How to Organize Your Life to Eliminate Stress and Worry

If you are not a very organized person, then you may realize that your disorganization can create a tremendous amount of stress in your life. If you take the time to get organized, you may notice that your level of stress goes down. Sometimes this can be just want you need in order to reduce the stress in your life. Stress can really take its toll on your body and your life. It can bring you down, and ultimately make you unhappy. If you want to look into reducing your stress level with some easy steps, then take the time to get uncluttered and organize your home.

The first thing that you should do is to make a to do list. If you have a list that you will follow when working on your things then you will be that much more likely to get everything done. Have you ever had a whole list of things in your head to get done, just to find out that you forgot to do a few of them? This is very common, especially if you do not make a written list. Writing things down will not only help you with your memory, but having them in writing will allow you to check them off as you go. This can be very effective when you are getting ready to get organized.

Once you have a list of the things that you need to do, then you need to add some priority to it. Remember what you need to do in order to get organized, and then take the steps to check them off one by one. If you have a long list, delegate certain things to do on certain days. If you do this, you are likely to find that you get everything done more quickly than you would sitting around looking at the list of things to do. Do not stress out over having a lot to get done, just start doing them one by one and only bite off as much as you can chew. This will give you a sense of accomplishment in the end.

If there are some things that may not be very important, then you should think about not doing them at all. While you may not want to think about things and then cancel them, it may be the best way to reduce your stress. Do not take on more than you can handle because that is the sure fire way to get stressed out. Remember that you do not always have to say yes to everyone. Practice telling people no if you do not feel like taking on another task.

Make a daily list each morning. This will help you when it comes to getting everything done in a timely manner. When you look back at the things that you are able to accomplish once you are organized, you will be that much more prepared to take on the day without the load of stress that you may have had before hand.

Herb enjoys learning how to become a more organized person. Please visit his website with information on outdoor floor lamps and tips on outdoor post lighting. http://www.outdoorfloorlamps.net/outdoor-post-lighting.html

6 Organizing Habits For Clutter Control

How many times have you said to yourself I wish I could stay organized? I am a professional organizer and I tell the women I work with it is possible to keep organized but I don’t think it is possible to stay organized. The word stay gives the impression that once a task is done it is done for good. But if you have a life, live with someone, have children or have a home no matter how organized things are they just get undone. Here are six tips to help you keep organized by clearing clutter and getting a grip on clutter control on a consistent basis.

1. Put things back after using them AKA: get rid of the evidence. This is an easy habit to get into and it will make a big difference in clutter control. Teach your family to put things back after using them. If you make a sandwich put everything away that you took out to make the sandwich before you sit down to eat it. Put the bread back, replace the perishables in the fridge, and put the utensils you used in the dishwasher and wipe off the counter. No evidence remains that you fixed a sandwich. This will help eliminate clutter around the home when you get in the habit of doing this in every room.

2. Don't set something down to deal with later. Later usually means clutter is starting to creep and piles are being made. When you have something in your hands, go ahead and deal with it then and there. Put it where it belongs. You may think it is simpler at the moment to set something down and deal with it later, but it just creates more work later. Get in the habit now of putting it away the second you're done with it. Teach your family members to do the same.

3. Every night plan on a nightly pick up that will take no more than 10 to 15 minutes. Things do get undone and left out and papers and magazines dropped where they were read and maybe the laundry is folded and sitting on the couch—you get the idea. Have family members help pick up before going to bed because then you won’t have a mess staring you in the face the next morning. This is doing clutter control a little at a time which makes the task easy.

4. Involve the family in learning to keep organized. The reality is that every member of the family plays an important role in maintaining an organized home. Hold a family meeting to decide as a family which responsibilities will be done by each family member.

5. When you are living with the things you love and use and that light you up keep it that way by making sure that everything you bring into your home has a purpose and that you need it or just can’t live without it. Clutter control can be possible if you can adopt the attitude of one in and one out. When you buy something, let something else go. This isn’t always possible to do if you are buying things you need and use but it is something to consider.

