Set a Timer Tuesday – Desks

March 1, 2011

Jennifer Crutchfield Organize, Set a Timer, Uncategorized , , , , 2 Comments

 

There it is. My messy desk. I actually took this picture just now before I posted it.

Here’s what I love about my desk.

  • When the kids ask for a pencil I can say “where do we keep the pencils?” and they know the answer is “on your desk” and they are clearly marked.
  • I have all of my binders clearly marked with labels on the outside.
  • I have one file drawer for business related items and one drawer for personal items.
  • I have all the supplies I need easily within my reach.
  • I have a basket on top to store recycling.
  • I have a trash can right underneath.

Here’s what I don’t like about my desk.

  • The best place for it in our house is in the  sun room which means it’s c-c-c-c-c-cold several months of the year. (This is when I move the laptop and my day’s work to the dining room table.)
  • All of those piles of paper!!!!!!

Can you even believe it? It’s true. Yours truly. The Organizer. I’m a paper pile-er. So every once in a while I have to take a break, yes, set the timer, and get to work straightening up my desk. Here’s what I did today in my twenty-minute clean up.

  • Recycled many items. It turns out that when you ignore papers they often become irrelevant.
  • Shredded some mail.
  • Put personal items needing to be filed in the “filing” folder at the front of the drawer.
  • Stored the bag of brochures in the storage closet (not pictured).
  • Cleared off the working surface of the desk.
  • Emptied the trash and recycling basket.

So here’s the after picture. Yes, there is still one pile of papers on the shelf on the left. There’s only so much a girl can do in twenty minutes, ya know? But hey, it’s significantly better than it was.

Now the only thing on the working surface is what I’m working on this week, the Expo for Women. Now I can focus on what’s important today.

 

Set a Timer Tuesday – Clothing

February 22, 2011

Jennifer Crutchfield Organize, Set a Timer , , Leave a comment

Bedroom Clutter

This weekend I worked on weeding out Sarah’s clothing collection. She kept waking up in the morning fussing about her toes hurting. It turns out that her footy pajamas were getting too short for her. It was time for them to go. I thought since I was getting rid of those, I may as well go through the rest of her clothes, too.

Set your timer for twenty minutes and go through one kid’s clothing today. Ready? Here we go.

First, decide which size they should really be wearing. For Sarah, she’s into size 4. That meant anything with a size 3 on the tag would be leaving the house.

  • Take out everything that’s too small.
  • Take out everything that’s no longer appropriate. (I finally got rid of the crib sheets. No idea why I waited so long on that one)
  • Take out everything you don’t ever want to see them wear again. You’re the parent, remember?
  • Take out everything that is so stained you’re embarrassed.
  • Take out socks with holes. (Seriously. It’s 2011. Who fixes socks?)
  • Check the coat closet for too small items. Also gloves, hats that need to go. (See socks, above.)

I took two kitchen size bags full to the Goodwill this weekend just from Sarah’s clothes.

The greatest part for me about doing this is that it makes it so much easier to put her clothes away. And it’s way easier for Sarah and me to agree upon what she should wear each day when everything in the drawer is a good choice.

Now on to the boy’s rooms . . . . .

Maybe I’ll do those next week :)

South Bend Expo for Women

February 21, 2011

Jennifer Crutchfield Events 1 Comment

Hey Friends! Watch this space for exciting news about Gather Arts Organizing and the South Bend Expo for Women!

Gather Arts Organizing will be at the Century Center for the Expo both Friday March 4th and Saturday March 5th. We hope you’ll stop by and say hello!

  • Card Cubby products will be available for purchase.
  • We’ll show you exactly how to get that junk drawer all straightened out!
  • You can schedule your own Junk Drawer session for a discount during the Expo.

Grab a friend and come out to the Expo for Women March 4-5 in South Bend! See you there!

 

Favorite Things

February 17, 2011

Jennifer Crutchfield Uncategorized Leave a comment

sock pile

Drawer dividers. You need them. I’ve decided. Everyone needs them. If you own socks or underwear and you keep them in a drawer, you need the drawer dividers.

This awesome drawer divider will help you organize everything from socks to underwear to t-shirts. It would be really great for dividing drawers of tiny baby clothes. Also, that one really big drawer that’s on lots of changing tables.

And, the ultra-fantabulous sock drawer organizer.

Sock organizer.

Yes, I’m totally serious. These items make getting dressed in the morning so much more quick and easy. Putting items away gets simpler, too.

And no, I will not be sharing pictures of my sock and underwear drawers. I know you’re all relieved.

