If you have recently looked around your home (or your aging parents’ house), you’ve probably realized that it couldn’t hurt to start downsizing your stuff. More than likely, your home is filled to the brim: a garage, attic and basement that are storage warehouses, closets and drawers that are stuffed, and living areas that are spilling over with stuff.
Your home is a museum of your family’s life, but it has gotten so full you can’t see the forest for the trees. Let’s take a look at how you can start the process, at your house or in your aging parents’ home, of realistically assessing how much stuff there really is. To help you out, we’ve created a free room-by-room checklist to use. Want the lowdown on how to Downsize Your Stuff? Keep reading!
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To make your life a little easier, I've created this free Back to School checklist.
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Want to help organize your aging parents? Read on.
Start Talking Before It Gets Awkward
I Know Your Excuses...because they’re the Same Ones I Used
- For APs, NOT TALKING about things is the norm.
- Ditto that for many families. And if you come from the Midwest (like me), we truly excel at not talking about things!
- Talking about Later Life Plans means eventually talking about Death. And nobody likes to think about that.
- There is legal paperwork involved and it’s too complicated, expensive, confusing, and/or overwhelming to start.
- There’s some sort of family discord and somebody will definitely object, be offended and/or hurt by the efforts to discuss Later Life.
- Everyone assumes that the adult child living closest to Mom or Dad will take care of it all.
- Money. Discussing financial plans for Later Life is awkward at best, taboo at worst.
Suck it Up, Buttercup.
Timing Is Everything
(aka Don’t Start Talking at Thanksgiving Dinner)
Emphasize Your Role as an Advocate
End the Conversation with a Plan, No Matter How Small
For example, you could say “Next time we talk, I’ll bring along a printed copy of a blank Living Will for us to discuss”. You also want to make sure you have an agreed-upon plan if your loved ones can no longer make decisions or in the event in an emergency.
A great resource is this free conversation guide, created by A Place for Mom.
Conversation #1:
What’s the Plan for All the Stuff in the House.
- Jewelry
- Sterling Silver (but not silver plated items)
- Coin, stamp, artwork, gun, crystal or other valuable collections
- Truly unique, high-end antiques that are in pristine condition
- Family photos
- Sentimental items (christening & wedding gowns, military memorabilia, etc.)
The best way to describe this is to quote this article from Forbes magazine: “Sorry, Nobody Wants Your Parents’ Stuff”. Start planning now for what will become of:
- “Brown” furniture
- Most mass-produced china and glassware
- Tchotchkes
- Organs (the musical instrument, not your innards)
- Greeting cards, magazines and newspapers with no historical significance
- Old Tupperware, appliances with frayed cords, and cookbooks
- Flower delivery vases
- Plastic souvenir cups and empty Cool Whip bowls. Trust me: your aging parents have these.
- Your school papers, textbooks, and every drawing you ever did. Keep your diploma, let the rest of it go.
- 80% of the stuff stored in the garage
- Clothing that hasn't been worn in decades
Want to help your aging parents with clearing out all the stuff in the house?
Related articles
Clutter Puts the Rage in Garage
The 3 Commandments of Closet Organization
Conversation #2:
Four Important Legal Papers
There are 4 important legal documents you should ensure your aging parent has.
- Will: An up-to-date Will is an important document.
- Living Will (also called Advance Health Care Directive)
- Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care:
- Durable Power of Attorney for Finances:
- Organ Donation registration
- Final Disposition Instructions (funeral and burial wishes)
- Digital Legacy Plan
How can you find out what documents you need in your state?
Want more Advice on Helping your Aging Parents?
- Come follow me on Pinterest: I have a great collection of information to help you + your aging parents.
- Join the Sage Advice Monthly E-News. Every month I share a easy tip to help organize your aging parents.
They have all the papers in order! Now what?
You've started the process of later life planning!
