The Organized Summer Tote

Be prepared for whatever the summer events may throw at you, by having the following tote bag packed and ready to go!

Pack a disposable camera, towel, frisbee or ball for impomptu outdoor fun.

Consider keeping a large ziplock bag to put wet clothing into(and a small change of clothes if desired).

Pack insect repellent wipes, water, sunscreen, hat and a neck cooling band like those at www.neckcoolersrus.com to protect against extended time out in the heat and elements.

Pack diapers, cleaning wipes, books/magazines or handheld games, and granola bars to keep the kids happy, fed and clean!

Have a great summer!

A Gift You and Mom Can Feel Good About...

Mother's Day is just around the corner, and here are five great JUNK FREE gift ideas for Mom, or for any gift giving occasion. Consider a meaningful gift that you can give that doesn't add unecessary clutter to the homes and lives of those you love just because you feel you have to wrap and give "something".

1) Give An Experience: What does mom like doing? Give her the chance to do those things, or even do them together. Take cooking classes, got to dinner and a movie, give tickets to the theater or a hot air balloon ride. Get a massage or pedicure. A thoughtful experience is something she is sure to appreciate!

2) Charitable Donations. Donating to a charity in someone elses' name let you support a cause that Mom appreciates, and keeps you from wondering if your gift ended up "re gifted" or is sitting in the garage. Everyone benefits! Charities will often send a note or card for you. One suggestion; http://www.solarcookerproject.org/

3) Your time and talent. Considering granting some of your time and talents to mom. What do you do really well, or do that Mom can not do for herself. Home repairs, cooking, babysitting, visiting with an elderly mother, or running errands. Your time or talents are most likely something that is more valuable than many other present you can give.

4) Consumables. Ok, so not every gift given ends up as clutter... Give mom something she can and WILL use. Food, beverages, plants, flowers, candles, & chocolate are all great. The important thing is to really take the time to consider what they like. Remember quality is often better than quantity. Idea: Personalized M&M's from http://www.mymms.com/.

5) Gift Certificates. Although they are often considered the "last minute" gift, if thought is truly given, they are actually the perfect way to give Mom exactly what she WANTS. If you are really clueless, then consider a pre-paid card, which can be used almost anywhere along with a special note. Gift Certificate Ideas: Favorite restaurant, movies, lessons, or give the gift of organization, with a gift certificate from Simply Organized by Sandy at http://www.organizedbysandy.com/

Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring

It was 33 last night, and tomorrow will be 82. Spring has arrived in Texas! That means it is time to Spring Clean before it gets too stinkin' hot! If you are a Spring Cleaner, you are in good company. A 2005 Harris Interactive survey indicated that 3 out of 4 adults in the U.S. (72%) were gearing up for Spring Cleaning.

How did the custom of Spring Cleaning Originate? It began back when people had coal-burning fireplaces and houses were coated with soot by spring. Our homes may not be covered in soot, but in the winter months, well, things get "funky". Luckily, just like Mother Nature, we can renew and refresh ourselves and our homes.

But before you can effectively banish the dust bunnies, and spider webs, you most likely need to de-clutter it first. You can't clean under the bed when stuff is stashed under it. And instead of dusting the dusty nic-nacs, books and keepsakes, know that is is OK to change your style. You are not obligated to keep items that you were given when you were 16 , when they no longer represent who you are and what makes you most happy. It is YOUR home and life. People grow and change, and if you have, then consider donating it. Reduce the piles, and get rid of what doesn't work, what no longer fits, what your kids no longer play with. I know you have some... Let the light in, take a deep breath - " It's going to be a bright, bright, bright -sunshiny day!"

Here are some tips and common areas for spring cleaning:

Make the most of the day. There is nothing like taking in a breath of fresh air. Open the windows to invigorate yourself and remove lingering winter odors.

Get rid of the excess "stuff". Is the "stuff in your home useful, does it make you happy, do you truly need it? If they don't pass any three of those questions, it may be time to let it go. The end result will be a home full of only things that are meaningful and useful.

#1 Spring Cleaning area... the Garage. Pick a fabulous day and pull all the contents out. Survey the stuff, and get rid of broken equipment, outgrown clothing and sports gear and unused belongings. When putting it back, create zones in the garage for lawn/garden equipment, tools/home maintenance, sports, seasonal item. If your car still doesn't fit in the garage, keep purging and then go up-take advantage of overhead space and wall storage!

Purge the paper. The taxes are filed, so now is great time to purge your files. If you don't already have a system for archiving papers that you need to keep (such as past tax returns, medical records and real estate records, now is good time. While you are at it, toss or donate the pile of old magazines!

