Handy Organizational Items

Last week I was asked to donate to a silent auction item to benefit a fundraiser for SmileTrain and the local Baltimore food banks sponsored by Legacy Associates LLC.

As a personal organizer I put together a lidded bin filled with organizational items. The bin itself can be used to store off-season clothes.

I put in some nesting hangers. They take up so much less space in your closet.

Then I thought about all the magazine subscriptions people have and added two magazine holders. They are also great for the white and yellow pages phone books. It was fun coming up with items that everyone could use.

Drawer organizers were added, the kind with small separate compartments for socks or tights.

Two photo boxes were added to keep those vacation and family pix in order.  Also I included an accordion folder with 13 separate dividers. There lots of ways to use this handy file system, as a bill paying system or a place to store appliance instructions.

Then I added a bag of coins rollers. Roll up those coins and you can buy something you wouldn’t have been able to purchase otherwise.

A 2010 day planner was a no brainer. All your appointments, phone numbers, dates to remember, are all in one place.

Finally I added a package of markers. I use them to date spice containers and perishables with date of purchase. Then you never have to guess if an item is out-of-date.

It was fun to gather seemingly unrelated items and know that ultimately they can be used in any household.

Culling Your Home Library

Let’s take some time to talk about your home library.

• Do you have so many books you no longer have shelf space for all of them?
• Have they spilled over onto chairs and tables, or in piles on the floor?

Too many books create a great deal of visual clutter. It’s time to assess.

This particular project may take awhile, so set aside the time. It will be worth it.

First, I suggest that you gather all the books together in one place. Then begin with a pile system sorting the books by category: fiction, reference, non-fiction, biographies, cookbooks, etc.

Wow, that was a big job in itself!

Every bibliophile thinks that all books are sacred. However, you don’t have to own every tome you have ever read.

Start with the reference books. I’m sure some of them are obsolete, technology has changed so much that any reference book older than five years is probably out-of-date. Recycle them. If they are hardback remove cover and recycle pages with regular paper. If they are paperback they can go just as they are.

Move on to the fiction pile.

Are any of the books “comfort” books, books you’ve read over and over?

You can keep those. Evaluate the rest, maybe you didn’t even like it that much. Nursing homes, senior centers and some retirement communities would be delighted to have them, donating is a good way to recycle books.

This same process should be applied to all the piles.

If you have never and probably will never make a single recipe from a cookbook, give it away. When this culling process is done you will have more shelf space, dusting will be easier and you will have room for the purchase of a new book you can’t live without.

Recycle or Give Away!

Another resource you can use is The Baltimore Book Thing, Inc., website http://bookthing.org, they accept books, stamp them not for sale and anyone can go in and get a book for free.

Sorting Through a Lifetime of Stuff

Are you trying to deal with an inheritance?

Have you inherited a house full of a lifetime of furniture, memorabilia, collections and general household items. As a personal organizer I have helped many people with this problem. The process of going through the accumulations of a loved one can be daunting. It’s a vast, time-consuming and heart-wrenching thing to have to do. You can’t take it all home with you, you probably already have a house that is well-outfitted and probably full anyway.

What do you do with all this stuff?

After the initial process of discarding items that you know are not saleable, then what about all the rest. There are many charitable organizations (Good Will, Disabled Veterans or The Salvation Army) that will accept donations which will then be tax deductible.

What remains are the things that meant something to your family member. That is really the problem area. If you don’t want to keep them yourself or give them to someone else in the family there are resources you can use. There are auction houses in the Baltimore area that will come to the home and evaluate the value of these things. They can then schedule a home auction to sell large pieces of furniture, china, silver, stemware and collectibles. They do the advertising and handle the actual auction. For this help they will take a percentage of the profits of the sales.

Another alternative is to try to sell them yourself on ebay or Craigslist. The profit will be yours but shipping headaches should be considered in the actual profit margin.

Whatever you choose to do, it won’t be easy and you may find that you need the emotional and physical support of someone else to help you make the best decisions.

Remember, help is out there.

Steps to Setting Up Your Workspace

If you are starting a home business office there are lots of things to consider to make it an efficient and comfortable place to work. Having a dedicated space is ideal.

If you do this, a part of your residence can be claimed on your income taxes as a business area. That means however, that you don’t use that space for anything other than your business operations. The IRS is strict about this and we REALLY don’t want any problems with the IRS.

The next thing to consider is the equipment you will need to outfit the space for your needs. Do you need a photocopier, fax machine, dedicated phone line, computer and a printer?

The next thing to decide is how much space is available to house these items. I like a stacking shelf system that is near enough to an electrical outlet to plug into a surge suppressor without an extension cord.

Another consideration is your filing system. For papers you will need to access often I recommend a mail sorter with labels. These can be hung on a wall so as not to take up valuable floor space. After the bin is full or you feel you can file the papers, a stationary file cabinet or file bins are the next step.

Desk placement is also important. You don’t want the glare from a window shining on your computer screen all day. Position the desk facing or perpendicular to any windows and utilize artificial light to illuminate your work space.