Coming soon...Later Life Planning Guide, workshops, and one-on-one coaching
Professional Disclaimer: The ideas, recommendations, and opinions on this website, blog, and made in person are for educational and entertainment purposes only, and should not be considered legal, financial, or medical advice. I am not an attorney, doctor, or licensed financial professional. Sage Organizing Co., LLC is not liable for any losses or damages related to actions or failure to act related to the content of this website, blog, or in-person discussions. If you need specific legal, financial, or medical advice, consult a professional in your area.
Normal People with Average Closets, Unite!
In this post, I'll be talking about how I used the Three Commandments of Closet Organization to totally revamp my personal closet. After I learned these tricks of the trade, I started helping clients turn their closets in a happy place. Today, I’ll share all the details to help you do the same.
The Three Commandments of Organizing
Commandment One: Reduce
Commandment Two: Arrange
Commandment Three: Maintain.
Sounds so simple, right!?!? Well, let’s take a closer look at how you can do it.
The First Commandment: Get Loose & reduce!
I had all these items in my closet, and I’ll guess you probably do too.
- Sentimental garments (dresses from my rehearsal dinner 20 years ago, college formal dresses, a leather jacket my late grandmother bought me circa 1987).
- “Skinny” clothes (that totally don’t fit) and “heavy” clothes (that totally don’t fit)
- Clothes that I bought and never wore, but felt too guilty to donate.
- “Maybe I’ll Wear That If I’m Invited to a Alligator Allergy Awareness Gala” (or some other obscure event), which can also be the “I Once Wore That to a Fabulous Party.” I’m looking at you, 2011 Steeplechase dress and hat.
- Shoes that don’t fit, are out of style, or are too worn out to wear
- Every handbag I had ever owned
- A floor covered by laundry, things I didn’t want to rehang, and other random junk.
I knew stuff had to go. I KNEW it… but I needed some inspiration. Lucky for me, this was right about the same time that the book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, was all the rage. So, I read it and despite all the Zen/hippy-dippy stuff in there, I walked away with one piece of true wisdom. Only keep the things that make you feel happy.
Did the shirt I once wore to a company Christmas party in the late 90’s make me feel happy? No : I just felt bad it was too small now. How about the leather jacket my grandma bought me? No: I kept it because my late grandma bought it, even though I hadn’t worn it in over a decade. Did the expensive dress I wore once to a wedding make me happy? No, but it was so expensive I thought I thought I should hang on to it.
Did any of it make me happy? Well, yes! There were a lot of garments that I loved, that fit me well, and/or that I loved. And yes, I kept my rehearsal dinner dress. I will never wear it again, but it truly makes me happy.
So that became my rule: If it makes me happy, it stays. If it doesn’t, it goes. And once I made peace with that rule, it was amazingly easy to get rid of things. A LOT of things. Like, bags and bags and bags of consignment and Goodwill items.
A Quick Tangent on Donations
Two Tips.
1: Always keep donation bags in your closet. If you have to go searching for a grocery bag to bag up your stuff, you’ll lose the momentum and quit. Just stash some extra bags in the closet and fill them as needed. Trust me, it works. 2: Take your full donation bags to your car immediately. If you leave it sitting on your closet floor, it’s never leaving. Go throw it in the back of your car and drop it by Goodwill (or wherever) the next time you’re out running errands. |
Commandment two: Arrange what is left over
They are an eyesore, but they also don’t support your garments well. In time, they will bend and bow and ruin the lines of your garment. Ladies, you have nice things, so treat them well. I don't care if it is a Target t-shirt: treat your clothes nicely!
Have all your hangers match.
This eliminates the visual clutter in your closet. If you can afford it, slowly invest in and build up a supply of the velvet lined slimline hangers. (Better Homes and Gardens makes a box set of 30 that you can purchase at Walmart). Slimline hangers allow you to hang more garments in the same amount of space. I also love that garments don't slip off the hanger.
Use dead space in your closet. Most average closets I’ve seen have the hang bar, then one shelf above it. But truly, there is usually room for a second shelf above that. If you can add another row of shelving, you’ve just doubled the number of items you can store. Get yourself to Home Depot, buy more shelving, and put in another row. You’ll end up using that top shelf for your lesser used items.
