When we edit and reorganize closets for our clients, we come across two kinds of people: ones that organize by type and ones that organize by outfit.

​The “typers” are SO much easier to organize for because the process of reloading the closet requires so little thought. Short sleeves with short sleeves, pants with pants, sweaters with sweaters. (I personally like to organize my closet by type because it helps me to get the clean laundry off my bed and back where it belongs!)

However, the “typers” always run into one major problem that the “outfitters” avoid — overstock. They’ve fallen into the trap of buying random pieces because they liked the feel, shape, pattern, you name it, but they rarely have plans to put their new found pieces into use beyond the full-length mirror. So the pieces sit. And collect dust. And our “typers” are burdened by the fact that although their closet is well-stocked with beautiful pieces, they’ve still got nothing to wear.

If you’re a “typer” (like me), don’t fret. There’s a proven solution for loving your wardrobe AND sorting it by type. You simply must define your outfit possibilities.

Start by snagging your favorite top and asking yourself a lot of questions. Which bottoms work best? Would it look better with a skirt or does it belong with trousers? Do you even own the trousers in the right color and cut to pull that top off? Asking questions means being brutally honest. Your pieces are guilty of not belonging until proven otherwise, so be merciless if you really want to create a closet you love.

Try on everything to ensure that each outfit works in reality, not just in theory. As you edit, you’ll naturally develop a pile of pieces that simply don’t match anything else in your closet. You could totally donate all of those right off the bat (…nobody is going to be mad about that brand new blouse with tags ending up on a rack at Goodwill for a FRACTION of the original cost). You could also take one more pass through the pile and decide if any of those pieces could be put to use if you invested in one more foundation piece. (A foundation piece is like the bottom brick of a tall building — it matches with everything else and is used frequently. Foundation pieces typically include the classic black pant or white collared shirt.)

Bottom line is the “outfitters” have a leg up on “typers” when it comes to getting dressed and feeling great. You don’t have to organize your closet like theirs, but you should always take the time to think like them to ensure a winning wardrobe.

Looking for fashion inspiration? Check out The Simply Becca Facebook page where Becca is constantly posting the greatest deals on fashionable pieces!

This post originally appeared on The Good Life.

But here are some tips to help curb the amount of clutter:
​

• Encourage kids to put away games and toys before taking out new ones. Kids don’t typically like this tip — they prefer to have all of the fun stuff at their fingertips. Volunteering to help them quickly clean up the old before getting out the new will help your kids to temper their emotions and learn patience.

• Help kids take 5 minutes before bedtime to spruce up their rooms. Putting away all the items from the day, including dirty laundry and worn shoes, develops the skill of follow-through. Completing tasks is not a skill that comes naturally. It is one that must be nurtured and encouraged. Teaching your kids to finish the day by resetting for tomorrow will help them to finish doing the dishes when they’re older. —And who doesn’t want their kids to be able to wash, dry, and put away the dishes one day?!

 

• Provide kids with toy boxes, colorful bins, and shelves for their books and toys. When we like our storage solutions, we’re more likely to use them. The same is true for little ones. Purchase easy to use solutions that allow kids to toss, dump, and pile their belongings. It won’t look like Pinterest, but it will develop the habit of using storage containers rather than leaving piles of items all over the floor.

 

• Give each child a memory box where they can keep treasured items. This is one of my favorite tips! Kids need to know that there is a safe place for the things they love, but they also need the healthy boundaries of a box. You can read more about how to create your child’s memory box here.
  ​
  
• Set a good example by maintaining your own bedroom space. Kids learn how to organize from what they see occurring in their own home. Take the time to set the right example. Simply follow the same tips you’ve read above.

Need help tackling the clutter? Check out our in-home services here.

This post originally appeared on The Good Life.

As a professional organizer, donating is all that thrills my soul! Loading my van up to the brim and buckling items into my seats for safe passage; I just can’t get enough of it. It’s so exciting to see gently used items get a second chance at life. And I’m fairly sure that if I listened hard enough, I’d hear shouts of joy coming from the unloved coffee mugs and barely worn jeans.

But all too often, these items slated for departure never actually leave. They sit in boxes, bags, or random piles around our homes and inside the trunks of our cars. They are SOOOO close to new life, and yet so far away. The poor things!

So how can we actually get our donated items where they need to go?

