Much of what you do depends on whether you are packing and moving yourself, or you are having movers do the packing, loading, hauling and unloading at the destination.  Some people start out thinking they will do it themselves, only to discover that it’s a real headache.  Money seems to be the dividing line for most people.  After many moves, some across the country, I have come up with some solutions to help ease the process somewhat.  None of it is magic, but all of it is useful.

The first step in your moving process is to determine whether you will hire help, or do it yourself.  If you are doing it yourself, there are other steps that you have to take:

Immediately determine how much stuff you can give away, throw away, garage sale, or do an estate sale.  (This step also applies if you’re using movers.)  Just because something fits into your current home doesn’t necessarily mean that it will fit into your new one.  You may even need to buy more furniture because you are moving into a larger space, or getting rid of furniture because you’re down-sizing.

• Start in the kitchen:

1. Go into every cupboard and remove broken, chipped, dish and glass items.  Determine if you need duplicates, or if you can keep the better ones.
2. Check all the china (you really only need one complete set), and all the wine and drinking glasses.
3. Check every single appliance that you have – only take those things that you actually use at least once a week.
4. Look at all the big utensils you use.  Check for duplicates here also.
5. Look at all the canned and packaged items in your cupboard and pantry.  Can you use them up before the move, or will you be moving them?  Be sure to check their expiration dates.
6. Go through all of your pots and pans, selecting the best to take with you.
7. Go through all the dishcloths and dish towels, removing worn and torn ones.
8. What else is in your kitchen?  Decorative wall items?  Floral things above your cupboards?  Take them all down and put the ones you want to take with you in a box.  Place the box(es) in a room out of your way.

• Next are the bathrooms:

1. Open the cupboards and remove and place into a box all the items you do not use daily or within a week.
2. Open the medicine cabinet and do the same.
3. Remove any decorations you have on the walls or counter, and place in a box.
4. Place the open boxes in another room, out of your way.  Keep all boxes open in case you need to retrieve something you forgot you needed, or want to put more in.

• Check out all the hallways:

1. Remove all wall items and put into an open box.
2. If you have large pictures in the hallway, take them down and put them into the room with the open boxes, propped against a wall.

• Check out all the walls in every room:

1. Like the hallway items, remove everything from all the walls and either place them into open boxes, or place into the room where the boxes are.
2. Make a note to repair all holes or marks left on the walls.

• Time to look at the bedrooms:

1. Into the closet!  This could take a while, so start with removing clothing that no longer fits.  No point in packing and dragging things you’re not going to wear.
2. Look at the clothing that is left and make some hard decisions about them: do you like wearing them? Are they comfortable?  Are they free of old stains?
3. Next are your shoes, belts, ties, and scarves.  Sometimes we keep things just because there’s a spot in the closet for it.  Be brutal!
4. What else is in the bedroom?  Decorative items?  Collections?  Kid’s toys?  Everything must be gone through, decided upon, and put into open boxes in another room.

• Linen cabinets:

1. Remove worn, torn and stained towels and washcloths.
2. If you’re storing blankets and it’s not the season to use them, remove them and place into open boxes in another room.
3. What else are you storing in here?  Medicine?  First-aid supplies?  Pillows?  Go through it all and box up what you don’t immediately need.

• Hall closets:

1. Are there just coats, scarves, mittens, and boots in here?  If you’re in winter season, let them stay, if not, box them up.
2. What else resides in hall closets?  Games?  Sports Equipment?  The same applies here as elsewhere.  Go through and determine what you need now and what can be put into boxes or on the floor in another room.

If you have attics or basements, follow the same method.  Box up what you can.  No need to carry basement items upstairs, but you will need to bring down those items that are stored in the attic because too many times something is left behind.

The last area that causes fainting spells is the garage.  Heaven only knows what is lurking there!  Do a little bit at a time, but realize that everything you move is going to cost you money if you hire movers, or a bigger moving truck if you do it yourself.

