There is a challenge that exists today for grandparents and parents alike. Grandparents want to find the perfect gifts for their grandchildren, and many of today’s children often already have more toys than they know what to do with.  Parents also struggle with the issue of having too much toy clutter in their children’s bedrooms.

I frequently get calls from parents who have contacted me because they are struggling with their children’s clutter.  Often, grandparents are major contributors to this clutter. Parents cringe each time another gift is lovingly delivered, because it will inevitably require a place to live within the already crammed storage spaces of their child’s room. The following is a list of helpful suggestions for dealing with this issue as the holidays approach and children’s birthdays come and go.
 
Communication Is Key
If you are a parent with this problem, having an open conversation with your parents or in-laws is a good place to start.  Help them understand that your child does not need more toys and that you don’t have room for them.  To ensure that the conversation stays light and positive, be sure not to blame them for the clutter that your child has already accumulated. Then, provide them with a list of suggestions for useful gift ideas and be sure that they have several options to choose from.  Because grandparents struggle with finding gifts that will actually be appreciated and used, a list of ideas is sure to be well received. 
 
Experience Gifts
As an alternative to traditional gifts, provide your parents or in-laws with ideas for tickets or gift certificates that offer fun or educational experiences. Experience gifts offer the additional bonus of providing an opportunity and an excuse for making special memories with that child. The activity can either be spent with a grandparent, or provide your own family with a special activity to do together. I have listed some ideas for experience gifts below:
                     
Movie Theater
Favorite restaurant   
Ice cream, cupcake, cookie or yogurt shop 
Zoo passes
Children’s Museum or other Museum
Educational classes such as music, art or dance lessons
Martial arts classes
Family get-away to a favorite destination
Play  or music concert  
Family Fun Centers
Ice Skating, bowling, miniature golf
Sports event
For Girls – manicures or pedicures
Special activity night with grandparent to bake, do crafts or go fishing
 
Gift Certificate Ideas for Useful Gifts
Gift certificates to stores can also be given with the intent to purchase more practical items such as the following:
Athletic Stores where sports gear or clothing can be purchased
Music Store if your child plays an instrument
Favorite Clothing Store where school clothes will be purchased
Department or Super Store to purchase school supplies and/or backpacks
 
Gift Baskets
With a little creativity, Grandparents can make personalized gift baskets filled with fun consumable items.  The possibilities for these are endless, and can be personalized according to the child's hobbies and interests.  Here are few examples:
Snack Basket full of an assortment of favorite snacks
Movie Night Basket with a favorite movie, a variety of popcorn, drinks and candy
Baking Basket full of all the things needed to bake and decorate a batch of cupcakes
 
Give Giftster a Try
If your parents or in-laws are even just a little tech savvy, I recommend giving this helpful service a try; Giftster.com is a private, web and mobile based gift registry connecting family and close friends. It is a group gift wish list and is completely free. It allows family and friends to list their gift preferences so that others can make purchases using the list.  This is a great gift buying resource for the whole family and is easy to use. Giftster will ensure that everyone receives gifts that they really want and appreciate.

Do you have multiple sets of unused dishes claiming too much storage space in your home?  If so, you are not alone, it appears to be a commonality in many of our homes. This is the #1 most frequent form of clutter that I find in kitchens and dining rooms. 

They may be meticulously packed away in protective china covers or occupying the top shelves of our kitchen cabinets. We may find them crammed into a dining room hutch or tucked away in a storage bin somewhere. Wherever the dishes reside, they are dusty, unused and hogging up precious storage space.  So I ask you, why such madness?  Why do we all keep these crazy sets of unused dishes in our homes when 98 percent of the time we use just one set? 


​The stories behind the dishes are often the same.  They are Grandma’s antique dishes, or perhaps another loved one has gifted them to us.  Sometimes these dishes are the ones asked for on a wedding registry, flawless and untouched because they are considered to be the “good dishes”...you know… just for company, but then we don’t actually use them when company comes because it’s just easier to use paper plates. I have found that there are 3 main reasons why many of us possess multiple sets of dishes:
 
1. GUILT
Maybe your inherited dishes are very pretty or maybe they’re not… either way, they came from your Grandma, whom you adored, so how could you possibly get rid of them? Furthermore, how can you use them every day when Grandma only used them for special occasions? What if they get chipped or broken? Sometimes there is more than one set of antique dishes in a home.  One set from Grandma and mercy…another set from Mom. They may even be passed down from a great grandmother, making them an even grander family heirloom and that much harder to let go of.
 
2. BYGONE TRADITIONS  
The second reason for extra sets of dishes is that formal dinner parties are part of our parents and grandparents legacies.  Everyone had “the good china” accompanied by fancy silverware and they actually used them for most special occasions.  But this is a tradition of the past that is hanging on merely by our left over dishes.  These days most of us are much less elaborate when we entertain and keeping things simple to save time is more important today than it was in the past.  Even during the holidays, our family tends to use paper plates, we may buy the more elegant and expensive ones for the occasion, but we still stick with paper.  After all, who wants to spend all afternoon washing fancy dishes on Thanksgiving Day instead of relaxing and visiting with family?  Not me.
 
3. THEY MIGHT BE VALUABLE
The third reason we keep these dishes around is in anticipation that they may be worth a lot of money.  We figure that since these inherited dishes are antiques, they must be valuable.  The problem though is that taking the time to find someone to assess the value of them, then taking more time to sell them becomes a barrier to getting rid of them.  So the dishes stay, and the years pass by and they serve no purpose in your home except to occupy space.
 
SO WHAT TO DO?
If you love Grandma’s dishes, why not go ahead and use them every day and get rid of the ugly, mixed matched, worn out dishes your using now?  Just because Grandma only used them only for formal entertaining doesn’t mean you have to.  And, not using them at all because a piece may get broken does not really make sense. That’s like buying an outfit and not wearing it because it may ware out someday. If you want to ensure that you preserve Grandma’s treasured dishes, take one place setting and put it in a keepsake box so that you will always have it. Then use the rest of the set and enjoy them, because life is short!
 
USE THEM OR LOSE THEM
On the other hand, if you really don't like the dishes you have inherited, why keep them out of guilt? Your loved one would not want to put this burden on you.  Is it not better to honor the dishes by letting them go to someone who will cherish and care for them just as your loved one did?   They are not serving anyone collecting dust in storage. Again, you can keep one place setting to have as a permanent keepsake. Your loved one will surely approve.
 
PASS THEM ON
If you happen to be keeping the dishes only to hand down to your child, talk with that child and be sure that he or she wants them.  Many young people these days are less interested in antiques. If they really do want them, pass them on now, you should not be required to store your child’s dishes for 10 years.
 
BE REALISTIC ABOUT ENTERTAINING
Just because our mother and grandmother kept a “good” set of china complete with formal silverware does not mean we need to do the same.  Embrace today’s lifestyle and ditch all the extra china and fancy silverware. When you entertain, do yourself a favor and let go of the fantasy of impressing others with elaborate and elegant dinner parties. Instead, consider keeping meals as simple as possible, so that you can enjoy entertaining often with more ease and less stress. 
 
VALUABLE? – MAYBE, BUT PROBABLY NOT
I don’t like to be the bearer of bad news, but most antique dishes are worth much less than most people would expect, even if they are beautiful and ancient.  Do you really want to store presumably valuable dishes for 10 or 20 years just to eventually discover that that they are worthless?  That said, some antique dishes can be valuable, so if in doubt, commit yourself to taking them to a few local antique dealers and having them assessed. Make it a priority and do it now rather than putting the task off.  Then you can decide if you want to sell to the antique dealer, or take them home and sell them online.  Just be sure that the money you make selling them on your own is worth the time you put into it.  Oftentimes, all said and done, it’s not.   

 While there are a few things I could actually buy in bulk like toilet paper and energy bars...our family eats a ridiculous amount of energy bars, most of the food in our home gets used too slowly for me to justify stocking up with large quantity purchases.  Since there are just four of us in living in our home, I do not personally shop in bulk.  Buying in large quanties can save you money when it makes sense to do so, like buying frequently used non-parishable items or stocking up for an upcoming party.  If your not careful however, you can actually end up spending more on groceries each month rather than less. The key to reaping the benefits of bulk shopping is to shop selectively and resist going overboard. Here are some things to consider when shopping at bulk food stores:
 
FOOD WASTE
Bulk food stores encourage you to buy everything big. When you buy perishable products in bulk, you risk having it expire before it gets consumed. I have thrown out loads of expired food over the years while organizing client’s pantries. Stick to buying products that your family goes through quickly, and to non perishable basics like paper towels and toilet paper. Also, bulk food stores do not carry small packages of products, so if you happen to be out of something that you use only occasionally say, sesame oil, you'll be forced to buy a giant sized bottle and spend more money on it than you would have at a regular store.  Furthermore, that sesame oil is more likely to expire before you can get it all used.  
 
