Tag Archive for: organizing stuff

More Clutter Excuses

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dishesWe all hold onto things for a variety of reasons.  Some of those reasons are valid and worthwhile.  For example, I’m holding onto my Grandmother’s necklace, because it’s a beautiful piece of jewelry that I enjoy wearing, especially when I want to be reminded of her.  Unfortunately, some reasons for holding onto things are not valid or worthwhile.  For example, the only reason I’m holding onto my (never used) serving dishes is because they were a gift.  When the reason for holding onto something is not valid or worthwhile, it could be a clutter excuse.  Clutter Excuses provide us with reasons to hold onto something, so we don’t have to make the (potentially difficult) decision to get rid of it.  I find that honesty is the best policy when it comes to making decisions.  By honestly answering thought provoking questions regarding why we are holding on to something, we can truthfully evaluate it’s significance in our lives.

A common clutter excuse I hear is, “Someone gave, or bequeathed it to me.”  I believe that a gift is meant to bring joy, and that no gift-giver wants their gift to be a burden.  Answer these five questions truthfully to determine if it’s a burden and time to let it go.

  • It’s yours, and you can do anything you want with it.  What would make you happy?
  • Can you keep a piece or portion of it, and get rid of the rest of it?
  • Can you take a photo of it and then let it go?
  • Do you know someone else who will treasure it?
  • If it’s just in a box in the attic, is it worth keeping?

Another common clutter excuse I hear is, “It’s still good.”  Not everything we part with is broken or unusable.  It’s okay to get rid of items we don’t need, want, or use, even if they are still workable and usable.  There are several options available to us when passing on items like this, and removing them provides us with a less cluttered space.  Answer these five questions truthfully to determine if it’s time to pass it along to someone else.

  • If it’s still good, why aren’t you using it?
  • Could someone less fortunate benefit from it?
  • What are the costs of getting rid of it, verses the cost of keeping it, storing it, cleaning it, and maintaining it?
  • How much space is it taking up?
  • How stressful is it to keep it?

I don’t have any children of my own, so I don’t use this common clutter excuse, “I’m saving it to pass on to my children.”  Have you uttered this excuse?  If so, answer these five questions truthfully to determine if it’s time to stop saving and let it go.

  • How sure are you that they will want it?
  • Are you willing to ask your children if they will want it?  If they are too young to ask at this moment, will you ask them in the future?
  • What are the costs of letting someone benefit from it now, verses the cost of keeping it, storing it, cleaning it, and maintaining it?
  • Could someone less fortunate benefit from it, now?
  • How stressful is it to keep it?

It does take time to make decisions and get rid of stuff.  Have you ever used time as an excuse?  “I don’t have time to deal with it.”  Answer these five questions truthfully to determine if it’s time to make time.

  • How much time do you feel it requires?
  • If you did have time, what would you do with it?
  • Can someone else deal with it?
  • Can you see yourself making time to deal with it, if you had an incentive?
  • How much more needs to accumulate in order for you to make time to deal with it?

As I mentioned before, we all hold onto things for a variety of reasons, but the best reasons are valid and worthwhile.  I hope these questions help you conquer your clutter excuses and provide you with peace of mind.

© May 2015  Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®  All rights reserved

NAPO

Proud member of NAPO

Janine with donation box

Organizing Habits

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Helpful Organizer Newsletter – January 2015
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Side Notes:***  January 2015 marks my 7th year in business.  Thank you for being a part of it, and helping me reach this anniversary.  I’m grateful to you.

 

 

***    Did you know that January is Get Organized Month?  In honor of GO Month, the New England Chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers, of which I am a member, is offering a full day expo on Saturday, January 24th.  For more details call me or visit the NAPO-NE website.

 

***    I’m excited to say I’ve taped a video for my website, and the launch date is at the end of the month of January.  I hope you’ll take a look and let me know what you think.

 

***  My organizing classes will begin in March.  I’ll be teaching 4 different classes in Franklin, MA.  Check my website for upcoming dates and times.

 
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Hi  Janine,

Happy New Year!  I hope your 2015 is off to a wonderful start.  A new year inspires me to try something new.  What about you?  Is this the year for you to initiate one or two new healthy organizing habits?  Maybe a few suggestions would motivate you to pick a new organizing habit to incorporate into your life this year?

Organizing Habits

Below are a few suggestions of healthy organizing habits:

1.  Go paperless with monthly bills and statements to cut down on the amount of mail that sits unopened on the counter.  Resist the urge to print out the payment receipt.  Instead, set up a file and store them on your computer.
2.  Share household responsibilities with everyone who lives under one roof.  Teamwork is the best approach to daily and weekly chores like laundry.
3.  Set up a clothing donation bin by the clothes dryer, and fill it with items you wish to get rid of as soon as they come out of the dryer.  Schedule a trip to drop off the items, or schedule a pick up date for the donations every 3 months or so.
4.  Allow only one open bottle of dish detergent, cleaning supplies, shampoo, lotion, soap, etc. at any given time.  This helps prevents clutter in the bathroom and kitchen.
5.  Immediately get rid of outdated, damaged, unused, or unwanted items.  It’s tempting to shove them into a closet, the basement, or garage, but it is too easy to forget about them that way.  Prevent clutter build up by getting rid of them right away.

