(Wh)organizing January motivation

E is for Edit!!

January brings a New Year, Christmas gifts that need a new home, stores filled with big plastic storage boxes and reruns of the Hoarder television series on A&E.
Ready to start organizing and purging? Good!

Here is your cheerleading moment: hoarders didn't fill those godforsaken houses with crap overnight or one weekend nor should you shouldn't expect to complete a full house reorganization overnight. That only happens on HGTV's Clean House through the magic of television.

Tips:

• Start in one space or room.


• Divide into mini-spaces: one wall, one drawer, one shelf.


• Completely finish the room before moving on.


• Dust, sweep, vacuum and mop when complete.


• Stand in the room and admire your good work.


• Move on to the next space.


• When feeling stalled, go look at your first space for motivation.


• Get back to work.


• Best way to complete the project is to do a little each day. If you attempt to finish in one weekend and become overwhelmed, you'll give up and the mess gets worse.


• Set a timer and work 30 minutes every day.


• Have more than 30 minutes? Work for an hour.


• Ready for a television break? Pull a drawer out of the kitchen cabinet or furniture, set it on your lap or ottoman while you watch and organize it. You won't believe how quickly you can plow through. You might even replace the drawer and get another during a commercial break.


• Keep on keepin' on! It feels so good to open a neat and organized drawer or closet that it becomes addictive.

Let me know how it is going!

Would love to know your thoughts and progress.

Fleur de lis box

Metal lid box with chipboard base:

Stencilled fleur de lis with copper acrylic paint.

Also free handed stripes around the box base.

Outlined with metallic gold Sharpie pen.

Where's that crap gonna go?

Okay, organizing can be a bitch because you gotta pull out all the crap and make a big mess before it gets better.

Prepare by taking it space by space. Don't think about the entire house. Think 1 closet. 1 drawer. 1 shelf.

Where is that crap gonna go?

First, get yourself a pack of Post-It notes, a pen or pencil and 3 boxes.

Box 1: Line with trash bag and place a few more underneath. This is the TOSS box. Stuff that is worthless, things that cannot be passed down the line, paper, and trash. Fill it up. Throw it away. Replace trash bag.

Box 2: Place items for CHARITY in this box. Be it Goodwill, Salvation Army or your local thrift store. This box gets the items you don't need but are still in good shape.

Box 3: This is the dangerous box. The KEEP box. You should place items in here if they should moved elsewhere. Place a Post-It note on item with new destination so when you complete the organization, you can pick up the box and play "mailman" and deliver the items to their new home. OR, write a friend or family member's name on the Post-It note and place aside for their approval or drop-off. OR, sell the item on eBay!

Now is a good time for some tough love. Giving items to others means completely relinquishing it. My mom used to give me items that she no longer wanted but would hand it over and say, "This was great grandmother's such and such, it is antique but I don't want it and am giving it to you but don't get rid of this."

"Well, are you sure you want me to have it? Do you want to keep it?"

"No, but I don't want you to get rid of it."

"Are you going to want it back at a later date?"

"No."

Finally, I learned that storing other people's items is the easiest and fastest way to accumulate stuff. Ask any parent with grown children and a house full of crap the kids won't take. They are basically an unpaid climate controlled storage unit.

Back to Mom. After attending a few feng shui classes, I realized taking on items with conditions doesn't ever make it yours so now I make no promises to anyone about keeping an item "in the family". I'll offer said item to siblings but if no takers, it moves down the line. Mom is okay with the new plan.

Offer the items to friends or family but don't you dare guilt them into taking it. For shame.

Make some money by selling on eBay or get a tax credit by donating to charity thrift store but get rid of the junk.

Here are my two rules:

1. 
   
   Hold the item in your hand and truly look at it. Remember how it came to you. Think of how you've used it. Think about the space you just pulled it from. Be really truthful and answer: Does it bring you joy? This a tough question. Does it bring you joy? Are you keeping it out of guilt? Fear of hurting someone's feelings? Did it bring you joy at one time but not so much now?


2. 
   
   If you've owned an item for 2 years, never used said item AND you can buy another at WalMart for less than $20, TOSS it.

Does it bring you joy?

Say you were 13 years old when you purchased a ceramic frog on a field trip. It was cute and reminded you of a fun time. Your friends noticed and bought more frogs for your birthdays. Your parents bestowed more ceramic frogs plus added a frog themed Christmas ornament every year. Someone gave you a frog pendant made of precious metal. Grandmother began annual gifts of porcelain frog themed Limoges boxes. Frog motif gifts every time you turned around. Now you are older and you've got frogs coming out the ass and to realize it all started with one ceramic frog you selected. Every frog since then has been selected by others.

So here's the question: Do all of those frogs bring you joy? Did they ever? Get real and get honest.

Is the original frog the only one you want to keep? Or maybe just the Christmas ornaments? Or should the entire collection go away? You are not obligated to keep something that you liked before. You are not obligated to keep a collection you didn't want. You can keep the memory. You can take photographs of you favorites. Or add a frog charm to your charm bracelet to represent that entire collection.

