In all the places you have been in the world where would you revisit? My choice would be Italy because of all the beautiful things there and I liked the “old world feeling” in the Cinque Terra.

I am not heading to Italy any time soon but I did revisit my “pantry”. It is more like a glorified cupboard it is so small. is easy when revisiting organized cupboards, closets etc. about every 3 to 5 months to get rid of clutter that has found its Clutter controlway into these spaces.

Because I do try to keep the pantry organized there were just small things I had to do to get rid of clutter. Some of the cans that I had too many of for this space I took to the storage room. I put all soups back together. I rearranged the bottom shelves so they could hold items that belong there.

I tossed some old cereal and checked expiration dates. Just by spending 7 to 10 minutes clutter control was so easy to do as it hadn’t gotten out of control.

What is your favorite secret to clutter control?

Marilyn Bohn is an energetic, lively, compassionate, hard working and creative organizer. She was born to organize! Before becoming a professional organizer she worked professionally in diverse environments. She is involved in her community, providing her clients with a broad base of experience and knowledge.  She is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO).

Who would have thought? We needed some space for other things on a book shelf so I said I would help by clearing off some old VHS tapes. Well one thing lead to another and getting rid of clutter really had a mind of its own.

Not only did we clear out movies we kept “because we’ll watch them someday” but haven’t in over three or five or six years but we cleared clutter from the under the bed containers too. Craft books are also being donated that haven’t been opened in over five years. One book shelf is almost bare.

After seeing at how nice the shelves looked we said “why didn’t we take a before picture—who would have thought there would be such a big difference”? I recommend always taking a before and after photo of organizing projects.

We will get rid of more clutter as we have set a goal to watch some movies in the next two weeks and then getting rid of them and if we don’t watch them in that length of time just getting rid of them. There are some family videos that we will have transferred to a DVD so it will take up a lot less space.

Wow! Getting rid of clutter sure feels good! Do you agree?

Marilyn Bohn is an energetic, lively, compassionate, hard working and creative organizer. She was born to organize! Before becoming a professional organizer she worked professionally in diverse environments. She is involved in her community, providing her clients with a broad base of experience and knowledge.  She is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO).

This doesn’t have anything thing to do with getting rid of clutter or organizing, I just wanted to share these two little warm and fuzzy stories with you.

When we were at Bryce Canyon last week we were getting in the car after leaving the visitors center and my daughter comes running past us saying “I just found some money where those people pulled out of the parking space and I have to catch them”. She came back disappointed as it wasn’t them who had lost it. Into the visitors center she went to report she had found money and gave them contact information in case anyone asked if any money was turned in. (It was about $20.00).

Then on to Zion’s Canyon we went and as we walked into the visitors center at the end of the day there by the bench I saw a man’s wallet. My daughter turned it in to the ranger who wanted her name and contact information. (We don’t know why as we certainly would see it again).

It feels good to do the right thing dontchathink? What have you done lately that has made you feel good about doing the right thing?

Marilyn Bohn is an energetic, lively, compassionate, hard working and creative organizer. She was born to organize! Before becoming a professional organizer she worked professionally in diverse environments. She is involved in her community, providing her clients with a broad base of experience and knowledge.  She is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO).

The kitchen is the heart of our homes. It is the gathering place for special dinners, breakfasts, snacks and maybe after noon gossip (good kind of course). But with all of these activities do you need to clear clutter in your kitchen?

Her are 4 tips on how to clear clutter in your kitchen:

1. If your cabinets are so high that you have to use a stool to reach items, which can be risky, move heavier items or the things you use every day to the lower shelves. Now is the time to consider getting rid of those appliances (like a bread maker) that you no longer use to reduce clutter.
2. Use a “lazy Susan” or flat round tray that spins easily inside a deep shelf or a corner cabinet. This saves space and lets you reach items easily from the back of your cabinet.
3. Install ready-made, slide-out shelves or baskets in cabinets so you don’t have to reach to find what you are looking for. These are very inexpensive and come in white or stainless steel.
4. Keep countertops clear of unnecessary clutter. This will free up more space to work.

Happy de-cluttering your kitchen!

Marilyn Bohn is an energetic, lively, compassionate, hard working and creative organizer. She was born to organize! Before becoming a professional organizer she worked professionally in diverse environments. She is involved in her community, providing her clients with a broad base of experience and knowledge.  She is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO).

It is so nice when someone lets me know that my advice works. As a professional organizer I give a lot of tips about organizing everything in your homes and lives. My friend Edna told me she wanted to get rid of clutter in her home and more specifically the clutter she has with her photos.

I recommend to get rid of clutter when it comes to those boxes of photos or envelops of photos or even lose photos to follow these 4 tips:

•Gather your photos all in one place.
•Set a timer and start going through your photos and get rid of the ones you don’t remember or never knew who they were. Get rid of bad pictures. You know the ones where someone looks ugly and they really aren’t or the photo is fuzzy or a picture of the sky or floor was taken by mistake. When the timer dings take a break and come back later.
•Organize your photos the way you want—by person, event, year etc. If you don’t care, that is okay. If your goal is just to get them in an album that’s fine.
•Buy a photo album where you can slip in the photos, write next to it who it is and if you want the date it was taken. Embellish with stickers if you want and voila you are done.

This method makes getting rid of clutter easy and you feel so good having your photos organized without spending a small fortune and taking up all your time.

This is the technique Edna used and she told me she feels so good to have her photos all in one place and she doesn’t have to worry about them anymore and she can enjoy them.

Marilyn Bohn is an energetic, lively, compassionate, hard working and creative organizer. She was born to organize! Before becoming a professional organizer she worked professionally in diverse environments. She is involved in her community, providing her clients with a broad base of experience and knowledge.  She is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO).

Do you ever watch T.V.? I have five shows I watch and on weekends I watch movies if I can find the time. I have noticed the networks have started doing something that I find irritating and completely unnecessary.

When watching a show a pop up will appear in one or both lower corners of the screen. For an instant my eyes go to the popup and my mind is distracted from what I am watching.

Is this how we clear clutter when we are organizing? Do you pick up one piece of paper and put it down as you spot another one to pick up. Or is your mind on your next project, not giving the one you are working on your attention?

When you clear clutter stay focused on the task at hand and it will go quicker and you will actually will be more efficient.

Marilyn Bohn is an energetic, lively, compassionate, hard working and creative organizer. She was born to organize! Before becoming a professional organizer she worked professionally in diverse environments. She is involved in her community, providing her clients with a broad base of experience and knowledge.  She is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO).