All (School) Systems Go!

Four…three…two…one! Has school already begun?

The countdown is on for back-to-school, and now is the time to set up (or create!) your systems to stay organized. In my home, during the summer we have different routines and have been on vacation…so we don’t always follow our typical ways of doing things. This is part of summer and the change is good!

Just don’t forget to get ready and set for school.

Be sure that you have a way to deal with:

• the coming deluge of school papers, including homework, permissions slips and artwork you want to keep
• packing bags and backpacks
• making lunches
• scheduling activities
• finding the right equipment for those activities (soccer ball, ice skates, tap shoes)
• finding what you need to get out the door!

A “system” doesn’t have to be complex – it is just a process or routine for regular activities to help us stay organized. And simple is often better.

For example, use a basket on the kitchen counter to catch incoming school papers that need your attention. Update your family resource binder with the new class information. Make lunches and have kids pick out clothes the night before. Use a family calendar – paper or electronic – to schedule activities and school days off.

These are just a few ideas. For more, search our blog under the categories “kids” or “school” or contact That’s Neat! Organizing and we’ll set up a customized system just for you.

Back to School

It’s August, and in New England that means it’s time again to shop for school supplies, new clothes, a lunchbox, or dorm room gear. In other parts of the country classes may have already started.

In honor of back-to-school month we are highlighting our favorite posts from the past year about getting organized for school. Enjoy!

Off to College

Organizing for the College Years

Elementary, My Dear Organizer

School's Out Organizing Part I: Paper Purge

School's Out Organizing Part II: Backpack Black Hole

More Than A Toy Story

Have you seen Toy Story 3 yet? Our family saw it last month and really enjoyed the movie. It’s a fun coming of age story for Andy and his toys. (And anyone who grew up with Mr. Potato Head, a slinky dog, green army men, or Barbie and Ken will love those scenes.)

While watching Toy Story 3 I couldn’t help but see (behind my 3D glasses) that the movie also shares a powerful message about what to do with things when you outgrow them. I won’t give all the plot away but an important scene involves Andy and his mom “sorting” his toys into “keep” and “donate” piles.

Andy struggles while making the decisions, which is very true to life. It’s not easy to decide to part with something that was once a treasured possession. But Andy’s plan for his most-loved toys at the end was touching.

Enjoy the show!

Easy Labels for a Child’s Dresser

To help young kids learn how to put their clothes away, I tell my clients to label the dresser drawers with a word and picture.

Now the work is done for you! I just read about these great dresser knobs in the August edition of Parenting: School Years magazine. I love the idea that the picture is right on the knob – it’s cute and a helpful label all in one, and there are versions for boys and for girls. Check them out from Olive Kids.

Dropped, Plopped and Stopped!

Great tips to organize those important drop-zones by guest blogger, Janna Lufkin. 

Let’s face it, we all have those unsightly areas in our homes that seem to catch everything as soon as we hit the door. The kids drop books, backpacks and lunch pails. We adults plop down our briefcases and/or purses, our shoes - even our mail. These spots grab it all and often not in a very orderly manner. You might have a mudroom for this purpose but a good number of us carve a “drop zone” out of hallways, overstuffed closets, stairways, laundry rooms and sometimes even valuable kitchen countertop space.

This summer (before the new school year starts) why not create an organized, efficient area for all of these daily essentials?

Here are a few ideas:

