Confessions of a Delaware Organizer

Recycle and Earn Points

2009-07-26T13:45:00.000-07:00

Want to help the environment and earn points to toward purchases?

The Recycle Bank rewards points based on the weight of your recycling using radio frequency identification.

Earn points and get great discounts at grocery stores, the pharmacy, and even Target.

Contact the Recycle Bank for more details and how to earn points in your community.

Ecofootprint

2009-07-26T13:20:00.000-07:00

Want To Reduce Your Carbon Footprint?

Learn more about single stream recycling.

Product Review

2009-07-08T15:08:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered what to do with all those loose computer and tv cables? Introducing the Cable clamp. The is a great little product that is found in most local hardware stores. Its durable, easy to install-just clamp over your wires. Great for quickly reducing the amount of wire clutter in any space! I recommend this product if your looking for a quick and easy wire solution.

Saving Space By Going Digital

2009-06-27T14:59:00.000-07:00

Having lived through the era of the music “tape”, yes this relatively small plastic device that stored musical lyrics was the technological advance and answer to the ancient and now antique “record”. I must admit I was slow to repurchase and discard my useless tapes for CD’s. But inevitably the tapes that I had played hundreds of times didn’t echo the same quality sound they once did and I’m sure most of us have experienced the all too familiar act of trying to reel the tape back into itself with a pencil. Even if you were successful at this your music just didn’t sound quite the same; which leads me to the conclusion that the CD was a great technological advance.

The CD saved space. How did you use to store your tapes and records? In a box under your bed, or perhaps scattered amongst the clutter of an already messy adolescent room. Most of the time the tape covers broke into pieces and if you were lucky you would be able to save the music covers. The revolution of the CD brought forth a new organizing challenge however. Although the CD was more convenient in many respects, like being able to store new music, quickly navigate from one song to another, fast forward and rewind parts of a song and yeah you didn’t even have to use a pencil! The CD was still cumbersome.

I used to be an avid runner, running from three to five miles every single day. I was thrilled when I received my very first walk man. Listening to music while running only enhanced my passion to do more of it, like most exercise feine’s listening to music while working out, gives me a sense of inspiration that not only motivates but inspires. One small problem however; the walkman and the CD versions were bulky and cumbersome. It was difficult to carry around and when you were running it was downright annoying.

This brings me to the digital world of the MP3, an MP3 is patented digital audio encoding that greatly reduces the amount of data required to record audio information, about one-tenth that of a CD. So, what does this all mean? This means that you no longer have to store bulky CD’s, cassette tapes, or records. A revolution is certainly upon us when it comes to the storage and deliverance of music. Hence, the MP3 player, the I-phone are small handheld devices that store and incredible amount of audio information. In fact, you could store your entire CD collection on your MP3 player.

What to do with those old CD’s once you’ve gone digital?

If you want to truly save space, I recommend that you transfer all your physical CD’s to digital format. That means ripping them to iTunes (or any other digital media application) and backing them up on a hard drive. ITunes will back up all of your music and will recover it if it is lost. However, it is a good idea to back up your music yourself. I would suggest purchasing an external hard drive to back up your music collection. You have several options when it comes to getting rid of the CD’s themselves.

1.Recycle-you may choose to have them destroyed and recycled
2.Donate- choose to donate your old CD’s to a local music shop or local community center. In some cases you can receive store credit and or money for your old collection.
3.Gift-give your old CD’s to friends or family members.
4.Store them in binders-ok you aren’t ready to part with your CD’s just yet. Throw away the jewel case and store your CD’s in binders. That way your CD’s are the backup for your digital music collection.

Time Managment Tips

2009-05-18T11:23:00.000-07:00

1. Set goals-*hint be sure to write down all of your goals and create small tasks that will bring you closer to your larger ones.

2. Use a calendar to jot down important dates

3. Be aware of how much time you have in a day*hint plan your day around its events-you may want to plan your day by the hour

4. Create a list of things that need to be done *hint-prioritize items by importance

5. Ask yourself if what you’re doing at this moment is moving you closer to your goal

How To Eliminate Junk Mail

2009-04-11T10:54:00.000-07:00

How Do I Stop Junk Mail?

Do you receive magazines, catalogs, flyers, and other bulk items in your mailbox? Perhaps you’re wondering why you’re receiving a magazine that you didn’t even subscribe to.
Consumer you are not alone, millions of Americans have the same problem.

How do I stop getting all this junk mail?

What you and I may consider a waste of paper or piles of endless junk, the companies that mail the catalogs consider “direct mail”. Why are you receiving catalogs that you have never made a purchase from and how did they get your information? Because you may or may not realize that a company that you did give your information to has shared it with a third party. Please note read a company’s privacy policies very carefully before making a purchase. Also, when placing an order ask the company to put you on their “do not promote list”, this will save you and the environment lots of unnecessary clutter.

If you truly care about the environment and you don’t want to see millions of trees go to waste, than you must take some action.

Having organized hundreds of clients in my career as a professional organizer, I found that the very best way to get rid of junk mail is to call the company’s directly. Yes, this is time consuming and not all together fool proof, but a combination of calling the company directly and sending email notification is the most effective means to stop the junk mail.

Here’s how to begin:

Step1: Remove billing information from the magazine or catalog, place the other portion in a recycle pile. *you will be recycling this portion later

Step2: Usually the company will provide a 1-800 number on the back of the magazine portion your tore off.

Step 3: Make a list, you could use an excel spreadsheet for this step. List all the companies by name, along with their customer service phone number and or e-mail address. At this point if you cannot locate either the phone number or e-mail find the company on the web, usually they will have a customer service email address listed on their site.

Step 4: I found that calling the company directly works best, so begin by calling each company directly. When speaking to the customer service representative ask politely to be removed from their mailing list. Also, it is important to ask the representative of their company’s privacy policies and ask them to please not sell or share any of your information. Have the catalogs tracking number handy, you ripped this page off the back remember.

If you are unable to reach a company by phone, an e-mail usually works just as well. Keep the tone of the e-mail very polite again and state that you would like to opt out of any future mailing’s from this company and to be put on a “do not promote list”. You should receive a written response from the company within one to two business days. File this e-mail for your records.

Be patient, it usually takes anywhere from one to two months to see a reduction in junk mail.

More information:

Tips:

1. Yes, there are companies that will remove your name from mailing lists for a small fee; however I found them to be not very effective, just as time consuming and in my opinion you really shouldn’t have to spend money to get rid of junk mail.

2. When sorting through your mail, keep a small bin or box labeled recycling. This will reduce the amount of clutter that piles up.

3. Recycle, if all else fails help the environment by recycling your junk mail.

4. Consult with a professional organizer, we have seen it all before and can give you valuable advice as to what to do.

5. Do not mark your junk mail ‘return to sender’; this will not discourage the company from sending you more mail.

Spring Cleaning Garage Tips

2009-03-21T15:03:00.000-07:00

Spring has Sprung!

And it's a great time of year to begin those projects that you may have been putting off all winter.

So, where does one begin? Well, the garage is a great spring time project. If your garage looks like the one in the picture, you may need some help, or maybe you would just like to park your car in your garage.

Here are some great tips to help you get started:

1.Create your vision; it is important to know where you are going in order to know how you will get there. What is your vision or what would you like the garage to look like and how would you like it to function?

2. Write your vision down on paper, sketch out what you want your garage to look like.

3. Create categories; in your schematic create a place for all the things in the garage. Typical items in a garage are things like Tools, Sporting Equipment, memorabilia, Holiday items, arts and crafts, and miscellaneous items.

4. Gather the tools you will need; (1) Heavy duty garbage bags-used to place trash and donated items in. (2) Large and Small boxes and plastic containers-Used to sort items in and place larger donated items in (3) A black Sharpie marker or a label maker- used to label boxes (4) Box cutter-used to break down boxes and miscellaneous task *note this will come in handy

5. Place containers and bins strategically in the driveway *as you pull items out of the garage you will be sorting them into various categories’.
6. Purge items as you go *one of those piles should be reserved for trash, one for donate items and one for the treasures that you would like to keep

***After you have gone through, sorted, and categorized everything, you are ready to maximize your space

7. Does your garage have storage space? If yes, you will be using that space to store the items you categorized. If not you will need to install shelves, cabinets and hanging tools.

8. Install some closed door storage space *hint- store your hazardous materials such as gasoline

*always keep safety in mind when storing Hazmat items

9. Hang that bike up and out of the way. *bikes can be clumsy, large items that are at best used once in a while. Use a bike mounted wall or ceiling hook to hang bikes and create more movable space.

10. Hang tools, such as rakes, hoes, hammers, and shovels on peg board. Hang sporting equipment on racks or peg boards.

11. Store items used seasonally or less often in overhead storage space, such as a loft area or crawl space. *Make sure you label items before you store them.

12. Prepare to throw away disposable items; you may need to make special arrangements to donate larger items such as appliances or heavy furniture. Place trash on curb or bring to a recycle center.

13. Donate items to charity. Check in your area for a local Goodwill or Salvation Army, some churches except donated items also.

copyright easy track

Hire a professional organizer: My company Balancing Solutions
Will assist you in sorting, purging, and organizing your garage, we will install organizing products,such as shelves and hangers. You can have the garage you always envisioned!

Maximilian Quarto/Organizing consultant
Balancing Solutions Inc
www.BalancingSolutionsInc.com
balancingsolutions@gmail.com
302-545-0173

Have a Great Idea?

2009-03-20T20:22:00.000-07:00

Do you have a great Idea?

Write it down!

We all have them, ideas that just come to us. Maybe we are driving in the car, or reading a novel, or perhaps just lying in bed. My advice is to write down those great ideas immediately. When we write down our ideas or thoughts they become powerful. In fact, you can take writing down your great idea a step further by taking action steps to make that great idea become a reality. After all a great idea or thought that is not written down becomes just a dream.

Here is what you can do:

*Create a word document, title it GREAT IDEAS-write down those ideas when they come to you.

*Keep a little note pad with you at all times, in the car, by the bed; Here's a great idea go to Jott.com and sign up for voice to email! This service is FREE for 30days

*I often text myself with reminder notes: This is a great way to jot down ideas to yourself when not near a computer

Remember, Ideas are great! They allow us to create wonderful,new accomplishments and contribute valuable things to the world around us.

Product Review: The OOK Sheild

2009-03-09T10:13:00.001-07:00

Need to hang a picture?

I recently discovered a really fantastic way to hang just about anything on the wall. It’s called the OOK Shield; it is made by a company that provides a wide variety of art and picture hanging products.

A client and I discovered the OOK Shield having the need to hang a very heavy mirror on her living room wall. I was skeptical at first, but this product did not disappoint. The product promises “Strong Hold without damaging your Walls”. How does it work? The shield features a shock absorbing padding, a repositionable adhesive that makes the product removable and reusable, and hands free hammering for easy nailing. The shields are available to bear different amounts of weight, including 5, 10, 20,30,50,75,100, and 160LB’s. The nails used to mount the shield to the wall are small enough not to do any damage to your walls, plus they go in at an angle which provides extra stability and support.

I definitely will use this product again for my next picture hanging project and would recommend its use to my clients.

Visit their website: http://www.ooks.com/

The Self Storage Dilemma-continued

2009-03-01T14:37:00.000-08:00

Making the decision to utilize self-storage:

After having asked yourself some important key questions you feel as if self-storage is right for you. It is important to utilize some strategy while in your unit.

Here are some key strategies to use when using a self-storage space:

1. Take inventory
-It should be very important for you to know what you are storing. Believe it or not most individuals who utilize self storage don’t know what they have stored! Taking inventory can be as easy as writing down everything you put in storage on a spiral note pad, or if you really wanted to get creative you could take pictures of everything and document all your items by categories in an excel worksheet document. Documenting what you have in storage will help you keep track of items and could also be used as an insurance tool in case of damage or stolen goods.

2. Limit your time in the unit
-In order to avoid late fees and keep overall costs to a minimum, you must have a plan of how long you’re going to stay. Of course, this will depend largely on why you are using the space. The biggest mistake consumers can make is to not have a plan. This plan must include an exit strategy.

3. Hire a professional
-Hiring a professional organizer can save you lots of headaches. There are times in life when one experiences critical lifestyle transitions. A professional organizer can guide you in the right path and help you make those critical decisions.

When thinking about utilizing a self-storage unit, ask your-self some key questions, plan to plan, make the right decisions by utilizing some key strategies and avoid lengthy stays in the unit and consult with a professional.
-Maximilian Quarto/Organizing Consultant

Maximilian Quarto is an organizing consultant and owner of Balancing Solutions a professional organizing service company based in Hockessin DE.

Maximilian Quarto/Organizing Consultant
Balancing solutions Inc
Organizing solutions for a balanced environment
Email:balancingsolutions@gmail.com
Web: www.balancingsolutionsinc.com
Phone :( 302) 545-0173

The Self Storage Dilemma-continued

2009-02-07T13:57:00.000-08:00

When is it useful and feasible to use a self-storage unit? If you find yourself in a situation where it seems absolutely necessary to store your belongings; here are a few tips that may help you along the way. There are times in life when one is faced with the sometimes difficult challenge of ‘life changes’. Moving, relocating, downsizing, a death in the family, starting a new business, and getting married are all important life changes or transitions that may affect you in your lifetime and where it may be necessary to use a self-storage device.

Moving/downsizing

Moving is a stressful event in anyone’s life, if you are faced with having to move from a spacious home to a significantly smaller space, you may have lots of excess “stuff”. You are now faced with the difficult choice of what to do with all your ‘stuff, Do you downsize your belongings to meet the needs of your living area? Or do you rent a self-storage device based on your plan to move back into a larger space some day? When faced with difficult decisions such as these, keep in mind the following organizing tips.

