Can You Believe It??

As a professional organizer, I subscribe to an industry magazine, Getting Organized Magazine. It's quarterly, and usually has some interesting new products to showcase or a new technique or two to try with clients. In the Winter 2014 issue, there were some surprising statistics provided, that I thought were worth sharing with all of you!
-  The average cost to declutter a home before sale is $402; the average benefit in sales total is $2,024 (a 403% ROI).
Forty-two percent of homeowners experience more anxiety when their homes are unorganized.
-  A study at Princeton University found that in cluttered environments "the chaos restricts your ability to focus. The clutter also limits your brain's ability to process information."
-  Getting rid of clutter can eliminate up to 40% of household work.
Sixteen percent of moms with at least three kids won't let them invite friends over due to clutter.
-  Only 25% of garages are used to park a car.
Twenty-three percent of American adults have paid bills late because they couldn't find them.

How does your home stack up? It's certainly not a competition, but sometimes it's nice to know where you are on the journey!

Organizing Puppies!!

Okay, I didn't really get the chance to organize a bunch of puppies.....though that does sound like my dream job!

But, having a pet means having pet supplies. Food, treats, medicine, shampoos, collars, bowls, toys...you get the picture. I've been in lots of homes with many types of pets. Sometimes, their supplies end up all over the house, without a rhyme or reason.

1) Keep food supplies all in one place, preferably close to where the pet eats/is fed. Most of the time, that will be in or near the kitchen or laundry areas of the home. However, if your pet lives in a cage or tank (think hamsters and fish), then feeding is wherever the pet lives. Food, dishes and treats should be kept together near by.

2) Toys are probably scattered throughout the house at any given time. If your pet is anything like my Nuppy (Niece Puppy!), Ruthie, toys are constantly being played with, fetched and swapped out for something better. At the very least, have a place that toys can be corralled when it's time to clean up. Keep the basket or bin accessible to whomever is likely to help with clean up.

  3) Wearables are anything that goes on the body of the pet. Collars, leashes, coats, booties all qualify. Keep them together where you'd 'dress' your pet. If leashes and collars only go on on the way out the door, keep a small basket or hook on the wall for the items. Easy to grab on the way out, and easy to put away on the way back inside. Pick-up bags can be stored here, too.

4) And, of course, there's personal items. Yes, even pets have personal items! Shampoo, toothpaste, medicine, vitamins are all personal items for your pet. Hopefully, these are items that aren't needed on a daily basis, but might get some semi-regular use. Where and how often these things are used will help you determine the best storage place. Sometimes it makes sense to keep them in a kitchen cabinet, clearly separated from human goods. Other times, it's best to keep pet personal items with leashes and coats in the laundry room. Or, if you're bathing your cat in the bath tub, maybe storing the shampoo and cat medicine in the bathroom, also clearly separated from human medicine, is the most convenient place.

Keep the items together and keep them labeled so they stay separate from humans' things. Also, be sure to let all the pet's caregivers know where to find these things. Most importantly, give your pet a good, long hug! Well...unless you have fish.  In which case, just wave hello.


My Afternoon Plans

Later this weekend, I'll be hosting a clothing swap. I've done this for a few years, a few times a year. Here's essentially how it works:

I invite over a group of ladies, who are also encouraged to invite other ladies that might be interested. They are invited to bring over any clothing items, jewelry, accessories, bags or shoes that they no longer wear or want in their wardrobe. It doesn't matter what size or style. As long as the items are clean and in wearable condition, they are welcome. When everyone arrives, we dump out our belongings into piles throughout my home. A pile for coats, a pile for pants, one for dresses and one for shoes....you get the picture. Then, it's a free-for-all! Everyone is invited to sift through the piles for whatever items they might like to take home with them. There are mirrors available for those trying on things. Whatever is left after everyone has taken what they want, goes into bags taken to charity.

We all clear out some space in our closets, and we all take home some new pieces...all for free!

So, today, I've got some time open in my schedule. Since there's a swap this weekend, I'm going to take some time to look through my closet. I'll pull out a couple things that I know I didn't wear this winter, because I probably wouldn't wear them next winter. There might be a handful of things I'm not sure of the fit anymore; I'll try those things on to make a decision. I'll look through my shoes, my winter accessories, etc. Chances are, I'll have a medium sized bag ready to go.

Not only do I look forward to finding some great items my friends no longer wear, but I'm glad to help a local charity with our unneeded items. Just look how much we took in from one of our past swaps!


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