GETTING CLEANED UP IN RETIREMENT

 Hello 

It has been a while since I last wrote. Well, I'm in full on retirement mode with my husband. It is good and we have been cleaning out again. l am not one to keep a bunch of stuff to begin with that is how this blog got started years ago. Come to find out the older you get the less you need to live with. I have a list of must haves. here goes:

two good sets of sheets for your bed. Size and kind depend solely on what YOU like. 

Guests' beds can get by with one set each unless you have tons of company.

 blankets well that is a personal also. I personally like a light one with a sheet in the summer and warmer one in the winter not to mistake warmer with heavier one.

pillow that fits how you sleep and either a few more for sitting up in bed or one of those oversized pillows to prop up with. 

good furniture in all rooms that is comfortable, get rid of old stuff you don't like or have just because (trust Me your kids will like it a lot better if they don't have to sift through decades of old beat-up furniture). if you think it has some antique value sell it yourself and give them the $ or just use the $ for something you want.

kitchen items that you use daily as well as what you USE for entering and get rid of the rest it's just clutter. That includes the table and chairs in the kitchen and dining room if you have two spaces.

If you still have office space, get rid of ALL, THE STUFF YOU DONT USE. your office may now be used to just pay bills or type blogs or sit at. ha-ha I happen to know someone who now uses their office to just sit at and listen to music. that works just fine but get rid of all the clutter. keep files up to date get rid of old files kids or whoever ties up your affairs when you kick the bucket will like not having to weed through files just to find the one paper they need. THIS IS A GOOD START HAPPY SORTING! QUICK REMINDER: THREE PILES: KEEP, GIVE AWAY, THROW AWAYS. At this stage in life there is no other pile.

COMPUTER MESS

Hello fellow organizers
I have to say its been a crazy year . All good just crazy. Not much time to sit and write; in part its cause I am organizing things and people all the time . But  to be honest the computer organization is
winning the battle so far . I need to find a way to keep up on the computer and keep the junk down..
I know you must defragment a lot that helps, but you also must delete what you don't use . I used to think I was good at this but as of late I'm beinging to wonder .
So here is my plan
*every day spend set amount of time just on going through each file using the same idea as with stuff
keep, or throw away … we are not going for the give away in this case.
 Call me old fashion but personal data is just that and its getting less personal every day .
*update what did not do so automatically
* look to up grade to a new system if  this one is not working . eg. I use my iPad all the time so don't use a computer hardly at all, with new systems combining the two in to one that might be the way to go for me
 that is the best I can do this time on computer organizing but I really hope to conquer it this go around
happy organizing.

Spring time drips

Hello fellow organizers.

 I have a love hate feeling with spring in areas that have four seasons. I like that it's getting warmer and that God does most of the watering for me, but the temperature still has not made up its mind. As always I lost some flowers and buds but not as many this year. I'm not good about getting up before dawn to water the frost off the plants. I have most of the smaller plants still covered lightly with pine straw. My potted plants have come back into my kitchen to take up residence till these cold night get warm again. We had an early taste of spring so they where out in the day in at night, than outside for a little while, but now just in side till warmer weather settles in. With all that moving them in and out the dripping plants can make a mess of the floor so here is a great organization tip for plants. 

Get one (or more) depends on need of plastic floor mats the snow boot kind . Get the ones that have sides And no holes, some are slated this will not do.The idea is to keep the floors dry. Plus this allows you to be able to water the plants in side while you wait for the warmer weather to break. 

Actually this is a nice idea to keep the plants on all winter long.

 If you have trouble finding the plastic floor mats another idea is to get a low sided box and place a larger garbage bag in like a liner. This should do the trick remember to keep the box covered by the plastic. Happy spring time 

Family memories

Hello fellow organizers.  

Today I want to share about finding your way out from your families memories, that find there way to your house in the form of stuff and not just memories.

I had the privilege of helping a friend find her home under years no decades of her family's things.  

There where so many beautiful things. Ceramic  pieces, art work, nic nacks, old furniture, etc... 

