47. Finding a Home for Purged Items.

You are more likely to purge items if you have a place to send them. This will help you to feel better about getting rid of items and will also keep them from returning to your space. Use the list below to find a donation location for your unwanted items:

BOOKS:

Recycle Reads: 5335 Burnet Road, 78756 http://recycledreadsaustin.wordpress.com/

Austin Public Library Bookstore: http://www.austinlibrary.org/site/PageServer?pagename=friend_bstore

www.cash4books.net

VIDEO GAMES:

Game Stop: www.gamestop.com

DVDs/CDs:

www.secondsping.com

www.swap.com

UNUSED GIFT CARDS:

www.plasticjungle.com

JEWELRY:

www.americangemsociety.org

WASTE/BATTERIES:

City of Austin Recycling: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/sws/default.htm

Austin’s Household Hazardous Waste Facility: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/sws/residential_hazardous_waste.htm

Batteries Plus: http://www.batteriesplus.com/

CFL Light Bulbs: Home Depot or IKEA

Oil/Oil Filters/Car Batteries: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/sws/zerowaste_recycling_motoroil.htm

TOYS:

Anna’s Toy Depot: 2620 South Lamar, 78704 http://www.annastoydepot.com/

Stuffed Animals For Emergencies (stuffed animals): http://www.stuffedanimalsforemergencies.org/Home.html

Call your local preschool.

ELECTRONICS:

- Best Buy Electronic Recycling: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/null/Recycling-Electronics/pcmcat149900050025.c?id=pcmcat149900050025&DCMP=rdr0001422

- National Cristina Foundation: http://www.cristina.org/

Cell Phones For Soldiers: http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com/

Texas Take Back: http://texastakeback.com/

Cell For Cash: www.cellforcash.com offers cash for outdated phones.

www.gazelle.com

CLOTHING:

GoodWill: http://www.austingoodwill.org/

Nike Reuse-A-Shoe: http://www.nikereuseashoe.com/

SafePlace: http://ww.safeplace.org

The Prom Shop Project (evening wear, shoes & accessories): http://www.promshopproject.com/donate.html

Dress For Success (business attire): http://www.dressforsuccess.org/home.aspx

Sweet Peas: http://www.yelp.com/biz/sweet-peas-childrens-consignment-lakeway

Second Time Around Boutique: http://www.secondtimearoundatx.com

Plato’s Closet: http://www.platoscloset.com/

EYEGLASSES:

One Sight: http://www.onesight.org/na/

PENCILS/SCHOOL SUPPLIES:

The Pencil Project: http://thepencilproject.com/resources.html

HOUSEHOLD ITEMS:

-Wire Hangers: Any neighborhood Dry Cleaner

-Austin Humane Society (blankets, towels & pet supplies): http://www.austinhumanesociety.org/

-BabyEarth (baby items): http://www.babyearth.com/renew

-Building Materials: Habitat For Humanity ReStore http://www.Re-Store.com/index.php

-Cosmetic Containers: turn in six used MAC containers to a MAC store and get a free lipstick, http://www.maccosmetics.com. Origins, http://www.origins.com and Aveda, http://www.aveda.com stores accept all types of cosmetic containers for recycling.

-Paint: Household Hazardous Waste Facility, www.ci.austin.tx.us/sws/hhw.htm

-Refrigerators/Freezers: http://www.austinenergy.com/Energy%20Efficiency/Programs/Refrigerator%20Recycling/index.htm

SPORTING EQUIPMENT:

-Play It Again Sports: http://www.playitagainsports.com/

-Swap Me Sports: http://www.swapmesports.com/

-Austin Humane Society (tennis balls): http://www.austinhumanesociety.org/

OFFICE & ART SUPPLIES:

-Austin Children’s Theater: http://austinchildrenstheater.org/donate/

-Austin Creative Reuse: http://austincreativereuse.org

-Ink and Toner Cartridges:

http://www.staples.com/sbd/cre/products/perm/ink_toner_recycling/ https://www.officemaxperks.com/RecyclingProgram.aspx

46. Get Organized on Daylight Savings day

Daylight Savings constitutes a changing of our clocks twice per year. With this change, you can set an organizing schedule to follow that would be easy to remember. Simple...twice per year you should:

-check your carbon dioxide and smoke detector batteries

-replace batteries in your flashlights

-clean out the refrigerator of expired items

-clear out expired medicine

-pull out the fridge and clean behind it

-re-evaluate your emergency exit strategies

-replace food/water in your emergency kits

-update emergency phone numbers

-replace missing items from your first aid kit

-get the guest room ready for holiday out-of-town guest

-change all your passwords

-have your heating/air-conditioning unit tuned for the upcoming season

most important....change your clocks.

45. Organize your Halloween Costumes & Decorations

Now that Halloween is over, it is time to organize the costumes and decorations from the holiday. Take a sweep through the house and yard and gather all of your decorations and costumes.

Now is a perfect time to purge items that are broken, worn or are needing replacement. Examine each item carefully to determine if you plan to use it again.

You can donate unwanted costumes/decorations to:

-area schools who will continue to use them for future plays

-local community theater groups

-Medieval and Renaissance era costumes would be accepted by the Society of Creative Anachronism (SCA)

-TDF Costume Collection

-Local Goodwill and Salvation Army stores

-sell on craigslist or eBay

Many store will offer discounts on their remaining Halloween stock giving you an opportunity to pick up some new decorations at a great price. Remember to purge something old prior to bringing in something new. This will help to keep the clutter under control.

