Organizing Tips

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Clearing the Clutter Indoors and Outdoors

Weedy Garden area
Garden area cleaned up

Modern life is so complicated, why not enrich your life by simplifying it? So many of us are burdened by a disorganized home plus an untidy garden. By clearing the clutter and beautifying these spaces, you can gain more control of your life, leaving more time for the things that truly matter.

To achieve these goals:

• Take an assessment of your home and garden needs
• Create an action plan
• Carry out the action plan indoors and outdoors
• Hire side-by-side coaching by a Professional Organizer (if needed)
• Hire a Professional Gardener to provide on-site gardening maintenance instruction (if needed)
• Come up with organizational systems that are easy to implement and use

By clearing the clutter indoors and outdoors you will realize the connection between a cluttered environment and a cluttered life. Your end result will be a serene home and a peaceful garden, and the strategies to maintain them both. You will feel more peaceful and much freer.

Are you ready to do an assessment and create your action plan? Go for it!

To schedule a FREE 1/2 hour telephone consultation, contact Judy at
ClutterClearerCoach@comcast.net

Clearing the Clutter Indoors and Outdoors

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Duplicate Buying

duplicate soaps

‘Do not trouble yourself much to get new things, whether clothes or friends…Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts.’ – Henry David Thoreau

How many of you go to the grocery store, hardware store, clothing store, etc., and buy an item you think you need, and then get home and find that you already have at least one or two of the same item?

I’ve done this before. I’ll buy a bag of popped popcorn and realize that I already have two unopened bags on the pantry shelf. This could be a good thing, as when I run out of the first bag, I’ll already have more popcorn. The same goes with the soap I buy. I think I need another package of soap and then find I have some at home.

If you do this kind of buying, chances are you are spending money you don’t need to spend, plus the items are taking up space on a shelf that could be used for something else.

Can you identify with this? Do you have a ‘what if I run out’ way of thinking behind buying in quantity? Are you afraid there might be a shortage and you won’t be able to get what you need? Don’t worry, stores are well stocked, plus most items can be purchased via the internet.

Or, ‘do you have so much clutter that you don’t know what you have’ on the shelf or in the closet because things are stocked so tightly, or piled up and covering up stuff underneath. And, once you buy the item you think you need, you find it at home and exclaim “I didn’t realize I already had this!”

To conquer this habit, the next time you are going shopping, take a photo on your phone of the pantry shelf or closet. While at the store, refer to this image and be aware that you already possess the item. Or, to keep track, keep a written/typed inventory of the things you buy regularly, and put a check next to each item you finish or use up. Or, tackle your clutter and let go of excess stuff so you aren’t Duplicate Buying.

Let me know if you buy ‘extras’ and how you control this habit.

To schedule a FREE 1/2 hour telephone consultation, contact Judy at
ClutterClearerCoach@comcast.net

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Spring Cleaning and Clearing

shutterstock header photo 4.9.15_156671090

With the approach of spring it’s getting to be that time again to clean the home, and also get rid of items you no longer use or need.

“Spring cleaning is the practice of thoroughly cleaning a house in the springtime. The practice of spring cleaning is especially prevalent in climates with a cold winter. The most common usage of spring cleaning refers to the yearly act of cleaning a house from top to bottom which would take place in the first warm days of the year typically in spring, hence the name. However it has also come to be synonymous with any kind of heavy duty cleaning or organizing enterprise.” (definition taken from Wikipedia)

Having a house cleaner every other week is fantastic. The main thing I need to do is dust my bedroom furniture weekly, and wash the dishes. I’ve been keeping down any clutter, and putting things back where they belong daily, (except for hanging up all my clothing. – me bad) Yesterday morning my partner, Steve and I, spring cleaned up and cleared our garden beds – mostly dead heading plants and pruning. Plants are poking up from under the ground, and it’s so lovely!

Have you begun your cleaning and organizing for spring?

Here are some tips to help you get started:

1.  Thoroughly clean one room each week. If your home isn’t too big, this should take you to the end of April. Vacuum, dust, rearrange furniture, purge, and organize the stuff in each room. Yesterday, I cleaned my bathroom. Next week, I’ll give my living room a thorough go through.

