Ep 31 - Ask The Organizers: Things we constantly declutter

I am thrilled to bring you this week's episode, where we're going to dive into the world of organizing and decluttering. As many of you know, I am passionate about networking and building a community of organizers who support each other. It's not about competition, it's about collaboration and making our industry better together.

In this episode, I'm excited to bring you a conversation with several organizers who are going to share their tips and tricks for decluttering common items. Whether it's your closet, kitchen, or workspace, we've got you covered.

And, as a bonus, I'll be sharing more about my experience as a mentor in the Inspired Organizer program, which has helped me build a strong foundation for my business. If you're interested in learning more, don't hesitate to reach out to me.

So sit back, relax, and get ready to learn from some of the best organizers out there. Let's dive in!

You can listen right here, on Apple, Amazon, Spotify or you can read the transcription below. Enjoy!

Carly: Welcome. Welcome. I am extra excited this week to bring you a conversation with all the organizers. Something that you may not know about me is that I really love to network. I have loved networking since before I became an organizer when I was an executive assistant and worked in the Bay Area. I loved networking with other organizers, oh, I'm sorry, with other executive assistants and folks who were in office management, Executive Assistant/PA realm. We're better together, right? The community over competition is super important to me.

I know I don't mention it a lot here because it doesn't come up very much. I'm a mentor in the Inspired Organizer program, which is the program that I use to help me build the business side foundation of my business, my first year in business. I love it so much. I could talk about that a lot. I have talked about that a lot. And if you want to learn more about that, feel free to DM me.

I can send you the link for a podcast that I was on at Inspired Organizer talking about how much I love it and how helpful it is to me. But aside, I love chatting with other organizers. I love that we can help each other grow and be better in our industry, and we can help make our industry better along the way by staying in contact with each other and just not seeing each other as this, you know, like competitive threat situation because we are all truly better together. So in the spirit of that today, I wanted to have an episode all about the things that we declutter all the time. The things that we declutter as organizers all the time. So I'm going to bring you a bunch of tips from a bunch of different organizers.

This is just the advice from folks all across the country, people that I network with locally. Around the country. We've just got a bunch of fun stuff in store. So to kick it off, I am going to bring you one of my favorite people. She is the GM of Inspired Organizer, and her name is Melissa and she's amazing.

We're going to kick it off with her. And before I do that, I want to give you a disclaimer as always, that Gim is snoring as usual. So if you hear him, don't worry. Don't worry. He's just chillin’. He's chillin’. All right, Melissa, take it away.

Melissa Klug: Hey there, my name is Melissa Klug and I'm an organizer at Home by 11 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. And I want to talk to you today about what I call the four Bad Words of organizing. And they are, might, could, maybe, and someday. The reason I call them bad words is that a lot of times when I am working with someone, they really, really want to declutter.

But sometimes it can get hard and it's really hard to make a lot of decisions where you think, oh, I might use this. I could use this. If I decide that I'm going to do X, Y, and Z, someday I might need this item. When we find ourselves using those words, might, could, maybe, and someday it is a sign that I want you to think a little bit harder about– do I actually need this or is my brain telling me an easy way out of making the decision? I sometimes will hear people use all four of those words in the same sentence And so I always say, Hey, let's take a step back and think about whether we are really going to ever start that hobby that we have been keeping these things in our house for years. When was the last time I used them? When might be a time that I would envision using this? If you start to answer those questions, you realize might, could maybe, and someday are never going to come. And you are going to feel so, so good if you get those items outta your house. So catch yourself the next time, anytime you say might, could, maybe, or someday when you're thinking about whether you need to keep something.

And I bet you'll think harder about it.

Carly: Tell me that is not so, so good. I am absolutely going to be borrowing those four bad words, like, ugh, the best. Now we're going to switch gears a little bit with some kitchen advice from Megan and Alaina, and I'm going to let them take it away.

Megan Rogers: Hey, this is Megan Rogers with One Less Stress Organizing out of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. So many things come to mind when thinking about what we are constantly decluttering in clients' homes. One thing that I even have to remind myself it's okay to toss is takeout items. Everything from menus to straws, napkins to sauces.

