Getting organized: Listmaker, listmaker, make me a list!

Nothing beats a good old-fashioned checklist for getting everything you need to do corralled into one place so you feel a little less overwhelmed.

For household issues, I like to use a yellow legal pad. Every time I come across something that needs to be cleaned, fixed, filed, replaced, removed, redecorated, de-cluttered, reorganized... I write it on the list. It may not get done right away, but I don't have to fret about it because I know it won't be forgotten. It's on the list.

But what never ceases to amaze me is how one item on the list can actually become several tasks. For example, I need to replace the drapery rod bracket that fell out over my sliding glass door. Should be an easy thing to do, right? Well...maybe not.

To do:  Replace drapery rod bracket

• Find the screw that fell out and rolled under the sofa
• Buy a safer, taller stepladder - the one I have is too short and wobbly
• Charge the electric drill and look for the phillips screwdriver drill bit
• Discover that my jar of spackle is hard as a rock. Buy new spackle to fill the hole and cover the bright blue drywall anchor forever lodged inside the wall
• Since the curtains are down, may as well wash and press them
• Realize that one reason it all fell down was because the curtains are too heavy for the light-duty rod
• Wait for coupon to come in mail for favorite home decor store, then go buy new rod system
• Two weeks have passed...need to charge the drill again and re-press the curtains that got creased while draped over the chair all this time
• The "knocking" technique is not turning up the location of a couple studs to ensure the new rod brackets never fall out...need to borrow somebody's stud finder
• Give up and add it to a different list of things I need to hire a handyman to do for me

Oh well, so my family room gets a little more light, lol. 

I still feel better knowing everything I need to do is on a list. If one task gets frustrating, I'll just move on down to another task that I can actually complete and feel good about it!

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."  

—William Morris

Falling—yes I'm falling...

No, not the old song...I am talking about falling down.

One of the most serious things that can happen to a senior is a fall. For people over 65, falling is one of the most expensive medical costs to the government.

Back in the year 2000, the direct medical cost totaled $179 million dollars for fatal and $19 trillion dollars for non-fatal falls. Goodness knows what it is now.

With our rapidly aging population, it is wise to look at ways to reduce the risk of falling. If you are over 65, or if you have an elderly relative, check out these ideas:

1.  By doing regular physical activity, you can increase your balance and your lower body strength. Check out the local Senior Center or gym for classes to help you. Perhaps you can get a DVD from the library on exercise or yoga  for seniors.

2. Since most falls occur in the home, have an evaluation done of your home to see what simple corrections can be made to increase your safety. You might appreciate grab bars in the bathtub and shower, secure railings on both sides of the stairs, new lighting in dark areas and removal of slippery area rugs.

The idea of aging is not for sissies, as we already know, but you can certainly improve your chances of staying upright with these simple ideas. Is there anything that you have done to increase your safety in your home?

Playing cards and "The Conversation"

Do you have a relative who likes to play cards? Go Wish is a terrific game, I have seen it and played it.

As described their website, "Go Wish gives you an easy, even entertaining, way to find the words to talk about what is important if you were to be living a life that may be shortened by serious illness. Playing the game with your relatives or friends can help you learn how you can best comfort them when they need you most."

"Each deck has 36 cards, 35 of which describe things that might be important when you are very sick or dying, such as how you want to be treated, who you want nearby, and what matters most to you. The last card is "wild" and stands for something you want that isn't on any of the other cards."

Go Wish is a perfect way to start "The Conversation!"

Getting organized: Creating a workspace

www.houzz.com

Whether you are working from home full-time or you just need a decent place to sit down to pay your bills each month...everyone needs a well-organized work space at home. But it can be a challenge to carve out a spot if you don't have an extra room to dedicate as your office. 

There are so many inspiring blogs and websites filled with great ideas for carving out a work space in any room (just search on "convert closet to office" for example) and Pinterest has loads of inspiration, too.

Recently I was quoted in a very nice article by Lindsay Olson on the US News blog about how to set up a spot for working at home, even if you have limited space. Below is the full text of my tips that she excerpted for her article. 

1. Forget the guest room—As nice as it is to accommodate the occasional overnight visitor with their own private space, you'll get so much more out of that room by accommodating yourself and your dreams for working from home. If you want the room to do double-duty, buy one of those modern foam loveseats or chairs that convert to a small bed.

2.  Convert a closet—It's easy to do yourself with a few bucks and a trip to your local home improvement store. Take off the sliding doors, pull out the shelf and hanger rod, and install some modular cubes with a sheet of painted plywood to create a desk with storage space above and below. If you want to be able to close it off, install foldable shutter doors, or hang some pretty drapes from a tension rod.

3.  Use a rolling cart—Replace the legs with castor wheels on a small bedroom nightstand that has a drawer and cupboard space. Move it with you to wherever you and your laptop are comfortable sitting - the dining table, the sofa, your favorite recliner.

