This is the best dollar I have every spent—it was exactly $1.00.

I bought this little coin purse on the street in New York City about 12 years ago. I needed someplace for my coins and on impulse I bought this from a street vendor.

I use it every time I travel as it takes up little space and it is just the perfect size. Every time I use it I say, “this is the best dollar I have ever spent”.

As a professional organizer I’m always curious what others use to help with clutter control. What is the best dollar you have ever spent?

This doesn’t have anything thing to do with getting rid of clutter or organizing, I just wanted to share these two little warm and fuzzy stories with you.

When we were at Bryce Canyon last week we were getting in the car after leaving the visitors center and my daughter comes running past us saying “I just found some money where those people pulled out of the parking space and I have to catch them”. She came back disappointed as it wasn’t them who had lost it. Into the visitors center she went to report she had found money and gave them contact information in case anyone asked if any money was turned in. (It was about $20.00).

Then on to Zion’s Canyon we went and as we walked into the visitors center at the end of the day there by the bench I saw a man’s wallet. My daughter turned it in to the ranger who wanted her name and contact information. (We don’t know why as we certainly would see it again).

It feels good to do the right thing dontchathink? What have you done lately that has made you feel good about doing the right thing?

I love the ocean and I love going to beaches. I collect sea shells everywhere they wash up on shore and I have been known to buy a few shells. When I was in Martha’s Vineyard a couple of years ago I saw a little suitcase with sea shells glued all over it. I thought with all of my shells I could do that and save myself over $400.00. (That is not a typo).

I am working on getting rid of clutter in my home and this project had moved to the top of my list. I took the shells from a cupboard, a couple of drawers and I bought for $3.00 a little suitcase. It took me about 3 hours to do this project over two days.

I am so happy that I have finally accomplished this goal and it feels soooo good getting rid of clutter. Now all of my shells are in one place and I can enjoy the memories this brings back of my trips to different places when I look at it. And I no longer have shells here and there. They are all in one place and I no longer need to keep collecting.
Getting rid of clutter is all good.

What clutter have you gotten rid of lately and how did you do it?

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.

More travel tips from a very experienced traveler from the UK:

“I have small bags for everything. Some are cheap, pound shop, (dollar store) cosmetic bags. And the list has the color of the bag and what is in it! My husband calls me the bag lady! I keep some of these bags always packed together in another bag (!!!) when not traveling.

Marilyn’s comment: Bags are a wonderful organizing idea. When we need to get an item out of our suitcase it is easy to pull out the item we are looking for without making a mess of everything in the suitcase. One of my favorite little bags was one I purchased in Japan at the Yen (dollar) store. I wish I would have bought more. I also use every size plastic bag available. The snack size are great for jewelry or medications. The jumbo are wonderful for clothes.

What is your favorite bag and how do you use it?

Pantha from the UK shares these tips about what to do before leaving home on a vacation: When we go away on vacation packing just the right things are not the only responsibilities we have before heading out”.

“We always switch off the answering machine. That way anyone who phones up will not be expecting a call back!

I have timed lamps in various rooms in the house for evenings and 2 radios timed to go on for an hour in the morning and evening. Hopefully our sons will cut the grass at the front of the house. Otherwise, it will be like a jungle when we get back”.

Marilyn: If you don’t have a relative to cut the grass, hire someone. Also stop the newspaper if you take it or ask a reliable neighbor to bring it in for you along with the mail.

“All our neighbors are quite elderly so I leave them a note saying when we are going etc with my friend’s telephone number and what her car looks like in case they get worried”.

Marilyn: Even if your neighbors aren’t elderly, tell them you will be gone and ask them to keep an eye on your house while you are away.

“We are trying to “eat the freezer” and cupboard - rather than buy before we go. And my friend has instructions to raid the fridge and take anything perishable left over when we have left. She also gets a few basics in for us when we get back like fresh milk and bread….yes she is a great friend. I do the same for her.”

Marilyn: What a nice arrangement to have with a friend. Thank you for these great organizing tips for my blog readers.

What do you do when you go away on vacation to make sure your home is safe while you are away–even if it is just for a weekend?

My friend in the UK is taking an extended 2 month trip and these are some organizing tips she uses while traveling:
She said: “I do certain things as they suit my way.”