Launch Pads Are a Necessity.
Do you have a place where you store items that need to leave your home? Everyday items like your wallet, briefcase, book bags and even the sports equipment required for tonight’s game should have a place near the door you most frequently exit when leaving your home. Most likely you’ve already got some hooks, a table, and a closet near this zone we’ll now call your Launch Pad. (It’s not just a clever name. It’s meant to launch those items so that you can complete all your tasks for the day without wasting valuable time searching for misplaced keys, phones, cash, or projects.) Your donated items deserve a spot too. Picking a primary place to store your donated items will help everyone in the home know exactly where to put something that is no longer used or loved but still has life left in it. I’d recommend a sturdy bag or bin.
​
Keep Your Eyes Peeled.
Storing your donated items near your launch pad ensures that you’ll pass them daily. You’ll have an excuse to evaluate how full the bin, bag, or box is so that you’ll know when it’s time to deposit its contents. If you dig donating as much as I do, then you might have additional collection points around the home. Keeping a secondary bin in a child’s closet provides a quick place to drop the gently used shirt that no longer fits or the toy that is no longer interesting. Check the additional collection points weekly (like when you’re collecting the dirty laundry) and don’t forget to transfer those items to your primary collection point in or near your launch pad.

Complete the Cycle.
This is the hardest step of all because it takes something most of us feel like we don’t have time to do: follow through. Now that you have a place to collect your items and you know how often the bin fills up, you’re better equipped to plan for your drop-off. Having a plan is the game-changing secret to success! Quickly make a list on paper (or in your head) of the donation stations near you. I personally recommend manned stations because I LOVE a good tax-deductible receipt for every donation made. Now think about the week ahead. Will you be going by any of these donation stations? Most likely your answer will be affirmative with multiple options. If you’re not sure of a donation facility near you, click here to find them!

If you think you’ll forget to bring your donations with you, set a reminder on your phone or stick a big, bright Post-It to your bin with the day you’ll be headed that direction. Habits are hard to form, but keeping your bin near your keys will help you build that new habit much faster. After each drop-off, make sure to bring your empty bin back to your launch pad and pat yourself on the back for a job well done. Your donations put people back to work. Never underestimate the power of your efforts!

Need a pro to help declutter? Click HERE to learn more about our hands-on services!

This post originally appeared on The Good Life.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you purchase one I'll receive a small profit with no additional cost to you whatsoever. Thanks for supporting our site. Click here to learn more.

Like most parents, you save your kids’ stuff: their artwork, tests, poetry, notes.

You save it because you enjoy it. Or because your child was so proud and you want to remember the look on his face and the sound of his voice. Those mementos are visual reminders of exciting times.

But those mementos are growing a tad cumbersome. The piles aren’t looking so neat and tidy. Maybe the memory box isn't working for you, and you’d prefer to SEE the art, the graded papers, and the handwritten notes.

(panic ensues)

You really want to get on the ball and scan those projects or maybe photograph them and print them into a photo book, but who has time for that? Not you. Nope. You spend over half your day just driving the kids to school and extracurricular activities. Then there’s the grocery shopping and meal prep and budgeting. Yeah, that's a definite no.

(defeat)

The point is, dealing with the piles is LOW on the priority list. In fact, it’s so low, that you’ve just come to terms with the fact that those piles will continue to grow and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Until now! Click on the video below to see what I mean!

ARTKIVE is every busy parent’s solution to the piles! They send you a LARGE, postage paid cardboard box to corral your pile as well as a form to list out all your kids’ precious artifacts. When you send it to ARTKIVE, the good folks professionally photograph each item and upload it to an online database. You can stop there if you want, and simply save those items to an external hard drive OR you can organize those images into a hardback photobook. The best part? They’ll dispose of the originals for you so that you don’t have any guilt!

You can save $15 when you use code DECLUTTER at checkout!

Each kit (or cardboard box) holds approximately 200 pieces and is priced at $39. You can include more than 1 child’s artwork within each kit. ARTKIVE will automatically offer to send you a USB of all your images ($25) as well as return them ($20). If you aren’t interested in either of these, simply click the green checkmark next to each option at checkout to decline.

Each hardback photo book contains up to 200 images of art or keepsakes. To determine the cost of your book (billed separately), use the slider at the bottom of this page.

