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We believe in providing you with tools for easy, orderly living. Following you will find just a sampling of our resources and tips to live clutter-free.



Books:

Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui, Karen Kingston
Easy to grasp and implement concepts pertaining to the energetic benefits of having a clutter-free living space.




Organizing from the Inside Out, Julie Morgenstern
Full of how-to tips and processes to obtain functionality in the home.





Tips for daily organized living:

• Be consistent and intentional about where you keep important, frequently-used items. For example, if your keys have a home that's by the entrance, it'll be easy to put them there upon arrival and find them upon departure.

• Want to know what clothes you actually wear? Put the hangers on the rod backwards. When you use an item, turn the hanger to "normal." At the end of a given time frame (3 months, 6 months, what have you) donate all clothes on backwards hangers.

• To transform a cupboard, drawer, closet or room from being full of overwhelming clutter to a space filled with items you use and love, remove all items from the space. Put back into the space only those items you adore and have use for. All the rest goes (to donations, garbage, recycling, etc.)

• Junk mail bogging you down? When the mail arrives each day, take three minutes (in some cases this can be done faster) to quickly recycle items you know are useless. For long term solutions check out Stop Junk Mail on the internet.

• Mystery food: avoid food waste and left-over build up by labeling every (preferably transparent) container, either frozen or refrigerated. Place newest items in back or on the bottom.

• Prepare for the next day the previous evening. Make sure all items you'll need to take with you out the door are in one convenient place.

Don't want to see those items you're ready to release go into the landfill? We're with you all the way! Here are some alternatives you can look into in Seattle:

• Donate! Charities are often looking for reusable items, and some will come pick them up from your curb. You receive a tax write off. Contact your favorite organization to learn details. Some examples:

  Noel House shelter for women welcomes many items needed to run their programs. Their web site lists their top needs.

  Furniture in good condition can be given to The Sharehouse, an organization that supports women getting back on their feet

  Northwest Center takes gently used clothes and household items. There are drop off locations throughout the city, and they regularly send trucks into neighborhoods for pick-ups.

• Freecycle is a community site where you can list items to go and also items wanted. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer.

• Craigslist is a fabulous recourse for selling reusable items or listing them for free. Thousands of people visit the online list every day. Nearly everything has the potential for finding a new home. Setting up an ad is easy, and interested parties come to you.

• Google unusual items with the word "donate," "reuse," or "recycle." You may be amazed at opportunities that pop up.

• Make use of your city's recycling program. Paper, magazines, newspapers, cans, bottles, and some plastics can all have new life through recycling.