Magazine Guilt

If you feel guilty about throwing your magazines in the recycle bin when you are the only person who thumbed through them, here's the cure!

Take that pile of magazines with you to the hair dresser, dentist, or doctors office and leave them.  You can cut off your address on the front cover.  Don't let them pile up just because you didn't read every article. Let others enjoy!


~Gretchen

Free Shredding at Office Depot

Papers piling up? Filing cabinet full?

Office Depot Provides Free Copies of 2011 Tax Returns and Shredding of Confidential Documents


Through April 16, 2012, customers can take advantage of this popular offer by visiting the Copy & Print Depot at any Office Depot retail store location nationwide.


Read more here:
http://mediarelations.officedepot.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=140162&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1673116&highlight

Give it to Goodwill

We love Goodwill!

Yes, we go to the dump but Gretchen and I love to recycle. Giving to Goodwill  is one of the easiest ways to recycle used clothing and general household items.

Watch this video and learn what Goodwill Does:

Broken, cracked, holey, expired, mildewed, dusty

At the dump

Surprisingly, Gretchen and I haul A LOT of stuff to the dump. We've receive a personal lesson each time we watch clients hold on to trash. Yes, trash. Broken, cracked, holey, expired, mildewed, dusty and sometimes smelly stuff.

Many times clients put off discarding items that are damaged. There are many reasons for this but mainly they are delaying the inevitable.

When Gretchen and I arrive and work, we candidly point out items that need to be discarded. Then we have witnessed clients try to hold on to them. After listening to a laundry list all of the reasons these items have not been discarded, we offer to haul the items away.

Sometimes the process is a little slow, but generally we end up with a truck bed full of trash. Yes, we will haul it off for you too!

~ Amy

To keep or not to keep - Heirlooms?

Over and over again, I meet people that tell me they are saving boxes of items for their children. My first question is "Are you saving it for them, or for YOU?" Get your children involved in this process!

My daughter is 11 and ready to shelf her American girl doll. I asked her when will be the next time she will use it. She's not sure. When she has children? Specifically a girl? I'm thinking that better be at least 15 years away!!!

The idea of passing on heirloom items is overly fantasized. In general, we all have too much stuff that we hold onto that will never be considered an heirloom.

My best advice is to enjoy what you have today and give it away rather than storing it for 20 years in hopes of using it in the future. Give it to a friend or post it on FB. Give it to Goodwill and give someone a job.

What did we do with my daughter's American Girl doll? We postponed that decision one more year. We gave away accessories pictured below to a friend and passed on a smile TODAY!

Amy

American Girl accessories 

Is that a keepsake? Part 2: Do you like it?

What items do you treasure? A child's treasured keepsake may be a game-winning baseball. Adults have a variety of collections that they treasure.

Antique Camera. Do you like it?

What happens when someone gives you a collection or an item that you do not treasure? Do you like it? You have some choices:

1. Store it. Do nothing and store it in the garage, attic, or closet.  
2. Honor it in your home by display. Think of incorporating items into your home decor. There are many options for framing items. 
3. Honor it in your home by use. Choose a portion of the collection if you are not fond of the whole. If your grandma gave you an entire set of dishes you love, use them! Or, pick out the serving pieces and use them!
4. Give it away. Give to Goodwill and you give someone a job. Give to a family member that you know would enjoy it for no reason, Christmas or a birthday. 
5. Sell it - eBay, Craigslist, yard sales, antique dealers, etc.  

Gifts of Experience

Have trouble purchasing gifts for someone that has everything? No more space in your home to collect another thing? Try gifts of experience.

Give or ask for certificates for lessons to learn pottery, dance, flying, cooking, or an instrument. Give tickets to the theater, a dinner cruise, wine tasting, concerts or train rides. Ask for or a membership to a bulk store, zoo or a museum. Don't forget spa certificates and other traditional gift certificates.

Xperience Days has many more unique ideas. Your creativity and price tags are the only limits!

