declutter

How to Create a Clutter-Free Home Office

February 12, 2024 by Amy Slenker-Smith 38 Comments

I'm going to guess that your home office might be the family dumping ground. And it has piles of paper everywhere. Also, the space is overwhelming because every flat surface is covered and you don't know where to begin. Plus the filing cabinet is filled with who knows what. And all this clutter robs you of productivity and focus. Does this describe your home office space? It is so uninviting you rarely work in it The bookshelves are cluttered and looming over you You sit at the dining room table with your laptop instead Well, today is the day to change all of that. In this post, I've written a step-by-step plan with 7 steps to declutter and organize your home office. Because a clutter-free space is a productive space and you can do this. Just take it one step at a time. Your Dream Home Office Before you dive in, take some time to dream about how you’d like your office to look and function. Search online for ideas and inspiration. I pinned some …

How Many Vases Do You Really Need?

January 7, 2024 by Amy Slenker-Smith 6 Comments

How Many Vases Do You Really Need? Well, that depends. I love spring and summer when all the flowers are in bloom. It's a beautiful time of year and a welcome break from winter. While it's nice to display flowers in vases, I really prefer to enjoy them outside. (And so do my allergies!) During the winter I find myself drawn to candles, but just a few, more than flowers. Set a Boundary Over the years, I've worked in many garages, basements, and kitchens and routinely find enough extra vases to supply a large wedding reception. Vases are an item that people accumulate without much thought. Flowers arrive. Flowers die. Vases are washed and put in a cabinet. It doesn't seem to matter if its a vase you like or have room to store. The default response is to keep all the vases we've ever received and find space to store them throughout the house. And this is why I suggest setting a boundary for every category throughout your home, like dishes and books. When it came time to declutter my …

3 Easy Steps to Create a Clutter-Free and Organized Bathroom

August 21, 2023 by Amy Slenker-Smith Leave a Comment

Do you have half-used bottles of shampoo under the bathroom sink? Or perhaps a cluttered countertop overrun with lotions and potions. What about that really expensive beauty product that you didn't like but can't bring yourself to throw away. Does any of this sound familiar? It's ok. You are not alone. Bathroom clutter should be very easy to manage because most of the items are consumables. Yet somehow, linen closets and cabinets are usually filled to the brim. And if you cannot use your toiletries fast enough, they expire, or change composition and thus become unusable. By keeping all this clutter, you might just be delaying the inevitable and making it really difficult to keep your bathroom clean and organized. But what if we tried a different approach? What if you could see everything under the bathroom sink? And you had organized drawers and cabinets with the make-up and toiletries you use daily? Think about how much simpler it would be to get ready in the morning. What if …

9 Tips to Set Up a Successful Yard Sale

August 1, 2023 by Amy Slenker-Smith 2 Comments

I know what you're thinking, you hate Yard Sales. I have a dear friend who loathes them too. We have this friendly banter every year. She loves to sell items on the Facebook Marketplace. She's patient and invests the time to get her price. While I applaud her efforts, it's more time than I'm willing to give. My approach moves volume quickly, so to each their own! And there's another great benefit to Yard Sales which is the community with your neighbors. While decluttering is great, I look forward to hanging out with friends and neighbors during my Yard Sale. I talk to people perusing my sale and share a cup of coffee with buyers and sellers. Here's how you can do it too! Yard Sale Tips and Tricks: Collect Sale Items for Several Weeks - Designate a staging area in the garage. Collect a big pile of stuff to sell. Encourage the kids to their own items and allow them to keep the proceeds from their items. Set Up and Price Items the Night Before - It's hard to do pricing when …

How to Organize Your Pantry

April 15, 2023 by Amy Slenker-Smith Leave a Comment

I often hear that the pantry is the most disorganized spaces in your home. Am I right? Well, you can tackle it one shelf at a time! Since we simplified, I can empty and reset my pantry in 2 hours or less, including cleaning the shelves and updating labels. My pantry is a cabinet, not a walk-in space. I think that is a blessing. It might take you longer and you may need to tackle one shelf at a time. My Step-by-Step Approach for how to organize the pantry can be used over and over again until you've taken care of all the pantry food and contents. Give it a try this week! Remove everything from the cabinet or shelf Clean canisters, shelves, and containers Declutter expired items and poor quality ingredients Group items by category Vinegar/Oil Flour/Sugar Canned goods Snacks Pasta and Rice Repurpose extra food storage containers for organization Remove items from multi-pack plastic or trim boxes for easy access Granola bars …

How to Increase Margin and Improve Organization in Your Home

January 27, 2023 by Amy Slenker-Smith 24 Comments

Want to know a secret? Organizing isn’t about the stuff. It’s actually about the margin between the stuff. The more space, the better. I create margin in every space I declutter and organize. Eliminate the excess and keep the essentials. Margin represents 37% of a page of written work. Margin makes spaces look more attractive. As a decluttering coach, I help clients create margin in their crowded and cluttered spaces.Empty Flat SurfacesConsider the kitchen. Are you fighting to store a large piece such as a griddle or the Instapot? Open all the cabinets, take a step back, and find prime real estate for the items you use most and store them accordingly. This means getting rid of lesser-used items and rearranging.Margin also means empty flat surfaces such as clean kitchen counters. With clean counters, I unload groceries, cook dinner, and pack lunches without cleaning the kitchen first. Create a Playroom Not a Toy RoomMargin also means creating a playroom, not a toy room. Did …

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