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:

• The leaders (generals, CEOs): This pantry has all the little guys in front and big guys in the back. In fact, it almost looks as if all the cans, bottles, jars, and boxes were told by a photographer how to pose for a group picture. At first glance, the arrangement seems super-organized—until you notice that boxes of the exact same cereal are scattered everywhere, on different shelves and in different parts of the pantry, only because the boxes happen to vary in size. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is that the owner can enter the pantry at will and instantly survey the battlefield in front of him. Everything is visible, all the requisite data is at hand, and therefore vital decisions can quickly be made.

• The clerics/scholars: This type of pantry needs to be looked at closely. At first it can seem totally disorganized. Then you begin to notice that the apricots are way to the far left and the beans are right next to them. Next in line is the canned corn, and so forth. You soon realize that this pantry is a glorified file cabinet, where everything is arranged alphabetically. If you are the right type of person, you will find what you want in here in a jiffy!

• The craftsmen (chefs, cooks): I can always tell when someone is a serious pantry user. The spices are with the other spices, the oils are with the oils, and the juices are with the juices. Not only that, but there is a wide variety of brands, styles, and types within each category. And the next time I visit, I always see new items—but everything is still organized the same way. These are the folks who make optimal use of their pantries.

• The logical thinkers (engineers, scientists): OK, let’s look at the dates! Everything in the back is brand new. Everything in the front is relatively old. Looks a little like a high school yearbook, right? But logically, it makes all the sense in the world. First use the stuff that will expire soon. And save the newer stuff for later. As time goes on, the items in the back slowly inch forward. And the cycle of pantry life continues…

• The survivalists: Eighty-four cans of SPAM, you say? OK, I think we all know what type of cat we are dealing with here. At least you know who to call if you ever run out of something.

• The “look at me” types: This is the kind of pantry where as soon as you walk in, the first thing that hits your eyes is a jar of expensive caviar and a container of rare Matsutake mushrooms. The stuff that people actually eat is stashed out of sight, way in the back. The owners of this pantry harbor no qualms about guests poking their heads in and looking around. In fact, they welcome it.

• The penny-pinchers: Instead of noticing the containers themselves, look at what is inside them. The boxes are half full. So are the jars—and the bags. Most of the containers have been re-used…and very often will be re-used again. Frugality is the order of the day! In this household, you can rest assured that sure that no scraps will ever be thrown away.

• The free-spirits: This pantry tends to look very similar to the penny-pincher pantry, but with one notable exception: the half-full containers have no completely full containers to back them up. In fact, the owner of this pantry won’t realize he is low on supplies until the last flake of cereal finally disappears from that well-worn box.

Pantries don’t talk but they don’t have to. Without saying a word, they speak volumes about the people who own them and organize them. You should never judge people—but if you want to learn a little about them, just peek inside their pantry.

Tim Eyre works in the self storage industry, regularly traveling to see locations like a self storage facility in Peoria. In many locations, like the Brooklyn self storage units yard, Tim helps his customers store seasonal equipment when it is not being used for outdoor activities or home improvement projects.

Backpacks: Donate them to the American Birding Association.  Scientists can use them while tracking birds.

Batteries: Keep hazardous metals out of landfills.  Take your car batteries to any retailer and they’ll be recycled.  For household batteries, take them by RadioShack or Office Depot.

Books: Donate books or alternatively sell them to a used bookstore.  You won’t make much (the most I’ve made is $35 in one batch, and that included a season of Lost on DVD).

Cell phones: The Wireless Foundation gives refurbished phones to domestic-violence survivors.  Some states like California and New York require that retailers accept and recycle your phones without charging you.

Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL): They contain mercury, so you don’t want them in landfills.  Drop them off at an Ikea or Home Depot.

Computers: Return them to manufacturers or donate to charities.  If it’s broken, try sending them to Nextsteprecycling.org, which will repair and give them to schools and families in need.

Crayons: National Crayon Recycle Program melts old ones down to make new ones.  Leave the wrappers on so they know what color each one is.