PACKAGE SIZE CONFUSION
Since sizes and quantities of products purchased in bulk are so different from regular sized items, it is difficult to compare apples to apples when it comes to prices. We can be tricked into thinking that we are saving more money on bulk items than we really are, so be sure to do your math before you make the purchase.  Once you add on the membership fee you have to pay just to shop, your savings may be less than you think. 
 
BARGAIN TEMPTATION
One primary way that stores cash in on our shopping habits is that we are naturally tempted to buy more of a given item just to get it at the lower price.  Everybody wants a bargain, but it’s not a bargain if you didn’t need it in the first place.  Resist going overboard by carefully considering each item and whether or not you really need that much of a given product before you put it in your cart.
 
INVENTORY CHAOS
The more stuff you have in your home, the harder it is to keep it all organized. The same theory applies to your pantry. Believe it or not, it is much easier to stay on top buying what you need if you don’t stock up. Once you have multiples of everything at home, it becomes difficult to monitor what products you are actually running low on. To keep your pantry under control, only replace the items that you are almost out of, and always use a grocery list.  If you shop without a list, and just grab everything that you see because you’re not sure whether or not you might be running low at home, you are headed straight for inventory chaos and you’re sure to waste some money along the way.

LIMITED STORAGE SPACE 
Though this one does not actually cost you money, it does cost you space and is perhaps the biggest negative to buying in bulk.  Stocking up with large sized products takes up lots of precious storage space in your pantry.  If you don’t have a lot of space, don’t allow a 6 pack of giant sized ketchup bottles to steal it, unless of course…you happen to run a burger joint out of your home.  If your pantry is so full that it starts to spill over into a second location like your basement, you are likely to forget about what you have down there.  Instead, store all of your food in one place and stop buying when your pantry is full. Larger non-perishables can be space hogs too, like paper towels, don't buy a pack of 48 rolls unless you have plenty of space to store them in for 6 months.  Before you decide to put something in your cart, consider whether or not you have space for it at home.  It is frustrating to get home and not know where to put the things that you purchased.

As American consumers, we are constantly being coaxed into buying more and buying bigger, because it means more money for the seller, but we don't have to be mindlessly wheedled into submission. We can't even order a burger at a drive thru without hearing, "Do you want to super size that?"  By shopping mindfully and resisting the urgings to go overboard on sizes, you can save considerable amount of money.  As a bonus, you'll also keep your pantry inventory organized and under control.

Written By Laura Coufal
Clean & Clutter Free, Professional Organizing Services

I guess you could call this is a kind of Cinderella story of sorts.  It is the tale of how a little pink plush monkey was rescued from the bottom of a lowly trash bin.  She managed to escape by a monkey’s hair and rose up to the lofty heights of well… from a toys perspective, let’s just say she is no less loved than Buzz Light Year. Today, she proudly hangs from the door of my 16 year old daughter Emily’s bedroom.  She has the important job of greeting and sizing up all who enter.  Most of the other plush toys lay squashed a box in the back of her closet with numerous other forgotten stuffed toys. Some plushers are not even that lucky, they have been donated or discarded or much worse… passed on to the dog to slobber on and slowly tear into bits. But Las Vegas Monkey has a different story, she is one of the very few stuffed toys that Emily still proudly displays.

Years ago, before I started my organizing career, Las Vegas Monkey arrived into the arms of my two year old Emily. My husband and I took a business trip to Las Vegas and brought back two little plush monkeys as souvenirs for both of our girls. They loved them for awhile, but eventually they were seemingly lost and forgotten among the other multitudes of toys. One day, I was home alone and decided to do a bit of tidying up of the girl’s bedroom.  At that time, combined, the girls must have had about 100 stuffed animals. As I rifled through the pile of trinkets and other debris, I came across Las Vegas Monkey. At that time, Emily mostly ignored this monkey (or so I thought) and I noticed that it's arm was broken, it had been pushed into her body making her look like she had only three limbs and I couldn’t pull it back out.   I confirmed the toy to be officially broken. So I ask you, why keep a broken stuffed animal when you have 99 not broken ones to play with? I made an executive decision and tossed it into the trash. “Emily won’t even notice that it’s missing” I told myself.  BUT, I was wrong...DEAD WRONG.

Poor Las Vegas Monkey laid there, dirty and broken in the bottom of a trash bag. Not much future lay ahead of her and the only worse fate she could imagine is finding herself in the jaws of the slobbering dog.  Exactly one day later, while I was cooking supper, my sweet 4 year old came barreling out of her room with a look of terror on her face.  “MOMMY!!!” she hollered, ‘Where is my pink monkey??? I can’t find her anywhere; You didn’t throw her away did you?”  She asked this question in a “You wouldn’t do a terrible thing like that would you?” voice. With a guilty stare, I nodded sheepishly. Then I quickly tried to redeem myself by explaining logically to her that the monkey was broken and she had 99 other stuffed animals to play with. That excuse did not work even 1 percent. For one thing, it does not work to explain things logically to a hysterical 4 year old. She fell to the ground, seemingly heartbroken. Then she ran to her room to bawl. At that point, I was pretty sure she was never going to talk to me again. So what did I do? Well, I did what any guilty mamma with a heartbroken child would do... I went dumpster diving. 

Fortunately for me, the trash had not yet been picked up.  Unfortunately though, I had to search through every trash bag in the dumpster before I found Las Vegas Monkey. I finally found her at the bottom of a trash bag, at the bottom of the dumpster. She was wet and dirty and stinky, and so was I, but I felt victorious just the same.  She went into the washing machine, Emily’s heart was mended, and I was forgiven...mostly.

Over the years, Emily has grown very fond of her little monkey, perhaps because she came so close to losing her, or, I like to muse that is because her mommy braved rotten food to rescue her. To this day though, it is not the dramatic rescue or the fact that the monkey was at the bottom of everything that Emily recalls. Nor does she remember how dirty and stinky I got. No, she only reminds me of how horribly wrong it was to toss her monkey into the trash in the first place. It took her along time to trust me again, and just to make me feel even worse, my husband, who is much handier than me at fixing things, managed to fix the monkey's arm after all. Las Vegas Monkey isn’t even handicapped anymore.   So that is why today, she can hang gracefully and honorably from Emily’s bedroom door with both arms intact.
​
What might not mean much to you may be a treasure to another person, and you do not want to jeopardize your loved one's trust.  Many of my clients have heard me tell this amusing story, and they know that I never ever recommend making decisions about what to keep and what to let go of for others. You can at best, put any items in question into a box for them to inspect and approve of before they let them go.  Children need to make their own decisions as well…most especially, 4 year old little girls. 

PLAN AHEAD FOR FURNITURE AND DECOR
If you know ahead of time who you are going to be rooming with, talk with your future roommate in advance to avoid duplication of larger items such as furniture, television, microwave etc.  You could also discuss decorating, and come up with a style or theme together so that your décor doesn’t clash with what your roommate brings to the room.

SPACE PLAN
Measure the spaces in your dorm room and take photos to ensure that everything you are bringing will fit into the spaces available.  Try rearranging the existing furniture or stacking the beds to create more space.

ESTABLISH ZONES WITHIN YOUR COLLEGE DORM ROOM
If possible, create small areas for different activities such as studying, sleeping, entertainment and eating. Store everything that you need for each activity in their assigned zones. For example, for studying, create a place to store pens, pencils, highlighters, a comfy pillow, portable light, glasses, etc. so that you will have everything you need at your fingertips when it is time to study. 

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF EVERY INCH OF STORAGE SPACE
Bed risers and under the bed storage bins are a great way to utilize the space underneath your bed for extra storage space. Add storage cubicles to the bottom of your closet if you are short on shelf storage. Over the door pocket organizers, are great for extra closet and bathroom storage.

STORE IN-SEASON CLOTHING ONLY
Bring only your summer and fall clothes to school until cooler weather arrives.  Take your summer clothes home with you and bring back your winter clothing as the weather changes. You will free up much needed space in your closet if you only store the clothing suited for the current season.

MAKE USE OF HANDY ORGANAZING PRODUCTS
Stackable storage cubes are perfect for college dorm rooms because they not only to give you extra storage space, but can also double as night stands or end tables. 3M command hooks are handy for hanging purses, coats, robes etc., and they can be placed anywhere without causing damage to the wall. Inexpensive plastic portable drawer systems can be placed in your closet for extra drawer space.

