Over the last month, our boot camp has been focused on organizing kitchens, tax records, handbags, and kids’ activity or play spaces.  You had the opportunity to devote serious time to these areas.  This week, I am encouraging you to catch up on the projects you have not yet tackled or finished and/or those requiring a tune-up or regular maintenance.

Some maintenance ideas to consider:

• Peek into your pantry and tidy things up.
• Identify ingredients for at least 2 meals this week using items only from your pantry and/or fridge/freezer. The goal is to use what you already have at your disposal.
• Do you have paper clutter building up on a kitchen counter?  Deal with it this week or it will only get worse!

• How do you store handbags you do not currently use?  I clean mine, stuff them with tissue paper to retain a nice shape, and line them up on the top shelf in my closet so that I can see them clearly.
• This week, switch out your purses just for fun.  Transfer the contents to a different purse just to force yourself to keep things simple and organized.

• Have you made an appointment with your accountant?  Bought software to do your own tax return?  Schedule yourself to take care of these items.
• Are there end-of-year tax forms you have not yet received?  Think of investments, child care receipts, charitable donations, free lancing income, etc.
• What is going on with your prior years’ tax return records?  Are you saving more than 7 years worth of returns?  Either scan them and save as electronic files or shred tax file documents which are more than 7 years old.

• Everything related to what and where kids do things requires consistent maintenance.
• Practice tidy routines daily with the kids BEFORE dinner rather than after.  It is a simple MUST do that I learned from Leslie of Organizing McKee Organizing Services.
• Take a pic of the organized space in its ideal condition and show the kids what you expect it to look like at the end of each day.
• Make sure there is a trash can and/or a paper recycling unit in the kids’ activity space to make clean up even faster.

Maintenance is key to any program.  Make the time and identify reasons to keep up the organization you create.

What daily/weekly organizing maintenance routines do you practice?

images: kitchen/tax records/kids’ spaces

Previously on Order Matters’ Organizing Boot Camp:

Kitchen Organizing

Fridges & Pantries

Tax Records

Handbags

Kids’ Clutter & Activity Spaces

This week’s project is a sore topic for me.  So, I am in need of this boot camp session for sure!  There is nothing like a good challenge, right?

Most of the toys and art supplies in my house are kept in what we call the “sun room.”  It is the room that is least utilized in our home mostly because it is not ideally constructed to serve our family’s needs.  It is not insulated and, thus, when the sun shines through the completely sky-lighted ceiling (hence, the name “sun room”), it gets really hot in the summer and super cold in the winter.  So, it is easy to close the door and forget about the space, toys and art supplies that are often not as organized as we like.  Out of sight, out of mind, some say.  However, our ability to keep the toys and many art supplies in order at all times has been very much on my mind.

Once you get the organization of a kid space down, I believe that the organizing project will not be too complex.  The key ingredients to your (well, and my) success will be:

Resist abundance.  If you think about it, our kids tend to play with only a small portion of their toy collection.  Weed out the items that are underutilized or unloved.  Make a point of involving your children in the process of sorting through their toys and books to identify items they can live without or want to pass on to younger relatives, donate, etc.

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Display some, save some, throw out most.  Stop saving all of your kids’ art work and school work.  They create clutter and will be the cause of greater agony later on.  Establish a system.  Display the loveliest creations for a while, save the best in a memory file, throw out the rest.  More on that here.

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Get zoned. Start thinking and organizing in zones.  Just like preschool classrooms are set up in zones, your kids’ spaces should be too.  The dress-up zone should not be with the art supplies.  Books should live the reading zone.  You get the idea.

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KISS – keep it simple stupid. Clear and defined homes for the items in the space and labeling are key. Co-mingling of an assortment of things will be the death of you – just remember that I said so !  If your kids are not yet of reading age, use pictures to identify homes for their belongings.  When labeling is NOT an option, consider open storage or see through containers, which will simplify the headache of determining what lives where.

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Do not put down, put back.  Practicing daily maintenance is a must.  Putting things back into their clearly defined homes will keep your zones in order.

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So, the fuzzy picture above is one of the play space in my house.  Just like the blurry photo effect, the organization system there is a bit fuzzy too.  This week, I will work on changing things around for the better so that I can think a little bit less about that space.   Can’t wait to show you the after.

What’s cooking in your kids’ play space?  What are your trouble areas?

If you do not have kids’ spaces to worry about, then you have time to catch up on the precious four previous boot camp assignments!

Previously on Order Matters’ Organizing Boot Camp:

Kitchen Organizing

Fridges & Pantries

Tax Records

Handbags

Have you unpacked your handbag lately?  It is time to dig in, sort through it piece-by-piece, and to simplify what you carry around.

I often feel like Mary Poppins when unpacking my bag.  It never ceases to amaze me how much we ladies schlep around.  There are the usuals, of course, such as a wallet and sunglasses, but then there are so many other things we think we need to have at our disposal at all times.   The bottom line is…we carry too much, and finding ways to reduce the weight of what we carry is important not only for our ability to stay organized and be efficient, but also for our health (see what the American Chiropractic Association says here about the damage that the size, type, and weight of our handbags have on us).

