Organizing: Just How Neat are You Quiz?

Are you a clean person?

Really?

Why not take a quiz and prove it? Take the Personality quiz: Are you a clean person on Quibblo.com.

It did give me pause…catching me on the first question because I had to confess my bed was not made. (We can debate if it is necessary to make the bed if no one will ever see the bed but you… but that is another post.) In the end, I scored as a Neat Freak. Does that surprise you?

I’ll admit, the questions seemed strange. It asks you if you’d shower after a two-mile run? That leads me to wonder if there are people who don’t? Ewwwww!

So I decided to check up with another test and took the Are You A Neat Freak? test. I only scored a 53 percent. I guess I scored low because I don’t buy a bottle of bleach each week, I don’t use a spice rack and I don’t organize my junk mail – all quiz questions.

But, it is a fun exercise to think about if you are clean or if there are areas that can be improved. I’ll figure that out for myself right after I make the bed.

Feel free to share your score! Or, if you know of why I should be organizing my junk mail, do let me know.

Organizing Jewelry

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This fashionista was just dying to find a way to see her jewelry so she could make cute outfits… She’d tried her own ideas at organizing and sighed.

She’d been using a belt organizer to hold her necklaces but they just overlapped and got tangled…not to mention it hung on the bar with clothes so that meant shoving over clothing to see the jewelry. She also had tried a hanging jewelry keeper with little clear pockets. The problem with that was that earrings and necklaces sunk to the bottom of the pockets and it took a magician and a pair of chopsticks to extract them. The swinging of the organizer on the closet bar didn’t help and it finally ended up on the floor, as you can see.

To solve this jewelry issue, we took advantage of the bare wall in the closet- being careful to avoid the fuse box! A visit to The Container Store yielded some clear acrylic organizers. As the jewelry collection grows, it will be easy to add more pieces as needed. Necklaces went on clear pegs on their 11 Peg Clear Acrylic Necklace Rack. Earrings went on an earring organizer, which they call An Acrylic Folding Screen, meant to stand on a dresser or table. With some long screws and anchors in the wall, I was able to convert it to a wall- mount. Too bad the store doesn’t invent a wall mounted one since they offer other jewelry organizers for the wall. (Hey, if you see this and invent one, give me credit!)

In the end, we kept the hanging pocket jewelry organizer because it worked well for the collection of bangle bracelets. They don’t slide down in the bottom of the pocket. Many of the bangles are fat, from one-inch to two-inches, so they would not have stayed on the acrylic pegs used for necklaces.

• If you want to organize jewelry, why not see if you have extra wall space? Or, how about the back of a door?
• Be sure to purge your jewelry of things you don’t wear before starting.
• Count your items so you know how many hooks or organizers you need.
• If attaching to dry wall, use the appropriate anchors so it stays up.

Need more help with clothes and closets? I put my best advice in my closet book! Check out From Closet Clutter to Closet Control at Amazon.com.

Happy Organizing!

Disclosure: I’ve no connection to The Container Store or the products mentioned.

Organizing: Stop Losing Pieces of Things

Having tools that do the job efficiently is great. Having all the parts to the tools is even better. How frustrating to have a drill but don’t know where to find the bits or a blender without a lid!

When stowing away a new purchase, that came with parts, coming up with a plan is a great idea. Check out my how-to advice at Rubbermaid’s Blog- Adventures in Organization. Keeping Pieces Together is Part of the Organizing Puzzle.

Disclosure: I have no connection with Rubbermaid and am not paid for my guest blogs.

Organizing: What to do with Old Computers and Parts

The Trend Micro newsletter got my attention because it had something to do with clutter. When I organize a home or office, there always seems to be outdated equipment. I bet you’ve an old laptop, desktop or printer somewhere in a garage, closet or box!

Figuring out how to recycle those is a great way to save the planet AND claim some space you can use. Check out Trend Micro’s tips for How to Recycle Your Computer.

Disclosure: I’ve no connection with this company except for purchasing their product.

Organizing: Small Spaces

 First of all, who doesn’t need a few kitchen and bath ideas?

Better Homes and Gardens rounds them up to feature in their special interest publication, Kitchen and Bath Ideas. I’m super excited about this issue, June 2012, because I got to share my ideas with them!   Find my ideas in “Small Space Solutions,” by Kristina McGuirk. The feature focuses on how to “live large in a small kitchen or bath with expert tips.”

Hey BHG- Thanks for including me. It was fun to come up with ideas. If you want to find great ideas for your dream kitchen or small space, pick up an issue available on newsstands now. (Not sure where to look? I snagged a copy at Lowe’s.)

Disclosure: I have no financial connection to this publication or retailer. I was not paid to provide these tips- but it was fun!

Organizing: Donations of Furniture, Appliances and Building Materials

Spring Cleaning? The title jumped out at me in my recent newsletter HabiChat from the Pensacola Habitat for Humanity. I was wondering how many spring cleaners realize that Habitat really needs their stuff?

Some thrift stores thrive on clothing, toys and used books. The Habitat for Humanity ReStore thrives on things that other places may not want. They’d love your not-totally full cans of paint. Hey, you know you hated that color but someone else will love it. They’d like that sofa you are replacing, those shingles you ordered too many off and that 1990′s light fixture you took down.

Basically, if you can use it on a house or in a house, they want it. The money they make from your junk helps build homes! Most likely, they’ll even come pick up that pile of stuff.

So there’s a way to feel good about getting cleaned up! They even took the old doors from my kitchen cabinets when I had new ones made. I asked “Are you SURE you can use just a pile of doors?” I was told “You bet! Doors are hard to make. Many people can make a frame and then attach your doors to create garage storage.” Done and delivered!

Read more and find a ReStore near you at this link.

Organizing: Time to Thank Mom

Here’s my Mom- back in the day. I can darn well guess that it wasn’t Dad who organized that outting and packed the cooler.

It’s Mother’s Day and that leads me to share a bit about Moms and organizing.

I’ve heard people use the excuse “I wasn’t born organized.”

Well, I’ve some good news and some bad news on that statement.

The bad news is that excuse just doesn’t work. Think about that last little baby you held. Where they organized or disorganized? A baby isn’t either. So you can’t use that as an excuse.

The good news is organizing is a learned trait. So even if you didn’t learn it at a young age, you can learn it now.

It seems a good day to thank my Mom for teaching me to be organized. She certainly never said the words “Here is now to be organized.” She just set a good example of a tidy home.

Not everyone gets to have that. As a professional organizer, I enjoy sharing lessons on how to have an organized and pleasant home. When people ask me how I learned to do what I do, I tell them I had a good example.

It’s never too late to learn to be organized. Remember, your children will model what they learn from you- so that’s pretty good motivation to try to improve. If you need help, we can help you no matter where you live through our Organize Online program.

I lost my mom this year but I am happy that she was able to follow the growth of Organize Right Now from the start and that we talked many times about how I help my clients and she shared her thoughts and advice with me.

So be sure this Mother’s Day to thank your mom for the life lessons she taught you and Happy Mother’s Day to all!