Making a Little More Time

Have you noticed that most of the New Year’s Resolutions we make require us to find a little extra time to carry them out? Exercising means finding the time to work out. Eating healthier means shopping for groceries and fixing meals, getting organized means finding the time to get the job done.

Investing the time to do the things that make life better takes effort and a firm resolve. There is one activity, however, that yields quick results in lightening our load and gives us more time in the long run. That is taking measures to stop unwanted solicitation by mail and telephone, including wireless.

A few minutes on the telephone or Internet can stop of lot of mail from hitting the mailbox and a keep a lot of solicitors off the phone lines.

Stop prescreened credit card and insurance offers from lists supplied by Equifax, Experian, Innovis and Transunion by contacting www.optoutprescreen.com or calling
1-888-567-8688

Direct Marketing Association (DMA) charges a nominal fee for stopping mail advertisement from companies using lists from or affiliated with DMA. Contact them at www.dmaconsumers.org/consumerassistance.hmtl.

Stop unwanted telephone solicitation by contacting the National Do Not Call Registry at www.donotcall.gov or 1-888-382-1222. This service excludes calls from charities, political organizations and surveyors, but stops the rest.

Less junk mail to sort and less unwanted telephone calls interrupting the day frees up a little time to do more important things. Who couldn’t use a little more time?

Beverly & Kristen
www.keytransitions.net

An Easy-to-Keep Resolution for Better Health

Researchers tell us that some of the most popular New Year’s resolutions deal with living a healthier lifestyle. Many of us resolve to quit smoking, lose weight, eat a healthier diet, or exercise more. I have made all of those resolutions and kept at least one of them. They are hard to keep on a long-term basis.

There is one health-related resolution that is a little easier and can be just as important in helping achieve better health. It is to put together a personal health record that includes all the medication you take, all the doctors you see and all the tests you have had. This important document can help you get better treatment when you seek health care in routine and emergency situations.

While you are going through last year’s receipts for preparing your tax documents, make copies of medical information for a folder that can serve as the basis of your personal health record. A good resource for determining what documents and information to include in you record is www.MyPHR.com. Be sure to check out my guest blog when you are there.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Real World Resolve

Many of us have made our New Year’s Resolutions. And many of us have already fallen a little short of keeping them. Whether the goal is to eat a healthier diet (that surely excludes leftovers and lattes) or go to church every Sunday (that surely did not include Sundays when the temperature is below freezing), us mortals have to feel the benefit to stay on track.

Psychologists tell us that to change habits we have to be able to identify the benefit to ourselves and change our behavior for at least thirty days. So here are a few things for folks who resolved to be more organized this year to think about.

Some benefits of being organized are:
You have more money in your pocket. You do not have to pay late fees for bills that got lost in the bottom of a pile of mail. You do not buy duplicate products because you cannot locate beauty supplies or toiletries. You do not waste food by letting expiration dates expire. You take better cares of coats and clothes and can locate them when you need to wear them instead of buying something new.

You are not ashamed to have someone in your home. That means less expensive entertainment, richer friendships, better relationships within your family, and a better feeling about yourself.

You have peace of mind because you know where important documents are located and have a plan for emergency preparedness.

You can enjoy the things you have more fully--no small thing in difficult times.

Once you have identified the benefit to yourself, write it down and post it in a spot where you will see it everyday. Then do something to achieve that goal every day for thirty days. It can be hanging up you coat when you come in the door, then putting your clothes away or in the laundry when you undress, then putting laundry away the same day it is done. It might be getting a basket to hold all the mail, then going through the mail nightly, then paying bills every week. The important thing is to do something to reach the goal every day. If you miss a day, don’t give up. Start over the next day, until you have thirty consecutive days and can see the results.

Help reinforce your resolve by telling a friend or calling a professional organizer for support. A little bit of organization can make life a lot easier. That is a good goal for 2010.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Time to Wrap up

My presents are all wrapped and stacked in “giving piles” or already given.

Now it is time to put away the gift wrap and bows until next year. This year, try packing your holiday wraps and trims in a special storage box so that next year you are ready to go. Here are a few containers that work well for our clients:

The Jokari hanging gift-wrap organizer hangs in the closet and has storage on both sides.
The Spacesaver hanging storage organizer folds to standing position for easy access.
The Rubbermaid 48” low profile gift-wrapping organizer can fit under a bed for storage.
The Sterlite storage tube is an inexpensive choice for a limited amount of paper and trim.

