One Professional Organizer’s Philosophy 

Organizing is not only for the obsessive compulsive individual.  A home should be lived in, not a museum.  A great test to see if your home is organized is to set a timer for 45 minutes.  Then you and your family are to run around and put everything in the house back in order.  If at the end of this time the house is back in tip top shape, congratulations!  Your home is organized! 

But, if you were not able to have everything in it's place at the end of 45 minutes, please read below for some general tips on organizing any area of your home.

2)     De-clutter the space.  Be brutal.  But, at the end of the day if you can’t part with an item, maybe putting it in a box in storage to be sorted out at a later date will work better.

3)     Group items by likeness.

4)      Put items back in space according to organizing style.  For example, some people are more visual and want to see everything.  Others want everything out of sight, but easy to find.  Storage can be researched online, by asking your friends, a professional organizer, or just walking into your local stores to find ideas.

5)     Remember that there are multiple ways to organizing a space.  You should be able to find an option that you want to use that is perfect for your space and your budget.

6)     Make sure you label any boxes you use so that you can easily locate the items in the future.  

If you find yourself confused or side tracked going through this process, take a deep breath, relax, and take one step at a time.  Usually the simplest solution is the best solution.

 Joy Bryant, Order Created, 10/5/07

Back in Crafting Control

It is always so much fun to dive into a crafting hobby.  It helps clear your mind, relaxes you, and is a release from the world if only for a little bit.  Usually when someone begins crafting they can think of nothing else but spending time on their craft and buying the best supplies that are available to start.

But, if you are like me, sooner or later you realize that it becomes more annoying to create a space for you to do your craft because the stuff to do it is eating the space around you up!

If you have finally gotten to the point that you are ready to do something about all your crafting supplies so you can get back to having fun, keep reading below.   

The below suggestions apply to all crafts.  This includes small knick knacks all the way to unusually shaped large crafts.  

1)     Define the space you want to work in, if you have temporarily been working in the living room, but always wanted to share your hobby room with your husband’s home office-go for it! 

2)     De-clutter, go through your supplies and throw out or give away to a fellow crafter any supplies you do not need or are outdated.  

3)     Next, group your supplies by likeness.  You can then subdivide out by color, type of material, size, etc.  For example, beading, beads can be broken out into color and then subdivided into size.  

4)      Look at the space you have defined to craft in and think about how you are going to use it.  This will help you determine what types of storage containers you will need.  For example, if you like working in the living room, then you will need mobile storage containers that are either on wheels or have handles on them, so that when you are through with them you can easily put them up and out of sight in a closet or storage area.  Or if you are moving into your husband’s office, choose a mixture of both stationary and moving storage containers to fit your needs. 

5)      Finally, use your already creative mind to view containers and hardware in nontraditional ways.  This step is especially important for crafts that require large unusual shaped pieces such as quilting.  For example, you can fold quilting cloth and put into a large Tupperware container according to color, a piece of cardboard sticks up similar to a file and separates out each fabric from the next.  You can even cut out and staple a sample of the cloth to each divider. 

After you have gained back your crafting control and created your utopia of a crafting space watch out, because you will probably spend even more time in your perfect corner of the crafting universe! 
 
-Joy Bryant, Order Created, 9/25/07

Tame Your Closet

If you are reading this, don’t worry you will be able to conquer the beast of clothes within the closet.  I am going to help you tame your closet organizing fears by sharing with you the process I use to simplify and organize closet clutter.  Hopefully you will pick up a couple of useful tips.  

If you are organizing a walk-in closet it will probably be an all day event.  Remember you can tackle a closet in small segments of time too.  You do not have to do everything in one day.  For example, you can go through your clothes and purge items out you don’t use one day, and move items that do not belong in the closet to other areas of the house another day.

1)     Decide what will be in your closet after it is organized. Will the golf clubs and wrapping paper go in the closet?  Re-locate any items you do not want in the closet to a space you will use it in or to a storage area.