You get the idea. We started small with her fathers desk emptied it and than returned only what she was going to need. Like always the rules of organization apply sort, keep, throw away, and give away applied. My friend added a real unique idea. She has a consignment spot where she has been taking the bigger things we weed out. I love this idea, you can make some additional money with out the prep of a garage sale! Yeah!!!  As I get older garage sales are fun to go to but not fun to set up. 

Back to topic at hand. As we sorted we found wonderful things ,but just because they are pretty or nice doesn't mean you have to keep them. In fact when something is not your style don't keep it. As we got rid of most of regular clutter, here's where we started to have to watch how we where getting rid of things. The age of some of the pieces lead us to check with antique dealers to get the true value of the pieces she wanted to sell and price them. This is much more time consuming than just cleaning out cluttered spaces,but in the end it's worth it. In fact it's really a win win for you. You get your space fresh and clean organized how it works best for you. Than you also get some pock cash when you sell off the valued unwanted items.

This was a new experience for me and I found I really enjoyed the new twist to this job.  I've know that you can sell antiques but this is the first organizational project involving that I got to be a part of.. Till my next project 

Happy organizing! Drop me a line with your questions I would love to help. 

A Good finish to the old year !

Hello on this crisp cold Georgia morning. Yes it gets cold in Ga. for all my northern friends!
Its the end of a another year and time to pack up the Christmas decorations and start fresh. Like most things I do,  I try and find the most efficient way to do it. This year is no different . I did get a new house for my village so I  will have to get that packed in with all the other stuff.
Here is to the sorting and getting every thing ready to pack up. But that is not my number one project this year. No !  I will be taking Christmas down soon, but this year my focus is on a little area that I'm really not organized in at all and want to be.. I just need to sit down and do it or at the least get help doing it till it is done!!!!
This year my first project of the new year is to get all my photos backed up and erased those that I want or don't want . To get me started I asked for Christmas a expansion stick or zip drive or one of those things that stores info in a very tiny stick like gadget. The Goal is to get all photos sorted and labeled before next year end. That is way I'm starting before the new year.
I might start by erasing all photos I do not want at all ...
Now that I have the thing I need to store picture's, I next need to load them on it.
After that process I need to sort them in to files or folders finding each device labels it differently.
From there I should have a neat new way to look at my picture's. After the pictures I want to get my whole computer more organized in a way that it makes it easier to use and understand how to use. I will be needing it more in the new year if I get on the ball .
To all a wonderful new year of memories!!!

Getting started! But how?

Good morning 

It's been a while. I can't seem to get it organized,yes some one who loves to be organized and to organize can't seem to get a Balance on this column. I started out writing to often and I felt it was repetitious. Than I was writing not enough, than not at all. I really enjoy this but need your help ! If you could send questions for me to answer,how to's that would be great, than I wouldn't feel like I was just repeating myself. 

Here's one for us oldes .... You've done all the cleaning out you can do, you have everything in its place..

Now what? Have you ever thought of changing it up a bit.  Yes that furniture has been that way now for um well you get the idea. 

Get help if you need. I found little sliders they go under the legs of furniture or edges ( for things without legs lol) they are great.I can move my entire hutch by myself fully loaded with my China set and nic nacs. Not to long ago we filped two guests bedrooms.the wow factor it caused. All I did was switch a bed and a sleeper couch.  But than with in each room moved things around. It was like it gave me a whole new living space. So some times the way it always was is not the best and sometimes it's not the only way the furniture can go in a room. Look out side the box today it will really give you a boost.

It will feel like a fresh new room .

