| Homepage | Web Directory | Article Directory | Bid Directory |
Articles. News. Information. | |
Category of Information, News & Articles |
|
|
|
Organize (and Decorate) Your Home on a Budget with Baskets
What's an item that can help you organize every room in your home, helps create the appearance that you're a tidy housekeeper (even if you're not), and perks up your decorating scheme? Need another hint? It comes in all shapes, sizes, colors and materials and can be found in many local retail stores, including craft stores and discount retailers, and at flea markets and craft shows and well basically it's a universal item found all over the world. You probably have one right now in your home. It's a basket! So the next time someone gives you one filled with anything from sweets to colognes, don't discard it once you've used what's in it. Once the items are gone, the basket's job has only just begun. Read onward to find out how to use this wonderful item in every room in your house. For instance, in the kitchen, you can use hanging wall pocket baskets, which have flat backs, to store dry sponges and scrubbers as well as pot holders, oven mitts, dry dish rags and spare kitchen hand towels. And in your family room or den, you might use a deep, round or cylindrical shaped basket on the coffee table to hold television or other electronic remotes. A basket made of rags will slide without scratching (or put a doily underneath). (Imagine never losing the television remote again because you have an assigned place to put it in full view--that blends in with your home decor.) And in the bedroom, a wicker hamper with a lid in the closet can store extra pillows and keep them dust-free. If you see openings in the wicker slats or don't like your linens snagging on the inside of the basket, line the hamper with a sheet or large gallon trash bag. The ideas for using these globally designed and sold products that have been around for decades are infinite. And probably no product is so practical and useful as well as beautiful. (And modestly priced too!) Baskets are handmade works of art that are functional. Imagine serving drinks on that glorious one-of-a-kind painting you have hanging on the wall. Not! But with baskets you can literally put your most unique artwork into daily usage and daily view. Baskets come in many sizes, shapes and materials such as willow, rattan, bamboo, rope, palm leaf, wire and rags. And many are adorned with metal garnishes, dried coco flowers, gugo vine handles and more. It's that variety of qualities that make baskets so easy to organize AND decorate with simultaneously. And you don't have to take a basket as it comes. Dress up any of your baskets by gluing on your own garnishments. For example, craft stores sell all types of trinkets you can glue on your baskets. Be creative. Try personalizing your baskets with anything from buttons to plastic candy canes to miniature toy figures or mini cloth stockings. You could also buy miniature toys and figurines from typical large discount retailers or smaller dollar stores. (What fun to do by yourself or with your children). And when you're done, you can still put that basket to work in an organizational function in your home---only it will have twice the value to you (the purchase price plus the priceless sentimental value). (c) 2004 Karen Fritscher-Porter About The Author Excerpted from the book entitled How to Organize and Decorate with Baskets by Karen Fritscher-Porter. Learn how to get your own copy at http://www.OrganizeWithBaskets.com.
MORE RESOURCES:
Organizing - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
10 Myths of Clutter Clearing 1) It's easy to have a good clear out: Not always. For many people, breaking a life-time habit is really hard - everyone has a choice whether they want to make that break or not. Stress Management: 10 Universal Laws to Get and Stay Organized 1. The Law of the 1st StepA good first step in getting organized is to 3-pile everything:pile one is for those things to throw awaypile 2 is for those things that need immediate actionpile 3 is for those things that can be taken care of later, or filed, or both. Files vs Piles I recently read an article that had some interesting but not surprising statistics. Harte-Hanks published a survey in December, 2001 which reported that 96% of businesspeople interviewed were frustrated by their companies' information management. Organizing Tips to Help You Conquer the Laundry Monster Laundry. You sort, you wash, you fold, you blink - and the pile of dirty clothes has grown all over again. 