The What-Ifs & Someday

A common phenomenon that I encounter when working with clients is what I like to call the "What-if" Syndrome. You know exactly what I mean when I say that, don't you?

"What if I need this later?"

"What if I use this for something?"

"What if I decide to make some and I need ?"

"My sister gave this to me and it makes me want to gag every time I look at it. But what if she comes to visit and notices it's gone?"

"What if I need to go hiking in the Andes and I don't have my this backpack?"

The resistance that I encounter when trying to get clients to downsize on items is something I deal with every day. A lot of us are holding on to things that we think we'll have a use for, but will probably NEVER use.  If you find yourself with a case of the What-ifs, you need to have a very stern conversation with yourself.

• "Have I used this since I recieved/bought it?"
• What are the REAL chances I'll the "What-if" situation will really occur?
• Is keeping it causing me stress?
• Do I have a place to put it?
• What's the worst thing that would happen if I got rid of it and needed it later?

Clutter causes stress, especially if you're holding on to an item hoping that you'll use it someday. The pressure that you're putting on yourself to use the item even though you really don't want to or can't can cause stress and anxiety every time you encounter it. If you can't pinpoint someday and don't have specific plans for a random item that you haven't touched and if you say "What-if?" when you contemplate getting rid of it...it probably needs to go. If you're having a really hard time letting go of something, decide on a stuff purgatory. The Purgatory will be a place you keep items you're debating on keeping, but it's not with your regular stuff. Set a time-limit on it: 2 weeks-2 months, but no longer than that. When the time limit is up and you didn't use it...GET RID OF IT.

And what if the "What-if" scenario actually occurs or Someday actually comes after you've gotten rid of the item? It's not the end of the world. Occasionally, this happens but it's rare. Chances are, it was something you could replace. Buy or (better still) borrow whatever you needed. Enjoy the fact that you needed the item and don't mourn your old one. If you are now using your new one, chances are you'll use it a lot more than you did the one you got rid of.

Don't let the "What-ifs" and Someday keep you from getting organized!

Need more help? Visit hubneat.com for information on professional organizing services in Boston!

The Problem with Depth

When you are organizing a space, there are three dimensions you should consider:

• Width (the measurement from side to side)
• Height (the measurement from bottom to top)
• Depth (the measurement from front to back)

Many spaces that are tricky to organize are the spaces that are generous in depth. The problem with depth is that, given too much depth, storing smaller items becomes trickier. Placing items that are a similar size in front of each other can cause confusion. Take cans in a pantry for instance:

Can you see the cans behind the first one? You'll never know if you need to buy another can of corn or if you already have one! Too deep of a space makes it challenging to see and find things in the back of the space. Before you know it, you've gone out and purchased four more cans of corn when you already had some - you just couldn't see them!

Here's what you can do to keep some control of your deep spaces:

•  Tiered Storage: A tiered (step) storage system will solve most problems in a space that is too deep to store items in front of each other efficiently. Step shelves for cans are a great way to see items in the back of the cabinet. Store larger cans in the back and smaller cans in the front so that you can see more of the labels. You can also store things without tiered shelves if items are different sizes. Store larger items in the back and smaller items in the front. Yes, there will be some "wasted" space in the back (below the tallest shelf) and the front (above the shortest shelf or the "floor" level), but in the long run, it's no better than what you had going on before. Functionality is sometimes better than fitting all you can in. 

• Pull-out Solutions: Pull out drawers that you can affix to a shelf or that you can simply place inside can maximize both vertical space and the depth of a space. Even a bin that you can remove and look through can remove some of the frustration of depth. 

In the end, it's sometimes difficult to perfect storage in a deep space. Especially a deep closet or a storage unit where you are trying to place a lot inside and you can't afford to waste any space. In a storage unit, if you are storing lots of things that you don't need often or that you only need seasonally, it may be helpful to keep the items on shelving units on casters such as an InterMetro Unit. If you need to get to the items in the back, just roll the first unit out of the way. This is particularly helpful as you will not need to move a lot of heavy boxes and when you are not using the shelving unit, it can be disassembled and stored in a very small space. If you are storing  heavy items, do not compromise on quality where shelving is concerned! For your safety, make sure that the unit AND the casters (casters or wheels reduce the amount of weight the shelving can hold) can handle whatever you're storing.

Do you have any other tricks for keeping order in a deep space? Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter!

Need more help? Visit hubneat.com to find out about professional organizing services in Boston and surrounding areas! 

Straighten Up for Spring Giveaway!

 As you may or may not know, Spring is officially just ten days away! Here in Massachusetts, it definitely doesn't feel like it could be Spring in 10 days. There has been so much snow and cold, some days I feel like Christmas could come back! However, on March 20th, it will officially be Spring and Spring is a season for new beginnings. Is there an area of your home that's bothering you? Is your whole house a mess? Don't despair! Over the next 30 days, I'm going to help you get started getting organized for Spring so that you can enter this flowery, lovely season with a renewed sense of zen!

Week One, we'll start with getting motivated. It's often very overwhelming to look around at your space, see all of the stuff and not even want to try and organize it all. When you feel this way, there are a few things you need to tell yourself:

• I don't have to organize everything at once: This is a very important thing to know. Organizing a little 2'x2' space could take all afternoon or all day depending on the detail of what's going on in the space. Take your time. Enjoy the small victories.

• It doesn't have to be PERFECT: What is "PERFECT" anyway? Does it work for you? Can you find things? Can you see what you are storing? Then it's pretty good or even pretty GREAT. A perfect solution is something that you probably won't be able to accomplish. Settling for pretty good or great is going to make your project much more satisfying.

