Organize Your Financial Papers

Financial Data: What to Shred, What to Stash
By Jill Schlesinger | Sep 6, 2011

Drowning in financial data and statements? You’re not alone — in fact one of the most frequently-asked questions I field is “how long do I have to keep (fill in the blank)?”

In honor of the back-to-school season, where organization takes center-stage, grab that shredder and get ready for the big purge!

WHAT TO TOSS AND WHEN

    Bank Statements: 1 year (toss the ATM statements after you make sure that the transaction is accounted for on the bank statement)
    Credit Card bills: Shred after payment, unless you need for taxes
    Retirement Accounts (401(k), 403 (b), 457, IRA, Roth, etc): Shred as new ones arrive
    Brokerage and Mutual Fund Accounts: Shred as new ones arrive, but since these are TAXABLE accounts, you should keep annual statements until the sale of each asset within the accounts
    Investment purchase confirmations/1099s: keep until you sell, then keep for subsequent 7 years
    Tax Returns/Supporting Documents: Keep for 7 years

KEEP FOR AS LONG AS YOU OWN THE FOLLOWING ASSETS:

    Appliance Warranties
    Vehicle Titles
    Vehicle Loan Documents
    Auto Insurance Policy
    House Deeds
    Mortgage Documents
    Homeowners Insurance Policy
    Disability Insurance Policies (keep as long as in-force)

KEEP FOREVER (IN A VERY SAFE PLACE!)

    Birth/Death certificates & Social Security cards
    Marriage Licenses and Divorce Decrees
    Pension plan documents
    Safe-deposit box inventory
    Life Insurance policies
    Copies of wills, trusts, health care proxies/living wills and powers of attorney (attorney/executor should have copies)


My Thoughts

I'm so happy I saw this article.  Useful.  Very useful indeed. I'm raring to go and attack my paper files.  I want o be personally 70% paperless by the end of this year.  Good luck to me.  My closet organizing will have to take a backseat in the meantime.

Listen to the Experts in Closet Organizing

The Expert Guide to Organizing Your Closet
Runway / News
by Sharon Feiereisen
August 02, 2011
http://www.thefashionspot.com/runway-news/news/168261-the-expert-guide-to-organizing-your-closet

I live in a duplex apartment with incredibly high ceilings, I have three closets, two of which are floor-to-ceiling and one of which takes up an entire wall. You’d think with all of that closet space I’d have ample room for my sartorial indulgences, but unfortunately, at least in my case, room breeds clutter. After returning from Super Saturday in the Hamptons with four new dresses, three new pairs of shoes, two new tops, two pairs of pants, and a to-die-for Zimmermann bathing suit, I decided it was time to clean out my closets. My boyfriend, whose “closet” has been relegated to two plastic bins underneath the bed, was thrilled. Before tackling my wardrobe, I spoke to two experts in the field to get their tips on how to best go about organizing closet spaces.

Myclean.com, a New York-based website which offers users the ability to schedule customized cleaning appointments, home repairs, and personal organization sessions just brought professional organizer Lisa Jacobs on board and she outlined her must-dos for us:

    Remove all items from closet space. [note: this can be scary! If you’re like me and haven’t done this in years be prepared for dust tumbleweeds.]
    Purchase slim velvet hangers; choose a color that coordinates with the room's color scheme.
    Sort through all items to eliminate the unnecessary, so the necessary can speak. [note: this was the hardest for me — there’s nothing worse than getting rid of something with the price tags still hanging on, but if you’re never going to wear it, there really is little point in keeping it.]
    Shelves above rod ought to be outfitted with containers to stack from shelf to ceiling and can be in a variety of sizes.
    Left side of shelf ought be stacked with containers, right side with risers to maximize shelf space by creating double shelf. Use the area for handbags and larger items.
    Purchase shoe rack for floor space. No clothes should be placed on the floor.
    Discard all shoe boxes and handbag bags. [note: this one I have to politely disagree with; accessories should be protected and while dust bags and shoe boxes may not be space efficient, in my opinion, they’re essential for long wear.]
    Purchase plastic cart on wheels with drawers, remove any clothing on the floor and place this cart in its place to serve as dresser. Use for smaller items, random toiletries and papers.
    Purchase hanging bag with canvas shelves for t-shirts and sweaters.
    If there are closet doors, maximize space on inside doors, hanging bag for random shoes, accessories, pocketed canvas bag.

Barbara Reich, of Resourceful Consultants,  was also kind enough to share some of her tips for eliminating clutter. Reich has appeared on the Today Show, has been featured in the New York Times and New York Post, among other publications, and has been in the de-cluttering business for over a decade. She suggests:

    Take it out and shake it out.
        Take out all heavy winter coats and sweaters.
        Take out any clothes/shoes that you didn’t wear last year and can’t see yourself wearing this year.
        Take out any clothes/shoes that don’t fit, are in poor condition, will never fit, and are no longer in style. Be ruthless…

    Maintain and move.
        Assess whether any clothing maintenance is required on winter coats and sweaters…do buttons need tightening, do the coats need to be washed or professionally cleaned, are the sweaters pilled?
        Consider moving heavy clothing to another closet (rack in basement, another closet under bed storage).
        Make piles to donate, discard, take to cleaners, wash.

    Group like things together.
        Put all of your spring/summer sweaters together. Fold or hang by color.
        Do the same for pants, short sleeve tops, long sleeve tops.
        Hang as much as possible, it’s the easiest way to see what you have.

    Put what you wear most in “Prime Real Estate.”
        That means the things you wear most should be in the place that’s most accessible and easiest to reach.

    Make a list.
        Never buy without a plan.
        Did you discard something that needs to be replaced (i.e. white button down that was looking gray, white cardigan)?
        Is there something you really need?

    Getting organized is a big commitment, but staying organized takes 10 minutes or less a day. 
    Take the time to fold clothes properly before putting them away in your drawers or closet. [note: this is a major problem for me because I tend to be lax with folding and ironing, but this is truly crucial – there’s nothing worse than rushing only to realize the outfit you wanted to wear is too wrinkled to be seen in.]
    When you take something off a hanger, put the hanger at the front of your closet.  That way you know where all of the empty hangers are, and you’re more like to hang clothes when you can easily find a hanger.
    Maintain your clothes. Note when a button needs to be sewn or when a garment needs to be cleaned.
    When you buy new clothes, edit what you have to see if there’s anything that can be eliminated.
    If you’ve put something on twice and decided not to wear it twice, it’s time to say goodbye.
    The floor is not a place to store things.  Try to avoid having anything on the floor of your closet.

Now the big question – who’s going to help me take all of my discarded clothes to the Salvation Army?

MY THOUGHTS

Believe me-truing out these  tips in closet organizing is more than just a challenge.  Closet organizing is a test.  It's a test of what you value the most.  I've always been a stickler for closet organizing.  I believe I have acquired the skills for making space available.  But my real problem was not the lack of ability to organize closets.  My problem has always been filling them up.  It's so easy to buy and shop and load up your house with things.  Giving them up is not as easy as that.  There is one thing I tell myself when taking on the task of closet organizing- someone else can have better use of whatever it is I have not used for a long time.

SIGNS THAT YOU ARE A HOARDER?

 From the Article 'Too Much Stuff? It Could Be Compulsive Hoarding'
Learn Whether Your Messy Habits Are Those of A Compulsive Hoarder
By Stephanie Schorow, Special to Lifescript
Published August 9, 2011
From www.lifescript.com

10 Signs You Could Be a Hoarder

Could you, or someone you love, have a hoarding problem? Watch out for these red flags. (These were adopted in part from the workbook “Compulsive Hoarding and Acquiring” by Steketee and Frost.)

1. Acquiring objects brings a rush. Many hoarders report feeling powerful joy from finding a bargain or rescuing what they perceive as a useful item from the trash.

2. You have trouble finding things. Hoarders often can’t locate items or even enjoy them. Sometimes they don’t take purchases out of the bag.

3. Throwing things out upsets you. Hoarders let items pile up to avoid the emotional distress of discarding them.

4. Fix-it projects pile up faster than you can repair them. Hoarders intend to mend broken items but never get to them.

5. You avoid having visitors. Many compulsive hoarders find excuses for keeping guests out of their homes.

6. You put off repairs because your house is a mess. Hoarders are often too embarrassed to open their door to a plumber, carpenter or landlord.

7. You’re saving items because they might be useful or valuable someday. Hoarders place value on items that are worthless or of little value.

8. You’ve maxed out credit cards. Hoarders can’t resist sales and bargains – even for non-essential or frivolous items – and will spend themselves into bankruptcy.

9. You’re afraid to throw out old newspapers or magazines because you might miss something important. Hoarders often convince themselves that they need to save every publication that comes into their home. Or they save articles they think will interest others but never get around to sharing them. (This often leads to dangerous piles of combustible material.)

10. You can’t use rooms in your house because of clutter. If you can’t cook in your kitchen because of all the items stored in it or sleep in your bed because it’s covered with clothes, you’re entering hoarding territory.

Stephanie Schorow is a Boston-based freelance writer.

For more information, visit our Mental Health Center.

MY THOUGHTS

I'm so happy I am way past this stage.  It's a sick way of living.  Can you imagine buying things you cannot enjoy because you can't find them?

Organizing your Bookshelves

How to Tame Your Overstuffed Bookshelves in 48 Hours
O, The Oprah Magazine  |  From the September 2010 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine

There comes a time, in every library, when a purge is required. What do you keep? What do you toss? When is it time to get rid of that unopened copy of the complete works of Emily Dickinson? Sara Nelson, O's books editor, says you have to be both careful and ruthless as you cull. Gather your tomes around you, she advises, and ask the following questions:


1. Have you owned it without reading it for less than two years? Then move it to a probationary shelf, where it can remain for another 12 months. But if it has been hanging around unread since the Clinton administration, out it goes.

2. Was it a gift, inscribed by an old friend or boyfriend or even the author? Don't give a book like this away, ever; it's a diary, a literary road map to your past.

