Hello Everyone, Angie from Architecturally Organized here!
I hung out with my grandma a lot while growing up. Most of the time when the weather was warm we were all kicked outside to go play. We built forts in the forest, swang from vines and would catch tadpoles in the pond!! Gram was always up to something…. Working in her garden, patching the roof, or building something.
When the weather would change and the cold air would turn warm, she would get all of her winter clothes washed up, fold the winter clothes up nicely and store them away. She would pull out all the warm clothes and give them a fresh wash (as they typically smelled like mothballs after their hibernation), and place them in drawers or hang them up in the closet.
In my mind (at the time) it never made sense to me…. Why take all the time and effort to do that – when she could just leave everything in her drawers and closets? To me it was a waste of time. You know how you were as a kid, you thought you knew everything!!
Now here we are…many years later…. And I am writing about it… Thank god it didn’t take me that long to grasp what she was doing and why she was doing it.
Yes – I know that doing all that work can be time consuming and the weather is beautiful and you rather be playing outside… But, as with all things Organizing – if you take the time now to do it, it will save you extra time down the road!!
Swapping out your clothes can be very beneficial:
1. You save time – It puts what you will be wearing regularly out in front of you so you don’t have to sort through all the sweaters and cold weather clothes – which will save you time in that morning hustle and bustle!!
2. You save Closet space – PRIME real estate!! The winter clothes get stored away and the warm clothes get put away allowing room for your clothes instead of having everything squished in together. Again – the clothes you will be wearing more often will now be front and center and easy to access.
3. Allows you to analyze your clothes – Is it ripped? Stained? Does it fit properly? – now is your chance to toss/donate it and not have to wash/dry/put it away again (again, saving you some time in the long run!!)
4. You are giving your clothes a breather. Yes, I know they are just clothes – but doesn’t everyone deserve a break? Give them some time away from the washer and dryer, or from hanging in the closet. Think like Kondo – say thank you and carefully pack them away and let your winter wear rest for the season.
5. It gives you something to look forward to next year!! Surprise – look – it is that sweater you haven’t seen all year – have you forgotten how cozy it is!!
Sounds pretty good right? So set aside some time this weekend or one night after work and:Sort through your clothes
1. Separate cold clothes and warm clothes.
2. Separate clothes that don’t fit, are stained, are holy, or you don’t care for anymore from the clothes you are keeping and love (for both warm and cold clothes).
3. Carefully fold or hang the warm clothes.
4. Pick a favorite top, sweater, hoodie, jacket etc. to leave out for possible chilly days/evenings.
5. Carefully store away the winter clothes.
It really is that easy. It’s more time consuming than anything. But again – it’s all about the long run…
Till Next time!!
Hello Everyone, Angie from Architecturally Organized here!
I don’t know where some of you are from – but here in Jersey summer weather is here!!! The AC has been kickin… the pool is getting used… and we are soaking up the sun!! But, not every day is going to be a beach or pool day…
Today is one of them. It is gloomy looking outside, it wants to rain any minute. The skies are gray and it is humid out…. It is not a day to be hanging out by the pool!
So on these days… or when it is rainy…or even on the days that it is just TOO hot to go outside – why not take a minute (or a few) and organize your email.
Yes – I said organize your email.
I know I am not the only one who lets their email get out of control.
I know there are more of you who have hundreds if not thousands of emails just sitting in the inbox.
I know there are half attempts at folders that never got used…. At things that have been sitting in your inbox for over a year… just hanging out…. Doing nothing except taking up space!!
So – take the time to clear it all out!! Below are some steps you can take to help you organize your inbox! Have fun!!
7 Steps to decluttering your Inbox
See – now that wasn’t so bad was it?!?! Now-when the next rainy day comes…you will be ready to tackle your inbox!!
Till Next time!!
Hello Everyone, Angie from Architecturally Organized here!
In like a lion…out like a Lamb.. we’ll see!! It is the middle of March….The clocks have changed… and in just a few more days Spring will officially be here!
With Spring… comes Spring Cleaning!! Now I know that is not the same as “Organizing”… but the two really do go hand in hand with one another. Whether you are organizing or cleaning – start one room at a time… one task at a time… and don’t let it overwhelm you!
Now when it comes to cleaning there are a few different ways that you can attack it…. Start by room or by task….You could pick the Kitchen and just do all the cleaning for that room at one time, or you could choose the task – say Dusting. Go through the house and do all the dusting at one time.