Time flys but to much stuff can weigh you down

Hi every one that still reads this. I'm back with another idea!  About organization of course, and this may be a little long too.
 My husband and I have been busy and it just doesn't seem like I have time to do all I want, like write little quips for my blog on a timely manner or any other fun hobby I have. Jewelry making , making keys chains, sewing, knitting; to name a few. there are others I would like to try even like lock smith.
 I have tons of others but ill keep it to the point.
You have read about how to sort and clean out all kinds of stuff over the years. I even have pictures saved that go to a how to clean up after Christmas and make it fit.. since we usually get some kind of new thing at Christmas to decorate with. I will tackle that later. OK moving on.
TIME how do I organize time!!! I don't buy it, cant make it, cant even keep up with some days.
Well I have an idea less stuff will help in some ways. though sorting out is not the base for today's topic, it has a place which we won't touch on quite yet.
You wake up and have things to do in your day right. Well when your semi retired and not always having to getting up. To not have to do any thing can be fun and unproductive. And it can be just plan unmotivating and frankly unstimulating. I found I was getting nothing done and or not doing any thing.
Solution time in boxes, OK not literal boxes but blocks of time to do things in and than move on to the next task to do. I either do it the night before or in the morning after devotions and quick peek out on the deck of what the weather is like. (side note weather channels are fine but it is what it is when you go out side in that moment. just me!!!)  note to self weather is important as to do something out side or inside. I make a to do list like a honey do list you give your hubby but for me and not  him. I put every thing on the list that I want to do, it could be a dream or a needed getter done kind of thing. When the list is made I block it off in to time slots how long it will take to do something or  how much time I want to spend on it. From there I separate the have to do this today like pay bills, wash clothes, etc.. you get the idea every ones list will look different. I ALWAYS PUT SOMETHING FUN ON THE LIST even if its sit in the sun for a minute. Than on to the time part, I think it, write it, or even set a timer to keep me to the time I've set for each task. YOU know what works for you. Some thing I've done in the past but got away from. Now I am able to get back to some hobbies I  missed doing and even have that time to sit and just soak in the day. I feel good about me and like I said the list will look different for ever person out there.
Now for the stuff part, like I said I have written a lot about sorting cleaning out and with all that some times I still think I need to weed out more.
It comes down to going through the stuff you like and keeping what you love.
I really like giving things to people that I know will like or love what I'm giving up. Not always the case so there is good will to share with.
I have not done so well on this so I will keep you up dated as to how I'm doing in this area in 2017... lets just say I'm taking my own advice and starting small like the side tables in our bed room. Easy on my husbands side like 10 things there. We use and need check. More next week on my side table !!!! hoping to get it down to seeing the bottom of the drawers. till next week.
Good to be back and as always happy organizing !

WINTER TIME CLEAN OUT

AS ALL THE HOLIDAY FUSS WINDS DOWN AND THINGS GET BACK TO NORMAL . WHAT EVER THAT LOOKS LIKE FOR YOU . I FIND THAT THERE SEEMS TO BE HIDDEN MESS IN EVERY DRAWER OR CLOSET IN MY HOUSE . LIKE THEY ARE JUST TO FULL. I JUST DON'T KNOW WHY BUT  IT IS WITH OUT FAIL MOST YEARS THEY ARE MESSY. IT  REM IND'S ME TO WEED OUT STUFF I HAVE NOT USED ALL LAST YEAR OR IN SOME CASES FIND THAT SMALL GIFT I BOUGHT AND PUT IN THE DRAWER BECAUSE I OPEN IT EVER DAY AND I WILL REMEMBER ITS THERE.
WELL I DIDN'T AND I DON'T IN MOST CASES.
HERE GOES! YOU HAVE TO MAKE MORE MESS TO GET TO THE ORGANIZED DRAWER AND CLOSET YOU HOPE TO KEEP ALL YEAR. START SMALL I USUALLY START WITH THE NIGHT STANDS . WE DON'T USE THEM FOR CLOTHES . THEY ARE MORE LIKE HIS STUFF OR MY STUFF DRAWERS , HIS AND HERS JUNK DRAWERS YOU COULD SAY.
TAKE EVERY THING OUT AND SORT IN THE NORMAL FASHION KEEP , TOSS, GIVE AWAY. THAN RETURN THE KEEP TO THE DRAWER,(THIS IS WHERE YOU CAN GET REAL DETAILED AND GET ORGANIZERS FOR EACH SPACE . I DON'T CAUSE IN MOST CASES I HAVE SOME ALL READY AND YES IT GETS MESSY AND IN OTHER CASES I DON'T FOR A REASON ). MAKE A BAG OR BOX OF THE GIVE AWAY STUFF.
TOSS IS EASY , TOSS IT IN THE TRASH.
REPEAT PROCESS.
I TRY TO DO ONE ROOM A DAY THAT WAY I AM NOT OVER WHELMED. IF YOU ARE BRAVE GO FOR IT AND JUST KEEP GOING THROUGH EACH SPACE TILL ITS DONE.
 SINCE SOME DRAWERS HAVE CLOTHES IN THEM IT BECOME A FASHION SHOW OF SORTS ( WHY I DO ONE ROOM A DAY) WHICH MEANS I TRY ON EVERY THING IN THE DRAWER (OR CLOSET) THIS PART IS MOST FUN WITH A HONEST FRIEND , OR FAMILY MEMBER THAT YOU WON'T LOOSE IN THE PROCESS, ITS LONG OR IT CAN BE TRYING EVERY THING ON. SOME TIMES I KNOW THAT I REALLY LIKE SOME THING AND I KEEP IT THAT IS WHEN THE HONEST HELPER IS THERE TO TELL YOU YEAH OR NEH ON LOOKS THAT YOU NEED TO LET GO OF. IT CAN BE FUN WHEN YOU KNOW AT THE END YOU WILL HAVE YOUR STUFF ORGANIZED AND ALL THAT CLUTTER GONE.
HAPPY WINTER TIME CLEAN UP.
OH AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WONDER IF I REALLY DO THIS JUST ASK MY KIDS OR HUBBY SOME HAVE HAD THE PLEASURE OF BEING THAT HONEST HELPER . HUMM THAT MIGHT BE WHY THEY ARE ALL BUSY WHEN I BRING UP WINTER CLEAN OUT. HA HA THAT'S OK THEY HAVE THERE OWN HOUSES TO KEEP UP WITH NOW ANY WAY . BUT MY  HUBBY SOME TIME STILL HELPS .

