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Week 1 | 52 Weeks to Downsize and Minimalize | What and Why

Welcome to the New Year! It’s a time well-known for getting started on new goals in our resolve for positive change. For those striving to get organized, working to downsize and minimalize that which fills life with unwanted clutter is an important step in the right direction.

Clutter can be physical, mental, emotional, digital, or anything else you feel is taking up your time, space, and energy.

Physical Clutter

Clothing, shoes, books, paperwork, toys, the dishes in the sink… it’s all part of the physical clutter that builds up when we don’t keep things at bay. Too much of it can literally hinder physical movement, and disrupt thoughts and emotions.

Digital Clutter

The email that fills your inbox, photos on your smartphone, a cluttered computer desktop screen with tons of shortcut icons and no filing system in sight, the amount of time you spend online shopping, time wasted on unproductive social media, and other things filling your digital space.

Mental and Emotional Clutter

Along with physical and digital clutter comes mental and emotional clutter. Thoughts, worries, frustrations about past, present, or future work, love, school, friendships, how much paperwork there is to sort through and organize, can be overwhelming and hinder progress in life. Therapy session aside, we’re here to tackle all these things which work hand in hand to clutter up our time, space, and energy.

Let’s get to writing and expressing thoughts and emotions

Grab a journal and pen, piece of paper, or open a Word document and save it to your laptop or desktop computer. This week we focus on expressing what’s on our mind and discover what and why we want to downsize and minimalize, so that we set a solid foundation for this exciting journey we are on together.

Bullet points keep thoughts succinct and organized

Write down all the WHATs and WHYs you want to downsize and minimalize in your life. With each bullet point, allow yourself a deeper answer to the question WHY? until you’re ready to move on to the next item. The following are examples:

What and Why to Downsize

I want to downsize the amount of unhealthy food in the refrigerator and pantry. Why?

  • It takes up space and is a waste of money when I do not eat it all.
  • I want to save money to spend  on other things.
  • The more unhealthy food around me, the more of it I eat.
  • The more I eat, the more weight I gain. I don’t want to gain weight.
  • I feel better about myself when not overweight, and my clothes fit better.
  • I am concerned about preventing diabetes and heart disease, especially since they run in my family.

I want to downsize the amount of toys cluttering the house. Why?

  • The house is always a mess at the end of the day.
  • I don’t want to pick up after my children.
  • I want a clean and comfortable home when I get off work, so I can relax.
  • I need more time for myself. I am happier when I have more time for myself.

What and Why to Minimalize

I want to minimalize the amount of stress in my life. Why?

  • because I don’t feel good when I’m stressed. I get angry or depressed, and am not happy.
  • it causes communication problems with colleagues, and with my spouse when I get home from work.
  • it doesn’t make me feel good about who I am and what my life is.

I want to minimalize the amount of money I spend online. Why?

  • I’m going into debt.
  • I buy stuff I don’t use, and it’s cluttering the house.
  • I want to save money and pay off bills, because I want to save for a downpayment on a home.

I want to minimalize the amount of clothing and shoes in the closet. Why?

  • There’s no room in the closet for everything I own
  • It becomes a jumbled mess because there’s too much stuff
  • I hate cleaning and organizing, and just want everything to be neat and easy to find
  • If things are neat and easy to find, I’ll have more time for other things, and maybe get to work on time

Over the course of the week, add more to the list. During the work commute talk to yourself, with a trusted friend, or a stranger you’ll never see again about the things you want to Downsize and Minimalize in your life, and then write them down. It’s important to have your own words, thoughts, and emotions to look back on and mark progress. I will be checking in on this Facebook event throughout the week to answer questions and post next steps.

For those interested in reading two of my personal What and Whys…

I’m sharing the “What” and “Why” of two things I want to Downsize and Minimalize in my own life this year, which have to do with PHYSICAL and DIGITAL clutter. I have more than two items, but won’t bother you with them here. I will work on them on my own along the way. 

Downsize & Minimalize – What and Why

I want to downsize the amount of shoes I own. Why?
• Despite regular purging, I still find I don’t wear most of what I have.
• I have a few pairs of shoes that cannot look any better when cleaned, and I don’t feel good when I wear them because of it (except for hiking or workout shoes, which are naturally worn-looking but still in good working condition.)
• They take up too much space in my closet (especially the boots) that I prefer to have clear.
• The housecleaner would be able to reach and clean that empty space.
• If I have fewer shoes, I would be forced to wear my best shoes more often.
• I want to look my best wherever I go, and if I’m always wearing good-looking shoes, I feel better about myself. And I always get compliments when I wear my best shoes!