Will you initiate a new healthy organizing habit in 2015?  If so, please share.

Helpful Organizer Blog


What is a blog?  The Helpful Organizer Blog I write is short entries of information on organizing topics that I find noteworthy and potentially helpful to my clients and the general public.   Here are a few of my most recent blogs that you may want to read:

Organizing Decorations
Organizing Medical Papers
Save Time
Clutter Aerobics
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 happy organizing in 2015!

Organizing Decorations

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Tree Orn. binIf you’re like me, you like decorating for the holidays.  It gets me in the holiday spirit, and I enjoy adding sparkle and cheer to my home.  However, taking those decorations down, packing them up, and storing them until next year is an entirely different story.  That part of the process always seems like such an unwelcoming chore.  So, I’ve done my best to simplify the process and make it as painless as possible.

The first suggestion is to have a designated location in your basement, attic, garage, or other storage area, for the holiday decorations to live undisturbed until next year.  This prevents them from just being shoved anywhere, everywhere, or wherever they’ll fit.  My designated location is on plastic storage shelves in my basement.Tree Orn. sign

The second suggestion is to use clear bins and large easy to read labels.  This allows you to easily spot what is stored inside and where it belongs.  I print large color coded labels, and tape them to the inside of the clear bin.  This allows me to easily read the label because of the large size, and to easily recognize the holiday because of the label color.  It also prevents the label from falling off, fading, curling, or becoming illegible.  I place two labels in the bin on opposite sides, so that no matter how the bin is placed on the shelf, I can view the label.

tree ornaments in binThe third suggestion is to store holiday decorations in layers with bubble wrap in between each layer.  This is much faster than wrapping each individual decoration.  It works best if you put decorations that are similar in width in the same layer.  Also, place plush and soft decorations in between wooden and breakable decorations, and only store fragile or collectible decorations in their original boxes.

The fourth suggestion is to store holiday decorations based on where they are placed inside or outside the house.  For example I have bins of Christmas decorations for each room in my house.  This way I can easily decorate one room at a time, and pack up one room at a time.  It helps me streamline the processes.

The fifth suggestion is to keep all decoration accessories in the perspective holiday bins.  I keep the extension cord, the light timer, extra light bulbs, tree ornament hooks, and the tree skirt in the same bin as the tree ornaments.  This way I’m not searching for these items when it’s time to decorate each year.

I understand that putting away holiday decorations can be a drag, but I hope these suggestions will help prevent procrastination.

©January 2015  Janine Cavanaugh, Certified Professional Organizer®  All Rights Reserved

NAPO

Proud member of NAPO

Save Time

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key holderDo you feel that being organized could save time?  When I ask this question in the classes I teach on organizing, everyone says, “yes”.  They go on to say that one of the major time saving benefits of being organized is being able to find what they want when they need it.  They feel that being organized would mean that they would spend less time hunting for things, less time putting things away, less time stressing over misplaced items.  This is true.  In fact it’s been proven that organized people save themselves time every day.

So, how can you make this happen for you?  You can make it happen by following a two step process.  Step one is to have or create a designated home for things, and step two is to consistently return things to their designated home.  For example, if I have a designated home for my keys (mine are on a hook by my back door), I know where they belong, and can put them in their designated home quickly and easily.  This encourages me to put them away, instead of just tossing them on the counter or burying them in my pocketbook.  Also, if  I consistently return my keys to their designated home, I know where to find them when I need them, and there is less chance of me misplacing them or loosing them.  This 2 step process works with everyday items like groceries, eye glasses, and receipts, as well as one-of-kind items like your passport, camera, and title to your car.

Although being organized can save you time, getting and staying organized requires time.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t just happen all by itself, but if you practice the two step process of creating a designated home for things, and consistently returning things to their designated home, it might feel that way.  What I mean is that once an action becomes habitual, less effort and brain power is required to preform the action.  So, it seems as though it is happening all by itself.  I’d recommend starting with just one items and one action, and see how long it takes for you to save time every day.

 

©November 2014  Janine Cavanaugh, Certified Professional Organizer®  All rights reserved

NAPO

Proud member of NAPO

Clearing the Clutter

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kitchen cabinetWho 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.

© September 2013 Janine Cavanaugh, Certified Professional Organizer® All rights reserved.

NAPO

Proud member of NAPO