3 Keys Thursday: 3 of My Favorite Habits

Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

It bears repeating that I don't write this blog from an expert point of view. Consequently, one of the benefits of doing so is that it keeps me honest, consistently spurring me on to bigger and better things, organizationally speaking. 

As I've often said, am work in progress. As such, I find myself working out my own solutions as I write this post and as I continue to look at my house in my life through fresh eyes. Along the way I've tried a variety of solutions to the organizational problems that plague to me. Some have fallen by the wayside, but others have stuck, becoming habits I rely on. Here are three of my favorites.

• Dealing with the mail as it comes in. I used to just dump the mail on the counter when I came into the house. I think this habit began when my daughter was small and I had a miniature human to tend to the minute that I walked in with the mail. Over time, this habit created a major mess, but it remained a really hard habit to break. What finally made the difference (in addition to the beautiful clear space that appeared when I finally decluttered the counter) was finding a solution to the mail counter that worked with my styles. Once I succeeded in doing that, (the solution was switching to an open-top file that simplified the process, and kept things put away, but still visible) it became just as easy to take care of the mail immediately as it had been to put it off. While I certainly can't say that the counter is perfect on a daily basis, it rarely reaches the epic disaster proportions that used to be  a common state of affairs before.
• Making the bed. I credit organizer Marcia Ramsland with this one. When I read in one of her books how big a percentage of the room it takes up, and how the room automatically looks neater just because of this simple act, I was sold. Some days it gets made later than others, but it rarely goes unmade.
• My Big 3. Admittedly, this habit isn't very old, but I can already feel it making a huge difference in changing the way I look at things. Accomplishing my big three gives me permission to relax and stop worrying so much about what I didn't do. 

How about you? What simple habits make your life easier?

Trash or Treasure?

Do you have anything you just can't part with? It's okay--you can be honest. I'm not going to make you get rid of it.

For me, two things come to mind immediately, both articles of clothing. The first is a ratty old Bucknell sweatshirt, and, when I say ratty, I'm not exaggerating. The sleeves are torn and shredded at the wrists -- yes, both of them -- and there are holes under both arms. When I put it on yesterday at the end of a long day (because it remains one of the softest, most comfortable and most comforting pieces of clothing that I own), it inspired this blog post.

What do you think the odds are that I'm getting rid of it now?

The second thing is a silky, turtleneck maxi dress that belonged to my grandmother. It lives in a box at the back of my daughter's closet, where I know it will stay, because getting rid of it would feel too much like getting rid of a piece of my grandmother. I don't know why this dress is the one I've chosen to hang on to, but I know that it's not going anywhere anytime soon.

Getting organized doesn't mean getting rid of everything; rather, it's about striking a balance between the things that are important enough to keep and the things that simply take up space. While we certainly can't keep everything that comes into our possession, there's no harm in a little strategic collecting.

The point is to keep it strategic. If things you'll never use again are encroaching into your storage space, or, worse yet, your living space, it may be time to reassess. Are you keeping these things because they have value -- financial or emotional -- or simply out of habit?

How easily we find the line between trash and treasure will vary by style; those with an I love stuff  personal style will most likely find it harder than those with the l love to be busy personal style. As long as we can find a place for each of our belongings, whether it's a place of honor in a collection or a place for safekeeping at the back of a closet, there's no need to get rid of things we love. 

If, on the other hand, you're feeling overrun, and the time has come to clear things out and dispose of the items that are no longer must haves, consider whether or not they might have value to someone else. While no one will want my ratty Bucknell sweatshirt or my grandmother's vintage 1970s maxi dress, the collection of fleece blankets that's threatening to overtake a corner of our family room might be very valuable to a homeless shelter, women's center or pet shelter. 

Just one piece of advice: no fair passing it along to a family member unless they love it as much as you do. 

How about you? What are your must haves, and what are you keeping simply out of habit?

3 Keys Thursday: 3 Keys to Balancing Old and New

Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

Yesterday, I wrote about the game of Whac-a-Mole that is the organizing process. Unless we stop bringing anything new into our homes -- something that's completely unrealistic in the long term -- we're constantly coping with a balancing act between just enough and too much.