3. Would you recommend the book to a friend? If so, it's okay to keep one copy for yourself and one to give away. I used to be like a squirrel in winter: I'd have one book to keep, one to lend, and one just in case I lost the other two. What I've learned—books are not nuts. Don't do that.

4. Will you really read Jude the Obscure? Right. Toss. Ditto all that other homework. And guess what? Your teenager couldn't care less about the collegiate scribblings in your Signet Shakespeares, however charming you think they are. (And anybody can read all about Henry IV for free on Google Books these days.) Having loved something in school is not justification for clutter.

5. Does it complete an author's body of work? If so, you might want to keep the family together. But if you're letting a title stay only because of what you think (or hope) it says about you, forget it. Books, like clothes, cars, and homes, are reflections of ourselves—so the first step to making over your library is looking not on the shelves but in the mirror.

MY THOUGHTS

Another project in the making. I'm sure I have several books that I bought years ago but had not had the time to read.  But that's not my real problem.  My real concern is my lack of desire to throw away books that I've already read.  Time to let go.

THE URGE TO PURGE

The Urge to Purge
O, The Oprah Magazine  |  From the January 2007 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine

Organize Your Stuff!

You know those closets and drawers and cupboards that are so full, they won't quite close?

It turns out they could be bad for your health: Every time you look around and feel anxious that the mess is getting out of hand, your body releases cortisol, one of the classic stress hormones, says Steven Maier, PhD, a neuroscience professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Arianne Cohen, the author of Help, It's Broken! A Fix-It Bible for the Repair-Impaired, asked top organizing experts to help us get a grip.

Keep Your Kitchen Clean

Purging: Even Emeril doesn't need six spatulas and four whisks; two of each will do, so start by tossing extras. While you're at it, check expiration dates on foodstuffs and pitch anything that's past its prime. Next, tackle seldom-used appliances like cappuccino and bread makers. "Those things don't need to live in the kitchen," says Ellen Kosloff, senior professional organizer at TaskMasters New York. "Put up a rack in the garage, or store them on a hallway closet shelf."

Prevention: The number one rule: Keep the counters clear. "Counter space is only for items you use daily," says Barry Izsak, president of the National Association of Professional Organizers. "Everything else can be stored in a cabinet or pantry."

Dust Off That Desk!

Purging: Begin by throwing away the no-brainers, including junk mail, expired coupons, brochures, and catalogs. Next, create desk zones. "Have a bill-paying zone, a stationery zone, a mail zone, and a reading zone," says Kosloff. "Keep everything you need for each activity in neat containers."

Prevention: Tackle your zones weekly, particularly bills and mail. For incoming papers such as children's art or tax information, keep one folder or container for each category, and at the end of the year (or month, if things really pile up fast), choose the keepers and purge the rest.

Liberate Your Library

Purging: Some people would consider it a sacrilege to ever get rid of a book, but if you've decided it's time to winnow, donate all books that don't meet any of these three criteria: books you love, books you read regularly, books whose content can't be found on the Internet.

Prevention: Librarian's rules: No stacking or double shelving allowed. "Group your books into categories like fiction, nonfiction, and travel, so you can see what you have," says Chris McKenry of Get It Together LA. And good news: "Regifting is perfectly acceptable with books."

Tossing Tchotchkes

Purging "You should own nothing that is not useful, beautiful, or loved," says Izsak. If a tchotchke can't pass this test, out it goes.

Prevention: When a new tchotchke comes in, Kosloff suggests immediately rejecting it if you already own something similar. Keep only the little objects you'll use (a vase, a pretty bowl) or that are uniquely meaningful (a handmade gift or travel memento).

A Picture Perfect System

Purging: Keep the gems, toss the rest. "Throw away or delete all the blurry, unflattering, redundant, or bad shots," says Julie Morgenstern, author of Never Check E-mail in the Morning. This strategy is especially effective if you or your partner is a lousy photographer.

Prevention: Don't feel compelled to label every photo. Instead, organize them into broad categories such as "Venice vacation" or "work events," and store them in a labeled photo box or digital folder. Weed out new shots as you take them or as soon as you receive prints.

Reclaim Your Garage

The Garage

Purging: The garage is not a warehouse! Begin by attacking one shelf or corner at a time, and tossing or donating all items you no longer use. Sports equipment your kids have outgrown, the gardening tools for the yard you no longer use—out! Then arrange items by category. "Your garage should be zoned," says McKenry. "You might have a zone for car equipment and a sports zone."

Prevention: Never pile items on the floor; buy new shelves or wall hooks as needed. Kosloff suggests keeping a large donation bin so that family members always have a place to put unused belongings.

Sort Through Makeup

Purging: "Sort through all your half-empty bottles of shampoo, lotion, and makeup, and toss anything you haven't used in six months," Morgenstern says. Group what's left in containers of like products (i.e., rather than having 18 kinds of makeup sitting out on the counter, put it all in one easily accessible container). Morgenstern also uses extra toiletries (unopened, of course) to make hostess baskets for overnight guests.

Prevention: Avoid impulse purchases by buying products only to replace those you're done with.

Cleanse Your Closet

Purging: "Remember that 80 percent of the time, we wear only 20 percent of our clothes," says McKenry. So go through your wardrobe and jettison anything that's one of the four S's: stretched, small, smelly (ew!), or stained (sure, you could clean the stained and smelly pieces, but the idea is to let things go). Another great tip: Turn all your hangers in one direction, and for the next six months, flip the hanger (and leave it flipped) when you wear something. Donate the untouched clothes.

Prevention: "The rule of thumb," says Izsak, "is that when something new comes in, at least one thing—preferably two—must go. And be realistic. If you're a size 10, hold on to the 8s but not the 6s."

MY THOUGHTS

Remember- purge only what you own!

DO BEDBUGS CARRY SUPERBUGS?

Do bedbugs carry superbugs?
Published May 12, 2011

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Researchers in Canada have found bedbugs carrying antibiotic-resistant superbugs, a surprise finding because scientists had thought the pests were not capable of spreading infections.

The study was done by a team in a poor corner of Vancouver, where both bedbug infestations and strains of antibiotic resistant bacteria are increasing.

Dr. Marc Romney, a medical microbiologist at St. Paul's Hospital/Providence Health Care in Vancouver, decided to see if the two were related.

Romney and colleagues removed five of the pests from the clothes and skin of infested patients and tested them.

They found bedbugs carrying two types of drug-resistant bacteria, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant enterococci.

"I was a little surprised. Historically, bedbugs have not been associated with infections," Romney said in a telephone interview.

He said scientists have tested bedbugs to see if they carry blood-borne diseases, such as hepatitis or HIV. But so far, they have not been reported to carry infection.

Infestations of the bloodsucking bugs, which can cause severe itching, have made a comeback in cities such as Paris and New York in recent years.

Romney said the strain of MRSA they found requires skin to be somewhat compromised, and he thinks the bedbugs are providing that as people scratch their bites.

"Maybe the bedbug's bite is breaking down the patient's skin," he said.

He said that some of these pests may be carrying MRSA and going from individual to individual.

"The data are preliminary, but it suggests maybe there is an association," Romney said.

"Even though they can't carry hepatitis B and HIV, maybe they can carry resistant bacteria."

"Maybe it is yet another factor that could be responsible for this large increase in resistant bacteria in inner cities in North America," he said.

MY THOUGHTS

I hate bug bites. They're worse than mosquito bites.  They take longer to heal.  Even the scars from bug bites seem to take forever to fade.  So, don't stop at organizing your closet.  Air the bed.  Change it if you must.

TIPS FOR CLEARING CLUTTER

Clear clutter with tips from author Leah Ingram

1 comment by Katie Aberbach - Apr. 1, 2011 01:32 PM
Washington Post

It's easy to think of reasons to avoid spring cleaning (or cleaning and neatening at any time of the year, really): It's time-consuming, tiring and often frustrating. It reminds you that you've totally bailed on your New Year's resolution. It reminds you just how tiny your closet really is. But there are also reasons to embrace de-cluttering.

Leah Ingram's "Toss, Keep, Sell!" ($15, Adams Media) casts the eternal chore in a new light - a lucrative light, as a matter of fact. Filled with DIY tips for reducing junk, reorganizing essential belongings and selling the possessions you're ready to part with, Ingram's book reveals that even short bursts of cleaning can reap major payoffs. The New Hope, Pa.-based author and blogger (suddenlyfrugal.com) shared her clutter-clearing philosophies.

Question: Why do you recommend quick, intense cleaning sessions rather than a major overhaul?

Answer: The little steps will add up. You have to be nice to yourself and realize that you didn't create this clutter problem in 15 minutes, and you're not going to fix it in 15 minutes. But (spend) 15 minutes (cleaning) once or twice a day for a couple of weeks and you'll be shocked.

You go into it thinking, "I can't get anything done in 15 minutes." And then you come out on the other side and say, "Oh my gosh, I can't believe how much I got done in 15 minutes."

Q: Which common household items make good organizing tools?

A: Hooks. We transformed our mudroom from a dumping ground of sports bags and cleats and field-hockey sticks into a space that you can actually walk through, simply by putting up hooks on three walls. Just getting stuff up off the floor - even if it's not perfectly organized - can go a long way toward making a space act and look more organized.

Q: Which organizational supplies are worth spending money on?

A: A label maker, as silly as that seems, can really help get you organized because there's something about a neat and tidy label on the front of a bunch of boxes that makes things look better. My husband used a label maker to put labels on all of his dresser drawers. It makes putting away laundry a whole lot easier. It's not pretty, though - House Beautiful will probably never come to my house and do a photo shoot. Also, if you know that you're going to donate items on a regular basis or have a yard sale, invest in a couple of big Rubbermaid bins to hold things you're going to give away. You can keep them in your car. That way, they're not cluttering up your home.

Q: Do you recommend holding yard sales to get rid of clutter?

A: I recommend them with a caveat. It's very easy to spend a lot of time organizing a yard sale at your home or in your neighborhood - from setting up to pricing - but not (easy) to get a good return on your investment of time. So, I advocate finding an organized yard sale, flea market or antiques market where you can buy a table.