Get yourself a clipboard and a yellow pad.  Go into the room where the open boxes are, and for every box, put a number on it with a black marker, and write the contents of the box on the yellow pad – giving the page the same number as the box.  Even if you have movers, you will know what is in the box.  You can also say what room you want it in.  Just tell the movers to pack what’s in the box.  Tip – leave room for all the paper they use when packing.  Let the movers know that you have already placed items into their packing boxes and that is how you want it packed.  No matter how you move, never write the contents on the box.  Too many items wind up missing when that is done.  We had an entire collection of vinyl records stolen because the outside of the box had been marked as such.  It taught us a valuable lesson!

Whether you’re moving yourselves, or having movers, start early.  Do not wait until the week before the move to figure out what you want to take and what will be discarded.

The last item to get together is the “emergency” box.  Definitely label the outside of this box with “emergency” on it – all over it.  You want to be able to find this box.  If you’re driving to your new location, take it with you.  In this box, or boxes, you will need:

Toilet paper
Hand soap
Dish soap
Paper toweling
Towels/washcloths
Bed linen
Plastic dishes, forks, knives, & spoons
Plastic glasses
Styrofoam cups
Medications
First-aid supplies
Any other items you must have at all times – maybe even clothes and toys for the kids

Have a great move!  If you need unpacking and putting away service at your destination, contact an organizer in your new area – just do so about a month in advance.  We organizers get busy!

© 5/2012  clutter STOP®   Sheila G. McCurdy   520-572-2244    520-822-4036

Is your office in a room by itself?  If yes, is the room painted a color that brings you peace?  If not, paint it.  You have to feel at peace in order to be the best you can be, and to be productive.

Next, look at the items in your office – your desk, file cabinet, chairs, etc.  Are they placed in your office in an efficient manner?  In other words, is there an easy flow from your desk to your files?  From your files to your office supplies?  From your office supplies back to your desk?  If you can stay in your chair and reach all these areas without exertion and without blocking the doorway, then you have a good space-planned office.

The next item is your desktop.  Get a box and put everything now on your desktop into the box, excluding your computer monitor and keyboard, and your telephone.  Place the box on top of the file cabinet or beneath your desk so that you are not cluttering up the floor space.  As you work you will notice that you need something, like a pen.  Take a pen out of the box and place it on your desk.  Need a pencil?  What about a red pen?  Note pad?  Place on your desk what you literally need on a daily basis.  The rest can go into a desk drawer, or another storage area.

Do you have lots of papers on your desk?  Are they there because you check on them every day?  Are you afraid of losing them?  Why not get a “brain?”  What’s a brain?  It’s a small-type box of plastic or hard cardboard that can hold hanging files with file folders inside them.

Examples: you get paperwork that you have to discuss with your hubby.  Take a hanging file and label it with the tab that comes with the hanging files.  You can label it “Family” or “Stuff to Discuss,” or whatever your creative mind comes up with.  Then take a file folder and put your hubby’s name on it, and place it in the hanging file, along with the paperwork.  Next you have your child’s paperwork to deal with, and maybe even some papers to sign.  Label a file folder with his name and put this file folder with the papers inside the family hanging file also.  Label a file folder for each family member that you have to converse with, even if it’s your Mom or Dad, etc.  Next in the pile of papers is a flyer/memo for a meeting you have to go to.  Take another hanging file, label it to how you’ll remember it, and you can either place the flyer/memo directly into the hanging file, or label a file folder that corresponds to the group or event that pertains to the flyer/memo.

This brain box can hold whatever you really want to remember and see all the time.  Keep it close to you as it would be best if you look into these files often.  If you do tend to forget what is going on, then make remarks on a paper calendar, something like “look into the brain box, under “Vendors,” or whatever you’ve labeled your hanging file and folder.  If you do lots of telephone work and you need a follow-up system, you can always make tickler folders and place them in the brain box also.  What are tickler files?  These are file folders, labeled 1 through 31.  If today is the 5th and you want to call someone again on the 10th, you place their information into the 10th day file folder.  If you only want daily file folders, then do that.  Offices use Monday through Friday, but with a home office, you may want Monday through Saturday, or Sunday.  Some people also like monthly reminders, so you can label file folders with January through December.

Not everything is going to fit into this brain box.  It is there so that you do not pile papers on your desk, or the floor!  It is for recurring items, items you don’t want to file away because you will need them daily, or at least in the coming week or two.

