10-Minute Clutter Hacks - KITCHEN

Here are some more quick and easy tasks that we can do when we have a spare 10-15 minutes. Or even just during the commercial breaks while watching TV.

Remember you're not going to find big blocks of time to organise a room.

Start using the little bits of time that you DO have.

These are some tasks you can do in the kitchen:
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12 Tips for an Organized Desk

Are you the disorganized type with piles of paper on your desk? Or are you the type who goes for fashion over function?

Well, Smart Computer Softwares Blog has a great post called 12 Tips for an Organized Desk to help you get a handle on your office space.

I especially like this point:
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Reader Hack - Junk mail

Reduce the amount of mail that comes into your home.

You can opt out of catalogs at this site:
Catalogchoice

You can opt out of credit card offers at this site:
Optoutprescreen

To read more visit: Minimalist Finances

Submitted by: The Minimalist

Do My Stuff

Outsourcing your work isn't just for busy professionals anymore! Websites like DoMyStuff.com allow 1000s of people to have somebody else do their errands, chores, projects, and other tasks that sometimes clutter up life. Doesn't that sound nice?! Think of the time and energy you could save…

A quick check of DoMyStuff.com shows that there are many different types of requests - anything from building a website to moving a couch to gardening. So if you find that you are too busy to enjoy life, it may be worth hiring some much-needed relief.
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Download Clutter Control Freak Blog's Clutter Hack Widget or Our Custom Toolbar So You Never Miss a Clutter Hack

Now there are three great ways to be sure you never miss a clutter hack from Clutter Control Freak Blog:
   • The Clutter Hack of the Day Widget for your Google Desktop. (Download Google Desktop here first. Then, download the widget here.)

   • The Clutter Hack of the Day Widget for your blog. (Download it here.)

   • The new Clutter Control Freak Toolbar that lets you access our latest posts and all our features, instantly, from your browser. It's easily customizable, has Google-powered search, and is compatible with Internet Explorer and/or Firefox on Mac and PC. (Download it here.)
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Favourite Organising Tools #2 - Plastic Display Folders

Or as we call them here in South Africa - FLIPFILES

So what are flipfiles?

Handy clear plastic files, neatly bound in book format. Slim and light for easy handling, storage and carrying. Anti-static-allows quick insertion and withdrawal of documents. Will not lift ink from photocopies.
Outer-cover insert replaceable with users own title page.
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Posted March 11 2008, filed under Clutter Hack Links, Clutter Control Products, Organizeit Projects | 5 Comments | Permalink

The Story of Stuff

A friend emailed me a link to the wonderful site
The story of stuff. Annie Leonard did a great job of describing the story of our stuff; from extraction to disposal. I’m an environmentalist and encourage my clients to recycle and make other “green” choices. Her twenty minute movie has raised the bar. Now I want to do even more. Go see it now!

Do You Know How to Reach Your Organising Goals?

I'm hosting a free Skypecast on goal-setting next week. Want to join me?
Topic: 7 things you MUST do to reach your goals

When: Thursday 13 March

Time: 8PM Jhb time/ 1PM EST (New York time)

Duration: 45 mins plus 15 mins Q&A

How: via Skypecast
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What Do You Take In An Emergency?

What is the first thing you will grab from your home if your house floods, catches on fire or comes tumbling down in an earthquake?

Whether your answer is the family photo album or your grandmother’s quilt, most of us wouldn’t even think of our medical and financial records, the very things we would need to rebuild our lives. And yet, who keeps their files in something so compact and portable it can be grabbed in a moment’s notice?

There are also a number of technology solutions for backing up all of your data on flash drives (can’t get more portable than that!) that are quick and practical and can be completed over a weekend. A regularly updated flash drive can be kept with your emergency supplies for a quick departure.
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Organized Medication Disposal

Where or how do you dispose of expired or unneeded OTC (over-the-counter) or prescription drugs?