I have a pension as a mom to keep a stash of these things in my car and even in my kitchen flatware drawer. For those just-in-case moments, this is 100% okay. The trick is to have a reminder in place to clear these spots out once a month or every other month, so you don't wind up with petrified Arby sauce in your glove compartment.

Ask me how I know. Thanks so much.

Carly: Carly here. Again, I wanted to chime in to give a little tip that I have for a couple of takeout item-type things. Okay. Always snoring. The first is to have a set size of a Container that you can have, be the limit for how many sauces you're willing to keep. Whether you are loving that fire sauce from Taco Bell or the ranch from Jack in the Box or whatever it is, have a Container where you realize that like enough is enough because it will keep coming in.

And if you're not immediately tossing it, I have definitely cleared out so many drawers over time that are just absolutely overflowing with condiment containers. But if you have a smaller container than when it's filled, you realize, like, okay this is the amount of sauce that I'm willing to have in my house.

And then as you clear it out, you can either clear out the old ones or if you're not sure how old everything is, but you know that it's all fairly, you know, of the same time period, you can toss out the ones that you know you also have in your fridge. That is the hardest part for me, is that I know that there's not a good chance that I'm going to be reaching for a ketchup packet if I have a whole bottle of ketchup in my fridge that's fresh and ready to go.

A thought with that. And I also wanted to say that as far as those silverware packets that come in you know, like they're plastic wrapped and maybe they have a spark and a napkin and salt and pepper Oftentimes you can donate those to places like food banks shelters, that sort of thing. I know that locally in the Sacramento area, river City Food Bank will take those items.

So I have definitely cleared out a bunch when I've been with clients and taken them there and they're very, very happy because they can put that with the food that they are giving out. So I hope that is helpful. And now we are going to have Alaina take it.

Alaina Yonkers: My name is Alaina Yonkers, and I'm the founder of Dynamic Order in Central Mass. Backstock came to mind right away as something I find myself constantly decluttering with clients. Backstock refers to extra items in your home that are not currently in use, and it tends to accumulate in pantries, hall and linen closets, bathroom cabinets, basements, and even in shopping bags on the floor when it has no designated home.

Common backstock categories include personal care items, dry goods, and household supplies. We often end up with a surplus of these items when we buy a bunch just because they're on sale and we don't know how many we already have at home. Often, once we have gathered all back stock in one place, it becomes apparent that some of the stock is expired or can't possibly be used before it does expire.

So how can we deal with the overflow? Department stores have systems in place to operate smoothly, and your home is really no different. Appointing a central zone for backstock items is key, so everyone in the household knows what you have and where to find it. It can be helpful to work with your organizer to determine how much Backstock is comfortable and practical for you to keep on hand.

It may sound silly, but knowing that your comfort zone is 10 cans of beans and two extra bottles of shampoo will prevent both overbuying and the anxiety that accompanies feelings of scarcity. Finally, backstock you won't be able to use, can be donated to friends and family, buy nothing groups, donation centers, or food banks in your community.

Carly: I think that is so, so helpful. And especially the part about gathering up your backstock items so that you can find what you need when you need it. And something else to think about is that I know that the natural inclination is to always buy the biggest thing, but if the biggest thing.

The biggest quantity of whatever item I'm going to be talking about is paper towels. If it doesn't fit in the space that you're hoping to store it, that might not be the best option. For instance, at my house, even though we do shop at Costco, I am not a fan of getting my paper towels at Costco, and I'll tell you why.

It's because we have enough room to comfortably fit in my utility closet. , you know, maybe like four rolls of paper towels. Not 12. And so what ends up happening is if I get 'em from Costco, they end up kind of being like in front of my shelves or shoved in all these little nooks and crannies.

It's harder for me to, at a glance, see how many I have because they can be shoved in all these other different places as well. We don't use paper towels very often. I always have a rollout and I use them for some cleaning and things too. But for dinner time we use cloth napkins, and that's really cut down on the number of paper towels that we use.