6. Keep a toolbox in a place where everyone knows not only where to go to get a tool, but where to go to put it back when they are finished with it. By keeping a toolbox handy, you'll have the correct tool for the job. It is much easier to pound a nail with a hammer than a shoe, or screw in a screw with a screwdriver rather than a butter knife (which scratches and bends your good knife). Get into the habit of putting the tools back in the tool box as soon as you finish with them.

Clutter Control will be effortless when you use these timely organizing tips and you will be able to Keep organized.

Marilyn's Bio:
Marilyn is a professional organizer who works with women and seniors in clearing clutter and providing organizing tips. Clearing clutter helps those she works with to have less stress in their lives and feel more joy in living.
Marilyn invites you to visit her website http://www.marilynbohn.com where you can find organizing solutions. You will find fun stories and free organizing tips in her blogs, articles and videos.

Marilyn is a creative organizer who helps women, seniors & their families to create space and end clutter in homes and offices by setting up custom made systems. Visit her website http://www.marilynbohn.com for free organizing tips.

How To Organize Bedroom Closets

Whether you have a standard closet or walk in, organizing your bedroom closets can be easily accomplished. It gives me a great sense of pride to open my closet and have everything organized and accessible.

Even if you have a small closet there are techniques that you use so you are using all the space you have available to your organizing advantage.

Take everything out of the closet and measure length, width and depth. The worst thing is to buy a product and it does not your space or your needs. Decide if you need more shelving space or hanging space. Make a layout of your closet and space in your needs. Now that you have decided what you need and what you want you are ready to start organizing your closet.

The first step to organizing your bedroom closet is to get rid of the clothes that you do not wear. Yes, you may love it but do you wear it, is the garment your style, does it fit? If you have answered no to any of these, then it is time to donate the garment. Make piles as you go through your clothes, donate or throw away. I personally donate all my clothes to Good Will.

When you put your clothes back into the closet, organize them so it will be easier for you to find items that you need. Hang all long sleeve shirts together by color and all short sleeve shirts by color. The same for pants.

There are add on clothing bars you can add into your closet or closet rods so that you can hang your shirts on one row and your pants below...saves a ton of space. You could also install shelving that doubles as a shelf and rod together increasing your shelf and bar space.

And for us short people an easy reach closet hook is great, no more standing on a stool to get what you want from your closet. Utilizing the higher space in your closet will increase your usable area.

I know that you are with me when I say all those little things in the closet drive you crazy! Belts and Ties slipping off the hangers is the worst. Invest in an inexpensive non slip tie and belt holder and not only will your bedroom closet be more organized but will lessen your aggravation level.

I know that most of us women, have more than 1 handbag, some lots more. There are also great ways to organize your handbags and still keep your bedroom closet organized.

OK, so I admit it, I am a shoe addict! I love shoes, heels, wedges, sandals, sneakers I have them all and then some. Hmmm now where to store than all and keep them organized.

You could keep them in their original boxes but then you can't see what's in each one unless you label them or use clear shoe boxes.
Depending on your space limitations, there are many ways to keep your shoes neat, orderly, organized and easily accessible.

Another option is to utilize under your bed as storage. By storing your shoes or other items under your bed, you will be freeing up space in your closet. This is a great option if you have a small closet or limited space.

I just have to say a word about hangers, it's a thing with me. I actually have colored hangers, blue to one son, green to another, black to husband. Plastic hangers or wood hangers with no slip pads are great. There are so many different types of hangers it's actually surprising. Wood, Plastic, Tiered, Pants, Shirts and the list goes on.....

Tiered Shirt and Slack hangers will save space in your closet by not using so many hangers.

Ann Cohen is a mom, wife, friend and caterer who love babies, "green", decorating and holiday's. Being able to entertain and decorate on a budget is important today and loves finding that "great deal." To get some more tips on how to's, green, organizing and saving money tips check out Organize Your Bedroom Closets and browse her selection.

