ORGANIZE YOUR LAUNDRY ROOM

As the saying goes, “It's better to give than to receive.”  When applying this to the laundry room, keep a bag, box, or basket handy for items that don't fit, are out of date, or just plain not wanted anymore.  It's the most kind to wash them first, but then toss these unwanted clothes into the charity bin or bag, and when it's full you can give it away to your favorite clothing bank.  This not only eliminates clutter in the laundry room, it also helps to clear those closets of outgrown and unwanted clothing that are often responsible for the most cramming that takes place in each closet.

Do you have a “hang up” with the laundry?  Keep a portable rack to hang clothing on when it comes out of the dryer.  Keep lots of hangers handy to simply transfer shirts, blouses, pants, and other to-be-ironed items directly onto the rack.  This cuts down on  the wrinkles, and therefor makes the whole ironing job easier, plus the area stays more organized all at the same time.

For flat articles of clothing that need to be ironed, a basket or bin kept near the hanging rack works very well.  A solution for sorting is to keep large bins or baskets in the laundry room to sort darks, whites, lights, and delicates. 

If your family is large you might want to consider installing shelves that will hold bins or wire baskets labeled for each member of the family.  Don't have the wall space?  How about a couple of rolling basket systems?  They'll work just as well.  As you fold the dry clothes you can immediately put them into the labeled basket thus eliminating the sorting step.  Then it's up to each person to retrieve their own clean clothes and put them away in their own rooms.

If you're tired of dodging dirty clothes n the floor, try having a dirty clothes receptacle in each bedroom as well as the bathroom laundry chute.  On laundry day each person is responsible to get their dirty clothes into the laundry area.  Oh, and a separate “drying cleaning” container is helpful too. 

Happy wash day!



Calling All Pack Rats!

Peg Bracken of Pack Rats Anonymous shares this motto:  “Every day I’ll throw something away, and soon I’ll feel better and better.” 

How about you?  Are you a pack rat?  Do you save everything, including matchbooks for your sister’s neighbor’s son?  Would you really miss all those items that you’re saving just in case you need it “some day”?  It’s time to throw some things away! 

As with all big projects, do it one piece at a time.  Begin at the front door, starting with the first drawer, cupboard, or shelf you see.  Take with you three boxes:  a Give-Away box, a Throw-Away box, an at Storage box.  Throw away all pieces of junk that have accumulated in that spot.  Junk includes pens that only work half the time, out-dated calendars, clothing that has missing buttons or broken zippers.

If you find something that is too good to throw out, but you haven’t used it in over a year, put them in the give-away box.  Give them away soon-to a friend or a mission.  You may save it for a garage sale only if you have the date set.  If it’s left after the garage sale, give it away the next day!

The storage box is for items you want to keep, but they are in the wrong place for now:  spring jackets, the Christmas wreath, the broom, etc.  Don’t put them away until you reach the place where it really belongs.  It doesn’t matter if it takes you three weeks or more to go through the entire house, just keep moving systematically until you are finished with each room, each drawer, and each closet. 

Take one day off a week so you don’t become overwhelmed, but clean at least on space and throw at least one thing away all the other days.  Save the kitchen for last.  It will be the biggest job.  When you’ve reached the end, reward yourself.  And now that you’re in the habit, take time to throw away at least one thing every day so your tidy spaces don’t begin to clutter up again!



TIME TO DO THE DISHES!

Dishes are something you do every day-even if you have a dishwasher.  So, you might as well have an efficient and automatic way to handle this task so you can spend your energy on other things! 

Fellow Organizer and author, Bonnie McCullough, give these suggestions:

Put away clean dishes as soon as you walk into the kitchen.  Getting them out of the way gives you a clear work area and can save you frustration later.

Deal with the mess.  Clear off tables and counters one area at a time, moving methodically through your kitchen.  If you have a dishwasher, store dirty dishes inside it until you have enough to run a full cycle.

Don’t leave dirty dishes on the counter!  If you have utensils or pans that don’t go into the dishwasher, wash them right away.  Since dishes have to be done so often you might as well teach yourself to do them quickly and without anger.  If you can’t do dishes immediately or decide to save lunch dishes until supper, at least stack them neatly off to the side. 

