6 Tips to Organize Your Garage

Kim Wolinski, MSW
“Dr. DeClutter” www.drdeclutter.com

6 Tips to Organize Your Garage

Even if you’re not having a garage sale, your garage may have become a storage facility, parking everything but your cars from bikes, lumber, trash, recyclables, clothes, garage sale treasures, old fishing and sports equipment, and so many other miscellaneous items. What do you do to take back control of your garage?

Look down your street. An unorganized garage is easy to see from every street in America! The garage is an easy place to toss, throw and bury all kinds of projects, equipment and tools, including it being a place easy not to maintain¾out of sight, out of mind! Making the most of your garage space is worth the effort.

1) Get organized in an organized fashion. Schedule a good one to two hours of uninterrupted time to get started, add on or pre-schedule a weekend. You really want this to get done already, right? Also, ask for help if you have large items to move so that you don’t quit in frustration early on. Stay focused on these five activities from start to finish. Divide, decide/sort, re-store/storage, organize and maintain.

2) Divide into Categories. Group your belongings into different categories: sports equipment, workbench tools, lawn and driveway tools, electric equipment, camping gear, etc. This will give you a better idea of what exactly you have and from there where best to put everything, how much space you’ll need and what kind of hooks and holders you may need to purchase in order to finish the job.

3) Decide section-by-section what you’re going to keep and move out. Stay with one pile/category or section at a time until it’s finished. Recycle, donate or throw away old or useless equipment, broken flowerpots, old paint, etc. Sort through each of the divided piles by category. Finish one before moving onto the next. Reroute items that belong in other areas of the house or to others. Remember to properly dispose of any hazardous materials in accordance with your local laws.

4) Re-store/Storage. Use storage bins and put all your smaller equipment inside them. Make sure to label them before stacking them for easy future access. Put up shelving where needed. Whether attached to the walls or purchasing shelving units¾these can be inexpensive, pretty simple to install and worth the effort. Store smaller things on these shelves in similar groupings and categories. Buy small plastic containers to store tiny items that would get lost in a larger bin and store these containers on the shelves. Again, make sure to label the containers.

Bicycle storage is a must, especially when you don’t ride your bikes often. A popular option is a hanging bike rack, hook, lift, or hoist. There are of course floor bike racks too.

Garden tools, large and small can be hung on walls or placed methodically in garden tool utility carts. If you have unfinished walls a quick way to keep spades, hoes, rakes, pipes, poles, etc. from falling over is to take bungee cords and stretch them between studs, ends hooked on long nails. Overhead, industrial-strength metal hangers for storage of bigger items such as lumber or camping equipment is a good idea. Take the time to make sure that they are installed correctly to ensure safety and that they are secure.

If you have a lot of items you need to store, or a few larger items such as a riding lawnmower and have the room to grow, look to purchasing a shed or some other alternate storage facility so you can keep your car inside the garage when inclement weather arises. The bottom-line is to let go of everything that is old, broken and useless, and items your know you will not use again.

5) Organize. As you are rearranging the garage, section by section, you will find yourself re-organizing as you go. That’s okay. But know that it’s best to get everything “contained” and then make it attractive!

6) Maintenance. Remember: 90% of life is maintenance! Decide how much you want to maintain, like having children… it’s an ongoing issue! When you bring items into the garage make sure they’re put away where they belong, or create a place, a “home,” for them to belong, to “live.” Without a home, our belongings are homeless… they wonder around and get lost!

Life is so much easier when we, and our stuff, are organized. The time you take to get and stay organized will make your time more effective, efficient and free. Free time… it’s a good thing!

If you live on the Front Range of Colorado, I’m here to help you of course. Call today, for a "Dr. DeClutter house (garage) call!" 303-485-5280.

©2005 Kim Wolinski – Dr. DeClutter

Need help getting your space (house, office, barn, backyard – thoughts, mind, time, schedule, priorities, or life) decluttered and re- organized? My new video “BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN, AND OTHER ORGANIZING TIPS AND TOOLS FROM DR. DECLUTTER” is a great help. You can find out more or order BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN at http://www.redecisionsinstitute.com/kims_store.html

Editors and publishers are free to reprint blog articles as long as it is reprinted in its entirety and the signature line remains intact.

