Organizing

Summer Can Be A Busy Time!

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It’s been a while since I wrote in here. The past month has been very busy and something had to give. Unfortunately it was this blog.

Both my sons and daughter-in-law came in town for a long weekend. It was also the same weekend my neighborhood was having a subdivision garage sale. Preparing my house for out of town company and a garage sale at the same time was a little hectic.

I made a little extra money at the sale. I also cleared out a fair amount of clutter from my home and what didn’t sell went to Goodwill.

The visits were great, although too short. The little money I made disappeared quickly with meals out and frozen custard desserts.

My invalid mother also got some new live-in caregivers during this time. Since I live down the street and my sisters are out of town the problems associated with the adjustment period fell on me.

And last weekend I participated in my local American Cancer Society Relay For Life. I walked 10 miles and so far have raised over $400. Yea me!

Whew! I’ve been busy. I’m sure you have been also. That’s what happens this time of year. It’s summer time. There are vacations, camps, summer school, 4th of July parties, etc. and that’s just during June and July. If you have children then you know that by the time August hits you’re preparing for back to school time.

I want this blog to be a place where I can share my tips and tricks I have learned over the years that have helped me get more organized. Each month and season brings new challenges.

I have done the research looking for information regarding holidays and special events during each month. I have put the links for some of the information on this blog but most are in the monthly newsletter.

I would like your feedback to know if this is information you like to receive. Is there other information you would like to read about in this blog that would help you get more organized each month? Your input will help me be able to give you the information that will be most relevant to you.

Please leave a comment and let me know.

Thanks,

Janice

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Paper Clutter Challenge – Home Inventory List

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For the month of May I’m challenging myself to get my paper clutter under control. I’m going to use the information in the eBook “Cut Out The Paper Clutter” to guide me.

With all the tornados destroying homes in the Midwest and South this Spring I realized it was time to update my own inventory list. So that is where I’m starting.

Please join me in this challenge by following along. Be sure to leave a comment to let me know how you are doing.

Once completed this list will give me peace of mind in case of a disaster. It can also be used as a quick and clutter free reference for important information for warranty purposes. A second copy of this list should always be kept off premises preferably in a safe deposit box.

Creating this list can be overwhelming especially if you’ve accumulated many things over the years.

That’s why I suggest you start with taking a photo inventory first then work towards creating a written list.

Here are some great reasons for taking the time to create this list.

  • Both a photo and written inventory list can help with getting reimbursed from the insurance company in case of a disaster.
  • You get to see your possessions through the eyes of a camera. It doesn’t lie!
  • Both the photos and written list can help you recognize your abundance.
  • The photos can help you see what is clutter and what is not.

Week 1 Challenge

To keep from getting overwhelmed I’m only working on one floor at a time.

I’m happy to report that many of my pictures showed that at least some of my rooms, cabinets, and closets are under control. It will be easy to do the written inventory list later. Not everything needs to be on the written list.

The good dishes in the dinning room will be easy to inventory.

The kitchen cabinets aren’t too bad either. The photo will be all that I need. Nothing too valuable here.

The pantry may not have significant things to inventory but a picture speaks a thousand words. It needs some organizing!

Again not a significant area for a detail written list. However, a good decluttering and organizing will make it easier to know what is worth replacing in case of a disaster.

My next step in this challenge will be to take pictures of the upstairs bedrooms and the finished basement. Then I’ll start the written inventory list. Of course, the more I declutter the less I’ll have to write down.

Now that sounds like a good incentive to get rid of things!

Be sure to check back on this blog for the next report.

You can sign up to receive the updates through email on the right sidebar. ——>

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice

The Home Inventory List is just one part of the eBook, “Cut Out The Paper Clutter”. You can see a list of the other chapters here. I’ve also extended the special sale price during the month of May while doing this paper clutter challenge.

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Is Your Email Inbox Too Crowded?

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Is your email inbox too crowded? Do you dread looking at it each morning?

I remember how exciting it use to be to see what the mailman left in the mailbox that day? A card from a dear relative, a letter from a friend who lived out of town, or a new magazine to read.

It also used to be fun to open my email inbox in the morning to see what interesting piece of information would be awaiting me. Now that I use email for most of my correspondence from friends, relatives, news, information (newsletters), and business information I have found that I dread opening the inbox. There are way too many emails that I’m not interested in anymore that are crowding out the few I want to read.

Several times a year I re-evaluate what I’ve subscribed to.

Many are the retail stores, both online and brick and mortar, where I gave my email address at the time of purchase. Although I rarely shop these stores I’m bombarded with special offers on an almost daily basis.

