Clutter Control

As the name of my website suggests, I’m all about keeping things as SIMPLE as possible — especially when it comes to getting organized.

Getting {and staying} organized might not be “easy” but it IS relatively “simple”. However if you are still feeling overwhelmed and don’t know where to start, head on over to MoneySavingMom.com to read my SIMPLE tips to get more organized!

What is your biggest organizational challenge?

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Several weeks ago we started having major issues with our refrigerator — yeah, it’s old, but we’re hoping it will last until this summer when we are planning to do a big kitchen renovation!!

The first problem was that the contents of the produce drawer kept freezing… which meant lots of unintentionally frozen fruits and veggies… which meant I made lots of soup and pie

However, in a successful attempt to fix the fridge, we some how managed to “break” the freezer… so now the freezer does NOT freeze.

At the end of this whole process, we were basically left with one big refrigerator and no freezer — which is not the most ideal situation, but at least we have our deep freezer downstairs!

Anyway, as we were trying to “unfreeze” the refrigerator and “refreeze” the freezer, I put several thermometers inside to monitor the temperature. To my surprise, I noticed that the top shelf of our refrigerator was 10-12 degrees warmer than the bottom drawers — and the same was true for the freezer!

I know that “heat rises” but I figured the temperature inside our fridge would be almost the same since it’s regulated with a thermostat. However, after doing a bit of research, I read that this is quite normal {especially for side-by-side units}.

So I decided to reorganize our fridge… by temperature!  

Here’s what I did:

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TOP/MIDDLE SHELVES = left overs that will get eaten in a day or so, items I’m defrosting from the freezer, other packaged items that won’t “go bad” as quickly

MIDDLE/BOTTOM SHELVES = milk, juice, yogurt, eggs, lettuce and other dairy items that have a shorter shelf life and need to be kept colder

TOP DRAWER = fruits and veggies

BOTTOM DRAWER = meats and cheeses

Also, since the freezer side of our refrigerator doesn’t freeze, I’m using that for storing extra gallons of milk {I usually buy 2 or 3 at a time} extra dairy items, leftovers, and anything else that won’t fit in our fridge. The only thing I won’t put in the freezer side is produce because I think it’s a little too cold for that.

Even though it was a HUGE pain to deal with a dysfunctional fridge and freezer for a couple weeks, I’m so glad we now have more fridge space AND that our food seems to be lasting longer due to storing it at the proper temperatures. 

And I’m all for less wasted food!

We can live with our crazy fridge for a few more months… but this will make it all the more exciting to get a brand new one when our kitchen renovations start this summer. I have my eye on a counter-depth unit with French doors and a double pull-out freezer drawer

Oh, and in case you’re interested — here’s how I organized our refrigerator in our old house.

Have you ever checked the temperature in your fridge?

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If you’ve noticed that some of your food isn’t staying as fresh as you’d like, you may want to rearrange your fridge by temperature too!
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UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed.

Congrats to Yvonne (ypratt@…)

I will email you shortly!

It’s probably not earth shattering news that my car is always very organized! Ever since I turned 16, I have been diligent about keeping my car {and my trunk} clean, organized, and decluttered.

And I love fun organizing products — so I was beyond thrilled when I received these car organizing goodies from Clever Container. Within about 15 minutes, I had them in my car, packed full of goodies!  Dave just laughed when I brought him all the way out to the garage to show him how the organizers looked in my car — apparently he doesn’t share my giddy enthusiasm for new organizing products

I have the Swing Away Car Organizer on the back of the passenger seat. The many different pockets are full of all the essentials I could need while traveling in my car. And the best part about it is that it can “swing” around to the front so I can easily access everything while I’m in the drivers seat — and obviously anyone in the back seat has full access as well.

Anyone with kids {or lots of stuff} MUST have the Cargo Pocket Organizer! I really hate when I open the truck and everything comes falling out, so I’m loving the five generous pockets to corral all that “stuff” that always seems to pile up in the trunk!

I love the GripIt Sun Visor organizer and am using it to organize the small items that used to be in my glove compartment or my middle console. It’s so convenient to have these items so readily available… and they are much easier to access while driving because I don’t need to look down to find them.

You can check out all the Clever Container products in their 2012 catalog… AND you can enter to win a set of these fantastic car organizers below!

The Giveaway:

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Today, one lucky Simple Organized Living reader will win a Clever Container Prize Pack that includes:

1. One Swing Away car organizer
2. One Cargo Pockets trunk organizer
3. One GripIt Sun Visor organizer

How to Enter:

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1. Leave a comment. What is the craziest piece of clutter in your car right now?

2. Like Simple Organized Living and/or Organize 365 on Facebook, and then leave a separate comment letting me know you did {or that you do already}.

If you are reading this in your email or feed reader, please visit the actual blog post to enter. Email entries, Facebook comments, and Twitter messages will NOT be counted.