It sounds counterintuitive, but if you spend $10 or $20 to buy a table at a yard sale that somebody else has organized and somebody else has advertised, it is well worth your time. But be honest with yourself. If you're selling crap that's not going to bring you the $20 that you paid for the table, then just donate your things to a good cause and take the tax write-off.

Q: How does de-cluttering contribute to a home's value?

A: It's pretty simple: When your home is cluttered, when your closets are full, when your basement is packed to the rafters, it makes your home look smaller. It easily turns off would-be buyers because they don't want to know what you've stored in the basement, they don't want to know what kind of shoes you wear, they don't want to see pictures of your family; they almost want a clean slate. Paring down your belongings can be really tough, though.

Q: How do you convince a skeptic that it's worthwhile?

A: You have to think about the old adage, "A picture is worth a thousand words." Every house sells now on the Internet with lots of pictures. You have to make your home look good enough for the photographs that your real-estate agent is eventually going to want to take.

MY THOUGHTS

It is worthwhile.  But it's very hard to convince people who have lived with clutter all their lives.  In fact, they have no idea what clutter is. To de-clutter is to change a lifestyle.  And people have to want to change before any de-cluttering can be done. 

CLOSET CLOGGING HABITS TO BREAK

Attention Shoppers! 3 Closet Clogging Habits to Break Now
Oprah and O's creative director, Adam Glassman, know—these three habits are the quickest way to clog your closet.
By Adam Glassman
O, The Oprah Magazine  |  From the March 2010 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine

1. DON'T BUILD A WARDROBE BASED ON FANTASY

Oprah: "I bought a lot of little bags when I thought I was going to be a 'lady who lunches.' I've never been one, but I've always liked the idea and longed for that life. There's something about dressing up and being ladies—it's like playing house."

Adam Says: "Fashion can help you create an image, but be honest about your lifestyle. Do you really need yachting clothes when you never set foot on a boat? When buying an item, if you can answer 'Where am I going in this?' with at least four legitimate places, you have my blessing."


2. DON'T BUY YOUR FAVORITES OVER AND OVER AND OVER

Oprah: "This suit, I don't know why I have it. I've never even worn it. But when my favorite designer, Gianfranco Ferré, was alive, I never went to Los Angeles or New York without going to his store."

Adam Says: "There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a go-to brand or ensemble. But if you're buying multiples of things, ask yourself: "How many black pants or little gray sweaters do I really need?" Invest in a few high-quality pieces; better craftsmanship and fabrics always last longer."

3. DON'T SHOP FOR THE BEAUTIFUL BUT IMPRACTICAL

Oprah: "I was at Bergdorf Goodman one day, coming up the escalator. And these boots said, 'Helloooo, Opraaaaah.' But did I wear them once? No. I bought them because they were beautiful—because I wanted to look at them."

Adam Says: "I call this trophy shopping. Before you buy, take stock of your closet: What are you missing? Shop for those pieces before impractical items. As for 'closet jewelry'? Hang a few gorgeous items on your closet door, just to make yourself smile."

MY THOUGHTS

i wish i can say i am not guilty.  there was a time i looked around my house and i hated myself. for accumulating so much, for getting things that were not really needed.  i've long since given up those things that cluttered my life.  but i still have a lot to let go of.  a garage sale - that's what i need to plan for.

The Great Kitchen Clean-Up! (Week 5)

The Great Kitchen Clean-Up! (Week 5)
Excerpted from Just Clean Enough ON Jan 3, 2011 at 12:34PM

The Kitchen Calls

Week 5: Monday

Liner Note
20 minutes

Drawers and cabinets looking a little drab? Give them a pick me- up by inserting some drawer and shelf liners. These are easy-to-clean plastic liners with adhesive backing that come in lots of pretty patterns. Before you scoff, consider how these liners can change your life. Not only do they serve to protect your drawers and cabinetry (a big concern, to be sure), they also kick the aesthetic appeal up a notch. You can even get liners in scented varieties, adding another sensory dimension to the experience of looking for a measuring cup. And goodness< knows, the hunt for a measuring cup should be a stimulating one.

Week 5: Tuesday

It’s a Bird. It’s a Plane. It’s a Grapefruit!
15 minutes

By now, you should be storing most of your fruit in the fridge (see “Relocate Fruit to the Fridge”), but there may be some stragglers (bananas, ripening apricots, plums, and so on) that you don’t know what to do with. Pick up a handy-dandy hanging basket set, which gets fruits and veggies up off the counter and into the air. Most hanging baskets have two or three tiers; you can devote one to fruits, one to vegetables, and one to the special items that don’t play well with others. For example, bananas emit ethylene, a gas that causes other fruit to ripen at an increased rate. And garlic can transfer its strong smell to other fruits and vegetables it’s hanging out with. Keep these separate from the group, and everyone will be happier.

Week 5: Wednesday

You Stink, Microwave
5 minutes

Got a smelly microwave with splatters and smears of food as decoration? Time to do something about it. Fill a microwaveable bowl three-quarters of the way with water and add ¼ cup lemon juice to the bowl. Put the bowl with the water-lemon juice mixture into the microwave and run it on high for one minute. When it beeps, remove the bowl and wipe out the microwave using a damp rag or sponge and the condensation that has formed from the lemon water. And there you have it: a nice, clean microwave that smells lemony fresh! 

Week 5: Thursday

Buy a Breadbox
10 minutes

If you’re like most families, you don’t really know what to do with all the bread you buy. Maybe it’s tossed on the top of your fridge or piled up on your counter. Solve this problem by heading to your local Ikea (or Target, or anywhere you can buy kitchen items) and pick up a breadbox. Gather all your loaves, rolls, and muffins together and put them in their new, crumbfree home. As a bonus, you now have a visual for all those times when someone asks you if an item is “bigger than a breadbox.” 

Week 5: Friday

Control Coffeemaker Chaos
10 minutes

Coffee is delicious, and the caffeine sure does come in handy, but is all this really necessary? You have a French press on the counter, a drip coffeemaker on the table, and a moka pot on the stovetop. There’s also a bag of coffee beans, a grinder, a package of filters, a strainer . . . the list goes on forever. To simplify, choose your favorite style of coffee and get rid of the rest. Give the extraneous machinery and coffee to a good cause, such as your coworker who oversleeps and arrives late to work every day. Both your kitchen—and your coworker—will thank you.

Week 5: Saturday

Got Stovetop Splatters?
30 minutes

There are two ways to clean a stovetop: the hard way and the easy way. The hard way involves rubber gloves and scrubber sponges and elbow grease. Sounds fun, right? Not so much. To that end, we’re going to keep it simple and just talk about the easy way to get rid of that caked-on stovetop gunk. Simply spray the surface with an all-purpose kitchen cleaner, such as Formula 409, and let it sit for about twenty minutes. Then take a damp sponge and wipe up the splatters, which should have softened for easy cleanup. Also make sure you clean the area around the burners. If it’s a gas stove, remove the burner plates and soak them in hot, soapy water while you let the allpurpose cleaner do its work on the stovetop. When you come back, just rinse the burner plates, wipe off the stovetop, and you’re ready to go do something a lot more fun.

Week 5: Sunday

Create a Cooking Station
10 minutes

If you cook at home a lot, you probably have a few spices, oils, or other staples that you use in most of your recipes. A great way to prevent unnecessary trips to the cabinet and to make cooking easier is to set up a little station right next to your stove. A great tool to use is a desktop organizer, which has lots of slots and sections for a variety of different-sized items. For example, you might keep a set of salt and pepper shakers in the notepad holder, a small bottle of olive oil where the Wite-Out would go, and a couple of mixing utensils in the pen cup. Many of these desktop organizers are on turntables for easy access to all the products therein.

MY THOUGHTS

i'm lucky i don't have a stove.  but the microwave needs some cleaning. i wonder where i could get those scented cabinet liners.  i really like that idea.

Great Kitchen Clean-Up! (Week 4)

The Great Kitchen Clean-Up! (Week 4)
Excerpted from Just Clean Enough ON Jan 3, 2011 at 12:34PM

The Kitchen Calls

Week 4: Monday

Pare Down Plastics
20 minutes

A familiar slapstick scene played out in kitchens far and wide is opening a cabinet door and being awash in a shower of tubs and lids. Don’t let this happen to you! First, buy plastic containers in a single shape. Go for square or round, but don’t have both. Mismatched shapes will take up extra cabinet space and prevent you from stacking to the max. Mount a separate rack for lids inside the cabinet door and your shelves will look department-store neat. Also, are you still squirreling away the plastic tubs and containers from cottage cheese, margarine, and Chinese takeout? Do you really need to save every last one of them? Instead, recycle them or donate them to a school art class.

Week 4: Tuesday

Hang It Up!
20 minutes

Are you running low on cabinet space but have some good looking pots and pans or mugs that you wouldn’t mind putting on display? Overhead pot racks suspended from the ceiling are a creative use of air space. Make sure the rack is securely bolted in place and up to the task of handling a heavy weight load. Hanging pot racks run the gamut of styles, from ornate ironwork to thin minimalist wooden strips, to match just about any décor. Some have built-in shelves for lids or additional display storage. You can also install a few hooks underneath a cabinet to hang attractive mugs or teacups. This will free up some cabinet space while adding a homey touch to the look of the room. 

Week 4: Wednesday

Attention, Magnet Maniacs!
15 minutes

In many homes, the refrigerator winds up becoming a giant, messy canvas for magnet collages. While it’s nice to have the phone number of your favorite pizza delivery service handy, and it’s easy to tack up all the photos of your nieces and nephews you get in holiday cards, you can put the refrigerator’s magnetic properties to better use. Instead, make your magnets into a work of art. Buy a magnetic board and install it on a wall in your kitchen. Display magnets from trips you’ve taken or choose a few of your favorite photos and put them in magnetic frames. Just don’t go overboard.