I want to minimalize the amount of time I spend on my personal Facebook page. Why?
• It takes time away from being productive in lots of things. It’s a HUGE time waster. The biggest one I have. One time I spent two hours scrolling and came out of it with no new important knowledge or information!
• Although I enjoy communicating with long distance friends and family this way, need to use it for my business, and through it stay current on important world news and events, I’m tired of reading feed about awful things happening to people I don’t know, sinkholes, fatal car accidents, and other things not in my control that make me sad.
• I feel like I’m getting addicted to Facebook. I don’t like the feeling of addiction.
• It’s time I can better spend on my business or other work that needs to get done.
• I need to exercise my brain in better ways in preparation for getting older.
• I’d rather read a book in that amount of time and exercise my brain.
• My vocabulary improves the more I read a book or magazine article.
• The conversation has more substance when I talk with people about what I read in a book compared to what I read on Facebook.
• I’d rather spend that time having lunch or tea with a friend, calling someone on the phone, hiking with my dogs, or doing sit-ups in the living room.
• I notice that my wrist and hands feel pain and very warm in an unhealthy way the more I hold my phone in my hands when on Facebook (and the cell phone in general).

Bella_Organizing_Best_Professional_Organizers_San_Francisco_Oakland_Berkeley_silicon_valley_montereyIsabella Guajardo, founder and owner of Bella Organizing, is a San Francisco Bay Area professional organizer offering home organizing, interior redesign, and residential move management services throughout the Greater San Francisco Bay Area. Call (510) 229-7321 or email info@bellaorganizing.com for more information. Gift certificates are available.

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Six Simple Steps To Get Organized

office shelf with white metal magazine and paper files acrylic bins from container store Bella Organizing Professional home organizers and residential packing and moving management company serving the San Francisco Bay Area.
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My boy Newton. He owns and loves but a few simple toy, but we have the most fun hiking together in the East Bay Regional Park hills.

Getting organized doesn’t happen overnight. 

It’s a process or a “lifestyle change” that develops and improves over time.  The more action you take toward an organized lifestyle, the more time you will have for family, friends, hobbies, life goals, and yourself. With faithful practice, you will become more organized. Here are six simple steps to get you started:

  1. Pick a zone
  2. Make a list
  3. Sort like items
  4. Give Away/Sell/Donate
  5. Organize
  6. Congratulate yourself

1. Pick a zone. 

Choose a room or area of that room where with a little decluttering and organizing you will get instant gratification. Don’t try to tackle the entire garage or house in one day…stick with a SMALL area of one room, such as one small closet or cabinet. Focus on getting this area completely organized just the way you want it. The positive feeling of SUCCESS helps to keep us moving toward our goals.

2. Make a list.

Prioritize projects to complete within that zone before moving on to another (1., 2., 3., etc.). For example, if decluttering and organizing a pantry:

  1. Pull out and compost old and expired food
  2. Wipe down shelves with a cleaning solution
  3. Arrange food into categories
  4. Make a list of food that needs to be replaced and/or organizing supplies to pick up that will help streamline the pantry.

3. Sort like items.

Do you have multiples of something you prefer to store in this zone in different areas around the house? Bring them together. Don’t stray too far! Stick with organizing this zone. Finding things that don’t belong here? Put them in a pile and find them a home later or drop them off in the general area that *should* be their home and leave them there for now. You’ll fine tune later. Get back to sorting your priority zone. Do a little dusting while here.

4.  Give Away/Sell/Donate. 

Gather paper or plastic grocery or trash bags, cardboard Amazon or moving boxes, and label them accordingly for Give Away, Sell, and Donate. Fill them with things found in this zone that you want to bestow upon someone you know and love (Give Away), things you would like to make money back on (Sell) and things you don’t want that aren’t worth the time to sell but still have a little life in them (Donate). Place a Recycle and Trash bin or bag nearby, in case you come across this stuff in the process. #4 is an optional but very important step to de-cluttering and downsizing. 

5.  Organize. 

Place items where it makes the most sense to you. Should everything in this zone be tidied up and left here or taken somewhere else in the house where it makes more sense to be? Did you find keys that should instead hang on a hook by the door, or go in a specific drawer in the kitchen? Did you happen upon a set of winter gloves that should go into a drawer in your dresser, or into each jacket pocket so they are instantly there when you need them? (I leave mine in my jackets and LOVE always finding them there.)

6.  Congratulate yourself for coming this far.

Great job! You completed organizing a zone. Now set up a date with yourself to tackle another zone and add to the accomplishments.

