Organizing

Household Administrative Professionals Day?

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In the work environment most bosses have some kind of assistant or secretary. Today is the official day that they are suppose to recognize how much that person helps the boss. If you are the boss and have someone assisting you then let them know how much you appreciate their help.

But if you are not the boss or even if you do not work in an office take this day to think about all the people who help you with your administrative responsibilities. This doesn’t have to be just work related. There are administrative responsibilities in running every home.

Who pays the bills? Who schedules the doctor’s appointments or calls the plumber when needed? Who takes care of the taxes or at least gathers the papers needed for the accountant? Who files important papers in the file drawer so they can be found when needed? The list goes on and on.

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In my household I take care of most of the administrative duties. So today I’m going to pat myself on the back. Who knows, maybe when I go out later I’ll buy myself some fresh flowers!

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Here are a couple of sites to check out about Administrative Professionals Day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_Professionals%27_Day

http://www.iaap-hq.org/newsroom/apw/index.html

Janice

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com

http://twitter.com/jlscissors Be sure to follow me on Twitter for my almost daily Cut Clutter Tips.

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“Things” Can Be Freeloaders

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How do you look at your things? Are they valuable to you? Are they clutter to you? Do you wonder where all those things came from?

Most of the time clutter accumulates without us paying much attention to it. Then one day we look around and feel overwhelmed. Our things have taken over our homes! Now we start beating ourselves up wondering how we let this happen.

One reason is because we were too nice to our things. Yes, I said too nice. We have let these things take up residence in our homes even though many don’t deserve to be there. They are freeloaders!

Webster’s definition for freeloader is:  a person who habitually imposes on others for free food, lodging, etc.

If we look at our things from this angle how many of them could be considered freeloaders? They are living in your home for free if they don’t serve any purpose to make your life better.

To determine if something has earned the right to live in your home ask yourself these questions.

  • Does the item serve a practical function?
  • Does the item make you smile?
  • Does the item bring up good memories?
  • Does the item pamper you?
  • Does the item make a family member happy therefore making you happy?

Something may be a freeloader because:

  • You feel obligated to keep it because someone gave it to you. It doesn’t matter that you hate it or it doesn’t go with anything in your home.
  • It belongs to someone else but you feel too guilty to get rid of it or insist the owner take it back.
  • You bought something but realize it was a mistake. It’s too late to return it so you feel too guilty to get rid of it and waste all that money.
  • You don’t want to contribute to the landfill so you plan to recycle it. You just haven’t gotten around to finding a place to take it.
  • It no longer fits but it’s too good to get rid of. Maybe you’ll lose the weight someday.

There are all kinds of excuses that allows us to let the freeloaders take up residence in our homes. Don’t buy into those excuses. Kick those freeloaders to the curb!

Janice

 

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Transitioning Winter to Spring Clothes

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March is a transition month for clothing in many parts of the country. It’s been in the 60’s here all week. I pulled out the short sleeve shirts. Yea! But this weekend it’s suppose to get cold again. Boo!

So I can’t put away the winter clothes just yet but some days I need the spring clothes. Layering is the best way to go.

An easy way to transition your winter to spring clothes is to use babysteps. In the next week or two you can start packing away the heavy clothes you won’t be wearing again until next winter. Give away anything that wasn’t worn because it didn’t fit or you didn’t like it. No reason to take up valuable storage space.

Each week take a few minutes to go through your clothes and pull out more and more of the winter ones. At the same time you want to unpack the spring clothes, especially the ones that layer well.

By the time the warm weather is here to stay your closets & drawers will be transitioned over. And all you had to do was spend a little time each week to get it done.

Janice

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com

http://twitter.com/jlscissors

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Cut the Clutter One Layer At A Time

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When there is a lot of clutter laying around sometimes it’s hard to know where to start. Most people have heard the saying “peeling an onion” applied to many different things. A few years ago I heard it applied towards clearing out clutter. I think it was Flylady (Flylady.net) but I’m not 100% sure. Either way, the idea has stuck with me and helps when I need to tackle some clutter.

 

You can peel an onion one layer at a time. The outer layers are usually easy to peel off. As the layers get smaller and tighter they take more effort. The same is true with clutter. The outer layers of clutter are the items that should be trashed or recycled without thinking about them too much. These might be old newspapers, magazines, empty food cans & wrappers, clothes that no longer fits, or any other item that is trash.

Once that layer is out of the house you can move on to the next layer. This layer shouldn’t be to hard either. It’s mainly putting the things you want to keep in their proper place. They are only temporary clutter because they haven’t been put away. These might be papers, toys, DVD’s, clothes, etc. that aren’t in the room where they belong.

As you get into the next couple of layers it will be harder to get rid of the items. The excuses to keep things start popping up. These are not the emotional excuses but the practical ones.

  • What if I need this item someday?
  • I’m always misplacing things so I need lots of extras.
  • I paid good money for this item. I can’t get rid of it even though I don’t use it.

The inner layers are the toughest to get rid of. These are the ones with emotional attachments. The reasoning behind these emotions may not make sense but that doesn’t make it any easier to get rid of the item.

  • I don’t like the item but it was a gift from my aunt so I can’t get rid of it.
  • I inherited the item. It must have been important to my loved one, so it must be important to me.
  • I’ve had it so long so it must mean something to me even if I can’t remember what that something is.

Keep things for the right reasons, not irrational ones.

When you cut an onion it can make you cry. The same thing can happen when you try to let go of clutter. The first couple of layers aren’t too bad but those inner layers will get to you and can take longer.  Go ahead and cry over the clutter, then get rid of it.

What’s left after you peel away the clutter are your precious things that add value to your life.

Janice

 

 

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Spring Fever

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Yesterday the temperature reached 70 degrees. Way above normal and so welcomed. It has been averaging below normal the last couple of months and I was beginning to wonder if Spring was ever going to show up.

We took advantage of the weather and drove around in my husband’s convertible with the top down. Spring fever hit me big time. I even ordered some seeds for flowers and vegetables online yesterday. Usually I order them in February but I couldn’t seem to decide what I wanted to grow. Maybe I just couldn’t get in the mood because of the cold weather.

Now I need to go out in the yard and start cleaning up from the long winter. Usually by the beginning of March the grass is starting to green up but this year it is still brown. But I did see some bulbs starting to push up from the ground.

This is from today.

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This is from March 15 a year ago. It will be interesting to see if the crocuses are in bloom by next week.

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If you and your children have Spring fever here are a few sites with activities to channel that energy into something fun. Check them out.

http://holidays.kaboose.com/spring/

http://fun.familyeducation.com/hobbies-and-interests/seasons/32840.html

http://www.kidsturncentral.com/holidays/spring.htm

Janice

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com

http://twitter.com/jlscissors

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