What does this mean?  Well…it means any and ALL clothing needs to be run through Goodwill or St. Vincent de Paul!  I was talking to the Founder of The Bra Recyclers and she is a member of the Secondary Material and Recycled Textiles which is an entirely different industry for those unwanted items.  I was concerned with what to do with those lone socks that I always seemed to find or that T-shirt that had a stain.  I felt guilty donating those items but I also felt guilty about putting those items in the landfill.  What I found out is that Goodwill and St. Vincent de Paul are two of the largest recipients of this recycled textiles industry.  That means they make money off of those discards and those items have a second life as a wiping cloth, pillow stuffing or household insulation.

Reduce, Reuse & Recycle

Wow, when you look at it like that, there is absolutely no reason for any of your unwanted items need to go into the landfill.  My philosophy is why not run everything through one of these drop off points and give them the opportunity to recycle them on the secondary market?  Here is another great diagram demonstrating what can be recycled and what is not being recycled.  This is a staggering number when you realize that only 15% of worn or torn textiles are actually donated on an annual basis.  I ask you where is the rest of it going?

During this talk with The Bra Recyclers, the group, of NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers) – AZ, in attendance were stunned that we were missing so many opportunities to donate clothing.  It stopped us in our tracks and we have all become committed to doing the right thing and educating clients on the secret double life of worn clothing! Here is another great visual to drive home the point of how these items are recycled.  Going forward, please think about your choices and understand this second life of your discards and hopefully being educated will help you make better choices!  Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Until then…Happy Organizing!  Bridges

I am amazed to see this a lot this with my clients.  Their closet is the very last place in the house that is a priority…they can shut the door and worry about it later. Does this sound familiar? Or is your desire just to be able to find what you need when you need it?  Whatever your situation is, I would like to provide some simple solutions for you and your closet.

The greatest solution that I can provide is to HANG EVERYTHING!  Keep in mind that if it is out of sight, it is out of mind.  There are a lot of times that I get in there and hang things only for the client to say, “Wow, I didn’t know I had all of those black t-shirts!”  You need to take ownership in what you have and if things are folded and not categorized, you will have the same casualty they are.

If you are going to work on your closet, PURGE, PURGE and PURGE some more!  Remember, you only wear 20% of what you have in your closet, so why are you hanging onto everything?  Create that positive energy to bring something new into your closet by getting rid of the dead weight that is hanging in there.  Keep an ongoing donations or consignment  basket in your closet so if you put something on that you know you will just not wear again, don’t hang it up, put in the basket to move it on out of there!

Finally, when you are done purging start by sorting all of your clothes by like items.  Make it simple and put all of your spaghetti straps, short sleeve t-shirts, long sleeve shirts, layering pieces, pants and then slacks together by a single category.  Yes, I mix together business attire with casual attire because you will see a ton more options if you do categorize this way.  Plus, use this time to simplify what is going on in your closet. I am going to leave you with a few before and after pictures to provide some motivation for you.

I LOVE doing closets because the impact of a well organized closet is good for the soul every single day.  Make your closet work for you and quit struggling with it every day!

Your closet could look like this!

Or this!

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The rules goes something like this…when you get a phone call or email pretend that it is stuck on your forehead until you make a decision as to where it goes or what you need to do with the information.  There are so many times that we come across this information and we are too busy to deal with it.  Then what happens is that all of these delayed decisions become clutter in our lives.  By the time that we come back around to making those decisions or dealing with that pile, it feels overwhelming.  If you get in the habit of making those decisions quickly and put them in the right location to be dealt with you will free up a lot more time to work on other projects.  Find ways to be efficient with your time and O H I O…Only Handle It Once!

Happy Organizing!  Bridges

What about all of your items that have memories for you?  Keep in mind that your some of those memories may not be serving you well.  I had a client that was hanging onto some dried flowers from an old boyfriend.  She was trying to hang onto those memories of him and that time in her life.  When we talked about it, she was adamant about those memories.  I explained to her that she was hanging onto the past and not letting new relationships into her life.  The next time I came back the dried flowers were gone and she had a big smile on her face.  Always ask yourself if that memory is serving you in the best possible way!  If not, let it go…

What about all of the perfectly useful possessions that you might use one day?   You haven’t used them in years, BUT you might use them in the future.  This is a huge category for my clients and I tell them they only use 20% of their possessions and if they were to let it go would they really miss it in the long run?  Believe me the weight that is lifted off of your shoulders by purging all of those items, is well worth those decisions.

Don’t be a slave to your possessions!  You will spend way too much time and energy managing that “stuff” and it will stop the flow of the energy in your house an life.  Let it go, find a good home and be done with the clutter in your life!  Remember, fewer possessions will simplify your life, your choices and your decision making.  Is it time to streamline your life?

