Clutter Free Teacher Gift

While there is nothing that can actually thank my children's teachers for all that they do I hope that this small token at Christmastime will convey my appreciation.  

I made some yummy Chocolate-Gingerbread cookies  and put them in a festive cellophane gift bag or a cute mug.  I then wrote a Thank You note and stuck in a gift card for Starbucks.  If your fave teacher isn't a Starbucks fan you could substitute for any other gift card.  Walmart was my second choice since they are always buying school supplies out of pocket, but I have also used spa gift cards, because who couldn't use a pedicure this time of year?!?!?!

The Chocolate-Gingerbread cookies are my all-time favorite cookies to make & eat!  The recipe I use can be found here.  I deviate from the recipe slightly in that I use chocolate chips (pure laziness in that I don't want to chop the chocolate) and I don't roll them in sugar at the  end cause I find them sweet enough! 

Happy Baking!

Your Holiday Guide to Clutter Free Gifts

As featured in Huffington Post

With the holidays a few weeks away the yearly “what am I going to do with all those gifts” anxiety is settling in.  Being an interfaith/inter-tradition family we celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas. To my kids’ delight and to my dismay that means double the gifts.  As a Professional Organizer and semi-minimalist you can see why this stirs up anxiety.

Don’t get me wrong, I love giving and receiving presents but I also firmly believe that there is such a thing as too much of a good thing and that children tend to play more creatively and better when there are less toys around them.  I see it over and over again with my clients and in my own home, after we have cut down the number of toys kids play more productively with what they have left.

The same tends to be true with adults. Less stuff = less clutter = less upkeep = more time to live your life and focus on what matters.  Now, I’m not advocating everyone to get a green suit and be all Grinch-like for Christmas this year, but I do think we can shift our focus. So, here are some of my tips for a clutter-free (or at least a reduced clutter) holiday season.

Secret Santa: An oldie but a goodie. This is not just for your office gift exchange anymore!  We are a large family (10 adults & 6 children with another on the way) and we started this a few years ago for the adults, with great success.  It cuts down on the crap, excuse me, gifts you receive and if you add a wish list to your exchange you may actually get something that you want.  There are tons of on-line programs and apps out there but we have been using DrawNames.com for a few years. It’s free, allows for restrictions (so couples don’t get each other) and you can post your wish list so that it’s visible for the group.

Experiences: This one works for adults and kids alike. I much prefer to get something I can do than something I can use.  A gift certificate for a favorite restaurant means a future date night for me & the husband. You can have a group chip in for tickets to an upcoming event (sports, a concert, a play, etc).  The same theory applies to kids; I love giving and receiving movie theater gift certificates.  Kids love going to see movies on the big screen (at least mine do!) and it’s wonderful to have that time out with them.  The same goes for gift cards for a local indoor play area (especially great when it’s too cold to play outside), a kid-friendly museum, a local zoo, etc

Donations: The answer to what do you get for the person that has everything. A donation to their favorite charity and a beautiful handwritten note to go with it. This can be especially helpful if you send gifts to relatives that don’t live near you. Save on shipping a heavy gift and do some good.  Double bonus! I have a friend who asks for donations for a local animal charity in lieu of gifts for the children at their birthday party.  It’s a hit every year!

Time: A good one if your budget is a bit stretched this year too.  Offer to babysit their kids, take your mom out for lunch just the two of you, prepare and deliver a delicious meal to the busy family, take your BFF to get her nails done, treat your brother-in-law to a round of golf with you.  Try to use your skills or common interests to spend time together.

Consumables: This one works for people who like to eat (and really, are there those out there that don’t?!?!?) A box of their favorite candy or chocolates that are too decadent to buy for yourself but are great to receive as a gift. A make-your-own kit: all the fixings for delicious hot chocolate, fancy cones and toppings for ice cream sundaes, take a few minutes to search on Pinterest. . . there are sooo many great ideas out there! For non-food items you can get some yummy smelling hand soap, favorite beauty products, membership to a shaving club or an e-book.

If these ideas aren’t for you and you would rather dip your toe into clutter-free holidays instead of doing a cannon-ball try talking to your family and friends about limiting the number of gifts that are given.  I know this can be tough when it comes to kids.  Grandparents, aunts and uncles all love to buy gift after gift for the children in the family. But having a conversation with them about how you want your children to focus on appreciating what they have instead of how much they are given can go a long way.  The advice I give to a lot of my clients is to blame it on me.  Just tell them that “my Professional Organizer has asked me to limit the number of new things that come into my home”.  Blame comes off of you and onto me, another win-win!

Happy Organizing & Happy Holidays!  

Do you have an organizing dilemma or question you want answered? Comment below and I may feature it in a future post!

The Organized Pantry

As featured in The Suburban

There’s nothing worse than being in the middle of a recipe and having to spend 15 minutes searching through your pantry for the baking soda. Or buying a third box of cornstarch when you know you already have two open ones that you can’t seem to find.   Welcome to the black hole that most people refer to as their pantry.  Many of the homes I organize have deep kitchen pantries, which theoretically offer more space, but ultimately cause you to lose items in the back of the pantry.

Enter the “Zone Pantry”.  Although it’s a bit cliché for a Professional Organizer to use bins and baskets to make a space work, it’s cliché because it works.  Every client I have set up with this system has loved it and has maintained it.  Depending on the height and depth of your shelves you may want to go with tall, clear bins, or lower open baskets.  Ultimately it comes down to what works for you and your home.

The first step is to take all the food out of the pantry and group it together. The most common groupings are: oils & vinegars, baking, syrups & sweeteners, sauces, sweets, chips & crackers, pasta & rice. It ultimately depends on your style of cooking but try to put “like with like”.  This way of organizing really cuts down on the time spent looking for items as well as allowing you to take stock of what you need at a glance.

Cans and spices can also be difficult to organize.  If you don’t have a wall mounted spice rack that works for you, try storing your spices on a Lazy Susan.  It offers easy access for your most common spices without having to move things around to find them.  For cans, one of my favorite products is a can holder or can rack.  These allow for easy visual access to your cans and can usually be adjusted based on the sizes of cans you have.

Happy Organizing!

Podcast Interview with Mark Dillon of Organize Mindfully