Simple Effects Blog: Organize Your Personal Life

I’m a book lover, I truly am, so one of the hardest things for me to part with when I first began to organize my home/life was my books.  But I soon came to realize that you either love books or you just love "owning" books.  If you truly love books you’ll want to share them with others.  What’s the point of having a great  paperback novel sitting on your shelf when someone else could be enjoying it too? 

Sometimes knowing who the new reader will be makes all the difference.  Imagine being thousands of miles from home with no access to a library or even a bookstore and time on your hands?  Wouldn’t you be thrilled to get a package containing your favorite paperback authors? 

Books for Soldiers aims to provide ample reading material for our book loving troops overseas.  If your bookshelves are full to overflowing, why not share the wealth?

To participate in the Books for Soldiers program,  click here.

As promised in the upcoming weeks I’m going to share my list of what I believe are the Top 10 Essentials for an Organized Home.  These are basics that you will almost ALWAYS find in any organized home and that will usually be lacking in homes that are chronically disorganized.   You can test me out on this by simply observing the homes of your friends and family.  Let’s start today with #1. Yesterday’s "Words to Ponder" gave a little hint. Did you catch it? 

Yes, my #1 essential for an organized home is SHELVING. 

Whether you are moving into a dorm room, your first apartment, your first home, or your dream home, you must have some shelving if you want to have an organized space.

What kind/type/style of shelving you need will be somewhat dependent on the size/ and layout of your space,  your decorating style, your lifestyle, your budget and the volume, size and shape of the stuff you have to store and display.

 I would encourage you to invest in some quality shelving that will be able to be used over and over again regardless of how your home’s size and shape may change.

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"I would be the most content if my children

grew up to be the kind of people who think

decorating consists mostly of building enough

bookshelves."

– Anne Quindlen

There are a lot of organizing products in the stores these days. Each one promises to help you get organized.  But a lot of these products don’t work, or they don’t work for every person or every home or every lifestyle.  So how is the average disorganized person supposed to know what to buy to achieve their home organizing goals?

Over the next several weeks I’ll share my "Top Ten Essentials For an Organized Home."  What is essential to a well organized space?  What do I recommend my clients to buy? What keeps a home organized over the long run? What organizing products are versatile and have lasting power?

Can you guess what they are?  What do you think is the number one essential product for an organized home?  Check back next week to see if you guessed my first choice.

 Perhaps one of the biggest frustrations in organizing your home is dealing with the small entryway.  The problem often eases up in good weather but with the return of coats and boots and hats and scarve and mittens and backpacks and….well, it can start to get quite out of hand.

Make sure you are utilizing every square inch of your limited entry area by going vertical. Hooks, mounted shelves and cubbies, all help to get things up off the floor. 

It can be a do-it -yourself solution like the series of towel bars/ S- hooks and mounted cubbies above, or purchase a ready-made solution such as this Senza Wall Coat Rack from Topdeq.

Shoes can also be stored vertically  in a narrow space.  Like in this Skar shoe cabinet from IKEA.

So,  don’t get down about your small entry way — look up and see the possibilities!

How many times have you or your spouse or your children left the house and forgotten (once again) that thing you meant to take with you?

DVD rentals, library returns, clothes for dry cleaning, store returns, packages for the post-office, signed homework sheets and permission forms, a product for a client, that something you promised to loan to your friend….these are just a few of the items that will need exit your home from day to day.

It’s a good idea to have one location for these outgoing items to be placed when you are thinking of them so that they are easily seen and remembered in the morning rush hour.

Designate a basket, a bench or a shelf  by your front or back door for outgoing items only. Then, make it a habit to check that area each day when you leave the house to see what you should or could take with you.  An organized exit is a great way to start your day!

"In everything, love simplicity.”

– Francis de Sales

As I help folks sort through their things, I regularly find clothing buried in chests, attics, basements, drawers and even taking up valuable closet space.

These items of clothing, I’m told, hold deep sentimental value for the owner and they just can’t think of parting with them.  But meanwhile, the memories are not seen or appreciated by others or truly enjoyed by the person for whom they hold such a deep sentimental attachment. 

