• Do not know where to start – generally start with the area that is closest to you on your right and work yourself around the space.

• Overwhelmed – break it down into smaller tasks. Use timers to help you work for short periods of time.
  

• No Plan – answer these questions: what items are needed, who do I need to help me, how much money do I need, what tools is needed and how much time can I spend on it? Once you have answered these questions, mark it on your calendar to do it.
  

• Do not know how to do the project – research the project or ask a professional for assistance or guidance.

• What to do with items no longer needed – before you begin, figure out how you are going to deal with the trash, where are you going to take donations or how are you going to get items back to the original owners?  Again, you can research local nonprofit organizations or ask a professional.

• Fear – I may not do it perfectly or I may fail to finish or meet someone’s approval.  There is no such thing as perfection! If you follow the plan, you will finish. Finally, your approval is all that matters.  What matters most is that you are happy with the process and end results

Once you have all these questions answered and a written plan, your stress will be decreased and beginning, implementing and completing your task or project will be a huge success! ]]> http://www.clutterconversions.com/2010/05/27/why-is-this-task-or-project-not-getting-done/feed/ 0 http://www.clutterconversions.com/2010/05/02/cash-for-clutter/ http://www.clutterconversions.com/2010/05/02/cash-for-clutter/#comments Sun, 02 May 2010 22:09:34 +0000 clutterconversions http://www.clutterconversions.com/?p=436

Here are some tips if you switch out clothes for the season.  When storing away your summer clothes only pack up the ones you actually wore and donate the rest to Goodwill, Salvation Army or other charity, sell them in a yard sale or put them in a consignment shop and make yourself a little cash.  Storing clothes that you have not worn for the season takes up valuable storage space.

Use colored containers for storage and place an index card on three sides of the container and on the top listing its contents.  Be cautious storing them in attics or basements due to humidity, dampness, bugs or rodents.  Place wooden cedar pieces inside each container which are available at most home stores.  If you do not have a lot of storage space but you do have a garage, you can purchase overhead ceiling hanging shelves for your garage.  They are very durable and can hold up to 300lbs.

Use the “hanger trick” to decide if you should pack up an item this spring.  When you pull out your winter clothes and hang them in the closet, place the hangers on the rod with the opening of the hanger facing out towards you.  Once you wear the article of clothing and go to hang it back in the closet, place the hanger on the rod the normal way.  At the end of this winter season any clothes that are still on the hanger with the opening facing you, it is safe to assume you did not wear the item through the season and you should be able to donate it.

The night before you should prepare the lunches, put everything in the backpack that needs to be returned to school and sit it beside the door you exit.  Put signed papers in the backpack.  Make a prioritized, written schedule for the next day of everyone’s activities.  Take advantage of the timer on the coffee pot so the coffee is ready in the morning when you are.  Have the kids do a nightly fifteen minute pick-up so there is no clutter to work around in the morning.

I recommend you start the morning routine two weeks before school starts so that it is not a shock to everyone the first day of school and you have time to make any necessary adjustments to each persons routine.  Preschoolers can really benefit from a morning routine.  They are at the age where you can teach them about making decisions and they want to help with just about everything.  Leave enough time in the mornings to allow them to do as much as possible on their own as appropriate.  Kids learn by example and by making choices.  Do not rush them.  Minimize distractions for them.  Keep the items that distract them put away.  They are easily distracted by their toys and books and do not have any understanding of time.

Do Not Over Schedule!  It is really easy to do as the kids get older and become involved in after school activities.  Having a centralized calendar with everyone’s activities on it will make it much easier to see if activities are overlapping and to gauge the amount of activities being done.  It is recommended that kids should not be involved in more than three after school activities.  You need to leave time in their schedule for friends, family, studying and rest.

1) Decide The Goal
Example- I want to be able to easily locate my tools, picnic items, camping gear, sports equipment or possibly make room for my car.

2) Devise and Write a Plan
Ask yourself:
A) What is it going to take for me to accomplish this goal (money, help form others, etc.)
B) How much time am I going to devote to this project (an entire weekend or break it down into smaller projects)

3) Mark it in your Planner
If you do not mark it down in your planner, it is less likely that you will carry out the plan. If you are breaking the job down into smaller projects, decide when you are going to do each one and write it down.

4) Sort and Purge
Put like items together and have separate areas for donate, trash, belongs somewhere else or to someone else.

5)Take advantage of wall and ceiling space
Use Shelving units, add cabinets or overhead hanging shelving units. Cabinets are for storing chemicals such as pesticides and vehicle maintenance items such as grease, oil and gas because you can put locks on them if you need to keep young children from reaching them or store them on upper shelves.  Overhead hanging racks can be used to store camping gear,  holiday decorations or tubs of clothing.  Visit www.garagetek.com for garage storage ideas or products.

6) Dispose of the unwanted or not needed items quickly.
If you are worried about how to dispose of the junk or items that you no longer want or is not recyclable, Junk Genies will come and pick it up. Many local nonprofit organizations will pick up items you want to recycle or donate for a reasonable fee.

7) Finally reward yourself!
If you have chosen to break the job down into smaller projects, reward yourself after each part of it is completed and definitely reward yourself after the entire project is finished. You deserve it!!

Are You Completely Stressed Out Before You Get to Work?

There are thousands of parents who are trying to get the kids dressed, breakfast and lunches prepared, backpacks packed in the morning, as well as, themselves ready for work and by the time the family is headed out the door, parents are already stressed and tired. 

Are you one of these harried parents?  Do you hear yourself say, "There’s never enough time in the mornings to get everything done?" 

Here are a few "In A Snap" tips that will make your mornings much more enjoyable!

1. The night before, set out the children’s clothes they will be wearing to school the next day.
2. While you are preparing supper, make the children’s lunches, put them in their lunch bag and designate a place in the refrigerator that you will put it every night.
3. Every night before the they go to bed, set aside about 5-10 minutes for each child to pack their back pack.

Develop this plan and make it a part of everyone’s routine every night.  By doing these 3 things, you will be teaching your children how to plan and organize while at the same time reducing everyone’s stress in the morning.

Our guarantee:  You will save yourself at least a half hour every morning!  Relax and enjoy that extra cup of coffee.