Prize:

(1) Clever Container prize pack as described above.

This giveaway ends at 10:00 pm on Monday, 2/13/2012 and is open to all U.S. residents 18 years or older. I will use And the Winner Is to select the winning comments at random. Winners will be notified by email and noted at the top of this post. Winners must respond within 48 hours of notification to claim their prize or I will choose a new winner. Please see my full disclosure policy and contact me with any questions you have. Good luck!

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One of the most frequently asked questions I get from frustrated readers and clients is…

“How can I STAY organized?”

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And although I could give you lots of tips and suggestions for different ways to stay organized, my simple sollution is to practice daily maintenance.

You wouldn’t expect to stay full for weeks at a time by just eating one meal, and you wouldn’t expect to stay clean forever after only taking one shower. So WHY do we all get so frustrated when our homes /closets /kitchens etc. get disorganized after we organize them one time??

Just like we should eat and shower daily, we should also do a few simple things each day to maintain order in our homes and our lives.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

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Purge one thing:

After Christmas, I talked about my need to purge a few more things after taking in so much extra “stuff” during the holidays. If you are still feeling a little “stuffed” and cramped after all that holiday shopping, purge just ONE thing today. I know it won’t make a huge difference right now, but think if you purged one thing each day.

Do 15 minutes a day:

Set your timer for 15 minutes at some point in the day {maybe when kids are napping or at school} and do whatever you can to pick up, organize, declutter, etc. I promise those minutes will really add up over the course of a week or a month!

Use a Basket:

I like to quickly walk around the main living areas of my house and put anything that doesn’t belong in a basket. Then if I have time, I’ll deliver the contents to their appropriate homes, or wait until I have a spare moment and do it then. I also use baskets as a place to put items we no longer need, use, or want. Then when the baskets are full, we take the contents to a local donation center.

Implement the One-In, One-Out Policy:

You can’t change the past, but from here on out, implement the One-In, One-Out policy for dealing with clutter. For example, if you want to buy a new shirt, then make sure you are willing to get rid of an old shirt before you put the new shirt in your closet. If you want to buy a new toaster, then get rid of the old toaster first. It’s an extremely simple concept that will make a huge difference in the amount of clutter that accumulates in and around your home.

Get your Family Involved:

You don’t have to be the only one who does the dirty work. Get your family involved by giving them specific {yet reasonable} organizing request. I know this can be challenging if you live with a messy spouse, but if getting and STAYING organized is really important you, then you should talk with your family members {especially your spouse} and tell them specifically what you would like them to do to help you stay organized.

Model “Good Behavior”:

I’m not naive… I know that it can be REALLY difficult to get your family on board with your organizing goals and requests. However, it will be impossible to get them on board if you don’t first model good behavior for them. Don’t leave your dirty dishes in the sink, don’t leave your clothes lying all over the bedroom, don’t leave stacks of unopened mail on the counters — if you do these things, it give them permission to do them too!

Use Incentives:

Incentives work wonders for kids… but they work for adults too! Set specific organizing goals for yourself and then reward yourself when you accomplish those goals.

For example, you might have a goal to do 15 minutes of decluttering every night before you go to bed. If you accomplish that each day for a week, then reward yourself with a night off from cooking or a coffee date with a friend. Another idea might be to reward yourself with a {small} shopping trip for purging a specific number of items from your closet.

These ideas won’t be a perfect solution for everyone, but simply doing SOMETHING every day will help you STAY organized. It’s also just a really good habit to get into {and a really great lesson to teach your children}.

How do you STAY organized?

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I don’t know about you, but we get all kinds of extra envelopes in the mail via credit card offers, donation requests, or for bills that we pay online. I’ve done everything I can to “opt-out”, unsubscribe, and sign up for paperless statements… but the envelopes still come!

And since I don’t like to waste paper, I’ve started using those extra envelopes to make grocery lists… and then I put the coupons for that shopping trip right inside the envelope.

It’s a great solution to keep everything organized by store… and it’s totally free!

Here are a few other uses for extra envelopes:

• making your daily to-do lists
• kids hot lunch orders/money
• allowances for each family member
• cash budget system
• storing extra receipts {one for each family member, category, or event}
• organizing restaurant coupons or menus {dine-in, fast food, pizza, delivery, etc}
• storing and organizing stamps and return address labels
• organizing small craft supplies {stickers, paper scraps, decals, etc}

What do you use those extra envelopes for?

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It must be “that time of year” — based on the number of emails and questions I’ve been getting lately, you must all be ready to organize your closets!

So, instead of answering every single email, comment, and Facebook message; I thought I would do a quick post with a bunch of links to different posts about organizing clothes.

These should keep you busy for awhile!! 

