A resource for those seeking information on organizing and transforming spaces.
Book Review - Cami Kangaroo Has Too Much Stuff
As many of us know, asking your child to clean their room is not one of their favorite activities. Many kids love their collections and don’t seem to care about living in a mess. As parents we can get frustrated, and we are always looking for new and creative ways to explain why keeping a room tidy is important. The book, Cami Kangaroo Has Too Much Stuff by Stacy C. Bauer is a terrific way to introduce organizing skills in a fun and friendly way. Creatively illustrated by Rebecca Sinclair, children ages 4-8 will definitely relate to Cami and her dilemma.
As many of us know, asking your child to clean their room is not one of their favorite activities. Many kids love their collections and don’t seem to care about living in a mess. As parents we can get frustrated, and we are always looking for new and creative ways to explain why keeping a room tidy is important. The book, Cami Kangaroo Has Too Much Stuff by Stacy C. Bauer is a terrific way to introduce organizing skills in a fun and friendly way. Creatively illustrated by Rebecca Sinclair, children ages 4-8 will definitely relate to Cami and her dilemma.
Cami collects many “treasures.” Rocks, shells, feathers, and of course a multitude of toys. When her mom asks her to clean her room before her cousins party, Cami gets easily distracted. She then remembers she needs to return her cousins stuffed puppy, but alas, due to the clutter the stuffed animal is nowhere to be found. Her Dad comes to the rescue and together they organize her room. In the end, we find that the whole family could use more organization. What a great way to let children know that even parents can finding organizing challenging!
The book is the second in a series by Ms. Bauer. Her first book, Cami Kangaroo Has Too Many Sweets, is a lesson in honesty and self-control. If you are home-bound and looking for activities to do with your children, what could be better than reading!
We highly recommend this book to teach your children in a fun amusing way the benefits of de-cluttering and organizing.
Book Review - Downsize: Living Large in a Small House
Best-Selling Author Sheri Koones explores the upside of downsizing in her new book.
For those people thinking of downsizing to a small home, Sheri Koones has written a book for you! The book, Downsize: Living Large in a Small House is geared to empty nesters although many younger people are downsizing as well. Large homes come with high costs and huge time commitments in order to maintain them appropriately. Homeowners find themselves with less quality time to spend with family and friends. Many new homeowners and empty nesters want a more care free way of life. They want to spend their time traveling and experiencing new things. Ms. Koones herself downsized to a 1,400 sq ft. house. Her house is now convenient to town and close to shopping, restaurants and movies. She says she wishes she had made the move years earlier. After having success with her own move, the author interviewed over 30 homeowners all over the United States and Canada. All the houses in the book are 2,000 sq ft or less.
There are beautiful detailed photographs of each home as well as floor plans to go with them. Each house has small square footage as opposed to traditional large homes. As a result, the energy costs are lower. Many have the master bedroom on the main floor (popular with older homeowners who are hoping to stay in their homes as long as possible.) Another commonality is the homes have a good amount of natural lighting, creative storage, minimal hallways, multipurpose rooms, furnishings with added storage, pocket doors, porches and patios to name a few.
Ms. Koones states that “everyone I interviewed for this book was delighted to be downsizing. They used words such as “liberated,” having rid themselves of all the stuff or baggage that had loaded them down for years.”
Most of the people interviewed had energy efficiency as a priority when building or updating their small house. Some were built with LEED standards. Houses were built with solar energy, HVAC systems that are more efficient and LED lighting and energy efficient appliances. Each house in the book is listed with the green features it is built with.
Of course, decluttering and purging is always difficult. Especially for multi-generational families. Many baby boomers have keepsakes, furniture, china and artwork stored from their parents and other relatives. On top of that they have their children’s things in the house as well. It can be overwhelming to start purging, and once started hard to know what to do with the sell, consign, donate and trash. As Ms. Koones suggests, certainly there are books and reference materials to help you declutter. Another option from our standpoint is to hire a professional organizer. Professional organizers have the tools and resources to help you figure out how to rid yourself of items you will not need in your new home. A professional organizer can make a long tiring process streamlined and stress free.
In the end, the author states that small does not necessarily mean less comfortable or less attractive. Many homeowners of the new homes said the current designs reflect their aesthetics better than the house they had lived in previously. This lovely photographed book illustrates that small houses can be easy to take care of, more cost affordable, energy efficient, comfortable and beautiful at the same time.
Congratulations to Ms. Koones on a well written book reminding us that big is not necessarily better.
Book Review - Cleaning Sucks
Written by Rachel Hoffman, the book has easy and doable techniques for cleaning and organizing. It is an exceptional book for busy people with very little time to organize.
