Clutter Hacks
Living Simply
The Truth About Multitasking
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As a result of growing safety concerns about people texting on their cell phones while driving (there is mounting evidence that texting creates a greater risk of crashing than even drunken driving), the NY Times has recently published a flurry of articles and editorials on the subject. The conclusion reached by many automakers, cell phone manufacturers/service providers, Internet companies, computer science and communications professors, The National Safety Council, the Governors Highway Safety Association, lawmakers and President Obama is that texting while driving is dangerous and should be outlawed.
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Charity Profile: Books for Soldiers
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If you love to read, I bet you've got a pretty nice stockpile of books. I'll go even further and say that I bet you only read 2-5 of those books on a regular basis, and the rest are just "dust collectors."
Am I right or am I right?
I just came across a wonderful charity that can help you downsize your library, opening up a little more space for something else! It's called Books for Soldiers.
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SPACE TREAT: Embrace your laziness?
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All this hot and humid weather is making me feel lazy. How about you?
You may be relieved to hear that when it comes to getting organized, laziness can be your biggest ally. The trick is to design your system around your "laziest common denominator", meaning, doing things with the least number of steps.
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Recycling Beauty Products
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Are you really going to use that lotion that you got at the office gift-swap party 2 Christmases ago? Ummm…no.
Chances are, you've got some beauty products that are — but really shouldn't be — taking up some valuable real estate in your bathroom.
This week, I encourage you to go through your bathroom storage, tossing anything you no longer need, want, or use.
But don't just put the bottles and boxes into the trash! Opt to be environmentally responsible.
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4 Keys to Reducing Stress in Your Life
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True, there are some types of stress in our lives that we can't avoid and some days seem to be worse than others, but there are ways that we can see to it that stress doesn't control our lives.
Our physical and mental health and well-being are important reasons for us to take a good look at ways to help us to cope with stress.
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Space Treat: Prune Away Your Clutter
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What do pruning a tree and clearing out your clutter have in common?
Pruning is one of the healthiest things you can do for a tree:
· It prevents diseased branches from further destruction.
· It supports healing when you remove a damaged limb.
· It encourages a tree to develop a strong structure and restores it's vitality.
This is exactly what happens during the "pruning" phase of organizing.
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Getting Kids Organized IS Possible!
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Kids will be kids, as the saying goes. Which means it may seem like organizing kids - whether tyke or teen - requires a super-sized miracle!
Here are 3 major factors for parents to consider when trying to help kids get organized:
(1) Set the example.
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Organize All Your Savings Cards!
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Is your wallet overflowing with club cards, savings cards and discount cards? Mine is!
Seems everyone has a card for their business and I find myself digging for the right one at the checkout counter with irritated folks behind me. Or just skipping the discount because I don't want to bother. (Why don't they just lower their prices?)
You can punch a hole in each of them and string them all on a key chain, but if you have more than a few, this really isn't the answer. I came across this site this morning: Keyringthing.com
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Product of the Week: Mario Batali Lunch Totes
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“Dear Mario, Your Lunch Bags Make Me Swoon!”
I used to carry my lunch in one of the many plastic grocery bags cluttering the cabinet under my sink, but ever since I started using reusable grocery bags, I ran into a little problem – no more lunch bags!
I may have outgrown my cutesie lunchbox, but I’m definitely not too old for a chic and class lunch tote.
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Quote for the Week: Keeping it Simple
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"Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction."
~ Albert Einstein
Keep life simple.
Have a Happy Easter!
Space Treat: Measurement Mishap
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Symptom:
Ever find that you've gone through the trouble of measuring a space so that you can outfit it with bins, boxes or shelving only to find that your measurements weren't exactly clear enough to you while shopping for the containers and you ended up with ones that don't exactly fit?
Remedy:
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Making the Most of Your Cabinet Doors
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I've lived in a lot of houses over my lifetime and I've had to deal with a multitude of different storage challenges, but the worst by far for me is a too-small kitchen.
