Organizing on a Shoestring

I love finding simply solutions to those messes in our home which make us crazy.  Pinterest is full of them.  Of course, I get lost in the never ending black hole of liking and saving posts.  Yes, I will dream of doing some of them when the truth is, it will never happen most of the time.  What about you?  Have your tried some of the AWESOME things on Pinterest only to have an epic fail?

Here are some tips I HAVE tried…….

• Wet gloves or Mittens creating a mess?  Why not put up a retractable clothes line in your utility room or your mudroom wall or in the bathroom.  Have some clothes pins handy for hanging them up.  Put it down low enough so the kids can hang wet mittens and gloves to dry overnight.

• Do you find coins in the washer?  Does your hubby leave change all over the table or dresser?  Get rid of those tiny piles of coins by saving in style. Get a designer piggy bank to keep it wherever you’d like to dump your change. OR use a Thirty One Zipper Pouch

     

• Edit your hangers. Wire hangers make me crazy.  They bend easily so we are an all plastic house.  Pick a style which works best for you – wire, plastic or wood and unify the hangers in every closet.  If you use plastic, how about a different color for each person in the house.  Makes putting clothes away so much easier.
• Use pillboxes to stash your earrings and rings when traveling.  Pick them up at the dollar store. Another alternative is Thirty One’s Shine On Jewelry Case.

• Use a wall-mounted broom and mop holder, or tie ribbon loops on the end of poles and hang them from hooks in your closet, garage or utility closet.

• Make a party kit. Do you have items you just use for parties or holidays?  Are they taking up valuable space in your cabinets?  Do you spend endless hours searching for things when you are ready to party?  Stash napkins, extra glassware and plates, votive candles and holders, extra vases, cocktail picks and other necessities in an old wine crate or a ThirtyOne Deluxe Utility Tote. You can pull it out pre-party or pre-holiday entertaining so you don’t waste valuable cupboard space or time.

• Are medical records becoming overwhelming?  Use a binder to store all medical records and information for everyone in your family, including each pet. Use dividers for each family member and include plastic pouches or expandable pockets to contain receipts and tiny record cards.

• Stash awkward, easy-to-misplace necessities (extra hairbrushes, lint roller) in decorative reusable tote bags. Hang them off a doorknob in every room. Try Thirty One’s Hanging Traveler’s Case.

• Store photos in archival-quality, acid-free boxes until you have time to organize them in albums.

• Place your shredder where you intercept daily mail. If that’s the kitchen, so be it.  This is one way to eliminate piles of “to be shredded”

• Put a small plastic caddy, like Thirty One’s Swap it Pocket, in your gym bag so you can manage hair care and skincare products without dropping anything.

• Stop losing lock combinations and computer passwords once and for all. Jot everyone’s codes and combinations down in a notebook and store it in your family’s fireproof lockbox.

• Always keep one cute, foldable shopping tote in each of your heavy-rotation purses so you’re never caught without. Try Thirty One’s Essential Storage Tote…

• Get a gift-wrap organizer and stock up on a year’s worth of wrap and ribbons, or ready-to-fill bags and tissue. Try Thirty One’s Stand Tall Bin to keep role of wrap organized.  Guess what?  It is on sale in April for just $15 with a $35 purchase.

Finally, plan a closet cleanout once per season. Less mess makes staying organized a lot easier.

What is YOUR favorite simply solution to everyday mess?  Share your tips with us.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

Let’s Get Organized

Do you find yourself humming the words to “Let’s Get Physical” by Olivia Newton John?  Or am I just showing my age?

Today is all about some simple tips and tricks to help you clear the clutter in your home or office…

#1 – Upgrade your address book for a classic Rolodex. They’re retro-chic and easy to keep updated.  I know digital seems to be the way to go BUT I really wish I had of kept mine from years ago.  This was an easy way to store business cards along with names, addresses and phone numbers.

#2 – Who still has CDs?  I know we have a lot around the house but I have purged many of them once I found Pandora.  If you still have CDs, purge your CD clutter once and for all.   Have your CDs converted to digital files at riptopia.com. Then Sell or donate the used CDs to use to pay off debt or for a rainy day.

#3 – Have a small bathroom and not a lot of space?  Why not buy a hotel-style hairdryer and install it on the wall.  It will save you space, time and energy in the small bathroom.

