Organizing and Decluttering

9 Tips to Set Up a Successful Yard Sale

August 1, 2023 by Amy Slenker-Smith 2 Comments

I know what you're thinking, you hate Yard Sales. I have a dear friend who loathes them too. We have this friendly banter every year. She loves to sell items on the Facebook Marketplace. She's patient and invests the time to get her price. While I applaud her efforts, it's more time than I'm willing to give. My approach moves volume quickly, so to each their own! And there's another great benefit to Yard Sales which is the community with your neighbors. While decluttering is great, I look forward to hanging out with friends and neighbors during my Yard Sale. I talk to people perusing my sale and share a cup of coffee with buyers and sellers. Here's how you can do it too! Yard Sale Tips and Tricks: Collect Sale Items for Several Weeks - Designate a staging area in the garage. Collect a big pile of stuff to sell. Encourage the kids to their own items and allow them to keep the proceeds from their items. Set Up and Price Items the Night Before - It's hard to do pricing when …

7 Must-Have Items for a Successful Moving Day

May 16, 2023 by Amy Slenker-Smith 8 Comments

It's Moving Day! You arrived at the new house. How exciting! The movers delivered all the boxes and you’re ready to start unpacking. But someone is asking for toilet paper and the kids spilled a drink and can't find the paper towels. Now they want snacks! So, instead of unpacking, you run to the store. Maybe you return to realize you need a screwdriver, step ladder, and batteries. And now you are wondering, what else have you forgotten? What if instead of digging through boxes, you had all these items at your fingertips? If this sounds like a better plan, then keep reading. 7 Must-Have Items Small Suitcase - Each family member should pretend they are packing for a weekend trip. Don't forget toiletries and medicine. Backpack/Computer Bag - Pack your laptop, tablet, chargers, and any important documents related to the house sale, purchase, or move. Paper Towels, Toilet paper, and Garbage bags Box Cutter & Small …

How to Organize Your Pantry

April 15, 2023 by Amy Slenker-Smith Leave a Comment

I often hear that the pantry is the most disorganized spaces in your home. Am I right? Well, you can tackle it one shelf at a time! Since we simplified, I can empty and reset my pantry in 2 hours or less, including cleaning the shelves and updating labels. My pantry is a cabinet, not a walk-in space. I think that is a blessing. It might take you longer and you may need to tackle one shelf at a time. My Step-by-Step Approach for how to organize the pantry can be used over and over again until you've taken care of all the pantry food and contents. Give it a try this week! Remove everything from the cabinet or shelf Clean canisters, shelves, and containers Declutter expired items and poor quality ingredients Group items by category Vinegar/Oil Flour/Sugar Canned goods Snacks Pasta and Rice Repurpose extra food storage containers for organization Remove items from multi-pack plastic or trim boxes for easy access Granola bars …

Photo Organizing with Scan My Photos

February 18, 2023 by Amy Slenker-Smith Leave a Comment

Perhaps you have a pile that looks like this? Fear not, you can turn this into organized digital photo albums to share with friends and family using a service called Scan My Photos. Several years ago, I owned 12+ photo boxes. After I sorted and purged lots of bad photos, only the very best went to a few archival quality albums. Thousands of pictures were thrown away....yes, in the trash. Even baby pictures and wedding photos! Once upon a time, I did traditional paper scrapbooking. I said goodbye to that hobby and hello to family travel where I learned to take fewer photos. You only need a few tell the story. Digitize and Share Digitizing my paper photos allows me to share them with friends and family. Recently, I scanned 200+ family photos. Afterward, I posted them to Facebook and the entire family commented on our favorite memories and which cousins resembled the aunts and uncles. Something that can't be done with photo albums or …

How to Increase Margin and Improve Organization in Your Home

January 27, 2023 by Amy Slenker-Smith 24 Comments

Want to know a secret? Organizing isn’t about the stuff. It’s actually about the margin between the stuff. The more space, the better. I create margin in every space I declutter and organize. Eliminate the excess and keep the essentials. Margin represents 37% of a page of written work. Margin makes spaces look more attractive. As a decluttering coach, I help clients create margin in their crowded and cluttered spaces. Empty Flat Surfaces Consider the kitchen. Are you fighting to store a large piece such as a griddle or the Instapot? Open all the cabinets, take a step back, and find prime real estate for the items you use most and store them accordingly. This means getting rid of lesser-used items and rearranging. Margin also means empty flat surfaces such as clean kitchen counters. With clean counters, I unload groceries, cook dinner, and pack lunches without cleaning the kitchen first. Create a Playroom Not a Toy Room Margin also means creating a …

How to Declutter and Recycle Old Electronics

January 24, 2023 by Amy Slenker-Smith 1 Comment

Our electronics become obsolete quickly as technology is constantly changing. And yet, we have a tendency to hang on to old phones, printers, and cords. When I declutter homes, I often find unidentified cords neatly coiled and unopened. Just in case we need them, right? If a cord is unknown and unused, it is highly unlikely you will use it. Simple Steps to Declutter and Organize Electronics Inventory Write a Household Electronics Inventory of devices you use at least once a month. Here's a sample list to get you started. iPhone iPad MacBook Laptop Desktop Computer Printer Scanner Kindle Wireless Headphones Bluetooth Speaker Gaming System DVD player (I doubt it) Collect the Cords Aggregate all the cords and chargers that go with these devices Choose a central location for the family to access. Label each cord with a Sharpie or label maker. Keep charging cords in a basket. Use rubber bands to wrap cords neatly. …

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