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Your closets, of all places, seem to be in continual need of care and attention. Getting organized here is not always that easy to do for a number of reasons.
Generally, we have an easier time buying new clothes and putting them up in the closet than going through our old ones and throwing them out. It’s amazing how attached we can become to an old shirt we haven’t worn for years. Or perhaps you think that someday you’ll fit into those old jeans you looked so great in when you were 20.
The closet also usually has the advantage of a closed door to hide the mess and clutter. If your friends or family stop by for a quick visit it’s easier to just throw your things under the bed or into the closet to worry about later. Unfortunately, it’s not always to easy to go back and straighten up the mess. Out of sight, out of mind, right?
This is really an unfortunate way to treat your space, especially when there are closet organizers available that will allow you to completely redefine the storage for your clothes and shoes. You can then create a space that you can really be proud of, and you might even rediscover some clothes you forgot you had!
The first step to really get you started is to be honest with yourself about what you truly need to keep. This de-cluttering process can be quite liberating after you’ve eliminating a lot of the excess stuff that’s crowding you out of your closet. Don’t be afraid to throw out that 10-year-old sweater just because it cost you $100 on an impulse buy. If you haven’t worn it in a few years you likely won’t anytime soon. Pass it along to someone else you know who might like it or donate to your local charity.
Next, seriously considering getting some professional help from a company like California Closets. You can get a design consultation from someone who is trained to help you develop an organization setup that is custom to your specific space and needs. If you have a terrific new layout that completely fits your situation and looks great, you’ll likely have a much easier time keeping it clean and organized.
Getting your family organized almost always includes finding an effective way to get homework completed and turned in. For large families, sometimes this includes working on several projects at the same time at varying skill levels.
As your child gets older you might even find yourself struggling to remember some of your math and history facts. In other cases, your child might not respond as well to your help. He or she perhaps works better with a trained teacher or tutor.
If this is the case, you might have to face the fact that your child could use either a tutor in your area or you could try to find a qualified tutor online.
Consider a site like Tutorhub.com where your child can get help with homework by asking questions from trained tutors and you only have to pay for the actual time you need help. You can choose the tutor that is most appropriate for your situation and get a face-to-face type experience online using the tools your child is already comfortable using.
Getting a family organized and effectively managing your day doesn’t have to be an unnerving and stressful ordeal. With a lot of tools and checklists we have here as well as the resources available online, you can easily get your household under control.
Organizing your family requires more than just clever planning a organized lists. Sometimes you have to spend a little money and that just might require the use of a credit card. Now credit cards can be a mixed blessing, but used wisely there’s no reason you shouldn’t have the best one for your particular financial situation in your wallet. One of the best ways to find a good card is to use a thorough comparison site, and you can do so by comparing credit cards at sunrisefinance.com.
There is certainly no ONE card to suit everyone’s needs, but it is possible to find a great card to suit your specific needs. At SunriseFinance.com you can choose different and assorted criteria based on factors that are more important to you and reflect your current financial position and future goals.
Here are some different choices that might be important to you and are able to be selected from the comparison site:
Interest Rate ~ If you really want a low APR because you link you might be carrying a balance on your card for awhile, you want to get one with a good interest rate. A lot of the cards here offer a very low, 0% initial APR and a low ongoing rate to carry you forward with your balance.
Rewards ~ Perhaps you’re more concerned with getting a little something back from your purchases in the form of cash rewards, points, airline miles or other incentives. This can be very important if you use your card to make a lot of your purchases, and those rewards you accrue can really pay off in the end.
Business Card ~ You might be on the hunt for a good business card. It’s a great idea, especially for sole proprietors, to keep your business expenses separate from personal ones and an easy way to accomplish this is with a Business Credit Card.
Balance Transfers ~ Sometimes you can get kind of stuck in a rut with an old card and a good way to really jump start paying down your balance is to transfer it to a new card. You’ll almost always get a nice incentive to do so in the form of a low initial rate and ideally a lower ongoing rate than your old card.
All of these options are available at SunriseFinance.com using their handy comparison tool as well as a few more like selecting your specific credit score range. Spend a bit of time there and see if you can find a new card to meet your needs.
Post brought to you from your friends at SunriseFinance.com.
Avoid the Landfill: How to be Green During your Spring Clean
There are so many things to love about spring. The warm sun, the singing of the birds, the smell of freshly cut grass and blooming flowers all draw us out of winter hibernation and into the outdoors.
However, there is one thing that we all dread as spring arrives — spring-cleaning! All the scrubbing, dusting, sweeping under your kitchen rugs, vacuuming and wiping make us want to go back to bed and throw a duvet over our heads, once and for all.