Week 4: Thursday

Find a Place for Pesky Plastic Bags
15 minutes

From grocery bags to the bags the newspaper comes in, plastic bags are everywhere. While they are useful to hang on to, things can quickly get out of hand. Instead of just shoving them in the cabinet under the kitchen sink or stuffing them into a drawer, come up with a system that saves space by making the bags as compact as possible. For instance, pick up a plastic bag holder that can be mounted on the inside of a cabinet door, or a hanging sleeve that can go in a pantry or closet. Load bags into the top of the device, pressing down in order to remove all the air, and then, when you need a bag, just pull one from the bottom.

Week 4: Friday

Filter Water at the Source
20 minutes

If you’re someone who doesn’t like to drink water straight from the tap, you may be the proud owner of one of those large, plastic filtering jugs. While it’s nice to have cold, filtered water at the ready, this device takes up a lot of space in your fridge or on your countertop. An alternative is a filtering fixture that can be installed right on your kitchen faucet. Most of these fixtures have on and off settings or can simply be moved aside when you’re just washing dishes and don’t need filtered water. This device does have a filter that will need to be changed every so often, but overall it will save some precious space and make your kitchen a little less cluttered.

Week 4: Saturday

Do Some Drawer and Cabinet Maintenance
40 minutes

Take a tour of your kitchen. Are there any drawers with missing pulls or wheels that have come off the track? Are there any cabinets with creaky hinges or doors that don’t close all the way? If you have missing or damaged drawer pulls, take this opportunity to choose a new design and replace them all. For creaky hinges, apply some household lubricant and open and close the cabinet door two or three times to help it circulate. If you find a cabinet door that always hangs open just slightly, pick up a cabinet magnet kit. Simply affix one magnet to the surface of the open cabinet and the other to the inside of the cabinet door. When you close the door, they should meet and attract, keeping the door closed.

Week 4: Sunday

Get a Knife Makeover
20 minutes

What kind of shape are your knives in? Are the blades dull and the handles loose? Dull blades require you to put in twice the effort, and loose handles can cause you to slip and cut yourself. While you don’t need more stuff on your kitchen countertop, there is one item that is worth the several square inches it takes up: a knife block. Essentially, it’s just a block of wood with slits of different sizes for all your different size knives: the chopping knife, the bread knife, the paring knife, and so on. Some knife blocks also come with a sharpener so you can sharpen your own knives at home. Others include slots for kitchen shears and other handy tools. If counter space is seriously at a premium, another option is a wall-mounted magnetic knife strip. 

MY THOUGHTS

i plead guilty. once again on all counts.  but i've taken action.  yes, i've thrown away all those plastic containers.  for someone whose meals are almost always store-bought, those containers can accumulate.and i promised myself to just keep on throwing them away.  washing them and stacking them up defeats the purpose.

The Great Kitchen Clean-Up! (Week 3)

The Great Kitchen Clean-Up! (Week 3)
Excerpted from Just Clean Enough ON Jan 3, 2011 at 12:34PM

The Kitchen Calls

Week 3: Monday

Evaluate Your Oven Mitts
10 minutes

What’s the current oven mitt situation in your kitchen? Do you have too many and have trouble finding a place to put them all? You only need two oven mitts (because you only have two hands) and maybe three or four potholders in your kitchen. More than that are unnecessary and will take up space needed for other things. Are your oven mitts and potholders old, burned, torn, or otherwise ineffectual? Make sure these items are of high quality and are thick enough so you don’t feel any heat coming through them. The minute one of these pops a hole, throw it out. A third-degree burn will not help you in your reorganization efforts.

Week 3: Tuesday

Start Composting
5 minutes

Banana peels, eggshells, coffee grounds, and other food scraps may seem like garbage, but they can actually have a second life as compost. If you’re a gardener, decomposed food scraps can provide rich nutrients to your soil. Instead of scraping off your plates into the trashcan or garbage disposal, put fruit and vegetable scraps into an airtight jug. As these items slowly decompose, add them to your soil for the health of your plants. You can also buy small, discreet countertop compost pails at many home stores. These items make it easy to gather food waste indoors while keeping odors to a minimum. You can store a compost pail under the sink, on the counter, or in a cabinet for accessibility.

Week 3: Wednesday

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
15 minutes

Yes, recycling is important, but so is a system that works for you—and having recyclables stacked willy-nilly in your kitchen isn’t it. Instead, purchase a recycling sorter with at least two different bins: one for plastic and glass, one for paper products. Keep in mind, however, that, like trash, even well-rinsed bottles and cans will create a sticky, stinky residue in your bin. Wash it frequently to keep your kitchen smelling fresh.

Week 3: Thursday

Create a Family Message Center
20 minutes

If you share your household with other people, chances are you all have very different schedules that are hard to coordinate. To make things easier—and to avoid accumulating piles of calendars and to-do lists—create a family message center in the kitchen. This message center may include a large corkboard or dry-erase board for posting messages and slots for sorting mail. You can also maintain a food-shopping list that all members of the family can contribute to. Everyone in the family will know to check the message board so that even when schedules conflict, you and your family members can communicate about upcoming events and household chores.

Week 3: Friday

Establish a Coupon System
20 minutes

How would you like to save $5, $10, or even $20 every time you shop for groceries? If this sounds appealing, coupon clipping may be for you. Searching for and clipping coupons from the newspaper or from advertising circulars can be a timeconsuming task, but many people enjoy it as a relaxing rainyday activity. Use a binder with clear pockets to sort, categorize, and store your coupons. For example, you may have categories called Cleaning Products and Pet Care Products, and you simply place all related coupons in that category within the same pocket. An alternative is to use a small file box and store your coupons alphabetically, either by product name or brand name. As a general rule, clip and store coupons for only those products you already use or definitely want to try. If you're not careful, your coupon file could easily get cluttered with coupons you have no intention of using.

Week 3: Saturday

Round Up Your Recipes
20 minutes

If you enjoy cooking, chances are you’ve acquired many recipes in many different forms—from cookbooks and magazine clippings to printouts from the Internet and handwritten notes from friends and family. Instead of shoving crumpled pieces of paper in all available nooks and crannies and struggling to find the recipe you want when you want it, pick up a three-ring binder with dividers along with a bunch of clear plastic sleeves that you can insert papers into. Divide the binder into sections, such as Appetizers, Chicken Dishes, Desserts, and so on, and then file your recipes within the binder. Keep it with your cookbooks, on a shelf in the kitchen. An alternative is to file your recipes in a file cabinet or recipe box.

Week 3: Sunday

Take a Look at Lighting
30 minutes

The way that you light your kitchen will have a dramatic effect on how you work and feel in that space. Oftentimes kitchens have harsh overhead lights that glare on all who enter. Ideally, you’ll have a few different types of lighting so that you can alternate them depending on your needs and the time of day. Invest in lighting that you love—lamps can work in a kitchen, as can beam or spot lights that will give you soft, steady light
in exactly the place where you need it. Soft, ample light can increase your efficiency, improve your mood, and transform your kitchen into a place of peace and hospitality.

MY THOUGHTS

come to think of it, why is this kitchen clean-up for the whole week? how about us working ladies?  well, there are weekends. an uncluttered kitchen will save you a lot of food preparation time during the busy weekdays.  why is it i don't have a single oven mitt?

The Great Kitchen Clean-Up! (Week 2)

The Great Kitchen Clean-Up!
Excerpted from Just Clean Enough ON Jan 3, 2011 at 12:34PM

The Kitchen Calls

Week 2: Monday

Pay the Fridge a Visit
30 minutes

Ah, the refrigerator. You’ve probably been avoiding this one. Spoiled food, old, sticky spills . . . who wants to dive into that? Whether you want to or not, this task is a must. The first step in organizing your refrigerator is to empty it out and clean it, but you can do this a little at a time. Remove all the items from one shelf and wipe it down. Once that’s done, start sorting. Throw away anything that’s expired or questionable and let go of items that you know you’ll never eat. Next, take inventory of the items that remain and decide how you’ll organize them. Keep similar items together. Take full advantage of the drawers, shelves, and refrigerator door.

Week 2: Tuesday

Get Rid of Lingering Smells
5 minutes

Even if your fridge is white-glove clean (and let’s be honest here, it probably isn’t), it may still smell a little. It makes sense, though, right? Think of everything you keep in your fridge: fish, yesterday’s takeout, burritos, cat food, curry, cheese, and plenty of items that are just waiting for next week’s trash day, like just-past-its-expiration-date milk, fruit, and so on. You name it . . . it’s stored in your fridge. An easy way to solve this problem is to stick an open container or box of baking soda in the back of your fridge. The baking soda will suck up the majority of smells and keep your fridge smelling like a dream—or a just-clean-enough fridge as the case may be.

Week 2: Wednesday

Control Your Cutlery
15 minutes

If you’re like most people, you probably have a cutlery drawer that is brimming with more than just cutlery. Perhaps you’ve got a few rubber bands, some plastic baggies, a box of toothpicks, a set of corncob holders, and a bundle of twist ties. Sound familiar? Here’s what you do: Remove everything from the drawer that is not a fork, knife, or spoon. If you don’t already have one, buy yourself a cutlery holder to help keep the drawer organized. Also, make sure you have the right number of pieces of cutlery for your situation. If you have a family of seven, you’re going to need more than three forks. If you live alone, you probably don’t need sixteen spoons. Take out any extras and donate them. You’ll be much happier when you can open that drawer and see exactly what you
need.

Week 2: Thursday

Relocate Fruit to the Fridge
5 minutes

A bowl of fresh fruit can look lovely on a counter or tabletop, but if you have a small kitchen, it might also be contributing to a cluttered look. If this is the case in your kitchen, consider moving your fresh fruit to the refrigerator. But before you do so, check the ripeness. Most fruits, like lemons, oranges, apples and grapes, do not continue to ripen after they’ve been picked, so they’ll do best in your refrigerator. In fact, they will stay fresher longer in the fridge, especially in the hot summer months. However, fruits like mangos and nectarines will continue to ripen in your fruit bowl on the counter, so if they’re harder than you’d like when you buy them, leave them out for a few days before transferring them to the fridge. And finally, never put bananas in the refrigerator as they will turn brown in no time.