Don’t try to fix supper on top of the mess of earlier meals.  You might want to quickly wash the dishes before you start supper, and use the dishwasher to soak utensils used for supper preparation. 

Washing bowls, pans and utensils as you use them is a good trick for small kitchens.  The more you get cleaned up before supper, the more free time you’ll have after the meal!

Get rid of clutter!  The more stuff you have in your kitchen, the more you have to keep organized.  Get rid of items you rarely use or never use.  Avoid storing things on counter tops.  Store things near where they will be used. 

Clean up is easier if you have a convenient place for your things.  If several people use your kitchen, it’s helpful for all involved to label shelves and drawers.   Do get all family members involved with cleanup.  Bonnie suggests making a chart and plotting the various clean up tasks and the person responsible for them each day.  If everyone takes a little time to help, you’ll all have more free time together!

Better Your Bathroom

We usually begin our day and end our day-in the bathroom.  To help get you in and out with more ease and efficiency;  let me offer you some tips for your bathroom.  Ever finish your shower or bath and find yourself having to run dripping wet to get a towel?  Instead of storing all the towels in the hall closet, install a shelf or two in the bathroom. 

BE ROBE READY-A simple hook on the back of the bathroom door can keep you robe ready and insure you won’t need to make any more mad dashes to another room for cover. 

SHAMPOO SHELVING-There are portable shelves that loop over the shower head to hold supplies and make it easy to reach without even opening your eyes.

RUBBER DUCKIE-Tub trays can hold duckies, scrubbies, soap, or whatever else you want to keep handy in the bathtub.

BATHROOM JUNK DRAWER-Just as most kitchens need a junk drawer, so does the bathroom.  Put divider trays into your bathroom drawers to divide up things like bobby pins, manicure equipment, hair accessories, and so on.

ROUND TABLE-When cabinets are deep use lazy susan systems to lessen frustration of the otherwise dominoe effect when reaching for things.           

MAKEUP CENTER-Group similar items in small baskets or plastic containers to save time digging for them and you’ll save space overall.

DOWN UNDER-Check under the sink to see if there’s space for an additional shelf.

WET HEAD-Plastic hair dryer holder that stick via a suction cup to the bathroom wall or installed inside a cabinet will keep the hair dryer handy and ready for use. 

BAG IT-Draw string bags will hold hair dryers, saving supplies, or whatever when hung on hooks or even small nails inside the sink cabinet door.

With a little thought and ingenuity your bathroom can become better for you and your family.

Get More Time in Your Life.

Wouldn’t you like extra hours each day to accomplish all you need to do?  Maggie Bedrosian, in the Bottom Line Newsletter, offers the following 10 tips to get more time in your life:

1. Slow Down!  Take time to do things right the first time, and enjoy the time you saved by not having to them over.
2. Say No! Just because someone asks you to do something that’s important to them, it doesn’t have to be on your list of priorities.
3. Define Your Purpose.  Know where you are going and why.  You tend to have more time and energy to accomplish what you really want to do.
4. Delegate.  Be willing to let others bring their ideas and methods into the task, and accept the fact that things may be done differently than you would have done them.
5. Eliminate the little things by doing them.  If you do all the little things each day, they won’t become big things that will take longer to accomplish. 
6. Simplify.  Don’t make your life more complicated than it has to be.  Organize your desk before you leave work; choose your clothes before bedtime, etc. so you won’t be sidetracked by this decision the next day.
7. Know when to hire help.  Not every task you do yourself is a time-saver.  Is there a do-it-yourself project that’s taking up too much of your valuable time?  Could you better hire someone to do it more efficiently?
8. Exercise and energize!  It is worth the time you take!  Exercise give you more energy, alertness, stamina, and “It puts more life in your years and more years in your life!”
9. Relax!  Recharge your mind by closing your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and think happy soothing thoughts…pray!
10. Prioritize your time!  You really will have more time to do what you want if you first take time to decide what is important for you to do.