~ Amy

Looking for space in your cabinet? Try nesting glasses.

How do your dishes stack up?

Cabinet space is at a premium at my house. Instead of taking on a major remodel or trying to rearrange what I have over and over again, I choose to shop smart.

Knowing that I have limited space, I only purchase glasses that stack or nest. This shopping rule applies to bowls and other items too. If I have a need in my kitchen - utensil, pots, pans, dishes, I do not purchase on an impulse. I make note of the space it needs to occupy and incorporate this in my decision making.

~Amy

Don't Sleep On It

Who's shoes are these?

Play the "pick up" game.  

Picking up before bed should not be an opportunity for procrastination. 

Before you get ready for bed take a look around, put dirty dishes in the dishwasher, straighten up the sofa pillows, put away shoes and items from daily living left on the floor.  

Get the family to do their part.  In the morning, children (and their parents) will be happier and spend less time looking to find their items for school or the work day.  Early in the day will seem much brighter with a cleaner house!

~ Gretchen

What's Coming in Your Door?

If that is coming in, what's going out?

When you bring something in, take something out -  monitor your drawer, in your closets, in your files, your mail, your bookshelf, your child's schoolwork...the list is endless.


If you buy three new pairs of socks, get rid of three or even four old pairs.  Once you develop this habit, you will be amazed at how it cuts the clutter in your life, and not just paper, toys, and clothing.  Use this strategy to break bad habits, improve your nutrition, and even develop healthier relationships.


~ Gretchen

If I get another Lands End catalog, I'll just...

Give your mailbox a makeover and reclaim space on your kitchen counter!

Check out dmachoice.org.

Register for a free account and receive access to contact information for magazines, catalogs and direct mailing services at your fingertips.

Mail order shopping is a greener option than filling up your car with a tank of gas and driving long distances to the mall to window shop. This website gives many options and it is nice to see that you can register deceased or very ill members in your care to be removed from direct mailing lists. This can be a difficult task to complete.

Holidays are right around the corner and our mailboxes begin to bulge, stop that junk mail from junking up your counter!

Party All The Time!

party plates & napkins

What do you do with those left over cute party plates and napkins? Resist the urge to save them! Instead, once the party is over continue to use them until they are gone. Put extra napkins in the car for spills or send them in a packed lunch.

Target and other retailers consistently offer cute new designs every few months. You will be drawn to the new designs and typically forget that you have saved extras at home. Purchasing exactly what you need and to using all of your supply will give you freedom to shop for the next party without creating clutter in your kitchen cabinets.

Yard Sale Preparation - Tried and True Method

Price and Place in Box

The hardest part of a yard sale is the preparation. Procrastinating makes it so much worse and ensures you will be exhausted when you raise the garage door bright and early Saturday morning. To avoid "sale set-up" hangover try the following tried and true method.

Well in advance of the sale (maybe 2 months) place a medium size box in a prominent location in every room in your house. Put the box by the door.

Place a couple of sheets of pre-priced yard sale stickers in each box along with a Sharpie or marker. If you are not familiar with yard sale stickers you can find them at any "big box" store. They are a must because they take the thinking out of pricing your items.

As you go about life in your home leading up to the time of your sale, recognize items you are not using or have lost interest in. Each time you see one of these items, go to the box, choose a price sticker, price the item and leave it in the box. Really try to purge, but don't get stressed about it because you will have a chance to take items out of the box before the actual sale. Hopefully by then you will be fine with letting it go.

When a box gets full, close it, label its contents and take it to a designated place in the garage. Be sure to put another empty box in the room! By sale time you will have a trove of already priced items that you can simply spread out on tables. Typically they will be categorized already because each box will represent an area of your home. For example the kitchen box will be kitchen items.

If you don't want the hassle of having a sale, skip the stickers. Instead, use this method and give each of the boxes to charity when you are satisfied that you have removed enough from each room. This strategy is also great for editing your decor or de-cluttering in anticipation of listing your house for sale.