• Mudrooms. If you’re fortunate enough to have such a designated space, make it work for more than just your shoes, boots and coats. Add hooks for each family member and encourage them to hang backpacks, purses and briefcases. If your mudroom has a bench, slide labeled bins underneath for each family member to hold books, sports equipment even pet supplies. Hang a simple file organizer for mail and add a key hook underneath so you won’t spend valuable morning time searching for your keys.
• Hallways. If a central hall area space works best for your family, add a bench and use the space underneath for storage. Labeled bins or baskets work well. Add a coat rack or install hooks. A simple tall container (clear glass cylinder, vase or galvanized flower bucket) makes a great umbrella stand. A basket to catch the mail, and another for pet supplies (leashes, collars, toys, towel).
• Hall Closet. Install efficient, adjustable shelving and a hanging coat rod. My favorite system is by Elfa. It adjusts by the inch! Measure typical items that would go into the closet (how long are your coats for example?) and adjust accordingly. Sort and stack hats, gloves, scarves, shoes and other daily essentials and purchase bins for each family members stuff. Slide a basket or two onto the floor and use for backpacks and sports equipment. Don’t forget to use the inside of the closet door for storage too. Small hanging shoe bags work great for keys, glasses, sunscreen, etc. and a file holder for the daily mail.
• Kitchen Area. If you must use valuable kitchen space for these items, try to designate a cupboard close to the door. Purchase bins for books and backpacks; label them and place on the cabinet shelves. On the countertop above, place a letter basket for mail and a free-standing accordion file labeled with each family member’s name for important papers (homework, bills to be paid, etc.) If space allows, add a bulletin board for notes and a calendar. A cute flower pot holds keys and another for pens, pencils and stamps.

So stop the morning chaos. Spend a little time this summer carving out an efficient drop-zone in your home. Before you know it, you’ll be spending valuable time enjoying an extra few minutes of shut-eye or another cup of Joe.

-Janna

Quick Tip: Labels for a Sunny Day

I’ve been trying to remember to put sunscreen on my daughter before she heads out each day. We’ve left the sunscreen on a shelf by the front door, and we often remember…but there are many hectic mornings when we forget.  With the weather getting hotter I wanted to have a reminder for myself.

So I did what I would tell my clients to do: label it! I made a reminder that hangs on a door knob in a fun sun shape. (A post-it note would work just as well.)  I made one for the front door and the back door, and now we never forget!

TAG (Sale) – You’re it!

'Tis the season for tag sales. Read these tips from guest blogger, Janna Lufkin. 

Garage sales, tag sales, yard sales - whatever you call them – they can be fun, profitableand give you your garage back.

Summer is the perfect time to tackle this project. If you encourage your family to pitch in, by the end of the day you’ll not only have a few extra dollars in your pockets, you will have cleared some much-needed real estate.

Here are a few tips and tricks to organizing these weekend money-makers:

• Give yourself time to organize. A month before your sale, clear your house and garage of saleable items, go room by room clearing out closets and drawers and don’t forget to look under the beds! Box and price as you go.
• Choose a sale date that is NOT a holiday weekend. Families often leave town during these typical summer holidays. You’ll want as many people around as possible to attend your event.
• Purchase tags or stickers in different bright colors. Assign each family member their own color. When an item sells, keep the tag (stick or staple it to a sheet of paper so you don’t lose it.) At the end of the day, each family member will know just how much they sold.
• Make sure all electronics are in working order. Have an extension cord handy for potential buyers. Nobody wants to purchase something only to get it home and find it doesn’t work.
• Group items together. Set up tables for smaller items such as vases, knick-knacks, dishes and glassware. Group larger items as well, tools, garden items, furniture, kids toys, etc. Make sure everything is clean and in working order.
• Advertise your sale. Craig’s List is a great way to get the word out. Bright colored, large, neatly printed signs work well to grab a neighborhood passerby as well as a classified ad in the local newspaper.
• Have enough small bills and loose change on hand when the sale starts. Wear a carpenter’s apron to keep money handy and safe. Every few hours, stash the cash you’ve made in a secure place away from the sale site.
• Set up a free coffee table in the morning. Turn it into a .25 cent lemonade stand in the afternoon and get the kids to help. They make a little money – or – you could donate the proceeds to a worthy cause.
• After the sale. Immediately pack up and donate unsold items. Don’t put them back in the garage!
• Last but not least. Park your car in the garage – it’s a great feeling!

-Janna

Knickknacks in the Attic

Recently I was sorting through things in in my attic and came across two boxes nicely labeled “knickknacks - attic.”  This ranks in my top 3 labels to NOT use for boxes, #1 and #2 being “miscellaneous” and “stuff.” 

I caution clients to avoid these labels, but when I last moved five years ago I had labeled two boxes “knickknacks” and shoved them in the attic. Good place for them, right?

