Tag: clear the clutter

Lend Mom A Hand — Help Her Declutter

Posted on by Jordank

Sunday is Mother’s Day, and given the fact that the pandemic isn’t over, you may be planning to send a card or schedule a Zoom call. If you’re able to meet in person, you may have made brunch reservations or purchased a special bouquet to give her.

Whether or not you’ve made those arrangements, there’s one more thing you should consider giving your mother, and it’s a gift she’ll never forget: a day of your time. Volunteer to help her #declutter and #clean her home.

This blog’s author can tell you from experience how much a mother appreciates such a gift. Not only will she enjoy having a newly organized and spotless kitchen, garage or living room, but she will also appreciate the fact that you took the time to do it.

Many moms have a room in their home that they wish was a little more organized. It could just be a shelf or drawer that needs rearranging and dusting, but the chore is on her mental list and she hasn’t had the time to do it herself.

If you already know where her home’s #clutter trouble spots are, suggest that you take care of one during a visit. If you don’t, ask! Chances are that there is an overflowing junk drawer or overstuffed kitchen cabinet you can clean out.

Decluttering is just one of the chores you can take off Mom’s hands; she may need a wall repainted or a shelf fixed. There’s probably a light bulb to replace or a picture to hang. If you really want to show you care, give her a framed family picture and hang it on the wall immediately.

Many moms may be looking to downsize in retirement, but may not know where to begin. You can help her prepare for that next phase by sorting through some of the extra stuff that has accumulated over the years.

If you happen to find anything that she doesn’t want or need as you help Mom declutter and clean — and you will — schedule a #donation #pickup with ClothingDonations.org. That way, she’ll know that her extra #junk is going toward a good cause.

In addition to giving Mom a newly #organized, neat and #clean space, you’ll also get a few hours to catch up after a long year in lockdown. Make a day of it! It’s quality time, well-spent. And she will remember that day long after the flowers have wilted.

Create an Effective Remote Learning Area

Posted on by Jordank

COVID-19 has forced a lot of families to suddenly embrace remote learning. But even though it is largely performed on screens, remote learning can attract #clutter and will require a dedicated space to be effective. Organized by Heart says to start with the basics: Pick a desk or work surface that’s the right size and height for your children to stay focused; add a corkboard, clips or magnets so they can display their work; and add some easy-access storage space. Most importantly, “Keep things portable and easy to put away.”

Vote to Clean House – And Help Veterans

Posted on by Jordank

Greetings, readers! The Organizing Blog is back from its six-month pandemic hiatus — and just in time for a presidential election that’s sure to be contentious. Today, get out and exercise your right to vote if you haven’t already.

You may be in the mood to “clean house” with your vote, given the disruptions COVID-19 has brought to everyday life. Are you better off than you were four years ago? Hard to say — but life pre-COVID was almost certainly less stressful.

House is also where you’ve probably been spending a lot of time since March — and you and your family members may be confined there again if the current spikes in coronavirus infections don’t abate before winter.

After you’ve voted, binge-watched your Netflix shows and baked a loaf of sourdough, you may look around your home and find that spending lots of time there has led to added dirt and clutter. And that means it may be a good time to literally clean house.

Maybe you bought a lot of extra stuff online that you later found out you didn’t need in lockdown. Maybe working from home or switching the children to remote learning has created new, voluminous piles of papers. Or maybe the boredom and added wear have you wanting to overhaul the space altogether.

Whatever the reason you want to clean house, remember the nation’s veterans as you declutter, organize and sanitize your space. Donate the stuff you no longer want or need to ClothingDonations.org; we’re again scheduling pickups in many areas.

Veterans are vulnerable during the COVID-19 crisis. Most Vietnam vets, for example, are now over 65, and many have preexisting conditions that could make a coronavirus infection life-threatening. And they, too, feel isolated and uncertain in their homes.

