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 The world from a short person's POV - not Australia or New Zealand. |
Random thoughts, pointed comments, and whatever else crosses my mind 
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| " Choosing to be positive and having a grateful attitude is going to determine how you are going to live your life." Joel Osteen A positive attitude often determines the outcome of any project. Case in point, organizing whether just your home or your life needs a positive attitude more than skill, knowledge, or the latest techniques to become a success. I am sure that if you have tackled your master closet, children's closets and/or the kitchen or bathroom closets, you know this is true. With all this success under your belt, it's time to tackle the linen closet. In my opinion, every house needs either a large linen closet strategically placed or several smaller ones in each bathroom/bedroom. Unfortunately, these closets often become catchalls for everything that didn't find a home earlier. Before you start taking everything out of this closet take some time to consider what really belongs here and what needs another home. If at all possible, linen closets should store only linens. This is not the place to put extra groceries or cleaning supplies. Nor is it the place to put medicines or gifting materials. Ok, now you have the idea, linen closets are for linens, right? Where to start is the question. The first question is: do you have one central linen closet or ones located in the bathroom/bedroom? If neither of these exists, can you find a closet that will work just to store linens? Any closet that is available should have shelves deep enough to hold bath towels and king size sheets. And, of course, it is best if this closet is near the bedrooms/bathrooms. So let's start by taking everything out of the designated linen closet. Next, collect all the linens that will be housed in this closet, i.e. towels, washcloths, sheet sets. blankets and extra bed covers. If you are using one closet to house all these items, consider sorting them in groups that correspond to the room in which you will use them. For example, if the bedrooms have different size beds or different color schemes, sort the sheet sets, blankets, and extra bed covers accordingly. Towels can be sorted the same way, by the bathroom they will be used in. If family members are responsible for their own room/bathroom, make sure that they know where their linens are and how they are organized. Let them know that you expect them to keep them in the same place if they are the ones responsible for putting clean items away. If you are fortunate enough to have linen closets in the bathroom(s), you can separate linens based on the bathroom where they will be used. Then the question becomes: what about all the sheets, blankets, and bed covers? If you don't have another closet just for these items, consider using the bathroom closet that relates to a given bedroom. The closet in the master bedroom may be big enough to house both towels and sheets, etc. For others, you may need to find enough space in the designated closet. Along the way, you should consider a purge of the items that go back in the linen closet. Stained, ripped or items no longer used should be removed. Some of these items can be used as cleaning rags or paint throws. (But don't keep them in the linen closet.) The main point is to make organizing work for you. As always, your goal in organizing is to decrease stress and improve the quality of life. Make your home work for you; not you working for your home. Next, we will deal with all the "stuff" that doesn't have a home, especially all those little/big seasonal decorating items. |
| "Begin at the beginning," the King said gravely, "and go on till you come to the end: then stop"... Alice in Wonderland Well, you started with the closet in the master bedroom but closets don't stop there, do they? Feeling the flush of success, it's time to move on to, oh let's say, a child's/children's closet. This closet can be even more challenging than the one you just finished since we all know that these little ones can expand the need for storage space 10 fold. It has been many years since I struggled to corral all the items needed for a child (only one). So my blog will relate the story of my granddaughter's closet. The rules still apply though you will need to be more "judgemental" and creative from time to time, especially if you have children sharing the same space. Age is a major factor when designing closets for children. When they are little you may only need a dresser, toy box, bookshelf and a small amount of hanging space. Most of their things will fit in their bedroom. But don't forget to designate a play space in other parts of the house. This is where creativity really comes into play; for grandparents as well. Toy boxes work very well at this stage if you are able to make yourself store only items used frequently where the toy box is located. Remember you can change out the toys as they go in and out of favor or as the child grows. We still keep a handmade toy box in our sunroom for books and art supplies for our granddaughter to use when she comes to visit. As your child/children grow closets need to keep up with their needs. Once a child starts school what needs to be kept in their room changes. Don't forget to add a desk and chair for doing school work. Now you need more hanging space and a place to keep shoes for school, outings, and every day. Shoes can take on a life of their own as the child expands their horizons. By the time my granddaughter was five her shoe rack needed to house school shoes, dress boots, tennis shoes, dress up shoes and ballet shoes. This has always been an issue in her room. Partly, this may be a girl thing  but still it has been the hardest issue