Real Solutions For Living...Idea of the Month ARCHIVES

Organize Spring Cleaning Tools . . .Grab your most essential cleaning
supplies and place in a handled caddy that you can easily carry from room to room.
If necessary, have a supplied cleaning caddy on each floor of your home.

March is National Frozen Food Month . . .Take 10 minutes to give
your freezer a quick check-up. Pull out anything iced over with freezer ice.
Toss out items that have been in there for more than nine months or a year.
Take the remaining items and arrange them to best utilize the space, leaving
room for incoming food items.

Organizing Information on Loose Bits of Paper . . .We all have them.
Little tiny scraps of paper with phone numbers, addresses, directions, or websites
written on them. Place these bits into an envelope or shoebox. This keeps them in
one location and under control until you have the time to do with them as you please.

What to do With Those Foreign Coins . . .Traveling this holiday season? When you have leftover foreign money, stash it in a zip-closed plastic bag and store with your passport. Now you can use up that leftover bit the next time you travel. ~ submitted by Kathy Beldon, Canton, OH

Improved Solution For Power Outages . . .Keep a few of those round battery-operated touch lights around for when the lights go out. Give them to the kids in lieu of candles--much safer for them to carry from room to room and brighter too! ~ submitted by Cathy Berkshire, North Canton, OH

Keep Off-Season Clothes Organized . . . This is the time of year to start packing away our lighter clothes and bringing out the sweaters and turtlenecks. Keep your off-season clothes organized and dust-free by packing them away in your empty suitcases! Store your cases under beds or on closet shelves. No more piles toppling over on your closet floor or shelf!

An Easy Way to Get Things Off The Floor . . . I found some old shower curtain hangers. I've used them to hang bags on the rod in the spare room closet - small suitcases and toiletry bags. It avoids having a big pile of them on the floor or shelf. It makes them really easy to find. ~ submitted by Erica Slesnick, North Canton, OH

Organize in Bits . . . Stop procrastinating by working in small chunks of time.
Organize small bits of your project at a time. Set a timer for 20 minutes
or a half hour. Organize one shelf; one drawer; 8 inches of a stack
of paper. Chipping away bit by bit can make your project more
manageable -- try it!

Organize Those Great Ideas . . . Do you collect great ideas but don't know
where or how to store them? Create a file, shoe box, binder, or other container to
hold your collected ideas. Label the chosen container "Great Ideas". Keep this in
a place where you can refer to it when the need arises.

I'm Bored . . .Keep the children from saying "I'm bored" this summer by
planning ahead. Create a list (or box) of activities for these occasions: playdough,
paint-by-numbers, large sheet for making a tent, help them purge/organize their
toys, go through this past school year's artwork and let them pick out their favorites
to keep, bake banana bread together for an elderly neighbor, . . .

Organize the Junk . . .Here's a way to keep your junk drawer organized. Use those boxes checkbooks come in, jewelry box lids and bottoms, and other such containers to corral the various small items that get dumped into the drawer. This will keep batteries, buttons, lost puzzle pieces and other objects from rolling around and getting lost amidst the clutter.

Keeping the Dirt to a Minimum . . .It's finally Spring! This is the time of year
to start prepping your garden and flower beds for this year's growth. You'll probably
be tracking a good deal of dirt and debris indoors. Keep a handheld vacume in your
mudroom to keep things under control.

Semi-Annual Check-Up . . .Warmer weather is on its way! Start checking
your Spring and Summer clothes for any mending or tossing out that needs to be
done. Have these tasks completed by the first of April so your wardrobe is fresh
and ready to wear.

What to Do With All Those Receipts . . . Since we are now in 2007, begin keeping all 2007 receipts in their own file. Use an envelope, a coupon sorter, or
any such container. Now it'll be easy to tell which receipts are for last year's taxes
and which are not.

Who Needs a New Year's Resolution? . . . Maybe this year your Resolution should be "Make no Resolutions". If you have the tendency to break New Year's
Resolutions before January ever comes to a close, then save yourself some guilt and shame.

There's no rule that says you have to make a Resolution!