Ann Cohen is a mom, wife, friend and caterer who love babies, "green", decorating and holiday's. Being able to entertain and decorate on a budget is important today and loves finding that "great deal."

Kitchen Organizers that Clear Cabinet Clutter

Are you tired of searching your kitchen cabinets and not being able to find anything? When you open a cabinet, are you flooded by an avalanche of cans, pans, or spices? These are some of the signs that tell you it’s time to organize your kitchen cabinets. The good news is that there are numerous solutions to help you address this problem.

Let’s start with the cabinets where you keep food, canned items, foils, wraps, and similar items. Get those cans out of the way with a three-tier can rack shelf that can hold up to 60 cans. It has an angled roll down rack — so when you remove one can, another rolls down to take its place.

Organize your plastic wrap, wax paper, aluminum foil, and freezer bags with an under shelf wrap wrack. This item clips to the underside of your cabinet shelf to keep all of these items in one place. You can also turn your shelf into a dual-level storage area with an additional kitchen cabinet drawer. With a drawer that slides out from underneath a wire shelf, this simple storage device doubles your cabinet space.

Okay, now it’s time to tackle the cabinets underneath your kitchen sink. You probably have sponges, cleaners, brushes, and other cleaning products scattered about in there. One thing that can help is a set of under sink sliding drawers, which are large enough to hold bottles, spray cans, and boxes as well as brushes and sponges.

If you want a storage system that perfectly fits your cabinet space, you should opt for an expandable under sink shelf. This shelving system has five removable rungs on each side, which allow you to customize the shelf to suit your specific storage area. You can also position the shelving trays to fit around your sink’s drainpipe if necessary.

You can’t forget about your pots and pans, which can swallow up cabinet space in a hurry. First, use a pot lid holder to organize the multiple lids you use to cover your pots and pans. This rack mounts to the inside of your cabinet door and holds up to five pot lids.

For more convenient access to your cookware, try an expandable chrome kitchen shelf. This product features a shelf that slides forward to make it easier to retrieve your pots and pans without digging through the back of a cabinet. If you want a storage system with flair, look for a Pan Tree (no, not a pantry)! This cylindrical plastic storage rack, which requires no tools for assembly, can organize up to 14 pieces of cookware so they are always within easy reach.

Wouldn’t it be nice to find the spice or seasoning you want quickly and easily? There are several spice storage solutions for you to choose from. Use a wire 3 tier spice rack to store seasoning containers on the inside wall of your cabinet. If you need something a bit less bulky, you can choose a spice clip set, featuring rows of plastic clips affixed to your cabinet wall to keep spices organized and uncluttered. Or you can select a more complete spice storage system like a spice stack. This three-tiered storage device holds up to sixty spices horizontally — but each shelf slides out and pivots downward for easy display and retrieval of all your seasonings.

Finally, let’s move over to the cabinets where you store your dishes and glassware. Again, there are lots of solutions that can help you get the most out of your storage space allotted for these items. Keep your wine, martini, and other drink glasses safe with either a stemware rack or a large stemware holder. Both of these racks are made of sturdy metal wiring with a chrome finish, and they mount easily to the top of the inside of any cabinet.

Instead of trying to stack your coffee mugs and risk breakage if the piles collapse, you should install a handy pull out mug caddy in your cabinet. This rack, which mounts to the underside of your cabinet shelf, has hooks for eight mugs and slides forward for easy access to all of them.

All of these creative, space-saving products will vastly improve your kitchen storage situation. Now you can save time by finding exactly what you need without rooting through all your cabinets looking for that can, pan, or spice. Not only will these organizers keep your items from falling out when you open cabinet doors, but they will also keep your kitchen looking clean and tidy.

Chris Martin is a freelance writer who writes about kitchen organizers.