Use the floor to your advantage too. Tuck your laundry baskets underneath your short hang items. |
If you work 40 hours a week, put your nice work clothes up front. If you seldom dress up, put your casual things closest to the door. I personally like to put the trendy seasonal items at the front of my closet, and the classic pieces further back. However you dress is the way you should organize your closet.
Stand Back, Admire Your Progress
Let's move on to the third Commandment of Closet Organization.
The Third Commandment: Maintain it, yo.
Follow the One In, One Out rule. It’s easy. If you buy one new shirt, you must get rid of one old shirt. Two new dresses? Gotta donate 2 old dresses, pal. If you can make yourself follow this rule, your closet will never again get out of control. PREACH~!
Need to thin out your items quicker? Try a One In, TWO Out ratio.
Want to be even a little more hardcore? Don’t keep extra hangers around. That way you can’t “cheat” the One In, One Out rule because there aren’t extra hangers. It’s brutal, but I’m here to tell you, it works.
Wilt thou follow the 3 commandments of closet Organization?
Let's hear your questions in the comments section! Do you think the 3 Commandments will work for you?!?
Related posts:
How I Created a Sunday Routine That Works for Our Family
Clutter Puts the "Rage" in Garage:
Includes free steps to DIY your dream garage planner
Over the years, garages have the tendency to go through an ugly metamorphosis:they begin as nice tidy spaces that easily hold two cars and then suddenly one day they are total unusable disaster zones. It happens to the best of us! But it doesn't have to be that way.
When my husband and I decided that we were tired of the clutter taking over our garage, we decided to DIY: we cleaned out the Garage of Shame and turned it into a gorgeous Garage Drop Zone. After learning the tricks to successful garage DIY organization transformation, I started helping clients do the same. In this post, I'll share all the details to help you do the same.
As a bonus, I'm giving ya'll this awesome DIY Your Dream Garage Planner. Click here to access it.
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Want To learn more about diy garage organization? Read on...
clutter puts the "rage" in garage
You know what I'm talking about, don't you? Cars that doesn’t run. Enough kid sports equipment to start a minor league team. All the stuff you bought at Costco that doesn't fit into the kitchen. And for the Love of All That is Holy: Shoes. Shoes, Shoes, Shoes.
I get it: most people don't have mudrooms inside, so all the shoes, backpacks, jackets, wet towels etc. ended up all over the kitchen floor near back door. The garage also has to hold all the tools, car stuff, gardening items, lawn equipment, etc. The real estate in the garage is valuable space and it gets ABUSED!
So Whatcha Gonna Do?
But it's not so easy. In my case, I ran into several problems.
- Problem #1 was, there was no room inside. We don’t have a home with a mudroom, and a remodel isn’t in the budget. If we were going to get the functionality of a mudroom, we’d have to DIY build it in the garage.
- Problem #2 was the budget. We decided on taking on this project in October. You know, that month that’s realllly close to Christmas. So our budget was next-to-nothing. This project had to get done on the cheap.
- Problem #3 was that we don’t have the skill set to build custom storage cabinets. We knew that whatever we couldn’t do ourselves, we’d have to pay someone else to do. Which put us right back at the budget problem.
Step One: MAKE A PLAN OF ATTACK
Then to triple check, I researched DIY garage organization zones on Pinterest. I knew that I wanted to copy the “zone” concept that I read about. I also knew that I wanted it to be pretty, but not too feminine for a garage. But most of all, I wanted to make sure I had a home for everything.
What is your garage's j-o-b?
- Tools and Painting
- A box of miscellaneous wires and chargers that has been collected since college.
- Gardening and Lawn
- Old toys, car seats, etc. that have been outgrown
- Wedding gifts that the homeowner feels too gulity to throw away
- Cast off furniture that was deemed too nice to throw out
- Bikes, Scooters, Strollers and some sweet Green Machines
- Sports Equipment, both kids and parents
- Piles of shoes, boots, roller blades, and ice skates
- Sports Bar & Memorabilia (couches, tvs, serveware, memorabilia, beer refrigerator)
- Work storage, especially for people who work out of the home.
