Marilyn Bohn | Creative Organizer

I live here in Utah where we had a lot of snow last winter. (Yeah) That means our streams are running high and fast with water. It is rushing so fast the streams are really dangerous for those who go near the banks. Already we have had warnings from the news media to be cautious around the streams. And especially when there are children around it is important to be hyper vigilant.

Here are 4 water safety tips:
•Always swim with a buddy; never swim alone. The reason for this is in case one or the other gets into any kind of trouble the other person can call for help or help to keep the other person from drowning.
•Children or inexperienced swimmers should consider wearing a personal flotation device (PFD) when around the water.
•Talk to your children and family about safety rules around water. If you have young children assign someone to watch them at all times. It only takes a second for them to disappear.
•Be on top of the water environment—no matter how deep a pool or a stream is; it can still be dangerous. Be informed and aware of any potential hazards. Always keep basic lifesaving equipment by the pool and know how to use it. Pole, rope, and personal flotation devices (PFDs) are recommended.

Keep emergency numbers in your planner and always take it with you in case you ever need to use them when you are away from home. Let’s all have a happy and safe summer.

Did you know every 3 seconds a baby is born? My daughter had their baby girl April 16. We were glad she wasn’t born on tax day. Congratulations!! It wasn’t until the next day they decided on a name. It was hard for them to choose a girl name. Her name is now Addison Debbie and she weighed almost nine pounds. Mother, baby and father are doing well. In fact she has slept longer at one time than her two year old brother was doing at seven months.

To get ready for this new baby they borrowed a bassinette, bought a new dresser and added a bookshelf in the baby’s room. On the top shelf are her books, the other one holds toys. Their two year old was not ready to move to a less restricted bed. That is to say the parents aren’t ready for him to be in a regular bed as he is a ‘go getter’ and he would have too much freedom if he wasn’t in a crib at night and nap time. There is no rule about how long a child is allowed to sleep in a crib—relax, it is up to you.

The changing table has baskets which hold diapers, changing pads, burp bibs and other incidentals babies need. On the bottom shelf there are larger toys she will want as she gets older.

One tip is to keep the size of clothes the baby is wearing in the most convenient drawer or place in the closet. As they grow out of them rotate them out and put in the size they are wearing now. Label the containers with the size of the clothes in them so you don’t have to separate them again.

A friend of mine said “If I would have known grandchildren were so wonderful I would have had them first”.

I have liked playing games my entire life. As a kid we would play Monopoly for hours. Sometimes my mother would have to make us stop as we would start to fight, but to this day that is my favorite game.

The cardboard boxes games come in lose their shape, bend, break, tear and fall apart. Pieces are easily damaged or pieces turn up missing due to a damaged box. We were forever taping the ends of the boxes. Now I am happy to say here is a solution:

GAME SAVERS—Plastic containers for board games (As seen on HGTV’s Mission:Organization) Check it out in my Fun Finds!

•These problem solving containers are revolutionary, unique, useful and very reasonable priced.
•Game Saver Awards: Creative Child 2004 Seal of Excellence and Family Review Center 2005 Top Product.
•Have more fun with less frustration with Game Savers.
•The attached, snap tight lid will keep container together and contents secure.
•Interior Compartments strategically sized and placed interior compartments provide organized storage of large and small game pieces.
•Pre-printed exterior labels are included with each game saver. Once affixed, allows for quick and easy identification of game stored inside.

I have used these for my games for over a year and I give them for gifts. They truly are game savers. What has been your worst experience with the cardboard box games come in?

I was looking in the linen closet downstairs thinking I wanted to get in there and organize some things. What I really want to do is get rid of some of the sheets as I have too many and someone else might as well be using them.

On the top shelf was a checkered blue bag. I took it down and looked inside. There were doll clothes and a really old orange (ugly) apron my aunt had made eons ago. (I’m not even sure it was my aunt). I had no attachment to it.

At first I thought I ‘should’ keep the apron and then realized I didn’t want to so it went into the donation bag. (Always keep a donation bag going). And then the doll clothes from the bag I was folding neatly —I have no idea if the doll they belong to even exists any more. I stopped, realizing those could be donated too. Yeah for me! I did it.

The last thing in the bag were these cute little salt dough ‘dolls’. For years I have held on to them because my daughter who is now in her 30’s made it when she was in pre-school and I just had to keep it. You will be proud of me—I took my own advice and took a picture and threw them away. The next day I remembered I needed to send the photo via email to Costco so I could put it in my photo album. I didn’t do it!

