Organize Your Refrigerator

A refrigerator is a terrible thing to waste. This remarkable appliance keeps perishable items fresh for long periods of time and allows us to have a cold drink any time we wish - that is if we can find the cold drink. If you have occasionally rummaged behind the orange juice and the giant jar of mayonnaise to find that the piece of lemon pie you have been craving is shriveled and moldy, it is time to bring a little organization to the refrigerator.

The first step is to clean out the refrigerator. Start with the top shelf and remove all products. Toss out anything that is outdated or is past its prime. If you have any doubt, throw it out. Repeat this process for the bins and the shelves in the door.

Beginning at the top again, thoroughly clean all surfaces. Then replace the items, keeping like items together. Store vegetables and fruits in the crispers, meat in the meat tray. Put the most perishable items on the bottom shelves because these remain at a cooler temperature than upper shelves. Store larger items in the back and shorter items in the front so you can see at a glance what you have on hand. Bottles and jars usually fit neatly in the door shelves. Keep eggs in their original container because they stay fresh longer.

Consider buying clear containers with lids to contain items like cheeses and individually packaged snacks. These stack nicely to maximize space and can be placed up front for easy access. That makes it less likely for family members to create a mess by rummaging to find what they are looking for.

Once you have the refrigerator organized, have a plan for keeping it that way. One suggestion is to do a quick clean every week on the day before garbage pickup. That will quickly get all discarded items out of the house and avoid smelly garbage hanging around. Another suggestion is to do an assessment and cleaning prior to grocery shopping so you will know exactly what you need. Better yet, clean the refrigerator the day prior to garbage collection and then go shopping.

Organizing your refrigerator will pay dividends in lowered food costs and saved time.

Beverly and Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

ORGANIZE A FAMILY COMMUNICATION CENTER

It’s baaack. That’s right, another school year is about to begin. Are you prepared to deal with schedules that accommodate scholastic happenings, sports and other extracurricular activities as well as scheduled health appointments and the fun stuff that goes with living with a family?

If you are one of those folks who never miss sending in a permission slip and who never spend a late night prompting a child to finish an assignment that is due the next day, then you have mastered the art of communicating and scheduling family activities. If, like most of us, you sometimes struggle with getting children to tell you what is coming up in their schedule or coordinating a host of family commitments, here a few hints to improve family communication.

You need to know what is happening. Make it easy for the family to leave papers to be signed, notes about activities and messages from teachers by creating a family mail station. Folder holders, cubbies or even large manila envelopes labeled with family member’s names can be placed at a spot where the family enters the house. Make it a rule to empty backpacks and place the communication in the appropriate “mail slot”. Permission slips and notifications go to Mom or Dad and reminders about dental appointments can go to Jimmy or Jenny. The other rule that needs to be enforced is for each family member to check his mail daily. It only takes a minute and once incorporated into the routine, becomes almost automatic.

Create a master schedule where everyone can see it. Make sure it is down low enough for the youngest family member to see. If children are pre-reading age, you might choose to use symbols to represent school, work, music practice etc. Your family can decide if one person will be responsible for maintaining the master schedule or if each person will enter his own activities. If each person enters his own information, consider making a rule that as soon as someone notices a conflict, he brings it to an adult family member.

Provide a spot to leave messages. You may choose a dry erase board, a magnetic board., black board tiles or a bulletin board. The important thing is that anyone can leave a quick note. “Please turn the oven on at 5:00” or “Tommy is coming over to work on project” or “What a great job picking up the family room!” or “Reminder: pick up milk”

Grouping the mail area, master schedule and a bulletin/dry erase board in an accessible area creates a family communication center that will aid in keeping chaos at bay.

Check out these websites for supplies for you family communication center.

www.bedbathandbeyond.com
www.harriettecarter.com
www.ikea.com
www.potterybard.com
www.officedepot.com


Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

ORGANIZE CORDS AND CABLES

Not all technology is wireless. That is evident when we spy the tangled web of cords leading from computers, entertainment systems and other clusters of electronic devices.
Whether you are dealing with extension cords or coaxial cables, there are devices that help to keep them orderly and protect the humans in our lives from getting tangled in the mess.