DVDs, CDs: Send it to greendisk.com for recycling without it cluttering a landfill instead of your desk.

Empty metal cans: For cleaning products like Ajax, cut off the metal ends and put them with other household metals.  Recycle the tubes with paper or cardboard, accordingly.  For food products, clean the food out of them and recycle with metals.  You can leave the paper on since it just burns up in the recycling process.  (If you want extra green points, recycle the paper, too.)

Gadgets: Recycleforbreastcancer.org will send you shipping labels so you can send them your clutter, which they will recycle.  The proceeds go to breast cancer charities.

Holiday cards.  Yes, they’re sweet and sentimental, but you can send the ones from your boss or acquaintances to St. Jude’s Ranch for Children.  Formerly abused or neglected youths will cut off the covers of these cards and glue them to new ones, which they sell to fund the nonprofit program.

Shoes: If your shoes are in good shape, they’ll be donated to athletes in need via oneworldrunning.com.  If not, drop them off or mail them to Nike Recycling Centers; they’ll be recycled into sports courts and playgrounds.

Shopping bags: Okay, you’ve started the reusable bag thing, but you still have all the plastic and paper bags from the old days.  Recycle the paper ones with paper (even if they have metal grommets; they’ll be pulled out by the machines) and drop the plastic ones at your local grocery store.

Spiral notebooks:  Toss the thing, metal and all, in the paper recycling.  The machines will pull it out.  If the cover is plastic, though, rip it off first.

Stereos and VCRs: You can find a list of recyclers, retailers, and manufacturers near you that will take them here.

Toothpaste tubes: Yep, you can recycle them with your aluminum tubes, even if your aluminum tube still has paste inside.  With plastic ones, though, you’re out of luck.

Used clothes: Donate them to your local charity organization or even the animal shelter, where they can be used as bedding (they’re always in need of bath towels, too).

Videotapes, cassettes, floppy disks: send them to greendisk.com, since they’re a menace practically anywhere else.

Read the full list of recyclable (and non-recyclable) items by Real Simple here.

Bio: Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education where she writes about education, online degrees, and what it takes to succeed as a student getting an online masters degree from home. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

1. Safety

Many people may think, “What? You’re talking about power cleaning and clutter busting and you’re going to start with safety? It’s just cleaning, Do I really need to worry that much about safety?” I don’t mean to scare anybody, but every year there are 20,000 deaths and 21 million hospitalizations from home-related injuries so the first and foremost item on my list is to stay safe! Here’s a few safety tips: When you’re going to be spending a lot of time bending, kneel instead and wear some knee-pads to keep yourself comfy. When clearing and re-organizing clutter, make sure you leave any doorways, hallways and stairs clear of objects to trip on (about ½ of those injuries I mentioned are from tripping and falling). When carrying arms full of household items, make sure that you can see the ground and the path you’ll be walking over or around your load. When you have to use a step ladder, don’t take any risks. Lastly, before you doing anything strenuous, stretch yourself out and warm up a bit, like you would before exercising. You’d be surprised how much that will improve your energy and attitude while cleaning, while at the same time reducing your chance of injury.


2. Use Alternate Cleaning Supplies

There are tons of alternate cleaning supplies out there that you might not expect to use as an alternate to toxic or environmentally harmful products. Try some of these: Pour a cup of white vinegar and some lemon juice in your toilet bowl and let it sit over night to remove hard water and rust stains. Use Johnson’s Baby Oil to clean any metal surface from faucets to hubcaps. Mill some rice grains in your coffee grinders and they will absorb any stale smells and oils. Discard the rice and wipe it clean. There are tons more healthy and earth- friendly alternatives as well as more cleaning and decorating tips at realsimple.com. Check them out!

3. Read the Label

If alternate methods aren’t cutting it and you have to use some harsh cleaning materials, make sure you read the label first and follow all the instructions exactly. Never mix chemicals and make sure you wear gloves and a mask to minimize exposure to body. Make sure your pets and children steer clear while you’re using harmful chemicals.

