OK, now is your chance to…

Holiday Purge

Today is Dec. 29th so you are probably ready to say good bye to the holidays and get on with the new year. The tree will come down and the decorations will be put away.

So how do you purge?





1. Take out your holiday containers and all of those items you did not use this holiday season…put them in a bag to be donated.
2. You probably don't do this but if you do…throw away any edible decorations (i.e. candy canes). You will buy more next year.
3. Since you reduced the amount of holiday decorations, you may now have a couple empty containers. What to do? Put the decorations designated for donation into these bins and donate them as well. Less bins equals less stuff.
4. Put the holiday bins away and the tree out for recycling.
5. Complete the final step…take the donations to Goodwill, collect a receipt and put the receipt in your 2016 tax file.

Hello New Year!

Holiday Decorations

Can you believe Thanksgiving is next week? For many of you that means in the next week or so you will be pulling out the holiday bins to decorate the house. This is your opportunity to get a jump on decluttering your home before the end of the year.








1. Go get your holiday bins and decorate your home! That's the fun part.
2. Any ornaments that are broken should be thrown away.
3. Any ornaments that you don't use but you are keeping for sentimental reasons should be placed in a keepsake box. For instance if your child made an ornament that you want to keep when he/she grows up then that should be placed in a specific keepsake box for that child. This will give you a better idea of the volume of items you are keeping for your child. Only decorations you use should be stored in the holiday bins.
4. Any items that you don't use…donate them to your local school, senior center, place of worship.

Hopefully this last step will help you reduce the amount of containers you need to store your holiday decorations.

Luggage

Are you ever amazed at how much space luggage can take up in your home?
Do you have to rush off to the store to buy more toiletries for a trip because your not sure where you left those items from your last trip?
Wouldn't it be nice to just know where everything is before you leave for a trip?
What would Andrea Do?

The answer…nest your luggage and your travel accessories all in one bag.

1. Get all your luggage, duffel and travel bags together. Designate the bags in groups according to the person who uses them.  Any unclaimed bags should be donated.
2. Gather together each person's travel accessories - neck pillows, travel pouches, make up bags, travel bottles.
3. Now that you have all the travel items in place it is time to nest it all together. Start with yours first. Take your travel accessories, soft bags, duffel bags and put them all into your carry on sized suitcase. Take this bag and nest in your large bag - typically the one you have to check at the airport. Your luggage and travel items are all stored into one bag.
4. Repeat this process for each person in your home.
5. Your luggage footprint has been reduced and now you know where everything is so the next time you go on a trip you may not have to dash out for that travel sized toothpaste because you already have a tub in your toiletries kit.

Happy trails.

You might not like this…

I often work with families who have bins and bins of keep sake items. These often include outfits their children wore when they were growing up from infant all the way up through the teenage years. On some level, I get it. There is a memory attached to the piece of clothing that you want  to preserve and one way to do that is to hold on to the item. But I ask you, who are you saving it for? Is it for you or the child who wore the item? From there I would say, ask your child to look through the saved clothes and decide what they want to keep.  You might be surprised by the response. Those items that are not the must haves should then be donated to your local shelter.

What would you rather do, keep a piece of clothing that will pretty much remain in a bin for eternity or would you like to clothe a child that could use it right now.

I say take those clothes out of their bins, take a picture and then donate them to a child in need. Here is one organization that does just that. (http://baby2baby.org/donate/)

Questions

Recently a friend of mine asked me what he should do with all of his books. I responded with a question. Do you think you will re-read any of the books you have? His answer was no. OK, there you have it. If you have books and you are not going to read them, then it is time to pass them along to someone else who will.




Here are your options:

1. Donate the books to your public library. Many public libraries hold annual book sales. The proceeds benefit your public library. You get the tax donation and the library gets the much needed funds. On a side note, instead of buying books you might want to think about getting a library card for yourself.

2. Sell the books. If you think your books are of value, you can sell them on eBay. It is a very simple process.

3. Donate them to Goodwill. Not everyone is a fan of Goodwill. Here are my two cents…Goodwill employees people with disabilities, and usually people who would not be employed anywhere else.

