Porch Pillows and Bird Poop

Covered Porch Seating

I love my covered porch. I love birds. I do not love it when I find bird poop on my porch pillows! So, I purchased an outdoor wicker trunk that serves 2 purposes - a coffee table and a place to store all of my throw pillows. When we are not actively sitting on the sofas, we pull the back cushions down on the sofa and the love seat. Also, I remove the throw pillows and store them in the trunk. Below the pillows I store laundered outdoor table linens too!

~Amy

throw pillow storage

Box For Santa - Do You Store Garbage/Recycling in Your Attic?

Better than paper towels!!

Do you hold on to the boxes that your Christmas decor arrives in? I do not.

I remove Santa and recycle the packaging. When I store Santa after the holidays I wrap him in bubble wrap, use peanuts, or under pads to store in a green and red bin. Preferably a clear bin with a red and or green lid. No newspaper, paper towels, or grocery shopping sacks needed!

If you adopt this practice, you will be amazed at the amount of recycling/garbage you can reduce and increase storage in your attic each year.  ~Amy

How do you store your Christmas wreath?

Is that a wreath in the attic?

If you have an attic, most likely you are storing some sort of Christmas decor. Artificial wreaths should always be stored in something to prevent mice from chewing on those cute sprigs of berries. Are your items too big for a tote?

Are you using black trash bags? Re-purpose those black bags for trash collection or for a collection of items for Goodwill this year. Go and purchase clear bags for storage instead.

One of the primary steps of organization is to know what you have. Clear, clear, clear! This is allows you to see what you have especially if you have a dark attic. ~ Amy

Is that a keepsake? Part 1: How old is your child?

What is a keepsake? By definition it is something kept or given to be kept as a memento.

In the homes of our clients, Gretchen and I find boxes of keepsakes. Our clients say, "I'm keeping this for my daughter or son." Our next question is, "How old is your daughter or son?"

Wondering what we would advise you to do? Answer these 3 questions:

1. How long will the child continue to live in my house?

2. At what age will I expect to give the keepsakes to the child?

3. Who is making the decision about the keepsakes?

First of all, you must consider space. If you are collecting items at a rate of 1 box per year, you could have 18 boxes of keepsakes before the child departs for college. We suggest that you limit the space for items to the child's room.

Second, consider a realistic time for passing keepsakes along. Most children will be in their mid to late 20s before they settle in a place and are able receive, use, store or honor keepsakes. 

Lastly, who decides what goes into the box? If you are making the decisions, then most likely they are your keepsakes. Your keepsakes should be honored or stored in your space. Involve your children in the decision-making process of what to keep. If children do prize the items stored, they will not have a connection and may not want them after all. 

~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

Are you sure that was a cat eating your pet food?

Pet food left in unattended bowls outside or improperly stored in opened bags in the garage will attract other unwanted animals. Possum, raccoon, mice, who knows what else?
Keep all pet food it in a storage bin with a tight fitting lid. One on casters is nice so that the storage area can be easily swept if a spill occurs.

Shoes don't last forever so don't keep them forever.

When you get a new pair of fitness shoes put the date in an inconspicuous location where it won't wear off.  If you are an avid runner you must replace your shoes frequently (as often as every 3 to 6 months).  Putting the purchase date on each pair will help you keep track of which pairs need to go.

Where are your digital photos?

What's in your safe deposit box?

Hopefully not on your camera or phone. Either could be lost or stolen.  Images or video use valuable space on your laptop and could be lost forever if your computer crashes.  
Transfer photos to an external hard drive where photos can easily be accessed when needed.  To insure your photos are truly secure, keep an extra hard drive
that you back up after loading holiday, vacation, or birthday pictures in
your safe deposit box.  Put a sticky note on the hard drive with the last
back up date or additional information you might need to remind you what
it's contents are.  This small extra effort and expense could save a lot of
heart ache if your pictures were some how lost.

Small Appliances - Honesty is the Best Policy

How many do you have?

Drag out all your small appliances from the top pantry shelf, in the back of the cabinets, the garage, and don't forget the Dust Buster in the coat closet. Take a good look at all these gadgets and get honest with yourself about how many Panini you have made lately. Do you use the popcorn maker or do you put a bag in the microwave? Are you supplying your entire neighborhood with fresh loaves of sour dough made by your bread machine? I doubt it.

You may make an exception for the waffle iron which is used traditionally each Christmas morning, but get real with yourself about all these apparatuses, especially if they are being stored on your kitchen counter. We all go through a stage of bread making or juicing or even the nonsensical indoor grilling, however wouldn't you rather grill outside? Let someone else have their love affair with juicing, the someone that buys your juicer at your yard sale.

After you have decided which small appliances to keep, wipe the greasy film or dust off each and store them together in an accessible location, such as the top shelf of the pantry. If you store small appliances in a place where you never see them, you will never use them, so you might as well get rid of them. However, resist the urge to keep them on your counter. Except for the coffee maker or maybe the toaster, small appliances that don't get used everyday should be stored.

Leaving small appliances plugged in at all times is also a bad idea. They continue to use most of the electricity which it takes to operate them even when switched off if they remain plugged in.

Some charities, such as Goodwill, take small appliances. If your small appliance is not working properly, do not give it to charity. Unfortunately, finding a source to repair a small appliance is becoming near impossible and repairing a toaster, if you could find a place to take it, would most likely cost more than the toaster. Check with your city or county refuse collection department to find out the best way to dispose of broken appliances or electronics.

Too many Totes?

Too many totes on your shelf?

Storing totes a problem? Maybe you have too many? Designate a space for totes and do NOT let them overflow! 
Store grocery totes in the car.  
If you come home from a conference with a new tote, don't jam it in your closet! Want to keep the new one? Discard an older one. 
Take the one you wish to discard and place it in your closet. Place items to take to Goodwill or a charity in the discarded tote. Once full, donate the contents and the TOTE to the charity!