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Getting Your Stuff Together: Don’t Start from Scratch

Have you ever wanted to torch your entire house so that you could start over without the mess?

Shortly after my son was born — while we were still trying to figure out which end of the kid was up — we started to get behind on the dishes. A tiny pile of used plates and pans began to turn into a full-blown mountain range of stuff. I was sorely tempted to trash everything so I could have an empty sink and clean counters again.

Do you too feel as though you’ve lost control over some space? Maybe it’s an area of your home, your office, your purse, your garage, or your hidden kitchen counters. Whether the problem is a new one or an issue that’s been plaguing you forever, you don’t have to start from scratch to get organized.

Get your stuff together quickly by taking advantage of the fact that you’re more organized than you realize. [Read more…]

The Problem with Your Organization System

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.

You know in your soul that you are an organized person. Your home, regrettably, paints a different (and messier) picture.

However, the problem is probably not you.

The issue could be the system you are using to organize your stuff. Before beating yourself up over your disorganized space, consider these technical — and easily fixable! — issues that could be the culprit.
[Read more…]

How to See Fast Results When Organizing

Organizing your home, office, or car can be daunting. Even when you get going, it can be hard to see the results you want any time soon. Get visible and oh-so-satisfying results for your efforts with these easy tips: [Read more…]

10 Ways I’m a Failure According to Mommy Blogs

The mommy blogs are silently judging me.

I feel their condemnation every time I scan through pictures of the cool moms’ color-coordinated lives, perpetually clean children, and hyper-organized homes.

There are some things that are just part of motherhood, according to these blogs, and no one bats an eye to question that. No more! I’m not ashamed to admit that I fail to meet these ten “basic” requirements for life as a mom . . .

Read the rest of my recently-published blog post on Parent Co!

Letting Go of Clutter

Clutter is the enemy of an organized home. It manifests itself in piles of mystery stuff that grow and spread, but the impact doesn’t end there. The physical refuse of your life also costs you time, money, fun, and sanity.

Consider these eight reasons to lose the clutter that’s choking your space and your life:

You waste time looking for things.

How much time have you spent trying to find your keys, your kid’s permission slip, that shampoo you could swear you just purchased, your left shoe, or any number of other things? Clutter is not just an organizational annoyance but a major time suck as well. You have plenty you want to accomplish with your time. Going on a frantic scavenger hunt for your belongings probably isn’t on the list. [Read more…]

Hacking Your “System” of Paper Piles

Are you one of those people who carefully creates a “system” of paper piles throughout your house? Maybe you’ve got thirty distinct mountains of papers in your office, a stash of incoming mail on your coffee table, or some unpaid (or overdue!) bills on your kitchen counter. If you’re using your paper piles to remind you to do things — pay those bills, write a letter, try a recipe, and more — your system probably isn’t really working . . . and your house might be getting pretty cluttered!

Check out my recent guest blog post, “Hacking Your ‘System’ of Paper Piles,” on Dumb Little Man to find solutions to the problems created by your piles of paper!

Stop Drowning In Your Inbox: How to Organize Your Gmail

This post is part 1 in the series How to Organize It.

True story: The other day, I had to show my tech-savvy husband how to delete a message in Gmail. It wasn’t because he asked either; I had suggested deleting some junk that had cropped up.

Gmail’s whopping 15 GB of E-mail storage space is a hoarder’s playground. With capacity like that and the constant flood of electronic communication, it’s so incredibly easy to find yourself drowning under thousands of E-mails in your inbox. There are perhaps some special people in the world who like filing E-mails or papers, but the rest of us would rather enjoy life.

However . . . how often have you missed out on paying a bill because the E-mail notification got lost in your inbox? When was the last time you left a message in your inbox as a reminder to do something, but you might as well have thrown it into a bottomless pit?

With Gmail’s abundant features and a little know-how, you can conquer your existing inbox without sifting mind-numbingly through each individual E-mail . . . and you can set yourself up for future success with some quick automation. Here are 10 tips to get you on your way. [Read more…]

Toddler Toy Storage

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.

It’s a fact of life that, when you have a little kid, relatives and friends will shower that kid with toys. It doesn’t matter how much you vow to live a minimalistic toy lifestyle. If you buy not a single toy for your child, you will still find yourself living in a toy store. You’ll have the huge toys, the tiny toys, the toys with a million parts, the fuzzy toys, the teething toys, and — my personal favorite — the noisy toys. If you’re not prepared to flee and let the toys run amok in your house, then you need storage solutions that work for you and for your kids. Here are some of my current favorites. [Read more…]

5 Ways Ziploc Bags Can Make Life with Baby Easier

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.

Ziploc bags are a godsend when it comes to babies and their stuff. Never much of a bagger pre-kids, I now boast a full assortment of Ziploc bag sizes in my cabinet — with extra boxes of them stored elsewhere in case I run out! These beautiful bags can truly keep you organized and sane when wrangling your baby’s essentials: [Read more…]

Favorite Products for Banishing Kitchen Chaos: Part 2

This post is part 2 in the series Favorite Products for Banishing Kitchen Chaos.

Check out Part 1 of this series! Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.

Big Containers

Baking is a breeze with these babies. A bag of flour fits with room enough for a scoop into a single one of these 5.5-quart containers. They’re great for storing your flours, sugar, rice, and more. Smaller containers are handy for confectioner’s sugar, coffee, pastas, dry beans, etc. They’re attractive enough — with a small enough footprint — to leave on the counter. [Read more…]