Getting the Kids "To Do's" into "Got Done"

If you have school age children you are very familiar with agendas, projects, dictation, reading lists and the myriad of tasks that come home for the children to accomplish. You probably even monitor that your children sit down and do homework each evening in order to get through the list. Maybe you go as far as to check that they have the due dates in their agendas.

Have you ever taught them how to write the To List so that it gets done?

Try teaching your children to write their To Do's with action verbs up front. For example:

"Project Outline" becomes
"Write rough copy of project outline".

The task is clear and limited. You will both know what needs to be done and when it got accomplished.

Back From Summer Vacation?

How was your summer? Was it cold and wet like here in Toronto (Canada)? Did you run away from your clutter and chaos and get some vacation time in beautifully organized hotels? Maybe a trip to the cottage where organizing takes on a very relaxed form of archival collecting? I'd love to hear your stories.

And what did Wellrich Organizers do that left the blog pages silent for so long?

I took on the staging job of a lifetime. With the family farm sold off in the spring, the family house was next. I am pleased to say that a summer's worth of work paid off: new hardwood floor in the kitchen, new kitchen, stripped floors everywhere else, new carpet in the basement, one storage shed, innumerable bags of garbage and recycling - amidst Toronto's garbage strike - several contractors, the benevolence of soem very dear friends, a few shares in our local hardward store and the help of another stager, Pamela G& Co. The house sold within 48 hours of hitting the market for a very nice sum over asking thank you very much.

The experience has left me with a renewed appreciation for the emotional challenges that face anyone downsizing the family home. Forty-six years of accumulation is a struggle for even the most clutter averse individual. The family history contained in all that accumulation is bittersweet to review and overwhelming to confront.

We got through by chipping away one little bit at a time. The project to clear out the 46 years started several years ago and thank goodness it did. The sooner one starts to clear out the unused, unnecessary items around the house, the freer and easier one can live one's life today.

Does anyone else have family home downsizing stories?

Downsizing Dilemmas - Auctions

When it comes to the really big downsizing projects - from the family home to a 900 sq.ft. condo, sometimes there just aren't enough family members or grandchildren to absorb all the pieces of furniture - loved though they may be - that have accumulated over the years. Furniture consignment stores are popping up all over cities these days in an attempt to keep some of the items in circulation, make a little money for the original owner and establish a new industry along the way.

Another alternative is to auction off your unwanted items at a local auctioneer. Many of you are familiar with the names of high end auction houses; the names we sometimes hear about when a piece of artwork is sold, such as Waddington's or Ritchies. Do you know the names of local auctioneers in your neighbourhood or city who are familiar with the auctioning of estates, farm or recreational properties or just the accumulation of items that are no longer needed by someone?

Auction houses usually work on a percentage basis i.e. they keep a percentage of the sale price of your items after the sale and give you the balance. Some will pick up your items, usually for a fee. In some cases, if an entire home is on the auction block, the auction house will hold the auction at the home itself. In other cases, several estates or home contents (lots) will be sold off at a regular auction held by the auction house.

To find an auction house, check online for auctioneers in your area. In Ontario (Canada) you can also check with the Ontario Auctioneer Association.

Clutter vs. Collections

It's happening everywhere - garage sales abound as the spring cleaning bug hits neighbourhoods everywhere. A Saturday morning, coffee in hand, perusing the garage sales and flea markets can be a fun start to a spring weekend. Perhaps you pick up another book on old boats which you love so much, or an addition to your 1950's Irish stoneware.

Reality hits when you return home to find the bookshelf full and the china cabinet overflowing onto the counter, table and sideboard. "What was a thinking?" you ask yourself, "I'm surrounded in clutter but I love my collection."

You are facing a dilemma that is very common to many clients. Many, many of us have established collections of various items over the years. Whether one is downsizing, house clearing or just de-cluttering, the question of de-cluttering a collection is a difficult one.

