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In celebration of Earth Day tomorrow I wanted to share some information on recycling electronics and other products we use every day that contain chemicals that are potentially hazardous to our health and the environment. See the links below to gain access to the how, where and when of disposing of electronics and other hazardous items in your home that are no longer needed.

 ALEXANDRIA -

General information on rules and regulations of recycling in Alexandria.

 

FAIRFAX COUNTY -

General information on recycling in Fairfax County.

Upcoming electronic recycling days.

 

I just became aware of a company called PCRecycler. They have a truly green approach to recycling electronics...mainly computers. The company does a free outreach to the community the 2nd Saturday of every month where consumers can bring their computers to their office in Chantilly and they will properly delete all information and recycle and dispose of unusable parts. Their website is www.pcrecycler.net.

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Simplify for Life is a new business partner with the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Alexandria. I believe there is a synergy between my company's mission - to help people gain clarity and time through the process of organizing, and the ReStore's mission to support the Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia's mission to provide affordable housing to low income families in the area. A significant part of organizing is purging and letting go of items no longer needed and a good way to do so is by donating them to a charity.

This Saturday, April 24th, the ReStore is partnering with the Metro Washington DC Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) to host the third annual BIG Sale starting at 9:00 at the ReStore in Alexandria - 7770 Richmond Hwy (behind Gold's Gym). Members of ASID are donating items that will be sold at up to 75% off retail. Items being sold include: wall hangings, fabric, trim, cabinets, blinds, shades, architectural details, countertops, curtain rods, furniture and much more.

I will be there for some of the festivities because, as you are all aware, not only does organizing make us feel good and help us gain clarity and time, but it is also a critical design element.

See you Saturday-

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It is so uplifting to see everyone working on their yards, and to hear the sounds of nature and lawn mowers in our neighborhood. Spring is here finally after our long, hard winter! I feel the need, more strongly this year, to purge things from the inside of our home.  I want the weight of unnecessary things removed from our newly renovated home. I am really trying to push my agenda of simplicity which sometimes is met with resistance from everyone else in my family.

One of my favorite columns to read in the Post is Michelle Singletary's, The Color of Money. She wrote this past Sunday about spring being the season of rebirth and that it is a good time to get busy throwing out the stuff clogging our homes, office, minds and spirits. I was very intrigued that a financial columnist was writing about decluttering and how clutter not only weighs us down, but it can cause us to be late on bills, contribute to debt and impact our finances in a negative way. Her April book she is recommending is Gail Blanke's, Throw Out Fifty Things - Clear the Clutter, Find your Life. The book is divided into four parts:

• Get rid of the unused stuff in your home (connect to my resource list to find out where to donate it)
• Attack your office, both home and work, to get rid of unnecessary items and clutter which may be impacting your ability to be productive
• Get rid of mental cluter
• Once you have gotten rid of 50 things in your home, office and mind, you'll be ready to contemplate what you want in your life

I bought the book and I look forward to reading it. As an organizer I understand and see first hand the power of letting go and when the old goes out, the new comes in as positive change. I have seen personally and through clients how cleaning up and making sense of our physical space, impacts our mental space which then impacts in a positive way our lives.

Let's have this beautiful season of spring help us bring positive change to our homes, minds and lives.

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I meant to post this info earlier, but it has been busy. A large Shred and Share event is planned for this Saturday, March 27th from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. It is a collaboration of the City of Alexandria, County of Fairfax, the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, Landmark Mall, ProShred and McEnerney Realtors. ProShred will have a shredding truck to shred and recycle your old personal documents and the ReStore in Alexandria will be accepting donations.

Shredding Details: Shred up to 5 medium-sized boxes of personal documents per vehicle. Only documents with personal information such as tax documents, medical or financial records will be shredded. Junk mail, newspapers, magazines and other forms of paper will not be accepted, but can be recycled through your normal recycling system. Please remove all paper from binders and remove all paper clips, binder clips and rubber bands. This event is for paper shredding only, and ProShred will not shred information stored on film or computer discs.