2.  Sort through one shelf, drawer, box, cabinet and bin at a time. Keep it simple, so you do not get overwhelmed. I am going to sort through and organize a kitchen junk drawer (see photo of cluttered drawer above) that holds kitchen utensils, plus a lot of rubber bands and baggie ties.

3.   Practice the age old expression: ‘When in doubt, throw it out’.  If I don’t love, need, use, or want an item, I throw it out! Or, give it away, or recycle it.

4.  Don’t spend money, be creative and re-purpose the containers you already have! Look around and you will most likely find empty boxes, canvas shopping bags, or plastic containers for storage. I have a bunch of them up in the attic. You can also sort through and purge any full containers you have to make them re-usable.

5.   Take a few minutes before work or after work to recycle plastics, wash a counter, sweep the floor. You’ll be pleasantly surprised that life will be easier if you take on this task each day. It works for me.

6.  Don’t worry about following someone else’s system for cleaning/organizing. Use the system that works for you. My way may be different from yours.

7.  And, make a promise to yourself to not procrastinate. Get it done! I’ve a big procrastinator, but when I get a household task or organizing project accomplished, I feel great!

Do you have any TIPS for spring cleaning/organizing that work for you? I’d love to hear about them.

 

If you live in the Boston area, and would like a
FREE 1/2 hour phone consultation
to discuss your clutter issues, contact me at:
ClutterClearerCoach@comcast.net

Spring Cleaning and Clearing

 

 

 

 

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‘Free Yourself from Paper Clutter’ Class

Free Yourself from Paper Clutter

Free Yourself from Paper Clutter

Need some help clearing your paper clutter? Then take this adult education class I will be teaching at Brookline High School:

From junk mail to important documents, we all have paper clutter in our homes and offices. If we don’t spend time getting rid of it, it will completely take over. Organizing the pile can be an overwhelming task, and this class will explore the causes of clutter, systems to organize it, and habits to maintain organization. Through a focused presentation and discussion, you will explore with a professional coach how to overcome the roadblocks to clear your paper clutter. You’ll soon be on your way to prepare your paperwork for tax season.

Wednesday, 7:00-8:30 PM – April 24, 2019 – $28

Contact – Brookline High School
115 Greenough Street, Brookline
https://bacep@brookline.k12.ma.us/ 617-730-2700

http://www.campusce.net/brookline/course/course.aspx?catId=64

Presenter: Judy Eisenberg, Professional Organizer – Clutter Clearer Coach

If you live in the Boston area, and would like a FREE 1/2 hour telephone consultation to discuss your clutter issues, contact me at clutterclearercoach@comcast.net

Free Yourself from Paper Clutter

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Letting Go of Stuff You Don’t Need

catalog clutter

It’s easy for some people to let go of unneeded items. But, you may feel reluctant or guilty getting rid of sentimental items, as well as everyday mundane stuff, knowing these things bring no value to you anymore. Could this be you?  What are some of your best excuses, including guilt, for holding onto sentimental items, or just any old clutter?

• I’d feel guilty if I got rid of it
• I might need it someday
• I might read it someday
• I might fit into this again
• It was a gift I can’t give away
• I’m saving it to give as a gift

Below is a list of some of the things that
some people feel fine about parting with:

• Old notes on small pieces of paper
• Old shopping receipts and unneeded invoices
• Recipes cut from magazines but never used
• Cookbooks, other books no longer in use
• Outdated cosmetics and toiletry items
• Saved pieces of wrapping paper for re-use
• School notes and school books from the past
• Letters and birthday cards not meaning much
• Gifts you’ve kept from guilt rather than pleasure
• Scrap-booking supplies you’ll never use
• Desk clutter; too many pens, highlighters
• Clothing that doesn’t fit, or has gone out of fashion
• Old extension cords, outdated electronic gadgets
• Broken lamps, used light bulbs

Yes, other folks may have an easier time letting go. But, it really is OK to get rid of stuff. If it’s ‘guilt’ or some other reason that keeps you from doing this, give yourself permission to let go of your stuff ‘guilt-free’. 