Puzzle pieces

We all some kind of soap and shampoo in the bathroom shower. Ladies if your are like me you do not always have the same shampoo and soap containers.My husband on the other hand does. So his side of the shelf is easy to keep up. Mine is always trial and error to get it all to fit. For instance I just changed my shampoo but when I went to put it away nothing fit. So I took everything out of the basket and rearranged it and than it all fit. All it takes is moving the shapes to fit the space. Kind of a round whole square peg effort.. There is no right or wrong cause each space is different. You have to just keep rearranging till it fits! I will say those big Sam's club bottles won't fit any where the best thing to do with them  is to save a smaller container just refill it. You can store away the big bulky container with other bathroom supplies. Be creative in what you use.

 We also got new toothbrushes an they did not fit what I had been using before. Though I will keep it as I do change toothbrushes more often. I like the old tooth brush container so I cleaned it up and stored it away it worth keeping to me. But the new container had to fit the big bulky bottom of two toothbrush's simple. For real we did this picked up the two tooth brushes and a tube of toothpaste just in case!!! I found a container in the office supplies I liked and others here and there till we ended up in a row of bathroom containers we tried each one I liked out with the brushes ( had to be a little creative)

as they where still in the plastic wrap. But we got it to work enough to choose a stone box, with a lid that I don't need but will use as a pedistal for a figurine I have in the bathroom. The only thing in common to my original holder is they both are stone. But it looks ok and it fit the job it needed to do.  

Happy puzzle solving!

Christmas clean up 🎄

Happy new year 

As i get all the Christmas decorations gathered up to pack up I'm finding that I need to sort out some stuff this year. 

It's kind of like the clothes. Buy if you haven't used it in a few Christmas 🎄 I'm guessing your not going to. With our move to Ga. I have  had to get rid of some lights that would not light an now I'm seeing that there was some things left over that never made a showing. Time to go! Yep get out the sorting boxes 📦 keep,sell, giveaway, an the all famous throw away. Hopefully my tomorrow or Wednesday this crazy mess will be packed away till next year. Believe me there is a system to all the piles you see here. From lights to ornaments it's ready for me to did in. Now I just have to carve out a few hours to do the next step. Weeding out. Last step will be to pack it up and put it away.

What I wear most ! How to find out at a glance.

