Using Flickr

A problem that many of my clients have is storing all of their photos. The first thing I always recommend is to upload all photos to a site like www.flickr.com. We pay $25 a year to store all of our photos onto this site and we can share them all with friends and family all over the world. If anything ever happens to our home or to our computer we will still have access to all of our photos. With digital photos you only have to upload them. The hard copy of a photo is a different story. I scanned all of my photos and then I was able to upload them to flickr. This takes a while so I would do 10 at a time until I finally finished. After I scanned them in, I seriously scrutinized each photo to decide if I needed to keep that hard copy of it. With the ones I kept, I used a metal photo box to store them. You can use photo albums if you have shelf space for them or create scrapbooks if you are talented :)

My favorite organizational tool

For the most part I like to use what I already have for organizing my home. Of course that statement does not apply if you let me loose in the Container Store! There is one product out there that I use for so many things and that I recommend to every client. It is the clear flat tackle boxes. They come in a variety of sizes and the inside is divided into several different spaces. Crafters all over the US already know about them and use for their supplies. I am about to give you so many uses for them you might not have thought of yet. So the most obvious would be screws and nails and other picture hanging items you have lying around in drawers and cluttering up the garage. But these wonderful storage items can be used in every room in the home. For my girls toys I use them for Barbie shoes, brushes, purses, etc as well as all of our Polly Pocket clothing items. This has eliminated the missing shoes that never stay on the dolls anyways! They are wonderful in the office for paperclips, rubberbands, staples, etc. In the bathroom you can fill them with safety pins, buttons, hair bands, nail clippers, and so much more! I also use them for all of my jewelry supplies and most of my scrapbooking stuff as well. This one box can do so much in a short amount of time and they can be found rather inexpensively at your local hobby stores.

Children's Rooms and Play Areas

My favorite area to organize and decorate are any children's spaces. I really get to express my creativity and organizational talent. Children now a days have so many toys with so many parts. We have access to so many affordable options for our kids. But take a look around your house. Do you have the space for it all? Well you might if you have the right organizational tools. Every blank space in your home should be utilized the right way. For those little girls in your home, take an empty corner in their room and create a special dress up place for them. Hang a nice curtain to block off the space and hang a rack on the wall to hang purses and hats. They will feel extremely special to have their very own dressing room and you will feel great for having an organized spot to wrangle up all of their dress up clothes and jewelry. Now for those little guys in the house. Those action figures sure can take up so much space in the home. Step on them a little less with a custom built storage headboard. They are easy to assemble in just a few hours. They don't have to be fancy and you can paint them any color combination you wish. They make great spaces for action figures and other collectibles. Be creative and use the vertical space in a room. It is often underutilized.

Our stuff is our stuff

The stuff you own reflects who you are. Take a moment to look around the room, your home. Reflect on what you see and what image it portrays. If you feel that an object no longer portrays the person you are today and who you want to become then pass it on to someone else. Every year my grandmother (who is chronically disorganized) reads us this write up titled "My Stuff". She is defending her clutter and saying it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks about it. I believe we all have the right to own whatever we want. Its the clutter that is created in your home that is the problem. She has collections upon collections but she has no space to display them. Take a look under every bed in her home and you will find storage containers and boxes. I don't even want to look into her attic! Everything that is special to me I display in one way or another. I use scrapbooks to showcase memories and I only have items on shelves that have a meaning to us. We work very hard for our stuff and we work very hard to buy more stuff. I find that people are not any happier with all of their stuff! Simplify your home and your life. The rewards will be amazing.

Packing for vacation

Oh how we love to go on vacation! It really doesn't matter where as long as we get away every once in awhile. I think we can all agree that packing and unpacking are the worst part of vacation. We don't want to over pack but under packing will cost you money. I just got back from a week long beach trip with the family. I have two small daughters ages 7 and 2 and then my husband and I. We have to be sure to bring enough to entertain them without the excess. Here are the steps I took packing for my family of four.

A week before the trip I began with my list. I do not write everything down on it because that is not entirely effective. I write the important things down that must be packed for each person. I then get out the luggage. The girls each have there own suitcase which are small enough for them. For this trip my husband and I each had a duffel bag. It was after all a relaxing beach vacation. Plan out the clothes before placing them in the suitcases. I packed 8 outfits for my oldest daughter and 10 for my youngest, she's the messiest! I packed shoes and underwear with each outfit so nothing extra went in. There was also a reusable shopping bag designated for each of us. They are for the extras (toys, books, DVD's, games, etc). They were only allowed to take items that they really would play with or use. I took into account that there might be a rainy day and did not want to be forced to go spend money unnecessarily. This was all that we were taking. As a family we had one small bag that contained toiletry items to take. These were all written down on the list and checked off as they were packed. Here is an idea for your toiletries. If you have any hotel shampoos, soaps, etc pack those instead of bringing full size bottles, it helps to rid clutter from your house as well. I also bring along brand new tooth brushes for everyone in the family since you have to change those every so often anyways.

With careful planning you can save yourself so much time and frustration with your packing as well as your unpacking. Everything was back into place within 2 hours of being home.

Letting Go of the Past

This is something we all struggle with as humans. We have attachments to items that hold no meaning to anyone other than ourselves. According to Feng Shui principles, we can not be who we are meant to be in the present time when we hold onto the past. I worked with a client once who saved every article of clothing her children had worn even if it had stains or tears. She wanted to be able to give all of this to her children one day. These items will be outdated and they certainly were not stored properly. I convinced her to only hold onto 5 pieces for each child that were very special to her. She would be able to pass along memories to them as well. They were then properly stored so that time would not ruin them. You should go through the old mementos that you are holding onto and make the decision to move on. If you can display items that are of great importance to you and be able to share them with others will help you to live in the present time. Memories do not come from stuff. They will not disappear if you were to get rid of them. When you are ready to make the change in your life to move on from the past, call Clearing the Clutter to help you.

The Change Your Life Weekend Experience

So much can be accomplished in just one weekend! According to the practice of Feng Shui, energy can not move through a home that is full of clutter. Don't believe me....just spend a few minutes clearing out a drawer or a closet that is bothering you and experience the energy yourself. I was skeptical until I put the tips I learned from Feng Shui to practical use. Every time I feel blocked or negative I get rid of more clutter. Then it is like magic all of the good and positive things that happen in my life. Imagine having an organizer come into your home to unblock the flow of energy and make your life more simple. Clearing the Clutter can help you put your life back together in just one weekend. 16 hours of organizing services would typically cost $540. We are offering the Change Your Life Weekend special for $329 till the end of May. Book yours now!