Back up lists...

Many things in life we need to back up on our hard drives to store for safe keeping. What we do not think about it making lists of items we use on a daily basis, just in case we lose them or they get stolen: our wallets content and glove box content.

If our wallet was lost or stolen we could easily look back on old bills to see what our credit card numbers are and what our debit card numbers are but would it not be more effective to have a list already made up, just in case.

Take your wallet, heck while we are there lets declutter too! Take everything out and put like with like. Do you need to hold onto old receipts, file them away or toss them. Do you use all those points cards? if not toss them.

Now you can make a written list or one on your computer. Record each card, its number, exp. date and cv number on the back (3 digits by signature). Do the same with points cards and your health card. Most of these cards have the number to call right on them, add these too. Get all of your other important pieces of identification that you do not, should not, keep in your wallet; SIN card, Passport, birth certificate and so forth and do the same.












Let's not forget what we keep in our glove boxes; insurance cards, a copy of our ownership and other vechicle documents. Add these to your list.

Title the document so it is easy to find and keep it in a folder you will remember to find it again.
If you are making a physical list keep it in a filing cabinet in a file labeled important numbers.

This will save you much time when having to call and report all these items stolen or lost.

Spring is in the Air...

Now that the nice weather is on its way we need to be thinking about what we need to get ready for use. Here are some helpful suggestions to get ready for spring:

1.  It is time to organize and declutter your gardening supplies. Gather all supplies and have them in one space, the shed or garage. Organize by putting like items with like. See what items are worn or broken, you can toss these. See what you have multiplies of, do you need so many? Donate what you do not need. Garden centres will be open by months end so you will be able to stock up on what you need, make a list and keep it with your supplies. You will then know where the list is when you are able to go shopping for needed supplies.

2.  The garage can end up being a space that is a catch all area. It is best to pick a weekend to tackle it. Move all items out onto the driveway. Put like items with like, ie. sports with sports, gardening with gardening, car seats with car seats etc. If you do not have shelving in your garage it may be best to invest in metal shelving you can get at any Canadian Tire, Home Depot and so on. You can also use plastic bins to contain items together in a neat manner. Put all your sports into one or two bins and label them. You do not need to keep the lid on as you want easy access to items. Most garages are made for 2 cars, use one side for storage on metal shelves and the other side for one vechicle. use all the space you can along the walls, hang bicycles, yardwork tools, tools and so forth.

3.  Tools tend to take over spaces all over the home. It is easiest to gather all your tools together and go through them. Put like with like and see how many multiplies you have, donate them as tools are an essential need for all. It is common for those who have many tools to have one tool box with day to day needed tools; pliers, hammer, screwdrivers etc. You can keep this in the garage, kitchen or basement. A household with several tools used for more specialty projects need to find a place to call home. An easy way to store them is on a pegboard. This will make all the tools easy to see and acess and will only take up wall space.

Spring is in the air and now is the time to get all those essential tools and items ready for the season. Hope you found this inspirational and informative. If you did feel free to comment below.

Happy Spring!!

Walking the Walk...

I had recently put my house on the market and therefore had to declutter to have it ready for showings. I realized I need to take my own advice..."Do you really need that? Can you take pictures of all your knick knacks and then make a collage or nice photo album with them? When will you use this next? How long has it been since you wore that?

I have emotional attachment to items just like the majority of us. I found it hard to let go of several items and know I will repurge when I unpack. One thing that helped me was reading a book - The life-changing magic of tidying up by Marie Kondo who has a style of decluttering; the KonMari Method. She is very extreme in her method and believes one should be rid of everything that does not spark joy or does not have a purpose. This helped me to unload, so far, 5 bags of garbage, 6 boxes of donations and this was just to get ready for staging. I have a lot more to go through as I am downsizing too. I like the question, "Does this spark joy?" it made me think about what am I realy getting from this item? Do I use/wear it? Do I feel happy looking at it? I recommend this book to anyone who wants to be inspired to lessen their items in their household.

I realized that I too will tell myself, I will use that someday so I better hold onto it. You see I am a crafter aka craft supply hoarder. Most crafters have an abundance of supplies since we are always creating new projects in our mind and hold onto items we will use one day soon. But life gets in the way and only a few projects can get done so our supplies sit and wait in anticipation of being used. I have put together, so far, one bankers box of supplies to give to a fellow crafter. She will then choose what she will keep and throw out or give the rest to another crafter. We tend to do this in our crafters community. What I cannot use another creative mind will see how to create something with it.

I was able to stage my house for showings. I ended up with 8 offers in less than 30 hours! I don't think people understand the importance of staging ones home for selling. You need to create a neutral, decluttered; almost bare space to help buyers see their own furniture/art work/photos and knick knacks in your space. People cannot see past another person's style. I am not sure why but people pay attention to small details and not the large picture. So it is worth investing a few dollars to paint your home in neutral colours, have a professional help declutter and stage your home. It will optimize your selling price and bring in more offers. You will also save on moving costs as you will have less to move after you purge and declutter your space.

Here are the final result of my house, I love how it turned out. It was very hard to clear it of all my style but knew I needed that blank slate to show it off better.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my latest blog. If you found it helpful or inspirational please comment below.