It is important to store all the decorations in one place so they will be easy to locate and use the following year. Choose a storage box that will protect the items and help to maintain their original shape. If they box is opaque, clearly label the outside "Halloween Decorations" or list the contents of the box.

44. Organize your Business Cards

Do you need to keep business cards but don't want to deal with an old fashioned rolodex? Try scanning them into your computer. There are several scanners available for business cards making it ease to search and categorize once they are scanned. Search for a program that is compatible with your computer and has the functions that will be easy use. Following are a few I've heard having great reviews:

Evernote - Take a photo of the card. Once you upload the photo, you can search for it through Evernote. You can use it online, on iPads and iPhones.

Neat Receipts - Does a great job unless there are too many graphics on the business card.

CardScan - Has the capability to scan both sides of the card. Once scaned, you can edit the stored information. Can export and sync with programs like Excel and Outlook.

After you scan the cards, recycle the waste.

43. Organize Your Outdoor Storage Shed

Now that the wether is getting cooler, it is the perfect time to organize and purge your outdoor storage shed.

- Pull everything out of the shed and thoroughly clean out all the dirt, cobwebs and anything else that has made its way into the shed uninvited. This would be a perfect opportunity to use a fogging bug spray or hire a pest control service.

- While the shed is empty, take accurate measurements of the space inside. This will be handy when locating shelving and storage bins.

- Take inventory of the items needing to be returned to the shed. Decide if you want to store the items on the wall, on a shelve, in a box, etc. Inspect everything to insure they need to be returned to the shed. Will the yard tools survive another season? Do they need to be replaced? Has the can of paint dried? Purge as much as possible.

- Group all like items together: Tools, Paints/Chemicals, Planting and lawn equipment, Sports equipment, Car Care, Seasonal Decorations, etc.

- Organize your items by using nails on the wall, shelving, pegboards/hooks, a tool box, plastic boxes. You do not have to spend a lot of money on organizational items. Be creative with what you already have on hand.

- When placing the items back into the shed, consider the items that will be used the most. Place those items closest to the door for easy access.

- Secure the door with a lock to keep children and hopefully thieves out.

42. Organize Your Music CD's

Music CD's can take up a lot of space. Most people have converted to mp3's but can't part with their precious CD's. You have several choices on how to organize your music.

1. Gather all of your CD's and alphabetize them to store in a wall CD organizer. This will give you quick and easy access to your music if you still plan to play the music off of your CD's. You can find several different styles to choose from ranging in price of $15 to several hundred dollars.

2. Download all of your music onto your computer and purge the actual CD's. Of the purged CD's you can sell, trade, or give them away. There are multiple onlines choices for you to list and sell your music online including amazon.com, eBay, craigslist, cashforCDs.com, secondspin.com, etc. Also check with local music stores in your area to see if they have a buy back program. Trading your CD's is another great option that can be done

at swap.com. You list the CD's that you have available and the items you are wanting. Once they find a match for your swap, you are given instructions on where to mail your CD. Very easy.

3. Organize your music in a CD binder and recycle the jewel cases if you choose to hold onto the CD's but do not want to look at them every day. They will be neatly stored and take up less room.

41. Organize Your Medication

With cold and flu season approaching, it is time to purge and organize your medication.

Gather all of the medicine and vitamins around the house. Check the expiration dates on everything and pull out expired medication.

The Center for Disease Control has a list of list of medications recommended for disposal by flushing. Do NOT flush all medication. The FDA suggests most medications can be disposed of in the trash after mixing them with an unappealing substance (ex. kitty liter, coffee grounds) and sealing them in a container.

September 25th, 2010 is Prescription Drug Take Back Day. Take unused and expired medicine in all forms to a collection site near you. The DEA will later incinerate the medicine.

Medicine and Vitamin bottles can be recycled with curbside recycling, but make sure you remove all labels and the lids. Hot soapy water will help in removing the labels.

You can also check with veterinarian offices to use for animal prescriptions or animal shelters may take them to help with their operating costs.

Now you can store your medication.

-Store all medication in a dry place out of sunlight unless noted otherwise on the bottle.

-Make sure you keep medication in it's original container.

-Store OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN.

-Find a container that would be easy for you to reach and carry.

- Determine if you need a locked or unlocked container.

40. Keeping Medical Records Organized.

Keeping accurate records for family medical care is essential. This will help you keep track of appointments, financial information, personal information and needed health updates. I have found several tools to make this much easier to pull all the information into one place rather than using bulky binders. Each one is customizable for each member of the family.

-www.AboutOne.com: this can be accessed from anywhere and is easy to print out reports on vital information to give to new doctors.

-www.carebinders.com: has features to remind you of appointments, keep track of visits, medication, health history and information. Also tracks insurance claims.

-www.911medicalid.com. Load information and store on the USB drive. Carry in your wallet, purse or on a hang on a lanyard around your neck.

Don't forget to keep all receipts and financial paperwork including insurance EOB's.

39. What To Do With All Those Stuffed Animals??

Kids (and some adults) LOVE stuffed animals. Before you know it, your collection can take over a space. Over time, they can accumulate dust mites and can be harmful to people with allergies or asthma problems.

Organizing your stuffed animal collection is easy. Purge, Purge, Purge. Donate your purged stuffed animals to the following locations:

Stuffed Animals For Emergencies

Project Night Light

Local Goodwill or Salvation Army stores.

Please check with their requirements before sending stuffed animals.