to overcome. She is eleven now and we still haven't completely solved the problem. That will change soon as the family is giving her a specially designed closet for her twelveth birthday in August. I know it seems a little over-the-top but it is what she wants most. We figured there was no need giving her clothes/shoes/accessories if she didn't have a place to put them that would work for her. Oh, did I mention that she is an only child and my only granddaughter?When you design a closet for a child of school age think about how they will use it. Now that they are dressing more on their own, clothing needs to be accessible to them. Bars should be lowered to a position that they can reach or if there are high and low bars in their closet you can put everyday wear on the lower bar and less used items on the higher bar. Dressers are still important since items such as t-shirts, PJs, shorts, and jeans are often stored here. While the child is young, keep the most used items in the lower drawers so that they can reach them without asking for help. Try to keep the closet as flexible as possible since their needs change as they grow and become involved in more activities. Ever since my granddaughter started in competitive gymnastics her closet has become a place to hang leotards, and all the other paraphernalia that goes along with the sport as well as her regular clothing. For now, her closet also houses all her medals and trophies since she re-designed her bedroom. (She tends to be a minimalist when it comes to design.) If you take a trip to the DIY and HomeGoods stores, you can see all the different units that can be used to make closets work for you. Whether you go this route or use a professional, keep in mind what you need to store and where. For girls, you might want to include a high bar for dresses (especially prom dresses). Also, consider shelving for storing mementos and trophies. Now here is the really hard part - you probably can't keep everything a child accumulates over time in their closet. Most of us want to keep all the cute outfits they had when they were little, special toys and gifts, cards and pictures, right? It just doesn't work in an organized, uncluttered home. Remember when you organized your closet you had to sort and purge. Here it is even more important. I suggest having your child help with the process. Learning to make decisions about what is and what is not important in your life is a skill worth passing on to them. We started teaching this life skill to our granddaughter several years ago when her "stuff" started expanding to other parts of the house. We gathered all of her stuffed animals and toys in one space and then worked with her to decide what to keep and what to let go of. We suggested that she could decide what to give to children in the local shelter and what could be sold (She got to keep the money). Anything leaving the house was immediately put in bags and boxes and taken to the garage. Her mother took her to the shelter, more than once, to deliver her donations and when her mother sold several of the large ticket items, she gave our granddaughter the money. This activity worked out to be a win, win for everyone. I think this started her move to becoming a minimalist .I hope that this post has been helpful. In my next post, I'll give you some helpful ideas on linen closets and storing decorative items. |
| "It's time to say goodbye, but I think goodbyes are sad and I'd much rather say hello. Hello to a new adventure." Ernie Harwell. For many of us, closets may present the most difficult area to organize. We have spent years accumulating things - collections we were once excited to own, gifts from family and friends, decorations with special meaning for the holidays, momentoes from concerts/plays/trips, and tons and tons of pictures, and of course, clothes/shoes/handbags. But now we look around and find our shelves, closets, basement, and even the attack disorganized, and overcrowded. HELP! Are you overwhelmed wondering where your favorite pair of sandals got to or where you put the recipe you really wanted to try tonight? Are you frustrated because you can't find the jacket that goes with the dress you want to wear to the party tomorrow? Or maybe it is that time of year when you want to change closets from winter to spring and you keep putting it off because it seems too daunting. In this post, I have tried to include tactics that may prove helpful in the never-ending battle to declutter and organize your life. Is your closet so disorganized that you take too much time just trying to get ready for the day or a special event, have you pulled something out to wear and found that it had a tear or a stain, are other family members bugging you to find what they need for the day? Did you spend hours in the basement trying to find all the decorations for a holiday or complete sets of recreational equipment? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are ready to get started on decluttering and organizing projects that can create a less stressful life for you and your family. A good rule to follow is "Divide and Conquer." Don't try to do every project at once. You will find that little successes go a long way toward encouraging you to keep working on any project. Set reasonable goals for yourself. Do a "walkabout" to get a sense of what you are struggling with and what frustrates you most about your daily routine. Take the time to think through what you need to store and where you want to store it. A little time evaluating your needs and planning a strategy will go a long way toward the successful completion of any project, especially ones requiring decluttering and organization. So let's say you have decided to tackle the closet in your master bedroom first since you are most frustrated dealing with the clothes, shoes, and accessories that