You can find these items at the following sites:
www.target.com
www.walmart.com
www.thecontainerstore.com
www.amazon.com

That’s a wrap! Have a great holiday!

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Tips for Managing Holiday Gatherings

Getting together with friends and family is one of the joys of the season. It can also be a trial when personalities clash or the event arrives before you are ready. Whether you are hosting the gathering or attending it, here are a few tips to lessen the stress.

Deciding what to wear is one of the great stressors for gals who often plan the wardrobe for the whole family. Make that decision long before the day of the event and hang the entire cleaned and pressed outfit, including underwear and accessories, on one hanger. When it is time to dress, there is no second-guessing, the right underwear is not in the dirty clothes hamper, and you do not have to scramble to find the missing snowflake earring.

When giving a party, be ready a half an hour early. I have never hosted a party when someone did not arrive before the stated start time. If it is a dinner party, have a few help-yourself appetizers set out for the early arrivals to nosh on while you put the finishing touches on the meal and table setting.

Be prepared for an unexpected guest by having a place setting in reserve and a plan in your head for where you will seat the extra guest. Under the best circumstances, no unexpected visitor will show up, but if one does you are prepared and cool as a cucumber as you squeeze him in next to Grandpa.

A hostess gift is a nice gesture, but do not expect the hostess to set out your home baked goods or wine. It is her choice whether to share your gift or save it to enjoy later. I saw a party brought to a standstill last year because a guest insisted that everyone taste his homemade snickerdoodles and peppermint Schnapps, even though the party had a carefully planned Felice Navidad theme. As a guest, follow the host’s lead and let it go his way. As a host, just say “ Thank you for the lovely gift. I am going to certainly enjoy this later.”

Steer clear of confrontation by having a few stock phrases for irritating and disagreeable encounters. Some of them are: “ I can’t say I agree, but what an interesting idea.” or “ Let’s talk about this another time” or “Look, there is Leo. I have been looking for him. Excuse me.” Then go somewhere else quickly.

Planning and preparation are the first to steps to organizing and they are good ways to take stress out of holiday gatherings.

Have a terrific holiday and may all your gatherings be happy ones.

Beverly and Kristen
www.KeyTransition.net

Organize Mounds of Magazines and Collections of Catalogues

Magazines and catalogues are good things. They give me hours of pleasure. We actually use them in our work to show clients products that will help with organization. The challenge is to keep them from taking over the house.

Here are a few tip to help you keep magazines, catalogues and, (for you crafters) pattern books organized.

• Keep them close to where you use them. If you peruse catalogues while you watch television, keep them close to your viewing perch. If you use them in your work, store them on a shelf near your workstation. If you like to read them in the bathroom, spring for a bathroom magazine rack. This will minimize the opportunity to mislay them somewhere in route from where they are kept to where they are used.

• Keep them contained. You can choose a lot of different magazine racks, boxes and other containers. Some of our favorites are the ultra-clear magazine boxes at www.containerstore.com and the desk magazine files at www.ikea-usa.com. Ikea also has baskets that hook on underneath a shelf that are great for pattern books when you are working on a project. To get an idea of the variety of magazine holders available, log on to www.magazineracks.com. They have great ideas for wall-hanging, free standing and traditional varieties. One of the ways we organize the catalogues we use in our work is to gather them in large three-ring binders using 3 ring catalogue/magazine organizers. These handy tools snap into the binder and allow you to slide the magazines over them for easy access. Also consider using other containers like flat baskets, copper ham boilers or pretty wooden boxes you may have around the house.

• Keep them accessible. If you store your pretty box on a closet shelf, the catalogues and magazines will get old and probably unread. Keep them out, but keep them neat.

• Keep them current. When you get a new catalogue, throw out the old one. Magazines are a little harder to get rid of when they have a great article, suggestion or recipe you want to hold on to. Clip out the article and save it in a file or notebook and discard the magazine. If it is hard for you to get rid of perfectly good reading material, donate current magazines to nursing homes, clinics or prisons.
  
  Happy reading in an uncluttered house and office.
  
