No Can Do!

Believe it or not, canned food does not last forever. There is a lot of guesswork around figuring out the vintage of a particular can, especially if the illegible numbers are as indecipherable as some ancient code. We know there is a shelf life to every can. We prefer the term used by the British. They refer to it as "the death date". We have witnessed unspeakable cupboard disasters, the result of cans left far too long. Sometimes they explode and leave a residue similar to the consistency of asphalt. Other times they are sneaky, corroding from the inside-out, and leach their way into cementing themselves onto your shelves. We know this from experience.

Any organizing job we encounter entailing the sorting and purging of the contents of a long-lost kitchen cupboard, is administered by us in garb reminiscent of a gear donned by a bomb squad!! Exploding cans of food can cause extreme damage. OK, maybe we haven’t seen a detonation in action. But we can attest to the fact that the ooze from leaky cans is far superior than contact-cement for gluing down ceramic tiles...forever! Paper shelf-liners are no defense. We caution you to be particularly watchful of pineapple and tomato based products. They are the most dangerous.

Expired canned food is most likely to be found in the impossible corner kitchen cabinet that lies between your sink and your stove. You know the one we mean. It's the cupboard that only a contortionist can fit into. It is probably also known as the burial ground for long lost gadgets like broken toasters, the juicer you bought on the home shopping channel or the yellowed and cracked ice cube trays from your old refrigerator from 70's.

Challenge
Don’t for one second think about giving that expired food to the food bank! Take an hour or so to comb through the cans. Dented ones go first. Anything with a coating of dust is a sure throw-away. If you can’t read the “Best Before” date and can’t remember where, when or why you bought the chick peas, remember to err on the side of caution. After all, this is your life we're talking about!

The 10 Condiments

One of the greatest things about our fast food nation is all the conveniently packaged freebies we get to load up on. No Chinese take-out meal would seem complete without the requisite assortment of sauces and fortune cookies. A visit to the local burger establishment would be deficient minus a ketchup packet or 3. We love them because they are so hygienic, unlike the big containers we have in our refrigerators that get crusty and fused shut along the handy flip-top cap. Still, you normally wind up using only a portion of what these eateries have generously supplied. Whatever is left over is simply slipped into a drawer to frolic with renegade toothpicks, old bottle caps, loose twist ties and a couple of paper napkins. Over time, you can accumulate quite a stash. Around the time that you are no longer able to close the drawer, you should mull over the idea of thinning them out. After all, they are food products that eventually do expire, despite the presence of an illegible date. Safety first!!

Challenge
Repeat after us. Thou shalt not save any of the following from this point forward:
Soy sauce packets
Sweet and Sour sauce packets
Artificial sweeteners from the coffee shop
Tartar sauce packets
Tiny coffee creamers
Mustard packages
Mayo packages
Salt and pepper shakers from airplanes (available in first Class or on foreign airlines only)
Wasabi packets
Oyster crackers that come with soup

Other People

There is a point that almost everyone eventually reaches, when say they say "Enough"! The storage capacity is maxed. There’s no room in the closet for another thing. There are boxes that have remained unexplored for so long, they sport layers of dust and mold. The reasons and timing may differ, but the conclusion is the same. They must do something about the stuff that prevents the home from being a comfort zone.

Only, often they don’t know where to begin. We suggest evaluating how much of the clutter is actually yours versus someone else’s. Who do you know that has been using your basement, extra bedrooms, garage, attic or storage locker to preserve their stuff for immortality? Yes. We are talking about children or friends who are avoiding making decisions, typically hanging on to vestiges of former lives, due to your generosity. Of course, some may be away at school or travelling and may be saving furniture and other possessions for when they have larger living quarters. But the vast majority of excess belongings that we encounter at our clients’ homes don’t fit into those legitimate categories. They are the rusted bed frame left behind by an old friend who has since moved to another city. Or, they are abandoned collections of mildewed magazines and stuffed animals, that have been simply forgotten. Or perhaps binders that should have been returned to an organization for which you had once volunteered.

If you want to get serious about getting your clutter under control, you would be well served to contact those people who have been the beneficiaries of mini-storage at no charge and request that they come to confront and remove their personal artifacts from your premises. You need to communicate a sense of urgency, specifying deadlines and your intentions regarding future use of the space. Treat it like an appointment. Don’t be afraid to explain that unclaimed items would be donated to charity. You will be amazed at how much space you will free up, by reducing the volume of storage used by the "other people" in your home.

