TODAY’S TASKS

* Remove any product you don’t use or love – especially if there is less than an inch of product left in the bottle.
* Remove anything that is old or worn out – look at razors, scrubbers, and even the shower curtain.
* Clean the tub and make it shine.
* A certain peace comes with less decisions. Try living with one shampoo, one conditioner, and one soap this week. What did you miss? What was OK?

A NEW WAY TO THINK
Are you looking for a quick fix or magic potion when you collect shampoos, body washes, and lotions? In your search, you may have found several duds. If you can’t seem to use the last drop of anything, you may struggle with completion issues or with feeling that you are undeserving. Saving everything simply puts obstacles between you and your best things.

I had one client who creatively solved this problem by concocting her own shampoo by marrying the last few drops of several favorites to simply get rid of a collections of bottles. It was quite an effective solution.

If you don’t want to combine nor throw away usable soaps, you can keep one of the bottles inside your shower and store the rest outside of the shower. You can move on to the bottles in storage after you’ve successfully finished the one in the shower.

Your reward today is just too obvious, pamper yourself with your favorite little potion!

TODAY’S TASKS
* Start with your night stand. First, resist the urge to point to your partner’s night stand. You can tidy up your nightstand and inspire him or her to do the same via example.
* Clear everything off the top, empty the drawers, and move everything that is stacked beside or under.
* Return only items that bring you peace and replenishment. Ask yourself this: What would be on a bedside table at a hotel?

A NEW WAY TO THINK ABOUT IT
What just landed on your nightstand as a catch-all, and what was truly meant to be there? Avoid placing to-do type things on your nightstand. They are energy zappers. What would you like to be on
there? Do you really want that pile of work to be sitting next to you each night? Consider replacing it with just one, current book or your iPod. Take away the pile of books collecting dust and making you feel guilty because you can’t get to read them as you seek rest from a hard day. Remove unnecessary medical items. Think of what you want to look at as you wake up. A picture of a loved one? A single flower from your garden? Yes, pampering yourself is OK!

If racing thoughts keep you awake, consider putting a little notepad there with a pencil. If you think of something at night or in the morning that you need to do, you can easily write it down for later and move on to enjoy relaxing and a good night’s sleep.

Here’s to creating restful spaces in your room!

The “Odd Couple”:
This is a couple who wants to work on some common issues together. This usually means detail work is very different for each of them. I encourage each of them to both define spaces where they can be themselves in but they also must define common spaces where there are different rules. These rules are for spaces where everyone needs to coexist and be happy. It’s interesting to see what people are asking for in this sort of setting because if they are asking for organized common space, they are usually doing so for the good of the family verses if they are looking for personal space they are usually doing so for themselves.

A Couple and Their 2nd Marriage:
In most cases there is double the stuff. Two coffee pots, two sets of living room furniture, two sets dishes and so on. This couple is either moving into a new house or one of their existing homes. Typically, there is a lot of hope with this couple because it’s a new situation for both of them and they are looking forward to a new life. Their big issue is to really just week out their stuff and they usually need help working through it.

The Aging Couple:
This situation can be difficult on the couple, usually they need to make adjustments in their home for medical equipment and sometimes even re-purpose rooms so that they are easier to access. Usually emotions are running high but at the same time the able spouse wants to make things easy for the spouse in need they also are upset and worried about the health of their spouse. Helping them think about alternative ways to use the space they have is my main goal along with making sure pathways and room access are clear and easy to maintain. My main rule of thumb here is safety first. If an item is blocking room access or isn’t structurally safe then a decision needs to be made for the sake of safety.

Working with couples is one of my favorite parts of what I do. In this three-part series I am going to share some insight about working with couples including tips on keeping the peace while organizing together. Look for the next posts in this series to outline different life changes that trigger a need for reorganization.

Couples:
There are different types of couple situations, sometimes there are both chronically disorganized and sometimes it’s one person who is living with someone who is disorganized. Often, they just want a fresh start. Both of them want the same thing they just need a little guidance getting there.

