Images are easier to process than words. Pinterest is full of images for ideas and possibilities for your closet. See the world of closet organizing ideas: http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=closet%20organizing Now that it's warm outside, it's time to put away your sweaters and bring out the short sleeves. It's the perfect opportunity to reflect on what you wore this year and what you didn't. Any winter clothes you didn't wear can probably move onto a new home. Every piece you let go of makes more room in your closet and makes reaching for what you WILL wear easier.
What should I get rid of? As you bring out each spring and summer garment, you'll see if your taste has changed, your size has changed, or if something looks old and tired and just doesn't flatter you any more. Unsure if something fits? Try it on now, not when you're dressing one morning in a hurry. Let it go if you don't love it. Replace it with something new that fits you as you are today. Benefits of getting rid of old clothes Remember, it's always a win when you let go of something. Donating to a charity like Goodwill or The Salvation Army helps others and is tax deductible. For your more valuable items, take them to a consignment shop for some extra cash to buy yourself something new. Items in disrepair Anything that's stained, ripped, or missing buttons is just clutter until it's mended. Drop it off at your tailor, seamstress or dry cleaner right away. If you plan on fixing it yourself, I commend you, but set a deadline. If you don't meet it, then take it out for repair. It's easy to bit off more than we can chew. Focus on the huge victory of a clutter-free closet instead of the smaller victory of doing smaller tasks like sewing yourself. I used to forget appointments and even forget to pay bills on time, thinking the paper bills on my desk were reminders enough. Now that I'm older and wiser, I assume I'll remember nothing, so I relieve myself from the burden. Sound familiar? Then try reminders. Put everything into your digital calendar and set reminders to email you at the appropriate time. Set email reminders for important phone calls, friends' birthdays, coupons with expiration dates, property tax bills, and even your tetanus shot 10 years into the future. The list is endless. It takes some attention and effort to set up and get into the habit, but his new behavior can have a huge payoff (and if you'd like help setting up a system that works for you, I can help). You can even take it a little further and give yourself instructions in the description, like a link to the right webpage, a reminder about where a paper bill or coupon is, or account information. It might make your life easier, and that's what I'm all about. If you had a childhood before the digital age, you probably have a stockpile of old photos. You keep telling yourself you'll put them into an album one day or that you'll scan them all. If you're like me, that day never comes. I found the answer in a Groupon for scanmyphotos.com. You can send them hundreds of photos they'll scan into digital files on a DVD (and return the originals, of course). Even sending them off to someone else requires some work (like being sure to label them so you'll know what they are when you get them back), so it's easy to procrastinate on even this solution. The magic is in the deadline, created by the coupon's expiration date. Put a reminder in your calendar, and when that date gets close, you'll be very motivated to get your photos sent off. Once you get your DVD back, upload the images to your favorite photo-sharing site and/or a company that can print photo albums. You can create photo albums for every major trip you've taken, for important eras of your life (like college), or for each of your children. Once in book form, you'll be much more likely to see them and enjoy them. Also, your high school friends on Facebook will get a kick out of seeing themselves from so long ago. Check out my new Pinterest board for organizing. I'll be adding to it regularly. Take a look and see if you see something that inspires you. Many of these ideas are super simple and easy to execute. You can even start your own board. Happy pinning! http://www.pinterest.com/amyjewelry/organizing-ideas-for-everyone/ As you know, it's tax season. You're probably going through lots of papers and gathering your numbers and receipts (or telling yourself you should be). The good news is here's a great opportunity to free up file space — and space in your head. As you go through your 2013 files, see if there are older files and papers that are no longer relevant. Some may be years old. The IRS requires just seven years of tax returns, so anything older can be destroyed to make room for the new. I did this last year and was amazed how much I could toss into the recycling bin. NOTE: This isn’t a stock photo; the piles in this photo are actually mine! I was thrilled to reclaim so much file cabinet space, into which I could relocate office supplies — thereby removing clutter from my shelves. It felt great! You, too, can turn a daunting tax-time project into an easy and rewarding experience. You can do it while seated, you can stay in one place, the decisions are usually easy, and most of the detritus goes to one place, the recycling bin. If you do feel intimidated, simply start with one file, or just one drawer. Every piece of paper you remove brings you closer to a peaceful, clutter-free home office. If gathering up your papers for tax time is just too much for you, or you have no system for tracking your income and expenses, Beth Crittenden can help. Beth’s a financial organizer and counselor who can hold your hand through the whole process, leave you feeling better and with a system you can maintain. You don’t have to do it all alone! I read this book years ago, and it had a lasting effect on me. Its logic caused me to shift my thinking around objects and their arrangement in my physical space. Even if Feng Shui isn't your thing, this book's practical advice can help anyone. Under $5 on Amazon. Have you resolved to declutter your bedroom, empty out a packed hallway closet, or just clear a desktop piled with papers? Do these spaces gnaw at you for months, but you can't get yourself to begin tackling them? Here is some simple, effective help. First, take a breath. This project, this process, doesn’t have to be painful. Now, choose the one area that's bothering you the most. Just pick one. It doesn't have to be the biggest, like a whole room or basement. Choose just one closet, or even just one desktop or shelf. Next, pick the smallest component in this space. It’s fine to pick a single pile of clothes or stack of bills on your desk. Again: Choose just one space, and then choose just one item. Finally, pick up that one item — be it notebook, shoe, or a Q-tip — make a decision about where it goes, and act on it before putting it down. If it’s garbage or recycling, put it in the appropriate bin. If it can be donated, put it your car or in a box for charity items. Most important, don’t put it back where it came from. Making even a little progress will feel rewarding and inspire you to continue. Are you telling yourself how little this is, or how futile this effort is? Great! Just acknowledge these thoughts without any resistance. Take another deep breath, and continue on your mission to deal with just the one item. The next, best step: acknowledge that you’ve just made progress! You’ve begun the project that you couldn’t begin. Like most people, you may feel so overwhelmed with the size of any long-delayed project you forget how GOOD it feels to make even one small step of progress. Once you’re feeling even a tiny bit relieved, everything changes, and anything is possible. |
AuthorAmy is an entrepreneur, and has been a successful designer and business owner since 1996. With an architect father and interior designer mother, she's been thinking about how to make a home work all her life. As a child, she loved organizing her closet and found designing her dollhouse more appealing than playing with dolls. She went on to graduate from Rhode Island School of Design with a degree in industrial design. Due to the breadth of her design education, she’s able to assess a room as a whole and instinctively know how to make it work better. Evaluating the contents and functionality of a space is second nature to her. Archives
January 2016
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