The Shredding locations are Landmark Mall (Duke Street entrance) the Sears Parking Lot and the South County Gov't Center, 8350 Richmond Hwy, Alexandria.

Share Details:   Recycle your new and gently used building materials and household improvement items.

Share Locations are: Landmark Mall (Duke Street entrance), Sears Parking Lot, ReStore Alexandria, 7770 Richmond Hwy (behind Gold's Gym), and the ReStore Chantilly location - 4262G Entre Court, Chantilly.

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A client friend of mine sent me a link to some good products for organizing the kitchen. We have been working on her kitchen recently, and like most of us, her kitchen serves many purposes beyond cooking. We have been working on streamlining her desk that is in the kitchen, reworking her cabinets so that the shelves and cabinets that are most accessible hold items that she uses most frequently, and purging items that don't work for her any longer.

The kitchen is such a vital room for most families because it is the gathering room, entertaining room, homework room, and place for cooking and eating together. We redesigned our kitchen last year and it is so great to have a gathering place that now functions so well.

One common issue that I see a lot of people have is where to store paper that is needed regularly...such as school work, bills, etc. I always recommend to clients to carve out a cabinet or two to house all of the administrative files, paper, and accessories that can clutter a kitchen quickly. In our kitchen redesign, I had the electrician put an electrical outlet in my designated administrative cabinet so that we could hide the clutter when we are charging phones and also have a convenient place to plug in the electric pencil sharpener.

I love that my son can do his homework in the kitchen while I'm cooking. He knows where all of his homework supplies are kept and some of the hassle of getting started is removed because he has a set place to do it and the tools to get it done.

The kitchen is the hub of most homes and because it is such an important room, it is helpful to spend the time periodically going through systems to make sure they still work, and make adjustments if they don't so that this well used room functions well.

Here's to some spring organizing in your kitchen!

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I don't know about you, but yesterday with the sun shining so brightly and the temperature in the high 40s, it almost felt like spring was in the air.  Just as nature changes for the better (in my opinion) in the spring, many of us feel the urge to bring positive change to our homes, schedules and self.   With spring, comes the desire to make our homes lighter and brighter.  Additionally,  we look for ways we can free up time to enjoy the longer days and maybe make some positive self changes a long the way ...especially if we have long forgotten our New Years resolutions.

Several new clients have reminded me of the amazing, uplifting power of letting go of clutter.   For one client in particular, we had two storage units to clean out and what I estimated would take several days, ended up getting accomplished in 1 day.  A lot of it was due to her readiness to let go of things that she wasn't using and that didn't hold any particular significance now.  She was able to gain great satisfaction knowing that these perfectly good items were going to be reused by people who need them now.  She was able to move at a quick pace because she was highly motivated to clear out the clutter and she was mentally prepared to face whatever was in storage.  By the end of the day she was beaming and though we were tired, it was such a good feeling to witness her sense of satisfaction and happiness.

 Organizing does have many benefits, and a significant one is through the process of letting go of clutter, it does enhance happiness.  I have seen time and time again how organizing can have a domino effect whereby a person becomes more motivated to focus on personal goals such as  undertaking a job search, working on a weight management program, or going to the gym regularly. 

We all want more time to do whatever it is that makes us happy.   Organizing can help us find extra windows of time in our day so that we can direct our time. 

Okay, so I realize we have a way to go until spring, but for now, I'll enjoy these first signs of it and smile as I hear the birds chirping out my window.   Let's be prepared to embrace spring when it gets here!

 

 

 

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I think it is safe to say that we all are going a little stir crazy! Having an unexpected snow day in the middle of the winter can be fun, and can break up our routines, but too much snow, and too many days off from school (and work) can wreck havoc with our over packed schedules, create stress and sometimes be very demotivating.

