Tag: cut the clutter

The Meaning Behind Mardi Gras

Posted on by Jordank

Mardi Gras — a.k.a. Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday — is the final day of the Carnival festival season. In the Christian tradition, Ash Wednesday is the start of Lent, a penitential season of abstinence and sacrifice.

Mardi Gras is the “last hurrah,” in effect, before 40 days of abstinence from foods such as meat, eggs, dairy and alcoholic beverages. Most people are familiar with the local fish fry on Fridays, held to serve Catholic families and others abstaining from meat.

Observant Christians also often pick an indulgence of their own to give up. Similar to a New Year’s resolution, such personal challenges might mean eschewing alcohol or sweets, or trying to break a bad habit such as smoking or gossiping.

Whatever your faith, the Organizing Blog suggests that you spend the season abstaining from #clutter. It will be a test of your will, to be sure, but you will be better off and maybe even a bit more righteous if you can do it. Here’s how:

Cut the clutter. Over the next 40 days, dedicate a set amount of time to #decluttering and #organizing a space in your home. As little as 10 minutes per day spent rearranging a drawer or shelf can add up to real improvements over time.

Avoid spending. If you want a real challenge, simultaneously abstain from buying anything new; any attempt to #organize will be easier if you don’t add to your #stuff. If something urgently needs replacement, vow to eliminate twice as many like items as you bring in.

Exercise charity. Set aside any castoff clothing and household items that might have some useful life left in them and contact ClothingDonations.org for a #free #donation #pickup. Quality, lightly used goods will be resold to benefit programs that help the nation’s #veterans.

Today, celebrate! Have a paczki, a big bowl of gumbo or an adult beverage. Tomorrow, make good on your vow get rid of #clutter and get #orgnaized. By the time Easter rolls around, you and your home will be unburdened by excess #stuff.

Observing Boxing Day Traditions

Posted on by Jordank

The Organizing Blog’s favorite holiday is nearly here, and it isn’t Christmas, Hannukah, Diwali or Kwanzaa. It’s the day practically everyone pays attention to how much stuff they have and where they’re going to put it — Boxing Day!

Observed on the day after Christmas, Boxing Day got its start as an occasion for wealthy English landowners in to present servants and tradespeople with #holiday #gifts. The box — filled with seasonal delicacies and trinkets — was a gratuity recognizing their contributions over the year.

Boxing Day continues to be a holiday in many parts of the former British Commonwealth such as New Zealand, where anyone working gets time-and-a-half. And retailers in the United States use the occasion as an excuse to mark down merchandise and shore up holiday sales figures.

We regard Boxing Day as having a meaning that’s arguably closer to the original and more literal: a day to box up your holiday decorations and extra merchandise and give it to a worthy service provider or charity.

You can observe Boxing Day on Dec. 26th or any day of your choosing. Have some empty boxes ready to collect extra decorations and household goods, clothing that didn’t quite fit this season, books that have been read — whatever you no longer need.

Sort those things out as you bring a close to the holidays. As you see the boxes fill up, set them aside in a special location. As the boxes start to pile up — and this will happen faster than you might imagine — #schedule a #free #donation #pickup at ClothingDonations.org.

Put anything you will continue to use back into their proper, designated places in closets, drawers and bins. And know that you will be getting rid of some of the #clutter that has built up and be able to start the new year more #organized.

Your #donations go to a good cause: supporting programs that help the nation’s #veterans. And thanking #veterans — those who served — by giving merchandise is about as close to the original meaning of Boxing Day as you can get.

Get the Jump on Back-to-School Season

Posted on by Jordank

For kids and the college-bound, the lazy days of summer will soon come to an end. School starts as early as mid-August in many parts of the United States, so it’s goodbye to campouts and cookouts and swimming pools and pickup games, and back to the books.

Parents will want to take advantage of the many sales. Retailers are promoting back-to-school #deals earlier to tap the average $875 parents will spend this year to get each child outfitted in new clothes, computers and backpacks.

College students need even more to set them up for success: $1,365, according to the National Retail Federation, because they also need basic housewares such as sheets and minifridges. Whatever the student’s age, Good Housekeeping offers a guide to the things they might need.

You’ll want to get your students looking the part, from outfitting them in the latest styles (baggy jeans and leopard prints are back) to getting them a fresh haircut. (Great Clips is offering 24,000 free haircuts and a glossary of Gen Z slang to get parents up to speed.)

“It’s tough to keep up with the latest slang kids are using, but it is important because you can’t help your child succeed if you don’t really know what they want,” says former NSYNC singer Joey Fatone, who stars in a promo with his teenage daughter.

Parents who want to cut the #clutter will also want to prepare for the inevitable onslaught of student projects. Now’s a great time of year to work with your kids to #clean out #closets and make room for new #clothes, #organize a desk and #file last year’s school work.

Set aside any #clothing that still has some useful life in it and contact ClothingDonations.org to schedule a #free #donation #pickup. Other parents appreciate the deals they can find at the #thrift stores supplied by those generous #donations, and #veterans benefit from the resale proceeds.

So (attempting Z slang here) don’t do back-to-school mid — gas up your kids for the new year. If your beige flag is organization, it’s a good time for you to cook. But start right away — letting kids start school unprepared is delulu!

Introducing Special Guest Columnist Punxsutawney Phil

Posted on by Jordank

Punxsutawney Phil has the right idea. One of the largest members of the ground squirrel family and a “true” hibernator, he suspends regular activity during the winter, entering a deep sleep and avoiding frigid weather in an underground hibernation chamber. Humans also tend to slow their activity through the winter (albeit in climate-controlled homes and with a host of entertainment options), but we can take a few cues from the world’s most beloved weather prognosticator. This week, the Organizing Blog turns things over to Phil to get his advice on a life well-lived. His initial counsel? “Cut the #clutter for a restful winter. And keep your burrow #tidy.”

Resolve to Cut the Clutter Consistently

Posted on by Jordank

As the new year begins, many among us will take a hard look at our lives and lifestyles, making resolutions to lose weight, cut the #clutter and so on. The trouble is that sudden, sweeping moves don’t pay off as often as gradual and consistent efforts. To ensure your #decluttering effort succeeds, set more reasonable goals, says the Economic Times. If you can’t clean a whole closet at once, start with a single shelf. Or take 10 minutes each day to sort through a box or drawer, keeping a bin handy for those things you no longer want but can #donate to ClothingDonations.org.

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