Tag: how to get rid of stuff

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Garages Professional-Organizer

Tips to Get the Garage Organized

Fremont, CA Garage

One of the toughest areas to get and keep organized is the garage. It is a catch-all and living “to-do” list. A multipurpose nature coupled with being out-of-sight, out-of-mind makes a garage prone to clutter. No space could be more useful when utilized well.

Perhaps you’re ready to hit the slopes and want to get on the road without having to dig through piles to find the cold-weather gear. Or you have a special project in mind but never get to it because you lack the space to work. Read our tips on the blog for ways to get and keep the garage organized, and you’ll be on the way to having a functional storage and work space roomy enough to throw a dance party in. 

If after reading, you still feel like there’s too much to do, give Bella Organizing a call. We’ll get the garage de-cluttered and set up in no time.

San Ramon, CA Shelf Installation

Garage Organizing Tips

Don’t let cardboard boxes and packaging stockpile in the garage. Many people say they want to keep packaging in case a recent purchase needs to be returned, repaired, or for when they move. If you value your space, recycle product packaging immediately after its return or repair insurance date expires. If you one day need a box for it, you can get an equivalent at a local hardware or office supply store, or free from a supermarket or Craigslist. Your personal space is valuable, don’t clutter it with packaging you only anticipate needing.

Sweep the garage once a week. Each go-over will pick up a little more left over from last time. This is a great way for kids to earn allowance. Have a garage-sweeping checklist clipped on the wall to follow when taking out the trash and mark when done.

Keep things off the floor. Critters love dark, cozy places. Prevent piles on the floor and other exposed surfaces to keep pests from returning to make your favorite things their love and poop nests.

Use heavy-duty bins with secure lids to store your most valuable items. Rodents LOVE eating through cardboard to poop on your precious photos of grandma, and the next rain can’t wait to deliver moisture to your memorabilia and start a mold and mildew party. Secure your stuff in solid bins that cannot be penetrated in a garage, attic, basement, or other space that is exposed to the elements.

Create and honor zones. Automotive supplies, recreational gear, holiday decorations, tools and hardware, cleaning supplies, emergency preparedness kit, memorabilia. If you have trouble getting organized, creating and honoring zones will make a HUGE difference in your ability to find what you need and prevent you from buying duplicates.

Oakland CA Garage / Workshop

Ready for more? Call (510) 229-7321 today to schedule a complimentary estimate for your garage, attic, basement, or other storage space. Gift certificates are available.

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Professional-Organizer

How To Let Go of Clothes That Clutter Your Closet & Your Life

When I acquire new clothing, I have a rule to let go of as many as I bring in to make room for the new and stay uncluttered. I reinforce this rule by only owning a certain amount of hangers (I hang up EVERYTHING.) How to decide what to let go? Here are tips I use myself.

I let go of clothing when:

  1. I’ve worn it to the point that it is fading, pilling, stretching, or tearing.
  2. I have not worn it for an entire year.
  3. It is no longer my color, size, or style.

 

skirts on hangers
Two of these five skirts have recently gone bye bye because they are no longer my style.

To elaborate…

I let go of clothing when:

  1. I’ve worn it to the point that it is fading, pilling, stretching, or tearing. Why stroll around in public with a shirt that’s old and raggedy? The only old T to own should be for events such as gardening or changing the oil. And if there’s something waiting to be mended and it’s been waiting a LONG time, I need to either GET IT DONE or GET RID OF IT.
  2. I have not worn it for an entire year. If I have not bedazzled my body with a certain piece of clothing during the last winter, spring, summer, nor fall, I likely never will. This includes my “skinny” clothes…the things I keep telling myself one day I will fit into.
  3. It is no longer my color, size, or style. Why wear something I get annoyed with every time I put it on? Not my color? Not tailored for my body? Just a little too tight or baggy? If it doesn’t make me feel fabulous nor fit just right, I get rid of it.

 

Common Questions from Clients

I cannot throw away things that mean a lot to me. What should I do about sentimental clothes I don’t wear?