While the one in-one out rule can help keep things under control, it's far too easy to end up on the wrong side of the line when we get busy. Couple that with styles and preferences that make it hard to get rid of things, and, before we know it, we're in Too Much Stuff-ville.

Have no fear. A few strategies can help stem the tide.

clipartbest.com

Get rid of the easy stuff. There are some things that are relatively easy to dispose of.

• Things that are torn or broken, or missing pieces
• Half a pair of anything
• Things that are outdated (e.g back issues of magazines)
• Things you no longer use  

Automatically getting rid of these things when you run across them can save you work -- and angst -- later on, as well as helping to develop a "weeding out" habit that helps keep clutter in check.

Create a stopgap. Not sure whether or not you can part with something? If it's an item of clothing, turn the item's hanger backwards. If it's still there, facing the wrong direction, at the end of the season, that might be all it takes to give you the nudge you need to let it go. Or, gather all of your maybes into one box (out of sight) and date it. If the box is still there in a month (or another time frame you decide on), get rid of it. Feeling brave? Don't even open the box.

Send it to a better place. Many people who struggle with throwing things away are happy to donate them, whether to an organization or someone they know who will love the item as much as they did. Find the inventory reduction method that works for you and put it to work.

One of the best ways to stay organized is to always have more storage space than stuff to fill it. How can you make this happen at your house?

Winning at Whac-a-Mole

Pixabay

Most of the time, I'm okay with the fact that organizing is a process.

Other times, I become frustrated and feel as though I'll never be finished.

For every item that has a home, four others pop up, waiting to be put "where they belong" -- wherever that is. It's like playing Whac-a-Mole.

The ebb and flow of items into (and, one hopes, out of) our homes makes this process inevitable. Ideally, the addition and the subtraction occur simultaneously, but often, in the rush of excitement over something new -- or, perhaps, just in a rush in general -- we're reluctant to get rid of something old.

Sometimes it's easy. When we get a new refrigerator or a new sofa, the old one goes out, even before the new one comes in, creating space and making the whole change worthwhile.

But with smaller things, things like clothing, notebooks and pots and pans, we sometimes keep the old one around even after we've found its replacement -- you know, "just in case"-- a habit that only prolongs the process and contributes to the feeling that this game of getting organized is one that never ends.

Certain styles are more prone to this than others. I love stuff folks are notorious for attaching sentimental value to things the rest of us can discard with relative ease, and I know I put it somewhere and cram and jam organizers can stash things away so well they don't realize they have duplicates in the first place. I love to be busy people may have less trouble with the inclination to discard than finding the time to actually do it, while drop and run organizers and those with an I need to see it style may find the need to thin the always-in-view piles more obvious.

No matter your style, finding the balance between buying and selling, keeping and tossing and replacing and removing is a key part of the organizing process. The simplest way to keep this particular machine oiled is to get into the habit of making an even exchange -- when something new comes in, something old goes out. Ideally, the items take up approximately the same amount of space (no fair bringing in a sofa and tossing out a pair of pants), but they don't have to be identical.

While this won't change the fact that organizing is an ongoing process, it will accomplish two other things: it'll keep things under control in a small way, and it will give you practice for getting rid of things in a big way.

And, as a payoff, you might even get a peek at the most valuable of all organizational real estate.

Empty space.

3 Keys Thursday: 3 Key Strategies I'm Using as I Head Back to Class

Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

Today was my first day of class, and, this semester, I'm teaching two classes that are very similar in content. As I was organizing my materials last night, I was pleased to discover that I was able to plug things right back into my existing systems. Some have been part of my toolkit from the very beginning; others emerged last semester.

As you've heard me say so often here, organizing is a process. I've been teaching anywhere from one to three classes per semester for the past seven semesters. Over time, I've had to adjust my systems to both my course load and the specific subjects I was teaching. This became especially apparent when I moved from teaching two classes to teaching three classes. While the system I'd developed when I was teaching just one class expanded fairly easily when I taught two classes, it began to fall apart once I began teaching three classes.

Okay, so "began to fall apart" is a bit of an understatement. It imploded.

This semester, I'm back to two classes, but am swearing by the strategies that kept things together last semester when I was teaching three classes.

