Organization

Get Your Game On...

Tips for Never Losing Another Game Board Piece By Ann Springer My husband and I are both highly competitive by nature so it’s no surprise our children have inherited that same love of friendly rivalry. We’ve decided that regular board game battles are a great outlet at our house. Subsequently we have a large assortment of games which require a smart storage system. First, we try to place games with lots of small pieces,...

Secret Weapons to Survive Any Organizing Project...

By Ann Springer People frequently ask me what products I recommend they purchase to get organized. I think it’s a common misconception that getting organized costs a lot of money. In reality, I think you need a few great, inexpensive products and the motivation to work hard to complete the task. Below are a few items that can help convert any cluttered and messy room into an organized and deliberately, designed retreat. To...

Recipe Roundup...

Get your cookbooks and recipe cards cooking with this plan. By Ann Springer Piles and piles of new recipes you’ve been wanting to try? Endless cookbooks but no place to store them? Do you have recipes scrolled out on 3 x 5 cards and others torn from the pages of a magazine? Most people have more recipes than they could ever cook in a lifetime, and the Internet has made cookbooks almost obsolete because they make recipes so...

Comings and Goings...

Mud rooms serve multiple purposes in both warm and cold climates. By Ann Springer I’d never heard the term “mud room” until we had spent several years living in cold weather country. I’ve grown to appreciate the purpose of a mud room and I believe everyone should have one, even if it’s not actually used for mud. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept of a mud room, it’s a room that typically sits at the entrance...

Loading Up the Laundry...

Advice on streamlining your laundry process. By Ann Springer I saw a cartoon recently that was a sketch of a laundry room. It had three machines side by side. The first was labeled “washer.” The next “dryer.” And the final one was “folder.” If this were really the case, the laundry would practically do itself! Unfortunately, laundry can be a never-ending, time-consuming process. Some families must do multiple...

Kid-Friendly Kitchens...

A recipe for helping children find independence in the kitchen. By Ann Springer Kids are known to be grazers. They’re always hungry, thirsty, or in need of a snack. You can find a toddler at your feet demanding a snack before you’ve even finished cleaning up from lunch. Or an older child who eats three bowls of cereal after devouring a delicious pancake breakfast. At that pace, your kitchen can pay the price for all of...

Baby On Board...

Tips for keeping your ride’s interior in top shape. By Ann Springer Do you have the mini-van that has empty juice boxes and Cheerios that fall out when you open the door to drop your kids off at school? Or maybe your SUV looks more like a sporting good store than a four-wheel-drive vehicle? Your car takes a beating because of spills and snacking. As the kids get older, the damage is also caused by soccer cleats making muddy...

The Garage: The Heart of the Home...

The rest of the rooms are veins off the main artery. By Ann Springer If your garage is well organized, the rest of your home will be, too. Ideally, plastic Easter eggs would end up in a labeled box tucked away on a shelf in the garage instead of being shoved betwixt vases and plant food underneath the kitchen sink. In most homes this is typically not the case. Instead of storing coats and shoes in an entryway coat closet,...

Dreaming of an organized home?...

Tips for getting out of the clutter nightmare and making your dream a reality. By Ann Springer I doubt there is a person on the planet who enjoys being disorganized. It’s frustrating to misplace an important document or to pay late fees for bills that get tucked away and forgotten or to lose or damage a valuable item because it wasn’t stored properly. Here are some tips for getting organized. See your organizational...

Organized Office...

Tame your paper clutter once and for all. By Ann Springer Whether it’s a desk tucked into a corner or any entire room devoted to being an office, nearly every American household considers having a home office space a priority. Keeping the office space clutter free can be a challenge, even in the supposedly paper-less world that we now live. There are many ways office clutter can keep our workspace from actually working for...