4. Share with friends - host a book exchange with your friends…out with the old and in with the new.

Happy reading.

I just did it and you can too!

I was looking at my clothes hanging in my closet and the thought came to me…too many clothes. Time to purge. Piece by piece I looked and touch every piece of clothing. Before I knew it there was a pile of clothes on the floor. You may wonder how did I decide on what could go. The clothes fell into one of the following categories…



- shrank in the dryer
- I love this but there is a stain on the front that won't come out
- the feeling of the fabric is just not comfortable
- every time I put this on it feels too tight
- this really does not look good on me
- there is something else that I would rather wear instead of this

I then took the same approach with the clothes in my dresser.The process took 30 minutes.

I was so good that I decided to tackle my shoes. Before I knew it there were 8 pairs of shoes to go. How did I choose those?

- don't fit me properly
- hurt might feet
- I never wear them
- worn out!

With that process I was able to put together 3 bags of clothing for donation!

I just did it and now you can too. Happy purging.

Simple Steps to Organizing - Bags

Do you have numerous brown paper bags from the grocery store?
Do you have numerous material bags for shopping at the grocery store?

Time to take the easy steps.

1. Pull out all the brown paper bags.
2. Pull out all the material bags.
3. Take 5 paper bags and put them in one location.
4. Take 5 material bags, roll them up and put them in your car.
5. Donate or recycle the remainder of the bags.
6. Repeat this step in  6 months…yes the bag situation will repeat itself in your house because we can't resist bags.

Simple Steps to Organizing - the Spice Rack

I promise this exercise will be fast and easy.

Go into your kitchen. Open your spice cabinet (and/or drawer) and take out all of your spices. Throw out all the spices that you have not used. Throw out all the spices that have expired dates. Now wipe down that cabinet and/or that drawer. Put back the remaining spices.

Task is now done. Yes, it was just that easy.

Simple Steps to Organizing - The Benefits

Off the top of my head, here are some of the benefits to having an organized home…

Peace of mind…
Energy of the home feels better.
Less stress in the house - no more arguing about the house is a mess.
Releases tension.
Having freedom to move around the home creates a positive energy.
Removes the feeling of being overwhelmed.

Time…
You can find what you need immediately.
Easier to clean.
Easier to get dressed in the morning.
Faster to get out of the house in the morning.
Have more personal time as you are not having to "pick up" around the house.

Money…
You know what you have so no need to over purchase.
No late fees. You pay your bills on time because you have managed your paperwork.

Self Esteem…
You don't mind if someone suddenly drops by.
Feeling better about your home can help you to feel better about your self.
Taking care of your home is an expression of taking care of your self.
Feeling of empowerment by having a home that meets your needs.

Simple Steps to Organizing - Where to keep things.

Many people say to me that hey like to store their things where they use them.  But let me ask you this, would you let your child just leave her paints out on the kitchen table? No. You have a place where art supplies are kept. The same rule should apply to you.
If you want an organized home, designate a specific place for specific items. That everyone knows where to get something they need and where to return it.
When you store items all over the house, clutter accumulates. Set your home up like a grocery store…specific items live in specific places. Imagine not having to look for something in your home…that is one of the benefits of an organized home.

Simple Steps to Organizing - DON'T BUY ANYTHING

So many people think that in order to organize their home that they must first buy containers. Stop. Do not buy anything. The first step you need to do is to determine what is the volume of your possessions. What does that mean?








Pick an area you want to organize.
Pull out all the items from the area..
Sort your items into categories of similar items…like with like.
Do you have any more of these similar items in the house? Get those and add them to the similar pile.
Look through each group - do you have too many of one thing? Are their items you don't need and can be donated?
Put the to go items in a bag and either toss in the garbage or donate them.
Decide where each group of similar items should live.
If at this point you need storage containers look at the amount of items per group to determine the number of containers.
Purchase clear bins and label the outside.
On the way to purchasing your bins, drop off the donation items…practicing the theory of in and out of your possessions.

Simple Steps to Organizing - Bedrooms

I promise this is an easy task.

No Sorting.

No Donating.

No Purging.

Are you ready? Here we go.

Make your bed. 

Make your bed every day. 

