Purge First

It's that time of year. The Sunday paper was full of enticing ads for inexpensive organizing materials. But before you rush out to stock up on what you may or may not need, take this bit of advice: downsize first. When organizing clients homes, I have found that organizing products become part of the problem rather than the solution. Purge first and then take an inventory of what you actually need. Happy Organizing! Happy Organizing!

Managing Gift Cards

Gift cards usually make a great gift. They are inexpensive to mail and the recipient can get something they really want…..usually. There is a catch to all this – when you receive a gift card to a store/restaurant/location that you do not like or that is not convenient to get to. If this it the case, I have the solution. There are three main websites that will allow you to sell or swap your gift cards for a majority of the face value: cardpool.com, plasticjungle.com or giftcardrescue.com. Simply get online and sell. Another option is to let all your friends know about your unwanted card and see if anyone wants to sell or swap that card with you. You can even post it on Facebook.

Got gift cards that you can use? Make sure you keep them in a way that will make it easy for you to remember to use them. Get a pocket sized photo wallet (places like the Dollar Tree sell these) and keep all your gift cards in that. When you are going shopping or out for dinner, pull out your stash and take advantage of your gifts!



Meagan Farrell, professional organizer, is the owner of Clear the Clutter organizing services. She can be reached at (360) 631-7268 or at clear_theclutter@yahoo.com. Check out her blog at http://cleartheclutterprofessionalorganizing.blogspot.com/

Keeping up with Holiday Decor

As you are putting up your holiday decorations, set aside any that are broken or no longer appeal to you. Immediately put them in a bag and put the bag in your car to drop off for donation next time you are driving by a location.

5 Quick Tips to Help You Enjoy December

So often I hear people grumbling about all the they have to do in December to prepare for Christmas. With 52 days until Christmas, why not get a few things done now to make December less hectic?

1 - Get your Christmas cards done now. Pick a fun photo and order your cards. You can get the envelopes addressed and stamped and ready to send.

2- Get your shopping done now. Why wait until the malls are packed? Make a list of all you to shop for and get it done now. You may even have time to wrap before the end of November.

3 - Give your child a Santa deadline. In our house, letters to Santa must be delivered by Thanksgiving weekend to give Santa time to shop. This gives Santa's helpers time to get all that shopping done before the 11th hour as well.

4 - Even if you can't get all your shopping done, at least get the shopping done for those you have to ship gifts to. Get the items purchased, wrapped and shipped before the Post Office gets intolerable. Or better yet - shop online and avoid the Post Office all together.

5 - Shop for hostess gifts now. Don't run around hours before a party to find the perfect hostess gift. Get out there now and find a few cute things that would work for any hostess and keep them on hand for when the party inviations come in.

The Value of Donating

Something I often hear from clients who are trying to purge is “but I paid so much for that!” or “oh my sister gave that to me so I feel bad just getting rid of it.” Sound familiar? Avoid this road block by placing equal value on getting rid of the item. If you paid a lot for it then it will make a nice tax write off when you donate it. If it was a treasured gift that you just can’t use, why not pay it forward and give it to a friend who can actually use it.

Don’t let actual or emotional value of items hold you back. Remind yourself of the value in having the additional space or the value of less stress from clutter. Furthermore, remind yourself of the value of paying it forward to donating it or giving it away.



Meagan Farrell, professional organizer, is the owner of Clear the Clutter organizing services. She can be reached at (360) 631-7268 or at clear_theclutter@yahoo.com. Check out her blog at http://cleartheclutterprofessionalorganizing.blogspot.com/

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The Life Skill of Writing Thank You Notes

Writing thank you notes is an art that need not be lost. It is a life skill that every child should learn and get in the practice of. Personally, I attribute getting jobs to the fact that I followed up the interview with a thank you note. It can’t hurt, right? So how to organize thank yous after a party or holiday?

First off make a list of the gifts received and who they were received by. Don’t have a pad of paper handy? Write what gift the person gave on the back of the card that came with the gift. After the fun, take your list of givers and put them in an obvious spot along with thank you cards, stamps and address labels. Have your child write 3 thank you notes a day until they are all done.

Again, writing thank you notes is a life skill that can only serve your child well. People appreciate being thanked in writing. Kids may fuss about having to do it, but if you make it an easy process it will be easier on everyone.

Meagan Farrell, professional organizer, is the owner of Clear the Clutter organizing services. She can be reached at (360) 631-7268 or at clear_theclutter@yahoo.com. Check out her blog at http://cleartheclutterprofessionalorganizing.blogspot.com/