One definition of clutter comes from the world of gardening. A weed is, for many gardeners, merely a plant growing where it is not wanted. Similarly, clutter can be defined as any item that is hanging around where it is not wanted. Perhaps the main difference between clutter and a collection is the relative value of the items to the world at large. A collection of stamps may have relative value in the world of stamp collecting. At the same time, if the stamp collection is collecting dust at your house, taking up space you wish to free for some other purpose, to you it may be merely clutter.

So, how does one downsize the collection of tea cups? The same way one purges any other group of items. Our collections usually arrive one or two pieces at a time and during their growth, we usually develop a few favourites amongst the group. Start with a photograph of the collection. Keep those few favourites to remind you of the fun your had collecting and the beauty you see it the items themselves. Free the rest to another collector who is still growing their collection or pass on a few more to friends who have admired your collection in the past. The items have a new lease on life and you have freed up your space.

Garden Shed Time - It's Spring

For Canadians, this weekend brings the long awaited Victoria Day Weekend - the first of our almost monthly summer long weekends and traditionally the weekend for cottage openings and annual plantings.

If you are heading for garden, this will be a great weekend to organize that shed. Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Start by emptying the entire shed if feasible. Once it is empty, you will be able to start with a clean slate.
• Sweep out the cobwebs, mouse droppings and other debris.
• Review all your tools, shovels, rakes and hoes. Are there any that are broken, rusted or beyond repair? Throw out the unrepairable and fix what's needed.
• Think vertical and you will find lots more fresh storage space that you may not have realized existed. The rakes, hoes, shovels can be stored on hooks or nails on the walls. This will get them out of the way and make them readily available when you are ready to rake.
• Hang one shopping bag on another hook or nail to hold your digging and planting tools and a separate one for your garden gloves. The cloth recycled plastic bags readily available in stores are a great storage tool. Label with a permanent marker.
• Seeds that are stored in a plaster or metal box will be out of temptation's way if rodents are a regular visitor to your shed. This is especially true of grass seed.
• Review your solution bottles and know your pesticide by-laws. Many jurisdictions have outlawed the use of pesticides. Check with your municipality to see where you can take the pesticides for disposal. Then check out your local garden centre to find an environmentally friendly alternative.
• Go vertical to store your plant food, insect repellent and anti fungal/bacterial agents. No matter how eco-friendly they may be, they are still not child friendly. Store them high on a shelf, clearly labelled.
• Make sure your shed is childproof for entry. Kids love to play in beautiful gardens full of butterflies, colourful flowers and sweet smelling blooms. Consider a secure lock or latch for the shed and a separate toy box that the kids can use outside the shed.

Last but not least, when your work is done, put up your feet and enjoy your garden!

The O-C Connection

.. And we are not talking Orange County here folks.

This is "end of year" season. The concerts, open houses, school events, choir performances, track meets are coming at me at such a fast pace my online calendar and handheld device can barely keep up.

Oh, that's right. It's May again. I should have known. It happens every May and September.

Sound familiar? When events collide all at once to load up our scheduling demands that "O" word often creeps into our vocabulary - Overwhelm.

Counter with with "C" word - control. The more control you can muster the more easily you will glide through this maze of events like an organizing time professional. Anticipation will help with the control. Look out to the next couple of weeks and see what's coming. The more you can anticipate the less likely things will catch you off guard and the more likely you are to feel in control.

Follow up with the "R" word - Relax. This too will pass. Summer is coming. And beside, the kids will only be young once. Enjoy.

The Ten Minute Challenge

The ten minute challenge is one of my favourite organizing techniques. It's great for getting kids involved in a daily clean up and when used regularly, is highly effective at keeping one's home organized.

Give each person in your home a bag - the new recycled shopping bags are great for this. Let everyone know they have 10 minutes to fill their bag with items that are not in their homes and need to return to wherever that home is.

A common variation on this strategy is to fill the bag with items that the individual is no longer using, no longer wants, fits etc. This is a great way to show children that items we are finished with can be cleared out regularly and passed on to other children.