Beds in kids rooms…teach them to make their beds.

When your bed is made, you are one step closer to organizing your room. Your room is where you rest and reset your self. 

You may find you that in addition to making your bed, you will be motivated to put your clothes away. 

Start with making your bed. It is that easy. 

Simple Steps to Organizing - Return Items

One thing that I seem to find at most the homes I visit is an area that has items that were purchased and for what ever reason did not work and need to be returned. Today is that day. OK,  you can't do it today…go get your phone and pick a day and time to make this happen.
Gather all the items that need to be returned either in person or via delivery service and do it. You hate to ship…look up your closest shipping store and have them do it.
Stop letting these items accumulate. If an item does not work out return it.

Get a room Organized for Free

Hello readers. If you live in San Francisco and would like a room organized for free in exchange for me making a video of the process, please contact me at andrea_wait@hotmail.com.

Simple Steps to Organizing - Work Out Gear

Do you have a variety of work out gear in your home that you don't use? Do you have a treadmill or an exercise bike that you hang your dry cleaning on? These large pieces of equipment take up an enormous amount of space and as you may have found are a clutter magnet…i.e. hanging clothes on them.
It is time to ask yourself the tough question, am I really going to use it? If the answer is yes then ask yourself why are  you currently not using it. Be honest to yourself. If the answer is no, the next step is figuring out what to do with this large cumbersome piece of machinery. Here are some options:


1. Craigslist is a great resource. Keep in mind that you want someone to come and take this away so don't get too caught up in the sale price. Remember you want it to go.
2. Donate it…yes, you can at least get the tax donation. Here is one of many resources.
3. Donate locally - google donating fitness equipment.

Lastly, all those items you have hanging on the machine…put them away.

Simple Steps to Organizing - Counter Tops

Clutter attracts clutter. So with that being said, take a look at your counter tops. Do you notice if you put something down on the counter that before long two more items are next to that item? Are you counter tops so full that you can not use them for preparing meals? If so, It is time to attack the counter top. Walk around your house and grab all the random items from counter tops - kitchen counters, kitchen table, dining room table, consoles, living room tables. You get the idea. Take all of those items and put them away…and if they don't have a place, it is time to create a specific homes for your stuff. 

Bottom line…keep flat surfaces clear. Defy the law of attraction by putting your stuff away. 

TP and Paper Towels

Are you someone who feels the need to stock up paper towels and toilet paper? Do you have a regular amazon shipment come in before you have gone through your stock? Do you buy these items in in bulk at Costco? Do you store these items all over the house?

I understand the importance of these items. Yes, I use tp every day. But seriously you do not need 60 rolls. OK, let's pull it together.




1. Go collect every roll of paper towel and tp in the house and in the garage or anywhere else this is stored.
2. Stock your bathrooms with 6 rolls.
3. Stock wherever you use paper towels with 4 rolls…probably the kitchen
4. Pick one place in the house to store the remaining surplus. Just like the super market has one place for paper products, so should you!
5. If you have more than one month supply of these items…stop buying them and use what you have.
6. Once a week restock the bathrooms and the kitchen. Remember only 6 rolls in the bathroom and 4 in the kitchen.

By using what you have you will begin to reduce the amount of stuff in your home.

The bottom line is…WE HAVE TOO MUCH STUFF!

Simple Steps to Organizing - Stuffed Animals

Do you have kids?
Do they have a large selection of stuffed animals and are they all over the house?
Ok, it is time to de-stuff the house. I suggest you do this solo.

Pick out the favorite go to stuffed animals - and set a limit…no more than 10 and ideally 5.
Put all of the keepers in one container. I like the canvas bin.
Donate the remainder stuffed animals.
If you are feeling really spunky, the stuffed animals you are keeping could probably use a bath so toss them in your washing machine.

Simple Steps to Organizing - The Wires

So what is going on with the tech situation in your home? Do you have a drawer or a bin filled with cords? Do you keep them because you are fearful you might need one of them but you also don't know what they charge? Between you and me, this is my least favorite thing to organize. My immediate reaction is to just dump it all in the trash. But instead, let's just jump in.