I had no idea what I had packed in there, so I decided to take a look. I also “decided to decide.”* That is, I’d make a decision on this stuff, once and for all. No more knickknack boxes in the attic!

What was in there? I found my wooden animal and small box collections from when I used to travel often to Africa and Latin American. Also lots of drink coasters. Why did I have so many coasters and how had we possibly lived without them? (Just kidding). Also inside was my husband’s model (I mean die-cast replica) 42 Ford pick up truck from his days as a Product Manager at the Danbury Mint.

While I found a few treasures, like a favorite wooden elephant named Stampy, and a few nice framed photos, many of the items didn’t “fit my life now.”* 

Following my “decide to decide” strategy, I immediately sorted out the things I knew I wouldn’t use and put them in a pile to donate. I found a place for Stampy and returned to the 42 Ford pick up to my husband. I also set out a few new photographs.

Then I was left with the dreaded “maybe” pile. Clients: I know first-hand how hard it is to decide on the maybes. For me, the maybes represented my past life when I regularly travelled internationally as part of my non-profit career.

It was hard to part with this pile, but I decided if I couldn’t find a way to enjoy these things, I’d donate them. (I certainly wasn’t enjoying them packed away in the attic.) So now I am looking for a way to display some of the wooden animals, and have let a lot of the little boxes go into the donate pile. Whew!

Although it was hard to decide on some of these items, I feel better and lighter knowing that I unearthed these things from the attic. Now on to find any boxes I’ve marked “stuff to save!”

*From The Organizing Sourcebook: Nine strategies for simplifying your life by Kathy Waddill. For this organizing project I used Strategy #1 and #7.

30 Minute Organizing: Bedside Table

Calming or chaotic? Which best describes your bedside table?

Now think for a moment, how would you like it to be?

I hope you answered calming! According to the principles of feng shui and the National Sleep Foundation, a bedroom should be a calming and relaxing space. Fewer distractions—and clutter is a distraction—promote better sleep and improve your energy.

Spend 30 minutes de-cluttering your bedside table as a first step towards creating a more peaceful bedroom. 

First, clear off everything that has accumulated on the surface of your bedside table. Throw out the trash and recycle the catalogs and magazines you aren’t reading any more…or haven’t had time to read. 

Be ruthless and realistic with your reading material! Make a rule for yourself: keep no more than 5 items to read…or use the one-in one-out rule: as soon as a new issue of a magazine or newspaper arrives, recycle the last one even if you haven’t read it.

Next, remove anything that has to do with work. Put work in your office, briefcase or create another area out of the bedroom for work-related papers and projects. (Also check out this blog entry, Don’t Take Your Work To Bed With You, on www.organize-office.com.)

Don’t forget to look in any drawers or shelves of your bedside table. What’s in there? Kleenex and cough drops? 15 bookmarks? Expired medicine? Old glasses? Only keep easily accessible what you use most often.

Now put back your reading material (see rules above).  Maybe add a small dish or basket to catch your jewelry or watch. You can also add something you’d enjoy looking at every morning like a photo, special piece of artwork, or other memento. Keep a pen and paper (or PDA) to jot down quick notes. 

In just 30 minutes, you’ve cleared a space and improved your bedroom. Enjoy your de-cluttered bedside table, and have a good night’s sleep!

Happy Camper

This time of year can be really busy: as soon as school winds down…summer camp starts up. In the next few weeks I’ll be getting my daughter ready to go to camp for the first time.

Here are some reminders to help get your camper ready to go:

• Plan a time to shop for what you need to purchase.
• Label everything your child will bring or wear to camp. There are several online companies where you can purchase pre-printed labels with your child’s name. 
• Plan for the first day of camp. Talk with your child about what to expect, especially if this is the first time they are going. Have them pick out their clothes for the first day and have the backpack or bag packed the night before.

With a little bit of planning and organization, your child will be a happy camper!

School’s Out Organizing Part II: The Backpack Black Hole

In a recent post I recommended that parents undertake an end-of-year paper purge of school information. Continuing with that theme…don’t forget the black hole of your student’s backpack!

For many students, the backpack is a black hole: things go in and they don’t come out.

