Refrigerator Revamping

Today's exercise in decluttering will be: Refrigerator Surfaces 101.

Try this -- take off everything from the outside of your refrigerator, front and sides. (Don't worry, I'm not going to make you clean behind the fridge!) Most people have a proliferation of magnets, notes, menus, lists, and photos covering the surfaces. After you do this, you should be able to actually see the color of your refrigerator. Remember that?

Then, using glass or surface cleaner, wipe off the sides and front. Now check out the fridge: does it remind you of when you first bought it?? (I've actually painted the sides of my refrigerator, with regular paint, when some parts got kind of grungy/rusty spotted. Can't say that this is correct but just being honest.)

Now to tackle the pile you removed off the sides and front -- looking at each item, decide if you want to keep or toss. Toss that which you no longer want or need; create a keep pile. Now, taking the keep pile, decide which items should return to the fridge, and which items could go elsewhere (i.e. photos into the album, menus into a binder for takeout/delivery stuff, business card info into the computer or organizer). Hopefully few or no items return to the fridge.

Stand back and check out the visual unclutteredness that a decluttered fridge brings to your kitchen!

Don't Forget to Organize Computer Files, Too

I just reorganized my computer's work files in my Orderly Manor 'folder'. I like to review, from time to time, how I have set things up on my computer and do some sorting/purging/etc. (just like real decluttering!). Sometimes I have made too many sub-folders and it is like doing an archaeological dig to uncover a document -- too many layers. So I take everything and de-folder-ize it (yes, not a word). Then I look at the list, delete anything that is no longer relevant or I don't need an electronic version of, and see if any more logical categories present themselves.

I am happy with the way it looks now -- I only have to go into my Orderly Manor folder, and 8 or so basic, most-often-used folder names come up. Within those folders are documents I have reviewed and deemed worthy of keeping. I think I had only 6 files that didn't really fit any of the specific categories, which is fine -- don't want to over-generalize folders so that everything goes in one. Those files are listed under the main folders.

Just a reminder that we need to do periodically go through both our tangible files and our computer files to keep things in an orderly manor. (Couldn't resist! LOL)

Decorating and Having Kids: Not Mutually Exclusive

I was recently shown an article from the Washington Post talking about how to decorate when you have little kids.

In the article, the author states that "parents don't have to give up sophisticated home decor". Just because you have kids, in other words, doesn't mean every room shouts 'we have kids living here' with Disney characters everywhere. I wholeheartedly agree that you can still have an attractive, organized house that just happens to have little people living in it. (I know it has been possible in my house!)

"Set ground rules, such as no eating in the living room, no jumping on the couch, which are good for the furniture and for the children." I agree -- set the guidelines, and use your energies to implement that, as opposed to always trying to have kid-friendly items everywhere. You can limit the majority of toys to a playroom and then have nice-looking baskets (just a few) in a living room. Kids don't have to have their stuff everywhere. It makes it a lot easier to corral and clean up their items when kid stuff is confined to certain areas. Obviously you don't want to have crystal out in easy reach, but you can imagine a vertical line approximately the height of a 6-yr old, and place everything 'nice' above the line. Take advantage of wall space, shelves, and other higher options for decorative pieces.

Those who say, 'I'll decorate like I really want when they are older' really don't need to.

Garage Organizing

If you live in a wintry climate, you may not want to spend much time in your garage, if you have one, but now is a good time to think about how well your garage is organized.

The first, and most impactful, solution is to declutter and purge. It is obviously easiest when the large objects (such as cars) are removed first. Next, clean what’s left. Then you can think about storage and placement of items. Moving like items together allows you to see what you have, and natural categories emerge. Think zones: place categories in logical areas within the garage, with all the storage together, if possible.

Here is an article I found* with 5 quick tips:

HANG THINGS FROM THE CEILING...Garages usually have plenty of HEADROOM, so that leaves many cubic feet of space you can exploit. Is your family full of sports fanatics? You can buy ceiling-mounted racks designed specifically for outdoor recreational equipment, everything from snowboards and bicycles to canoes and kayaks. You can also get PLATFORMS that go up and down with a crank of a lever. These allow you to tuck hundreds of pounds of junk -- er, valuable family heirlooms -- up amongst the rafters.

MAKE USE OF WALL SPACE...You've probably got at least one pegboard in the tool area of your garage, but there's no reason to limit yourself. You can attach your own homemade HANGING solutions -- brackets, nails, and pegboards, or you can buy special panels designed to support hooks, baskets, and shelves.

CABINETS ARE FOR GARAGES TOO...Most garages have enough room on the sides or in the back to accommodate BANKS of cabinets, while still leaving enough space to get in and out of the car. Even if there's only enough room for 12" deep cabinets, that's still a lot of extra storage if you run them from floor to ceiling. Also, cabinets look nice -- all your clutter gets HIDDEN behind the doors, where you don't have to look at it every time you drive inside.

IF YOU HAVE TOO MANY VEHICLES, TRY A CAR LIFT...You've got a good 10-12 feet of height in your garage, right? And the average car is less than five feet high, right? Well, there are systems out there that let you STACK them. Granted, these are pricey, and raising and lowering the top car can be a hassle if the vehicle is driven every day, but if there's a car you don't drive that OFTEN but that takes up space, it might be something to look into. Car lifts can make a lot of sense in houses with one-car garages.

THINK GARAGE SALE...If you've tried your hardest to find storage space for everything, but you're still tripping over stuff, it may be time to CLEAN the garage out. Chances are you have toys, boxes, tools, etc. that you bought many moons ago (and which your family probably hasn't used in almost as many moons) that you don't NEED to keep around. So, clean it out and throw it out, or better yet, have a garage sale. At least then you make some money and are rewarded for your efforts. – *TC Thorn on OnlineOrganizing.com