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3 Simple Steps to Organize Remote Controls

March 30, 2020 by Amy Slenker-Smith Leave a Comment

Take a look around your family room. Are the remote controls easy to locate? Or are they lost under a couch cushion? Remote controls also have a way of multiplying. We may get rid of an old DVD player but the remote remains. Let's declutter and organize this space today. Collect Aggregate all the remote controls from your family room. Check under the couch and inside drawers and cabinets. Address each one. If the remote operates a current device Replace the batteries. Use a label maker to provide additional information. (This can be helpful for guests and aging family members.) If the remote operates a disconnected device Remove the batteries If you own the device, tape the remote to it. Donate or Recycle unused electronics Storage Each night, I put the family room to bed before turning in myself. I fold blankets, return games to the cabinet, and stow remotes in a basket. Get in the habit of "putting to bed" the common spaces of your home …

9 Easy Ways to More Organized Spices

March 9, 2020 by Amy Slenker-Smith Leave a Comment

Recently, I went through our spices. By this I mean, I removed them from the cabinet and asked the following questions about each one: What recipe calls for this spice? Approximately when did I purchase this spice? How much of this spice is measured for a typical recipe? Surprisingly, most of my spices support my everyday cooking. And I had very few containers older than 12 months. But when I considered the question about quantity, I found several mistakes as a result of bulk buying. I own large containers of cayenne, parsley, cumin, and minced onion. Although they are used in our cooking, the volume was excessive for the typical amount needed in a recipe. But my neighbor was delighted when I refilled a few of her spice containers. Pictured below are the rest of my spices and some easy ways to organize yours. 9 Easy Ways to Organize Remove from the cabinets. Designate one cabinet for spices. (We prefer near the stove.) Review each container and ask the …

3 Reasons Why Storage Bins Do Not Make You More Organized

March 6, 2020 by Amy Slenker-Smith 2 Comments

Baskets and bins will NOT make you more organized. In fact, they have the opposite effect. Here are three reasons why. #1 Bins Collect Clutter Over the years, I acquired a lot of things. And then I organized a lot of things. Finally, I stored all the things. At one point, I contributed heavily to this statistic, "The average American home has 300,000 items." Moreover, my weekends were spent purchasing, organizing and cleaning things. If storage bins had worked, I would have gotten organized very quickly. But my storage containers perpetuated the clutter. I had to get rid of the stuff in order to get organized. #2 Bins Hide Clutter Bins, boxes, and baskets are clutter attractors. Ever notice how hard it is to keep an empty basket sitting around the house? Once you start eliminating the baskets and bins, stuff can't hide. It forces hard decisions about, do I really need all this stuff? #3 Bins ARE Clutter Recently, I worked with a client who decluttered her entire house. She …

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