Disposing of the Cords and the Devices…

The Cords

• Detangle all the cords.
• Match up the cord to the device.
• Every cord that does not have a device, get rid of it.

The Devices

• Gather all your old cell phones that you don't use.
• Reset the phone to erase your data. 
• Donate that old phone.

Where to Dispose

E-Waste  - Whole Foods will take your e-waste and dispose of it properly
Cell Phones - Donate to a local charity that support your favorite choices


Storage of the Items You Keep

• Place each cord you keep in a sandwich bag and on the outside of the bag clearly market the device the cord charges.
• If you have several cords, get a plastic shoe container that hangs on a door and in each pocket put the cord and mark the pocket with info on the what the cord charges. 

Simple Steps to Organizing - The Pantry

You have heard the saying you are what you eat. So tell me, what are you eating! Take a look at your pantry. The pantry contains all the back up foods - soups, cans of tuna, sauces. But is it all a mix of stuff that you really don't know what is in there? So following the rule you are what you eat…the mixed up pantry means the mixed up you. 

1. Take out everything from the pantry and put into groups…like with like…pastas, sauces, canned food, snacks, condiment, spices.
2. Toss expired foods.
3. Toss items that you really should not be eating.
4. Wipe down the shelves. 
5. Put the items back in their separate categories.

Hopefully you will be eating better with this simple step. 

Reviews

It is always nice to get a positive review.

Simple Steps to Organizing - The Baby is Grown

This is a unique blog for a very targeted audience. If it does not apply to you, terrific. You have the day off. 

OK, do you have small kids and yet you still have their sippy cups and utensils from when they were babies? I can't tell you how many kitchens I purge that the families still have all the plates, dishes, bottles and little spoons from when their kids were babies. 

It is now time to go through your kitchen and gather all these items together and put them in a bag. Now I know many of you are sentimental about these items. Hopefully this next piece of advice helps.   Donate all of these items to your local family shelter and while you are at it, maybe add a few of the baby toys too. 

Simple Steps to Organizing - Make-Up

This post is primarily for ladies but hey if you are a guy who wears make-up, continue reading.  It is time to clean up and organize your make-up. This is a great opportunity to really decide what you actually wear.

Less is more!

Organizing Steps:

1. Pick a spot to sort through every item - either the kitchen table or the bathroom counter.
2. Grab a trash bag.
3. Gather together ALL of your make-up from every place you keep it - purse, night stand, various bathrooms, kitchen drawers, the car…you get the idea.
4. Dump it all on to a flat surface.
5. Go through every item.
6. Anything that is old, dried up, sticky, gooey…throw away.
7. Anything that you don't wear - you know that peach lipstick the sales person talked you into buying…throw away.
8. Now pick one place to keep all your make up and only one pouch for the make-up that you take with you during the day.  
9. Take a tissue and wipe clean every item that you keep. This is one more opportunity to really decide what to keep.
10. Wipe down the cabinet and/or the pouch where you keep your make up. 

Simple Steps to Organizing - Coffee Mugs, Tea Cups, Travel Mugs

Part of organizing is just about creating space. More often than not disorganization happens because there are just too many items crammed into a small space. So let's go to your kitchen cabinets and purge the mug collection.

1. Clear off a counter or a table.
2. Gather together every coffee mug, tea cup and travel mug for hot drinks.
3. Toss any items that are chipped.
4. Pick up every item and decide which ones you LOVE…the rest GO.
5. Put the to go items in a paper bag and take them to Goodwill.
6. Put the ones you LOVE back in the cabinet…the same cabinet. Be brutal and purge all the ones that do not get used.  Do not keep any mug or cup because of some kind of sentiment…pass those on to someone who will use them.

Less is More.

Simple Steps to Organizing - T-Shirts

OK, I just tackled this one myself. Yes, even Andrea the Organizer has to purge.
Many of us have an attachment to our t-shirts and the reasons are vast…won at an athletic competition, worn at a favorite concert. However, our teachers can take a beating and have a life span.

So here we go…
Take out all of your t-shirts. Go through your pile and one by one use this criteria to remove it from the pile:

• torn
• stained
• too small
• every time you see it in your drawer you look at it, skip it and pick another one

Putt them away. I like to put them back in by color from lightest to darkest and put them in vertically instead of stack on top of each other.