Now, I’m not going to lie. The books are pricey. Could you come out cheaper by doing the work yourself and ordering through Shutterfly, yes. 100% yes. Here’s an ordering scenario just in case you’re interested:

• ARTKIVE Box Service: $39
• Choose 5 artifacts from each year of schooling (Kindergarten-12th grade) that are professionally photographed and cropped: $153
• Total: $192

So why in the world am I telling you about this concierge service? Because this is a worthwhile investment if you’re just too busy to get it done on your own. For $200, it’s taken care of. You don’t have to manage those piles any more! Plus, once you place your first order, ARTKIVE will send you a referral code that you can share with your friends. They’ll save $20 off their order and you’ll earn $20 in ARTKIVE credits!

But if you did want to save some money, you can simply have ARTKIVE digitize the files. At checkout, use code DIGITAL (instead of DECLUTTER), and 40% will immediately be taken off your total.

Or, simply download the ARTKIVE app and upload all of your own photos, that can be organized into books at a later date.
 
Have more questions about ARTKIVE? Check out their FAQ.

Got a filing cabinet on the brink of explosion? Maybe the binders you’ve been using to store your documents just won’t stay closed? You aren’t alone.

When we begin our paper organizing journey, we aren’t big fans to tossing things. Instead, everyone seems more interested in sorting and saving. There isn’t anything wrong with that until the sorting and saving becomes a bit overwhelming to maintain. Eventually the folders outgrow the cabinets, and piles of papers waiting to be filed cover countertops.

The piles create this annoying buzzing sound in our heads. We know the piles of inaction are staring us in the face, taking up precious active space we desperately need, but we’re paralyzed.

It’s okay if you aren’t ready to pitch those old things. It’s okay. But, they can’t stay here. They’re taking up valuable space. We’ve got to put them elsewhere. Somewhere that takes up little to no space at all.

Your computer.

Now before you freak out, let’s go over a few things.
​
Be Brave. You are totally capable of tackling this stuff because you’re bigger, stronger, and faster than any paper pile. You’re the guaranteed winner in this fight. So take heart! It’s just paper.

Make Decisions on the Old Stuff. Starting with the old is typically easier, and starting easy is the best way to maintain motivation. Walk past those piles that need to be filed and go straight for the system you originally put in place. Get rid of all the stuff you know you won’t ever need to access again. Keep the stuff that you will need to access in an unfortunate event (i.e., the trade confirmations from that one stock company that later has a class-action lawsuit for overcharging you, insurance policies, warranties), stuff that is difficult to duplicate (i.e., marriage license, passport), or the stuff that you just WANT to be able to reference should the mood strike (i.e., the first investment you ever had, but has since been rolled over into something else).

Create Folders. Using your old system as a guide, you can create a virtual filing cabinet with the same folder and subfolder names. Yes, you could wait until AFTER you finish processing all the NEW papers to do this, but I find that starting small and attaining small wins is what keeps our clients motivated.)

Decide on a Naming Convention. Once you start scanning, you’ll realize that you won’t be able to “see” your documents the same way you always have. Instead of being able to just glance at a date of a statement on the top right, you’ll have to actually open a file. So save yourself some time, and use a filing naming system to help you know what exactly is each file. I like to use dates for statements, so that I can sort them quickly: 2018.05.31 Statement, or if I’m doing a batch scan of all my old statements then I record the range most recent to oldest: 2018.05.31 to 2013.06.30 Statements.

Review the Contents. Go through the old filing cabinet folder by folder. Do you need to keep all these things? They’re SO old….you don’t even live at that address any more…and that investment was rolled over to another investment at least 4 years ago. (If you aren’t sure what’s safe to pitch, check out our Document Retention Guidelines.) If you need help processing your papers, join us for a Sunday Basket workshop! We can help you distinguish between active and archival papers, as well as make decisions on what to keep and where to keep it!

Start Scanning. Invest in a scanner that is going to help you knock this job out as painlessly and quickly as possible. Your bravery will be tested. Paper organizing isn’t for the faint at heart, so make sure you’ve got the right tool on hand to help you in the fight. Try to scan an entire folder before you head to a coffee break. Remember, we’ve got to keep inching toward achievement. If you want to make it SUPER easy on yourself, get a scanner that can do the following:

• Auto Feed
• Prompts You To Choose Storage Location/File Name
• Doesn’t Make You Restart if There’s a Paper Jam
• Allows You to Scan to ANY Device (because sometimes you don’t need those documents on your hard drive --- sometimes they can go directly into Evernote or an email)
• Scans BOTH Sides at the Same Time
• Creates Searchable PDF’s
• Scans in Color (so you can use it for photos too)
• Scans Multiple Sizes of Documents Within Each Stack
• Is Easy to Operate