Begin by asking yourself these questions

1. Do I really need it? This may be the most difficult question you have to ask yourself. We often times fool ourselves into thinking we really need an item when in actuality it is more of a want based on some emotional appeal attached to the item. Proceed with caution at this junction; consulting with a professional organizer may be of great value. A professional can provide a neutral opinion and an often times reasonable voice that guides you through critical decision making.

2. How often do I use it? Evaluating the frequency of use is a good measuring device to decide whether to keep or discard an item. As a general rule if you haven’t used an item for the past six months, get rid of it. Getting rid of an item, clothing or furniture does not have to be a negative experience either. In fact, it can be very positive and emotionally uplifting process. Let’s think about this for a moment. You have twenty seven dresses all the same color and pattern. You wear five of them often enough, but the other twenty two sit in the back of the closet and collect dust. You hold on to them anyway because it’s your favorite dress and they were a gift from your uncle. After consulting an organizing consultant you have decided you could live without the twenty two dresses you have not worn for the last six months. You make the decision to donate fifteen to charity and give the rest away to a younger cousin. What a great idea! Your cousin has always admired you in this dress, she is now very happy. And the items you donated, they are now being used also.

The Self Storage Dilemma-continued

2009-02-01T12:14:00.000-08:00

With so many storage-unit options appearing just about everywhere individuals are faced with a dilemma. Should I store my “stuff” in a self storage device? When should I utilize a storage device? How long should I plan on storing my ‘stuff’?

Here is the dilemma; I have seen it all too many times friends, family members, even strangers store useless ‘stuff’ in a self-storage device miles from their homes and they don’t even know what they have stored in the unit? I myself have been guilty of this fault. Is it economically feasible to hold on to items that you could possibly forget about? On average the rental fee for the use of a self-storage unit will cost you anywhere between 60-80 dollars a month, depending of course on location and the size of the unit. That is an average total cost of $800 per year! What could consumers possibly have stored of value in a unit that costs $800 a year? And what happens when you miss a payment? If you have missed your payment you will be charged a fee. If you have missed several payments and you account is now past due several months your contract states that the company storing your ‘stuff’ has the right to cut your lock off and sell everything in the unit to auction. This is a double edged sword, unless your ‘stuff’ is truly worth saving; that is paying sometimes thousands of dollars in overdue rent and late fees. You run the risk of not only losing all your ‘stuff’, but also being indebted to the storage company.

Recently having just detached myself from the clutches of self-storage, I was waiting in the office of the self-storage company. The women working the front desk was deep in a phone conversation. “Five hundred dollars or the lock comes off and all your belongings will be sold at auction this Friday”, again the women repeated herself. After several uncomfortable minutes bearing witness to this poor soul on the other line being in such a predicament. I quickly closed out my account with the self-storage company paid my respects and walked out the door with a sigh of relief; knowing that I would now be several dollars better of each month. And what became of the “stuff” I had stored in the unit? Well, after sorting through all the “stuff”, I actually discarded most all of it, as for the rest family members were more than happy to come take what they felt was useful.

The Self Storage Dilemma

2009-01-28T15:42:00.000-08:00

Do you currently store your “stuff” in a self storage unit? The use of a self-storage unit can be a very costly and sometimes careless mistake unless planned out methodically.

Recently consumers have seen an almost overwhelming amount of storage unit choices popping up just about everywhere. In fact there are approximately over 51,500 self storage facilities across the United States and 1in 17American households are using self-storage, according to the self storage association.

The consumer is faced with many options when it comes to storing their possessions. They can store their “stuff” in a ‘secured compound’ complete with gated fences, surveillance cameras’ and keyed entry ways. Most storage units also offer their patrons the option of renting a unit that is air conditioned and climate controlled. Consumers can store their stuff away from living space and they can even have a storage device delivered to their homes and placed right in their driveways.

...To be continued

copyright all rights reserved

Maximilian Quarto is an organizing consultant and owner of Balancing Solutions a professional organizing service company based in Hockessin DE.

Maximilian Quarto/Organizing Consultant
Balancing solutions Inc
Organizing solutions for a balanced environment
Email:balancingsolutions@gmail.com
Web: www.balancingsolutionsinc.com
Phone :( 302) 545-0173

Welcome

2009-01-27T12:21:00.000-08:00

Welcome All,

This blog is intended to educate and assist individuals looking for useful information as it pertains to getting organized. I am an organizing consultant living in Delaware.

My hope in writing this blog is that I will provide my clients with useful information and be a helpful resource for all their organizing questions and concerns.