Score!

I really appreciate nice packaging on products. I'm a fan of good design. But the down side is that my clients tend to hang on to nice packaging indefinitely because "it will be a good container for something someday." I'm OK with keeping packaging if we can actually put it to use for something specific and soon. For the most part I don't practice this in my own home, except for this one instance (that I can think of)...

It is a very rare occasion that I seriously consider asking a client for something they are getting rid of. Many months ago I spotted a Crown Royal bag in the depths of a client's closet. I had been keeping an eye out for one to give my mother-in-law for Christmas because she is an avid Scrabbler and was using a Ziploc for her tiles, which means you have to draw tiles while holding the bag behind your back. Crown Royal bags make excellent storage for Scrabble tiles. They are the perfect size and shape, the feel of the wood tiles in the flannel is very pleasant and the drawstring functions well.

Well, we never got to the closet until last week. I had forgotten about the Crown Royal bag because my quest for it was over--fortunately, I happened to find a flannel Sephora bag to give my mother-in-law for Christmas. But it was still good timing--I just got Rett a new Scrabble set for his birthday--the kind that rotates and has indentations for the tiles which make it more cat-resistant. Anyway, the synthetic bag or plastic pouch that comes with a Scrabble set these days barely functions and has an unpleasant tactile quality. So, I scored the bag for our new Scrabble set.Yes, it's visually quite tacky but perfect in every other way.

More Cable Control

Geralin Thomas sent me this link which shows a pegboard-based under-desk cord and gadget management system. Now if it just attached to the underside of the desk with a hinge so it could be folded up, out of view...

June Press

Check me out:

• Closet Control--in Triangle Home Improvement, a regional magazine. Some of the tips are from yours truly.
  

• It's Late Spring--Your Last Chance to Fling (stuff out)!--in Southern Neighbor, a local newspaper. This was the article I mentioned earlier this month.
  

That is all.
;]

How to Find a Husband

There's a retired couple that I've been working with for a couple years, who I frequently describe to people as "my favorite client", while maintaining their confidentiality, of course.

He has hearing aids but still may not hear you if you call him from across their apartment. Or maybe he is selectively hearing his wife calling him (there was a period of time recently when his old hearing aids had died, but his wife didn't know it yet, and I think he may have been intentionally blissfully unavailable when called).

At the end of our session yesterday, she pointed out the blue fob dangling from her husband's belt loop. She's an avid catalog shopper and had implemented a new system, courtesy of the Sharper Image, who I usually find to be purveyors of expensive crappy junk that you don't need. In addition to being able to find her TV remote and adjustable bed remote (which has gotten lost in the sheets and been found again after it had gone through the washer and dryer), she can now locate her husband by clicking the blue button on her "Electronic Locator".I never cease to be amazed by the clever solutions my clients come up with.

Organizing Cables

Last weekend we decided to fix some audio-visual problems--a few months ago the power to our surround sound and the subwoofer died. We've been listening to TV and movies through the speakers on the TV. Blechh! We're not audio freaks but had gotten used to our pretty decent surround sound setup.

One of the biggest challenges in this project that took all weekend, was keeping the cables in back neat. We introduced a new component into the mix, a receiver, that would be a central hub for the Media Center PC, satellite box, Xbox 360 and Wii. This is not very many components.

We systematically hooked everything up, grouping related cables together and coiling them so they didn't touch the floor, for vacuuming purposes, and to make sure you couldn't see the cables underneath the entertainment center. And yet, it still looked like this:
I've thought for a while that it might actually be impossible to make something like this look neat. If all cables were going from one general area to another general area, it could be neat. But this is never the case unless you're in some server room where things are daisy-chained together.

One improvement over previous similar projects included the use of little girls' hair beads, the figure-8 shaped rubberbands with two beads on them. These are perfect for holding coiled cables, better than twist-ties or unmodifiable rip-ties or expensive Velcro ties. I must give credit for this idea to Geralin Thomas, a colleague.

I guess I'm just glad that I rarely have to really see the back. The front looks like this:There are decorative trays on both sides of the center speaker to hold remotes and game controllers. The very few components are at the bottom. DVDs and games are in the chest on the left. Subwoofer's under the table on the right. And the umbrella at the top hides our HD antenna. We can close the doors to hide it all when people come over, since we don't tie our self-worth to the quantity of technology and media we can show off (heh, heh, we tie our self-worth to how well we can hide our technology and media).