Below is a room by room list of Spring Cleaning items to tackle!! Now open up those windows – let the cool breeze in and help air out your house… and don’t forget to have fun!!
Entry (Including hallways)
Dusting: wipe down crown molding, window trim, cabinet trim, wipe down cabinets, cabinet doors, and cabinet hardware, and base trim.
Glass-Clean all windows, Doors and Glass Cabinets.
Linens-Wash linens (Curtains, etc)
Surfaces-Wipe down all surfaces (Walls, Wall Switches, Countertops, etc.).
Floors-Sweep/vacuum and mop floor.
Kitchen
Dusting: wipe down crown molding, window trim, cabinet trim, wipe down cabinets, cabinet doors, and cabinet hardware, and base trim.
Glass-Clean all windows, Doors and Glass Cabinets.
Linens-Wash linens (Towels, wash cloths, curtains, etc)
Appliances-Clean all Appliances (Microwave, Dishwasher, Stove/Oven, Refrigerator).
Surfaces-Wipe down all surfaces (Walls, Wall Switches, Countertops, etc.).
Floors-Sweep/vacuum and mop floor.
Toss out any old or expired food items in cabinets and fridge/freezer
Living Spaces (Dining Room, Living Room, Family Room, Den, etc)
Dusting: wipe down crown molding, window trim, cabinet trim, wipe down cabinets, cabinet doors, and cabinet hardware and Base trim.
Glass-Clean all windows, Doors and Glass Cabinets.
Soft Surfaces-Vacuum Seating arrangements and rugs
Linens-Wash Linens (blankets, throws, Curtains, etc)
Surfaces-Wipe down all surfaces (Walls, Wall Switches, etc.).
Floors-Sweep/vacuum and mop flooring.
Bathroom
Dusting: wipe down crown molding, Grab bars, towel bars, cabinet trim, wipe down cabinets, cabinet doors, and cabinet hardware, and base trim, etc.
Glass-Clean all Mirrors, windows, Doors and Glass Cabinets.
Accessories-Clean toilet, sink, tub, etc.
Linens-Wash linens (Towels, wash cloths, shower curtain, curtains, etc)
Surfaces-Wipe down all surfaces (Walls, Wall Switches, Countertops, etc.).
Floors-Sweep/vacuum and mop floor.
Bedrooms
Dusting: wipe down crown molding, window trim, Base trim.
Glass-Clean all windows, mirrors, glass doors, etc.
Soft Surfaces-Vacuum Seating arrangements and rugs
Linens-Wash Linens (blankets, throws, Curtains, etc)
Clothes-Tidy up closets and drawers (fold/hang clothes, etc)
Surfaces-Wipe down all surfaces (Walls, Wall Switches, etc.).
Floors-Sweep/vacuum/mop flooring.
Keep in mind – this is a very broad list… It will get your house spick and span… but if you want to go a little deeper…try adding these items to your spring cleaning list:
Entry (Including hallways)
If you have an Entry Closet – go through it, empty it out and sort the items.
Apply specialty products to your flooring (if you have hard wood-polish, if you have porcelain or tile-check your grout, etc.)
Kitchen
Clean sink, faucet, garbage disposal
Set oven to “self clean”
Apply specialty products to your flooring (if you have hard wood-polish, if you have porcelain or tile-check your grout, etc.)
Living Spaces (Dining Room, Living Room, Family Room, Den, etc)
Clean window blinds/curtains
Shampoo rug/polish hardwood floors
Move heavy furniture and clean under it.
Bathroom
Check the expiration dates on items and toss what is expired.
Clean your showerhead
check your grout
Bedrooms
Go through your clothes- donate/purge items that no longer fit/you don’t like.
Flip your mattress.
Shampoo rug/polish hardwood floors
Move heavy furniture and clean under it.
You can get as tough and gritty as you need to – it’s all up to you!! Take it a day at a time and you’ll get it done!!
What are your favorite spring cleaning tasks?
Tell me about them!!
I’ll talk to you later!!
Blog Post 19- 6 Steps to Organizing your Home Office by Angela Caddy
Hello Everyone, Angie from Architecturally Organized here.
Happy New Year!!!! Hope it was a Healthy and Happy one!!