Hello, it has been a while. No excuse life is just busy at times . But here is a organization tip that  you might light.. With spring well under way and the weather ranging from rain to hot and every thing in between it is hard to know what to wear.
If you have been following me all along you know by now that I have one wardrobe only . It has all lengths of tops and shorts and pants all in the same space . I like it that way as I tend to get cold in A/C more so than just plan winter cold . The only thing you will find in the back of my closet at this time is my heavy winter coat as I now live in Ga and really have no need for it here.
TIP
When you wear some thing  and wash it and put it away rotate it to the back of the section (meaning to the far end (right or left )(front or back) is up to you ) this will let you see at a glance what you wear most. Now think about getting rid of what you are not wearing, yes at any time not just at the beginning or end of season change. One styles change Two your body may change (not to much I hope)Three the clothes just are old and time to get rid of them..
With this method in short time I realized I had clothes I was keeping just because , may be the size  was the smallest I have ever worn or may be just really liked it in the drawer. or may be it is so old that black is even see through (not good).
Any of these reasons are good enough to get rid of  said item and move on. If you have plenty of clothes than enjoy a little more space in your closet. Clothes like to breath meaning if they are crammed  in they will always look messy and wrinkled. But if they have room to hang freely they will look fresh and neat.
Happy sorting ....
NOW I'M HEADED  BACK TO LIFE TILL NEXT TIME .
THANK YOU FOR FOLLOWING ALONG WITH ME.

When Life gets in the way,clean it all out.

It's been longer than I realized since I last posted.  My excuse is that I have been helping people get organized. A whole church in fact.. I am not good with the before an after photos. I've been told that would help people see what things look like and get a better idea of what being organized looks like. 

In one area we took out shelves to make a storage area in to a back stage green room.. Yes to organize the space some times less it MORE!!! The reason given was with less flat surface's less clutter 

In this case it worked out great. We took out all the shelves an took old curtain dividers and stapled them the the wall to cover the studs. No dri wall was hung in this part back stage so it left tons of nooks and crannies to put stuff. Not a good look.

Now the room has carpet squares and chairs Around the room with a round table in the corner. Looks great and serves a purpose . Most importantly no clutter .

We did put shelves in on the other side of the back stage and it still needs tweaking but has cleared up a lot of area even to store stuff in a more exsessable way. 

I guess what I'm saying being organized looks different to different people for different reasons . Each person needs to find a way to get the most use out their space.  Like in this case less was more!

 Drop me a line an I'll try to answer you questions. You can comment on this blog.

Till next post happy organizing.

THE PAPER TRAIL........

Here's some thing I don't think about to much. But I have recently moved and
wanted to up date my paper trail; we all have one . That is assuming that you have Internet, face book . All of those things leave a foot print some where which in turns leave a paper trail. You need to go through your computer an purge out programs files and  stored information that you do not need any more. We all have a bigger paper trail at home too.
With my recent move I have changed up different documents and canceled others all of which I ask for paper confirmation. There are some things that just get canceled because I don't live in that city any more.
You need to go through your files as well as your information and sort it out. NOTE THERE IS NO PASSING THIS PAPER WORK ON. WELL UNLESS YOU ARE RICH AND PASS ON SOME INHERITANCE TO SOME ONE. THAN PASSING ON THE RIGHT PAPER WORK IS VERY IMPORTANT.
In this cleaning out of files helps make room for what you need on a day to day basics as well keeps records in order and easy to get to when needed.
If you don't already have one you need some kind of file cabinet, folders and if you want sub folders . Pens and markers.  I have one big one pocket kind then I keep same topics in it .
e.g.: like all credit cards or all different bank accounts so you can get to the one file you want with out taking them all out yet they are all in one place if you need them all too.
You have your cabinet your folders you like an meet your needs ; now we need to sort out your files. Any thing that is 7 years or older *other than tax returns and all related to the tax return* you should burn. YOU can shred it too if that is easier. Burning make sure that it cant be found in any way in the garbage.
sort by every day an yearly and by just need to keep on file
you need to mark the folders with what you is going to be in it and put it in the file cabinet in a order that you under stand .. make sure some one other than you can figure out your system just incase. it is simple work but takes time to go through every thing. it is worth it in the end.
every day is monthly bills
yearly could be insurances or subscription's
just keep on file would be the deed to your house or car papers any thing that you proves you own some thing.. Wills, medical records of your last wishes.
I wont lie this is a  job that needs your attention on a yearly basics and needs to be kept up neat as well in a safe place . you never know when some one other than your self will need to get a hold of your paper work to help you out.