Matching Up Socks

I work in a world of mismatched socks. It seems that a lot of people find it easier to buy new socks than match up their old ones after they come out of the laundry. This practice, of course, adds to the accumulation of mismatched socks.

There are these sock rings out there that you can use to clip your socks together when you take them off. As they go from laundry basket to washer to dryer to drawer, they remain together.

Or you could fix the problem much earlier in the cycle. My husband and I both have chosen a primary type of sock we wear. We buy twelve pairs all at once. It is expensive (they're not cheap socks), but the whole collection lasts several years and since they are all identical you don't have to match them up. Just grab two out of the drawer. They all wear out at the same time.

Of course you may have multiple major categories of socks, but this will still work because all your sport socks will be clearly distinguishable from your dress socks, or whatever type of socks support your lifestyle.

Is the Mailman the Devil?

It occurred to me, driving home tonight, that 100% of what the mailman brings to our homes is evil (when looking at things through the lens of an anti-clutter specialist). And why haven't we chopped down our mailboxes and replaced them with crucifixes? Here's what he brings:

• Junk mail that may never get opened, is unnecessary, killed a tree, etc.
• Magazines that pile up, that you'll never have enough time to read, and are so pretty that they begged to be kept eternally.
• Catalogs that you must look at, otherwise it feels wasteful to just recycle it and you don't want to cancel it because one day you'll be in shopping mode.
• Boxes of stuff from shopping channels that you didn't need in the first place and if the stuff doesn't work or fit, won't ever get returned.
• Bank statements that remind you of how much money you don't have.
• Bills--enough said.
• Solicitations from charities who bribe you with free address labels.
• Gifts that you don't like and feel guilty getting rid of.
  
• Greeting cards and personal letters--yes, this is how the devil tricks you. These are the bait that keep you going to check the mailbox every day.

Spring Cleaning

I'm writing an article about spring cleaning (my first article for pay). What does spring cleaning mean to you? What do you clean specifically in the spring?

Clutter and Dentistry

I just got back from the dentist for my 6-month cleaning. I told the hygienist, Christie, that I couldn't imagine doing her job of looking in people's mouths. That would gross me out. But then I started thinking, she probably would have no interest in looking in people's homes and scraping away the clutter that had built up over the past 6 months. Many people need clutter tune-ups on an ongoing and regular basis. But hopefully my tools are not as sharp as hers--at least clients tell me that I'm not too harsh.

Daily brushing/flossing and daily clutter maintenance get 90% of the job done. Special tools are required for the other 10% every 6 months.

I also told Christie that my childhood dentist had a treasure chest that I could pillage after I was sufficiently tortured. She said their office had one too. And I thought my old dentist was so clever--there is probably a dental supply catalog that offers such chests, with prizes included. But now, my take on the treasure chest is different--it's training children to fill their space with useless stuff. It's using material rewards instead of conveying that having your choppers when you're 70 is it's own reward (fingers crossed).

I do enjoy getting the adult bonus prizes. I use the toothbrushes for guests and can put the mini-toothpaste and mini-floss in my travel supply section, to be used on a future trip.

Travel Anxiety

I left home yesterday to fly to Minneapolis for my annual conferences
for NSGCD and NAPO.

I get easily stressed out when I travel--especially when I travel alone.
It took me 15 minutes to decide which jacket to bring that could serve
as a blazer and as outerwear.

I walked through every logical argument and still could not decide.
This is what happens when my brain chemicals start combining in
incorrect proportions (a stress response I suppose). This is also a
time when I remember to empathize with my clients.

This is where my pharmaceutical friend, the Happy Pill comes in. My
buddy HP could have saved me in the past, like the time I almost got
in a fight with a very large man who butted in line while I was
waiting to get on a Southwest flight (aka Cattle Air). Or when walking
through the xray machine too fast and the security employee raised her
voice and I lost it.

I become completely irrational during the packing phase and can't
balance packing exactly what I need and packing for every eventuality
(ultimate preparedness so I don't have to buy some toiletry at an
outrageous price).

HP makes me not care, like when the gravitationally-challenged woman
next to me on the plane spilled her diet coke on the blazer that I had
labored over and finally decided to bring on the plane 1) for warmth,
2) because it was too bulky to pack and 3) because I might need it when I
arrived in the northern clime. This was right after she dumped her
entire can of Pringles in the aisle right after the flight attendant
handed it to her, so I should've seen that coming.

