The holiday season is officially upon us as of Thanksgiving.  The holidays tend to center around the kitchen and one important aspect of the kitchen is the pantry.

This past weekend, I worked with a client to organize her pantry.  She loves to cook and a key aspect of that is being able to go to her pantry and quickly retrieve what she needs.  She was, however, having difficulty doing so because she was not sure what was in the pantry and where things were stored.  She did not have a system.

We emptied out the entire pantry and looked at everything.  We eliminated the excess and then grouped like items together according to her own personal preference. 

Containers had been purchased ahead of time when we first evaluated the space to help containerize certain items.  Then, it was just a matter of figuring out what items belonged where.  She already had a hanging rack on the inside of the pantry door.  We repurposed it so that items being stored on the door were the items she most frequently accessed.  We utilized her various shelves to store like items together.

After the process was complete and the layout met my client's needs, we noticed that certain items were missing.  She now knew she needed to go shopping for pasta, tomato sauce, cereal and crackers.  We had left space for those items to be incorporated. 

To make sure you have the staples needed in your pantry, I am providing a list of items that I recommend:  (Your items might differ slightly)

Olive Oil, Vegetable Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, Red Wine Vinegar, Salt, Pepper, Spices,  Red Cooking Wine, White Cooking Wine, Chicken Broth;

Canned Tuna, Tomato Paste, Jarred Marinara and/or Tomato Sauce, Diced Tomatoes, Rice, Pasta, Beans, Cereal, Crackers,

All-purpose Flour, Sugar, Oats, Bread Crumbs, Condiments, Salad Dressings.

Again, your items might differ but you can use this as a basis to get started.

So, now that you have an idea as to how I helped my client organize her pantry, you don't need to ponder your pantry anymore.  If, however, you need further assistance, don't hesitate to contact me. 

In the meantime, have a great week!   

Next week is Thanksgiving and the official start of the holiday shopping season.

Do you want your younger children to understand more about uncluttering and organizing?

I have gathered some suggestions for gifts you can give them that they might enjoy with an underlying theme on uncluttering and organizing:

1. Room Enough for Daisy by Debbie Waldman. Little Daisy has so many toys, she wishes for a larger bedroom to accommodate them all. Eventually, her mom convinces her to donate some items to a rummage sale. Cindy Revell’s illustrations are really cute.
2. Too Many Toys by David Shannon. David’s books are fantastic, starting with the hilariously relatable “No, David!” Too Many Toys has a similar theme to Room Enough for Daisy, in that David is required to thin his massive collection of toys. It’s a fun story that kids think is funny and adults find useful.  
3. Mr. Messy, part of the Mr./Mrs. series by Roger Hargreaves, is an untidy fellow until he meets Mr. Neat and Mr. Tidy.
4. More by I. C. Springman is about a hoarding magpie whose friends teach him the value of “enough.” Again, the illustrations are great and the minimal text is great for new readers.

Do you have any suggestions that you would like to share that go with this theme of child organization tools?  Please share by commenting.

If you need assistance in getting the toys and clothing organized for the holidays, don't hesitate to contact me.  I am here to help.

Wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Two days ago, the eastern portion of the United States experienced Hurricane Sandy first hand.  The devastation is still mind boggling.  Some sustained no damage to their homes. (I am one of them.)  Some sustained minor damage and some sustained tremendous damage.  Many are dealing with flooding in their homes and more are dealing with the loss of power. 

When these natural disasters occur, I can't help but think about how being prepared can go a long way in making it easier to deal with the outcome.

I envision homes where clutter is everywhere, things are difficult to locate and when disaster strikes, there is chaos. Imagine having everything laying around in no particular place and having to find things quickly.  It's next to impossible.  Something as simple as your keys being misplaced can cause a lot of stress in this type of situation.

Things like food, clothing, medications, bedding, pet supplies, cell phone chargers, insurance policies and other important paperwork, etc. need to be easily located and gathered.  Simple things such as batteries, flashlights, battery operated radios, non-perishable food, water and blankets are all needed when the power goes out. Sometimes, an evacuation plan is needed. 