Our neighborhood streets are still pretty bad since we haven't been plowed. I have been able to get out, but on a limited basis. Yesterday, I worked out at home and after my surge of endorphins kicked in, proceeded to organize my office closet, and knock out a few work to dos that I've delayed getting to. While I was busy doing my work, I told my kids, who were home from school again, that I'd take them to Krispy Kreme donuts if they got their rooms picked up and sheets changed on their beds. My daughter needed some help because she is only 5, but my 8 year old brought his laundry down to the laundry room, made-up his bed and picked up his room so that I could dust and he could vacuum.  Though he will usually grumble when I remind him to clean-up his space, I can tell he has pride in his room and things, and I feel good knowing he is learning essential life skills.  We all felt great that we had accomplished some things before heading off to get their donuts. It was a miracle that I was able to resist getting one...I think the work out helped with that.

I think a major winter snowstorm and the way it encourages neighbors to reach out and help each other is a great teaching tool for parents. My husband and I talked with our son about how proud we were that he had on his own, tried to help some of our neighbors with their shoveling. We talked about how important it is to help neighbors who live by themselves and who may not be as physically able to deal with the snow.

I hope the schools reopen tomorrow...unlikely, but if they don't, I am hopeful that I will work on some other projects I have been putting off. And who knows, maybe I can get my kids to work on cleaning up the playroom.

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I am sometimes asked by a client why a room that we have worked on together still gets disorganized.  Sometimes it is because the system needs tweaking, or it may be time again for a good purge.  Though, sometimes it is because there are some habits or behaviors that if modified, could help support the system.

Usually the first phase of organizing focuses on the physical space.  This is where the most change happens.  In order to organize a space, items need to be sorted and purged.  Once a client has identified the remaining objects in a room, then the room is zoned, items are grouped by type and then a home is found for each item and/or group of items.  We then talk about storage and strategize on ways to keep the system up.

This is where we talk about types of behaviors or habits that help or hurt the system.  I encourage clients to have simple, uncomplicated systems that support their habits and behaviors.  Don't have a mud room?  Create one and have an area for each person in the house to put their briefcase/purse/backpack, etc.  Have it become a routine to place your important bags and necessary items needed for the  next day, to minimize the morning question..."Mom, where is my homework?"  Have an issue with mail piling up?  Does the system you have created for processing the mail work?  Maybe you need to create a routine to process the mail.

Probably one of the most important aspects of organizing is the end of day 15  minute pick-up and next day planning.  This is really important to maintain a sense of organization and order, especially if kids are part of the equation.  An effective way to stay on top of your priorities is to plan ahead and figure out what your most important tasks/to dos are for the next day.  In order to make things happen, a person needs to have a plan.

The reality of life is that rooms are lived in and get messy, but if the right systems are created, it should not take a lot of time to pick them up.  Have a plan so that you are reacting less and are checking things off your to do list.

 

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Hello Brooksfield family.  I greatly appreciate this opportunity to be an occasional blogger for your school community.

 I have been working in the organizing field, providing both residential and business organizing services, for over 8 years.  My motivation and passion is to assist clients, through the organizing process, to find clarity and time in their home and work lives.  Prior to starting my company, Simplify for Life, I worked in the association management field for 15 years.

 Do you know that the National Association of Professional Organizers designates January as "Get Organized Month"?  I think they do so because many people have getting organized as one of their top resolutions.  Many of us, myself included, have an innate desire to start the year off right, in control, organized, so that we are prepared and ready to manage our workload and personal lives instead of being in reactive mode. 

I don't know about you, but I'm still getting organized, so don't feel bad if you haven't gotten organized yet, because I tell my clients getting organized is an on-going process.  Here are a few ideas for you to mange clutter in your active rooms....

•  Identify a storage place for everything (make sure everyone in the home is involved)
• Put like things together
• Utilize multi-functional pieces such as storage ottomans/cubes that can be seating, storage or two can be placed together to make a coffee table
• Put frequently used items at eye level and in prime space
• Group small like items and if necessary put into containers and label
• Remember the 80/20 rule - we wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time; kids play with 20% of their toys 80% of the time and 80% of what we file we will never need.

I look forward to sharing organizing ideas and thoughts with you and please feel free to let me know what you'd like me to write about.

 Karen

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Come back for organizational tips and news.

Karen Gardiner
www.simplifyforlife.com

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