Cleanup Is a Snap with these Kitchen Organizers

American kitchens are busy places. Today’s women spend on average over 1,000 hours a year in the kitchen, along with everyone from husbands to friends, teenagers and dinner guests. As a central hub of activity, kitchen organization is essential. Add to that the fact that kitchens often exemplify the excesses of American living, which inevitably leads to clutter. We have more dishes, pots and pans than we need. We purchase the newest kitchen gadgets in the hopes that, one day, we will have the need to make homemade bread, or freeze dry 200lbs of green beans. And when we think our kitchens have everything, we realize they lack the one feature we need the most — space! However, with a few helpful tips and some space saving kitchen organizers, your kitchen clutter woes will be a thing of the past.

Discard or Donate Seldom Used Products

When is the last time you used the food processor on top of the refrigerator, or the bag of pinto beans in the back of the cabinet? Donate food items you don’t need to can drives and charities, pass kitchen devices on to relatives who might actually use them, or have a yard sale.

Making your waste receptacles easy to access, and separating your recyclables is another great way to reduce clutter. How often do empty juice bottles sit on the counter, waiting for someone to take them to the recycling bin in the garage? Eliminate that aspect of clutter with stackable recycling bins. These recycling bins provide an economic, odor-reducing design for recyclables and trash. The bins’ lids are recessed slightly for easy stacking and condensing. The color-coded dials allow you to label the contents of each bin, and they fit beneath most counters for out-of-the-way storage.

Make Frequently Used Items More Accessible

Recognize what you use most often, and make those items easily accessible. Infrequently used items, like the roasting pan that you only use during Christmas and Thanksgiving, can go on high shelves or in the back of cabinets. They can even be stored outside the kitchen in the garage or attic. Store frequently used utensils together, separating stirring spoons and steak knives in easy to reach places, and put the melon baller and lemon zester in the far back of the drawer! Utilize drawer organizers to help separate utensils that are used frequently from the ones that are not. The same goes with pots and pans.

Free up Cabinet Space by Hanging Items and Utilizing Alternative Storage

Items like pots and pans can be hung underneath shelves and cabinets, freeing up cabinet space for other items. Organizers like a shelf pot rack keep kitchens clean and clutter-free in true restaurant style. These racks instantly free up cabinet space, offer easy access while cooking and look fantastic. Plus, these racks easily install into drywall, with no studs required, and are made of steel.

Other handy products like a xix-tier kitchen wall rack helps to relieve clutter on tables, counters and drawers. This rack has a slim, understated design, but the strong steel frame holds anything from cookbooks to cans of food. Standing 45-inches high, this rack provides great storage in a place where you might never think to utilize space.

Create Convenient Centers of Activity

Store related utensils, food items, and devices close to where they will be used. If you can successfully break your kitchen down into practical centers of activity, this will greatly assist you in reducing kitchen clutter. Whether you store foods in a pantry, cabinet, a closet, or someplace else entirely, don't forget to go through periodically and clear out items that are hopelessly old or will never be used.

Stacking and condensing items in this area can be very helpful. Items like a stackable roll down can rack saves space and organizes canned food and drinks on easy to access shelves for fast retrieval and restocking. The rack’s compact shelves will fit neatly in either your pantry or cabinet, and stack or separate for custom fits.

Your cooking area includes your stove, oven, and the utensils that go with them. Make sure to store pots and pans, pot holders, spoons and spatulas in this part of your kitchen. A great item for this area is the Pan Tree, which organizes up to 14 pieces of cookware, including six pans, four lids and a Dutch oven conveniently. The Pan Tree easily stores in a cabinet or on a countertop.
Kitchen organization can be a daunting task. Remember to pace yourself. Unless you are moving in, don’t try to organize your kitchen all at once. It will be much simpler to go drawer by drawer, shelf by shelf, reducing clutter and creating the ideal kitchen
Leslie Silver is a freelance writer who writes about kitchen organizers.

