Organize Me!

Let an expert help you get organized.

PLEASE NOTE THE DATE CHANGE

At the Newtown Campus

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2008

(previously listed as October 14 in the
Bucks County Community College brochure, page 61)

Two Dates and Two Locations to Fit Your Needs!

Newtown Campus, Tuesday October 21, 2008
Fee: $25
Course: RCEGN 6750 Sec. C01
7:00 – 9:00 PM

Community School of New Hope-Solebury, Wednesday October 22, 2008
Fee: $25
Course: RCEGN 6750 Sec. C80
7:00 – 9:00 PM

Instructor: Donna Roberts

Donna has completed numerous organizing projects including homes, rooms, offices and organizations. As owner of a successful Bed and Breakfast, organization of space, time, planning and priorities was key to her success. Donna has brought her skills as a Technical Writer, Trainer, Project Manager and Organizer to “Organize Me!”

In this class you will learn where to begin your project and be able to create an action plan to eliminate your clutter. You will learn:

• Top 3 Strategies to Home Organization
• Top 10 Tips to Clearing out your Closet
• Top 10 Myths of Home Organization

A distinction is made between organizing and housekeeping, but “keeping” is critical to an organized environment. Organizational strategies for staging your home will also be introduced.

Feel free to bring examples and pictures for solutions for your specific needs.

To register call 215-968-8409 / FAX 215-968-8320 / www.bucks.edu/con-ed

Grocerie Store Strategies

Many of us are lured to the large discount bulk buy stores for the discounts they offer. In my experience, I've spent more money on "discounts" and in many cases, donated unused items so that they would not meet their experation dates!

Unless you have a family like the "Duggers" who have been featured on TLC with 16 children - oops, just checked, now 17 children, you probably don't need a case of 3-lb cans of kidney beans in your cupboard.

Here are a few guidelines to use to determine if you need to stock up on an item or not.

1. Make a list of your favorite recipies.

Keeps the pantry ingredients on hand for your favorite receipes. Thin out items that do not fit well with the menus you enjoy.

2. Plan at least 3 meals a week.

By planning three meals, you will be better prepared when you visit the grocery store to keep to a list.

3. Shop for non-food items once per month at the maximum.

By planning and shopping only once per month for non-food items will help you to determine your food buying patterns and keep you focused on fresh foods for your family.

4. Shop for fresh fruits and vegetables weekly.

Since you are stocking your pantry for receipies you commonly make, and you've determined three meals you will make this week, you should buy the fresh ingredients for those three planned meals as well as any additional pantry items that your need for those three menu items.

5. Inventory your pantry once per month.

Once you have run out of an ingredient, enter it on your shopping list.

6. Watch for sales, but don't buy at all sales.

When your favorite items go on sale, go ahead and purchase them to supply your panty. However, just because there is a sale on one of your favorite items, it doesn't mean you need to always take advantage of it. If you already have a good stock of that item, walk away from this sale. There will be another sale - really.

7. Stock up on bulky items.

If you have the space, I like to stock up on bulky items. This makes my regular grocerie shopping very streamlined and targeted because I don't have to fill a cart every week. Things like paper goods are a great example of something you can buy in bulk if your storage space allows. There is no expiration date and these are items that you need to have available.

8. Do not stock up on cleaning supplies.

Most homes have a greater variety of cleaning supplies than are necessary. Pull together all the cleaning supplies in your house and determine which ones you really use. Throw away all the others. Cleaning supplies generally last a long time, so you don't need to stock much.

9. Laundry supplies

I am glad that laundry detergent companies are taking out some of the water in their products and providing consumers with smaller containers that do the same loads of laundry. All Small and Mighty is my choice for laundry detergent because it cleans well, comes in a variety of scents and is compact and easy to store and use.

Do You Have the Messiest Room in Bucks County, PA?

If you have the Messiest Room in Bucks County
you could win a “Room Recovery”
by Organized Home Interiors.

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Room Recovery is a service provided by Organized Home Interiors (OHI) which is similar to what you may have seen on “Clean House,” “Mission Organization” or “Clean Sweep”. Two organizers will work with you and your family to sort, purge and redesign your space using items you already own to create a clean, comfortable and organized room. Discarded items are either trashed or donated to charity.

