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A Very Clever Crate

By Tanya Whitford, CPO® on November 10, 2014 No Comments
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Ready to head out with the girls!

A few weeks ago, I was reading the LA Times Travel section when I saw a little blurb about a collapsible crate. I checked out the website and decided I had to try them. I like my reusable shopping bags, but I would like my own shopping baskets much more- especially ones that collapse when not in use.  I ordered 2 baskets and started using them the moment they arrived. They are only 15″ long by 10″ wide but they hold more than I expected. I use them every day now for multiple things. I love them! My kids love them! People who see me with them are impressed and ask where I got them.

Here is how I use them:

  • Shopping– in the grocery store for small loads, I get to use my basket from start to finish. A gallon of milk, 4 boxes of yogurt, and some fruits and vegetables all fit in my basket at my last visit to Trader Joes. The cashier thought the basket was cool. For big loads, I just have them collapsed in the cart for check-out.
  • Farmer’s Market– no need for any bags or worrying that my strawberries will get squished. All my fruits and vegetables fit perfectly.
  • Errands– library books, dry cleaning, merchandise returns, letters to be mailed. It all goes in a basket and then into my car for doing.
  • Kids– waters, snacks, sweaters, toys, books- it all fits in the basket. My daughters already know if they want to take it in the car- put it in the basket. When we are leaving the car- everything that came out of the basket goes back in it and we take it in the house.
  • Home– toys migrate to every room. We use the baskets to return toys to their correct home. When my older daughter cleans her room, she puts all her little sister’s toys in a basket to put back in the right room.
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What fits inside with room for more!

Clever Crates also come in larger sizes (without handles) to use for your other storage needs. There are many sizes and colors to choose from. They are all portable and stackable. I have been using these for bigger jobs and they are great too!

I haven’t had these baskets long- and I wonder how I lived without them. There is something very comforting about having a place to easily put everything I need to remember for the next day. It is a portable launching pad. A convenient way to shop. An easy way to carry more than can fit in your hands. I bought two- and I need more. At $9.99 each- they are well worth it. I think I’ll be giving away a lot of these around the holidays!

Categories : Helpful Products, Kids

Halloween Candy Overload

By Tanya Whitford, CPO® on October 27, 2014 No Comments

5th grade Halloween CandyI came across this picture recently and it made me laugh. Here I am in 5th grade sorting my Halloween candy as soon as I got home. Must put all Milky Ways together and Hershey Kisses together! A jumble of candy made no sense.  I could better trade with my brothers when I knew exactly how much of each candy I had!

While I still love Halloween and chocolate, I have learned to not eat it so much- and to not allow Reese’s Peanut Butter cups in the house because I will eat them all. So what do you do when you have too much Halloween candy left? Here are 10 things to consider:

1. Don’t do as much trick-or-treating or only allow your child to take one candy from each house- no matter what is offered. They still get to trick-or-treat, but won’t end up with nearly as much candy as they would getting a handful at each house.

2. If your kids are back from trick-or-treating, have them go through their bags and right away give you the candy they don’t like. Add that to your bowl of candy for trick-or-treaters who are still coming to your door- and give away much bigger “servings”.

3. Put half of it away until Thanksgiving and put it out at the family gathering or save it to add to Christmas stockings.

4. Take it to work or the teacher’s lounge at your child’s school.

5. Put them in the freezer to use year round in milkshakes and ice-cream toppings or melt them down to use them for baking.

6. See if your local shelter or food pantry will take candy.

7. Put it on Freecycle. Someone else will definitely want the candy.

8. Donate it to Operation Shoebox or Operation Gratitude who send it our troops deployed overseas.

9. “Sell” it to Halloween Candy Buy Back which works with local dentists to gather extra candy for our troops.

10. Instead of handing out candy, try pretzels or fruit snacks. They sell them in Halloween packaging. Or try stickers or small toys. A treat doesn’t have to be candy.

Happy Halloween!

