Organizing Your Home for 2013

By this time of the year, you are probably just sick and tired of all the clutter, the junk, the too much of everything.  But next year will be different, you say.  Sure it will.....if you start right now.  No, it's not crazy talk. Just make the effort, start right now and by year's end, you'll be all set.

 Here's the quick and easy steps to get you going in the right direction.


Gather your supplies.  You're going to be tossing, sorting, keeping and organizing so you'll need a few things. Grab a trash bag and a few boxes.

Pick your starting point. Decide where you're going to begin and do not deviate. This is not the time to be wandering aimlessly from room to room.

First, we toss.  One of the biggest time wasters is to organize the things you intend to get rid of. Don't bother. Grab the trash bag and very quickly throw out everything you are absolutely certain you have no need for. Be honest with yourself. If, for example, you plan to donate some old cookbooks, no one is going to want them if they are stained and rippled from liquid spills. Toss them out. The same goes for those puzzles where two pieces are missing. Out they go.

Next, we sort. Set your boxes up according to what you intend to do with your items. My boxes are almost always Another Room, Donate, In the Attic, Yard Sale. So let's assume your sorting will be similar. Again, you're going to be moving quickly. Remember, we aren't wasting our precious time organizing unnecessary things so the next order of business is to remove any items that don't belong in that particular room. There's no need to dash around taking them to their rightful home; just toss them in the Another Room box.  Now that the room has been emptied of the worst offenders, you can breeze through the next step. As you are straightening up the area, you'll come across items and decide if you want them to stay in the room or go elsewhere. That's where the last three boxes (Donate, Attic and Yard Sale) come in. Place items in the appropriate boxes and you're almost all done.

Bye Bye!  Take the Donate Box you've filled and put in the trunk of your car right this minute. No waiting because the more you do that, the more inclined you are to start taking that junk right out of the box again. When you're out running errands, simply drop the box off to your favorite donation center of choice and don't forget to get a receipt. You'll be glad you did at tax time,  Put the Attic box away (which may not be the attic but the garage, just store it.)  All that's left is the Another Room box. Have family members help you put things back in there rightful place.

You're all done. You're almost done!

This step is pretty easy and it helps you avoid getting into this mess again. Whenever you are working on a project, try to handle things as they come along. It's ridiculously simple, but no one ever does it. Ever. As you're putting away out of season clothes, go ahead and toss the stained ones and put the ones you want to donate or give to Cousin Sally in the trunk of the car. If you're putting away your Christmas decorations feel free to toss out broken ornaments, light strings that won't work. I know you're busy but waiting until next year is only going to aggravate you in about 12 months. Do this one step as often as you can and for most projects it only takes a minute or two.

My resolution every New Years Day is to get organized and I bet yours is too. Here's one easy, peasy way to do it.

Thanksgiving Savings Benefit You Later

'I just love being ill-prepared and paying top dollar for everything,' said no one. Ever. And yet, it happens time and again, doesn't it? Admit it. Suddenly you need something right this instant and remember there was a great deal on it.....two weeks ago. So what do you do? Probably grumble and you just hand over your wallet to the cashier and sadly say, 'Here. Just take every last dime.'

It's probably one of the biggest indicators to why our budgets are always a miserable failure. We don't think ahead and we don't prepare like we ought to. If only we could do a better job, we would feel more in control of our money and much more prepared and organized.

That's all about to change and it starts with the Thanksgiving sales. It isn't hard; it's actually a very easy thing to do. Let's walk through the steps.

Buy it now, use it later. Much of the food items that goes on sale now is not limited to Thanksgiving use only. I stock up on some things this time of year because they are a much better price than usual and also because they will come in handy regardless of whether it's Turkey Day or not. Some of what I stock up on includes chicken broth, dressing/stuffing mix (makes excellent bread crumbs and a fantastic dish called Peach Glazed Stuffed Pork Chops. Oh joy!), canned green beans, baking goods like flour, sugar, cookie/brownie/cake mixes, ginger ale, fancy crackers, cream cheese, you get the idea. Buy a few more than you normally do and you've got the start of a well stocked pantry. If you're a turkey lover and you have the space, get an extra one for later this winter. To change things up a bit, just don't serve it with the same trimmings. Try Turkey Tetrazinni, grilled turkey breast with roasted vegetables, sub sandwiches, soups, stews or maybe an artisan salad. The list is endless and you get the idea. If space is limited, try a smaller turkey. Cornish hens, sausage and chicken are also great for stocking up.