So, We end up going through paper towels much less quickly than I did a few years ago, which means that if I'm over-stuffing my closet, it's not a short-term situation. It's a long-term situation. And for that reason, I've stopped buying paper towels at Costco. I've started buying them at Target because I can get like a three-pack, a four-pack, and.

Is a lot easier for me to manage and keep track of versus having to find a home for this giant bag of paper towels. So I hope that helps you too.

Carly: Okay. Now we're going to hear from Kim and she's going to be talking about something that comes up all the time.

Kim Snodgrass: This is Kim Snodgrass with Rustic Home Organizing. I am based out of Oregon in a small town called Manning. The one thing that I find over and over is high real estate being used in kitchen drawers for Manuals for things such as an oven, a refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave, vacuums, blenders, you name it.

They're all just shoved in this drawer that nobody ever seems to look at. And nowadays almost everything is available online. I always encourage my clients to consider getting rid of all of those manuals. If there are any extra parts that are with those manuals, I suggest that they get a zipper pouch or a Ziploc bag, label it, and put it in like where you would have your indoor toolbox or something so you can go to that.

I also suggest to my clients that if. You get a sample along with a product that you have purchased, and instead of just saving it along with the manuals, use it right away. Determine if you want to repurchase that to maybe clean your stovetop or a certain filter that comes with your refrigerator. Bottom line though.

Let the manuals go save that drawer space for something more important in your kitchen. And if you need to reference 'em, look 'em up online.

Carly: Love, love, love, love, love this. It comes up all the time and it makes me think of something that I talk about a lot. If you've taken my free class, you know, I talk about it there. If you've spoken to me for more than 10 minutes, you might have heard this already, but I have something that I call the real estate rule, and that is deciding where to keep something based on how often you use it.

So Kim's example with the home manuals and finding them specifically in kitchen drawers, I think is so important because it's these things that we're not going to use. Frequently, but they're in this amazing prime real estate. And when folks tell me specifically in kitchens, I mean this can happen anywhere, but it happens a lot in kitchens.

Like, oh, there's not enough storage space. When we actually examine what's in the cupboards and we take out the things that they don't use, want, need, or love, suddenly we're able to find tons of space more than once. I have. An empty cabinet full of space by just removing the massive collection of paper or plastic bags.

Then that's just one example of many, many things that come into play. So with the real estate rule, when you're planning where to put things. I want you to think about how often you use this item. So I see this a lot with appliances taking up really great real estate, but they're not things that people use very often or holiday items.

Also having prime real estate that is used once a year. So if your kitchen, China, just as an example, is taking up the cabinet underneath your oven. But your pots and pans are around the corner. That could be a switch to bring the things that you constantly find yourself being inconvenienced to go get and put them in a more easily accessible spot and swap them out for things that you are hardly ever using.

That's why my juicer is. The worst spot in my kitchen, is because I do not use it very often. But it's why the waffle iron is easier to access because I do use it more often. And I think that those examples can tell you a bit about my life priorities. But I digress. Let's check out another tip from Melissa.

Melissa Klug: I saw a really funny tweet one day that says one thing no one ever talks about being an adult is how much time you debate yourself on keeping a cardboard box because.

It's like a really good box. And I loved that because it's absolutely true and it's something that I see clients struggle with. Whenever I work with clients. There are tons of boxes and the question is always, I don't know, should I keep this? And a lot of times they keep it just in case. And what ends up happening is there is a sea of cardboard that's really taking up a ton of space in your house.

So essentially you become a storage unit for empty boxes. I want to encourage you today to look at the cardboard that's in your house. Start with those Amazon boxes or anything that is delivered to you. Can you break those down and recycle them? If you're keeping it because you're like, well, I might need to mail something, or I might need to ship something, I promise you're going to have another box that's going to show up at just the right time.

Get it outta your house, recycle it. The next thing to look at is boxes you've kept because something came in them. A lot of times These are kitchen boxes. They're blenders, they're big appliances. They are TV boxes. Our computer boxes, Apple boxes, are a big one. I want you to think about those. One of the things I hear a lot is, well, if we move someday, I'll need this box.