I have always loved to cook and bake. I have a crock pot, a bread machine, a stand mixer, a blender, a food processor, a mini-chopper, an electric grill, a coffee maker, a toaster oven and a microwave oven to contend with in my kitchen. Plus a host of bake ware, serve ware and pots and pans. Just the standard stuff. 
When storage space is at an obvious premium, unless you want to store the new juicer in the linen closet, you have to think outside the box.
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Space Treat: Feeling out of control?
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Seems like everyday while organizing with clients, they share that the main reason for getting their home organized now is that it does in fact give them a real and reassuring sense of control in these uncertain economic times. And that although there are many things out of our control at the moment, that creating a home that is calming and supportive is at least one area they can control (and it happens to have many side benefits).
Things are stressful enough out there, your home doesn't need to contribute. I absolutely agree with my clients' sentiments: This is the perfect time to organize your home. So keep the following in mind when starting the process: While things feel uncertain in the world, it may be tempting to hold onto things in your home even though they no longer suit your needs or fit your lifestyle.
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Space Treat: Bundle Up! And Special Event next week!
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We're still freezing here in NYC! So bundle up - both outside and at home or the office!
Instead of sprinkling your day with various activities you need to accomplish, make better use of your time around the office and house by bundling like tasks into separate categories.
That means gather up a bunch of phone calls and whip through them in one fell swoop. Then move on to the next bundle. (Do your phone call bundle first, that way if you have to leave a message you'll still be around to answer the return call while you're finishing up another bundle.)
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Household Routines Improve Your Happiness
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Getting organized — specifically getting into a household routine — is scientifically proven to improve your overall well-being.
According to the book The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People, it's important to establish a schedule to take your tasks from "To Do's" to "To Done."
Dr. David Niven writes: "We often feel overwhelmed by the chores that have to be done on a regular basis.
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Quote of the Week
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It is easier to suppress the first desire than to satisfy all that follow. ~ Anonymous
This quote speaks to a lot of tendencies in my life. Whether it’s that first chocolate chip cookie, my favorite store calling my name, or simply the desire to procrastinate; once I start, it’s hard to stop. Best just to suppress that first desire altogether.
Space Treat: Are you energy efficient?
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You may already be composting in the backyard, showering with a low-flow shower-head and installing CFL bulbs in every light fixture but are you efficiently using your biggest resource… your very own built-in natural energy?
Energy - we all have our very own unique cycles of high and low energy. When we sync these cycles to our daily tasks, projects and activities we become more energy efficient and as a result we can get more done in less time with less stress.
Do you spring out of bed at 6:30am raring to start your day or are you more of a night owl, who just begins to really wake up at 10:30pm? Perhaps you're like me,
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Carmen's Favorite Organizers A to Z - Part 2
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(2) B is for Bento Boxes by Plastica.
In Japan, bento boxes have long been used as lunch boxes. The structure of each bento helps to pack a meal based upon the Japanese food pyramid, which includes grains, meats, and veggies. (What?! No junk food?)
But bentos don't just emphasize a balanced diet and portion control, they also keep lunches mighty organized! And so, it's lucky for us that the bento custom has gone international.
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Carmen's Favorite Organizers A to Z - Part 1
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(1) A is for Anya Hindmarch To Do Totes.
They haven't even hit the stores yet, and the word is already on the street.
Anya Hindmarch, who started last year's I'm Not A Plastic Bag tote fad, has now moved on to bigger and better things — to do list totes!
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Twelve Energy Boosters
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Do you feel yourself pooping out halfway through the day? I know I do!
Here are 12 great tips for giving yourself that much needed 'burst' of energy to get you through.
1. Exercise. Just 30 minutes of walking three or four times a week will dramatically increase your energy. The exercise might tire you out at first, but in a short time you’ll feel your fatigue melt away.