There's more to it than food. Not all sales right now are about the food. Manufacturers know that once the feast is over, you've got to store your leftovers or send them home with your guests. Look for great deals on storage containers, zip bags, aluminum foil/plastic wrap, disposable plates and cups. There's also great deals on paper towels and dishwasher soap.

Don't forget to look beyond the season. The days following Thanksgiving will see a dramatic price drop in what is considered 'seasonal' merchandise but you need to think beyond that. Cream, gold and red items can be used any time. I purchase candles and household fragrance items in vanilla, berry and apple to use year round. Wrap a thin ribbon of burlap and a sprig of fir around that vanilla candle and voila! Merry Christmas to you! I just learned the value of having a lighter in the house. Our power went out and because I never replaced the old one, there was no way to light a candle. For about four hours, I growled inside at myself, but I did make up for it by using a coupon and finding a great sale on them (next to the cinnamon candles!) to purchase two.

Take advantage of the Thanksgiving sales (and clearance) to help take care of your future self. Using the same principles, do the same thing after Christmas and New Years Day.

You have an excellent opportunity to stock up on some basic supplies without breaking the bank, but you need to proceed with caution. Never buy more than you can reasonably use or share  and never buy more than you can reasonably store. Use some practical sense because  you will never need 145 cans of green beans and nobody would want them stored under the tv anyway. Remember to store things in a logical fashion, too. I guarantee if you hide your croutons in the back of your closet on some dark shelf, you will never find them when you need them.

How to Improve Your Weekends

Friday rolls around and you couldn't be more relieved. No cubicle for two days. No clients, cranky coworkers or time clocks to worry about. Just doing whatever you want, whenever you want, any way you want.

And then you wake up.

We all have that dream and yet we all know that, week after week, it won't turn out like that. There's all the errands you couldn't do during the week you've now got to jam into those two precious days. And we can't forget to go to the gym, mow the lawn, repair one thing or the other, take the car for it's overdue oil change, chaufffer the kids (if you have them) to sporting events, sleepovers and club meetings. And when all that's done we can hang out with friends, try a new recipe/hobby, chill out by the pool, finally read the book everyone else read last year and get caught up on all that email and bill paying. Now you can do whatever you want, whenever you want, any way you want. No, not really. You still have to eat and sleep. The weekend is over and you're back to your weekly grind. There's a reason it's called a grind: it grates on our nerves.

Here's a few steps to help you change those weekends from stressors to stress relievers.

Prioritize. Quickly, decide what can be eliminated from your schedule. I'm not suggesting you eliminate the important things. You definitely need to pay the bills and change the oil. I am, however, suggesting you determine what matters most and work from that point. If you can postpone or even eliminate a few tasks without causing any hiccups to your schedule, you're going to clear up a lot of time for what you really want to do. Do the things you absolutely have to do and rework the rest into another day.


Reorganize your work.  You could potentially save a good hour or two by bundling some errands such as dropping off your dry cleaning on your way to the market. Consider carpooling and you will only be inconvenienced every other weekend. How about taking turns? If I cut both yards, would you rake both? Or you mow this weekend and I'll do it next time. Get creative and add some hours back to your weekend.


Schedule your down time.  You may not want to adhere to a schedule on weekends but it will alleviate some of your time crunch if you pencil in some down time on your calendar. Block out a few hours to go to a dinner party. Wake up an go straight to the gym. Make plans for that hour in the hammock. It's okay. I give you permission. Getting that down time is going to recharge your batteries.

Get your Zzzzs.  I don't like going to bed early on weekends either and I'm not suggesting a sunset bedtime. Still, going to bed a little earlier, say midnight instead of 2 a.m., may give you the energy you need to zoom through your weekend responsibilities without hitting an energy slump. Get the work done, have more time to play. See? It's a good plan.

Aside from the yearly vacations, weekends offer us the next best opportunity to recharge our batteries while having a little fun and adventure.  Take a little time to rework your thinking in order to reclaim some of that precious time.

Happy Friday!

How to Afford Great Home Furishings

Has this happened to you? While visiting someone, you take a glance around and realize their home looks great. Really great. The furniture is chic, the artwork is ever so perfect and everything just feels like style, class and money. And then you think to yourself, "Geez, I wish my home looked like that."

Guess what? It can. Here's how you can get the gorgeous look you want for very little money.