I hadn’t remembered I even had the dolls and it doesn’t matter if I have that memory. There are so many more things worth remembering in the last 30 plus years of her life. I feel such freedom that I let it go. What do you have in your closets you can just let go of? Tell all please.

The basket on the right holds my quilt magazines. After I read them I store them in a magazine holder and place on a shelf. The basket on the left holds catalogs. I go through these pretty often, every time I get a new one from the same company I toss the other one. Or every three months, which ever comes first.

The current/most recent magazines or books actively being used by several members of the family live here. Again, they get tossed after three months, or put in a more permanent place.

I think thank you notes are pretty and it is a great moral booster to look back and reminisce about friends. I keep the notes in a book in this basket. (You can’t see the book right now but it is there). A friend called me one day and said she was reading her past you notes and I had written her one 20 years before and she was thinking about me. That was sweet to hear from her, I was glad I had sent her a thank you note just to hear from her again.

This basket holds the books in my queue I will be reading. I keep them separate from my book case so I remember to read them. Then they go back on the shelf. I keep this in a corner of the bedroom.

Baskets are easy to care for, just a dusting with a damp cloth when cleaning and they are also sturdy and attractive.

What is your favorite basket and where did you buy it and why?

When someone asks me what my favorite organization tool is I never think to say a timer, but I think it is one of my favorites. Why?

Because it keeps me on track and I get busy and forget to move on to something else. I will give you an example. I bought a frozen Marie Calendar pie, my favorite razzleberry, and vanilla ice cream to go on top of the warm pie. I never eat ice cream except on this pie so it is really special to me. Anyway back to my story. I put the pie in the oven and I thought I had set the timer. When I started to smell the aroma of the pie I thought I would hear the timer. I didn’t ever hear it so I finally went to check on it and it was almost too well done. As in almost black but I am in denial.

I use a timer to keep on task when doing something I don’t want to do but I know I need to do. By setting the timer it changes my attitude about the task as I know it won’t last forever. If I want to keep doing what I am doing I can after the timer dings, it just gives me permission to stop.

Sometimes I set the timer about 9:00 in the morning for a meeting I have at 7:00 in the evening. I do this because that is a busy time of the day for me and the ding of the timer reminds me I need to go and get ready for the function and get out the door so I will be on time.

I use it also when I exercise in my home. I wouldn’t want to do that more than I have to.

A timer is a must in every home. And if you have more than one level, have one on each level. What do you use your timer for? Any crazy ways you use a timer?

About 2-1/2 million children are injured or killed by hazards in the home each year. The good news is that many of these incidents can be prevented by using simple child safety devices on the market today.

Our grandbaby is going to be born within the next couple of weeks so I am thinking of safety for her and her brother. Here are some child safety devices that can help prevent many injuries to young children.

1 Use Safety Latches and Locks for cabinets and drawers in kitchens, bathrooms, and other areas to help prevent poisonings and other injuries.

2 Use Safety Gates to help prevent falls down stairs and to keep children away from dangerous areas.

3 Use Door Knob Covers and Door Locks to help prevent children from entering rooms and other areas with possible dangers. Door knob covers and door locks can help keep children away from places with hazards, including swimming pools.
Typical cost of a safety gate: $13 to $40. Typical cost of a door knob cover: $1 and door lock: $5 and up.

4 Use Anti-Scald Devices for faucets and shower heads and set your water heater temperature to 120 degrees Fahrenheit to help prevent burns from hot water. Anti-scald devices for regulating water temperature can help prevent burns.
Typical cost of an anti-scald device: $6 to $30.

5 Use Smoke Detectors on every level of your home and near bedrooms to alert you to fires. Smoke detectors are essential safety devices for protection against fire deaths and injuries.
Typical cost of a smoke detector: less than $10.

6 Use Window Guards and Safety Netting to help prevent falls from windows, balconies, decks, and landings. Window guards and safety netting for balconies and decks can help prevent serious falls.
Typical cost of a window guard or safety netting: $8 to $16.

7 Use Corner and Edge Bumpers to help prevent injuries from falls against sharp edges of furniture and fireplaces. Corner and edge bumpers can be used with furniture and fireplace hearths to help prevent injuries from falls or to soften falls against sharp or rough edges. Be sure to look for bumpers that stay securely on furniture or hearth edges.
Typical cost of a corner and edge bumper: $1 and up.

8 Use Outlet Covers and Outlet Plates to help prevent electrocution. Outlet covers and outlet plates can help protect children from electrical shock and possible electrocution.
Typical cost of an outlet cover: less than $2.

