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.

Over-the-door, clear shoe organizers have about 24 pockets. Their intended purpose is to corral pairs of shoes so that you’re not looking all over the house or under the laundry for that one mischievous flip-flop. But these organizers can do so much more! Below are my top ten uses for these inexpensive, lightweight, slim-line storage solutions.​

Number 10: Direct Sales Stock + Marketing
Direct sales companies are famous for samples and branded marketing. They send no shortage of tiny things to pass on to potential customers. Your business cards, postcards, brochures, samples, and stock must be organized so that you’re always aware of your inventory levels and have the ability to quickly assemble a hostess gift at a moment’s notice.

Number 9: Action Figure + Barbie Heaven
Some toys are just a pain to keep track of…..but you need to in order to avoid the classic kid-meltdown. If your kiddos are like mine, the Barbies, action figures, and all their accessories easily get mixed in with Legos and Lincoln Logs during epic story tales. In order to set the scene for tomorrow’s imaginative play, return the action figures and their accessories to a central location. Clear shoe organizers allow kids to spot the items they need and easily access them. They also help with quick cleanup so that Malibu Barbie’s sunglasses don’t go missing!

Number 8: Cleaning Supplies
Store your supplies in easy to see sections on your shoe organizer. Keep dusting products next to the dusting rags or Swiffer refills. Keep your laundry stain remover near your dryer sheets. You’ll always know what you have and what you need to buy more of.
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Number 7: Make-Up + Toiletries
The back of your bathroom door is a great place to keep stock of all the make-up and toiletry items you use on a daily basis. Never lose track of your eyeliner, tweezers, or deodorant again! This space is ideal for toothpaste, cleansers, moisturizers, foundation, eye shadows, lipsticks, glosses, as well as hair brushes, gel, shears (for that quick trim), and curling irons (….but wait until those are cool before putting them back).

Number 6: Sewing + Crafts
Keeping track of your sewing notions is infinitely easier when they each have their own home. Threads, needles, thimbles, and buttons can find their permanent place in a shoe organizer. Stash your different types of glues and craft scissors in the next set of pockets. Make room for scrap fabrics, paint brushes, paint bottles, crayons, colored pencils, and scrap paper too.

Number 5: Seasonal Accessories
Got a coat closet? Keep your seasonal accessories just as easy to grab in a shoe organizer. Assign one row to each person in the home. Keep track of your sunglasses, hats, chapstick, gloves, scarves, sunscreen, and bug spray to avoid the last minute run-around. Pet items like leashes and waste bags are a great addition.

Number 4: Snacks + Lunch Items
Can we all agree that shaving a few minutes off lunch prep is genius?! Particularly if you wait until the morning-of to pack! Juice boxes, granola bars, chips you portioned out into Ziploc baggies, fruit cups, plasticware, and napkins can all be stored on the inside of your pantry door, next to your hanging lunch boxes.

Number 3: Tools + Utility Items
No room for pegboard? Try a shoe organizer to keep your batteries, lightbulbs, screw drivers, hammers, and measuring tools sorted for easy access. You’ll thank yourself every time you reach for a AA battery!

Number 2: Gardening Supplies
From seed packets to gloves, these shoe organizers can save your sanity when you need to put a few plants in the ground. Hang the organizer on a shed door OR mount it to an interior wall. Those 24 pockets will easy accommodate your hand shovels, trowels, rulers (to measure depth), twine (to tie up those tomatoes), bag buckets (to transport extra dirt), seed markers, trimming shears, nailbrush, and kneepads.

Number 1: Infant Needs
If you’ve ever had a newborn in the house, you know you’ve got a lot of things that you need quick access to in order to preserve your sanity. Pacifiers, bibs, hair bows, blankets, onesies, diapers, ointments, creams, thermometers, medications, ball syringes, and socks are just a few of them!
As a bonus, clear shoe organizers are the go-to storage solution for individuals with ADD/ADHD. These organizers keep everything front and center so that no items are out-of-sight, out-of-mind. Take your organization to the next level by labeling each pocket so that it’s easy to remember where to return things when you’re done with them!

How do you use shoe organizers in your home? Comment below!


This post originally appeared on The Good Life. 

​A client recently asked me, “What’s the right amount of _______? When is enough enough?”

The question spurred a trail of thoughts a mile long. Every person is going to have a different answer for every area of life. The avid cyclist will have more accessories that I can count, while the once-a-year cyclist may just have the bike. The answer to the question lies in your love, need for, and use of all the things available within a given category. No matter the level of enthusiasm, there is wisdom in establishing healthy limits.

Here are your top 3 guidelines to help you discover when your enough is enough:

Each item in your home is used at least once a year.

This may sound like a tall order, but it’s easy to achieve if you give yourself the time to tackle each category and make decisions. Clothing is the best category to begin with and laundry is your easiest way to measure frequency of use. Runners who run 7 days a week and only do laundry once will require 7 outfits. Employees who work in an office (with no uniform) or teachers will most likely do laundry at least once a week, but may require 10 outfits so that they don’t feel like they’re repeating themselves every week. Instead, 10 outfits allow for a potential repeat only once every two weeks. Some folks like to have even MORE variety in their wardrobes. (I highly caution more than 3 weeks’ worth of outfits.) The Pareto Principle attests that we’re only using 20% of our stuff 80% of the time, so to help you identify what you’re actually wearing (all the time AND at least once a year), try this little experiment.