USE A CHECKLIST TO ENSURE THAT YOU DON'T FORGET ANYTHING
Visit the following website to print off a checklist of recommended necessities to bring along with you to your college dorm room: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-in/making-a-decision/off-to-college-checklist. Knowing what to bring will not only ensure that nothing essential is left behind, but will help you to avoid bringing items that you don’t need, that ultimately end up cluttering up your small space.  This list is exhaustive, so you won't need to bring everything on the list, think about what you really need and only bring what you will use.  You may also be able to share some of these items with your roommate which will save on space.  

 
1.  Don’t keep family keepsakes out of guilt.  It is easy to hold onto items that do not have any personal value to us simply because we think that someone else would be disappointed if we let them go.  If these items cannot be given to the person that cares for them, let them go to a new owner who will care for and cherish them. Why would your loved one want you to hold onto something that you don’t really want?
  
2.  Don’t keep any items that trigger negative memories.  When making a decision about a given keepsake, pay attention to the way each item makes you feel.  If it sparks joy and a happy memory, then keep it, if it does nothing for you emotionally, or if it triggers any negative thoughts, by all means, let them go.  Why keep anything that brings us down or reminds us of something negative? 

3.  Don’t keep other peoples treasures.  Keepsakes have very personal values attached to them, just because your mother treasured a set of china, does not mean you are obligated to treasure it as well.  Decide for yourself how each keepsake item makes YOU feel, if it does nothing for you, let them go to a new owner who will treasure the china and give it the love it deserves just as your mother did. 

4.  Find an honorable home for personal family photos and other treasures from the past.  If you have too many vintage family photos and other antiques from past generations, choose the ones you want to keep, and offer the others to any family members who might be interested in having them, then call your local historical society or a local museum see if they want what is left.  Museums appreciate these items and what better way to honor family heirlooms, then to proudly display them for others to see? 

5.  Tackle keepsakes last.  Keepsakes are the most difficult category to make decisions about, and they also trigger the most emotion, so if you have a large amount of belongings to go through, hold off on the keepsake items until the end. Then, tackle them at the beginning of the day when you have the emotional and physical energy to go through them and make decisions. 

6.  Only keep a sampling of each collection.  Rather than keep an entire set of your grandmothers dishes, consider keeping one place setting and let the rest go. If your mother made multitudes of beautiful quilts, choose a few of your favorite ones and gift the rest to others so that they can enjoy them.  A sampling of a given collection will bring you just as much joy as the whole collection and more is not necessarily better.

7.  Keep in mind that we hold special memories in our hearts, not just in material objects.  You don’t have to turn your home into a shrine of the past in order to hold onto or honor the memories of a loved one.    Material objects will never measure up to the memories that we have in our hearts so it is okay to be selective about what to keep. 

8.  Set tangible limits for yourself.  Consider reducing your load by deciding how much you are comfortable with keeping, for example: Choose 1 or 2 plastic totes, and stay within that limit.  As you sift through keepsakes, place only the most cherished items into the bins and when you have reached your limit, be willing to let the rest go.  You can also take photos of items before letting them go and place the photos into the bins with the rest of the keepsakes.  

9.  Consider displaying your keepsakes.  If you have made a decision to keep something, consider displaying them in your home rather than leaving them stored away in a box.  After all, if they are worth keeping and you enjoy them, perhaps others should enjoy them too.  

​
Written by Laura Coufal
Clean & Clutter Free Professional Organizing Services
 

​ Let Go of the Guilt
As a busy mother of three daughters, I spent many of those growing up years feeling guilty over not having had the time to perfectly preserve all of my girl’s memories and keepsakes.  Scrapbooks and albums went unfinished. Organized as I was, I still could not find the time to frame every memory and preserve every art project.  I knew I was not alone in my struggle, since every one of my friends with children seemed to carry around this same guilt.  I longed to have the time to create a beautiful scrapbook for every year of each of my daughter’s lives.  Let see, that’s how many scrapbooks …54?  Yikes!  

But then my organizing career led to a discovery that changed my perspective and alleviated much of my guilt.   Over the years, I noticed that a large number of my clients were empty nesters between the ages of 50 and 65.  Can you guess what organizing category these particular clients were often struggling with?  You got it... keepsakes!  Parents are often surprised and frustrated that their adult children have less interest in their childhood keepsakes than they thought they would.  I often hear… “I want it Mom, but um…can you store it for me?” If you end up with a storage room full of your children’s keepsakes by the time they are adults, chances are, they will not want to move all of it to their own home.  That amount will be too overwhelming for them to store. So, unless your goal is to end up with a basement full of your child’s stuff someday, you can spend less time worrying about capturing every single memory that your child creates. 

Be Selective
With that said, I am not suggesting that we throw out every memory either, of course we want to preserve the important ones.  So instead, be selective about what keepsakes and photos you collect.   A handful of scrapbooks and/or photo albums, and one or two boxes of keepsakes are all that your child will realistically want to store in their own basements someday as an adult.  I suggest setting a limit for each child’s keepsake collection that you are comfortable with and sticking to it.  As the years pass and the boxes get full, take time to go through them and weed out items that are less special to make room for more important ones.  Your child will no doubt be satisfied enjoying a sampling of childhood memories rather than every experience he or she has ever had.
 
Kid's Artwork
Kid’s artwork can accumulate at light speed as younger children grow.  Control the amount you keep by setting limits in this category as well.  Purchase a small plastic tote for each child and let them decide which artwork is kept and will go inside.  You may need to supervise younger children with this task as they may want to toss what you want to keep!   My girls go though their totes each summer and decide what to add and what to let go of.   The rule is that we can only keep enough to fit inside.  You can organize the totes by using dividers for each year if you choose or you can keep it simple and just toss everything in.  If you choose larger totes, I suggest storing artwork vertically to prevent compression damage to the artwork at the bottom of the pile.
 
Print Your Best Photos
As a fan of photographs, and of scrapbooking, I agree that it is wonderful to be able to occasionally reminisce through childhood photos. But there is no need to set up a museum of the past for your child.  Be selective about photos as well. These days we snap photos of everything, and our phones and computers are bursting at the seams.  Just because you have taken a photo, does not mean you have to use each one in an album.  Don’t burden yourself with that expectation, instead choose your favorite photos to print and preserve in a special way and let the rest stay in digital form.  Also, don't be afraid to delete the multitude of average to poor photos from your electronic devices. Keep scrapbooks simple as you design them and let go of perfection. Just getting the memories into a book is a victory.  To save time, you can also get help with online photo book design through websites such as; Snapfish or Shutterfly. Set a limit on the amount of albums and/or scrapbooks you spend time creating. As adults, we do not need an extensive library of photo albums for every year of our childhood. 

Focus More on Making Memories
Set reasonable and easily attainable goals for keeping and preserving memories. This will help you keep up as the years roll by and you’ll avoid beating yourself up about all that you’re not getting done.  Most importantly, keep in mind that the majority of our children’s memories will be held in their hearts, so focus more of your energy and time on playing with them and making special memories and less time worrying about capturing every single experience.  

Written by Laura Coufal
Clean & Clutter Free
Professional Organizing Services

​Thanksgiving has become my favorite holiday of the year; it holds special personal meaning for me.  Just this holiday’s name “THANKSGIVING” sings out happiness.  And I treasure the fact that during a time of great division on many matters, we are reminded to come together as one with both love and appreciation.  Thanksgiving is simply about having gratitude for all that this beautiful world has to offer.  Before I dive into my opinion of Black Friday, lets dissect the meaning of Thanksgiving a bit further.
THANKS
First, to ponder THANKS; Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on our blessings, to count and cherish each of them one by one.  We are reminded to take our focus off of what we don’t have and instead set our eyes on all that we have been given.  Doing this, changes our perspective for the better. Gratitude is a beautiful thing, it is a life-giving virtue with an automatic pay out that is perfectly ingrained within its nature. Those who focus on gratitude for what they have rather than on what they don’t, reap the benefit of feeling satisfied and fulfilled.  We can all find someone who has much more than we do, just the same we can easily find someone who has much less. But if we let go of those comparisons and intentionally take to the time to appreciate, every large and little gift, we can find reasons for gratitude infused in much of our everyday lives. A simple cup of coffee in the morning brings me pleasure and I am so thankful that God created the magical coffee bean. Change is a never ending reality and all that we have today may not be there tomorrow.   This is the time of year to reflect, and not take our blessings for granted; even those seemingly mundane tasks can be appreciated.  As I wash and dry my children’s school uniforms for the coming week, I remind myself that there will come a day when they won’t need them anymore.  
 
