Scrapbooking.

There’s something truly wonderful about that concept, isn’t there?

The idea of gorgeous volumes, one for each major family event (or year), standing spine-to-spine on a shelf in the living room for all to enjoy is simply wonderful to imagine. Too bad reality gets in the way of those memory-curating fantasies, right? Most people are months, if not years, behind where they think they should be when it comes to organizing their pictures and mementos of good times spent with family and friends. One woman we spoke with recently figured she’s at least 6 years behind and many more still hadn’t sorted through and organized the thousand or so pictures they snapped on their last family trip.

If you’re behind, don’t despair. We’ve put together a step-by-step guide for getting your memories organized.

Start Small

We humans will always put off projects we think will be painful as long as the downside of avoiding the task isn’t more painful. In the case of organizing photos, digital or analog, the downside is too vague to cause us any real agita. And so – we keep putting off dealing with it.

By starting off with a small photo project, you will all get an early “win” that will motivate you to keep on keeping on through the more boring, but essential organizational tasks. In addition, simply going through the process of creating a photo project (like putting together an album or gallery wall) actually forces you to organize and classify photos you have accumulated. So, in a way, a small photo project actually serves as a Jedi mind trick you can play on yourself so that you get a start on the organizational work you don’t think you want to do.

Step Away from the “Inspiration”

While gazing at inspiring layouts and ideas in magazines and online can be fun, it can also be paralyzing. Social scientists who study how we make decisions have found that having too many options actually keeps people from choosing a path forward. In addition to what those social scientists have found, we have seen too many well-intentioned people become so intimidated (i.e. “I wish I could make my album look like that, but I wouldn’t even know where to start.”) that they give up before they even start.
Bottom line: as long as you are looking at what others have done for inspiration on how to create a “perfect” album, you aren’t really making any progress.

Pick a Preferred Medium

Some people prefer to see their memories organized in photo books, others love actual photo albums or scrapbooks with physical prints, and still others want digital albums that showcase their memories in real time on digital frames. How you choose to organize and display your memories doesn’t matter; that you do it does.

It’s much easier to make headway when you pick one medium to work within. As you gain experience with it, the time and effort it takes to create additional projects will diminish. So, for example, the more photo books you design, the more quickly and easily you will be able to create them in the future, and the more likely you will be to make one each time you upload photos from a major event. It’s a virtuous circle that keeps you a step ahead of the photo chaos.

Establish a Habit

Organizing photos will require much less time and effort if you just take some simple steps every time you upload or print photos. Step one: label what you are uploading or printing with the date and the name of the event the photos are related to. Step two: delete any duplicate or unfortunate photos that aren’t worth keeping around. Step three: merge any photos you have just printed or uploaded into bigger organizational buckets as it makes sense. For example, you may have a folder for each year, with sub-folders for each major event, such as a birthday party.

All in, it takes about five minutes to do that as you upload or print. But if you wait until you have to do the same for thousands of photos, it becomes a monster.

Use Tools That Make the Project Easier

Sometimes in our quest to do things “right” we make it harder on ourselves than it needs to be. Look for tools that can help you simplify your photo projects in any way. For example, if you’re trying to dig out from under an avalanche of photos, try using a service like the one offered by 1000Memories.com, which scans up to 600 photos for you and uploads them into a virtual album. If you just want to display photos physically, get a simple album with plastic sleeves so you don’t have to think too hard about what goes where. If you store your photos digitally, make the switch to photo books as you can skip the steps of printing photos and putting them into albums.

Are your photos organized? How do you prefer to keep your memories – in photo books, in photo albums with actual prints, or in virtual frames?

Now that summer is officially on its way, it is time to ensure your home stays well maintained. While a top to bottom inspection is required every spring and fall to check for any damage and prepare for the upcoming months, it is important to think of this as a year-round necessity.

While it might seem difficult to fit Home Maintenance inspections into your already busy schedule, the voice of Franklin still rings true: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. What costs you a hundred dollars today might end up costing you thousands later if rain or wind or sun damage compounds a problem.

