Tidy Tip Number Seven

Tidy Tip #7: Throughout your house, throw away pens that don't work! How many times have you picked up a pen (usually in a hurry) to jot down a message or a thought, only to find that it's out of ink or clogged? Don't let these useless pens inconvience you ever again - throw them away TODAY!!

Tidy Tip Number Six

Tidy Tip #6: Socks that have been seperated from their mates for more than a couple of weeks are probably destined to remain solo. So either reunite them with their mates or remove them from your drawers and turn them into dust cloths ... or just toss them.

*Note: A lone sock can come in handy. Put socks on your hands to dust miniblinds or to get in those tough places, like around chair handles and legs, bedroom headboards, baseboards and the like.
One company that I know of even creates socks (and lots of other things) that are mismatched:
You've Met Your Mismatch
MISMATCHED SOCKS-These cozy, colorful socks are a perfect mismatch: Sharing the same hues and the same pattern, each sock exchanges colors for a chromatically congruous take on the classic case of mismatched socks. The color arrangements will vary for each sock. Really...life's too short for matching socks. Knit and hand finished in Vermont.$18.00
http://www.uncommongoods.com/

Tidy Tip Number Five

Well, today's tip brings us to our Desks! Yikes! It's okay though ... don't be scared. The 1o or 15 square feet of space on your desktop must be deemed precious. Make your workspace more accessible and inviting with an organized desk.
First of all, take everything off the desk surface. That's right, off! There, doesn't that look better already? Keep a trashcan and recycling bin closeby as you do this. Clean off the surface of your desk with your favorite surface cleaner. Then, put back only the things that you use on a day-to-day basis. Go through paperwork that has accumulated on your desk and do something with it! File it or toss it! If you're like me, a messy and disorganized desk can make you feel weighed down and overwhelmed. A clean desk invites you to jump in and start new projects, or, if nothing else, to just sit in the desk chair and enjoy the view. Remember: Control your paper, and don't let it control you!

Happy Cleaning!

Tidy Tip Number Four

Tidy Tip #4: Empty every wastebasket in your home, all the trash in your purses, and every piece of paper and trash in you car! Trash equals the past and the old, outdated, useless, and uneeded things in our lives. OUT with the old, and IN with the new. Take the time to put plastic bags in each trash container, and set aside a regular day each week to empty wastebaskets, purses, and your car of unwanted, useless waste!
Whew! Now, don't you feel better?

Tidy Tip Number Three:
Gather up newspapers and magazines and other reading materials scattered about; they can really make your home look messy! Recycle or toss those you have finished reading and put the rest of them away and out of view. If you don't have the time to sort through all of them immediately, at least gather them up and put them all in a basket or box until you can organize them properly.
Living on or near a military base gives us the perfect place to take our magazines. The Navy Hospital on base here in Yokosuka, Japan, has numerous waiting areas where patients read magazines, and many of their magazines are outdated. I take my magazines to the hospital on somewhat of a regular basis, and it feels good to know they are being put to good use and not just going into the trash.

Tidy Tip Number Two:
Wash windows, clean all the mirrors in you home, and throughly clean your kitchen sink area - including the sink itself, of course. That's it for today. You may find yourself motivated to do a little more after that, which is ok; actually, that's kind of the point!

Ten Tidy Tips

"You Can't Have Everything - Where Would You Put It?" -Steven Wright

In the military, we move a lot! Usually every two or three years or so. If you don't already know about the web site: http://www.emilitary.org/rel2.html, then you should check it out. There are lists for everything related to moving.

Did you know ... that "according to a study conducted by a Boston marketing firm, the average American burns up 55 minutes a day - roughly twelve weeks per year - looking for things they know they own but can't find."
Wow! The next time you express your unhappiness about not having enough time to do the things you want to do, think about how much time you've wasted in this area.
The culprit? Procrastination, plain and simple!
Let's get started! Ask yourself these three questions as we embark on the decluttering process: First, will I use this? Second, does this item bring enjoyment to my life? Lastly, where does this item live in my house? These can be worthwhile questions when trying to decide what stays and what goes.

Over the next ten days I will give you Ten Tidy Tips to help you get started toward decluttering and organizing your home: Remember ... our homes didn't get messy in a day, and they are NOT going to get clean overnight.

Tidy Tip Number One: Try this - go through a room of your choice, or maybe even your closet, and get rid of ten things you haven't used or worn lately. Simple right? Well, come back tomorrow for tidy tip #2, and let's see how you did?

Spend 20 minutes cleaning one area of your home today ... just one area.

*It's easy to forget what belongs where, or to whom. Put a return address label on anything that you loan out so that it can be identified as belonging to you!

Tidy

ti·dy [ tidee ]
adjective (comparative ti·di·er, superlative ti·di·est)
Definitions:

1. neat in appearance: having a neat orderly appearance
2. methodical: tending to perform tasks in a systematic way

Make something or somebody tidy: to make somebody or something neat and orderly - We need to tidy up the place before they arrive.
Bees are tidy little creatures; Nothing looks busier than a beehive; but following individual bees, scientists have found that 2/3 of the time the bee is doing nothing productive.