Set a Timer Tuesday – Post Vacation Mail

January 25, 2011

Jennifer Crutchfield Organize, Set a Timer Leave a comment

So before you went on vacation you contacted your local post office and had your mail stopped, right? And if you’re really sneaky you stopped it a day before you actually left and started it a day after you actually returned. Before – it just removes one thing from your already over crowded to-do list. After – it just gives you one more day to ease back into your normal life.

Today we’re going to use our twenty minutes of timer guided organizing time to quickly and easily go through that insane pile of mail you receive after vacation.

  1. Remove it from the mailbox and proceed directly to the recycle bin. I would guess that no matter how diligent you are about removing yourself from mailing lists at least 1/3 to 1/2 of the paper mail most people receive is junk.
  2. Sort through the pile and place all the junk directly into the recycle bin. It never gets to see the inside of your house.  This is not the time to be opening any mail. If you have to open it to be sure then it’s not necessarily junk. Take that inside. On this first go-through just throw out the junk.
  3. Open all of the mail. Yes, all of it. Create a shredding pile, a recycling pile, a filing pile, and a “this needs attention” pile.
  4. After ALL of the mail is open and sorted, place the recycling pile back in to the recycling bin.
  5. Next, take all of the shredding directly to the shredder and shred it. Yes, right now. If you don’t have a shredder then tear it up into the tiniest pieces you are comfortable with and throw it away. Just do it right now. Don’t let that paper clutter up your house.
  6. Now take that filing pile and get it all filed.
  7. And finally the “attention” pile. Hopefully you’ve got some of your twenty minutes left to start addressing what’s left in this pile.

I’m thinking that the “this needs attention” pile might need to be the subject of a post all by itself so I’m not going to address that pile today. But, in this first twenty minutes you’ve been able to decrease that vacation stash of mail down at least 50 percent if not more. That’s a pretty good start for someone who might be feeling like you need a day off to recover from your vacation.

Set a Timer Tuesday – Garage

January 18, 2011

Jennifer Crutchfield Uncategorized , , , , 1 Comment

Garage Clutter

Does your garage look like the image above? Or is your car parked there?

Which would you rather store in your garage? An item that you spent several thousand dollars on and use pretty much every day, or a bunch of little things that are simply taking up space? Tools we know you’re not using since they’re functioning as glorified tables and not saws?

Especially in the snowy midwest, if your car is parked outside today and your garage is home to clutter, today’s the day to do something about it. Set your timer for twenty minutes and let’s get to work.

  • Call a pawn shop and find out what they’ll give you for that table saw in the photo above. Schedule an appointment for delivery if necessary and write it in your calendar.
  • Call Goodwill and schedule a pick up at their earliest available time.
  • If the items cannot leave your possession call the closest off site storage to find prices, etc. Schedule an appointment to get your things moved there.

A garage can be a big job and the middle of winter may not be exactly the right time for it. If you really are motivated to get that car in the garage, though, any time can be the right time.

Just for the record, I’m not a fan of long-term off-site storage for our belongings. However, there are times when it can be a good short-term solution to a storage issue.

Set a Timer Tuesday – Computer Clutter

January 11, 2011

Jennifer Crutchfield Uncategorized , , Leave a comment

So.

When was the last time you emptied the trash on your computer?

Go ahead. Go do it now. I’ll wait . . .

Ok then. Now that we all feel better about that, let’s take a good look at other types of clutter living on your computer and slowing you down.

Set a timer for twenty minutes and we’ll get to work cleaning up your electronic life just a little bit. Ready, set, go.

  • Inside email, un-subscribe from newsletters, coupons, subscriptions, blogs you don’t read every time they come through.
  • Clean up your Google Reader by removing subscriptions you don’t read any more.
  • Make sure that all of the documents stored on your computer are in a folder.
  • Clean up the desktop. Remove items from the desktop that you don’t use daily or at least regularly.
  • Take a closer look at that “Documents” folder. Delete old and irrelevant items. (We had many, many old resumes and cover letters stored here until recently.)
  • Can you delete kid’s school projects from years gone by?

Ooooh. And while we’re at it, I’m coming after your smart phone, too. How many apps do you have on there? How many do you really use? I know you spent $.99 for that app, but if you never use it then it’s clutter and you need to let it go. Yes, even the games. If you’re not playing it then it’s not useful and it’s clutter.

Aaaand now that we’ve deleted several items from the hard drive go and take another look at that trash.

Yep. Empty it again. You can do it.

(By the way – have you “liked” Gather Arts Organizing on Facebook yet? Go do that now. Thanks!)

 

Simplify Shopping

January 10, 2011

Jennifer Crutchfield Uncategorized , , 3 Comments

How many grocery stores do you shop at every week? Do you always go to the same store or do you shop for the sales?