If you don’t have one like that, do yourself a huge favor and buy the Fijitsu Scansnap. I’ve got the ix500 and it’s a workhorse with a relatively small footprint. I can easily take it into a client’s home, or keep it on the corner of my desk. My favorite part is the speed. This bad boy does 50 pages front and back in just two minutes. I’m also a fan of the fact that when I scan in all my tax documentation, I don’t have to sort my documents by size. It can scan business cards, receipts, manuals, and standard sheets of paper all in one go. The Scan Snap also resizes my PDFs to the exact size of the scanned document, so there’s no weird white space.

Shred or Burn. As you finish scanning the documents, take one final look. If these documents are truly archival (not actionable and not something you would need the original of), then go ahead and put them in the shred or burn pile. I’m not a fan of buying shredders because non-commercial ones don’t work well for large amounts of shredding. You’re better off just taking your large piles of papers to a document destruction facility (i.e., Staples and most UPS stores can shred) and paying about $1/pound of paper. For reference, a banker’s box holds about 25 pounds of paper. If you’ve got a fire pit, you can also just burn the old documents you no longer need. This is the cheapest way to dispose. I would not recommend throwing your documents in the trash. You can, but I wouldn’t.

Process the NEW Piles. Now that you’ve victoriously conquered all those old papers, you’ve got your filing cabinet back! It’s ready for the new stuff. But, as you may have discovered while processing your OLD files, you won’t want to keep nearly as much as you did five years ago when you first set up the system. Use the tricks you’ve learned going through your OLD to help you go through the NEW. Keep only what you NEED/WANT to keep. Don’t keep things out of some random tinge of guilt. If you know you won’t look at a year’s worth of utility bills, then don’t keep them. However, if you will actually look at them, keep them, and take heart that you’ll eventually scan them so that half inch of filing cabinet space they take up won’t last forever.

Scan Some More. You may find as you sort your NEW that you don’t even want to let it live in the cabinet. That’s great! Go ahead and scan it into the same folders/subfolders you did with your old.

Maintain the System. Whether you’ve decided to go fully paperless, or just partially paperless (scanning only the really old stuff), remember that a system only works if you continue to maintain it. You’ll need to schedule quarterly dates with yourself to file or scan the papers. You’ll need to schedule times when you dispose of the rubbish. You’ll need to schedule annual checkups to make sure the system isn’t getting too full or confusing.

You can do this! I know you can! We’d love to partner with you as you begin your paperless process. Follow us on Facebook to ask questions or contact us to help you one-on-one.

Much like driving, the fastest way to reach your goals is by taking the best route. Careful planning is necessary to think through the rest stops and shortcuts along the way: What do you do here? Which resources are available there? What will you do if something causes you to reroute?

Begin your analysis by writing your goal (or final destination, if you’re really into analogies) in the center of your paper. Use the remaining space to brainstorm all of the potential steps (or stops) you’ll need to take in order to maneuver toward your goal. (If you’re more of a kinesthetic learner, try writing each of your steps on Post-It notes. Visual learners might prefer using various pen or Post-It colors to group their thoughts.) Here are some questions to help you think through potential steps:

• What do you need to do to prepare for your goal? What classes, activities, or calls will you need to make in order to bring your goal one step closer?

 

• Will you rely on anyone else to achieve your goal? Who will you need to work with in order to make this possible?

 

• Does your goal have a deadline? When will each smaller task need to be completed in order to meet your goal on time?

• Do you see any possible red-flags or detours in your task list? How do you plan to respond if your paperwork is lost in the mail, you miss the gym because of extended illness, or your sales don’t reach their benchmarks?

Recording all these thoughts can feel overwhelming, but relief is coming. Now that you’ve completed your initial analysis, it’s time to put the steps in order to create a path to success! You can do this a few different ways. I recommend numbering your steps OR cutting them out and physically moving them around to establish your order. (If you used Post-It Notes earlier, then you’re in luck — no cutting for you!) This arrangement isn’t set in stone. Give yourself the freedom to re-order, delete, or add tasks during the process. Life rarely goes as planned, which is why we prepare for detours.

Now stand back and look at your task list in all its glory. What is your first step? If it isn’t easy-peasy, and quite honestly “laughable”, then break down that task into smaller steps. Research has proven that if the steps we want to take require too much effort, we will choose defeat and derail our goals. Instead, make it easy for yourself to change your habits and work toward that wonderful goal.