Clear out the clothes and shoes. Now is the time to stash away heavy winter clothes and take your lighter clothing out of storage. This year, as you make the swap, take the time to do some serious sorting and purging, especially children's outgrown clothing and your parachute pants or stirrup leggings!

Happy Spring to all!

It's a Family Affair

Here are a few ways to include the entire family in helping to get and keep your home more organized...

IDENTIFY FAMILY MEMBER ACCOUNTABILITY:
Does everyone in the home insist the clutter isn't theirs, but rather is someone else's? Do you get tired of pointing out the items to each family member? If so, one way to help members of your family become more aware of their contributions to the clutter is to assign and buy a colored dot or fun character sticker (that is easily removable) to represent each family member. Be sure to include yourself! Each day place a sticker on items that are left lying around, that needs to be put back "home". This can help each member become more aware of their contribution to the clutter including the volume or frequency. The stickers serve as a silent reminder and cuts back on the nagging requests to put things away.

MAKE IT FUN:
If your family has a game night, consider a scavenger junk hunt. Give each family 10-15 items to find. Your lists may include orphaned socks, containers with no lids, broken toys, battered books, outgrown clothing, old phone books, last year's homework, t-shirts with holes, you name it. Set an amount of time to find the objects. At the end of the game, toss the junk and have a treat for the family and if desired award prizes.

DEVELOP DAILY HABITS:
Implement the 5 minute clean up. Before bedtime establish a 5-minute clean up as part of the bedtime ritual. Have each child spend 5 minutes picking up items lying around the house. The morning of the day you start, let them know that after the 5 minutes are up, you will be gathering any remaining items that have not been picked up. All of the items will be going into a "earn back" or "service" box. They will be able to earn them back by having to perform a service by doing a simple chore (requiring no more than 5 minutes). To encourage items not continuously going into or staying in the box indefinitely, set the last day of the month as the day all items in the box go away as donations. On the first day, remind them that they will only have 5 minutes before bed, and encourage to pick up during the day if needed if you see that the clutter is WELL beyond a 5 min pick up. After the first or 2nd day, don't remind during the day, but let them learn by doing. Be sure that when someone has nothing put in the box that night or earns their belongings back that they are praised. You should see a decrease in the items that are taken out and not put away. When they get mad or frustrated that they can't get it all done in 5 minutes, be sure to teach/remind them that if they clean up as they go, or put away something before they take another item out, they will always be able to clean up in 5 minutes. Be consistent with this method. Pick up the items, do not give back until it has been earned, donate at the end of the month. If you are not consistent, you will have no credibility.

ENCOURAGE COOPERATION:
Make it clear you are not searching for perfection, but do insist that everyone cooperates and tries. You do not want to turn into a nag who makes coming home miserable. There may be many well established habits to break so you need to be patient but firm. Consider starting with establishing 3 basic rules such as:
* Remove dirty dishes from table or other area they were consumed in, rinse and put in
dishwasher.
* Put dirty clothes and towels in the hamper.
* Clean up 5 minutes before bed.

When you include the entire family, you not only are teaching good habits, and relieving yourself of some of the burden, but family members will find that when they are going to be part of cleaning up, they will be more careful about MESSING it up, and they will share more fully in the pride of a cleaner / more organized home.

Foot Fetish...

Is there rumor of a sock shortage that I don’t know about?? Because it appears that hoarding of pantyhose and socks is completely out of control!

I was at my girlfriend’s house last week and we were looking through an old trunk that was her grandmothers, and inside was a pair of old wool socks. First, I thought, gross... Then I noticed how many times they had been darned. These were very well worn socks. Clearly, she was a frugal woman who did not believe in waste or did not have the luxury of owning several pairs, let alone DOZENS. It left me feeling not only very fortunate, but a little embarrassed over my good fortune or ocassional decisions to "toss" vs. fix things, at the same time.

One pair of excessively darned socks is certainly extreme, but can we be a little more realistic about the amount of balled up pantyhose and socks a person really might NEED on hand? Perhaps if you live in a rural area, or have a hard to find size of pantyhose, you might need to store more than average. But with department stores and drug stores right down the street practically open 24/7 there is no need to fear you might have pantyhose fashion emergency and can't find another pair quickly. Or heaven forbid, put on another color or outfit until tomorrow! The general rule of thumb is; two of each color should MORE than suffice. If you wear them frequently, wash them right after you wear them, so they are ready to wear again. When they wear out, throw them away, and buy another pair. (Again, apply the one-in/one-out rule). As always, be honest, be reasonable, be SIMPLE.

