Organize Your Life

Living Like a New Yorker- Organizational Secrets

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For those of us who feel like we keep acquiring material things in our house-toys, books, clothing, shoes, dishes, supplies, we have a challenge for you.

 

Do you want a less cluttered, more organized house?
Well we want to let you in on a well known secret of many New Yorkers, or city dwellers- they only bring something NEW into the house when they get rid of something else.
As we know, people that live in small spaces often have to make each area of their home work over-time and serve multiple functions.
But what you may not know is that most people living in small spaces, like in New York apartments, have to limit what they bring into their homes because their is not a lot of extra room or storage except for things they love or use.
So you may be wondering, how does this help me?
Well, here is the challenge- we challenge all of our readers to consider living by the New York Standard
stop buying more clothes, shoes, toys for your kids, or purses, or kitchen equipment unless you get rid of 1 or more items in your house that is taking up room and is either- not used anymore, old, broken or no longer your taste.
Ask yourself these questions when you are trying to decide if you should keep it or purge it (donate or sell it):

Clutter-Free in 5 Hours- How to Clean Out Your House-Part 1-A Garage Makeover

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Most of us have that room, or space in our house that is a dumping ground. A place where we put all the things we own that we are not sure what to do with, the holiday decorations, the old clothes, and everything else.

Well in my house that place became the garage after a 1,000 square foot home addition. Besides all of the extra wood, siding, screws, tools and flooring, we began putting our donations in the garage, furniture we wanted to sell, and lots of old toys that needed to be thrown away or donated.

Instead of going through the toys or donation items, they landed in the garage and just added to a growing disaster.

We kept putting off cleaning the garage because we figured it would take us the entire weekend to clean it out and put down rubber flooring. With 3 young kids, and our usual busy schedule, we could not find the time.
Before    After
Finally, I had an epiphany- we could clean out the garage and in just a few hours!!!!

Guess what, we did it. We only had 4-5 hours and we were about to clean it out and make it a organized space.

How did we do it? We followed some very simple steps that you can follow and get your cluttered space clean. I promise, with a little work, and preplanning, you can clean up any space in your place.

Plan Ahead



1. Decide Which Room or Area You are Going to Clean Up
Decide on the Room You Are Going to Clean.

2. Decide When You Can Clean Up the Room
Decide on a Day you can clean the room, or a week you will commit to cleaning up an hour a day.

5 Car Essentials to Keep Your Car Clean and Organized Even With Kids

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If you are a parent, you know that kids can turn a clean car into a messy car in the course of a day! There are 5 products we recommend for every parent's car that will help you keep your car clean and your sanity intact. Buy an Inexpensive Car Vacuum Cleaner
If you want to keep your car clean spend $10.00 to 20.00 on a car vacuum and leave it in your car. I found one at Walmart in the Auto section for $10.00 and I use it every week to vacuum my car. Target also carries one for $15.00. This will keep you floors and seats, and the kids car seats clean of debris, and dirt.

 

 


Buy a Bag for Litter, Tissues and small items to keep your car clean from trash and little items rolling around. These run between $10.00 to 20.00 as well. You could also use a small bag or tote you may already have in place of a purchased litter bag.

 

Are you feeling like your house is too full of stuff? Well try getting rid of 1 thing when you bring a new item in the house.

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Tackle Clutter with a boxI don't know about you but I often feel like I am in the movie Ground Hog Day because the dishes, picking up toys and clothing, and cleaning seems to never end. I find myself thinking, "Didn't I just do that a second ago?" and usually I did.
I only takes about an hour for my kitchen to go from clean, and clutter-free to looking like a tornado has just come through. If you are faced with the same struggles as me, and most moms, I have 3 quick tips that make keeping your house clean,-quicker and easier.
Use a Collapsible Box to Collect Toys, and Clothing Throughout the Day
For those stray toys or pieces of clothing that make their way into your kitchen, bathroom, bedroom or where ever they do not belong- collect items in a box or bin so that you can return the items to there place at one time.
Keep Cleaning Cloths/Wipes in the Box
In order to wipe off hand prints, or a dirty surface, just grab a cloth or wipe from the box to take care of a small mess. This will allow you to tackle small smears, or messes as you are going through a room, instead of having to go back to get cleaning supplies for little messes throughout the day.
Buy a Floor Sweeper
Go buy a $25.00 floor sweeper (one without batteries of a cord)- the old fashioned kind that you see them use in restaurants. Let me tell you the Bissel Floor Sweeper I have works on all surfaces and it saves me from having to pull out the vacuum or broom and it is quick, easy and picks up everything. Even your kids can use it to clean up most messes. It truly is the easiest way to keep your floors- hard wood, tiles or carpets clean in between regular vacuuming. It will save you tons of time and keep your house tidy in case you have any unexpected guests.

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