So here we are… a new Year.. a new Month… and a new Day!! What are you going to do to celebrate this fresh start? What will you organize? What resolutions have you made?
Organizing drawers…closets…rooms in my house… for me that is pretty simple… but for some reason – keeping my electronics organized is a WHOLE other ball game!! My phone.. My email… my computer… ipad… It always gets crammed full of things… So I thought what better way to start the year – than starting it with neat and tidy electronics!!!
That is what I will be focusing on this month!!
I was reading an article and it made me laugh… it gave a list of items… Your desktop has a million icons, your document folder is filled to the brim, you can’t find files…and a few more… These are signs that your computer is not organized efficiently
And unfortunately…I could relate to some of these items!! Which got me thinking… I really need to sit down and organize my computer! So here we are!! (click on the underlined text above to read the Article). Now it goes a little more in depth with file naming and organizing… but it is a good read!
Let’s do it… let’s organize our Computers!!
First things first… we will Purge!!
As Elle Woods would say… the Rules of Haircare Organizing are Simple and Finite!! I am sorry for that… but sometimes you can’t argue with Legally Blonde!! We will Purge out anything we can!! We will remove any and all duplicate files that we have. We will empty out – and by this I mean – temporarily file away and/or throw out unneeded files in – our “download” file folder.
Next is figuring out a proper way to organize your folders.
Everyone is different. There is no right or wrong way… just a “right way” for you. You have to find and build a system that works best for you!
Is this a personal computer or a work computer? Or is it combined? Will you have personal files… Will you separate your business files by project or by client? Will you keep “like with like” – all digital files together, all family files together, all business files together….These are all things you have to ask yourself when trying to create a system that will work for you.
My computer is both personal and business. So I have a plethora of folders!! But creating the right folders and keeping them organized is where it gets tricky for me!!
I have read that it is best to have a few large main folders and a ton of subfolders within them, I have also come across the notion of having one folder on your desktop and within that folder having everything else – that way your desktop remains free and clear. And I won’t lie-there is a big part of me who likes this idea and thinks I will have to try it!!
Another thing to think about is your naming and filing system. You don’t want to have super long file names, but you also want to make sure they are easy to find. For my Business files – I name everything with a date first. 2022-01-03_File Name. This works for me and is my preferred method of file names. You need to find which way works best for you!
But…. You need to be consistent with the file naming!! Don’t change up the way you enter it…don’t forget to put a 0 in front of your single digit month. These are silly little things but can make a big difference when you are trying to search for something!
Something you may be forgetting about… that you really should take advantage of…. is your Taskbar! Make good use of it! Pin the items you use the most. Keep your most used folders pinned there for easy access!
The MOST important thing to do… and the one thing that I am …. Horrible at remembering to do…. Backup your computer!!! Seriously… I don’t know why I haven’t learned by now… There have been a few occasions when my hard drive crapped the bed and I lost everything… I had some things in the cloud and some things in other places so I was (thank god) able to scrounge around and find things… but it was a pain in the butt and no one wants to spend time doing that!! Backup your computer!!!!! Can’t say it too many times!
Lastly – after you have combed through your files and they are in a pristine and organized manner… empty out your trash – or if you are nervous about it, wait a week. See if you find yourself looking for something that you accidentally tossed. After a week or two – if you don’t find yourself digging through the trash – get rid of it!
You can use these steps for your phone, tablet/ipad, etc….
How do you keep your computer organized? Do you have any tips or tricks you would like to share?? Let us know!!
Well… that’s it for now!! Stay warm and I’ll talk to you later!!
So – Today is the day!! You have made the conscious decision that you are going to get your house (and with it – your life) in order. You feel confident. You feel MOTIVATED!! You are ready to take on anything – including that pile of folded laundry that has been sitting in the basket for over a week (Oh – is that just me?!?!) You take a look around your house… you see the unopened mail piled up on the table by the door… the opened mail in a pile on the desk… shoes scattered around the front door… a pile of… god knows what sitting at the base of the stairs waiting to be picked up…. And boom – that motivation and confidence… it didn’t just slip out of your fingers – it jumped out of your hands and ran out the front door screaming.
Does any of this sound familiar?? Can you relate?? Guess what?? Most people can. I CAN!! I have been in that scenario plenty of times. Yes – I am an organizer, however, I was not always an organized person (before 9th grade I had THE messiest bedroom in the world!). Once I began 9th grade a flip switched in my head – I started making my bed each morning and somehow that evolved into everything being tidy and organized. So over the last 20+ years I have worked on perfecting my organizational skills – and it has become my own artform -It is what works best for me and I want to share it with you – the rules I live by to keep my house organized.
