Blogs
Room Organizing Tips – Bathroom
Sometimes the smallest space is the most difficult to organize. Here are some tips for the bathroom from the organizing slideshow we’ve been telling you about on the Better Homes and Gardens website. You can view it at http://www.bhg.com/decorating/storage/organization-basics/room-organization-tips
Restore Order
Limit medicine cabinetsto items you use every day. Keep medications in original containers on a high shelfor other safe spot, particularly if there are small children in the house. Store remaining items one layer deep, doubling space with acrylic ledges. Rest toiletries in caddies or trays on the vanityso you can lift them for quick cleaning or tuck them away when guests visit.
Enlist New Storage
If your bath lacks a closet, re-purpose a cabinet or dresserto keep extra linens and supplies on hand. Bath oils and bulk items, such as cotton swabs, look pretty in glass jars — plus its easy to know when to restock.
Organize Drawers
Grooming is so much more enjoyable when drawersare clean and clutter-free. Use removable organizers in vanitydrawers to keep things from migrating. Once a month, remove all toiletries and thoroughly wash containers, trays, drawers, and drawer liners. Remember to toss expired products and transfer unused or out-of-season items to less prominent locations, such as under the sink.
Be Aggressive
The secret to organizing the bathroom is to be diligent and ruthless about getting rid of what you don’t need. “The bathroom is probably the key place where we rummage through stuff that we hardly or never use to get to the stuff that we use every day,” says Christopher Lowell, author of Christopher Lowell’s Seven Layers of Organization.
Moving Mountains May be Easier
This is from AYS friend Karen Pinney’s blog “Threescore and Then” at http://threescoreandthen.blogspot.com/2012/01/moving-mountains-may-be-easier.html?spref=fb
Helen was stubborn. For over two years her son had encouraged her to move into an apartment or a retirement community, but she adamantly refused to follow his advise. She was comfortable and content in the home she had maintained for over 20 years. She intended to stay there until she died.
It is an honorable ambition to want to live at home independently. Helen’s son did what he could to support her desire, despite his having to be on call in case she needed him. She could no longer drive, so she depended on her son to take her to the grocery store, the bank, or to her numerous doctor appointments.
As the years passed, keeping up the house became more stressful for Helen. She complained that the household chores sapped her energy. She could no longer balance on a ladder to reach the top of the windows to wash them, nor could she push the vacuum cleaner without her arms and shoulders aching. Her son did all the yard work, but he traveled out of town for his job. The grass and weeds grew fast in the summer, and Helen nagged him when the yard showed the sad signs of neglect.
Helen’s greatest pleasure was feeding the squirrels and the birds. It was a daily ritual. Every morning Redbirds and Robins, and an occasionally feisty Bluebird would gather outside her patio door seeking a handout. Helen would toss them seeds and bread crumbs, chatting contently as if they understood her.
Helen never experienced a crisis or a fall, but one day, “out of the blue” she said to her son, “I’m ready to move.” Astonished, but relieved, he took her to visit several communities and senior apartments. It didn’t take long for her to decide, based on her income, which community was the most appropriate.
Once Helen signed the rental contract, she began to panic. “How will I ever deal with all this stuff?” she wailed. “I can’t sort, pack, and box the dishes or the pots and pans. What will I do with the furniture? It won’t all fit in the new apartment. I’m not going,” she declared. “Call the sales lady immediately and get my money back.”
Her son, a friend of mine, had already offered to help, but he was discouraged. He called me, and I could hear the frustration in his voice. “She won’t listen to me, he complained. “She needs to throw stuff away, and she won’t hear of it. Everything I suggest ends up in an argument. I don’t want to cancel the move; this is the best thing for her, but the way it’s going, I may not have a choice.”
“I have a perfect solution.” I said. “You need to call Mrs. Beckworth.” She does nothing but move seniors. She will easily win your mother’s confidence because she is sincere and caring. She will guide your mom through each phase of the move. Eventually, she will pack what items she and your mom decide to take. Then she will dispose of the things that are unnecessary, and finally she will schedule the truck and the movers.
“How much will it cost?” he asked.
I avoided his question. “Then,” I continued, “she will also execute the very last phase, and probably the most effective–that is the unpacking. When your mom enters her new home for the first time, everything will be in place. The clothes will be folded neatly in the drawers, the pictures will be arranged on the walls, and the drapes will be perfectly hung. You can’t beat it.”
Again he asked, “How much will it cost?” I knew that my friend had a “frugal” reputation, so I continued to avoid his question. “Mrs. Beckworth is busy everyday of the week. If you expect to get your mom moved by the first, you will have to call her very soon.”
“How much will it cost?” he repeated.
“Every job is different. In my opinion, she doesn’t charge nearly enough for all that she does. She will quote you a price once she sees what how much your mom insists on moving. “
I hung up the phone and thought to myself. There are senior movers in almost every city in the US. There is a website, www.nasmm.org/ that lists the cities and the senior movers who service them. Often, it is the logistics of organizing the huge task of the move that prevents a senior from relocating to a community. Although they understand intuitively that they would be happier and safer in their new home, they are overwhelmed by the thoughts of sorting and packing the items they have collected for decades. It is helpful for them to have an objective third party on hand to lighten the burden.