Over time, I’ve tried it all. I’ve done the coupon thing where I would match the coupons with the best deals. I’ve chased the loss leaders all over town. I did the “stocking up” thing so that I would always be buying items at the lowest price. Before I had my third child I would shop at the discount store (Aldi) for everything I could then go to Kroger to finish the list. When I was pregnant I couldn’t handle two stores in one day so I gave that up.

None of those approaches are wrong. Each family has to decide which approach works best for them. And just like me, your approach may change over time.

Here’s where I’m at today with shopping for necessities and groceries. I shop at Meijer. Why Meijer? Because I can get just about everything we could possibly need on a weekly basis there. Their prices are good and now that I’ve been going there for a while I know the store pretty well. Being familiar with the store allows me to spend as little time as possible on shopping for the week. It also makes me more able to steer away from the “buy this just because you’re here” items and stick with what’s on the list.

Here are some of my tricks for maximizing my happiness and minimizing stress and over-spending at the grocery store.

  • Make a list. Use it. Stick to it.
  • Always park at the same door.
  • Always park beside the cart corral. I started this when I had infant children who I wasn’t willing to leave unattended in the car while I returned the cart. I still do it because it saves me time and energy. I am always able to do this because I normally shop during the day. In the evening you may have to park farther away to get a space by the corral but totally worth it for me.
  • Bring your re-usable bags.
  • Try to shop at a regular time. This will allow you to get to know some of the cashiers and which ones you might prefer to avoid.
  • If you use coupons arrange them in the order you walk through the store.

What do you do to make your shopping life easier? Do you shop at one store or all of them? Please let me know. I’m curious to know how others approach this task to make it easier. How might using this or a similar approach to your weekly shopping benefit your family?

After and Before

January 7, 2011

Jennifer Crutchfield Uncategorized , Leave a comment

I think this time we’ll start with the after photos. Because seriously, you won’t believe me when you see the before photos. This week I had the opportunity to work with a fun client who wanted to get a couple of closets de-cluttered. She knew what had to be done, she just needed some encouragement and help to get from here to there.

We only took pictures of one of the closets. This was the second one we did so we were feeling pretty good about ourselves, already having successfully cleared out quite a bit from the foyer closet. When we were finished with this closet, the rod had only four suits hanging on it. My client took three dresses of hers and put them in her bedroom closet because there was space for them.

Are you ready for the before pictures? Ok, here we go.

Yep. That closet was full of clothes. Everything except husband’s four suits and wife’s three dresses (mentioned earlier) was either donated to a family member (who takes items to consignment for sale) or to Goodwill.

Let’s take a close up look at that top shelf. It’s really, really, really deep.

It’s kind of difficult to see but this closet goes back about four feet because it’s above a staircase to the basement. We had to stand on a chair and use a curtain rod to hook items in the back and pull them to the front to get everything out.

In order to keep items from meandering to the back of the closet again, she’s going to have her husband attach a board to the shelf perpendicularly behind the items we put back. This will not allow anything to be pushed back beyond the length of her wrapping paper supplies box.

So, what do you think? Pretty cool, eh? I must admit, I felt really good about this project from start to finish. I hope my client did, too!

Set a Timer Tuesday – Digital Photo Clutter

January 4, 2011

Jennifer Crutchfield Uncategorized , , Leave a comment

Ah, the holidays. That wonderful time of the year when we carry our cameras to every gathering. Then we return home to load them onto our computer so the card is empty and we can take more pictures at the next event.

Then we never look at them again!

Do you do this? I hope not. I’ll admit, though, that there are many pictures living in my computer that have not seen the light of day since we took them. Today is the day to do some weeding out. Here’s what I got done in twenty minutes:

  • Look at all of the photos downloaded from your phone (if you have any). Create actual names for these folders rather than leaving them as the date they were downloaded (for example 1-4-2011).
  • Delete duplicate folders with different names! How in the world does this even happen? I have no idea.
  • Delete blurry pictures.
  • Remember to empty the trash on your hard drive after you’ve deleted all these photos (or you won’t gain any free space on your computer).

I’ve actually done this rather regularly the past several months so you may be able to get more accomplished than I could during your twenty minutes. Especially if you’ve never taken any time to organize your digital photos before now.

I’m curious. How do you organize photos on your computer? Do you just store them in a folder called “Pictures” or do you use Picassa or some other software to store and edit them? Or do you use Flickr, Picassa, or some other web-based storage system?

Whatever system you’re using, set yourself a timer today and add some order to your photo collection. Please let me know how it goes!

PS – I would be thrilled if you would “like” our Facebook Page.
PSS – Find me on Twitter here – Gather Arts Organizing and Jen Crutchfield

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