15 Steps to a Clutter Free Home

It's time to get into the habit of letting go of excess stuff, rather than finding a place to stuff it. Having to walk around stuff or over stuff does not make for a peaceful living environment. Let's go room by room and take care of some of the most common clutter problems.

1.) Kitchen: ask yourself what items do I use daily?

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These items really deserve the primetime space in your kitchen. They should be within arms reach in the best location available. Watch out for space hogs in the kitchen such as multiple coffee mugs, plastic bags and cleaning products.

2.) Next ask yourself how many of each of these items you need to have a reasonable amount on hand.

Do you have 6 of something but only use one. This is a common problem. Setting limits will help you maintain an organized kitchen easily. Any broken, stained or chipped items need to go.

3.) Donate or discard your extra items, or in the case of glasses or dishes store them in long term storage until needed.

That is only if you have room in or for long-term storage. If you already have a long term storage problem go ahead and get rid of your excess, unless its an item that you can not replace like grandma's good china, in that case get rid of something else and store grandma's china. Remember to periodically go through cabinets and drawers to purge extras and replace worn out or damaged pieces.

4.) Clear your counters: the most visible part of your kitchen.

Start by clearing all items into boxes or onto trays. Take this opportunity to clean your counters thoroughly. Now put back only the items that you use daily. Ex. Toaster, coffeemaker, crocks of utensils. Only display decorative items on you countertop if you have plenty of space to do so. Otherwise decorations in moderation should be on the walls to save valuable real estate in the kitchen.

5.) Discourage paper piles from forming by creating a RAF file or as some people call it an action file.

A RAF file can be anything that can hold 3 files or folders. RAF stands for read, act, and file. As paper comes into your house you need to use your RAF file to place each piece either in to read, to act (meaning you need to do an action) or to file. Each piece of paper you save is important for one reason or another so you need to be able to find it quickly. Then of coarse there is the trashcan, use it regularly. You can also set up binders with clear plastic pages for things like receipts, recipes, take out menus, school information and frequently called numbers.

6.) Clean off your fridge!

Scale down or eliminate old refrigerator magnets or at least move them to one side. Clear everything off the front, put important items such as take out menus in a binder or in your RAF file. Save your kids best artwork in a plastic bin with their name on it, be sure to write their age on the back with an acid free pencil or acid free pen that you can find in the scrap booking section of any store. Once the fridge is clear, only put back current items.

TIP: Keep a wipe off calendar on the front of you fridge, update it the 1st of every month from you pocket calendar that you keep in your pocketbook or briefcase. That way you won't miss any appointments or meeting or double schedule yourself.

7.) Bathroom: Clean out your medicine cabinets.

Dispose of expired medicines and toss bottles of perfume, lotion and nail polish that are almost empty. Keep on the products that you like and use. Don't keep products that you either didn't like or were not effective just because of what it cost you. In the long run they cost you more in space wasted.

8.) Clean out stuffed drawers.

Ok we have all done it at one time or another shoved one more item into an already full drawer. Now it's time to change all that. Go drawer by drawer take everything out and ask yourself "Do I love this?" Do I need this?" Why am I keeping this?" The answers to these questions will tell you what you need to do. Then you keep it, donate it or toss it. By lightening up your drawers you will reduce stress and be able to find the things you need faster and easier.

9.) Clear bathroom counter.

It makes it so much easier to get ready in the morning and reduces stress when your bathroom counters are clear. This is also a time save because cleaning is a breeze. See tip #12 for the solution to where to put all the stuff you cleared off the counter.

10.) Use your wall space.

If you're hard pressed for storage solutions look to your walls. There are many options to create storage and reduce clutter on countertops. Ask yourself is there anywhere that I can add a shelf or shelves? Maybe a wall soap dish or toothbrush holder. Look on EBAY for hotel towel holders they hold 2 bath towels, 2 hand towels and 2 washcloths each.

11.) Create a peaceful retreat.

Most bathroom tubs and showers seem to be over flowing with bottles of shampoo, conditioner, bath toys and body washes. Again start by removing all items; clean the surfaces well with a soap scum-removing product. Then only put back the products that you use on a daily basis. Consider getting a shower caddy if you don't already have one and a stick on basket or bag for the kid's toys.

12.) Make personal bath totes.

Each member of your family should have their own container to store and transport their own personal bath items. This container can be a small plastic crate, a wicker basket or any other small container that can hold your items neatly. Placing each family members items in their own container makes it easy to store these things under the bathroom sink or in the bathroom or in the linen closet until they are needed. This also keeps their personal hygiene items together making it easy to find their comb or hair detangler and its no problem to move to another bathroom when company comes.

