Amber's Organizing - Tips

I haven’t met one person who loves to move. Moving is horrendous and tops the charts as being the most stressful thing to go through. Unpacking is super laborious and takes a lot of time and energy. These ten tips are fail-proof. Each year we unpack hundreds of homes and know the best way to unpack a home. Read on and save yourself a lot of stress and headaches. First off, be present when the movers arrive. Although it doesn’t feel like the best use of your time, stand and watch to see where every box and piece of furniture…

Moving and decluttering go hand in hand. You really can’t do one without the other. If you skip the decluttering step, things are worse, more complicated and overwhelming on the other end after you move. Throwing it all in storage isn’t the solution easier. Once you fill a storage unit, it makes it more difficult and time-consuming to get the stuff out later on. Deal with the stuff now and make the best possible decisions in the present. Several steps should be completed before you even put your house on the market. Many families hire professional organizers to conquer the…

Congratulations! Your house has sold. Now it’s time to get packing! Decide if you want help packing or perhaps packing is your strong suit. I always tell customers to get help for the part of the move that overwhelms them the most. Some people don’t mind packing up one bit and then when it comes to putting it all away in their new home, they are paralyzed to unpack the boxes. The opposite is also true so decide where you’d like to ask for help. Most movers can quote you for packing as well, or several organizing companies like my…

Accumulating Paper and Letting it Go Much like other things in life. Paper has a life cycle. It isn’t meant to stay permanently, and it does have a specific job for a short amount of time. When we treat paper as a keepsake or an antique piece of furniture that we won’t part with, it poses a problem. So let’s take a look at the cycle a little in detail. Beginning of the Cycle- Paper arrives. It comes through the mail, through our computer (hitting the print button too often), through backpacks, through purses and briefcases. We are the culprits….

Springtime in Chicago is always cherished and welcomed after the bitter cold, dark winters we endure. Garages take a beating all winter from the cold and snow. It’s time to give them a little love come April or May. Here are seven tips to get you started in cleaning out the garage and clearing the clutter. Wash windows to let the long summer hours of sunshine in. Don’t block windows. Light is always good in dark, dingy spaces. So steer clear from stacking things in front of windows. Sweep the floor free of the leftover leaves, grime, and salt from the…

The mediums that help us spend our money can add much organization to our financial world. The ability to track what we spend, see what we’ve spent, and rely on that information to be correct is very valuable and useful. I rarely carry cash and never use cash in my day to day spending. When you and I spend money with bills and coins, there is no way to track what we’ve spent unless we write it down. I don’t know about you but I have better things to do than to write down on a notebook that I buy…

Keeping a car clean and clutter-free is easier than you think. If you work out of your car, commute long distances or your kids are in a lot of activities and sports, your car or minivan is bound to reflect it. Some of us feel like we spend more time in our car than in our home. Books, water bottles, leftover wrappers, toys, things to return to stores, paper, coins, and other random stuff accumulates on the floor when we are driving from one activity or appointment to the next. The best organizing advice I can give you is the…

You did it! All the purging and staging is done and now your house is listed on the market. Now that people are coming to see your home, you’ll need to keep up with all the hard work you did to get it ready. This is the time to mindful of everything and anything. Pick up after yourself every day. If you do a little each day, you will never get behind and will never be taken by surprise if a showing is booked. To keep your home smelling fresh, take out the trash daily. Avoid cooking pungent Thai or…

Sometimes cubicles and office nooks at work start to feel like a cave and a deep dark abyss of paper. Take notice of the current state of your cubicle and follow these office organization tips to start seeing a difference. Once you’ve put some new ideas into practice show off your hard work! I’m sure your coworkers will be jealous! Put away projects you are not currently working on. The more left out, the less space for what’s important right now. Yes, you might be “visual” but all of what you need to be reminded of doesn’t have to be…

How small changes at home reduce your footprint on our earth Much of the recycling and earth conscientiousness I practice has come from watching my clients. You all teach me more than you think! I’m proud to see so many families throughout Chicago recycling and being mindful of small steps that make a huge difference over time. Here are a few ideas. How many of these do you already practice, and which ones could you add to your day? Use a water bottle instead of buying plastic cases of water. Use a cloth napkin at dinner time instead of buying…