Oh well. I also realized in transit that I forgot to pack pocket
kleenexes, and HP piped up and told me it wasn't going to be the end
of the world.

How to Choose Hangers

Most people need two types of hangers in their closet, one type for tops and one type for skirts and pants (although in some cases all the functionality can be found in a single type of hanger). Here are some things to consider when making your choices.

1. Thicker is better. You may think you can cram more onto your closet rod with thin hangers but you just end up wrinkling your clothes. Joan Crawford may have been a nut-job but she was dead-on with the “No wire hangers!” policy. Also, the more three-dimensional a hanger is, the better—what I mean is that a hanger that is contoured front-to-back, or doesn't lie completely flat when horizontal, like most suits come with, is better.

2. Matching hangers are good—no, I mean great. Yes, I do have tendencies toward “matchy matchy” in many areas of my life but matching hangers serve several purposes.

   1. Your closet will look less cluttered and more streamlined. Mismatched hangers are visually distracting, making picking out an outfit harder.

   2. They will not tangle as much. Matching hangers slide right up and right in next to each other without getting caught on one another.

   3. It looks pretty (or pleasing, if you're a guy). Enough said.

3. Hangers with swiveling hooks drive me batty. But some people love them. Here are the cons and pro (I could only come up with one):

• Con: They tangle like crazy.

• Con: They're usually that clear plastic which just feels junk-y and has a connotation for me of really low-end discount shopping.

• Con: Metal hooks on hangers feel rough and unfinished.

• Pro: You can make your garments face the right way more easily, although it can be easy to develop the habit of putting things on in the right direction in the first place.

4. Skirt hangers come in two major types, clip and clamp.

   1. Clips increase the tangle factor. Sliding a clip hanger next to another one is not a smooth process, especially when the clips are metal. Look for the lowest profile plastic (or high quality metal) clips you can find. But clip hangers often allow you to adjust the distance between the clips, depending on your waist size.

   2. Clamps have a low profile so they easily slide in and out of your skirt section. But if your waist is more than 18”, the edges of your waist band will droop down. Larger clamps are available but are more expensive.

5. Pant hangers come in three major types, clip, clamp and bar.

   1. Like with skirts, there is the tangle factor. You can hang pants from the waistband or from the cuffs or hem, but doing the latter could leave crimp marks.

   2. Clamps can hold pants from the waistband or cuffs. Felt-lined clamps are less likely to leave crimps. And again, they don't tangle.

   3. Bars allow you to hang pants in a short-hang section of your closet. The thicker the bar, the less likely it will leave a crease across the knee. The crease factor depends on the type and thickness of the fabric.

6. Hangers for tops should be multipurpose in a way that makes sense for your wardrobe.

• If you have a lot of tank-style tops, your hangers should have loops or slots that fit the width of your tank straps.

• If you have a lot of slippery fabrics or wide necks, hangers with grippy rubber or ridges on the shoulder work better.

• If you have wide shoulders or larger tops you may want to get a large size hanger or one with sloping shoulders so you don't end up with what I call “pokey shoulders” or what a client once called “shoulder nipples” (that cracked me up so I must share it).

7. Buy exactly as many hangers as will reasonably fit in your closet (with clothes on them). Ideally, there should be a minimum of 1/4” between every hanger. This defines the limit on how much can live in your closet while maintaining optimal closet function.

8. Other things I avoid:

   1. Hangers with hooks designed to hold another hanger in a cascading fashion. Some people use these to hang outfits together. But to me that is an indicator that the wardrobe may not be flexible or mix-and-match enough, properties which apply to more streamlined wardrobes. And yet again, the tangle factor rears its ugly head.

   2. Hangers or hanging devices designed to hold multiple garments. This just makes putting things away and retrieving things a hassle. And it usually compresses the clothes into too small of a horizontal space.

Check out The Container Store and Hanger City. And, to answer a common question, the cheapest places to buy wooden hangers are Target and IKEA, ringing up at about $10 for 20 hangers. Happy hanger shopping!