- Costco overstock, especially extra paper towels, beverages, and cleaning stuff
- Holiday and Birthday decor storage.
- Evidence of mice, spiders, birds, bugs, and once, a Copperhead snake. Yes: that was my house. Don't ask.
- Enough pop-up field chairs and/or beach chairs to seat a dozen people.
- Backpacks and Totes
- Closed storage for paper goods (to keep the bugs and mice away from the paper towels)
- Jackets, hats, mittens
- Pet stuff
Assess the Mess: How to Plan out Downsizing a Home
with free printable Room-by-Room checklist
STEP TWO: DRAW OUT YOUR DESIGN. Or: I’m not an architect, but I did watch Mike Brady on the Brady Bunch.
Step three: should I stay or should I go?
What Hadda Go:
*The banged up metal shelving unit that came with the house had to go.
*The circa 1940’s desk that was warped and covered in 15 layers of paint had to go.
*And so did the pretty, but way too narrow-shelved bookcase I had from my days at the bookstore. It all went to the curb (and a guy in a truck took it before the City did).
What Was Getting a Second Chance
A bookcase with deep and adjustable shelves, that was painted an unfortunate shade of dusty blue sometime in the 90’s. I slapped on two coats of black paint to match the color of the new bookcases I was purchasing. (My goal was to have all the seperate pieces look like they were one cohesive wall unit).
What Needed to Be Purchased
Fixtures: 2 new bookcases with doors. I decided to go with Billy bookcases from Ikea, then added the doors on the bottom shelves. The price was right! I also wanted a bench and a row of heavy duty hooks. I couldn’t find a product I liked that would fit the function, so I found a local handyman who built a bench and row of hooks.
Décor: I love closed storage, so I was going to need baskets, bins, etc. I purchased those at Walmart (their Better Homes and Gardens product line has cute pieces at great prices). Naturally, I was going to need some new indoor outdoor rugs (Ikea), pretty wall décor and hooks (Hobby Lobby). All in, I think I spent about $500 on the new stuff, including the material and labor from the handyman.
Step four: put on your " diy /working in the garage" clothes
Step One: Binge and Purge. For about 2 weeks, we spent 30 minutes to 2 hours a day hauling the crap out of the garage. We filled our neighbor’s trashcans two weeks running. When we set things to the curb for the City to pick up, some random guy in a pickup hauled things off before the City got here. I filled the back of my truck and did a Goodwill run almost daily. Please hear me when I say: THROW OUT YOUR JUNK. IF YOU DON'T LOVE IT ENOUGH TO KEEP IT IN THE HOUSE, LET IT GO.
Step Two: Ikea Rage. Now that we had room to work inside the garage, it was time to paint existing fixtures to match. That was my DIY job, while my husband was in charge of Ikea-ing. I can’t repeat the language he used while building the bookcases, but you did notice the I said “Ikea rage”, right?!?
My handyman built the bench and row of hooks unit, then I painted and stained it.
Step Three: Install. When everything was ready, anchor everything to the walls, level it all out, installed hooks and, lastly, put up decor pieces.
Step Four: Stand back and say DAAAAA-YUUUUMM! Marvel at your brilliance. Crack open a cold beer.
Step 5: pretend it December 26th. Put your stuff away!
I knew I wanted all the paper products to be behind the closed doors of the bookcases. Same for all the shoes. Having the beach towels out and easily reachable was important (our shorty is a year-round swimmer). We immediately started using the (well-anchored) hooks to hang backpacks and swim bags, tote bags, jackets and wet towels. We were able to move items that had been in hard to reach spots inside and put them outside in the unit.
Post-Holiday Organizing: Detox + Declutter Your Home After the Holidays
Step 6: Tweak Week
Results
Our favorite things? I personally love that all the shoes are put away into their closed bins every night. My shorty is happy that her swim towels actually get dry and don’t end up in a stinky pile. And the husband likes that his sports bar is now a source of pride, not shame.
are you ready to diy your garage organization?