To enter, simply submit pictures of your messiest room* to info@organizedhomeinteriors.com and enter “I Have the Messiest Room in Bucks County” in the subject line and you may be entered to win a “Room Recovery” service for your messy room.

The top three pictures selected by OHI will be placed on our website at www.organizedhomeinteriors.com and the room with the most votes for the Messiest Room in Bucks County will win the Room Recovery service and be featured on our website and future advertisements.

The top three pictures will be selected on November 23, 2007 when voting will begin. Voters will have until December 21 to vote for the messiest room. The winner will be announced on Christmas Eve.

OHI is a group of professional organizers specializing in closet organization, home office organization, chronic disorganization, interior redesign and home staging. OHI is a member of NAPO (National Organization of Professional Organizers) www.napo.net and Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce www.centralbuckschamber.com.

For more information, visit www.organizedhomeinteriors.com, call us at (732) 995-6390, email to info@organizedhomeinteriors.com or write to us at Organized Home Interiors, P.O. Box 236, Doylestown, PA 18901.

* Attics, garages and unfinished basements do not qualify for this contest.

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Donna Roberts, of Organized Home Interiors is an Organization Specialist who helps people reclaim their home or office from clutter. Donna provides simple suggestions on how to maintain your space as well as solutions for decluttering homes and also provides staging services for home sellers. If you have a question for Donna, please email her at donna@organizedhomeinteriors.com.

"Organize Me!" at The Community School of New Hope- Solebury

Donna Roberts, co-founder of Organized Home Interiors will be teaching "Organize Me!" from 7:00 - 9:00 PM on September 25, 2007 at the Community School of New Hope-Solebury.

"Organize Me!" is intended to be a one-night informational class to help students who have organizing challenges by providing them with effective solutions. Students are encouraged to bring examples and even pictures of their challenges to class.

Topics include:

1. Introduction
2. Getting Started: Where to Begin?
3. Housekeeping vs. Organizing
4. Staging, Designing and Redesigning
5. Challenges for discussion. This is where the class will identify their interests and needs. Individual issues can include but are not limited to:

• Home Office·
• Kitchen
• Living Area
• Bedroom
• Children
• Blending Households
• Downsizing
• Gifts
• Letting Go

6. Getting Help

7. What do I do with all this stuff?

For more information about Donna Roberts and Organized Home Interiors please visit www.organizedhomeinteriors.com.
For more information and to enroll in this one-night class, please visit http://www.nhscommunityschool.org/

Keeping Organized: Daily Mail

One problem I’ve seen many times when working with clients who desperately want to dig out of their disorganization is dealing with never ending piles of mail that come in every day. Many clients just don’t know what’s important and what isn’t. Here is a quick list of things you may receive in your mail, and my suggestions of what you can do to solve the problem.

Magazines

Magazines can be professional tools or relaxing distractions. These are periodicals, which mean another is coming, and soon. Unless you are employed by the magazine to create a historical record of each issue, magazines are meant to be read and recycled. Don’t feel guilty about not getting to an issue. All of our lives are busy and we can’t be expected to read, see, or know everything. You’ll feel relieved when you have a manageable number of magazines available and you will be more likely to keep up with each issue.

If you find you are receiving more magazines than you can keep up with each month, cancel some of your subscriptions. You can always treat yourself to something special at the grocery checkout or reorder a subscription if you find you have more time.

Coupon Flyers

I personally like coupon flyers. In fact, we have advertised our services in a coupon mailer. If you are inclined to use these types of coupons, please go through the envelope or magazine within one week. I usually keep mine near where I watch TV and go through them at the beginning of the weekend. I also have either a basket or other attractive receptacle near by to recycle the paper once I’ve gone through them. These are time sensitive; so if you have older piles of these magazines and offers, don’t even go through them. Toss the old ones, chances are the ones you toss are expired and you will receive current offers in a new mailing.

Proxy Statements and Proxy Voting

If you own stocks or mutual funds you will likely receive proxy statements and voting materials periodically. These documents are required to be provided to all shareholders by the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and provide detailed information about the company, its management, corporate culture and corporate goals. This is timely information and serious investors find this data invaluable. Personally, I’ve never been able to read one; I’ve tried, but it’s not my thing. I suggest the recycling bin and shredder. Usually only one page needs to be shredded the page with your name and address on it.