So unless you're moving in the next six months, I want you to really evaluate whether that box is important. If you move, I promise you there are going to be other ways to move something and there are going to be other boxes to put them in. You're storing those boxes and you really don't need them. Go through your house, pick out all the cardboard, get it recycled, and you are going to feel amazing.

Carly: This truly goes back to the real estate rule, and that is because your home, inside your home, is like every storage space in your home is the most expensive storage you'll ever have, and when it is filled with cardboard that you may or may not be using, you're. Not using it as effectively as you could.

The one instance, in which case, I'm like, okay. You know, hall pass. I am. I totally understand. These boxes are, if you are the type of person who buys a new electronic product every year, that comes out and sells the old one immediately. So if you always have to have the new iPhone and then you immediately sell the last one, and you have found that you get more money with the box, okay?

But if that is not you, I want you to reconsider that. Like Melissa said, you are not going to regret it.

Carly: Okay. So we are going to dip into some tips that are more about the office and paper and a lot of things like these spaces. So first we're going to hear from Julie.

Julie Aderhold: there everyone. It's Julie Aderhold from Healthy Home Organizing. I'm based in the Greater Green Bay, Wisconsin area. One of the items I find myself decluttering with many clients is pens. Pens are often found in numerous rooms throughout the house. They often are a big source of what makes up a junk drawer.

It's definitely okay to have them in the places you use them, such as a home office, a command center as you come in the door, or a kitchen desk or an area of the home where you would do your writing. However, we often find them everywhere, and when we collect them all, we find out we have hundreds. One tip I have for you is to only keep the pens you really like and no more than 10 or so in a space where you actually use them.

You will find the area to be much easier to work in. And ask for all those extra pens. If they don't work, certainly throw them away. Otherwise, many nonprofit organizations would be happy to have them. Choose an organization that speaks to your heart or that you personally volunteered for. I bet their office employees could use the pens and it would save them a bit on office supply costs.

I've even had some clients take them into their workplaces. Happy organizing and happy writing.

Carly: Let me tell you guys a story about pens from my own life. So growing up, my dad was a pharmaceutical rep, so we always had a couple of hundred pens ready at all times. When I moved out, I found I had so many pens that I was just swimming in pens, and when I went through my decluttering journey, I did end up letting go of a lot of excess pens, but I still had enough to see me through for a very long time.

So last year was actually the first time in my life that I bought pens and I honestly thought that day would never come. I was shocked. And of course, as soon as I bought, you know, a couple of pens, then you know, luck just sent some more free pens my way because that's how life works. So I once again have enough pens to last for likely the next 10 years. But the good thing is if I ever find myself in need of a pen, then they are very easily attainable and I could get one in the next 10 minutes at any given time. So, yes, I totally agree about the excess pens. That is a sitch and a half. Now let's hear from Alli about the mail

Alli Bodnar: hi, it's Alli from Alli B Organizing coming to you from Pittsburgh, pa. One of the categories that many of my clients want help decluttering is dreadful but inevitable incoming mail. I am not here to say that I never get overwhelmed with mail, but if I keep it maintained from the start, it is much easier to manage.

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't love decluttering mail for other people, but I do love helping with systems and strategies to eliminate that huge stack that often builds on the counter or in one or more drawers. Here are a few tips for managing that mail. I recommend having a specific drop zone for the mail if it is an adult who brings in the mail, and it's even better to declutter the mail before it even reaches the drop zone, toss those ads and junk mail, and put magazines, et cetera, in a place where they'll be quickly read.

I recommend sorting based on two systems, either by importance or by people. I'm also here to tell you two key things. Most mail does not need to be kept for long periods. Tax paperwork is important, but most other bills and statements can be found online if you need to refer back to them.

Another thing I've learned is that many folks don't even look at statements, and if you are one of those people, there is often a paperless option that you can opt into and save you even more time dealing with mail. Ultimately, the mail is a time-consuming process to get caught up on, but if you chip away at the past mail and set up a system for all incoming mail in the future, we'll be able to focus on more fun spaces in your house, and your life will feel less stressful without this overwhelming but inevitably daily task.