4.  Convert an armoire or entertainment hutch—Armoires look nice in any room when not in use. Place lightweight tower shelves and/or hanging sweater racks in the tall space for files and office supply storage. Even if you're using an open-shelf entertainment center, you can keep it from being an eyesore with coordinating baskets, trays, and storage cubes.

This is part of my weekly series of posts on getting organized - click here to see the tips you might have missed!

America's Got Talent!

Last night we had the opportunity to go to dinner and a show at Yoshi's in San Francisco. The dinner was delicious and the show was fantastic. I hope you take the time to watch this video...Lawrence Beamen is the singer and last night I saw him in person, his voice was one of the most beautiful I have ever heard.

What is interesting to me is the amazing range of talented individuals we have in this world. Lawrence was a boy growing up in Mississippi when it was recognized that his wonderful voice was something that should be showcased. His singing was mostly done in his church, but eventually grew into a career. How many people start with just a hint of talent and are able to develop it fully? It seems like we get so caught up in life, that often our God-given gifts go unrealized.

If you have something special that you love to do, by all means follow that path. It may be later in life or it may be right now, but whenever your passion shows up, make sure you follow it.

By the way, what do you love to do?

Getting organized: Make use of vertical space

Free up drawer space and keep lots of doo-dads handy by making better use of your wall space.

I installed this set of magnetic spice tins above the countertop beside my desk. You can find these tins in lots of different home stores for a reasonable price...but I had coupons, of course! The clear lids fit snugly and show the contents inside.

I took apart an old combo magnet/dry-erase board and cut the thin metal surface into two narrow strips (be careful, the edges are sharp). I nailed the strips flush against the wall right underneath a row of shelves, so the tins are at eye-level and arm's reach when I'm sitting at my desk.

It's a great use of what would typically be dead space below a shelf and it's easy to see exactly what I need and remove the tin to take it out.

I store sewing and craft supplies in my set of tins...buttons, brads, charms, pins. They're also great for office supplies or all that stuff floating around in that one crazy kitchen drawer we all have.

There is nothing like a newborn baby!

Looking like the grandma that I am, I treasured the moment when I held a new grandbaby in my arms.

Less than a week old, he slept warmly and soundly as I had the opportunity to cuddle and kiss. How quickly time has flown! He is now a bouncing 27-month-old with so much to say and so much to do. We visit him every week and treasure the time we spend with him.

But time has simply flown by. Our other two grandbabies, who I also held and kissed and cuddled, are now 11 and 9. We get to visit with them when they are not busy with their sports and friends....which is not too often. It is always a treat and makes us realize how very important family is to us.

One thing that we want to do for our family is make sure that we have everything in order for them when they need it most. A simple solution is to get organized...just like with your pantry in the post below. Think about it...and do it. For your family.

Getting organized: The chaos of cans in the cupboard

This is the first in a weekly series of tips and inspiration for your home and family that we'll post each Wednesday.

Getting and keeping your home organized can be challenging at first...but we're here to help you with quick, easy and affordable ways to tame the clutter and make life a little easier for you and your family.

Your home can be both a calm sanctuary and a hub of activity when you put that old adage to the test:  a place for everything, and everything in its place. Keeping things organized in your home can save you time and money, reduce your daily stress, and give you a sense of calm even when you're busy.

I used to think that organizing every little thing was either a waste of time or just way too anal-retentive.  I've never personally reached "hoarder" status, but I have learned that having too much stuff in too many places was a significant trigger for anxiety and stress. It has a cumulative effect...you don't notice it at first. Not being able to find what you need, buying more of what you forgot you already have, staring at so much stuff on any given surface or in any given cabinet...it just becomes your new normal.

I started realizing just how stressed and annoyed I was, just how out of balance I was, and just how overwhelming it felt when things were not in order. I needed some zen anywhere I could find it, even in someplace as mundane as my kitchen pantry.

So that's where we begin. I have a small kitchen with a tiny pantry cupboard that I like to keep as full as possible so when I want to avoid grocery shopping for a while, I can. But it was always messy in there, and hard to tell what I had versus what I need, and hard to find just the right snack when I was feeling peckish.

Ahhh...doesn't the right side look so much better than the left side? It only took me about 20 minutes to make this transformation...all I needed to do was raise the top shelf one notch to make better use of the vertical space with two sets of adjustable tri-level risers from Bed, Bath & Beyond (I had a coupon burning a hole in my pocket!).

I put all the snacky foods on the bottom shelf and gathered all the individual snack bars and such into a large plastic container. Everything else is grouped together on the other two shelves...all the soups on the right, all the pasta with the sauces, etc. The only things I took out were the oil and vinegar bottles - I found a nicer home for them on a shelf above the stove.

Now I can see exactly everything I have at a glance, which makes meal planning and grocery shopping go so much faster...no more guesswork, and no more digging in the back to figure out what that mystery can is.