Addendum to Clothes Shopping Guidelines

I've thought of a couple more policies to add related to shopping online or from a catalog:

1. If I see something I like, I mark it (add to my shopping cart or dog-ear the page of the catalog and place it back in my reading pile). If the image haunts me for a few days, I give myself permission to seriously consider buying it. If I think back to the catalog/site and can't remember the item in vivid detail, I shouldn't buy it and don't. Sometimes I don't remember the item at all and that's a really clear sign.
2. Before clicking the "Buy" button I must accept that I am agreeing to pay $5-10 to try the item in my home. This fee is actually the shipping/return shipping fee. Paying this fee or putting forth the effort to ship a package back should be accepted as part of the price you pay for ordering by mail. It should never be a deterrent to sending back something that doesn't meet all the criteria posted previously. Once something is physically in your home it is in charge--so you'll have to wrangle control away from it. Of course, the exception to this is Zappos where you can basically try anything on for free and pretty easily ship it back.
   

My New Clothes Shopping Guidelines

I love clothes and am really into fashion (I actually started college at a fashion design school before switching to fine art), although you may not think it unless you see me out on a weekend evening. I'm typing this with fingernails painted with Chanel's Ceramic Noir and am happy that black nail polish is in right now for everyone, not just for the freaky.

We are trying to streamline operations here at the Crocker house. So, in an attempt to spend less money on clothes, I have tried to institute some new policies.

My first incarnation of the idea included the policy "Only buy expensive things". This may sound counter-intuitive. However, any time a big price tag enters the equation it forces me to be more discriminating. The most expensive things in my closet have been around a long time and I expect them to be around for a while, as they are more classic. I've gotten rid of a few expensive things and felt tremendous guilt that I didn't choose wisely in the first place--I don't want to experience that again.

I realize that the "expensive only" policy could work except that some of my favorite things come from Old Navy. Before you point out that they make clothes crappily, I admit that 90% of their stuff is cut very poorly as they are only interested in clothing stick-like teenagers who'd look good in a pillowcase with the seams ripped to make head and armholes. Yes, they fade and fall apart faster, but I wear the heck out of them. I've even thought about taking some of the pieces to a tailor and having them recreated in higher-end fabrics. I promise I'm not actually insane.

So here are the current policies:

1. Consider whether I'd buy it if it was more expensive. A sale price should figure into the decision very little, if at all.
2. Does it make me say "Wow, I look better" when I put it on? Pretty good is not good enough.
3. Is it trendy? If so, it has to be pretty cheap. Money spent should correlate with the expected longevity of the garment.
4. Does it fit perfectly? If not, do I like it enough to pay for alterations? I've discovered tailoring in the last few years, even for things like cheap jeans (it's like drinking cheap wine out of a Riedel glass).
5. Does it need modification? Will I modify it (whether I do it myself or take it to a tailor)? Do I need another project like this?
6. Will the fabric bother me in any way? I've learned not to buy any more wool or animal hair ever again. Well I do have a cashmere hat, but it's high-end enough that it doesn't itch.
7. Does it require dry cleaning or hand-washing? I can handle a few things that are drip dry but every time I buy hand-wash-only things, I end up machine washing them accidentally or intentionally, but with fingers crossed. I am pretty good at knowing what fabrics can actually be laundered but have learned this through expensive experience. If it needs dry cleaning I have to think about how often I'll wear it (special occasion or weekly wear?) and calculate the dry cleaning costs for a year. Ouch!
8. Don't drink and shop! Never shop after dinner that includes alcoholic beverages.
9. Don't be seduced. Nordstrom has a mysterious seductive power, especially when shopping with my husband for clothes for him. Do they use aromatherapy or subliminal audio or what?
10. Don't shop under duress. This is what happens when you realize you don't have appropriate shoes or something for an event. Unfortunately the antidote to this is either A) spend more time planning your wardrobe so it is well-rounded or B) shop recreationally--I must admit I find the best stuff when I'm not looking for anything particular. Any time I go looking for something specific, I can't find it. It's a paradox.

And I must remember the extra effort that comes with buying stuff:

1. Coming home with a bunch of bags means unloading them, removing tags, figuring where you're going to put stuff in my already-full closet, putting the bags in the recycling (which can mean disassembling the plastic or fabric handles), figuring out whether to keep the extra button provided and where to put it.
2. Buying a bunch of stuff means having to enter more receipts in my Quicken, reconcile more items on my statement.
3. More stuff means cleaning out my closet more often. It's something I do approximately twice per year, and although it takes 15 whole minutes, I'll procrastinate about it for months.
4. Shopping takes a lot of time. In the last few months we've gotten really good at Scrabble because we stopped going to the mall for recreation.

So, I'm sharing what I've learned with you. It's taken 35 years to figure out and is still hard to do but I'm trying.