Once you've settled on the stuffed animals you would like to keep, determine the best way to store your collection that would be easy for you to maintain. Some of my favorite options are:

- Hang a shelf on the wall to display your collection.

-Store in a toy chest, Rubbermaid container, or over the door plastic shoe racks.

-I found this Animal Bag storage chair online. It is like a bean bag but is sold without the stuffing. You fill it with your own stuffed animals. Your stuffed animals are gathered all in one location while creating some extra seating your room at the same time. I think this is a perfect solution for the stuffed animals that your children just can't seem to part with right now.

I also suggest, purging the stuffed animals when the kids are away. You will be able to get rid of so much more without any distractions or someone throwing a tantrum because they want to keep Pooh Bear.

Good luck!

38. Purge Your Keys

Are you afraid to throw away old keys for fear you may need them? If you haven't used the key in a few years, chances are, you probably won't. Time to purge those keys! I bet you have keys on your keychain right now that you have no idea what they open. Or maybe you have the keys to an old car, house or locker thrown in a drawer somewhere.

Check in drawers, the garage, the basement, your keychain and collect all the old keys in your house.

You can recycle the keys at most recycling stations in their mixed metal bins, place an ad on craigslist and give them away, donate them to Key For Hope. You can get creative and use the extra keys to make a wind chime, decorate a picture frame, or any other craft project you come up with.

37. Purge Your Bath Towels

We all seem to have an abundance of towels. I'm going out on a limb here, but I would say 3 towels per family member would be plenty. While one is in the wash, you still have a supply for use. Imagine all the space you will create once you purge all the extra towels out of your linen closets. I'm positive most of your towels need purging anyway......starting to fray, fade, have holes?

You can donate the purged towels to homeless shelters, animal shelters, your church may have a family needing help setting up a household, a young couple starting out, or a student going off to school in the Fall.

36. Go Paperless

Take a look around you. Most of the paperwork that surrounds you can be found online. Not only will it be eco-friendly to rid yourself of unnecessary paperwork, but it will free you of unnecessary clutter.

Set up an online bill paying system with your bank. You can receive your bills online and then turn around and pay the bills online. Wa-La! No more paperwork. Plus you don't have to buy a stamp. Link this to your Quicken account and you rid yourself of having to keep track of a checkbook.

35. De-clutter your pens and pencils

For some reason we all have an abundance of pens and pencils. Seriously, how many does one person need? Take some time today to purge your pens and pencils.

First start by discarding pens that no longer work. Simply scribble on a piece of paper with each pen to test it. Second go through your pencils and discard ones that have dwindled down to short little nubs or have lost their eraser.

Go through the remaining stash and purge again. Many of us are particular about what types of pens we like to write with, so go ahead, purge the rest.

After the purging process you can sharpen the pencils you have decided to keep.

Donate all of your purged pens/pencils to The Pencil Project or your local school.

34. Keep A Donation Box Handy

Keep a "donation box" in a designated place in your home. Encourage all family members to place items they no longer want or need in the box. When the box is full, take it to the charity or recycling center of your choice.

Don't forget to get a tax receipt.

33. Create A Babysitter Information Sheet

Peace of mind will come when you are prepared for the babysitter. Create a standard babysitter information sheet to use when you are hiring childcare in your home. Give this to the sitter prior to leaving the home. I like to place it by the home phone since this is where they would probably run in an emergency.

The info sheet should contain the following items:

- Names of children and their ages

- Home address and phone number

- Contact numbers for you and your spouse

- Pediatrician name and number

- Name of your destination that night

- Name and number of a neighbor in case of emergency

- Special instruction: bedtime, food allergies, is your child on any medication, bedtime routines, etc.

Here is a template for you to use.

32. Un-clutter Your Email

Are you receiving too many emails on a daily basis? Unsubscribe from all emails that do not bring you value or your usually delete before reading. This will remove you from their distribution list and keep those annoying emails out of your inbox.

31. Organize Your Bills

Keeping track of your bills is a huge task that many people hand off to their spouse. It is important that both the husband and wife have a grasp on what bills need to be paid, when to pay the bills, where to find important documents, and where all the investments are for the family.

If you would prefer to have your spouse handle the day to day bill paying, you should have them keep a record of all transactions so you are able to take over without any problem.

Make a list of all monthly bills, investments, passwords. Keep all important documents in one location and show your spouse where you keep this list. Make sure to include any instructions or addresses of safety deposit boxes, names of account/financial advisor on your list. Keep a copy of your updated Will with this list would be beneficial.

30. Organize Your Schedule

With Back-To-School in full swing, it is essential to get your family's schedule organized. The best way it to keep track of all your activities, appointments, birthdays, holidays, etc is on a family calendar. Pick ONE calendar for the family to use. Having multiple calendars creates too much room for error. It would be easy to double book yourself unless you are using one system.

There are many types of calendars to choose. Wall calendars, desk calendars, electronic calendars, pockets calendars or even magnetic dry-erase calendars. Each variety offers day, week or month at a glance options. Pick a system that would be easy for you and your family to update.

I found this great FREE online calendar that would be perfect for a busy family. www.cozi.com It can be updated and viewed from any computer with internet access. Some of the features include sending reminder messages of upcoming events, sync with Microsoft Outlook, add shopping or To Do list, add photos and keep a family journal. I love this idea since mom can add/delete appointments and dad can easily view the calendar from work. No more missed communication.

