Weekly Tip

Seasons change and it’s time for a closet make-over!

Work on the infrastructure…move a shelf lower to fit tall bags, or add an LED closet rod to light up a dark corner.

Keep your most-used handbags on hooks in the center of the closet, and change them out seasonally, like rotating merchandise in a store

Haven’t worn it for a year?  Waiting for it to fit?  Time to purge.

Buying new?  Don’t add it… replace it.  Your wardrobe may be growing, but your closet space is not… before making that purchase, think…”where in closet will it fit and what am I replacing?”

Weed out the one-hit wonders.  Give yourself permission to let go of that item you purchased for a certain event and will never wear again.

Buy season-less styles with dress-up/dress-down potential.  A sleeveless silk top and tailored black pants work great for both formal fetes & cocktail parties, especially when paired with metallic accents.

It starts with one box. Because that box is handy, you stack another one on top of it.  The magazines and catalogs land there, then some unopened mail.  Some letters and cards fall to the floor, hidden by a shopping bag set down just for the moment, in a hurry, so much on your mind.  That bag falls behind other bags.  Every day there’s mail.  Craft projects cover the dining room table, you know this isn’t right, but where do you begin now?

Next weekend’s chores turn into next month’s and then a year has passed.  Floors, counters, tables disappear beneath every good intention.  Once it was just a clutter nest and now it is an overwhelming albatross!

You need these things, all of them… for your hobbies, the dog, the future… That box is here someplace!

This isn’t hoarding…yet.  This is typical of a busy life.  Don’t be embarrassed by the mess, call a professional for help and regain control of your life.

Do I need this item?

Do I use this item?

Does this item work?

Does this item fit into my plan?

Do I want to continue to have to organize, clear, maintain and manage this item?

Do I really want this item?

A “no” to any of these questions means “go”.

Are you an entry way dumper?  Does your kitchen table become a landfill, piles everywhere with car keys and sunglasses buried under those piles? Put the wall of your entry way into service. Install decorative hooks to hold coats and handbags. Install a shelf above the hooks to hold other essentials. Purchase an attractive tray to hold mail, flyers, keys and sunglasses.

If you have a closet in your entry way, transform it into a drop zone with kid-friendly lockers or cubbies that can hold all your come & go items.  A bench with storage is a great way to sit, take off your shoes and tuck them away as well as a convenient space for the sports stuff.

Store two sets of sheets for each bed in the closet.  Save a few sets of older sheets for protecting plants, paint projects, etc. but don’t store them in the linen closet.   Fold towels and sheets so the folded edge shows on the shelf.   Now you might have room on a shelf for your bathroom pantry… purchase an open container for these items so they don’t tip over and fall creating a mess, simply pull down the container and choose the item you need.  Simple.

One client went from over 3,000 square feet to an urban condo…here were her pre-project comments:  “stuff just clutters around us!”  “it’s all the kid’s stuff!”  As much as she tried to cull the clutter, it just moved from room to room, but moving put a new perspective on things.

That’s when we got busy…sorting into categories, move, donate, sell, toss….the over 50 pre-retirement dress shirts of Mr’s went to charity, the dresses worn 15 years ago at the kid’s weddings – gone…the chair buried in the basement which was always going to be re-upholstered…won’t fit in the condo…get the idea?

Room by room item by item a fresh new start began. Moving day the van arrived, the big pieces were in place in the condo, the pared-down belongings arranged, artwork hung.  Retirement to be enjoyed. Zen.

“A house is a home when it shelters the body and comforts the soul.”  – Phillip Moffitt

Too often we like to have our public spaces perfect…but what about the linen closet? the bathroom? That corner in the bedroom?  Sometimes the most functional private spaces in our lives are ignored and messy. Disarray in these areas can make daily rituals far more difficult than they should be.  Just a little thoughtful organization will create ease that gets your day off to a peaceful start.

Where were you when you made your big life plans? Perhaps in college surrounded by friends discussing hopes and dreams…the possibilities were endless and exciting! Where might we live? Would we get married? O! the career plans, families and adventures that awaited!

I think it’s safe to assume none of us ever said “I hope I have a big house full of things that I bought just because they were on sale.” We never talked about our intentions to own so much stuff that we would spend our free time trying to organize it all. No one said, “i hope my future kids have so many toys that they can’t pick them up because there is nowhere to put them!”

Why do we trade in our hopes, dreams, goals and plans for things that will eventually end up in a garage sale, consignment store or landfill? We pull this baggage behind us as we go through life thinking about the next thing we can add to it! Stop doing that!

I still love shoes and handbags, kitchen gadgets that slice and dice…but I don’t like the idea that someone would trade in special hopes and dreams for something that can be bought. I like my stuff but I am SO OVER IT!

Give me passion, pursuits, wholeness, healing, compassion, audacious goals, love, grace, kindness…give me those instead, and let me not be distracted by anything less.

Are closets and cabinets overflowing with never used possessions while everyday items cover your home? What is in that confusing hall closet-vanity thingie? Has emotional clutter stolen your focus and zapped your creativity, productivity and enthusiasm? O yeah! that asymmetrical under-the-staircase junk repository. Tossing and turning all night long? There is that messy forgotten bedroom nook…

It’s never too late to change all of that into a positive, stress-free lifestyle…make that lifestyle change today by calling a professional! OrganiZare can help and allow you time for family and fun! Think of it as a personal trainer for your home. Refresh, try something new, help is a good thing and just a call away!