So here are a few ideas for taking those sentimental fabrics and transforming them into new items that can be both treasured and displayed or used or enjoyed.

- Have your clothing made into an adorable teddy bear.  Unique Bears is just one of many services that will take your favorite flannel shirt, fur coat, or prom dress and stitch it up into one or more bears.

Team T-shirts are turned into a lovely quilt by folks like  Memory Quilts 4U.  She can even take your kids Christmas pj’s and turn them into a quilted tree skirt. Or turn your child’s baby clothes into a baby quilt for your grandchildren.

If you are crafty, you may be able to do one of these projects yourself.

So, don’t  keep your sentimental clothes buried in boxes. Find a creative way to showcase your treasure so that you and others can enjoy the memories together.

Well, now that you’ve booked your Fall clothing exchange it’s time to sort through your closet and decide what you’ll be getting rid of. You’ll need to set aside an evening or a half-day on the weekend to accomplish this task. Here are Six Steps to help you organize your wardrobe so you know what to keep, what to give away, and what new items you’ll want to bring home from the exchange.

Step 1 – Make a list of your main wardrobe categories (i.e. work clothes, formal wear, casual, fitness wear, beach wear etc.) If you are a visual person you may want to hang the clothes in each category together so you can see what you have.

Step 2 – Choose your favorite complete outfit in each wardrobe category and set those aside.

Step 3 – Identify what is it that you love most about these outfits? Is it the color, style, or fit? Get really specific. If you have a favorite dress, what makes it better than the other dresses in your wardrobe? Why do you like this particular color of casual wear so much? Is it flattering on you? Is it slimming? Does it go with everything? What about the style? Is it classic or trendy? Does it suit your personality? Does it make you feel a certain way? Is there something about the fabric that appeals to you? Does it have pockets or doesn’t it? Which is better? What about fit? Is it the length or the cut that you find most comfortable or flattering?

Step 4 – Go through the remainder of your clothes and eliminate any items that do not share the positive aspects of your "favorites". Most people only wear 20% of what’s in their closet and this is the reason. We do know what fits best, feels good, and looks great and we will choose those items first whenever we can. Make sure EVERY item in your closet is good enough to get first pick. (Remember, sentimental items do not belong in your working wardrobe. Find another place to store or display them or let them go).

Step 5 – Review the clothes you’ve decide to keep. Does anything need cleaning or repair? Set those items aside and plan to take care of them in the near future.

Step 6 – What’s missing? Do you have a good ratio of tops to bottoms? Do you have enough clothes to wear on cold days? Do you have a decent dress or suit you could wear to a funeral, a wedding, or other special occasions? Do you have enough casual clothes? Make a list of the specific items you need to have a complete and functional wardrobe. Take your list to your clothing exchange so you only bring home those items you really need.

If you want a great way to de-clutter your closet and replenish your wardrobe all at the same time, hold a Fall clothing exchange.

Choose whether your focus will be adult or children’s clothing.

You’ll need to set a date and plan a space for your clothing exchange. You can host a few neighbors or close friends in your home, or open it up to the larger communty by holding it in a church basement, school gym, or community hall.

Prior to the date of the exchange, instruct each participant to sort through their drawers and closets (or those of their children) and cull any items in good condition that no longer fit them, haven’t been worn in a year, aren’t liked or needed etc. These items should be in good repair, clean, and current (or vintage).

On the day of the exchange, each guest brings their pile of cast offs to share with the rest of the group. With a larger group,  get a few volunteers  to help put all the clothing donations on display.

Tables or coat racks work great for displaying clothing or outfits can even be draped over chairs.

Set aside about 30-45 minutes for everyone to look at all the items and see if there is anything item of clothing they need.Temporary fitting rooms can be set up for adults or kids to try clothes on and you can even model for one another.

At the end of the exchange, after everyone has taken what they need, any remaining clothes can be bagged and a designated driver can drop them off at the local thrift store or charity of choice.

Why not share things you no longer wear?