Helpful Tip: Clean Out Your Closet The Easy Way!

It's January & for me, that means it's time to clean out the closets & get organized!  To help, here's a great tip from Clutter Clearer, LLC! 

image credit

• Turn all of your hangers the opposite way (pictured above)
• Turn them back around as you use them.
• By next year, or even in 6 months, you will know what to keep and what to get rid of!

This is a great way to clean out your closet! I admit, I have a ton of clothes in my closet that I simply never wear.  So this is one tip I am definitely trying!

Enjoy!

Thanks, Clutter Clearer, LLC!

DIY: 20 Clever Ideas To Make Life Easier & More Organized

 

I ran across these clever tips & tricks & simply had to share!  Enjoy!

{Via: amy-newnostalgia.blogspot.com}



1. Hull strawberries easily using a straw.

{Via: apartmenttherapy.com}

2. Rub a walnut over scratches in your furniture to disguise dings and scrapes.

{Via: unplggd.com}

3. Remove crayon masterpieces from your TV

or computer screen with WD40 (also works on walls).

{Via: athomewithrealfood.blogspot.com}

4. Stop cut apples browning in your child’s lunch box by securing with a rubber band.

 

{Via: marthastewart.com}

5. Overhaul your linen cupboard!  Store bedlinen sets inside one of their own pillowcases and there will be no more hunting through piles for a match.

{Via: realsimple.com}

6. Pump up the volume by placing your iPhone / iPod in a bowl.

The concave shape amplifies the music.

{Via: savvyhousekeeping.com}

7. Re-use a wet-wipes container to store plastic bags.

{Via: iheartnaptime.net}

8. Add this item to your beach bag. Baby powder gets sand off your skin easily.

{Via: realsimple.com}

9. Attach a velcro strip to the wall to store soft toys.

{Via: flickr.com}

10. Use wire to make a space to store gift wrap rolls against the ceiling,

rather than cluttering up the floor.

{via  instructables.com}

11. Find tiny lost items like earrings by putting a stocking over the vacuum hose.

{via realsimple.com}

12. Make an instant cupcake carrier by cutting crosses into a box lid.

{via sprwmn.blogspot.com}

13. Use magnetic strips to store bobby pins (and tweezers and clippers) behind a vanity door.

{via realsimple.com}

14. A tip for holiday packing. Store shoes inside shower caps
to stop dirty soles rubbing on your clothes.
And you can find them in just about every hotel!

{Via: familyfun.go.com}

15. A muffin pan becomes a craft caddy.

Magnets hold the plastic cups down to make them tip-resistant.

{Via: unplggd.com}

16. Bread tags make the perfect-sized cord labels

{Via: kiboomu.com}

17. Bake cupcakes directly in ice-cream cones – so much more fun and easier for kids to eat!

{Via: squawkfox.com}

18. Microwave your own popcorn in a plain brown paper bag.

Much healthier and cheaper than the packet stuff.

{Via: jengrantmorris.blogspot.com}

19. Brilliant space-saver: install a tension rod to hang your spray bottles. Genius!

{Via: realsimple.com}

20. Freeze Aloe Vera in ice-cube trays for soothing sunburn relief.

Enjoy!

The 52 Week Organized Home Challenge: Join For Free!

If you want to get your home organized this year but need a little help, join the 52 Week Organized Home Challenge for Free! 

Each week, the challenge will focus on a different challenge area in our homes .  Each Monday, they will put up a new challenge on the site that everyone will work on during the week (including me - I'll be doing the challenge right along with you). You can either check the site each week or sign up to receive weekly email updates.

You can Go HERE for more information & to join the challenge!

Enjoy!

Clear The Clutter: Easy Way To Create a Gift Wrapping Station

Here's an easy way to store all the little items you need when it's time to wrap present- Use a shower organizer!  It's perfect for holding cards, pens, scissors, tape, ribbon, small gift bags & even a roll or two of wrapping paper! 

If you need more space, consider placing multiple shower organizers side by side on your wall (make sure you space them out enough for a roll of wrapping paper to fit). 

I am definitely going to use this idea & hang it in my F.R.O.G.- Perfect!

Thanks, Clutter Clearer!