GIVING
I do not know of a better way to lift our spirits than to take our focus off of our own needs and wants than to reach out and give to others.  Thanksgiving is a time to forget ourselves and lift up someone else.   Just as we know that when a pendulum swings outward, we have zero doubt that it will swing back with equal force, the same is true with the nature of giving.  This world was brilliantly created so that this natural law is intrinsically woven into the tapestry of our lives.  We cannot do something, not anything without it coming back to us in some way.   We live in a world of cause and effect so that every decision we make, and every action we take has its consequences. Every act of kindness or love we offer will return to us in equal amounts, so give freely!   Perhaps this Thanksgiving is the perfect time to forgive someone and let them back into your life, you’ll be so glad that you did. Or maybe you can bless someone by donating rather than selling some of your belongings.  One man’s clutter is another man’s treasure.  Or go work in a homeless shelter for a day, not only will you come home with a happy soul that has been fed with bread of giving, but you also likely will be filled with gratitude for the house you come home to. 

A HIJACKED THANKSGIVING
Just as Christmas shopping has trumped the true meaning of Christmas, in recent years, Black Friday has hijacked Thanksgiving Day as well. Sadly, we are now encouraged to start shopping before the turkey has had time to settle in our stomachs.  TV commercials and advertisers brainwash you into thinking that you need to shop.  Just because retailers have taken most of our holidays and turned them into marketing opportunities doesn’t mean we have to take the bait.  Most of us don’t really need more stuff to add to our clutter no matter how great the deal is.  There is also irony in the fact that as we are enticed to shop, our attention is subtly pulled from that of gratitude and giving, back to our own wants and desires.  Back to “What don’t I have yet?”  Dallin Oaks message “We can never get enough of what we don’t really need” are truly wise words.

If you do decide to partake in the shopping frenzy on Black Friday, please give Thanksgiving the respect it deserves and wait until the day is over.  And as you shop, be extra polite to the other shoppers.  Try to buy for others rather than yourself and be mindful not to go overboard. I am a fan of gift cards because they don’t add more clutter to a person’s home.  The more emphasis we place on showering others with too many gifts, the less attention is given to the true meaning of Christmas.  The same goes for going nuts with purchasing more and more holiday decorations every year.  Do yourself and your pocket book a favor and keep the holidays simple.  Appreciate the family, friends, and food and the reason for the celebration and let go of everything else.    
 
Written By:
Laura Coufal
Clean & Clutter Free

Summer has come and went and autumn’s colors are popping up everywhere. Soon it will be time to dig the hats and mittens out of the basement. The key to staying on top of seasonal wardrobe changes is to keep your routine simple. The following Do's and Don'ts will help you save time and stay organized as the season's rapidly roll by.

Don't - Store off season clothing in any location other than your bedroom.
Are you tired of dragging totes up from the basement, rifling through them and washing and folding or hanging each article of clothing with the changing of each season? This system takes a lot of time and effort to maintain and if you have children and do the same with their clothing, the job gets even more overwhelming.  If this describes your routine, it may to time to simplify your closet by paring down what you own. Most bedrooms have enough closet space to hold a reasonable amount of clothing for 1 -2 persons.  It is also important to note that statistically, most of us wear 20% of our wardrobes 80% of the time. So take the time to evaluate your wardrobe and be selective, keeping only the clothing you or your child are truly wearing.  Letting go of those items that no longer serve you will save you time again and again each season.

Do - Move heavy winter items in and out of storage each season.  
It makes sense to get heavy winter gear like boots, heavy coats, scarves, hats etc. out each winter and place them in an easily accessible area for convenience.  Storing these item in your basement or storage area in the summertime, frees up space in your garage and mud room so it is a worthwhile task, just don't do the same with winter clothing that resides in your bedroom.

Don't - Keep clothing in your closet that does not fit you.
One common reason that individuals struggle with fitting all of the clothing that they own into their bedroom space is that they also store clothing that does not fit them there.  Think about it, if you lose weight, would you really want to wear those old tired clothes from 3 seasons ago? Or will you want to celebrate by going out and buying fresh stylish new ones? Why not plan to reward yourself for your success? If your weight tends to fluctuate and you feel that you must keep clothing that does not fit, these are the items that I suggest storing elsewhere, such as in a plastic bin in the basement. Don't let these items that you are not currently wearing take up precious space in your closet.   Children's hand-me-downs that you are keeping for a younger child should also be stored in a storage space outside of the bedroom.

​Do - Rotate seasonal clothing to the back of the closet.  
Move out of season items to a less accessible location within your bedroom each season.  The back of the closet, bottom drawers or upper shelves in a closet are good places to store out of season clothing.  Also, don't forget to utilize under the bed space by using plastic bins specially sized to fit underneath. This is the perfect place to store shoes like flip-flops and sandals. When its time to switch seasons, they can be  quickly retrieved and replaced with winter shoes. This is also a great place to store bulky items like heavy sweaters in the summertime.  This rotation can be done with minimal effort to make easily accessible space available for the clothing you will be wearing frequently.

Don’t - Keep keepsake clothing in your closet.
Another common habit that steals closet and drawer space is keeping sentimental items that you don't wear there.   Do you have sweatshirts and T-shirt's residing in your bedroom that you haven't worn in ages? Perhaps a T-shirt from a run you participated in or that old college sweatshirt that holds so many memories? Unless you are wearing them regularly, these items are actually keepsake items and should be stored in a keepsake bin outside of your bedroom.

Do - Beware of the "Out of sight out of mind" tendency.
If you are not yet convinced that storing out of season clothing outside of the bedroom is ineffective, consider the following.  We tend to forget about clothing that is stored out of sight and therefore risk spending unnecessary time and money shopping for items we already have. Have you ever purchased an article of clothing for you or your child just to discover later that you already had that item at home in a storage bin? This is a frequently made mistake due to the fact that when clothing is out of sight, we tend to forget we have them.  
 
The less clothing that you own, the simpler the process will be for keeping everything organized.  Periodically taking the time to go through your closets and dresser drawers to eliminate clothing that you no longer wear is well worth your time effort and will keep your closets and clothing organized and at your fingertips as the seasons rapidly roll by.

Written By Laura Coufal
Clean & Clutter Free
Professional Organizing Services

If You Give a Girl a Yoga Mat….
If you give a girl a yoga mat, she might do her physical therapy because she knows it’s important to do it every day… though she finds it to be tremendously boring.   But before she starts, she may realize that she has to go the bathroom.   In the bathroom, she may find that there is no more toilet paper on the roll and is reminded that the rest of her family has not yet mastered the delicate skill of changing the toilet paper.  When she goes to the cabinet to get more she discovers that there is none, and remembers that she forgot to retrieve more from the garage…last time.  When she goes out into the garage to get more toilet paper, she notices the recycling bin is overflowing onto the floor.  While she is in the back yard emptying the recyclables, she notices the wilted vegetables sitting on the picnic table…picked from the garden by her daughter two days ago.  She goes back into the house to put the vegetables in the fridge, pulls out the vegetable drawer and just happens to notice that something has fallen behind the drawer.  Upon removing the drawer, she discovers a large chunk of food decomposing in a Ziploc bag that is greenish black in color, unidentifiable, and most certainly rotten.  With repulsion, she throws the bag in the trash.  With the drawer gone, she can now see that the area beneath the drawer is beyond filthy.  After she wipes down the fridge, she heads back to the bathroom to deliver the toilet paper and notices her unmade bed.  She quick makes it and heads back to the living room where she finds a pile of stuff sitting next to the basement steps waiting to go downstairs.  She picks up the pile and heads downstairs because she does not like clutter.   As she is putting the clutter away, she notices the bag of salt pellets sitting next to the water softener machine.  She quick fills the water softener with pellets and heads back upstairs.  When she reaches the top of the steps, she realizes that she is pooped out, but at least her home is a bit closer to being clean and clutter free.  At that moment she sees the yoga matt laying there on the floor and remembers that she STILL has not done her physical therapy!  Worse yet, she can’t possibly do it now because she is just too %*&@ exhausted!

Laura Coufal
Clean & Clutter Free

​Take Time To Plan - Weekly planning sessions will have a big impact on helping you stay in control and at peace as the week progresses.  Decide what day works best for you …possibly Saturday mornings, Sunday evenings or Monday mornings.  This will help you and your family stay organized and avoid the chaos of forgetting appointments, activities or other details at the last minute.   Use this planning session to go over the upcoming week’s schedule and add errands, deadlines, appointments, phone calls etc. to your calendar.  This is also a good time to plan the week’s menu for meals and to update the weekly chore chart.
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10 Minutes Each Night - Have each family member take 10 minutes before bedtime to get ready for the next day.  Pick out outfits, pack everything that needs to go to school and set it by the door.  Also, gather together after school supplies for activities.  Doing this will make the mornings run smoother and will prevent items from being forgotten.  This is also a great time to have family members tidy up their rooms and play areas and put things away.