Don't you love all the space you created in your drawer?

Simple Steps to Organizing - Large Shipments

Do you get regular deliveries from places like Amazon and you have boxes and boxes of stuff? Here are your simple organizing steps.
1. Take the supplies out of the boxes and group everything into categories…i.e. tp, paper towels, house cleaners, etc.
2. Pick one place to keep these items. Take an inventory of the amount you have…you may have more than you realized.
3. If you have a large supply on hand then put your future orders on hold. Quite often when we don't actually see the items, we don't know how many we have.

Now for the most important step…
4. Collapse the box and put it in your outgoing recycling.

Simple Steps to Organizing - Boxes

Get ready for a super easy task which will create space immediately.
Do you have empty boxes in your house and/or in the garage? Get a scissor or a knife and break down every box and put them in your outgoing recycling. Stop saving boxes, bags, old wrapping paper. Put all that stuff out in the recycling. Bye bye.
You are done!

Simple Steps to Organizing - The Books

Do you have a sentimental attachment to your books? Do you have books that date back to your childhood. Does the thought of getting rid of books make you feel a little uncomfortable?

Ok, I get it. I love to read and have a been a big reader since the age of 4. Thankfully I do not have attachment to the physical book and am happily apart of the electronic age. But for you, you need the feel of holding a book.  But do you also say, I probably could get rid of some books? Books take up a lot of room. So here are some of my suggestions to organizing your books and reducing the size of their footprint in your home.


1. Have a place for your books
Many of my clients have a tendency to have books all of their home. Wrong. If you don't already have one, get a bookshelf. You can find bookshelves at very reasonable rates on your local Craigslist website. If you have children, they too should have a book shelf. Kids learn in school about putting their things away. You want to model that behavior at home.

2. Gather your book inventory
Get all of your books together…yes, that means every single book you own. Rule of thumb…the amount of books can not exceed the size of your bookshelves. That means you need to reduce the amount of books you won. You can do it.

3. Reduce the inventory
Here is the biggest task. Go through every book one by one and take out…
- any books that you own multiple copies of the same book
- any books that you have had longer than 6 months that you said you would read and haven't
- any books that you know you won't read again
- any books that it is so obvious to you that you say "oh that can go"
- any books that you don't love

4. Get rid of them
Donate all the books you puled to your local library.

5. Put them away
Now in your new books shelves there are a variety of ways you can shelve them:
- alphabetically by author
- color coded (may favorite)
- category - fiction, non fiction, self help, history, etc.
- no order, just put them on the shelves

Happy reading!

Simple Steps to Organizing - The Linen Closet Part 2

Today we conquer the towels.
Typically the problem is that we just have too many towels.








The Sorting Process

1. Go get your towels…all of them. 
2. Take out of that pile any towel that is stained, torn, or has a moldy smell. Put them in a bag and donate them to your local SPCA.
3. Pick two large towels and two wash cloths (if you use those) for each person that is in the house. 
4. Pick two hand towels for each bathroom in the house. 
5. Pick one full set of towels for guests. 
6. Any remaining towels? Donate them.

Put the towels away…

1. Each person should have a hook or a bar in the bathroom for their bath towel and wash cloth.
2. Fold and put away the back up sets and guest towels. 

Hopefully you have freed up a lot of space in your linen closet.

Simple Steps to Organizing - The Linen Closet Part 1

It's time to organize your linens. The goal of this exercise is to reduce your sheet collection down to two sets per bed…no more than 3!








Reduce the Amount of Sheets you have
Go get all of your linens.
Fold them and put them into matching sets.
Pick your two favorite sets for each bed…don't forget to check the sheets that already on the beds in your home as you may want to replace one of those sets.
Put the remaining sets of sheets in a bag and donate them. Check out your area for a local family shelter.

Decide the location to store your sheets 
There are two choices - in the linen closet or in the room with the matching bed.

Put the sheets away
You can store them in categories - pillow cases in a stack, fitted sheets in a stack, top sheets in a stack.
You can store them  in their set. Fold the fitted sheet, the top sheet and one pillow case. Take the folded sheets and put them into the matching pillow case. Now you have a pillow case bag of the matching set.