Excess Holiday Decorations . . . As you begin to decorate each year, consider giving away everything you no longer use or like. You'll be less likely to want to deal with it when it's time to undecorate and pack it all away.

Eleviate Holiday Stress . . . Keep it simple. Who says the holidays have to be busy busy busy? Make it a true holiday this year by determining what's most important to you, and do only that. Eliminate all the rest that no longer has meaning to you and your family. For more on this concept, read my article titled "Alleviate Holiday Stress With A Little Organization".

Extra Boxes . . . I know it's tempting to keep all those extra boxes that come with the holidays, birthdays, and other gift giving times. We hold onto these boxes thinking they'll come in handy someday. To further enhance your organizing efforts, you may want to decide to toss most of your empty boxes. Think about it. Do you still have boxes from years ago that you never needed? If you know of a specific occassion you'll need a box for and have room to store it, then keep it. Otherwise, get rid of those that are taking up all of that valuable space in your home.

Save Yourself The Trip . . . Keep a basket with a handle at the base of the stairs. As you come across items that belong upstairs, simply toss them in the basket. The next time you take a trip up the stairs, carry the basket with you and quickly distribute the items to their appropriate places. This only takes a minute. Next, place the basket at the top of the stairs. It is now ready to collect those items you need to take on your next trip downstairs.

Yucky Dog Food . . . We sometimes buy our dog food in bulk. I can't stand having to reach down into the smelly bag to retrieve a cup of dog food each day. The answer? Fill a 2 quart pitcher (or any size) with the food, slap the lid on, and it's now easy to simply pour his daily food into his bowl. Keep the bulk food bag closed with clothespins or other kinds of clips. No more yuck!

Vacation Packing Tips . . . When it's vacation time, this idea will save you some extra steps when packing. Have a set of toiletries (travel size if you prefer) packed and ready to go at all times. This is especially helpful if you tend to travel often. No more panic cries because you forgot to pack the toothbrush. Bon Voyage!

Where Did I Park The Car? . . . I know we often forget where we put our keys, but sometimes we walk out of a store and forget where we parked the car. Try this idea: choose ahead of time to find a parking spot either on the left or right of the store and always park on that side of whatever store you shop at, or whatever entrance you use most frequently at the mall. This will at least narrow down your search somewhat. Choosing to always park at least half-way down the aisle (for the added exercise) narrows the search even further. Try it!

The Perpetual Gift List . . . Here's a holiday time-saving winner of a tip! Prepare a perpetual Christmas gift list of sorts at the beginning of the year. Beside each recipient's name, write their shirt size, favorite author, hobby, and so forth. Keep this list in the dollar bill section of your wallet. With list close at hand as an easy referrence, the gift-giving guesswork is no longer an issue. Go a step further and put a mark, such as "'07", by each person's name as you purchase their gift. This allows you to shop any time of the year. Now that beats shopping during the holiday rush!

Day-Light Savings Time Tips . . . When the time changes twice a year for Day-light Savings Time, do more than just change back your clocks and replace the batteries in your smoke detectors. Let the time change be a reminder to replace the batteries in your alarm clocks as well. Clean the coils in the back of the refrigerator. Replace the air filters in the furnace. Remove old and unrecognizable foods from your freezer. The time change can be a useful reminder for any number of semi-annual maintenances that need taken care of.

How Much Time Does It Really Take? . . . Believe it or not, this is true: it usually takes longer in reality to do something you really enjoy than you think. Likewise, it usually takes a lot less time to do something you dread doing than you thought it would.

Will Your Gift Become Clutter? . . . When buying a gift for someone, consider a gift that does not have the potential to become clutter. Give the gift of babysitting, piano lessons, or baked goods (include the recipe!). Give a donation to their favorite charity in their name, give tickets to the opera, or give a gas card to a teenager with wheels. What other ways can you give meaningful gifts that will definitely be used, appreciated, and not become clutter?

No Longer Want A Garage Sale? . . . Thought of having a Garage Sale but have yet to get to it? Why not donate all the items you otherwise would have put in the Sale to a local charity. Then take the time you would have invested in the Sale and spend that time doing the fun stuff you know you'd much rather do with your family.