For awhile we were hearing to flush them or put them down the drain, and while this prevents any mis-use of the drugs, it also has adverse effects on water and the wildlife in it. Sometimes it can even cause unintentional ingestion if the water is re-used. (Check the drug information sheet that came with the prescription to see if it is safe to put down the drain.)
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What’s for Dinner?

The other day I looked in the fridge and found a bunch of miscellaneous ingredients and was trying to decide how to morph them into dinner. I went to my computer and typed in my secret weapon: Allrecipes.com. After typing my ingredients into the search box I was given a bunch of possibilities. This site is made up of a community of cooks that submit recipes and photos. It’s also a forum for comments. Sometimes the comments are pivotal in deciding if it’s the right recipe for our family or if someone else’s additions or corrections sound like a good idea.
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Stair-Steppin’ for the Environment

Some people resist taking measures to live a low-impact lifestyle because they’re afraid it will be too hard. They’re not interested in saying goodbye to convenience, splurges and fun to adopt a tough, pioneer-style existence.

I’m here to say, “That isn’t the only choice.”

You don’t have to start out selling your car and turning off your electricity!

This is a process much like climbing stairs. In my mind, I visualize a massive staircase like the one in Chichen itza, Mexico (see picture). It looks overwhelming at first, but as you take it one step at a time you make fast progress. If you climb too fast or if you get winded you can always stop and rest. If you’re climbing with someone else, you might need to pause and wait for them to catch up. Start slowly and keep climbing.
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FREE ebook for You - 100 Surefire Ideas to Organize Your Busy Life

I got together with 3 awesome business owners and we put together this 40-page book in record time. Nothing like group excitement and accountability to get us moving! I am so proud of how this turned out and I know you're going to LOVE it!

You can get your copy of this gorgeous FREE book at http://organiseyourbusiness.com.

Let me give you just a little hint about what's in there:
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5 Steps to Organise Your Kitchen Counters

I often get asked, "how do you keep the kitchen counter neat, tidy and organised?"

A kitchen counter can get out of control very quickly because of all the different things happening, like children's papers, meal preparation, cooking, homework, crafting, shopping, etc. Because of this, I don't think you could ever just leave the kitchen and hope it would stay neat and organised! However, here are a couple of tips to help you at least try:

1. Have clearly designated areas for each activity
We have one little corner just as you enter our kitchen where we pack and unpack lunches, sort papers and so on. The rest of my smallish kitchen is for meal preparation and cooking.
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Want to Organise Your Home in 2008?

Is your goal for 2008 to get your home organised, once and for all?

You are not alone!
This is one of the top 3 things on most people's wish lists Every Single Year.

What would you say if I told you you could have your home completely organised in just 12 weeks?

You can!!!
I've taken your entire house and broken it down into itsy-bitsy sections so even the most overwhelmed won't get distracted!
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FREE Organizing Tools on the Web

If you are looking for free tools that can help you get organized, there are many options available on the web!

Here are just a few:

Cozi - Designed to assist the modern family on-the-go, this site tracks activities, schedules, and shopping for each family member…and it can be managed on your PC, web browser, or mobile phone! Account sign-up is required.

HassleMe  - A tool which randomly nags you via email about things you know you should be doing. It can be used for individuals or groups of people like families or offices. HassleMe doesn't require an account set-up!  Just input the hassle, how often you want to be hassled, and the email address(es) to send the hassle.
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Why I love Flylady

If you haven't met the Flylady, do yourself a favor and go on over to check her out.

I love Flylady because of these great time management principles:

1. Make it a habit
When you start the Flylady system, you start working with one habit. When that habit is routine, you add another and then another, until your home cleans itself and you have your life back.

2. "You can do anything for 15 minutes"
This is so true and a great technique for procrastinators! After 15 minutes, you can stop if you want or you can choose to continue. Usually once those first 15 minutes are done, you've built up momentum and you want to carry on with the task.
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The Google Desktop Clutter Control Freak Widget is Here!

What’s a widget, you may ask?
A widget is the collective name for buttons, sliders, menu bars, title bars, and all the other paraphernalia that can be installed on your desktop within a frame. You are already using widgets if you have weather reports or headlines on your browser or newspaper homepage.