The same sensible idea applies to socks. But is a much more prevalent problem. How many socks can one possibly wear in a week? If you have colored socks - stick to the two per color rule maximum also, BUT be reasonable about how many different colored socks you REALLY need. Is your dresser stuffed with purple or pink socks that you wear once a year with a certain outfit or costume? Would your feet be just as warm and comfy in another color? I question which choice might really be a bigger fashion faux pas, wearing the pink socks, or having to wear white instead? I'd have to see the outfit :) I recommend 4 basic colors (tan, black, blue, brown) and the rest in WHITE. This will reduce the amount of time trying to find that one sock that is missing. Try to buy the same style each time if possible, to keep them mix and match.

Occasionally there are some necessary specialty socks (peds for clogs, knee highs etc) which is fine. Again, limit the colors and the amount of each style. And if you must have a pair or more of socks for every HOLIDAY, store them with other infrequently used seasonal clothing in your closet vs. taking up valuable real estate in your dresser drawer. Quit digging through dozens and dozens of sock that you NEVER wear, trying to find the pair that you ALWAYS wear. The 80/20 rule applies here too. You most likely wear 20% of your socks, 80% of the time. They are your favs, be honest.

So quick, how many pairs do you think you have? Most think 7-12 pair. If I was a betting woman, I'd say it's closer to 15-30 and depending on the woman, probably more :).

Wear what you have. When they wear out, toss them. If they are colored, and you are down to your 2 per color maximium, replace them with white if you need them. If you have enough whites, control yourself and resist the urge to buy more! What is enough whites? If you wear hose and or colored socks on occassion, 7 white socks are enough. If white is all you ever wear, then 14 is more than enough.. It will last you a week if you wear 2 pair a day, or two weeks if you wear a pair a day. If two weeks worth isn't enough, then that is another subject, for another day - Laundry!

MEAT-CAKE

George Carlin has a great skit about the mystery food found in the refrigerator that goes like this: "Perhaps the worst thing that can happen is to reach into the refrigerator and come out with something that you cannot identify at all. You literally do not know what it is. Could be meat, could be cake. Usually, at a time like that, I'll bluff. "Honey, is this good?" "Well, what is it?" "I don't know. I've never seen anything like it. It looks like...meatcake!" "Well, smell it." (snort, sniff) "It has absolutely no smell whatsoever!" "It's good! Put it back! Somebody is saving it. It'll turn up in something." That's what frightens me. That someone will consider it a challenge and use it just because it's in there."

Does this sound familiar? If so, here is a quickie on organizing your refrigerator to keep it organized, avoid meat-cake suprise, and to save money.

PURGE: The best time to do this is the night before trash pick up, if you don't want to gag every time you walk into your garage for the next week. Open EVERYTHING. Remember the lesson on leaving no stone unturned? Look, smell (yikes), and check for expiration dates. Toss out the smidges left of this and that, consolidate where possible, and eliminate excess duplicates; if you have 6 kind of mustards, toss a few of your least favorites or combine similar ones. Make a mental note of HOW much was tossed, or the multiples of things purchased because it was hidden or poorly labeled and long forgotten! While you're purging, don't forget the outside also. Toss expired coupons, schedules, duplicate photos etc. It's looking or at least "smelling" better already, isn't it?

CLEAN: Give it a good cleaning if it needs it. Baking soda is a good odor eliminator, and Clorox Clean up gets rid of discoloring due to dyes and packaging.

SPACE PLAN: Get to know the layout of the land. Do you HAVE to put food in the area the drawers say? Well you should if you want to preserve them longer. The deli/cheese tray is the coldest, and should be used for that purpose. The crisper drawers seal tightly and and keeps in humidity to help retain moisture. You may also consider "green bags" or I also recommend Tupperware Fridgesmart containers to really extend the life (See Product Favorites). I love Fridgesmart, but wish they were clear so I use the labels), and they can take up a little extra room. Seriously, I had some strawberries in one for at LEAST 2 1/2 weeks - vs the standard 4-5 days. Also, do your homework and find out what fruits and veggies belong in the fridge and which DON'T. Get those potatoes, onions, squash, tomatoes (yes, I know they are a fruit), garlic and ginger out of the fridge. Same goes for most fruit, so get most of them out of the fridge. Store berries, grapes and ripened or cut fruit in the fridge. Not only are you making room, but you're produce will last and taste better. Get a fruit bowl to encourage grabbing of fruit in a hurry. Use the door of the fridge for bottled and jarred foods and condiments. Don't put eggs in the door, they stay fresher in their cartons, away from the door/oxygen. For everything else, consider clear containers for quick ID of the contents or using erasable food storage labels (see favorite products for labels that can go in the fridge, freezer, dishwasher or microwave!),

Other tips; square containers fit better than round ones, consider a soda can dispenser, pull out tray, or turntables for easy access. Consider keeping "ready-made snacks" and left overs in the same place all the time, for quick access of snacks by everyone without having to "dig" and a quick inventory of leftovers need to be eaten or "re-invented" to avoid waste. Consider labeling the leftovers and including the date they were made.