The stuff you donate gets resold at secondhand stores to fund programs that provide veterans with health care, housing and other resources. Box it up as you clean house and  then arrange for a #donation pickup online at ClothingDonations.org or by calling 888-518-VETS.

You’ll not only be able to enjoy a cleaner, clutter-free home, but also help veterans feel more secure in theirs.

So You Shopped the President’s Day Sales

Posted on by Jordank

Happy President’s Day!

We at the Organizing Blog know that we’re a little late in telling you this, but since retailers were trotting out the deals over the long weekend, you may have celebrated your day off shopping for mattresses, furniture or other household goods.

Having recently moved in to a new home, we did the same. And some of the discounts were incredible! But that doesn’t mean we bought a lot — some things weren’t that great a deal, most we didn’t need, and many would have created more problems than they solved.

Unless you’re starting over, any decorative item or piece of furniture you buy is likely redundant. If you’re short on space, you need to make sure whatever you buy actually replaces an existing item, or you’ll wind up surrounding yourself with #clutter.

You can buy things and still avoid this problem. Is your living room already crowded with furniture and knickknacks? One new couch might be able to do the work of two old loveseats, or a new wall unit could help you make sense of what’s on display.

Some furniture — like beds frames with storage underneath — can actually create space by offering a place to store some of your stuff out of sight. But you’ll need to observe a strict out-with-the-old policy to avoid #clutter.

With large items like beds, mattresses and couches, the ultraminimalist one in/two out rule doesn’t always apply. But be sure to get rid of the one old thing as quickly as you find its replacement, and donate it to ClothingDonations.org if it has some life left in it.

For smaller stuff, make an attempt to find two items in the same category to get rid of as soon as something else enters the inventory. This will preserve the thrill of the shopping “hunt” while slowly downsizing your possessions — or at least keeping them in check.

Observe this simple #decluttering rule, and before you know it, any new stuff you find at the weekend sales will help your home look brand new, stylish and spotless, and the old stuff that survives will consist only of things you truly cherish.

You don’t necessarily have to stop shopping to keep the #clutter at bay!

When Opposites Attract… Clutter

Posted on by Jordank

Whether you find yourself attached, dating or happily single this season, everyone will admit that opposites sometimes do attract. No two people are exactly alike, and as much as they might have in common, they may differ substantially in a couple of areas.

Astrological horoscopes promise to match people based on the broad tendencies ascribed to one’s star sign or the alignment of the planets at birth, while dating services and mobile apps use questionnaires and algorithms to come up with a range of compatible singles.

But what if you and your significant other (or roommate, or family member) differ in terms of #cleanliness and #clutter? And what if we’re not just talking The Odd Couple? What if one of you is Marie Kondo, and the other should be on A&E’s Hoarders?

If there’s no conflict, there’s no problem. Your relationship is probably healthy in other areas, and you likely make up for, or complement each other’s skills and shortcomings. You may already take on different household tasks according to affinity.

But if your other’s clutter causes you to clash, you must tackle the problem head-on. The first rule is to communicate, says Refined Rooms. Ask yourself why the clutter frustrates you or makes life more difficult, and tell them.

#Decluttering is a teachable skill, so consider hiring a professional #organizer to show you how to get a start on getting that stuff in check. Finally, learn to compromise on acceptable levels of clutter or create clutter-free zones in your home.

If, on the other hand, you are the cluttering partner, consider the formative influences that may have made you that way. Are you are ready to let them go or work through them, and actively manage your stuff in order to create a more harmonious home?

ClothingDonations.org can help with a donation pickup whenever you and a partner are ready to get rid of some of the disused and unwanted things in your home. In reselling the extra stuff to benefit veterans, we can also contribute to our donors’ happy relationships.

But “Trying to force anyone — your partner, your roommate, even yourself — to change completely is futile,” The Cut says. “A better strategy is to work together to set realistic boundaries and expectations — a process that starts with each side examining their own motivations for feeling the way they do about clutter.”

Have a happy, healthy and #clutterfree Valentine’s Day!