How I organize our master bedroom closet

How I organized my closet in our old house

How I organize our accessories

How I organize our coats, hats, gloves, and other winter gear

How I organize our nursery closet

Tips and ideas for organizing kids’ closets 

More tips for organizing kids’ clothes

The 80/20 rule for organizing your closets

A list of things that should NOT be in your closet

The benefits of creating a Family Closet

And as you set out to organize and purge your clothes, please remember that clothes clutter is usually also “emotional clutter” — which means it can be difficult to get rid of.

Be honest with yourself…

• if it doesn’t fit, get rid of it
• if you don’t LOVE it, get rid of it
• if you don’t wear it, get rid of it {even if you did pay good money for it!}
• if it doesn’t make you feel great, get rid of it
• if your kids won’t wear it, get rid of it
• if you have 12 of the same thing, get rid of at least half of them
• if you are only keeping it because of emotional reasons, bite the bullet and just get rid of it
• if your best friend gave it to you but you don’t wear it, get rid of it
• if it’s been in your closet for more than 7 years, get rid of it

Ok, I think you get the idea

There are plenty of donation places that would LOVE your unused items… and I guarantee you’ll love all the extra closet space you have!

Happy organizing!

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Since this is the time of the year to stock up on linens during all the “white sales” at local department stores, I thought it might be a good time to talk about storing and organizing extra sheets, blankets, pillows, towels, etc.

I already showed you how our lack of a mudroom forced me to get creative and turn a $20 armoire into a totally functional mudroom… well, I also had to get creative when it came to storage for extra linens because we don’t have any type of linen closet either {and our renovations have not created a convenient place to put one yet!}

I know many people share this same frustration when it comes to storing extra sheets, blankest, towels, etc. so here are some of my tips to hopefully simplify the process. 

1. Sheets:

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We only have one set of sheets for every bed in our house… and they are on the beds! When it’s time for me to wash them, I wash/dry them and put them right back on the bed. Not only does this force me to get the laundry done on time, it also eliminates the need for extra storage.

For small children/babies who frequently get their sheets dirty in the middle of the night, I simply put 2 or 3 layers of waterproof mattress pads and sheets on their bed so I can quickly take the top layer off and put them right back to bed.

If you do want to have an extra set of sheets for each bed, consider storing them in between the mattress and box spring — you won’t be able to feel them, and you’ll save lots of storage space!

***One more tip for storing sheets — if you are storing extra sets in some type of cabinet, drawer or closet, simply fold the set together, and then put it inside one of the pillowcases. That way, you’ll keep every set together and you’ll never have to go searching for a missing bottom sheet or pillowcase ever again

2. Blankets:

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We live in Michigan… it gets REALLY cold here in the winter, and we keep our house REALLY cold at night so we all have multiple blankets on our beds. However, in the summer, we don’t need all the blankets so I have to store them somewhere.

One thing I do is to put several thin blankets on our bed instead of one really thick blanket. Then, as the weather gets warmer in the spring, we take one of the thin blankets off. Then we take another one off in the summer months, etc. Plus, thin blankets are much easier to store than thick blankets.

I store our blankets in an extra dresser we have in our upstairs storage closet. It has 2 large drawers that provide more than enough space for all our extra blankets. Another idea would be to store them in an attractive armoire, an old trunk, or even hang them on rungs of a large ladder.

3. Comforters & Quilts:

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We have one comforter for each bed… and they stay on the beds all year long. If it gets to hot for comforters in the summer, we just push them to the bottom of the bed when we are sleeping — mainly because they are just too big to store.

If you want to store your comforters, I would definitely suggest using Space Saver bags {these large Space Saver Cubes are my favorite for storing bulky items}. Once your items are sealed inside the Space Saver bags, you can store them in your closet, in a dresser drawer, in boxes in the basement, etc. They should stay protected from moisture, insects, dust, and anything else that could ruin them.

4. Pillows:

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We have a large extra closet upstairs that I hang our extra pillows in. I simply clip them onto pants hangers, put a clean garbage bag over the top and then hang them from the bar. This method has worked well for me — but you could also use the Space Saver bags to eliminate some of the “bulkiness”.

5. Towels:

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Towels are another thing that I don’t like to store because they always seem to take up SO much space. Every person in our house has 2 bath towels, 2 hand towels, and 2 wash cloths — that it!

We use them for a couple of days and then put them in the wash. At the end of the week, I do a load of towels and we start over again. So we really don’t need to have tons and tons of extra towels taking up valuable storage space.

However, we do have one basket of extra “guest towels” available if we need them — and that basket fits perfectly with the decor in our bathroom… so I don’t mind storing them there at all!

6. Tablecloths and Napkins:

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We don’t use tablecloths that often, but I do have a few. I store them in the bottom of a buffet table we have in our dinning room. We store our cloth napkins in a basket on top of that buffet table… and simply rotate them out as we use them.

These are just a few of my ideas for storing extra linens. Some day, I’ll build a house with a huge walk-in linen closet and store everything in one place… but for now, these creative solutions are working just fine

How do you store and organize your extra linens?

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