toys

Organized Kids

Organizing tipSchool’s out and the kids are home all summer. Here are a few tips to help keep things organized.

1. Schedule daily organizing time. Require participation from every child and play their favorite songs to motivate them.
2. Label children’s clothing bins, toy bins, and book bins with words as well as images, to reinforce where items belong.
3. Instead of leaving unfinished projects out, have an open space on a book shelf or in a cabinet for them to be stored.

Sharpie

Reduce Clutter

Organizing tipEliminate duplicates to reduce clutter. Why have ten of something, if three will do? Why have three of something, if one will do? Look around your home for duplicates. How many can you eliminate? To prevent the need to purchase duplicates in the first place, have an assigned home for items that tend to get misplaced or lost. Label each assigned home to clearly identify it’s location.

yard sale

Yard Sale Charity Rule

Organizing tipWe’re entering yard sale season. If you’re planning on having one, follow this simple rule. Pick a charity before your yard sale and make a rule that all unsold items go directly to that charity. Nothing gets returned to the house, attic, basement, or garage. A few local charities that I support are St. Vincent De Paul, Habitat for Humanities ReStore, and Dorca’s International.

decide

Decide to Decide

Organizing tipAre you procrastinating and making excuses for holding onto stuff? Are you clinging to material possessions for no good reason? Things that are merely taking up valuable space aren’t worth holding onto. Decide to decide, and let go of these things. You’ll feel lighter and brighter.

Client's cluttered living room

Useful Things

Organizing tipThe world is full of useful things, but if you’re not using them, they are not useful to you. So, remove all those things that are not useful to you, by giving, donating, recycling, or removing them every week. This helps prevent clutter from happening and piles from building.