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.
Time to empty out that big kitchen box. We are not performing science fair experiments in there are we? Empty and toss the expired foods, I guarantee they are lurking in there. Sanitize the drawers and shelves. Deodorize the inside walls with all-purpose cleaner and vacuum the coils behind, soak the ice cube catcher in baking soda. When putting items back in, wipe them off so the old gunk doesn’t return. Organize the contents… condiments in the side door, dairy together, meat in the meat drawer, produce in the produce drawer and NOW… your fridge and food are fresh and that big box will run more efficiently.
It should be just cash and…
Two credit cards. Yep that’s it. Choose the one with the best rewards or lowest interest rate and keep the others at home in a lockbox. Photocopy cards, front and back, storing the copy in your lockbox.
Consolidate store loyalty cards, coupons, and other people’s business cards by downloading apps, like CamCard, Keyring or Grocery Pal.
Refuse receipts from grocery stores, delis and coffee shops. Throw out any in your wallet right now! Planning on returning an item? Keep those receipts in a folder, or tape them to the return. When offered an email receipt, accept the offer, then set up an email account just for receipts to protect your main email address from mailing lists.
Even though your wallet has a compartment for coins… use it for emergency items like band-aids, safety pins, earring backs. Drop loose change into your pocket and use it that day. If not, it goes into the change jar when you get home.
Never carry your Social Security card. This belongs in your lockbox away from identity thieves.
Toss old lottery tickets, casino vouchers, to-do notes, shopping lists and scraps with phone numbers… need I say more? Your handbag is now lighter and your back pocket won’t slouch.
The book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” by Marie Kondo has over 3 million copies sold and I am proud to be one of those 3 million. Here are just a few quotes from this helpful book:
“when you put your house in order you put your affairs and your past in order too”
“surround yourself with only the things you love”
“tidy a little each day and you’ll be tidying forever”
“when de-cluttering ask yourself, “does this item spark joy? If not dispose of it.”
This website will continue to post more ideas from this neat little book… stay tuned.
The bedroom should be an oasis for sleeping, relaxing and lounging. If you are staring at piles of laundry, books, magazines, electronic devices, you are not in Zen or rem. The headboard doesn’t have to be just a pillow prop. Find one that stores books and magazines, can hold a lamp and you have triple duty functional furniture. A single shallow shelf above the bed keeps books close at hand and will limit the number of books you store in the room. Save space by mounting a reading lamp on the wall. And that laundry? Throw it in a decorative hamper, or better yet get your extra steps in and take it to the laundry room. When it is clean? Put it away right away!
You go to your local big box store and buy volumes of toothpaste, dental floss, pantry foods, tissue paper, greeting cards… only to come home and find you already had volumes of these items scattered about. SAVE MONEY! GET ORGANIZED! Categorize your things based on how you use them, and which room should have them. Doing it now prevents you from wasting time searching all over the place for something later and keeps track of household items running low.
– Use shredded paper from your shredder to cushion gifts instead of tissue. Makes great packing for moving and mailing as well.
– Take a rainy or snow day off and sort old photographs by family member/friend groups. Label the back with acid free pen so you and your family can always identify who’s who. Not a great photo of Uncle George? Why keep it? Trust me, he won’t mind if it gets tossed.
– BOOM Box (Broken, Odd or Missing) box to be stored in garage with objects waiting to be glued, found or fixed.
– JUICE Box (Just Unused Inputs Cords and Electricals) box will contain all those cables and cords so they don’t die tangled in some drawer or forgotten in outlets. It helps to label these cords so you will always know to which device they belong.
We’ve all heard it, “I really want to do this with _______ space.” “Someday this _________ space is going to be _________.” “If I only had time, I would redecorate this _________ space.” Fill in the blanks, either you or someone you know labels this _______ space this way. The real problem is commitment, or a lack thereof. Areas get out of control when we don’t designate a specific use and follow through with it. If the space should be an office, get a desk in there.
Then make the space inviting to encourage use and, no more excuses, you’ve done it!
Dresser drawers are hard to keep neat if you stuff the garments in and hope the drawer closes.
Roll garments like t-shirts, pajamas, activewear. Move off-season clothes out and into bins on top shelves. This also allows you a day to purge the unwanted. Jeans work well folded on shelves (think “like in a store”) and drawer dividers can segment socks, underwear, bras and cami’s. Bins don’t have to be clear plastic, check out decorative fun bins and baskets at The Container Store. Your closet can have a new look without spending much money and happiness will replace the “drawer depression”.
The kitchen is a room where one must function efficiently. Arranged into work zones, this will be the case. Store items where you use them, (bakeware near the oven, glasses near the refrigerator, flatware in a drawer near the dishwasher)… extra steps are great for exercise, not kitchen functionality. Big kitchen? Set up designated areas for frequent activities, (coffee prep, entertaining prep, baking area). Not so big kitchen? Try a mobile island for extra counter workspace.
