• 49% of arguments stem from our different perspectives on what a “mess” actually is
• 44% of us say that clearing out gives us a great sense of relief
• 21% of us fear starting home projects in case we can’t finish
• 23% of us feel stressed because we don’t know what to keep
• 17% of all arguments in the home stem from people intruding on other people’s space

• we have a hard time decluttering, we want less stuff, but have a complicated emotional attachment to our stuff
• my space, your space & our space are hard to define within the home
• we struggle to stay mentally present at home; technology & work get in the way
• we have trouble balancing the good & bad side of technology
• we want our homes to be finished, we are paralyzed by where to start, but the best homes are a continual work in progress and will never be finished

• help you see the big picture
• clear your space of clutter and unnecessary distractions
• focus on the right priorities for your family and home
• find more effective organizing solutions

Everywhere we look there are items we can declutter from our homes. Pick an item a day, or go room by room. If you are looking for inspiration use this list of 101 Things to Declutter starting today. Grab a bag (that’s #1 on the list, you’ve already begun) and start filling it with all the items you no longer need, love or are past their usefulness date. Consider what you can give to someone you know, donate or recycle; the rest gets tossed in the garbage bin.

1. Excess (plastic & paper) shopping bags
2. Old blankets & bedding
3. Excess bedsheets; two sets per bed is enough
4. Hair accessories you don’t use, especially those outstretched hair elastics
5. Jewelry you don’t wear; missing the matching earring?
6. Broken watches
7. Underwear, socks, tights, and bras that are stretched out or have holes
8. Keys without a matching lock
9. Threadbare bath towels
10. Toys & Games your children have outgrown/played
11. Stuffed animals no longer loved
12. Puzzles with missing pieces
13. Old agendas & notebooks
14. Outdated calendars
15. Store catalogues
16. Extra buttons that came with a clothing purchase
17. Used envelopes and old flyers
18. Storage containers without a matching lid
19. Old mobile phones
20. Name badges & lanyards from conferences
21. Kitchen magnets
22. Old invitations
23. Exercise equipment collecting dust
24. Gifts you don’t like
25. DVDs you don’t watch
26. VHS tapes (who still owns a VCR?)
27. Extra key chains
28. Receipts from the supermarket
29. Dried up glue containers
30. Cookbooks you never cook out of
31. Boxes your electronics came in
32. Scarves you never wear
33. Belts that don’t fit
34. Shoes that pinch
35. Shoes you never wear/are old
36. Promotional t-shirts
37. Books you will probably never read
38. Chipped dishes
39. Decorative serving wear you never serve food in
40. Alcohol you’ve never opened & won’t drink
41. Appliance/electronic manuals (you can view these online)
42. Toiletries you will never use
43. Abandoned (art) projects
44. Excess coffee mugs, how many do you need?
45. Apps you don’t use on your phone or tablet
46. Leftover paint you’ll never use again
47. Your child’s artwork (keep the ones you love)
48. Cords & cables to things you no longer own
49. Duplicate kitchen items
50. Used up pens & markers
51. Take out menus
52. Missing socks
53. Handbags/Purses you no longer like
54. Old backpacks
55. Food & spices that are overdate
56. Picture frames you no longer like
57. Luggage you never use (you probably always pack using your favorite piece)
58. Old to-do lists
59. Knickknacks/Souvenirs/Home Décor that doesn’t match your style
60. Small Flash drives/Thumb drives
61. Computer monitors/keyboards/mouse or computer accessories that are outdated/unused
62. Miscellaneous nails, screws, and bolts
63. Perfume/cologne you don’t wear
64. Old phone contacts, business cards you don’t need, the outdated address book
65. Paper, plastic, glass containers collected – time to recycle
66. Broken electronics & appliances
67. Scrap paper
68. Excess flower vases
69. Garden pots you don’t use
70. Wire hangers
71. Plastic around dry-clean items
72. Old newspapers & clippings
73. Old magazines
74. Old school books
75. Expired medicine
76. Dried up nail polish
77. Office Supplies you don’t need or have too much of
78. Subscriptions to services you no longer need
79. Cleaning products you tried and don’t like
80. Used/expired batteries
81. Burned out or broken lightbulbs
82. Old glasses/eyeglass cases
83. Baseball caps & hats no longer worn
84. Sports equipment you no longer use
85. Children’s sippy cups and themed dishes they have outgrown
86. Expired coupons
87. Scrap fabric, yarn, or wool you will never use
88. Nearly used up candles
89. Tax returns more than seven years old
90. Refills for items you no longer have
91. Camping equipment (you never go camping anymore)
92. Leftover party supplies
93. Cheap plastic hangers from the clothing store
94. Flat pillows too uncomfortable even for guests
95. Old dress-up/party costumes
96. Duplicate photos
97. Items cluttering your bulletin board
98. Unused wedding gifts
99. Old toothbrushes
100. One glove missing it’s match
101. Stretched out & faded swimwear