Simple Moving Advice: Large Apartment to Smaller One
The time has come to move and you won't be living in a large living space like your previous one. This article provides advice on how you can best organize your new apartment to feel like home again.
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How Organization Will Save You Money

I'll bet you're wondering what organization has to do with saving money.

Actually quite a bit!

Imagine that you've been looking all over your house for that book/DVD/sunglasses/whatever and you can't find it. Or imagine that you're at the store and can't remember if you still have any bananas or jars of strawberry jam.

Simple things, right?

Well, when we can't remember what we have and don't know where to find what we have, we usually end up buying it again. And then, before you know it, you're like my aunt with 17 umbrellas.

My mother always says that once you replace something you can't find, you'll find the original missing item. I'm sure many of you have heard that as well. But for as many times as we've heard this, we still do not take action and bring some organization into our lives to avoid spending money when did not need to spend in the first place.

So, what do we do about this? The answer to almost every organizing problem is to have a system. Why a system? Because we are creatures of habit and mostly prefer to do things the same way every time. Not only that but with a system you have less to remember. You just follow the system.

There are a couple of systems you can put in place to help you save money in various areas of your life. Here are 4 areas in which you will want to find a system that works for you to help save you tons of money in the end.

1. Grocery Shopping

How many times have you been at the grocery store, without your list, and wondered if you should be an item you're not really sure if you have or need?

I'm willing to be it happens a lot. It happens more when you don't have a list. It happens even more when you don't know what you have in your kitchen.

Here's what I suggest. Go through your cabinets and fridge before you attempt to make a shopping list. The list you're about to make is what you can see that you're missing or low on. Next, depending on how often you shop (I suggest no more than weekly) and plan your menus accordingly. So, plan menus weekly if you shop weekly, two weeks at a time if you shop bi-weekly, etc.

Once you know what you're going to make, you can look at what you're missing (from your first list), and make your shopping list accordingly.

When you get to the store, do not deviate from this list. Take appropriate coupons if you want to, but don't go hungry and leave the kids at home.

2. Shoes

What woman doesn't like to have a variety of shoes? Unlike men, we must have different shoes for different outfits, occasions, and seasons. However, this love of shoes can go overboard.

This has happened to me, I must admit. While shopping for something totally unrelated, I saw a great pair of gray houndstooth heels in Target. The only problem was the heel was a little too high and the size 11 was probably one size or so more than I needed.

I reasoned that my feet would swell and I wouldn't be standing long anyway. Plus, the shoes weren't expensive. Well, I stood for a long time on the day I wore them, it rained, and they were too big. They were worn once and are now on their way to charity. What a waste!

I should have taken stock of what I had and thought about what I was going to wear on that occasion. Had I done that, I would have saved my feet and my money.

So, take note: know what you have before you start adding to your collection.

3. Clothing

What goes for shoes also goes for clothing.

I used to get clothing as gifts from my parents and internally wondered where they thought a 14 year old was going to wear a white ruffled shirt in 1995. (I eventually found a use for that shirt in one of the plays I was in.)

The point is, even though they were trying to be nice about it, the clothing choices didn't fit my existing lifestyle. We do that sometimes. Whether it's a trend or something great we saw on someone else, we figure it's just something we have to have. But, by thinking this way, we often ignore the fact that it's not our style, it's not flattering, or it's out of our budget.

The organization here also revolves around knowing what you have. This will help you determine what you actually need and if there is room in your budget and your closet for the things you want.

4. Bills

The key to organization and paying bills is really simple. Pay your bills on time.

One more time: pay your bills on time.

This advice is most important when the bill is a credit card or loan. Late fees and over the limit fees (sometimes as a result of late fees) can seriously hinder your ability to eventually be debt free. (Who wants to stay in debt forever?)

There are a couple of ways you can do this. You can pay the bills as you receive them in the mail (if you still get paper bills) or as you receive notification by email for electronic bills. Or, to make this more automated and ensure the bills are paid on time, sign up for a 3rd party service, one at your bank, or one offered by your creditor where the payment is automatically debited from a designated checking account each month.