4. Don’t Be a Pack Rat!

I can’t stress this one enough. The worst downfall for spring cleaners (I know it is for me) is the thought “I’ve never used this before and I’ve had it for 3 years but what if i need it some day?” Dump it! If you happen across something that you haven’t seen in a long time, here’s a few things to think about: How long has it been buried (or lost)? Have you looked for it and been unable to find it? Have you thought about it even once since it the last time you saw it? If the answer to either of these is ‘no’ – get rid of it! Give it away, throw it in a yard sale, sell it, trash it, just get rid of it! Don’t hold on to things you don’t need and your house will be much more clutter free and if your house is anything like mine, clutter-busting is 75% of the battle.

5. Get the Family In On It

Make it a game and have the family race to see who can get done first. When they’re done, perform an inspection and have a reward ready for the winner! If they’re not down for that, bribe them with toys or food. “We can have pizza twice this week if you get your rooms clean by the end of the week” or “For every five toys you donate to the yard sale, I’ll get you one brand new one. No, you can’t donate your sister’s toys.” Increasing your work force can drastically decrease the time it takes to get your home spic and span for spring time.

Rebecca Chelsey loves to spend time her family and she has more time to do so when her life is organized! Outside her life as mother and wife, she also works for Homeseasons, which has simplified the holidays with 4th of July decorations, Halloween Holiday arrangements and ideas for every holiday in between.

Photo Credit: Chiot’s Run on Flickr under Creative Commons

· Clear your desktop and drawers of everything except large items like computers or printers. While you have your desk clear, wipe down surfaces and drawers.

· Put desk accessories (pencil cups, calendars, desk pad, rolodex) back on the desk where you are able to easily reach or see what you need. Insert drawer dividers or other desk organizers you need to keep like items together and stay organized.

· Sort the items you cleared from your desk. Set up boxes with categories like: shred, recycle, trash, office supplies, equipment, papers to file, decorations, and elsewhere (items that don’t belong at the desk to be put away later). Place items in these boxes.

· Put items you have sorted away. Place the things you use daily within easy reach, items you use weekly close enough to reach them with little effort, and supplies you use monthly or less often away from your desk. These can even go in a closet or storage area in another room. Keep your workspace clear so that you have a clutter free environment that allows you to focus on your work and put like items together so you can easily find them.

· File papers. If you do not have a good filing system, set up simple system for handling paper where you can find the paper you are looking for in less than a minute. Don’t pile—file!

· Place any decorative items where they can be seen and enjoyed, but not on your workspace. Display items that inspire you most, but minimum the amount of decorations so you are not distracted from your work.

· Maintain the hard work you have done. Take time to put things in their proper place each time you use them. When you are working your desk can become cluttered, which is understandable. Just make sure that at the end of the day everything is put away and the desktop is clear, ready for a new day of work.

Cathy Bates is owner of Practical Solutions Professional Organizing and a Golden Circle Member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO). They offer hands on organizing help for homes and offices. To find out more about how they can assist you, contact them at www.psorganizing.com or call (909)810-3719.

The state of the economy is on consumers’ minds again this Christmas season. Some spenders plan to reduce their budget, while others do not. I would like to suggest that the attention put on financials could actually be a positive. Yes, it might be a good thing…. for the spirit of Christmas and the Holidays.

I challenge you to move away from the “materialistic focus” of gift-giving to a “love focus.” Instead of giving stuff, give the gift of time, experiences and gratitude. Don’t buy a gift, just to get another person crossed off your list.

Clutter-free gift (CFG) giving is the act of gifting items that do not add more stuff (often unneeded) to the recipient’s home. Many CFGs also let the person know you were truly thinking about their likes, passions and interests.

