Sandra Felton - The Quick Guide to Home Organizing

2006 by Sandra Felton

Published by Revell

a division of Baker Publishing Group

P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

www.revellbooks.com

Spire edition published 2014

Previously published under the title Organizing Magic

Ebook edition created 2014

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN 978-1-4412-4582-3

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

The authors of any unattributed quotations are unknown.

contents

acknowledgments

Thanks to the following for making this book a reality:

As always, to Ivan, supporter extraordinaire at home and in life. Kisses to you!

To Nanette Holt, remarkable editor and hard worker who strengthened the book with her outlook and experience. Wonderful guidance!

To Lonnie Hull DuPont for her faith and encouragement in moving this book into being at Revell. Many thanks!

To Revell, my publisher for the past quarter of a century. Wow!

introduction

I have loved magic since childhood. And I know Im not alone.

Many of us have vivid memories of watching Cinderella, sitting in ashes, sad and in disarray. She never had fun and always worked hard. Even so, she was powerless to improve her condition. (Sounded like me when I looked around my messy house.)

But then we rejoiced when she found the prince who whisked her off to a beautiful castle, where she never had to turn her hand to work again. Wow! Cant beat that!

And who brought about the wonderful transformation? Why, the fairy godmother, of course!

For years I waited for my fairy godmother to show up, wave her magic wand over me, and magically change my mess into glorious order, my frustration into joy.

It never happened. The fairy godmother never came to my house. Nor did the elves who worked for the shoemaker while he slept. Nor did the prince, with the reviving kiss, or any of those other magic, fairy-tale people on whom I had subliminally pinned my hopes.

Then I learned where the magic really isand it changed my life.

In this book I share with you the organizing basics I learned after long ignoring them, waiting for outside help. The information in each chapter contains a little magic dust. Rightly used, you will find your house being slowlybut surely!changed into the neat, orderly, elegant, comfortable castle of your dreams. And you will be the princess, more relaxed and unhurried, finally able to enjoy your domain.

But you must wave the wand. You must sprinkle the magic dust. Dont worryIll tell you how, step-by-step, walking you through the transformation that will change your life.

Heres your part: Read each chapter carefully. Zero in on how each can help you improve your situation. Note the steps you need to take to create the solutions that apply to you. Then start waving that wand, your treasure trove of solutions. And watch. The magic will come.

Often in fairy tales, like those about Snow White or Sleeping Beauty, a kiss awakens the princess to her new life. So it is with us.

As you follow the hints, tips, suggestions, and encouragements in these pages, always remember to apply them using the magical kiss of organization:

KISS (keep it super simple)

Say it to yourself, when youre tempted to make things more complicated than they need to be. Whisper it again and again. Its an endless source of organizing magic.

Focus on the few changes that work well for you and do those consistently. Youll be surprised at the change that happens. Now get ready for an enchanting journey with me. Our coach awaits...

how to use this book

A few useful ideas rightly applied can make a significant change in your life. But it is easy to lose track of them. They tend to drift away unless nailed down on the spot as you read. Here are some suggestions on how to hold on to those ideas that relate to your interests and needs.

1. Underline and write notes in the margin when you see or get an interesting idea. (Unless, of course, this is a borrowed book.)
2. Mark important places you want to remember with a small annotated sticky note so you can find it again easily. This works better than turning down corners.
3. Immediately do the easy step that will make a significant improvement in your life, like calling the phone number that will take you off the calling list of telemarketers.
4. Commit to long-term change where you see the need, such as working to change one bad habit or unproductive behavior. Work on one at a time.
5. Keep a running list of things you need to buy on a sticky note attached to the book so it wont get lost while you read. You can then easily take the note to the store later.
6. Write a to-do list in the back of the book (projects and such) as action ideas occur to you.

day 1

ready, set, go!

When I was younger, I embraced many ideas I gleaned from tip bookseven the ones that werent very good. Why? I thought the expert who wrote the book was smarter than I was and surely wouldnt lead me wrong. But if I had stuck with all those suggestions, youd see the following when visiting my house:

• Salmon poached in the dishwasher. It may work, but is it really a good idea to go that quirky route? (Unless your stove is out of order, of course, in which case using this method might make you look like a genius.)
• Nail polish and pantyhose stored in the fridge. Theyll keep fresh longer there, but do we really want to dress out of our appliances?
• Homemade soap-on-a-rope, created with soap slivers stuffed into the toes of pantyhose.
• Onions kept fresh by suspending them in legs of pantyhose straddling a door.
• Still more discarded pantyhose, recycled as pillow stuffing. (Pantyhose, for some reason, seemed the solution to nearly any household problem.)

Smart Thinking!

How you think affects how organized you areand how organized you will become. Try reprogramming yourself to become more organized by meditating for a few minutes daily on these positive statements:

1. I am too smart to create a mess. Therefore, I put things where they belong immediately after using them.
2. I am too smart to let the kids make a mess. Therefore, I spend the time and energy to train them to keep things orderly.
3. I am too smart to do everything myself. Therefore, I create a team of family, friends, and hired help to call on when I need assistance.

I Wised Up

It took me some time to wise up a tad. Now Ive learned to avoid introducing things into my life that are far out of the pattern that already exists. If a new idea is not easy to incorporate and easy to follow as a regular part of my life, I reject it. What a relief to have finally found that I dont have to integrate all great ideas into my lifeI need only the ones that will make my life easier.

In this book youll find many suggestions, strategies, and tips. Employing well-chosen tips will free up your lifenow and for years to come. Happily embrace those.

A few youll try now and perhaps abandon later. But dont cheat yourself by not trying at least a few new things, even if youre not sure theyll work for you. Some of the ideas I thought originally were the poorest, like grouping my clothes in the closet according to category and color, have proven to be lifelong time-savers. Had I not tried them, despite my doubt, I never would have known!

Sometimes you will see what seem to be contradictions. This is often true with words of advice. Tradition tells us that you cant tell a book by its cover. Yet were also admonished that first impressions are the most important. Were told to look before you leap. But were also warned that he who hesitates is lost. Which of the truths in each pair is correct? Both arebut they apply in different circumstances. For instance, sometimes you should be impatient with clutter and take bold steps to move forward. At other times you need to be patient when it comes to moving forward, even when you become discouraged with how slow the improvement seems.