you need on a daily basis from season to season. If you are anyone like me, you can't keep all your clothing year-round in one space, especially if you share that space with another person so this closet requires at least one seasonal purge/reorganize session. While we go through all four seasons where I live, they can be subtle, changing from fall to summer and back or winter to spring and back in any given week. Knowing something about the changeable weather patterns in my area requires planning a closet with easy access to changing weather needs or at least an additional area where transitional clothing is stored. Then too, we often travel to Mexico or other "South of the Border" areas during the winter so I need to access summer clothing even in the winter. In other words, take a look at your lifestyle and organize accordingly. Now that you have a better idea of what needs to be given a home in the master closet and the actual size of the space you are working with, you can start the process. Step One: Designate a space to put everything once you have taken it out of the closet. Separate the items by category. The first sort could be in broad categories like tops, pants, dresses, suits, shoes, accessories. Later as you think how you dress for certain activities, you may need to refine the categories, like casual tops and bottoms, business wear, formal wear. Create a sperate area for out of season clothes that may need to find another home. Designate a space for all the miscellaneous items that need a new home. Remember, only keep items in this closet that function as wearables unless this closet has space to also function as a linen closet for the bedroom. If you need to store blankets/quilts and sheets for this room in the same area, consider storage options like underbed bins or baskets. (home goods stores have any number of options that can help with this type of storage.) When it comes to closet space, consider increasing usable space by hanging double rods for shorter pieces of clothing on top and longer pieces on the bottom. (Doesn't work so well for me since I am short but still a good idea for most people.) Here again, you can take a walk through the DIY or home goods stores for ideas or you could find closet organizer companies that will give you a free closet design, then you can take it from there. But before you start buying closet accessories, you will need to do the hard work of deciding what you are going to keep in this space. Step Two: Decide how the closet will function best for you. I am retired and wear casual clothing especially during the week so when I recently redesigned my closet I put casual tops first, then special blouses; casual bottoms followed by dress pants; skirts followed by dresses because this is the way I plan for any particular activity. I tend to color like items together so each section goes from light to dark. You may have different needs so different plans. Play around a bit, try some different schemes. Just make sure it works for you. Step Three: With clothing and accessories stacked in "neat" piles, it is time to get down to the most difficult phase of the project, deciding what to keep and what not to keep. Go through each stack and ask yourself: does this fit, is it still in good shape, do I still want to wear it? If yes, set aside to go back into the closet. If no to any of these questions, decide what to do with it (NOW). Create three bins, boxes or bags. One is for "give away", one for "sell", one for "recycling". As you handle each item, decide where it goes and put it there. Try not to leave "undecided" piles when you are working with these items. If it helps make your decisions any easier, you can "thank" the item for working for you and then put it aside. This can help you have closure as you move to a new lifestyle. For those items that you want to keep, sort out any that need to be cleaned or repaired and put them either in the laundry or a sewing basket. Both should be kept in the closet/bedroom or bath. Step Four: With everything out of the closet and items sorted, it is time to consider any changes you might need to make to the space you are working on. Add additional rods, baskets, or dressers as needed. Remember to be creative; every item needs a home. Consider purchasing slim-line hangers since they can also create more space in your closet. Those items that are not going back in the closet can be set aside for now, but remind yourself that you will need to find the appropriate location for them. Don't add to the confusion by stuffing them just anywhere. With clothes, shoes, and accessories sorted and the closed designed, start re-housing items meant just for this closet. Now, step back, take a deep breath and congratulate yourself on successfully completing another project. Give yourself a few weeks of use to decide if you need to make any adjustments. This will give you opportunities to live with the system you have designed and if needed you can always re-arrange. Now might be the time to institute a new rule if you haven't already: One Item In means One Item Out! Congratulations! Now on to finding homes for all the items you took out of this closet. Next, we will consider children's closets, linen closets, and holiday storage. |
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Fire dancers!!! Wow! What fun! You really are in Paradise! So happy you for you! 
But I wish I loved it. That would be SO HANDY! So, I've been working on positive self-talk regarding cleaning. I smile when I say these things and I say them out loud if I'm alone or in my head if I'm not. I say things like, "I love to clean. Cleaning is fun. Cleaning makes me happy. I enjoy a tidy space." Blah, blah, blah...
Sure, it's dumb, but if it works, it doesn't matter. 
). 
I'm the prime example of someone who needed her own advice over 40 years ago. 