Have you ever been out shopping for gifts, braving the holiday crowds, when you spied the perfect plaid scarf for Aunt Betty, made your way to the checkout counter with your prize in hand, only to stop yourself and wonder in puzzlement, “Uh-oh. Wait. Did I give her a plaid scarf last year? Or was that Aunt Dot?” Since you can’t remember and don’t want to risk giving the same gift twice, you get out of the checkout line and go back to the gift drawing board. Ugh!

Solution: Keep an ongoing gift list. 

As I clicked open my own gift list spreadsheet last week to jot down some Christmas ideas, I looked at the tabs along the bottom and realized that I have been keeping a gift spreadsheet since 2005!

[My teenage daughter’s reaction to this news was to sigh, “Of course you have a gift spreadsheet,” accompanied a roll of the eyes.]

But really, it’s an easy thing to do and a great tool for holiday and birthday planning and budgeting, especially if you buy gifts for lots of different people: immediate family, extended family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, teachers, service providers, etc.

If you’re like me, making a spreadsheet helps you organize your thoughts and ideas into tidy rows and columns. However, if the mere mention of the word “spreadsheet” sends you into panic, fear not! You can keep an ongoing gift list with whatever tool you prefer.
Whether you use a spreadsheet, a notes app, or good old-fashioned paper, a gift list will keep you organized and ready for holidays, birthdays, and any-occasion
gift giving.

If your basement is used primarily for storage, one big issue to keep in mind is combatting moisture.

Store items in plastic bins so they are impervious to surface moisture on the floor. Raise the bins on garage-style shelving or pallets. Label the bins so the contents are easily recognizable.

A dehumidifier is a key appliance. If possible, run a hose from the dehumidifier to the utility sink so they unit can drain constantly and you won't have to empty the tank every day. Check with your local utility company for rebates on new, energy efficient models.

Keep the area around the boiler, hot water tank, water meter, fuse box, etc. free of clutter so they can be accessed easily when they need to be worked on.

The main factor in keeping things organized is to create zones for the different types of items you store in the basement, rather than storing everything in one big area with no distinction. For example, you might have different zones for laundry, rarely used or seasonal kitchen items, holiday decorations, outdoor furniture storage, tools and household repair items. Distinctions between zones could be as simple as using different shelves or using painter's tape to mark off areas of the floor. Labeling everything helps the whole family know what goes where. If you don't have a label maker, just use painter's tape and a permanent marker.

Now is a great time to air out your basement and get it organized!

Check out the first in my 4-part Spring Cleaning series with NBC10's Emily Volz.

​In the first video, I talk about switching your coat closet from fall/winter to spring/summer.

Here in New England, many of us have older homes with small coat closets or mudrooms. So instead of trying to squeeze all the coats into the closet, we have to make some adjustments and put at least the bulkier coats away for the warm seasons.

Before putting coats away, be sure to follow these steps:

• Inspect coats, scarves, hats, mittens and gloves for dirt, stains, or damage.
• Clean the coats and accessories before storing: Don't put items away if they're not clean because stains can set in and moths or other critters can feast and damage the fabric. Wash or dry clean the coats and accessories as indicated on the care labels.
• If you wash the coats in your machine, make sure they are completely dry before putting them away. You don't want musty, moldy coats next year!
• Repair tears, missing buttons, or other damage. If you're not skilled at this, bring the coats to your seamstress, tailor, or dry cleaner.
• Put items away in plastic storage bins or sealable bags for maximum freshness next year.

Once the bulky coats have been put away, use a small vacuum to clean the closet and wipe the shelves to get rid of the dust.

Now you're ready to stock the closet for spring and summer. Replace the heavy coats with light jackets, windbreakers, and raincoats. Hang summer caps and hats on hooks attached to the closet doors or along the side walls.

Because my spring jackets take up only about half the space of the winter coats, I have room to add a storage bin unit to my closet in the warm season.