Conquer Clutter - Everything in your home should have a permanent home, if this is not the case in your family, take the time to assign homes to everything you own and make sure other family members know where things go.  It is also important to take time each year to de-clutter and purge items that you are no longer using.   Kids tend to accumulate and grow out of things rapidly, so by moving unwanted items out of the house on a regular basis, you balance what is coming in with what’s going out.

Practice the Two Minute Rule – Teach your family to practice the two minute rule; If it takes less than two minutes to put something away, do it now rather than later.  This will prevent clutter from accumulating and will ensure that items can be found when they are needed.  It’s always easier to do a task now rather than wait until you have an enormous and overwhelming pile of mess to tackle.   You will also appreciate not having constant clutter sitting around your home.

Make a List –Do you have too much stuff floating around in your head telling you what needs to get done?  Creating a daily to-do list allows you to dump all that stuff onto paper and get it out of your head.  A to-do list helps you to let go and relax and ensures that you won’t forget anything.  Additionally, it is gratifying to be able to cross items off your list as you complete them.  Be sure to have just one to-do list and not several.   Having a grocery list is also extremely helpful.  Teach family members to immediately add items to the grocery list when they run out of something.  As you plan your weekly menus, add the meal ingredients to the list.

Establish Routines – Routines can help keep families in order.  Everyone functions better once a system is in place, but routines are especially important for children.  Forming habits, such as doing homework at the same time every day, and having set bath and bedtimes, can help both you and your child feel more in control. Routines give a sense of security and predictability that make our lives feel less chaotic. Establish a school routine with your child as soon as possible and stick with it.

Learn To Say No – This may be the most important step in promoting peace and organization within your family.  Today, many families overbook their days, not wanting to miss out on activities and opportunities.  We also struggle with saying “no” to requests for commitments because we feel pressured.  It’s always easier to tell someone “yes” than it is to say “no” but it is important to stand firm for your family’s sake.   Be selective about your volunteer time, choosing only those causes that are most important to you and limit the number of activities your children participate in. Make having meals together a priority and schedule unstructured time along with your activities.  Balancing activities and commitments with time spent at home is essential to ensuring peace and harmony within your family.   

Written By Laura Coufal
Clean & Clutter Free
Professional Organizing Services

​Moving to a new home is a time of new beginnings and inspiration.  Chances are you have already started thinking about fresh paint colors and furniture arrangement.  Taking the time to plan ahead is the key to ensure a smooth move. 

Reduce:   Why pay someone to move stuff that you no longer use?  You also don’t want these things cluttering up your new home.  Several weeks before your move, take the time to go through and weed out anything that no longer serves your needs.  Be sure to hit hot spots like your basement and storage areas where unused items often end up.  If you have boxes that you haven’t opened since your last move, consider whether or not you really need the stuff inside them.  If you are overwhelmed with where to start, or if you are downsizing to a much smaller home, consider getting help from a friend or a professional organizer.  Once you have set aside several boxes or bags of items to be donated, contact a local charity such as the Salvation Army and have them come and pick everything up.  These services are often provided free of charge.

Create a Moving Binder:   To ensure that important paperwork is not lost during your move, create a binder for everything related to your move.  Keep all estimates, receipts, room measurements, checklists etc. in this binder.  Be sure to keep this binder handy at all times…don’t accidentally pack it away in a box!

Space Plan:   Be sure to take measurements of the rooms and wall spaces in your new home to ensure that your furniture will fit there.  You don’t want to waste time and money moving a sofa just to discover that it doesn’t fit in your new living room.  Once you decide how furniture is going to be arranged, tape a sign to the nearest wall, to alert movers as to where to place heavy furniture. ie: PLACE BED HERE.  This will speed up the process of your move.

Begin Packing:   If you are planning on doing your own packing, begin with those items that you use infrequently.  Be sure to label every box with the contents and clearly indicate what room the box is going into, not what room it came from.   Clearly labeled furniture and boxes will prevent movers from wasting time on moving day, waiting for you to tell them which room to put a box in.

Pack a Suitcase:    A few days before your move, have every family member pack a suitcase as if they were going on vacation for a week.  This will ensure that everyone will have everything they need the first few days after your move.  Keep in mind that whatever goes on the moving truck first, will come off last, so be sure to pack other essentials like bedding, towels and kitchen essentials last.  Also, if you have very fragile or valuable items, put them in your car and move them yourself, don’t chance them disappearing or getting damaged by putting them on the moving truck.

Movers:  If you are going to hire movers, schedule an on-site visit and get several estimates, don’t rely on a phone estimate.  Research the company thoroughly before you hand all of your belongings over to them.  On moving day, be sure that all of your heavy furniture is arranged exactly where you want it to go, and that all beds have been assembled before you let the movers leave.   You don’t want to get stuck handling these heavy items yourself.

Unpacking:  If you want things to be organized in your new home, don’t have movers unpack boxes.  Leave this job for yourself or for a family member.  Take advantage of your move as an opportune time to get organized.  Consider hiring a professional organizer to unpack your kitchen or other important spaces to ensure that everything is stored and organized in the most functional and practical locations possible.  Once everything is unpacked, you can sell your empty boxes on Craig’s List or through a local buy-sell-trade site.
While the moving process can evoke anxiety in even the most composed individuals, a bit of preplanning can ensure that your move goes smoothly and with the least amount of stress. 

​Written by Laura Coufal
Clean & Clutter Free Professional Organizing
and Relocation Services
Cleanclutterfree.com

​The following is a guest blog written By Julia Ward of Monkey Bars Garage Solutions Located in Lincoln, NE:

Summer has finally arrived which means now is the perfect time to tackle the clutter and mess that occupies your garage. With so much stuff that has accumulated throughout the year, it’s hard to imagine how you’re going to organize it all. With these few tips and steps, you’ll have order restored to your garage in no time!
 
1.   Remove Everything
Pick a cooler day, open your garage door and start pulling everything out of all the nooks and crannies in your garage. Doing this allows you to see everything that is occupying your garage. Plus, it might give you the opportunity to find some things that went missing throughout the year. You’ll find things you probably didn’t even know you had.
 
2.   Make Piles
Organizing things into piles is the perfect way to sort through all of the items you’ve just removed. Separating these piles into 4 different groups like keep, donate, sell, or throw away, allows for a smoother and easier cleaning experience. When deciding whether or not to keep miscellaneous items in your garage use this standard rule; if you haven’t used it in the last 2 years, it’s probably time to part ways with it.
 
3.    Utilize Your Space
Now that everything is out of the garage, you have a clear space. Before you start moving everything back in, you want to make sure to make the best use out of the area. Decide where you’re going to put everything before-hand. Consider storage solutions such as shelving or cabinets to better organize your area. Make smaller tools and miscellaneous items more accessible so that when the time comes to use them, they are easily found. Also, keep in mind to leave room for bigger items like lawnmowers, workbenches, and even vehicles while still giving yourself enough room for a walkway.
 
4.     Move It All Back In
Now that you’ve strategized a place for all of your garage belongings, it’s time to move them back in. Stick to the plan you’ve laid out for yourself and remember that keeping things off of the ground not only creates more space but will also make it easier to sweep and clean throughout the year.
 
5.      Keep It Fresh
It’s no secret that the garage can be the home of some strange smells, especially in the summer when the weather is hot. Now that your garage is aesthetically and visually pleasing let’s work on keeping it pleasing to the nose as well. When the weather is nice, keep the door open to let it air out. Doing this often will keep it less stuffy and prevent smells from festering in an enclosed, hot space. Also, make sure to remove garbage as often as possible. This keeps animals and bugs from making your space their home. Feel free to add a nice air freshener as well to keep it fresh year round.
 
The “before” look of your garage can be overwhelming, but don’t let that keep you from having a clean and organized space. Following these simple steps allows you to have one more part of your life in order which in turn, will allow you to enjoy the remainder of you summer.


 
 

 
It is a common belief that the better we are at multi-tasking, the more organized we are.   Let me enlighten you, as a professional organizer I can assure you, this is not true.  The fact is, multi-tasking can actually make you feel less organized.   Why?  Two reasons;  First, the amount of peace in our lives is reduced when we try to do too many things at one time, and second, multi-tasking means that we not only do things less accurately, but we take more time to get them done.    If we can give our full attention to what we are doing at the present moment, we will get it done faster and without as many blunders.   Better still, at the end of the day, we are not frazzled and worn out from juggling several tasks at a time all day long, and we have the energy to be more attentive and patient with our families.  Therefore, NOT multi-tasking can actually help us to be better mothers, not the other way around.