Better yet, opt for electronic delivery if you have a home computer. You will have access to all the important financial information you are entitled to as a shareholder, but none of the paper.

This is true for voting also. You should always open these packages to see if you are required to vote your shares. Many times the board of directors suggests how to vote, you may either follow their suggestion or not, but you should vote. Voting often can be done online and saves you a trip to the mailbox.

Credit Card Offers

Credit card offers are great! I love them when I decide that I want to shop for better rates, more credit or better rewards. On the other side, I normally use only one credit card for all my purchases and one “Emergency” card for, well, emergencies. My primary card accumulates reward points that I can cash in for rewards that interest me, such as airline tickets. So, when I am happy with my credit situation, I tear up the offers without even opening the envelope.
If you would like to opt out of these offers, keep reading for instructions on how to eliminate this and other junk mail.

Eliminate all Junk Mail

If you really want to eliminate junk mail from arriving in your mailbox, there are few things you can do according to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA).

Register for DMA's Mail Preference Service (MPS). MPS will substantially decrease the amount of national advertising mail you receive. Please note that signing up with MPS may prevent you from receiving mail you want, such as new catalogues, coupons, announcements about new businesses in your community, and notices of special offers.

You can register online at https://www.the-dma.org/consumers/index.html. Click on “Remove my name from those lists” button located on the left side of the screen. There is a $1.00 fee that verifies your registration and helps to protect the system from fraud

Opt-out of an individual company's mailing list. If you do not want to receive mailings from a particular company, the quickest and most effective solution is to contact the company directly and ask to be removed from their mailing list. Because many companies plan mailings far in advance, please allow 30-90 days for mailings from that company to be phased out.

Opt-out of pre-screened credit offers. If you would like to reduce the number of pre-screened credit and insurance offers you are receiving, visit www.optoutprescreen.com or call 1-888-5OptOut (1-888-567-8688) to opt-out of these offers. This is a free service to consumers offered by the major credit bureaus.

Ask the Expert: Donna Roberts, co-founder of Organized Home Interiors is an Organization Specialist who helps people reclaim their home or office from clutter. Donna provides simple suggestions on how to maintain your space as well as solutions for decluttering homes and also provides staging services for home sellers. If you have a question for Donna, please email her at donna@organizedhomeinteriors.com.your question could be answered in our next newsletter.

Home Staging 101: First Impressions

Because of the current soft real estate market, many homes with tremendous potential are waiting to be sold for months on end. Fortunately, home staging is something that every home owner can do to promote a very profitable sale. The key to effective home staging is to make a house as appealing to as many buyers as possible. Creating a space that everyone is attracted to will significantly increase the chance of a faster sale at top dollar for the seller.

We all know the importance of first impressions. Why else would we buy a new suit and crisp white shirt, shine our shoes and trim our hair before a job interview? We want to be seen at our best. Just as in job-hunting, a home owner needs to have their home dressed for success. Just like dressing ourselves for an interview, a house on the market must prepare in much the same way. It is important to remember that you are marketing a product. Staging a home will give it a competitive edge and excellent first impressions.

Since the house no longer needs to reflect you, the home owner, when it’s on the market, it is important to pack away personal items such as pictures and collectibles. The potential buyers’ first impressions should be based on the home itself and not the collage of family portraits covering the living room wall. A properly staged home should make the buyer feel like the house is move-in ready. Chances are, if buyers are pleased the first time through they will return for a second visit or better yet make an offer.

Small Changes, Big Pay-Offs

Another great advantage that can be gained from staging your home is the value it adds to the home. After removing clutter, rearranging furniture, and updating key pieces the home’s existing character will be revealed. If the house lacks character, paint and window treatments will do the trick by adding warmth and interest. The reason for adding new furniture, accents and paint color is to boost the homes’ appeal. By choosing neutral paint color the buyers will not be distracted. By displaying the right amount of accessories makes the house feel like a home. And by using the right size furniture in proportion to the room’s size will demonstrate how the buyer could utilize the space just as effectively. The idea is to keep the buyers’ attention on the house not what’s inside it. The key is to play down a home’s flaws and enhance its best features.

Summertime Attractions

The front of a home is what a potential buyer will notice first—it’s unavoidable. It’s important to set the mood for the rest of the house starting at the front door. The look of the outside of a house can be just as important to a buyer as the inside. Homes for sale during summer months can take advantage of sprucing up their yard, porches decks and patios. Planting flowers will brighten the space surrounding your home. Adding outdoor seating areas as extensions of the home will greatly pay off. Make the outside as livable as the inside.