Take a picture to preserve the memory or limit yourself to one or two pieces for the memorabilia box.

All my clothes look great and I’ve paid a lot for them. Why should I get rid of them?

Try everything on. Do not look at something and keep it because it’s cute. It must be cute on YOU, not the hanger. You also should be absolutely comfortable in it…which means you should be wearing it often enough to make it worth what you paid.

We’re thinking about having another baby and want to hold onto our child’s old clothes until we do. Should we just get rid of them?

Good for you for thinking about reusing and recycling! Go ahead and hold onto the best of it for now (be sure to box and label) and donate the rest to charity.

Thinking about letting go of clothes that are still in new or near new condition? It’s possible to make money back by consigning. Read up on some of my favorite north and east bay furniture and clothing consignment shops in the San Francisco Bay Area. Are your clothes being rejected by consignors? Simply Google “Places to donate clothes in [your city]” and plenty will pop up.  My recent favorite online clothing, shoes, and accessory consignment resources are Thredup.com (low to medium-end) and TheRealReal.com (high-end).

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

Keep up with Bella Organizing on Facebook and Instagram.

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Professional-Organizer

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.

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Professional-Organizer

Interview with Betty A. Sproule, co-author of The Stuff Cure

I am interviewing Betty A. Sproule, co-author of The Stuff Cure: How we lost 8,000 pounds of stuff for fun, profit, virtue, and a better world.

What a catchy title, Betty, who should read your book?

Our book is for anyone who feels that they have more stuff in their home and garage than they really need.  When stuff becomes a burden, rather than a joy, it’s time to slim down.  Often people need to unstuff when they are planning to move, a child leaves home, or when they need to downsize. Sometimes people need to move stuff along so they can clear enough space to park their car in the garage.

What about the fun, profit, virtue, and a better world?  How can getting rid of stuff help in all those areas?

We know that buying stuff can be fun.  We believe that getting rid of stuff can also be fun, if you have the right approach.  You can sell your unneeded stuff for cash or you can take a deduction on your taxes. Donating to worthwhile agencies, such as Goodwill, St Vincent DePaul, and Hope, does a lot of good for our community.  Reusing and recycling help us to be better stewards of our environmental resources.

When you talk about getting rid of stuff, how do you know what to keep?

We have three criteria to define a keeper. When it’s

    • Currently functional,
    • Really valuable, or
    • Outrageously sentimental

If something doesn’t qualify under one of these three headings, then it’s a candidate for unstuffing.

Once you decide to get rid of something, how do you make it work? 

We use the principles of gift, shift, and thrift to find our stuff a better home.  We discuss the seven morphs of leading an unstuffed life: Refraining, Restraining, Returning, Reusing, Renting, Recycling, and Rendering into trash. We include a discussion of our Stuff Cure Method and the 7 rules of the game. We share a proven recipe for success in getting rid of excess stuff without regret or guilt. We give a lot of specific suggestions for how to responsibly move your stuff along before resorting to just throwing it in the trash.

When do you need a professional organizer in your unstuffing process?

We recommend using a professional organizer to help you achieve your goals even faster.  If you get rid of some of the stuff that you don’t need, it helps you to get more value from the time with your professional organizer and you’ll be more pleased with the result.

Mike and Betty Sproule, co-authors of “The Stuff Cure”

If you’d like to read the book, you can order it on Amazon, in either paperback or Kindle form.

Read more about The Stuff Cure on the website: http://www.stuffcure.com/

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Isabella Guajardo, also known as Girl With A Truck™, is a professional home organizer and a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO). She travels to work with clients throughout the great San Francisco Bay Area, East Bay, South Bay, Silicon Valley, Santa Cruz and Monterey Peninsula. She shares simple and creative ways to stay organized and stylish while reducing, recycling and re-purposing.  

Call (510) 229-7321 today to schedule a complimentary estimate for your home organizing goals. Gift certificates are available.

Keep up with Bella Organizing on Facebook and Instagram.