Alicia on “Home Maintenance Being an Investment”

“As someone who has moved numerous times, I can say that keeping your home in great condition does not just keep the value of your home, it increases it. Making sure that no moisture is allowed inside the walls keeps mold from building up. Keeping leaky faucets from dripping keeps the finish in the tub and sinks from eroding. You can get closer to your asking price when potential buyers see that you have maintained your house with great detail while other sellers have not.”

Sarah on “Managing the Maintenance”

“Keeping your home in great working order can seem incredibly daunting. If that is true for you, break the job into monthly parts. Schedule to drain the hot water heater in February and tackle the gutters in April. Clean the dryer vent in May and change the batteries in your smoke detectors in July. The added benefit is that you are aware of how the home is being maintained throughout the year which will allow you to catch any new problems at their inception.”

Here are a few tips to help you with your essential needs.

#1 Button Up the Ends

Protecting all the items within the home is job one. Therefore, you need to check the roof and the basement (or bottom floor) first. Check the vents, skylights and splash blocks as well as the tiles for any leaks. And keep those gutters clean. Then, check to see if any moisture is seeping in around the foundation or if there are any chinks in that armor that will lead to leaks. If you have a basement, just the fact of standing water should be enough to send up a warning signal.

#2 Get a Basic Set of Tools

You should have the tools you need for minor repairs. The good news is that you can get that set for $200 dollars or less. Get a toolbox and fill it with: a hammer, a pry bar (which is very multi-purpose), vise-grips, regular and needle-nose pliers, a set of screwdrivers, tape measure, a level (your first clue that there is a problem you do not notice is if things are no longer level), a 3/8th-inch reversible drill with bits, and a utility knife. And please, wear safety glasses. The other bonus is that these will help you with any arts-and-crafts projects you want to do.

#3 Know Your Limitations

Jobs should fall into three categories: what you can do, what a handyman can do, and what you need a specialist/contractor for. There is no way to prescribe these categories for you as everyone has a different level of ability. But even if you feel that simple jobs are outside your range, you can learn from the person you hire. Pay attention and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Then, next time, you can do it yourself and your hard-earned money will stay in your pocket.

Do you think there’s a “right” way to organize something, like loading a dishwasher or folding the clothes? If you do, have you ever stopped to think about who defined the “right way” in the first place? Chances are you “inherited” that approach from your mother, who probably inherited it from hers. And so on.

I personally cannot leave the house in the morning without having made my bed in a very particular way. My poor husband has given up completely on ever trying to make it, as I always point out that his way of doing it just isn’t ‘right.’ Curious about the origins of my compulsion, I reflected on how my mom tackled this chore. Sure enough, she had a particular method for making the bed: hospital corners, tightly tucked in sheets, and nary a wrinkle allowed. She ingrained the bed-making habit in me (and my siblings) from an early age. And her mother made her beds in the exact, same way. A quick survey of my cousins and siblings revealed nearly three-quarters of us feel the need to make our beds the ‘right way’ every day. I figure that this inherited habit is relatively harmless for me. While it means I don’t ever delegate the bed-making to my husband, it takes about 2 minutes for me to make the bed and it always puts a smile on my face because I start the day thinking about my mom and grandmother and how I’m carrying elements of their personalities forward.

While subconsciously following in you parents’ organizational footsteps is entirely normal, it isn’t always productive. It can keep you from delegating tasks that could be effectively completed by others and may even cheat your children out of valuable skill development. For example, if you always do the laundry because you feel compelled to fold things the right way, you are less likely to take the time to teach your children how to do their own, a valuable life skill.

I recommend taking a few moments this week to become conscious of your inherited organizational tics. Ask yourself: is the “right” approach really serving me? If the answer is no, it’s time to make a change.

Here are three tricks for letting go of a compulsive, “right way” to clean and organize.

1. Become More Conscious of Your Behavior by Tracking It.

When you are stuck in a subconscious rut, the first critical step is to take steps to become more aware of your tic and how much time and energy it is costing you. Make a note in your daily journal or calendar program each time you complete an inherited organizational task compulsively. Write down how much time you spent on it and a happy/sad face to indicate whether it made you feel good or stressed. You can also use this free daily time tracker from Buttoned Up (LINK: http://getbuttonedup.com/2011/05/23/tool-free-printable-time-management-sheet/) to keep track if that’s easier. At the end of the month, look back and tally up the number of times you did the task, how much time you spent on it, and how it made you feel most of the time.

