Summer may not be officially here yet but the weather is definitely warmer! As you make plans for your summer no doubt you are trying to get your ducks in a row. Be it vacation, planning a move, or summer activities – it all requires planning. Have you ever noticed that when we are planning on leaving for vacation, all (or more than the usual amount) of our work gets done? I know that my home is at its cleanest when I leave for vacation because I hate coming home to a mess. Imagine if we were able to get more things done “as if” we were heading on vacation!

What does it take? It takes planning, for sure. But if you want to keep it up, it takes habits.  So what 2 habits can you begin to implement this month? Okay, I’ll go first….

I want to get in the habit of walking for 40 minutes, 3 days a week

and

I want to plan healthy meals for my breakfast and lunch

You can see that my habits revolve around good health because that’s an area where I really need work. One of my favorite bloggers is Leo Babauta of Zen Habits.  He tells it like it is. Leo written 3 great ebooks that I would like to recommend.

#1) The Zen Habits Handbook for Life – Learn the arts of decluttering, single tasting, editing your commitments, eliminating all but the essentials, not doing everything on your to-do list, doing nothing, clearing your desk/inbox, becoming motivated when you are in a slump, accepting criticism with appreciation, and many more tips.

#2) The Simple Guide to a Minimalist Life – Taking steps to reduce your possessions, figuring out what is really necessary, simplifying your schedule/work/life, going digital in your life. It’s the ultimate guide for creating a minimalism in all areas of your life (home, workspace, travel, wardrobe, finances, fitness) and even for dealing with kids and other loved ones.

#3) Zen to Done – Teaches you the key habits needed to be productive, organized, and simplified, how to implement these key habits, how to organize these habits into a simple system that will keep everything in your life in its place, and how to simplify what you need to do.

Each of these books are extremely easy to read and contain tons of valuable tips and lessons. It’s a great place to start if you really want to create room for life, better habits and stay organized. You can order this e-bundle right here for only $19.

Disclaimer: Some links in this post are my affiliate links.

I am always purging and donating items. We have a donation center in our home; it’s a rather large 3 drawer plastic dresser. All family members know that if they do not want an item or if something no longer fits, you put it in the donation center. Then, when I receive notice that there’s a donation pick-up in our neighborhood (which happens about twice a month) I put everything from the donation center in a box or garbage bag and set it out at the end of the driveway.

Recently, my neighbor mentioned that she is helping to gather goods for a yard sale to benefit the Chico Cat Coalition (her favorite charity). I told her I would “pull a few things together” to donate. Little did I know that this would cause a shift for me in my purging habits… What happened?

1. I started to look at my “stuff” differently

I have given my neighbor a plethora of things. So far over 20 things have moved out of my home to go to the Cat Coalition Yard Sale, with more purging happening almost daily. I realize that some things I had been keeping (but not using) were things I felt were “too good” for Goodwill. Now, there’s nothing wrong with Goodwill, it was just my own personal justification. Some of these items are nicer items (non-clothing) that cost a bit of money. I wanted to give them away before but I guess I felt that they would not get a good home at the thrift store?? I don’t understand the logic either… All I know if that I am releasing things on a whole other level.

2. It’s almost become an obsession

Now I am looking everywhere to find things to donate. It’s like the show “Biggest Loser”- I am digging down deep and really working hard at finding more [stuff] to lose. I am challenging myself to gather up things that I never considered letting go of before. It’s like a level of emotional attachment to stuff has come unraveled and I am free of those “clingy” feelings.

So maybe having the right cause is the answer. Or maybe it’s a focused event with a deadline. Or maybe it’s something else. I don’t care – hallelujah, I am letting it go!

By the way, the Chico Cat Coalition Yard Sale is Saturday June 2nd. Go here for more information.

Last week I discovered a new product that is great for those who have a tendency to pile things. Pilers, you know who you are… if not, I described the 3 types of personalities when it comes to dealing with paper in a blog post. I interviewed the creator of Fishbinz, Lisa DeVeau, of Completely Organized. She confessed that she struggled with piling and had to find a better way. (Necessity is the mother of this invention!) I believe this product is the perfect solution for those who like to stack their papers and projects sky-high!

Introducing Fishbinz

The Fishbinz system consists of a tower with shelves, binz and optionally, lids. The tower comes in 2 heights – just under 48” or 26” tall, in your choice of black or white. The small binz are 2.5” high and the large binz are 5” high. The bins are see through and can be easily labeled.
It’s not just for paperwork. Imagine a place to hold:

• yearly school memorabilia for your kids

• your direct sales products

• scrapbooking and card making supplies

• laundry sorted by the family

• toys, toys and more toys

• pantry overflow items in your garage

• all of your projects

If you want more information, I suggest watching their video. And when you order, tell them Natalie sent you!

Leave a comment here and tell me what you would use Fishbinz for…

Fall seven times, stand up eight. – Japanese Proverb

My dear friend Elizabeth Hagen has written a book called “Confidence: Now is Your Time” and today when I was reading it I read the quote above… and it struck me. Many times people say that they try to get organized and just can’t seem to keep it up.