10 Simple Steps to a More Organized Household 1. Divide big jobs into smaller jobs. Clutter Crisis? Clutter costs you time, money, space, and peace of mind. Most of us complain about our cluttered desks, closets, bedrooms, kitchens, attics, basements, and even our cars, purses, and briefcases. Managing Mealtime Madness It is 5:00 pm and Cindy has no idea what to make for dinner. In the process of searching through the freezer, she causes an avalanche of frozen foods to fall to the floor. The Clutter Factor: From Packrativity to Productivity ? Are you embarrassed when you walk into your home or office? ? Do you frequently run out of space? ? Is your desk piled high with UPO's (unidentified piled objects)? ? Are you frustrated by the amount of time you spend looking for things?If so, you're not alone! Research shows the average person spends 150 hours per year looking for misplaced information, while eight out of ten people have at least one area of their home or office they would prefer that no one ever see!The word "clutter" comes from the same root word as "clot". Webster's Dictionary defines it as "to run in disorder, to fill or cover with scattered or disordered things that impede movement or reduce effectiveness. 3 Simple Filing Guidelines One of the most basic ways to find papers when you need them is to retrieve them from an effective filing system. A good filing system will allow you to find what you're looking for in 10 seconds or less. Just How Organized Are You? Take This Quiz For Individuals The Productive Environment Scorecard?Read the statements below and rate your reactions to each pair of phrases. Decide where you rate on the scale from 1 (You rate yourself low) to 10 (You rate yourself high). Does Your Storage Make Sense? What do your storage spaces look like? Do you know exactly where to go when you are looking for something? Is your system logical? Designing a meaningful storage space requires a lot more than just putting stuff in a closet, drawer, or cabinet. You need STRUCTURE -- some proven guidelines to follow while setting up your storage spaces. Getting Organized - Getting Fit In a speech entitled "Organized Living in a Disorganized World" I made the statement "Getting organized is much like exercise and healthy eating. It is something you incorporate into your daily living. Can You Make a "Torpedo" Out of Personal Junk? How to Optimize What You Have "Junkyard Wars," a TV series showed two teams of experts contending for a title. The aim of the competition was for teams to construct a torpedo that can hit a target. Organizing - Time is of the Essence! What does "time" have to do with getting organized? Everything! Our society today keeps us running and constantly inhaling, seemingly never allowing us to stop and "exhale"!De-cluttering our workspaces, whether it is our office, our kitchen, or our garage, enables us to be more productive in our daily lives. Once we organize our physical environment, our minds naturally become clearer. Organization Tips - How To Get Things Done What stops you from 'getting things done?'Have you ever started your day with good intentions of completing a task or project only to find that by the end of the day you've hardly worked on it?Or have you ever set a goal to attend a seminar, learn a new skill or just have more time out for you?I'm sure you have. I'm not going to write a long-winded explanation about the art of procrastination or "putting things off" but what I will do is share with you the secret of actually "getting things done". Getting Things Done: A Guide To Next-Action Lists Getting Things Done (GTD), is a productivity methodology designed by David Allen. GTD increases your productivity by getting things out of your mind, and into a reliable system that you can trust. Addiction to Clutter Clutter is a big problem for many people. At a lecture that I gave, I asked for a show of hands regarding how many people had problems with clutter and disorganization. Lightening The Load When I tell people what a FREEING experience moving is, they usually look at me like I'm crazy. "What do you mean freeing? It's the most stressful thing I've ever been through!" While there are stresses associated with relocating, each move offers you the opportunity to lighten the load. Making Life Easier, with NLP Chunking! You know, in psychology there is a rule, especially within the NLP circles that I work in and the literature that I read, it is quite a famous rule; 7 plus or minus 2 - this is the notion that the conscious mind can only keep track of between 5 and 9 discrete pieces of information at one time. Your unconscious can literally keep track of billions and billions of things at the same time aparently (clever thing that it is!), while your conscious mind is more one step at a time and it has a fairly narrow focus. What Clutter Clearing Can Do For You You can get a pretty good idea of the benefits of clutter clearing simply by imagining your life free of all the negative effects of clutter: lack of focus and clarity; feelings of being professionally, creatively, spiritually, and/or romantically stuck; insufficient time and attention for self and family; increased stress, irritability and depression. Wouldn't it be great to be free of all these?No matter what other factors may be dragging you down, I guarantee you that clearing your clutter will dramatically improve your mood and energy.
|
| Home | Sitemap | |
| © 2006 eInfoJunction.com | Homepage | Web Directory | Article Directory| Bid Directory |