When your office space is planned out, and the colors invite you in, keeping things off your desk except what you need, and having papers at your fingertips when you need them, will help you feel confident and productive!  Let me know how it works out!

‘Til next time . . . Coach Sheila of clutter STOP®  Sheila@clutterstop.com   www.clutterstop.com  520-572-2244

Clients have agreed with this approach, especially when I tell them to just work on it for 2 hours at a time, and then work on something else. It takes away that feeling that you have to do it ALL at once!

Coach Sheila of clutter STOP®

Why?  Let’s start with you.  You’ve been at work all day, and then you had to run to the grocery store before picking up the kids.  You finally get home; get the kids and groceries in the house, with the groceries landing on the floor because you have stuff all over your counters.  If you have the energy, you clear the counter and finally get the cold stuff into the refrigerator.  You also don’t know where you dumped your purse and keys.  And now the kids are howling over who is going to watch what show on TV and complaining that they’re hungry!  Do you have something quick to cook?

You also get up in the morning and start hunting for clothes to wear.  Since you woke up late, you just grab what is close.  Unfortunately, it needs ironing!  Of course!  By the time you get the item ironed, find shoes to match, get into your underwear (which you also scramble to untangle from the drawer mess), and find jewelry, you are definitely running late.  And so are the kids, and no one has had breakfast!   You grab the box of Pop-Tarts, look for your purse and keys, pick up the dropped book from the kid’s backpack, and off you go.  After depositing the kids at school, you rush to Starbucks for your Latte, spill some on your slacks, and arrive at work almost 30 minutes late.  Good thing you don’t punch a time clock!  You are NOT in the mood to work, but you must.  When you get home tonight, you swear you’re going to get organized!

This scene and variations of it play out in many households.  The trick is to change a few things.  Not even big things, just small things.  Look at the list:

1. When buying groceries, always buy something that will be easy to fix for dinner – even if it’s a treat, like pizza.  Probably not a good thing to do if you shop every night!

2. Have a table or a hook near the door so that you know where to put your purse and keys.  Have something available for the kids’ backpacks also.

3. Decide what you want to wear tomorrow, and get it ready.  Some people even do this on Sunday for the entire week.  Help your kids do this also.

4. Try to give yourself two hours downtime before bedtime so that you can fall asleep easily.  Then give yourself plenty of time in the morning to get ready, eat an unhurried breakfast, and get to work with time to spare.

5. Two hours is a good time to give yourself if you tend to be slow in the morning (like me!).  Otherwise you can give yourself the actual time you need to wake up, clean up, get dressed, eat, and get out the door, making it to work with time to spare.

6. Have everyone help you clear the cluttered counter.  If you have a mountain of clutter, take one-half hour, and clear what you can, continuing each day until the mountain has been vanquished.

Try one or all of the above and I assure you that things will get easier.  Poor habits don’t make you bad or lazy.  It just means that you have to change the way you have been approaching your clutter.  Every little thing that bothers you is a hint that a new habit will help make life easier.

‘Til next time . . . Coach Sheila of clutter STOP® sheila@clutterstop.com

Since I already covered those areas, let’s talk about you in relation to those papers.  You walk into the house with a handful of mail, newspapers, magazines, and catalogs.  What are you thinking?  What are you feeling?  From all of the clients I’ve worked with in nearly two decades, the same theme arises: “Good grief, I don’t have time for all this ….!”  And then they literally dump everything on the kitchen counter, a chair, the dining room table, the sofa, or (ugh!), the floor.  Sound familiar?

There is a solution to this, and like everything else, it takes consistency.  Now, I do know that consistency is great when you’re feeling well and in a fairly good mood.  But, let anything happen to your health or mood and consistency gets thrown out the window.  So, hopefully, what I now suggest can help.

