Systematize magazine pages

Like all mail, magazines and catalogues accumulate constantly. For me, they make great, lightweight train reading and I recycle them or pass them on once I get to the office.

But what happens when there's that one product you really want to buy from the Crate and Barrel catalogue, or that one fantastic recipe in Cooking Light that you simply must try?

This tip comes from my neighbor Cheryl, who's an organizing queen in her own right: Rip out the page(s) of interest and file them into labeled folders. I'd suggest a "recipe" folder, a "to purchase" folder, and so on.

Once pages have been filed, use the folder actively. For recipes, Cheryl and her husband keep newly ripped pages on top and completed recipes at the bottom of the pile. Recipes they've tried but don't like get tossed immediately.

The "to purchase" folder (my riff on Cheryl's recipe folder concept) must also remain active. First, as a person trying to simplify, I'm sure you'd never add much to this folder in the first place! :)

Second, set a date to make that purchase online or in-store and add a reminder to your calendar. Once the date passes, if you haven't made the purchase, toss the page or reschedule.

Now, if you're saving pages for holiday gift ideas or a big purchase, I'd recommend finding a weblink to the product and starting a spreadsheet or document listing the items to reduce clutter. Then recycle the physical pages.

How do you manage your magazines and catalogues currently, if at all?

We have a plant stand that I coverted into a magazine holder. I go through the basket periodically to recycle or read old issues (and now I will rip out/file/use pages of interest!). The living room is a great place for this--nothing better than some coffee or tea and a magazine on the couch Sunday morning!

P.S. If you found this post via Facebook, I'd love for you to leave a comment here on the blog as well as on the Facebook post. Thanks!

Storage unit makeover

Glamorous, I know! My husband and I have minimal storage space in our condo, so we rent a small storage unit a couple of miles from home. Three yard sales and lots of charity drops later, we've finally got our storage-unit possessions down to what we truly want to keep: holiday decorations, musical instruments, off-season clothing and shoes, luggage, photo albums, golf clubs, nice picture frames and the like.

Despite our best simplification efforts, the storage unit was not at all organized:












Tsk, tsk. Items thrown into paper bags and shoved into the storage unit randomly. No placement of like with like. Unnavigable, inaccessible heavy boxes stored precariously sky-high.

This past Saturday, we bit the bullet. We took advantage of tax-free weekend here in MA and purchased a set of heavy-duty shelving and an extra plastic storage container just in case it would be needed. We then proceeded straight to the storage unit.

Corey built the (heavy!) shelves, which only required a hammer for assembly. I took bags, boxes et al out of the unit one at a time, examined the contents, threw away what I could (including tons of ripping paper bags holding random items), and clustered like things.

The result:









We were surprised at how little time this project took; it lasted maybe two hours tops. Now items are easily accessible and we know we've kept only those things we truly want and need.

What's your storage situation in your attic, basement, storage unit?

P.S. If you found this post via Facebook, I'd love for you to leave a comment here on the blog as well as on the Facebook post. Thanks!

Put a lid on your manuals

Operational manuals seem to come with everything, don't they? From coffeemakers to cameras to cell phones, every gadget and appliance comes laden with instructions. I have a hate/love relationship with manuals: I hate having to keep them, but I love them when I need to troubleshoot. I hate not being able to find the right manual when I need it (did I put it in a cabinet? a kitchen drawer? did I toss it?).

My simple solution: Create a "manuals" box. When you get a new toaster oven, vacuum or alarm clock, just throw the manual in the box. Once a year, leaf through the box and recycle manuals for those items you've gotten rid of. My manuals box is a little taller and wider than a shoebox, and it sure holds a whole lot of manuals!

Happy reading. :)

Keep like things together

If you were to look in some of my drawers at home, you might be surprised. For the most part, they are not pristinely organized with dividers and labels.

I tried that before in my sock drawer, purchasing those long plastic containers that are supposed to help you keep things neatly arranged, but I never ended up having the time or inclination to maintain that level of order. It's much easier and quicker to just open the drawer and throw in the folded socks. :)

Instead, I've adopted one simple principle: Keep like things together. We have a pen/pencil drawer in our desk, and while the contents may not be organized by "pencil," "red pens," "blue pens," and so forth, we know that the only items that go in that drawer are pens and pencils. They don't belong in any other drawers in the house, and no other items belong in the pen/pencil drawer.

Now, some things do need a little extra help in the drawer, like utensils. It'll just be quicker for you at dinnertime if you can easily reach in and pull out the forks and knives you need. So, it's just a matter of thinking about which things need an additional level of organizing and which things would be overkill to divide further. (Not to worry: we'll delve into this in future posts!)

It may seem elementary but if you apply this principle across your home--books stay with books, socks with socks, take-out menus with take-out menus, tools with tools, spices with spices--and stick with it, you'll find yourself well-organized in a very manageable way.

Other examples from our home: mail, umbrellas, utensils:

Let's get started.

Hello, there! I’m thrilled that you’ve discovered Simplified by Sarah.

I’m not a professional organizer. I’m a busy 30-something married woman with a full-time career and varied interests that keep me on the go. I’m buoyed by quick lists, multitasking, easy organizing methods and decluttering. I make it easy to keep everything in its proper place without being too proper about it!

If you’ve got a lot going on at home, work, or school—or all of the above—welcome. You’ll get practical, simple tips on keeping it all together.

What will we organize?

• Rooms (home, office, dorm)
• Specific spaces (desk, cabinet, closet, drawer)
• Stuff (decluttering, grouping)
• Ideas (outlines, brainstorming)
• Words (helpful lists, effective note-taking, concise writing)
• and much more.