13.) Create a peaceful haven.

Your bedroom should be a place where you can rest. It is not the place to do work or other stressful activities. Do not allow things not related to sleep to accumulate there. This room should contain a bed, dresser, nightstands, lamp and maybe a chair or bench. Do not over crowd your bedroom with furniture it will make it feel small and will not promote peace. Your nightstand should be clear except for reading glasses (if you need them), a book or magazine (just one, not a pile), alarm clock and maybe some tissues. Start by clearing the room of all excess stuff, only put back those items that promote peace and rest. Donate or store extra items elsewhere.

14.) Remember the one in one out rule.

Once you have your house down to where it looks and feels good for every new item that you acquire you will need to donate, sell or give away one item. One for one, it's the only way to maintain the balance that you have achieved.

15.) Place 4 containers in your laundry room.

There are 4 containers every laundry room should have. Three of them can be boxes, bags, laundry baskets or whatever you have on hand. The last one is a trashcan. Label your containers, donate, mending, rags and trash. The donate box means that you continually separate out items that are past their prime but still have some wear or are too small. The mending means that you need to do a small repair. Rags means they have holes or bad stains so you can use them to clean or stain furniture, cotton or wool clothing make the best rags. The trashcan is for items found in pockets, dryer lint and other trash. This way it doesn't pile up on your dryer eventually making its way to the floor.

There you have it 15 steps to a clutter free home.

15 Steps to a Clutter Free Home

Tina Seay is the author and webmaster of http://www.LearnSomethingToday.com a website that promotes quality of life. Her goal is to help others achieve a happy healthy lifestyle. Her other websites include [http://ForTheCatLover.com] a website for cats and the people who love them and http://YourWeddingStory.net a site that helps the whole bridal party get ready for a dream wedding.

You can contact Tina at Webmaster@LearnSomethingtoday.com

This article can be reproduced with the author's bio-SIG on websites, ezines and in newsletters.

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Tips And Ideas For Office Christmas Decorations

Office Christmas decorations are a great way to have some office fun and add some holiday cheer to your office staff and co-workers. Office Christmas decoration will improve the overall mood and make work more fun for you and your colleagues. Here are a few tips and ideas to help you choose your office Christmas decorations for the holidays.

• First make sure that you are allowed to decorate your work area or the whole office.
• Remember that your co-workers may not have the same attitude towards the holidays make sure that you don't do it in a way that might be considered offensive for others who don't celebrate Christmas I advise you to discuss plans for Christmas decorations with the entire office staff.
• Make it simple because you are all busy and don't have much spare time.
• Install a Christmas themed screen saver and wallpaper on your computer.
• Use Christmas lights to decorate your workspace or cubicle. It's better to stay away from blinking lights because they may distract you and your co-workers.
• Hang a wreath on your desk or door. Make it small and simple as possible.
• Place Christmas plants with present bows tied around them on your desk and others on the floor.
• Place a small artificial Christmas tree in your office lobby or on your desk.
• Get some Christmas themed office supplies.
• Play Christmas music from your computer.
• Hang stockings for everyone in the office. and encourage every body to personalize his/her stocking by adding his/her name.

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Tips And Ideas For Office Christmas Decorations

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Pablo Picasso - The African Period

Picasso's Rose Period was followed by an even more radical departure in style. From 1907 to 1909 Picasso's art was influenced by his interest in so-called "primitive" arts, especially African Masks. This period, consequently, became known as the African Period. His paintings, typified by simplified, angular forms, were rendered in a muted palette of reds and browns.

Around this time, the French empire was expanding into Africa, and African artifacts were being brought back to Paris museums, exposing Picasso to a truly unique form of art. It explored emotional and psychological areas not seen in western art, which was regarded by the avant garde as subservient to the world of appearances. For them, the faculty of imagination, emotion and mystical experience was more important than that of mere sight. In African art, which possessed remarkable expressive power, they saw a response to those higher faculties.

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Picasso's most remarkable achievement from this period, the painting Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, came at the beginning of 1907 and is arguably the most influential painting of the twentieth century. Following this work, Picasso began painting in a style influenced by the two figures on the right side of the painting, the figures themselves inspired by African masks, with their striped patterns and oval forms.

In 1907 the painting was considered extremely daring. The influence of African art led to distortions and visual incongruities. For example, at the bottom right of the picture, the figure's head is turned in a way which is anatomically impossible. Surprisingly, even Picasso's fellow painters, stalwarts of the avant garde, reacted negatively to Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. Henri Matisse is alleged to have told Picasso that he was trying to ridicule the modern movement.