Isabella Guajardo has provided professional home organizing and residential move management services to hundreds of individuals and families from all walks of life including single parents, school teachers, college professors, lawyers, doctors, Pulitzer Prize winners, and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. The thing 90% of them have in common? Too much stuff they were ready to downsize. Bella Organizing helps you to tackle and reach your declutter and organizing goals.

Call (510) 229-7321 to schedule a complimentary telephone consultation.

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Kitchen Organizing – Creating A Drink Zone

Create a “drink zone” in the kitchen that includes everything you need to make your drinks: coffee, tea, various drink mixes, sugars, honey, mugs, glasses, coffee and tea maker, blender, juicer…

I LOVE when people move! Fresh start! I get to design, set up and organize home offices, living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens. I always have so many IDEAS.

The first thing that needs to be put together is the kitchen. Of course you have to eat and drink coffee and tea in the morning. I put together a series of photos of what I call a “drink zone” from the last home I lived in. I work with clients on kitchen organizing regularly, so these photos give examples of what I’m always talking about with them.

An organized drink zone is a place to store everything you need to make your favorite “for here” and “to go” drinks: coffee, tea, and their implements, cocoa, various drink mixes (such as emergen-c), sugars, honey, mugs, travel mugs, glasses, coffee and tea maker, blender, juicer, etc. Keep in the upper shelves things such as platters and baskets that you will use for serving drinks or drink-related tools and accessories.

Decanting & Labeling

Everyday drink glasses should be placed on the lowest, most reachable shelf, and less commonly used glasses up higher. Here I used a chrome expandable shelf riser/extender purchased from a local home store. The cabinet shelves are adjustable, so I adjusted the area to have enough space to add the extender so that the glasses stack and a hand can comfortably grab and put things away.

kitchen cabinet organizing – everyday drink glasses (or mugs) on lower shelf

Lining kitchen cabinets is sometimes necessary. I like to line the lower, most commonly used dish cabinets. Why? Because it protects glasses from sliding around, from clanking and chipping on the cabinet, and it protects the cabinet from water damage if you put away things without completely wiping them dry. If you rent or are detailed about the resale value of your home, take care of the cabinets. One of my favorite’s is spongy no-slip liner because it’s easy to measure, cut, and place, unlike sticky liner. The brighter the liner color, the brighter it makes the inside of the cabinet, the easier it is to see what’s inside…works especially well in dark spaces.

Shelf liner protects the surface of your cabinets, adding to the resale value of your home.

We move up to the less-commonly used items…the wine and “special occasion” cocktail glasses. Alway have a small step-stool nearby for when it’s time to bring these babies down and par-tay.

Less commonly used glasses go higher up in the cabinet.
Love the tiki cocktail glasses.

We move over to the upper right where the coffee and travel mugs live. Six travel mugs is more than enough for two people.

Coffee and travel mugs.

Many moons ago I had a thrift store collection of cute mugs, but have since pared down to three: the skinny blue one with flowers that I love for hot chocolate, my little sombrero man, and my mama buzz mug. Mama Buzz was a hip local coffee and sandwich shop on Telegraph Avenue in the Temescal District of Oakland back when I first started this business. They were popular for showcasing local art & music before First Friday’s began. It’s since changed hands and is now a beer garden and bustling social hub during the First Fridays Art Murmur. Mama Buzz will forever live in my heart and kitchen cabinet.

My favorite mugs are simple treasures.

The lower-right side of the cabinet is where the coffee, tea, honey, sugar, mexican hot chocolate, mulling spices, emergen-c, coffee filters and drink implements live.

Coffee and tea drink zone.

I like to store loose leaf tea and bags in small, stack-able mason jars where they keep fresh longer and are easy to see. I simply cut the label off and place it in the jar so we can see and read what it is, and know when it’s time to buy more.

Store loose tea bags in mason jars to keep them fresh longer.

The counter top below is specifically for drink-related machines and gadgets: the electric water kettle and coffee maker. The large cabinet below the counter houses the juicer and blender which are too bulky and heavy to keep on the counter but used often enough to store nearby.

I keep mint with its roots in a glass of water by the sunlight to pick when I’m craving fresh tea. Mint is invasive in the garden, so pulling a little out at a time by the roots will keep them thinned. There’s no better tea than fresh mint tea. 

Fresh mint ready for picking.

This is our kitchen drink zone. We add to it only when things break or run out, so that it doesn’t get cluttered. We keep in it things we love, cherish, and use regularly…things that make us happy when we open the cabinet and see them.