Pick a Space and stick to it.
First things first – If you are too busy focusing on the big picture (aka the whole house or the whole room) you could very well get easily overwhelmed. Don’t do this. Start by looking at the smaller picture. Pick one space and stick with it. Focus on it only. Not only will this help you not get too over your head – once you have completed this one small task it will help you feel more accomplished and possibly bring those feelings of Motivation and confidence back. Once you have selected the space you’re going to tackle, move on to the next step!
Look at what you have
This is where the fun begins!! You know the old saying “you gotta spend money to make money”…. Well I have a new one for ya.…. “You gotta make a mess to organize your mess”. This process is when you take everything out of the space you are organizing – for example: your bedroom closet. Pull everything out. Empty it out. You need to know what you have in order to organize it. This is the easiest of all the steps. You want to make the next step easier? Start putting things in piles now!! Separate items into their piles when you are emptying out the space. You’ll thank yourself later!
Wipe down
Your space is now empty, so before you go putting things back – CLEAN IT. Wipe it down, vacuum it, do what you have to do – but clean the space so it is ready to hold all your items.
Like with Like
Once you have emptied out the space you need to put “like with like” so you can see what you have. Again – we will go with using the closet as an example. You will divide up your piles. Categorize everything…..Piles of shirts – long sleeve, short sleeve, sleeveless… piles of pants…jeans, work pants, etc. Boots…Heels… flats…. You get the idea!!! Once you have all your different piles you will attack each pile one by one with the next step.
Purge!!!
Marie Kondo tells people to ask themselves if an item brings you “joy”, and if so – then keep it. This is a great idea, but not always feasible – Start with – “do i really need this?” and be HONEST with yourself. Guilt is not a reason to keep something. Remember the pile of clothes I mentioned above? Now is the time to go through it.
You are going to start with one pile. We will use a pile of long sleeve shirts as our example. You are going to sort the pile into color coded piles – and WHILE you are doing that you will be reviewing each article of clothing. When was the last time you wore it? Does it fit you? Did you get rid of it? Good for you! Did it go in the designated color coded pile? That’s fine too-we’ll be coming back to it!!
So – now that you have individual piles of long sleeve tops – look at your biggest pile, for me – that would probably be black tops or white tops. How many black tops do I need? Not a big pile worth. NOW is the time to refer back to the art of tidying. Look at each top and narrow it down to just a few. Obviously I am not coming to your house and looking through your closet so if you decide to keep them all – there is no penalty by me lol.
Find a “home” for everything
Obviously for our example of a closet – that is the clothes “home” but for other items in other spaces – this is what they need. A home. A place to call their own. A place where you know it will always be and where it will always go. This is also where the idea of hierarchy comes into play (see my Theoretical Thursday blog post – https://www.architecturallyorganized.com/architecturally-organized/theoretical-thursday-architecture-and-organizing/ ). What do you use the most vs the least? The items that get the most use, more often than not, should be in the most accessible places. This will be different for each person as each person is unique as are their needs. One person will have their business attire front and center.
Contain your items
Sometimes your space needs some extra help. You have the perfect location for an item – but it needs something more. Sometimes a basket or box to contain the item is all it takes. Start by taking a look at DIY storage ideas or baskets/boxes you may already have in your own home. Reutilize them to save on cost. Organizing does not have to mean running around to The Container Store or TJ Maxx buying tons of containers. You can easily find things around your own house to hold items.
Maintain your space
Congrats!!! All the easy work is done!!! Now comes the hard work – You have to maintain your organized and tidy space! That is what takes the most time and effort – taking the time to put things away where they belong. You need to keep yourself invested in it and not let things fall to the wayside. Which of course is easier said than done sometime, especially when life decides to attack you!
That’s the gist of it. Those are the steps I follow when going through a room or space to get it clean and organized. Obviously some of these steps will take longer in different rooms but the end result is a space that houses things you use, need and love. Keep in mind when I am performing these tasks I am usually also cleaning while I am doing it. Wiping things down, dusting, vacuuming when needed – etc.
Take an afternoon and apply these to a space in your own house and let me know how it goes!!!
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