There are a number of ways to have as much or as little control over this process as possible, but the point is to set up a system and stick with it so that you don't lose money to late fees and penalties.

5. Miscellaneous Items

This is the area where so many people get into trouble.

We find ourselves at the store and we see something we like. We think we have one at home, but we're not sure. So, instead of waiting until we get home to verify (or call someone who is at home), we purchase the item anyway and end up with multiples. (Remember the 17 umbrellas?)

It's good to wait to make some purchases anyway, but the more organized you become, the more aware you are of what you have. When you know what you have, then you also know what needs to be replaced or what you're lacking.

Once you start organizing, you will find a surprising number of items you have bought and you can't remember why or what it is even for. You will also find the things you thought were lost but were really just buried under foolishness and mayhem called clutter.

Do yourself and your family a favor and stop the foolishness. Get organized and save money. You'll be glad you did.


Wendy Stewart is your Go-to-girl for being in the know about small business, personal finance, personal style, and wellness. For more free tips on personal finance, visit her blog, Personal Finance Success, at http://personal-finance-manager.blogspot.com

6 Ideas For Organizing Your Home With Plastic Containers

Because you can find them in such a wide variety of shapes, sizes, styles, and colors, plastic containers are some of the most useful tools for organizing, storing, and displaying items.

The industry already knows how useful plastic containers are in businesses like retail stores, restaurants, and hotels; however, do homeowners know how useful plastic containers are in their own homes?

Maybe you need a way to organize your child's small toys, or you're looking for art supply containers for your craft room. If you're a homeowner - or even a renter - looking for ideas on how to better organize your home, check out the descriptions listed below for using plastic containers to organize six areas of your home.

1. Kitchen

Plastic containers are excellent organizational tools and display fixtures for kitchens.

Homeowners can use traditional round, square, or hexagon containers of various sizes to hold frequently used items like keys, address books, and matchbooks, as well as handgrip containers to store food items like flour, sugar, and seasonings. These containers are also great for holding those little extras like plastic utensils, packets of salt, pepper, sugar, and condiments, and even hand wipes we often end up with after a trip to or delivery from a restaurant.

2. Home Office

Whether you work at home or need a quiet place dedicated to managing your bills or doing homework, you definitely want your home office to be organized.

Consider using plastic containers to organize, store, and display various home office tools like writing utensils, markers, and highlighters; extra ink cartridges for your computer printer; staples, paperclips, and tacks; and small Post-It notepads.

3. Work Areas

Work areas vary from home to home. You might have a storage shed dedicated to completing your home repair tasks, or you might use your attic, basement, or garage. Wherever your home's work area is, it's important to keep it well organized.

Plastic containers are great tools for organizing and storing small work items like nuts, screws, bolts, and nails. You can even use them to organize rolls of measuring tape, electrical tape, and painter's tape.

4. Craft Areas

Like your home's work area, your home's craft area - whether it you have a special room set aside for crafts or you have dedicated a corner of your living room to your sewing machine - containers lots of small items in need of organizing.

You can use plastic containers to organize and display craft items like spools of thread, small balls of yarn, and sewing and knitting needles; small containers of glitter and sequins; buttons; appliqués; paint and paint brushes; and small bottles of glue and glue sticks for glue guns.

5. Children's Rooms

Children's rooms are havens for small toys like building blocks, rogue game pieces and puzzle pieces, and figurines. You can use plastic containers to help organize these items, making it easy for you and your child to find them and store them after playing.

6. Rec Rooms

Each homeowner uses his or her home's "rec" room for various purposes. This might be the room where your family spends time together, or it might be the room where you manage the bills. Because plastic containers work so well as organizational, storage, and display tools, they'll also work well to organize, store, and display any kind of small item you have in your rec room!


