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The Simplified Home by Janet Nusbaum, The Organizing Genie

Clear the Clutter and Simplify Your Life

Are you overwhelmed by the clutter in your home, and the wasted time and energy spent searching for misplaced items? Do you fear unexpected company dropping by?

YOU ARE NOT ALONE! In fact ... I've been right where you may feel right now!

Why do we struggle so with creating and maintaining order and calm in our home? Well, here's a reality check for you! Did you know that our homes have doubled in size since the 1970's and the average home today contains 50% more stuff than in the 1980's. So the life we live now is far different than the generation before, and our relationship to our stuff has changed as well.

For these reasons and so many more, it is imperative today that we create a safe haven in our home. A place where we can retreat from modern life to rest and regenerate our energy supply for the next day. If we return home after a stressful day dealing with the demands of daily life, to an even more stressful environment full of distractions and clutter ... then when do we ever have a break from it all? A time to be at peace, to rest, and re-energize our batteries?

I invite you to join me every Monday to explore the many benefits and recipe for creating The Simplified Home.

Latest Posts:


There is no One Best Way to Get Organized at Home Organization is an ever-changing process; it's a journey, not a destination. Every day a new approach or product is being introduced as the magic bullet to organization. But everyone is different in temperament, attitude, build, energy, ambition and family size. Every situation and lifestyle requires a different style and approach of organization to get the job done. ... Read more... posted on: 10/25/2010 10:00:00 AM by Janet Nusbaum category: Homes

Garage Sales 101 – Preparing, pricing and advertising Here's the next installment in our Garage Sales 101 series. Today I'll talking about how to attract potential buyers for your sale, preparing your stuff and pricing. Step 3: How to Attract Buyers to a Garage Sale ... Read more... posted on: 8/30/2010 10:00:00 AM by Janet Nusbaum category: Homes

Garage Sales 101 – Get the most out of selling your unwanted stuff I've been wanting to do this series all summer on planning a successful Garage Sale, but I've been so busy this summer helping clients to take control of their homes and offices and rid their lives of unwanted stuff. No worries … the end of summer is still a great time for a garage sale. Over the next week I'll be posting the steps that I recommend for planning and organizing a successful garage sale. ... Read more... posted on: 8/29/2010 3:11:39 PM by Janet Nusbaum category: Homes

Why Are Our Lives Filled With So Much Stuff? Why are so many of our lives overstuffed with stuff? Buying stuff. Selling stuff. Eating stuff. Not eating stuff. We buy stuff to store our stuff. When our homes are full of stuff, we rent more places to store our stuff, so well, we can get more stuff. How can any of this be good for us? ... Read more... posted on: 7/11/2010 9:51:00 PM by Janet Nusbaum category: Homes

12 Tips to Save Time and Streamline Your Day All those precious seconds driving in traffic, waiting in line and browsing the video or book store add up. Here are 12 ways to save time and streamline your day. 1. Send gift certificates and gift cards for presents. Phone in the order – no shopping, no wrapping, no exchanges. This options also helps reduce clutter because the gift recipient is able to purchase exactly what they want, rather than receiving a gift that is never used, but lingers out of obligation to the gift giver. ... Read more... posted on: 4/20/2010 6:24:39 PM by Janet Nusbaum category: Homes

Reduce Tax Time Stress with Planning and Organization I filed my tax return today! And all 2009 documents are filed safely away with my tax return. Because of my organized filing system, it took less than an hour to gather everything together. This is a huge improvement over past years when I didn't have any system in place. Every year I procrastinated until the last minute because it was such a chore to find everything and organize it before I could even begin working on the return. ... Read more... posted on: 3/8/2010 10:00:00 AM by Janet Nusbaum category: Homes

February is Archive Your Files Month What's the shape of your home filing system? Are your filing drawers stuffed so full that it's nearly impossible to get another piece of paper into – or out of – them? This is sure to create additional piles around your file cabinet(s) because its such an inconvenience to get the filing done. Once a year, you should schedule time to review your files and purge as much as possible, leaving room for next year's papers. Consider these tips for maintaining a lean and accessible home filing system. DETERMINE WHAT TO KEEP As you sort through papers, ask yourself, "When will I really need this again?" "Can it be easily recreated or retrieved elsewhere?' Don't hang onto things unless... Read more... posted on: 2/8/2010 10:00:00 AM by Janet Nusbaum category: Homes