Let's hear your comments, questions, and success stories in the comments.
Professional Disclaimer: The ideas, recommendations, and opinions on this website, blog, and made in person are for educational and entertainment purposes only, and should not be considered legal, financial, or medical advice. I am not an attorney, doctor, or licensed financial professional. Sage Organizing Co., LLC is not liable for any losses or damages related to actions or failure to act related to the content of this website, blog, or in-person discussions. If you need specific legal, financial, or medical advice, consult a professional in your area.
Grab access to the free Planner and all the other free printable organizing resources here.
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Want to see how i CREATED MY FAMILY ROUTINE? kEEP READING...
Who's running the show at your house?
I bet you're on "survival mode" a lot, Right?
- My spouse works and he travels for work. His travel isn't on a regular basis, so sometimes he is home and can help out, other times it is just me running the show.
- I'm transistioning from being a WAHM to becoming a new small business owner. I'm self-employed, so I create my own schedule. But I now have all the resposnisiblities of being the WAHM, with the added bonus of trying to get a business off the ground. Festive, right?!?
- We have one shorty who goes to school, after-school sports practice, tutoring, and everything that goes along with being a middle schooler.
- Our whole famliy has a busy calendar of volunteering commitments, carpools, as well as a full social calendar.
- We are always on the run! And we only have ONE shorty: I know that those of you with 2,3,4, and 5 have an exponentialy difficult schedule.
This is how we were rolling
Something had to give
When I finally stopped blubbering, I knew I had to do something to fix this mess. If you know you need to change your life, you naturally consult Oprah, right? That was my first instinct, too! Unfortunatley, neither Oprah or Gayle were available to change my life for me, so I had to do the next best thing: I went to Pinterest.
After lots of reading up on how to manage my family's time and thinking about how I wanted our schedules to look, I decided to commit to A Weekly Family Routine. This means carving out 2 hours once a week (I do Sundays) to dedicate to planning out the whole week in advance.
Two hours? On a sunday? Good luck with that.
NO: it doesn't have to be on a Sunday. If you have a couple hours of downtime on Tuesday morning, do your Family Routine then. If you have time while the kids are at volleyball practice, do it then. Just figure out when you have the time and do it. Sunday works for me.
NO: it doesn't have to be 2 hours all at once. I mentally split the project time into two portions: Logistics and Meal Planning.
I often find that I have one hour free on Saturday (while waiting at sports practice), which is when I bang out the Meal and Grocery Plan. Then on Sunday morning/early afternoon, I knock out all of the logisitical stuff.
Remember: I am not the Boss of You. YOU DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU!!
so you do...what exactly??
What are these supplies you speak of?
- Iphone. We keep our work schedules, appointments, etc. digitally, so I need my phone to see what's on the plate for the week.
- My paper planner. I'm old-school and still use a paper planner. If you can survive with just digital planning, I applaud you, but that's not my jam. I need to write it all down and see how it is going to play out.
- Paper Family calendar, if that is how you roll. I don't, but if you do, get it down off the wall and show it who is the Boss.
- Pencils, pretty colored gel pens, post-its and binder clips. That is just how I do. I keep a pencil case in my car with all these supplies so I can plan on the run, if needed. I just heard you say "Nerd Alert", by the way.
- The Grocery List pad. I have a custom one, which is gorgeous, but I also love the All Out Of grocery list from Knock Knock. OrganizeHer also makes a great product, and they are availble at Target. Doesn't matter what you use, just have something you can write on.
- Meal Planner Notepad. Again, I'm old school. I write out the Meal Plan on a piece of paper and it is posted in the kitchen for quick reference. I love the Knock Knock product. It can be on the prettiest paper or a sheet of notebook paper: who cares as long as you have a plan!
Supplies: check. Now what?
- Work and travel schedules for parents. If your shorty has an afterschool job, add in that too.
