Hazardous Spaces

Closets can be a household's hub of disorderly conduct. When guests arrive many of us jam what's lying around into one, closing the door on all those little loose ends, exposing the home's more... pleasant side.

I keep my clothes in a fairly large bedroom closet... And, yes, I am a self-admitted clothes horse. There's no denying it! To keep my closet looking fairly neat day in and day out, even after a good rummage, I follow a few basic rules.

First, I hang what I ware most often front and center. For example, if it's winter I hang my long sleeved shirts, winter skirts and dresses in front of short sleeved and other summer clothes. However, I also hang those few short sleeved shirts that I layer in front as well so that they're still easy to find when I want them, not stuffed in the back of the closet where I would have to go digging for them.

Second, group together likes. I hang long sleeved together, short sleeved together, and so on. I also group together dresses and skirts. This makes things easy to find. Keeping things simple will also help you keep your closet neat. If you can't find what you're looking for you're more likely to pull everything out trying to fin that one red t-shirt that you were sure was right there...

Third, color coordinate. I know, I know, anal I may be... but it helps! Having all greens, reds, whites and whatever else together helps me find what I'm looking for. So if I want that red t-shirt I know where to look.

If I practice all three rules, my closet is not only easy to navigate, but stays tidy. If I'm looking for my green turtleneck during the summer I know to look where I keep long sleeved green shirts in the back of the closet. If I want to find that white t-shirt I always layer during the winter I know that it will be with the white short sleeved in the front of the closet.

How much easier could it get??? Hey, if you're like me you'll be relieved to finally have that closet under control, otherwise, if some unsuspecting guest were to take an unauthorized peek, you may have a monitary avilanche on your hands! So, unless you're ok with posting HAZARD signs around the house, it just might be time to do a little, shall we say, Closet Managment?

Complications not Included

Holiday organization can be tricky. There's already so much to think about; what to give loved ones, family plans, cooking, wrapping, shopping, the tree, outdoor decorating, sending cards, buying batteries for Christmas gifts... what am I missing? Oh yeah, keeping your home clean and organized through it all!

Make home organization as easy as possible during this time. Here are a three tips for the Holidays that may just help keep a little sanity:

1. Don't take on any new commitments or start any new projects. Maybe Marge from the PTA asked if you could pick up her daughter after school and bring her home. After all, she's only five minutes out of the way. Don't Do It! Not right now, anyway. Taking on too much is the first step towards loosing all sense of organization on the home front. Keep things simple. Now is also not the time to start remodeling the upstairs bathroom. I know, you want to have it looking grand for the fam' on New Year's Eve, but now's just not reasonable. Make sure projects are started between major holidays. These occasions carry with them enough responsibility and commitment. You don't need to add anything more.

2. Catch-alls are a great help at any time of year, but during the Holidays, catch-alls can be a life saver! A catch-all is a bin, basket, or any kind of decorative container that you can idly toss things into. Catch-alls are great for mail, receipts, clothes (in the bedroom), winter clothes (i.e. gloves, hats, mittens, scarfs, etc.). During the Holidays catch-alls can be used for Christmas cards, to-be-hung Holiday decor, Holiday receipts (in case of returns), and much more. Catch-alls can help keep things looking tidy and livable even with so much going on. Also, if time is running short, catch-alls keep things orderly in a pinch so that you won't be going mad trying to locate the receipt Auntie Joan needs because the gloves you gave her where exactly the same as the pair Uncle Ken got her last year... and you said you'd be at work fifteen minutes ago... it was right there...Ughh...

3. Set a tidy-up-time. I usually neaten up my apartment before going to bed. I like waking up to an orderly environment, it sets a positive tone for the day. You can choose any time that works for you. Just be sure to make it at a time when you're not in demand. Early mornings or evenings tend to be the easiest. Keeping up with organization will help minimize the task, instead of waiting for it to build up and then being faced with the overwhelming monster-of-a-mess after New Years. Also, this time is not meant for major cleaning, it's simply meant to maintain organization. Don't plan on mopping the floors or scouring the tub at nine o'clock at night. Tidy-up time is for filing away the bills you just paid, washing the dishes, putting away pens and scissors and whatever else is lying around, putting shoes in the closet, etc. Major cleaning can wait.

Aim for simplicity at this very complicated time of year. I know that it can get stressful, and home organization shouldn't add to your everything-I-need-to-do list. Instead, keeping it as part of a daily routine will minimize what needs to be done and even make it a normal part of everyday life, Holiday or not. Also, keeping your means of organization simple is key, hence, catch-alls. If organizing and tidying are difficult then, most likely, during stressful times of the year you simply won't follow through.

Make it mind-numbingly easy. That's what I do. And now it's become something that's just another part of my day... Holidays included.

Color Causations

Sometimes simplicity is the best way to go. You don't need a lot of things to create an inviting and home-y environment. Sometimes it's all in how you arrange what you have. And also, not having too much to arrange!

Feng Shui is one of the methods of interior decoration that I use. It is tricky staying true to all of the philosophy's many stipulations, but utilizing at least some of them can be very helpful.

