How to Convert Files
I have a mostly paperless office, and there are a number of great tools out there that can help with the process of digitizing your papers. I recently needed to convert a .pdf file into an image file such as .png or .jpg. I found this great, FREE website which will convert all sorts of files into other commonly used types. Do you need to convert files? Here's a great FREE file converter... Zamar.com Here's just a sampling of the types of files you can convert to and from: bmp - Windows bitmap doc - Microsoft Word Document gif - Compuserve graphics interchange html - Hypertext ...
Organize Folders on Your Computer
A reader recently asked me the following question: "Would you share how you organize folders on your computer? I've got the scanner ready to go but realize I need to cleanup my files before adding all these new scanned documents to the mess. I wondered if you would share on your blog how your directories are organized on your computer." It sounds like she was all ready to go paperless but ran into an organization roadblock. Organizing your computer files is similar to building a house. You must build your house by first having a good foundation. You also need a ...
Simplify the Bathroom, Inside Out
You decluttered... You cleaned... Now it's time to Simplify the Bathroom! "If I want to be alone--some place I can write, I can read, I can pray, I can cry, I can do whatever I want --I go to the bathroom." --Alicia Keys You can now organize and simplify the bathroom by adding back the things you and your family members love, use often, and are practical or necessary. Also consider feng shui-ing your bathroom before you start putting things back in it. The location of the bathroom in the home can often affect the flow of energy in the home and the people who live there. ...
Get A Clean Bathroom, Inside Out
"This house is protected by killer dust bunnies" --author unknown Why have a clean bathroom? Simple. Because it makes you feel good. Unfortunately, cleaning the bathroom is often one of the least favorite chores in the home. Usually there is one person who ends up with the chore, and they have their own way of doing the job. Plus, no one really enjoys picking up after other people's personal business. One key to having a clean bathroom (and then maintaining it) is to make a list of exactly what needs to be cleaned, how to do it, and how often ...
Clear Bathroom Clutter
Ready to clear bathroom clutter once and for all? Getting rid of bathroom clutter makes bathroom time more efficient for everyone in the family. First you need some Inside-Out techniques and tools, such as The Brain Dump, Emotional Releasing Techniques, and The Power of Intention. If you haven't already learned how to Organize Life, Inside Out, click here to start. "I grew up with six brothers. That's how I learned to dance - waiting for the bathroom." --Bob Hope The bathroom is a small but important space, and it will go through phases of being cluttered and decluttered as people in your home share this space. ...
Mar 11
9
Cluttered Kitchen
Have A Cluttered Kitchen?
Organize Your Kitchen, Inside Out
Do you have a cluttered kitchen? Maybe it’s because it lacks intention.
When your space has a purpose and you have a purpose in your space, it is easy to determine what basic necessities should share that space with you. Everything else is “clutter”!
Most activity in the home centers in and around the kitchen, so it is important to be on clutter control.
You can’t totally avoid clutter in this space, but at least you can allow it to come and go with an underlying sense of order and purpose.
So, with your intentions for your kitchen in hand (or in your head), here is one tried-and-true method to clearing out the kitchen:
Ready…
Find a space in another room where you can put all of the items from your kitchen temporarily as you clean, declutter, and simplify.
Set…
In this space, put your organizing containers or boxes: love, donate, sell, trash, recycle, etc.
Go…
- First, start be removing any furniture that can be removed.
- Remove all items from the counter tops, sink, etc.
- Remove all items from drawers, cupboards, cabinets, and pantry if there is one.
- Remove curtains or window treatments from the windows.
- Anything left? Remove these items, if possible.
Done? Take a short break to drink some water, and review your intentions again.
Next…
Posted in Declutter by .
For storing photos safely, it’s important to have a place for your prints where they will be preserved and protected from damage in order to keep your memories intact.
Once you have digitized your photo prints, you will be storing photos in a photo-safe environment. For more information on digitizing photos, click here.
Photo prints and newspaper clippings will deteriorate more rapidly when they are exposed to:
- acidic photo albums, papers, adhesives, and plastics
- lignan fibers in certain types of papers like newspaper or inexpensive scrapbooking paper
- light
- air pollution
- dust
- moisture
- high temperatures
- skin oils from fingers handling the photos
The first important factor for storing photos is the environment and climate they will be stored in. Try to find a cool, dry place in your home, such as an upstairs closet.
