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Keep or Not Keep

May 15, 2017/2 Comments/in Blog Posts/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

If you had to guess the dollar amount of new, unopened items in your home, what would you guess? Don’t count food or paper goods. Count surplus items, unopened gifts, new clothing that hasn’t been worn, backup items, unopened craft items, new shoes that haven’t been worn, unopened tech toys, new books that haven’t been read, and any other such items. What would your guess be?

It’s estimated that the dollar amount of new, unopened items in the average American household is $7000.00. Do you believe it? I didn’t until I started counting. So, start counting? What do you come up with? Please share.

There are many reasons we purchase things that we don’t end up using, just like there are many things we hold on to for no valid reason. Making decisions on what to keep or not to keep can be challenging. Are you having trouble making decisions? Is it a struggle for you to get rid of things? I’ve devised a Keep Quiz that will help. Here are the instructions. Ask yourself the following ten questions. Please answer them honestly, and then follow the rest of the instructions.

Is it practical and will definitely be used?
Does it hold value and significance to me?
Does it fit my lifestyle and is exactly my taste?
Would it be very expensive and time consuming to replace?
Is it a genuine treasure and irreplaceable?
Does it help me live the life I want to live?
Is it one-of-a-kind and unique?
Was it hand-made just for me?
Does it hold tremendous personal value to me?
Does it bring me joy?

If you answer yes to 6 or more of the questions, yeah for you. It’s a keeper. If you answered yes to only 1 or 2 questions, it’s time to let it go. If you answered yes to 3-5 of the questions, give yourself 3 months to use the item. Put a sticky note on the item with the use-by-date. If, in 3 months, it hasn’t been used, let it go. However, if the item is meant for display, put it in a prominent place for 3 months. At the end of 3 months take the Keep Quiz again and see if you get different numbers.

How did you do on the Keep Quiz? Did it prompt you to take some action? I hope so. Please share.

Organizing Humor

May 8, 2017/0 Comments/in Newsletter/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

Content

Do you reduce?

Recycle Resource

Side Notes:

*** One thing that I like to do is take and share photos. Do you? How many photos do you think you have? Research says that most families have about 60,000 photos on 5 or more devices. If you are feeling overwhelmed about organizing your photos, I can help with small projects, but the two companies listed below have experts that can help you organize, scan, and manage any number of photos on any number of devices.

Ever Present

Pages 2 Remember

Visit their website.

*** Question: Do you have any funny organizing stories? Please share.

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Hi,

Hope all is well with you. Are you enjoying 2017 so far? It seems like the year is flying by. I’m okay with that, because I have a fun summer trip planned. So, I’m excited that it is now only 2 months away. What about you, any plans?

What makes you laugh?

Actually, I just got back from a trip. I was in Pittsburgh, PA for the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) Conference. I attended some inspiring sessions. One that I really liked was about brain clutter and how laughter can help. That gave me the idea to share some organizing cartoons with you. I hope you laugh, or at least, chuckle a little.

Recycle Resource

Finding new ways to reuse, recycle, and reduce for myself and my clients, makes me happy. Everyone is more motivated to get rid of something when they know it is going to someone who will really use it.

This is why I was happy to find Free Cycle. It’s a nonprofit movement that encourages people to reuse. The idea is to keep good, usable stuff out of landfills. It is an online community where people give and get stuff for free in their own towns and neighborhoods. Each local group is moderated by local volunteers and membership is free. Check it out.

From,

Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®
(508)-699-6652
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If you’ve worked with me in any capacity, I’d be grateful for a review. Simply click on this link and answer 3 questions. Thank you and happy organizing!

Yard Sale Charity Rule

May 1, 2017/0 Comments/in Tip of the Month/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

We’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.

Determine, Decide, Dispose

April 15, 2017/0 Comments/in Blog Posts/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

How easy is it for you to get rid of stuff? Deciding what is worth keeping and what needs to go, can be difficult. I follow a three step confirming process. These three steps help me confirm what I have, and decide what I need, use, and want. The first step is to determine what I have. The second step is to decide what stays and what goes. The third step is to dispose of stuff. Let me explain how this confirming process works.

The first step is to determine what I have. This means gathering and assessing. I pick a small group of items to work with at a time. Instead of working with all my clothes, I work with just my spring wardrobe. Another example is instead of working with all my books, I only work with my organizing books. This helps reduce the time needed to complete the process, and helps prevent procrastination. Once I’ve chosen which category I want to work with, I gather the items into one location and assess them.

The second step is to decide what stays and what goes. I find it helpful to have criteria for what items stay and what items go. I call them my confirming guidelines, and they help me make decisions.

Examples of confirming guidelines:
1. It has to go if it’s broken, damaged, or missing parts, and you’re not going to fix it or pay to have it fixed within 3 months.
2. It has to go if it hasn’t been used in the past 3 years and won’t be used in the next 3 years.
3. It has to go if it is more than one size too big or too small.
4. It has to go if it’s torn, stained, or moldy, and you’re not going to fix it or pay to have it fixed within 3 months.
5. It has to go if it doesn’t reflect your current lifestyle. (Use 3 year timeline.)
6. It has to go if it’s very similar or identical to another item. Keep three favorites and the rest have to go.
7. It has to go if you’ve already purchased a replacement for it.
8. It has to go if it’s something you don’t like, or something that never worked right or fit right.
9. It has to go if the reason you’re holding onto it is not a good, valid reason. (See blog articles)
10. It has to go if it brings negative thoughts or causes self doubt.

The third step is to dispose of the stuff. It helps to schedule a day for removal, whether it is donations, items to be recycled or items to be given away. Voila! Confirming process complete.

Decide to Decide

April 1, 2017/0 Comments/in Tip of the Month/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

Are 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.

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