Pablo Picasso - The African Period

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St. Patrick's Day Children's Parties - 7 Fun Games, Party Decorations And More

St. Patrick's Day parties are lots of fun and in some ways these parties are easier to organise than other parties. People expect to see green, shamrocks, pots of gold, leprechauns and the like. Once there are lots of shamrocks, green, leprechauns and a pot o' gold in the St. Patrick's Day party decorations, party games and party food, it is hard to go wrong. The children love the theme of St. Patrick's Day, so along with some fun games and themed food and drinks, the party should be a great success.

Children's Game Ideas for St. Patrick's Day

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If you are planning to host a St. Patrick's Day party for a group of young children here are a few fun games that are sure to be a hit, mostly involving the Irish fairy type: the leprechaun. What are leprechauns?

Leprechauns are legendary for being solitary creatures, who spend most of their time making shoes, and they store their coins in a pot of gold, which is kept at the end of the rainbow. If one were to be captured by a human being, then the leprechaun has the magical power to grant three wishes to the human, so that they will be released.

Find The Leprechaun

Someone dresses up as a leprechaun and the game goes according to the format of hide 'n seek. The difference being that the first child who finds the leprechaun can ask for his or her three wishes to be granted. (Of course with it not being a real leprechaun it is hard to feel assured that the wishes will come true!)

Pot of Gold Coin Toss

This tossing game is plenty of fun. Simply set up different size black pots and have the children take turns tossing gold coins into the pot. Every time the coins end up in a pot, the child earns points. Point value should depend on the size and distance of the pot.

Pin the Hat on the Leprechaun

This game is just like Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Put up a big picture of a leprechaun on the wall and then blindfold each child as he or she tries to pin a cardboard cut-out of a hat onto the leprechaun's head. You can use double-stick tape on the back of the hats so that they are easy to remove once the game is over.

Lucky Leprechaun Says

Someone plays the part of the leprechaun, and the game is the exact same as Simon says. So for example, the Lucky Leprechaun can say: Lucky Leprechaun says to jump in the air while patting your head! The others have to follow these and various other instructions.

Hot Blarney Stone

Children of all ages will enjoy playing this game, which is the St. Patrick's Day version of the classic hot potato game. Find a light, smooth stone and paint it green or purchase a small green coloured ball for the children to pass around.

St. Patrick's Day Party For Kids - What About Some Party Food?

The food for St. Patrick's Day for a kids party is actually pretty simple. Sandwiches and cakes cut in the shape of shamrocks with a cake cutter and lots of soda with green food dye. Make cakes that you can put some more green, as well as orange and white food dye into the icing.

St. Patrick's Day Party Decorations

When decorating for the party, remember to think green! Look for green decorations such as balloons, streamers and plastic tablecloths. You can also purchase fun cardboard cut-outs that say "Happy St. Patrick's Day." For an Irish flag theme, you can choose to display a few orange, green and white decorations.

Some of the best loved ideas are Pot O' Gold table decorations and party supplies as children love the story behind them and they look lovely also. As well as these there are wonderful balloons on the same theme, or balloons that are full of shamrocks work very well also.

St. Patrick's Day Children's Parties - 7 Fun Games, Party Decorations And More

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Why Do We Celebrate Halloween - The Spookiest Holiday Of The Year

Halloween is full of costumes and candy, trick-or-treating and terrifying haunted houses, pumpkins and black cats. But just where did Halloween come from? Why are we celebrating?

The history of Halloween goes back 2000 years. Many believe that Halloween's origins are found in the Celtic festival of Samhain. The Celts, who were located in Ireland, the UK and the northern parts of France, celebrated their New Year on the first of November. Samhain was celebrated the night before the New Year.

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The New Year, Celts believed, marked summer's end, harvest time, and the start of dark, cold winter months. Those winter months were associated with death by these people. On October 31, the night before the New Year, the Celts celebrated Samhain. This day, they believed, was when the ghosts of the deceased returned to earth because the boundaries between the living world and the dead world blurred.

When we think of "Trick-Or-Treating", the origins can probably be found in the English All Souls' Day parades. During these celebrations, the poor would come out and beg for food from the more wealthy families. When the families gave them pastries called "soul cakes", they asked for the poor to pray for their relatives that had passed away.

Another possibility that may have grown into "Trick-Or-Treating" is the tradition of people leaving bowls of food in front of their homes. They did this to keep the ghosts that were wandering the earth from entering.

