Your Home--A Resort!

If you have toured a Model Home or vacationed at a Time Share or Vacation Home, you understand how simplicity gives a feeling of relaxation, calm and peace. Realtors know buyers want to see open spaces free of clutter because it has an inviting presence. The rule, “less is more” definitely applies to all of these living spaces.
It is possible to make your home that place of tranquility by keeping it simple.

• Remove objects that you no longer use or like.
• Eliminate items that are duplicates, in disrepair or soiled.
• Keep visible loose items in attractive containers.

These can help make your home more attractive and easier to clean and maintain. It can be a place you enjoy with freedom to create, relax, be inspired or energized.

If you are stuck on what to do, ask a family member, friend or even a professional organizer for ideas and strategies to make your home more like a resort. You will be glad you did.

 

 

 

Covers for Wire Shelving

Most new homes and those with closet rennovations have the ventilated wire shelving installed.  I am sure they have advantages over wood shelving but we are very familiar with their disadvantages.  The most frequent complaint I hear (and personally experience) is the inconvenience of no solid surface for placing small or irregular shaped items.  There are solutions which I have summarized below.

1.  Fabric covers.  Not my favorite.  Unless you purchase heavy fabric backed vinyl and cut it to fit, this option is not much better than nothing.
2.  Plexiglass or acrylic sheets.  Depending on the thickness the cost can be prohibitive.  In order to have a good fit, it must be purchased and cut to order at a glass company.  Call for information and estimates before you get your hopes up.
3.  Roll out plastic.  Depending on the thickness, this is not much better than fabric.  I do not recommend the stick on variety as it leaves a residue on the underside of the shelf.
4  Shelfanator covers.  These are thinner than acrylic but very supportive, come in different depths and can be cut with a knife to fit.  I learned about these through another organizer and they can be purchased at some local hardware stores.  If purchased from Ebay, they can be very cost effective. You can check them out at this link.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhFPetAz1LE
5  Wood.  Thin sections of plywood or its equivalent can be cut to fit.  These leave unattractive edges but are usually more affordable than the plexiglass depending on the thickness of each.

The remaining solution is to use flat bottom containers for items you place on the shelves.  To date, that has been my choice but I am leaning towards the Shelfanator.  After the organizer, Terri Stephens, posted her recommendation for them on our organizing chat group, these items on Ebay began to disappear quickly.  If you think you might like them, I would go to Ebay first. 

The Perfect Purse Dilemma

I am not a purse expert but I have had lots of trial and error with them, mostly error. I obviously like having everything organized and convenient in my life including my purse.


First, it must be large enough for everything I may need without everything going to the bottom and becoming lost as in a Bermuda Triangle. It must have pockets for keeping everything contained and easy to find, and it must be lightweight even with all my stuff.

Most of those with lots of built in pockets are made from brightly colored fabrics that become tiring (or out of style God forbid), worn on the handles and not a good fit for a versatile wardrobe. If you should decide to own more than one (and they are not inexpensive) you have to move everything from all those pockets into another set of pockets. Not fun. The non-fabric versions I have tried are just plain ugly. I am no fashionista but I just don’t like ugly.

Enter the purse organizer, an insert with pockets of its own that can be moved from purse to purse (Purseket is the brand I used). It comes in different sizes to fit individual needs. But it adds cost and weight to the purse and is not easily moved from purse to purse when full.

Finally there is the basic purse with some pockets that has changeable covers. These are upscale (meaning expensive) versions of the button bags of the early 1980’s that made a brief resurgence in the last year or so. The larger version can hold the insert organizer which will be necessary as everything you own would otherwise fall into the abyss at the bottom. And of course, it is heavy. The smaller version just won’t hold everything.

Alas, I am still experimenting. When I find the perfect purse, I will let you know.

Which Stuff is Important?

One way to answer this is to consider what you would take with you in an emergency. After a natural disaster or devastating loss of homes, we have all heard the voices repeat that all that matters is that the family was safe. But as we see images of them sifting through ruined belongings, we know their loss is great.


Things are important to us; however, we should be able to prioritize our things and make choices when spaces become cluttered.

I challenge you to look around and make a list of what you should absolutely grab if you only had 15 minutes to get your belongings out of the house (furniture would not be listed). Of course, you should already have the emergency box with important papers ready to go.


Some stuff is just stuff and living without it makes cleaning easier and accentuates the importance of the items that are left.

Motivation to Organize

In education we were told if we kept doing the same old things, we would get the same old results. In other words, we needed to try something new to get different results. I think the same thing applies in organizing.

To get yourself motivated, begin stimulating your brain with new activities in other areas first. Instead of watching the same television shows, watch something different. Even if you don’t like it, your mind will be stimulated in critical thinking.

You can try a new food product or recipe, go to a different grocery store or in reverse down the isles of your favorite store and drive a new route to work. Then start thinking about what needs organizing in your home. You may have some fresh ideas that will get you moving.

You may be surprised at the motivation you have once your brain is engaged in new patterns of thinking. Carol Miller, a quilter, gave me the inspiration for this and I must say it works. Give it a try for at least a week and let me know what happens.

Daily Organizing Tips

There are some things you can do everyday to get or stay organized. 
• Get up and dressed before you leave the bedroom.

• Make your bed when you get out of it.

• Avoid the temporary put down. Return everything to its home. If items do not have a specific, permanent home, make one for everything you own.

• Remove one item from you home each day. Worn out clothing or linens, utensils you do not use, outgrown toys, etc. Make a game with your children to find something in their rooms that can be removed. Donate or recycle those appropriately.

• Use a one in one out rule. If something new comes into the house, something similar must go.

• Keep a written daily, weekly and lifetime “to do” list and check off items as you do them.

• Have a clean-up time for the family members before bedtime.

• Clean the kitchen before you go to bed.

• Put out clothing, pack lunches, prepare backpacks and anything else you can do for the next morning. It will help prevent morning “emergencies”.

By establishing routines, you and your family can have a more a more organized, peaceful and secure environment.

How Much Stuff is Clutter?

Those attending my presentations often want to know how much stuff they can have and when does it become clutter.  And my politically correct answer is always, “That depends”. In fact it depends on lots of variables such as:   how much space do you have, are you happy with the way it looks, can you use what you have efficiently, can you move around safely in your spaces, can you find anything in one minute? 

It is obvious that someone with a 3000 sq. ft. house can have more stuff than someone living in a 1000 sq. ft. But all of us want to make the space that we have attractive,  functional and safe.

I suggest you take pictures of all of your spaces as they are now. You will be very surprised at what you see. We often cannot look at our things objectively because they have become common place or normal to us. Clutter can be disguised that way.  Pictures are a much more objective way to see things as they really appear.

Print the pictures if you can so you can spend time evaluating them. Then circle the areas in the prints that do not look good to you and make a plan to change them. You will be surprised at the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction you will have when it is done.