And now you can now add The Clutter Control Freak Idea Widget to your Google Desktop.

Every day, you'll get a link to Clutter Control Freak's Clutter Hack of the Day: ideas, advice, and news about how to organize your home, office, garden and life.

Here's how to add the Clutter Hack of the Day to your Google Desktop
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Closet cubbies and shelves: Simplify your life

When I was visiting my sister I gave her an early birthday gift. Nothing says "Happy Birthday" better than brand new shelves to organize your front closet! Don't you think?

I LOVE these cubbies and shoe stackers!! Look at how much room they create. I even have one in my own front closet if you remember.

I think my sister was most excited to finally have somewhere for her purse and a I'm outta here shelf! There is even a basket for ball caps and winter hats and mitts.
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Clutter Hack: Getting Organized Enough to Get Organized

Getting organized is hard enough. Trying to organize your own life, and each of your children's lives can quickly become overwhelming. I know it sounds crazy, but sometimes you can’t even get organized enough to get organized!

Rebecca "Kiki" Weingarten M.Sc.Ed, MFA from Daily Life Coaching 4 Kids has some very helpful tips for doing just that.

Like tip number 2:
“Choose your best time of day. Are you a morning person? Or does everyone in the household know better than to approach you before you've had your second cup of coffee? Working at your optimum time makes the work go faster and you've got more energy to deal with any difficulties that come up.”
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Reader Hack: Trade in Your Books

I just moved to a much smaller house and have had to get just plain mean with myself regarding my CDs, books and clothes. I used to think I had to keep all books I enjoyed. NO MORE!

You can trade them at paperbackswap.com or titletrader.com for books on your list (which you can read and then trade or pass on!)

I figure if I give something away that I later want, I can always check it out at the library…happy decluttering

Submitted by Renee, publisher of Mom, Interrupted Blog

How to organize your browser bookmarks and favorites

How many bookmarks and favorites are on your computer? I have more than 1,000 in Firefox and Del.icio.us, and even though they're neatly organized in folders and tagged, I can't remember what I liked about most of them.

How many bookmarks is too many? Are all those sites still live? Are you really ever going back there?

Happily, there's lots of free software for PC and Mac that will help you organize your bookmarks.
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Bibliochaise: a Furniture Mashup and Clutter Hack

If you've ever lived in a Manhattan studio apartment, or its under 500 sq ft equivalent, you'll immediately see the brilliance of the furniture mashup Bibliochaise by Nobody & Company. It's a great way to show off your book collection and keep them close at hand.

The company also makes a dining table with recesses designed for wrists and elbows, and several other beautifully designed multi-use types of furniture.

via Treehugger

Clutter Hack Links

This Audrey Hepburn laptop case and scores of other pretty ones are at Etsy

Boostle 8 Easy Steps to a Home Makeover
Small changes that make a big difference - things like getting indoor plants and changing the hardware on cabinets

Top 50 Frugality Bloggers
Including our wonderful contributor Ariane Benefit of Neat and Simple Living

Answers to top 10 Recycling FAQs

Dumb Little Man: The 20 Biggest Online Time Wasters, and 6 Strategies for Beating Them

organized listening

Living in a small home, every shelf counts. As an audio-phile I've amassed hundreds of C.D.s. Storing them costs valuable closet space. So I've recently tossed all of those jewel cases and have organized all of my C.D.s by genre in one, large, binder. I've saved the liner notes with the C.D. and just slid the actual disk, right in front. This is a great solution for your D.V.D.s as well. And it's portable! These albums can be found at most electronics stores.

Here's a CD Binder from Stacks and Stacks that holds 128 CDs. They also have this great 100-CD Organizer with a 20-CD Travel Case.

Clutter Hack Links

St. Petersburg Times: 10 Tips: Decorate your new place on the cheap.

Get Buttoned Up: Archive of weekly tips on getting organized

Kansas City FOX TV - Must Have Cleaning Products

KOLD 13 News - Get organized! Tips from the station's expert, Star Hansen.