  Beverly & Kristen
  www.KeyTransitions.net

Keys to a Happy Holiday

Thanksgiving Day has come and Christmas, Hanukah and Kwanza are not far behind.

Here are our suggestions for Keys to a happy holiday:

• Keep it simple. There is enough stress without complicating matters. Simple plans are best.
• Enjoy special moments. Don’t get so caught up in preparation that you neglect to enjoy the present and the presence of those you love.
• Yield to the inevitable. Stuff happens. If you can’t change it, just deal with it and move on.
• Save some time for yourself. Give yourself a break and do something just for you. You will feel less harried and overwhelmed.
  
  Have a happy holiday!
  
  Beverly and Kristen
  www.KeyTransitions.net

Changes and Choices

While still trying to cope with the change to Daylight Savings Time, Virginians elected a new governor. Maybe the poor voter turn out was due to the time change. Maybe it was apathy. Maybe it was a feeling that a single vote would not make a difference. Whatever the reason, individual choices about whether or not to go to the polls affected the choice of governor.

What does that have to do with organizing? Just like election results, slipping into a disorganized lifestyle is the results of a lot of little choices. Choices like:
I won’t go through the mail because I’m too tired.
I will leave the shoes in the middle of the hallway because I don’t want to go upstairs right now.
I will buy this blouse on sale even though it goes with nothing I have and won’t fit in my closet.
Enough of these choices and you have a cluttered space.

Getting organized is also a series of choices. Choices like:
I will set one day a week to go through my mail and stick to it.
I will put a shoe storage bench in the hallway so I don’t have to go upstairs every time I remove my shoes.
I will not buy an item of clothing unless I know what it goes with and when I am going to wear it.
Enough of these choices and you stop the cluttering behavior.

You still have to clean up the messes you made and put systems in place to keep things straight. But making that choice will bring about a change that will give you more time and a better outlook. Get help, if you need it, to get started. Call an organized friend or a professional organizer. That’s a choice that will bring change for a better life.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Organize Your Car Interior

According to the Associated Press, 700,000 of us have new cars thanks to the “Cash for Clunkers” stimulus program. That’s really a small percentage of the sixty-two million registered cars in the United States. I wonder how neat the old cars are and how long the new models will remain in their pristine, uncluttered condition. It only takes a few hours of driving to trash the interior of a car, especially with a little help from family and friends.

If you have a new or uncluttered car, keep it that way by having a place for the things you use most frequently and a convenient place to dispose of trash.

If you have a car that could use a little cleaning up, here are some hints for organizing the interior.

Sort: Remove all the clutter from the car. Throw away the trash and then separate the contents into four piles: things I use all the time, things I use occasionally, things I use in an emergency, and things that do not belong in my car.

Identify a home for each category: Things you use all the time should be where you can easily reach them. If they are items that are frequently used by passengers, (like older children in the backseat) they should be where the passenger can access them easily without you being distracted from driving. Things that are used occasionally can be stored in the trunk or under the seat. Emergency gear requires some thought for placement. A multi-tool for slashing seatbelts and breaking glass needs to be readily accessible. Road flares and tire changing tools can reside in the trunk

Contain the items: Everything cannot fit in the glove compartment and the door pockets. Save those spaces for your maps, car information, registration and insurance documents. If you need some solutions for storing sun classes, work essentials and other items, look for containment aids at sites like www.solutions.com, www.ebags.com and www.drivingcomfort.com.

Keep non-essentials out of the car: That includes trash, so keep a receptacle for trash disposal in the front and back seat. Also keep a collapsible container or trash bag to routinely haul out those items that do not belong in the car. Once a week tidy up, empty the trash, and make sure you items are where you want them to be.

Follow these steps and your new car will stay uncluttered and your old car will look more like new.

Beverly & Kristen
www.keytransitions.net

Lapses in Organizing

Lessons in organizing come from lots of different places in the real world. The lesson I need to focus on this week is what to do when organizing habits are abandoned and the clutter begins to pile up. (Yes, even professional organizers sometimes struggle to keep it straight.)

The example that comes to mind is a religious one. I have an ecumenical family and group of friends. In my experience, the preachers call it backsliding; the priests call it lapsing and the rabbis call it leaving the righteous path. Whatever you call it, it means you were doing what you should be doing and now you’re not.

