Ultimate Organizers, LLC

tips For your day to day activities as well as the big moves

 Top Tips 2008

1. Make place calendar for all appointments. (kids schedules, Dr. visits, work)

2. When mail comes in take 5 minutes to go through it and get rid of the junk mail.

3. Make a grocery list and follow it.  When you get home put groceries away in proper place.

4. When doing laundry make sure that you don't leave clothes in the wash/dryer for the next day, put it in and finish the job. 

5. Before you buy new clothes go through the old and get rid of anything you have not worn in the past year.

7. Make sure the counters are clear at night before you go to bed, start fresh every day. 

8. Make a list for family members so they can feel a part of helping out and staying organized.

9. Take it out...put it away.

10.  If in Doubt "Throw it Out!"

  Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}

Lists/General Clutter Free Info.

1. Make “to do list” for your children and/or spouse to follow.  This will free up some of your time.

2. Purchase a card month by month holder if you find that you miss birthdays and this will keep you more organized.

3. Keep a calendar with daily events for your family and yourself.

4. Daily, walk through your home/office and pick up everything put in a central pile, go through all items and put everything back in place in the home. 

5. Magazines, thumb through them and clip the articles you want to save. This will free up a lot of space. You say when can I do that, multi-task...when you are on the phone look at the magazines and talk.

6. Take one place in your work space for scheduling, notes and tasks you must attend to.

7. Make it fun for the kids to help clear the clutter, give them small tasks for clean up.  This will make them feel a part of the on goings in the house. 

8. If you don't have younger kids in the family, help from other family members is great too.

9. Bills should be dated on the envelope when they need to be sent out and put in a drawer or desk area until checks are written.  Put everything in due date order.

10. Delegate duties to each person in the household, this way the younger kids will learn how to help out and this will make them feel good.

11. Clutter in the rooms?  Go through each room; items that seem to add stress to you when you

look at it – get rid of it!

12. De-cluttering the rooms will make you feel 100% better, freer, and will add more space in your home and a clear atmosphere.

13. Main areas in the home are more inviting with less stuff in them, more space with less stuff is better.  It is more inviting and friendly.

14. WHEN IN DOUBT THROW IT OUT!

Kitchen

1. Make a list when going to the grocery store make sure you make the list on full stomach that way you will buy what you need!

2. When getting home from shopping, put everything away immediately.  You won’t end up with piles of stuff in the kitchen.

3. Open your mail over the garbage.  Throw up the items you do not plan on looking at.  Open the other items (i.e., bills, letters, cards, etc.)

4. Cabinets - Keep all like products together in your cabinets, this way you will know what you have and where everything is.

5. Before leaving the house make sure the counters and the kitchen sink is clean and clear of clutter. This will give you one less thing to do when you get home and it only takes 2 minutes.

6. Keep an organizer with everything that you need to do. Take it with you when leaving the house.

7. Make “to do” list and complete the list before you move on to another task.

8. Cleaning items, mops rags etc. need to have a home for themselves too.  Have one designated closet or area in the basement for these items.

9. Do not over purchase cleaning products.  If you feel good having extra cleaning products in the house buy one and have a designated area in the garage or basement for these products.

10. Plastic or paper bags from shopping can be recycled or use bag holders that can be purchased at Ikea for a few bucks, but best of all fabric reuse/recycle. 

11. Plan meal a week/month in advance, put on a calendar for everyone to see.

Closets

1. Go through your closet and begin to remove any and all clothing items that you have not worn in the past year. 

2. Get rid of anything that is either too big or too small. You can always buy new later.  These items can be donated to a local charity and you will be given a tax write-off.

3. Look through the closets for the other members of the household as well and do the same with their clothes.

4. For better access to your clothes they need to be sorted by type (i.e. sweaters, short sleeve shirts, blouses, etc.), then by color; the same for pants and skirts.

5. All the children’s hat and winter items should have hooks and bins in a designated area for the season.

6. Have on hand in the linen closet enough towels for the people that live in the house.  If you have extra that you need to company keep one or two out, the rest should be stored away until needed.

Laundry

1. When doing the laundry take everything down and sort into piles, do each load completely and put everything away before moving on to the next load.

2. Have designated baskets for each family member. Clothes can be folded and put directly into the baskets and brought to the appropriate rooms for unloading.