Do Coupons Really Save You Money? As we transition into a new year many will set goals to reduce household spending and reduce debt. This is a good time to consider the use of coupons to reduce spending and how to get started. In this tough economy, couponing has is receiving serious consideration in many households. So do coupons really save you money or Are They a Waste of Time? The short answer to this question is yes. But, you have to have a system in place for cutting them and storing them in order to have your coupons accessible so you will use them. When I started using coupons years ago, they were really only available in the newspaper. You could cut them out of the Sunday paper and they were good for a month or... Read more... posted on: 12/28/2009 10:00:00 AM by Janet Nusbaum category: Homes

Can a Book E-Reader Solve Your Book Clutter? In my last post Five Strategies to Reduce Book Clutter, I promised to do a comparison of four popular Book E-Readers. I must admit that I do not yet own an E-Reader, but I will eventually. Ifm waiting for the prices to come down before I take the plunge. If your goal is to clear the clutter and simplify your life, book e-Readers are a practical tool that will help you keep physical book clutter at bay. Read more... posted on: 12/14/2009 10:00:00 AM by Janet Nusbaum category: Homes

Five Strategies to Reduce Book Clutter One of the toughest types of clutter to control is books. Books enrich our lives - they provide enjoyment, humor, an escape to other worlds and they educate - just to name a few of the benefits. We build entire rooms in our home as a shrine to our books and shelves from floor to ceiling are often dedicated to store our book collection. That's why I said in the first sentence that book clutter is one of the most difficult habits to break. We become attached our book collections and derive pride from a large and varied collection. So how can coveting books be a bad thing? As the old adage says … too much of a good thing can quickly turn into a negative. And like any other possession, more of any possession that you aren't using or enjoying regularly is clutter. Too often a book is purchased, put on a shelf and never touched again. Or the book is read, then put on a shelf to never be touched again. In either case, how is that book, now relegated to a book storage shelf, offering any function to your home or enjoyment to your life? The downside to coveting books is that they take up a lot of space, they collect dust and moisture (that contributes to allergies), they can infiltrate every room and flat surface of your home, and they deprive us of open space for the possessions and activities that we use and do daily. In my old life I wished for floor to ceiling book shelves in my living room that had vaulted ceilings, with a rolling ladder that I could climb to the top and get any one of the hundreds of books that I envisioned filling the many shelves. In this era of simple living I now view books in a different way. Now I view the habit of accumulating books and storing them on bookshelves like any other old, useless possession that doesn't enhance my life on a daily basis. When you look at it this way, aren't bookshelves just storage spaces for unused items to collect dust. I no longer give into the urge to purchase books that in reality I know I won't touch anytime in the near future. And on the many storage shelves where my books were once stored, I've purged and narrowed it down to only my favorites. Here are five strategies for keeping book clutter under control: 1. Pass It On, or Swap for Titles You Want When you're finished reading a book, pass it on to a friend or make a trade for one of her books you'd like to read. This allows you and your friends to read many books without each of you having to purchase and keep each book in your home. Here's a great site where you can swap your unwanted books for titles you want - all free. www.PaperBackSwap.com 2. Use Electronic Media (E-Readers) To a professional organizer, E-Reader technology is the greatest thing since sliced bread. A few of the top brands are: Amazon Kindle Sony Digital Reader Pocket Edition COOL-ER eSlick Digital Book Reader... Read more... posted on: 11/30/2009 10:00:00 AM by Janet Nusbaum category: Homes

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About Janet:

Janet Nusbaum creates calm out of chaos, and loves bringing serenity and order to overwhelmed households, cluttered offices, frazzled parents, and transitioning seniors and families. Janet, President of Simplified Spaces & The Simplified Home, is an Organizing Consultant, Senior Move Manager, Author and Speaker.

She is the author of "Mom, Can I Help Around the House?" A Simple, Step-by-Step System for Teaching Your Children Life-Long Skills for Pitching-In & Picking-up".

She is a proud member: National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) & National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD)

Visit our blog - www.TheOrganizingGenie.com, and sign-up to receive our special report "SHELF LIFE OF 75 COMMON HOUSEHOLD ITEMS. Use this report to decide what to keep and what to toss ... then TAKE ACTION!!

Janet's Other Blogs:

Moving To A Simpler Life ... But Where Do I Start?

Janet's Favorites:

1. Pass It On, or Swap for Titles You Want

2. Use Electronic Media (E-Readers)