Week 2: Friday

Try Nesting
10 minutes

This is not a recommendation that you have a child in order to get your kitchen organized; that would actually be counterproductive. We’re talking about kitchen items that come in various sizes that can be stacked and stored together—taking up less space. Nesting mixing bowls are great for various tasks. Use the smallest bowl to beat an egg, the medium-sized bowl to prepare a fruit salad, and the largest bowl to mix up a big batch of cookie dough. Drinking glasses that fit inside one another will take up less space in your cabinet, and nesting measuring cups will only need a corner of a drawer. So if you have nesting items already, make sure they are being stored together. If you don’t have these, consider replacing older items with these space savers.

Week 2: Saturday

Bring Order to Your Brooms and Mops
10 minutes

Brooms, mops, dusters, and similar items can be tough to place in the home. Many people keep them in the kitchen, but they’re not that pretty to look at so you don’t want them out in the open. What you need is a tall, narrow space where these will be accessible but still out of the way. This might be a corner of your food pantry or the sliver of space between your fridge and the wall. Wherever you choose to stash these items, be sure that you keep them neat and tidy. Don’t hang on to ratty old brooms and mops that are past their prime. A hair-clogged broom or filthy mop head will only transfer hair, dust, and dirt back onto your floors.

Week 2: Sunday

Clear Off Tops of Cabinets
30 minutes

While you may think no one really notices, all that stuff you store on top of your cabinets gives your kitchen a cluttered, messy look. See if you can relocate some of those items to places that are out of sight. Your kitchen will look cleaner and more spacious this way. If you absolutely need to utilize the space on top of your cabinets for storage, pick up some attractive baskets or bins that complement the existing décor. That way, you can store items in a neat and organized fashion that won’t detract from the overall look of the room.

MY THOUGHTS

that' right!  i'm not eager to dive into my ref. i already did anyway.  and i can almost  feel my ref smiling back at me.  it's not squeaky clean.  but i can see what's inside.  as for the broom, i don't have one.  there's no where to store it. and i don't need it.  my sister gave me this heavenly tool. you wrap those special napkins for dusting on the rectangular base,put together the long handle. dust and dirt stick to it like magic.  i don't even need a dustpan.  i use the same on the walls and ceilings.  if you want to mop, there's the wet type of paper.  very easy to use and very easy to store.

Great Kitchen Clean-Up (Week 1)

The Great Kitchen Clean-Up! (Week 1)

Did you cook up a storm all holiday season long? Time to give your overworked kitchen some attention. Try this week-by-week clean kitchen makeover plan, excerpted from the new book Just Clean Enough by I.B Caruso and Jenny Schroedel (37 Photos)

Excerpted from Just Clean Enough ON Jan 3, 2011 at 12:34PM

The Kitchen Calls

Stand mixer. Coffee maker. Athletic equipment? Sound familiar? Yes, the kitchen tends to be a gathering place in the house. Great! You want to be able to socialize. But you don’t want it to turn into a storage locker, home office, or a playroom. What to do with all that crap currently piled up on your counters? Get it out of there! You want a clean, organized, beautiful kitchen, so roll up your sleeves and get down to business.

Love these tips and tricks? Find out how to clean and organize your entire home with cleaning experts I.B Caruso, Jenny Schroedel and their new book, Just Clean Enough.

Plus, get more kitchen design ideas with our Home Inspiration Galleries!

Week 1: Monday

Clear Off Those Counters
20 minutes

Believe it or not, your kitchen is not actually the best place for your laptop, your son’s backpack, last week’s newspaper, the unfolded laundry, or that birthday gift for your niece that you haven’t gotten a chance to mail yet. Assess the items on your counters. Do all of them belong there? Remove those that don’t and evaluate those that remain. Are there small appliances on your counters that you don’t use often? Tuck them away in a cabinet or give them to someone who will use them. To free up counter space, utilize a paper-towel rack that hangs on the wall and consider appliances (such as a microwave) that can be installed under your cabinets.

Week 1: Tuesday

Take Out the Trash
10 minutes

Is your trashcan working for you? This may sound like a ridiculous question, but one of the most common problem areas of the kitchen is the trash. Take a look at your trashcan. If it’s broken, missing its lid, or just not meeting your needs, kick it to the curb and get a new one. Trashcans with lids are ideal for keeping bad smells in and pets out, and a can with a foot pedal keeps your hands free from bacteria when throwing things away. Once you have a trashcan that meets your needs, take care of it. Clean it and spray it with disinfectant on a regular basis.

Week 1: Wednesday

Dish Rack Duty
5 minutes

If you do your dishes by hand, you probably have a dish rack next to your sink. This is fine, but if your dish rack has been taken over by yucky stains and buildup, throw it out and get a new one. Going forward, clean your dish rack regularly and put away your dishes as soon as they’re dry. If you leave them sitting there, other members of your household will just pile theirs on top, and before you know it you’ll have a leaning tower of plates—and an ideal climate for mold and bacteria—on your hands.

Week 1: Thursday

What’s under the Kitchen Sink?
20 minutes

Most likely the cabinet under your kitchen sink is brimming with household cleaners. Open up this cabinet and go through the items one by one. Separate those that you use on a regular basis from those that you never use or can’t identify. Don’t pour these cleaners down the drain or throw them in the trash; they may be toxic. Contact your local environmental agency or government office to find out how to dispose of these items safely. Once you’ve whittled your cleaners down to the necessities, wipe out the cabinet and replace them in an orderly fashion. Consider investing in adjustable-height shelving that slides out along rails and is specially designed to fit around awkward drainpipes.

Week 1: Friday

Keep Spices Looking Nice
15 minutes

The spice rack or cabinet is typically a war zone. But take heart! There are a few different solutions to this problem. If you keep your spices in a cabinet, consider investing in a lazy Susan. The turntable action of this device offers 360-degree access to stored items. You could also buy a wall-mounted spice rack and hang it near your stove or another area where you prepare food. Then your spices will be right at your fingertips. You can also get small canisters that have magnets on the back so you can store items on your refrigerator. If your fridge is
near your cooking area, this might be the perfect spice solution for you.

Week 1: Saturday

Make a Mess
40 minutes

Ever heard the expression, “It has to get worse before it gets better”? This applies perfectly to the task at hand. Before you can organize your kitchen, you have to pull it apart and see what’s there. That means emptying all cabinets and sorting through items one at a time. To begin, pull everything out of a single cabinet and take a look at the contents. What do you need and what can you get rid of? As you reduce the bulk in each cabinet, you’ll find that it will be much easier to keep it clean.

Week 1: Sunday

Just Say No to Junk
20 minutes

Ever heard the term junk drawer? Chances are you have at least one in your kitchen. When going through these, take on the role of a drill sergeant. Inspect each item and be merciless. Any chipped, broken, or outdated items go straight into the trash. If you find yourself hemming and hawing over something, throw it out. Ask yourself when you last used your strawberry huller, apple corer, or hard-boiled-egg slicer. If you can’t remember, you have your answer. And don’t hang onto things because you just might need them one day. Anything that’s outlived its usefulness in your home might just find a purpose in someone else’s.

MY THOUGHTS

i don't think i have a kitchen!  i have a small sink, a ref, a microwave, a coffee maker, a kettle, a waffle maker and a solo blender. imagine all of them cramped in 2 small counter tops. together with all the glass jars and stuff.  and yes, sometimes, the laptop joins them in that clutter.

well, finally, the mess got too much.  i found this article (a series).  and my counter tops look so neat i don't want to use it.  i still need to attack the cabinets.  i enjoy organizing anyway.

Cleaning Your House with Ketchup and Mayonnaise?

30 Ways to Clean Naturally
Skip harsh cleaning products—your pantry already has everything you need to keep a tidy home
Erin Renzas ON Nov 4, 2010 at 6:50PM

Ketchup: Shine Your Copper

How to do it: Apply the ketchup to a rag and rub onto tarnished copper or brass cookware. Let sit for a minute, and then buff clean and rinse. The acidity of the ketchup will help lift and remove tarnish and return pots to their shiny state.

Vodka: Keep Aphids Away

How to do it: Don’t let little aphids torture your houseplants. Wipe down plans with a water-soaked cloth. Next, soak a cotton ball in vodka (not the good stuff—save that for your martini). Gently dab leaves with the vodka for an aphid-free plant.

Apple Peels: Clean Discolored Aluminum Saucepans

How to do it: Start by peeling two apples. Place the peels in the saucepan and add enough water to cover the peels. Bring the water and peels to boil for several minutes until the stain begins to lift. Turn off the pot and let the water cool. Discard the water and peels, dry the pan and voila!

Leftover Wine: Keep Fruit Flies Away

How to do it: Fill a wine bottle or other narrow-necked bottle with two inches of wine. Add three drops of liquid dish soap. Create a funnels out of paper, leaving a small hole at the tip. Secure funnel seam with tape, and tape it to the top of the bottle. Leave it where you notice the fruit flies and it will quickly decrease their numbers!

Mayonnaise: Remove Crayon from Wood Furniture

How to do it: Sure, the thought of slathering your household wares with mayonnaise may be less than appealing, but some people swear by it. Did your tot get a little carried away while coloring? Remove crayon marks from wood furniture by rubbing a dab of mayo on the mark. Let it sit for five minutes and wipe it away with a damp cOil and Lemon Juice: Shine Your Wood Furniture

How to do it: Mix oil and lemon juice two parts to one and use the solution to give furniture an extra polish.

Vinegar: Clean the Microwave

How to do it: Combine 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup distilled vinegar in a microwave-safe mug or bowl. Microwave for two minutes and wipe clean. The vinegar helps to lift baked-on food and stains.

Salt: Clean a Glass Coffeepot

How to do it: Fill the coffeepot with 1/4 cup table salt and a dozen ice cubes. Swish the mixture around, let it sit for half an hour, fill it with cold water and rinse.