As the weather gets warmer, the scum on our windows, floors and walls become obvious. Sadly, there’s no other way to get around them but to resort to some elbow grease.
While spring-cleaning make our homes livable, getting rid of some of our old stuff means adding waste to landfills. Here are some ways on how to spring-clean your home without adding to your carbon footprint.
Salvage old stuff.
Clearing clutter is the first step to having an organized home. If you have plenty of clothes stuffed in the closet, now is the best time to sort through them. Anything you haven’t worn in the last six months to a year should be placed in a box and donated.
Worn out clothing can be recycled by sewing them into new clothing or accessories. Use old neckties as belts. Cut the sleeves of an old T-shirt to create a sexy halter top and reconstruct the sleeves into a headband or pillowcase. You can also recycle an old pair of jeans into a purse. For clothes beyond repair, you can cut them up into smaller pieces and use them for cleaning windows and floors. That way, nothing goes to waste.
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Create treasures out of junk.
If you have a keen eye for details and a good hand for designing, why not put your creativity at work and make your own craft projects? Make tote bags out of newspaper, a clutch out of candy wrappers, and earrings out of soda cans. You can even make money by selling them online or locally. Etsy is a good place to start if you have a knack for creating handmade goods out of recycled materials, but you can sell your masterpiece anywhere on the Internet these days.
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Recycle e-waste.
Being good stewards of the earth means thinking of smart ways to recycle waste, including electronics. As new gadget designs come out practically every quarter, we need to come up with ways on how dispose our old contraptions without dumping them in the incinerators. Unfortunately, not many people see direct returns for all the efforts they put into recycling, which is why some companies offer cash in exchange for old electronics.
Cell for Cash and Gazelle are two companies that pay for every cell phone you turn in for recycling. For other items that you may have already been recycling, RecyclingBank gives incentives like food and pharmacy gift certificates.
Trade your old stuff.
Give your old items a new home by swapping them for something else you need. This will help you clear your home without adding garbage to the landfills. Several non-profit organizations encourage individuals to place their items on the list and another person will take that item free. The same rule applies if you need something and don’t want to shell out money for it. Hold a garage sale if you want to make some money. If you find that physically exhausting, list your items in Craigslist and wait for some DIY-ers to haul your old stuff into their homes.
Refurbish your furniture.
Tired of looking at the same old sofa you’ve had since your college days? Why not refurbish it and give it a new life instead of turning it into firewood? Many upholsterers and antique dealers would gladly salvage old pieces of furniture and transform them into new works of art. Revamp your furniture by having them upholstered. If you have the skills, create your own slipcovers to extend the life of your furniture. Not only do you save money, you also get a new look for your home.
Clean your lighting fixtures.
Save money on lighting by wiping them clean. Dirt that has accumulated over the months on light bulbs lessens the illumination they bring. Use a dry cloth or an old handkerchief to wipe the fixtures. This way, you lengthen the cycle of your bulbs and you save money by not buying new ones.
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Use recyclable storage boxes.
Storage boxes come in different styles and sizes. For something that truly never goes out of fashion, use empty old boxes in keeping clutter out of sight. Get your old TV box and fill it with old magazines, clothes and whatever old stuff you have at home. Plastic storage boxes may look pretty with all the sweet colors they come in, but they also add to landfill waste once disposed.
Green spring-cleaning your home is possible by looking for creative ways on how to dispose old stuff without necessarily throwing them away. Reduce your carbon footprint by recycling most of the items you have at home.
Jessica Phan is a designer for Balsamhill.com a purveyor of high-end artificial Christmas Trees. Living in the San Francisco Bay Area is perfect for her because she has a wide range of interests, including Art & Design, Fashion, Photography, Painting and Thrift Store Shopping.
Do you have an organized pantry? Of course, organization in your pantry, like your refrigerator and other appliances , is key to a kitchen that is organized and easy to use. This week, guest poster Tim Eyre examines what your pantry organization skills say about you.
You should never judge a book by its cover. But is it possible to judge a person by his pantry? Well, I’m not normally one to judge anybody. But I’ve found that when I walk into someone’s home and look at his or her pantry, a mental image of the owner instantly takes shape in my mind—and I am amazed at how accurate that mental image usually turns out to be!
No, I’m not just talking about the difference between a neatnik and a slob—that can be pretty obvious to anyone. I’m talking about more fundamental character traits—what the person is like, how he/she approaches life, and even sometimes what he/she does for a living.
You can tell a lot about people by how they organize things. And very often you need to look no further than their pantry to get all the clues you need. Here are some common personality types and the kinds of pantries you most likely will find in their homes: Read More→