5 Solutions to Get Ready For Your Garage Sale

Kim Wolinski, MSW
“Dr. DeClutter” www.drdeclutter.com

5 Solutions to Get Ready For Your Garage Sale

Sounds like a no-brainer, eh? But how many times have you gotten ready for your long awaited, clean everything out, “let’s get rid of this stuff already” garage, yard, porch or tag sale only to find the next day that you had “forgotten” several boxes stored away in the garage rafters, attic, basement or back closet. Or, maybe you just didn’t plan ahead well enough and still have way too much “stuff and things” in your house that now need a second garage sale! Yikes!

Solution #1: I love this. Yes or No.
Several weeks before your garage sale schedule an uninterrupted full day to go through your house, top to bottom, every closet, drawer, unopened box and questionable heap and pull out anything and everything that doesn’t scream “I love this!” Start hearing “yes” or “no” in your head as you look at and pick up each item (no maybes!). “Will I use this? Yes or no.” “Do I need this? Yes or no.” “Does it make sense to keep this in storage another 30 years, keep paying for it and never use it or see it? Yes or no.” You’ll notice a rhythm begin that takes on it’s own energy, “yes or no – NO”, “yes or no, YES!”…. Do it as quickly as you can, this really helps to move stuff out.

WARNING: If you stand and hold an item, think about it and wonder what you’ll do with it if it stays… (think Crocodile Hunter) “DANGER! DANGER! DANGER!”… you’ll “trance” and find out too late that it’s already the end of your allotted time to declutter and little progress was made. Self-loathing ensues… and you’re back where you started. Who needs it!

Solution #2: If my house burned down….
I offer this creative thought angle often (also the title of my new organizing program video “Burn Your House Down”). Step outside the box. Shake yourself up. Wake up from your “consumer” and “hoarding” trance! As you look into your closet, still too full, as you try to open an overstuffed drawer think, “If my house burned down right now would I miss any of this?” The answer is usually “no!” Declutter more.

Solution #3: What if…
Play the “What if…” game. What if I got a call today asking me to move to another country, one that I love, and could do what I love for a living and get paid mega-bucks and enjoy my life even more than I enjoy my life now. “WOW, LET’S GO”, right? “But,” the price of the ticket is that you can only take 2,000 lbs. of your stuff and things with you, the rest must go (no, you can’t store it.) What is your joy worth? What is your life worth?

I was given a wonderful compliment by the wife of an IBM employee who had attended one of my Stress and Time Management programs at IBM. Bonnie wrote me a letter saying that her husband had been offered a transfer to Germany with IBM, that they took it and would live there for 2 years. Company stipulations were that they could only take 2,000 lbs. of their belongings with them. She said, “Your handouts from the class were the first thing on the load!”

Solution #4: Call the truck.
Do yourself a great big favor. Call the local charities or thrift shops and schedule a “pick up” of what’s left over from your garage sale. Do this BEFORE the garage sale. DO NOT put the leftovers back into your garage. PERIOD!

Solution #5: Redecide! It’s okay.
I know, it seemed like a good idea at the time… but while you’re decluttering your house, garage, etc. and find that you really don’t have time, don’t want to, or can’t deal with a garage sale. It’s okay. Take your items a few boxes or bags at a time to the local charity or thrift store… or CALL THE TRUCK (Solution #4) and let them take it away. Someone can and will use your items. Reality is, unless you have great stuff or are excited about creating this event to spend time with family or friends, sometimes garage sales are more work than they’re worth for the few dollars you might really get. Instead, let the trucks take your stuff and take that same day or two and go out with family, friends, or spend some splendid time alone in your new, decluttered home.

©2005 Kim Wolinski – Dr. DeClutter

Need help getting your space (house, office, barn, backyard – thoughts, mind, time, schedule, priorities, or life) decluttered and re- organized? My new video “BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN, AND OTHER ORGANIZING TIPS AND TOOLS FROM DR. DECLUTTER” is a great help. You can find out more or order BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN at http://www.redecisionsinstitute.com/kims_store.html

Also, my book Letting Go With All Your Might is helpful to release old “trance” beliefs about holding onto things and ideas about things that keep us stuck. http://www.redecisionsinstitute.com/kims_store.html

Editors and publishers are free to reprint blog articles as long as it is reprinted in its entirety and the signature line remains intact.