However, I also envision an organized home.  An emergency preparedness plan is in place, essential items are gathered or easily accessible.  There is no clutter to contend with and life is that much less stressful. 

Clutter and disorganization are very stressful in our normal day to day lives.  However, when we are suddenly dealing with a situation such as Hurricane Sandy, clutter is even more stressful.  

Are you prepared for when disaster hits?  Is your home clutter free and items are easy to locate?  If not, you might want to re-evaluate your situation and think about how getting organized can go a long way in dealing with these types of situations.

If you need assistance in eliminating the clutter in your home and in your life, remember that you can have A Better Space.  I am just a phone call away and I am here to help.

For those of you contending with the after effects of Hurricane Sandy, please know you are in my thoughts.  Be safe. 

There comes a time when most people need to reach out and ask for help to get organized.  It can be prompted by life changes such as marriage, divorce, birth of baby, empty nest, death of a loved one, depression, Attention Deficit Disorder, downsizing, etc.  

No matter what the reason may be, people reach out to me for organzing help mostly because of the following:  

1. I'd like to be organized, but I never learned how.

2.  I am overwhelmed and frozen.  I don't know where to start.

3.  I do not have enough space for my stuff.

4.  I do not have enough time to get things done.  My To-Do List goes on forever.

5.  When I go to purchase organizing products, I don't know what to buy or where to get the best products.

6.  My kids are out of the house and my parents have passed away.  I have too many things that I have held on to and need help letting go.

7.  I know what I want to accomplish but I can't figure out how to get there. 

8.  I know that the only way I will get organized is if I have an accountability partner who can guide me through the process.

9.  I'm organized but my spouse is not.  It's driving me crazy and I don't know what to do.

10. I have ADD and having difficulty staying focused and organized.  I need to figure out systems that work for me.

Do any of these sound familiar?  It could be one reason or a few.  No matter, a professional organizer like myself is skilled in these areas and can help you to get "unstuck" and moving forward towards a decluttered, organized and stress free home and life.

Comment below and let me know which of these are keeping you stuck.  I am here to help if you need further assistance.

In the meantime, have a great week!

Clutter and children have a strong correlation.  It begins the day they come home from hospital.

How is it that you bring a tiny new human being into your home and with them comes all this stuff! 

Toys, clothes, bottles, pacifiers, bed linens, books, stuffed animals, you name it.  We have reached material saturation according to a recent study released by the UCLA Center on the everyday lives of families. 

The clutter might begin in the closet, basement, attic or drawers but then it spills out onto our table tops, counters and floors.  We currently have more visible clutter than ever before in the history of the world!  Our children's stuff is at the top of our clutter piles.

Each new child in a household leads to a 30 percent increase in a family's inventory of possessions during just the preschool years alone!  There are several reasons for this increase:  

1.  Parental guilt because of working outside the home;

2.  Generous grandparents.

The United States has 3.1 percent of the world's children.  However, US families purchase more than 40 percent of the total toys consumed globally on an annual basis.  The toys can spill out from their bedrooms and play rooms into living rooms, dining rooms, the kitchen and parents' bedroom. 

There is a sense among working parents that they have less time to spend with their children, causing them to shower their kids with toys to compensate for a perceived loss of quality time at home. 

Aside from that, other relatives contribute to children's collections of material items.  Grandparents alone spent about $500 or more, per child, per year, on toys, clothes, books and other gifts.  Due to the high divorce rate in this country, many children end up getting gifts from multiple sets of grandparents.  If children divide their time between two households, they tend to have double the amount of possessions, as well. 

The influx of objects is relentless.  The outflow, not so much.  We need to develop rituals and mechanisms for getting rid of stuff. 

Here are some solutions:

1.  Have grandparents purchase movie tickets, tickets for live events or a favorite restaurant instead of a toy.

2.  Review the inventory accumulated every 6 months.  Get rid of clothes that no longer fit, toys that no longer work, books that are no longer read, school papers that are no longer needed.  (End of the school term, Christmas time are two suggestions.)