4) Now you are ready to tackle the clothes.  Take each piece of clothing out at a time and decide right then where it should go.  Have you worn it in the past year?  Has it seen better days?  How does it really look on?  It is helpful to have an honest friend who can steer you in the right direction.

5) Before you put the clothes back in the closet, do yourself a favor and throw away all the dry cleaning bags and wire hangers.  Buy nice hangers and it will not only look better, but prolong the life of your clothes. 
 

6)     Now that you are ready to put your clothes back into the closet, you have several options that can be used to group clothing: 

·         Function: work clothes, dressy clothes, work out clothes, etc.

·         Like items: blouses, pants, jackets, etc.

·         Outfit: mix & match clothes, suits, etc.

·         Color

7)    You can combine some of these options.  For example, group by like items and outfits and within each group by color.  Or group by function, within each function group like items and within each like item group by color.

8)     If you choose, this is another good stopping point to begin again another day.

9)    You are almost done and need to find homes for the shoes, purses, belts, ties, etc. that you have left.  I recommend looking on the internet or your local stores for ideas on how to organize these items.  Remember there are many ways to organize an item.  You need to find the best way for you that will work well with your usage of the item.  For example, for shoes alone you can purchase clear shoe boxes, hanging shoe bags or custom made wooden cubby holes.  There is an organizing option for every budget.  But, don’t let this step trip you up.  When in doubt do what you think is the simplest.

Wow!  You did it, way to go!  Remember to keep purging clothes along the way and hopefully you will not ever have to do this intense of an organizing job again.

-Joy Bryant, Order Created, 10/5/07

Recipe Rescue: How Do I Organize My Recipes? 

Everyone loves their recipes.  Especially the well worn, passed down ones that have special meaning.  But, how do you keep up with all of them?  When your recipes are out of order it is especially frustrating to sit down and plan out a menu, because you don’t know how to locate a particular recipe to try out.  By reading through the below steps, collecting new recipes and cooking them will become more enjoyable!  

First, weed out the recipes you know are too complicated to make, you have multiple recipes for the same dish, too experimental for your family to eat, do not match your current lifestyle, or have not been used in the past year.  But, if you can’t throw one out, put the recipe in an envelope and date it.  If you still have not used it by next year, throw it away.  

Next, separate out the recipes you have “cooked” from the ones you “haven’t but would like to try” into separate piles.  

Decide on a storage system.

·        Plastic sleeves in a binder

·        Photo album that has “self-adhesive” pages

·        Copy or paste onto recipe cards and keep them in a recipe box

·        Attach them to paper sheets in a notebook

·        Attach to 3 holed punched paper sheets and keep in a notebook

·        Use page pockets in a binder with a different pocket for each category

·        Store in accordion files

·        Store in hanging folders in mobile filing box  

If you like to take notes while you cook to alter the recipe to fit your taste, you might want to use the plastic sleeve method, to alter the recipe and then put it back in its sleeve.  Or if you don’t have time, slipping each recipe into an accordion file under the appropriate category would be easier.  

You can mimic the same storage system you have for your permanent recipes with the ones you would like to try in the future.  Or mix and match whichever systems work best for you, but be sure to keep the recipes you have cooked separate from the ones you have not tried yet.   

Next, deciding on recipe categories can be confusing, because many people forget which category they filed a recipe under.  Start out by sorting your recipes into piles.  By doing this you will notice how your recipes will trend towards different categories.  Be sure to decide on broad topics in the beginning.  For example, Desserts, Main Dish, Sides, Bread, etc.  If you keep categories as broad as possible, this will cut down on the confusion of how you originally filed the recipe.  Feel free to become more specific in your categories as your recipe collection grows.  For example, Cakes, Cookies, etc. can be used in addition to the Dessert category.  Remember that if you don’t like the way you have categorized the first time, you can always go back and change it in the future.  The important thing is to keep going and not stop with your organizing.  

Tip: Use Post It Note tabs found at office stores to mark recipes in books you enjoy.  Pick 2 colors.  One represents recipes you have cooked and like.  The other color is for recipes you would like to try.  You can label the tabs “Main Dish”, “Dessert”, etc. for easily locating dishes to fill out a meal.  

