Favourite Organising Tools #5 - Timers

I have a special something to help me stay focussed.

This is it - a timer.

It is one of my favourite organising tools for these three reasons:

1. it keeps me focussed and on task
2. it helps me to work quickly
3. it helps me to plan for project work

Did you know that work expands to find the time available for it?
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You Can Get Organized!

I first talked to "Clara" 3 years ago on the phone.  She had heard me on the radio doing an interview on a talk show.  She was excited with what she learned on the air and called me almost instantly after the show was over.  We talked for 20 minutes and she decided that she could not afford our services.

Never one to give a hard sell, you either are ready to get help or you are not, I told her that we would be around if she decided she needed the help.  Three years later she called, "My friend told me that if I had let you come over when we first talked I would not be so frustrated now."
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Favourite Organising Tools #4 - Masking Tape

I saw this excellent tip from Deniece Schofield’s book, Confessions of an Organized Homemaker, when I read it 5 years ago. And I have used it since – in fact, I’m still using the same roll of masking tape!

If you haven’t read this book yet, do yourself a favour and read it.

Masking tape makes the easiest labelling tool ever. Why?
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Getting the Kid's Stuff off of the Floor

I don't normally write a lot on my son, but this week I'm inspired, so what the heck! I bet that I am like a lot of moms at the end of the day. So, when school began this past fall, David would come home and his book bag, coat and shoes hit the floor by the front door and he goes running. I was a bit more understanding when he was in kindergarten, but now that he is a "big" first grader, this is just unacceptable.

So, I sat him down and had a heart to heart. Yes, he knew where his things belonged. Yes, he understands that his stuff on the floor looks bad and more importantly, it is dangerous where it ends up. Yes, he knows where his stool is to reach the bar… that is when he admitted the problem.
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Understand Before Your Reprimand

About a month ago, I asked my son (who is 7) to pick up his room and organize his desk. When I went into his room, his toys were all over his desk. I was frustrated. He had been instructed to put his toys away and instead I saw them all over his desk so random.

A long time ago, I promised myself that I would understand first. So, I held my irritation and asked him, "David, we talked about organizing your desk. Can you please explain to me what organizing you have done?"
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Do You Have an Evening Routine?

One of the best ways to ensure you get a good start in the mornings is to have a good evening routine.

It's even more important if you're not a morning person like I am.

My evening routine includes:

1. packing my work bag
2. packing my lunch
3. setting out my clothes
4. getting the video ready to record Dr Phil and Oprah


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Posted April 10 2008, filed under How I de-cluttered, Clutter Control Products | 8 Comments | Permalink

YOU Can Contribute Tips & Photos to Clutter Control Freak

We want you to contribute tips, before & after photos, videos, stories, and advice to Stacks and Stacks' Clutter Control Freak Blog. Other readers will get to vote on which contributions are the most useful. Here are some of the ways you can participate:

   • Freak of the Week
Send us your nomination for the Clutter Control Freak of the Week with photos or videos and readers will pick the winner, who will get a cool prize.

The Freak of the Week can be a person, a process, a before & after, or a how-to.

   • Clutter Hacks
Send us ideas, products, and tips on clearing clutter from your life. We especially love to hear about clutter hacks that take less than 10 minutes to do.
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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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Stop the Junk Mail

Spring cleaning this year can go beyond just the closets, cupboards and garages and also include our mailboxes. Who knew that Americans receive nearly four tons of junk mail each year and the average consumer can be on thousands of marketing mailing lists at any time? We are flooded with unwanted advertisements, credit card offers and political propaganda, which can bury the mail we are looking for…not to mention create a drain on the environment.
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Contain It!

Our family saves labels, can tops and box tops to raise money for our school, church and community. But all of these scraps and bits were making quite a mess until I contained them. The photo shows how. We keep the labels and box tops in envelopes on the side. The can tops and milk caps have their own containers. We also toss in the pizza cutter and lighter. This basket slides into a small space under the microwave, so no one sees the clutter.

My Big Work Planner

All this talk about notebooks ("My Favourite Organising Tools #1 - Notebooks" and "The Evil and Catch-All Notebooks") got me thinking…I have my planner for my personal stuff and my bils and appointments - but what about work?
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Favourite Organising Tools #3 - Post-it Notes

I love using post-it notes to help me get organised.

