Silverfish love paper. I don’t know why but every time I open an old box containing paper, they scramble away from me. I don’t know if they cause much damage but they’re just kind of gross.
Don’t store paper in a cardboard box. That’s like coating ice cream in chocolate! Mice will chew thru it, spiders will set up shop, and silverfish will have a daily cocktail party for their friends!
Plastic containers with snapping lids will deter them. I’ve never found mouse poop in one and even though silverfish are slim, I’ve never seen one in a plastic container with a good snap down lid. The ones with lids that fold down like wings don’t deter them and a loose lid bulging from too much stuff will allow them in, too.
If you really want to protect your stuff, not only use a good plastic container with a tight lid, throw in a lavender or cedar sachet. That’s like a stink bomb to them. They’ll move on to the next place that has nice, juicy cardboard boxes!
Jan Davis
www.Clutterbye.com
Monday, September 22, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Perfectly Organized?
Some people think that an organizer will come in and make everything look perfect. All lined up, matching baskets and containers, everything labeled and looking all nice and neat.
What we really do is make it look the way you’re comfortable with and within your budget. I like to reuse what you already have so you don’t have to go buy a bunch of new things. It probably won’t look perfect and match, but it will save you money and not be as intimidating once I’m gone. Most people prefer good enough to perfect. They’re just happy to be de-cluttered and can find things and don’t care about the matching baskets like you see in ads.
Buying a bunch of those can be expensive and they’re difficult to label so you have no idea what’s in them. Then add other household members to the fray and things get all mixed up. Is this the battery basket or the basket of unknown wires?
I’m not a big fan of baskets since you can’t see in them. I love clear or tinted plastic containers and drawers. The Container Store at www.Containerstore.com has tons to choose from at reasonable prices. If you live near one, go in and browse around. It’s like heaven on earth! In all of San Diego county, the only one we have is in Mission Valley but it’s worth the drive!
Jan Davis
www.Clutterbye.com
What we really do is make it look the way you’re comfortable with and within your budget. I like to reuse what you already have so you don’t have to go buy a bunch of new things. It probably won’t look perfect and match, but it will save you money and not be as intimidating once I’m gone. Most people prefer good enough to perfect. They’re just happy to be de-cluttered and can find things and don’t care about the matching baskets like you see in ads.
Buying a bunch of those can be expensive and they’re difficult to label so you have no idea what’s in them. Then add other household members to the fray and things get all mixed up. Is this the battery basket or the basket of unknown wires?
I’m not a big fan of baskets since you can’t see in them. I love clear or tinted plastic containers and drawers. The Container Store at www.Containerstore.com has tons to choose from at reasonable prices. If you live near one, go in and browse around. It’s like heaven on earth! In all of San Diego county, the only one we have is in Mission Valley but it’s worth the drive!
Jan Davis
www.Clutterbye.com
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Are You Being Served?
Does your stuff serve you or are you just paying rent for your stuff? What is it worth? If you pay for a storage unit, then there better be some damn good stuff in there to make it worthwhile. Storage units aren’t cheap but have you noticed how many of them are now?
Write in and tell me why you think there are so many storage places now. Is it because:
▫ We like to get in our cars to go visit our stuff?
▫ People are living in storage units because it’s cheaper than rent?
▫ We may need it someday?
Evaluate just how much you love your stuff as opposed to your day to day living. Do you love it so much that you’re willing to do without $100-$150 a month worth of gas, food, clothes, or whatever is truly important? Go in that storage unit and take a look around with a new eye. Do you really need it?
Jan Davis
www.ClutterBye.com
Write in and tell me why you think there are so many storage places now. Is it because:
▫ We like to get in our cars to go visit our stuff?
▫ People are living in storage units because it’s cheaper than rent?
▫ We may need it someday?
Evaluate just how much you love your stuff as opposed to your day to day living. Do you love it so much that you’re willing to do without $100-$150 a month worth of gas, food, clothes, or whatever is truly important? Go in that storage unit and take a look around with a new eye. Do you really need it?
Jan Davis
www.ClutterBye.com
A Picture’s Worth… well, 1000 Pictures
Ok, so back to “One In, One Out”. Whew. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest about yucky stuff.
This rule works well for everything in your house. Not just clothes. The rule’s partner rule is “Do I Really Need This and Where Will It Go?”
You’re in Chinatown and you see this adorable Foo Dog. Ooooh, it’s soooo cute! STOP! Where will you put it? Is it four inches big or FOUR FEET big? Will the cats easily knock it over? Will your 5 year old want to play with it? Picture where it will go.
If you’re on a budget, (and who isn’t these days?) is it worth that amount? If it’s a four dollar 4 inch Foo dog, that’s a little different from a $400 FOUR FOOT Foo dog. Use your Foolish head! Picture where you will put or use anything before you buy it! I’ll be sitting on your shoulder. I’m watching!
Jan Davis
www.ClutterBye.com
This rule works well for everything in your house. Not just clothes. The rule’s partner rule is “Do I Really Need This and Where Will It Go?”
You’re in Chinatown and you see this adorable Foo Dog. Ooooh, it’s soooo cute! STOP! Where will you put it? Is it four inches big or FOUR FEET big? Will the cats easily knock it over? Will your 5 year old want to play with it? Picture where it will go.
If you’re on a budget, (and who isn’t these days?) is it worth that amount? If it’s a four dollar 4 inch Foo dog, that’s a little different from a $400 FOUR FOOT Foo dog. Use your Foolish head! Picture where you will put or use anything before you buy it! I’ll be sitting on your shoulder. I’m watching!
Jan Davis
www.ClutterBye.com
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
The Clothes Challenge Part II
I live in a condo so I don’t have an expandable closet. I envy the people I work with that seem to believe their closet will expand as they add more clothes to it. Mine unfortunately stays the same size. Since it’s not made of rubber or whatever my clients’ closets are made of, I like to practice the rule of “One In, One Out”. If I bring an article of clothing into my non-expanding closet, then something else has to be donated to some poor woman that is dying for a 4 year old piece of clothing.
Ok, now this is going to turn into a rant and I’ll have to finish this original train of thought later.
The Rant: If it’s so ugly, stained, torn, or otherwise gross, why even bother to donate it? Poor people have their pride, too. Many of the articles of clothing I see clients donate are mildewed, stained, and just otherwise gross. It’s OK to throw away clothes! If you watch TV and see people in poor parts of Africa, they’re wearing the clothes that are donated in the US but they’re not wearing the mildewed ones! Give yourself permission to just throw away some things. Clothes, tablecloths, whatever doesn’t make a good rag!
Jan Davis
www.ClutterBye.com
Ok, now this is going to turn into a rant and I’ll have to finish this original train of thought later.
The Rant: If it’s so ugly, stained, torn, or otherwise gross, why even bother to donate it? Poor people have their pride, too. Many of the articles of clothing I see clients donate are mildewed, stained, and just otherwise gross. It’s OK to throw away clothes! If you watch TV and see people in poor parts of Africa, they’re wearing the clothes that are donated in the US but they’re not wearing the mildewed ones! Give yourself permission to just throw away some things. Clothes, tablecloths, whatever doesn’t make a good rag!
Jan Davis
www.ClutterBye.com
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
The Clothes Challenge Part I
Oh, have I seen tons of clothes as a Professional Organizer! I’ve seen big shouldered jackets still hanging in closets with 20 years of dust on them, I’ve seen men’s rayon shirts from the disco era, and a 50 year old woman with her prom dress still hanging in her closet. Why? Because all fashion eventually comes around and they spent so much on these clothes, they must be worth something!
Let’s talk about fashion. Yes, fashion constantly resurrects itself but when it comes back around after 20 years, it’s in a little bit different format than before. And you know what else? Twenty years later your body is probably just a wee bit different. Ok, so maybe you can sell it. Is it worth the closet space to be able to sell a $60 pair of pants for maybe $15? Didn’t you get your money’s worth out of it 20 years ago? If it was that fabulous, don’t you have photos of you in it?
If you don’t and you still have the piece of clothing, lay it out, take a picture, and donate it so someone else can have a great Halloween costume!
Jan Davis
www.ClutterBye.com
Let’s talk about fashion. Yes, fashion constantly resurrects itself but when it comes back around after 20 years, it’s in a little bit different format than before. And you know what else? Twenty years later your body is probably just a wee bit different. Ok, so maybe you can sell it. Is it worth the closet space to be able to sell a $60 pair of pants for maybe $15? Didn’t you get your money’s worth out of it 20 years ago? If it was that fabulous, don’t you have photos of you in it?
If you don’t and you still have the piece of clothing, lay it out, take a picture, and donate it so someone else can have a great Halloween costume!
Jan Davis
www.ClutterBye.com
Monday, August 18, 2008
Up a Lazy River with Me
Ahhh, laziness. Sloth. It’s soooo easy and an easy trap to fall in to. You set something down, followed by something else, followed by paper, followed by important things, and before you know it…. PILES. Piles that become so overwhelming that after a while become insurmountable. Where to begin? “I can’t deal with all of this so I won’t deal with it at all. I’m depressed. I can’t act.”
There’s a big difference between being lazy and truly having an inability to comprehend getting organized or just getting behind in your organizing that you used to do. I once had a client that said she had a problem with her laundry. “What’s the problem?” She responded that once she washed the clothes she didn’t like to put them away.
I’m giving you space to reflect on that. Am I a bad organizer because I responded, “Then you just have to put the clothes away.”? Do you have an idea for how else the laundry would get put away? I suggested a housekeeper but that wasn’t in her budget. Please, help me on this one. She lived alone by the way. Suggestions welcome!
Jan Davis
www.Clutterbye.com
There’s a big difference between being lazy and truly having an inability to comprehend getting organized or just getting behind in your organizing that you used to do. I once had a client that said she had a problem with her laundry. “What’s the problem?” She responded that once she washed the clothes she didn’t like to put them away.
I’m giving you space to reflect on that. Am I a bad organizer because I responded, “Then you just have to put the clothes away.”? Do you have an idea for how else the laundry would get put away? I suggested a housekeeper but that wasn’t in her budget. Please, help me on this one. She lived alone by the way. Suggestions welcome!
Jan Davis
www.Clutterbye.com
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