Basements tend to be more humid, so they are probably not a good choice (unless the basement is dehumidified.) The optimum temperature for storing photos is 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Celsius.) Photos should be stored in an area with optimally 20 to 50 percent relative humidity.
Now that you’ve scanned and digitized your prints and found a good place to store them, you need to find good quality physical photo storage containers. The most common types of photo storage include photo albums, photo boxes, or other containers (sleeves, folders, or envelopes.)
The Importance of Storing Photos Safely
According to the National Archives, “all plastic and paper materials used to house and store valuable and heirloom photographs should pass the Photographic Activity Test (PAT).” They go on to explain that “the PAT is a test that determines whether or not a storage material will cause fading or staining in photographs.” The high-quality manufacturers that use the same safety test approved and utilized by the Library of Congress and National Archives usually advertise their products stating that they pass this test.
When you are shopping around for products to help store your photos, make sure you understand the different archival standards so you don’t spend money on a product that doesn’t really provide the protection you need.
Not sure the difference between “photo safe” and “archival quality”? Learn more with this Archival Terms Dictionary.
Photo Albums
Most people enjoy having prints in photo albums. The benefit is that you can organize them in the sequence you like, be able to access them quickly and easily without shuffling through boxes and piles, and protect them from dirty or greasy fingers. Try to only put the best photos that are worthy of telling tales about in your photo albums, and file away the rest of the not-so-good photos.
Choosing an album depends on the type of person you are. You may be a “just stuff them in an album” type of person or a scrapbooking and journaling fanatic.
Before you go out and buy the first album you find on sale, first understand why Archival Storage Protection is important.
There are many types of storage albums and boxes on the market to help you protect and organize photos and momentos. Unfortunately, some storage boxes and containers may damage or ruin your memories instead of protecting them.
Of all the factors that can cause photographs to break down, acid is the worst. On a scale from 0 to 14, 0 means very acidic, while 14 means not acidic (basic). Any storage products that have been tested for a pH level of 7.0 or above are considered acid-free
Choosing acid-free albums
Some of the best products for storing photos are available online from Amazon.com
Scrapbooking
If you are a scrapbooking nut, there are lots of great scrapbooking albums available. If you are in between like me, I like to use memo albums
Waiting to find time to organize and put your photos into an album? In the meantime, protect your photos by storing them in a good quality photo box
Sorting Photos for Long-Term Storage:
Whether you’re using photo boxes or plastic protector sheets in a 3-ring binder, the most common ways to sort your photos are the following: chronologically by year, and then by month (this is most people’s preference), or by events or themes.
Many photo boxes also include envelopes and sleeves to further divide your photos by date, theme, or event, but make sure they are also acid-free.
Other Tips for Storing Photos:
For old Polaroid prints, it is best to scan the image to your computer, crop out the surrounding white area using a digital photo editor, and re-save the image. Then you can store the original in a plastic sleeve inside a storage box.
To store news clippings of important announcements like your child’s school activities, births, marriages, obituaries, etc., it is best to scan the original as soon as possible and save it as a digital image. The paper used for news print has lignan which will turn yellow over time. If you store it in an album, it may also cause the underlying page to change color. If you want to put the news clipping into an album, print the digital image onto photo-safe paper and then put it into a photo-safe album.
Click here for more details on how to scan and digitize photos.
Storing Negatives and Slides
You most likely have some old negatives from when you had your film developed and possibly some slides from years ago. Storing negatives can be easily organized by putting them in plastic storage sleeves along with your photos in your album, or in a separate album dedicated to only storing negatives. Another option to avoid storing negatives and slides is to convert them into digital files with a Slide and Negative Converter
Great Job!
I commend you on taking the time to learn about safe photo storage. As any family historian knows, it is important not only to have photo memories, but to preserve those memories for future generations. The investment you make today will be enjoyed by future generations.
Next…
For information on storing your digital photos, please read Photo Backup.
Posted in Organization Products by .
It is imperative to back up photos in order to prevent losing your digital photo collection due to a computer problem. Those never happen, right?
