Organizing and Decluttering

How to Get Kids Organized for School – At the Beginning of Summer

June 9, 2025 by Amy Slenker-Smith Leave a Comment

Summer has arrived! Time for flip-flops and swimming suits. The last thing you're thinking about is how to get organized for school. That's months away, right? Meanwhile, the backpacks are tossed on the floor with papers and lunch boxes still inside. The contents are left to decompose. Perhaps you have piles like this scattered all over your house? In August, articles will fill your feed about how to "get kids organized for school." But what if you did something about it now? And saved time and money. Advertising Works Soon, back-to-school sales will flood the aisles of local stores. Advertising hits you at every turn. The advertisements convince you that your children need a brand new box of 24 sharpened pencils, colorful scissors, cute erasers, and a box of fresh crayons. (I do love new crayons.) But I'm pretty sure the June scissors will still work in August. So before these ads beckon to you like a siren, why not spend a little time unloading the backpacks and …

5 Easy Technology Solutions to Go Paperless

April 14, 2025 by Amy Slenker-Smith 2 Comments

Paper clutter is the #1 challenges families tell me that they face every day. Junk mail, kid's art, catalogs, and more. But after establishing a Paper Filing System for our family, I can safely say that we live 90% paperless. And we leverage technology to support this goal. If you get control of the paper, the paperless part is easy. Sign up to receive my FREE Paper Filing System Technology options are overwhelming and it's hard to know how to choose the right one. But it's more important to establish your routine and less about the tool itself. Here are my 5 "go-to" tools to help you get started on the road to Paperless Living. 1. Evernote I started using Evernote over 10 years ago. I love that the information syncs to all devices. My Evernote tab stays open all the time. The addition of the Web Clipper on my web browser allows me to clip webpages and save them to relevant notebooks such as Business, Recipes, Family, etc. Eventually, it's easy to …

How Many Vases Do You Really Need?

January 27, 2025 by Amy Slenker-Smith 6 Comments

How Many Vases Do You Really Need? Well, that depends. I love spring and summer when all the flowers are in bloom. It's a beautiful time of year and a welcome break from winter. While it's nice to display flowers in vases, I really prefer to enjoy them outside. (And so do my allergies!) During the winter I find myself drawn to candles for a hygge feel. Set a Boundary for Your Collection Over the years, I've worked in many garages, basements, and kitchens and routinely find enough extra vases to supply a large wedding reception. Vases are an item that people accumulate without much thought. Flowers arrive. Flowers die. Vases are washed and put in a cabinet. It doesn't seem to matter if its a vase you like or have room to store. The default response is to keep all the vases we've ever received and find space to store them throughout the house. And this is why I suggest setting a boundary for every category throughout your home, like dishes, books, and vases. When it came time to …

5 Easy Ways to Reduce Your Books and Read More

January 6, 2025 by Amy Slenker-Smith 7 Comments

Over the years, getting rid of books generates the most passionate discussions. I wonder if people fear they might lose the knowledge gained from a book if they give it away? There is a strong sentimental attachment to books, especially the ones we get lost in. I have no idea what happened during the days I read Water for Elephants. I felt this way about The Great Alone, Small Great Things, The Nightingale, Half-Broke Horses, Educated, Refugee, The Harry Potter Series and so many more! Reading is good. Owning is the problem. There was a time when I read less and bought more. But I renewed my interest in reading when I purged nearly all of them. I felt a weight lifted. And was free to read new titles. I even joined a book club and set an annual reading goal in Goodreads. At any given time, I am reading 4 books. One non-fiction, one devotional, one personal development and one on audible. The best part...I take them everywhere on my Kindle, Kindle …

Unlock Your Home’s Potential with the Magic of Margin

November 18, 2024 by Amy Slenker-Smith 3 Comments

Did you know that being organized isn’t really about stuff? It’s about the empty space between the stuff called margin. The magic of margin comes from the white space, breathing room, and buffer. No matter the name, margin allows our possessions to move in and out of a space freely and stay organized too. When I design organizational systems in a closet or cabinet, I spend a lot of time planning how the items will be stored in the space. But I also consider how often they are used. I strive to create margin every time. No matter what space you’re working on, the key is to declutter first and organize second. It’s the margin in these spaces that has the most impact, especially when it comes to staying organized. Because when you reduce the volume, spaces have a way of organizing themselves. Margin not only allows spaces to function better but also makes it more attractive. Did you know the margin on a piece of written work is approximately 37% of the page? …

Why I Stopped Organizing Legos

September 22, 2024 by Amy Slenker-Smith 10 Comments

When my son was young, a fellow mom asked how I organized his Legos? I paused and said, "I don't." Being clutter-free does not mean perfection. Toys were not neatly stowed every night, certainly not Legos. I learned pretty quickly that organizing Legos was unnecessary. In our house, we love Legos. The benefits far outweighed the clutter and our loose organization system worked well. The LEGO Group The LEGO Group makes a high quality, fair trade product. My son would request a special set for Christmas or his birthday from his grandparents. Legos are what I call a "work-horse" toy because they stand the test of time. They also encourage friends and siblings to play together. But I learned that the more toys my son had to clean up, the less he played. And the fewer toys he had, the more he would play. With Legos, he was creative and content. He played with mini-figures from Marvel and Harry Potter at the same time. Sometimes all in one body. We did not stress …

Organizing and Decluttering

Footer