Declutter and Organize Your “Chi”

Kim Wolinski, MSW
“Dr. DeClutter” www.drdeclutter.com

Declutter and Organize Your “Chi”

Want to get better “flow” and harmony in your environment? Over the past several years feng shui has become pretty well known in this country, depending on where you live of course. (I meet people who’ve never heard of it, nor other systems, books, speakers, methods and ideas that seem commonplace to others and me!).

The April issue of Organic Style magazine has a great article titled, “House Rules” identifying 3 major players (feng shui, from China, vastu from India, and wabi-sabi from Japan) for “Boosting the feel-good factor in your home with a bit of wisdom from the East” by James Servin.

WHAT’S “CHI”?
Chi (chee) is natural energy. This energy runs through our bodies as well as through our homes and through all space and things everywhere. The philosophies and methods discussed in the magazine article show how to influence the natural energy “chi” through placement of furniture, plants, colors, texture and other items, creating balance and harmony in everyday life, comparing the three styles.

Now having said that, I must profess, that I personally don’t much use feng shui, from China or the other two decorating philosophies mentioned, vastu from India, and wabi-sabi from Japan. Quite honestly, I don’t want items hung on my ceiling and stuck in my closets that are not part of my personality or décor. I’ve dabbled with them, but for me, it’s my Midwest-Heartland “Func(tional)Way” that works best to restore my chi. Gloves on, prep tools at ready… dig in, declutter and reorganize, decorate and move things around where they feel good to me, eat some dark chocolate with almonds, talk to a friend and enjoy my home! Please, keep reading.

BLASPHAMY!
I’ve had friends tell me I shouldn’t say things like this, that these methods each have merit, that everything has its place and everyone needs different things. I absolutely agree. I want people to know and to use everything that’s out there, past, present and new to help them bring peace, joy and flow into their lives. But my experience as a Professional Organizer has shown me over and over again that bottom line, if you don’t do the basic work of decluttering and organizing, no philosophy for moving chi around is going to help.

How to I know this? A) Common sense, B) I’ve been hired to clean out closets and rooms where there were all the signature tools and techniques from one or more of the mentioned decorating philosophies… under heaps of clutter; in back of coats and vacuum cleaners, hidden and ripped, hanging broken and mangled behind “chi gone bad.”

WHAT WENT WRONG?
Lack of attention… to intention. One of the core teachings in any of these philosophies… as in life… is INTENTION. So, one great reminder I get from these decorating styles is that when I place furniture, plants, colors, textures, etc. around, I need to do so with intention. And, when I do this with intention, I remember it, I “own” it and what it means to and for me.

"Only one thing has to change for us to know happiness in our lives: where we focus our attention." ~ Greg Anderson

GOT ROCKS?
An example of this is of a woman who offered me some feng shui services. She said that my hallway had too many doors (7 to be exact) and that they were pulling my energy every which way as I walked through my hall many times a day. She suggested I put rocks on either side of the hallway to “ground” me, to connect me to “earth” chi. I did it, I like rocks. What I realized in this process is that in the conversation, the “attention” to doing this, and my personally doing it, getting and placing rocks on each end of my hall way, it put “my focus” on this act and now the “intention” into the act and the meaning behind the rocks – the why, the “chi” of it all. So, every time I walk through my hallway I see the rocks and what do I think?… “I’m grounded.” Intention.

Intention in every area of your life is a must if you are to gain focus and clarity. Intention in your decisions, actions and choices. Intention is “What do you want to happen here?” “What do you ‘intend’ to happen?” “What is the ‘purpose’ of this?”

THE BOTTOM-LINE
The article states that all 3 philosophies agree that clutter is bad, but beyond that, differences abound.

After reading about the differences I must say that if I have to choose one over the others I’m more of a wabi-sabi gal. The definition used for this traditional design philosophy of Japan is “Imperfect is beautiful.” Yeah, that’s me! I’ve been calling it Perfect Imperfection for years! Shoot, I should have come up with some foreign language wordage. It would have sold much faster!