We all have our strengths. Some people excel in the arts, others with numbers.
Not everyone cares about how their home looks and feels. However, studies have shown “women who described their homes as "cluttered" or full of "unfinished projects" were more depressed, fatigued, and had higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol than women who felt their homes were "restful" and "restorative" according to a study in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
Last year we reviewed the book, Unf*ck your Habitat, You’re Better Than Your Mess.
Written by Rachel Hoffman, the book has easy and doable techniques for cleaning and organizing. It is an exceptional book for busy people with very little time to organize.
One major take away from the book is the 20/10 rule. Twenty minutes of cleaning followed by a 10 minute break. The break is not optional.
Now Ms. Hoffman has written Cleaning SUCKS and Unf*ck Your Habitat Guided Journal for Less Mess, Less Stress, and a Home You Don’t Hate. The journal is fast paced, easy to read, colorful and makes what could be challenging fun to complete. There are boxes to check, lines to write in and questions to answer directly in the journal. It is an interactive book/journal which is fun and holds the reader’s attention.
Letting go of perfectionism is something many people deal with. The author states that some people don’t like to clean as they feel they can’t finish the job perfectly or completely, so why even start? Ms. Hoffman suggests using a timer and in the journal there is an area to write down the results. By using the timer the author states “you will eventually train yourself to let go of perfect, and be content with good enough.”
So many times we inherit items and keepsakes from our grandparents, parents, and other relatives. We feel guilt by not wanting these items and donating or selling them. Things are boxed in attics, basements or storage units which we don’t want but our guilt prevents us from acting. Ms. Hoffman states “if you don’t love it you don’t have to keep it,” it’s okay to let things go.
Rewards are a big party of the journal. After 20 minutes or cleaning/organizing you allow yourself a 10 minute break. For example, eat a snack, read a chapter in a book, play a video/app game, listen to a podcast, take a quick walk or whatever makes you happy.
Cleaning is a cycle. It does not end. You learn to journal and see what works for you. Areas discussed are making your bed daily, keeping your sink free of dishes, clear surfaces and how to prepare and unf*ck your morning the next day.
There is an interesting section on sharing space. College roommates, apartment roommates husbands and wives can all benefit from this journaling. You learn to make charts, daily checklist, weekly checklists, all helping you live a clean organized life.
In the end, Ms. Hoffman says to be kind to yourself. Not everyone finds organizing easy.
Be happy with the small milestones. Use the journal to help you through the rough patches and be ready to go forward and unf*ck your habitat!
Book Review - After The Funeral
After attending the NERPCO conference (Northeast Regional Conference for Productivity and Organizing Professionals) this past November one of the main speakers was Eileen Moynahan, Owner of Legacy Estate Organizing. After a career as an intelligence analyst for the federal government, in 2016 Ms. Moynahan launched her estate-administration business. The business is designed to help clients navigate the difficult path of how to deal with the task of settling an estate. She has written a highly useful, practical and easy to read step by step book entitled, After the Funeral – A Practical Memoir For Administering Your Loved One’s Estate.
After attending the NERPCO conference (Northeast Regional Conference for Productivity and Organizing Professionals) this past November one of the main speakers was Eileen Moynahan, Owner of Legacy Estate Organizing. After a career as an intelligence analyst for the federal government, in 2016 Ms. Moynahan launched her estate-administration business. The business is designed to help clients navigate the difficult path of how to deal with the task of settling an estate. She has written a highly useful, practical and easy to read step by step book entitled, After the Funeral – A Practical Memoir For Administering Your Loved One’s Estate.
Anyone who has had a loved one pass knows that there are many complexities and challenges when trying to settle an estate. Ms. Moynahan tragically lost both her parents in a car accident in 2012. Having to immediately handle the daunting task of being the estate executor, she writes the book with personal knowledge and a bit of humor which makes a difficult subject an easy read. She navigates the reader through areas such as securing the home, dealing with keepsakes, handling important documents, hiring an estate attorney, and a host of other important issues.
After her experiences, she states she wrote the book to accomplish three main objectives:
1. Administer your loved one's estate.
2. Assets of the deceased.
3. Draw closer to your loved one and protect their legacy throughout the process.
Each chapter addresses a different topic and clearly discusses steps that are necessary to move forward. At the end of each chapter the author bullets out a re-cap of tasks which is extremely helpful to the reader. This book will provide readers with methodical tools to help navigate territories which are unfamiliar to many.
As professional organizers who work numerous estate cleanouts, this book is very useful.
It gives clear guidance in an easy to read format. It will make you start to think about how to handle and navigate an extremely sensitive and difficult subject for both yourself and your clients. We highly recommend this book to all.