Mail:

• Find a place to put your mail – an inconspicuous shelf, a drawer, a box on your desk.
• Leave the mail there until you are ready to process it – you’re ready to deal with it.
• Take the bills out and decide if you’re going to pay them today on-line, or by check.
• If you are not going to pay them today, decide when and make a notation on your calendar, or in your on-line calendar, and then put them back in the holding spot.
• Another option for future bill-paying is to set up a tickler file – file folders labeled 1 through 31, and set in a desk top holder, or inside a desk drawer.  Always be sure to look through these tickler files so that you don’t forget anything.  The date you put the bills in must correspond to the dates in your calendar.   The tickler files can also be used for up-coming appointments, or follow-up phone calls, or birthday reminders.

Newspapers:

• Generally we read the newspaper at the kitchen table, with breakfast.  Once done, put the newspaper in the recycle bin.
• If you do not read the paper in the morning, then place it on a table near the sofa or chair where you like to relax after the day is done.
• News is definitely over with by the next day, so get your paper to the recycle bin once read.  If you watch the News, you will get caught up on any important news you might have missed.

Magazines:

• There are hundreds of magazines that taunt us every day. Unfortunately it is the reason why people hang on to them, and why it is so difficult to get rid of them.
• Having worked in corporations that circulate these magazines, and also in advertising companies that advertise in them, I can tell you that for every one magazine, the articles, and tips in them are the same every three (3) months!  The authors change; the title of the article changes, but the content is basically the same.  So, to avoid getting overwhelmed by these precious shiny tempters, keep three (3) months only, if it is a monthly magazine; keep three (3) weeks only if it is a weekly magazine; and if it is a yearly magazine, keep three (3) years, if you want.
• If you subscribe to a dozen different magazines, just think how many are inundating your home!  One dozen monthly magazines (12), each month, amounts to 36 magazines that you can keep over the three months – but this really does impact the paper load you need to find space for.
• For your sake, decide what magazines you really love, and put the others in recycling.  And don’t buy any more on subscription!
• Find a nice basket, or a shelf to put these magazines in until you have time to read them.  Putting them on a coffee table adds to clutter blight.

Catalogs:

• Right along with magazines, are catalogs.  These come in almost daily.  Use the same approach as above.  Keep three (3) of any kind, and recycle the rest.
• Better yet, go to www.catalogchoice.com and remove your information so that you are not getting these.  You can decide which catalogs you still want to get, and which ones to delete.
• For the catalogs you’re keeping, as above, find a good place to store them.

In Part 3, we’ll talk about organized cleaning of your home, and how to handle the dishes and the laundry!

‘Til next time . . . Coach Sheila of clutter STOP®   520-822-4036   sheila@clutterstop.com

Look closely at the rooms of your home.  Do they welcome you in?  Are you comfortable in them?  Do you like the colors of the walls?  It is known among Interior Decorators that colors make a big difference in the feel of a room.  Just painting the walls of the room you spend most of your time in can change how you feel about coming home.  I’m not a Decorator, but I’ve seen the transformation that pain alone can have on a person.

If your furniture is shabby and you can’t afford new, buy some inexpensive throws to put over them.  Even a flannel blanket of your favorite color works well, or flannel sheets.  Plants also give warmth to a room, and some varieties of houseplants are very hardy and also inexpensive.  If you can afford it, buy some silk trees to go along with your houseplants.

But, sometimes our walls are painted our favorite color, and we have brand new furniture.  However, when we walk in we’re not comfortable and we really hate to come home.  Why?  We hate coming home because we have junk and stuff everywhere.  We don’t even notice the color of the walls, or even see the furniture.  Papers are collecting more and more dust every day.  What can we do?

First, start in just one room.  Pick the room that you find most irritating.  Take no more than two hours and pick up everything that belongs in another room.  Put these items in a box so that you do not have to leave the room you’re in.  When your time is up (use a kitchen timer or other stopwatch), take the box and disperse the items where they belong.  Just place them in the room, don’t try to find places for them.  Continue in one room until everything is in place, then move on to another room.  Or, use the two hours in one room and then take another two hours in another room.  Never stay in one place longer than two hours – if you do you will hate what you’re doing and will never do it again!

This slow method is easier on you than working 8 hours a day for days on end.  If you have many items that are causing you distress because you can’t decide whether to keep or discard them, put them in another box and put the box in a closet, the garage, or other area out of the way.  You can make those decisions later, after you’ve de-junked all the rooms.  When you are ready to tackle those decisions, keep asking yourself, “do I need it, do I love it, will I miss it, and can I find it again if I want to?”