**You can find more Homemaking posts HERE**

**Looking for DIY posts? Head over HERE**

How To: Whiten Linens With Lemons

If your white linens are looking a little dingy these days, check out this easy way to whiten them, using nothing but hot water & fresh lemons.   Damask napkins, linens, even white socks can be whitened on the stove:

• Fill a pot with water & a few slices of fresh lemon
• Bring pot to boil
• Turn off heat
• Add linens
• Let soak for up to an hour
• Launder as usual
• For extra brightening, spread them out in the sunlight to dry

Easy enough!

Instructions & photo from Martha Stewart Living

**You can find more Homemaking posts HERE**

Clear the Clutter: Easy Way To Organize the Junk Drawer

Need an inexpensive way to store all the little things in a junk or office drawer? Use an old muffin tin! It's  perfect for little things like paper clips, pins, stamps, etc. Now you will be able to finally see what is in that drawer!

I love this idea!

Thanks, Clutter Clearer!

How Dirty Is Your Cell Phone?

photo credit

I ran across this reminder on a blog I follow and it made me want to research the issue further. Research has found that mobile phones are a technological petri dish for tens of thousands of germs.  Putting your cell phone to your ear/face IS unsanitary.

Why? Germs multiply in warm places. Between the heat the phones generate and the germs on faces and hands, you've got a bacterial breeding ground.  "You put it in a warm place, you hold it in your hand, you put it in your pocket like I do, it's nice and warm," said microbiologist Chuck Gerba. "Bacteria like that. It can grow in these types of places." 

Believe it or not, the filthiest phones can spread the dreaded staph bacteria, which can cause everything from skin infections to meningitis. And where do these germs come from? Your hands and face.

Now that your totally grossed out, don't fret. I'm not suggesting we toss our phones in the trash..although after some of the research made me want to!

It's quick & easy to clean your phone...simply wipe it down frequently with anti-bacterial wipes or a cotton ball/cotton swab covered in alcohol.  Doing that even just once a week will significantly decrease the number of bacteria on your phone.  Easy enough!

**But, I'd still say it's a BAD idea to let your baby put your phone in their mouth (Hey, I'll admit, my daughter has definitely used my phone as a teething toy in the past, but no more!)

Thanks to Romanian Princess for the inspiration to research this subject!

A Little De-Cluttering Inspiration...

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3 Reasons to Stop Procrastinating & Start Now

 

Our grand business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance,

but to do what lies clearly at hand. 

~ Thomas Carlyle

**I ran across this article by Michele Connolly on Get Organized Wizard & was quite inspired! For me, sometimes the hardest thing to do is to simply get started...enjoy!**

Have you been putting something off? Maybe you’ve been meaning to:

• Begin working toward a goal?
• Get organized at work?
• Declutter your home?
• Start a project?

It might be tempting to wait until some mythical perfect time. Perhaps when:

• You have more time (yeah, that’ll happen)
• You feel more motivated (um, ditto).

Let’s put aside for the moment the fact that a perfect time will never come. And that your life marches on, regardless of whether you do the things you plan to.


Instead, consider the 3 benefits that come with starting right now. 

1. You Avoid Perfectionism

If you start today, this minute, your expectations will be low. You’ve had no time to build up an intimidating idea of what you should achieve.
By taking prompt action, you focus on doing and you stop over-thinking.

2. You Break The Procrastination Habit

In many ways, perfectionism and procrastination are two sides of the same coin. The harder you make something, the less you want to do it. If it has to be perfect, of course you’re going to avoid doing it!
But once you let go of unnecessarily high standards, procrastination loses much of its power.
Starting now is the solution to both perfectionism and procrastination.
Dubious? Start something, and see for yourself.

3. You Get Closer To The Result You Want

Even if all you do is 10 minutes of decluttering, exercising, outlining your novel, sketching a portrait – you’ll still move closer to the outcome you want.
And here’s the thing. Those first 10 minutes move you further forward than any other 10 minutes you’ll spend. Because next time, it will be so much easier to get back into it. Starting really is the hardest part.
So, with these three benefits associated with starting now, it’s worth taking that first step, don’t you think?

What Will You Start Today?

Article written by Michele Connolly from Get Organized Wizard