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Newsletter Archives
June 2010
Expert Organizing Tips
May 2010
Tips from my Clients
April 2010
Tips for Setting Up a Garage Sale
March 2010
Unusual Ways to Organize
February 2010
Staging your Home for Sale
January 2010
Favorite Places to Buy Organizing Products
December 2009
Wrapping It Up
November 2009
Prepare the Pantry
October 2009
Costumes & Decorations
September 2009
Enough
August 2009
Help for the Home Office
July 2009
Getting Crafty
June 2009
A Better Bedroom
May 2009
Eco Organizing
April 2009
Getting Ready to Garden
March 2009
The Path To Clutter
February 2009
Easing Into Downsizing
January 2009
Organizing For Renovation
December 2008
Organizing For Next Year
November 2008
More Of My Favorite Organizing Tools
October 2008
Making Life Easier
September 2008
Clearing The Closet
August 2008
How To Let Go Of Stuff
July 2008
Managing Medical Records
June 2008
Road Trip Organizing
May 2008
Collections Instead of Clutter
April 2008
Getting Ready for Tax Time
March 2008
Where to Begin
February 2008
When You Want to Help
January 2008
Top Ten Causes of Disorganization
December 2007
Organize for Air Travel
November 2007
Organize for Small Spaces
October 2007
When Life Happens, Reorganize
September 2007
Bathroom Organizing
August 2007
Paper Organizing
July 2007
Uncluttered Kids' Rooms
June 2007
Top Ten Organizing Tools
May 2007
Grapple The Garage
April 2007
Managing Your Time
March 2007
Spring Organizing
February 2007
Help for Caregivers of Aging Parents
January 2007
National Get Organized Month
December 2006
Year End Organizing
November 2006
Give Thanks for Being Organized
October 2006
Holiday Kitchen Organization
September 2006
In Case of a Weather Emergency - Organize!
August 2006
Back to School Organizing
July 2006
Declare your Independence from Summer Clutter
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ORGANIZING TIPS OF THE MONTH: OCTOBER 2007
When Life Happens, It Is Time to Reorganize.
Major (and minor) life changes alter how your home is organized. Accept that change brings disorganization, then modify your organizing systems to fit your new life. I will be happy to help you bring order back into your life. Cheryl@organizeatlanta.com
- Career Change: A new job could make your work wardrobe, files, and support materials obsolete. You may have a period of grieving over the change. When you are ready, consider donating clothes to a charity or Dress for Success organization to help others give a favorable impression when they have their own job interviews. Purge your files and materials. Make room for the new you.
- Aging: Face it, standing on the counter to reach into the cabinet above the refrigerator is no longer a good idea. With age comes the wisdom to protect yourself from injury. Place items within easy reach. Buy a sturdy footstool with a top rail to keep you steady. And most important, clear your home of things you do not use—be honest and ruthless in your purging.
- Empty Nest: Opportunity knocks; you now have the luxury of repurposing one or more rooms in your home. Donate or sell the furniture the kids do not take and you do not want to use. Let your imagination run wild—a bedroom can become a craft room, art studio, exercise room, library. A Murphy-style bed, daybed, or futon accomodates guests.
- Loss of a Family Member: Allow yourself to go through the stages of grief. When you are ready, then it is the right time to make decisions about your loved one’s possessions. When deciding about an item, ask yourself if it makes you happy when you see it. Getting rid of possessions does not dishonor your loved one. You honor the person in your memories.
- Ill Health: Short term or long term ill health requires reorganization of your living space. If there are diminished mobility issues, you may need to change your living or dining room into a bedroom. Adding doors or heavy curtains to the room entrance gives privacy. A Murphy bed with a fold down table attached adds versatility to the room for the person who is impaired.
- Downsizing: Use a floorplan and cutouts of your exisiting furniture that are to scale. Arrange and rearrange the cutouts to help you decide which pieces to keep, let go, and purchase. Measure your new cabinets and closets to compare with your current storage space. Purge, purge, purge. Downsizing is an opportunity to simplify your life. Seize the moment.
- Baby: The best time to organize in preparation for a baby is before the baby arrives. You will not have the freedom, time, or energy afterwards. Set up the nursery much as you do your kitchen—with a work triangle in mind. Instead of arranging appliances conveniently, you will arrange the crib, changing table, and a comfortable chair in close proximity. Place supplies and clothing within easy reach.
- Marriage: Congratulations! You get to combine households and organizing styles. The best time to make agreements and compromises on organizing your future home is before the marriage. It is also the time to decide about items to purge. In your new home together you should each have a “no comment” zone of your own. You maintain your part of the closet the way you wish; he keeps his bookshelf the way he wants it.
- Divorce: You have gone through a significant loss. When you are ready, make plans for how your new living space will look (even if you remain in your current home.) You no longer have to compromise—store your coffee mugs where you want; put a basket of your beauty supplies on your vanity. Display the things you love; get rid of things that harbor bad memories.
- New Hobby or Sport: You have embraced scrapbooking or fishing. Now what do you do with all the stuff that goes with your new found love? Containers and organizing tools are key to keeping hobby supplies and sporting equipment under control. Your hobby or sport will remain a pleasure when you keep items sorted and contained rather than mixed in with your other household possessions.
©All Sorted Out, 2007 All Rights Reserved
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