October 2013 • Helpful Organizer

Simple Organizing Solutions

October 5, 2013/0 Comments/in Blog Posts/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

Receiving a thank you note in the mail is pleasant. It’s even more pleasant when you’re being thanked for something you didn’t realize would make an impact on the other person. This happened to me when I offered a simple organizing solution to a Realtor I had met at a networking event. She asked me if I had any ideas how she could keep all her real estate forms portable and organized. I suggested a portable accordion file. The next thing I know, I’m reading a very sincere thank you note that makes me smile. It just goes to show you, sometimes the simplest organizing solutions are the best solutions. In this case, find a good home for paper and things.
Here are a few more simple organizing solutions that I’ve offered to my clients:

Standing a baby bath tub on end, so it took up less room in the closet where it was stored. Be creative and unconventional with your personal organizing solutions.
Moving a daily used utensil drawer up to the second spot instead of the third drawer down. Make it easy on yourself to do daily tasks.
Asking a spouse to pay some of the monthly bills in order to spend less time on the task. Delegate and ask for help when you can.
Tossing the brown, brittle, dead flowers in the vase on the dresser even if they were your wedding bouquet. Evoke cherished memories with happy thoughts, not objects.
When you’ve finished knitting, put your knitting project back in the bag. Getting in the habit of putting things back in the places we’ve assigned them to go fosters organization.

Proud member of NAPO

Clearing the Clutter

October 5, 2013/0 Comments/in Blog Posts/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

Who likes to hunt? I’m talking, in your own closets, pantry, cupboards and drawers? Are these areas unorganized and filled with random stuff? Is what you need, want, and use mixed in with a bunch of items you don’t need, don’t want, and don’t use? Having to sift and hunt every time you’re looking for an item is a waste of time, not to mention stressful and frustrating. Organizing these areas can help. Organizing these areas can start with 3 important actions, separating, discarding, and removing.
Action #1 – Separating:
Separate what you need from what you don’t need.
Separate what you want from what you don’t want.
Separate what you use from what you don’t use.
Action #2 – Discarding:
Discard as much as you can from the don’t need, don’t want, don’t use piles.
Any remaining items should be given away or donated.
Action #3 – Removing:
Remove what you’re not CURRENTLY using from the need, want and use piles.
Now put the remainder of items back into your space in an organized way based on frequency of use. Viola, no more hunting.

I understand this process is sometimes not as easy as it sounds, and that it is helpful to have assistance. If you’d like my assistance, please email me to set up a complimentary consultation. Another option is to attend one of my class on the subject.

Proud member of NAPO

Closet Organizing

October 5, 2013/0 Comments/in Blog Posts/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

When I’m shopping, one thing that I find frustrating is looking through overstuffed clothes racks that are so tight you can’t slide the hangers, even an inch, to get a good look at what’s there. Is this what it’s like in your closet at home? Have you taken to not hanging up your clothes because you can’t possible squeeze anything else in? If that’s the case, I’d recommend one workable organizing guideline, the one in, two out rule. This means when you add a new item to your closet, you get rid of two unwanted items from your closet. Unwanted items can be any clothing, footwear or accessories that no longer fit, flatter or suit your current style. This one in, two out guideline will allow you to strategically un-stuff your closet over time.

Now that you’re removing unwanted items from your closet, what do you do with them? Here are a few options:

Consignment:
Janet’s Consignment Boutique (women & men)
49 Belmont St., South Easton, MA 02375
508-238-1513
Blackbirds Consignment Shop (women)
401-353-2028
www.blackbirdsconsignment.com
Togs on Brook (women & men)
117 Brook St, Providence, RI 02906
401-274-1200

Donation Drop Off Sites:
Clothes To Go Clothing Pantry
20 Hoppin Hill Ave., North Attleboro, MA -2760
508-339-6040
Savers
1385 South Washington Street, North Attleboro, MA 02760
www.savers.com
Saint Vincent dePaul
173 Washington Street, Route 1, Plainville, MA 02762
www.svdpusa.org
The Goodwill Store
115 Washington Street, South Attleboro, MA 02703
www.goodwillmass.org