If you are ready to explore the benefits of working with a professional organizer to find more space, focus and time contact sorted.by Melissa. I want to help you live a more organized life. Let’s get you sorted.

Is your smartphone smarter than you? Why are we so addicted to dependent on our smartphones? Why is it such an important object in our lives? It might be because our smartphones have become our agenda, clock, navigator, book, television, audio player, camera, cookbook, newspaper, shopping list, alarm, exercise coach and perhaps even our wallet. Not to mention the numerous game, chat, or social media apps that keep us entertained and connected to the world.

We’ve introduced one of the most integrated and useful pieces of technology into our lives, yet the question begs, who is the master and who is the servant in this relationship?

During a conference for professional organizers, guest speaker Marnix Pauwels (author of Leg dat #@!ding nou ‘ns weg!) asked what might be a healthy relationship with our smartphones? Beyond its practical use, we turn to it in times of boredom, curiosity, loneliness, restlessness, for reassurance, for a pick-me-up or to avoid feeling negative feelings in a particular moment. It drains of us our precious energy, diverts our concentration and weakens our short-term memory muscle.

The reality is we can’t live without our smartphones, they have become too integral to our daily lives. So much so that we now have a new term for our fear of going without them. Nomophobia is the irrational fear of being without your mobile phone or being unable to use your phone for some reason such as the absence of a signal or running out of minutes or battery power. So how do we regain control as master?

Learn to be aware of its presence in your daily life
If you are unsure of how often you reach for your smartphone try an app like QualityTime or Moment.

Recognize when it is becoming a distraction or an emotional substitute
Consciously consider your emotional state when you are interacting with your phone. Could you be more in the moment, mindful of the experience going on around you? Are you avoiding something in the present moment?

Minimize the disruptions
Turn-off notifications & vibrations, reduce the number of apps you use and use the Do Not Disturb setting when you need to focus on a task.

Observe other people’s relationships with their phone
Do you want to emulate their behavior or for them to emulate yours? Lead by example. In your next work meeting, while out with friends for coffee, or interacting with your teen put your phone away. Its mere absence might be noticed.

Create time-out spaces for your smartphone
Keep your smartphone out of your bedroom. Don’t touch your phone until after breakfast. Make the dinner table a no phone zone. Go the extra step, store it further away (in another room or in a box) so you need to consciously walk over to where it is in order to use it.

If you find your digital habits overrunning your life contact sorted.by Melissa. I can help you find more space, focus and time to do the things you love.

I want to help you live a more organized life. Let’s get you sorted.

• Take one day at a time. Or in this case one holiday at a time by planning and organizing for each individually. There is no sense stressing one’s self out by managing it all at once.
• Write it down. Use a central calendar to capture everyone’s commitments and invitations. An overview lets everyone know what to anticipate and where they are expected to be.
• Clear the agendas. Once you’ve noted down all the events and related parties look at what you can cancel or remove from your agenda. Workshops, networks events, conferences, meetings, doctor’s appointments. What can be re-booked during a less stressful time? Must you attend every business or holiday event? Choose consciously those events that bring you the most joy and energy. This is a great exercise in learning to say “no”.
• Declutter central zones. Start with your entryway, clear away items to make room for greeting guests and hanging their coats. Move to the kitchen and clear the countertops. Cooking large meals become an extra challenge when you are limited by space. Turn the guest room back into an inviting place for guests and not your temporary storage or project room.
• Create your to-do list. Do you need to coordinate treats, outfits, or gifts for an event? Are you required to RSVP? Purchase tickets? Note down what needs to be done and set aside an evening to make your arrangements.
• Book in your downtime. Keep at least one weekend day free from engagements. Recovery time is more precious than ever. With the shorter days crawl into bed a little earlier for an extra bit of sleep.
• Swap time with a friend. You need to run errands without the children in tow (how else can Sinterklaas get his shopping done). Ask a friend to trade afternoons looking after each other’s children. You might have a busy day babysitting, but you’ll be rewarded with a relatively quiet and stress-free afternoon to handle all your shopping needs.

