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Stay warm and stay organized!
Real Simple, one of my favorite magazines, had a blurb in its June issue about how to properly toss old bottles of nail polish. They shouldn’t just be thrown in the trash, because they include chemicals that can seep into the water table and contaminate it. All nail polish, even “eco-friendly” kinds, should be dropped off at a household hazardous waste (HHW) facility, along with hairspray and dye, house paints and pesticides. It is easy to locate your nearest HHW at http://www.Earth911.com by entering the item type and your zip code in the form at the bottom of the page. I recommend calling the facility first to make sure it is still open at the advertised times, and still accepts the item you want to discard.
The article doesn’t seem to be available on-line. Here’s an image of it instead, written by Andra Chantim:
My clients Jon and Abby had decided to move in together in Abby’s condo. They hired a contractor to knock together two adjoining closets and install the hardware to make a large, walk-in closet so there’d be more room for Jon’s wardrobe. They were eager to finish the renovation and start the new stage of their relationship, but the contractor’s availability coincided with very busy times in their work schedules.
So they called me to help with the transition.
Would I be willing to clear out Abby’s closets so the contractor could work, help cull her wardrobe to make room for Jon’s things, consult on a new closet configuration that suited both of their needs, and then replace Abby’s ‘to keep’ items in the renovated, walk-in shared closet?
Of course I would!
Oh, and one more thing: would I mind doing it while Abby was away on an important business trip? We would talk about her needs before she left, but she couldn’t check in more than once or twice a day during the trip. Jon would coordinate the painters and contractor, but he’d be otherwise busy packing up his own apartment. The organizing would be mainly my responsibility.
Fortunately, Abby and I had worked together. I knew her style. Usually reorganizing a closet involves a lot of give and take with the client. This time, Abby gave me advance permission to use my best judgment.
Since space was tight, Abby told me to be more aggressive than usual about setting aside duplicates and older clothes. I separated everything that was stylish and in good condition ‘to keep,” and put the older, more worn and duplicate clothes and accessories into a “possible toss/recycle’ box for Abby to review when she got back. I also sent Abby an email every day to keep her in the loop.
As soon as the closets were emptied, the contractor began to work. He knocked through the wall, and wanted to put up hanging rods and be done. I knew this closet had to store the majority of Abby and Jon’s wardrobes. The closet needed shelves to maximize the couple’s options, and they needed to go all the way up to the ceiling to take advantage of every bit of the space. I discussed it with Jon, who strongly agreed that they wanted the closet finished by the contractor, not left partly done for him and Abby to customize later with do-it-yourself shelving. He would work with the contractor on budgeting issues, but he wanted me to be the couple’s representative on the design issues.
It took a lot of communication, but the contractor finally agreed to tailor the closet to Abby and Jon’s storage needs. He finished the installation with all the shelving the couple needed. I got to work on putting Abby’s things away. By the end, her clothes, shoes, sweaters and accessories were neatly hung, stacked and folded. When she returned from her business trip, she had an organized closet. As promised, there was space for Jon’s things as well.
Jon was delighted with my work, but I was nervous. Most of the organizing and design work had involved Abby’s things, and storage decisions are very personal. Would Abby be satisfied with the results when she returned? Would the organizing solutions work for her?
A few days later, I got an email from Jon. Abby loved the new closet! Even better, Abby herself sent a note a few months later, thanking me for helping to smooth their transition. Of course, I was thrilled.
Side note: These blog stories feature real clients and their organizing solutions. To maintain client privacy, all names have been changed.
What about the school work?
A number of people (both clients and friends) have asked me whether they needed to keep papers and textbooks from college or grad school. The answer depends on each client’s goals and space availability.
When I’ve asked clients how often they refer to old schoolwork, very few tell me they ever look up old material. Even fewer tell me they check their old work just to reminisce. So recycling school papers seems like an obvious paper clutter fix. Still, I understand wanting to keep a record of past achievement.
I’ve been out of college for over 10 years now, but on one trip to my parents’ house, I discovered papers I wrote and handouts from high school and college. Even though I knew I would never need them, they were materials from especially memorable classes that I really resisted getting rid of.
