Archive for the 'Organizing' Category

April 24, 2008 | Organizing, Food & drink, Being Green

With the worries about the potential danger of plastics on the rise I’ve decided to eliminate a lot of my plastic containers from my kitchen. You know, the ones you use for EVERYTHING! That left me with a big empty cabinet and nothing to put our left overs in. I needed an idea quick, and a thrifty one at that since I can’t afford to go out and buy all glass storage containers! Here is what I came up with… (more…)

March 19, 2008 | Organizing, Lifestyle

In one way or another I believe there is a small amount of perfectionism in all of us. For me it’s more like a HUGE amount of perfectionism and I think it’s time for me to Get Buttoned Up!
I’m pretty sure this company has been a fly on my wall! They seem to have the perfect product for everybody. (more…)

March 12, 2008 | Organizing, Shopping, Lifestyle

I’m afraid I can’t take credit for this one. It’s my aunt’s idea, related to me by my mother. As it turns out, they’re some pretty smart ladies. The dilemma? Coordinating everything in the room when you’re redecorating, and making it accessible - to take with you to the fabric store, the paint store, etc… (more…)

February 15, 2008 | Organizing, Kids clean, Cleaning tips

One of the things that irks most of us is that cleaning the house takes so much time. And time is precious, right? So, here are a few tips to make the most of your house cleaning - do it easier, faster, and with less frustration.

1. Gather supplies. You’ll need (more…)
   Posted by mudlark @ 12:28 pm | Comments  

   

   November 4, 2007 | Organizing, Cleaning tips

   In only 15 short days, my in-laws will be moving in with us. That brings all sorts of joys and trials, but in the meantime it means I need to get my home organized - and quick! So at this point, I’m going to enlist your help. Please! Give me (and all the Broom Huggers readers) your best tips for organizing. The key for me is finding a place for everything without spending oodles of money at places like The Container Store (which I love, but my pocketbook doesn’t).

   I am by no means an organizing guru. But let me tell you the tips I’m starting with.

   1. Go through the house, room by room, separating into 3 piles - Put away, throw away, and give away.
   2. Toss the throw-away pile immediately.
   3. Bag or box up the give away pile, and take it straight out to the car. It’s more likely to find its way to Goodwill if it’s taking up all your trunk space!

   The put away pile is the one that stumps me. But maybe if my give away and throw away piles were bigger I wouldn’t have so much to put away… Food for thought.

   I found some tips here and here, but that’s all I’ve got.  So now it’s your turn. Tell me your secrets!

   Posted by mudlark @ 1:33 pm | Comments  

   

   May 17, 2007 | Organizing, Lifestyle

   Last Thursday we talked about using your home for a purpose. Plan the purpose of each room and storage space. Make your home fit the purpose you need it to - and restore your home to proper function.

   But you can do the same thing for your life! Think long and hard about what your values are. What do you consider to be of utmost importance. Think about family, faith, ideals, education, hobbies, etc., and think about what you get out of those things too. Now look at how you spend your money. Do they match up? Are you spending your hard earned cash on the things that are important to you? Are you spending them to attain what’s most important? And the harder question - how do you spend your time? Does the way you spend your time line up with your values?

   Think about that. What can you do - what adjustments can you make - to put the way you spend your time and money in line with your values and priorities in life? Be intentional about it!

   Posted by mudlark @ 7:14 pm | Comments  

   

   May 10, 2007 | Organizing, Cleaning tips

   For a home to function well, it needs to have some sort of organization - macro organization, not just micro organization. That is, it isn’t just about having a place to store your pens and cookie cutters. Each room needs to have a purpose, and all the routine things that happen in your home need their very own space. In other words, if you have school age children and nowhere designated for them to do their homework (with appropriate lighting and comfortable seating), your home may not be functioning well. That’s just an example.

   The way to fix it? Make a couple of lists. One list contains each room or useful space in your home (including closets and storage places). Write next to it everything that the room should do - function as a gathering place, store out of season clothes, provide a place to read, etc. The next list is the easier one - what actually happens in those spaces? Do the lists match up? Are there things that happen in your home that don’t have a space? And now things get tough… Once you’ve made and analyzed your lists, look at each space and determine how you can make it function better. Is the lighting right? What about seating? Is the space too cluttered? Does the furniture fit its purpose?

   When I first did this, I went to work immediately on all the closets first, because they were the most out of sorts. I still haven’t finished organizing and planning my home - it’s constantly a work in progress. But… there is progress, and that makes it work for us.

   Posted by mudlark @ 8:29 pm | 1 Comment