De-clutter & Donate: Furniture Donations to benefit the Mass. Coalition for the Homeless

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Get that unused furniture out of your basement and attic this week! November 7-10, donate good-condition, unwanted furniture to benefit the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless. The furniture drive is sponsored by the Greater Boston Association of Realtors.

Furniture can be picked up at your home! Or drop off at Olympia Moving in Watertown, MA.  Contact them today to arrange the pick up or drop off: mahomeless@olympiamoving.com or Mark McEwen at 617-231-1204.

Organizing in the Kitchen: What are your online tools?

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Say the phrase “kitchen tools” and you probably think of a stand mixer, chef knife, or set of measuring cups.  But what online tools have you tried?

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As a busy parent, I know that finding the time to plan meals, shop, and cook can be a challenge. Here are a few online tools I've tried to save time:

  • Online grocery delivery: When I lived in an apartment and couldn’t carry bags of groceries home I regularly ordered my groceries online. Now I use the deliveries when my schedule is too hectic. A busy mom friend says this service saves her every week, especially with store app for smartphones. Her basic shopping list is always ready to go.
  • Recipes online: I use websites to find the perfect birthday cake for my party theme, or to discover a new way to cook Brussels sprouts. My sister also uses Pinterest to “pin” her favorite recipes from the web, allowing her not only to have the recipe but also a photo of the dish.
  • Cooking magazines online: In my home we love Cook’s Illustrated and subscribe online so that we can find any recipe we need, any time. Now we don’t have to search through all the magazines to find that dessert we wanted to try. My husband loves their app for the iPad too.

I have been telling parents about The 6 o’clock Scramble website. Subscribe and you’ll receive weekly meal plans with shopping lists and healthy eating tips! I haven’t tried it yet but it looks like it could be a huge help.

What online tools have you tried to make it easier to get meals on the table?

Taking Stock of Organizing Systems

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Our kitchen renovation project is half way done, and I can finally see some light at the end of the tunnel. The plumbing and electrical systems are updated, new walls and trim are up, and the cabinets areinstalled. I’m already dreaming about where I’ll put the cookware and the dishes.

At this half-way point I decided to take stock of the project and how I thought living in a house without a kitchen would play out. Some of the organizing systems we set up were working…and some were not.

What works: school papers. The portable basket for my daughter’s school papers and family information binder easily moved into the dining room and keeps us on track. I go through the paper piles on the corner of the dining room table every day and sort, purge or file.

What hasn’t been working: shoes. Our shoes used to get kicked off and land in the hall closet, which is now being converted into a half bathroom. Without the use of the closet, the shoes have morphed into a mountain by the front door. At first we tried leaving just the pairs we were wearing by the door but that quickly fell apart.

The fix? My husband remembered that we had a shoe/boot shelf in the basement. He brought up the rack, tucked it behind the front door, and voila – instant organization. We each get a shelf: shoes that fit on the shelf can stay, otherwise they need to be put away. It’s not beautiful but highly functional as a temporary solution. (We’ll have a mudroom area once the new kitchen is done.)

My takeaways: 1) simple solutions, like the portable basket, work—and can be flexible in different spaces; 2) losing a closet is a major change and calls for creative thinking for a new system.

Don’t give up if your first organizing attempt doesn’t work as planned. Try, try again!

Rein in The Recipes

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If you have one of our 12 Months of Organizing calendars, you know that this month the tip is for recipe organization. Given that my kitchen is under construction and my house is in a state of chaos, I decided to gain control over one small area that had been bothering me: my recipes.

Favorite recipes used to be easily contained in the small accordion file my mom gave me for my wedding engagement, but the file was bursting at the seams. I also started to wedge recipes I had printed or pulled from magazines between the cookbooks on my shelf. It was turning into a jumble of papers. And then I had an old-fashioned recipe card file that was stuffed too.

I emptied the accordion file and the recipe card box, and pulled out all the loose recipes. Now what to do? Sort! I spread the recipes all over the floor and started to group them into categories.

Next, I purged recipes that I had in duplicate or that I knew I’d never make. I also found a ton of delicious recipes I had completely forgotten about.

Now for the fun part: I put all the recipes to keep in a binder! Actually, two binders. I had this solution in mind and was ready with tabs and hundreds of plastic sleeves. The plastic sleeves work for small recipe cards and full size printed pages.

The result? Recipes are sorted by categories, and all easily visible in the sleeves. I can also pull out the sleeves for cooking and the recipes won’t get dirty or damp.

Can’t wait to cook again!

Knickknack Paddywack, Will The Stuff Come Back?