I didn’t hear from my friend until after the first of the month. “Did your mom move?’ I asked. “Yes. Thanks to you and Mrs. Beckworth. She is happy in her new place, and I feel so much better about her safety. The people there have been very helpful.”
“Great,” I responded. We chatted for a few minutes, and then as I started to say good-bye and hang up the phone, my friend interrupted, “Karen, thank you.”
“For what?” I asked.
“For sending me to Mrs. Beckworth. You were right. The money I paid her was the best money I ever spent.”
Coming from a man who squeezed every penny, it was all I could do not to say, “I told you so.”
Room Organizing Tips – Family Room
A couple of weeks ago, we told you about a slideshow on the Better Homes and Gardens website with organization tips for every room in your house. You can view it at http://www.bhg.com/decorating/storage/organization-basics/room-organization-tips
Here are a few suggestions for straightening out the family room.
Develop Zones
Creating a sense of togetherness is effortless when you choose integrated storage. The first step is to be realistic about how everyone uses the room so you can give each activity some space of its own. Such agreed-upon zones keep activities enjoyable and clutter-contained.
Control the Extras
Keep only movies, games, music, and books that you use and realistically fit on your shelves. Labeled photo boxes are stylish and the perfect size for stashing on shelves in an entertainment center.
Space from Thin Air
Create storage behind a couch, love seat, or armchair. Pull furniture far enough from the wall to allow for open crates or bins, as well as access to them. Furniture pieces such as lift-top ottomans are also ideal for storage-strapped rooms.
Room for Everyone
Since every family member spends time in this room, it can become a jumble of activities and stuff. Create storage for each activity, whether it’s reading, playing games, watching TV, paying bills, or playing with a pet.
Now you’ve got things going.
Small Habits Add Up
Organizing a garage or closet or kitchen can be a daunting task. Whether you do it all yourself or get AYS to help, you sure don’t want to have to do it again anytime soon. That’s why we always recommend maintaining your newly-ordered space on a regular basis.
We found a great article by Lorie Marrero, best-selling author of The Clutter Diet: The Skinny on Organizing Your Home and Taking Control of Your Life that reinforces this advice. Here’s how it starts.
“Just as it would be foolish to do one colossal lawn-mowing or tooth-brushing session one day a year and expect good results, it’s also a little silly to save up all of your cleaning, maintaining, and organizing for one giant project. Here are some small things you can do regularly to keep things working well all the time.”
And here’s how it ends.
“Bernard Metzler said, ‘Hard work is often the easy work you did not do at the proper time.’ What other little things could you do regularly to save yourself lots of time and effort later?”
You can read the whole article at http://living.msn.com/home-decor/your-guide-to-happiness/article?cp-documentid=31836544
Hoarding
Whenever we tell someone that we do home organizing the question is bound to come up: “Do you get many hoarders?” With the recent spate of articles and TV shows spotlighting the problem, it’s of interest to many people these days.
The quick answer is “No, we don’t. Not a lot.” But the bigger question is “Just what is hoarding? How do you recognize it?” And “What can I do if someone I love might be a hoarder?”
Doing our research into the issue, we came across a good article byLauren Lee on KVAL.com. Here’s an excerpt:
“Hoarding is a mental illness that is marked by a need to acquire things and the inability to let go of items that others consider trash. Mental health professionals believe it effects 1.5 million Americans. It is an illness that mental health professionals are still trying to understand.
In a lot of situations with extreme hoarders, it’s a mental condition that actually causes them to save so much. They just look at life very differently and so they truly have to work with a mental health professional to change their behavior in order to stop the hoarding. Along with seeking help from a mental health professional, a professional organizer can help teach hoarders new behaviors in their homes.”
You can find the whole article at http://www.kval.com/news/local/Reality-Hoarders–134225113.html.
Room Organizing Tips – Entryway
We found a slideshow on the Better Homes and Gardens website with organization tips for every room in your house. You can find it at http://www.bhg.com/decorating/storage/organization-basics/room-organization-tips
Here’s a sample to tidy up your entryway or foyer.
Use an Out Box
Designate a final-stop box, basket, or tote bag for library books, outgoing mail, and DVDs to grab as you head out the door.
Hang It Up
Hooks are a simple and inexpensive storage solution. Install enough for everyone’s coats, umbrellas, purses, backpacks, and briefcases.
Create Shoe Storage
Shoes collect at the entryway, so find a way to contain them. “It can be as simple as a big basket. It’s quick, it’s easy,” says Donna Smallin, author of The One-Minute Organizer.
Make It Welcoming
Use shelves or cubbies with handsome labeled bins or cloth-lined baskets to add storage while creating a smooth and attractive transition into the house.
A Place for Everything
Whether it’s a dedicated room or a stretch of wall inside the door, the key is to have a place for all the things you bring in that don’t need to go any farther into the house. Make a list of those items — coats, boots, mail, keys — and create an easy-access storage spot for each one right by the door.