29. Organize Your Past Tax Returns

The IRS will challenge you up to 6 years on any past tax returns, so keep these returns and supporting documents on hand. Anything beyond that can be shredded and discarded. Free up your filing cabinets from unnecessary paper work.

You can learn more on IRS.gov.

28. Organize Your Warranties & User Manuals

Deciding on what to keep and for how long is the biggest hurdle when dealing with warranties and user manuals. You should save all valid warranties and discard the expired ones.

As far as user manuals go, you can easily discard all of them as long as you are savvy on the the computer. Most manuals are available online with downloadable versions for reference if needed. Try using www.usersmanualguide.com and www.download-manual.com. If you must keep manuals and user guides, go through all of your current guides and discard any that belong to items you no longer own. Once you have purged, you can organize by type, alphabetical order, size, or by group. Find a system that will be easy for you to access and retrieve at a later date.

27. How To Fold A Fitted Sheet.

OK! I've found the answer to one of our home organizing biggest mysteries. How to Fold a Fitted Sheet? If you correctly fold your fitted sheets, you can double the space in your closet.

Watch this step by step video on the process. The sound is not the best quality so make sure you turn up the volume on your computer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i77Duz-VLMU

Enjoy!

26. Have a Copy of the School Lunch Calendar Handy

If your kids are like mine, then they are PICKY eaters. I never know what they like since they are constantly changing their minds on what types of food they will eat. Once I think I've figured it out, it changes again.

I found that if I hang a copy of the school lunch calendar on my fridge, I can simply ask them each morning if they will eat that days lunch. If the answer is yes, great. If not, then I can make them a lunch to take. Having the school lunch calendar easy to access makes the mornings go so much smoother. If you don't want it displayed on your fridge, you can:

- hang it on a nearby cork board

- take a photo of it with your phone and view when necessary

- mark the lunches in your calendar

- have the kids keep track of it and let you know when they need a lunch to take to school. If you don't hear from them, then school lunch it is. This will teach them a little responsibility too.

25. Organize Your Laundry Room

Start by eliminating anything that does not belong or can be thrown away from the room.

Design a place for everything. Shelving to store items, mini trash can for dryer lint and misc garbage, rack to hang clothing, hooks and wall mounting products to get items off the floor. If you need to place storage high, make sure you have a step stool in the room for easy access.

Also, things to consider:

- Have adequate lighting: if it is not well lit, you will avoid the room like the plague.

- Group objects by category: laundry detergents, fabric softeners, hangers, etc.

- DO NOT keep heavy bottles overhead.

- Have a small garbage near the dryer for lint and misc garbage.

- Hang wall mounted dryer racks for clothes that cannot be placed in the dryer. Some newer dryers have racks that can be placed inside of the dryer. You lay your clothes on top of the rack and they are dried without being tumbled inside of the dryer. I use mine for tennis shoes and sweaters.

- Hang wall mounting or over-the-door racks for your ironing board/iron and misc items.

- Have a basket for mismatched socks. Eventually socks will find their mate.

My favorite tips are more about the use of time: keep the laundry room moving daily. Have a constant rotation of clothes moving through the room. One load in the washer, one load in the dryer. Once clothes are dry, fold them immediately as they come out of the dryer. Once folded, place them in stacks of who they belong to - have each person put away their own clothing. This way you will not a have a huge pile of clothing to be folded or washed at the end of the day or week. Also, pulling clothes out of the dryer and folding or hanging them immediately will reduce the chance for winkles. Less Wrinkles = Less Ironing.

To make sorting laundry easier, add dots with a laundry marker to the waistbands and necklines. One dot for the oldest girl or boy, two dots for the second oldest, and so on. When kids are close in age, sometimes it's hard to tell whose clothes are whose -- the dots take out the guess work. This system also works for handy for hand-me-downs -- just add a dot when it's ready for the next family member.

Another suggestion is to have a different style of sock for each family member. This will save time by taking the guess work out while sorting socks.

***The most important tip is to have ample space for the clean laundry. No one enjoys cramming clothes in over stuffed drawers and closets.****

24. De-Clutter Junk Mail

Did you know the average American receives 41 pounds of junk mail per year? Junk mail not only clutters your house, but it produces more CO2 than 9 millions cars on the road. Follow these simple steps to remove the junk mail from your home and help protect the environment at the same time:

1. Place a recycle bin and trash can by your front door. Before you enter the house with your mail, give it a once over and immediately trash and recycle unwanted pieces. If you are worried about identity theft, place a shredder near the bins and shred any pieces containing your name and address. Check with your recycling center to see if they accept shredded paper. This will determine if you place the shredded paper in the trash or recycled bins.

2. Gather all your catalogs in the house. Spend some time calling each one and ask to be removed off their mailing list. Don't worry, most catalogs are available online for shopping.

3. Call 888.567.8688 to remove yourself off mailing lists.

4. Call the number on every piece of junk mail that arrives to your home and ask to be removed off of their mailing list. This included credit card offers, insurance promotions, sweepstake entries, etc. If you don't have time for this, you can sign up with agencies that can do this for you. www.41pounds.org and www.dmachoice.org are great resources for minimal fees.

23. What To Do With Your Hotel Toiletries

If you're like me, you will take home every hotel toiletry provided prior to checkout. You paid for them, right? Once you get them home, what do you do with it so they don't clutter your house?

- I like to keep them all contained in my guest bathroom so my overnight guest can use them. Comes in handy if they forget to pack to something.

- With new TSA restrictions, they are the perfect size to pack for your next vacation.