Basement/ Attic

1. Keep stairs clear of clutter.

2. If the basement is used for a playroom, have shelving put in so the toys can be put in the shelves with labels.

3. Check the follow through with the kids to pick up their items. These are good follow through skills that will be used by them for the rest of their lives.

4. Keep the floor areas clear of clutter, take it out…put it away.

5. If your kids have a lot of toys, what can be done to keep their interest? Take some away and store them in the attic in plastic bins then six months down the road rotate the other toys with the toys in the attic.  The kids love to get new surprises even if the had them before.

6. Toys – do you have an abundance of toys in the home? Well age appropriate toys should be kept for the kids and the rest can either be given to other family members or donated to a charity that will use them wisely for the needy.

7. Holiday decorations should be boxed up in clear bins as well and labeled so that you know what you have and they can be easily gotten to when the season comes about again.

8. All bins and storage containers in the attic or the basement need to be labeled and like items need to stay in locations together.

9. For kids art projects, make keepsake boxes and put the work in the boxes. Store these in the attic or basement. 

10. Seasonal storing for clothes is essential, the summer clothes should be stored away and labeled in boxes for the winter season and vice versa for summer.

Garages

1. Write lists of what you have put away in the bins in the attic or garage.

2. The garage should be clear for the use of your cars, items that can be hung on the walls should do so, and items that belong in the house should be placed in the house.  Items that need shelving need shelving put into the area and used with labeling.

3. Garden tools need to either be hung on the walls of the garage or put in a shed in the backyard.

4. Designate an area in the garage for the recyclable items, along with the garbage cans.

5. Keep the garage clear of clutter, children’s  toys need to  be put into bins for the benefit of keeping them clean and out of the walk way.

6. Hang bikes either from the side walls, if the ceilings are high, they can be stored for easy access off the ceiling.

7. Sleds and winter items should be stored in an area out of the way, either in the attic space in the garage or a shed until the season is in, that is also the same for the summer items as well.

8. Ladders should be hung on the sidewalls of the garage.

9. Paints and items for the house, if stored in the garage need to be on shelves and labeled.

10. Lawn items can either be stored on shelves or in a shed if applicable.

11. If something is taken off the shelf put it back where it came from.  Do not leave items lying around; this is what starts the clutter bug in the house.

12. Walk through children’s items with the kids and spouse so that everyone knows where the items are to be kept.

13. Extension cords should be wound up and kept in

labeled bins.

14. Park cars in the garage

15. Sweep garage seasonally.

Moving and Packing Tips…

Keep the following supplies handy for packing:

• Boxes, marking pen, bubble wrap, newspaper and tissue

• Tape and scissors

• Tape measure

• Use strong boxes and containers that can be secured tightly. Purchase special boxes for dishes, wardrobe and other special items.

• Pack audio-video equipment in their original boxes. Label cables and tighten transit screws. If removing screws, tape them to the objects they are removed from.

• Avoid loading more than 50 pounds into one box.

• Label each box and indicate the following: (a) Which room it should go in (b) Whether it is fragile (c) If it should be loaded last so it will be unloaded first.

• Cushion contents with packing material such as bubble wrap, newspaper or tissue. Save room by using towels and blankets to wrap fragile items.

• Have the house clean prior to moving in right after closing.

1. Pack cabinets in kitchen from top bottom up.
2. Pack each cabinet together, if you have open food items that will spill either tape them securely or throw them out.
3. Pack books tightly on end in small boxes. If musty smelling, sprinkle talcum powder between the pages and wrap the book before packing. Leave stored for a couple of months to eliminate the smell.
4. Have rugs and draperies cleaned before moving and leave them in wrappings for the move
5. Pack medicines in a sealed/leak proof container.
6. Carry all valuables with you.

 
One Week Before Moving

Change or address with the Post Office.

Switch utility services to new address, water, gas, electric

Also inform newspaper, magazine subscription, telephone and cable companies of your move and change name and address on your checks with your bank.

Have clothing ready for the move.

Plan ahead for special needs of infants (pack all the necessities for the baby the night before the move).

Moving Day

Double check closets, drawers, shelves, attic and garage to be sure they are empty.

Carry important documents, currency and jewelry yourself, or use registered mail.

After Arriving At New Home
Do a quick walk through to make sure you have your vision of where you want everything to go.

Kitchen - In cabinets place new liners on shelving, clean refrigerator

Revise your will and other legal papers with new information on the home to avoid any issues at a later date.