I was going to hang it.
I told myself to let my mind figure it out that there was a way to do it. I had only been sewing about 5 minutes when the idea came to me how to hang it—by string from these great white hooks.
We may think to ourselves we want to organize clutter but we just can’t figure out how to do it. Step back, sit down, mull it over and give it a rest. Decide on what you want the space to be used for and your mind will come up with ideas on how to organize clutter for you.
Have you been organizing clutter and had an Ah-ha moment? If you have, please share.
A faithful blog reader sent me these photos and asked if I organized cats too. The answer is no. I have a sign in my garden that says “Cats Rule”, my daughter added, “At least in this house”. I don’t organize cats but I do organize clutter.
How on earth did they get these cats to hold still for this photo? Do you sometimes think as you organize clutter—“Hold still”? One tip to organizing clutter is to have a place for everything and put things back after using them. It seems like such a simple thing to do but it does take a mind set and getting into a rhythm to see that it happens.
What “thing” do you most often leave out after using it that does not support your efforts to organize clutter? In our home when the girls were home it was usually dishes they had carried off to the family room and they didn’t make it back to the kitchen.
Clutter control is what you will have once you begin using FreedomFiler, you will never again have to take time out of your life to clean out or reorganize files! Click here to learn more.
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If you are looking for a professional organizer who is excellent, honest and caring, I highly recommend Marilyn Bohn to get the job done for you.
Julie Penn
Clearfield, UT
"I recently used Marilyn's services after moving into a new home and realizing we really needed to downsize and organize our belongings. It was a huge undertaking and without Marilyn's help, I wouldn't have had the motivation to do it.
I can unreservedly recommend Marilyn Bohn to you for any organization needs you may have." -Jilian Summers Bellevue, WA |
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