#4 – Organize vanity essentials on a vintage tray. Très organized and très chic.

Or you can use Thirty One’s Glamour Case  

or Thirty One’s Swap it Pocket   

#5 Use an extra wine rack to hold rolled-up magazines.

#6 Use cutlery trays in your drawers, but to save even more time, stash everyday flatware in a countertop caddy.

You can also use Thirty One’s Your Way Bin  

#7 Buy 10 pairs of the same gym socks, to minimize sorting.  I do this for hubby and I.  It saves so much time sorting.  Plus if one gets a hole in it, you can just save it to pair with another one later on.

#8 Stash kids’ art supplies on a lazy Susan so everything is easily accessible.

I love Thirty One’s Oh Snap Bins for this too because you will also be able to hang them up on a rack to get them out of the way and off the table.  Still in easy reach if they are needed.

#9 Organize household bills in an accordion file with month-by-month pockets.  I also have one for all or our receipts for tax purposes for the business.  Another alternative is Thirty One’s Fold n File which I use for a mobile office.

#10 Hold onto paint chips, fabric swatches and brochures from your last redecorating session. You never know when you’ll need to reference them. Store them in an accordion file.

What are some of your best tips?  Share them with us for a chance to win…

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

Simple Money Saving Tips for Families

Leaving my part time job and a guaranteed paycheck was scary.  Yes, I have a growing Thirty One business BUT FEAR was starting to knock on the door.  Reducing credit card debt and school loan debt has been a big focus for me BUT I have to be honest, I may not have worked at it as hard as I could.  Yup!  Me being accountable.  The new year kicked off new attempts to truly bring this debt down while at the same time giving up my part time job.  Seems impossible right?

So, I went looking for ways to save some money on our monthly expenses.  While it’s rare eliminating a single expense will give you control over your finances, you can usually save a lot of money by combining savings from several different directions.

1. Organize your grocery shopping

Be more organized when you go grocery shopping, you actually can save money. Of course have a list of what you need to buy, and coupons (I’m still working on this one).  Shop early in the week to avoid the stress of over crowded stores.

2. Eliminate one service each year that you can do without

I have to admit the first thing we cut was the cable bill.  Yup, we went from what seemed like 1000 channels to maybe about 300 although the cable company said there were only 143.  By doing this, we saved about $65 per month.  Next step is canceling the land line telephone service for an additional $30 per month. I am also doing this with my businesses to make sure I’m not spending money on tools or subscription services I’m no longer using.

3. Never buy “off the shelf”

Now, I don’t mean all of the time BUT when you are buying something fairly costly, do your homework first.   Surf the web for the lowest price, or upcoming sales.  Is it something you can buy second hand. Thrift stores and Facebook yard sales are great places for this.  You don’t want to do this for small purchases but maybe set a threshold of say, $50 and above.

4. Participate in – and use – your rewards programs

Admit it!  You have tons of reward cards, right?  How many of them do you actually use?  Sign up for them where ever possible, and keep tabs of your points. I love Ebates because the notification pops up about a rebate when I am shopping online at a store which offers it.  I have rewards plan with Verizon Wireless which gives me discounts on a variety of things from restaurants to gift certificates.

5. Sell what you no longer need

Instead of throwing away items you no longer use, try selling them first to make some additional money. Then put the money towards a bill.  We are not allowed to have yard sales at our condo complex so I have tried this on Facebook and Ebay.  This is something which requires a little bit of your time or to be organized.  Both of which I am working on right now.  When items don’t sell, donate them to a local non-profit and be sure to get a receipt for tax purposes.

6. Buy clothing in thrift or discount stores

I have been a fan of thrift stores for years, since before Belinda was born.  Thrift stores don’t have a huge selection, but you can often come across the perfect item from time to time, sometimes barely used. This is great especially for buying kid’s clothing. They outgrow clothes so fast, thrift stores allow you to buy good quality clothes for low prices.  If thrift stores aren’t your thing, then take a look at discount stores like T.J. Maxx or Marshall’s.

Thirty One’s Soft Utility Tote is perfect for these kinds of trips.  It can be a large purse and then expands to carry all of your treasures home.