I bet most of you probably wrote down the intention that you want to preserve your memories for the future. That’s why you can’t afford to skip this step in organizing photographs.
Back in my more unorganized days, I was victim of my computer starting on fire (due to a build up of cat hair inside the fan and a spark when I plugged it in). I lost all of my important files, and worst of all, my photographs. I made due without my regular files, but to this day I still regret losing my digital photos.
Needless to say, I now have a good backup system for my digital photos. Many people ask me how I do it, so I’ll share my method, and you can come up with one that works best for you.
There are 4 places you can store your images:
- Your computer
- An external hard-drive or other storage device (kept in another location)
- CDs/DVDs
- Online photo storage/sharing
Here is the method I use to backup pictures in all 4 locations:
On My Computer
I keep all of my digital photo files on my computer in the “My Pictures” folder. You can then create a folder organization scheme to categorize your photos better. The sub-folders I use include:
- Events
- Family
- Friends
- Holidays
- Memorabilia
- Miscellaneous
- Pets and Animals
- Places
- Sports and Games
- Travel
Within each of the sub-folders, I create another folder for each year. Within each year, I put my photos in another sub-folder with a title that relates to the subject of the photos.
Then I usually edit the photos using photo editing software
Back Up Photos to an External Hard Drive or Other Storage Device
I back up to both an external hard drive and a USB flash drive, just to be on the safe side. You can either just copy and paste the files in between the devices, or you can use a syncing software so only new or changed files will be updated each time you do a sync and backup. I like Allway Sync because it’s free for personal use and easy to use.
It’s a good idea to keep one or all of your back-ups stored in a secure off-site location. This could be a friend or relative’s house, or even a security box at a bank. If for some reason you can’t put it off-site, I recommend purchasing a fire safe
Back Up Photos to CDs/DVDs
Another option is burning the images to archival-quality CDs or DVDs
Back Up Photos Online
Another way to keep your photos safe is to upload them to an online photo storage and sharing website such as Shutterfly or Picasa. With a backup online, your images are stored on a remote server. If you were to lose all of the images on your computer, you could possibly get them back by downloading my images or ordering CDs with the original images from the online website. When you choose an online company, make sure to find out if you can get your images back once you upload them.
There are many online backup websites, and I do recommend using one to back-up not only photos, but all of your important computer files. After researching the top 25 options available, I recommend IDrive for it’s cost effectiveness and ease of use.
A Note on Photo Safety and Privacy
In today’s information age, it is necessary to weigh the risks and benefits of putting any information on the internet, including photographs. Be smart, investigate the privacy and security policies of all online photo sharing, printing, and storing websites, and then make an educated choice of where you put your photographs.
Using the ideas above, I hope you can come up with the way to back up photos that works best for you and your family. Knowing that your images are safe and recoverable if something should happen is worth the small amount of time and effort you will spend organizing all of your photographs.
Next…
If you haven’t already, visit these pages for more information on how to organize your photos:
Return to Organize Photographs from Back Up Photos
Posted in Going Digital by .
Digitizing photos helps you to finally have all of your photos organized in one place!
If you’re like the average American, you probably have photographs in several forms such as prints, negatives, slides, and digital photo files on CDs or your computer.
Unfortunately, all photographs, whether hard-copy or digital file, will degrade and deteriorate over time. Despite this, I do recommend digitizing photos as a way to organize them, share them, and even edit them without damaging the originals.
The wave of the future is digitizing photos. As many people now own digital cameras, photos are relatively easy to share via email or image sharing websites. The problem is preserving and sharing older photos that haven’t been converted into digital images yet.
Let’s get working on digitizing your photo collection!
First…
Get as many of your prints, negatives, and slides together as possible.
Next…
Start with the negatives and slides:
- If you have negatives in sleeves or old film roll jars, you can oftentimes take them into a photo processing store and ask them to convert the images to digital format on a CD or DVD, although that can be expensive if you have a lot of old negatives.
- Another option is convert your negatives into digital files with a Slide and Negative Converter. It’s worth doing to prevent losing those images forever to deterioration. Then upload the images to your computer and organize into folders.