As you can see in the photo, each of my two daughters has a drawer for her bathing suits and flip flops. One shelf has the sunblock container along with another container for goggles and a water-resistant zippered case to take along to the beach. The rest of the shelves are stocked with towels, which I roll to make them tidy and easy to grab.

At the bottom of the closet, I keep a first aid kit and two picnic blankets handy.

Now you're organized and ready at a moment's notice to enjoy the warm weather and be outdoors this spring and summer!

I like to change my purse with the seasons, using a more compact and colorful one in the summer and a slightly larger and darker colored one in the winter. Whether or not you change the actual purse, this is a good time to take a look at what's in yours and get it organized for the coming season.

This is a great 5-10 minute organizing project.

1. Dump everything out of your purse. Throw out the trash and set aside anything you don't need in your fall/winter bag (e.g. sunblock or the summer lipstick color).
2. Sort the items you're keeping into categories (grooming, personal care, coupons, wallet, phone, etc.) and also group them by size.
3. Get out the seasonal items you'll need such as tissues, cough drops, and hand lotion.
4. Decide which items will go in the built-in pockets in your purse and which need to be contained in smaller bags. I like to use little zippered mesh bags (like these or these) so I can see what's in them. I also prefer a bag with an actual zipper as opposed to the slider-close break easily.
5. Fill the bags with like items. I have two: a small one for coupons and receipts and a medium-sized one for personal items (lipstick, ibuprofen, emery board, hand lotion, etc.).
6. ​Tuck the pouches into your purse, fill the built-in pockets, and off you go!

P.S. If you often lose your keys in the depths of your purse, use a carabiner to clip your keys to the strap and you'll never have to search for them.

Here in New England, the weather is starting to change from summer to fall (even though Thursday's forecast is 78 degrees!). One quick thing to take care of right now is to put away the summer sunblock, bug spray, and other summer cosmetics.

Round up the all the sunblocks in the house and check them all, tossing any that are nearly gone, nearly expired (or will be by next summer), or just gross from beach sand and grime.

Do the same with the bug sprays. While you're at it, test the sprayers and toss any that are malfunctioning (sprays a little trickle or has to be pumped 10 times before it will spray).

Gather any other summer cosmetics such as those bottles of ear drying liquid, mosquito bite spray, aloe vera, etc. Check these too to make sure they are full-ish, not expired, and in good condition.

Put everything worth keeping into gallon-size plastic freezer bags. If you don't have much, put it all in one bag. If you have a lot, sort it by type and use one bag per type. Store the bags near your summer accessories (beach towels, bathing suits) or near your luggage so it'll be handy when you pack for that beach vacation you're taking this winter. (You're taking me with you, right?)

​The weather here in New England is finally warmer, which means it’s time for the winter-to-summer wardrobe switch! Even if you took my advice (see my 9/23/16 post) and set yourself up with a year-round closet that doesn’t require the semi-annual switch, it’s still a good idea to check your wardrobe a couple of times a year to weed out old items and keep your clothes in good condition.
 
This year, find some inspiration and motivation from this vintage WWII postcard that I found at the Churchill War Rooms on a recent trip to London.
 
In those days, people were trying to conserve all the resources they could for the war effort. Today, we have an interest in being thrifty and conserving for financial and environmental reasons.
 

As you go through your wardrobe, look at each item and consider:

• Do you still wear and love it? If so, does it need to be mended? If so, fix it or bring it to a seamstress, tailor, or dry cleaner right away!
• If you don’t wear or love it anymore, why not donate it so someone else can love it and wear it? It’s not doing anyone any good just sitting in your closet.
• If you wear it but you don’t love it, do you really need it or could you make do without it or replace it with something you prefer?
• If you love it but don’t wear it, is it still worth the space it’s taking up in your closet? Maybe it should be stored away for posterity or given to someone who can wear it now.
• If it’s made of wool and you’re concerned about clothes moths, put the DRY item in the dryer on high heat for at least 30 minutes to kill any larvae or moths that might be hiding in the clothes. Warning: Do not put wet wool in the dryer or it will shrink like crazy!
• Is it clean? It’s important to make sure clothes are clean before you put them away for the season both because clothes moths love food and perspiration stains and because stains can set if left for too long. Wash it or bring it to the dry cleaner right away.

