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How to Manage a Paperwork Backlog

By |2021-12-15T14:24:49-06:00December 15th, 2021|Categories: Paper Management|Tags: , , , , , , |

I see this so much with my older clients. Most, if not all of them have a huge paperwork backlog.  I get it, I really do. As I was growing up, even though I didn’t notice at the time, my parents were collecting paperwork. There were invoices, utility bills, cancelled checks - yes, our cancelled checks were actually returned to us in our monthly bank statements, investment statements, all types of insurance bills/statements, medical bills/statements, etc. The incoming flow of paper was relentless! Pretty much anything paper-related came to us via the US Postal Service, business and personal. Not only [...]

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The Importance of Creating Boundaries For Your Things

By |2021-12-08T13:24:59-06:00December 15th, 2021|Categories: Rightsizing|Tags: , , , , |

Many years ago, I wrote an article titled ‘Establishing Boundaries’. The gist of the article was to establish boundaries for storage, use of yours, and other members of your family’s belongings, out of respect for one another. This post is related, but in a different way. Creating boundaries for your things has another important reason. Creating boundaries for your things lets you know when you have enough of the category of items contained in that space, or boundary.  This concept is an important aspect to avoid clutter. The concept of creating boundaries for your things, brings me back to a [...]

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Downsizing Those That Have a Generous Heart

By |2021-08-27T13:18:25-05:00September 1st, 2021|Categories: Rightsizing|Tags: , , , , |

Since I specialize in downsizing client’s belongings, the subject of finding good homes for discards is one of the first things we discuss. Most, if not all of my clients are generous, sometimes to a fault. Not many of my clients want, or have a need to sell their discards, but they do want to make sure they go to good homes. There are various reasons why people downsize their belongings. It may be to move to a smaller home, it may be to clear out a home after a death, or it may be an accumulation of clutter that [...]

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How Much Trash Can I Find?

By |2021-02-15T12:46:41-06:00February 17th, 2021|Categories: Downsizing|Tags: , , , , |

The answer to this question is, a lot! Depending on the size of the items and the amount, a junk hauling service may be in order. Whether you’re moving to a smaller home or not, it often surprises my clients how much trash we find when downsizing. However, when you’re downsizing to prepare for a move, the purging process is more involved. Since you are moving to another home, you have to literally touch every item you own and look in every nook and cranny in your home to determine what to keep and what to discard. Your home needs [...]

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Use Up a Product Before Its Shelf Life Expires

By |2020-11-17T13:41:13-06:00June 10th, 2020|Categories: Downsizing|Tags: , , , |

The term ‘shelf life’ is really when a product expires, or an expiration date. According to Wikipedia – ‘An expiration date or expiry date is a previously determined date after which something should no longer be used, either by operation of law or by exceeding the anticipated shelf life for perishable goods.’ All perishable products have an expiration date.  Fresh and frozen food products have them, but also other products like vitamins, first aid products and makeup include expiration dates. The idea is to use up the product before it expires. The implication is that the product is no longer safe.  That is not necessarily the [...]

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8 Tips to Help You Help Your Parents Downsize

By |2020-11-17T13:41:16-06:00January 29th, 2020|Categories: Downsizing, Organizing Tips|Tags: , , , , |

There are different reasons why your parents downsize their belongings. They may want, or need to move to a smaller home. They may have difficulty navigating through all their things, or maybe they just want to free up space to stay in the home they have lived in for so many years. Depending on their age, physical and mental condition, they may not be able to do it themselves. They know they need to do it, but are not able or willing to do it themselves.  Some don’t ask for help even when they need it.  Others may ask their [...]

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Recycling Locations Around St. Louis MO

By |2020-11-17T13:41:21-06:00May 29th, 2019|Categories: Decluttering, Recycle|Tags: , , , , |

Whether you have curbside recycling or take your recyclables to a facility, some items are not allowed in the bins. Your service provider typically provides a list of items that they will accept.  Some bins have stickers on them to show the acceptable items. There are items however, that need to be discarded but are not on the list of accepted items.  Donation to a favorite charity is always an option for recycling for gently used items. You want to be a good steward of the earth and keep as much out of the landfill as possible, but may not [...]

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Storage Unit – To Rent or Not to Rent

By |2020-12-18T13:23:31-06:00June 27th, 2018|Categories: Decluttering, Downsizing, Storage|Tags: , , , , |

In the U.S., 65% of self-storage renters have a garage in their home, 47% have an attic, and 33 percent have a basement. This suggests that Americans have more things than their homes allow them. ~Brute Storage There are a lot of situations where people have a need to rent a storage unit.  Some of those situations are temporary, or transitional, while others may be to put a band-aid on a much larger issue. The statistic above says a lot about Americans and their love of things. Renting a storage unit doesn’t always mean there isn’t a need, however, a [...]

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Swedish Death Cleaning is More About Decluttering Than Cleaning

By |2020-11-17T13:41:26-06:00June 13th, 2018|Categories: Decluttering, Downsizing, Home Organization, Seniors|Tags: , , , |

Swedish Death Cleaning, what is it?  I’ve been hearing a lot about this lately and did some investigating, this is what I learned. A woman named Margareta Magnusson wrote a book called, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family From a Lifetime of Clutter. She wrote this book after she had to deal with the possessions of her parents and her husband after they passed away. The Swedish culture has a practice called döstädning - dö translates to death & städning translates to cleaning.  The idea is not so much about cleaning as it [...]

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9 Tips to Rightsize Your Stuff

By |2020-11-17T13:41:37-06:00August 10th, 2014|Categories: Home Organization, Organizing Tips|Tags: , , , , , |

Image courtesy of renjith krishnan/FreeDigitalPhotos.net Did you ever wonder how you ended up with so much stuff? The answer is…life happens. You need things; things to take care of you and others. You need things to help you earn a living. You need things to clean your home. You need things to prepare and eat food. You need things to decorate you and your living spaces. The list of things you need can seem endless, especially when you’re just starting out.   You acquire things as you discover that you need them. Then as time goes by, you find that you [...]

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