Now for the photo prints:
- This process can be very time-consuming, so set aside some time that you can dedicate to organize and digitize photos. Look for photos stored in shoe boxes, bins, drawers, frames, and photo albums and gather them all together.
- Then you will need a scanner
- If you have photos stuck in an album, sometimes they can be removed relatively easily. If not, there are adhesive removers
Next…
Once you have digital copies of all of your images, you need to learn about Photo Backup for the digital files.
Then make sure to learn about Safe Photo Storage.
Don’t skip the above steps! You don’t want to lose all of the time you just put into digitizing your photos by not having a good backup.
Posted in Going Digital by .
Mar 11
9
Sports Equipment Storage Tips
Sports equipment storage is important for keeping equipment out of the way. Improperly stored items can be hazardous when walking through the garage. Single family home garages may house off-season clothing, a washer and dryer, family vehicles, and yard maintenance equipment.
Storage equipment can help keep everything the family needs to run smoothly out of the way until needed. Active families may have several sports they are actively participating in. Keeping the equipment organized and easily accessible is important. Here are some tips for sports equipment storage at home.
There are several different sports seasons throughout the year. Soccer equipment, hockey equipment, baseball equipment, and basketball equipment are not cheap. Your family may have an investment in the cost of paying for the sports league fees as well as purchasing equipment used for practice and in some instances games. Storing sports equipment also helps to protect the equipment from accidental damage. Other children in the family can use the equipment in safe condition.
Organizing your sports equipment begins with first assessing how much storage space there is in the garage. Use a tape measure or yardstick and write down available spaces. Be sure to include open space on the walls and above existing items in the garage such as cars. This space is often neglected, but by adding a storage lift system it can hold lots of less-used items.
Ensure there is enough space to comfortably walk in front of the storage areas and to be able to open and close the storage furniture or containers. Move bikes off the floor by using a bike stand or mounting them on the wall with bike hooks. Use over-the-door-style stroller hooks to store shopping strollers and jogging strollers. Moving both bikes and strollers out of the way helps to make more room for sports equipment.
Installing a shelving-style system is a great way to have everything visible. Shelving comes in a variety of different styles and affordable price ranges. Clear storage bins can be used to place items on the shelves. Labeling the outside of each bin with the contents prevents having lots of “mystery bins” where you don’t know what’s inside.
Consider organizing each shelf or a section on the shelf for one specific sport. For example, basketball equipment may be on the first shelf, soccer equipment on the second shelf, hockey on the third shelf, and if no one is currently playing football put it on the highest shelf. The shelves can be rotated throughout the year, placing the equipment that is used the most often on the lowest shelf.
Ball Claws work well for the one or two balls that are being used a few times a week. Install the ball claw at a level where it is easily accessible by the children. If there is a basketball hoop in the backyard keep the ball claw with the basketball closest to the door leading outside.
Keep some open space on the shelves where children can get into the habit of putting the sports equipment back themselves. This could be a clear storage bin without a top to put things in temporarily, and with the help of an adult they can store the items on higher shelves later.
Storing sports equipment is a task that does take some planning, but the results are well worth the time. We hope you’ve enjoyed these tips to organize sports equipment in the garage.
Posted in Declutter by .
Now it’s time to organize and simplify garage storage by adding back only the things you and your family members love, use often, and are necessary or practical.
Take whatever you don’t use, love, or need, and dispose of the garbage. Then recycle what you can, and organize a garage sale. You can also list the items for sale in the newspaper, on Craig’s List, or on eBay. Or if you don’t want to bother with trying to sell everything, donate it!
Every item that you put back into the garage needs a space, so if there isn’t one, you need to create one.
When you start to put things back into the garage, you may want to ask yourself some of the following questions:
- What kinds of storage
- Are there enough shelves?
- Is there a workbench and an area for tools?
- Which tools or equipment do you use most often?
- Which tools or equipment do you pull out rarely?
- Do you have hobby? What special workspace do you want for woodworking, gardening, working on cars, etc.?
Here are some ways you can make the most of your garage storage space:
- I’m a big fan of using wall and ceiling space in garages to hang up tools and equipment. These are also great places to hang ladders and store boxes.
- Store rarely-used tools in cabinets or in overhead storage, and keep commonly-used tools within easy reach.