This is not to say that you can’t kill two birds with one stone by knocking out two or three errands in one trip downtown.  This is not multi-tasking; it is simply making good use of your time.  Also, keep in mind that it IS okay to double up on a task if only one of the two tasks requires your focus.  For example, folding laundry and talking on the phone can be done peacefully because it takes almost no brain effort to fold clothes.  But, if folding clothes happens to be a challenge for you, I suggest you hang up the phone.  The key is to not to combine two or more activities that demand your thought and focus.   

Simplicity is the key to staying organized, it is also the key to living a more peaceful life.  So set your focus on completing one task at a time, let go of multi-tasking and take time to breath.

Do You…..
1.Spend too much time looking for things?
2.Spend too much money buying things you already have at home?
3.Struggle with not having enough storage space for all of your stuff?
4.Have food that expires or gets stale before it gets eaten?

One reoccurrence I frequently find when I enter the homes my clients is that they often have several bottles, cans, tubes, boxes, whatever it may be... of the same items.  From cleaning supplies and toiletries to food in the pantry, as I scan the space, staring back at me are doubles, triples and sometimes multitudes of the same items.  Additionally, it is not uncommon for me to find that many of these matching items have already been opened.  These extra items take up precious storage space and are at risk of going stale or expiring before they are used.  

Another frequent occurrence I find is that rather than the matching items being all together in one place, they are spread out in several different locations within the room or even multiple rooms.  This not only makes them hard to find when they are needed, but also creates a challenge to take inventory of what we need when it is time shop.   If this scenario describes your home, know that you are not alone; it is one of the most common reasons why so many of us struggle with clutter and frustration within our homes.

Fortunately, there is a simple solution to this problem, and I call it “THE POWER Of ONE.”    Although the following steps are not difficult, the challenge lies in changing your current routine, and mastering a new one that serves you better.   Changing a poor routine (or a bad habit) into a good one is the key to success. And while the new routine may be hard to stick to at first, you will find that the longer you discipline yourself to follow it, the easier it becomes.  Soon, you will be doing it without even thinking about it….and your organizing issue will be solved!

Let’s get started…

1. Using a pantry as an example, start by sorting all like items together so that you know how much of everything you have.   Place everything back on the shelf so that like items are stored together in ONE place.  Use containers and labels to keep categories of items together.  
2. Communicate with your family not to open more than ONE of the same items at a time. 
3. By storing like items together in ONE location, you will always know how much you have and where to find it.
4. Never shop without a grocery list.  This is how you avoid coming home with things you don’t need and without the things you did.  When you get down to ONE (or less depending on how quickly the item is consumed) box, bottle, can etc. of something, immediately add it to your grocery list.  When you shop, stick to your list and don’t buy on impulse.  You will be surprised how much money you save! 
5. For most items, buy just ONE replacement at a time, don’t fall for large quantity deals…they take up too much space and if it expires before you use it, you’ve wasted your money.  The exception to this rule is if you are buying either nonperishable essentials like toilet paper or paper towels, or food items that are used in mass quantities.  For example; we go through 5 gallons of milk a week.
6. Use this rule in every room in your house.  For example; have only ONE open bottle of shampoo in each shower with just ONE unopened bottle stored nearby.  Train yourself to stick to these rules and you will have mastered the POWER OF ONE!

​         Written By Laura Coufal

Most of us spend our lives growing and accumulating belongings, we start out with an apartment, then a small house.  As our families grow and we experience more success, we acquire bigger homes.  As time passes, we continue to collect possessions. In fact, owning a big home with many possessions is how most of us define success.  But sometimes, in our quest for a sense of achievement, we actually end up with more possessions than we really need or use.  If this is you, it may be time to take inventory of your home and its contents, and decide if your belongings are serving you, or just weighing you down.
 
I often work with older adults who have lived in their homes for 30+ years, and have reached a stage in their lives, where they own more than they can manage.  They are in the process of moving to smaller homes and have collected so much stuff throughout the years that the task of dealing with it all is overwhelming.  Unfortunately, this process of “downsizing” into a smaller home with less stuff is often viewed in a negative light.  Many individuals feel that they have spent their whole lives working to acquire what they own, and now they have to let it go.   For this reason, many put off the letting go process for too long, dreading the day it has to be done. 

What most individuals with this kind of mindset do not realize, is that letting go of what no longer serves our needs or fits our lifestyle can actually add to the quality of our lives.  There is responsibility that goes along with managing our home and of all its contents.  Letting go of that responsibility, can simplify our lives and can be liberating and inspiring.  Moving from a large high maintenance home to a smaller one that better fits our present needs, can feel like lifting a large weight off of our shoulders.

So why do most of us avoid doing it?  Part of the reason is that our natural inclination is to seek more, whether that is in the form of more success, or more material belongings.  But that mentality does not always serve us well.  If we become mindful of this, and periodically take the time to assess and reduce our belongings throughout our lives, we will avoid ever having to tackle an insurmountable, dreaded “downsizing” job in the future.  Another reason that many of us are unable to let go of what we no longer use is that we let our busy schedules take priority and we never get around to getting the job done.  Meanwhile, the piles grow ever so large, taking over storage areas, closets and even active living areas.  I have worked with numerous individuals whose home environments have become so disorderly and chaotic that they don’t even want to spend time at home, because no peace can be found there.    

Whether we are age 25, or 75, it’s never too early to start to simplify our homes and our belongings.  Examine the contents of your home, and be willing to let go of everything that is not functional or does not inspire you.  Evaluate the way your home feels; is there plenty of open space for energy to flow within your home?  Or have its rooms become suffocating, with too much furniture and other items?  Do you feel peaceful when you are at home?  Do you spend more time than you would like maintaining and cleaning your big home and yard?  How would it feel to be surrounded only by the things that you cherish and use and nothing more? 
For those of us struggling with clutter, I suggest reading a book on Minimalism like Joshua Becker’s, “The More Of Less.”  You don’t have to become a Minimalist to acquire an appreciation for living more simply.  Learning to understand the concept of Minimalism can help us develop a more balanced attitude towards what we own, and help us to gain awareness of the unconscious drive to seek more.  

The added bonus to switching our mindsets from “What more do I need?” to “What don’t I need any more?” is that many who develop this way of thinking and living, find themselves so motivated that they find that they are able to let go of clutter that complicates other parts of their lives as well.  They learn to simplify their schedules and lifestyles and to let go of unwanted obligations that cause unnecessary stress.  

These days, we live in a world of... do more, have more, be more, and we never stop running.  This mentality leaves us feeling perpetually overwhelmed, but we don’t have to live this way.  We can learn to be satisfied with a simpler life, and come to cherish this carefree, less burdensome way of living.  

The holidays are over and it is time to ring in the New Year.  Are you ready to put all those Christmas decorations back into their bins?  Or are you dreading this process?  Here are some things to consider before you tackle this project:

• If you have so many decorations that you dread getting them out and taking them down, consider reducing your collection down to a more manageable number.  Also keep in mind that it is easier and faster to decorate with large pieces rather than lots of small ones.  
• Since you already have all of your decorations out, this is the perfect time to evaluate what you have.  Rather than put unused and unloved items back into storage for another year to take up space, set up a donate box to toss unwanted decorations into as you are putting things away.
• If you have items that you have not put out in the last few years, consider whether or not they are worth keeping.  Have they lost their sparkle?  Chances are they won’t sparkle next year either. 

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Use these general guidelines to ensure that all of your Christmas Decorations are stored safely and can easily be found next year:

• Check the entire house for decorations, and gather them all together.
• Wrap wreaths in clear plastic bags and put them on a shelf.  
• Lights can be stored in bins made specifically for Christmas lights that come with handy flat plastic inserts to wrap the lights around.  Alternatively, lights can be wrapped around flat cardboard and placed layered in a regular bin with bubble wrap.
• Do not keep all of the boxes that your tree ornaments came in and try to put them back into their boxes.  It takes too much time to match boxes to ornaments and the boxes also take up too much space. Instead, ornaments are best stored in bins made just for ornaments with divided compartments.  Wrap fragile ornaments in tissue paper and place them in the center of the bin with the less fragile ornaments on the outer edges of the box.
• Remember to place like items together, (i.e.:  Garlands, tree ornaments, inside lights etc.) and clearly label your bins.  
• You can also group items together in bins according to location and decorating order to make decorating easier next Christmas ( ie: family room décor, outside lights, fireplace mantel etc.).  Then label the bins so that you know exactly what room to haul it to when you get it out again.  
• Be sure to store all of your Christmas decorations together in one storage area rather than mixed in with other stuff.   Do not store Christmas décor in more than one area in your home.

