Blog

Author: Annie KilbrideClutter General Home Organizing Shopping

Stop Clutter Before it Comes into the Home

Prevent Clutter From Entering HomeWhat happens if you love to shop BUT hate to organize? Or you don’t have the time or energy to deal with what you buy?

All those great deals” become clutter when you bring things into the home and either don’t have a place to put them right away or haven’t purged things to make room for them. What happens most of the time? The items stay hidden in bags that pile up. Then there’s a problem.

Too much stuff, with no place to put it, leads to clutter and chaos which do not allow the stress-free, organized home you desire.

Before you buy something, ask yourself these questions:

  1.  Do I have a place for it?
  2.  Do I love it?
  3.  Am I willing to eliminate something to make room for it?
  4.  Will I really use it and, if so, will it be within the next two months?

Remember—if a deal seems too good to pass up, but you don’t need the item, you need to put it somewhere if you bring it home. The floor does not count so no bags should be piled up on the floor.

Before buying more things, ask yourself the above questions. You’ll learn over time that the best way to stop clutter is before it enters your home.

Click on the title above to learn more about the featured author.

Save

Save

Author: Annie KilbrideFamily Organizing

Hiring a Professional Organizer

annie'sHave you considered hiring a professional organizer but for one reason or another decided against it? You are not alone! Many people think that hiring someone to get or keep them organized is foolish and unnecessary. The reality is, this couldn’t be further from the truth!  Professional Organizers are here to help you get your home in order, in a way that works best for your lifestyle.

Just as many people outsource their house cleaning and lawn maintenance. Hiring an organizer can save you time, aggravation, and money. So…why are people so reluctant to hire an organizer?

I CAN DO THIS MYSELF!
This is perhaps the most common reason people are reluctant to hire a professional organizer. Yes, you can do it yourself, but…will you? How long have you been talking about organizing your basement, attic, garage, or closets? How many times have you started the project then stopped because you got overwhelmed or frustrated?

A professional organizer can help you through the organization process. The first thing I do when I connect with a new client is listen to what they want. Together, we make an action plan. I guide clients through the process from start to finish, help them decide what stays and what goes, and provide support and guidance for maintaining organization.

With a professional by your side, your organizing project will get finished in a timely manner leaving your space feeling rejuvenated and refreshed!

I’M GOING TO HAVE TO GET RID OF EVERYTHING!
No, you won’t. Professional organizers are not heartless people who feel as though purging is the only way to get you back on track. Our job is to listen to you, to offer support and guidance, and to help you make the best decisions based on how you live, and how you want to live your life. The final decision on whether to keep, donate, or toss items is always up to you, and you will never have to lose anything you care deeply about.

When you make the choice to donate, professional organizers can offer suggestions on the best options for donating useable goods to local organizations who need what you no longer want. When something cannot be reused, a professional can help you to use environmentally conscious practices for recycling and disposal.

I’M GOING TO HAVE TO SPEND SO MUCH MONEY!
Hiring a professional organizer is an investment – an investment in your home, your quality of life, and your time. Hiring an organizer provides you with a valuable service that improves your quality of life. When you become organized, you’ll find that you are less stressed and have more time in your day because it’s easier locating the items you need, when you need them.

Once you begin the organization process, and you use what you already have to organize your belongings, you’ll discover that you have more closet, cabinet, and shelf space than you knew!  If you should need to purchase items such as bins or containers, a professional organizer can make recommendations based on what will work best for you and your space.

So, why not make the call today and hire a professional organizer?

Author: Annie KilbrideFamily General Travel

My Family’s Busy Bags

When you are at a restaurant, in the car, or headed to the beach, do your children drive you crazy by fighting or by saying that they are bored? I have found several variations of a ‘busy bag/box’ on Pinterest, and decided to create my own. My bags have changed over the years accommodating items that will satiate my 4 year old as well as my 7 year old!

Below are some of my ‘Busy Bag’ ideas:

My Restaurant Bag contains:

  • Paper which is kept in a fun print file folder
  • Crayons that are kept in a pencil case
  • Coloring books
  • Lacing boards which are kept in a large pencil case or large utility baggie
  • Laminated Road Maps that are printed and placed in a page protector sleeve
  • Matchbox cars which are kept in a large pencil case or large utility baggie
  • My Little Ponies
  • Crayola Model Magic which is kept in plastic baggies (this is like Play-Dough, but doesn’t crumble as much)
  • Laminated play dough mats which are kept in a page protector sleeve (this prevents the Model Magic from sticking to a table)
  • Stacking cups
  • Colored pom-poms or colored popsicle sticks

When my children were toddlers, I used to pack lots of board books, large Duplo blocks, finger puppets, Crayola dough, laminated play dough mats, stacking cups and Fisher Price plastic animals. For older children, add Legos, playing cards, trivia questions, the game Uno, books, Mad libs, and maze books.

My Car Bag contains everything from my restaurant bag, plus the following:

  • Travel Bingo boards
  • Books
  • Small cupcake pans
  • Magnetic alphabet letters
  • Notebooks
  • An Etch a Sketch
  • Super hero figurines (most small items like these can be stored in an empty Wet Ones wipes container)
  • Paper on a clipboard
  • Stickers
  • Small snack containers – filled with dry cereal and pretzels
  • Granola bars
  • Sports bottles filled with water
  • Books on CD from our local library, or Conference CD’s from the NAPO-GPC library!

A fun idea that I started — on a 10 hour trip to Myrtle Beach — was to get baby links from the dollar store and connect them from one car hook to the one across from it in the backseat, and a super hero traveled link to link every hour that passed. Also, since each of my children had a small version of the car bag next to them, with each activity organized inside a smaller container, there were no melt downs!

Taking a family of four to the beach is like a jigsaw puzzle. Everything needs to be organized and in a certain area or else it will be covered in sand or forgotten. Thanks to many invites to Thirty One parties I am well prepared for the beach with bags!

My Beach Bag is a system of smaller bags:

  • My pocket tote holds my cellphone, cash, my son’s EpiPen, inhalers, a sunscreen stick, baby powder, and sunscreen, plus a zinc stick (for my son who fries in the sun)
  • My large utility tote holds hats, my long sleeve shirt, my children’s extra rash shirts, four beach towels and my blanket that rolls up
  • My large zipper pouch holds my husband’s iPad and my Kindle
  • Another zipper pouch is filled with a small blank pad, small coloring books, mini markers and a small My Little Pony. (This pouch was added after thinking that just the beach toys would occupy my 3 year old last year.)

Staying organized, even on vacation, helps to keep my sanity, as well as my husband’s when the ice cream man rings his bell and both children start running towards him. All he has to do is reach in the pouch for the money and not waste any time looking for it. I hope I have inspired you to create your own “Bags” for whatever situation calls for it.

Have fun and safe travels this summer!