- Let your children use them in the shower. Little kids love to play in the shower and bathtub and giving them a little bottle of bath gel or mini soap makes it just a little more fun.

- Donate them to a local charity. Lifeworks Austin is a local charity that gives the toiletries to homeless street youth.

- They make great stocking stuffers.

- Buy a cute bag and give them to friends/teachers/boss/dog sitter as thank you gifts.

22. Create Keepsake Boxes For Your Family

Each family member has items that they cherish and would like to keep. These items may not be of monetary value, but hold a sentimental value to each person. For example, my husband keeps all the birthday cards he receives every year. These cards hold no value to anyone but himself.

A great solution for these types of items is to create a "Keepsake" box for every person in the family. The boxes can be any size or style, but just make sure they are large enough to hold everything you need, small enough to be easily stored and have a lid. I purchased 18 gallon Rubbermaid containers for my family. 23.9" 15.9" x 16.5". On the outside of each box I have labeled them with the name of the family member that it belongs.

Each box contains items that have sentimental value to each person, or in my kids case, will have sentimental value in the future. They include items like:

- artwork/school work

- special toys

- baby books

- first outfits/shoes

- birthday cards

- Tickets from events they have attended

- Awards and medals

Once the kids move out of the house, they can take their keepsake boxes with them.

21. What to do with your kids school and artwork?

Kids bring home so much art and school work. What do you do with it? The first priority would be to purge unwanted pieces. Determine if looking at your child's math homework in a few years will be important. Odds are, no. Keep things like notes the child has written to you, the first time they wrote their name, outstanding artwork, etc. Once you've decided what to purge, make sure your child does not see you throw it into the recycle bin. This could send them into hysterics and you may end up bringing everything back into the house. Go to the recycle bin alone!

Here are a list of suggestions on what to do with the items kept:

- Use colorful artwork as wrapping paper. Grandmas love this.

- Take photos or scan them and create a portfolio or memory book. Shutterfly, Apple and SouvenartBooks are just a few resources that sell fantastic printed books that you design with your own photos and scanned art.

- Select a few great pieces and have them professionally framed. Wha-la! Beautiful custom art for your home or a gift for family member.

- Fold the artwork in half and use as a "thank you" card.

- Storage for larger pieces can be made out of a poster board. Take the poster board and fold in half. Tape the side perpendicular to the fold leaving the parallel side open. This creates a giant folder. The kids can decorate the folder with drawings, their name, age and grade level.

- Store items in your child's keepsake box. (See post 22 on how to establish a keepsake box).

20. Organize Your Plastic Food-Storage Containers

Plastic food-storage containers can take over a cabinet space in no time.

1)Gather all the containers and match them with the appropriate lids. Washing containers/lids in the dishwasher can distort the shape causing the set to not fit together.

2)Recycle any unmatched lids and containers.

3)Take a good look at the remaining matched sets. Are the lids cracked or containers stained. You might want to recycle these as well.

4) You can organize your sets one of two ways. Keep the lids attached and neatly stack all containers on top of each other by size and style.

Or, remove the lids and store together. Take the containers and stack them inside of each other. This method takes less s

pace in the cabinet, but may take longer to find a matching set. Pick a system that works best for you.

19. Organize Your House To Leave For Vacation

There are many steps involved to prepare your house for you to leave on vacation. I wish it was as simple as just walking out the door. Unfortunately not. Following is a checklist for you to use to make it easier to get out the door:

1. Houseplants - water all of your houseplants prior to leaving. Depending on the length of your vacation, you can insert water globes into the soil for automatic watering, plant in a self watering container, or ask a friend or neighbor to come and water the plants while you are away.

2. Mail - Nothing screams more that you are away than piled newspapers on your front porch or an overflowing mailbox. Place a hold on your newspapers and mail. Have a friend or neighbor come and collect the mail/newspapers is also an easy solution.

3. Thermostats: Unless there is something in your home that might suffer heat damage, turn your a/c off. If you prefer to leave it on, set your thermostat to 85-90 degrees. Raising the temperature will help save on your electric bill. If you are leaving in the winter months, do not turn off the heat for risk of freezing pipes. Keep the heat to at least 50-55 degrees.

4. Trash: Empty all of the trash can in the house. Who wants to return home to a stinky house? Arrange for a friend or neighbor to place the outside trash can on the street on the appropriate day for trash collection. Make sure they are reminded to put trash can back in their proper place after collection.

5. Refrigerator - Check to see if any food items will spoil while you are away. Milk, eggs, yogurt, cheese etc. Give these items to a friend or neighbor to use.

6. Clothes Washer - Make sure you are not leaving clothes in your washer to mildew.

7. Windows/Door - Check to make sure all the windows and doors are locked.

8. Jewelry Box - Hide your jewelry or place in a safety deposit box. Don't make it easy for a robber to walk in and grab your valuables.

9. Small Appliances - These items use small amounts of energy when they are plugged in, even when they are turned off. Unplug these items to save energy and avoid possible fire hazards while you are away. Examples of small appliances include: toasters, tv's, clocks, baby monitors, radios, stereos, printers, computers, lamps, chargers, dust busters, coffee makers, etc.

10. Lights - Turn off all the lights in the house except for one to deter burglars while you are away. Put this light on a timer to simulate someone is in the house. Make sure this light is visible from the outside.

11. Sprinkler - Determine if you want the yard sprinklers to run while you are away. If so, place the sprinklers on a timer to run more efficiently.

