Special to the Recorder
According to a press release from the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office (SJSO), members of the SJSO Special Victims Unit (SVU) arrested a SJSO deputy sheriff last week, following an investigation into lewd and lascivious behavior that allegedly occurred several years ago.
Are you ready to get organized in 2019? Create momentum for the rest of the year with these three weekend organizing projects.
Clear out your closets
Case study:
A friend of mine recently lost enough weight to fit into her old clothes. She proudly slipped on a favorite pair of jeans that had been waiting patiently in the back of her closet. But something was wrong. Sure, they fit, but they were worn (and not in a good way) and out of style too. The same was true for the blouses and skirts. My friend’s old clothes were … OLD. She donated most of them and bought a few new pieces to reward herself.
Tasks:
1. Remove everything from your closet. Retrieve all your clothing — including coats — from other areas of your home as well (guest closets, storage bins, etc.).
2. Sort clothing by type so you can see exactly how much of everything you have.
3. Let go of any piece that is more than two sizes above or below your current size, dated, torn or permanently stained.
4. Let the remaining pieces earn their way back into your closet. Ask yourself, “If I didn’t already own this, would I buy it now?” Donate anything that doesn’t make the cut.
5. Hang clothes by type, and then from light to dark with the shirt fronts facing you.
Downsize your library
Case study:
One of my clients had over 500 books on leadership, employee motivation, training, performance improvement and productivity. Some were my favorites too! Whenever she attended seminars or took on new assignments and interests, she bought more books. Three bulging bookshelves later, her office was too crowded to be functional. Although she loved books, she wanted extra space even more.
We removed all of her books and sorted them by topic. Seeing all her books together gave her a better perspective of what she owned. Not only did she have multiple books on the same topic, in some cases she had duplicates! She donated about half of her library, as well as a bookshelf, and now has room to work and breathe.
Tasks:
1. Gather all of your books in one spot (cookbooks, software manuals or novels).
2. Sort them by topic/genre.
3. Weed out the excess and donate to local charities, libraries or schools as appropriate. Tip: Anything concerning technology gets outdated fast!
4. Organize what’s left and designate homes for them. Store them all together or where each genre will be used (cookbooks in the kitchen, business books in the office, etc.).
Purge your pantry
Case study:
I once cleaned out my mother-in-law’s pantry as a favor to her (or so I intended).
I’d discovered most of the condiments in her refrigerator were at least five years past the expiration date and were a rainbow of colors. Her pantry followed suit with items from a previous decade. Some of the canned food had even burst open! Seven bags of food went out with the trash. I thought I had potentially saved her life.
My mother-in-law, on the other hand, felt violated. She was so upset about the wasted food (albeit inedible) that she padlocked her pantry during my future visits! This was years before I became a professional organizer and of course my approach is different now. I offer recommendations, but in the end, my clients decide what stays and what goes!
Tasks:
1. Empty out your pantry and dispose of trash.
2. Discard stale dry goods, swollen, dented or rusted cans and any jar with a bulging lid. Some canned items can be safe to eat past their expiration dates; however much depends on the condition of the container and storage. Acidic foods do not fare so well; the exploded cans I’ve seen contained pineapple or other acidic foods. Visit usda.gov for more information and then decide what your comfort level is. (Mine is to discard canned foods that are six months past the due date.)
3. Donate what you will not eat. (Some shelters and food pantries will accept expired foods, some won’t.)
4. Clean the shelves. If you have solid shelving instead of wire, consider lining them to keep them clean and quiet.
5. Restock your shelves following the FIFO rule (First In, First Out). Older foods should be in front!
Barbara Trapp is a certified professional organizer®, productivity consultant and life coach serving clients in Northeast Florida. Contact her at info@zenyourden.com or 904-500-SORT (7678). Visit her website at zenyourden.com.
