Some of My Favorite Organizing Products - My Heavy Duty Shredder

  
We always have good intentions of keeping up with our shredding, don't we? But it gets out of hand and we overheat our shredders (or catch them on fire!!) when we finally get around to shredding.  

One of the best investments we've made is the Royal MC14MX 14 Sheet Microcut Paper Shredder. It is a heavy duty shredder which will shred 14 sheets of paper at a time.

I don't know about you, but we get a lot of paper. Even though we've joined LifeLock, which removes us from credit card ads, etc., we still manage to have a considerable amount of mail and documents to be shredded.

What I like about our shredder:
- it's heavy duty - if it is getting close to overheating, which is rare, it stops
- the shredding basket holds 10 gallons of paper
- it microcuts, which means it shreds into one-fourth the size of normal shreds
- it shreds 14 sheets of paper at the same time
- staples, DVDs, CDs and credit cards can be shredded
- auto stop and start
- it makes the job of shredding shorter and safer.

I can't remember where we bought ours, but I saw it on several online sites at varying prices. And there are similar products at local office supply stores. It's an investment, but in my opinion, well worth it if you do a lot of shredding. 

More on my favorite organizing products:

Some of My Favorite Organizing Products - The Epson 1500 Scanner

Some of My Favorite Organizing Products - Cabinet Expanders

Some of My Favorite Organizing Products - Tall Laundry Hampers

 

Destressing Christmas 2011, Part 1 - Thinking Through Your Expectations

   
I'm back! We are feeling pretty settled. Most boxes are unpacked and we are pretty functional. Due to the move, Christmas has snuck up on me ... at least until I go shopping and everything is Christmas! Can you believe it's only 67 days until Christmas!!?!! That doesn't seem very long to me. I'm reposting a series I do every year to help you destress Christmas.

Thinking Through Your Expectations

As you anticipate the holidays, think through your expectations. Talk with your family members or those with whom you will be spending the holiday season. Ask what is important to them as you celebrate at Christmas - activities, traditions, food, spiritual emphasis, giving, service opportunities, etc. This is the time to determine what is important.

- Make a list of all your traditions, from decorating to Christmas caroling. Keep the ones you love (forget about impressing other people), and cross off the ones you don't. It's easy to feel a need to incorporate all the traditions you have ever done, which becomes unwieldy. To continue a tradition is ridiculous if no one wants to do it!

- Be flexible when things don't fit your expectations. Christmas Day doesn't have to happen on December 25th, for example. When we lived in Kenya, we worked with an expatriot medical team who gave their staff Christmas Day off. So we celebrated Christmas as a team on another day.

- Enjoy the moment rather than compare it to memories or expectations. Be present and relish what is happening. And if it's not exactly what you had hoped for, do what you can to make it pleasant. Be other-centered rather than self-centered.

- Keep a sense of humor. I like things to match and I appreciate beauty. However, my son-in-law secretly placed a very ugly decoration on the tree one year. I did manage to resist my urge to snatch it off the tree, and we left it on the tree for giggles. It has now become a tradition.

- Be realistic!!! Know what you can handle and what you cannot. Be kind to yourself and live within your limits. Consider the limits of your family members, too. Each year is different. One year we were moving right after Christmas and our holiday preparations for that year were very few.

Other years I had themes - stars, hearts, trees, etc. But after a few years, the number of decorations was getting out of hand, so I stopped that tradition. Don't hesitate to limit activities so you can enjoy the season!!

Be intentional about Christmas this year by thinking through expectations of your own and those of your family members and friends. Give yourself permission to make your Christmas celebration personal, meaningful, and realistic.


More on celebrating:
Get Started on Your Christmas Cards
Three Steps to Planning Your Child's Parties

I'm Moving to Montana!

            
As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, my husband and I are moving to Montana to be near our daughter and son-in-law who are expecting our first grandchild!

As a result, I will not be posting for a bit. I'll talk to you soon. J

Some of My Favorite Organizing Products - The Epson 1500 Scanner

      
We are moving to Montana! We have felt for several months that it was time to move on from being houseparents for teenage girls. So we decided to move near our daughter and son-in-law who live in Bozeman, MT. 

The day after we made our decision, they told us they were expecting our first grandchild! Icing on the cake. Our other daughter who will be relocating to Kazakhstan in the spring, will finally have all her family in one place when she is back in the States.

I will be continuing my online and organizing businesses plus I'll do some coaching as well. My husband has a couple of job possibilities. And we have found a lovely home. So things are falling into place. As you can imagine we have been crazy busy getting ready!

In light of our move, we have been downsizing our files, something we have been wanting to do for a long time. The Epson Workforce GT-1500 Document Scanner has made it so simple!