Even if your child is usually good at routinely going through the contents of the backpack, the end of year busyness may mean that papers, projects and other things get shoved in, and there isn’t as much time to go through them.  (My kindergartener is fairly organized but I know all spring she has been stashing more and more toys in her backpack for “free choice time.” I don’t think she has any idea how many erasers and Polly Pockets she has accumulated.)

Now’s the time to take a look in the backpack and clean out the papers, trash, food remnants, toys, and whatever else has been hiding in there. Parents of younger kids may need to lend a helping hand, but for older elementary school kids they should be able to do this on their own. At minimum, a child can dump everything out and the parent can guide the sorting of items into basic categories: trash, recycle, and things to keep.

Don’t forget to check out the lunch box too! If it can be used next year, give it a good cleaning. If not, be sure to make a note to buy a new one in the summer.

School’s Out Organizing Part I: The Paper Purge

It’s that time of year: school is almost out for summer!! This year, as school winds down, plan 30 minutes  to organize or "reset" the papers from the end of school craziness. 

In just 30 minutes you can get a lot done. Here’s how to get started:

• Purge last year's school papers from your notebook, folder, or the pile on the kitchen counter where they have been sitting all year. Much of this paperwork will not be necessary to keep.

• If there are papers such as class lists you want to keep, you can 1) file in a manila folder labeled with your child’s name, school and year…or better yet, 2) scan the document and toss the paper!

• Start a file or binder for the incoming papers you'll receive for the new school year. Label this folder/binder with the school name and year.

• Sort and purge the pile of school projects or artwork. Save the special pieces in a file or box (be sure to date them), and archive them in a dry, out of the way spot such as your attic or a closet.

• Pick 1-2 creations to display and enjoy. (For more ideas on displaying and using artwork, see this article on my website.)

You can even turn this task into an end-of-school year ceremony with your child. Go through the projects and artwork with your child and have him/her help select the pieces to keep. Celebrate the year's achievements and then enjoy some special time together getting some ice cream, taking a walk, or playing your child's favorite game.

Take some time now to reset the school papers for summer...and in September you'll be glad you did!

Note: This article is based on one originally published in the July/August 2009 edition of The Neat Sheet.

Spring Fling: 3 Seasonal Organizing Projects

Spring has come to New England and with the warmer weather, we can say good-bye to snow shovels, boots, scarves, and wool sweaters. This month I’m working on a few seasonal organizing projects of my own.*

For each of my projects the key strategy is rotate: I put what I’m going to use now easily within reach, and put the off-season items away.

Hall Closet: I use an over-the-door shoe bag with pockets in my closet. In the winter the  pockets are filled with hats, gloves, and pocket-size Kleenex…but for the summer, they are replaced with sunscreen, sunglasses and summer hats. I also pull out all the winter things that have drifted to the bottom of the closet, and sort into piles: to donate, to wash, or take to the dry cleaners. Once everything is clean, it all gets put away in a basket at the bottom of the closet, or hung in the back of the closet. The spring jackets get rotated to the front of the closet for easy access.

Clothes Closet: Same strategy for my closet—take out the winter things for storage in the attic, while checking to see if there are any clothes/shoes that I haven’t worn and can donate. I also make piles for dry cleaning and mending. Then the summer clothes go in and I’m ready for warmer weather.

Basement: This is another area to rotate items: the snow shovels go to the back of the basement in one corner, making it easier for me to reach the gardening equipment. The ice skates and sleds get put away, while my daughter's bike comes out.

*If you live in an area that doesn’t have such drastic weather changes, you can still use the Spring and Fall as reminders to do a sort and purge of the closets, basement or attic.

Happy Anniversary to One of My Favorite Organizing Tools

30 years ago this month, 3M unveiled one of my most-used and beloved organizing tools: the Post-it Note! Here are 3 of my favorite ways to use Post-it Notes:

• For my daily to do list: no more than 3-5 items!
• For my list of errands…the note pads sit on my desk so I can jot down errands as I think of them, then the note moves to the door, then sticks in my car or my bag as a reminder
• As temporary labels: when organizing drawers or bins for myself or a client, I use the notes as temporary labels; once I know the system works, I can do a more permanent label

Notice that I didn’t say I stick them all over my computer screen! One note might be OK, but if you have them circling your screen you need a better system.