The formula for improvement is pretty simple. Stop doing the bad stuff, get help if you need it and get back into your good habits. That is sometimes easier said than done.

For me, the hard part is getting started, so I know that I have to commit to an initial effort and hold myself accountable for it. If I think I will hedge about starting, I announce my intention to anyone who will listen. That way, I will be embarrassed if they ask how it’s going and I haven’t even started yet.

So this week I am telling you that I will finish unpacking my suitcase, putting away the clean clothes and tidying up my desk. A few days away at a conference is not going to get me to abandon my organizing goals.

If you find that the projects you were initially so proud of are beginning to look less organized than you like, make a commitment to get them back in shape. If you doubt your ability to do it alone, get help. Set up incentives to get it done. That might be a treat for yourself or avoiding an opportunity for your frenemies to gloat about your failure-whatever works to get you going and sticking to the goal of an organized household.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransition.net

Time Organization for the Busy Family

Here are a few hints for managing time with a busy family:

• Post a family schedule where everyone can access it.

• Plan meals weekly and shop once. Consider doing some of your grocery shopping on line. Amazon.com is a good way to shop for staples and have them delivered to your door. Locally, you can order your groceries from Farm Fresh Internet Express (www.Farmfreshsupermarkets.com) and for a small processing fee; they will do your shopping and have it ready for you to pick up. You can even use their Internet Express feature to create your shopping list. It will print up with the items listed by aisle.

• Use a calendar with pockets for birthday cards, appointment reminder cards, etc. Avalanche Publishing (www.Avalanchepub.com) makes many versions that are available direct from the publisher or at Barnes & Noble, Kohl’s and Sam’s Club.
  
  
  Just a few simple timesavers can give you the time you need to get things done.
  
  Beverly & Kristen
  www.KeyTransitions.net

Organizing Tips for Around the House

Here are a few organizing tips for around the house:

Entry Way

• Create a landing space near the door you come in. Keep keys, cell phone, purse and other items you need when you walk out the door together in the landing space.
• Individual baskets for each family member at entry. Decorative and useful baskets can be found at many places, included Michael’s and World Market.
• Kid level spaces for storage and retrieval of coats and book bags

Mail

• Create a spot for sorting mail and paying bills. Use a basket, decorative box or organizer to store pen, checkbook and stamps so material is handy

Kitchen

• Make sure the tools you need for each task are near their designated area (pots and pans near stove/oven; dish detergent, and cleaning agents near or under sink; dishes and utensils near table/breakfast bar).
  
  Beverly & Kristen
  www.KeyTransitions.net

Bring Organization to Your Bedroom

Here are a few hints to bring a little organization to your bedroom:

List the things you do in the bedroom. Then determine the best place to accomplish that task, given the space available. Think of the bedroom in zones (Sleeping Zone, Dressing Zone, Play Zone, Study Zone, Relaxing/Socializing Zone)

Group the items that are needed for that activity together in that space as much as possible.

• Create a reading station near the bed that includes adequate lighting, book mark, and a place for book and glasses. Great reading lamps and organizers can be found at Office Max.
• Store children’s must have bed items in a bedside table or an under-bed rolling storage box that is easy for them to access. Underbed storage containers are available at Home Depot, Ikea, Lowe’s and Wal-Mart.
  

Use decorative pegboard with various size hooks to keep belts, scarves, small purses, and even, jewelry displayed for easy access. Local hardware stores will custom cut to your specifications or you can buy it in pre-cut sized. Pegboard and peg board accessories can be found at local hardware stores and Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Wal-Mart.

Simple, stacking, jewelry trays from places like Bed Bath & Beyond, Homestoragewarehouse.com and Lillian Vernon will fit in most dresser drawers.

Egg crates and ice cube trays also make good containers for small items (earrings, tie tacks), that allow the items to be easily seen and can be stacked in a dresser drawer.

Increase space in your closet by using thin, flocked hangers available at Bed Bath & Beyond, HSN.com, Target and Wal-Mart.

Store everyday and athletic shoes in rolling bins available at Lowe’s and Wal-Mart

Keep shoes accessible and easy to locate by storing in clear plastic boxes that are labeled or even have a photo of the contents attached. Clear shoe boxes are available at Bed Bath & Beyond and Dollar Tree. A clear shoe organizing system is available at Neatboxes.com.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Organizing Alone

What if you want to get organized but other people who live in your home do not? Many folks who long for a little order in these circumstances just give up and live with the mess. It is not an easy task to be neat when all around you is chaos. Clutter begets clutter.