The long weekend

When you think of that last getaway this month think light.

 My example is for a hot weather getaway.

A 6 day get away 2 of those days travel days. 

Find a fun getaway bag nothing to big. 

Here is a tip just pack 2 shorts an 4 tops that are interchangeable so you can have more combinations if you want different outfits on the same day. 

The travel days you can wear the same out if you just wear it for travel. 

(If you can't just plan to pack a second travel out fit)

 Try to pick the a pair of shoe that you that you can wear with all the out fits..

 Lady's if you can't do one pair of shoes try to keep it to two pairs. 

You can try an use trial size bathroom supply's an go light on the Make up 

A waterproof mascara will pop your eyes..

Good moisturizer adds that glow to  your skin.

Have a fun trip. 

For women only !

Makeup !! 

We use it ,we buy tons of it and don't use most of it . So how do we get organized in this area ? Well the system is still the same; sort it out in keep,toss, and give away! In this case I would only give away unopened stuff.. Most make up doesn't expire unless it has sunscreen in it. All old open make up should be tossed !! I have been told a three month life spand but it doesn't expire!?! This where I get in trouble "it's still has a lot left in " it but I can't remember how long it's been since I bought the stuff. My best one is it's been so long they've discontinued the product any way. Through it out. Purge!!!! 

Sort it out as to face cleaning and moisturizing products. And makeup. Simply stick to basic. Find  a good safe product that cleans an  find a good moisture. Lady's there are countless other products that do this and that, streamline to what you really need from what you are told you need . No matter how good or bad our skin is ; putting to much product on our skin over and over again can't be that good. 

(disclaimer this is just what works for me ) less is best ! I tend to keep up with keeping my face clean if I don't have to go through a ton a steps to do it. Make up is to enhance the beauty we all have. Stick with colors that look good on you,don't buy the latest and greatest it may not be a good look on you . Get help from a friend or someOne who is not trying to sell you some thing, but really wants to see you look your best too. I will not say what to keep as far as make up. That is so individual no two make up bags should be the same. I know some who can get by with just lipstick others the bag is more like a train case. And all the ones I between. I m somewhere in between for sure but in the summer I tend to lean more towards just lipstick haha.

Storing the stuff I find for me a basket in a drawer or cabinet works best. That way everything is at my fingertips. I keep what I use cleaning to make up all in the same place but in their own separate basket cause in the morning you normally wash your face and apply your makeup and at night it's normal to just wash your face. It's all in one place easy to get at but you just use what you need at the time of day it is. If you are in to make up bags clear plastic allows you to see everything with out having to dig for it. Find what works for you , you may have to try a couple of different ways till it flows and you get in to a good routine. Here's to all that make up we don't need because we find at the end of this less really is more and we find the beauty we knew was there just under all that extra product! 

Travel plans

Here' what you can expet this summer as you make plans to travel. 

You will need shoes, clothes,and all the extras to make you feel great on that trip oh an let's not for get bath room supply's.. 

So let's get organized. 

Let's see if these tips make it easy : for a road trip , flying tips next time!

Put all the shoes your going to take in zip lock bag. They sell these where they sell most zip lock bags

The plastic zip bags that the comfort bedding comes in make nice shoe bags as well and they'd have a handle on them too. 

Pack only what you will use,leave behind all the extra "I might need stuff " same in the bath room stuff as well..

If you have a trip with different weather temps AND causal to very dressy clothes needed. Start with what you wil need for the dressy event ( I get dressed in the out fit and lay out what make up I would wear an what I would put on my hair  than I set all that a Side to be pack.) Than I pick two warmer out fits and two cooler out fits .. I pack a bathing suit always never know when you might get to take a swim. 

I have a truck so I put the shoes in a tupper tub in the bed of the truck ( which has a cover on it, love it. Like having a big trunk ) 

I pack all bathroom stuff in a travel over night pack any shape or kind I put that in the bed of the truck too. 

This time i left all the clothes on their hangers an laid them in a duffle bag . Unpacking made easy too!