Categories : Donating & Recycling, Kids, Simple and Organized

Stop the Junk Mail

By Tanya Whitford, CPO® on October 2, 2014 No Comments

No More Junk Mail I overheard someone in the post office ask the clerk how they could stop getting mail for someone who had died years before. The clerk told them to just throw it away. I cringed. That would never solve the problem- and it would waste resources, time, and trees! If you get things in the mail that you don’t want- STOP THEM! Don’t ever think they will eventually tire of sending things to an unresponsive house because they won’t. It is never the last time they will offer you some special deal even if they say it is the last time. And don’t think they won’t share your name with other companies or charities because they might. With junk mail, you have to play some offense and not just muster a little defense by throwing them into the recycling bin.  According to 41 Pounds.org, “An average of 41 pounds of junk mail is sent to every adult citizen each year. Approximately 44% of this mail goes into a landfill unopened.” Not only is junk mail incredibly wasteful to the environment, but it wastes a lot of our time and effort to deal with something on a daily basis that we never asked for.

Have you ever made a contribution to a wonderful charity only to find that you now get requests from 83 other wonderful charities who think you have money to share with all of them? Are you drowning in mailing labels, notepads, and calendars that you could never use up in your lifetime? Do you get credit card offers on a daily basis?  Do you get magazines you never read and don’t even remember ordering? Do you still get catalogs even though you do all your shopping on-line now? You have to do something about it!

I made up some address labels that say in large letters “Please Remove Me From Mailing List”.  When I get something in the mail I don’t want to get again, I tear off their return form, place my sticker above my name (being careful not to cover any codes or info they need to identify me), circle the sticker and my name with a big Sharpie and mail it back to them. Sometimes the envelopes are postage paid, sometimes you need a stamp- but it is worth it! I keep a simple tracking list of the places I have asked to be removed from. It works really well for me and the mail stops coming!

If you don’t have the time or inclination to do this yourself, there are companies that can do it for you:

  • 41 Pounds– for $35 they will contact 20 to 30 direct mail companies on your behalf to stop the majority of bulk mail that comes to your home for the next 5 years.
  • To reduce unwanted catalogs and phone books, try Catalog Choice for free.
  • DMA Choice and Opt Out Prescreen also offer ways to remove yourself from mailing lists.

Throwing away junk mail is not a solution. All that does is leave the door open for more. Be proactive about getting yourself off mailing lists so you can shut the door and windows on the junk mail that takes over our houses! Not only will you reduce waste and help the environment- but you will save time and frustration when you check you newly thinned out mailbox. Enjoy!

Categories : My Blog, Paper, Simple and Organized

Recycle When You Shop

By Tanya Whitford, CPO® on September 14, 2014 No Comments

I’ve seen this recycling cenIMAG0492ter at Best Buy before and thought it was really cool. But I could never remember exactly what I could recycle there until I took a picture. I had a hard time finding a place to recycle empty DVD or CD cases- until now! I’ve never seen anyone else recycle gifts cards! This little recycle center is pretty handy!

I like it when stores make it easy for customers to recycle things that need extra care in recycling. Places like Lowes and IKEA take batteries and CFLs. All the plastic bags should be properly recycled at store bins. I never forget my own bags when shopping- yet I still amass a lot of plastic bags. They are everywhere! Around my newspaper, clothes from the dry cleaner, produce, bread, toilet paper- the list is endless! At least I can take them somewhere to be recycled.

Problem is, you usually arrive at the store empty handed and then see the display and get mad that you forgot those bags and batteries- again! I like to move them to my car once I have accumulated enough for a small bag. That way I have them with me next time I am in a store that recycles. Walking back to my car is a lot easier than forgetting them at home again. We need to make the extra little effort to recycle things that don’t go into our normal recycling bins at home. Thankfully a lot of stores you are in all the time can help! Just look around!

 

Categories : Donating & Recycling

Have Pencil Box. Will Travel.

By Tanya Whitford, CPO® on August 21, 2014 No Comments

IMG_3753Right before packing up for a long flight across the country, I did some school supply shopping. I can’t help it. Many of you would agree that some of these back to school sales are practically giving us coveted office supplies for free! How could you resist? At Target, I came across a soft plastic sliding pencil box for 69 cents (which is the regular price). This was not on my daughter’s classroom list, but I had a different use for them. The airplane.

I have tried keeping crayons in their boxes and putting them in Ziploc baggies. Neither method really works well for kids on an airplane tray table. But these pencil boxes that are light, bendable, and roomy inside are perfect! My daughters each filled their own pencil box with whatever drawing or writing objects they wanted. It went into their bags along with a blank sketch book, work books, and coloring books. On the plane, we pulled out the pencil boxes and removed the inside tray from the cover. You have to give it a little tug to get it out- but it works. You can just slide it open, but I thought pulling it all the way out was the better way to go. Then they each had a great box that easily showed their crayons and pencils without rolling off the tray table or into their laps. They loved them! Why didn’t I think of this before!