3.  Have a conversation with other gift givers to come up with creative solutions that do not involve a lot of toys, clothes and other items that are in excess of what is reasonable.  Relatives and friends want to give "things" to show how much they love them.  They need to understand that their time is more precious than possessions.  They need to understand that, although it is appreciated, it is causing clutter in your home.  

4.  Be selective about the items you purchase for your child.  They don't need to have everything.  Remember, less is more.  Too much can be overwhelming for a child.  They tend to play with their favorites anyway.  

Take a look around your home and see where the clutter is accumulating and make some changes so you can be clutter free.  

If you need some assistance or more ideas for solutions, contact me.  I am glad to help. 

In the meantime, have a great day!   

I'm wondering whether you have duplicates of items that you could donate to help you reduce your clutter.  Having doubles can be trouble!

Granted, having duplicates of certain items in your home, such as plates in your kitchen cabinets or reams of paper in your home office are very helpful.  However, if there are items that we don't use often, it might be difficult for us to find a way to store them.  We just might not have the room.  

We don't want to waste space on things that will take up valuable space in our home.  We want to be sure that we don't let those "every day" items get out of control.  You just might want to donate the excess of which you have duplicates.  Here are some examples:

• Paper shopping bags.  How many do you have?  They do tend to accumulate and, although they can be useful, too many is too much.  Now that reuseable grocery bags are being recommended, you might find yourself with an influx of old paper shopping bags.  Consider giving them to charities that can use them.  (Some charities bag up meals, clothes, supplies and are looking for bag donations.  Just make sure they are not musty or carry an odor from pets or smoke.

• Hotel toiletries.  If you are a frequent traveler, chances are you return home from a trip with travel-size toiletry items you got for free at the hotel.  If you don't use them when you get home, they can take over your closet, drawer or cabinet shelf.  You can, instead, donate them to a local shelter, or, why not just leave them at the hotel to begin with! 

• Pens, pencils, markers.   I don't know about you, but these items seem to multiply in my drawer!  Do you come home with a pen you borrowed and forgot to return?  Do your kids come home from school with more writing utensils than you sent with them?  I bet that if you take a look around your home, you probably have more pens and markers than you will ever use.  Honestly, it's impossible to use them all, so donating them is a great option.  Be sure to remove the ones that don't work.  Give a bunch to a local school or community center or The Pencil Project.

• Sheets/Bed Linens.  The number of linens you need depends on how often you do laundry.  If you change your sheets every week (or every two weeks), you likely won't need more than two or three sets total (including the one currently on your bed).  I wouldn't be surprised if you have sheets of various sizes that used to fit beds you no longer have.  If they are still in good shape, donate them to a local charity.  Perhaps the sets you have are just worn out.  Consider giving them to your local animal shelter. 

• Coffee Mugs.  They tend to collect on our kitchen cabinet shelves without us even realizing it.  We get them as gifts, we travel somewhere and bring them home as a  souvenir, we get promotional mugs from marketers at events.  When was the last time you took at look at your mugs?  We might have a favorite mug along with the ones that came with our set of dishes.  Check to see which ones you never use and pass them onto someone moving into a new apartment or a college student who lives away from home.  Otherwise, donate them to a local charity. 

You may not realize that you have unused duplicates unless you are actively decluttering.  Check out your storage areas and start gathering like items togther so you can get a true sense of the amount you have.  Pinpoint those items that are good candidates for donation.  You will gain more space for your important items and help others in the process.   Avoid that "Double Trouble".

Let me know what you discover.  

In the meantime, have a great week!  

Can you believe I just said that!  Well, it's true! 

It's true that decluttering can lighten your load.  If you wish to sell items you no longer want, you CAN make some money.  That's true.  However...

Have you ever thought about this?  Although repairing broken items instead of purchasing a replacement can save you money, you sometimes end up with more clutter than when you started.  It is likely that you will add new items before the old items leave your home and, if you don't get rid of them quickly, they can linger in your home and take up space.

