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Tag 'storage'

Monday Mission : Organize Baby’s Clothes

Having a baby is a far more complicated endeavor than you could ever imagine when you first get pregnant. To help you manage the influx of baby’s clothes (and all the size changes as baby grows), here are a few tips…

Supplies Needed:

  • clothes dresser
  • drawer dividers
  • children’s hangers
  • closet dividers
  • paper bags
  • plastic storage bins

Organization Tips:

  1. Store socks, mittens, hats, and other accessories in separate sections of the top dresser drawer.
  2. Fold all onesies and store in two separate piles in the second dresser drawer: whites and colors.
  3. Fold all gowns and sleepers. Store in two separate piles in the third dresser drawer.
  4. Hang up baby’s outfits in the closet. Separate them by size and/or season using closet dividers.
  5. As baby gets bigger, toss any outgrown clothes into the corresponding paper bag at the bottom of baby’s closet (labeled “sell,” “donate,” and “keep”).
  6. Once the “donate” bag is full, take its contents to your favorite local charity.
  7. When the “sell” bag is full, take its contents to your favorite consignment store.
  8. When the “keep” bag is full, place its contents into the corresponding plastic bin (labeled by size and season, plus gender as necessary).
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Quick Tip : Never Lose Your Extra Buttons Again

Quickly locate just the right button next time you lose one (heaven forbid)…

  • When you buy a new item of clothing, use a fine-point permanent marker to label the outside of the spare-button pouch.
  • Then, store all the extra buttons with your sewing supplies (i.e., needles and thread).
  • Better yet, use a zip-top baggie to contain all those tiny, labeled spare-button pouches.
  • Or, my personal favorite… Grab a needle and thread to blind-stitch the extra button directly onto the inside of your new garment.

You’ll never waste precious time looking for a replacement button again!

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Monday Mission : Weed Out Your Wardrobe

Woohoo! The Lilybugs Children’s Consignment Sale was a great success! I’m looking forward to picking up my cheque on Wednesday. I made a net profit of $128.80… enough to cover what I spent on Amanda’s summer wardrobe, birthday presents, and advertising (i.e., my [ real neat ] business cards and checklists for the goody bags that were handed out to shoppers)!

My little 2-bedroom apartment is breathing a sigh of relief now that I have eliminated several bins of outgrown clothing and toys. Now, I should be able to find adequate storage space for the belongings that Amanda and I actually use (i.e., camping equipment, art supplies, bicycles).

So, if you haven’t done so already, set aside an hour or two to sort and purge your excess clothing as the seasons change and the weather gets warmer.

THE RULES:

  • Grab your calendar now, and schedule an appointment with your wardrobe within the next 2 weeks.
  • Invite a trusted friend to join you in weeding out your ‘old’ clothes. She’ll help you remain objective.
  • Hold a private fashion show, and
    • TOSS any clothing items that have holes (or if, like me, you’ll never realistically repair or pay someone to repair these items).
    • KEEP only items that actually FLATTER your body type. Get picky and brutal. Rid yourself of all ‘skinny’ clothes; at the moment, they are simply taunting you every time you see them, reminding you that you’re fat, you’re lazy, and you’re not good enough. Nothing is ever worth all that negative self-talk. Besides, when you finally do lose the weight, you can reward yourself with a new wardrobe!
    • DONATE anything that is still in decent shape but that doesn’t make the cut (or you never really wear). I hate to burst your bubble, but honestly… if you haven’t worn an item in the last year, you’re never going to end up wearing it. Schedule an appointment on your calendar to take these items to friends or local charities.
  • Put away whatever items you keep (in an organized manner, of course). Need ideas? Sort by color, by length, by clothing type, or even by complete outfits.
  • Take inventory of the clothing that you kept.
  • Make a shopping list of items that you need to replace in order to fill out your wardrobe for the upcoming season.
  • Block off some time on your calendar for a shopping date; and, when the time comes, shop with confidence and a discerning eye.

So, what about you? How do you sort and purge your wardrobe? Please share your tips in the comments below.

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Reader Plea : “Help! The piles are taking over!”

Currently, paper products are trying to devour my home; I have a problem throwing out and/or recycling paper. What do I do with all my husband’s CDs, DVDs, and VHS tapes? What do I do with all my notebooks? My books? How do I store my enormous yarn stash? Material? Thread? These are the items I have little piles of all over the house!

Not to worry… You can definitely learn how to organize your paperwork, your husband’s CD, DVD, and VHS collections; your books and notebooks; and your yarn, material, and thread. Just follow these steps…

get prioritized.

What is bothering you the most? Your enormous yarn stash or your books? Jot down a list, in priority order, of what needs to be organized. Think small. For example, you should break down your husband’s “mess” into three different organizing tasks : [1] VHS, [2] CD, and [3] DVD.

get focused.

Now that you have all your ducks in a row, tackle the first item on your organizing priority list. In fact, pretend that you’re a squirrel (kids or grandkids could help with this one) and gather like items into a single area. So, if you decided that your enormous yarn collection was most bothersome, gather all of your yarn together in a plastic bin or a pile on the floor.

get real.

Time to make some tough decisions. Realistically, what do you need to keep and what can go?

Ask yourself these questions:

  • Do I currently use it? If not, how long have I had it?
  • Do I really need it? What’s the worst that’d happen if I got rid of it?
  • Do I truly love it? Is it beautiful? Does it hold great sentimental value?

Remember : Anything that you decide to keep will cost you in space, time, or sanity. Make sure it’s worth it.

get neat.

Now that you’ve pared down your collection, find an appropriately-sized container in which to store the remaining items. This will define your limits. You may only keep what will comfortably fit into your chosen container.

So, if your husband comes home with a new DVD, only to discover that the DVD storage cabinet is completely full, he must get rid of an old DVD to make room for the new one. Or, he can return the new DVD if he really doesn’t want to part with any of the old ones.

As you can see, by limiting your stuff to a container, you have created an easy maintenance system that will ensure your control over your belongings and your space.

Finally, repeat this process for any area of your home that you need to organize, and you’ll soon find yourself reveling your new home oasis!

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