Keep in mind that just because something may be  used it will be new to you. I've said before I used to have an aversion to cast-offs, yard sales and second hand stores. It took a very patient husband who showed me through his own purchases what I was missing out on. Now that I've expanded my comfort zone, I have also expanded my opportunities to find great pieces for my home.  A great example of this is our recent living room furniture acquisiton. Family members purchased new items and offered their old furniture to us. I'll admit that it really wasn't my style. It was great furniture, mind you, it was just that I didn't love the style. But it was very doable so my husband and I compromised: he got the furniture he really wanted and I got to do what I wanted with it. Once I got the placement right, I removed a ton of the loose pillows, rearranged the rest and added a soft throw (in an unexpected color to pull out the more subtle shades of the design). 

A great way to redecorate is to repurpose items. How about a quilt for a tablecloth?  An old silver loving cup to hold your kitchen spoons? Awesome!  Go ahead and purchase that tacky painting with the fabulous frame.  Replace the print of Ichabod Crane with a mirror and now you've got a great statement piece that's so much better than the builder's grade guest bath mirror you already have.

When you're looking for home furnishings, try seeing things through new eyes. Let's say you see an outdated brass chandelier at a yard sale. Eww, I don't want that old thing in my house. But, I could see it repainted in brushed silver or oiled bronze with little shade covers. Or maybe it would look fabulous painted in some funky, trendy colors for a teenager's room.  I could purchase the fixture and everything needed for the upgrade for merely a fraction of the price of a new one.  It's so easy to give a new life to something old when you repurpose it. Open your eyes and see things with a new vision. You will save big bucks that way.

As you decorating your home, don't forget to embrace some of the things you may have inherited along the way. I found myself in the position of having my grandmother's hand carved jewelry chest. It isn't my taste. It's just a carved box with a wopsided lid---and I couldn't part with it. I struggled with what to do with it and after looking around I realized I had a few other boxes, some decorative and others more utilitarian. There you go! I've got a shelf with a box collection. Yes it sounds weird but it isn't and I get compliments on it all the time.

So here's a what my living room holds: Furniture from family members, an inherited chest repurposed into a coffee table, an inherited floor lamp and a yard sale print. I've also got a sculpture my husband made in college sitting next to a faded old Coca Cola crate with bottles. There's a simple wall shelf that was a birthday gift as well as an inherited milk glass loving cup.  The only things purchased new were the audio/video equipment, a lamp, an entertainment center and the dog bed. There's a few other new purchases but I don't think candles and coasters count.

You're getting the idea. It only takes a little imagination, a little money and some gracious 'thank yous' when you accept second hand things from friends and loved ones.

I promise the next time you visit your friend with the great living room, you'll be telling yourself. "My home looks as good as there's...only better."

Back to School: Organizing Your Space

My organizational philosophy is very simple: In order to keep ahead of everything, don't let things pile up. It's fairly easy to apply to my family's day-to-day living. When I leave a room, I make sure to grab something and take it back to it's rightful place. I clean as I go,  I try not to leave things until 'later.'  It's the the one thing I do that helps keep us on track. Now, having said that, I have to admit real life gets in the way and sometimes when I look up to take a breath, I see disaster zones lurking in every corner. There is no need to flip out or worry. I tackle it a little at a time. Your situation may be different but the same steps will help you get your spaces back-to-school ready.

The three offending areas that will directly affect by kids (and me!) when school begins are their room, the car and kitchen.  So, these are the spaces I need to work on and I want to do it without the fuss of an all out production. Here's how I do that.

My boys share a room and because there is more than a five year age difference, it is challenging to make it work for them both. Luckily, they get along beautifully so it isn't that difficult but I still have to put a lot of thought into it. First, I took a trash bag and threw out everything useless: dried out markers, old toys from fast food places, ancient papers, broken toys, etc. Anything that could be donated was set aside in a box. This included clothes, shoes, books, toys no one played with and old movies or electronic games. The exception was anything that I felt we could repurpose (within reason) or could sell at a yard sale. Their bookcase is a 7 feet tall, five feet wide behemoth; Big Brother gets the top half and Little Brother gets the bottom half. After removing everything from it, I polished it and replaced only what would be needed currently. Even the Art Box got a once over and the old Sesame Street coloring books have gone on to their just reward. More space! Love it!  I quickly cleaned under the beds (it helps to keep very little under there but I did find two mismatched socks and a sweater.)  Next, I took care of the desk, which had somehow become the holding facility for some gum wrappers and a ton of broken crayons. Um, no.  The only thing really left was the basics I would be doing anyway like dusting and vacuuming. It didn't take all that long especially because I am a firm believer in moving quickly and not getting distracted.