It’s hard to believe this little invention has been around for three decades. For Post-it Note history and fun facts, including the marketing pilot called the Boise Blitz, check out the 3M website.

Note: Post-it brand notes are a registered trademark of 3M Corporation.

De-Clutter & Donate: More Than Words (Waltham, MA)

For readers in the Boston area, here is a great reason to do some spring cleaning and de-cluttering of your bookshelves: support the More Than Words book drive April 23rd-25th.

More Than Words helps at-risk youth by giving them the opportunity to “take charge of their lives by taking charge of a business.” The More Than Words used bookstore “features a wide array of titles, comfortable seating, and free wi-fi.” There is even a coffee bar offering Starbucks coffee, tea and baked treats!

April 23rd –25th More Than Words is trying to collect 6000 items for their store. Bring your unwanted books, CDs, DVDs and videogames to More Than Words in Waltham during store hours and help them reach their goal.

De-Clutter & Donate: LexFUN Consignment Sale (Lexington, MA)

Do some spring cleaning in your closets, attic or basement…and then donate or consign your gently used children’s clothing, toys and equipment as part of LexFUN’s annual Consignment Sale. LexFUN is Lexington’s Five and Under Network, which offers social, educational, and recreational opportunities to families with young children (infants to age five).

The Consignment Sale takes place on Saturday May 8th and benefits LexFUN’s Preschool Scholarship Fund. Find more information on the Consignment Sale here.

De-clutter & Donate: Dress for Success

This week I had the opportunity to visit a great organization, Dress for Success. Dress for Success “promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.” For over 10 years this organization has been supporting women across the country (and internationally).

Dress for Success seeks donations of good quality suits and other professional accessories to help stock their boutique, because all suits are given to their clients for free. The Boston affiliate has a schedule of clothing donation days.* This week I finally admitted that I wasn’t going to fit into those few suits left in my closet, and dropped them off. What a wonderful experience!

As I entered the office, I was greeted, my donations were reviewed and hung on racks outside the door. I was then invited to look at the “boutique” and learn more about the program. The next room was set up as a boutique store, with racks of suits neatly lining the walls. There was also a rack of handbags, and a center table with jewelry artfully displayed. The last room included dressing rooms a wall of shelves filled with shoes. There was even a section where Dress for Success clients could obtain attire for a second interview.

I was impressed at how polished and beautiful everything looked..it made me want to go shopping! Clients are treated to a dignified and professional experience. With locations across the country, this Spring, why not de-clutter and donate to Dress for Success?

*Note to readers in the Boston area, I was pleasantly surprised to easily find parking outside the office on Commonwealth Ave! The next donation day in Boston is Tuesday, May 4th. If you are a client of That’s Neat! Organizing and would like to donate a suit but can’t get to Dress for Success, email elizabeth@thatsneatorganizing.com and I may be able to drop off your donation.

Preserving Treasured Photos

Here's the second post in my Preserving Treasures series…I'm pleased to have our guest blogger, Gabriela Burgman, a trained archivist and professional organizer, back to share her tips for preserving special photos.

In the summer of 1999, I had the wonderful opportunity to work in the photograph archives at the San Diego Historical Society. My duties included describing, dating, and preserving postcards and photograph collections gathered from businesses and families that had lived in San Diego for the past 100 years.

As I handled hundreds of unidentified images and photos that were disintegrating from poor storage, I realized that we, as archivists, needed to teach the public about organizing their photos so that when we received them as donations several generations in the future, their value would not be lost. So I am here today to give you a quick lesson on photo preservation.

Why are photos so sensitive? Print photographs are made up of many layers that come together to form the image. Since photos are more complicated than pieces of paper, they tend to need a little more TLC if you want them to last more than a few years.

Preserving Photos

There are three main things to think about if you want your photos to be around to show the grandkids (especially the really embarrassing photos of their parents).