What are your excuses for holding on?  Can you feel good about yourself if you let something go?

 

If you live in the Boston area, and would like a
FREE 1/2 hour phone consultation
to discuss your clutter issues, contact me at:
ClutterClearerCoach@comcast.net
Letting Go of Stuff You Don’t Need
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Spring Cleaning: Declutter Your Attic

Spring is this Thursday; time to begin spring cleaning and decluttering.  Why not begin with your attic?

IMG_5073                   IMG_5656

During early summer 2018, I was in the process of moving from the apartment I’d lived in for a number of years to another home.  I spent a good amount of time going through my small attic; deciding whether I wanted to keep, throw out, or donate the items stored there.

Some of the downsizing decisions I made were easy, and some difficult. I felt like some of my organizing clients who feel attached to their memorabilia from the past; having difficulty deciding what to do about these things. There were plastic containers holding costume gear including vintage hats, papers and ceramic tiles from a former business as a potter, two boxes of family photos, and more nostalgic items. Among my stuff there were also holiday decorations, an old printer, framed prints, winter clothing, and a beautiful long vintage coat my mother had custom made for herself in 1940 (the coat still fit me).

I brought the printer to the DPW trash area, sold most of the framed prints, got rid of some of the ceramic tiles, and donated a lot of the holiday decorations. Going through the boxes of family and personal photos, I threw out of people my parents had known that I did not, plus many of my repetitive travel photos. I kept some of the nostalgic pottery documents & photos, a few of the framed prints, most of the winter clothes, costumes, and of course the 1940’s era coat.

If you have a long time cluttered attic and haven’t yet tackled it, schedule an hour or two of your time when it’s convenient. Begin by labeling some empty bags or boxes with “shred, recycle, throw & give away, donate, keep”.  Dress in comfortable old clothes, put on your work gloves and be prepared to deal with things that will bring back old memories (good & not so good). If you feel overwhelmed or stressed, ask a friend or family member who will not be judgmental about your ‘letting go and keeping’ decisions, to be there as your ‘body double’. (Someone to sit with you and keep you company while you declutter).

After your one or two hours of purging, decision making and bringing the full bags & boxes down from the attic to distribute as appropriate, reward yourself with a nice treat – a hot bubble bath, a walk in nature, a nap, or a do a happy dance singing ‘I did it, I started tackling my cluttered attic!”

Then schedule a few more one to two hour sessions for the near future to once again tackle your attic stuff.

Let me know when you begin this task, and how you feel as you progress with the ‘letting go’ of attic stuff.

To schedule a complimentary 1/2 hour telephone consultation, contact Judy at ClutterClearerCoach@comcast.net

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The Difference between Cluttered and Organized

before Tye office

Have you ever thought about the meaning of these words? And how they relate to you?  Below are distinguishing definitions I have quoted from http://Dictionary.com/
with some of my own thoughts added.

after Tye ofice

CLUTTER

noun: clut•ter
1. A confused or disordered state or collection; a jumble: “It’s impossible to find anything in all this clutter.”

verb: clut•tered, clut•ter•ing, clut•ters
1. To make disorderly or hard to use or find by filling or covering with things. “Boxes filled with all kinds of stuff cluttered the living room.”

ORGANIZE

verb: or•gan•ize, or•gan•ized, or•gan•iz•ing, or•gan•iz•es
1. To put together into an orderly, functional, structured whole. “We are organizing all of the books.”
2. To arrange in a coherent form; systematize: “Organize your file cabinet using the alphabetical, chronological, color-coded, or like-with-like method.”

I imagine that you’d prefer an organized space over a cluttered one. It’s never too late to begin to sort through your things and make decisions as to what to do with them; give away, throw away, recycle, shred, keep. Start today using baby steps to get rid of your clutter and get organized. Ask a friend, family member, or professional organizer to help so you don’t have to do this alone. And, let me know how it goes.

To schedule a complimentary 1/2 hour telephone consultation, contact Judy at ClutterClearerCoach@comcast.net

The Difference between Cluttered and Organized