Simple Steps to Organizing - The Utensil Drawer

In the past 6 years that I have been organizing I have noticed that one drawer in the kitchen that can be come a collection of a variety of stuff is the utensil drawer. I am a strong believer that everything has a place and everything in its place. Let's make that happen in the utensil drawer by following these steps.

1. Empty the drawer.
2. If you have a utensil divider…please clean it. Now wipe down the drawer. It is amazing how dirty this drawer can get. 
3. Sort your silverware - knives, forks, little spoons, large spoons, serving utensils.
4. Now do you have more than one set of silverware? Do you have a random spoon that doesn't match your set? Take out all the items that do not match your set and put them in a bag for donation. 
5. You may also have utensils that you do not use - i.e. small butter knives. If you don't use them, donate them. I get it that you think its cute but that is no reason to keep something. Pass it along. 
6. Put the utensil divider back in the drawer. Put the utensils in each slot.
7. The remaining items you took out - i.e. plastic utensils, paper chop sticks,  rubber bands, packets of salt, pepper,…throw them away. Use real utensils and I guarantee you already have a salt and pepper shaker. 

Utensil drawer is for utensils only. Imagine that!

Simple Steps to Organizing - The Car

As we head into the weekend I thought I should give you a super easy assignment.
Do you have a car? Then this task is for you.
1. While you fill the tank, go through the car and remove all the trash - on the floor, in the console, in the back seat, in the trunk. Toss that trash into the garbage can next to the gas pump.
2. Now grab all the items that really don't belong in the car…sports equipment, clothes, books, magazines, and put them in a pile.  When you get home take all of those items out of the car and put them away.
Now isn't that nice?

Simple Steps to Organizing - The Closet

Hello fellow Organizers.

Today's post has different degrees of organization. You decide the level you want to achieve. You can apply this technique to one closet, two closets, or all of your closets.





Steps to Closet Organization:

1. Take out all hangers that have nothing hanging on them.
You have now created extra room in the closet. Your goal has been reached. Want to take organizing to the next level then proceed to step 2.

2. Step 2 has two options…
a) Take all clothes that are on metal hangers from the dry cleaner and replace with the empty hangers you removed in step 1.
b) Replace all of your hangers with the slim felt hangers. The slim hangers help maximize the space in your closet. While you are replacing the hangers purge your clothes. Just keep what you LOVE!

3. Top Tier Organization
When you put your clothes back in the closet, divide them up in to groups - shirts, sweaters, jackets, pants, skirts. And then for the ultimate in organization…with in each category group by color from light to dark.

Happy closet organizing!

Simple Steps to Organizing - The Media Pile

Do you have VHS tapes and no player?
Do you have DVDS and yet you watch all your movies on On Demand and/or Netflix?
Do you have CDS and no CD player?

You know what to do. Get some bags from your collection of bags and fill them with the tapes, dvds and cds.

Drop the bags off at your local Goodwill.
Yes, that was simple!

Simple Steps to Organizing - The Refrigerator Door

It is time to create space in your refrigerator.
Open the door and take out all the condiments…mayo, ketchup, mustard, dressings. You get the idea.
Wipe down each shelf.
Throw out all items that have expired.
Throw out all items you really don't use…you know those ones that people brought for a party.
Put the remaining ones back.
Voila. You have created space in your refrigerator.

Simple Steps to Organizing - Flower Vases

Do you have a cabinet filled with flower vases? Were flowers delivered in those flower vases? Are you getting my point? Most flowers are delivered in flower vases so you don't need to keep all of them.
Go through your collection and keep 3 favorites. The remaining ones you can bring back to your local florist.
Wasn't that easy?

Simple Steps to Organizing - The Laundry

Tackling the piles of dirty clothes around the home can be challenging for families.  So what would Andrea do? I suggest a 3 bag laundry sorter like the one pictured here.

This is the product description…I couldn't have said it better myself.