Labelers Are All the Rage in the 5th Grade?

I got my eleven-year-old step-sister-in-law a label maker for Christmas. I was so proud that she wanted one. Of course, I think everyone should own one, especially aspiring young organized people.

I got this message from my step-mother-in-law (my step-sister-in-law's mom, in case you're having trouble with the wacky family titles).

I just had to tell you, you started a new trend in the 5^th grade of "Y" Elementary. Anybody who is anybody has a cool labeler like "A". (I am not kidding!)

Before I got to the words "cool labeler" I thought she was going to say "cool pink-and-blue knee-highs with the skull-and-crossbones-and-hearts" (I thought it was time for "A" to enter her cutie-punk-rock phase). But, I'm just as pleased to hear this news.

Yay! More Press This Week

Have you seen Triangle Home Improvement magazine? The pick-up points aren't quite everywhere yet so you may have to hunt for it.

This month they featured organizing. Check out the article, with ideas from yours truly.

Lots of press about organizing at this time of year.

Inspirational Quotes For Business (Not Someting I Actually Use)

A friend who helps me with marketing sent me this idea, presumably for my email sig or something:

A quote for your biz. :-)

As Yoda once said, "Off the floor up pick your stuff from, Young Jedi."

-Susan

And you thought I only blogged about serious stuff. I hope you appreciate a little Star Wars humor. I do.

Rebates are Designed With the Disorganized in Mind

I finally bought a new phone/pda (more on that later). Of course, there is a rebate. And of course, there are catches:

1. The rebate only applies if you sign up for the most expensive plan associated with the phone and a long commitment.
2. The rebate is for a Visa check card, not cash. The last time we got a phone from Cingular, this was also the case. I had forgotten. I also forgot that last time we had to jump through hoops to get the Visa card to actually work and had a couple of embarrassing moments trying to use it to pay for something and getting declined. And of course the Cingular people were no help. They claimed it was out of their hands. I don't remember exactly what we did to finally make it work, so I have that voyage of discovery to look forward to in 10-12 weeks. Just thinking about it makes my hackles raise.
3. Getting your rebate is a very complicated process--intentionally so, I'm sure. It's interesting that the salesperson actually filled out my rebate form for me and attached the bar codes from the box as well as the receipt. I checked to make sure he stapled ALL of the necessary pieces together and filled out the information correctly (he misspelled my street address). Then, of course, he put it in the big bag with all the other stuff they give you. Since this phone requires a learning curve, I had to root through all the stuff looking for manuals and startup guides. Fortunately I found the rebate form, which I had already forgotten about, hidden amongst a lot of other paper. Despite his help (which I assume is meant to look like good customer service), there are still steps involved:
   
1. Copy the form, receipt and bar codes.
2. Mark the date I'm mailing it on the copies.
3. File the copies under "pending".
   
4. Put a reminder on my calendar to check the rebate status in 10 weeks.
5. Address the envelope. For some, locating an envelope is difficult.
   
6. Go to the post office and get a tracking number? This seems like overkill so I won't do it--I've personally never had a rebate get "lost in the mail" like many other folks.
7. Mail it. For some, locating stamps is difficult.
   
4. The deadlines for filing rebates are roomy enough that following through and sending it off seems not-so-urgent. Most people, I'd imagine, never get the rebate sent in time. And there is no flexibility on the end of the retailer. Rebates are designed to work this way. Companies would lose too much money to be flexible.
5. It takes forever to get your money, 10-12 weeks. By then you've had to pay your credit card bill and cough up the extra $$ until the rebate "money" comes back.
   
6. The "money" they send usually has a pretty short shelf life. It often expires within a few months.

Sources online say that between 15% and 40% of rebates go unclaimed. I'm really surprised the percentage is not higher. Of course, in my line of work, I find rebate paperwork that has not been completed about 98% of the time. All of these hurdles are by design. I am sure of it. And folks with organizing challenges are the biggest prey.

Companies that offer rebates should be required to post their prices in a format sort of like this: "$399*************" or "(NOT REALLY) $399". Otherwise, I think it should be considered false advertising.

Be aware, when you make the purchase, of what is really involved so you don't get victimized.

You Can't Buy This Kind of Publicity

I've been working with a reporter from the Raleigh News & Observer for the last month, helping her with content for her article which finally came out Saturday...