Sometimes I subscribed to a newsletter and find out it really isn’t what I thought it would be. But I take the time to open it just in case there is some tiny bit of information I could use.

It’s time to unsubscribe to the emails that are now clutter!

The following steps will help you keep your inbox to a manageable level. Take these steps every few months and you’ll start looking forward to opening your inbox daily.

Be sure to set a timer and only do so much time per day. It will keep you fresh and more objective when deciding what to unsubscribe to.

  1. Start with the easy ones such as retail stores you rarely shop at. Unsubscribe from the most recent email. Search for sender (each email browser is different) and delete all the old emails for that sender. Their specials are expired!
  2. Next look at what informational newsletters you have signed up for with retail stores. Most of the time you can find the same information on their website when you need it, not when they are trying to sell you something.
  3. Next look at the newsletters from individual smaller websites. Do their newsletters meet your expectations? Does the content add value to your life? Are there too many marketing emails sent in between the occasional newsletter? Only you can decide if it is worth it.
  4. Now look at your personal emails. Do you have certain friends or family that constantly forward those jokes, silly pictures, etc. If you are not interested in these email you can ask your friend/relative to please take your name off their forwarding list. Or you can set up a filter for those people and keep their emails out of your main inbox, away from your important emails.

Next time you subscribe to a newsletter or store email give it a month or two to decide if it is worth it. If not, then unsubscribe right away. You can always re-subscribe in the future.

Janice

Declutter and organize your piles of papers with the eBook “Cut Out The Paper Clutter”.

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Miracle Friday

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I hope everyone had a good Passover or Easter holiday this past week. Last weekend was a wild one here in the mid-west with all the tornadoes and thunderstorms. Now we are looking at potential flooding.

Many people in the St. Louis area are labeling last Friday as “Miracle Friday” because despite a tornado that took a 25 mile path of destruction through the northern part of the area there weren’t any fatalities or even serious injuries.

People heeded the warning sirens and sought out proper shelter.

I can’t even image coming out of my basement to find my home completely destroyed like the one below.

image

You can view a lot more pictures of the damage on the KSDK news site.

When looking at these pictures I get a renewed sense of what is important in life. Sometimes we put an unrealistic importance on our material possessions. Most can be replaced, the lives of our loved ones can’t.

It’s something to think about when the clutter builds up in our homes and we continue to come up with excuses to keep it.

Of course if a disaster should occur to your home it would help to be prepared to handle the aftermath. That means having the important papers you need to expedite the insurance coverage and replacement of any other important things you may need.

I think it’s time for me to re-evaluate the precautions I have or have not taken regarding my household inventory (needs updating) and other important papers. I need to go over the chapters in my eBook again and make sure everything is ready in case of a disaster.

I have decide to make this a challenge for me during the month of May.  I will work my way through my papers and household inventory and post about it on this blog. Why don’t you join me in this challenge?

Ways you can join me:

Follow this blog and post comments. You can receive updates through email here.

Follow the blog through my Facebook Page along with getting other tips there. http://www.facebook.com/CutClutterWithScissors

Take the free e-course on paper clutter:  http://cutoutthepaperclutter.com/ecourse/

Purchase the eBook: http://cutoutthepaperclutter.com/

Together we can clean up our paper clutter and have peace of mind should a disaster ever happen. Of course we pray it never does, but just in case.

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com

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http://twitter.com/jlscissors

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You Can Make Every Day Earth Day

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Earth Day rolls around once a year to remind us to practice the three R’s: reduce, reuse, recycle.  Many of us take advantage of the convenient and local events to recycle those old electronics, athletic shoes, worn out books, burnt out light bulbs, and stacks of papers that need to be shredded.

You may have been collecting and storing these items since last Earth Day. After all, you don’t want to contribute any of them to the landfills.

It is a great and noble thing to take care of our earth. But if you are using your home as a temporary trash storage area while waiting for the once a year Earth Day events then that could be a big problem.

You don’t deserve to live in a trash dump!

Take advantage of this Earth Day to gather the information about places you can take items to be recycled year round. Newspapers (online and printed) are writing articles and listing websites and local addresses at this time. Create a folder, either on the computer or paper, to keep this information.

In August, when you take advantage of the back to school sales on computers you can look up where to recycle the old one. The same with all those outgrown rubber athletic shoes. Or those burnt out CFL light bulbs.

Many stores such as Best Buy now have bins to recycle small electronics year round. I know my local city has curbside recycling plus lots of schools now have the big metal bins for recycling. I’ve even noticed ones that are for recycling old clothes.

So there are lots of places to recycle your stuff everyday and feel good about taking care of the Earth. Just make sure you take as good as care of your own home. You deserve it!

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice

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