- Afterschool activities. Practices, tutors, whatever.
- Carpool. Want to change your life? Start using the free carpool-kids.com/Carpool Kids app. It's a free app that lets you and other parents set up who is driving which kids to what activity, all within the app. No more Sunday carpool text chains from Hell!
- Social plans for everyone, including babysitter needs.
- Workouts
- Cleaning the house. Whether it's scheduling your cleaning lady or figuring out who is going to scrub the toliets and when, make a plan to get your crib clean. Don't be nasty.
- Date or Famliy Night. Sometimes that just means frozen pizza and Netflix, but who cares.
- Errands, including our big ones...Target and Groceries. If you're a famliy of more than 3, I'll guess you have a Costco/Sams/BJ's run once a week or so, too.
- What's for Dinner every day. I rarely plan breakfasts, and lunch is usually leftovers. When planning dinners, I take into account practices, work schedules, etc.
- Grocery list
- Cookbooks, Magazines, and/or Pinterest Boards
- Grocery Store sales flyer (which I access digitally at our grocery store, Harris Teeter)
get your game face on: now you have to plan it all out
Here is how I build-out our week:
- Work schedule and appointments come first. Those are the non-negotiables (aka make or cost me money), so they get priority.
- All after-school activites get scheduled next. Those activities cost me money too, so I am making sure I take care of them.
- Carpool is next, closely followed by any babysitting needs. *Note: I usually try to book my sitter as soon as I put an event on the calendar, to ensure I don't forget until the last minute. The Sunday Rountine has saved me many times from forgetting to book a sitter.
- Errands and Cleaning. My biggest tip is to schedule errands during downtimes. For example, on the day I drive carpool to a 1.5 hour practice, I drop the kids, hit the post office, library, and Target (including Starbucks) and get back to practice in time. The other way to roll is to just bite the bullet and do it all in one day. Again, do what works for you.
- Groceries fall in last. That is flexible, depending on our Meal Plan. I personally shop at two grocery stores: one I go in and the other I place my order ahead of time and drive through. The drive through service at Harris Teeter is the BEST time saver in the world. I highly, highly recommend it. The $5 it costs will be the best $5 you spend all day.
COngrats: you now have a plan of attack for the week.
Now you gotta share the love!
- My Work calendar: these are tasks specific to my business. For example, I might schedule "Write blog post" on Tuesday from 2-4pm, but this isn't vital for my family to know. It's just to keep me on task.
- C+C calendar: (the C's are my spouse and my initals). These are schedule items that my husband needs to see and/or be aware of. So all household appointments, my off-site jobs (for safety), etc. I do also add any household projects, like "shop for helath insurance" or "car in for service", so my spouse knows what household projects are in progress .
- Family calendar: all three of us see this. This includes all afterschool activites, carpools, social calendar and babysitter, and school dates. My shorty's school sends out a newsletter with test dates, so I put those dates into the Family calendar.
Get your fam on board, toot sweet.
How's that all working for you, you ask?
Ok: not 100%. You're going to forget to schedule things. There will be push-back from the famliy about "the crazy schedule Mom made", and maybe more. But trust me when I say: it's way better than it was before, and it will only get better as you keep doing it. The key is to not give up. Listen, we all know the Moms usually run the show at home, so if you have the job, OWN THE DANG JOB.
I own that weekly family routine. you CAN own your family routine, too.
You can do this too! You already run the show...just make it easier on yourself!
Want help getting started with your weekly Family routine?
Have questions? Let's hear what you have!!
Professional Disclaimer: The ideas, recommendations, and opinions on this website, blog, and made in person are for educational and entertainment purposes only, and should not be considered legal, financial, or medical advice. I am not an attorney, doctor, or licensed financial professional. Sage Organizing Co., LLC is not liable for any losses or damages related to actions or failure to act related to the content of this website, blog, or in-person discussions. If you need specific legal, financial, or medical advice, consult a professional in your area.
3 Ways to Organize Your Life + Time with the Erin Condren Life Planner
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