12. Appointments - Cancel home appointments that may be schedule during your vacation. You do not want the housekeeper, pest control, delivery guy, piano teacher etc. arriving and you not be home.

13. Garage door - Unplug the garage door. During storms and power outages, for some reason my garage door opens. I always unplug my garage door before I leave on vacation. I would hate for my door to open while I'm away making my garage a free for all.

14. Cars - If leaving any cars at home, remove all the valuables, roll up the windows and lock the doors. Park the car in the garage.

15. Yard - Check the yard for items that need to be brought indoors.

16. Phone - Turn off or turn down the ringer on your home phone. A constantly ringing phone is a good sign no one is home.

17. Emergency Numbers - Leave a key and emergency numbers to a friend or neighbor.

18. Organize Your Make-Up

Keep your make-up in one location. This makes it easy for you to find what you need while trying to rush out the door in the morning or packing for a weekend getaway.

1. Sort your make-up by color, style, or current season. Pick a system that is easy for you to follow and maintain.

2. Pick a place to store the make-up. You can store your make-up on a shelf, in a drawer or the best option is in a case or organizer made for make-up. Google make-up case organizer for several selections ranging is all prices. If you choose a shelf or drawer, use storage containers to keep everything in their place. Plastic bins, drawer organizers, glass bottles, vintage cups, etc. will work well.

3. Create a small travel case for your purse or the gym. You can grab this case and go without having to pull together your make-up each time you leave the house.

17. Purge Your Make-Up

Did you know that makeup expires? Over time, makeup can cause a bacteria which can be harmful to your face and cause infections. To avoid this problem, you should purge your make-up from time to time to rid of make-up that is expired, broken or out of season.

Gather all of you make-up in one location. Check for expiration symbols on the bottles. Some containers have a little icon on the bottom that looks like a jar with a number next to it, i.e. 12, 18, or 24. These numbers represent the number of months of recommended use. If the icon is not available, follow these rules to determine when to throw out your make-up:

Powders and shadow: 2 years

Cream shadows: 18 months

Foundation: 1 year

Lipsticks and lipliners: 1 year

Mascara and eyeliners: 3 months

Don't throw your old containers into the trash. Recycle them. Many make-up brands offer recycling programs to their customers. Check with your brand about their program.

- Origins accepts all containers from any make-up manufacture. Each location has a bin for easy drop off.

- M.A.C. - turn in 6 M.A.C. containers and receive a free lipstick.

- Aveda - turn in plastic caps from cosmetic, toiletry or food items that contain the number 5 on the plastic. These do not have to be Aveda product, they can be found on milk containers, mayo jars, ketchup, water bottle, soda bottles, toothpaste, shampoo, hair products, etc.

For tips on skin care and make-up, check out http://www.makeupbychrissy.com/. Chrissy Edwards is a fantastic Austin make-up artist http://www.makeupbychrissy.com/.

16. Toss Old Leftovers in the Fridge

Once per week give your refrigerator a once over and toss left overs that are more than 7 days old. No one is going to eat them at that point anyway. This is also a good time to check your produce and get rid of food that is beyond edible.

15. Organize and Store Your Batteries

It is a good idea to organize your batteries so you are able to easily locate the correct size. Proper storage is also essential. Batteries should be stored in a refridgerator or freezer to extend their life. According to Storage magazine, batteries stored a room temperature lose 2% or less of their power annually and 25% of their power if stored in a hot garage.

Gather all of the batteries in the house. Check all the drawers and don't forget to search through the garage. Once you have all of your batteries, you can store the batteries by like size. For example, have a container for size AA, a container for AAA, a container for D and so on. Each container should be labeled with the appropriate size. Use old coin purses, ziploc containers, shoe boxes, or whatever storage you may have on hand.

Another option is to store all the batteries together in a molded container designed for batteries. This can be mounted on the wall or place in a drawer or shelf. The example below was found at The Container Store.

14. Organize Your Cords & Cables

Most people have an abundance of wires, cords and cables that they have collected over the years. They end up in a big ball of mess in a box somewhere in the house. I have a solution to get your mess in order.

1. Gather all of the cords, cables, and wires that are not in use from around the house. 2. Separate by type. 3. Determine what each cord, cable, and wire goes with each electric device you own and label accordingly.

4. Roll up the cord, cable and wire and secure with a twist tie or rubber band. You can purchase custom bundling devices at evriholder.com, 3m.com, cableclamp.com, griptwist.com, velcro.com and containerstore.com.5. Recycle all the remaining pieces. You can try to sell at a garage sale, give them away, or take them to your local Best Buy Store. Best Buy will recycle them properly so they do not end up in the landfill.

13. Organize Your Home Movies

Gather all of you home movie and separate into two piles. Keep and Discard. From the Keep pile, sort them into media types (VHS tapes, 16mm, 8mm, MiniDV, BetaMax, slides etc.) Once separated you can label them by date and store in acid free cardboard boxes. These boxes can be found at local chains like Target, Wal-Mart, IKEA and Container Store. Make sure you label the outside of the box with the contents including dates. Keep the boxes out of light, humidity, and heat. These harsh elements can cause permanent damage to your home movies.

Another option is to have your tapes, slides etc. converted into DVD's. This will make watching home movies much easier than having to pull out your old equipment. There are several companies available that do this type of service. I use Scan Digital, http://scandigital.com/ They are fantastic! I've had several tapes converted to DVD without any problems. The DVD's come back with photo images from the video printed on the DVD case. I love this feature since many home videos contain several events on one tape. I can just glance at the DVD cover to see what is contained on the DVD instead of trying to remember dates.