Easy Action Steps to Clutter-Free Gift Giving
1. Make a list of those you would like to give a gift to.
2. Really think about each recipient. What are their likes and dislikes? What are their hobbies? What dreams have they talked about? Brain storm on paper or the computer and an idea or clue might pop up.
3. Make a list of your top 3 ideas for each person. Pick one for this year and file the list away for the next gift giving opportunity.
4. Add to your list throughout the year.

Clutter-Free Gift Ideas to Get You Thinking
• Experiences (indoor water park weekend, tickets to sporting event, spa day with your girl friends)
• Donations (food pantry, church, cancer research, local library)
• Consumables (gift cards, food, gift of the month clubs, gym membership)
• Time (offer to watch your friends kids while they finish up their shopping, volunteer at a soup kitchen)
• Expressions of your love and gratitude (a letter to your parents thanking them for all they have done for you, forgiveness)

As the Organizing Expert for Moms, Paula Constable works with busy moms and families who want to make their daily lives easier through organization. She provides her organizing services both in-home and via Teleclasses and workshops. Receive Paula’s free reports, The Clutter-Free Gift Giving Guide and 5 Must-Know Organizing Tips for Busy Moms, when you sign up for newsletter at www.stuff2borganized.com or visit her blog, Organizing Tips and Thoughts for Moms.

“I just don’t have the time to do the things I want to be doing.”
“If I just had more time…..”
“Once I get caught up, I’ll have more time.”

Sound familiar? These are the types of statements I hear quite often from clients, friends, other moms and business owners.

Many people struggle with how to go about making sure the important stuff gets done and gets the attention they desire it to have. Here are some tips for you to help you make the most of your time.

1. How you spend your time will be determined by your priorities not your availability. Too often we forget to look at what is truly important to us and our families before we add another thing to our already busy calendars. Take the time to reflect on what matters most to you and your family and write them down. Ask, “Do these requests of my/our time fit with my/our priorities?

2. Try to be proactive instead of reactive. In other words, plan ahead as much as you can. Plan your meals out for the week and then make your shopping list. Take time to plan your next day the night before. Planning also includes grouping like activities and tasks together to make the most of your time. For example, it makes sense to do all your errands on the same day.

3. Don’t overload your calendar. When we over-commit ourselves and our time, the results can be counter-productive. Busyness leads to stress, frustration, and fatigue (mentally, physically and emotionally!). Be sure to include down time on your calendar. I mean physically write it down like you are setting an appointment with yourself. If a request of your time comes up during that “free” time, simply say, “I’m sorry, that’s not going to work for me.”

4. Look at time as a gift. We know that we can’t make more time or borrow time or buy time, but we can cherish our time. Our time is limited. God willing, we are given 24 hours a day – that’s about 730 hours a month, and almost 8766 hours a year. Subtract the time needed for sleep, work, everyday household tasks, commuting, etc and you are now left with a very limited amount of time.
How do you really want to make the most of your time?

Your Success to Organization Assignment
1. Write down the activities you want more time for.
2. Set an appointment with yourself to do one of these activities (actually write it on your calendar).
3. Do it!

As the Organizing Expert for Moms, Paula Constable works with busy moms and families who want to make their daily lives easier through organization. She provides her organizing services both in-home and via Teleclasses and workshops. Receive Paula’s free reports, The Clutter-Free Gift Giving Guide and 5 Must-Know Organizing Tips for Busy Moms, when you sign up for newsletter at www.stuff2borganized.com or visit her blog, Organizing Tips and Thoughts for Moms

I love routines to help me make the most of my time. It’s about picking a day or time of day to do recurring tasks or activities. By doing this you take control and decide, based on what works best of you and your schedule, when you want to get stuff done.

It’s all about having a game plan. Of course that plan can always be done away with when you are a mother, but I find it’s helpful to start with one; you can always adjust as needed.