• Pick a date.
• The day before this date, make sure ALL of your clothing is laundered and/or dry cleaned.
• On your set date, turn everything backwards: hangers in closets, folded shirts facing the opposite direction, underwear on the other side of the drawer (use a divider like an empty shoebox if necessary).
• For the next 12 months (or less if you can finish the experiment before that), whenever you use an item of clothing, store it forwards (or the way it used to be before your start date).
• At the end of 12 months (or less), whatever you see you aren’t using needs to be edited. These items may be donated, tossed, or recycled. You might even sell them on Facebook, Craigslist, or Ebay. BUT THEY CAN’T STAY in your drawers or closets.
• This practice also works with other categories in your home. Simply turn the item (hammer, towel, serving platters, etc.) toward a different direction or angle to easily identify which things you have and haven’t used. There are a few tools that sometimes do not pass the twelve-month test, but may pass a two-year test. The point is to pare down your belongings to get to the point where you have enough. There are always exceptions, but exceptions are only exceptions by definition if they are RARE

Dust is at a minimum.

When you are actively using everything in your home, those items will be touched, moved, or laundered on a regular basis. Have you ever seen a pair of shoes tucked in the back of your closet covered in dust? You know why they’re dusty and your other shoes aren’t? I bet it’s NOT because you only dusted the other pairs. Who dusts shoes?! No, that one pair is dusty because they haven’t been moved in months. But what about snow boots? Well of course, those will probably get dusty --- that’s an expected casualty of the seasons. Don’t play hardball --- you know exactly which shoes I’m talking about --- the ones that you know won’t pass the “worn in a year” test. The point is, when the things in our home have a purpose, less dust will settle. You’ll still need to vacuum, mop, and dust, but your work will be cut in half because ….. (wait for it…..)

Your closets, drawers, cabinets, and other storage areas are at least 25% empty.

The emptiness not only creates ease of accessibility, but it also allows the air to flow properly through your house. Proper air flow equals less dust. If your storage areas are always jammed full, then you’ve simply got to ask yourself if all the items within them passed the first test. If they did and you’re still overflowing, then you might be one of the VERY few people in the world who NEED more space. Just a warning, parenting during the infant stage will create a very FULL home. There are a TON of things you need for such a small person, that the hoard is almost laughable. But take heart --- you won’t need all these things for more than each little person’s first year of life. You might feel the need to store and reuse for the next child (thus “breaking” the Twelve Month Use Rule), and that’s normal. Choose an area that is out of the way and not easily accessible like an attic, basement, or someone else’s extra storage space during the “waiting for baby” period.

Ready to find out if you have enough already? I bet you are and I bet you do. When you follow these three guidelines, the items that are more than enough can be released to make way for space, freedom, and even newer/more useful things. Some clients realize at the end of their edits that there are items missing; items not previously owned but needed. Clothing staples and capsule wardrobes provide great examples of how to purchase more after eliminating the excess. 

Share your experience below!!!

I am often asked by my clients where to begin. Whether we’re discussing the entire house or just a pain point in the entryway, my answer is always the same. Start simple.
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The greatest obstacle to tackling clutter is getting started. Sometimes the start is what stops us dead in our tracks.

For some clients, they’ve tried to start on one room (i.e., the home office/clutter catching room), but believe they need the staging area of another room (i.e., the garage) to hold all the clutter coming out of the first room. The excitement of reclaiming the space in the first room (i.e., office) is extinguished by the impossible task of the other space (i.e., garage), so the first room never happens. In fact, instead of getting started, the client is now doubly discouraged by the realization that two rooms need help, not just one.

The good news is, our clients don’t need that special staging area organized and beautiful before dealing with the pain point at hand. We don’t allow the start to stop them.

Instead, we hone in on that first space, identify the tasks needed to get clutter-free, and take the first real step to starting.

Do the easiest task first.

I’ve learned through the years that Dave Ramsey’s Debt Snowball principle holds true for ANY obstacle, not just clearing debt. He suggests that we begin with the smallest debt first, the easiest to pay off. The same holds true for decluttering and organizing. As we continue to work through the easy, our momentum increases. Our abilities are sharpened and we learn new ways to tackle the problems. The small snowball of completed tasks gets bigger and bigger as we progress down the hill, gaining speed and confidence!

The Snowball Effect is empowering for our clients. It provides confirmation that they aren’t lazy or slobs, but that life has happened more quickly than they have been able to keep up with. Seasons of life (i.e., moving, new babies, new jobs) and traumatic experiences (i.e., loss of loved ones, health and employment changes) can dramatically impact homes and offices. The once organized, tidy, and efficient person can temporarily become disorganized because of the situation at hand. Lack of time, energy, and focus all contribute to loss of tidiness.

But all of this can be reclaimed.

Whether you’re in a pretty calm season of life or just surviving, we can help you conquer the clutter. We have a 100% No Judgement Guarantee because we KNOW there is more to the mess than the piles. 
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Your clutter does not define you.