Keep moving from room to room in order to start getting all of them organized.  It may take awhile, but you will soon discover that your time in a room gets shorter and shorter.  And then we have the next hurdle to get through, your papers, mail, magazines, and newspapers.  We will discuss those in Part 2 of “How to Organize Smarter in 2012.”

‘Til next time . . . Coach Sheila of clutter STOP®   520-822-4036   Sheila@clutterstop.com

Consider the following so that you can complete projects in a less stressful way.

Every day work on each project you are responsible for.

Take at least one-half hour, or up to two hours to work on each project you have to complete.  Use a timer to keep yourself on track.

Or, if you have too many projects to work on every day, try starting with the project that is most important and work on it for two hours.

After the first two hours, proceed to the next project, and so on, so that you proceed through each project throughout the week.

Take careful notes about your progress on the project once you have finished the two hours, (or whatever time you choose), so that when your boss (or client) wants to know what the status is on their project, you will be able to let him/her know.  This will make you look efficient, and will certainly make you feel more effective.

Working on your projects in a continuous circle will alleviate the stress you feel when you start on one project, then jump to another, and then jump back again without really accomplishing anything.  Or, you create stress by only working on one project at a time until it is finished, totally neglecting all the others.  This can mean weeks or months without any work being done at all on the other projects.  If you own your own business and do this, your client base is soon going to suffer, along with your wallet!

Now let’s move on to all that paper that always finds its way to your desk.  Leave the papers in your inbox until you are able to process them.  This means that you have set aside a certain time of day to look through the papers.  Maybe it’s the first thing in the morning, right before or after lunch, or just before you leave for the day.

To contain papers (not those that go in your Action Box), quickly scan the document to determine what it’s about.

In pencil, on the upper right-hand corner, state what the document is about, and where you want to file it.  This is a good practice if you have an Assistant, and it is good for you also.

Picking up a piece of paper and then setting it aside because you don’t want to deal with it, is counter-productive.  All it means is that you will have to re-read it again, along with all the other paper you’ve set aside.

Moving on to filing these papers, the type of filing system you use has to be simple enough so that you can grab what you want quickly and easily.

If you like things in alpha order (A-Z) then do it that way. Make hanging files with tabs that read A through Z.

An example of this would be to file your client’s folder by their first or last name – so, James Carter could be filed under J or under C.

Again, if you know this client better by James than by Carter, then put his file in with other J’s.

The problem people have with filing is that they think they have to follow someone else’s filing system.  It’s yours, so do with it what you want, as long as you can find what you’re looking for.
Most people file by last name, but you don’t have to.

If you want to categorize your files, then using your client, James Carter, as an example, you would make a hanging file labeled “Clients,” and put Carter’s file folder in with the other client files in the hanging file.

Set up categories that make sense to you.  If you send out invoices to clients, you can create a category called “Accounts Receivable,” or “Waiting for Money,” or any other name you like.

Make your categories broad.  Businesses can have 8 to 12 hanging files for the categories they need – from accounting records to tax records.  All businesses use basically the same categories, but use different names.

To summarize – note where to file other papers in the right-hand corner of each document.  File using an A-Z system, or a category system, whichever one you prefer.

Til next time . . . Coach Sheila of clutter STOP®   520-822-4036 sheila@clutterstop.com

Let’s start with your office issues. Memos pour in from your boss and other staff personnel. You have projects that were due more than a week ago. And your neck is constantly stiff with a migraine coming on. Sound familiar?

First, let’s get you comfortable at your desk.

Make sure that your chair is at the appropriate height so that you can sit upright while writing or using the computer keyboard.

If this leaves your feet dangling, find a box to put under your feet so you feel in perfect alignment.

Now check where your monitor is placed. Sometimes if the monitor is not in the right place for you, your shoulders, and neck will constantly feel stiff (and this leaves you cranky!).

Move the monitor to your left, then to the middle of your desk, and finally to the right. Which position feels more comfortable for you, where you no longer feel the strain in your shoulders or neck? This is especially important if your job requires you to be constantly checking your emails, or writing proposals, etc.