There’s one room tidied up and organized.
Senior Move Checklist
Are you planning a move this year? Here’s a checklist AYS uses for our senior move clients. Even if you’re not a senior, this list can help organize your efforts. Of course, we aren’t always contacted two months before the move date so that we can proceed at this leisurely pace. Most early tasks can be done more quickly, but if you have the luxury of more time, it’s much less stressful to use it.
Eight weeks before the move:
Contact a Senior Move Manager, like At Your Service!
Six weeks before the move:
Determine whether you’ll need a storage unit and, if so, reserve one.
Arrange for a transport service for your pets, if needed.
Complete a change of address form with the U.S. Postal Service.
Start packing items you don’t use often.
Get your important documents (birth certificates, tax returns, bank statements, etc.) and put them in a distinctive container where you can find them.
Decide on a move date and inform your Senior Move Manager, if you’re working with one.
Sign a contract with your moving company.
Four weeks before the move:
Inform any clubs or organizations you belong to about your move.
Notify your newspaper and magazines of your move.
Make a list of relatives and friends to give your new contact information.
Notify your health care providers of your move.
Clean out your safe deposit box and get a new one closer to your new home, if necessary.
Schedule the disconnection of all utilities.
Create a floor plan for your new home. (It’s great to work with your Senior Move Manager on this.)
Determine what items in your current home will fit in your new home and what will be moved there or to storage.
Two weeks before the move:
Continue packing and make sure to label each box prominently with the room it will go to and the contents.
Inform your banking, investment and insurance companies of your new address.
Finalize the floor plan.
Make arrangements with a cleaning company to clean your old home.
One week before the move:
Finish packing, except necessities needed right up to move time, like toiletries and medications and the week’s clothes.
Fill any prescriptions and arrange to transfer them to a closer pharmacy, if necessary.
Plan meals for the week and start emptying your refrigerator.
Dispose of any unwanted items either via donation or estate sale. (Your Senior Move Manager can coordinate this.)
The day before the move:
Pack a suitcase with one set of clothes, toiletries, medications, towels, blankets, etc.
Finish packing everything else.
Check all cabinets, drawers, and closets to make sure you packed everything.
Empty your refrigerator.
Get a good night’s rest – tomorrow will be a busy day!
Moving day:
Work with your Senior Move Manager to ensure that the movers load everything to go to your new home.
Transport all valuables (vital documents, jewelry, etc.) and your suitcase yourself.
Turn off all appliances before you leave.
Throw out all trash.
If you’re using At Your Service, we’ll ensure a smooth move, unpack for you, and make you feel right at home!
New Recruits for Team Dad
New Year. New beginnings. New directions. New challenges.
For those of us entering what used to be called ‘The Golden Years’ it’s as good a time as any to take stock, to start thinking ahead about how our capacities are changing. For the families of older adults, it can be a more urgent question and the answers may require outside help.
We found New Recruits for Team Dad by Paula Span at New Old Age, a New York Times blog. Here’s an excerpt:
“In the past couple of decades, a variety of professions and businesses have emerged — because capitalism abhors a vacuum — to help seniors and their harried adult children. In the past few weeks, I recruited a team of helpers from their ranks.
“You can talk for years about a parent’s move to some sort of senior housing, but once the decision is made, things move fast. Often that’s because of a crisis — say, a hospital discharge planner hands you a list of nursing homes because a senior can’t safely live alone anymore.
“In my father’s case, though, it’s because the rent on a one-bedroom independent living apartment starts the day you put down a $200 deposit. And in this part of the world, the rent is steep. So once I’d found a facility I thought would work for him, we had less than a month to sort, pack and move.”
Read the rest of Ms. Span’s article here to find out how her family handled their crisis.
Holiday Horror Stories
Here’s a lighthearted link for the holidays. We found Jingle hell! Your holiday horror stories on msnbc.com and it gave us a few chuckles. Here’s an excerpt:
“Ah, the holidays. They’re usually a very merry time, filled with family, friends, good cheer and bosses on two-week vacations. But let’s be honest: Everyone’s had Griswold-worthy holiday, where the Christmas bonus is not forthcoming, and uninvited guests drive up in a junky old RV. (No? Well, surely the dog’s eaten your presents.)
“We asked TODAY readers to send along their own tales of holiday hell, via our Facebook page and through TODAY.com. And boy, did you deliver! So the next time you think you’re having a rotten Christmas, remember these stories of Yuletide woe, and go give your in-laws a hug. ”
Hope you enjoy it.
Tips for Holiday Entertaining
We want to point you to a handy article on holiday entertaining posted at New York City’s The Organizing Zone. It shares simple and common sense ideas for assessing your space, planning, decorating, and cooking & cleaning in anticipation of holiday parties and get- togethers, such as this:
“Be sure to consider your guest list. If young children are among your guests and your home is not ‘kid-proof,’ move breakable and valuable items to high shelves or store them away safely in a closet or storage bin.”
Who doesn’t need good ideas at this holiday time of year?