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Electronic Charging Station - So They All Have a Home
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This is truly the digital age. iPods, digital cameras, cell phones, PDAs, you name it! Even I, the planner-queen, have a bunch of these wonderful gadgets now. And they all need charging with a riot of charging cords that all look identical until you have to plug one in. Then it's always the last one you try. Not anymore.
This Electronic Charging Station gives a home to each of your devices. A handsome little bed for your electronic pals to recharge for the night.
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National Get Organized Month
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I would be remiss in my duties as a professional organizer if I didn't plug Get Organized Month. It's sponsored by the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and is dedicated to raising awareness of the benefits of - you guessed it - getting organized!
If you'd like to take advantage of all that GO Month has to offer, then you have a plethora of resources at your disposal. Here are just a few of those…
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Tips for a Safe Fireplace
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With rising utility costs, many homeowners are turning to fireplaces and woodstoves as an alternative or partial heating source. Woodstoves and fireplaces are built safer and more efficient than ever, but can still pose a danger to your home and family if you aren’t careful.
These tips will help keep your family and home safe while enjoying that cozy fire:
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10 Ways to Keep Clutter from Taking Over
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As I was walking through a clients home the other day, I was amazed at the storage space that she had in her home. The only problem is that every inch of it was jammed full of clutter.
Clutter is things that take up space but you don't use, is in the way and makes your house bulge at the seams.
When I walked into her house, it was really nice and homey looking and gave you an inviting feeling
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Organizing Fever
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Ok, so the plan was 5 minutes a day, right? Well, recently this strange phenomenon has overtaken my brain. My “5 minutes” has turned into several days of wanting nothing but to clean and organize and rearrange everything in sight!
It happens only once or twice a year. Maybe it’s the idea of starting my New Year fresh. Maybe it was that my house had reached such ultimate grossness that I didn’t want to be home anymore– I don’t know. But I’m LOVING it!
To date, I have taken down all my Christmas decorations and stored them all in my shed in these moisture resistant Sterilite bins. Then I cleaned and rearranged everything in my living room.
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Resolve to Spend 5 Minutes a Day
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How many times have you looked around and thought, “I wish I had the time to organize my (you fill in the blank here)…”?
I do it often. Especially this time of year. It’s the time of year when a lot of us take stock of ourselves and our surroundings. I want to start my new year off right. Clean, organized, on top of things…or at least have a plan, right? But so often I am overwhelmed by the size and scope of the projects I’ve let pile up around me, that I soon give up in frustration.
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Diagnosis: Donation Dilemma
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Symptoms:
• In the spirit of the holidays you feel moved to finally pull out that pile of charitable donation request letters and contribute.
• You begin to wonder, how much did I give last year, and to whom? Where are my check records? Or if you donated directly via the internet and a credit card, you may have no record at all.
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Out of Sight, Out of Mind? Not so Much
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Do you have one thing on your to-do list that you keep avoiding? You know, that thing that makes you stress-out just a little whenever you think about it. Does it keep transferring over to tomorrow’s list?
You may think “out of sight, out of mind”. You may mistake that slight feeling of relief you experience when you set your mind to putting it off until tomorrow as a stressful situation averted.
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Space Treat: No Memory Required
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Filing your paper is more about being able to find the documents you need than it is about just putting them away.
Clients who are fond of paper piles often tell me they know where everything is in the pile and can find anything when needed. This often turns out to be true… but it takes them 15 or 20 minutes to do so. Sound familiar?
Spending 15 minutes a few times a week adds up to hours. Is that really how you want to be using your time? Not to mention, it takes incredible skill to sift through these piles without disturbing it's precarious order.
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Does De-Clutter Equal De Stress?
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For the last couple of weeks, I have been under a LOT of stress. Sometimes my coping mechanism consists of spending all my free time in bed with the television and a generous helping of something calorie laden and delicious.
But I found a nice wallet/planner while shopping a few days ago and found that it was just as satisfying, if not more (and a lot less fattening!) to transfer all my addresses and phone numbers from the old one to the new one.
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