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When I was getting ready for my kitchen renovation I first started to pack up the decorative items from the kitchen. As I took down everything I had displayed on the top pantry shelf and window sill, I realized how knickknacks have a way of multiplying.

I love the display of glass bottles on the window, but maybe the silver tea bag holder doesn’t need to be there. And it might be time for my beloved ornament from Ratatouille to find its way to the Christmas tree instead of the kitchen.

I looked at the window sill minus the jars, ornament and other things and thought hmm…this is nice.

I was reminded of another time when I put away knickknacks: when my daughter was a toddler. This coincided with the sale of our first house which worked out well; it was much easier to stage and show the condo without too many knickknacks around.

Once we moved to our current home many of the knickknacks stayed away, as I’ve blogged about before. The same thing might happen in the new kitchen. Bottles in, Ratatouille ornament out.

Can you live with more empty space? Is it time for you to take a fresh look at your space and see if you can lighten up? Sometimes taking away (and donating!) a few knickknacks in your room can make a huge difference.

How to Stay Sane? Tip 2: Get Rid of the Stuff

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In my last post about how to stay sane during a kitchen renovation, I shared Tip 1: make a list (or two). 

Tip 2: get rid of as much excess stuff as possible.

In going through my kitchen to pack it all up, I inevitably found a few more things that we could let go; how many cheese graters and coffee grinders does a family need? As I’ve written before, home improvement projects create the perfect time to pause and purge.

And because I needed to store the kitchen items in the attic and the basement during the renovation, I was forced to confront those spaces as well.

The books and clothes from the attic that I had planned to give away months ago – donated.  The box of dishes and vases for the consignment store – taken.  The outdated cell phones and electronics from the basement – gone!  Some items have been sold, but most have been donated.

How do we get the stuff out? I used Craigslist to sell the exercise equipment we never used, a local parents email list to get rid of finger paints and chalk, and Freecycledother random items from a full roll of shelf liner to an HP printer/fax/scanner/copier that only functions as a printer. And I’ve donated books to More Than Words and clothing and small housewares to Goodwill.

After getting the excess out I felt much better and lighter. I guess that is the upside of a major renovation project. Stay tuned for more kitchen related tips.

How to Stay Sane? Tip 1: Make a List

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I’m thrilled that the day has come for our kitchen remodel, but I alternate between panic, overwhelm and excitement.

How am I keeping my sanity? With two of my favorite strategies.

#1:  I have been making a list…or lists in this case. For this project my lists included:

  • what we needed to pack away
  • areas I had to clear out
  • what we needed to move to set up our temporary kitchen
  • miscellaneous things we needed to do to get ready
  • questions to ask the contractors
  • items we had to shop for

Keeping a list helps me keep it all together. And there is a the feeling of accomplishment when something gets crossed off. How do you use lists?

Stay tuned for #2 later this week.

Get it in Gear

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If you have kids, you know that Fall is a super busy time. Besides school, many sports and classes start up again.

So get that gear in order!

  • Know which activities your kids will be doing. Make a schedule for each child, and put all activities on a master family calendar.
  • Use a separate bag to store the gear for each activity. If you do this already, now is the time to have your child clean out the bag from last year!
  • Take an inventory of what your kids will need for their activities. Do the soccer cleats or tap shoes still fit? Can you find both ice skates or the baseball glove?
  • Make a list of anything you’ll need to buy, and schedule time to purchase it.

One Thing Leads to Another

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The time has come…we are having our kitchen remodeled!

Well, remodeled isn’t actually the best word since we don’t have much to remodel. I think of it as starting from scratch since we’ll be adding cabinets and counters, and modern conveniences like a dishwasher and disposal.

Since we won’t have use of the kitchen for many weeks, we will set up a temporary kitchen in our dining room with the fridge, microware, and crockpot. Of course, this meant that we’ve had to move things around in the dining room to make it function as a kitchen. We now have metal shelves set up, ready to hold our pantry supplies and some basic dishes. My daughter’s art table has been relocated upstairs, and the sideboard goes into the attic.

Ah, the attic. So to make room in the attic for the sideboard and all the boxes of kitchen things we won’t use during the remodel, we had to put away all those things that hadn’t found their way back to where they belong. Even though I go through things in the attic once or twice a year, they seem to multiply after I shut the door. So my other tactic has been to purge, purge, purge along the way.

And just so no floor in our house goes untouched, the kitchen project of course affects the basement, where the contractors will need to store things and come in and out. My husband has been amazing in this area, leaving no corner untouched. Screens that don’t match any of our windows – gone! Broken wood from our porch repair – gone!

