Do you love browsing through magazines but hate having old magazines cluttering up your house?

​Consider subscribing to Texture.

Called "the Netflix of magazines," Texture is an app that gives you access to hundreds of magazines on your smartphone or tablet for one monthly subscription price. It also allows you to put the magazines on up to 5 devices, so you can share with your whole family.

Enjoy your favorite magazines while cutting the clutter!

As we transition into warmer weather, now is a good time to lighten up not only our wardrobes but also our makeup kits. Go through your makeup and nail polish and toss out anything that shows clear signs of being too old: oil separation, discoloration, cracking, or an odor that’s just not right.

If you can’t remember when you bought it (last year? last decade?), maybe that’s a sign you should toss it!
 
Next time you buy new makeup, use a permanent marker to write the month and year of purchase on the bottom of the container (If it’s a black container, use a sticker or masking tape, then write on that.)
 
Technically, makeup doesn’t have expiration dates like food does, but products become contaminated with bacteria over time, so it’s best for your skin’s health to keep things fresh. While time recommendations vary, you can use this simple list as a jumping off point and use your best judgment based on your own products.

• Powders: 2 years
• Cream or liquid foundation and concealer: 12-18 months
• Mascara and liquid eyeliner: 3-6 months (I like to order mascara via Amazon’s Subscribe and Save service so a fresh tube comes every 3 months without my having to remember when to get a new one.)
• Eyeliner pencil: 2 years
• Lip products: 1-2 years
• Nail polish: 1-2 years

Last week, I posted about my love of reading. Based on that post, you might think my bookshelves would be overflowing, but I have some strategies that keep the books from taking over my space.

• Read on a Kindle or other device.

            This is the easiest way to cut down on physical book clutter. (Bonus: you can borrow
            e-books from the library!)

• Use the library.

            The only caveat with this is that you need to stay on top of due dates and make sure
            to return all the books. Designate a special tote bag for library books so you’ll have a
            handy way to carry them back and forth as well as a physical reminder to return the
            books. Nowadays, libraries give you a printed receipt of the books you’ve checked
            out. Keep that in the bag so you can check the list and make sure you’re returning
            all the books you borrowed.

• Have an exit plan.

            Only a select few books should remain in your permanent collection. These should
            be books that you truly love, books that you’ll read again, books that you want to
            pass down to your children (be selective!), books that are particularly beautiful
            (beloved art books), and books that you use (reference books such as cookbooks
            that you actually cook from). Other books, once read, should be considered
            consumed and ready to pass along to another reader. Stash books to be donated in
            a paper bag by your door and make a note of a handy donation center (like Savers,
            Salvation Army, Goodwill, or your local library) that is on your daily route. When the
            bag is full, bring it out to your car and to the donation center. If you prefer sharing
            books with friends, pass the book along as soon as you have finished it. Another fun
            way to redistribute books is through a Little Free Library. Find one in your
            neighborhood or start your own.

Shelves of books can look warm and inviting in a home, but over-filled shelves and piles and stacks of books all over the place are just clutter. Books only have value when they are read*, so keep them circulating by passing them along to others who will read them!
 
*Pick up Roger Duvoisin’s wonderful children’s book Petunia for a gloriously silly way to learn this lesson!

As you might imagine, I read a lot of books about organizing. In fact, I love to read and I read a lot of books of all genres: novels, mysteries, classics, thrillers, history books, biographies, self-help books, and more.
 
Two years ago, I started keeping a list of books I’ve read (on my Wunderlist app, of course!) and was pleased to discover that I read over 50 books per year. According to the Pew Research Center, the average American adult reads 5 books per year, so I guess I would be considered a voracious reader.
 
How do I manage to squeeze in so many books in a year? Here are my top 3 tips:
​
1. Never leave home without a book.

• Find yourself waiting for someone or stuck in a long line? No problem! Entertain yourself by reading a few pages. (Bonus: This is the strategy that helped me curb my habit of being late. I hate downtime, so I was always cutting it close on time and often ended up being late. But if I have a book with me, I don’t mind arriving early because instead of considering it wasted downtime, it becomes bonus reading time.)

2. Read on a Kindle or other device.

• You’ll have a whole library of books readily available so there’s always one to suit your mood. Think you’re a tactile person who can only read physical, paper books? I once thought that about myself, but then I was given a Kindle as a gift and now it is by far my preferred way to read.

3. Listen to audio books.

• This is definitely not cheating! Audio books are a great way to add more enjoyable reading time to your day, especially if you can get them to play through your car speakers and listen while commuting or driving around throughout the day. For daily listening, my preference tends toward self-help, instructional, essay, and other non-fiction books. For long car rides and family trips, audio books keep everyone entertained and engaged in a shared story while still enjoying the view. Suggestion: any Roald Dahl book will be fun for the whole family.

 
Go grab a book right now and give yourself a mini-vacation by sitting down for a ten-minute read!

Following up last week’s blog entry, here’s a second vintage image that I found in London that I thought would interest my readers. Of course, as a Professional Organizer, it got my attention because it’s a question I frequently ask my clients to consider.
 
Can I do without it?
 
There are always tempting things we can buy and there are always tons of reasons to keep excess things we already have. This simple question is a good one for figuring out how valuable an item is to you and whether or not you really want to make a place for it in your home. After all, bringing something home from a store and giving it a place in your house means that you are committed to caring for it, cleaning it, using it, storing it, and looking at it for quite a long time.
 
Is it worth it?
 
Can you do with out it?
 
For one month, try asking yourself this question (when you’re in a store and when you’re looking around your house) and see how many times you can say, “Yes, I can do without it.” At the end of the month, maybe you’ll find yourself with a smaller credit card bill from things you didn’t buy and a big bag of things you now can do without and want to donate.