Being more organized has to do with habits, not containers or labelers. It takes time to develop the habits you desire for a more organized you. Each time you feel like you have “fallen down” on your organizing, just get back to it.

Each time we begin again in our efforts at becoming more organized, we are learning what works and what doesn’t. So if your desk is a mess again, I say that’s okay. You’ve fallen and you can get up! Just keep moving forward.

I’m all about encouraging you so leave a comment and I’ll get back to you soon.

I was helping a client this week who has a beautiful home. Everything seemed to have its place and the home was very warm and inviting. I was asked to help with the home office. The office had a desk piled with papers, bills and receipts as well as boxes of more of the same tucked under the desk. I have seen much worse than this, but my client was struggling to get the home office organized and back into a functioning room. As we began to work, we talked about the reasons for the room’s unorganized state. There is always a reason behind the clutter. I am not saying this so that we can justify the clutter but to help us recognize that there is something behind the physical clutter we see. Here are a few examples of the reasons why people now have clutter when they used to be able to handle it:

• Death of a loved one

• Medical crises/long term illness

• Change/loss of job (including retirement)

• Family members moving in/out

• New baby

• Divorce

• Depression

• Moving to a new location

All of these reasons have something in common; change and transition. This is a very common trigger for many of us that causes a once under-control home to become cluttered and less functional.

“Every time we go through a major change, we experience a breakdown in our organizational systems.” ~ Julie Morgenstern

Periods of transition, such as the ones listed above, require that we give ourselves time to adapt and adjust and then rework our organizational systems to be more in line with our new, current reality.

“Our life is not static and neither are our organizing systems.” ~ Natalie Conrad

In other words, give yourself a break. You are going through, or have just gone through, a transition. Once you feel the earth is a little more solid under your feet again, then get some help and get back to being organized. Tweak your old systems or set up a new organizational system.

But here’s the thing – start with the present. Don’t try to go back through all the things that were “let go” during your transition. Deal with the things that are presently coming in the mail, the projects at hand, and the bills to be paid this month. Set up a system to manage today and if you have time, go back and straighten up the past later.

If you need ideas on how to get started on being more organized now that you’ve gone through a transition, keep reading this blog for ideas to get you started. Use the “search” function and key words to get help for your particular situation or room in the house. You can also leave me a comment and pick my brain a little!

Do you eat dinner on the couch because you can’t find the top of your dining room table?

Is your dining room table filled with homework, bills, papers and other things without a home?

Any horizontal surface has the potential to be a catch-all place. I find that many clients use their kitchen table as this kind of place. Many have asked me what to do because once they clear it off it doesn’t take long for the stuff to come back.

First, there’s a habit here that needs to be broken. That’s the habit of indecision. You have to stop and make decisions about the papers and other things on your table. Some questions need to be asked:

Where does this belong?

Do you still need it?

Whose stuff is this?

Does this need a home?

After you have cleared the table, found homes for the items, and set up a paper management system, then it’s time to do something that will help you remember not to pile on the table any more. The solution – set the table.

Think model homes and real estate staging. You walk into a REALTOR’s open house and see this nice dining table with plates, silverware, matching napkins and a gorgeous centerpiece. It makes us feel welcomed and is pleasing to the eye. Now that you have cleared off the dining table and resolved to break the former habit of piling things there, bring out your dishes and a centerpiece and set the table. The next time you are tempted to set something there, you will see this nice table arrangement and think twice before messing it up.

In my last post, I explained how I have gone about re-doing my clothes closet. I talked about

• Preparation

• Purging and Sorting

And now the final step, putting it all back into the closet. I’m so excited to show you the final outcome! So here goes:

Put it Back

-Before I put everything back I re-hung all the clothes on the new, slimmer hangers my mom gave us for Christmas. What a difference! They take up so little space on the rod. I highly recommend them.

-I donated my old crochet hangers to a friend and put the plastic hangers in the donation bag.

-I hung all my shirts together, my pants together, my sweaters together, etc.

- As always, I hung my clothes by color, from lighter to darker.

- I got rid of my old plastic shoe boxes. I hated fighting with the lids all the time. Now I have shoe boxes from Clever Container that are lidless and see through.

-All my out-of-season shoes are in shoe boxes and the current season’s shoes are on my shoe rack.

Other things I have done related to my closet and clothing accessories is to use three baskets on my closet shelf and made a space for those clothes I want to wear a 2nd time before washing. More on that later…

In my last post, The Basics of Closet Organization, I listed the 3 steps to getting your closet organized.
1. Prepare
2. Purge and Sort
3. Put Back

I don’t just write this stuff, I actually do it! In February, I challenged myself to minimize the amount of clothing I keep. I had read a great article on the Small Notebook blog that motivated me to go into minimalist mode in my clothes closet. Let me first say that I come from a long line of clothes hoarders. My grandma has 3 closets full of clothes; my mother and my sister are running neck and neck for 2nd place! (Yes, Mom and Sis, if you are reading this- you have tons of clothes!) At any rate, I started out to see how much I could pare down my wardrobe.