You never know how you'll come across in the media. Back in August I was quoted for an article in Carolina Parent (the story isn't online) and I evidently used the word "stuff" way too much. Or at least I was quoted that way.

This new article is huge, the first whole page of the Home & Garden section plus another whole page, and has giant before and after pictures (I organized three spaces for them).

I'm very pleased with the way it came out. Though, who knows if I'll get any leads from it. I was in the N&O a year ago and didn't get a single hit from it.

Read the article here.

Nature Conservancy, That's What You Call Yourself?

While sorting through paperwork, junk mail and legitimate mail at a client's house, we came across these two envelopes. They are two separate mailings to the client--one was addressed to her old name, one to her new name. The address was identical.
Let's examine the features of this mailing:
1) "Waste Not?" Really?
2) "Want Not?" No, I don't want to get this junk mail.
3) "Address Labels Enclosed" These things seem to multiply when you lock them in a dark drawer with free address labels from other charities. Many clients are overrun with these things. They nearly never get used fast enough to keep up with the influx, if ever.And on the back:
4) Their tag line at the top reads "Saving the last great places on earth" while using twice as many trees as necessary. I doubt this envelope is made from something easy to renew like bamboo.
5) "Free Gardener's Tote Bag", probably your "gift" for joining. It looks useful but is typical of the kind of stuff I see crammed in closets because it didn't magically turn the client's thumb green. Just say no to freebies. If it's free, it's not worth having!
6) "One of the world's most efficient and effective environmental organizations". So efficient they sent the letter twice.
7) "Recycled Paper" One out of 7 isn't so great.

The production value of this mailing shows they've got some bucks so why can't their database delete multiple entries for the same address? Why are they buying mailing lists that might lead to this unintentional excess? I guess they're ok with cutting more trees to process this white paper, if they can get more donations. In this case it didn't work.

Get rid of junk mail by generating form letters at New American Dream. Fill out the form and pay a buck to the Direct Marketing Association to get off their lists. Remove yourself from ADVO's list. Or join Greendimes--for a dime a day they'll stop junk mail and plant a tree for you.

Now that I've scanned in those envelopes I'm going to drop them in my mixed paper recycling bin.

My Mom on Being Organized

On Friday, I talked to my mom--we have a weekly (at least) phone call. Friday I emailed her with the premise for this blog entry and some questions for her regarding being organized over the course of her life. Here's what I wrote, asked and commented on:

I just got off the phone with my mom who has just finished her spring cleaning. It's January 5th. It's not spring yet. Not even close. She also sends out her Christmas letter early enough that it beats everyone else's. The only person who sent their holiday card to me earlier was another organizer, and it didn't count anyway because this year she sent a Thanksgiving card. I have not sent any cards or letters for 2006...yet...and maybe won't at all at this point.

My mom is very organized, as is my Dad, and presumably I learned a good bit about organizing and being organized from them. So I thought I'd pick her brain to get her impressions on some things. She's really into genealogy so hopefully she'll find the family-ties aspect of these questions interesting.

Question: Where do you think your sensibility about being organized came from? Nature? Nurture? Somewhere else?

My Mom: My parents always insisted we keep our rooms clean, beds made, clothes picked up, etc. Every Saturday we would "clean house" as a family. I feel it was definitely nurture! As I grew to adulthood and married, we lived in a small trailer while your dad finished his Ph.D. There wasn't a lot of room, so I immediately put my "organize and simplify" into action. When we moved into our first home, after his graduation, the "habit" just seemed to continue. By this time I had one child and we began "pick up the toys and put them back in the toybox before daddy gets home" attitude. This continued when you were born.

Question: What compels you to be organized and how would you feel if you were disorganized?

My Mom: My oldest daughter swears it's obsessive compulsive disorder. For me, I think it's that I just accomplish more when I am organized. My home is organized so both your dad and I can find most anything within a few minutes - or at least know in which drawer, box, etc it might be. When I go on a trip, I begin planning months - even up to a year - in advance. To me, the "planning" of the trip is half the fun, but the practical side is that when I get to where I'm going, I usually am prepared with maps, "necessities", adequate clothing, etc. If I didn't plan in advance I feel I would most certainly forget something important and an item impossible to find on our travels. When I cook I like to know where all my utensils are so when I need one I can grab it. If I'm making a series of recipes I clean up after each one before starting the next just so I can easily reach all my supplies and utensils. I guess I go by the old motto "cleanliness is next to godliness" - especially in my kitchen.