By Terry Keenan

Candy Concepts, Inc. specializes in providing businesses with everything from a wide variety of candy containers to the bulk candy and novelty items to fill them with! Learn more about the kinds of bulk plastic containers you can use for your merchandise displays when you visit Candy Concepts, Inc.'s sister website, All Candy Containers.com.

Organize Your Sewing Or Craft Room

One of the most cost-effective hobbies a person can have is needlework. The hobbyist concentrates on a creative, relaxing pastime that produces an attractive, useful item to wear, to use in the home, or to give as a gift. Also, as lifestyles become more and more hectic, these skills, once practiced by members of most households, have become increasingly rare. With time, patience, and practice, these skills can become marketable in this age of mass-produced, mediocre goods. The needlework hobbyist can easily justify claiming permanent space in the home for her hobby, and for collecting and organizing the best tools to practice that hobby. Here are some ideas for organizing your sewing room or craft room.

Whether your hobby is quilting, garment or home sewing, fabric-oriented crafts, or embroidery on fabric, you will need to divide your workspace into areas for specialized tasks, and will need some basic tools for working with fabric. First, organize your sewing/craft room around the following tasks:

•Wash: Designate a time devoted to washing or otherwise preparing your fabrics or other supplies such as tapes or zippers. Most fabrics need to be pre-shrunk before cutting them. All fabric needs to be clean before it is worked. Nothing is more discouraging than having a small smudge that will not come out on a completed embroidery piece or garment. The entire project can be ruined because care was not taken in the beginning. Set aside part of the laundry room for any special soaps, detergents, or spot cleaners suitable for the types of fabric you need to prepare. If the item is to be hand washed only, keep a small bottle of delicate care laundry soap or detergent (along with a couple of towels for this purpose) near your kitchen sink to take advantage of the larger sink and counter space—unless you have a large sink in the laundry room.

•Dry: Have an area where fabrics can be blocked on a table or stretched on a rack to dry. This area should be safely away from cooking fumes, pets, children’s hands, or anything else that might cause the fabric to be re-soiled. Some fabrics can be dried in the drier, but should be immediately hung or folded to prevent wrinkles from setting in. Other fabrics will need to drip dry, again in a safe place.

•Press: When the fabric is thoroughly dry, it will need pressed to set the grain. This pressing area can be in the laundry room, or in your sewing area, near your machine. Depending on the size of the fabric piece, you can press it on a full-sized ironing board, a table that has been padded with towels and a clean sheet, or a non-stick pressing sheet , which can be laid on a table or counter. In fact, a non-stick pressing sheet can become nearly indispensable near your sewing machine for touching up small pieces such as a single quilt block, or a collar or sleeve that is partially constructed. If this sheet is close-by, it quickly becomes habit to press each seam as it is sewn, rather than waiting until several are ready to press before carrying them all at once to the ironing board.

•Cut: Have an area that is a comfortable height for cutting patterns. This area can be a small table and chair, if you mainly work with small pieces of fabric or it can be a special cutting table. What is important is that it be a comfortable height and that you have good lighting. In the sewing room, this table can double as a pressing area. Be sure to cover the surface with a pad and your pressing sheet.

•Assemble: Whether you are sewing curtains or a prom dress, piecing a quilt block, hand-quilting a pillow, or creating a counted cross-stitch wall hanging, you need space for a comfortable chair, a table or frames at a comfortable height, and good lighting. Keep your tools close-by in a covered basket.

When your workspace is planned out according to the multiple tasks involved, when each area is conveniently located, and your tools are organized and close at hand, you will be able to relax and focus on your hobby. Your family will be able to enjoy your completed projects more quickly because you will be working more efficiently, and they will agree that it was worth the time and effort to organize the sewing/craft room.


Author Vincent Platania represents the Fuller Brush Company. Fuller Brush has been in business since 1906, and offers safe, environmentally friendly products for keeping your home and your body clean. Visit http://www.fuller-brush-products.com

5 Tips on Organizing a Room for the Holidays

Whether you are expecting friends from out of town or just want to rearrange the furniture for your holiday bash, the following are some tips you may want to keep in mind.