1. Treat your photos like a living thing. Photos are sensitive to heat, light, humidity, and even air pollution. All of these things can fade, warp, scratch, melt, and disintegrate your photos.

So how do you keep them in good health? Store them in conditions that humans like to hang out in: low humidity, steady in temperature (a bit on the cool side), absent of rodents and insects, and in an atmosphere low in pollution - no smoke, no cleaning solvents, and no paints or varnishes (this includes newly painted rooms or furniture).

Some basic Do’s and Don'ts:

• Don't store your photos in your attic, basement, garage, or "beneath or in close proximity to water sources like washing machines, bathrooms, or air-conditioning equipment. Be sure to consider what is in the room above your collections." Also avoid storing near fireplaces, radiators, or heating vents.

• Do keep photos out of direct sunlight and away from unprotected fluorescent lighting.

• Do keep the area where you store your photos clean.

If you ever want to see a demo of what can happen to your treasured objects depending on what room you store them in, visit the Image Permanence Institute website.

2. Store your photos like prized possessions. Now that I've impressed upon you how delicate photos are, let me show you great ways to preserve and organize your images.

First, some important Don’ts:

• Don’t think that papers, albums, envelopes, and adhesives labeled “archival” or “acid-free” are automatically safe for your photos. The Northeast Document Conservation Center explained it best: “There are [no] scientific standards defining the term archival-quality enclosures, and this term in catalogs can be misleading…Boxes, mats, folders, and other paper enclosures for preservation use at home should be low-lignin or lignin-free, and buffered throughout.” 
• (Find a thorough explanation of terms like “buffered” and “lignin” from the Northeast Document Conservation Center here; scroll down to “Storage Enclosures.”)

• Don’t stuff your photos tightly into drawers, files, envelopes, or plastic containers. When you compact the images they have a greater chance of sticking to each other.

• But don't go to the extreme and store your photos too loosely in an oversized container. When you do that, they tend to slump, curl, or even bend from being jostled around.

Now for what you’ve been waiting for: how DO you store photos? There are two levels of “armor” to consider:

1) Paper or plastic?  Ideally, photos are stored in either a paper envelope or a plastic enclosure. Deciding which one to use will depend on how many times you will look at the photo, the state of the print (is the emulsion flaking off?) and how big the photograph is.

• If you are going to look at your photos often, use clear plastic enclosures made of polyethylene, polypropylene, spun-bonded polyolefins, or polystyrene (avoid anything frosted, made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or glassine).

• Look for enclosures noted to be “PAT.”  This means they’ve passed the Photographic Activity Test (PAT) and will not react with your photos.

• If your photograph is flaking, is glued to an acidic board, or just needs more support, you can store them in buffered paper envelopes (unless your photo is a cyanotype).

• Store photographs larger than an 8x10 horizontally in special folders.

• The same rules pretty much apply to your negatives. You can store them in plastic unless they are larger than 4 x 5 or are nitrate negatives. Then you need to store the negatives in paper envelopes.
• If you prefer to put your photos directly in albums, make sure the pages are also made of the appropriate plastic and that any paper used is non-acidic. Do not use albums with "magnetic" pages, black paper pages, or ones made with vinyl.

2) Box or album? After your photos and negatives are in their proper first enclosures, now you can do one of two things: store them in boxes or put them in albums.

• Boxes: Try to store your photos vertically, supported within the box so they don’t slouch over. Make sure the box is the appropriate size; use shoe boxes for 3x5 or 4x6 photographs, and document boxes for folders. Your oversized prints should be put into flat boxes and stored horizontally (never vertically).

• Several companies which sell archive materials also offer photograph Box kits that you can purchase, including Archival Methods, Hollinger Metal Edge, and Light Impressions.

• Albums: If you chose to put your photographs in albums, make sure to buy both the inserts and covers from reputable dealers.

• If you decide to save your photographs in the form of scrapbooks, I highly suggest you visit the Scrapbook Preservation Society to find out how you can preserve all the hard work you’ve put into making these family heirlooms.

I recognize that you can’t put your entire photograph collection into museum preservation order. At minimum, you really should group photos together in small stacks (say 36) and put into buffered folders or envelopes (as shown in this kit sold by Light Impressions).