Create an efficient system for organizing laundry with this Amazon Basics three-bag laundry sorter. From lights, darks, and colors to workout clothes, bedding, and rugs and rags, the triple laundry sorter makes it easy to keep things separated and moving along in an orderly fashion. No need to create messy piles on the floor or to dig through mountains of laundry for a full load, hoping you didn't miss that favorite shirt on the bottom of the heap. The sorter offers at-a-glance convenience when it comes to monitoring when it's time to throw in a full load--and having that pre-sorted load ready to go.

If you have kids, consider purchasing one for them too and place in a convenient place so that when the clothes come off they go right in a bag. Teach your kids how to do the wash. This one small tool, can help reduce the amount of work that has to be done around the house and you are teaching your kids taking responsibility for their belongings.

Where to buy?

Small Steps to Organizing - Tupperware

I don't know why it is but we just love containers. So let's take a look at your food containers. Like always, the first step is to pull them all out. The containers that are food stained, cracked and look like they have seen a better day, toss. Now with the remaining containers match up lids to containers. Containers with no lids, toss those too. OK now take a look at what is remaining and ask yourself which ones do I really use and which ones can go. By now you should have really leaned your supply down to a manageable amount.  Wipe down the cabinet where you store the containers and now put them away. I like to store my containers with the lids on so that it keeps me honest to how many I have.

What is my favorite brand? I look Martha Stewart's line as they have snap closures and don't take on food stains. You can find them at Macy's which as you know always seems to have a sale going on.

Small Steps to Organizing - Business Cards

Have you collected a bunch of business cards and you don't know what to do with them? Yes, it is time to go through them. Ask yourself - will I need this?, why? when? 

If you have answered no, toss them. 

If you have answered yes, there are two ways you can go. Personally, I just enter the information into my phone and toss the card. But if you are someone who just "needs to keep the card" then get a marker and write a note on the card with some info about why you would contact this person. That way the next time you flip through the stack you will know the purpose for each one. Best way to keep cards is in groups according to services i.e. accountant, lawyer, plumber, etc.

First things first…toss the cards you won't use. 

Small Steps to Organizing - Charging Cords

Do you have a drawer, a container a bin of…charging cords? Do you know what each cord charges? OK, it is time to do the deed. Match up the cords to the correct device. Now put a sticky tag on each cord with the name of the device it changes.  Dump the rest of the cords. Going forward…when you get rid of a device add the charging cord too.

Small Steps to Organizing - Pens and Pencils

Hello Blog Readers. I am going to attempt to post regularly a series on Small Steps to Organizing. Today I will start super small.

Pens and Pencils

Do you have them all over your home for just in case? Go get all the pens and pencils in your house. Yes, go get all of them. I bet you have many. OK, now attempt to write with each one. The ones that don't work, throw away. Now do you still have a large bunch? I bet you do. Gather together all of your favorite ones and put them in the jar.

What happens to the rest?

• Put one in your purse.
• Put one in your work bag. 
• Put one in your car.

The rest…donate back to your office, your kid's school. You get the idea.

Now pick a central location for that jar of pens and pencils. You never have to look for a pen again.

Plastic Containers and Their Many Uses by Jessica Kane

Plastic Containers and Their Many Uses 

Everyone has storage needs, but not all storage containers are created equal. One option that many people overlook is plastic containers. They have the light weight that people love when it comes to cardboard boxes but without the flimsiness. They're superb when it comes to permanent shelving and are much easier to move around than other forms of shelving. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes that can fit any décor, any space, and within the confines of any budget. There are numerous ways that plastic containers can be used to make your life much easier, so let's take a closer look and see exactly how people are using them.  

Organization 

Plastic containers make it incredibly easy to organize and sort any number of things. Regardless of whether you need a variety of smaller containers to hold different nuts and bolts from around the shop or larger options that can be used for paper or perishable items, plastic containers are a fantastic way to keep your things organized. Finding a proper place is important and saves you tons of time having to remember where you put something that you might not use on a regular basis. There's no going wrong with plastic containers when it comes to organization. 