It’s nice to have the option to decide when I’d be ready to let go, but sometimes it’s a relief to have the decision taken out of my hands. A leaky window in my childhood bedroom soaked most of my high school memorabilia books, and they had to be thrown away. I was upset at first, but then relieved. I didn’t need them and they were cluttering the space, but it would have been very tough to throw them out on my own.
So I understand when clients struggle with what to do with past work. Readers, do you still keep your old essays and textbooks? How you decided enough is enough? New grads, are you glad to say goodbye to the books? Write in and tell your stories!
Helping people as they transition to a new stage of life is one of my favorite parts of my job. Last summer I worked with two couples who scheduled appointments not long after their weddings to reclaim clutter-free homes.
For one couple, the wedding gifts overwhelmed their small kitchen. They planned to move to a larger home in a few years, so they asked me to figure out short-term storage solutions.
We pulled everything out of their old kitchen for review. When an old appliance could be upgraded by a new wedding present, we unpacked the gift and gave away the old item. We got rid of duplicates, anything that was worn out, and unused gadgets. We maximized the utility of their limited storage by arranging like with like: Tupperware in one place, bake ware in another and pots in a third.
Their formerly-cluttered kitchen was left with open space. We talked about how they cooked and entertained, and how that might change in the near future. With that in mind, they picked a few more pieces from the gifts to incorporate into their kitchen for now. Everything else we stored elsewhere in the apartment, in readiness for their next home.
The other couple was lucky to have multiple storage spaces, but all seemed stuffed full. The clients felt that this new stage of their lives was a good time to revamp their storage, especially since they also had received many generous gifts they wanted to be able to access and use.
We discussed their lifestyle and daily routines. One of the clients was the “fixer” in their relationship. She complained that she can never find her toolbox for needed home repairs. Her spouse was concerned that there was nowhere to safely store the holiday-themed china serving dishes they received, which they had wanted to use just once or twice a year.
I helped them group items by how often they planned to use them: easy access, store longer-term, or store accessibly for occasional use. Once we had a plan, rearranging the closets was much less overwhelming to them. Both were delighted at how easily identified the right places for the toolbox, the china and other items once we’d clarifies their storage needs.
At the end, both couples felt they had gained space in their homes. I was thrilled to receive a grateful feedback from one of the clients later, telling me how well their new arrangements worked.
If you haven’t done it already, here’s a 5-minute tip that may save your life: add ICE to your cellphone.
ICE means In Case of Emergency. It’s a way to label your emergency contacts so rescue workers, police or medical professionals know whom to call if you can’t speak for yourself. Your ICE should be a family member or dear friend who knows your medical history, allergies if any, and doctor’s name if possible, and it’s fine to have more than one ICE contacts. All you have to do is change the contact name in your phone contacts list from “Mom” or “Tom” to ICE-Mom, ICE-Tom etc. If an emergency worker searches the list for ICE contacts, the listings will pop up immediately.
If your cellphone is password-protected, consider adding ICE info to the back of the phone instead. Set it up as ICE-Mom 123-123-1234. Some phones allow for text on the locking screen, which could also be a good place for your ICE information. There are also apps such as ICE Standard to download. If you know of another, similar app that you love, I’d love to hear from you. Alternatively, carry a card with ICE contacts in a prominent place in your wallet.
Adding ICE to your cellphone may save your life. I strongly encourage you to share this info with your family and friends.
Spring is finally here. After our hard winter, we can finally start biking, gardening, and other warm-weather activities – if only we can dig our old gear out of storage.
Last spring I worked with Ezra, who likes to bike with his wife as the weather warms up. His basement has plenty of room to store their bikes, but it was such a pain bringing them up and down the stairs that the family ended up not biking very often.
So I helped Ezra to reconfigure a family room. By moving some chairs to the living room and rearranging the space, we created a discreet storage spot for the bikes by a wall. The bikes are out of the way when the family uses the room, but are conveniently available on beautiful Sunday mornings. When biking season is over, Ezra can put the bikes away in the basement until warm weather returns.