Like all parents, my car is the rolling office, medical facility and kid zone all rolled into one. I have a morbid fear of car trouble, so the oil has been changed. Just before school begins, I'll get a full tank of gas. The car gets cleaned out--which doesn't mean I did the total car wash and wax--and it will get stocked with travel tissues and a few prepackaged wet wipes in the glove box. I'll put a few dollars in there also for those days when someone for gets to pay for Popcorn Friday and a spare set of drumsticks get placed under a seat. I'll make sure my phone charger is in the car and it will be all set.

The kitchen is the hub of all activity in my home. If it ever gets out of whack, we are all in big trouble. It's got to help me zoom through the morning routine and it's got to be smooth sailing through what I like to call 'The Witching Hour" --that awful time between coming home from school and putting the evening meal on the table. That's the time when kids are grabbing snacks, lunch boxes are emptied, the meal gets started and homework begins. I don't want it to feel like a pressure cooker. They're tired, we're tired and I don't want to make it worse. I do a ton of simple things like stocking up on snacks, sort through storage containers making sure everything has a lid, and if needed rearranging things so everything is user friendly. If the kids can reach their own snacks, then I don't have to do it. Win-Win. If there's time, I'll put together a few meals in the freezer for those days I'm stretched beyond all reason. I try hard to make sure that I clean the kitchen after the meal because I don't want to face it tomorrow morning. No, I don't like doing this part, but it's better than waking up to a mess you've got to clean up.

Figure out your hot spots and work methodically to get them organized right now. It's going to bring a sense of cohesion to your home and helps you give your family a sense of calm.

How do you get your family back into the swing of things?

Increasing the Odds of Selling Your Home

 If you are considering selling your current home, there are three areas to concentrate in an effort to increase your chances of selling quickly and making a fair profit. Most of what you do will require more elbow grease than money. You will be tired but you can rest later after taking  that huge check to the bank.  One of the most important steps is to begin viewing your home as a piece of property. You want to move and it has become just another house; not your home, not where you raised your kids, just a house. You have to mentally separate yourself from the property in order to be completely objective.


CURB APPEAL.....My husband and I love driving through neighborhoods and seeing what's for sale. While he can see all the potential, I can never get past the weeds, junk, and falling down gutters. People like me are the main reason you need to ramp up your curb appeal. Some potential buyers cannot see beyond the clutter. View your house from the street level and be honest with what you see. Everything needs to be impeccable. Every. Last. Thing. All surfaces needs to be scrubbed and spotless. Your list will include not only the home's exterior but also the mailbox, oil stains on the driveway, windows, doors and frames.  Update those things that are well beyond their prime: window screens, broken light fixtures and damaged shingles would be on this list. Some inexpensive updates are new door mats, fresh paint on the front door and seasonal flowers in bright pots. Next, turn your attention to your landscape. Keep the grass cut and raked. Do all the necessary trimwork and add new mulch. Water the lawn and keep it lush. If your neighbor's yard is a wreck, consider offering to cut their grass or move their trashcan on pickup day, just until your house sells. Another quick tip is keep your car washed. Why? People have a strange way of perceiving things. If I come to your Open House and I see a  spotless home, beautiful fresh flowers growing in the window boxes and a gleaming car in the driveway, the house is perceived as well cared for. It will appear inviting and I'm going to know the inside is just as pristine and in very good shape also. Additionally, I want to see myself in a beautiful environment and you have just set the stage for that. Now I'm curious and will want to go inside. If it's ugly on the outside, there isn't a person alive who will want to see the ugly on the inside.