- Try to group similar items together. For example, use one corner of the garage to put the lawnmower and weed-wacker, and have above them on hooks or shelves the smaller lawn-care related items.
- Create a wall to hang and store tools.
- Add wall hooks to hang bicycles and helmets.
- As those of you who live in areas with lots of snow or rain know, when you park the car in the garage it will form puddles on the floor. If you must store boxes or other items on the floor, consider elevating them a few inches by placing them on top of plastic or wood slats or using floor mats.
Now that you’ve been able to simplify garage storage and everything in your garage has it’s own space, make a special effort to return items to that space once you’re done using them. If you can make this a habit, you garage be clean and organized for a long time to come.
Next… for all of you active folks:
Get Sports Equipment Storage Tips!
Then…
Pick out some Garage Organizers and Storage Solutions…
Posted in Simplify by .
Mar 11
9
Get A Clean Garage, Inside Out
If you’d like to have a thoroughly clean garage, you’ve come to the right place!
Before you start, get your natural cleaning kit together.
Ready? Put on some fun, upbeat music, and let’s get going!
- Vacuum/dust the corners of the walls and the ceiling to remove cobwebs and dust.
- Vacuum/dust the windowsills. Wipe down/wash the windows.
- Check the light fixtures: make sure all light bulbs function; if not, replace them. Make sure there is enough light to work with. If you need more light, consider purchasing movable spot lights.
- Wipe down surfaces of cabinets, shelves, and workbenches.
- If you have a shopvac, vacuum up the large debris off the floor.
- Sweep/vacuum the corners and floor. If you have a drain, you may want to wash the floor
- Click here for information on how to remove oil spots or stains from concrete floors.
Phew…ok, stop for a few moments to catch your breath and take a look around your space. Feel a little lighter already? You are one step closer to having an organized home. Now your garage is like a blank canvas for you to re-create the work space you defined in your intentions.
Next…
Once you’ve reviewed your intentions and had a drink of water, learn how to Simplify Garage Storage.
Posted in Cleaning by .
Mar 11
9
Clear Garage Clutter, Inside Out
Clearing garage clutter can seem like a daunting task. But if you break an overwhelming task down into simpler steps, it isn’t quite so scary. Now is the time to finally take back your garage space and use it for the purposes you’ve always wanted.
So, with your intentions for your garage in hand, let’s start a tried-and-true method to get rid of junk in the garage:
Ready…
Move all of the cars and other large motor vehicles to the street, if possible. Make space in the driveway where you can put all of the items from your garage temporarily as you declutter, clean, and simplify.
Set…
In this space, put your decluttering containers or boxes: love/use/keep, donate, sell, trash, recycle, etc.
Go…
Now we’re going to take everything possible out of the garage. Don’t forget to take items down from ceiling storage, and take items off of the walls if they are hanging up.
As you are moving items out, consider what to do with each item.
- Is it something you use often?
- Do you really use it?
- Is it something you could do without by renting or borrowing from someone when you need it?
- Do you have more than one of the item, or can something else do the same job?
If you haven’t used an item in a long time, put it in the appropriate container for later review and action.
Ok…down to the bare bones of your garage? Now take a short break to drink some water, and review your intentions again.
Next…
Posted in Declutter by .
Do you have a linen closet in your home which is close to or inside the bathroom? Is it organized? If not, you are missing out on a very small but useful closet storage space in your home. Unfortunately, it usually becomes on of those “catch-all” places in the home, like a junk drawer in the kitchen.
This space is best used for storage of linens (hence the name). Store your clean and folded towels, sheets
Start be removing everything from the closet and donate or toss the items you don’t use, need, or like. It’s better to have less items and wash them more often. This helps prevent that musty smell that comes from storing things like sheets or blankets for too long without using them.
Tip: Use natural cedar wood blocks, spray, balls, or other products to keep your linens smelling clean and to avoid musty odors.
A good closet design is also helpful for this space. Add a closet system (including shelves or even drawers) to maximize this small closet.
If you still have additional space, use it to store bulk purchases of natural cleaning and household products like toilet paper, kleenex, laundry detergent, etc. You could even keep one of your natural cleaning kits here along with the mop, broom, vacuum cleaner, and wash cloths.