ScanDigital has offered a 5% discount for my readers. Use coupon code 1826131046 when placing your order online. From the Discard pile you have the option to give to friends/family, donate to your local film school, library or charity or recycle to keep them out of the landfills. Following is a list of recycling options: GreenDisk Freecycle

12. Check The Expiration Date On Your Salad Dressings

Check the expiration date on all the salad dressings in your fridge. Discard expired dressings. Before you trash the bottles, check to see if they can be recycled.

11. Collect Your Change

Instead of emptying your pockets or purse just anywhere in the house, pick a location and stick with it. Place a jar or piggy bank in this spot. When you clean out your pockets, drop your loose change into your jar. Once your jar is full, take it to a local coin counting machine and cash it in for cash. Some banks may even convert your change into cash for free. Deposit this cash into your saving account or spend it on something fun. You would be surprised at how little it takes to get a lot of money. According to CoinStar.com, a 1 gallon container could result in $228.34 in cash. Not bad for a simple task of emptying your pockets in the same spot every time. You will gain some fun money and have a house free of loose change.

10. Purge and Organize Your Undies

Pull all of your underwear out of your drawer. Separate into to piles 1) Purge: This should be a given but you need to purge all undies that are stained, torn, worn out, too big and too small. Give your pile a once over and add anything that is uncomfortable or you haven't worn in over a year. 2) Keep: This pile can then be organized back into your drawer. You can separate by color, style, season, etc. Pick a system that will be easy for you to remember and maintain. If you space is large enough you can place in drawer dividers create sections. Each section will contain a category from your organizational system you created. Good luck!

9. Purge and Organize Your Belts

Locate all the belts in your closet. Separate into 2 categories.

1) Purge: Your purge pile should contain belts that are too small, too worn, or out of style. Are you having trouble purging your belts for fear of needing them in the future. If you haven't worn it in a year, chances are you won't wear them again. Get rid of it.

You can donate the purge pile to your local charity or if you are crafty, you can recycle your belts into cute accessories. I found this video on YouTube on how to make a vintage bracelet.

2) Keep: Your keep pile can be organized back into your wardrobe. Some people like to roll up their belts and place them into drawers. Another option is to hang then onto hooks in your closet. You should organize them by size or color. You can find several hangers for belts online. Find the best option that works for you and your space.

8. Purge & Organize Your T-Shirts

If you are like our family, you have tons of t-shirts. Seems like every new activity comes with a new t-shirt. Join a sports team, get a t-shirt. Run a 5K, get a t-shirt, each grade level in school has their own class t-shirt not to mention the school t-shirt. Time to purge people!

Gather all the t-shirts from your closet and dresser. Pull out t-shirts that have holes, are stretched, stained, or faded. Place these in your dis

card pile.

Now you can go through the t-shirts again and pull out t-shirts that are too small or too big. Place these in your discard pile.

Of the remaining t-shirts, you can once again purge by placing them into a box. When you wear a t-shirt it comes out of the box and stays out of the box. After being washed, fold it and place it back on the shelf or in the dresser. Do not hang t-shirts. This will cause them to be stretched or misshaped.

evisit the t-shirt box in 6 months. The remaining t-shirts can be discarded. Be honest with yourself, if you haven't worn them in 6 months, you probably aren't going to wear it again.

Now, what to do with the discarded t-shirts bes

ides the obvious donation to Goodwill.

You can:

- Make a shopping bag tote.

- Cut up into 1/2" strips to make a weaving project.

- Frame your t-shirt to display the cool graphics on your walls.

- Make a quilt.

- Turn you favorite t-shirt into a pillow.

My favorite idea is to cover my dog on cold winter days.

7. Organize Your Socks

This is a simple task and should only take about 30-minutes to complete. Before you organize your socks, make sure all of your socks are clean. Check the dirty clothes, washer, dryer for any socks that may be hiding.

Start my pulling all of your socks out of the drawer and put into groups:

1) Matched socks: These socks are complete sets that you plan to keep.

2) Unmatched: These socks are singles without a mate. From this pile, go through and try and find matches. Separate again by putting new found matches in the matched socks pile and then place the remaining socks into the discard pile.

3) Discard: This pile contains socks that are loners, have holes, too small, stained etc. You can use the discarded socks as dusters for your furniture, to make dog toys, make hand puppets or donate them to http://www.themismatchedsock.com/

Visit http://www.wikihow.com/Recycle-Your-Socks for more creative recycling ideas.

Once you have purged your socks, place a plastic or cardboard shoe box into your sock drawer to create a divider. Depending on the size of your drawer, multiple boxes can be used. Each section should contain different types of socks: sports, tights, color vs. white....whatever best fits your needs.

6. Organize Your Shoes

Pull all the shoes out of your closet and match up the pairs.

Discard shoes you haven't worn in over a year; you probably won't wear them again. Next pull out the shoes that are too small, are worn out or out of style. You can donate these shoes to Goodwill, Nike's Reuse-A-Shoe Program, or a local charity of your choice.

Depending on the size of your closet, following are options for organizing:

- Lay all the shoes on the floor of the closet matched up in pairs. If you have enough room for two rows, place the current season in the front row and other seasons on the back row.

- Hang a shoe rack on the clothing rod to store your shoes.

- Hang a shoe rack on the back of your closet door.

- Store your shoes in plastic shoe boxes or the boxes they came in and stack the boxes neatly on a shelf. Take a photo of each pair and tape to the outside of each box. This way you know what shoes are inside without having to open each box.