2. Ask yourself, “What am I afraid of?”

Just as you may be doing a task a particular way subconsciously, you may also resist changing that behavior because of subconscious fears, most of which don’t make a lot of sense when you examine them under the cold, hard, light of reason. For example, Sarah wanted to relax her bed-making standards so that her husband could split the chore with her. But she really struggled not to re-make the bed after he had finished. Upon a little reflection, she realized that what she was really afraid was losing touch with the memory of her mom. Simply being aware of that has enabled her to relax and let go on her husband’s days to make the bed. In addition, it has sparked her to consciously look for other ways to carry her mom’s legacy forward in her day-to-day, like cooking and playing with her children.

3. Identify a replacement habit.

When you catch yourself slipping into an old, unproductive routine, you need to have a replacement routine that your brain can run at the ready. Take five minutes and jot down the new habit you want to adopt. For example, Alicia wanted to shift from taking out the trash every night to emptying it every other night. So now, when she starts running her old pattern, she stops and asks herself: did I empty the trash last night? If the answer is yes, she shifts gears and leaves the kitchen.

Does your family have any organizational or cleaning rituals that seem to have been passed down through a generation or two? If you have children, what clean-up habits of yours do you think they will carry on?

Sometimes you just need a little reminder to take the simple steps you know you should take when you’re uploading photos but that for some reason you put off until…well…someday. And then when you don’t take the little steps, photos spiral out of control, and the next thing you know just organizing the messy digital piles you have accumulated is a huge project. And who has the time for those, right?

To help tame that photo procrastination demon, Hollie, our Resident Picasso, has whipped up this lovely little printable for you. Print out a copy, laminate it and tape it to your primary computer screen. Or print a copy and stick it in your camera carrying case.

Then be sure to follow the checklist each time you upload a batch of photos to your computer. As the old saying goes, a stitch in time saves nine.

Click Here to Download (PDF)

If you want to go from this:

To this…

The May Challenge is for you!

In this challenge, we’ll be helping you tame the digital and physical photo clutter you’ve been meaning to get to but just haven’t quite found the time to deal with. As with all of the challenges, we’ve figured out a way to take a BIG task and break it down into a series of small steps that you can take on a daily basis without turning your regular life upside down.

Sign up for the May Challenge here.

Our loyal readers know that I’ve been on a bit of a kick lately when it comes to cleaning green. I ranted about it here, here, and here.

On Monday I was back at it again. This time with the lovely folks at The 10! Show in Philadelphia. It was really important to me to show everyone just how easy it is to make your own highly effective green cleaners using items you already have at home.

Watch me make some – they each literally take less than 1 minute to make. That’s way faster than running to the grocery store to buy something!

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If you’re thinking of climbing on to this DIY cleaning bandwagon (which I highly encourage), we have created some lovely labels for your spray bottles. All you have to do is download (for FREE) and print right from your own computer on to some Avery Labels. Get yours here.

Let me know what you think. Does this look do-able? Would you ever go DIY on the cleaner front? Why or why not?

What if…?

If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me some variation of the question: “What do I do if my spouse is a slob,” I’d be a rich woman indeed.

Sometimes the complaint is related to dirty dishes that never get put in the dishwasher, other times to laundry basket blindness. Occasionally it has to do with the detritus of hobbies or notebooks from high school piled up in the attic, unused, but somehow untossable.

Regardless of what (dis)organizational habits your spouse or roommate has, learning to co-exist with someone who doesn’t share your need for a buttoned up space can be tough.

Fortunately, I had the opportunity to pick the brain of the wonderful writer and minimalist, Leo Babauta, about this topic. He’s the creator of one of my absolute, favorite blogs, Zen Habits, author of The Power of Less, and creator of Mnmlist. In addition to all that he’s married with six children, living in San Francisco.

So he knows a thing or two about cohabiting with others and still remaining Zen.

