Monday, November 15, 2010

America Recycles Day

November 15 is “America Recycles Day”… a day that “encourages more people to join the movement toward creating a better natural environment by recycling and buying recycled products” and “promotes the social, environmental and economic benefits of recycling.”

Since 1997, communities across the country have come together on November 15 to celebrate America Recycles Day. More than a celebration, America Recycles Day is the only nationally recognized day dedicated to the promotion of recycling programs in the United States. One day to inform and educate. One day to get our neighbors, friends and community leaders excited about what can be accomplished when we all work together. One day to make recycling bigger and better 365 days a year. 
Don’t wait: Organize or RSVP to attend an event; spread the word via e-mail, Facebook and Twitter; and let your family, friends and neighbors know where you stand:

  

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Succulent Container Gardens

With the simplification and downsizing of home and garden, it is still important to connect with the beauty of plants. Container gardening for decks and patios is an excellent choice when space is at a premium.

These ideas will help you start a beautiful succulent container garden:
Select a container with ample drainage holes. Spread gravel in the bottom of the container to support drainage, and then top it with a potting soil mix specified for succulents or cacti. Plant succulents tightly packed in the container. They are slow-growing, so pack them tightly together from the start. Let the plants dry out slightly between watering. Succulents store water in their fleshy leaves and thrive best in dry conditions. Bring containers indoors in the winter to a bright windowsill. Some succulents, like hens-and-chicks and Sedum are hardy to Zone Three or Four and can be transplanted into your garden if you choose.



Monday, November 8, 2010

Time to De-clutter your Home

I have boxes and boxes of stuff in my garage, this after several garage sales. I really need help to De-clutter. This video shares some great tips on how to get motivated and start to De-clutter that I am determined to put into practice over the next few weeks as we prepare for another move into our Downsized home. (more on that in future posts)



Video from Howdini via Youtube
How to declutter your home - Decluttering tips
If the theme song in your attic or garage is "Never Can Say Goodbye" you're probably drowning in junk you never use anymore. Bruce Littlefield, author of Garage Sale America, will help you break up with all that stuff that's cluttering your home.
  

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Aging in Place goes Green

A New Element of Focus: Simple, Green, Aging in Place Solutions

With the demographic tsunami of the baby boom generation now reaching senior status, at precisely the same time as an extremely depressed real estate market, many find themselves trapped in their current homes. The day of jumping from home to home, with increasing equity at each jump, looks to be over for the foreseeable future. The need for Aging in Place solutions has never been more acute.......
Read the rest of the story & view a video HERE
  
   

Monday, November 1, 2010

15 Tips and Tricks For a More Simple Living with Less Clutter

Guest post: By: Manon The Organizing Queen

Living with less clutter is a healthy way of living, more and more people are realizing this as well. If this is your new found desire the following little tips and tricks will get you closer to that desire of living with less clutter in your home.
Some will work for you and some won't either way start now with the following list:
1. Use an empty Kleenex box for plastic bag storage, keeps the bags tidy in a very small storage space.
2. Use large empty coffee can to store rolls of waxed paper and aluminum foil.
3. Use a plastic over-the-door shoe organizer to sort and store your home office supplies, the pockets are great for pens, glue, stapler and staples, scissors, CDs, and paper clips.
4. If you have a Scanner, scan your bills and store them on a CD. This will eliminate up to 95% of papers in your filing cabinet. (Do not forget to shred your bills prior to discarding them)
5. A simple but powerful rule, in with the new out with the old, every time you buy a new item get rid of something comparable that you can do without.
6. Quick questions to declutter your cloth, does it fit properly? Is the cloth faded? If yes or yes get rid of it, give it away.
7. Use a medium-size garbage can as a bedside table, you can store out of season cloth in it. This is perfect for the kid's bedroom.
8. If you collect magazines, you can recycle the huge can (usually used for popcorn) and curve the magazine to fit in the canister, you may be able to store up to two years of a subscription in one spot.
9. Put all your sheets in an "underbed" container stored in the spare room, this frees up the linen closet.
10. Keep your socks and pantyhose tidy with sandwich-size plastic bags. You can sort them by color and type making it easy to pick out.
11. Keep the boxes new shoes come in, they work great for storing and stacking. If you do not like what they look like decorate them
12. Create"a place for everything" this is the key to decluttering.
13. Use a basket for your paper clutter, collect the stacks and then sort and toss while watching TV.
14. Instead of buying all your plastic containers all at once (which can be expensive) buy one every time you go shopping, before you know it you will have all of the necessary storage containers you need.
15. And finally 15 minutes per day keeps the clutter away, one way to beat the clutter is set the timer for 15 minutes and start putting away items in one room, when the timer rings, you're done for today. Do this each day and you will be caught up before you know it. Know this you can do a lot in 15 minutes when you are focused on only one task. I love this one!
I hope you can find something that will work for you and get yourself closer to living a clutter free life.
About the Author
Decluttering tips providing step by step strategies to remove stress caused by chaos and clutter in your life. As a work from home Mom I can tell you first hand the importance of decluttering quickly and creating an organized home has done for my life and my business.
From Manon The Organizing Queen
(ArticlesBase SC #2463377)
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ - 15 Tips and Tricks For a More Simple Living with Less Clutter

Check out these great sources on the topic:
Get Organized Today: Top Experts Share Strategies That Work

Organize Now!: A Week-by-Week Guide to Simplify Your Space and Your Life