Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Ten tips to ensure you and your family enjoy a fun and safe Halloween.
The leaves are turning and falling quickly and the air is cool and crisp, which can only mean one thing. Halloween is once again upon us. Are you prepared for all the pirates, witches, ghosts and princesses who will soon be knocking on your door looking for treats? The following are 10 tips to ensure you and your family enjoy a fun and safe Halloween. Activities: The Halloween season is always filled with local family events which include pumpkin picking, trick-or-treating activities and special TV programs like cartoons for both young and old alike. Gather your family and ask them what they would like to do and make it a point to schedule these activities in and enjoy Halloween as a family. Candy: Do you want to be remembered as the …
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
A 3 step process towards creating a perfectly organized pantry.
When was the last time you took a really good look inside your pantry? Do you put blinders over your eyes as you try to stuff another item in this wasteland and quickly shut the door before another can, jar, box or one of 10 bottles of ketchup topples out and hits you in the head or toe? Are you aware of how many hard earned dollars are wasted in purchasing too many duplicate items or expired items left forgotten in the deepest corners of this area? Taking the time today to clear out and reorganize your pantry will save you time and money allowing you to make meal planning easier & healthier. The following is my 3 step process towards creating a perfectly organized pantry. Empty: Arrange: Maximize: These are just a few of many steps that …
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Five Steps For Simplifying and Organizing Children's Toys.
Are you tired of you asking your child to "please clean up your toys" for the thousandth time or tripping over their toys left scattered around their bedroom? In today’s material world, many kids are in “toy overload” and, without a system to keep these items in order, it's not that they don't want to clean up after themselves, it’s that they just don't know how. The key to teaching our children valuable organizing skills is to create simple solutions that they can easily understand, which in turn will make cleaning their room seem more of a game than a chore. The following are the Organizing Genie's five simple steps towards organizing your children's toys: Downsize. As with any organizing project, teach your children the art of …
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Easy tips to get your linens in order.
This week we've enjoyed an early taste of fall in New England, thanks to a cold front brought down by our neighboring country, Canada. Although it's a little early, I bet many were tempted to dig through the jumbled piles of towels, sheets, pillowcases and tablecloths in the linen closet in search of the flannel sheets to keep warm during this cold snap. Taking the time now to downsize and reorganize your linen closet will ensure you have everything readily available to make the transition from the warm summer months to the cold winter winds an easy one. Here are a few tips to downsize and reorganize the two biggest clutter culprits that may lay lurking in your linen closets — sheets and towels. As a general rule, keeping only two sets of…
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Steps towards transforming your bathroom into a peaceful haven.
Other than the kitchen, the family bathroom is one of the most used yet smallest and hardest-to-maintain rooms in the house. Between storing makeup, towels, medicines, hair supplies and cleaning supplies in such a confined space, it's no wonder this room can become the biggest challenge to keep organized. The biggest reward for creating an organized bathroom is that it will help to eliminate stress by streamlining the family morning routine. You will also save money by not purchasing duplicate items and be able to breeze through scheduled cleanings. The first step of transforming your bathroom into a peaceful haven is to: PURGE: Eliminate all expired medications & any makeup and mascara over six months old, worn out hair accessories, old …
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Five steps towards kicking the procrastination habit.
How many can relate to this scenario: My day began with the best intentions for working on a project for my organizing company which has been in the works since April. Instead, I checked my emails, played a bit on Facebook, paid a few bills ahead of time, watched the news, went out shopping and to dinner with my daughter. At the end of the day, I was left feeling stressed with guilt and disapproval of myself for not working on my project. Quite simply, I once again let procrastination hinder my goals and dreams. Napoleon Hill, famous american author of the book "Think and Grow Rich," had this to say about procrastination: "Procrastination is the bad habit of putting off until the day after tomorrow what should have been done the day …
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Bring order to your morning routine during the school year.
The lazy days of summer will soon turn into a warm distant memory as families across the country begin to settle into another hectic school year. The school year presents many challenges, such as keeping up with events, projects, sports and meetings, but one of the biggest frustrations that families face today is the dreaded morning rush. The morning is the most stressful — yet most important — part of any day because it will set the mood, good or bad, for the rest of the day. The following are the Organizing Genie's top five time management strategies to help elevate the stress and frustration of the morning rush. Arise before the mad morning dash begins. I admit when my children were younger, I sacrificed my sleep time to wake up …
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Why every season is a clutter-free present waiting to be unwrapped.
As the lazy days of summer begin to wind down, what memories do you long to hold onto the most? Maybe it's the warm gentle breezes, the smell of freshly cut grass, the songs of seasonal birds, the time spent with loved ones on vacations or days in the park. In reality, it's a good thing that I am unable to hold on to these memories in a physical form, because my genie's lamp would become too cramped with yesterday's memories, leaving no room to enjoy my upcoming favorite season, fall. I believe the summer season can teach us an important lesson about clutter. For example, do you find it hard to eliminate items from your home because you fear you will lose the memory attached with that item forever? What if I told you I could debunk that …
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
5 Organizations that turn your clutter into gifts of hope to those in need.
Do you believe in the idiom "One man's trash is another's man's treasure?" I do. Today, most households are filled with a variety of unused items which can easily be donated and reused to make a positive impact in someone else's life tomorrow. As a professional organizer, I've heard every excuse in the book as to why one has trouble eliminating clutter from their home. "I don't have time to de-clutter," "I spent too much money on that item," "I might need it again," "my aunt gave me this item as a gift” and so on. There are as many excuses as there are items that are useless to you. What if we shifted our way of thinking and asked ourselves: "How can my items make a big impact in someone else's life?" Excuses begin to melt away when you …
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Four steps towards reducing your book collections by discovering the books which speak to your soul.
On those dark and dreary rainy or snowy days, there's nothing better than curling up on the couch with a great book that transports us away to exciting and magical places. Isn't it ironic that over time these same novels turn against us and become daunting towers of clutter from which we wish we could escape? What if I told you that you were allowed to only keep enough books to fill up one bookcase comfortably, and the rest would have to go? Which books would you choose? After laughing or yelling at me, ask yourself, "Seriously, how many books do I really need?" New York Times bestselling author and professional organizer Julie Morgenstern summed it up best with this quote: "Save space on your shelves for the books that speak to your …
Debbie Tremblay
9:39 am on Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Thanks for the great tip :) more ›