And if you get the proper ones, they stick on everything and last forever. Don't waste your time with the cheap stuff. I even use them in the fridge and they just don't lose their stickiness - ever!
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Just Do It

I'm not normally a procrastinator, but I have my moments. And one of those moments happened this weekend.

I recently returned from an out-of-town trip, and I needed to clean the house…do some laundry… and frankly, I was just not in the mood! I wanted to be lazy and just veg out in front of the TV.

So I plopped myself down on the couch to do just that. But, you know what? I couldn't really relax! I knew that I had things to accomplish to keep our home in working order, and those things were subconsciously bugging me, eating away at my brain.
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Organise Magazine Clippings

I'm a bit of an information junkie so I often find myself buying a magazine because one or two headlines caught my eye.

Sound familiar?

I don't like keeping magazines because all you need are about 5 pages (if that) from each magazine and it's a waste of space! Not to mention a waste of time when you have to look through that whole magazine for one article.
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Command Center in a Basket

Yesterday Michelle asked how to set up a Command Center.

There are so many ways. I decided to show mine because it is compact and fairly inexpensive.

I bought a basket and popped two three-ring binders into it. One binder is for all of our family information. The other is my recipe binder.

I also have a section in the back with a few file folders for things that I don’t want to hole punch.
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Keeping Up With Receipts

I bought a pair of sandals some time ago. They looked very cute but the straps on the top of the foot were very uncomfortable.

I decided to return them and within a minute or two, had retrieved the receipt from FOUR months ago.

I could find the receipt easily because I do 5 specific things to keep my receipts organised and in order.

1. Have a specific place in your wallet just for receipts
I have two sections in my wallet so I keep cash separate from paper. I also always keep the credit card slip on top of the receipt and always add new receipts to the back of that section.
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How to Organise Your Handbag

Corrie asked me how I organise my bag and while I talked about it before, I'm going to tell you about this one specifically.

1. Before I buy any bag, I empty out my current handbag in the shop and repack it in that bag to make sure it all fits. This is because my spatial ability is …well… non-existent so I might think it will all fit and I'm disappointed when I get home and then I have to return it. All a big waste of time.
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Organized Winter Outwear…Or Is It??

Snow. I absolutely love it! We recently got close to a foot of snow in a few days time. Now considering that the last few winters have been so mild with no snow in Minnesota until January - this is awesome!

Along with the snow comes outdoor activities. I have four kids and between them, the dogs, and I we spend a lot of time outside. Dress appropriately and one can stay our for hours! Well, that's where the problem comes in - the appropriate dress. Hats, mittens, scarves, snow-pants, boots, etc.

Now I can handle the whole organizational part of the clothing prior to it being put on. I rotate out the winter stuff and put the summer stuff into storage. Check. The kids are all assigned hooks and drawers for their stuff. Check. Hooks and drawers are labeled. Check.
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Reader Hack: Re-use Boxes

I used Kleenex lavishly to keep after my kids messes and saved the empty boxes. I cut open the top leaving a half inch all around and then stapled the ends for added strength. I made (or had my older kids make) large labels for the box ends. These fit nicely on most bookcases and have made wonderful free organizers.

I used them for sewing notions, household items such as batteries, tape, glue, string, hair accessories, dog "things", tools, workroom items, such as sandpaper or paintbrushes, also for craft items and kids supplies such as pens, pencils , crayons, etc. the list is endless.
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Containing Caps

Ball caps and hats are a big cause of clutter in many homes. If you aren't sure of a good way to store caps, then they will end up in a big pile on the floor or in multiple piles scattered around the house. Meanwhile, you are unable to find the hat you need when you need it! Plus, they are collecting dirt, losing their shape, and could be in danger of becoming Fido's next chew toy.