The other derailer is perfectionism. When we get caught up in the nitty-gritty, must-do-it-perfectly mindset, we lose sight of our end goal. Don’t go missing in the abyss of the unattainable. Realize perfection isn’t helpful, but progress is! Keep moving through your steps, even if you’re dragging one leg behind or the deal didn’t close as smoothly as you had planned. Progress will help you push through unavoidable detours and delays as you advance toward your goal.

Here’s to a successful year!

This post originally appeared on The Good Life.

Tip 1: Check for Mates
Waiting until the last minute to find out that your favorite pair of gloves doesn’t have a match is awful. It’s even worse when it’s your kid’s favorite set. Save yourself some drama, and check for mates ahead of time. You’ll also want to make sure you’ve got a hat and scarf for everyone in the home. Sure, you won’t use them every time you venture out, but keeping them together will spare you the pain and suffering when you need them most.

Tip 2: Store at the Door
There is nothing more frustrating than having to run back through the house to find your leather driving gloves that you think you left on the kitchen counter. Instead, keep them in a bin near the door. I LOVE the three drawer container from Sterilite available at Amazon, Walmart, and Target. It tucks nicely into a narrow coat closet and can be rolled around when you temporarily need it elsewhere. The drawers can be labeled to hold items for each family member or by size. We use two of our drawers for “Adult Cold Weather” and “Child Cold Weather.” (Here's the label maker our coaches use if you're interested in making ALL KINDS of labels!)

Tip 3: Prep for Wet
When snow actually shows up, it’s helpful to have a few beach towels in reserve. Lay these on the floor near the entrance so that snowy friends can peel their accessories off in one central location. This will also help to contain any mud that gets tracked in….because we all know the upstate is infamous for red clay. Storing these towels in the third drawer of that Sterilite container is just plain genius. Your pets and floors will thank you for such considerate preparation. It’s also a great idea to invest in a boot tray OR repurpose an unloved cookie sheet to contain those wet boots to one central area. If you’ve got a collapsible garment rack or a door casing that can hold a few hangers, you’re even more of a winner. Simply lay a dry towel below to catch any drips while your wet stuff hangs to dry.

Tip 4: Keep the Dryer Free
Kids love coming and going in the cooler temps, particularly when that white stuff is coming down. Help them to stay warm by tossing their wet accessories in the dryer between trips. Yes, I know, some of you are cringing. I cringed too….because only my clean stuff belongs in the dryer! However, a dry happy kiddo is more valuable than a dryer. To help alleviate my fears of “contamination,” the next “clean” load that goes through the washer/dryer system is the winter coats and snow bibs. If the dryer is going to have anything in it from drying unclean winter gear, at least it’s only getting onto my freshly laundered winter gear. (Side note: I’ve never actually had anything gross transfer, but I thought I’d throw it out there just in case anyone is worried like myself!)

Tip 5: Wash and Restock
This last tip is the most often neglected. Don’t forget that in order for an organizational system to be successful, it must come full circle. After the winter accessories have been used (and washed, if necessary), return them to their rightful place. Everything, including those winter accessories, should have a home. While it may just be temporary, like in a Sterilite drawer system for winter, it deserves a resting place. Homes for accessories allow everyone to find exactly what they need when they need it. And winter is no time to doddle, because, baby, it’s cold outside!

This post originally appeared on The Good Life.

Today we’re talking about how to avoid overwhelm (and ultimate panic) as we enter the holiday season.

Tip #1: Dump All the Ideas
That’s right. Dump them. Onto paper or online, but get them out of your head. All those spinning plates and random thoughts only contribute to a mounting sense of anxiety. Let a web of written (or typed) thoughts manage those instead. While brain dumps come in a variety of forms, you should know that whatever works for you is your best option. For the creative type, an old fashion brainstorm or idea web will work perfectly. Start with your event circled in the center and simply jot down all the random things associated with it. Don’t worry about order or priority, simply get them out. If you want to amp up your game, jot the ideas down on Post-Its so that you can prioritize and organize later. Type A folks would do well with lists that can later be numbered and rewritten. Trello is an excellent (and FREE) online app that helps you manage all those ideas as they process from to-do into to-done!