1. Don't move anything without a plan.

You don't want to find out that after you moved the large furniture around, you can't seem to fit the small table and the chair that always sat in the corner of the room. Take measurements when necessary and if you must, try sketching your plan on a notepad.

2. Avoid asking anyone's opinion or assistance until you know what you are doing.

One of the biggest frustrations for anyone is to be asked to assist a relative or friend with a project only to find out that the organizer doesn't have a clue what he or she is doing.

3. Check your bank account.

You may find there are some things you may need for your home such as: a bookshelf, small table, area rug, or something larger like an entertainment center. If so, you don't want to find out at the last minute that you can't afford to get any of these things. Add your desired piece of furniture to your list. Also, consider buying used rather than new if money is going to be a problem. Check auction sites, discount stores, and even consider posting an ad in a newspaper or post a flier in a public place stating what you are seeking and what you are willing to pay.

4. Talk to guests prior to the event to find out what they will be bringing and how long exactly they will be staying.

Sometimes you may find your guest will either be bringing more or less than what you originally thought. He or she may not be traveling with the partner and children. If so, you don't want to rearrange everything only to find that your time could have been better used elsewhere like planning a great meal.

Lastly, after you have created a plan, got an idea of what you will need, secured a helping hand, and most of all know how much you intend to spend, look for items within your home you simply don't use and donate them to charities in your local area.

Nicholl McGuire

Tips To Organize Your Shed

To begin any task of organization there must be planning involved. It is better to be realistic in your plans of organizing your shed, than to defeat yourself by attempting more than you are able to finish within a certain amount of time. Be patient with yourself and take into account all the different issues that are cared for as you go about organizing your shed. Organizing your shed a step at a time helps you not to become discouraged.

First, you must decide how you will use your shed, what will go in it for storage and what will not. Designate a few boxes for collecting items that you no longer need or want. You should mark these boxes so that you do not get them confused. Anything that is still useful that you no longer want, just give to a friend, neighbor or charitable organization. All unwanted items or any item, which has reached an expiration date, is best disposed of properly. Once items have been determined as unwanted, they should be done away with either giving away or by proper disposal. Do not for any reason bring these items back into the shed that you are organizing, all items must leave the area as soon as possible so as not the chance of returning to a nicely organized shed. With all unnecessary items out of the way, you should have gained a bit of floor and shelf space.

With a few good tips, your shed will be an example of organization perfection before you know it.

1. Start on one side or in one area, taking all the time, you need to clear items out of the way and to place items where they belong. This is a de-cluttering stage.

2. There are many little trick and recyclable ways to use things that are helpful in organizing a shed, such as nailing an old leather belt along the edge of a shelf or the back of a door to hang hand tools on. You can also take small baby food jars and nail the lids to the bottom of a shelf and the store small item such as nails and screws in the jars and twist them in place for handy storage.

3. Hang a pegboard along one side of the shed to hand items such as hand tools, extension cords and paintbrushes or even mops, brooms and shovels. A cloth shoe rack hung over the inside of a shed door makes available pockets for storing many items.

4. Any oil spots or stains can be removed by pouring clean cat litter or white sand over the area to soak up extra fluids.

5. Old trunks, desks and dressers often find a new use as storage areas inside a shed. These are good for storing small tools or lawn and garden supplies.

6. You can always add a few more shelves or even a couple of rods and hooks or bins to increase the amount of space for organizing store areas.

7. Magnetic strips can be placed along any storage area that would hold any stray metal item.

8. Just, remember to take it a little at a time, and is you want and can get help, be sure to designate a few jobs for helpers while organizing your shed and keeping it looking in tiptop shape.


Hunter Pyle is a writer for Taylor Gifts squidoo.com/taylorgifts and Get Organized! shopgetorganized.com.

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