As I bent down to pick up the 3rd crayon that the child sitting in front of me dropped on the floor, I wished I had an extra pencil box to give to their parents =)

Categories : Helpful Products, Kids, Travel

From Newlyweds to Expecting

By Tanya Whitford, CPO® on August 4, 2014 No Comments
built in shelves

Before- Newlywed Nook

By the time I celebrated my one year anniversary- I was 4 months pregnant. My life as a newlywed ended before we ever used most of the stuff we got for our wedding. I had so carefully utilized this wonderful built in bookshelf in our small apartment. It had all the things people joining their lives together might have- photo albums, yearbooks, CD collections, games, pictures, and liquor leftover from our wedding.

Once I was pregnant, a lot of things had to change. There was no room in our apartment for a nursery. The crib would have to be at the foot of our bed. The stroller would have to be in our living room.  And the wonderful built in shelves would have to become “the baby nook”.

In order to make room for baby, we had to deal with our own stuff. Yearbooks and never looked at photo albums were boxed up to store in the closet. Cds collections were wittled down. Liquor was given to friends. Things we no longer used were given away. It was a lot of work, but soon I had a blank canvas to create the baby nook!

Organizing Wonders Baby Nook

After- Baby Nook

What fun I had! I got an assortment of bins from Target, Lowes, and The Container Store to meet my needs.

  • I used big pull out cube drawers along the top row for things like sheets, extra toiletries, 6-9 month clothes and 12 month clothes.
  • Medium pull out drawers for towels and washcloths and breast pump supplies.
  • Bins for bibs & burp cloths, toys, teethers and blankets.
  • Small baskets for diapers & wipes and lotions & soaps.
  • Little drawers for grooming, hair accessories, medical necessities.
  • Shelf space for pregnancy books, picture books, diaper bags, slings, extra diapers, and wipes.

To complete the nook, we bought a white dresser from IKEA that was the perfect height and size for a changing table and we securely attached a baby changing pad to the top. The drawers were divided with IKEA Skubb boxes which are great inexpensive drawer organizers. I labeled them with things like “short sleeve onesies”, “long sleeve onesies”, and “pjs”.

The baby nook worked out really well. Everything was labeled making it easy for other people to help with the baby. My husband, who was new to the whole world of organizing, had to admit that this really made things a lot easier as we learned to be new parents. We have moved on to a bigger space and a bigger family, but that baby nook proved that small spaces can be highly efficient when properly organized.

Categories : Before & After Photos, Helpful Products, Kids

Don’t Go Empty Handed

By Tanya Whitford, CPO® on July 7, 2014 No Comments

I learned some very valuable lessons while waiting tables at a busy restaurant in college. You have to stay on your toes and remember lots of details. If it is slow, do your side work so you can finish up faster. And the big one- never go empty handed. If you are walking back to the kitchen, grab any plates that need to be bussed. If you are heading out on the floor, see if any food is ready to go out. There is always something to do to help things run smoothly. You should never be walking around with nothing in your hands!

These same lessons have helped me in my everyday life. I never walk through my house empty handed. As I walk through the living room, I might spot some things that belong in the laundry room or kitchen so I scoop them up and drop them off on my way to the office. As I leave my daughter’s room, I spot the misplaced detangler so I return it to the bathroom on my way to take a shower. It is a constant game of returning things to their homes that just happens automatically and helps maintain things around the house. A little bit here and a little bit there means that things won’t pile up and get overwhelming.

It is a simple concept that takes a little getting used to, but makes a big difference. Next time you leave a room, just grab something that doesn’t belong there and put it where it goes. Don’t go empty handed when there are plenty of things to put away!