Tip #2: Break It Down
Once you begin to free up some RAM within your brain, you’ll realize that each idea you jotted down requires multiple actions. Now that you’ve got the big ideas out, go ahead and task analyze each. If your event is Thanksgiving, one of those big ideas will be the menu. Begin to break that down. What’s your main course? How many sides, appetizers, and desserts do you want to serve? What will those be? How long will those take? Who will be responsible for each? Are there food allergies/aversions to consider for your guests? Breaking down your tasks into manageable, achievable chunks will help you to feel successful before you’ve even taken your first action step. You’ll also REALLY enjoy crossing all those things off!

Tip #3: Do What You Can, NOW!
There will be items on your brain dump that can be taken care of within the next week even though we’re WEEKS away from any big holiday parties. Send an email to guests asking about allergies/aversions. Shop for the dry goods and pantry supplies you’ll need on-hand once the cooking is underway. (I hate getting caught without enough butter….that just ruins everything! So stock up now…before everyone else is shopping for the same thing!)

Tip #4: Work Backwards
Review the tasks that need to be completed closer to the event. How long will each task take? Assign a minute value to each. If we’re talking about when to put the turkey in the oven for Thanksgiving, we need to know how long it will cook. Once you’ve given it a time estimate, start with your intended time to SERVE the food and start working backwards. If the turkey needs to be on the table at 4pm, it needs to be out of the oven by 3:30pm, which means it needs to be in the oven at 10am, and that you’ll need to preheat the oven at 9:45am. You’ll also need to start stuffing that bird by 9:15am so that it goes in on time. Working backwards helps you to know when you MUST begin. Late starts and delays cause some of the most undue stress! Don’t get caught in that trap.

Tip #5: Make Time for the Unexpected
Let’s go back to the bird in the oven illustration. There will be certain non-negotiables; things you can’t fudge on without throwing off the entire schedule. That’s inevitable in any event. However, it’s good to think through those things….like what if someone didn’t start thawing the bird 2 days prior? What if the store is out of lemons and you need a different stuffing or rub recipe? Creating space for mistakes, interruptions, or oven fires will enable you to feel calm even when crazy comes knocking at the door.

As your events approach, take a deep breath and get organized so that you’ll look and feel like a pro on the big day!

This post originally appeared on The Good Life.

Can you believe that fall is right around the corner?! Who is excited for crisp winds and scarves?!

Right now is the perfect time to do a quick sweep for these 10 things:

1. Tattered Towels
The sun, salt, and chemicals can be tough on our beach towels. Grab those that have seen better days and repurpose them as emergency spill catchers (*two is more than enough), donations for pet shelters, or simply toss them into the trash. The end of summer clearance is bound to have some soft, fluffy beach towels to replenish your stash at the perfect price.

2. Faulty Flip Flops
You know which ones I’m talking out. The ones that are loose, squished, and seriously uncomfortable. Old Navy will have a new pair for less than $3 next spring.

3. Opened Snacks
If you’ve got kids, and it’s summer time, you’ve definitely got a problem with opened packaging. The lazy days of summer encourage noshing….and on a variety of foods. Take a pass through your pantry and locate all opened chip and snack bags. If they’ve gone stale, toss them. If they’re still in good shape, reseal them or parse them into individual sandwich bags to speed up lunch prep this fall.

4. Mismatched Tupperware
Speaking of lunches, you’re going to start packing those again. Set aside ten minutes to match up all the lids and bins so that you can toss any orphans. Plastic containers are fairly inexpensive, so don’t fret if you find yourself tossing 16 lids wondering where their matches went. You’ll be glad you don’t have to deal with leaning tower of lids come November!

5. Travel Trinkets
What brochures, maps, or other tchotchkes did you pick up during your summer travels? Are you finished with these? If their purpose has past, it’s time to recycle those papers and donate those random magnets your kids just HAD TO HAVE.

6. Old Toiletries
You pulled them out of your travel bags and passed over them while on vacation. Now it’s time to toss those travel sized soaps you never use and expired sunscreens. Grab the crunchy tube of toothpaste and the weird scented shampoo too. Don’t forget the warped cotton balls and funky tissues you shoved down into the makeup bag.

7. Dried-Out Art Supplies
Tis the season for school supplies. Why not let go of the orange, yellow, and green markers that remain from that original 10 pack and replace it with a new, fresh set? You know you’re going to need those colors for homework during the school year so go ahead and toss the old and worn crayons and paints too.