Simple color coordination and arrangement is one of the basic foundations of Feng Shui. Color has the ability to sway the mood. For example, if you walk into a room which has walls painted fire-engine red, you may begin to feel agitated. Oppositely, if you enter a room which has walls painted pale leaf-green you may begin to feel at ease and calm. Those are extremes, mind you, but don't underestimate the effect of color. Also, having too many varying colors in a room can cause a sense of being scattered and a feeling of unrest. Alternately, having drab monotone colors could cause a feeling of sadness or depression.

While organizing your rooms choose you color decor carefully. The bedroom is a place of rest and sensuality, the living room is a place of liveliness and fun, while the bathroom is a place of wakefulness and calm. Think of what colors might create these moods for you. For me, warm earth tones and varying hues of white give the bedroom a mood of warmth and restfulness. In the living room I carry over earth tones from the bedroom, but add pop colors of intense reds and lime greens, adding to the mood fun and energy. I want my main room to convey a welcoming "come on in" feel not only to me, the resident, but to those who visit.

Living in the Lower Cape, Plymouth, or Bristol county areas? Need some help with cleaning and organization? E-mail me, Sarah, for more information.sarahsavie@yahoo.com

Mail Troubls!

Mail...

Mail gives me anxiety as I am sure it does for many Americans who have bills, loans, debt... ugh... I've been letting my unopened mail accumulate for some time. Anxiety definitely had the better of me! Seeing it there everyday in its ever growing pile only compounded my already anxious affect.

This morning , however, I'd had enough! And reclaimed my table top, plowing through all the unopened mail one envelope at a time.

Some strategies I use to make this easier are having my trash basket handy and pulling out my file bins in case I need to file away any correspondence. Having these things at my side as I venture into my mountains of anxiety ridden mail helps me to move along quickly, and also keeps me from leaving the table, distracting myself from the task at hand.

File bins are a wonderful thing. You don't need to buy anything too fancy. Walmart and Target both sell affordable bins that are aesthetically pleasing to boot! When labeling each folder, be fairly specific. Being too general will make it difficult to find things in the future, such as "bills paid" or "insurance". Rather, use company names such as your electric company as a header for the folder pertaining to all electric bills, receipts, etc. Also, specify what type of insurance such as "health insurance", "car insurance", etc. Another tip is, if you have several family members to keep track of, separate each folder by type of insurance and the person it pertains to, "Health insurance- Marc", "Life insurance- Donna", etc.

Tip: A little word to the wise, don't file bills in a folder "to be paid"... remember out of sight out of mind! Don't file bills that need attention at all, they can stay out in a basket or letter box so that they remain in the line of sight.

Well, my table top is looking far more inviting I must say. And, as you will read in more of my posts, having a clean and organized space allows my brain to feel the same, clean and organized, thus decreasing anxiety.

So now that's done... ugh... dishes :-)

Living in the Lower Cape, Plymouth, or Bristol county areas? Need some help with cleaning and organization? E-mail me, Sarah, for more information.sarahsavie@yahoo.com

Orderly Brains

Lately I've just been running out of the apartment in the morning nearly late for work. Usually everything is left in disarray, dishes in the sink, clothes on the bedroom floor, bed unmade. This is hardly ideal.

Returning to a neat an orderly environment after a long day's work is one of the most satisfying and relaxing rewards you can give to yourself. Making your bed in the a.m. isn't necessarily for aesthetics alone, it's for you. Having a made bed to return to at night provides you with a sense of mental organization. Leaving yourself with a clean sink, rather than a pile of moldering dishes leaves you with a sense of mental and physical cleanliness. Having clothes folded and hung in their rightful places rather than piled haphazardly at various locations on your bedroom rug leaves you with both a sense of cleanliness and mental order.

Do not think mental orderliness or physical cleanliness is a meager goal. In fact, having a home environment that provides you with these can create them not only in your brain or on the home front, but in all other areas of your life. Work, relationships, commitments, family... everything begins to take on the same sense of order and cleanliness. How can these relate to, say, relationships? Well, if a relationship feels organized and clean, it may feel reliable and centered, committed and directed... all very satisfying things to experience in a relationship.

Don't underestimate the impact organization has on your daily life, inside and outside the home. As for me... well, I totally understand the love I have for returning home each day to a place that feels ordered and welcoming. So wake up earlier I shall! So that I return to a place in the evening that I not only call home... but feels like home, too.

Living in the Lower Cape, Plymouth, or Bristol county areas? Need some help with cleaning and organization? E-mail me, Sarah, for more information.
sarahsavie@yahoo.com

Little Bits

One thing I know about organized is this... little bits are better than big bites!

Trying to organized everything at once can seem like an overwhelming and arduous task. But if you just organize one little thing every day, your house will never fall into disarray!

Was the rhyme too much? Well, anyway, that is how I keep things fairly well kept in my little place here in Plymouth. I love my apartment, but, when everything's everywhere it can feel a lot less welcoming and comfortable. When I come home from work I want to know that my place is going to be relaxing, not another thing to stress me out.

If I need to clean up a little I don't aim to have it all done in one day. Instead I select certain things to do. For instance, today I cleaned behind my fridge and mopped my wood floor. Next I need to put away some clothes... and that's it (by the way, my floor's are not so big, so mopping them is not a huge task. If you have a very large floor to conquer, you may want to simply do that and call it a day).

Living in the Lower Cape, Plymouth, or Bristol county areas? Need some help with cleaning and organization? E-mail me, Sarah, for more information.

sarahsavie@yahoo.com