Marilyn’s comment: that is just exactly how you should organize—whatever works for you is the right way.

“I have an ongoing list on my computer with several other lists inside: A ski list, a summer vacation list, a short break list. Some things are the same for each list like toiletries and cosmetics. I print it off and cut up into pages that fit into my mini organizer/diary (like a filofax). This also has my address list in it. During the time away I make notes on the back of one of the pages called ‘would have been useful!’

Marilyn: What a great idea rather than trying to remember what it was you wished you had had.

My husband always says I take everything but the kitchen sink. My friend bought me a mini dolls’ house kitchen sink which I did pack one time and that caused much hilarity!

Marilyn: I must have one of those!

I don’t seem to have trouble being good about clothes packing. It’s all the other stuff……. My husband says - do I really need a mini tool kit and duct tape? Well yes - My suitcase got damaged (not seriously) on a couple of trips and I taped it up with Duct tape!! This also made it easier to spot on the carousel”.

Marilyn: She would be the kind of friend to travel with—you could pack light as she would have everything you would need, including the kitchen sink.

What organizing tips do you have for traveling or going on vacation?

My daughter travels about four times a year to exotic places. She kept her travel items all together in a cardboard box. That isn’t exactly accurate, she had a lot of travel things in the box and a lot we found in other places. She said she dreaded getting the box out every time she traveled. We changed all of that by doing this:

In the box she had thrown the items she thought she would use for travel. We took everything out and she decided where they really needed to go. (Not all items belonged here).

We contained everything in plastic bags, putting like items together. With a sharpie we labeled the bags. Some of the extra things she was happy to find as she could use them at work and other things were donated if she had never used them and knew she never would.

All of the items now fit in a plastic bin that is smaller than the box and it feels friendlier. With a sigh of relief she no longer dreads getting out her travel box.

One more organizing idea is to keep on your computer a packing list. When you travel print the list and as you pack you check off each item so you won’t forget anything you want to pack.

Anne who is one of my blog readers left these great organizing tips on a blog I wrote called “Lost and Found Camera”. They are such great organizing tips I asked her if I could share them and she said yes.

“I am writing to comment about your “Lost and Found Camera….” entry. After a large community dinner, I found a video camera. I began calling people who attended and finally discovered the camera actually belonged to my brother-in-law.

Since then, I have placed an address sticker on the bottom of my camera. A name tag on the camera case would have also helped.

And reading about the 8×10 picture on a utility pole to find the owner of a lost camera gave me an idea that I am going to use immediately - why not write your phone number and/or address on a piece of paper and take a picture of it on your digital camera to always keep there to identify the owner in case it is ever lost”.

Anne, what fabulous organizing tips! Why didn’t I think of that? At this holiday season many of us are out and about in busy places taking photos. These organizing tips could just save us the agony of a lost camera. I have now used these tips to protect my camera and case. Thank you

I was driving to Colorado for a week to do some organizing. The car tires looked low so I went to a shop to have the tire pressure checked. I have been driving a long time and when the young man said let’s see how much air the tires need I started to reach for my drivers manual. It was news to me that I could find it in a more convenient place.

He opened the driver’s door and there on the car was a sticker that told how much air my tires needed. (In the U.S. that is a law for the sticker to be there). I had no idea it was so convenient. As he was checking the tires I thought what other organizing tips could I pass on?

If you are traveling by car here are a few organizing tips to get your car ready before leaving for your trip:

•Make sure tires are properly inflated—this improves gas mileage and safety.
•Clear clutter from the car—I know we all keep it clutter free, but check the side pockets on the door and under the seats just to make sure. Add additional bags for trash to use on the trip.
•Check the oil; keep one or two containers of oil in the trunk or back of the vehicle just in case you need it.
•Make sure you have a can of “fix a flat”. If you are caught in the middle of nowhere with a flat tire this can get you to the nearest station where you can get your tire fixed. This has saved me more than once.
•Put your 72 hour kit in the vehicle.
•Put your first aid kit in the car. Check it to make sure the first aid supplies have been resupplied if it has been used.

These organizing tips can give you peace of mind as you head out on a trip. We never expect to run into problems, but it is better to be safe than sorry.

What organizing tips have you used before leaving for a trip? Because you organized your car was your trip different and or better?