Simple Effects Blog: Organize Your Personal Life

photo from Marthastewart.com

If you are a visual person who likes to keep your paperwork out where you can see it, then hanging a series of clipboards on the wall may be the solution for you.  You can choose plain or color coded clipboards to help you and others in your household know where to find important papers like bills that need to be paid, letters that need to be mailed, , the grocery list for the week or your child’s music schedule.   Just be sure to check your boards regularly for action items and to update information as it comes in.  A clipboard for each family member or different labeled boards for your various to-do  and reminder lists can help keep you and your family on track. 

You can also use clipboards as a place to house invitations/maps to upcoming events,  phone messages for others in the house, chore checklists and so much more.  

They are an inexpensive, easy to install, visual filing system for keeping those active items "in your face" .  If it feels like a fit for you, give this idea a try. 

A disorganized home occurs when you procrastinate on the small things. You know those thoughts of procrastination that run through your mind, as you are about to set something down where it doesn’t belong?

“I’ll put that away later”

“I’ll wash those dishes in the morning,”

“I’ll pay that bill next week”

I’ll throw that out tomorrow” and so on.

Small chores left undone multiply and a series of small tasks create a lot more havoc when they’ve been put off. Whether it’s a cluttered room that needs tidying before you can clean, or a sink full of dishes with dried food, or late fees on unpaid bills, or front door dirt tracked all through the house, a small chore put off “now” becomes a much bigger chore “later”.

These small acts of procrastination also set a tone and attitude for others in the household until everyone’s small acts of procrastination create one overwhelming mess.

So,  next time you catch yourself thinking “I’ll do that later”, remember it’s a lot easier to do it now. 

 If you have a wide closet with a higher ceiling — storing your Christmas wrap up against the ceiling might be an option!  But be careful to choose a wire that will be friendly to your paper.

There’s lots of great ornament storage products you can buy, but  someone just emailed me this real simple solution for smaller ornaments, pack them in an egg carton!  Just be sure you handle the egg cartons as if they still had eggs — ornaments are fragile!

I know there are lots of people getting excited about coupons thanks to  TLC’s new show, Extreme Couponing.  The show features savvy coupon collectors/sale shoppers who save thousands of dollars on groceries by buying items on sale (with coupons for equal or greater value) and then stockpiling their free or almost free finds.  

So how does having a closet full of organized newspaper inserts, binders full of coupons or a basement that looks like a mini-mart differ from TLC’s other featured stockpilers, "Hoarders." 

Collecting Coupons and Shopping in bulk to save money is not a bad thing.  

But here’s 6 warning signs that you may have crossed the line.  

1. If you don’t actually use or need the product you are acquiring, that’s hoarding. 

2.  If your coupons or acquisitions are taking over living areas of your home and not confined to designated storage space and/or if you are paying storage fees to store your excess — look out, you are out of control. 

3. If you are storing items with an expiry date that you can not possibly use up before their expiration beware,  hoarders do this. 

4. If your couponing/shopping is creating problems in your relationships or interfering with your sleep or health you have a problem. 

5. If your stockpiling is kept in an area that is not free from pests this is not healthy. 

6. If you are piling up flyers with the thought that you’ll get to cutting out coupons "some day"  or you are storing hundreds of coupons but never using them, that’s just  hoarding paper. 

So what do you think about extreme couponing?  Savvy shopping or organized hoarding.  

If you are looking for some inspiration for a small apartment, check out these creative solutions by faircompanies.com

If you’ve ever watched “The Sound of Music” you’ll be familiar with Maria’s list of favorite things she recalled during bad times. Making a list of your favorite things is a great idea for getting your home organized as well.

Sometimes, even though a room feels too cluttered it’s hard to know what to let go of and what to keep., especially when it’s all “good” stuff. That’s when choosing just your favorite things can be really helpful.

When I feel a room is getting too cluttered or in need of a change I choose my favorite things that MUST stay and everything else gets set aside in a box temporarily. Once I’ve got the favorites placed where I want them, I can add additional decorative items from my old stash or pick up some new pieces for a fresh update. Sometimes I just enjoy the favorites all on their own without any extras.

So, if your home is suffering from too many things, choose your 10 favorite items in each room and temporarily remove the rest. It’s amazing how your special things will shine all on their own and help you see more clearly what other items you really want or need in each room. Consider donating the not-so-favorites on to a local charity.

 You can try this method for organizing other areas of your home as well. Choose your 10 favorite outfits from your closet, your 10 favorite books on your bookshelf or your child’s 10 favorite toys, and you’ll soon know what things in your home really matter the most to you. 

idea from house to home

This DIY  craft project is a fun activity to do with your kids and will help them to sort their craft supplies or other small collectibles into clear jars where they can seem them.  

 Have children pick their favorite plastic animal (or other style of figurine) and glue it to the lid of a glass jar.  Then spray paint lid and animal in a bright, fun color. 

Organizing can be fun!