If you are one of those people who want to be neater but cannot gain cooperation from housemates, there are a few steps you can take to bring a little order to your life

Talk to others in your home to see if there can be agreement on keeping certain spaces clutter free. Perhaps the living room and entryway are a good start. You may even find you have an ally or two who also want a neater space. You may want to agree on a pick-up day when everyone picks up items that are where they don’t belong.

See if introducing some new tools into the environment will help decrease the clutter. Some ideas are a big brass tub or basket for books and magazines, a trunk or wagon bench for toys, a trash can in the family room where people eat snacks or near the microwave where containers are discarded, clothes hampers in the bedrooms to keep dirty clothes off the floor.

Organize what you can control. Straighten your side of the closet, organize your study or work area, and purge your old books and papers. Your example of being able to find your stuff when you need it may prompt others to stop wasting their time digging through clutter to find what they are looking for.

The most important thing is that you will have taken control of what you can directly affect and will have made your desires known to those with whom you share space.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Make Room for Love

“I moved out of my parent’s house so I could meet people and find a guy, but I am ashamed to bring anybody into this mess,” the young professional woman lamented as her eyes swept around her cluttered living room. After six months in her condominium, it was littered with a load of work papers, magazines and an assortment of shoes. Mail was stacked up on the table in the entryway and the view of the kitchen revealed dishes stacked in the sink and cartons on the counter. A tour of the bathroom and bedroom revealed they were in similar disarray. The spare bedroom had turned into storage space for everything that had not yet been put away. There were still unpacked boxes from her move-in.

“ I work hard and when I get home, I just crash,” she told me.

The first step for this client was finding a balance between work and personal life-a hard thing to do when she is trying to impress her boss and hang on to her job. She was able to identify four hours a week she could devote to gaining control of her environment without affecting work performance. She also identified four hours a week to devote to herself and fun things. Now she was ready to tackle the task of getting her home in shape.


The first step was to determine what was really important to her. She decided that she wanted to be able to invite some friends over for an informal gathering. She set a goal for two months to have her space in shape in order to send the invitations. That meant she had to organize the entryway, the living room and the bathroom. She also had to clean up the kitchen which could be viewed from the living area.

For the entryway we set up a mail station using attractive baskets with lids that allowed for the sorting of mail on the spot. One basket was for bills and other mail that needed immediate attention. The other was for mail that could be handled at her leisure. If that basket got full, it needed to be dealt with immediately to make room for the next bunch of mail. This system allowed bills to get paid on time and put a physical limit on how much mail could pile up.

The clutter culprits in the living room were paper, magazines and shoes. She confessed to taking off her shoes at the door and neglecting to tote them upstairs to the bedroom for several days, or weeks. To deal with the shoe problem she bought a hall bench that contained a hidden shoe rack in the base. She put her favorite shoes here so she could pick them up and put them away on her way in and out of the house. She also purchased a step basket that fit on the stairs and allowed her to drop off things that she wanted to carry upstairs on her next trip.

She already had a magazine rack that she didn’t use. It was too small and was not near the sofa where she usually did her reading. A large flat basket on the bottom shelf of the coffee table helped corral the periodicals and gave the appearance of order.

She did her paperwork all over the house, an apt metaphor for work taking over her life. We identified a corner of the room for work purposes and organized all work materials in an attractive trunk that had been in the storage room since her move. She could still review projects sitting on her couch or at the dining table, but they went in her briefcase or in the trunk after review.

The kitchen was a matter of cleanup and adopting new habits of washing dishes at least once a day, since she had no dishwasher. Moving utensil and dish storage nearer to the sink made the job a little easier. A larger trash can with a lid helped minimize used containers on the counter and kept garbage out of sight.

The bathroom suffered from a lack of storage space for toiletries and makeup so these items ended up on the limited counter space. Under sink storage shelves and shower shelves helped provide additional space for toiletries. Makeup was sorted and outdated and unused items were discarded. What was left was stored in the medicine cabinet using plastic and magnetic containers.