Start now, plan and organize what you can. By managing your time wisely during the holiday season you’ll be able to enjoy the festivities rather than stress and lose sleep.

Do you need a little extra help during the holiday season? Perhaps preparing your home for guests, decorating your home for the festive season, or organizing your kitchen for holiday cooking? Bring order, structure, and efficiency to your home by contacting sorted.by Melissa by email or phone for a Free Consultation. 

For more organizing tips follow sorted.by Melissa on Facebook or sign-up for the monthly newsletter.

A few years back, I managed and coordinated the IT needs for a consultancy. My colleagues would ring me up or pop-by my desk with all sorts of computer problems for me to troubleshoot. As consultants, client deliverables were priority number one, and forced downtime/loss of work time from a faulty laptop was frustrating and unacceptable.

Often the issues were simple enough to resolve with updates or removals of problematic applications. Having full access to someone’s computer is an eye-opening experience. I could see those that worked in chaos, files and shortcuts all over their desktops, and those who were impatient and just clicked on every button allowing dozens of applications to be downloaded, clogging up computer memory, slowing down their system.

Computers, for most of us, are fundamental to our working lives. To maintain our work productivity and valuable time we need to maintain good working computers. You don’t need to be a computer expert to do this, just follow these few principles for maintaining a functionally efficient, de-cluttered, and organized computer.

System

• Install the latest updates for applications and programs to work optimally.
• With every download and browser click you run the risk of accidentally introducing a computer virus; Run a virus scanner such as ESET Online Scanner
• To optimize the disk space on your Hard Drive run the Disk clean-up/defrag program from your computer which can be found in system settings. Or download a free disk cleaner such as Piriform CC Cleaner
• Clear your Temporary Files (File Explore > %temp% > Delete Files)
• Uninstall unused applications and programs (see System Settings) you don’t use or need; bonus, it frees up more space on your hard drive.

Web Browser

• Clear your homepage of distractions. Choose for a simple search engine homepage without the personalization, updates or news.
• Clear your browsers cookies/browsing data regularly.
• Delete most of your bookmarks. Keep only those that you use routinely. If you want to remember a website for future reference, consider web clipping and saving in Evernote.
• Organize your bookmarks into a folder or if you only use a handful add the ones you use the most on to a bookmark bar.

Desktop & Folders

• Clear your computer desktop of old and unnecessary files or shortcuts.
• Have a simple desktop background image that will be inspiring, not distracting.
• Organize your desktop into quadrants: work, personal, to file, tools. Consider using a desktop wallpaper that helps you organize such as the sorted. Desktop Organizer.
• Create a good folder structure and file your documents for easy retrieval.
• Remove as many desktop icons as you can. With a good folder structure, you won’t need shortcuts to your folders.
• Delete old documents and extra versions.
• Empty your download folder.
• Empty your trashcan.

While you are working on your computer lets also do the same for your tablet and smartphone.

Tablets & smartphones

• Remove unused apps from your devices.
• Group and organize your apps into folders. Have all your apps fit on 1-2 screens.
• Delete photos you really don’t need. Undo the autosave photo function from Whatsapp, Viber or other chat apps.

Are you, or your business, struggling to keep organized digitally? Bring order, structure, and efficiency to your digital life by contacting sorted.by Melissa by email or phone for a Free Consultation. 

For more organizing tips follow sorted.by Melissa on Facebook or sign-up for the monthly newsletter.