8. Stinky Lunch Boxes
Hopefully you’ve checked the lunchboxes from last June. If not, you might just want to toss those fully zipped! Pick up a new lunch box to replace the broken, tattered, or just plain stinky one from last year. If you’re up for it, try tossing the stinky one in the washer to remove the smell and stains. It just might save you a few bucks!

9. Unloved Apparel
Remember this spring when you bought those adorable shorts? You had such great intentions, but in the end, you never wore them outside of your bedroom because you preferred another style. Donate those fancy pants to your local Goodwill and bless someone with a brand new pair for a fraction of the price. Rummage around the rest of your closet and drawers to see if there are any other gently worn pieces that you can take with you.

10. Forgotten Books + Magazines
How’s that stack of reading material you piled up to take to the pool? Did you chisel away at the tower during that 10 hour drive? Take a good look at what remains. Is it a book you’re still interested in reading? Has the paper passed its prime? Return or recycle items that you just won’t get to now that fall is approaching.

Tell us what you tossed in the comments below!

This post originally appeared on The Good Life.

Step 1  – Collect your Photos. Some will be in albums, some in stacks of papers, others tucked away in the pages of books or memorabilia boxes. Locate as much as you can and bring it to one area. I’d recommend using a guest bedroom floor or the rarely used dining room table to stash your collection.

Step 2 – Begin Sorting. For larger collections of photos, it’s typically easier to sort by date. However, if you have a small collection of a distant relative, you might want to sort by person or event. If you’re struggling to pick one way over the other, ask yourself why you wanted to embark on this project in the first place.

• Because someone has to it? Why you? Because you are really good at organizing? Ok, then sort by date.
• Because you want to make a keepsake box for a specific person? Sort by person, then date.
• Because you want to keep track of major events like birthday parties?Sort by event, then date.

Step 3 – Use Labels. Post-its are great for creating quick categories on a large surface. Simply place the labeled Post-It above each pile and start sorting. If you’re sorting by date, go ahead and put the Post-It’s in year order. There’s nothing more annoying than trying to find “1998” when it’s surrounded by “1972” and “2003.” You can also subdivide by month.

Step 4 – Have Envelopes On-Hand. There’s one common theme that runs through every photo organizing project and that is BURNOUT. So, every step of the way, you’ve got to have safeguards in place so that you can walk away and come back when you’re refreshed. Labels are your first line of defense. Letter-sized envelopes are your second. Having the ability to drop all your photos from a certain year or event into a designated envelope means that you’re able to clear off that dining room table or use the guest room within about 10 minutes. Simply transfer the Post-It from your flat surface to the outside of the envelope and stash your envelopes in a banker’s box or clear tote.

Step 5 – Edit Like a Madman. Be ruthless. You don’t need to keep EVERY picture that comes through your fingers. Instead, keep only the photos that your intended audience will want to see. For example, if you’re photo project is to create a family album over the last 25 years, ditch the photos of scenery and people that your kids most likely won’t know. Keep the best picture of your daughter learning to walk, but toss the other 25 similar shots.  Remember that a picture is worth 1000 words, and those 1000 are a concise and un-redundant way of speaking the 10,000 words of ten similar photos.

Step 6 – Record Important Information. A photo you snapped just 2 years ago conjures up a time, place, and name of the individuals photographed. However, as the years roll by, you may forget that precious information. We see this ALL the time with pictures of children who “looked the same at that age” and now the parents can’t tell who is who. Save yourself the embarrassment and write the subject’s name, location, and date on the back of the photo. Growing up, my dad was the photo king. We had triplicates of EVERY photo. And to make matters worse, he required us to write the ADDRESS of the location. “Dad’s house” wasn’t good enough. A few decades and home address changes highlight the purpose of this eccentricity. Now my grandkids will be able to know EXACTLY where I was when that photo was taken of me climbing the tree out front. –If you have the time (and patience), including an address is like placing a cherry on top of your milkshake!

​Step 7 – Containerize. The purpose of your project will drive your storage selection. If the purpose was to create a family album, decide if that will be through a traditional album or if you’ll be scanning those photos (in order) to create a digital product. If your intention was to sort photos into a keepsake box for your child, then simply drop them in the appropriate age/grade-level folder and call it a day. If you simply wanted to get all those photos organized, you can store them in photo boxes that can be labeled and stacked.

Good luck on your photo organizing and don’t forget to reach out if you have any questions!

​This post originally appeared on The Good Life.