7. Never buy new what you can get second hand

You sell what ever you no longer use, others are doing the same all the time. Be sure to look into garage sales and estate sales in your area – you’ll be surprised at the stuff people are looking to unload.  Best of all, all prices are fully negotiable! Take advantage where ever and when ever you can.

8. Buy when everyone else is selling

Retail sales usually fall off in January, so nearly everything goes on sale. Wouldn’t it be better to do the bulk of your buying in January rather than November and December.  This also has a seasonal application, too.  Buy your winter clothing in late winter or early spring, when winter items go on clearance.

What ways has your family found to save money?

 

Organize and DeClutter

  Over the weekend, I had a chance to participate in a “WOMEN ROCK” event sponsored by our local hospital system.  I was asked to focus on “Organize & Declutter Your Life”.  Okay, I was a little unsure at first but I found the discussion on simple solutions for your life a topic which interested a lot of women.

There were many conversations about Pinterest and magazines with the perfect organizational system.  Once the products are purchased and you actually take the time to set the system up, you find out it doesn’t work.  The visual in our head seldom matches what the project turns out to be when it is done.  Organizing systems need to fit your style or they won’t work.  We need to follow through with the system for more than a few days to see if it will work.  Have you ever heard the old saying “it takes 21 days to change a habit”?   The same holds true for organizing systems.

Here are a few of the tips I shared with some of the women who said their house was a “hot mess”.

#1 Start a New System—and Test-Drive It

Tackle one spot, let’s say the linen closet.  Rearrange the shelves to how you THINK you want them, then mark them with sticky notes. Live with the system for a week and make adjustments as needed. When you’re happy with the system, replace the notes with labels or boxes or totes, which will motivate you to maintain it.

#2 Clean Out Your Kitchen Tool Drawer

Let’s be honest, many of our kitchen drawers could also be called  junk drawers, right? Don’t leave me hanging like I am the only one.  First, we have lots of duplicate tools, do you really need 3 partial sets of measuring cups?  Whatever the kitchen tool, if you have duplicates – keep the one which works best, then donate or toss the rest. I have lots of rarely used pieces like a turkey baster or melon baller.  I can’t remember the last time I used them.  So, I have moved them to a bin on a high shelf out of the way.  Now I might actually find some things in the drawer.

#3 Pare Down Your Purse

Despite being a “bag lady”, my purse tends to collect stuff – old receipts, papers, to do lists and a mass of other things as the week goes on.  How many times have you been waiting in a doctor’s office, stuck on a long phone with a chunk of idle time?  Stick a clean, empty plastic sandwich bag into your handbag. When you find yourself with time, fill it up with non-essentials to trash or relocate later.

#4 Sort Batteries the Way the Store Does

Imagine having to dig through a box at the store to find the right size batteries to buy. Is this your setup at home, I know it is ours.  If we had some extra wall space, I would love to wall-mount and organizer inside the utility closet to keep AAA’s, C’s, and D’s separate and visible.

#5 “File” Cookware (or lids)

Do you have cabinet chaos?  Are your pans stacked nicely but the lids are all over? Why not get a stand at the dollar store that holds files and “file” them in a file like organizer.  It can also keep sheet pans and cutting boards in check.

#6 Give Your Desk an In-Box

Okay, I can see the eyes rolling already.  Maybe you have one and it is overflowing. I used to use a basket but things got buried and I seemed to spend more time sorting then I did actually taking care of things.  I use a Fold N File which has hanging files with tabs like bills, to read, donations, receipts, etc.  Then when I get ready to pay bills, they are all in one spot.  Seems basic, but the best way to rescue a buried desk is to funnel papers into a manageable system you can deal with on a regular basis. You can also use a file box but I find the most success with something on my desk and I can see when I pick up a piece of paper.  My theory is to touch it once – saves time and energy.

#7 Where is the manual (or the takeout menu)?

My hubby is forever asking me for the instruction manual for something.  So we now have them in one binder in the pantry closet. When we replace an appliance, the new manual goes in and the old one gets tossed.  Does your family do a lot of take out?  Why not do the same thing with the take out menus?  Don’t have that many?  How about putting them in a Ziploc bag and stash ’em – where else? – on the fridge or cupboard.

Let’s be honest, despite our best efforts, you can’t have everything in its place every moment of the day. But you can cut down on wayward stuff by giving it a defined space. What are your best tips?

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!