You can pass that collection to someone that would LOVE it. Maybe your niece comments about one particular frog each time she visits. Set it aside for her but don't perpetuate the problem by giving her all the frog stuff.

Inform your friends and family that you are no longer collecting frogs. I guarantee they'll ask what you are collecting now. Be careful with your answer. Tell them your new desired item only if you want to start the process all over again but here's what I say and it has stopped the flow of crap: I collect Waterford crystal (not little figurines and dust catchers) AND crisp $100 bills. Go for quality.

Gonna drop a deep thought on you now. Think about it before you react.

If you keep something that doesn't bring you joy,

you are being selfish.

That's right, selfish, my friends.

But it's yours, right? How is that selfish?

Well, think of it this way: you no longer enjoy the frog collection, you keep most of it in a closet, it never sees the light of day and no one else can enjoy it. Give it away, sell it, whatever - let those frogs bring someone else joy. Doesn't that make you happy to imagine someone's eyes will light up when they spy the perfect frog? Doesn't someone else's joy make it easier to give up?

Only keep items that bring you joy.
And understand that joy can change over time.

Knots and braids and beads

Oh my!

Necklaces on silk thread and leather cord

Easy knots and braids.

(Wh)Organizing deep thought

I sometimes perform freelance organization jobs on the side. For an hourly rate, I help folks organize their closets, garages and homes. It brings me joy to root through "stuff" and leave it in better shape than I found it. They're happy, I'm happy plus I earned money doing what I enjoy.

Anywho, a few years ago, I helped to organize a friend's home. She is a lady with a great heart, wealthy means and cool stuff so the work was fun. We pulled everything out of her "gift closet" to ascertain the keepers and tossers. She was quite embarrassed to find 5 very nice personalized gift Bibles with the intended recipient's name in gold leaf. The Bibles were to be high school graduation gifts. 5 years ago. She couldn't bring herself to give the 5 year old gifts to the intended recipients so donated them to my church's outreach program.

A few days later I read a church sign with the following message:

A small gesture

is more powerful

than a great intention.

It perfectly summed up the misplaced Bible experience and it became my New Year's resolution. Because the real reason we do nice things for others is because it feels good. Your recipient receives the gift of your generosity and you gain the warm and fuzzy feeling of sharing but it doesn't work if you cannot find the gift and the moment (day/week/month/year) passes.

Later, I spoke to my friend Dori. She sounded horrible. Dori felt sick and miserable. She had everything she needed so I asked if she would like some fresh satsumas my co-worker brought from his tree just that morning.

"Would love it!"

Well, how to carry them to her? I found a small plain paper bag in my desk drawer. Filled bag with satsumas. Folded over top of bag and creased. Punched 2 holes at top. Poked a satsuma twig through the holes to secure the closed flap. Left bag on friend's front porch.

Fast forward a day or two later when I received the nicest thank you note: she squeezed the satsumas into juice and felt the healing properties of citrus but she raved about the "presentation" of the simple bag with twig closure.

It was simple gesture that made her feel good.
Made me feel good.
AND my co-worker was happy that someone enjoyed the fruits of his labors.

Win. Win. Win.

Holiday gift wrap (wh)organization

If your gift wrap station* is a bit cramped, consider storing the holiday wrap, bags and such with the holiday decorations. You won't need them until later in the year so buy yourself some space in the meantime.
If you are a big recycler of gift bags but also very picky, include your rejects in the charity or thrift store box.
*How to set up a gift wrap station

The caped recycler

Yesterday my sis Rikki Tikki Tavi told me that her youngest brat boy Gregory was running around the house in a super hero cape he made from a newspaper page. Clever, right?
Later, I asked him if he would like me to sew him a cape.
"No, I already have a black and white one."
"Let me guess? Newspaper?"
"Yes."
"But would you like a fabric cape?"
"No, I like the one I made."

Really glad I asked first.

(Wh)Organizing the holidays

Okay, okay.
Maybe I did sleep all day and drove to Dillard's at the last minute to purchase 2 new pair of shoes at half price before the six o'clock closing time but you should've been putting away your holiday decorations today. (The agnostics and atheists should have less crap but let's not assume.)
You will hear me preach the mantra of "like goes with like" over and over again but sometime ya gotta know the rules to break the rules. One approach is to store all decorative ornaments together, then all lights together, all garlands together. IF you switch it up every year, that approach would work but if you tend to decorate by color or tone or room, organize your holiday decorations thusly. I have boxes labeled SILVER STUFF, FRONT DOOR GARLAND, GOLD STUFF, PINK & GREEN STUFF, etc. Each box contains items for one location or one theme so if I get lazy (like this year), I can pull one box and find everything I need for one room.
THINK about your stuff before storing. Cull before storing. I have way too much Christmas stuff so cleared some seldom used decor items and sold them in a garage sale this year. Someone out there is enjoying my fish themed garland and ornaments this holiday and it makes me happy.
Get your labels and mark those boxes and bins because if you don't have an inventory on the outside, what's the use? While we're talking labels, let's cut the bullshit about the fancy shmancy label makers. I have one, like it but don't use it for Christmas decorations because the contents change. Use large adhesive backed shipping labels and write in your most legible handwriting.
If you asked me to retrieve a specific seasonal ornament or item, I could hand it to you in less than 5 minutes. Can you say the same?

