Tag Archive for: reducing

Janine with donation box

Donation Challenge – Part 1

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donationsA client of mine hosts an annual yard sale fundraiser for the H.O.P.E. Program at Boston Children’s Hospital.  She asks for donations from all her neighbors, friends, and family, and 100% of the proceeds support this program.  In the past I’ve given her items that I’ve collected from my clients.  This year I had my car packed with items ready to bring to her, and suddenly thought, what could I donate?  Me?  Personally?  Not things from the house or my husbands stuff, although I must admit, it was easy to think of items that belonged to him that I wanted to remove from the house.  You will probably agree, it’s much easier to get rid of someone else’s belongings than your own.  So, I challenged myself to find 10 items that belonged to me, to donate to this worthy cause.
My list of donated items is printed below. It may prompt you to think of items that you have in your household that you could donate.  If that is the case, please share those items with me.

List of Donations:
Items 1 & 2 =  two used camera parts that I was given, but never used
Items 3 & 4 =  two picture frames, one empty for three or more years,
the second emptied to move photo to scrapbook
Item 5 =  one computer chair, decided 3 is too many to have for 2 people
Items 6 & 7 =  two clip boards – decided 4 is too many to have for 2 people
Item 8 =  new Calphalon potato masher received as grab bag gift, never
used, like the one I have
Items 9 & 10 =  two water bottles received as gift more than 5 years ago,
used once, but didn’t like

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

NAPO

Proud member of NAPO

 

Yard Sale Details:  Saturday, June 22, 2013, 8:00AM to 2:00PM
North Attleboro, MA 02670
All Proceeds go to H.O.P.E Program at Boston Children’s Hospital

Reducing Mail

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mailboxI was at the National Association of Professional Organizers Conference for 5 days and guess how many pieces of mail I received?  Only 9!  In addition, I did receive one local newspaper and one packet of flyers. Out of those nine pieces of mail, two were really good, a check and a copy of the news article in which I was quoted.  Not bad, right?  Would you  like to know the secret of how you can receive less mail?  Below are my top 3 tips on how to reduce the amount of mail you receive:

Tip #1.  Get your name removed from mailing lists for newspapers, magazines, catalogs and solicitations.  Please note it can take up to 6 months to be removed from a mailing list.  Some websites to try:
www.privacycouncil.org
www.junkmailstopper.com
www.dmaconsumers.org
www.catalogchoice.org
Tip #2.  Go paperless with monthly statements, bills, and newsletters.
Tip #3.  Go high tech and use nooks, kindles and phone apps for newspapers, magazines, etc.

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

NAPO

Proud member of NAPO

Manageable Amount

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Janine’s list of manageable amount.

I’m sharing these numbers to help you establish a guideline for yourself. I understand that everyone has different sized homes, lifestyles and family requirements.

Number Janine currently has followed by Janine’s recommended manageable amount.

bath towels  –  3 sets /  2 sets per person
sets of sheets  –  3 sets /   2 sets per bed
coffee mugs  –  6 / 3 per coffee drinker
light bulbs  –  12 / 2 per kind
items on bathroom vanity –  0 because only have pedestal sink / 5
umbrellas  –  3 / 1 per person + 1 per car
vases  –  8  / 2 per size
items on daily to do list  –  5 / no more than 5
pocketbooks  4 / 1 per season
home improvement projects started  –  2 / no more than 3
cleaning products  – 8 / 10
vacuums  –  1 / 1 per floor
sets of dishes  – 1 set of 12 / 3 sets at most
beach towels  –  5 / 2 per person
spatulas  –  4 / 2 per size
hats  –  5 summer hats, 5 winter hats / 4 per person
containers for leftovers  –  25 / no more than 35
craft projects started  –  4 / 3
open bottles of shampoo  –  2 / 2
conditioner  –  1 / 2
dish detergent  –  1 / 1
laundry detergent  –  1 / 1
hand soap  –  2 / 1 per sink
items on refrigerator  –  10 / leave 2/3 of fridge uncovered
boxes of holiday decorations  –  14 small in size / no more than 7 large bins
salt & pepper shakers  –  1 / 2
pairs of glasses  –  2 /3
flash lights  –  5 / 2 per floor + 1 per car
plastic bags from grocery store  –  10 / 30

 

©2021  Janine Cavanaugh, Certified Professional Organizer |  All Rights Reserved