First off, I have to ask because you’re a man and all, what is it with guys not seeing the hamper?

Well…that’s sort of a loaded question! I’d have to say that it probably comes down to a matter of conditioning. Guys in general (and there are a lot of exceptions to this generalization!) they may not see the hamper as something important to them.

If their boxers and t-shirts litter the bedroom floor, it’s because it’s not a priority for them to get their clothes where you want them to be. It’s nothing personal, just a conditioned habit.

We all have these kinds of habits that we’ve built up over years and years. It’s easy for someone to say, “sure, I’ll change,” but because it’s so ingrained, it’s quite hard to change. A habit is definitely not something that changes overnight. It takes a lot of focus.

Now, putting my laundry away is a habit I have cultivated in myself because I don’t like having a messy house. So I tend to put things where they belong.

Okay, all kidding aside, is it possible to bring someone around on something as fundamental as an organizational habit?

It is possible. But the thing is, other people are always going to have their own priorities and desires. Imagine if someone came to you and told you that you needed to start standing on your head for an hour every day. And that wasn’t something that interested you. The harder the other person pushed you to stand on your head, the more you’d dig in and resist their call. Right?

You see, when you ask someone to be more organized in any area, you’re effectively imposing an outside priority on them. And they might or might not like that. They might resist the request because they didn’t decide that this was something they wanted to do themselves.

Instead of using that model, which is a recipe for disaster and frustration, I recommend doing the following.

Lead by example.
Do what you’re asking the other person to do yourself and talk about it with them. Show them what a great thing this change is for you, how it has helped you and made you happier. Show them how excited you are about making the change yourself.

Ask them for help
Another critical component is to get the other person to help you make the change. If they’re in on the decision-making, they might decide to join in. So, for example, if you wanted to declutter your house, rather than going and doing it yourself and eventually barking at your spouse, “You have too much stuff! You need to get rid of it!” you should get them in on the process from the very beginning. Don’t make it seem like you’re trying to change them, but that you just want their help in making your change. Share the blog posts you’ve been reading with them. Get them involved in the research, planning and speculating on how you’re going to make the change.

And what if after all of that, they still refuse the call?

Well, it’s important to realize that there are parts of your life that you can change and parts of your life that you can’t. That’s always going to be true. Even if you get this person on board, there is always going to be someone else down the road who doesn’t want to do what you are asking of them.

That’s just part of life. There are always going to be people that you can’t change. So you have to focus on the parts that you can. And the good news is, there are a lot of those!

So, for example, if you have a spouse that is a clutter-bug and you are trying to simplify, find ways to carve out a clutter-free space for yourself. I call it a zone defense. You keep a clutter-free space of your own where you don’t necessarily have to align with the other person’s values.

If you give someone space and time, sometimes they come around to your point of view. For example, I became a vegetarian but my wife, Eva was not. I can be pushy sometimes, but I didn’t force her to adopt my approach. I’d ask her if she wanted to try my tofu sometimes, and eventually she did and came to like it. Now she’s a vegetarian too.

I gave her the space and time and she came to it on her own.

And what about your kids? Are they on the minimalist bandwagon with you?

Not as much. One thing we do is try to give them their space in their rooms where they can have what they want. But they are open to the concept of reducing clutter. Let’s say a birthday or a holiday like Christmas is coming up. We’ll say, “Where are you going to put all your new stuff? You might want to make some space.” And they agree. They’re okay getting rid of stuff they don’t play with or haven’t used in a long time.

One thing we have sold them on is not needing to get toys and “stuff gifts” on Christmas and birthdays. We give them experience gifts instead, which they love.

That’s great. But how did you start the conversation with your kids?

That’s a tough one. But I will say that the kids usually bring up the opportunities. They’ll say something like, “Oh, let’s go buy this!” It’s usually a toy they’ve seen. And that statement is an opportunity to start talking about it.

The key is not to have a canned lecture, but to ask questions that will encourage them to think about it. Examples might be:
- What happened to the last toy you bought? Isn’t is sitting in a heap in your closet now?
- Where does the money come from to buy this product you want so badly?
- How long do we have to work to earn the money for it? Is that how we want to spend our time?