Salt and Vinegar: Clean Tarnished Copper

How to do it: Fill a 16-ounce spray bottle with hot white vinegar and three tablespoons of salt. Spray it onto the copper, let it sit briefly, and then rub clean. (Don’t do this to lacquered copper.)

Salt: Pick Up a Dropped Egg

How to do it: If an egg breaks on the kitchen floor, sprinkle salt on the mess and leave it there for 20 minutes. You’ll be able to wipe it right up

Salt and Lemon Juice: Clean Brass and Pewter

How to do it: Sprinkle salt on to the cut side of half a lemon. Rub down the metal, rinse and buff dry. The same process can also be used to remove rust stains.

Salt and Rubbing Alcohol: Clean Up a Grease Stain

How to do it: Got a grease stain on your favorite carpet? Try this! Mix salt and rubbing alcohol one part to four. Rub into the stain, going the same direction as the nap of the carpet. Let dry and vacuum up excess salt.

Salt: Treat Red Wine Stains

How to do it: Blot fabric or carpet to remove excess wine. Sprinkle with salt and let sit for a few minutes. Rinse with cold water and repeat if necessary.

Baking Soda: Clean Children’s Toys Safely

How to do it: Combine four tablespoons baking soda with one quart of water. Use the solution to wipe off toys.

Baking Soda: Clean Bathroom Grout

How to do it: Make a paste of water and baking soda. Using a small brush or toothbrush, rub the paste onto stained or dirty grout. Let sit for three minutes and rinse.

Baking Soda: Clean the Dishwasher

How to do it: If your dishwasher has a funky scent, try this: Empty all dishes. Clean out the food filter. Next, fill the detergent well with baking soda and run on empty.

Salt: Drip-Proof Your Candles

How to do it: Everyone loves the soft glow of candlelight—but not the icky stains they can leave behind when they drip on your favorite tablecloth. To prevent this, soak candles in a saltwater solution for several hours and dry thoroughly before lighting.

Baking Soda: Clean and Deodorize the Refrigerator

How to do it: Sprinkle baking soda on a damp sponge and scrub down the inside of your refrigerator. Rinse the sponge and wipe down with fresh water.

Vinegar: Remove Gunk from Base of Faucets

How to do it: Soak a towel or paper towel with white vinegar. Wrap around the base of the faucet and let sit for 25 minutes. Remove towels and wipe clean.

Vinegar: Remove Stickers, Labels and Price Tags

How to do it: Soak a cloth in vinegar and press to sticker for several minutes. Lift and the sticker should peel easily away.

Vinegar: Remove Mineral Deposits from Shower Heads

How to do it: Heat white vinegar in large pot, but do not boil. Place showerhead in pot and allow it to soak for one hour. Remove and rinse.

Cornmeal: Remove Dust from Silk Flowers

How to do it: Place one large paper grocery bag inside another. Place flowers inside and add two handfuls of coarsely ground cornmeal. Close bags tightly and shake vigorously.

Vinegar: Wash the Windows

How to do it: Combine equal parts water and white vinegar in a spray bottle and go to town!

Baking Soda: Clean Baked-On Oven Spills

How to do it: Make a paste of three parts baking soda to one part water. Apply to the spill and let sit overnight. Wipe clean with a wet sponge.

Baking Soda: Clean Baked-On Oven Spills

How to do it: Make a paste of three parts baking soda to one part water. Apply to the spill and let sit overnight. Wipe clean with a wet sponge.

Baking Soda and Vinegar: Unclog the Drain

How to do it: Sprinkle 1/2 cup baking soda down the drain. Chase with 1/2 cup vinegar and close drain (or try covering with this universal drain stop). Let the fizzing baking soda break up the clog for 15 minutes and flush with hot water.

Toothpaste: Nix Stubborn Water Rings from Wood Furniture

How to do it: With a slightly damp, soft cloth, rub a pea-sized amount of toothpaste into the stain. Wipe off excess paste with a clean cloth. Repeat if necessary.

Mayonnaise: Clean Yellowed, Dull Piano Keys

How to do it: Apply a small amount of mayonnaise to the keys. Wait two to three minutes. Wipe off and buff with a soft, clean cloth.

Tea Tree Oil: Disinfect Your Counters

How to do it: Combine 15 drops of the essential oil with one quart of water in a spray bottle. Use as you would any disinfectant.

Toothpaste: Remove Scratches from Acrylic Home Decor

How to do it: Buff a pea-sized amount of toothpaste into the scratches until they begin to fade. Wipe clean.

Vegetable Oil: Prevent Rattan and Wicker Furniture from Cracking

How to do it: Use a soft, clean cloth to apply a coating of vegetable oil to furniture. Wipe off any excess for shiny, beautiful furniture.

Lemon Juice: Disinfect and Clean a Cutting Board

How to do it: Scrub the cut side of a lemon along the board. Let sit for 20 minutes and rinse with hot water.

MY THOUGHTS

i am so tempted to drop an egg on the floor just to test if the salt works.  i have so many things to try.  i hope you try some too and let me know if it works.

Cleaning Tips that Prevent Colds

Cleaning Tips That Prevent Colds
Kick germs to the curb this cold and flu season with these simple cleaning strategies

Christine Coppa ON Dec 6, 2010 at 1:11PM
Launder Communal Blankets and Pillows

Cold winter days mean lots of family togetherness on the couch, snacking and watching movies. With the heat turned up and various bodies sharing blankets, pillows and cushions, remember to clean that cozy spot. "Wash shared blankets twice a month using your washer's hot cycle. Wash pillowcases at least biweekly, also in the hot cycle," suggests Julie Edelman, author of The Ultimate Accidental Housewife.

You can't throw the whole couch in the wash (bummer!), so clean it with a HEPA-filter vacuum; this type of filter works by trapping even the smallest air particles. The best part is that a HEPA filter doesn't blow soiled air from vents; only clean air comes out. This will keep dust and mites at bay.

Disinfect Your Cell Phone

Did you know that your cell phone is dirtier than a toilet seat or the soles of your shoes? Even worse, "Germs love the heat generated by your cell phone and multiply when combined with the moisture from your breath," says Edelman. To combat this, wipe your phone with an antibacterial wipe that contains alcohol and benzethonium chloride—a combination that is effective against killing staph and salmonella. Wipe down TV remotes, too.

Clean the Computer Keyboard

The keyboard of your family's computer—where you check email and your children play games—is another germ hot spot. Here's Edelman's tip for cleaning it properly: First, power down the computer and unplug the keyboard. Then stand over the garbage can or sink and gently smack the keyboard's back (this will loosen up dirt, crumbs and other debris that have fallen between the keys). Use a blow-dryer on cool to gently blow away remaining debris from the keyboard. Then grab an antibacterial wipe that is damp (not dripping) and gently wipe down computer's surfaces to kill germs.

Tip: Use a Q-tip dampened with rubbing alcohol to get at the gunk between the keys and the crevices. Because alcohol is 70 percent isopropanol (a disinfectant) and 30 percent water, it combats germs in a safe, nonabrasive way.

Wash Those Toys

Plastic toys—like trucks, dolls, cars and blocks—need to be cleaned weekly to prevent the spread of germs. Fill the kitchen sink or a big basin with two parts hot water and one part white vinegar (which has acetic properties that not only work as an antiseptic, but also kill germs). "Let the toys soak for 15 minutes," says Edelman. "Then, rinse with hot water and towel dry."

And don't be fooled by bath toys—just because your kid is getting clean in the tub doesn't mean the stacking cups, ducks and boats are squeaky clean, too! Edelman suggests investing in a net bag that can hang on a shower rack. After bath time, quickly rinse all of the toys with hot water and throw them into the net to air dry. If you notice that rubber toys are filled with trapped water, it's time to toss 'em, because they're also likely filled with mold.

Use Disinfectant Wipes

Disinfectant wipes are your best friend at this time of year. "I like to leave containers of disinfectant wipes around the house, so when I'm chatting on the phone, I can just grab and wipe," says Edelman. "Doorknobs, the refrigerator handle, light switches and toilet flushers are hot zones, meaning they are highly trafficked—wipe them down a couple of times per week with little or no effort. If people in your home are sick, wipe them down daily." Look for wipes, like these from Seventh Generation, that are effective against the influenza A virus.

Steam Clean the Floors

The floor in your entryway is likely crawling with germs because it's highly trafficked. "Surfaces like tile and hardwood floors are breeding grounds for infections, particularly in the winter, when people are cooped indoors with the heat pumped high,"  notes Andrew Sagan, M.D., the medical director of pediatric services at Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago. Send these germs packing by steam cleaning with a product like the Shark Vac-Then-Steam. When steam is forced onto a surface, the very small vapor molecules penetrate pores in the surface. The vapor molecules quickly expand to force out and kill bacteria. "Steam is proven to eliminate 99 percent of germs and bacteria—including the virus that causes H1N1," says Dr. Sagan.

Scrub Sippy Cups

Germs multiply and move quickly, especially on items that are in regular contact with your child's hot mouth. Some sippy cups, like the ones with straws, come in parts and need to be disassembled and sanitized after each use to prevent the spread of germs. "Rinse sippy cups, pacifiers and bottles with hot water in the sink immediately after use, then wash in the dishwasher using the high-heat cycle and allow items to air dry," says Edelman. "And make sure your kids aren't sharing their pacifiers and cups."

Clean Heat and AC Vents

Vents that cool and heat the home need extra attention during cold and flu season. The debris inside may look like plain old dust, but it's really harboring things like pet hair, allergens and germs—and therefore blowing this into the open air when the heat is functioning. The solution: Remove vent covers and vacuum inside ducts with a HEPA filter.

Launder Shared Bathroom Towels

The pretty hand towel in the bathroom remains there for days at a time. But it should be washed in the hot cycle daily to prevent colds. (Germs can live for several hours on cloth towels.) If that's too much for you, consider using paper towels or bathroom napkins for hand washing.

MY THOUGHTS

too much effort?  not if you love your kids.  or yourself.  common colds can still bring a lot of discomfort. and you don't want to spend on medicine what you could spend for something else.  i never really thought of disinfecting my cell phone or my keyboard.  now i know better.