Here are some ways to AVOID the "clutter build-up" that can occur:

1. Stocking up on coupons and sales flyers.  They can start to fill up precious space in your home if you do not have a specific space to keep your coupons (as well as the large quantities of things you get that you might not need - just to satisfy the requirements of that coupon).

2.  Buying in bulk.  It's true that shopping at BJ's, Costco or any other warehouse type store can offer big savings and the convenience of purchasing paper towels, toilet paper, laundry detergent, etc. is helpful.  However, be careful when it comes to perishables (meat, poultry, dairy) and other items that expire.  It's possible they can expire before you get the chance to use them and then you are just wasting your money.  Also, purchasing in bulk is great if you have the room to store such items.  If not, don't buy more than you can store. 

3.  Saving useless things to make something new.  We all have good intentions but saving scraps of wrapping paper, buttons that come with that new sweater or those single socks with no mates can create clutter.  If we do not have a clear plan for how we are going to use them and a deadline in which to do so, it just all becomes clutter.  Get rid of them!

4.  Saving things that need repair.  It's true that you can save money by doing your own repairs (like hemming pants or sewing on buttons) but if you don't continually keep up with the repairs, the items can become a pile of clutter.  I have seen this time and time again when working with my clients.  Sometimes the cost of having someone repair the item for you may be higher than replacing it.  (A zipper on a jacket, for example.)  Skip the repairs that cost more than 50 percent of what it would cost to buy a new one and immediately get rid of the old one.  

5.  Collecting items for consignment.  Clothing is a very popular consignment item.  Consignment can be great if you have the time to take the items to the consignment shop and it's exactly what the shop is looking for.  Otherwise, it's a waste of time.  Also, you tend to not get a great deal of money for your item.  Why not have a clothing swap party instead? 

Feel free to go ahead and turn your clutter into cash.  Just remember, your attempts at saving money just might be creating clutter.  Pay attention to your lifestyle and whether doing these things make sense.  Don't let your clutter consume your space or your time.

Let me know your thoughts.  In the meantime, have a great week!

As you may or may not know, this professional organizer was blessed with a son who has ADHD.  This month is National ADHD Awareness Month so I thought it appropriate to discuss time management.  It tends to be one of the bigger issues for adults with ADHD.

My son, now age 21, is notorious for procrastinating.  He loves to sleep, usually from 3:00 a.m. until whatever time he needs to get up, either for school or work.  The thing is, he waits til the very last minute to get up, grab a shower and run out the door.

Today he has classes from 8:00 a.m. until 2:45 p.m.  This morning I suggested, gently of course, that perhaps he take something to eat with him since it will be many hours until he gets home.  I suggested quickly grabbing a bagel, so he would at least have something.  He is not one to pack a lunch the night before, no matter how many times I recommend this.  (Since he is 21, I no longer make lunches for him. Call me a bad mom.)  His response was "But...I don't have any time!".  Seriously?  He didn't have time to open the fridge and grab a bagel, put it in a sandwich bag and head out the door.  (He doesn't do breakfast.)  I think not!

Here's my theory.  We all have 24 hours in a day.  It's what we do with them that counts.  If he would have just simply woken up 15 minutes earlier, he would have had the time to take his shower and grab that bagel to take with him. 

In other words, it does take some preparation and some thought as to what we need to do and how much time we need to do it.  Then we prepare accordingly.  Waking up 15 minutes earlier could have made such a difference for him.

I am still working with him on this issue, but here is some "food" for thought (no pun intended, well...maybe) for those of you that find that you are running out of time in the morning to get out the door.  Simply prepare. 

To start, make a list of what you need to do and then estimate how long it will take you to do it.  Then add a cushion of time to avoid that last minute rushing around. 

Simply by taking some time (of which we all have the same amount) to get organized and create a plan, you will find that you are no longer saying "But...I don't have any time!".

Try it out and let me know how you make out.  If you need some addidtional help, let me know.  I am here when you are ready. 

In the meantime, take some "time" today to remember 9-11-01.  I think we can all find a few minutes today to do so.

This time of year many people are eliminating their clutter and getting organized for the new Fall and Winter seasons.