Pick up Charities:
Big Brother Big Sister Foundation
www.bbbsfoundation.org
800-483-5503
Salvation Army
www.salvationarmyusa.org
800-958-7825
Epilepsy Foundation
www.epilepsy.com
888-322-8209

Proud member of NAPO

Yard Sales

October 5, 2013/0 Comments/in Blog Posts/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

Selling what you no longer want or need is one way of bringing in a bit of extra cash, so long as you know what you’re in for. Yard Sales are a lot of work. If you want to give it a try here are my top 5 tips:

1. Spread the Word – if no one comes, you won’t be selling a thing. List your sale locally, both on line and in print. Share the date with friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers.
2. Price to sell – remember people are looking for bargains. Group things together by price and have a colored sticker code. This beats having to print up or write up price tickets.
3. Get a permit – some towns require a yard sale permit. You don’t want to have to pay a fine, if your town requires a permit, and you don’t have one. Check with your town hall before you plan a yard sale.
4. Donate after the sale – establish the rule that nothing from the sale goes back into the house or garage. Instead pick a donation location before the sale and set up a pick up date or drop off date.
5. Have cash on hand – make a trip to the bank before your sale so you’re prepared. Only accept cash as payment, and have plenty of change and singles to make for smoother transactions.

Proud member of NAPO

Practice & Putting Away

October 4, 2013/0 Comments/in Newsletter/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

Content

Practice

Putting Away

Classes

Quick Links

My website
My Email address
My Blog
NAPO-NE

Side Notes:

*** With the holidays fast approaching I’d like to provide you with my list of consumable gift ideas. By giving gifts that can be used up, we are supporting a clutter-free holiday season.

*** What is your favorite organizing product? Please share.

*** I’ve started blogging! Please check out my blog articles on my website.

*** Do you have a question on organizing that you’d like my advice or opinion on? If so, please ask, and if I think others would benefit from the question, I’ll post it on the ‘Question of the Month’ section on my website

PS: What do you think of my caricature?

Hi Janine,

Happy Fall! The days are getting shorter, the weather is getting cooler, and soon we’ll be gathering with family for the holidays. I’m looking forward to that, and I hope you are also. As many of you know, I come from a large family, and they’re often an inspiration to me in my organizing profession. Here are two stories that were inspired by my nieces.

Practice, Practice, Practice

My 7 year old niece has been asking if she could learn to play the piano for a while. Her parents decided to let her give it a go, and signed her up for piano lessons. Luckily for them, she loves it, and eagerly practices every day.The skill of organizing is similar to my niece learning to play the piano. Like her, you may be better off signing up for lessons with a professional instructor (me), or not. That is your call. But, definitely, you’ll need to practice every day in order to see any improvement. Also, just as my niece needs to repeat her lessons until she has mastered them, you’ll need to repeat your organizing tasks until you’ve mastered them.

Would you like some organizing instructions and lessons? If yes, please email me.

Putting Away

My almost 3 year old niece is a different story. She’s a little rascal. One of her favorite activities is to dump. Just recently, she dumped all the clean, folded clothes out of the laundry basket. Dumping is fun and easy. It’s the putting away that’s the hard part.

As adults, we may not dump things out, but we certainly take things out of cupboards, closets, and drawers. We remove things from our purse, wallet, or work bag. Let’s face it, our days are spent taking things out and putting things away.

Are you asking, what does this have to do with organizing? Well, the key to staying organized is to put things back in the same place again, and again, and again.

Are you good at dumping? Need help putting away? If yes, let’s talk!

Upcoming Classes

Organizing Paper

Monday, November 4, 2013

Tri-County RVTHS, Franklin, MA

7:00PM to 9:00PM

508-528-5400 x126

Organizing Solutions & Products

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Learning Connection, Providence, RI

7:00PM to 9:00PM

401-274-9330

Organizing Paper

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Learning Connection, Providence, RI

7:00PM to 9:00PM

401-274-9330

For a complete list of my classes check my website.

From,

Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®
(508)-699-6652

If you’d like to share this email message with someone, please click on the Forward email button below. Thank you and enjoy the remainder of your fall!

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