INSIDE...The inside of your home must be spotless. As in cotton swab spotless. There cannot be a speck of dirt anywhere. This includes each and every corner of each and every room. It's tedious work but it will equal dollars in your wallet. Go room by room and scrub within an inch of your life. Getting rid of clutter will be a priority. You intend to move so go ahead and get rid of the excess. Once you've removed all items to be donated or sold, look around and start depersonalizing. Buyers need to picture themselves in this home. They can't do that if they keep seeing your bowling trophies and specialized artwork. Try thinking of your home in terms of a high end hotel. It should be very inviting but without the personalization of your home. If you're still unsure of how your home should look, visit a few model homes. They are always beautifully arranged and you will probably walk away thinking, 'I can see myself cooking in that kitchen.' You want that same thing to happen to a potential buyer: you want them to envision living in your house. It's also an exercise in realizing just how much buyers notice the content and not just the home. Buyers need to remember how spacious your house is. They can't do that if all they can remember is your tricked out basement with the NASCAR tanning bed.  It's also in your best interest to eliminate all the smells. Obviously, you don't want buyers to notice the aroma of the litter box, but you need to go further. Last night's Pork Chops au Garlique will not get you a signed contract. Neither will your son's dirty sock collection or your over-perfumed guest suite. Getting rid of dust and cleaning all surfaces (go beyond eye level) will help tremendously. Use baking soda, sprays, plug ins, fabric freshener or whatever will make the difference. When you are staging your home for a potential buyer, think in terms of neutral color. This doesn't have to be bland, but Mango Mauve and Kiwi Lemon paint will not be a favorite for the majority of potential buyers. Always keep in mind, these changes aren't about your own style. You simply are trying to appeal to the broadest audience possible.

AGENTS AND PRICING...Many people will try to sell a home on their own. I would, however, advocate considering an agent. In the last four years I've been the executor of two estates and had to sell  homes under difficult circumstances. Ask your friends to recommend someone or look around your own neighorhood to see which agents are selling homes the fastest. I chose an agent that made the transactions go smoothly, quickly and with little headache to me...well worth the price she charged. Maintaining property for months on end was not what I wanted to do. I didn't want to pay taxes, utilities, and security for houses just sitting there waiting to be sold. A great agent can provide you with the comparable prices of homes selling in your area. You will want to make a profit but if similar homes in your area are selling for $245,000, you just aren't going to get  $345,000. You need to have a baseline for what the  housing values are in your area. The only way to sell your home is to provide the best quality for the best price possible. An agressive agent will provide the advertising, supervise the Open House and set up all appointments for you. These services will be especially important during a tough market. One of the houses I sold was called 'a great house in a not so great neighborhood.' It sold within three weeks. Another house had not been updated since the end of World War II. I had the first offer in less than one day and I sold it on the sixth day. Both were located in less than deisrable neighborhoods during what I considered awful housing markets. The agent went after every possible buyer and worked like she was trying to sell a one of a kind mansion.  If your time is a premium consider hiring an agent.

Homes are for sell in every neighborhood and it will be in your best interest to make yours stand out above all the rest. If you can do that and be reasonable in the expectations you set on your price, you should be at an advantage over the other sellers in your neighborhood. Good luck.

Selling a home  is going to take a lot of physical work and patience on your part. You can't take anything you hear personally and you can't be offended when someone else doesn't love your knotty pine paneling. It's all about getting the property sold. And that is the other thing: start viewing it as 'property' rather than your home. Detach yourself, make the right home improvement decisions, and find an outstanding agent.

Rainy Day Project

On a recent Saturday, it rained so hard it was nearly impossible to go outside. It became the perfect day to clean up our master bedroom.  All you need are a few supplies, determine which room you want to tackle and about an hour. This example is for a bedroom. Simply modify where needed based on the room you are cleaning.

You will need a trash bag and a few containers. You only need the containers temporarily so they can be anything you have available. I have used boxes, laundry baskets, and recyclable grocery bags. This is not a 'perfection project.' Your goal is only to get the room back in order quickly without spending the whole day doing it. The deep, intense cleaning will come later--unless you become so focused you want to do it now.

First, you will need to come face to face with the cold, hard reality of this messy room. Turn on the brighest light available. Next, take the trash bag then, working left to right and top to bottom, go around the room quickly and get rid of all the trash.  Go around the room and put stray clothes in the hamper.

The next step is to set up your containers. These are going to be used for such things as recycling, another room, donate, yard sale, etc.  Still going left to right and top to bottom, move around the room and start putting items into the containers. Although you will be moving along at a fast pace, make sure to be thorough. You don't want to make return trips or retrace your steps repeatedly; your goal is to get the room presentable as quickly as possible.

Take the hamper to the laundry room. Return all items to their rightful owners (just leave the container and let them sort out their own things) and place the items to be donated in the trunk of your vehicle. Once you price and store your yard sale items and take the trash out you are almost finished. Straighten the bed, open the curtains to let in some natural light, and turn off the light. 

Of course, if you are revved up and want to do more, then by all means go ahead and do the dusting and vacuuming.  Either way, now you have one less thing you have to worry about.

Pat yourself on the back and enjoy the rest of your rainy day.