Changing Fall Colors

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I changed the banner above to reflect some of the colors and events that happen during September. Every year there is the Great Forest Park Balloon Race here in St. Louis. There are some neat photos on the site but I think my photo is pretty good also.  I plan on going to this year’s race this Sat. and hope to get some more great pictures.

Anyway, all the photos above were taken at Forest Park over the last couple of years during the month of September.

Now is a good time to get out your cameras and head to a local park. As nature creates her collage of changing colors you just may capture that great photo to print and hang as a fall decoration.

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With the days getting shorter and cooler it’s time to change the decorations inside and out. The mums, pansies and other cool weather plants are showing up at the garden centers. Dig out the tired leggy summer plants and plant up a few of the fall plants. Just adding a couple of pots of golden or purple mums by your front door will brighten the entrance.

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Towards October the gourds, pumpkins, and colored corn will be at the stores. These make clutter free decorations because you either compost them or throw them away after the season is over.  If you decorate for Halloween and/or Thanksgiving these kind of things will blend right in with your other decorations. In fact, with the natural, seasonal items you’ll need fewer items that need to be stored for 10 plus months of the year.

In my last blog post I told you about my Halloween eBook.  It is now available on Amazon for the Kindle and on Barnes and Noble for the Nook.  On my sales page I have the link for Amazon already up but I’m waiting for the link for Barnes and Noble. It’s also available as a PDF for your PC.  In the chapter on decorating I talk about some of the ideas above. If you decorate for Halloween then it’s not too early to purchase the eBook. Start with the fall decorating and build on that.

Learn more about what the eBook has in it here:  http://organizebythemonth.com/how-to-have-a-fun-safe-and-decluttered-halloween-2/

 

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice

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Tips for Labor Day Celebrations

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Labor Day is a celebration of the American Worker. Despite all the economical and political dishevel (I won’t even begin to go there!) American’s need to step back and recognize how every worker, whether paid or volunteer, from Main Street to Wall Street, is what makes this country run. Like a fine machine we all are important and need to work together to make this country run at it’s best.

Okay, now I’ll get off my high horse and give you some information you can use to help make this Labor Day a celebration. Not everyone gets the day off (firemen, police, retail store workers, etc.) so if you run into any of these people working be sure to thank them for helping this country run.

I’m leaving town to visit my son so I have been using my “Travel Planner”.  If you are traveling this weekend I suggest you read the following article and blog posts to help make the traveling more organized.

http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/make_travel_easier_with_a_travel_planner

http://organizebythemonth.com/traveling-by-car/

http://organizebythemonth.com/are-we-there-yet-travel-games/

 

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Here are some sites that have information and ideas on how to celebrate Labor Day.

http://www.dol.gov/opa/aboutdol/laborday.htm

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/labor-day/

http://labor-day-weekend.com/

http://dailyholiday.info/labor-day

 

Have a safe and fun holiday weekend.

Janice

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Mother Nature Can Clear the Clutter the Hard Way

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Mother nature sure has a way of reminding us of what is important. The pictures of the wind and flood damage from hurricane Irene show how quickly all our belongings can be destroyed.  But ask anyone who has survived a disaster what they are grateful for and it’s always that their loved ones are safe, not the loss of their “things”.

I remember a few years ago when heavy rains caused flooding and sewer back-up at my mother-in-law’s condo basement.

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She had a lot of photos, clothes, and other things she stored down there. She also had a lot of clutter that she never got around to getting rid of.

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After it was all cleaned up she missed the photos and other memorabilia but that was all. She even felt relieved to be rid of all the junk. But she also felt bad because a lot of the things could have been given to a charity to bless others. Instead those items were wasted and ended up in the dumpster.

Now is a good time to take a look around your home and see what you can get rid of. Ask yourself a couple of questions.

  1. Would you miss this item if it was destroyed in a disaster?
  2. Do you even use this item or can you get rid of it now?
  3. If you aren’t using the item would it be something that someone else could use?

With all the flooding in the east coast I’m sure there will be many families in need of some of your extras you aren’t using.  Check to see who is gathering up donations of clothing, household items, etc. in your area.

This is a great way to get rid of some of your clutter and share your good fortune and abundance with those who weren’t so lucky this past week.

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice

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Declutter Before You Shop

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We’ve all heard the saying “Shop till you drop”  But I think a better one is “Declutter before you shop”.  Okay, I know it doesn’t rhyme but it will help keep the clutter under control. If you get rid of the old before bringing in anything new you’ll stay one step ahead of clutter build-up.

Containers014Also if you “declutter before you shop” you’ll know before you go to the store what is needed to fill in your wardrobe or finish your decorating. At the grocery store you’ll already know what ingredients you have on the shelf and what you need. You won’t buy a duplicate of something that can go bad or expire before it is used.

 

So before you start your autumn clothes shopping go through last year’s wardrobe.  Get rid of the clothes you didn’t wear because:

  1. They no longer fit.
  2. You don’t like them.
  3. They are worn out.

Create a list of what you need or want before you go shopping.  This will help reduce the impulse buying (future clutter?).

Before heading to the grocery store get rid of the expired ingredients and put them on your shopping list. Check your recipes and weekly menu and put what you need on the list also.  Then you won’t need to make that extra last minute trip to the store.

So save time, money, and clutter by following the saying, “Declutter before you shop” instead of “Shop till you drop”.  You’ll be glad you did.

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice

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Organizing Children’s School Papers

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Now that the new school year has begun it’s time to get organized. There are lots of papers that will be entering our homes by way of our children’s backpacks.

There are the notices of events going on, the permission slips, homework, worksheets, and of course all the art work the younger children do.  With so many papers coming in so fast it is easy to put them in a pile to go through later.

But will you and/or your child go through them before the homework is due or the permission slip is too late?

Start out the school year with a plan to handle the incoming papers so you and your child will be more organized. Here are a some suggestions.  If you have a different way to handle the incoming papers, please let me know by leaving a comment below.

  1. For notices, permission slips, etc. you should use a different color pocket folder for each child.  When your child brings home the papers be sure to mark the date on your calendar before you file the paper into the folder. You could also use a 3 ring binder with pocket folders in it.
  2. For current homework each child should have their own notebook or folders they keep in their backpack.  Usually the teachers will recommend what they want for their class.  Check it daily.  Pull out any old homework (see number 3) on a regular basis so the current homework doesn’t get lost in it.
  3. Old homework can really pile up if it isn’t decluttered on a regular basis.  Depending on the grade level there can be a lot of papers that your child will never need to look at again.  If there is a chance they will need it to study for a test then help them set up a folder for each subject. Then when it’s time to study all the papers on that subject will be in one place. Most of the time in the younger grades the practice papers can be recycled.  At the end of the school year almost all the homework papers can be recycled or thrown away.
  4. Art work and stories/essays are papers you’ll probably want to keep for at least a short time.  You can hang up the art work, give it to grandparents, or store it.  Under-bed storage containers are great for these since many pieces of art are larger than the standard piece of paper. Short stories or essays can be put in a binder or in the container with the art work.

If you haven’t decluttered last years papers now is a good time to do it before school gets under way.  Check out this article on how to declutter the papers.

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com/decluttering-childrens-school-papers/

 

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice

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