Any thing not on a hanger I put at the ends of the duffle bag. I just laid it in a pile when I unpack 

Add a laundry bag of your choice and do wash as needed /wanted. This goes in the bed of the truck 

Don't for get the food snaks and drinks of your liking and your all set this goes in the back seat. 

Hope the tips help keep your vacation organized an relaxed. 

Enjoy 

ON THE MOVE : the finish line !

Well I made it through the packing,the move, the not having a house for a little while. Here is a few tips that got me through. When packing I sorted out the things that I would not need and packed them first. Pictures, decorations, nic nacs, stuff like that. The things that I would need to set up house right away I packed so I could get to them easily . Last I packed suit cases with the things I that I would use all the time durning the transition.. 

Have to say it worked well ! We moved right before Christmas ( hard time to move if you are like me and like to decorate ) all my stuff was packed but I knew I would need to wrap gifts so when we packed our storage locker we had the gift wrapping at the door of the locker and yes I wrapped gifts at the storage locker on the floor in the cold..but it was the making of memories that will always be with me and my husband.. 

Only you can answer what you would need to make it through the transition so that's what you put in your suit cases. The same with what you need to set up a house right away as well as what you can wait to live with. 

One thing is for sure unpack every thing! than sort through the things in your new space ;what doesn't work,or fit in the space. repack and give away to some one or take to good will. I know some don't unpack a box cause of what's labeled on a box that happened to my mom and she found the dishes she was missing. My guess is that it fit in the box at the time of packing and every one thinks they will remember what they packed in every box .. May be so if you pack every box but if you have help that many not !!!! So unpack it all you will thank me in the end when you find that thingnambober doohickey that your looking for and need to make some thing work that you do want.. 

It has been a long process but a good one. Now until next time I find some thing to organize ...

Have a great day. 

ON THE MOVE PACKING FINALLY

It has been a very busy time and I have found a minute to catch up on my packing list. I ended up with about 100 boxes. The trick to packing is sort before it goes in but if your not sure you can do a trick buy packing up the things you use all the time and what is left is marked misc. which means for me I need to go through it and if it fits in the new house than put it away if not "good will " it go to...

Here is a good tip for lamps!

I liked how the lamps went this trip I had a tall box an each lamp was wrapped in paper or what ever you have on hand than set in the box. Many lamps made it in one box. Well that is the end of packing next time will be loading the truck.. Merry Christmas Eve 

I will be back in a few days to finish the trip for you. 

ON THE MOVE: one step at a time

As I have been working on packing my house to move , there have been many steps. All the sorting seems to never end. We have not sold the house yet that has been the main problem in that I need to keep some things out to live but at the same time I need to just get moved. 

In this case if you have ever been in this same situation, I think the best thing to do is to pack for a long trip ( with a little extra clothes) than pack the rest and live with the bare essentials . What you want sold just sell,what you want to give away just do it. Throw away what you want to. It's hard but it is best in the end. Trusting my house sells very soon. 

ON THE MOVE : Spacing be aware !!!!

Hi again ! 

It has been a busy time with sorting and clearing out things that I like an wanted to move but don't have the space for..... This is hard as its good stuff but when you move what worked in one space may not in another home. No matter how you try it won't fit. 

I had to lose my out door furniture because of this reason. I held out till this week. But had to put every thing on the chopping block finally. Same with my big bulky living room set.

Ways to know you should not move some thing. 

1. measure the new space, if it's smaller than the old space " the item will NOT fit" 

no amount of I'll  find a place for it will work. Sell or give it away.

2. style  I've been in warmer climate And colder climate..let's face it they are totally different. big and bold and boxy will look out of place in a open airy room. Don't keep a peice that doesn't fit the style of the new house no matter how much you like it. Pass it on to some one who loves the piece as much as you do it will get used an you know it went to a good home. 

3. Junk look around some stuff needs to be retired. So recycling is a good way to get some cash an keep stuff out of the land fill. Check your local area for locations you can take your junk to. 

This list is end less but I think you get the idea know what you have, know what you are going too. Than make smart choices as to what you should move and not move. 

For those of you counting with me we are at 50 boxes and counting ; no where near done but now that the must move and must get rid of is finally sorted out time to move forward with the packing. 

Till next time.