Now that the winter holidays are over, we may find ourselves with a few extra baskets on hand – baskets that arrived holding fresh fruit or bath products.
Baskets, while making a lovely presentation containers, often have awkward shapes and can be challenging to store. Sometimes donating them seems preferable to losing storage space to their clumsy designs. And then again, how can we let them go when there may be a use for them…someday?
Before letting your frustration take over, here are a few suggestions of places around your home that can benefit from the strategic placement of some of these vexing vessels:
So, if you’re ready to cram your baskets into cupboards or send them on their way out the door, take a look around your home and ask yourself if there area any areas that could benefit from some clever containment.
A lovely new basket might be just the solution!
In the spirit of the New Year, I’m here to answer the burning question that you may have…sorry, it’s not the recipe to my homemade cookies…that will remain a mystery, even to my colleagues at NAPO-GPC who I have baked them for! The true question is, how long does it really take for a habit to form? Do a Google search, like I did and you’ll find many different answers. If you’re like me, you won’t get to page 2 of your search, as you just want the clear answer!
It’s the same with New Year’s resolutions. We want what we want and we want it now! Waiting is a difficult thing, in this age where technology is fast but we want it to be even faster. Frustrations abound when there isn’t any instant gratification and hence people give their resolutions up so quickly.
So, what is that answer to: how long does it really take for a habit to form? Well, honestly, there isn’t a magic number. The consensus from the Google answers is that it takes between 21 and 28 days. I know, that can seem daunting, but there are ways to keep your goals and still have fun.
When it comes to organizing, (and I’m assuming that’s one of your goals because you are reading a blog on a site in which we help people get organized!) start small. Have you heard the quote from Francis of Assisi, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!”? If you push yourself and do too much before you’re ready for it, then you may feel like giving up. Try these simple methods to help you get organized a little bit every day, when you might not even think to, so that before you know it, it may just become your favorite habit! Well, a close second, maybe? Ha ha!
1) TV Commercial Breaks – Use these 2-3 minute chunks of time during your favorite shows to organize a shelf or a drawer.
2) On a Phone Call – You know those people in your life who just like to talk your ear off on the phone! You don’t need to neglect them, just put the caller on speakerphone and you have your hands free to straighten up a closet, hang up clothes or put away laundry.
3) While Cooking Dinner – Use this time to straighten up your kitchen counters and go through junk mail.
-Or-
4) Just pick any time! Use a timer, either a good old kitchen timer or the one from your smart phone and set it for 15 minutes. See what you can get done in that time in the area of your choice and if you feel motivated to do more, then do it! If not, then don’t!
One final tip is to keep a tote or basket handy, in a central location, for each member of the household. As you are organizing, you are bound to find items that belong to others in their bedrooms or in other rooms. Once a day, make sure that the items from the basket are brought to each respective area by the person it belongs to. With the new tips you’ve learned, you can teach everyone else in the family how to organize just a “bite” at a time too!
1. Make it Easy
2. Make it Fun
3. Make it Colorful
Organizing habits learned early on and made part of a child’s lifestyle routine are skills that they can keep with them through adulthood. Whether it’s the alphabet, math or organizing, whether in school or in the home, what our children are taught gives them the knowledge and wisdom to excel!
Make organizing easy, fun and colorful for your children and you’ll teach them early organizing skills for a lifetime.
The holiday season means decoration time. Pulling out boxes, bags and containers of all kinds of special treasures you’ve saved for embellishing your home every year and they are all marked “holiday”. Where to begin, but to open them all and start dragging items out until you find what you are looking for at that moment. Eventually you make your way through it all in time to enjoy the holidays for the family gatherings and entertaining of the season, only to be quickly followed by the dreaded post-holiday season of taking down those decorations and putting them away for another year. But did you know the post-holiday season is the best time to organize all those decorations?
Here are some organizing tips for making this a really productive organizing season too!
When next year comes around you won’t be opening 10+ containers at once looking for certain items as you are trying to decorate. By sorting all of your holiday décor into categories and packing the décor into labeled containers will keep your décor organized and easy to access for the next season. You’ll look forward to knowing where everything is when you’re ready to decorate and knowing where everything belongs when you’re ready to put it away.
Is it possible to live in a small area? You bet it is!
Most of us know people living in small houses or apartments, going to college and living in a dorm for the first time, or moving from a big home to a smaller one. Even if you don’t, you may have experienced one of these situations yourself at some point. Down-size, right-size or re-size – there are plenty of options for small spaces. No challenge is too small or too big. Here are 5 tips to make your space shine.
1. Divide and conquer. Small spaces must service many needs. Decide what you need and where to locate it and then use furniture, rugs, and other creative items to divide the space.
2. Create storage solutions. Shelves, milk crates, or foldable colored bins are a great way to store and add color to any room.
3. Identify other areas that may have possibilities. Hang items over doors, on the back of doors, in closets, or even on the wall by using Command Strips. Command strips make for quick and easy solutions, and they don’t damage the wall space.
4. Design your own shelf appeal. Think vertical space. Add wall shelves like you would a wall paper boarder – store books, pictures, trinkets, and even baskets high.
5. Use hide-away options. Raise your bed (http://www.bedrizer.com/) and store underneath. Smart options include bins or old drawers from old dressers – add four canister wheels for ease of sliding. Store clothes in bins or plastic bags for seasonal solutions. Add a dryer sheet for freshness.
Just think, when living in a smaller area, you will have less to take care of and more time to do what you want to do!
What a blessing when 2 people converge their lives together. What a blessing, when the desire to share in someones life and contribute to each others well-being is present. What a blessing, that these 2 people in their 80th decade have taken on this transition!
I am called into action to assist in this joyous affair.
It requires putting together the logistics of moving Hal to Char’s place. At this point, Hal, with only his clothes & toiletries. All other possessions in his apartment are being sold and given away.
Char, now needs to make space for him after living alone for many years. Of course this requires purging, reorganizing closets, and her giving up space for his comfort.
So, there I am inspiring her. Then checking to see what needs to be done. Opening her mind to redoing a closet professionally and adding an extra closet designed for Hal to use.
I am surprised when they approach me and tell me they are re-painting the walls, possibly putting in new wood floors and buying new furniture to suit their new life ~ together. I am asked to go see the furniture they have picked out to give my feedback. And we end up leaving the store with more than what was on the shopping list!
I am in awe, with their mind set, energy, and action they are taking. They are living the possibility of love, being in the moment, openness, and courage. The courage to change! How many people at this age do you know who would do this??? An amazing situation of what living your dream is at any age!
Mazel Tov to you both! (in other words-Good Luck)
P.S…Organizing always comes into the picture when a transition occurs.