There’s no time like the present to get organized for #Halloween! Stuck for a #costume? Have a brainstorming session with the family, Modern Mom suggests, using a big pad of paper and some starter ideas such as “things that make me laugh” or “pop culture.” To create a #spooky fog, put small cups of water inside your #jack-o-lanterns and cubes of dry ice in the cups. For nighttime safety, have the kids wear glow sticks or incorporate reflective tape into their costumes. And if you can’t be at home because you’re out #trick-or-treating, place a cauldron full of small bags of candy on the front porch for kids to take.
Tag: get organized
Is Your Attic Ready for Storage?
To prepare your attic for #storage, first make an assessment of its structural integrity, The Spruce says. Look for signs of leaks on the underside of the roof or interior condensation to ensure that your stored stuff will remain dry. Be aware that the attic may not already have joists and flooring capable of supporting your weight or that of your stuff; to avoid sticking your foot through the ceiling of a room below, you may need to install a plank or plywood platform that can support the weight of yourself your stuff. Then you may be able to install shelves and platforms to hold and store select items.
Get Mom an Organizer for Her Favorite Things
While it won’t necessarily reduce the amount of stuff your Mom has on hand, a good organizer may be just what she needs to keep the household #clutter in check. There are organizing products for every area of the home, By George Organizing says, so if she has a lot of appointments, she might need a new day planner. If she has lots of shoes, jewelry, purses or clothing, there are organizers that can streamline storage. There are bathroom organizers, car organizers and kitchen organizers. And if not everything fits in the newly organized spaces, contact ClothingDonations.org for a pickup.
Organize Your Desk and Office
Many readers of the Organizing Blog are now gathering up all of their W-2s, receipts and bank statements in order to file their income taxes. And many are likely finding that their offices and desks leave a lot to be desired when it comes to #organization.
If you’re like most people (busy), chances are that you’ll have to shuffle multiple stacks of papers or go on a last-minute hunt for an essential document when any deadline approaches. And even if you’ve gone all-digital, those pesky stacks of papers somehow still form on top of your desk.
Simply being able to locate what you need when you need it can pay for itself quickly in terms of time and perhaps tax savings, too. That’s why it’s time you organized your desk and office or home office for maximum productivity.
The first step in any #organization push is a good #decluttering. Purge the office of any inactive items, Lifehack says: “Declutter, empty, shred, get rid of everything that you don’t need or want. Look around. What haven’t you used in a while?”
Once the clutter is gone or at least diminished, establish work zones and stock them with the appropriate equipment. Label drawers and file all inactive folders out of sight. Create a temporary folder for work(s) in progress.
In the digital era, good filing extends to devices, too. Is your desktop cluttered with files you didn’t put away? Do you have hundreds of old or unresolved emails? Use 15 minutes of downtime every day to sort those into their proper places on your hard drive.
Stuff keeps coming in, of course, and if you don’t address it immediately, you can easily lose track of whatever it is. To handle this, Inc. recommends the classic two-tray system — an “In” or “New” box for new tasks, and an “Out” or “Old” box for anything requiring further action.
Inc. also says to get a bigger trashcan. “Because a large trashcan is more visible, you tend to think of it more often. When unnecessary paper comes into your workspace, you’re more likely to place it in the [larger] trashcan than to stack it in a disheveled paper tower of “No clue what to do with it.”
At tax time or any time, you can benefit by streamlining your workspace. Get your office organized now, and you’ll be better prepared for every project, presentation or accountant — and life in general.
Keep Your Second New Year’s Resolution
According to Google data, “Get Healthy” is the No. 1 New Year’s resolution in the United States this season, with 62.7 million searches through the first of the year, a 13.8 percent increase over last year. “Get Organized” came in second, however, with 33.2 million searches; if that’s one of your goals, the information that ClothingDonations.org shares this month will help you cut the clutter while funding valuable veteran’s programs.