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.

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.

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.

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.

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