 
 

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Winter is just around the corner; autumn’s colors are popping up everywhere, and it’s nearly time to dig the hats and mittens out of the basement.  When it comes to storing out of season items, it makes sense to put all of your winter gear such as boots, gloves, hats, scarves, heavy coats etc. into long term storage during the summer season.  They do not need to take up space in your mud room or garage during the summer months.   On the other hand, the clothes living in your bedroom closet and dresser drawers are a different story, I do not recommend storing off- season clothing in any location other than your bedroom.
For busy families, seasons roll around rapidly and it is a waste of time to have to play the game of bringing totes up from the basement, rifling through them and washing and folding or hanging each article of clothing.  Then you still have summer clothing to store away.  This process tires me out just thinking about it, especially since it seems like it was just yesterday that I was putting our winter boots away.   This system takes a lot of time and effort to maintain and if you have children and do the same with their clothing, the job gets even more exhausting.   The other negative result of this system is that we are more likely to forget what we have in storage, and risk making unnecessary purchases only to find out later that we already had the same item hiding in a tote somewhere.   I have even had clients who have purchased new clothing, knowing they already have one at home just like it, but they find it easier to shop than to tackle their totes.   This is an expensive alternative. 
I know what you are thinking, “I don’t have any choice because I do not have enough room in my bedroom.”  But, the truth is, most of us have adequate storage space, we simply have too many clothes.  Studies have shown that the average person wears 20% of their clothing 80% of the time.  My husband and I share a small walk-in closet, everything fits and there is plenty of room to spare.  We also feel that we have all of the clothing we need.   The thing is that clothing tends to have seasonal expiration dates.  Chances are, if you take a look at your closet and analyze its contents, most likely, you will find clothing that you are wearing now, and clothing you were wearing a few years ago but aren’t wearing anymore.  We get tired of what we wear after a few years and the blouse or sweater we used to love begins to gather dust.  There are exceptions to this rule of course, holiday and formal wear, the favorite sweater that you love year after year, but much of our clothing loses its shine after awhile.  To simplify your seasonal routine and your life, take the following steps:

1. Take the time to go through your clothing piece by piece and be realistic about what you are really wearing regularly or plan to wear again soon. 
2. Don’t hold on to clothing that doesn’t fit you, if you lose weight, would you really want to wear those old clothes?  Or will you want to celebrate by going out and buying fresh stylish new ones?
3. Be willing to let go of what no longer shines and donate it to your charity of choice.
4. Instead of storing off-season clothing, simply rotate them to the back of your closet or move them to less convenient dresser drawers. 
5. If you have to store, store as little as possible and try to find storage space in your bedroom such as under the bed in a plastic bin or up on the high shelves in your closet.  That way, they are easier to retrieve, and less likely to be forgotten about. 

What are the first steps a homeowner should take before putting their home on the market?
 
The first steps to prepare your home for the market are mostly the same things you should be doing to prepare to move. So it’s a great opportunity to hit two birds with one stone!
 
The main issue we see with our home organizing clients is simply too much – too much furniture, too much decoration, too much stuff. Homeowners accumulate items over the years and become immune to the first impression others get from their home.
 
Buyers put a LOT of weight on first impressions, and homes look larger when they have less furniture in them. This is why model homes are very sparsely decorated, with just a few select pieces of furniture. 
 
So I recommend homeowners go through the home and look for things to donate or get rid of. There are even organizations that will come and pick up your donation free of charge like the Salvation Army or St. Vincent De Paul.
 
If there are items that you’d like to pack in advance, make sure to write a general description the contents on the outside of the box, and store them out of the way in the garage or basement, where they won’t affect a buyer’s first impression.
 
 
What about putting items in storage while the home is on the market, and then moving those items into the new home?
 
I try to direct homeowners away from storage units as much as I can. Most likely that storage unit will never get 100% cleared out, and you’ll pay for it month-after-month to store things you don’t use. 
 
Plus items like photographs and keepsakes don’t do well in non-climate-controlled units, so there’s always a chance your items will be damaged in storage.
 
I recommend going through your home and letting go of anything you’re not currently using. If you absolutely must use a storage unit, here are a few tips:
 
Keep everything off the floor.
Make sure you leave aisles, and label your bins so that everything is accessible.
For safety purposes and to avoid lower bins from being crushed, don’t stack storage bins too high.
Put everything in plastic containers to protect from critters and from water damage
 
Many homeowners use professional movers, any tips for working with a moving company?
 
Yes! We help a lot of homeowners prepare for that type of move, and we have some great tips.
 
First, remember movers are flexible; you can hire them for certain parts of the job, or let them handle everything. I do recommend if you handle anything yourself, it’s the UN-packing. Movers are not organizers, you will spend less time looking for things if you unpack yourself or better yet, leave that job to a professional organizer.
 
A quick counter-intuitive tip: Professional movers are experienced in packing and moving fragile items, so if there’s one thing you leave to the pros that would be it. 
 
If you have very valuable items such as high end art work, we suggest you move these items yourself or hire a company that specializes in packing and moving these types of items.
 
Beyond that, keep your movers (or helpers) happy, provide donuts in the morning or sandwiches for lunch, drinks in the afternoon, tip them well if they did a good job etc.
 
Lastly, if you do your own packing, make sure each box is clearly labeled with the box’s contents, and the room it’s going INTO, not the room it came FROM. You can also put up signs on each room to match the labels on the boxes, so that everyone knows exactly which room each box goes into.

The most important thing to remember is that whatever you pack first, will be the last to come off the moving truck. So do not pack items that you will need right away until the last minute. 
 
Where can people learn more about home organizing and preparing to move?
 
We have some great tips for handling pets on moving day, which items to pack last, and so forth. You can visit us at www.cleanclutterfree.com or call us at 402-443-9673 and we’d be happy to answer any questions!

 



 
Thanks to the good folks at WestOmahaHomeGuide.com for interviewing us! 
 
If you’re looking to buy a home, we highly recommend their site. 
 
It features all sorts of useful information about West Omaha homes for sale, neighborhoods, events and local businesses like ours. 
 
Click here to search all homes for sale in West Omaha.  

Do you find yourself wasting time searching for a specific spice you know you have, but can’t find?
Do you tend to have duplicates or even triplicates of the same spice taking up space in your spice cabinet because you accidentally bought a replacement thinking you were out?
 
If so, you may have a black hole residing in your spice cabinet.  Spices go in, never to be seen again, then just as fast as they disappeared, they show up again, right AFTER you purchased another bottle. Am I right?  Well do not fear, you can get rid of the black hole and keep your spice cabinet organized for good by following these easy steps:

Step 1:  Take all of your spices out of your cabinet and sort all like spices together.

 Step 2:  Check expiration dates and throw out all expired spices.  I find more expired items in spice cabinets than in any other room in the house. 

Step 3:  Remove all duplicates of the same spice and set them aside.  Be sure to leave the bottle that is closest to expiring with your main spices to be used.

Step  4:  Now it is time to organize.  I recommend grouping spices according to category rather than alphabetically.  For example: Place all of your grilling spices together, all garlic and onion salts and powders together, all herbs together, all sweet spices together (Cinnamon, ginger, cloves etc.).

Step 5: Use helpful organizing tools such as Lazy Susan’s, tiered shelving and plastic bins to make spices easier to sort, see and find.  I try to arrange everything so that each and every spice can be seen at a glance with no bottles hiding behind other bottles.   Group like spice categories together, ie:  All herbs on the tiered shelving, all salts and powders on the Lazy Susan, all grilling spices in a plastic bin etc.

Step 6:  Place all of your duplicates together in a separate location to ensure that they do not get used before the older bottle is gone (ie: In a plastic bin on the top shelf of the spice cabinet where they are accessible but out of the way). 

Step 7:  The most important step of all is to develop and stick to a simple maintenance routine;  Always check the duplicate area before you buy replacements, and if it is time to buy another because the one bottle you have is nearly gone, place the new bottle in the bin until the old bottle is gone.  When you run out of a spice, immediately write it on a grocery list so that you don’t forget to buy it.  Remember to return spices back to their designated locations as you use them to keep them sorted and grouped together.

Congratulations!  Your spice cabinet is organized and you have just eliminated that nasty black hole from your kitchen.   All of your spices can now be seen and found easily!  

