Irene vs. Baby Green

My life certainly has had its inherent challenges recently, from a fried logic board to natural disasters, but I'm committed to getting my blog going again come hell or high water (literally!). For anyone who doesn't know, I live in the South Shore of Long Island, an area, like most others on the East Coast, that was badly hit by the recent Tropical Storm Irene. But spirits are high and recovery has been swift, with the dominant perspective of "it could have been much worse" rattling through every conversation. For me, these are just bumps in the road, and ultimately I'm grateful to have a computer and a roof over my head, even if they are susceptible to breakage.

One of the main focuses of my business in the past year or so has been home organization. This is a general term that tactfully describes what is more or less home purging. Organization cannot be achieved until the unnecessary stuff is out the door, period. As I pass post-Irene curbside piles of contents removed from one flooded basement after another my heart first goes out to each homeowner. But then I can't help but wonder why they needed all that stuff in the first place. Extra storage is often not the blessing it appears to be. Whether it's a basement, an attic, a garage, or an extra room (none of which I have), these spaces tend to be a black hole for unnecessary accumulations. Irene was fierce with her purging, destroying the contents of peoples' homes, forcing them to part with whole roomfuls of possessions. My ways are a lot more gentle.

I recently visited a beloved family member (who shall remain nameless) for the first time and was given a tour of her charming home, only to realize that she didn't show me one room along the main hallway. The door was shut and she breezed by it in such a hurried manner that I knew she was guilty of something. With some urging, she finally showed me the guest room/closet/storage room and this is what lay within:





I knew I would not be able to enjoy the meal she was about to make if I just re-shut the door and kept walking. I begged for ONE HOUR in the room (with the help of my mom who was also visiting). The goal was to make it possible to walk into the room and decrease the visual chaos so that the homeowner wouldn't risk a heart attack every time she passed the room. WIth hurricane-like fervor, we tore through the room, sorted scattered items into a half dozen boxes that could later be sorted and purged one at a time, cleared the floor and desk surfaces, and when the timer went off 60 minutes later, these were the results:




Please click here to learn more about Baby Green's Organizing Services.

In the Fold

I love this brilliantly simple drawer organization tip from Martha Stewart Living online. I don't personally have any drawers, but my son's dresser and the kid-sized garments that fill it will greatly benefit from this little trick. My local Salvation Army has tons of those the thin metal bookends and my perfectionist passion for neatly folded clothing will certainly embrace the tighter bundle. And now it will be even easier for Ryder to select which of his many Star Wars T-shirts to throw on. (Click the link above for the full post on www.marthastewart.com)

5 Steps To Simplicity

This year, I've been focusing more than ever on helping friends and clients simplify their lives. Within that process, I've been thoughtfully distilling my own definition of simplification. In no particular order, simplification means less wasted time, a feeling of peacefulness and flow, effortless order, more time to play with my son, modeling my values and what really matters to him and others, cleanliness and a sense of pride. I've also become more conscious of all the little systems I use to achieve simplicity in my life. And in the areas where I still need help, I turn to the Martha Stewarts of the world for guidance and inspiration. Here are 5 my Top Simplification Tips, culled from my own house, from Martha and everywhere in between.


1. Lists, Lists, Everywhere: Keep a grocery list in your pantry and jot down any item you're running low on so you're always ready for your next grocery run. Keep a wardrobe list in your closet to record which pantyhose need replenishing or exactly what size and color your next sweater purchase should be. Keep an up-to-date office supply list in your desk drawer so you'll know exactly what size post-it notes you've run out of to reference on your next Staples run. (image above from www.marthstewart.com)


2. Clean As You Cook: Every meal is more enjoyable if there is not a sink full of mixing bowls, pots and wooden spoons to scrub down afterward. Try to rinse off as much as possible while cooking so that only the dinner plates and serving ware need your attention afterward.


3. Make Your Bed Easy to Make: Three rows of decorative pillows may look pretty in bedding catalogs or magazines, but are not conducive to simplicity. Making a bed should take just a few seconds every morning: 1. pull duvet up and smooth out 2. prop sleeping pillows up 3. throw a decorative pillow or two on 4. done! I often suggest to clients that they only use a fitted sheet and a good quality, covered duvet with the appropriate warmth rating because straightening and tucking a flat sheet and blankets under the duvet can make the task much more burdensome than it needs to be.


4. Mail Traffic Control: We've all heard it a million times, but it is such a time saver and clutter reducer to sort your mail as soon as you walk through the door. So I just had to mention again! Take your pile over to wherever your recycling bin is located so you can deposit the junk there immediately. Then put the rest into two different folders, boxes or bins: one that you go through once a week to take necessary actions and the other labeled "to file" (for statements, etc) that gets your monthly attention. If you can live without the beautiful J. Crew fashion spreads, get yourself off all catalog mailing lists; every item that beckons from their glossy pages is available online and then some. Catalogs waste trees and suck up your time in disposal or in "window shopping." (image above by ngoc minh ngo at www.realsimple.com)




5. Go Shoe-Free: Create a dedicated place for several pairs of shoes for each family member (we created space for up to 3 pairs each in my house, as seen in the photo above) right by the front door and then religiously remove footwear upon arrival. Swapping shoes out for "house slippers" that get stashed in this same spot is a nice luxury for those who don't wish to go barefoot. This practice will greatly reduce the amount of time you spend vacuuming or sweeping your house and that is simplification at its best!

Before & After: Mudroom De-Junked!!

One of the services my company Baby Green offers is home organization, but sometimes I wonder if the more accurate label would simply be home purging. As the trash bags fill up with JUNK, the organization naturally follows. I have seen countless clients, friends and family members attempt to get organized without eliminating unneeded objects first. I suppose it's possible in the short term to skip de-junking and tastefully arrange your trash in your home. But staying organized without the essential de-cluttering is nearly impossible.

I wasn't born an organized minimalist. I, too, had to undergo the process of throwing out, recycling and donating about half of my possessions when I relocated from Manhattan to Long Beach. (See my now minimally material home in my recent Mi Casa blog post.) I think my clients like that I can relate to their struggles of letting go with my own firsthand experiences. It's logical that we spent a portion of our lives collecting and amassing both treasures and trash, but that a second phase comes when elimination is called for.

To inspire those of you on a similar journey, I will periodically post before and after photos from my organizational work. These first images are from a local project in which the homeowner has made astounding progress with detachment, which was first rooted in simply becoming aware that her spaces weren't flowing and that she was storing nothing more than garbage in many of her closets and cabinets. An avid meditator and an energy healer, my client radiates a sense of peace and calm, but her home was not matching this. She now feels that what's on the inside is reflected on the outside and that "each room no longer feels like a to-do list of 50 tasks calling out at her." We all can relate to that. We tackled her mudroom in one session, a secondary entry into her home that you could barely walk through. All the junk is gone, systems are in place, access to needed items has been created and legs are no longer bruised trying to navigate through the room. And peace has been restored.

"To become learned, each day add something. To become enlightened, each day drop something." Lao Tzu

"The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak." Hans Hoffman

BEFORE:





AFTER: