Spring Greetings!

This April edition of Off The Rack is focusing on tips on how to organize while you're doing your spring cleaning.

• Clutter Quiz
• It's the Little Things in Life
• Cool Stuff
• Be Kind in your Giving
• Being Organized
• Sustainable Furniture

• "IT TAKES AS MUCH ENERGY TO WISH AS IT DOES TO PLAN." - Eleanor Roosevelt

  Dinner Party Considerations
• Clutter Cartoon

Happy reading!

Clutter Quiz:

Do you dread opening one of your closets for fear of what will fall out? If someone stops by to visit unexpectedly, are you embarrassed to let them in because of all the clutter? Do you find yourself wishing you could be more organized?

Well then, maybe you should try our online "Clutter Quiz" and see just how bad (or good) you are when it comes to being organized. It's a quick and fun way to learn more about yourself and your storage habits!

Take the Clutter Quiz today!

It's The Little Things In Life

In addition to finding what you're looking for, a major benefit of organizing is the fact that your storage becomes more visually appealing.

Smaller stacks of folded items look neater and won't topple over like larger stacks will.

Return all those wire hangers to the cleaners and dispose of bent, rusted, or unbecoming ones.

Better yet, consider investing in all new hangers. You'll be amazed how much neater the exact same closet can look when all the hangers are the same style, shape, and color!

Be Kind in Your Giving

When purging your closets and designating items for donation, keep in mind that volunteers spend hours sorting through those donation bags.

What can't be used or put for sale ends up in the dumpster, so don't use charitable organizations as your personal dumping grounds.

Clean clothing that has been either washed or dry cleaned is preferred. Small flaws like a missing button or wrinkles is not a problem, but don't include items with stains or rips.

So throw away the stinky shoes, broken toys, and stained clothing! Most charities don't have the capacity to wash clothing or make repairs, so do so yourself beforehand.

Being Organized is Different

Than Being Neat & Tidy.

Clutter is anything that gets in the way, physically and emotionally, in your daily life. No matter who you are, there is a lot to be gained from getting organized.

Being in control of your stuff, not your stuff being in control of you, is important to happiness, time management and our overall daily functioning.

The clutter continuum is vast, but the weak spot is usually the closet. If you’re at the point where your clothes don’t fit in the closet, you haven’t seen the floor in the last year, or you’ve forgotten what’s on the top shelf, it’s time to regain control of your closet!

A closet that is jam-packed will remain that way unless it’s downsized. Routinely purge and empty closet contents, sorting the items into groups for keeping and for giving away.

If there’s structure to your closet, you’ll know exactly where to go. It’s like always putting your car keys in the same spot so you can find them easily. Try grouping clothes by item and then arranging by color.

The initial time it takes to sort your skirts, blazers and suits is well worth the effort! Instead of looking up, down, right and left for something, you’ll go to a sea of black, blue, green, etc., and find just what you need.

When the task is done and everything in your closet has a place and a purpose, how do you keep it that way? Enforce a little discipline upon yourself, and spend 10 minutes a day to maintain order. (Just like a diet, if you revert back to your old habits, the weight will come right back!)

For example, place dirty clothes in the hamper, put shoes back in their place, and remove dry cleaning bags. You’ll see that in just a few minutes, you can clear the floor, hang up a pair of pants or organize a bag or purse. This small, daily time investment prevents the clutter build-up that can sabotage your hours of hard work!

Stylish, Sustainable Furniture

As consumers become even more environmentally conscious, furniture companies are challenged to provide pieces that are stylish and eco-friendly.

Many companies are finding a niche by specializing in furniture made from renewable resources, such as mango, bamboo, and teak. (Mango trees that no longer bear fruit are continually recycled to allow for new trees to grow an bear fruit.)

Re-purposing old wooden pieces into stylish furniture or accent pieces is another way to be green. everything from old doors and columns to Window Frames can be turned into something stylish and functional - instead of ending up in the landfill.

Dinner Party Considerations

How much room do you have? Can everyone comfortably gather around one big table, or will a few smaller tables work better in your space? Will you have assigned seats for your guests?

Work out those details a few days in advance and plan to use place cards. Place cards not only designate where everyone should sit, but also add a festive decoration to your table, as well as provide a great way for creative and crafty children to “let me help”.

For those parts of your meal that must be cooked the day of your party, do as much of the prep work in advance as possible. You can pre-measure dry ingredients and store them in zip-lock bags. Label each bag and place in the pan in which that food item will be prepared. Vegetables can be sliced, chopped, or diced and stored in the fridge.

To gain as much working surface in your kitchen as possible on the day of the party, temporarily stash all unnecessary nick knacks, cookbooks, and appliances elsewhere.

Send leftovers home with your guests in disposable food storage containers -- no need to have the containers returned, and you won't have as many potential calories tempting you for days after!

Don't have enough beds for all your overnight guests, but also don't need a guest room that stands empty most of the year?

Use that spare room all year round as a home office or craft room and still offer occasional guests a place to stay --- a stylish Murphy bed with customized, surrounding wall units will give you the best of both worlds!

Closet City's Murphy beds provide an extra bed on an as-needed basis, as well as additional storage that is designed to meet your needs and available space.

Choose from a variety of panel colors and styles to match your decor. Bed frames are available in twin, full, and queen sizes, and pull down either lengthwise or sideways!

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