Closet organizing: Ways to Declutter

Ten Ways to Declutter Your Home

By Peter Walsh
The Oprah Winfrey Show
February 07, 2007

Is clutter taking over your home? Peter Walsh has 10 easy ways you can de-clutter your home and your life today.

How to Keep Your House Clutter-Free

•Tackle messes one room at a time.

•When you buy something new, practice the "in-out rule:" For every one new item, get rid of an old one.

•Create intimacy in the master bedroom. Remember that improvements in one room can spread to the rest of the house.

•Make cleaning up fun for your kids.

•Create a vision for the room you're cleaning.

•Teach your kids how to sort.

•Use a hanger system to determine which clothes you wear most.

•Ask yourself if you really need something. If you hesitate, you don't.

•Establish a "magic triangle" in your kitchen between the stove, refrigerator and the sink. Keep the items you use most in that area.

•Identify useful utensils with the cardboard box test.

MY THOUGHTS

i will challenge myself to practice the "in-out rule". which means that i shouldn't buy anything until after i've done a lot of "outs". i've no problme with my place in the city. my room in the province is another matter. it's such a mess i can't locate things anymore. time. i need time.

Closet organizing: conquer clutter

Conquering Clutter

.By Peter Walsh
The Oprah Winfrey Show
January 01, 2006

If you had to step over piles of clothes, papers and unidentifiable "stuff" just to get to your computer, you're not alone. Organizational guru Peter Walsh, host of TLC's hit show Clean Sweep, says millions of Americans are drowning in clutter.

Studies show that although families are smaller, homes are larger than ever. Even with more square feet of living space, many Americans still fill attics, basements and storage units with stuff. Peter blames overstuffed spaces on our super-size mentality. "We're in a culture that says more is better," he says. "We've been led to believe that things bring us happiness."

For more than 10 years, Peter has helped pack rats organize their homes and reclaim their lives. His techniques go well beyond color-coded boxes and plastic storage bins. Peter says he helps people uncover what's really going on underneath all that junk, which often leads to life-changing breakthroughs.

"[Stuff] robs people of so much," he says. "If your house is full of stuff, all the blessings that could fill your house can't get in. The stuff takes over. It robs you psychologically. You can't be at peace."

Don't distress over your mess—learn to conquer your clutter one room at a time.

Tip 1: Tackle one room at a time.

Don't let a manicured lawn fool you. Behind closed doors, many families are living with massive clutter. The Gavitt family hopes Peter can help them reclaim their Texas home.

Janet, a busy wife and mother of four, says the clutter started to get out of control when her twin daughters were born eight years ago. Now, with a 5-year-old and a baby to care for, she says she and her husband, Charlton, just can't keep up.

When Peter first arrived at the Gavitts' home, he noticed children's toys and clothes scattered throughout the house...even in the family room. "It doesn't look like a house that the parents run," Peter tells Janet. "You and Charlton have to get back in the driving seat."

Although Janet says she tells her daughters to put their things away, there's no designated place to put them. Plus, there are simply too many things to keep track of. Janet isn't lacking organizational skills. In fact, she works for The Container Store, a retail chain that specializes in space and storage solutions. "Talk about feeling like a fraud," she says.

Janet isn't the only person feeling the effects of the clutter. The mess is also starting to take a toll on Charlton. "I can't do the things I want to do with my children because there's stuff everywhere," he says. "I can't help them with their homework because there's not a place to do it. My job as a father is being compromised by the amount of clutter that we have in our house."

Everything's bigger in Texas...even messes. That didn't stop Peter from transforming the Gavitts' family room into a real living room in just 72 hours.

With the floor free of toys, the Gavitts' space looks more spacious and inviting. "We would actually use this room," Charlton says.

New furniture also doubles as organizational tools. Inside the leather footstools, the children discover board games. A coatrack in the entryway also has shelves for additional storage.

The papers that once covered the dining table are gone, and finally, the family can sit and enjoy a meal together. "I totally have gotten that now that we don't need the [stuff]-the stuff was hurting us," Janet says. "We need each other."

Tip 2: Follow the "in-out rule."

Peter and Janet tackle piles of the girls' clothes, which are scattered throughout the house. Peter says the secret is to take everything out of each room first and then sort it in a separate location.

All the clothing is placed on a tarp in the front yard. Now, it's up to Janet to sort the clothes into two categories—items to keep and items to give away. Each daughter gets a set number of bins, and once they are full, Janet must move on.

To avoid clutter, Peter says every shopper should follow the "in-out rule." Every time you buy a new piece of clothing, you should get rid of an old piece. He also makes Janet promise that she will not buy her daughters any new clothes for six months

Tip 3: Build intimacy.

When Peter sees Janet and Charlton's bedroom, he knows just what they need more of: intimacy. "When you are intimate, when your relationship is powering along, that will feed the rest of the house," he says.

With junk everywhere, Charlton says there's just no room to be romantic in the master bedroom. "You'd roll over onto a pile of clothes or a pile of toys and so we tried to take it to other rooms, but they were just as bad," he says. "There was no place to be us."

When asked what sort of bedroom they want, Janet says she'd like a romantic space, while Charlton wants a room that's just for him and his wife. Now that they have a shared vision, they can begin to declutter.

Peter tells the couple if they haven't used it in 12 months, it needs to go. That includes the dingy sweatpants Janet's been hanging onto since high school. "If it doesn't fit the vision you have for your space, it's got to go," Peter says.

Now, Janet and Charlton's bedroom oozes with intimacy. Soft lighting and a fresh coat of paint give the room a new look and feel. "There's a floor!" Janet says. "I feel a thousand pounds lighter. I feel like we can breathe now."

Peter designated a small space for their baby, Julia, and completely reorganized their closets.

Tip 4: Make cleanup fun.

Even though Miranda, Katharine and Audrey are young, Peter says they can learn to pick up after themselves. All it takes is a little creativity.  Peter makes cleaning fun by turning it into a game. Each girl is given a type of thing—clothes, toys or books—to be responsible for. At the count of three, the girls scramble to fill bins with their items.

Miranda, Janet and Charlton's 8-year-old daughter, said she was embarrassed to bring friends over to her messy house...but not anymore! The once chaotic playroom is now an orderly place for the girls and their friends to read, play and paint.

Peter has designated a place for everything. There are bins for toys, cubbies for art supplies, and shelves for books and games.

How will they keep it tidy? "If we put everything back where it belongs," Miranda says. The Gavitt girls promise Peter that they'll keep the room neat and clutter-free

Tip 5: Create a vision.

Peter's method for attacking a messy garage is what he calls a "kick-start"—a high-speed, easy purge. Although it took years for the Gavitts to fill their garage with junk, it should only take them minutes to decide what they need to keep.

Peter says they need to create a vision and asks the Gavitts what they want from their garage. Charlton names four things: somewhere to work, park the car, refuge and storage.  Now, they must rely on split-second decision making to identify the items that stay and the items that go. "You have to be tough as nails," Peter says.

Before Peter stepped in, Janet and Charlton hadn't been able to park in their garage for six years. After sorting through hundreds of items, Janet and Charlton drastically reduced the amount of stuff in their garage. Now, there is ample parking space thanks to new shelving units and clearly marked storage boxes.

"Incredible!" Janet says.  Janet and Charlton say Peter's help has transformed their lives. "We knew we weren't happy," Janet says. "We knew it was something, but what?"

Now, Janet and Charlton have stopped hiding their home and started entertaining again. "We've had friends over several nights in a row for drinks because we can. So that's incredible," Janet says. 
Peter's philosophies have even carried into different aspect of Charlton's life. He says he even decluttered his appearance by shaving his beard and cutting his ponytail! Charlton's also organized his work life. "I've cleaned out my office at school and it's going go even further," he says. "I teach theater so the prop room is next and we're going to purge all the stuff there, and I've been sharing it with everyone that I can talk to."

Although their home is clean and tidy now, Charlton says he fears things could go back to the way they were. "It's a big fear, and I won't live like that again," he says.

Tip 6: Teach your kids how to sort.

Just like millions of other moms, Ella, a Chicago wife and mother, has a few organizational problem areas in her house. She says her husband, Alberto, and her two sons, Ellington and Chandler, are the main clutter creators.

Peter says the secret to having clutter-free kids starts with teaching them how to sort. He gives Ella's boys one trash bag and two boxes. He tells them to fill the bag with garbage, and put anything they want to sell at a yard sale in one box and charitable donations in the other.

Peter also encourages Ellington and Chandler to make cleaning fun—even boring chores like putting away clothes. "Here's what you have to do every night before you go to bed," Peter says. "You have to shoot baskets with your clothes."  The boys also get a lesson in using baskets and containers to organize their things and learn the important "in-out rule." With their very own label maker in hand and bins at their disposal, the boys start sorting!

After the boys did their jobs, Peter and his team work some magic of their own in the room to give the kids a fresh start.  Bookshelves were placed in one section of the room to act as a library, and Ellington and Chandler organized bins for photos, toy cars and bags.

"You see how it's so clean now?" Ellington says.

"It's clean. Oh, my goodness! I am so proud of you. It looks absolutely beautiful," Ella says.

Tip 7: Use a hanger system to determine which clothes you wear most.

Peter says the single biggest problem he sees in homes is closet organization. Many of Ella's issues stemmed from having too many clothes, some with the tags still on. "I always tell her that there's always going to be a sale and not every sale you need to participate in," Alberto says

Peter says we actually only wear 20 percent of our clothes 80 percent of the time, and that there's a simple test to see which ones you wear most. "What you should do is take all of your clothes and hang them in the closet [facing one] way," he says. "And then every time you wear an article of clothing, you put it back in [the opposite way]."

After six months, Peter says to go through everything that's still hanging in its original position. "Ask yourself, 'Do I ever wear that?' Go through and anything that you haven't worn in 12 months, no longer fits, out of fashion, that you don't love, use as an opportunity to get rid of it," Peter says.

Peter's team organized both closets. Ella's happy to see those unworn deals cleared away and donated. Alberto is amazed at the hanging row of suits and shelves with neatly folded shirts.