Changes in life are often triggers for couples needing for organizing help. Life changes can include aging and the possibility of one spouse having to take care of the other. Brand new parents are also part of this group. They are going through a great transition that allows for new habits to be formed so it’s a good time to get those systems in place to avoid bad habits in the future. Couples who are starting out on their second marriage often need a little guidance as well as they learn to work with someone new.

Attitude:
In most every situation there are different attitudes towards each other and the issue at hand. Red flags can be a complete lack of awareness on one side of the couple, where communication becomes the blame game.

With some disorganized people their red flags fly when they make unrealistic plans or time lines. Ifthey haven’t done it yet they aren’t going to get it done in an hour or in a week or whatever is promised. It is really important to see how they are with each other and set some rules for them to follow when working on organizing.

Respect:
Reminding them that they need to respect each other and that blaming isn’t going to help. Teach them the skills and this will help them find common ground together. It is helpful to define a space for joint items during organizing. Use it as a place to put things that you can’t decide on right away and return to those items in the end. Sneaking items out of the house that belong to your spouse can backfire. This usually makes the spouse hold on to items tighter in future similar situations.

Keeping the tension at bay is important too, it helps to have an neutral person there, an organizer, is a good choice because they are the expert and can also help make everyone feel heard which defuses the situation. If there are still disagreements over specific items, put the item aside and agree to make a decision together at the end of the organizing session. Putting priority on item safety.

Come back next week for parts 2 and 3.

Yesterday I was in at a local coffee shop and a previous client walked in. The conversation that followed was too funny not to share!

We exchanged “How are you’s?” then he proceeded to tell me that he has a new word in his household and it was to “McKee” something. He asked if I knew what that might mean and I quickly replied with “Well it must mean to make something really awesome right?”

This is when he proceeded to tell me that when a junk drawer or nightstand drawer starts to get cluttered and messy he pulls a “McKee”. That means it’s time to dump the drawer into the middle of the floor and make decisions about the contents. He said, “You either keep them and find a home for it or toss them. To “McKee” something!”

I couldn’t agree more!

We have come across an interesting challenge that we have seen on a few other sites. It’s called The Closet Hanger Challenge! We believe Oprah mentioned this first but we just think it’s such a smart and FUN way to clear out some of the extra!

Here’s the challenge:

Jan 1st, take no more than 2 minutes and turn all of the hangers in your closet backwards. As you wear the clothing, when you return it to your closet hang the hanger the right way again. Reassess your hangers on June 1st. If there are items still on backwards hangers, it might be time to consider donating that item.

See how easy this is? We hope you come back on June 1st to tell us how you did!

We can begin with the china closet. First, if you have several sets what do you really love and use? Are there legacy pieces that have been passed down to you that you DON’T love but you keep because you feel it is a way to respect the person that gave them to you? Are there items that you are not using you are holding on to them for your children? If you can let go, do it! But if you don’t like them, it is likely your kids wont like them either. Think about the items you use often and put the items you are saving for your kids in a less active place!

China is usually best sold on eBay. It is fairly easy to ship and more importantly it has great identifying marks that make it easy to buy. Many people have guilt about selling something that was given to them by a loved one. I try to get them over that hurdle by suggesting they would be giving it to someone who can use and love it. Listing it on eBay is a great way to feel like you are respecting the item. The proceeds from the sale can then be donated in the name of loved ones to their favorite charity. If you need help with eBay, contact Joan Sakai, eBay Trading Assistant at joansakai@hotmail.com or call her at 412-771-9593 http://myworld.ebay.com/2000joni/

How about those linens? Which ones are your favorites? What about that one with the stains from Uncle Moe knocking over the wine glass that one Thanksgiving? Keep the ones that you really love. Make sure they are not stained and if they have napkins make sure there are enough. I mark the edge of mine with little dots that tell me the size. Zero dots means zero table leaves, one dot is one leaf, two dots is two leaves and three dots is three leaves. If your dining room storage is limited you can also hang up the larger linens and keep the smaller more frequently used linens in the drawer.

Remember that keeping an item does not show love to a person and when it comes right down to it you will never set a table with your second or third best linens!