Color-coding. As much as possible, each class gets its own color. File folders are blue for one class, green for the other. I write due dates in my calendar in blue for one class, green for the other.

Before and after planning. Planning beforehand is a no-brainer; I can't walk into a 75-minute class and wing it. Getting into the habit of jotting down what I covered in each class (in blue for one class and green for the other) not only helps me to keep track of where I need to pick up the next time we meet, but these notes help me plan for the next semester as well. Keeping track of how long it actually took to cover each subset of the material  (in the same calendar with the due dates) helps keep me on track this semester and helps me craft a more accurate schedule for next semester.

Organized list-making. Little bitty slips of paper everywhere is not the key to remembering things, but, when you're on the fly, it's easy to fall into that trap. Last semester, I started using a steno notebook to keep track of what I needed to do for each class. The set-up of the book allowed each class its own column so I could tell at a glance what I had to do and which tasks belonged to which course. The simple act of separating tasks by course made it clear what I needed to do by 11AM and 2 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays and by 9 AM on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

In this case, even more than in others, organization is a stress reliever. I always manage to work myself into a tizzy over the first day of class, despite the fact I've been teaching for more than 30 years. Knowing exactly where everything belongs allows me to control what I can and, while it won't make me any less nervous, it at least helps me to feel prepared.

And that's worth the cost of a few file folders.

The Perfect Tool at the Perfect Price

If you've been reading this blog for more than about thirty seconds, you know I'm all about the right tools for the job. And, if you've been reading for a while, you know that, while I like to splurge occasionally when I'm convinced the container is just right, I usually start my search in clearance bins and dollar stores.

I've found a lot of great supplies at great prices. Accordion folders on the clearance racks at Staples. Paper organizers and plastic bins at Dollar Tree, and, most recently, my perfect planner, in the dollar bins at Target.

But two weeks ago, the same week I found my planner, I found what is, perhaps, my favorite set of file folders ever.

While I might have thought to label a folder "Today is the Day," (above) I tend to stick with more utilitarian names like topics or days of the week. I would never have thought to label my folders:

And yet, these names are so perfect! It's as though someone knew just what I needed -- how cool is that? All three folders have already been put to use, with papers in keeping with their themes placed safely inside. 

Now I just need to find the right place to put them -- some place that satisfies both the purpose of having a folder in the first place (to tuck things away) and my I need to see it  personal style, which is exacerbated by the visual appeal of these fun folders. I don't want to put them away, so I'm trying to find a place where I can see at least a portion of their brightly colored fronts and/or fun patterned tabs.

So, the morals of this story are a perfect fit for my philosophy. Good organizers can be pretty and  functional without being expensive. 

And, when you find the right fit, whether for your style or your circumstance, organizing can actually be fun.

3 Keys Thursday: The Hanger Edition

Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

Last week's forays into Pinterest, Target and my closet stirred up a renewed interest in the most basic of closet tools.

Hangers.

After hearing a tip years ago that closets not only look better but work better if the hangers are all the same, I began building my Joy Mangano huggable hangers. They're thin, yet sturdy enough for most clothing and they work well for small closets. Whenever possible, these are my hanger of choice.

But, as I was writing last week's post, I was reminded of some specialty hangers (like the scarf hanger I'm not using to hang scarves) that are great to have around. In addition, I discovered a few I didn't know existed. Here are three of them.

Target.com

Target.com

Tiered hangers. I use these for lots of things, most often, pants and most recently, tank tops. I originally bought the hangers at right to solve my sweater storage problem, but, despite the slim design, they got very bulky very fast when I used them for the sweaters I was trying to find a home for (although they work well for lightweight cardigans).

Bed, Bath & Beyond

The tank top hanger. Who knew? Certainly not me. I'd been using regular hangers, hangers with hooks (so I could hang them vertically, one hanger below the other) and tiered hangers. I was thinking of swapping out my traditional tiered hanger (above right) for one with clamps (above left), but I just might try this one instead.

Bed, Bath & Beyond

Bumps Be-Gone hangers. These are a laundry staple at my house. I don't use them in my closet because they take up too much space, but I love them for hanging clothes that need to drip dry.

I could easily do another week of posts on closet accessories -- maybe even on hangers alone! What closet organizers do you swear by?