Happy Organizing!  Bridges

The final rule that I apply to my life and to the life of my clients is “do it right away!”  If it will only take you 30 seconds or less, “just do it” as Nike says!  This is true in your life too.  Just take the time to take care of it right then and there while you are finishing up the task.  Remember what we talked about in a previous post, delayed decisions create the clutter in your life?  Well, avoid that stumbling block and just put it away.

Some of the other tricks that help me out are to leave things out if it needs to serve as a visual reminder to do something.  If there is something that needs to go upstairs, I will place it on the stairs and the next time I head up there (or anyone else for that fact), I have a visual reminder of what needs to be done.  If I trip over it, that will be my reminder.

Also, if I know that I have to go to the grocery store and just pick up a few items, while I am thinking about it, I will pull out a sticky note and write those items down.  Then I will take that sticky note and stick it on the door leading out to my garage and this will serve as my reminder that 1) I have to go to the grocery store, and 2) what I need to pick up.  Again, do it right away before you forget and follow through on those thoughts.  Make it easy for you to follow through is my philosophy.  It may take a few more seconds to follow through but you won’t end up at the grocery store and not remember what you need.

Happy Organizing!  Bridges

This is a golden rule that I use with each and every one of my clients and that is the “lids off policy.”  That is right…all of those beautiful tubs and boxes that you have need to have the lids off.  Think about this…your hands are full, you would really like to apply the “stow as you go” golden rule but your other hand is full.  You just want to put the small items away but you can’t lift off the lid.  Oh, what the heck, you just put it on top for the time being.

Does this sound familiar?  I see it day end and day out and I am here to tell you that unless it is a storage box in your garage and you get to that box on a regular basis, you life will be much easier if you take the lid off and store it under the tub or box.

Think about your kids, are they more apt to put it away if the lid is off?  You are the same way so take those lids off and enjoy the ease of putting things away single-handed!

Happy Organizing!  Bridges

Paper tends to pile up and pile up.  For the items that you work with or need to get to on a regular basis, think about this concept.  Vertical holders for your papers or files.  Magazine holders to move your papers from the horizontal position to the vertical position.  Anything to help you retrieve your items are perfect for getting you organized.  Even a portable file folder that has what you need on a regular basis would be easier to locate items than a stack on your desk.  Think about how you can apply it to your life!

Vertical is Visible!

Happy Organizing!  Bridges

If you open a drawer, close it.  If you use a pair of scissors, put them back.  If you use a tool from the tool box, put it back.  It is so easy, but all of these delayed decisions will create clutter along the line and then you are looking at a string of things to put away and then it becomes a chore.

Say it one more time with me “stow as you go!” and make this your battle cry each and every day!

Happy Organizing!  Bridges

I am going to tell you a story that will hopefully make you understand this rule.  I was working with a new client and she wanted to work on her closet that she shared with her husband.   One look at her closet and I realized what was stopping the healthy flow of her closet…her shoes!  With four hours to work on her closet I put her in charge of purging her shoes and I tackled the rest of her closet.  In that 4 hours she came to terms with the amount of shoes that she had and ended up purging 150 pairs of shoes.  Now mind you, she had another 150 pair that she wasn’t willing to part with but with all of those shoes gone, we were able to re-work her closet so that it made sense and she could walk into it.

We had a long talk about her shoes going forward.  I told her that no shoes could come into the closet without 2 pairs going out.  For most people it can be “one in; one out” and would be fine.  In her case she still needed to lighten up the load.

This example shows you the point of respecting your boundaries.  If you have only so much space for your shoes, then you have to respect those boundaries and stay within those boundaries.  If you keep piling more shoes into your closet eventually you won’t be able to walk into your closet and they will be spilling out everywhere.  This can be applied to everything in your house.  Your drawers, closets and rooms are your boundaries.  Respect them and you won’t be overwhelmed with your stuff!

Happy Organizing!  Bridges

Delayed Decisions Create the Clutter in your Life

The golden rule of organizing that we are going to talk about today is actually a quote. I tell my clients this quote just about every day…it absolutely sums up the clutter acquiring traits that we struggle with on a daily basis. It goes like this “delayed decisions create the clutter in your life-unknown.” Wow…think about it and how it applies to your life.

A small pile of stuff can start the avalanche. Before you know it, you haven’t put up the original pile and then you come home with the mail the next day and put it on top of the original pile. This happens day after day and before you know it that piles has become a project. Now it will take too long to work on it because you are busy and all of a sudden it feels overwhelming, right! This is just a small example of how clutter and stuff can accumulate in your life. And some of these piles are much bigger than others.

The key is to work those piles on a daily basis so they never have the opportunity to create a project further down the line. The small amount of time that you can invest on a daily basis will save you a lot of time, energy and money in the long run!

Happy Organizing! Bridges