Here’s my closet before I started:

Here’s what I did:

1. Prepare
-As I said I read an article that started me thinking about the amount of clothes I really needed.
– I also thought about how my style had changed. I have been known to overdress for most occasions (I’m a Southern Belle after all). I no longer needed professional outfits as an organizer. What I needed was comfortable clothing for working in people homes and offices. Comfort is key for me now! Love my jeans and cotton shirts.
-As I thought about the timing for this closet rehab, I thought March would be the month but instead I jumped in and got ‘er done in February!

2. Purge and Sort
-I tried on every single pair of my pants… Yep, all of them. It was difficult to decide which of the 4 pair of black pants to keep but ultimately, my mirror made that decision for me. I chose the one pair that looked best on my body – you know they hang just right and create the desired optical illusion!
-I released those “cute” tops that every time I tried them on they made me feel insecure about my image (you ladies can relate, right?)
-I got rid of my suit jackets since I wear sweaters/cardigans now in cool weather.
-If it needed to be hemmed or repaired, I just got rid of them since I hadn’t been able to whip out a needle and thread in over a year. Besides, now I buy petites for my short little body!
-I only kept my favorite pair of jeans and a pair of khakis in a size smaller. The jury is still out whether or not I need to keep them, may just let those go too.
-I was on a roll so I went through my shoes too and gave away 9 pairs of shoes. That’s HUGE for me!

Here’s a photo of the clothes I donated that day:

I already have another bag started!

Stay tuned for more photos and how I put everything back in my closet. There is definitely more space in my closet and it looks, well, organized! And I have been using my new smaller wardrobe for a month now and I don’t feel like I am lacking anything.

1. Prepare

- Before diving right into organizing your closet, it’s important to have the right mindset.

- Can you set aside time to see this project through to completion?

Warning: If you think this is a 2 hour project then double it to allow plenty of time.

- What’s your style now? Think about your style now as opposed to 5 years ago (or when you used to work/stay home, etc.)

- Set aside time to really think about the clothing style you are wearing/or want to wear. Look through magazines or browse online to identify the style that appeals if you need to.

- Identify the 3 main colors for your wardrobe? Knowing this will help you in the purge- and-sort phase of closet organization.

2. Purge and Sort

This is the most daunting part of organizing your closet. Don’t worry, here are a few tips:

- Try clothes on… try everything on if you can and really look at yourself in the mirror from all angles.

- Have a few bags in the room with you to put clothes donations in as you make decisions.

- Ask the right questions. Here’s a few to get you started:

- When was the last time you wore this?

- How many _______ do you really need? (fill in the blank with the clothing you have a lot of i.e. black pants)

- Does this fit / hang right on your body?

- Does this need to be mended or altered? If you’ve had it in your closet for a year now, just donate it.

- Is it a smaller size? If so, how many of these size clothes will you keep? Won’t you want to go shopping when you lose that weight?!Fits, hangs right?

- Are these hangers working for you?

3. Put It Back (with a plan)

Now that the purging and sorting is done, it’s time to put things back in the closet. Don’t just hang everything back up and shut the door. Look at your closet. What does it need to be better organized? What do you dislike about this closet? Asking these questions may help you seek out products that help you make your closet easier to maintain. I’ll be posting more product ideas, but read my last post on the Flip Flop File.

- As you put clothes back, turn your hangers backwards on the rod. As you use each piece of clothing hang the hangers back the right way. At the end of the year, anything still hanging backwards hasn’t been worn so donate it!

- Hang like with like. Hang all your shirts together, for example. I rarely hang matching sets together because I can often create other outfits using one piece of the set.

- Organize by color, starting from left to right, hang light to dark colors. This really shows you how of one color item you have (black pants, for example). Seeing the array of colors will help you ultimately make better clothes shopping decisions.

Stay tuned as I reveal my own closet transformation (and yes, there are before and after photos)!

Being a woman, I just can’t talk about clothes closet organization without starting with the shoes first! LOL!  

Here’s a great product if you are a flip flop girl like me. I prefer my flip flops to slippers and, living in California, I wear them practically all year round.

Introducing the Flip Flop File- and it’s a file system you’ll love – I promise! It hangs on a closet rod and has room to hold 18 pair of your fav flip flops.  I even store my Lindsay Phillips Switchflops accessories in one pocket!

This shoe holder has clear pockets so you can see all of your flip flops. I used to keep my flip flops in a basket and would have to rummage through them to find the right color and then of course the mate! Quite unorganized, don’t ya think? Now, I don’t even have to bend down to get to them and they always have a mate right there!

This Flip Flop File organizer could also be used for hats, gloves, fanny packs and other clothing accessories, even bathing suits.  You could use it as a shoe organizer in a young child’s closet too. Outside of your closet you could use it in your craft room to hold skeins of yarn. If you are a grandma, you could have one in the guest room closet holding those special books you read when the grandkids come to visit. Let your imagine run wild, use the Flip Flop File for other things that you want to keep organized but still visibly see the contents!

Disclaimer: Some links take my other website to purchase the Flip Flop File.