My Comments: My mom has been planning a trip to Alaska and has booked every aspect of it the moment she could (some hotels/airlines only let you book a year and in advance and stuff like that) and is mostly paying for it with various types of "points/miles" systems.

Question: Were you organized as a kid or do you think people just didn't have so much stuff back then?

My Mom: As a child, I didn't have a lot of "stuff". Everything I had stayed in my room. Our toys were in our room when I was little, and we always had things picked up from the rest of the house before my dad came home. As I grew to a teen, I didn't have a lot of material objects. Yes, my sister and I had our records and record player, etc which we kept with the family records in the downstairs family room. Anything else, I kept in my closet or in my drawers. As I mentioned earlier, our rooms were expected to be clean and tidy before we left for school each day, so everything had it's place. But, I must admit, I had a LOT fewer items to deal with than my children or for that matter my grandchildren.

Question: When Tina and I were kids, were you as organized as you are now (spacewise and timewise)? I don't remember us being overbooked with extracurricular activities and things seemed pretty balanced. You always had/made time to make dinner and come to our activities. I assume that Tina's dust allergies had a lot to do with your housekeeping but I don't know for sure. Was there any difference in your level of organization pre- and post- Tina being diagnosed with allergies.

My Mom: When Tina was 2, we learned she had severe allergies. After many tests, we discovered mold, dust, cat and dog dander were some of the worse culprits. Our pediatrician informed me it would be necessary to clean the bathrooms daily, dust and vacuum daily (or pull out all the carpeting) and if I didn't remove them, I would have to vacuum the curtains weekly, after they were sprayed with a special product designed to keep down dust. So, yes, Tina's allergies played a BIG roll in my organizing the house and keeping things up. After she had been on shots for about 5 years and her allergies improved, I tried to back off the "daily" regimen. By that time I was working full time, was scout leader for either Tina or you for 7 years running, then when Tina started playing junior high basketball and volleyball and then you were in high school tennis, I tried to be at every game/match. Unlike many families of today, we always ate dinner together (unless, of course, there was an out-of-town game), but we seemed to always pull things off. I think being organized gave me the freedom to feel I could go to work, attend your games and tennis matches and still have the house a "home". Of course, by this time you and Tina were young adults and pretty much in charge of your own things - I basically just had to keep the house "clean". I often referred to the house as my "kingdom" and you girls' rooms as your "castles". I insisted my kingdom was picked up, but couldn't always assume the castles would meet my expectations.

Question: How do you figure that Tina and I turned out with different tendencies toward organization?

My Mom: I ponder this question often and have NEVER come up with an answer!

Question: Do you have any thoughts about why a few of our family members have/had serious clutter/hoarding issues?

My Mom: Your paternal grandmother had a serious hoarding issue, but I think it can be explained. By the time the "clutter" started, she was pretty much house-bound. Her only enjoyment in life was ordering things that she thought she might one day take advantage of "when she was better". I think it was her way of holding out hope for returning to a normal healthy life.

I have an elderly first cousin, that has serious clutter issues. She tells me her mother was always a spendthrift, so I think she became the extreme opposite, spending very little and yet keeping EVERYTHING ever purchased.

My Comments: I believe my grandma was in the Level 2 range on the clutter hoarding scale. The cousin is probably a Level 2-3. I haven't seen her house but have heard about it in detail from my mom.


And now for some fun ones:

Question: Which would be worse: someone reorganizing your pantry without your permission? or someone turning your pantry into pure chaos?

My Mom: I REALLY have trouble with chaos. I might not like the way someone organizes, but at least there would be a pattern to it.

Question: By what date do you send out your yearly Christmas letter and are you actually trying to beat everyone else by being first?

My Mom: I always try to send our Christmas letter out the day after Thanksgiving, after all, that is when the Christmas shopping season begins. (I do have one cousin I try to beat - we have a lot of fun trying to be the "first".) Once my Christmas letters are in the mail I feel the holiday season has begun and then I can relax and enjoy, knowing I've gotten them out of the way. It's the same way with Christmas presents. I really dislike shopping in crowds and not being able to get what I want as a gift for someone, so I start early. For example, this year, I was able to relax, bake cookies, etc. because by the first of December my Christmas letters were out, my Christmas shopping done and wrapped. It was so relaxing to really be able to enjoy the holidays and not be stressing out.


Thanks Mom!