Stefanie Woods is a graduate of Penn State with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration. She decided Business Administration was not her true calling and has always aspired to be an interior decorator. Stefanie works for Organized Home Interiors where she can apply her creativity doing what she loves most: decorating homes and organizing spaces.

Decorating Your Outdoor Space Is Simple

Summer is here, and it’s time to spruce up that outdoor space. Whether you have a deck, patio, or balcony everyone is optimistic about hot days and cooler nights to just sit, relax and enjoy those outdoor sanctuaries. Many people become intimidated by decorating an outdoor space and end up creating a bland space with no reflection on its owner. You want to be just as comfortable outdoors as you are indoors, and here’s how you can do it. First decide how you would like to use the space. Is it for privacy, entertaining or relaxation?

Privacy

There are many ways to get privacy for your backyard oasis, so you need to decide which option works best for you and your budget. Lattice provides privacy without blocking your view. You can attach mirrors or plants to add interest and additional privacy. Vines are great walls for decks and patios. Honeysuckle, clematis, morning glories, and ivy are great for creating an open wall that still provides a level of privacy. Potted plants make a wonderful border and can be fairly inexpensive. Larger plants in pots or urns provide not only privacy but color and texture as well. Maximize their height with a plant stand or outdoor bench. A natural fence of shrubs and trees can provide additional privacy and can significantly reduce noise pollution.

Entertaining

If entertaining is how you want to use your space, decide how you and your guests utilize the space. Outdoor living spaces are truly an extension of your home, and it can be a living/family room, dining room or even a kitchen depending on how you decorate it. When choosing deck furniture, just make sure it’s durable and comfortable. For a traditional living room feel, you might choose all-weather couches or wicker for a more comfy, cottage feel. Outdoor floor lamps area a great touch, and outdoor rugs complete the setting. These rugs are commonly made from polypropylene, which is a substance that can handle UV rays, mold, water, and soil. For a dining room feel wrought iron or cast aluminum furniture could be used in a formal space, while wood provides a more casual, picnic-type atmosphere.

Today, state-of-the-art cooking spaces are possible right on your patio. From outdoor oven range hoods to outdoor kitchen cabinetry, elaborate barbeques and grills, food-prep areas, sinks, mini fridges all in weather-resistant stainless finishes, the sky is the limit. Whatever your budget and entertaining needs are, there are many options to choose from.

Relaxing

Last but certainly not least, many of us just want to relax in our outdoor paradise. Lighting can really create a mood, especially during the shorter days of spring and fall. Solar lighting, outdoor lamps, and candles all create ambiance for your space. Keep in mind, flowerbeds and furniture should not be cluttered or overcrowded, so stick to the K.I.S.S. acronym: Keep It Simple, Silly. Finally, maintain balance in your space and garden surround by balancing light vs. dark colors, and hard vs. soft textures and lines. For example, if you have a weeping willow in your view, it should be balanced with plants that grow in a strong vertical line emphasizing upward growth. In addition balance bright-colored plants with darker-colored ones.

To sum up, decorating your outdoor space is easy once you think about how you want to utilize your space. Just don’t go for décor to keep up with your neighbors’ yard but rather choose something that’s practical and manageable for you. Paradise doesn’t have to cost a fortune, but is should give you a peaceful feeling. Remember, if your space is too high maintenance or a burden to your wallet, you won’t be able to enjoy it to the fullest. You’re now on your way to enjoying an extension of your living space and making it fabulous!


TIP: Is your patio furniture tired but replacing it would exhaust your budget? Spruce up your existing furniture with a little paint, outdoor fabric or both. Painting or staining wooden furniture always gives it new life. Or, you could consider purchasing outdoor fabric remnants to create slipcovers. Remember to take advantage of those end-of-season sales, yard sales, and auctions to get an eclectic look that’s all your own.

Ellen Bohan Murphy taught learning disabled students for twelve years and enjoyed working with her students. But her passion has always been interior decorating and she decided to make a career change to fulfill her desire. Ellen works for Organized Home Interiors as a Decorating & Home Staging Assistant and lives happily in Bucks County, Pennsylvania with her husband and two children.