- If space is truly limited, you can store you shoes under your dust ruffle.

5. Find Proper Hangers For Your Clothes

Having the proper hangers will not only protect your clothing but could possibly increase the storage space and accessibility of your closet.

- First consider what you want to hang. Keep to the simple rule of one item per hanger. This will eliminate the problem of items getting mixed up or lost in your closet. Do not hang sweaters or knit products. Hanging these items can cause sagging in the shoulders or stretch out the garment. Fold these items and place into drawers or on shelves.

- Next consider how much space you have available. Wooden hangers are fantastic but may take up too much space on your rod in your closet.

- Find hangers made specifically for for each type of garment. Hanging a heavy coat onto a wire hanger will not work. The hanger will eventually bend causing the coat to fall to the bottom of the closet. Cedar hangers are great for long term storage of clothing since they repel moths.

- Find hangers to fit your budget. Hangers come from several retailers in a variety of styles including wire, wood, plastic, vinyl, metal, satin and velvet. Do you really need an expensive $10 hanger for that shirt you found on sale at Target?

Here are a few choice retailers for your reference:

hangers.com, The Container Store, Target, Wal-Mart, HSN, Linens and Things,

4. Organize The Clothes In Your Closet

Begin by dividing clothes into categories.

Style: Group pants with pants, shirts with shirts, dresses with dresses and so on. Once you have separated styles, you can take it a step further and group by color.

Color: Start with white and work your way to black. Lighter colors progressing to dark.

Season: If space is limited, you can separate by season. Place the current season in the front of your closet and then out of season in the back of the closet, in a spare closet, or a storage box under your bed.

Pick a way that is easy for you to follow. If you feel comfortable with a system you are more likely to keep it up.

3. Purge Your Closet

Have you heard the saying we wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time? What happens the the remaining 80% of clothes? They are hanging in our closets taking up space and most likely collecting dust. Here are some suggestions on purging your closet:

1. Pull out clothing that you just don't like. This is the easiest task of all. If you don't like it, you probably aren't going to wear it. Get rid of it.

2. Pull out the clothes that don't fit. Let's face it, holding onto a pair of jeans and hoping to squeeze into them in a few months is unrealistic. Chances are, by the time you are able to fit into your skinny jeans, they will be out of style anyway. Get rid of them. If you do loose that weight, reward yourself with a new pair of designer jeans that fit. You will look better and feel better in the long run.

3. Pull out clothes with stains, holes, tears, or stretched. This is a no brainer.

4. Take all of the hangers in your closet and hang them backwards on the rods, hooking from the back of the closet to the front. As you wear an item, hang it back in the closet normally. After a year, you will notice the clothes that are still hanging backwards. If you haven't worn them in a year, get rid of them. I'll remind you close to our year end to revisit your closet and pull out the items that are still hanging backwards. You might be surprised at what you find.

Most people have an emotional attachment to their clothes. Either you've spent a lot of money on an item or it holds a special memory. This makes it difficult when trying to purge, but try not to consider how much money you spent on an item, that money is gone. You should consider how much they are worth to you now. Does it fit? Do you wear it? Do you even like it? If it doesn't hold any value to you now, get rid of it.

All the clothing purged can be donated to Goodwill, sold at consignment or on eBay, traded at a clothing swap, or given to a friend. Keep a bag or small box at the foot of your closet. When you come across something to purge, place it in your bag/box. When the bag is full, take it to Goodwill.

2. Create Bags

Create Bags For Your Various Activities.

Think about the activities you and your family are involved in outside of the house and create a bag for each event. For example, the gym, dance class, soccer, swimming, sports, art class, music lessons.

Each bag will contain everything needed for that event.

Dance Bag: tap shoes, ballet shoes, etc.

Soccer Bag: Soccer shoes, shin guards, water bottle, soccer ball, etc.

Swimming: sunscreen, water toys, swim cap, fins, towel, card to access the pool, etc.

Gym bag: work out towel, lock for your locker, gym card, toiletries for the shower, etc.

The night before your activity, hang your bag on the hooks by the door and grab and go in the morning. No more scrambling to find your soccer ball.....it is in the bag.

I even have a bag for drying cleaning. Instead of putting our dirty dry cleaning clothes in the hamper, I put them in the dry cleaning bag. I also put wire hangers into my bag. Your dry cleaner may accept these hangers to recycle. This is a great way to keep them out of your closet and landfill. Once the bag is full, I take it to the dry cleaners.

Need a bag? I have an extra bag to mail to the first person who emails me at stephanie@curlygirlorganizing.com.

1. Wall Hooks

Hang hooks on the wall by your door.

Stop wasting time in the morning trying to get out the door on time. Hanging hooks by your door will give you a place to hang items that are needed to get you out the door quickly and on time. You can hang backpacks, keys, your purse, jackets, umbrellas, sports bags onto these hooks. Anything that you need for the following day. I use my hooks for everything. I even have a bag hanging that I use to store all the plastic bags to be recycled at the grocery store. When I'm headed out the door to go food shopping, I grab my bag of plastic and go.

Put a system into place that is easy for you and your family to follow.

- When you walk in the door, hang your things on the hooks. This way items are guaranteed to be there when you need them. If you walk in and drop your items anywhere, who knows where they will be in the morning.

- The night before, place items on the hook that need to leave the house with you (coats for cold days, place notes for teachers in your kids backpacks, your gym bag, etc.)