Written By Laura Coufal 
June 19th, 2015
Clean & Clutter Free

 
 
















Spring is just around the corner, and it is the perfect time for a fresh start, the time to let go of the clutter in our homes that is weighing us down. Many of us have an over abundance of stuff that we no longer use.  Prepare to live a little lighter and simpler beginning this spring by following these steps:


1.  Do Not Wait, Donate.  If you have many items you are holding onto because you want to have a garage sale or sell by another means, consider those that you are helping by donating your rarely and barely used items instead.  Is the money you will make selling these items worth the time and effort it will take you for you to sell them?  Is it worth the valuable space they are taking up?  Lastly, consider the example you set for your children, when you donate to those in need.  You can take it a step further and involve them in the process by asking them to donate some of their old toys as well.  Also, remember that everything you donate is tax deductible.

2.  Don’t Shop Impulsively.  Before you bring anything new home, ask yourself three questions; will you honestly use it?  Do you have a place to put it?  And, most importantly, can you afford it?  If you cannot answer yes to these questions, leave it at the store and leave the money in your pocket. 

3.  Limit Your Collections.  I myself am not a collector, because well… it’s just stuff, and I can’t take it with me when I go.  I like to say that I cherish people, not things.  If you have several large collections cluttering up your home, consider reducing both the amount and size of them.  Keep only those items you cherish the most. Too many collections make our homes look like stores, and lose their appeal.  “Less is More” is the key phrase here. 

4. Live Simply and Consciously.  Fight the natural tendency to be materialistic.  Be satisfied with what you already posses, rather than always seeking more material stuff.  Contemplate the difference between what you want, and what you really need.  Challenge yourself not to bring anything home this month other than the necessities.  You’ll be surprised how much money you save.  Read the book Living Minimalist, written by Joshua Becker.  You may not necessarily become a Minimalist overnight, but it will definitely give you a new and improved perspective on how to live a simpler life.

5.  Organize Strategically.  Don’t try and organize the whole house at one time, as this will not only be overwhelming but it will be less rewarding at the end of the day.  If you do a little organizing here and there, it’s hard to see tangible results.  Instead, focus on one small area such as your pantry or your hall closet.  Move onto another area only after you have completed the first.  At the end of the day, you will reap the rewards of your labor every time you open your pantry door and see an organized space.

6.  Don’t Shop Before you Sort.   Because shopping for organizing products is fun, most people make the mistake of shopping too early.  Be sure to sort what you have first, into groups of like items. Then purge what you no longer need after you finish sorting.  If you complete these 2 steps first, you will have a much better idea of what you need and will avoid buying too much or the wrong organizing products.  Use the prospect of getting to shop later as your incentive for getting the sorting and purging steps done first.  You are more likely to complete your organizing project if you save shopping for later.  

7.  Establish a Donation Box.  Keep a donation box in a designated location in your home year around, this will allow you and your family to toss no longer used items in, as they come across them.  When the box is full, start a new box.  This is a simple trick that will prevent unwanted items from getting shoved back into the drawer or closet.

8.   Give Clutter Free Gifts.  Gift certificates for restaurants or other experiences like game tickets, or movies are always well received.  Offer to pay for a service that you know the receiver will appreciate, such as a massage or car wash.  Even a gift certificate to a store is a step above a gift, because the receiver can buy something he or she really needs instead of getting a gift that may turn into unused and unwelcomed clutter down the road.   

Written By Laura Coufal - Feburary 2015
Clean & Clutter Free
Cleanclutterfree.com
Cleanclutterfree@gmail.com
402-443-9673

Storage units can be a helpful solution to storing personal belongings, while moving from one location to another.  Keep the following tips in mind if you are thinking about utilizing a storage unit:



1.    Create aisles in your unit with box labels facing out so that you can easily identify what is in each            box or bin.
2.    Use plastic bins instead of cardboard boxes to protect your belongings from possible water                    damage and critters such as mice.
3.    Keep valuable items off the floor in case water gets into the unit.
4.    Stack heavier boxes on the bottom so that heavier items do not crush the bins below.
5.    Do not stack boxes too high to avoid stacks from toppling over.
6.    Read your rental agreement so that you know the rules regarding termination and late payments.

 
Need a storage unit now? Check out SpareFoot.com for storage units located in the Omaha area: https://www.sparefoot.com/Omaha-NE-self-storage.html#infotiles"



 

 

January 24, 2015 11:30 pm  •  By Kathryn Cates Moore | Lincoln Journal Star

 
Joanie Rich was starting a new phase of her life, and she wanted to do it in an uncluttered space. Last May she retired from four decades of teaching elementary school and  finally would have the time to tackle some organizational issues at home.

“I had been talking to my friends about this project, and I decided I better just do it,” Rich said.

But where to start? And how?

First stop was Rich’s upstairs closets. She and a friend went through her wardrobe and she donated, or threw away items she didn’t need or wasn’t wearing anymore.

That was relatively painless, Rich said. She knew the first floor would be more difficult and decided to call in a professional.

She realized, mostly due to her bad knees and mobility issues, she had been coming home from work and just settling in without really putting things completely away. She used plastic totes to store needed items and just slid them under a table or cabinet, or stacked them in a corner out of the way.

Rich met with Laura Coufal, of Clean and Clutter Free, and the two came up with a plan. For Rich, the goal was to clear out her first floor, getting rid of some of the accumulation of her school items and make the space more usable for her post-teaching lifestyle. She wanted a place to do crafts, like her stamping and cardmaking -- and a desk that was cleared and organized.

And the bins -- her adult son, Steven, calls her the “queen of bins” -- that had been storing random items needed to be emptied or, at the very least, reorganized.

Coufal agreed; she showed Rich some areas that she thought could be reworked and offered a plan. Over a couple of months, the two would meet once a week and work on specific areas for a few hours.

“It takes time to get rid of years of accumulation,” said Coufal, a professional organizer. She said people shouldn’t feel guilty about getting rid of things or consolidating them.

In Rich’s case, for example, they started with three piles: Keep, throw and donate.

The hardest for Rich were the ones that were sentimental or had memories attached, she said. Coufal suggested taking a photo of the item to evoke that good memory.

“I could release it myself then,” said Rich.

Focusing on small areas at a time is another tried-and-true organizational strategy, Coufal said.

For instance, near the front door, they set up a small cabinet with some cubbies. Instead of stacking things randomly, there is now an area to put bills that need to be paid right after she opens the mail, another for scarves and gloves, and another for her clogs and tennis shoes. The recycle bin is right outside the door, easy for Rich to reach.

The small table near her recliner, which was overrun with “necessities,” has been cleared. One small sectioned box holds television remotes, paper and pen, and reading material.

“I’ve reclaimed my coffee table, too,” Rich said.

Getting rid of some big pieces of furniture in the dining room cleared out even more space. Rich wanted a table, but Coufal suggested her large dining room table with six chairs was really more than she needed.

A large entertainment center in that room was also cleared out. Rich happily donated that furniture and purchased a smaller, drop leaf table with two chairs that fits nicely in the corner. She can make it larger for dinner guests and it doubles as her craft desk.

The biggest challenge, according to Rich, and also the biggest accomplishment of the project was her desk area in the dining room. “It was horrible,” she said.

They went through it, creating a filing system for the papers she wanted to keep and getting rid of those she didn’t need. Her laptop has a space on the desk now, and she easily can access what she needs in that area.

As Rich looks around the rooms she is happy with the change, declarint it “a load off of my shoulders” to have it done.

Her new mantra, courtesy of Coufal: “If it just takes two minutes to put it away, take the time and do it.”

So far, so good.

Here's how to start getting organized
It’s that time of year, when many homeowners want to clear out the clutter. To many of us, organizing is a great idea that is sometimes difficult to execute.

Here are a few ideas to get you started from Laura Coufal, professional coordinator.

* Organize strategically, so you can see tangible results. Focus on small areas, like your pantry or hall closet. Each time you open those door, you will see your newly organized space.

* Establish a donation box and keep it in a visible location in your home year 'round. Your family can toss items in as they come across them. When it is full, start a new box.

* Don’t buy organizing products/bins before you sort. First go through what you have, then you will have a better idea of what you need and won’t buy the wrong items.

*Limit your collections. If you have large collections, go through them and decide to keep only the best of the best. At the very least, display only a small selection, so your home doesn’t look like a retail store.

*Sort through the storage boxes/bins you already have. Sometimes these turn into a hodge podge of items or things you thought were worth keeping years ago. If you have a lot of these, start by going through two or three at one time.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7214 or kmoore@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSkcmoore.