It’s finally warming up. The kids and/or pets are free to play outside, and you can pull back those dusty curtains and open the windows and doors, flushing out the old and bringing in the new. It’s always funny to me that I find so much joy in this simple act––watching the breeze ruffle through the house…but I have a feeling I’m not the only one.
As temperatures heat up, ‘spring cleaning’ is the catchphrase on everyone’s lips. From trading out your winter clothes for your new spring favorites to organizing junk drawers, closets, and offices, tidying up for spring is definitely a way to shrug off those winter blues and prepare for summer fun in the sun.
For many of us, the desire to get organized is there, but the real problem is getting from Point A to Point B; and like most everything else these days, there are professionals available to lend an organizing hand.
“Organizers can definitely get you started,” said Sandy Linville of SOS Professional Organizers. “Organizing is good for you on a physical, mental, and spiritual level.”
“I hear it all the time––‘I just want to know where to put all these clothes,’” said Linville. “It’s very typical that people just don’t know where to start. You have to ask yourself what room or thing would give you the greatest relief first. So if it’s the kitchen, we start there.”
Linville said that a lot of times people will get hooked on the organizing gadgets, rather than deal with the real issue––learning to stay organized. “The new products aren’t always the best,” she said. “There are organizers who are into invention…but most organizers will tell you, the product is not the issue. Like a file cabinet, for instance, it doesn’t matter how pretty it is if you don’t use it.”
Professional organizer Laura Yessin said one of her clients’ biggest complaints is paperwork. “No matter how many homes I go into, the one thing they have in common is paper clutter. What to keep? What do I get rid of?
“Every item needs a home, so make a permanent file folder for everything you need to keep: utilities, banking statements, donations, taxes, mortgage papers, car papers, insurance papers, medical records, wills.”
Among the papers you don’t need to keep, according to Yessin, are ATM receipts, deposit slips, credit card receipts, and sales receipts––but only after you’ve checked them against your bank statement and verified the product’s performance.
A huge portion of our paper clutter comes in through our mailbox every day and, according to Linville, the way to stay on top of paper overload is to check your daily mail while standing over the trash can.
“Everyone complains about mail,” said Linville. “The first step is with whoever brings in the mail––there needs to be an assigned place for the mail to sit, like a shoebox. Put a picture of mail on the box so it gives them a visual. Once you deal with it, stand by your recycling can or trash can. If it’s possible, deal with it when it comes in (but in real life, kids are hungry, the phone is ringing, etc.) on a daily basis, at least open it, because it’s not going to stop coming.”
Another great way to organize and stay organized is to get the whole household involved. “For some reason, our generation has forgotten to delegate––to delegate is to organize,” said Linville. “You can have a 2-year-old or your husband help; the key is to delegate not by age level but experience level. A 2- and 14-year-old who have never done anything are at the same experience level, give them one thing, something simple.
“All three of my kids do their laundry––18, 16, 14––and have been doing it for the past four years,” she added. “I taught them, showed them; there were things I had to sacrifice––they aren’t always on the hanger––so I had to let that go. It’s hard but you just have to bite your tongue.”
These days with our lives being so hectic, with different family members on different schedules, both Yessin and Linville stress the importance of sharing the workload. Not only will it help the main homemaker maintain sanity, but it will teach your children and other housemates to be responsible and self-sufficient.
“It’s our jobs to raise socially responsible children,” said Linville. “We are giving them tools to live their lives, we’re enabling them. When I send my kids to college, I am giving them gifts. I don’t want them to say ‘I don’t know how.’”
To contact Sandy Linville, call (859) 396-4410 or visit www.sosorgnizer.net www.sosorgnizer.net. To contact Laura Yessin, call (859) 221-6660.
Tips from Sandy
•Vinegar is a great environmentally safe cleaner for mirrors, windows, kitchen and bathroom surfaces, toilet bowls, etc. Put in labeled spray bottle.
•No more than a…fistful of things to do per day or per week––vacuum the living room one day, laundry the next, etc.
•Use a timer for small pockets of time. Do what you can in the 10-15 minutes you have and involve family members. Doing this daily/nightly can make a huge positive difference in just one week. •Focus on a different room each time; Mon/family room Tue/kitchen, etc., repeat as needed for maintenance.
•Gardening tools and lawn mower blades; sharpen or replace.
•Brighten up spring-cleaning with upbeat music‚Ć (no TV––that’s usually a distraction).
•Let the answering machine take your messages.
Declutter
•We use 20% of our stuff 80% of the time.
•If you don’t use/love it, it’s costing you to keep it; in physical space, a visual distraction, and your mental storage of remembering what you have.
•If it’s time to do laundry, it’s the clothes in the hamper that you wear/like. If it’s still in your closet/drawer, you probably don’t wear/like it. Maybe it’s time to donate it.
•Cleaning professionals say that getting rid of clutter would eliminate 40% of housework in the average home.
Conquer Those Clothes
(www.onlineorganizing.com)
•Organization begins with an honest evaluation of your wardrobe
•You should have nothing in your closet that isn't currently wearable
•Lose anything that doesn't fit or is out of style
•If you haven't worn it in a year, ask when you will wear it again
•Make sure everything in your closet goes with something else
•Store nostalgic clothes with memorabilia if you don't wear them
•Place baskets for laundry, dry-cleaning, and alterations/mending
Categorizing Your Clothes
•Separate by season
•Store off-season in another area if short on space
•Separate by clothing purpose (formal, work, casual)
•Separate by type (jackets, blouses, pants, skirts, etc.)
•Separate by style (short-sleeve, long-sleeve)
•Clearly delineate categories with labeled rod divider discs
•Or assign each section to a different part of the closet
•Hang clothes by color from light to dark
•For quick and easy dressing, hang full outfits together
Storing Your Clothes
•Be aware of climate when storing items in an attic or basement
•Put in cedar chips to keep out insects
•Cardboard crossbars get sticky and leave a line on folded pants
•Wire hangers make marks in the shoulders of your shirts
•Stick to padded or plastic tubular hangers
•Take your wire hangers to the dry cleaner to recycle
•Use double-hanging rods for shorter items
•Get rid of dry cleaner plastic covers as they clutter up your closet
•Store small loose items in drawer systems or plastic tubs: socks, lingerie, bathing suits, pantyhose, etc.
•Roll up pantyhose to prevent runs
•Hang belts, hats, and purses on hooks on the wall
•Hang scarves on a hanger or scarf rack
•Take shoes out of their original cardboard boxes
•Use a shoe rack to keep footwear in sight and organized
•Install shelves or bins for folding items.