Kitchen cabinet organizing – drink station

Ready for more? Call (510) 229-7321 today to schedule a complimentary estimate for your kitchen and pantry organizing goals. Gift certificates are available.

Keep up with Bella Organizing on Facebook and Instagram.

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Getting Ready for Winter: Wardrobe Organizing Tips for Cold Weather

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Roll scarves and place them in a hanging bin, basket, or drawer for easy access.

When it’s time to get organized for the changing season…

scarves_declutter_decluttering_organize_bella
Roll scarves and place them in a hanging bin, basket, or drawer for easy access.

If you’re like most of us and have limited closet space, you may need to store seasonal clothing. In preparation for cold weather, you might consider storing away the summery things and bringing out what you’ll need to stay warm and comfortable. It’s also a good time to purge.

Purging Tips

Say “goodbye” to clothing, shoes, and accessories when:

  • You have worn or used it to the point of fading, pilling, stains, stretching, or tearing
  • You have not worn or used it for an entire year or two
  • It is no longer your color, size, or style

 How to store off-season items.

  • Use containers with lids or large storage bags; cover to protect from dust, dirt, fluctuating temperatures, and little critters.
  • Treat them well. Clean, de-wrinkle, and fold or nicely hang before storing. Cared for clothing lasts longer, takes up less space, and can be worn immediately when it’s time.
  • Store items in a temperature-controlled environment, particularly natural materials such as leather, wool, and silk. Never store clothing in damp places that tend to breed mold or mildew, nor in extreme hot or cold temperatures.
  • Label bins or bags with a description of contents and store under the bed, high on a top shelf, in the guest room closet, on a garage shelf, or on a covered rolling rack.

Keep sweaters, jackets, scarves, warm hats & socks, cozy boots, gloves, and an umbrella within reach.

  • Sweaters keep their shape best when folded and stacked in dresser drawers or on reachable shelves. Lightweight sweaters do well hung as long as you wear often enough to retain their shape.
  • Roll winter scarves and place in a slim hanging canvas organizer  in the entry closet (which I also like for small purses, hats & beanies, gloves, compact umbrellas, and other accessories,) or stack them in a dresser drawer or bin on a shelf.
  • Keep gloves close to scarves or within coat pockets. I buy several sets of $1 gloves at CVS or Target and store a pair in the pocket of each jacket. They’re always there when I need them.
  • Keep long socks, thermal underwear, and cold-weather leggings together. More tips to organize tights, leggings, and long socks here.

Take the time to organize your closet and wardrobe for the changing season, and you’ll have what you need in a cold-weather flash.

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Ready for more? Call (510) 229-7321 today to schedule a complimentary estimate for your wardrobe and closet organizing goals. Gift certificates are available.

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When is it Junk?

If you’re reading this it’s likely you are considering whether something you own is junk or worth keeping. Here’s an opportunity to figure it out:

When is it Junk?

When is it JUNK?

It’s JUNK if:

  • It’s moldy, mildew, stinky and growing spores
  • It’s broken or obsolete (and fixing it doesn’t make sense or is too costly)
  • You’ve outgrown it (physically or emotionally)
  • You’ve always hated it anyway
  • It’s the wrong color, wrong size, wrong style
  • Using it takes more time than its worth
  • You won’t really care if you ever see it again
  • It generates anger, bad memories or bad feelings
  • You have to clean it, store it, and insure it (but you don’t use it)
  • Storing it somewhere else would cost more than its worth
  • It will horrify, bore or burden your kids or the generation to come

If you can truthfully agree to one or more of these, it’s most likely junk. Do yourself, the people you live with, friends who visit and posterity a favor…get rid of it! It’s robbing you (and probably several other people) of space and mental clarity.

It’s not JUNK if:

  • It helps you make a living
  • It will do something you need done
  • It generates happiness, good memories and good feelings
  • It has high or significant cash value
  • It gives you more than it takes
  • It will enrich or delight your kids or the coming generation

If you can agree to several of the above without hesitation, it’s most likely good stuff. Enjoy, appreciate, take care of, and be sure to use it. You don’t need to re-assess its JUNKi-ness until next year.

Resources for consigning, selling, trading, donating and recycling your unwanted furniture, clothing, housewares and more can be found HERE.

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Isabella Guajardo, a.k.a. Girl With A Truck™, is a professional home organizer and a member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Profressionals (NAPO). She travels in her truck to work with clients throughout the greater San Francisco Bay Area while sharing simple and creative ways to stay organized while reducing, recycling and re-purposing. 

Call (510) 229-7321 to schedule a complimentary telephone assessment.