Whether it’s your belief (and scientific reality), as the Jains, a religious group in India, believe that divinity dwells within each and every one of us, and that every inanimate object has energy-- or your experience -- clutter creates a blur of energy distracting and confusing the mind and limiting clarity of action and decision. Way bad chi.

There is no perfect system and every practitioner will offer different ideas. I watched one of the plethora of new TV shows on decorating where they had three professional feng shui decorators bring their idea of perfect flow to the same room. They gave three very different ideas; some made no practical sense at all, even to the host of the show. (No, I’m not picking on feng shui; the other two practices are just not as well known or used.) Bottom line here is that some techniques are fads and when the river is flowing with a trend a lot of people jump in to get their fish, but when the river dries up a good decorator is still a good decorator waiting to help you. If you need help redecorating, get referrals and hire a decorator for a consultation. Good decorators naturally use the best flow of the room and space. Or, find one who utilizes one of these “ancient practices” too, many do now, and get the best of all worlds.

Good decorating is just common sense. Good use of what you have is common sense, practical application and whatever brings the most joy to you. And, it will change and shift over time. That’s another article.

RECAP
1) So, first, declutter and clear out everything that does not support you and your joy. (Please recycle so that others can use what you don’t want of course.)
2) Organize everything you can into the “homes” they belong.
3) Then, learn, read, study all the ways to make your space flow better and work for you.
4) Hire by referral someone who listens to you and works with your personality.

Please note that I have also been in homes and offices where they’ve already hired a Professional Organizer and because the organizer didn’t listen to the client’s needs, the client still didn’t have a “functional” system and needed help again. Maybe the more important part of decorating and energy balancing is listening.

The article from Organic Style says that wabi-sabi has been called “the feng shui of the new millennium.” If that’s true, you’ll be seeing ads for wabi-sabi practitioners popping up everywhere soon! From what I can tell, it’s what many of us have been doing all our lives… breathe, enjoy your home, make it work for you, be okay with, enjoy and honor the worn and useful, home is a retreat… create happiness by embracing imperfection. It says something about our society too. We need to let go of being perfect and doing, doing, doing. Being, being, being is the only way to go to keep peace of mind, positive energy flow and good chi. Clean out what doesn’t belong and love the rest.

One last reminder… don’t rearrange and decorate around your clutter, especially if you’re hiring someone to help you, because it won’t be “chi-p!”

©2005 Kim Wolinski – Dr. DeClutter

Need help getting your space (house, office, barn, backyard – thoughts, mind, time, schedule, priorities, or life) decluttered and re- organized? My new video “BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN, AND OTHER ORGANIZING TIPS AND TOOLS FROM DR. DECLUTTER” is a great help. You can find out more or order BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN at http://www.redecisionsinstitute.com/kims_store.html

Editors and publishers are free to reprint blog articles as long as it is reprinted in its entirety and the signature line remains intact.

Being Organized Meets Money and Success

Kim Wolinski, MSW
“Dr. DeClutter” www.drdeclutter.com

Being Organized Meets Money and Success

- Are successful people more organized?
- Does clutter stop you from being focused?
- Do you have to be organized to be successful?

TOO MUCH STUFF
Suze Orman, speaker and author of “The Courage To Be Rich” and many other books on wealth says, “Having too much stuff keeps wealth from flowing into your life.”

So then, it’s true. Too much clutter and stuff keeps us from being successful, right? Maybe, maybe not! I think there’s a bigger picture than just stuff and things around us that support us or distract us from success. I see it as the “Inner Clutter” issue more than the “Outer Clutter.”

I believe that if you know (Inner Knowing) who you are and what you want, what you are doing and do it with focused attention it doesn’t matter what your environment (Outer) looks like, you’ll be successful.

It has a lot to do with your learning personality as well. If you’re more a visual learner you will find it hard to file paper, put things behind doors, in drawers or in cupboards because, “Out of sight, out of mind.” You will need to find and create “outside and open top” systems to organize where you can see it, but not let it pile up so much that it keeps you from getting your work done, losing time and energy (which equates to money) trying to find things.
"Your house is your home only when you feel
you have jurisdiction over the space."~ Joan Kron

I knew a very prominent attorney years ago who upon my visit to his office I saw beautiful oak and glass bookcases filled with law books, a big oak desk and a beautiful old overstuffed burgundy leather couch and chair. He was a very well known, organized man with a very successful law practice. Oh, did I mention… I couldn’t sit on the couch or the chair because they were piled with over 3 feet of client case files?!