Failure to Launch

Back at the end of March, Good Riddance’s services became the subject of piece in our local Vancouver newspaper under the rubric of Do It Better (www.theprovince.com/doitbetter). The reporter wanted to shoot a video that would showcase our de-cluttering process. Our clients, members of the Baby Boomer generation, looking forward to retirement and allegedly “empty nesters” agreed to become the case study for the report. I say allegedly because although their twenty-something children had left home, their belongings had not. In their son’s case, he had moved downtown, but his bedroom remained frozen in time, housing his clothing, music, sports equipment, books and memorabilia that he hadn’t the room for in his small apartment. Their daughter had likewise moved out on her own, only to return several years later with her craft supplies, collectables and wardrobe. When she came home, she deposited her bags and cartons in the finished basement, converting a would-be media room into warehouse space. We were brought in to organize the “wrecked’ room into a rec room.

Ever since the release of the comedy, “Failure to Launch”, much has been written about this phenomenon of the “boomerang” kids and the economic, social and psychological drivers responsible for the behavior. After a point, what parents don’t fantasize about reclaiming the house for their own purposes – converting bedrooms into home offices, gyms, and meditation or craft rooms? Is it not a reasonable expectation that when they do leave, that adult children take their possessions with them and not leave them with Mom or Dad for time immemorial? As professional organizers, we encounter many situations similar to the one described above. Parents often walk a thin line in making their adult children feel welcome while postponing their own plans for a post-child centric abode. We believe it is important for parents to address this with adult children. Expectations must be communicated, lest resentments build. Adult children need to understand that their family home should not be treated as a giant storage locker. Clutter is everyone’s responsibility, no matter what age. Use it or lose it!

For Now=Forgetaboutit

Are you one of those people who is constantly on a search and find mission, always re-buying the same necessities because you don’t know where they are and feeling frustrated because you can’t seem to break the cycle? If this sounds remotely like you, chances are that you may suffer from the “For Now” syndrome.

As you are likely to be a busy person, pre-occupied with the things that really matter like performing well at your job, being a nurturing spouse, friend or parent, keeping yourself in shape or finding parking, you may not be placing significant focus on what happens to things when they enter your home. Just coming in the front door you are generally greeted with mail and periodicals. You probably have packages in your hands. The phone is beeping. On your way out, there are even more distractions. So, what generally happens is that things get placed "temporarily" until you have the time to deal with them properly. You tell yourself, I will put this here for now – a drawer, a table, a pile, in a plastic bag – instead of in the room or cabinet where they actually belong. And there’s the rub.

When your things don’t have a permanent home, they have a tendency to become forgotten. You pay the price in lost time, productivity and low self-esteem. Fitting everything into a busy schedule is challenging enough without spending another 25 minutes hunting down missing keys, permission slips and overdue books.

In 2008, make the extra effort to develop and maintain logical locations for new purchases, important papers and indispensible tools like telephones. Don’t fall into the “for now” trap. Those are two words to eliminate from your vocabulary and you’ll stay on top of your clutter

Top 10 Packing Tips

The recent hike in fuel costs has resulted in airlines having to increase costs and pass them onto the consumer. Most notably many airlines are now charging a fee for luggage over 23 kilos. Don't even think about trying to check 2 pieces of luggage as more than likely, you will be charged for that 2nd piece. This alone can add more stress to an already stressful endeavour. That said, now more than ever, we are being approached by the media for our opinion on how to pack a suitcase. So, we have come up with our top 10 packing tips:

1. Make sure your suitcase is a newer, lighter model and choose a medium size
2. Give yourself enough time to pack (it takes longer than you think)
3. Roll your clothes
4. Employ the use of compression bags or space bags
5. Only pack clothing and shoes that you love...don't pack things you think you might wear.
6. Use small containers for your shampoo and cosmetics
7. Separate toiletries into ziplock bags that you can tuck into small spaces in your suitcase
8. Ensure your on-board bag has a change of clothes just incase your suitcase doesn't arrive
9. Bring only 3 pairs of shoes
10. Stuff socks into shoes to maximize space

We hope this helps you for your next trip!

100 Things

OK - we haven't commented for quite some time...I guess life got in the way. Susan and I have been very busy with several projects and in March I decided to take a trip to Italy for 2 weeks. Then upon my return immediately move to a new condo. Whew! Glad that's over. There's nothing like downsizing to keep you honest. All that "stuff" my husband and I thought we needed but now really don't....

things like this that we used to really love or that we always meant to refinish. But the greatest reward from downsizing is that you can't take it all with you. This is a very liberating experience because the process forces you to make the best and wisest choices. Simply put, you must let go of some of your things. Speaking of things, you must visit this website http://www.guynameddave.com/. His challenge is to bring his personal possessions down to just 100 items by November 2008. He will then live for one year with just 100 personal "things". What a challenge! His blog is interesting and includes lists of the items he currently has as well as some categories of things that are exempt from his 100 count. His latest count brings him to 97 items but he feels he has forgotten a few things. We're looking forward to keeping tabs on his progress.