-Joy Bryant of Order Created, 10/30/07

Organizing The Day After Christmas

It’s the day after Christmas and your house is a mess!  The wrapping paper is all over the house and remnants of the decorations are ready to be put up.  But, you are exhausted and want to put everything up this year the most efficient way so next year you can sleep in longer.

There are so many aspects of Christmas that can be organized, but I am going to touch on a few that the majority of us deal with and any other questions you may have can be emailed to me.  I am always available to help!

The first place to start is with a cup of coffee.  While sipping, take a look at what needs to be stored and try to get into an optimistic frame of mind.  I know having a radio or music playing helps me get going. 

1)     Locate your digital camera and take pictures of the tree, wreaths, garlands, lights, and anything else you can think of to remember how to put them back up next year.  Print these pictures out and store in the very first box of your Christmas decorations or create a file on your computer named “Christmas” and store them there.

2)     Children’s toys and clothes need to be taken to their rooms.  A good rule of thumb is for every piece coming into the room, one needs to be donated, thrown away, or last resort, stored in the attic.

3)     When taking down your tree create piles of each section: ornaments, bows, lights, tree itself, skirt, etc.  After everything is in piles, take a piece of paper and number each pile in order of how you will assemble it next year.  Tear out each piece of paper and place it temporarily on the top of each pile.  For example, tree first, skirt second, angel third, lights fourth, ornaments fifth, and so on.

4)     Artificial trees can be stored in the box they came in or you can purchase Christmas tree bags online for $30 & up.  If the tree is to be taken down in sections, it is good to find a box or put each section in black garbage bags to keep the dust off.

5)     Be sure to dry clean or wash the tree skirt.  Tucking dryer sheets into folded sections is a great way to keep it fresh for next year.

6)     When storing the angel/tree topper, it is best to put it back in the box it originally came in, but finding a Tupperware container to fit its size is usually easy to do.  Used wrapping paper, newspaper, or bubble wrap is great to ball up around the item.  Be sure to ball up paper underneath the skirt of the angel to keep the dress from going flat into weird angels next year.  Fill up the rest of the container with the material you used so the topper is secure.

7)     Inside/Outdoor Lights:        

a.      Old wrapping paper tubes can be stuffed with newspaper and taped up over each end.  Wrap the lights around the tube. OR the wrapping paper tube can be slit on each end and the lights are wrapped long ways with the adapter end going into the tube.

b.      Cardboard squares can be cut and lights wrapped around these.

c.      Wrap each of the lights and put each section in a separate plastic bag.  The bags from Kroger are perfect for this!

d.      Hang 2 large bicycle hooks down from the garage ceiling.  Hang a discarded broom handle between them.  Thread rolls of Christmas lights over the handle between the hooks.  Protect from dust by feeding a garbage bag with both ends open over lights.

e.      If lights are on artificial wreaths or garlands leave them attached.  It will make it easier for next year.

f.        If you use a special string of lights for a special purpose, put these into a plastic or Ziploc bag and label them.

g.      For every extension cord used.  Be sure to label the cord and put it with the lights you used it with.  This can be done by creating a tag by wrapping tape around the cord.  Example, “Tree”, or “Outdoor next to front yard faucet”.

h.     Keep in mind that Christmas lights are meant to last on average 90 days, so it might be best to throw out your lights and re-purchase new lights while they are on sale after Christmas.