Another thing that works is simply taking them outside where you don’t need anything. Outside you can use your imagination, make up games and bring to life the point that you don’t need stuff to have fun.

And with kids, you don’t have to have the answer. Just wondering aloud in their presence is pretty powerful. It gets them in the habit of thinking things through by themselves, rather than relying on you to hand down the answers in some lecture.

Don’t be afraid to start a dialogue that’s open ended. Explore it together as a family.

Wise words, indeed. Thank you, Leo.

Have you ever tried to get your roommate, significant other, or spouse to change their disorganized ways? If so, what worked? What didn’t? Share the wisdom of your experience with all of us!

If you’re like us and are jumping on the make-your-own-cleaning solutions bandwagon, we’ve got a little present for you today.

We have created a series of labels that will help you add a little pizazz to the plain or recycled spray bottles, squirt bottles, and glass jars that you’re using. Because somehow labels make everything feel a little more exciting and, well, like the real deal. Right?

Plus it’s always handy to know whether you’ve just grabbed the floor cleaner or the glass cleaner without having to take a whiff to be sure.

About the Labels

Hollie, our Resident Picasso, has whipped up a set of fabulously cheery and fun labels that you can download and print right from your own computer onto Avery Labels (thanks Hollie!). The set of seven labels includes one for your glass cleaner, multipurpose surface cleaner, tub cleaner, floor cleaner, stain remover, laundry detergent, and even a hairball buster. On each label, in addition to the name, you’ll also find a complete recipe + instructions for making it.

So whenever you’re out, you’ll know exactly how to replicate what you had in there.

Click Here to buy Avery Label Paper

Click Here to Download Labels (Microsoft Word)

Click Here to Download Labels (PDF)

Maybe it’s because I’m on spring break with my family. Maybe it’s because I got on a roll yesterday with all those shortcut ideas. Whatever the reason, I just couldn’t stop generating spring cleaning shortcut ideas.

Here are 10 more easy ones for you!

1. Wax On Wax Off.

It’s amazing, and frustrating, how quickly showers get dirty after you’ve cleaned them – especially if you live in an area with hard water. Allan Gourlie, Owner of Quick’n Brite Inc, recommends a little wax to keep it cleaner longer. Yes, wax. Once you get your shower clean, wax your tiles with car wax and the water won’t stick to it so it will stay cleaner longer. Brilliant!

2. Drop a Little Denture Cleaner in Your Toilet.

The folks at Molly Maid have discovered that denture cleaners like Polident can work wonders on stained toilet bowls. Since they are made to clean porcelain, it makes sense! So rather than scrubbing stains like crazy, just drop in a dissolving denture cleaning tablet and let it go to work. After a bit, flush and enjoy your sparkling bowl.

3. Tuck a Lump of Charcoal Under Each Car Seat.

Got a stinky car? Place a lump of charcoal underneath the seats and they will absorb the stinky odors without having to lift a finger (and without the headache-inducing scents that dangle from the likes of Christmas trees attached to your review mirror). Just make sure you don’t use bricks with lighter fluid on them or your car will smell like gasoline!

4. Employ a Robot.

We live in the 21st century, why not embrace it? Get a robot like the Dirt Devil Whiskers™ to dust, sweep, and vacuum your floors for you while you put your feet up…or tackle another, more hands-on task that requires your full attention and energy.

5. Point, Click and Outsource a Task.

Hesitant to tackle a task, like re-grouting, on your own but unsure where to turn? Hire a trustworthy, tested pro to tackle your task by using RedBeacon.com. This free online site (and app) helps you find trusted, local home pros, read reviews, get free price quotes and book appointments – all without the hassle of calling around or even picking up the phone. Plus it’s great to know that anyone you hire via this service has taken an oath of service – and if they don’t deliver, RedBeacon will cover you up to $1,000 to make sure it gets done right.

6. Install Antimicrobial Doormats.

90% of the harmful toxins, allergens, pesticides and pollutants in our homes, enter on the bottom of our shoes. Reduce the amount of tracked-in dirt you have to deal with along with all the nasty stuff by placing an antimicrobial doormat, like a Dr. Doormat or Amazing Mat, at the most trafficked entrance to your home.