Here are some examples:
• Meal planning for the week on Sunday night and shopping on Monday.
• Paying the bills every Thursday or on the 15th and 30th of each month.
• Washing 1 load of laundry everyday or all of it on Wednesdays.
• Planning your next day the night before or first thing in the morning.
• Devotional and prayer time in the morning.
• Checking email at the kids’ nap time and after the kids go to bed.
• Returning phone calls between 9 and 10 a.m.
• Vacuuming on Mondays, dusting on Tuesdays, and washing the floors on Wednesday.
• Starting meal prep 1 hour prior to dinner time.
• Opening and sorting the mail everyday after dinner.
• Filing your “to file” pile the same day every week.
• Waking up 30 – 60 minutes before the kids to get yourself ready for the day.
• Exercising on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.
• Eating out with the family on Thursday nights.
• Blogging on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays for 45 minutes.
• Run all your errands on the same day(s).
Steps to Help You With Your Routines:
1. Make a list of those recurring activities that you do on a regular basis.
2. Have you calendar close by to consult.
3. Sketch out your weekly routines. To start out, you may want to actually write your routines on paper or your calendar-it’s like setting appointments with yourself. You are purposely giving yourself time to do a task that needs to get done. Flexibility is a must -it’s not about scheduling your every waking moment.
Remember, it’s also not about cramming more and more into your schedule; it’s about making the most of your time so you have time for what’s important to you. Don’t forget to allow for some down-time in your schedule, too! Balance is important!
What are some of your routines that work for you? Share them with us!
As the Organizing Expert for Moms, Paula Constable works with busy moms and families who want to make their daily lives easier through organization. She provides her organizing services both in-home and via Teleclasses and workshops. Receive Paula’s free reports, The Clutter-Free Gift Giving Guide and 5 Must-Know Organizing Tips for Busy Moms, when you sign up for newsletter at www.stuff2borganized.com or visit her blog, Organizing Tips and Thoughts for Moms.

Think for a moment how your family starts off the day. How would you describe the mornings in your household? Do they tend to be calm and peaceful or rushed and stressful -or, somewhere in the middle? I found that planning ahead really helps to curb the morning madness. Here are nine quick ideas to help make your mornings less of production for you and your family.

Tip #1: Get up 15-30 minutes before the kids. Give yourself time to get up and ready to go before the children need to be up. I find that when I do this I am more relaxed and able to focus on helping my children. The day is more likely to start off with conversation rather than prodding and nagging. I also feel better about myself. When I feel good about myself, it has such a positive impact on my day!

Tip #2: Make sure the kids have adequate time to get ready for school without being rushed. Note how much time it takes them to complete all their necessary morning tasks and chores. Ideally, I like to have a 15 minute cushion of downtime before they walk out the door.

Tip #3: Have the kids empty their backpacks after school, not the next morning, to avoid any last minute surprises. Designate a drop-off spot for school papers, notes or permission slips that you need to see.

The Night Before
Tip #4: Have your children layout their clothes they want to wear the next day. Make this simple step a part of their bedtime routine.

Tip #5: Make sure the backpacks and school supplies are ready to go near the door. Maybe even the shoes and jackets, too. During the winter month, I get all the snow gear out and ready to go.

Tip #6: What about the lunches? Can they be made ahead of time? Does money need to go to school to pay for hot lunch?

Tip #7: Determine the breakfast menu and set the bowls and cereal out after dinner.

Tip #8: Develop a bedtime routine that works for your family and stick to it the best you can. A rested child is able to focus and learn better than a tired one. Tip #9: Double check your calendar, including the car pool schedule. What tasks do you want to accomplish the next day?
As the Organizing Expert for Moms, Paula Constable works with busy moms and families who want to make their daily lives easier through organization. She provides her organizing services both in-home and via Teleclasses and workshops. Receive Paula’s free reports, The Clutter-Free Gift Giving Guide and 5 Must-Know Organizing Tips for Busy Moms, when you sign up for newsletter at www.stuff2borganized.com or visit her blog, Organizing Tips and Thoughts for Moms.

As a Myers-Briggs personality profile facilitator, I have learned that stress relievers are not generated from the areas of your natural giftedness, but the opposite. Can you see that moving out of the area where you spend most of your time is a break from the usual – a relief?

