Tips for Tuesday – Fall Garage Organizing

During summers filled with outdoor activities and projects, much of what we store in the garage ends up on the lawn, deck or patio.  What gets brought back in is often tossed carelessly in an available corner or shoved on a random shelf.  As fall brings cooler weather and shorter days, we know the transition inside for the winter is coming.  October is a great month to prepare for this shift by getting the garage and outdoor spaces put back in order.  The tips below can help!

Finish up outside before you move things back in.  It allows you to enjoy a tidy yard and nicer garage over the winter, then jump right into the outdoor season next year! 

• Clean the patio furniture, grill, cars, lawnmower, bikes, trash and recycle containers 
•  Tend to the lawn and garden – seed, fertilize, mow, trim, rake and weed
• Sweep sidewalks, porches, patios, driveways and decks

  

Clean the entire garage.  This space is often neglected, when it should look like an extension of your indoor rooms.

•  Pick up trash
• Sweep the floor
• Clear the cobwebs
• Wipe down surfaces
• Clean off dirt, oil, and rust

 

Sort through and assess what is in the garage now.  Remember these guidelines:

• If it’s broken, worn out, rusted through or expired - repair or trash it
• If it’s been outgrown, superseded, is a duplicate or won’t be used again - donate it 
•  If it belongs somewhere else - move it
• If it’s dirty - clean it

Designate a place for everything you want to keep.  As with all organizing, the key is to know where an item ‘lives’ so it can be returned there after each use. 

• Store ‘like’ items together
• Put frequently used things in the most accessible places 
• Look for organizing and storage products to make the best use of your space (cabinets, shelving, tool holders, pegboard systems, bins, hanging racks)  
•  Utilize vertical and ceiling space to hang tools, bikes and other items

 

Now you are ready to bring outdoor items back inside, store them neatly, and prepare for your winter hibernation!

Successful Resolutions – Part I

Was ‘Getting Organized’ your New Year’s Resolution for 2012?  If so, I applaud you for wanting to get your home, office, or life in better order.  Being organized can bring you peace of mind, time to spend on something you enjoy, a feeling of lightness, and many other positive things that make it well worth the effort.  Being disorganized can be overwhelming, and the decision to ‘get organized’ can create additional anxiety if you don’t know where to start or what steps you intend to take.

You need to SIMPLIFY the process by breaking it into manageable pieces.  If your goal is to organize your whole house this year, divide that objective into smaller projects and assign a timeframe to each.  Work through one room or area at a time.  Perhaps you want to start by getting your kitchen in order.  Set a date range to accomplish this component of the larger project, such as the first two weeks in February.  Spread the work into multiple days over the assigned period of time, remembering that some tasks are more time intensive than others.

List a series of small steps you can take to organize the kitchen:  1) gather things I don’t use/need/like for donation 2) move rarely used items to less accessible storage  3) sort and organize pantry  4) clean out and organize ‘junk’ drawer  5) sort and organize storage containers and lids; purge ones that are worn, torn or missing lids  6) empty, clean and rearrange contents of refrigerator and freezer....etc.

Repeat this process for each area you plan to organize.  Feel good about the progress you are making each day and let it motivate you to continue on your quest.  Treat yourself to small rewards for work well done (purchase a great serving piece after you have finished the kitchen and dining areas, a beautiful storage basket when you complete the family room, etc.).  Invite someone over to share your accomplishments.  Getting organized is contagious.  The more you do, the more you WANT to do.  So enjoy the process!

What are YOUR resolutions for 2012?  For success, remember to SIMPLIFY them with small, defined steps!

A Special Holiday Gift

There is still time to purchase a wonderful gift for that special person in your life who is struggling with organization or life and time management.  A Simpler Life Solutions Gift Certificate is the perfect way to show how much you care about them by bringing calm, order, efficiency and peace of mind to their home, office or life!

The people on your gift list could start the New Year with work or living spaces that are transformed from chaotic to orderly.  We can declutter and organize drawers, cabinets, closets, whole rooms, whole houses, small businesses, home offices, paperwork, cars, student work areas, collections, memorabilia....you name it! 

Or perhaps they could use assistance with handling correspondence, paying bills, putting together a household budget or balancing bank accounts.  There are many ways that Simpler Life Solutions can help them manage their daily tasks!

To purchase a gift certificate today, contact us through the website or send an email directly to info@simplerlifesolutions.com.  We would be glad to discuss the purchase details and offer suggestions on ways we can assist the people on your list.  The certificate can be mailed or provided in an email attachment to you or the recipient.    We look forward to hearing from you!

Turn Holiday Dread into Motivation

Thanksgiving is only three weeks away, which means that Christmas will be here in seven.  For many of us, this realization creates a huge sense of dread.  How can I possibly let anyone see the house looking like this?  How will I make room for all the food, decorations, presents and other holiday stuff when there is already so much clutter?  Why can’t I keep my house organized all the time and eliminate this panic? 

Instead of letting anxiety shut you down, turn the upcoming holidays into motivation to get your house in order.  If you start today and proceed slowly and systematically, you will be ready in plenty of time!  Here are some great tips to simplify the task, and help you keep your home in order year-round.

A.)  Accept the fact that you can’t keep everything.  You don’t need or have room for the clothes you wore when you were ‘thin’, or years of magazines, or three sets of china.  If you don’t love it or use it regularly, you should consider letting go of it.

B.)  Bags, Baskets, Boxes and Bins should be on hand to catch your cast-offs.  Have a large bag for trash, boxes for donations, a bin for recycle, and a basket for papers to shred.  Don’t make piles or handle the items more than once...put them immediately into the appropriate container, and once filled, get them out of the house!

C.)  Contain your possessions in attractive ways that inspire you to keep tidy.  Use a beautiful bowl to catch the mail, car keys and other small items that come in the house each day.  Find file boxes, shoe holders, and other organizing products that match your décor and use them.

D.)  Do it Daily so the clutter doesn’t get out of hand.  Walk through the house with a laundry basket and collect everything that needs to go back to another room.  Go to each of those places and put things where they belong.  If you do this each night before you go to bed, you will wake up to a more orderly house.

E.)  Easy things first and the rest will follow.  Get rid of anything that is outdated, expired, damaged beyond repair, torn, worn out, a duplicate, or that you simply don’t care about.  Donate anything you can that is new or gently used.  You will quickly see progress, and this serves as a great motivator.

F.)  Find a home for everything that is near where it is most often used.  Make sure to return things to that place as soon as you finish with them.  This is the main key to staying organized.  Items that are rarely needed can be stored in further away or less accessible places (garage, attic, basement storage area). 

G.)  Goals should be small so that they are achievable.  Break the big project into smaller tasks so that you can quickly see results and feel a sense of accomplishment.  Aspire to clean out one closet or drawer in the evening.  Tackle a larger space, like the garage, on a weekend.

H.)  Haste makes waste when it comes to shopping.  Think through each potential purchase and ask yourself if you really need it, or just want it.  Buying out of desire is fine for a special treat, but you need to balance your purchases or you end up with too much that you don’t have room for.

Map your course today and get started in the rooms where you will be entertaining or decorating for your celebrations.  Don’t worry about the rest of the house right now!  And remember these wise words from Henry Ford:  "Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs."

Find organizing containers that make you WANT to use them!