organizing tips for families Archives • Page 10 of 13 • Helpful Organizer

Tag Archive for: organizing tips for families

How to Get Organized to Sell Your House

July 31, 2015/0 Comments/in Blog Posts/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

Summer is an optimal time for many homeowners to sell their house, pack up, and relocate. Unfortunately, this is a stressful process. It’s easy for sellers to get overwhelmed by all that needs to be done to prepare their house for the market, and start the packing process. There is so much to organize, so many details to address. The 10 “Organized to Sell” tips listed below will help any seller focus on the details and take control.

1. Eliminate piles before you sell.
Don’t let paper and items accumulate on tables, counter tops, or desks. Keeping horizontal surfaces clear and clean eliminates visual clutter, and allows potential buyers to see the space without distractions.
2. Reduce before you sell.
Over stuffing closets, bookcases, filing cabinets, cupboards and other storage areas in your home is a red flag to potential buyers. It screams, “Not enough storage!” Reducing and limiting the number of items you keep in these areas conveys the message of ample and abundant storage to the potential buyer.
3. Eliminate surplus before you sell.
Why have ten of something, if two is all you really need until you move? Pack up and remove surplus or
duplicate items. A few examples are sheets, towels, dishes, mugs, utensils, toiletries, toys, books, DVDs, etc.
4. Remove before you sell.
Packing up seldom used items and seasonal items helps your house appear spacious, and that is what potential buyers like. Some examples are holiday decorations, off season clothing and footwear, archived files, and rarely used kitchen appliances, like bread makers, blenders, etc.
5. Toss before you sell.
It is perfectly acceptable to throw away things that are broken, damaged, rusty, worn out, torn, stained, or incomplete. Toss these items without hesitation. If your belongings look old and worn out the potential buyer sees the whole property as old and worn out.
6. Donate before you sell.
If you’re not using it now, you won’t use it in your new home. Ask yourself, “Will I be wasting my time, money
and energy if I pack and move this item?” Donating items is a great way to help preserve the environment, help those that are less fortunate, and feel content knowing that someone will value what you no longer use.
7. Sell before you sell.
Selling items that you no longer want, need or have space for in your new home, is a viable option. A few venues are yard sales, consignment shops, auction houses, newspaper listings, estate sales, or internet listings. Remember to be realistic about your financial expectations when selling used items.
8. Rent before you sell.
Renting a storage unit to hold equipment you seldom use and boxes of packed items will help free up space and give you a jump start on the moving process. Remember space is a valuable commodity.
9. Spruce up before you sell.
Don’t forget to reduce the clutter in your yard and outdoor living spaces. These areas are usually the first and
last impression for the potential buyers. So, make them as clutter-free as possible by removing toys, lawn ornaments, recycle bins, etc.
10. Hide before you sell.
Store as many items of daily use in your cupboards and cabinets. For example, put your tooth brushes in the medicine cabinet, your dish detergent in the cupboard under the sink, and your vacuum cleaner in the utility closet. This is more visually appealing and is less distracting for potential buyers.

Proud member of NAPO

Preventing Paper Clutter

March 6, 2015/0 Comments/in Blog Posts/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

Even the most organized people have some amount of paper clutter. It’s difficult not to, because paper comes into our space on a steady, regular basis. Practically every time we walk into our home, we bring more paper into it, either intentionally or unintentionally. So, how can we prevent that paper from taking over and prevent those piles from happening?

The simplest way to reduce paper clutter is to stop paper from coming into our space in the first place. One way to accomplish this is to go paperless with bank and credit card statements, and don’t print them out. Another suggestion is to not print emails, recipes, or other information from your computer, instead store and organize the information on your computer. A few other suggestions are to remove you name from as many mailing lists as you can, stop mail on all magazines and catalogs you don’t read, read the newspaper on-line, use your phone or another device for coupons and tickets instead of printing them, and have a paper recycle bin in the garage and toss as much paper as you can before entering the house.

Another way to reduce paper clutter is to allow each piece of paper to be in your home for the shortest possible time-frame. One way to accomplish this is to immediately recycle or shred junk mail. Another suggestion is to recycle boxes, wrapping paper, envelopes, and other paper items that we intend to reuse but never do. A few other suggestions are to shred ATM slips after you’ve reconciled your bank account, jot down event details on your calendar and toss the invitation, send the greeting cards that you have on hand, and recycle catalogs and magazines after you receive the next issue.

One more way to reduce paper clutter is to have an exit strategy for paper files and stored information. An exit strategy is a predetermined guideline that you’ve established for particular papers, files or information. One exit strategy may be to recycle or shred your utility bills after you view the confirmed payment on the next bill. Another exit strategy may be to shred pay stubs after you receive your W2. Please keep in mind that the guidelines need to fall within your own personal comfort zone. If you have questions on how long to keep particular papers, files or information, please consult a Certified Public Account or an attorney.

Proud member of NAPO

6 Lists Everyone Should Use

February 3, 2015/0 Comments/in Blog Posts/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

Are you a list maker? I am. I make lists for a large variety of things, because they help me stay organized. Besides being a great way to document the information that collects in my head, lists are helpful in prioritizing information and providing visual queues for what needs to be done. Below are 6 of my most used lists.

1. To Do List
Creating a master To Do List that contains all the things I want to get done, need to accomplish, and have to address, provides me with peace of mind. By writing all these things down, I release myself from worrying that I will forget something. By having the list to check and work from, it’s easier to organize and prioritize what I do, and when I do it.

2. Daily Tasks List
Working from my master To Do List, I write 3-5 Daily Task items on each day of my calendar. It’s important to prioritize my Daily Tasks and to make sure I have enough time during that particular day to get the item done. If I don’t complete a Daily Task item, I indicate it with a colored tab, but only if I think I can get to it within the week. If not, I cross it out and write it on another day in the future. It’s very rewarding to check off the items, and see what was accomplished in the day and the week.

3. Shopping List
A magnetic note pad and pencil on my fridge are what I use to create my shopping list. My husband and I write down what we need to pick up at the grocery store whenever we think of an item, or whenever we run out of something while preparing meals. The placement of this list needs to be easy and convenient in order to encourage everyone in the household to write items on the list. A basket on top the fridge holds all of our coupons, discount cards, and any gift cards marking the fridge as our shopping ‘center’.

4. To Bring on Vacation List
Creating a list of what I want and need to bring on vacation provides me with time to organize my thoughts an plan ahead. This prevents me from forgetting important and necessary items. Creating one location where I can collect the items on my list, until it’s time to pack them in suitcases, is also a helpful component to this vacation list. I use my dinning room table as my collect location.

5. List of Important Dates
Having a master list of important dates, that I transfer into a new calendar at the beginning of each year helps me stay on top of important dates and time lines. I keep a birthday and anniversary list by month, a taxes and bill payment schedule by month, and a membership and license renewal list by month. For large bills and membership renewals, I note on my calendar two weeks in advance to payment and one week in advance to payment. Referencing these lists when setting up my yearly calendar is very helpful.

6. Honey Do List
My Honey Do List is a list of items that my husband needs to address or that we need to discuss. This list is kept by the kitchen phone (or is waved in front of his face while he’s watching TV). Any action items that need to be planned for a specific date are put on the calendar.

Proud member of NAPO

Organizing Habits

January 16, 2015/0 Comments/in Newsletter/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

Helpful Organizer Newsletter – January 2015

Quick Links

My website
My Email address
My Blog
NAPO-NE

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.

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

January 6, 2015/0 Comments/in Blog Posts/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

If 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.

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.

The 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.

Proud member of NAPO

Tag Archive for: organizing tips for families

ORGANIZING

Follow Me