 
Although this sounds time consuming, make it a game to see how quickly you can accomplish this wardrobe pruning. If you’re having too much trouble deciding on an item, it’s OK to keep it for now and see if you wear it this season. Try the trick of putting the hanger backwards on the rod or putting a folded item backwards in the drawer or shelf. In the fall, when you go through your items again, you’ll know if you haven’t used it because it will still be backwards. It might be easier to part with it then.

Here are three options for what to do with the clothes you edit out of your wardrobe:
1. Consign them: This option is only for in-season designer clothes in excellent condition. Resale shops are picky!
2. Donate them: Find your favorite spot (donation box or thrift store drop-off) near you and take the clothes there right away.
3. Recycle them: This comes from my very first Tip of the Week back on 9/12. For those really tattered or stained items, H&M stores offer fiber recycling drop-off bins and they even give you a coupon for a percentage off your next purchase.

Finally, focus on the clothes you really enjoy wearing. If you “make do and mend” these beloved clothes, they’ll serve you for a long time.

This week's quick tip is a reminder that it is now time to put away the summer clothes and get out the fall/winter wardrobes.

But wait....

If you want to free yourself from this time-consuming ritual, read on.

For young children who are still growing, there's no escaping the need to go through their clothes seasonally. Now is the time to:
-donate or hand down what they've outgrown
-put away shorts and sundresses (Because if you don't, they'll try to keep wearing them all winter long!)
-stock the dresser with sweaters and footie pajamas

But for adults and teens, consider switching to a year-round closet.

Years ago, I used to perform the semi-annual Big Closet Switch and each time it was a messy, agonizing, days-long chore. It always looked worse before it got better: clothes spread all over the room; keep/donate/wish-it-still-fit piles everywhere; next season's clothes wrinkly from the bin and needing to be ironed (ugh!) before being re-hung, re-folded, and put away.

Then a few years ago, I read an article about having a year-round closet. I loved the idea of being able to ditch the dreaded closet-switch chore, but I also liked the concept of having access to my warmer or cooler clothes to wear anytime.

We're no longer in the rigid era of "no white after Labor Day" clothing rules, so why do we still think we have to switch our wardrobes with each season?
Here are just a few of the things I've discovered with my year-round closet:
-T-shirts and tank tops are not just for summer — they are great as under-layers to keep warm in winter.
-The big sweatshirt that I used to pack away is just what I want when the sun goes down or the wind picks up on those early- or late-summer evenings.
-Around here, fall doesn't really get started until part way through October and we can't count on spring until tax day, so I appreciate having a flexible wardrobe for those "Don't like the weather? Wait 10 minutes" seasons.
Here are a couple of little tricks to make a year-round closet work for you:
-Shoes can take up a lot of space, so consider just swapping your shoes each season and store the off-season shoes either at the back of your closet or in a bin in a storage area of your house.
-Coats are another bulky item that you might not want in your closet all the time. Keep them in a mudroom closet, hall closet, bin, or even dry cleaner storage when not in use.
-If you don't have a lot of space in your main closet, formal clothes (dresses, tuxedo, etc.) that you rarely wear can be stored in a different closet.
-Swap winter and summer accessories each season, instead of your entire wardrobe. Winter accessories include hats, scarves, gloves, and boots. Summer accessories include flip flops, hats, bathing suits, and coverups.
I'd love to hear how your closet switch is going this year and if you've made the change to a year-round wardrobe.
Closets and wardrobe consultations are some of my specialties, so feel free to contact me if you need help getting yours under control.