The CapRack is a great choice for a hat organizer. I bought one for my husband about 8 months ago; all his hats are in one place, they retain their shape, and he has full visibility of all of them at once.  He actually told me that it's his favorite organizer! Getting the Man Stamp of Approval is a big deal, especially coming from him since he isn't the least bit into organization.
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Turn Would-be Clutter Into Festive Christmas Decor

Little trinkets, gadgets, and gizmos have a way of coming into our lives and accumulating over time. I'm sure you have a few! Souvenirs from your summer vacations…the tassle from your high school graduation…the first Barbie doll you ever had…the cassette tape from 1984 that you played constantly through your senior year of college…all the mementos that are so hard to throw away because of the sentimental value. But what can you really DO with them?! Normally, they end up crammed in a drawer somewhere, never to be seen again or used again for a very long time.
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De-cluttering Children's Toys

Now is the perfect time to declutter your children’s toys, just before Christmas.

You know how you get overwhelmed with too much stuff? Your kids also get overwhelmed with too many toys.

Your kids have too many toys if…
1. There is not enough space in their rooms to store it. No, the answer is not to move to a bigger house or to buy more containers.
2. They don’t even notice when you remove some toys.
3. They forget the toys they do have because they’re buried so deep.

Now, here’s what I want you to do:
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6 Secrets to Digital Photo Bliss

One of the things I tackled this week was sorting out our photos from our Cape Town trip nearly 3 weeks ago. You can see the results on our travel blog.

Photos are one of those things that can quickly overwhelm you if you don’t have a system. Before you know it, you have thousands of photos on your computer and no idea where to start.
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Product of the Week: The Decorating Assistant

The biggest obstacle when completing a decorating project (whether it's an entire house or just one room) is the clutter that ensues. Drawings, swatches, clippings, business cards, and instruction manuals strewn about the house, are the last thing you need if you want a successful job done.

My jaw just about hit the floor when I came across the Decorating Assistant Organizer. As I raised my fists in the air and let out half-elated / half-aggravated roar to the heavens, I thought about my previous projects and the time, confusion, and headaches I could’ve saved myself.

I am so excited about the Decorating Assistant. Not only because it will keep me organized during my next project, but because staying organized will alleviate the disorder, and put the fun back in decorating!

Organizing Out-of-Reach Closet Shelves

I am short and what I wouldn't give sometimes to be tall.  I often find myself staring at the sweaters on the top shelf of my closet, wishing that I had "Go-Go-Gadget" legs to boost myself up!  Organizing shelves, especially those mounted too high to reach properly, can be a huge headache.  I recommend using the following tools to help organize out-of-reach closet shelves:  

1) Step Stool

If you are unable to reach a shelf with ease, you are less inclined to return items back to the shelf where they belong.  And we all know what that means: you will end up with a clutter pile-up on your hands!
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Organizing Clothes for the Seasons

The weather here is getting cold. So cold in fact that my kids are already wearing their winter coats to school. You know what that means don't you? Time for the seasonal clothes change out!

The only way to avoid over-stuffed closets and dressers is to store away the clothes I'm not wearing. The other day my girlfriend kindly pointed out to me that not everyone does this. Huh? How can anyone stare at sweaters and turtlenecks all summer? Or tank tops in the dead of winter? How depressing!
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Get Up and Get Organizing!

People tend to put off organizing because it seems so daunting - too much stuff and too little time! The key is to eat away at the mess, little by little, until it all disappears. Start small - a corner of the kitchen, a shelf in the closet, or a cabinet in the bathroom. Start short - 20 minutes.

Let me tell you about the two main techniques I like to use:
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Tired of Boxes for Recipes? Try a Photo Album

I love to cut recipes out of magazines.

After college I started cooking more and I wanted to start collecting recipes that I liked. At first I stuck to the neat-freak rule of only allowing myself to keep recipes that I had already tried and liked.

But in the absence of textbooks, magazines soon took over my free time (and brain) and I soon had a lot of recipes that I wanted to try.
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Clutter Control: The Recipe File

How many untested recipes do you need to keep? My own recipe box was close to overflowing, so I just did a major de-clutterering.

I got rid of:

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The Experiment: Clutter Hack for Dishes - Update

Well, I’m glad to tell you that the experiment is a success!

Sort of.

My hope was that every one would wash their dishes when they were done with them and that I would awaken to a sparkling kitchen every morning. Wishful thinking, I know. Back to reality.

Reality is that habits don’t change that easily. My youngest still leaves his dishes on the coffee table and my oldest still leaves them in his room, but since there’s only one set per person they don’t stay there long enough to get nasty.
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