"I can actually see what I want to wear before I even reach for it," Alberto says.

Tip 8: Ask yourself if you really need something. If you hesitate, you don't.

Now it's time to purge the rest of Ella's closet, which is overrun by shoes. "We have to do a quick run on shoes," Peter says.  Peter forces Ella to make snap yes or no decisions on the shoes she wants to keep. "I'm telling you, if you pause for one moment, it's gone," he says as he holds up pair after pair.

As Peter flushes out unwanted shoes, Ella has a breakthrough. "I am certainly willing to make a change. I didn't realize how much I was going to be affected by the change, though," she says.

The blame, Ella realizes, doesn't just fall on her husband and children. She's also responsible for the clutter. "I have to look at myself as well and be very honest about my impact on this whole equation of things," she says.

After parting with many pairs of shoes, Ella leaves the master bedroom so Peter and his team can finish the transformation in her closet. The mountain of shoe boxes is gone, with a neatly organized shoe rack in its place.  Ella and Alberto are amazed. "You just don't realize that things have accumulated and it just became overwhelming," Ella says.

"This looks good," Alberto says. "This looks great."

Ella says Peter's makeover has opened new doors for her family. "I didn't realize how many of my friends and family members had not been upstairs until after I decluttered mentally, physically and emotionally," she says. "Then I was able to open the door to the bedroom and open the door to my home."

Alberto says the family makes an effort to keep the house looking like it did when Peter and his team left. It's even carried over to Alberto's work. "The next week I went into my office and rearranged my office," he says.

The boys are even keeping their own rooms clean! "It just teaches all, it's [easy] after 20 years of marriage [to] accumulate a lot of stuff around the house," Alberto says

Peter believes that an organized kitchen can help you lose weight! It all comes down to the way you choose to live, he says. "You can't be a lean person if your house, especially your kitchen, is full of fat. And so as the master bedroom drives the house, the kitchen nourishes the house. Not just in terms of food but in terms of your whole mental outlook," he says. "I don't believe you can separate how you live from the vision you have for the life you want."

Tip 9: Establish a "magic triangle" in your kitchen.

There are two strategies for keeping your kitchen lean and clean, Peter says. The first is to establish a "magic triangle" in your kitchen between the stove, your refrigerator and your sink. "Anything you use most often, keep it in the triangle," he says. "Anything you use less often, outside the triangle. It will save you a ton of time."

Tip 10: Identify useful utensils with the cardboard box test.

If you want to see what utensils you're really using, Peter recommends the cardboard box test. "Take all the utensils out of your drawers, put them in a cardboard box," he says. "For the next month, whenever you use one of these utensils, put it back in the drawer. If after four weeks it's still in the box, you don't need it."

Declutter your home in only six months! Join Peter's Clutter Crew.

Find more organizing tips from Peter Walsh.

MY THOUGHTS

i'm so happy. i already have the magic triangle in the kitchen! that's all you can have when you live in a very small condo. in fact, i do not even have a stove. a microwave is the 3rd in that triangle. other than that, i have made the decision to follow 3 tips-the hanger principle, the "in-out" strategy and the vision. this will be easy to do with my stuff. with my mom's stuff, it's a prayer item. she doesn't mind her clutter.

closet organizing: put order

Order in the Closet


Clothing-obsessed celebs such as Mariah Carey and Paris Hilton are famous for their luxurious closets with shelves of shoes that seem to stretch on for miles and boutique-like racks of designer apparel. While most of us have neither the square footage (nor the desire) to create our own wardrobe wonders, we could still strive for what those divas have perfected: the well-organized storage space.

"Every type of person" struggles with closet clutter, says Alejandra Costello, a co-founder of Arlington-based professional organizing service Color-Coded (866-612-6567). But learning to store your belongings in a neat, easy-to-maintain manner can help you spend less time searching for shoes and more time showing off the perfect outfit.

Even chaotic hallway closets can benefit from a face-lift; nobody wants to be digging through piles of first-aid supplies when they have a migraine or be assaulted from above by improperly stashed winter scarves.

Those "I've created a monster in my closet!" moments are just when professional organizers can swoop in to help. The pros charge between $50 and $100 per hour for their expertise, and their closet makeovers can take between six and 15 hours, depending on the size of the project, Costello says. But she's convinced this type of investment reaps long-term rewards.

"I always tell my clients, 'If you're going to spend money getting organized, you want to set up a system one time and do it right, instead of having to keep tweaking the system,'" Costello says.

Rehabbing your closet starts with an empty — not overloaded — space. "It's a lot easier to take everything out and go from there," Costello says. Color-Coded organizers often push clients to toss items that aren't in heavy rotation, in order to free up more space in small apartments or houses.

"We'll sort everything and go through each individual item asking, 'When was the last time you used this? Is it still good? Is it outdated?'" Costello says. After repurposing or donating any unwanted items, a complete makeover can commence.

We asked Costello to share some of her top tips for reorganizing any closet.

1) Shelve Your Issues

If blank walls make up a portion of your closet, consider adding custom shelving. While it's pricey, Color-Coded's Costello believes the installation is worth the money. She recommends the Elfa system, which is sold at The Container Store, because of its flexibility. "Once you install the shelving, you can always move shelves higher or lower depending on what you're storing," Costello says. "You can change a shelf into a hanging rod or a hanging rod into a shelf. You can add a basket. It's just very flexible."

2) Get More From Your Door

The back of your door — the side that faces the interior of your closet — is precious real estate. Hang up a door rack containing hooks or baskets to create a few extra storage nooks. Costello recommends using Elfa's Door and Wall Rack ($107) and attaching a few movable baskets. The installation is made for kitchens and living spaces but works equally well in closets, Costello says. "I love to use the baskets to store flip-flops, slippers, sunglasses, cosmetic bags and anything that you want to toss in, pull out or make easily accessible," she says. Another option to hang on your door: fabric pockets or shoe bag organizers. Try Christy Designs' versatile "Organizer" Gear Pocket ($35).

3) It's All About the Visuals

Sorting keeps a closet user-friendly. But all that order can get dull. Add intrigue with colored tabs that attach to the top of hangers. Costello recommends using the colored hanger snaps sold by Carlson JPM Store Fixtures ($3 for a bag of 50). "The more color you have in your space, the easier it is to organize," Costello says. "If you take a dress off a hanger that has a purple hanger snap, it's easy to say 'Purple belongs to dresses' and associate that hanger with the dress."

4) Label Liberally

If you have items to stash on shelves or in bins, keep track of everything with homemade labels. That's right, Costello recommends actually writing out "running shoes" for a bin holding your sneaks. It might be old-school, but "it makes a difference," she says. "A lot of people just put things back [into their closets] in a random order. If each item has a home in its section, I find that it's easier to maintain." Use pieces of Duct tape (in fancy new colors and patterns such as paisley and polka dots, such as the rolls above, sold by The Spoon Sisters; $9 per roll), covered with clear packing tape. Write what's inside each container or on each shelf using dry-erase markers — that way, you can re-label areas when you move things around.

5) Aim for Lots Of the Same

Most people amass a wide variety of hangers — it's hard to pass up free wire "We Love Our Customers" hangers from the dry cleaner — but an assortment of shapes and sizes encourages chaos. "Using uniform hangers is an absolute must in the closet," Costello says. She recommends sticking to wooden hangers ("The clothes hang off them really nicely," she says). Pick up a few sets at Ikea (five for $2).

MY THOUGHTS

good advice. i will need this in a couple of weeks as i attack my closets in my mom's house.

Stylish Storage Solutions for Shoe Hoarders

Stylish Storage Solutions for Shoe Hoarders

You owe it to your fabulous footwear!

If You're a Hoarder

Fashionista, no one's judging you. You can buy as many pairs of shoes as you'd like. Our only request: store them in a cart with wheels. Try the 40-Pair Shoe Roller Closet Organizer Storage Chest Cart ($49.75 at Amazon) for starters. With this shoe-fiend must-have, you won't bury and neglect valuable twosomes -- all will be in eyesight and within reach.

If You Have an Artistic Side

When we saw these Pure Nomade Hotel Boxes ($25.50 each at Pure Nomade), we fell in love. They're certainly worthy of housing your priceless pairs and can stand alone as works of art with their unique designs. Some of them might even be -- dare we say it? -- more beautiful than some shoes!

If You're Discreet

Although fabulous shoes should be shared -- even when they're not on feet -- you might want to keep them tucked away for decoration's sake. Try the Hemnes Shoe Cabinet with 2 Compartments ($129 at Ikea). It will house some of your most valuable pairs, and no one will be the wiser.

If You Stack Up

Style mavens, who need a shoe-storage system that they can grow with (one can never have too many pairs), should invest in these Large Shoe Boxes ($8.99 per box at The Container Store). Not only will these clear stackables help you organize and find your fabulous footwear, you can also showcase them for visitors to see like works of art.

If You Have a Space Issue

Strapped for space but won't sacrifice a single pair in your collection? Maybe this Natural Canvas 20-Pocket Over-the-Door Organizer ($26.99 at Space Savers) will do. If you have more than 20, have no fear -- you can hang one on every door in your home.

If You're On a Budget

Want to spend more money on shoes instead of splurging on shoe storage? There are wallet-friendly shoe-storage options out there that will do your shoes justice, like this Gearbox Sport Underbed Shoe Bag ($9.99 each at Bed Bath & Beyond). Buy as many as you can fit under your bed and couch!

If You're Offbeat

Want to store your funky and colorful pairs of flats and sneakers in something just as fun? We suggest you get the Shoe Wheel Shoe Storage and Organization ($59.95 at HSN). It spins so you can find the perfect pair for any given outfit, no problem.

If You Like the Basics

You can't go wrong with the  ($23.99 at OrganizeIt.com). Whether you're a shoe hoarder who needs something versatile or a plain jane who just wants something simple, this shoe organizer has all of your bases covered. Just adjust to fit.

MY THOUGHTS

love them all! but my fave is the roller coaster organizer.