For some, cleaning and organizing provides that break. Here are a few 5-minute stress relievers in this area:

1. Clean out a drawer.

2. Clean out a drawer or shelf in the fridge.

3. Make a list of your favorite things to do, and plan when you will do one.

4. Declutter a room or surface.

5. Make a to-do list or prioritize the one you have.

6. Clean a bathroom sink or counter.

7. Dust.

8. Go through a magazine rack and toss old magazines.

9. Declutter your car.

10. Empty one shelf of the dishwasher.

11. Clean your kitchen sink.

12. Fold a basket of clothes.

13. Clean out your purse or wallet.

14. Take out the trash.

15. Organize a shelf in your pantry.

16. Organize a closet.

17. Sit in a room that is irritating you and think about what is not working.

18. Make list of possible options for your dinner menu next week.

19. Remove and hang clothes from the dryer.

Set the table for your next meal.

If doing some organizing and cleaning will relieve your stress, take five!

Beverly Coggins is an organizing expert, speaker and author of the 1-2-3…Get Organized series – books, workbooks, and ebooks written for the organizationally overwhelmed. Her blog contains tips on organizing time and space. Contact information: Bev@1-2-3GetOrganized.com. 330-922-0755

You’ve race around all day running errands, cooking, picking up and dropping the kids off. At the end of the day, you plop down in your bed – exhausted and feeling as if you did so much yet accomplished so little. Sound familiar?

A disorganized schedule can lead to stress, frustration, anxiety, and quarreling with loved ones. Fortunately, hope exists for those families with extremely busy schedules that usually leave a burden on Mom.

One of the easiest and fastest ways to take tasks off Mom’s hands is to assign those tasks to the children. This not only helps Mom in clearing her schedule, it is an extremely important means of teaching your children responsibility and domestic skills.

From the time that I could remember, it was almost an unspoken rule in my house that if my sister swept the floor, I’d have to mop it.
Likewise, if I did the laundry, she’d have to fold the clothes.

Nowadays the dishwasher automatically washes the dishes. But I remember growing up my sister and I traded dish washing nights. One night it was her turn to wash the dishes and the next night it was mine.

Until this day, I can not stand to see dishes in the sink for too long.
So the habits have even stayed with me through my adulthood.

Start teaching your children about chores at an early age to help them form the habit. Show them what and how you would like them to clean a certain area. You can start out by teaching them to clean their room.
Then move to bigger areas as the child gets older.

Remember that children are like sponges absorbing everything you do rather than everything you say. So be sure to leave enough housework for you to do. This way, they can see you doing something as well.

If you have teenagers, appoint them to run errands to the store or to pick up/drop off younger siblings. Teenagers will jump at any chance they get to drive. This not only teaches them to be independent, it makes them feel like you trust them.

Set up a reward system. However, use rewards carefully. You do not want to give your children the idea that cleaning and helping around the house is only done to get something in return. You know your child better than anyone and you know what works for him/her.

Make helping out fun for them. Crank up the music to their favorite CD or radio station. My sister and I would turn on the music on a Saturday morning and dance around the house while we dusted, swept, wiped, and cleaned the house. Now, some of my most relaxing and enjoyable time is spent while cleaning and singing my heart out to the world because it brings me back in time to those days.

While your kids won’t necessarily enjoy doing chores, I guarantee that they will thank you in adulthood. It will be difficult at first, but will be all worth the while.

You’ll be able to free more time for yourself while teaching your children lifelong skills and responsibility.

Sheila Zayas is president of Harmony Perfect Organizers, a professional organizing company based out of West Palm Beach, FL that specializes in helping families organize their schedules so they can live happier and fuller lives. She succeeded in helping a family in which the parents were on the verge of a divorce as a result of a disorganized schedule and lack of goals. Sheila is a speaker that addresses the topics of time management and document control. She can be reached at info@harmonyperfect.com or (561) 512-8771 .

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