Did you spend so much of the last nice day trying to get your bicycles or gardening tools out of storage that you didn’t end up having time to use them? Are you still searching for space to store skates and sleds? Perhaps it’s time for reorganizational help in the garage, porch, patio or basement.
I can help you ensure that after each season, swap over would be a breeze!
S3 wishes her clients and friends a wonderful Passover and Easter, and a happy Earth Day coming up on April 22nd.
Side note: These blog stories feature real clients and their organizing solutions. To maintain client privacy, all names have been changed.
It is unbelievable how much technology has changed the way we photograph. Smartphones and digital cameras make it easy for people to take huge numbers of photos, but instead of getting prints, we can store and share our photos by posting to Facebook or other social media sites. It is very easy to get overwhelmed by a giant digital photo collection if you don’t have an organization set up from the beginning. I definitely don’t miss the envelopes of unsorted photo prints photos that used to pile up, waiting to be organized.
I LOVE taking digital photos because I see the photo right away in my hand and if it’s not appealing, I just hit the delete button right then and there. Deleting unflattering pictures helps me keep my collection small and navigable. Downloading onto my computer is a blog for another time.
Do you wonder what the high volume of digital photos might look like if we were still printing out everything? There is an interesting installation called “24 HRS in Photos” by Erik Kessels, who printed photos uploaded by the public to Flickr within a 24 hour timeframe. He brought enough papers and printer ink for 6 billion photos and filled a gallery room in San Francisco with them. If you check it out before May 2014, please let me know what you think of it.
Do you have any tips or tricks for organizing your digital photos? Write in and share!
I try to pick up The Oprah Magazine each spring, when it does its annual de-cluttering issue. I like to read what excites the readers about organizing by O.
It may not feel like spring yet, but the March 2014 O organizing issue has hit newsstands, and it’s full of great features. My favorite is by a respected organizer, Peter Walsh, who created a “One month to a Saner you!” calendar with a quick organizing project for every other day.
Each project is designed to take just 5-10 minutes at most, but those small, regular steps can make a huge difference. This was one of my favorites:
“5-5-5: In the next 5 minutes, find 5 items in the room where you are sitting to give away, 5 to throw away, and 5 to put away. Ready… go!”
Here’s another great one:
“Primp My Ride: Go to your car with two bags. Use one to collect trash and the other for anything else that doesn’t belong there, from mail to kids’ toys. Return these items to their places.”
If you want to see the whole month to meet the challenge, or get ideas to create your own “saner you” calendar, message me or pick up the March 2014 O issue (make sure to open the foldout page). Every small step makes a difference.
On a different note: Many places across the USA are now accepting donated formal dresses for high school prom. For donation guidelines, check my previous blog. The links are current. The deadline to donate a dress in most places is April 1, 2014.
My clients inspire me all the time!
Beth has a beautiful home and a beloved young granddaughter. Her daughter appreciates Beth’s keeping toddler toys around so it isn’t necessary to pack entertainment to go to grandma’s house. Beth also finds keeping toys convenient for grandma-granddaughter visits.
Beth doesn’t have closet space for toys, but she also enjoys finally having an ‘adult’ living room without the visible, kid-related clutter she remembers from when her children were living at home. So she brought decorative, lidded boxes that match her décor, and stores the toys there. Her granddaughter knows where the toys are, and goes right over to find something to play with when she visits. When Beth isn’t babysitting, the boxes look like art in the living room, and the guests never realize that playthings are stored there.
When Alexandra and I were working on her living room and she mentioned how hard it was getting to run down to her basement for toys every time her grandchildren arrived, I remembered Beth’s strategy. Alexandra has a beautiful wooden, wheeled storage trunk that she likes to keep in the living room. She considered it a decorative piece, so there was nothing in it. I suggested moving a few toys in there, so she wouldn’t have to climb stairs for every grandchild visit. She loved the idea.
Please feel free to share other cool solutions you’ve witness, or do in your home, when little children/grandchildren visit a house that is mostly set up for adults.
Side note: These blog stories feature real clients and their organizing solutions. To maintain client privacy, all names have been changed.
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