I know firsthand that moving stuff from one room to another inevitably means something else gets moved or turned upside down.

If you are facing a big organization project (home remodel, turning an office into a baby’s room) don’t get discouraged. Make a plan and a list. Keep it in perspective. Work on one area at a time.  Get rid of as much stuff you don’t use as you can. And if you need help, call a friend for a few hours, or contact That’s Neat! Organizing.

Look for more tips on how I keep my sanity during the renovation project.

Organizing for Emergencies: Be Prepared

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Here in the Boston area this week we had the rare experience of an earthquake (I didn’t even notice it!), and now predictions are for a hurricane this weekend. And recently we’ve had devastating tornadoes in central Massachusetts, not a common occurrence. We just never know what mother nature is planning.

Today I was thinking about what we might need to do before the impending hurricane, and I heard some good advice from the local emergency management officials: Make a list of what you need to take inside during a hurricane, including bicycles, kids toys, lawn furniture, hanging plants, and awnings.

A list, music to my ears! And a great idea to make the list before the storm hits.

This got me thinking about other tips for emergencies:

  • Have a list with your insurance company name and contact information, and your policy numbers; even better – have a copy of your declarations page.
  • Know where your flashlights and extra batteries are.
  • Also have candles and matches handy.
  • Discuss an emergency plan with your family – where you would meet up if you were separated, where you would evacuate?
  • Have your first aid kit stocked.
  • If you did have to leave your home, what special items and photos would you want to take?
  • And of course, have some extra water and food on hand.

For more details on preparing for an emergency, check out professional organizer Judith Kolberg’s Organizing for Disaster and the website ready.gov. Hopefully you won’t ever need to use your emergency plan or supplies, but it’s much better to be prepared, just in case.

Best of Back to School

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It’s that time of year again! Whether your kids are off to college or starting out in Kindergarten, we’ve got tips for you.

Here is a collection of our best back to school posts. What could be easier?

What is your favorite back-to-school tip?

Ready to Return?

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Everyone loves to leave on vacation, but few of us like to return.

Here are my organization tricks to make the “re-entry” back to reality easier:

  • Before I leave I write a list of critical things I need to do once I return (like pay certain bills, call client, etc.). All this races through my head before I leave but I can put it on the list and forget it while I’m away.
  • Clean up the kitchen before you go away. I like to come home to a clean kitchen.
  • Once you return, start laundry right away. My husband and I now bring our bags right from the car into the laundry room. We empty the dirty laundry and get at least one load started as soon as we are home.
  • Unpack as you can…laundry and clothes are first, the other items may take a few days to get put away.

Bon voyage!

Summer Entertaining

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It’s time to get together with friends! Here are some tips to organize your summer entertaining:

  • If your event is outside, be sure to have a back-up plan in case the weather doesn’t cooperate.
  • Make your lists: grocery, other shopping, to do.
  • Have your kitchen stocked with a few party favorites for impromptu gatherings. I like to always have olives, crackers and cheese ready to go.
  • Also keep your bar stocked for summer drinks. It’s easier to have a party “signature” drink (think gin and tonic or mojito) rather than offering a full bar.
  • Check to be sure you have napkins, plates and other supplies for outside entertaining.

And for some fun aprons and linens, check out my cousin Janna’s fabulous designs at Raw Materials Design.

Happy entertaining!

Martha Stewart Living Radio Interview

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I was thrilled to be interviewed on the MSLR show, "Living Today." Host Ryan Brockington and I discussed our favorite ways to get ready for summer, shared our love of lists, and I answered questions from callers. It was very fun!

Listen to the interview (about 30 minutes).

Reduce the Excuse….Plan Ahead

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It is so easy to make excuses to avoid things we know we should do. I always had an excuse for why I didn’t exercise regularly or go to the gym.

That all changed a few months ago. After years of walking, yoga, and Pilates, I decided to  ramp up my routine when I heard about a “boot camp” workout from Karna Fitness. This is a VERY early morning class and I thought, why not? I won’t have anything else going on at that time…except of course for sleep! So I went from 0 aerobic exercise to a serious workout 2x a week, and I feel great.

While it’s hard to get going in the morning, my amazing instructor emailed with excellent advice before the first class: get your workout clothes together, have your sneakers by the door, fill your water bottle and leave a quick snack on the table the night before.

This routine has really helped me be able to get out the door at 5:40am. It’s the planning ahead that helps me reduce the excuses and take care of myself.

What are you making excuses for? Can planning ahead help?