You can load a stack of documents onto the tray and it does the rest! We have thrown away boxes and boxes of files. The only downside I see is that you cannot edit the documents once you scan them. Maybe it would be a possibility with sophisticated software, but I don't know. 

But for our purposes, it is perfect! At the risk of sounding like I am being paid by Epson to promote their scanner (I'm not), here are the features they list:

• Achieve superior clarity and detail with remarkable 1200 x 2400 dpi resolution
• Take on any project with easy, one-touch scanning to PDF, email and more
• Enjoy greater productivity with scans up to 20 ppm
• Quickly scan stacks of documents with the high-capacity Automatic Document Feeder — holds up to 40 pages at one time, for quick and efficient scanning
• Organize scanned documents with the easy-to-use document management software included
• Scan originals in a variety of sizes — from 5.9 x 5.9 to 8.5 x 14
• Enjoy more efficient operation with exclusive ReadyScan LED technology — no warmup time and fast scanning speeds
• Rest easy with earth-friendly LED technology — no mercury included and lower power consumption. 

We bought ours directly from Epson on sale for about $249. We're saving much more, though, since movers charge by the pound. And paper weighs a lot! We also have the satisfaction of lightening our possessions. Plus our files are on our computers when we need them. I'd say our Epson scanner is one of the best purchases we have made lately.

 

More on downsizing:

Three Steps to Downsizing to a Smaller Residence

Three Steps to Becoming a Downsizing Professional

You Can't Downsize Memories

College Time Management - Why Early Classes Predict Better Grades

     
I always took 8 o'clock classes in college, not necesarily because I wanted to, but because I worked every day at 1 pm and needed to get all my classes in before then.

A new study by psychology professors Serge Onyper and Pamela Thacher of St. Lawrence University explains why those who take earlier classes get better grades than those who start later. Those who have 8 am classes don't tend to stay out late and consume alcohol, whereas those who have later classes are more likely to go out with friends. 

"Those who choose later classes also tend to sleep longer and consume more alcohol and other substances," Thacher says, "while those who elect earlier classes may be more motivated to find ways to offset the early start time by making healthier choices about their daily living."

Even though the students in the study who had later classes received more sleep than those with earlier classes, their sleep may not have been optimum, as alcohol consumption disrupts sleep, according to Onyper.  

"Prior to this study, I advocated having classes start later in the morning, so that students could get more sleep," Thacher said. "But now, I would say that 8 or 8:30 a.m. classes are probably, for some students, going to be a much better choice."

More on college time management/sleep:
Three Steps to Time Management for the College Student

How Sleep Helps Keep Your Brain Organized

New Sleep Study Shows Risks of Acute and Chronic Sleep Loss

Got Vinegar? An Inexpensive Home Remedy

      

How efficient to have a very inexpensive product that provides so many home remedies! I stole most of these ideas from Circle of Moms.

Vinegar can reduce itching (cover area with cotton ball or cloth soaked in vinegar):

- from insect bites

- from plants, including poison ivy.

Vinegar removes fungi:

- For foot fungus, soak foot in warm water (1 gallon) and vinegar (1 cup) daily for several months. Follow soak with moisturizing lotion.

- For swimmer's ear, mix equal parts vinegar and rubbing alcohol. Drop in ear and let sit for a few seconds.

- For warts, soak a cotton ball in apple cider vinegar, place it over the wart and cover it with a bandage for several hours. Repeat until wart disappears. 

Vinegar relieves skin problems:

- It reduces the sting from a sunburn. Pour vinegar on a cloth and hold it on the sunburn. It will draw the heat out of the sunburn and reduce the sting.

- To prevent bruising, dab a vinegar-soaked cotton ball or cloth onto the area that has been bumped or hurt. 

- Add one quart vinegar to a hot bath once a month and soak for 20-30 minutes to reduce toxins.

- Quick zit cure: mix 1 tsp. salt and 3 Tbs. vinegar in a bowl and dab on blemishes using a cotton ball. Let sit 30 minutes, then rinse with lukewarm water.

Vinegar's healing properties:

- Take a swig of vinegar and your heartburn is gone!

- To reduce a fever, dip a cloth in a mixture of vinegar and water and wipe over the skin.

Vinegar for the hair:

- To remove lice, the vinegar in mayonnaise or Miracle Whip will do the trick. Saturate the head, cover with a shower cap or plastic bag for an hour, and wash out (it may take a few washes!). 

- For shiny hair, rinse hair with a little vinegar and water mixed. 

- Use apple cider vinegar instead of a cream rinse to detangle hair. Combine 1 cup vinegar to a gallon of warm water and pour over hair.

- Cure folliculitis (inflammation of hair follicles) by dabbing infected area with a cotton ball soaked in apple cider vinegar before bedtime. Leave on all night and rinse off in the morning.