9 Use a Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detector outside bedrooms to help prevent CO poisoning.
Typical cost of a carbon monoxide (CO) detector: $30 to $70.

10 Cut Window Blind Cords; use Safety Tassels and Inner Cord Stops to help prevent children from strangling in blind cord loops. You can get window blind cord safety information and free tassels by calling 1-800-506-4636 or visiting www.windowcoverings.org

11 Use Door Stops and Door Holders to help prevent injuries to fingers and hands. Door stops and door holders on doors and door hinges can help prevent small fingers and hands from being pinched or crushed in doors and door hinges.
Typical cost of a door stop and door holder: less than $4.

12 Use a Cordless Phone to make it easier to continuously watch young children, especially when they’re in bathtubs, swimming pools, or other potentially dangerous areas.

Using safety devices will protect our children and give us peace of mind.They are not 100% fool proof so we as adults still have to be mindful of where children are at all times and what they are doing. If it gets quiet that is the time to investigate.

I found this web site to request pamphlets: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission We can obtain this publication and additional publication information from the Publications section of CPSC’s web site or by sending your publication request to info@cpsc.gov And the publications are free.

My daughter and grandchild flew in yesterday because I was having withdrawals from not seeing him for 2 months.
I am always looking for ways to organize better and more efficiently because I am a professional organizer and I was very impressed with the way she packed for her short trip.

She packed a suitcase for each of them:
• Inside each she used the jumbo (not super size) zip lock bags.
• In one was diapers
• In another, outfits paired together
• Socks in another
• Toys were together with a list of what she brought so none will be lost.
• Everything she packed was nice and neat and organized

In her suitcase she did the same:
• Pants in one
• Blouses in another
• Socks together in another bag
• Underwear all together

Talk about easy street. It is so nice to find what to dress him in each day and it saves time looking for what we need for him and she saves time for herself. When traveling with children it can be stressful and this is just one way of reducing stress and having more time and fun when on vacation or away from home.

Folding socks: I know a lot of people who don’t like to fold socks. I was taught to take each sock and roll them up and then bring the top over and it becomes a sock roll. For three reasons I can’t stand doing it that way.

• It takes too much time when folding
• It takes too much time when unfolding
• It stretches the tops of some socks

Here are 3 alternative ideas:

• Buy two colors and styles of socks, one for dressy and one for athletic wear then all whites can go in one pile and all darks in another pile and they match every time.
• Take matching socks and lay one on top of the other and fold over—-done
• If you have children, put all their socks into a basket (one for each child) and let them fold them, or sort for matches when they put on socks.

As a professional home organizer I am always looking for shortcuts to everything and for sock folding this is about as short as you can get. Happy folding. Do you have any other methods of sock folding I could share?

A friend was talking about her precious memories of music in her life and shared a story of her father who had a beautiful tenor voice and every morning very early could be heard singing throughout the house or when he was outside all the neighbors could hear him because of his big booming voice. Years later when he was in a nursing home and she would walk in to the building she knew it was a good day if she could hear him singing and not so good a day if she didn’t hear him singing.

Because I organize homes, give home organizing tips, and organize home offices I asked myself the question do I have any precious memories of organizing.

The first thought that came to mind was a compliment I received from my daughter when she was twelve years old. We had gone to a relative’s for Thanksgiving dinner. The table we sat at for dinner was covered with junk and 30 minutes after the planned time to eat she just swept the stuff off and threw handfuls of silverware into the center of the table. As a family we decided that was the last year we would go to their home for this important dinner as we all felt unwelcome and disappointed in the way we were treated.
After dinner the children went off to play games and they couldn’t find games to play. That is to say, the games in the house were scattered, game pieces were missing and when they decided to make up a game involving paper and pencils the children who lived there couldn’t find pencils. When they asked their mom where the pencils were she couldn’t come up with an answer. She did start throwing out suggestions, but the children still couldn’t find any. They then decided to create crafts, but that involved using scissors which also couldn’t be found.
When we left their home my then eleven year old daughter thanked me for keeping our home organized, for caring enough about them to have places for pencils, games, and teaching her and her sisters how to keep their rooms organized.
Years later my daughter called me from college just to tell me thank you for having our home organized and for teaching her how to organize. She had so many roommates who were ‘slobs’ and it really bothered her and made her appreciate me and organization all the more.
It takes time and effort, sometimes frustration, trial and error, creativity, and determination to have a home organized and to teach children to organize. But when your children report back years later and thank you, it is worth all the bother it seemed to be at the time. This is what creates Precious Organizing Memories.

What are your Precious Organizing Memories?