 

Categories : My Blog, Simple and Organized

School Year Paper Purge

By Tanya Whitford, CPO® on June 16, 2014 No Comments

My first year with a child in elementary school is over and all I can say is- what a lot of paper!! My memories of kindergarten include learning to spell “cat” and nap time. Things have really changed since then. I was surprised by the sheer volume of paper that came home. My daughter had a lot of homework which she thankfully enjoys. (Sure hope that lasts for the next 16 years!) And there were tons of flyers for activities and fundraisers all year long. So that you don’t drown in a sea of papers by the time your child reaches third grade, you need to purge. And right after school gets out is a great time to do it!

beforeI purged the school flyers during the year as the activities passed, but stored all her school work in a drawer in my office. We pulled the tower of papers out and set up some sorting space in the living room. We decided on 3 piles: To Keep, Send to Grandma, and Recycle. We talked about how to decide what went where. She liked Presidents and wanted to keep all papers on them. I suggested we keep any home work where she was writing her own sentences. We decided together that we didn’t need to keep basic worksheets or projects that weren’t special. Then the sorting began!

Half way though the pile, after learning what things she liked to keep and didn’t like to keep, I asked her if she wanted me to help her and she did. I pulled out all the homework and scanned them for the pages wherAftere she wrote sentences and we let the rest go. She focused on the art work and what she wanted to send to grandma. She even said that this was fun. (She is an organizer’s daughter after all =) The sort pile dwindled and we were done in 45 minutes. We ended up with a small envelope of memories, an envelope to mail to grandma, and a big pile of paper to recycle.

You could certainly purge your child’s homework yourself, but then you miss the opportunity to teach a very valuable life skill and learn what is important to them. The ability to sort through your papers and belongings and decide what is important to you and what you can let go of is a skill that helps people through all stages of life.

 

Categories : Before & After Photos, Kids, Paper

Computer Cable Holders

By Tanya Whitford, CPO® on May 26, 2014 No Comments

IBefore have a lot of cables plugged into my laptop. When I want to grab it and work somewhere else, I have to unplug all the cables and hope none of them fall behind my desk. I tried one of these cable holders that I found at Target, but soon found that it didn’t always work. It was as if the cables move on their own sometimes and fly off the desk to hide from me. And it certainly didn’t hold any of the increasingly tiny USB Bluetooth inserts for mice, keyboards, and Fitbits that are very easy to lose track of.

Then I tried a MOS– Magnetic OrgMOSanization System. It is pretty nice. It forms a secure seal with your desk with suction- no need to install it. And things just stick to it like magic! OK. Like magnets! It is fun to drop your cables on it and have them stick so easily. They include 3 magnetic cable ties in case your cable is not magnetic. I don’t lose the cables anymore and all the tiny USB inserts have a place to stay put so I can always find them. I even throw my earrings on it! I kind of wish I had a big super strong MOS  that would work for keys and all the loose change my husband seems to leave everywhere =) For now I am very happy to have something that keeps my computer cables secure and right where I left them!

 

Categories : Helpful Products, Office

The Dumping Shelves

By Tanya Whitford, CPO® on May 5, 2014 No Comments
Before

Before

On the way out the back door, we have some great shelves to store all kinds of stuff. They hold everything from cat supplies to bubbles, extra food, beach towels, computer bags, and linens- all out of view behind curtains. It is the ultimate catch all. It started out so nicely organized. And then life got busy, things got crammed in, and it became a humungous junk drawer. I thought the shelves would soon buckle from the weight. I longed for the day when I would have time to re-do the whole thing.

Finally- I found the time. Well, more like I was avoiding doing something else! Luckily the skeleton of the previously organized closet re-emerged once all the excess was purged. Why am I saving all these lunch boxes when the lunch boxes I actually do use are in the kitchen? Maybe all the things in the “Take to Garage” bucket should actually make it to the garage. I don’t even like candles. Why do I have so many and thank goodness my mom wants them and will take them! Are these little drawers still full of crap from my refrigerator door 5 years ago when we moved?! Somehow the new refrigerator got its own set of magnets and photos and left the old stuff in the dust.

After

After

Every once in awhile, we need to revisit our things and lighten the load. It felt so good to finally go through an area that had been driving me crazy. Some things were donated and given away. Some things were returned to their proper homes. And some new ideas emerged. Why not use an empty tissue box to drop all the E-waste, like batteries and cords, until I am ready to recycle them properly. The little box I had before was just too small. Now I have a lot of extra space- almost an entire shelf! It feels really good every time at look at it which is the complete opposite of how it used to feel. We all have some area of our homes that become a dumping ground. Take that time to undo it, organize it, and lighten your load both physically and mentally. It is so worth it!

Categories : Before & After Photos, Simple and Organized
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