3. Handle photos with care. Whenever you are going to sort, view, or handle your photographs, make sure that you are first working in a clean, uncluttered area, and have clean hands. (If you are sitting down to do a large project with treasured photos, you might want to even wear clean, white cotton gloves.)

If you are going to try to label your photos, do not use ink or felt-tip pens. You can either write lightly using a soft lead pencil or purchase a special blue photo marking pencil.

I hope you find it useful to preserve your most special photos for years to come!

Gabriela Burgman, owner of Claiming Space, holds a BA from Mount Holyoke College and a Masters Degree in Information Science from the University of Michigan. She has worked in colleges and universities for six years as an archivist and a records manager, assisting academic offices, administrators, and retiring academics sort through their files for preservation or disposal.

Spices of Life

My super-organized cousin is back again to share how she organizes her spices. 

A few weeks ago a neighbor asked me how to go about organizing the spices in her kitchen. She, like many of us, had collected a variety of spices beyond the usual parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme and the storage and organization of these various bottles, jars and cans has become an issue.

Years ago I had the same issues in my kitchen so I came up with this system to eliminate the problem. Here’s what works for me:

• Buy spices in bulk if available. This eliminates packaging waste and you can purchase just the amount you need.

• Buy one style of container and decant all of your dried spices into them. Buy a few extras so you’ll have them on hand when you need to add a new spice to your collection. I like clear glass bottles with screw on lids – these are a great choice. 

• Label all of your spice jars either on the top if you choose to store them standing up in a drawer, or on the side if they are stored in a pantry or cupboard.

• Organize spices alphabetically.

• Put a removable or reusable wipe-off sticker on the bottom of each spice jar with the expiration date of each spice. Most spice companies will date their spices for freshness.

• If you’ve purchased a bit more spice than will fit in your jars, store it in small zip top bags, label with the variety of spice and expiration date and store in the freezer.

I keep the spices I use everyday - oregano, rosemary, sage and thyme - on my kitchen counter in a tray by my stove. I also keep a variety of salts and peppers on another tray along with bulbs of garlic, olive oils and vinegars, and I have two pots of fresh herbs on my kitchen windowsill.

Hopefully these tips will be helpful to you in your own kitchen. Remember to select a container and labeling system that work for you and stick with it. Soon, you’ll find it’s fast and easy to have a pinch of fresh herbs and spices at your fingertips.

-Janna

Tornado Season: Spring Cleaning

Feeling ready for Spring? Here's some inspiration from guest blogger, Janna Lufkin.

I grew up in Idaho: we don’t have tornadoes but you’d think one hit the house every March or April. It was time for the annual Spring Cleaning. My mom would take an entire weeks vacation from work and whip herself up into cleaning frenzy!

Personally, I look forward to spring cleaning, but like most, I can’t spend an entire week on the project.

Over the years I have learned not to try to do too much all at once. Here’s how I go about it: my system is to break down the tasks into smaller tasks.

I take a day to clean and reorganize each drawer in the house. I start by setting up some boxes marked toss or donate. I’ll go from room to room to sort, reorganize and clean each drawer. I take the items that are no longer needed or wanted and toss them into the right boxes. I finish my day with a trip to the Goodwill.

When I have another day I do closets, then onto cupboards (including the pantry) and so on. Again, I have my boxes in tow and finish with a trip to Goodwill.

I call this cleaning from the inside out.

After about three days of cleaning and sorting throughout the month I move on to other tasks like wiping walls and woodwork, which usually takes a day. Next up: vacuuming furniture, drapes or blinds, and having the rugs and carpets cleaned. I’ll take one day and thoroughly clean all of the bathrooms and another day to get down and dirty in the kitchen. Finally I clear out winter blankets and bedding, wash everything and store for the summer.

And, you know what I discovered? By tackling my cleaning in this way I found I really enjoyed it! It wasn’t so much of a ‘big’ chore as it was a series of smaller chores done over a month or so.

So, throw open the windows and doors and let the fresh air and sunshine in while you work. Take joy in the ritual – just do it a little at a time.

-Janna