(Wh)Organizing kick off

Alright, bitches, enjoy your New Year's Eve fun because tomorrow is the first day of a month of organizing tips. As I warned ya, a couple weeks ago, more brand new tote boxes are not the solution. NOOOooooo more boxes until you get rid of the crap.

Straight talk and action are my methods so if you are looking for hand holding and quiet voices for hoarders, click on www.losersandtheirshit.com

I'm gonna hit ya with a mixture of common sense, feng shui and anal retentiveness and I'll make ya like it. You heard me, you'll love the results and then you'll start wanting the boss of everybody, just like me.

Invite your friends to join in on the fun and maybe I'll come with a giveaway.

It's a wrap

Sure, I enjoy wrapping gifts but have learned the kids destroy paper so quickly that a thoughtful choice of coordinating paper and pretty ribbon warrants no notice so I now place small items in brown paper bags.


And by now, you realize I am a ribbon whore but there's no reason to use for the brat gifts so simply wrote their name on box with silver Sharpie pen.

Managed to wrap sister's gift with a small kitty print remnant. See underlay of contrasting paper. I know it looks like a parsimonious paper miser at work but she likes feline print paper.

And I just couldn't "waste" this Burberry brief box so simply tied on a ribbon and gave it to the 20 year old niece. She approved.

Wish I had a photo of my muff

As a small tot, I had a white rabbit fur muff. Rarely was it so cold in southwest Louisiana to warrant the wearing of a muff but I loved having it so when my friend told us about her attire for a New Year's Eve wedding in Estes Park, Colorado, I just had to ask her if her ensemble would include a muff.

My childhood muff had a cord that fit through the opening and wrapped around my neck for hands-free motion. Not sure if adult versions of a muff include a ribbon through the hole.

Fancy fur muffs often feature zippered pockets for stashing of sterling silver flasks and snuff bottles. Men's muffs are typically larger in scale.

What would you place in your muff?

Costume jewelry quick fix

Spied this clever tip in January 2010 issue of Lucky magazine:

Krylon gold leaf pen for touch ups of discolored costume jewelry.

Think of other craft projects that need a quick touch of silver, gold, and copper!

Shiny stuff ~ caw, caw!

Liquor bottles - the new thing to collect

That is, the little bottles.
This miniature liquor bottle photo snow globe idea makes me wish I had more frequent traveler points. Dag-nab-it-all!
Check out Photojojo's instruction page HERE.

Come to think of it, how cute would a small bar Christmas tree look with "baby" bottles of liquor? Aw, HELLS to the yeah!

From tacky to understated / Shiny Stuff of the Week 13

When I imagine "tacky", I visualize shiny. Shiny satin dresses. Shiny glitzy sweaters. Shiny bright brass. Shiny yellowy gold. Shiny wallpaper.

Now, you've read many times I like shiny stuff but it is a particular ilk of shiny. White metals make me the happiest but gold can be done if with discernment.

So when I spied with my crow eyes these 2 gold tone costume jewelry items, both seemed to be that wrong shade of gold. What to do? Pulled out the small jar of "gold leaf" paint and brushed a thin layer to the metal and wondered if it would stick. It did and the finish looks great.

Heads up for (wh)organizing

Keep on with your slovenly selves for the remainder of the month because next month is (Wh)organizing January.
I'm gonna highlight organizing ideas and hopefully prevent us all to sliding into hoarder oblivion.
Until then, don't you dare purchase one single box, tub or container. Retailers push those bins the day after Christmas but don't you fall for it. Okay okay, if you cannot resist the gathering impulse, just promise to keep the freakin' receipt, y'hear? Because organizing is not putting things into nice new containers. Organizing begins by getting rid of CRAP!

Your job between now and January 1st: gather trash bags, cardboard boxes and markers

You're welcome.

Stuff added to Etsy

Plaid and tartan necktie wreath

Fleur de lis wall plaque

Preppy whale wall plaque
Check it out HERE

Plaid balls

No, not what you think . . . but it IS a cute make-it-yourself ornament idea by media whore Eddie Ross.
LOVING me some plaid!

Scavenger success

My new favorite buddy "Miss Sanford" hosted a shindig at her house this week and garnered lots of compliments on her fabulous bar. Now, I already liked her because she sews and has a super duper embroidery machine but when she told us that the bar was a hurricane Katrina curbside rescue and refurbish project, I knew I found my new dumpster diving partner.

She has the know-how.

+

I have a truck and zero shame.

=

We would be a team to be reckoned with, I tell ya!

Anywho, Miss Sanford sent me some "before" photos of said bar.

Please to enjoy, her successful re-do:

Pretty awesome, right?

Water meter cover of the day

Look at this neat reversible ring in sterling silver.

One side with the iconic Sewerage & Water Board Crescent Box Water Meter image and the other side reads "I love NOLA". (That's shorthand for New Orleans LA, for the rest of you people.)

Buy it here.