Finally, it is very important to have a family first-aid kit. The linen closet is a good, centralized location to store the first aid kit in case of an emergency. Make sure all of the family members know where it is located, but keep it out of reach of the little ones.
By approaching each closet in your home with intentions followed by a session of decluttering, cleaning, and simplifying, closet organization and maintenance will become a snap.
Posted in Declutter by .
Mar 11
9
Closet Organization
Taking It All Out and Putting Some Of It Back In
You have a closet design…
You found your closet storage solutions…
Now it’s time for Closet Organization!
By approaching each closet in your home with clear intentions followed by a session of decluttering, cleaning, and simplifying, closet organization and maintenance will become a snap.
Define Your Intentions
Why do you want an organized closet? Before you begin taking everything out of the closet, Write down your intentions.
For example:
- “I always find what I need in my closet because everything has a place.”
- “I have plenty of space for my favorite clothes and shoes, and I help others by donating what I don’t appreciate or use anymore.”
Before and After…Take Photos!
Take a few minutes to capture your “before” disaster so you can appreciate your work when you’re done.
Now it’s time to get physical!
Declutter Your Closet:
Start be removing everything from the closet and donate or toss the items you don’t use, need, or like.
Remember! Closets are not just larger versions of junk drawers!
Tip: Save money by repairing your favorite clothes instead of throwing them away.
- If you are the type of person who can sew on a button or take up a hem, then doing it yourself makes sense. But if you don’t know how to sew and you have clothes that need repair, pay the small extra cost of taking it to the dry cleaners. Often they have clothes repair and mending services.
- Get a fresh start and make sure all of your clothes have been repaired, laundered, and/or dry cleaned BEFORE putting them back into your newly organized closet. Then keep a basket on the floor of your closet for clothes to go to dry cleaning or that need to be repaired in the future.
Tip: The 80-20 rule applies to closets. Generally, we wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time.
- When clearing clutter from your bedroom closet, think about the 20% that you wear most often. They are probably the clothes that make you feel good when you put them on. Maybe you like how a color looks on you, or how the fabric feels. Maybe it fits you just right. Maybe it is a classic piece of clothing that you can interchange with other styles and colors. Maybe you have a few “fun” pieces that you use to dress up your classics. Those are the types of clothing that should be in your 20%. Sometimes when you find something you really love that you consider a “20% item”, consider buying 2 in case the original gets damaged or wears out.
- Now think of your 80%. Maybe the color or size just isn’t right. Maybe the fabric is itchy or takes too much effort to take care of. Maybe you bought 6 of the same things in different colors because they were on sale. Maybe they are accessories such as scarves, hats, purses, shoes, belts, etc., that you haven’t worn in a while. Consider putting part of the 80% in the donate or toss pile.
Clean Your Closet:
Sweep, vacuum, and/or wash the floor, baseboards, corners, and shelves in the closet.
This is the time to remove the old closet system and install the new one.
Simplify Your Closet:
You’ve already partially simplified most your closet by choosing your closet design and closet storage. Now we can start to put things back in!
The 80-20 rule says that the most efficient way to organize your clothes is to have the 20% you wear more often readily available and within reach.
Fold or hang your favorite 20% within reach now.
For the clothes you only wear once or twice a year, make sure they are clean and then store them in a clear garment bag to prevent them from getting that musty smell (make sure part of it is made of fabric for ventilation). You can hang the bag off to the side of the closet where you won’t need to access it as often, but can still see what is inside the bag.
Tip: Use natural cedar wood blocks, spray, balls, or other products to keep your linens smelling clean and to avoid musty odors. If you have a lot of humidity where you live, buy a closet dehumidifier and empty the water (or charge it) regularly.
Finish hanging and folding your clothes, filling the rods, shelves, and drawers, and then take a step back to appreciate your work. Take some “after” photos now that you have a finished product. Remember what you’ve learned throughout the process of closet organization, and maintenance should be a snap.
Next…
What about the rest of your bedroom? Learn how to organize your bedroom, inside out!.
Then…
What about organizing that other closet? Time to tackle linen closet organization!
The Essential Guide to Organizing Your Home: Jam-Packed with Tips & TechniquesFREE eBook!