NOT ENOUGH STUFF
What if you don’t have enough of what you need to succeed? Consider the Olympic Games. As a storyteller, I’m a story collector. I’m most interested every Olympic season to hear the awesome stories of some European skater(s) or other Olympic athlete who had none of the sports equipment, space, trainers, environment, tools (or sometimes even food) with which to practice (or to worry about organizing!). Sometimes having to dodge wartime or terrorist bullets daily, working full-time and still making time (not finding time) to practice their burning desires… organizing their time and energy (Inner Work) around their focused desire… to then walk away with the gold or other medals at the games.

I catch Oprah once in a while and recently she interviewed guest, Tyler Perry, writer of and actor in the movie Diary of a Mad Black Woman. Within a six-year span, Tyler Perry went from being homeless to selling out theaters wherever he goes. He has become America's most successful young playwright, grossing, $75,000,000 in the box office with seven productions, five in which he also acted, directed, and produced. Organizing not stuff and things, but his thoughts, beliefs and choices… Inner work.

WHEN IS CLUTTER AND DISORGANIZATION A PROBLEM?
So then, when is clutter and disorganization a problem? Answer: When it’s not functional… when it’s a problem for you!

I’ve been in perfectly appointed homes and offices where outer clutter was not the problem. I’ve been in messy offices and studios where it all worked for the person who lived and worked there. Clutter and mess is only a problem when it stops you from functioning in the best possible way. When it distracts you from “flowing” and getting your plans into action. This then can again be more an issue of Inner Clutter for some than Outer Clutter.

“One of the advantages of being disorderly
is that one is constantly making
exciting discoveries.”
~ A. A. Milne 1882-1956

HOW TO KNOW WHEN TO DECLUTTER AND ORGANIZE FOR SUCCESS
Clutter and too much stuff around can be distracting, as well as safety hazards depending on how much you have. Take a test: Visualize your home, office or work place and space completely empty. Now, put back only those things that are truly helpful to you in being peaceful, joyful, calm, happy, productive and functional. You may put back very little, you may put it all back… and more!… it’s up to you!

“Living clutter-free does not mean
living in a sterile environment;
It means getting rid of the excess
so that everything around you is there for a reason.”
~ Stephanie Roberts, Clutter-Free Forever!

ONE STUDY SAYS… MESS MEANS MONEY!
According to a new survey from Ajilon Professional Staffing, a New Jersey firm, the messier the desk, the higher the income! It says 66% of those making $35,000 or less call themselves “neat freaks,” compared to 11% of those earning $75,000 or more. Younger workers are neater than older ones (60% of those 18-24 say they keep their spaces neat, as opposed to 36% of those 55-64). Only 16% of college grads say they’re neat. And women are more organized than men. “Some people do work best in a controlled clutter environment,” admits Ajilon President Neil Lebovits.

“Organizing is about designing your space
so that if reflects who you are and what’s important to you
and arranging things logically and efficiently
so that staying organized will be easy for you.”
~Julie Morgenstern, Organizing from the Inside Out

So, to my friends who tell me to get rid of some of my many books (I’m a reader and writer), to clean up my office paper piles (I’m a writer and speaker), and to organize my closet (I have limited space and it works for me) I say, “Thank you for sharing!”

©2005 Kim Wolinski – Dr. DeClutter

Need help getting your space (house, office, barn, backyard – thoughts, mind, time, schedule, priorities, or life) decluttered and re- organized? My new video “BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN, AND OTHER ORGANIZING TIPS AND TOOLS FROM DR. DECLUTTER” is a great help. You can find out more or order BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN at http://www.redecisionsinstitute.com/kims_store.html

Editors and publishers are free to reprint blog articles as long as it is reprinted in its entirety and the signature line remains intact.