• I can take a break: Been cleaning out your fridge for an hour? Getting overwhelmed? Take a break. Take the dog for a walk. Have some lunch. Watch a TV show. Answer some emails. If you are overwhelmed with how long it takes to do a project, break it up into smaller, bite-sized chunks. Give yourself a set-limit on how many minutes you're going to spend on it at one time.

Here are the suggested categories for the Straighten Up for Spring Projects! Choose one or more and post your progress on the Hub Neat Facebook Page or Twitter or Instagram! If you're feeling creative, choose your own category not listed here! The sky's the limit! Take a photo of your space BEFORE.

To motivate you, I'm giving away a fabulous set of organizing products to a random Straighten Up for Spring participant. Here's what you could win!

The only thing you MUST do, is post YOUR BEFORE PHOTO to the Hub Neat Facebook Page or Twitter or Instagram it with the tag #StraightenUp2014. If you tweet about the challenge and like Hub Neat on Facebook you can get an extra entry! You can tweet about the giveaway every day and get an entry until the contest closes. But you must do the project and therefore, the before photo step is a mandatory entry. If you finish your project and post a photo, you gain 5 bonus entries! So many chances to win!

So, are you inspired? YOU CAN DO IT!!! What are you waiting for? Get moving and good luck!!! Enter and rules below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Organized Challenge of the Week: Feminine Products

If you're a girl, you definitely have these items...you simply can't avoid them...tampons, pads, etc. Aside from being expensive, they aren't the kinds of things you want guests to see when they come into your bathroom for the first time. Here are a couple of ideas I came up with that keep my private stash out of sight:

I keep my "in rotation" stash in this little bitty bitty drawer unit in the bathroom cabinet, where the drawers are discreetly or maybe not-to-discreetly labeled "t" and "p". You decide how gauche that is...

These little drawers are not available to buy anymore, but a little jewelery drawer unit lined with some cute contact or wrapping paper would stand in just fine. Or, these little cuties from Ikea would work too.

On a completely unrelated note: Don't you ladies love how cute they are making the packaging for these things now? They should make it cute if they're going to charge eight bucks a box. But I digress...of course, that's not my whole stash in there...here's what I do with the backups. I found this really super cute fabric box from Reisenthel. They come in 3 different sizes (and colors too! Sadly, I think this particular design is discontinued) and this one is the smallest one. It's got a great metal frame that allows the box to collapse flat when it's not in use.

Inside is where the organizing fun begins. It's basically empty inside, but I decided it needed to be divided somehow. The Smart Store System products from The Container Store include some tall inserts which happened to fit PERFECTLY inside this box (AND they are on sale right now! Woo Hoo!)

Amazingly, they are JUST as tall as a tampon. It's almost like they were meant to hold them. Anyway, I'm also keeping my trial sized products (you know, those little things you get for spending all your money at Sephora and things you steal from the hotel? YOU KNOW YOU STEAL THEM.) and spare smaller sized skin and haircare products in here too.

I keep this little box in the linen cabinet with all the spare shampoos and towels, but it's such a pretty little box that it would look great in plain sight as well. Now that annoying time of the month can be a little bit sunnier when your lady stuff is orderly.

Here are some other feminine organizing ideas:

• Ideas from Organizing Made Fun
• Under Sink Makeover from A Bowl Full Of Lemons
• A Pretty Makeover from IHeartOrganizing

Which ideas do you like the best? What do you do with your hygiene products? Leave a comment below! Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Garden Time!

Just an update from the fab back porch garden I've been working on since March when I started seeds. So...here it is! This is my lavender, thyme and rosemary container. The thyme needs to be pruned as it is TAKING OVER.

Here are the alpine strawberries since my existing strawberry plant bit the dust. I can't wait until it starts flowering and growing delicious berries. If you have never had an alpine strawberry, you are definitely missing out on a genuine strawberry experience. Alpine (sometimes known as wild strawberries) berries are small, unlike what you find in the grocery store, but are BIG on flavor.

This is my scarlet runner bean pot. I've never grown beans before, so I'm excited. I know they can't really grab onto the lame trellis I've given them, but they seem to have found the porch rails just fine.


Baby Zucchini! Like other cucurbits I have known, it starts going crazy with male flowers before anything happens, so it's got lots of boy blooms on it. I saw one female one, but it kind of fizzled. This plant has also had some issues with powdery mildew due to some weird rainy, cool conditions it's been forced to contend with, but I think it will be just fine.

Tomato and Basil planter. I've got two romas and three kinds of basil here. The romas are already blooming and the basils are doing well...especially the grocery store basil. Three years ago, I rooted some basil I got from the grocery store and it flowered while I was on my honeymoon. I harvested the seeds it gave and have been growing them ever since. They are strong little bugger and the seeds ALWAYS germinate. ALWAYS.

A lemon cucumber plant of course...laden with male flowers. They're pretty, but no fruits will be coming from them. Waiting...

Hot peppers and sweet peppers doing great.

Dwarf Okra with lettuce underplanted. I think I planted red sails lettuce, but I'm not sure.

Swiss Chard and Spinach! I can't wait to cook it!!!! The swiss chard is Bright Lights variety which are supposed to be lots of different colors, but all I seem to be getting are red and pink. That always happens though...occasionally, I'll see a yellow...whatever.

So there it is!! This is the first summer I have been able to use my porch for gardening and the back porch gets nice sunlight. It beats growing stuff on the fire escape and the roof.