The least expensive (and least esthetically pleasing) solution is too use split PVC tubing to protect and bundle, or twist ties and stick on hooks to keep the tied cords tight against consoles and walls. Either of these solutions works well for thinner cords and cables. A cheap option for storing thinner cable is to thread them through paper towel or toilet tissue tubes. We do not, however, recommend using these paper tubes for cables and cords that are in use.

If you yearn for a simple, attractive way to organize the cords and cables that litter your floors, there are several commercially available options for taming the mess. The Wiremate Cable Organizer at www.wiremate.com conceals a crowd of cables and comes in three colors to coordinate with your décor. At www.officedepot.com , the 3M Cord Organizer Kit comes with cord bundlers and tags, and www.organize.com carries a host of products for shortening excess cable cord and bundling cable of all sizes. At www.ImprovementsCatologue.com you can find a Cord Cover Kit that includes adhesive-backed channels and corner pieces that snap together for a neat tailored look. The material can be painted to match the décor and fits any flat surface. This is a great alternative for protecting wires from little hands.

A cordwrap outlet faceplate for outlets is an ingenious design that allows the user to wrap excess cord at the plug-in source. Unfortunately the website www.keepitcartesian is temporarily out of the product. They urge you to check back as they will have the design in stock soon. A few other devices that allow better organization of cords at plug in sites are the Hub-man four port hub available at www.solutions.com, and the five outlet corner plug surge protector that fits neatly in a corner available at www.shophometrends.com.

Keeping cords bundled, encased and organized protects the cords from damage and keeps them from causing harm to folks with inquisitive hands or clumsy feet.

Beverly and Kristen
www.keytransitions.net

ORGANIZE YOUR BOOKS

We love books. They are the hardest things for us to get rid of. The main motivator for ridding ourselves of our beloved books is so that we can buy more. So we understand that maintaining orderly bookshelves can be a challenge. We just have to keep telling ourselves that we can have no more books than we have space to store them. That means sharing some of our treasures with others before we add new ones to our shelves.

Here are some hints to help you get your books organized.

Clear out all the books and put them in one large space. The floor works fine. As you take them from the shelves remove any papers and bookmarks. Separate the books into five piles: keep, recycle (some paperbacks and pamphlets), throw away, give away, and sell. Immediately take all the books you are not going to keep to their final resting-places. Another alternative is to plan a book swapping party with friends. If you do this remember to dispose of enough books, so that you have space on your shelves for those you will claim for yourself.

Group the “keep” books into categories that are meaningful for you. We like fiction, nonfiction, do it yourself, cooking, children’s, and resource books (like dictionary) as main divisions. We like to sort the books alphabetically within these groups. You may decide to just group alphabetically by title or by author. You could even use the Dewey Decimal system like the libraries do. The Dewey Decimal Numbers are usually listed in the front of the book with the publication information. If you want to digitally catalogue your books by tags, Dewey Decimal Numbers or Library of Congress Categories, take a look at the website Library Thing which allows you to enter 200 titles free of charge. You might also opt to keep books in spaces close to where they are used - repair instructions with the tools, craft books in the craft basket, cookbooks in the kitchen.

Once you have the books off the shelves and grouped as you like them, clean the shelves thoroughly. Replace the books in the categories you have selected, dusting them as you go. You may have to be flexible and place oversized or heavy books on a bottom shelf regardless of category. Nothing can ruin a reading session like a bump on the head from a heavy book on a high shelf.

If the shelves are long, break up the book display with decorative items or use bookends to stabilize groups of books. If books still will not stay upright, take a look at the Shelf Shark Organizer available at Home Depot or http://www.shelfshark.com/. These handy little devices keep books standing straight.

Once you have your shelves filled with the books you love, remember to dispose of a book every time you bring a new one home. If that is more than you can bear, get a library card. It is good for your pocketbook and good for the planet.

Have fun and stay organized.


Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net