So, how do you do it?  First, empty everything out.  Throw out garbage, expired coupons, old make-up products…etc.  Sort through the contents and ask yourself:

1.  Have I used this item in the last month?

2. Do I REALLY need it in my purse?

3.  Can I leave this item in my office or in my car?

4.  Are there items I tend to lose or cannot find easily on a regular basis?

5.  What needs to change?

Here is one of my favorite purses.

It is not very large.

I forced myself to fit the contents into a small tray.

The small black case in the top left corner contains a bunch of small miscellaneous items that I tend to use regularly.

1.  Trish McEvoy #9 parfum/2. Pen/3. Small sewing kit/4. Small measuring tape (mine is actually a paper one from IKEA, rolled up)/5.  Tylenol for the occasional headache/6. My favorite Clinique lip gloss (Clearly Pink)/6.  Mini L’Occitane hand cream (Shea Butter)

What do you have inside your purse?  Do you use a purse organizer?  What are your purse trouble spots?

Previously on Order Matters’ Organizing Boot Camp:

Kitchen Organizing

Fridges & Pantries

Tax Records

Do you get a headache just thinking about tax season?  Even though it is only mid-January, tax season will soon be upon us.  Many people scramble at the last minute to pull together their paperwork and often file their tax return late.  So, this week’s boot camp organizing project is dedicated to minimizing that headache by preparing your tax records in advance.  Imagine having it all ready and in place for on-time and hassle-free tax filing and, hopefully, a refund too!

Dig up all of the receipts you might require for your various tax deductions.

Make a list of items you might be missing or have not yet received in the mail.  Perhaps, you have made charitable contributions that have not yet been acknowledged…etc.  Think back to last year’s filing and what you were required to submit to your accountant or what you needed for your own tax return preparation.

Categorize the records.  Income with income, expenses by deduction, etc.  If you file more than one return, take that into account and divide the paperwork accordingly.

Create an organized file for the records.  If you have a lot of documents and a complex tax return, you should consider designating an expanding file, which is easy to divide into categories.

Make an appointment with your accountant or purchase tax filing software now. While you might not be able to complete the tax filing process right away, as some tax forms will arrive later on, it will feel good to be prepared.

Create a 2012 tax file now.  That is what I do.  It is never too early for advance planning.  I label a folder with the tax year and begin to deposit the applicable paperwork there as soon it is received.

OK, this project is not nearly as involved as kitchen organizing, but the benefits of getting your tax filing stuff in order are huge.  Get it done now!

Previously on Order Matters’ Organizing Boot Camp:

Kitchen Organizing

Kitchen Organizing Continued: Fridges & Pantries

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One of the best things I did last year was reorganizing my pantry.  I am not exaggerating!  Pantries and fridges are places that we encounter daily. When the contents of our pantries and refrigerators are not categorized, visible, and easily accessible, we waste time, money, and precious emotional energy.  Any time you feel like you are not getting anywhere in your effort to get organized, clean out and organize your food storage area and you will feel more in control in no time!  Here are some tips for bringing and maintaining order in this invaluable area of kitchen real estate:

Eliminate expired products and ingredients that you have not managed to use in the last six to twelve months.  Simplify.

Do you tend to rummage through your pantry or fridge looking for things?  If your inventory is organized in groups, you will put an end to the incessant digging.

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It is OK if everything does not fit into your pantry!  Sometimes, a dedicated drawer outside of the pantry or a cart on wheels can be dedicated to food storage and serve your needs.  For example, you can organize snacks for your kids somewhere outside of the pantry or place your baking supplies and mixer onto a compact roll away cart.

Remove foods from boxes and crates and downsize liquids from large bottles into smaller carafes or pitchers.  Why dedicate any of your invaluable storage space to manufacturers’ packaging and the storage of “air?”

Deep pantries and fridges can be problematic as contents often get stuffed in the back and become “lost.”  Maximize your shelf space by using trays, pull out bins, or a lazy susan.  Also, you can adjust shelf heights to your advantage.  If you have a narrow pantry but vertically spacious shelves, invest in tall narrow containers for some of the staples you keep.

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Clear and uniformly-sized containers or jars are the best way to go!  You must be able to see what you have with ease.

Buying in bulk can save you money, but it might adversely affect your organization.  If you have space constraints, limit the quantities of food and supplies you purchase.  Also, don’t fall into what I call the “bulk buying fallacy.”  When you look at a bulk price in the store, you may see a modest savings when calculating out cost/quantity.  However, all of your savings go right down the drain or into the trash when you need to dispose of excess quantity that has expired, dried up, lost it flavour, gone bad…etc.  I have seen it so many times.  Bulk buying often leads to financial loss instead of gain, and this loss does not even account for the additional energy and stress that finding storage for all the bulk food may cause, which is a different cost or expense altogether.  So, choose your bulk purchases carefully, if you make them at all.

Become a careful meal planner and “go deep” into your food supplies on a regular basis.  Use what you have on-hand for meal preparation.  More on that here.

Neglect will lead to the return of disorder.  Go through your fridge weekly and clean it out thoroughly at least once per month.  Tidy up your pantry on the same day that you clean the fridge and you will remain in control!

On Sunday, I cleaned out my fridge (part of my weekly routine) and tidied up my pantry.  It felt good!

How are you doing with your kitchen organizing?  Tell me about your progress.