More on vinegar uses:

Spring Cleaning Using Household Items - Vinegar

Vinegar - 10 Ways to Save Your Clothes!

Bugs in the Pantry?

 

National Preparedness Month - Are You Prepared for a Car Emergency?

              
We had a fun-filled weekend with our girls: the zoo, a movie, baking cookies, fishing, and a church picnic. We wore one girl out so much, that she slept 12 hours one night! 

We do a lot of driving, and a car emergency is always a possibility. Last week I found an interesting alternative to combustible flares for a car emergency: a life saver light. It's a flashlight/worklight that turns into a flasher. 

As you can see, pieces of the shaft spread out to become the base of the flasher. It operates on two C batteries, and flashes on and off when turned to that position. Otherwise it shines continually when on.

 

I only bought one at Gabriel Bros. for $3. I wanted to make sure it worked before buying more. I plan to go back and buy several more to put in both cars. If you don't have a Gabriel Bros., go to Life Saver Light.  It's one of those "as seen on TV" products, so you might be able to find them in stores that carry such items.

More on car safety:

Clutter in Your Car = Danger

Organize an Emergency Kit for Your Car

Driving - Not a Time to Multi-Task

    

Some of My Favorite Organizing Products - Tall Laundry Hampers

    
My friend Margaret went home yesterday - such a nice visit! And we're getting a new foster daughter today. So that brings us up to three girls in the house. As you can imagine, laundry is done quite often here! Thankfully, the girls do their own laundry.

As I've posted before, my husband and I sort our dirty clothes in laundry hampers as we take them off. This saves clutter in a couple of aspects: 

- sorting is done as you go, rather than having a sorting explosion every time you do laundry

- when a laundry hamper is full, it can be taken to the washing machine as needed.

This is what ours looks like:

Our are in the bottom of our bathroom closet (we took out the bottom shelf). In the past we have also stored them in our bedroom closet or in a corner of our bedroom. 

We have one for whites (hot water), one for lights (warm water), one for darks (cold water), one for delicates, and one for towels and sheets (hot water).

These laundry hampers come with lids, but we removed the lids for ease of use. The lids don't fit in our closet, but if I were storing them in my bedroom, I might leave them on. Unless the extra step of lifting the lids would keep us from putting our clothes away ... then they would be off in a flash!

They also come with ($16.95) or without rollers ($14.95) . Rollers would be nice if it's a distance to your laundry room. They also come in an oval shape, which seems less efficient to me. Sterilite hampers are available at Walmart and Amazon.  

More on laundry:

Shaving a Few Minutes Off Laundry Time

Shaving a Few Minutes Off Laundry Time, Part 2

Laundry Tips from Professional Organizers, Part 3

 

National Preparedness Month - Emergency Supplies

I'm having a delightful time with my friend Margaret who is visiting from Pennsylvania. Long-time friends are a blessing, aren't they? 

Now on to a more serious topic ...

As we have seen lately, millions of people have had to live with no electricity for extended periods of time. If you needed to remain in your home without electricity for any length of time, would you have what you need? 

Here's a list of the essentials:
- cash - ATMs won't work 
- 1 gallon of water per person per day for 3-7 days
- manual can opener
- nonperishable food
- prescription meds and non prescription meds
- toilet paper
- diapers/etc.
- first aid kit and supplies
- flashlights
- batteries
- a battery-powered lantern
- NOAH weather radio (available at Best Buy)
- extra batteries for cell phones
- waterproof container for important papers 
- family disaster plan 
- gas in your car(s)
- full propane tank for the grill
- charger for your cell phone that plugs into your car
- landline phone which does not require electricity to operate 

Only have your cell phone on when you need it. Text instead of call. Both of these actions save your phone's battery.

Hopefully you won't need to use these emergency supplies, but if a crisis occurs, you'll be so glad you planned ahead!

More on National Preparedness Month:

National Preparedness Month - Are You Ready for an Emergency?

Can Your Loved Ones Find Your Important Documents?

Getting Your Affairs in Order

 

Some of My Favorite Organizing Products - Cabinet Expanders

In all the houses I've lived in prior to this one, I've never had enough kitchen space for my addiction to dishes. So ... near and dear to my heart are cabinet expanders. Yes, I know. I'm a professional organizer. I'm not supposed to have storage problems. 

Oh. well. That's why they make cabinet expanders. :) Here are my favorites:

 

This two-piece expander is great for cabinets that are too small for regular expanders. As you can see, it comes apart, allowing you to put the two small sections into your cabinet and connect them once they are in the cabinet. 

The one below flattens and can be extended once it is in the cabinet.

  

This solid piece comes in several sizes - great for plates, saucers, bowls, cups or food items. It is especially nice for tall cabinets with sparse shelving.