If your job requires you to be on the phone for most of the day, get a headset, or an ear bud. Crooking your neck to keep the phone on your shoulder is money in the pocket of your friendly neighborhood chiropractor!

Let’s move on to the rest of your desktop. Do you always have memos, etc, piling up on your desk?

If you don’t have time to read a memo when it lands on your desk, put it in a file folder, labeled with the name of the sender.

Put the file folder in the “Action Box” that will sit on your desk. This box should not be large and only hold paperwork in file folders that need to be worked on or held for a short period of time, but that you need to get your hands on at a moment’s notice.

Sometimes, a file folder in this Action Box will hold the list of projects you’re working on, with all the notes pertaining to the project inside the file folder.

File folders pertaining to regular meetings can go in this box.

If you need a tickler file for follow-up items, then these 31 file folders can be put in the Action Box also.

If the Action Box is too full with other items, place your tickler file in the nearest desk file drawer. Remember, you have to check these folders daily to be sure you are not missing an important follow-up. Just in case, you can also mark these follow-ups in your planner or electronic calendar.

Typically, files you need constantly will be placed in your desk file drawers. Files used occasionally can be put in a file cabinet, even one across the room.

What else do you have on your desk? A Stapler; paper clips; scotch tape; pens, pencils, markers; post-it notes; scratch paper? Which of these items do you use every day? Pens and pencils probably. But do you need a dozen of each?

Take everything off your desk and only return the items you actually use every day.

You can only use one pen, pencil, or marker at a time. Put the rest in a desk drawer, or in a small box under your desk or on top of your filing cabinet.

Use the same method for everything else. Sometimes we keep things on our desks without even thinking about why they’re there!

To summarize, re-check your comfort level at your desk and change things, if necessary. Then remove everything from your desk and only put back items you use daily. Set up an Action Box for everyday files.

Enjoy your new desk arrangement and the Action Box. Check back next week when we’ll cover the projects that you work on!

The IRS has increased gas mileage rates for 2011.  For all of us who drive to clients, go to the doctor, dentist, or hospital, and do volunteer activities by car, this is great news!  However, they have once again split the year.

You get one rate from January 1 to June 30, and another rate from July 1 to December 31.  The IRS has published the information in the table below for easy use.  At least they increased the gas mileage rate for business and for medical or moving!

Purpose               Rates 1/1 through 6/30/11    Rates 7/1 through 12/31/11
Business                            51                                               55.5
Medical/Moving              19                                              23.5
Charitable                         14                                               14

If you’re not sure how to keep track of the mileage, keep a pocket calendar in your car.  When you start the car, record the mileage.  When you return from your trip (for one of the above purposes), record that mileage, and then subtract the beginning mileage from the ending mileage.  Circle that number.
You will then add up all the circled mileage for your end of year total for miles driven and multiply that by the rate given above.

Keep mileages for medical, or moving, or charitable, in a different format than what you use for business driving.  I circle my business miles, circle and star the medical mileage, and put a check mark for the charitable driving.  That way it is easier for me to add all the circles, the stars, and the checks, and enter them into my spreadsheet.

It is only September, but you may as well get started on this now.  You may have to go back in your calendar (desk or electronic), to figure out when you did do medical driving, or charitable driving.  With the increased cost of everything, it pays to keep track of everything that you legitimately can deduct!

Copyright© Sheila McCurdy & Clutter Stop! sheila@clutterstop.com 520-822-4036

1. Keep your blinds/drapes/shades slightly open when you go to bed so that the early morning sun will slowly and easily wake you;
2. Buy an alarm clock that slowly lightens your room with a special light, also slowly and easily waking you;
3. Use two radio alarm clocks, one by your bed and the other across the room so that you have to get out of bed to turn it off.  Set the one by your bed to a talk station and the other to the buzz alarm about one minute after your talk station alarm.  Talking makes you listen, which will help you wake up.  The buzz alarm will help you get out of bed.

‘Til next time . . . Coach Sheila of clutter STOP®

© August 2011 clutter STOP®   sheila@clutterstop.com 520-822-4036