Posted in Organizing

Home For 2010

The best way to start the New Year is to make you home a better place to live in. Let’s start with our cupboards. Have you noticed that there are condiments and spices that is now way beyond their expiration date? What are you waiting for? Throw it away, NOW! Are there some chipped off mugs or broken tea cups? This kind of things should have disposed even before the year starts. You know that in Feng Shui, there is a saying that you cannot have something new if you are still keeping the old ones? Like if you are longing for a new LCD TV and yet you are not disposing your old TV that is not working, you won’t have it. Personally I don’t believe it (though there are some feng shui principles that I practice) but the thing is, it is very logical to throw away things that are not working.

Work out your kitchen, make every thing looks new and shiny. Redecorate it and reinvent it. For us home makers, kitchen is the most useful thing. Here in my house, I work on the dinning table, I prepare our dishes on the dinning table. I serve my family with the help of my kitchen. It is just right to make the kitchen more organize and more homey. If you own your house, you can repaint the area or you can also change the counter tops or add some new racks. If you are like us, renting, you can try re organizing the pots and the your casseroles. You can also add some racks for new acquired kitchen gadgets (from Christmas parties and family gifts).

You can also try reinventing your house, make it more natural and airy. Use natural products and warm colors like green and brown. Also add some plants inside the house, it keeps the air cleaner and as much as possible stay away from using chemical based air freshener and house fragrant. This year, I hope we can all make our home and lives a lot better than last year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR HOME MAKERS!

New Year At Home

It was  a tradition in my grandmothers house (I was my grandmother’s apprentice when it comes to house keeping, you will be hearing a lot of her here) is to spend New Year with all the lights on. I can’t remember the exact reason why but they say it can bring good luck. And I know you are looking for things that will help you in welcoming 2010 in the best and luckiest way.

Aside from jumping when the clock strikes twelve, my relatives used to throw out coins as a way of welcoming the new year. We, the kids, would enjoy picking them up. Then after that they would tell us to hunt down coins anywhere in the house. We would look around for coins and have fun doing so. They say that this can help you or will make your year full of money.

Another must do before the new year comes is to make sure that all the containers are full. The coffee container should have enough coffee. The jar with sugar should be filled. Even the rice dispenser should be over flowing with rice (of course). And there should be no dirty laundry (or minimal) on the laundry bin. I think it make sense a bit. Keeping your house organize at the start for the year is not an assurance that it will be organized the whole year but it is a good start.

How To Pack Things Neatly

So you have decided to move out of your place and look for another one. You can’t wait to pack because you can’t wait to move. If only some else would do it for you, life would be easier. You are as busy as bee, working 8 hours a day, traveling 4 hours a day. With that schedule, how can you start packing. Weekends are your only time to do your laundry and rest for a while. So now you are planning to take a leave from work but can you afford it?

Actually, you don’t have to take a leave, all you need to do is pack slowly. Basically there are three stages in pacing your things. The first being done weeks before your move out day. The second where you have to pack days or one week before the big day. The last stage which is hours before a truck pick your things.

Stage 1. As mentioned above, you have to do this weeks in advance. Pack things that have been sitting on your shelf and gathering dust. This are the things that you haven’t used for more than a month already. While you’re at it, look for things that feels good to give to somebody else or would look better in the trashcan. Things like books, old clothes, some of your bedsheets and blankets belongs to this stage. Other things like wall decorations, pictures frames, diplomas, your special wares also belongs here. If you are like me who already have kids, their toys (that they no longer use but still of good quality) should also be pack weeks ahead.

Stage 2. Things like your clothes (other than those that you will wear for a week) should be packed a week before you move out. Things that you use but you can last a week without them are included here. What are those things? Shoes, bags, accessories are the likes. Electronics that you can live without for a week is another thing.At this point you should have readied some boxes for stage 3 packing.

Stage 3. Hours or night before leaving is your last chance to do packing. These are things that you use everyday like the clothes you left from stage 2. Your laptop, your aircon or your fan. Your stoves and your wares. All the things that are left should now land on the box you already prepared from stage 2.

You have to keep in mind, before starting packing your things, that you have to LABEL each and every box you fill. For example, you have to put where in the house that box belongs and what are the contents. If you put wares on box, its label should be, KITCHEN, wares. Things for the bedroom should be named as such. Boxes where you put your clothes should also be labeled. It would be more helpful for you if your clothes are sorted out. Brassieres in one box or in a plastic, shirts are folded with each other, jeans are together and so on. Glass wares should be wrapped in newspaper to prevent damage.

Stage 1 can be done if you would spend about 30 minutes a day. Maybe you can try to sort your clothes first then the next day your bedsheets and the likes. The next week focus on your displays and your books and documents.Next, next, how about your kitchen. I tell you, you will love.

Moving Out

It’s time to pack! Not that good to hear eh? OK, you don’t like doing it? Actually when you learned how to do it right, you would love it. Packing should not be stressful. It’s a new beginning, a new start. Why would you pack? because you are leaving, you are moving out. Moving is not our favorite word right? Like moving on, moving out, we dreaded hearing those words, specially when you have to move out to a place you have been living for a long time.

When we moved out last 2003, it was a bit hard for the hubby. We are leaving a place where he was born, where he played, where he dreamed, where he thought he would never have to leave. My task is to make it easier for him. For some of us, a way to remind us of our old house is to take with us all the things that will serve as a reminder. It should not be the case, when packing, we must throw away all the things that is not worth keeping. In our case then, I have no choice since my MIL will be living with us. We take with us all the clutters that the truck can hold. It was a nightmare to me. OCDs hate clutters…

Moving on, I will post later some tips on how to make packing easier for you and your family and how to maximize it so when you unpack, you won’t curse*wink