Simply Organized by Sandy's 10:30 Diet

Do you need to lose an excess 10 or even 200 lbs of STUFF that’s accumulated in your home and in your mind? If so, can you spare 10 minutes? Come on…I know you can come up with 10 measly minutes if you REALLY wanted to. If you give me 10 minutes a day for 30 days, I will show you how you can lighten your life! I promise, you can do this – it’s a piece of cake!

What do you need?
- 1 Box
- 1 Trash bag
- Timer
- 1 pad of paper
- 10 minutes

How it works:
Dedicate just 10 minutes a day to sort and purge any room with the goal to toss a MINIMUM of 5 items per day. Multiple like-items count as ONE item. For example; A stack of 2 or 50 Magazines are one item. The 14 trial sized lotions are one item. The dozens of spare pens in the junk drawer count as ONE item… you get the idea.

START: Pick a start date and start in any room. but it’s good to begin in a small room like the bathroom or a closet so you can see “results” quickly. Grab your box and bag and set the timer. Yes, a timer. Many find the ticking sound creates a sense of urgency, keeps you on-track from getting distracted, and reminds you that this is not going to last forever. It’s just 10 minutes for crying out loud.

SORT: Trash goes into the trash bag, and donations go into the box. (If necessary, use a 2nd box for items that you are keeping, but belong in another room of the house). This is not the time to ponder, go with the obvious, be ruthless, time is ticking man.

TIME’S UP. When the 10 minutes are done write down the room you worked in and what you purged. Wow, what willpower. You made it, 10 minutes!

CLEAN UP. Toss the trash immediately, and put away the rogue items that belonged in other rooms. This is important to avoid just transferring the clutter from one room to another.

REMOVE visual clutter and temptation. Bring donations to your favorite donation site as you complete each room or every week if possible. This avoids cluttering up other areas of the home or garage with your “excess” and will also avoid the temptation for you (or others) to bring any items back into the home! You wouldn’t keep donuts on the counter to tempt you do you if you were trying to change your eating habits would you??
Feel free to mark the boxes with motivating info – such as “stuff that is weighing me down”, or weigh the box and write“12 lbs of ugly excess” – what ever works for you!

STICK with it. Work in this same room every day for 10 minutes until it is lean and mean! Don’t wimp out. Check under the sink, in the medicine cabinet, in the drawers, in the linen closet, on top of the sink etc. Get rid of mismatched and tattered towels, old makeup, personal hygiene products and medicines, bottles with ¼” inch of product left in it, broken items, and excessive travel sized products etc! No cheating – do not move into another room until you are done! Do not skip a day. It’s just 10 minutes. (I’m beginning to feel like Richard Simmons “I’m watching you!”.

ACKNOWLEGE & REWARD your work and success. Once you finish your room, take the time to appreciate the new space and feel. Review the list of items that were weighing you down – nasty empty calories! Who are we kidding? Chocolate tastes good and you miss it. This stuff does not, and you won’t. If you finish this first room in one or two 10-minute sessions, Fabulous. Move on to the next. If that bathroom takes all 30 days, that is fine too. When the 30 days are over it doesn’t matter if you transformed one room or 3 – it’s that you DID, and it was totally do-able. They say, “nothing tastes as good at thin feels”. Now I personally can't vouch for that statement, but I DO know though that clutter weighs you down mentally and physically, and have personally witnessed over and over the change in the way you feel and your life when you finally decide to own your stuff, instead of it owning you! Lastly, reward yourself. Now that every corner of the bathtub isn’t cluttered with empty shampoo bottles and toys, enjoy a fabulous bubble bath. Frankly, you really deserve a bon-bon too if that bathroom took a month to clear out...

MAINTENANCE. By the end of the 30 days you have now created the “habit” of dedicating approx 10-15 minutes a day to purging and putting away misplaced items. Now instead of purging, use these 15 minutes EVERY DAY on maintaining the health of these areas. Pick up stray items, tweak and improve systems, put things back where they go, to keep the excess pounds from creeping back up again! Make sure the family is supporting you, and not sabotaging your efforts. All family members should be contributing to the maintenance of your new and improved space!

If you find that your home still has some “extra pounds” to shed, take a break. During this time, have everyone in the family practice maintaining the areas for 2 weeks to help develop and maintain those good habits, and then start another 30 day program.

Wishing you a simply organized success - Sandy