She had a successful gathering for her friends and has now started working on upstairs space. Her goal is to have that done in two more months. It seems there is a special guy in the picture and she needs to make room for love.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Taking Care of Little Things

Even after we organize our desk, our sewing box, our craft area, our toolbox, it is the little things that cause problems with maintaining our neat space. Paper clips, straight pins, little beads and tiny nails find their way to the bottom of our stuff.

Here are a few low-cost suggestions for corralling those pesky items and keeping things in order.

Ÿ Items with blunt edges do well in small zip-lock plastic bags. Beads can be separated by colors and then placed together in a larger container.

Ÿ Egg cartons provide a handy way to sort items like nuts and bolts. Glue a small magnet in each section to keep them in place. Be sure to store on top of heavy tools or the container will get crushed.

Ÿ Slip a plastic ice cube tray in your desk drawer to hold various size paper clips, staples and other small items.

Ÿ Baby food jars and spice jars can be re-purposed to hold small items. Spice jars in a discarded spice rack can keep sewing items like snaps and pins handy for the seamstress.

Organizing doesn’t have to be fancy; it just has to work.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

The Secrets to Staying Organized

So you have finally gotten your closet organized. Your family room is no longer cluttered and you are feeling pretty pleased with yourself. Then a few weeks pass and you look around and things are not as organized as they used to be. What happened? You were so committed to living in organized surroundings and now you are slipping back to clutter central.

Something isn’t working. Is it you or is it the system?

Sad to say, there are no magic secrets to staying organized, but there are a few guidelines that help.

Assess what is not working for you. Is it the system that is taking too much time and effort? Is it a lack of unity among family members in maintaining the system? Is it failure to take time to maintain the system? Once you have an idea of the obstacle, you can take measures to correct it.

Pick a system that fits your lifestyle. If you are better at dumping than you are at filing, use containers that conceal the jumble that you dump. If you are not going to keep books in alphabetical order by author, place them according to height, an easier and less time-consuming alternative. If it is important for you to have to-do items where you can see them, seek alternatives that allow them to be in view but contained in an attractive way.

Have a designated place for all your possessions. Even if the towels are not always neatly stacked, you will know they are on the third shelf of the linen closet. That is not beautiful organization, but you can still put your hands on a towel when you need one. Additionally, other family members do not have to rummage to find what they are looking for, creating more disorder in the process. Once you have decided on a home for the objects, enforce it with yourself and others.

Schedule time to keep things organized. Some things our clients have shared that work for them are:

Everyone picks up things that are out of place before they go to bed each night.
A reward is given each Sunday to the family member who has the fewest things out of place. Schedule fifteen minutes everyday to tackle an area that is sliding back to chaos. If there is no area to rescue, do something you enjoy.

Realize that sometimes life happens and things get a little out of control. In that case, just start again. One of our clients was looking forward to creating beautiful things in her newly organized office and craft space. Then her sister got sick and required help with her recovery, her father died and she brought many things from her childhood into the space. Then a flood filled the basement and she saved some possessions by moving them to any space available. Is it any wonder that her space became disorganized? The good news was that it took much less time to get it back in order because we already had a blueprint for how she wanted to use the space and where things were stored. It was then a matter of finding designated space for the excess items in the room. So when you have to start again, you never start from zero because you learn something from your first effort.

So the “secrets” to staying organized are: pick a system that fits your lifestyle, schedule time to maintain it and, if clutter happens, learn from your first attempt and try again.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Organize a Bedroom

Is Your Bedroom a Sanctuary?

We just celebrated Valentine’s Day. That led me to think about intimacy and, for some reason, I started thinking about bedrooms.

We often work with clients who want their bedroom to be a sanctuary, but the habits of their mate or the dictates of their living space present challenges to fulfilling their goal.

It is hard to feel tranquil with dirty socks on the floor and a pile of laundry at the foot of the bed. Sometimes the space must house a home office or a crafting station or fitness equipment. The reality is that the bedroom is often used for more than sleeping and intimate moments. Many folks find it the only place they can grab the solitary time to pay the bills, read a book, watch a favorite program, ready a project for deadline.or sweat to the oldies.

Here are a few suggestions for making the space more orderly and serene even when you have to deal with the realities of life.

Make the bed a no-drop zone. It will keep your bedding clean and you can rest without clearing a spot.

