TradingCradles.com Blog

Archive for September, 2011

What’s happening behind your closed closet doors?

Can you find what you need, when you need it?

How would you feel if a guest went into your bedroom right now and looked inside your closet?

 

Disorganization causes stress and anxiety and closets can be on of the most dangerous spaces in our homes.  They can easily become dumping grounds for anything and everything. Before you know it … you can barely open the door!

 

As we head into the fall season, there is no better time to take back control of your closet!  Whether you are organizing a clothes closet or a storage closet the method is the same.

 

Steps to take your closet from disorder to order:

Define Purpose – It’s important before you tackle a closet space to spend a few minutes thinking about the purpose and function of the space.  This will help you know what you should keep in the closet and what items should go somewhere else.  If you are sharing the space with someone else, be sure to get his or her input too, as it’s important that everyone using the space buys into the organization plan.

 

Sort & Clear – Now that you know the purpose of the closet, it’s time to start clearing the clutter and making decisions on what is staying and what is going!  You will have 5 categories to put your belongings into: Keep, Donate, Trash, Recycle, or Relocate.

If you are having a difficult time deciding on an item, think about the following:

1)    When was the last time you used or wore this item?

2)    Do you love it, need it, and want it?

3)    If I decide to let it go, is it easy to replace if I need it again?

4)    Could someone else use this more than me?

5)    If I keep it, where will it go?

 

If you are going through your clothes and you are not sure if you want to keep an item, try it on and see how it fits and makes you feel.  If you do not love it, allow yourself the freedom to let it go!!  If you still don’t know what to do, turn the hanger backwards in your closet, and if you have not worn the item within a certain amount of time (like 6 months), donate the item.

 

Organize and Place- After the sorting is completed, you will now know what to put back into your closet space.  There are a lot of ways to organize and place items back into a closet.

 

Here are some of the most common methods:

Place like items with like items – For example, in your clothing closet you can place all of your pants together.  If you are organizing a storage closet, place all of the holiday decorations together.  The point is to have all common categories placed in the same area – this will save you time when you go to look for something.

 

Most commonly used items should be easiest to access- Whatever items you use the most should always be the easiest to retrieve and the easiest to put back.  If this is not the case, then you run a very high risk of the closet becoming a dumping ground again, because you won’t take the time to put things back where they belong.

 

Extra Tips

• To instantly make your closet look more organized, consider using the same color and type of hanger.  The unified look makes a difference.  This tip also applies to any baskets or bins you may place in a closet – keep them the same style.
• If you do not have a lot of closet space, instead of trying to put all of your clothing into it, I suggest you rotate your clothing by season.
• When buying organizing products for your closets, think vertical – use all of your available space from floor to ceiling. And don’t forget the back of the doors and hooks on the walls!  These are all great ways to maximize your space!
• Go through this process again every season.  It truly makes a difference and it will get easier each time!

 

Remember the question of how you would feel if a guest was to open your closet door?  After following these steps…. You will now have a closet to be proud of!

Happy Organizing!

 

 

Post written by Nikki Kinzer

For over a decade, Nikki Kinzer has been helping individuals and businesses reach success through better organization. As a Professional Organizer and ADD/ADHD Coach, Nikki’s passion is to partner and coach individuals and families on how to build positive life habits, reduce stress, and take back control in their lives.  Through Take Control Organizing, Nikki brings to her clients and readers a view of organized living that offers control rather than cleanliness, enrichment rather than austerity, and time to focus on the things that matter in life rather than the stress that comes from disorganization. For more info visit Nikki at Take Control Organizing. For more organizing tips and strategies, please visit TCO’s blog, Twitter, or Facebook page.

 

Life is chock-full of birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, and other reasons to send greeting cards to people you love.  How many times have you needed a card and realized you had none handy and no time to trek to the store to find one? Or better yet, ran to the store at the last minute and ended up paying over $4 for a greeting card?

 

It is frustrating and ends up ruining the ‘kind gesture’ that a card should be carrying on to the receiver.

 

As busy moms, we certainly can end up busting the family budget by not being organized and paying so much more than we need to for cards.  But if we find a method to get organized and plan ahead you will be able to easily bless others and stay well within your family budget.

 

Since the beginning of the school year means ‘fresh start’ on so many levels, why not take the time to create a complete greeting card list, set up a greeting card calendar and get equipped with a supply of low cost greeting cards?

 

Creating a calendar with dates and having greeting cards  on hand and organized, will help you remember important dates, save time, and make your life easier.  Doesn’t that sound great?

Here are some tips to get you started:

 

Start by making a master list of all the important dates you need to remember, like birthdays and anniversaries.

 

Next determine what type of calendar system you will use to keep track.  I personally use my outlook calendar, which I have had for years and snyc it to my COZI calendar (a free online calendar service for busy families).  I color code the dates either by category (birthday, anniversary) which helps me determine quickly what type of card I will need to send. I can also set reminders on outlook to help jog my memory to send a card in advance of the occasion, which is tremendously helpful.

 

Now, you will need to have some cards on hand – this is the fun part! I love having all types and occasions of cards ready and available to send.  I organize them in these great boxes – so they are easy to find and stay nice and neat too! Even my husband or kids can easily access a card if they need one, which keeps one more thing off my to-do list.

There are a ton of ways to ‘stock’ your card boxes – here are a few of my favorite low cost ways.

 

Use a website like Currentcatalog.com where you can purchase cards in bundles, which saves you an incredible amount of money.  They have cards for all occasions, even holidays in addition to low cost wrapping paper, ribbon and accessories.  If you can’t get an order large enough to take advantage of the free shipping option, gather a couple of friends together to place an order.

 

Another great way to stock that box is to have a membership in a card club like the Heart Connection Card Club from DaySpring.  Each month you get a variety of cards shipped to you automatically, but at more than half the price of single purchase price.

 

You can also stop by your local drugstore and gather inexpensive cards for $.99 each.  Many card companies like Hallmark and American Greetings have low-cost varieties that make it easy on the family budget.

 

Once you have your greeting card list made and scheduled on your calendar, gathered your stock of greeting cards it is time to place all your goodies in one location -  include your cards, stamps, some blank stationery, pens, and your master list.  The key is to have all your supplies in one place, so that you don’t waste a lot of time finding the supplies.

 

I find that I send more cards to those I care about because it is not a hassle – all I have to do is pick one out, write a note, stamp it and pop it in the mail.  I rarely miss an occasion and honestly enjoy writing the card and sending it rather than perhaps dreading it if I had to make a last minute dash to the store to pick up a card.

 

Say goodbye to being unorganized and the one who always ‘forgets’ family occasions and hello to the one who doesn’t miss an occasion to send a card – ON TIME!

 

Post written by Susan Heid…

Susan Heid is the mom behind The Confident Mom where she loves inspiring  moms to make small changes managing their home and family life giving them more time, less stress and stronger family relationships! She enthusiastically wears the hat of mom, step-mom and foster mom to 4 awesome kids – ages 18, 14, 10 and 17 months; is married to her very own prince charming, loves coffee, cloudy days, and does think the bluest skies you’ve ever seen are in Seattle.  Her FREE 5 part mini series: “The Opening Act” is helping moms worldwide become the calm mom they want to be!  Join the community of moms on Facebook or find her @ConfidentMom on Twitter.