Dressing in costumes has a couple possible origins. European and Celtic people both felt winter was a frightening time. It was cold, it was darker, and the possibility of running out of food was great. When they reached the time when they thought the dead returned, they thought they might encounter these ghosts whenever they left their houses. The wearing of masks and costumes grew from these people donning masks so the ghosts would not recognize them!

This holiday was brought to the US by Scotch and Irish immigrants in the 1800s. At that time, much of the "spookiness" of the holiday was removed and a sense of community and fun were added. Although scary themes are still the focus of many Halloween celebrations, that scariness is done for fun, not because of actual fear.

Halloween is currently the 2nd largest commercial holiday!

Why Do We Celebrate Halloween - The Spookiest Holiday Of The Year

Nicola always enjoys celebrating Halloween with her family. Visit her Halloween site for tips and information about Homemade Halloween Costumes at http://Homemade-Halloween-Costumes.Best-Halloween.com

This article may be reprinted in full so long as the resource box and the live links are included intact. All rights reserved. Copyright Best-Halloween.com

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Fun Crafts for a NFL Football Party

If you are planning a party to watch your favorite NFL football team, then you will surely want to add some crafts to the occasion. Crafts are great for sports party because it adds to the atmosphere and creates fun things to look at and eat. Your guests will definitely appreciate the effort that you put in when you make your own decorations and foods.

Food crafts are a pretty big deal when it comes to NFL football parties. People generally like to eat meat when they are watching such a rough sport like football. You can make your own pulled pork pretty easily for the occasion. Pick up some pork and cook long enough so that the meat falls apart. Then, smother it in your favorite barbecue sauce. You can surround it in chips so that your guests use it as a dip. Or, they can put it on bread and eat it like a sandwich.

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You should also make some crafted decorations for your NFL football party as well. If you are rooting for a particular team, you can put up the colors or logo for that team. You can make these with colored construction paper. You could also cut out the shapes of footballs to put on the walls and tables as well. Although this is pretty simple, it adds a certain atmosphere to your party. People will know what they came for when they come to your football party and they definitely won't regret that they came.

Fun Crafts for a NFL Football Party

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Your Red Eared Slider's Aquarium - What You Need to Set Up Your Slider's Aquarium

When many people think of red eared sliders, the cute baby sliders sold in pet stores often come to mind. Sliders may look small as babies, but did you know they can grow up to 12 inches? Now that's a big contrast to pet store baby sliders!

Since sliders can grow so large and live up to 30 years, choosing to care for one requires a long-term commitment and proper housing. Sliders don't generally need a lot to be happy and healthy, but they can be time consuming and expensive to care for.

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When choosing what size aquarium you need for your turtle, the general rule is 6 gallons minimum per inch of turtle. The most cost-effective way is to provide the size of tank recommended for an adult slider right away, which gives your slider all the room it needs to properly grow and allows you to avoid the hassle and expense of constantly upgrading your pet's tank when it becomes too small.

Sliders need clean water, so constant water changes are important. One piece of equipment that can help keep the water clean between changes is a filter. There are several types, including: mechanical (internal, external hang-on-backs, and canister) and biological (internal sponge). You can even use a combination of these types. Undergravel filters, while they may look like less maintenance, should be avoided as they tend to trap waste which can negatively affect water quality.

Red eared sliders also require warm water. Temperatures between 75 - 85 degrees Fahrenheit will work quite well. A submersible heater will do the job of maintaining the perfect water temperature. Turtles are stronger than they look, and glass heaters can easily break, so be sure to protect the heater by using a heater-guard which can usually be purchased at the same place you buy the heater.

Warmth stimulates a slider's immune system, and a warm, dry area where it can "bask" is required. The basking area should be a flat, elevated area in the aquarium that is usually accessible by your turtle through the use of a ramp. The heat in this area can be provided by a 50 - 150 watt incandescent bulb.

If your pet does not have access to natural, unblocked sunlight, then a UV light is also needed. Specific reptile lights at your pet store work great for this, and will provide for your slider's needs in this area.

Decorations can also be included in your turtle's aquarium. Whatever you choose to use, make sure the decorations are not easily broken or have small parts that can become detached. If unsure of what to use, the reptile-safe decorations available at your local pet store should be okay.

Your Red Eared Slider's Aquarium - What You Need to Set Up Your Slider's Aquarium

Housing your red eared slider properly will help your turtle live a long and full life in your care. It will also give you the satisfaction that you're taking care of your pet the best way possible. Don't you owe it to your red eared slider to learn about setting up its aquarium in a way that meets all its needs?

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