8)     Ornaments:

a.      Right after Christmas is the perfect time to purchase Tupperware ornament containers that have dividers.

b.      Small ornaments can be stored in egg cartons.

c.      If you received boxed fruit for Christmas, these are perfect for larger ornaments as they have dividers.

d.      You can make a version of the ornament boxes sold in stores by packing individual ornaments in disposable plastic cups.

e.      Before you put your ornaments away, take a few minutes to label special ones with a silver/gold paint pen or permanent marker.  Make a note of the year the ornament was received and from whom.  Or if you collect ornaments as you travel, write the year and the trip.  Make sure it is in an inconspicuous place.

f.        Wrapping paper, newspaper, bubble wrap is also good to pack ornaments.  The most important thing is to make sure to keep the ornaments apart and to cushion them from getting bumped.

g.      This is a good time to make an “Ornament Hanger Parts” box.  Use a shoe box size plastic bin to store ornament hangers.  Keep it handy in your “Open First for Christmas” box and fill it with hooks, rolls of small ribbon, cording, scissors, tape, twist ties, and craft wire, silver/gold paint pen.  You might also add a dash of color and uniformity to your tree by replacing all ornament ties with a special color.

9)     Artificial wreaths and garlands are easy to store from year to year.

a.      Remove wire or metal decorations and store them in a plastic bag.  Place the wreath in a convenient wreath box, a large square box, a large trash bag.  Be sure to secure the metal pieces to the wreath bag/box it belongs to.

b.      Remember to keep any lights attached on the wreath.

c.      Ribbon and bows can also stay on the wreath.  Just make sure to insert crushed newspaper into the bows to keep them from going flat.

d.      Try wrapping your wreath in a heavy duty plastic bag, adding a hook, and hanging in your storage space.

e.      If you have many wreaths to package, try wrapping them individually in plastic bags or acid free tissue paper.  Place them standing up, back to back, in a large box.  They will cushion themselves and cut down on the cost of individual storage containers. 

f.        Try using a boot box from a pair of boots.  Many small and medium wreaths can fit nicely into the boot box.  These boxes are strong and perfect to protect your wreaths.

g.      For garlands it is best to purchase a large plastic container.  When taking down garlands, mark with a twist tie at what points they were draped, and label each garland with the place it goes so you don’t have to measure again next year.

10) Other items you may need to store include:

a.      Candles: best stored in old socks or knee high stockings in a cool place so they will not melt.

b.      Store holiday dishes and cookbooks with decorations.

c.      Nativity sets: best wrapped using the above methods for ornaments, but keep together in a designated plastic container.

d.      Linens/towels: make sure to clean. Can fold dryer sheets into to keep fresh for next year.  Besides a plastic container, consider storing linens/towels in a suitcase to keep away the risk of moisture damage.

11) Storage supplies go on sale every January. Right after the Christmas holiday, Wal-Mart sometimes has green and red Rubbermaid containers.  Investing in plastic boxes is highly recommended, but if this is not an option, cardboard will work for a couple of years before they need replacing.  Just remember that cardboard boxes need to be stored in a dry area.  When labeling your boxes it is best to keep track of how many you are looking for “1 of 13”.  I also label them in the order I will need them.  Decide what will be in your “Open First for Christmas” box.  For example, your advent calendar, tree stand, Christmas cards, or whatever you need at the beginning of the Christmas season. 

12) Remember after Christmas is the best time to stock up on items you will need for next year since everything will be on sale.  Take stock of your wrapping paper and buy more if needed.  Christmas cards are on sale now too.  Any decorations you need to replace should be available online or at stores at a discount.  As mentioned above, storage containers are on sale.

13) Other Items you may consider doing:

a.      Ask family members what were their favorite activities this season.  Make a note to focus on preferences and eliminate the least-liked next year.

b.      What to do with used Christmas cards (or any cards)? Lighthouse of Broward, a non-profit organization assists blind or people with vision disabilities by recycling used Christmas or any occasion cards to make new cards that can be sold to help the organization.

Mail to:

Lighthouse of Broward

5785 W. Sunrise Blvd.

Plantation, FL 33313

c.      Open a Christmas savings account at your bank to have money automatically drafted for next year’s Christmas.

d.      For more tips go to:

www.ordercreated.com

www.organizedchristmas.com

www.ineedmoretime.com

www.christmasorganizing.com

Hopefully these tips will help you get a jump on next year’s Christmas to make it a less daunting experience.

-Joy Bryant of Order Created, 10/25/07