7. Use Microfibers and Skip the Bucket & Water.

You can ditch those buckets and stepladders to clean the walls this spring because technology has finally caught up with the cleaning industry. Leslie Reichert, The Green Cleaning Coach, showed me new microfiber mops like this one that can clean walls with just a spritz of water.

8. Host a Virtual Yardsale.

If you’ve got a lot of stuff lying around and want to get rid of it but just don’t have it in you to host a yard sale, try a virtual one. Online services like Gazelle or Guzu will buy your old electronics from you at a fair price so you don’t have to worry about getting hassled by the con artists lurking on auction sites. And a new online service, Tradepal, lets you sell and trade items like books, jewelry and accessories with your facebook friends (and friends of friends) because the best people to trade with are people you know.

9. Turn on Your Microwave.

Sabrina Soto, host of HGTV’s The High/Low Project and author of Sabrina Soto Home Design (Wiley; May 2012) has a simple fix for dirty microwaves. Put 2 cups of water, half a cup of white vinegar in a microwave safe bowl and pop it in for about 3.5 minutes on full power. After it’s done let it sit for a few minutes so the steam can penetrate the grime. Remove the bowl carefully and just wipe it clean!

10. Do an All-Hands-on-Deck Clutter Zap.

It’s amazing how much more you can get done when everybody pitches in. If you have roommates or live with family members, take a cue from this mom of 4 who tackles clutter quickly with a “Clutter Zap.” Set you egg timer for 10 minutes and mandate that everyone pick up and put away at least 10 items. The more people you have on deck, the faster your house will go from messy to marvelous.

What’s your favorite spring-cleaning shortcut? If you have one, we’d love to hear!

So, be honest with me. If you aren’t one of the many hundreds who are participating in the April #GetButtonedUp challenge, are you procrastinating on your big spring clean?

If you are, it might just be a sign that you have your priorities in the right place.

What? Did I just say that?

Well, for starters, when you’re spending time getting your house obsessively cleaned from top to bottom means you’re not doing a whole lot of other things.

Not to mention, if you have little kids – the mess just going to end up right back where it was within seconds.

But…(you knew there had to be a but, didn’t you?)

Before we through the baby out with the bath water, consider that it is possible to fake your way to a fairly decent spring clean. Here are 6 things you can do to get that sparkly spring-clean feeling in a fraction of the time. So go ahead, get to cheating! Who knows, once you get started, you may not want to stop.

Who says good enough isn’t, well, better than perfect?

Make it sparkle…in the 1 room that counts:

The next time you have a few minutes, grab some glass cleaner and a rag and go to town on the windows in the one room you spend the most time in.

Defunk fabrics:

The next time you do a load of laundry, throw in mattress pads, pillow covers, and yes, those dingy looking slipcovers on your couch that have never seen the inside of a washing machine.

Deep clean carpets in high-traffic areas:

It is seriously amazing what a steam vac can do to rejuvenate carpets. By limiting your work to the most highly-trafficked areas, you’ll get the biggest bang for your buck. But I’ll bet you won’t just stop there (warning: it’s addictive).

Liberate your medicine cabinet:

Take 5 minutes to give your medicine cabinet a good once-over and toss all those old toiletries. If you have old medicines, check out safeguardmymeds.org for tips on how to dispose of them safely.

Lose all your DVD and CD cases:

Seriously, there is no reason to put up with a cluttered mess of DVD and CD cases (most of which are probably empty anyway). Get a book to hold the cover art and discs and recycle the plastic holders. You’ll reclaim tons of cabinet space for REAL clutter just by doing this one little thing. Photo credit

Open the windows:

Nothing freshens up a room like mother nature’s breeze. Throw open those windows on the next warm day and let the fresh air clear out any stuffyness for you.

Tell me, do you think there are better things to do than spring clean? Or do you truly love it? If you’re participating in the April challenge, what are some of the benefits you’re getting from it?

{P.S. the main image is actually a poster you can buy on Amazon! The perfect retro image spruced up for today’s modern moms}