Long Term Storage 

Another way plastic containers are great things to have is long term storage. Things such as cardboard boxes will generally get the job done but can easily break down in long term storage. In addition to that, they can be dangerous if you're dealing with heavier items, as the bottom my bust. You also have to worry about the environment in which they're stored, as a leak in an attic can easily destroy whatever a cardboard box contains. Plastic containers, on the other hand, will shield anything from dampness and will easily withstand even the heaviest objects. The handles are perfect when it comes to moving them and many plastic containers actually stack very easily and securely on top of one another.  

Quick Hauling 

In addition to long term storage, plastic containers are ideal to have around for whenever you need to move things from one location to another. When they're not being used, they will generally fit inside one another and not take up much room. When you do need them, they can be used to store virtually anything to keep it safe on a trek to a different location. The handles, as mentioned above, make them ideal and safe options for the movers themselves. Whenever you have things that need to be moved, plastic containers are the way to go. 

Environment Proofing 

Regardless of whether you have old heirlooms that you need to keep away from water or perishable food items that need a temporary shelter from the environment, plastic containers are ideal. They don't let in any type of moisture and many can even be secured to be water tight. Regardless of whether your needs are short term or long term, a plastic container is one of the best ways to keep your valuables safe.  

Easy Shelving 

Another great thing about plastic containers is that they can be made in just about any shape. They easily stack upon one another and allow for quick access to whatever you need without having to worry about taking down an entire pile of stored goods, such as you would have to with cardboard boxes. Plastic containers make great shelves and will easily fit within just about any area you need in, regardless of how tall, short, wide, or skinny you need it to be. In addition to all that, moving the shelves is very easy. It bears loads very well, and if you do need to move the whole unit, it can generally be broken down into numerous different components to make things easier. Even for larger plastic pieces, the whole container is much lighter than a comparable piece of more traditional shelving. Overall, plastic containers are ideal for shelving. 

Regardless of what your specific storage needs happen to be, make sure to look into plastic containers to get the best value. 

Jessica Kane is a professional writer who has an interest in keeping things organized and in order. She currently writes for FlexCon, a leading vendor of bulk plastic storage containers, bins & boxes.

what you think of me is none of my business

In the last 24 hours I have had two unhappy reviews of me. First I had a client with mental health issues give me a one star review on Yelp and then after reading that my friend shared with me that one of her friends does not like me. Both of these thoughts have been spinning around in my head.
In the first scenario I went back and forth on how to respond. I know this person has substance abuse issues, memory issues and when I met with him, I thought I shouldn't take him. Now seeing his review I have been beating myself up about how dumb I was not to listen to my gut. But then the other part of me did not want to attack him in a public website. My ego of course keeps popping and saying you did a great job. He can't remember anything you did and how dare he ruin my reputation. But when I drill down even more I just don't like that one star.
Now the second situation has to do with a friend of a friend…not even my friend. So why did I feel hurt, frustrated, angry? It was a similar feeling to the bad review. Huh, what is that about? Yep, I don't like her one star review either.
I did everything to rationalize my feelings but the bottom line I don't want anyone to disapprove of me. Isn't that dumb? So with this writing I think I can release both of these situations to the universe and move the fuck on. Namaste.

And with that I am dialed into this very helpful list…hope it helps you too. Namaste!

1- They move on. They don't waste time feeling sorry for themselves.
2- They keep control. They don't give away their power.
3- They embrace change. They welcome challenges.
4- They stay happy. They don't complain. They don't waste energy on thing they can't control.
5- They are kind, fair, and unafraid to speak up. They don't worry about pleasing other people.
6- They are willing to take calculated risks. They weigh the risks and benefits before taking action.
7- They invest their energy in the present. They don't dwell on the past.
8- They accept full responsibility for their past behavior. They don't make the same mistake over and over.
9- They celebrate other people's success. They don't resent that success.
10- They are willing to fail. They don't give up after failing. They see every failure as a chance to improve.
11- They enjoy their time alone. They don't fear being alone.
12- They are prepared to work and succeed on their own merits. They don't feel the world owes them anything.
13- They have staying power. They don't expect immediate results.
14- They evaluate their core beliefs and modify as needed.
15- They expend their mental energy wisely. They don't spend time on unproductive thoughts.
16- They think productively. They replace negative thoughts with productive thoughts.
17- They tolerate discomfort. They accept their feelings without being controlled by them.