Create defined spaces for activities that must occur in the space. If you have to have an office in your bedroom, designate a small desk or table for the task and gather the materials you need close to that space. If you must house exercise equipment, put it in a corner farthest from the bed and use a folding screen to keep it out of sight when not in use. Put your ipod and earphones, shoes and other ancillary items in tote bags that can hang from the equipment and keep them handy. Use a small bookcase or decorative basket to hold books, music and DVDs close to the spot you use them.

Keep clothes off the floor and furniture by placing an attractive hamper in the room. A clothes valet or industrial three arm clothing rack can hold outfits for the next day or clothes waiting to be put away.

If the laundry is inevitably going to land in the bedroom prior to storing, use a pretty hamper and designate a bench at the foot of the bed or under a window as its temporary home. It might not look beautiful, but it will look neat and not detract too much from the room’s order.

Real life bedrooms often do not meet the expectation for “sanctuary” promoted by Extreme Makeover and HGTV, but, with a little thought and organization, they can be orderly, tranquil places to escape for personal pleasure.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

The Clutter Whisperer

I’ve got clutter and I must clean up!

It started when I got a virus on New Years Eve that lingered for three weeks. When I recovered, I was washed out and easily tired. There was no time to take care of the little things as I caught up with clients, did speaking engagements and checked on a sick mother. The mail went unsorted, dirty clothes piled up and the detritus of living went unattended. In other words, clutter happened. It happened in the way clutter usually happens. Some life event prevented me from performing usual routines that keep me organized.

While I was sick, the only thing that did not hurt was my eyeballs, so I watched television programs I seldom see. On one of them, I became acquainted with Cesar Milan, known as The Dog Whisperer. The psychology he uses to rehabilitate aggressive, scared, lazy, or compulsive dogs struck me as relevant to organizing. During one feverish period I even fancied myself as a “ clutter whisperer” taming piles of unruly items into organized spaces that stayed that way.

The reality is that much of the psychology Milan applies to rehabilitating dogs can be applied to getting organized. In fact, he says he rehabilitates dogs and trains people. That is a true statement for organizers. We rehabilitate spaces but educate and train clients in organizing techniques. There are some other parallels I found interesting. Milan advocates a three-step process of exercise, discipline and affection. My philosophy for organizing is get started, stay focused, and celebrate the successes. Sounds similar to me.

Milan also advocates setting rules, maintaining boundaries and recognizing limitations. All are important concepts in organizing, especially when organizing for groups like families or office staff.

The more I think about it, “clutter whisperer” is a good title. Although clutter is inanimate, it often takes on a life of its own. It causes us no end of trouble and we invest it with a whole host of emotions.

So try a little “Whisper” psychology and see if it tames your mess. Mine is almost back in order. One more day of focused discipline should do it. Then it will be time to celebrate with a little treat for myself. Maybe I will watch the Dog Whisperer.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Christmas Clean-up

This is the week most folks pack away their Christmas decorations and find a place for the Christmas gifts. In with the new crockpot; out with the old.

Here are a few suggestions to help you start the New Year with a little less clutter.

Throw away damaged ornaments, burned out bulbs and wreaths that looked bad this Christmas and will look worse next year. You will waste energy packing them and take up space you could use for other things. Don’t listen to that little voice that lists all the crafty things you will be able to do with the rejects unless you ACTUALLY do those crafty things and do not have other boxes of damaged goods waiting for your creative talents to flourish.

If you received a gift that doesn’t fit your body or your style, decide what to do with it now. Don’t stick in the closet or stuff it in a drawer just to get it out of the way. Return it, sell it, donate it or start a re-gifting box, if you are so inclined. Make the decision and act on it.

If you receive something new to replace older or outgrown possessions, find a home for the older items. Charitable organizations are grateful for winter apparel, used pots and pans, and even crockpots. Mine will be going to a local church that runs a soup kitchen.

If you discover that your closet is getting too full or your jewelry box can't hold one more pair of earrings, consider getting rid of your least favorite thing. A crowded closet or drawer is much harder to maintain than one where everything fits comfortably.

The key is to do it now. Make a decision while you are dealing with the item and carry out your decision. It is a very effective way to stem the accumulation of clutter and to maintain an organized space. What a great way to end the year!

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net