On many occasions, while working with my clients, I get asked how to recycle an item.  Today, I thought I would take some time to help you find out how to recycle some of your own items.

Here are some ideas you might not have thought of:

Backpacks - The American Birding Association accepts donated backpacks, which its scientists use while tracking neotropical birds (www.americanbirding.org). 

Batteries - Recycling batteries keeps hazardous metals out of landfills.  Many stores such as RadioShack and Office Depot accept reuseable ones.  Car batteries contain lead and can't go into landfills because the toixic metals can leach into groundwater.  Almost any retailer seling them will also collect and recyle them.  Hazardous waste events will take them as well. 

Carpeting - The Carpet America Recovery Effot (www.carpetrecovery.org) will help you find a carpet reclamation facility near you when you ask "What can I do with my old carpet?".  Some carpet manufacturers, like Milliken (www.millikencarpet.com Shaw (www.shawfloors.com) and Flor (www.flor.com) have recycling programs.

Crayons - Send them to the National Crayon Recycle Program (www.crazycrayons.com) which melts them down and reforms them into new ones.  Be sure to leave the wrappers on them so they are more easily identified by color.  

Wire Hangers - Some dry cleaners and laundromats will reuse them.  Check with your local dry cleaner.  My dry cleaner happily accepts them as it helps them reduce costs.  If not, recycle them with other household metals but be sure to remove any attached paper or cardboard first and recycle that separately.

Hearing Aids - The Starkey Hearing Foundation (www.sotheworldmayhear.org) recycles used hearing aids, any make or model, no matter how old.  The Lions Club also accepts hearing aids (and eye glasses)

If you are not sure how to recycle items in your home, visit www.earth911.org to find out where and if those items can be recycled.   

Do you have any other recycling tips for unusual items?  Please share your thoughts.  I would love to hear from you.  

In the meantime, enjoy the rest of August and your Labor Day weekend.  

If your children have not returned to school yet, they will be shortly.  For most in my area, school starts the day after Labor Day.  It can be a hectic time if you are not prepared. 

Are you ready?

I have gathered some tips to help you prepare for back to school that you might find helpful.

1.  Review the kids' wardrobes and have them try on their clothes.  Have a fashion show!  Make sure to do this before you go shopping for new clothes so you know exactly what you need.  Donate or pass down clothing to another child.  If you do need new clothing, pay attention to sales to save money.

2.  Complete necessary medical forms in time for the return to school.  You might need to schedule an appointment with your pediatrician for shots and signatures so allow enough time to do so.  If food allergies are a concern, contact you child's teacher to discuss necessary precautions.

3.  Finalize arrangements for after-school care which might involve transportation, payment arrangements and scheduling of pick-up.  Be sure the provider knows who is permitted to pick up your child at the end of the day.

4.  Purchase an alarm clock for those children who have more difficulty getting up that gets progressively louder or put one on the opposite side of the room to get them out of bed to shut it off. 

5.  Pack lunches the night before to save time in the morning.  Plan out lunches a week at a time and have a sturdy lunch box or bag for each child.  Purchase fruit snacks and granola bars, for example, in bulk to make sure they are always on hand.

6.  Use a family calendar to keep up with the kids' busy schedules.  Indicate half days and school holidays for the year.  Keep track of extra curricular activities.  Check the calendar each evening to be sure you are prepared for the following day.

7.  Organize the paperwork.  The paper starts coming through the door the first day so be prepared.  Create an "in" and "out" bin for processing.  Use a bulletin board for important information.

8.  Adjust bedtime starting now.  Gradually move the kids' bedtime up by about 15 minutes each night so they will be well adjusted when its time for school to start.  You want to be sure they get plenty of sleep.

9.  Set up a homework station that provides enough space, good lighting and supplies that are needed.  Children will be more productive when they have a designated place to do their homework. 

10.  Finally, enjoy the last of the lazy days of Summer with the kids.  This is the time to spend doing things you all enjoy before the hectic school season begins.

What tips would you like to share for getting ready for back to school?  Are you ready?