Organizing Finances: 4 Solutions for Sanity, Tax Time and Beyond

Kim Wolinski, MSW
“Dr. DeClutter” http://www.drdeclutter.com/

Organizing Finances: 4 Solutions for Sanity, Tax Time and Beyond

“There is no such thing as a good tax.”
~ Winston Churchill

Tax time, again. I hear it in every phone call this time of year more than usual… “Kim, please help me organize all this paper. I can’t handle it!” Or, more to the point, two weeks ago I received a call from Jenna, “Kim, I will shoot myself if you don’t come and help me find all my tax stuff and get it together. I just can’t deal with this!”

Paper. Taxes. Not doing your Patriotic Duty throughout the year, one-receipt-at-a-time to stay on top of it. Life. Overload. It’s a lethal mix.

What do you do? Please take the following guides seriously to organize now and throughout your year to get your financial paperwork and taxes ready and done, on time and with so much less stress, pain and self-loathing.

Fact:
If you haven’t started pulling your taxes together “yet” and may not until about April 14th, plan on lots of stress, fear, complaining, blaming the government and others and gnashing of teeth, thoughts about “extensions,” and wondering if people really do go to jail for not paying their taxes and by the way, “Doesn’t the government have more important things to worry about than my petty couple hundred dollars?”

Solution #1:
Stop waiting. Stop stalling. Stop procrastinating… NOW. Start doing them today… little by little. Sit on the floor or at a clean table and start dividing, sorting, culling through your receipts, putting them in their separate categories, such as vehicle, utilities, health insurance, etc. Put these in envelopes labeled for each category. When you sit down again, go through each envelope and add up the totals and write them on the envelope. Call your accountant. Be done for this year.

Fact:
What you put off creates more stress and becomes a health hazard.

Solution #2:
The magic of maintenance ¾ I say it all the time, especially when I hear people complain about having to deal with and take care of their “stuff” ¾ “90% of life is maintenance.” Whatever you have, buy, create, keep, use or store… must be maintained, even your thoughts and beliefs! You choose how much you want to maintain. If you don’t want a lot of tax papers to think about and take care of here are a few options: 1) hire someone to take care of them (which means having the money to pay them and trust that they’ll really take care of it); 2) use and buy less creating less paper/receipts; 3) move to a country that doesn’t have taxes; 4) see Solution #3.

Fact: Computer tax programs, they’re a good thing.

Solution #3:
Get ready for your 2005 taxes by getting ready now. Gather, organize and account for papers, receipts, etc. well in advance of the April 15 filing deadline. Keeping up with your paperwork and bookkeeping on a daily, weekly and monthly schedule gives you plenty of time for Tax Time to request copies of any missing documents as well.

Use QuickenÒ, QuickBooksÒ or some computer finance, banking and tax preparation program REGULARLY (weekly, monthly) to keep up with your receipts, expenses and income, investments and interest so that at the end of the year, like magic, you can click on REPORTS and PRINT and vwalla!! It’s all done. Incredible! Yea technology!

“This [preparing my tax return] is too difficult for a mathematician.
It takes a philosopher.”
~ Albert Einstein

Fact:
Some people need to have chaos, drama and negative experiences in their lives to feel alive.

Solution #4:
I know several people that I simply stay away from this time of year. They wait until the last few weeks before tax deadline and then become maniacs. This kind of behavior and self-imposed habit is not good for the person or their family, friends or co-workers.

Waiting until March or April every year to do your taxes creates fear, stress, anger and adrenaline spikes that are seriously not healthy for your body. Stop it. Drama and adrenaline may make you feel “alive,” but they are only helping you get “adead!” You should have and want to have much more important activities that bring joy, happiness, excitement and positive adrenaline rushes to exchange for doing mundane paperwork on a regular basis. Do what you love, take care of the “life on planet earth daily stuff” and have a happy life -- you deserve it! Those around you will love you for it too!

©2005 Kim Wolinski – Dr. DeClutter

Need help getting your space (house, office, barn, backyard – thoughts, mind, time, schedule, priorities, or life) decluttered and re- organized? My new video “BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN, AND OTHER ORGANIZING TIPS AND TOOLS FROM DR. DECLUTTER” is a great help. You can find out more or order BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN at http://www.redecisionsinstitute.com/kims_store.html

Editors and publishers are free to reprint blog articles as long as it is reprinted in its entirety and the signature line remains intact.