Carly: The struggle is real with mail Guys. This is something that lots and lots and lots of people deal with. So if you are struggling with mail, know that you are not alone, and if you need, you know, more guidance. You can always come back to this episode and listen to Alli’s tips about mail solutions if you are going through your mail.

And then you need to shred things if you don't own a shredder. A tip that I give people a lot is you can always go to a lot of big box stores that offer shredding solutions. So locally I go to places like Office Max, Office Depot. They will shred paper for 99 cents a pound, and they do it in a very responsible way, so you know that it's going to be, you know, handled effectively and that your private data will be secure.

But that can be a really great and inexpensive resource for you.

Carly: Now we're going to talk about a couple of other spaces, things in your home. And these final two organizers are near and dear to my heart because they're both local to the Sacramento region and they're just awesome sauce. So first up we have Geneva.

Geneva Lewis: One of the interesting things about gifts that we receive, and it's a radical concept that we've never been taught growing up is that we don't have to keep them. We can actually say thank you to the person who thought of us and spent their time and money selecting an item for us, and we can think about it.

But there are times, and I think we've all been there where we just are saying, wow, this, what were you thinking? This is not me. I would never use this. I hate this. And because yet somebody we care about. Has given it to us or that somebody who we have a relationship with, or we have a sense of obligation, they gave it to us and we have to keep it.

But you don't. You can just let it go. You can re-gift it, you can donate it, and you can just keep it out of your life.

Carly: Ugh. That is so, so, so true, and I think it's really easy to forget for folks. I always tell clients that if there are these gifts that you absolutely don't want, I need you to understand and remember that with few exceptions people in your life are not giving you a gift for the explicit purpose of you having to keep it for the rest of your life, that is not part of the gift exchange process.

We feel like it is for some reason, but usually, that's kind of on us. It's not because the person who gave us the gift said that in any sort of implied or not implied way I just want you to take Geneva's advice and to reconsider this. All right. Last up, we have Katrina from Badass Home Life.

Katrina Green: Hi, my name is Katrina Green. I'm from Sacramento, California, and I am the owner of Badass Home Life. So I like to build and DIY things around the house, and sometimes I end up with tools or materials that I only really need or only have one purpose. These items eventually end up in my large toolbox, which is why I make it a point to go through them after projects are done so I can keep my box organized.

Some examples of things I've gotten rid of: dried out wood putty, hex keys, and screwdrivers that come with those ready-to-build furniture and specialized screws that I know someone else will have a purpose for. When I'm in the midst of doing a project, I'm in the zone, so I don't really pay attention to how organized the toolbox is, but once I'm done, I make sure I only have what I need in there and set it back up to its sorted system.

Carly: This is so true, especially the part about the extra little tools that come with things like Ikea bookcases, et cetera, et cetera. I end up finding a lot of these Allen wrenches, Allen wrench collections that will likely never be used again, and I know that they include it so that you don't have. Go buy an Allen wrench set.

But if you do have an Allen wrench set, know that the chances of you ever using that little tool again are slim to none. So I love, love, love this advice. I. Wanted to give a big thank you and shout out to all of the organizers who gave tips for this episode and who took the time to reply to the call and give us their love and their tips, their suggestions, and their insight, because these are things that truly come up all the time.

So I appreciate you, organizers. Thank you. You guys are amazing and just love all of you. I, again, will have the links to everybody's businesses in our show notes if you would like to follow them. If you have any questions, feel free to let me know and I'll talk to you real soon.

Thank you for tuning in today. If you want to learn more about how I can help you, please head to Tidy Revival dot com to learn more about how I work with people one-on-one or in our Clutter-Free Home Process private community. If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe so you'll always have access to the latest episode.

We would love to hear your takeaways! Feel free to tag us at Tidy Revival on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok. The Tidy Revival podcast is written and hosted by me, Carly Adams, and edited by Brittany McLean. Title Song Maverick is by Dresden The Flamingo.

Until next time, remember that…