Here are a few from the last few days:

1. “I found using a plastic, over the door, shoe organizer, works great in the bathroom and RV’s for colorful towels that match your decor. Just hang it on the shower curtain rod. Its easy to slide out of the shower or tub, and just grab a bath towel. I roll up the towels and insert them in the plastic shoe holder, and you can see the pretty colors of the towels through the plastic. This is a good sheet organizer as well.” -Diane

2. On storing China: “Another thing that works between the plates is paper plates. Boxes from a pharmacy could work for cups or glasses. They are free for the asking.” – Marilyn

3. In regards to my “Where’s the Tape” Rant – “I started keeping the tape on a string, and people can only use in while it is attached. It works for far. There have been a couple time we have had to un-attach it, but it always comes back…Mama means business!!” – Kellyn

Post from: Blisstree

Reader’s Organizing Ideas

You get a new magazine in the mail and the first thing you do is skim through it. You notice several articles that catch your eye and you want to read later. When you have a few minutes, you scan through the magazine again reading what you have time for. You then put the magazine aside and tell yourself you’ll look at it later because you really want to keep that article about buying name brand shoes at a discount. The next thing you know, your pile of magazines is out of control and you have no idea which magazine that article is in.

Yep, I do this too. I used to be really good at tearing out the articles I wanted to keep and I had a special file box where I would put them. Well, life happened and I haven’t don this in awhile.

A comment from one of my readers named Peg, inspired me to get going again and organize my magazine articles:

I’m a sucker for magazines and subscribe to a jillion of them — Organize (of course), knitting, quilting, travel, news, etc, etc.

I’ve found one method for dealing with them that works the best for me: I sit down with a magazine THE DAY IT COMES and quickly go through each page, tearing them off as I go. When I come to something that I want to keep (like a pattern) or to read later, I put it to the side. I DON’T READ IT AT THAT TIME. The goal is to get through it quickly and get it off my desk.

When I’ve gone through the entire thing, I find I usually only have a dozen or so pages left to deal with. The patterns/reference articles go in the appropriate file folders and the “read later” articles go in my “Take to work and read at lunch” envelope. I also keep an “Internet” file folder for those articles that reference something I want to check out on the Web.

If I don’t follow this method, I find that I am soon overwhelmed in back issues and it takes almost an entire Sunday to plow through them.

Great tip Peg! Follow this simple method and you will know exactly where all your favorite articles are. Now doesn’t that sound nice?

Post from: Blisstree

Reader Tip: Dealing with Magazines

Call Her Blessed posted before and after pictures of her mail center and let me just say, she did an awesome job. I also want to point out that she is a SAHM to 4 gorgeous kids and her blog is written from the heart. It’s a place I plan on visiting during the week and I hope you will stop by and say hi also.

Okay, here is her before picture:

Does this look familiar to any one else? Yes, I have been here too with piles and piles of mail trying to take over. Almost every home I have been in, to help them get organized, has had one of these mail clutter areas.

Would you like to see her after picture now? Well I’m not going to show it to you! You have to go visit her post Organizing a Mail Center to see it. It’s a beautiful sight!

Do you have some before and after photos that you would like me to highlight here on Declutter It? If so, then send them in via the email link above. Everyone loves before and after pics.

Post from: Blisstree

Call Her Blessed Mail Center

While I am looking forward to the festivity and fun of the holiday season, the one thing I am not looking forward to is putting all the stuff we get for Christmas away once the gift giving is done. As a matter of fact, I am trying to reduce the amount of stuff my family has – not add to it. So what is a Mom to do?

The following are ideas I have collected over time for gifts that don’t have to be dusted, don’t have a gazillion little plastic pieces, always fit, and don’t create more clutter in your home.

She has ideas for kids, teachers, coaches and all the other adults in your life. It is a SUPER list and she gave me some great ideas. Don’t add to people’s clutter this Christmas, enhance their lives with a gift they can really use and enjoy!

Read the rest of her post here.

Post from: Blisstree

Clutter Free Gift Ideas from Casual Keystrokes

To keep my shoe collection in order, I have two of those canvas shoe organizers (similiar to the one pictured here) and I only allow to own as many as fit in them. I also keep a small plastic container for off-season shoes like snow boots and super-fancy dress shoes that I never wear, since those shouldn’t really count towards my quota. This helps me keep my shoe collection smaller, and my shoes always have a place to go when I take them off, which keeps the floor of my closet clean.

That is a GREAT tip Kelly! Thank you so much.

If you have a tip to share, please send them via my email link on the right hand next to my name and I will post them. If you have a blog or website, please include the url so I can link to you.

Post from: Blisstree

Reader Tip – Keeping Your Shoe Collection in Order

“A really good de-cutter/space saving tip that I have is mounting your tv to the wall. So many people are upgrading to flat panel TVs and they are still putting them onto stands. I ordered a mount from http://www.premiermounts.comand they were really easy to deal with and the product is great and worked great. I have so much more space after removing my tv stand.”

Thanks for the tip!

Wallmount pictured here is from Amazon: Sanus VM2 VisionMount Flat-Panel TV Wallmount

Post from: Blisstree

Reader Tip #1