Buy spices in small quantities. Large containers may seem like a better deal, but if you don’t use very much spice you’ll end up throwing it – and your money – away. Spices do not get better with age.
Monthly Archives: July 2018
Sad, but true. “We’ve moved! We were so cramped in that tiny starter house.” “We just had to upsize. Now we have plenty of storage space!”
When every nook and cranny is crammed with books, articles, clothing. When a drawer jams, stuffed with pens, pencils, and scratch pads. When the under sink in the bathroom is filled with tall, odd-sized products you purchased on sale or at the big box store. When… this happens… it’s time to declutter!
Before you move into an even bigger house to store even more stuff, sort what you have and purge what you don’t need. Avoid the BOGO offers, half price sales and bulk purchase items. Think first where you will store it and how many do you already have? Products expire and buying in bulk may cost you more in the end. Bring nothing into your house unless you have a proper place to store it.
Go ahead. Buy that bigger house. But less is more and space is good. Besides, now you won’t have to move all the stuff.
“If it’s a habit, it ceases to be a source of conflict,” says Gretchen Rubin, author of Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives.
Even toddlers can learn to hang up coats (provide them a hook), pull up bedding, put clothes in hamper, bring plates to sink. Toddlers think of work as play and you can turn this teaching moment into a game. Following routines offers a sense of calm.
Once a child starts pre-school there will be a set of routines for picking up the classroom. Capitalize on the cubby system at home, purchasing similar storage bins. Sing the school’s clean up song as you work, I mean play, with your child.
Keep a donation bin in the garage. Getting rid of old toys and too-small clothing is important for an organized home. Purge as you go instead of spending an entire Saturday “cleaning out” will be much better received by your entire family.
Children love to mimic and who best to mimic but a loving parent teaching them the fundamentals of an organized life.
I recently saw this bumper sticker and want it to be my new motto. As more and more storage facilities are built and less and less storage is built into new homes, NEED LESS should be a common motto for many.
I am frequently asked to provide more storage for new homes. I can’t make a closet larger, but I can make it more efficient. I can’t help your garage fit 2 cars, kid’s toys, tools, old carpet, yard equipment, unused or broken sports equipment, and all the “stuff” that doesn’t fit or “go” in your new home, but I can help you purge and determine what’s worth the limited space.
The less we need, the less storage we need, the less hassle we have, the less time we spend looking for things, and “lest” it put me out of a job… that’s my tip of the week!
Store garments like formal dresses, coats, silk or leather on wooden hangers in a breathable garment bag, never in dry cleaning bags which trap chemicals and moisture, causing yellowing.
Natural fiber clothing need air circulation. Airtight bins are great for space conservation, so if you are using them, poke holes in them. This will avoid mold and mildew, yellowing or a musty odor. If your clothing is shelved, cover the stack with a pillowcase to keep the dust off.