I have always been a collector of information: useful websites, magazine and newspaper articles or potential future travel itineraries. My brain doesn’t have the capacity to hold onto all this information, nor do I enjoy the clutter of physical paper and notebooks. Thankfully, around 10 years ago, Evernote launched a digital notebook that would satisfy my need to keep useful information in an organized and decluttered way. I have been a faithful user since early 2012, expanding the capabilities and uses of this handy digital notebook into various areas of my personal and work life. If you are unsure about how Evernote could work for you consider some of the ways I use it.

Note: I have Evernote installed on my smartphone, tablet, and computer. When online it syncs data across all devices. I have also installed the Clip to Evernote extension on my web browser and downloaded the Scannable app to my smartphone. This is not a sponsored Evernote Blog; I am merely sharing my personal organizing experience using this tool.

• Book Wish List – Whenever I am recommended a book or come across a book I’d like to read I add this to my Book Wish List page in the notebook. Next time I’m at the library or bookstore and can’t remember the title a quick review of the list provides me all the info I need to know.
• Business Cards – Using the Evernote App on my smartphone I snap a photo of the business card and Evernote auto-fills the Business Card notebook page with the person’s contact information. Now I have a searchable database of network contacts and can recycle or pass on the paper version.
• Meeting Notes, Presentations or PDFs – Whether I’m at a client meeting or at a conference, I can capture notes along with saving photos, agendas or shared digital presentations and PDFs. This is really useful on a tablet instead of a cumbersome laptop or the limited capabilities of your smartphone.
• Recipe collection – I have a separate notebook within Evernote dedicated to storing and collecting most of my recipes. When a friend emails a recipe, I pop it into the notebook. I’ve searched the internet for a new recipe I Web Clip it into the notebook. Flipping through a magazine I use Scannable and snap a pic of the recipe into the notebook. These items are quickly searchable and when I’m at the grocery store wondering how much of an ingredient I need I can pull it up on my phone’s app.
• Websites – When I come across a website I want to remember, whether it be a digital tool I could use, tax advice I need for later reference or a restaurant I want to try I can Bookmark the website to refer to at a later date.
• Signatures – Fax machines are obsolete yet there are occasions where I receive a document requiring my signature and I need to email it back. Using the Scannable function I can turn any document into a PDF or JPG, scan and email to any address or save to Evernote.
• School Information – Keeping track of school information can be overwhelming and frustrating. Do I need a password for the school wiki? Did they email that info? Or Did I receive a hand-out? By adding these into Evernote I have one place where I store class lists, school passwords, flyers, handouts and important emails for convenient reference.
• Gift Wish Lists – My kids have Santa, Sinterklaas and Birthday gift wish lists. I can snap a pic of something they see or save a web link to an item or just create a simple list of their wishes. When grandparents or friends ask what their gift wishes are I can mail them the page from Evernote.
• Vacation Destinations – When organizing a trip there is a lot of research that goes into planning the itinerary and activities. During a search, I can save various websites, PDFs and other information about my search into Evernote.
• Travel documents – Hotel, car or plane reservations are all electronic these days. Storing the reservations in one notebook keeps me from searching through countless emails. I can also keep digital copies of visas, passports, and other vital travel documents.
• Product Information – Periodically I need to buy new vacuum cleaner bags or replace the printer cartridges. What model number vacuum or printer do I have again? By storing this info in Evernote I quickly reference the product code, number or model for online or in-store purchasing.
• Shopping List Items – Beyond making the requisite list of clothes my kids need because they’ve outgrown a winter jacket or shoes, I can capture web addresses where I may be able to purchase them. Maybe I’m out and not able to shop but spot something I like, I’ll take a photo and add this to my Evernote notebook. I can also collect ideas for pieces of furniture or accessories I may want for my home that I see in magazines or stores, think Pinterest but more personalized.

There are far more capabilities within Evernote to capture images, collaborate with others or search your data using tags. The more you use Evernote the more useful it becomes.

Are you, or your business, struggling to keep organized digitally? Bring order, structure, and efficiency to your digital life by contacting sorted.by Melissa by email or phone for a Free Consultation. 

For more organizing tips follow sorted.by Melissa on Facebook or sign-up for the monthly newsletter.