I love the vertical expander below - a wonderful alternative to stacking. You can reach the stored items without having to move other things - not the case if you stack the same items horizontally. 
 

I've found my cabinet expanders at WalMart, Bed Bath and Beyond and similar places. 

More on kitchen storage:

Spring Cleaning the Pantry - When to Toss It?

Containerizing Your Kitchen

Decluttering Plastics - Which Ones are Safe?

Organize Your Kitchen in 3 Weeks

 Three Steps to Organizing Your Kitchen

 

How Quickly Could You Evacuate?

It's been a crazy week, saying good-bye to one foster daughter who is going to college, welcoming another into our home, and dealing with enrollment issues with a third. Translation: we're down to two girls now, and hopefully they will both be in school tomorrow.
We've watched Irene with rapt interest, enjoying gorgeous weather while empathizing with those in her path. I'm sure you've asked yourself, as I have, how easily you could evacuate your home.

In light of Irene and National Preparedness Month in September, here's a quick list of what you would need should you ever need to evacuate:

check book
money 
drivers license or ID
credit cards
health insurance cards
meds/prescriptions disc or flashdrive backups of computer documents
picture or video documentation of what is in your house 
laptop and charger 
cell phone and charger (I leave my cell phone car charger in the car) 
safe deposit key
birth, death and marriage certificates
will, power of attorney
Social Security cards and records
military records
medical records 
insurance policies
tax returns
retirement account records 
recent pay stubs
warranties and receipts
passport
car titles and registrations
mortgage deeds and records
rental agreements
keepsakes


Keep the documents in your fireproof safe or safe deposit box. I keep all my picture negatives in my safe deposit box, too. 

If your important documents are in one place, you can easily lift them out and place them in a briefcase or box to take with you. 

Print and keep this list with your checkbook, so you can easily pull together the other items on the list without forgetting anything.

Make sure you have an emergency plan (see below). And gather the above together in order to be prepared should a disaster force you to evacuate - a fire, a tornado, a hurricane, a flood. This will give you peace of mind before a crisis and a level head in the midst of one. 


More on preparedness:

National Preparedness Month - Making a Plan

National Preparedness Month - Evacuation Plan

National Preparedness Month – Evacuation from Work, School, Daycare, and Neighborhood Communities

Yes, I'm Alive!

    
In a little over two weeks, we've seen two of our foster daughters move out to live with family (a good thing for them!) and one new foster daughter visit and move in. Our own daughter left this morning after a wonderful visit. So I'm trying to catch my breath at the moment. I'll be back soon with more posts. :) - Bev

 

Storage and Moving Boxes - Think Outside the Box

     
We're having a wonderful visit from one of our daughters - playing games, laughing, talking, reliving memories, eating good food. What a wonderful gift!

Now on to our blog post for today:

When I help my clients downsize locally, I like to use my own plastic containers. They are reusable, clear, and sturdy. No need to use boxes that must be discarded later. No taping, either. Just slide a piece of paper down the side of the box with the contents listed, and it's labeled!

I like to store my seasonal decorations in these boxes, too. It's easy to see which season I'm looking for when I'm switching out seasonal decor.

However, these containers are too large for heavy items like books. 

Guess who has the cheapest prices for book boxes? 

Storage companies? No. 

Truck rental companies? No. 

Office supply stores? No. 

Online? No. 

Lowes!! At 70 cents a box, they were up to one-third the price of other stores.

They don't carry specialty boxes - just small, medium ($1.12 apiece) and large boxes ($1.36 apiece). Our local Lowes only has small and large. 

The moral of the story: when you're searching for organizing or moving products, do a little research and think outside the box. You may save yourself a lot of money!

More on boxes:

5 Tips for Storing Books

Organizing Your Shoes

Toy decluttering

 

Hoarding Under Consideration as a Stand-Alone Disorder

One of our daughters is here for a visit while we have some time off. We're looking forward to some movies, games, laughter and fun! Now for our post for today ... 

 

According to Suzanne Otte, MBA, MSW and Gail Steketee, PhD in their recent article in the Psychiatric Times on August 19, 2011, hoarding is under consideration for becoming a stand-alone disorder. I found this excerpt from their article very interesting: 

 

"Historically, hoarding has been deemed a subtype of OCD, although forthcoming evidence suggests there are more differences than similarities. 

 

Hoarding is under consideration for inclusion in DSM-5 as a stand-alone disorder. A set of provisional criteria for hoarding disorder has been proposed and will require further study in the future. 

 

A recent study conducted by Frost and colleagues that examined the largest sample of participants to date confirmed that major depressive disorder was the most frequently occurring comorbid condition (more than 50%) and that kleptomania was a factor in 10% of the sample."

 

More on hoarding:

Hoarder or Collector?

Self-Help Books for Hoarders and Their Families

One Sign That Your Clutter is Out of Control