Tag Archives: cleaning

10 Things to Do on a Rainy Afternoon

Posted on by
Reply

KBB_stormy_sky

  1. Winter is coming. Well, at the very least it comes once a year. Get your wardrobe ready by giving your sock drawer a mini-makeover. Make sure each sock has a mate and toss those that are on their last legs. Do the same for sockettes, footless tights, stockings, pantyhose, etc. Take inventory of the pieces you’ll need to get your through the colder months and save for your next shopping trip, or add to a future budget. (Feeling more ambitious and wanting to clean out your whole closet? I’ve got some tips on how to do that here.)
  2. Christmas is coming, too. Why not be super organized and spend a fun afternoon browsing the Internet and magazines to brainstorm some fun gifts for all of the people on your list? If you find birthday, anniversary or shower gifts to add to your list than you get a gold star.
  3. Craft your perfect playlist. An afternoon stuck inside is the perfect opportunity to start browsing through your digital library. Organize music based on mood, region, genre, beat, era or be even more prepared by crafting playlists for upcoming events or occasions. For example, I’ve got a playlist called “Broken Heart Mending”. Bet you can’t guess what that one’s for!
  4. Clean your oven. Because, come on- how often do you clean your oven? Probably more than I do. A friend of mine has a funny story he likes to tell about me at parties about the afternoon he walked into my apartment and found me on my hands and knees shouting obscenities at my baking rack. True story- it’s honestly my most hated task. But you have to do it sometime, right?
  5. Go through your pantry. Discard expired and damaged products, consolidate multiples and take inventories for your next shopping trip. See how much money you can save by stretching your staples and shopping your pantry to flush out meals before you need to go to the grocery store. Remember to donate anything your family won’t use or love to your local food bank!
  6. Organize your digital photos. Now is the perfect time, especially when a lot of your summer memories are current, to edit and refine your collections and store them in a way that makes them easy to revisit and share with others. Order prints of your favorites online to include with letters or holiday cards, or share by cultivating a collection on your favorite social media platform.
  7. Purge your files. Pick a filing cabinet, a box, a folder, or a magazine file and make a vow to yourself that nothing goes back inside that you don’t absolutely need to keep. Make sure to shred sensitive documents or set them aside and accumulate in order to hire a shredding service.
  8. Testing, testing, one, two, three. Once a year I like to do a quick inventory of all of my office supplies and test my pencils, pens, highlighters and markers on a scrap piece of paper so I may discard ones that have dried up, or have become difficult or uncomfortable to use. Hello, my name is B and I am anal-retentive. (In my defense, there’s nothing worse than grabbing a dead pen when you’re trying to jot something down quickly, right?)
  9. Back up your computer. If you don’t then all of that playlist organizing and digital photo sorting will be for naught. Don’t have a way of backing up your computer? Now’s the perfect time to research a method that will work for you.
  10. Pick a shelf, any shelf. That’s it. Clear it, clean it, organize it and make a vow to yourself that you will never, ever let it get disorganized again (or at the very least for another year, until you have another rainy afternoon on which to organize it again).

KBwB-Flower-50

I’ve shared with you some of the ways that I spend my rainy afternoons- now I’m interested in hearing how you spend yours! Drop me a line at keepingbusyb@gmail.com or contribute by commenting below. Are you looking for other productive boredom busters? I’ve got plenty of thoughts on organizing here. Looking for something a little more creative? When I’m not busying myself with some project or another I’m reading or whipping up something in the kitchen. Read all about it here and here.

How to Store Summer Shoes for the Winter

Posted on by
Reply

KBB_storing_summer_shoes_1I love fall for many reasons, but one of my least favourite things to do during this season is say good-bye to what I consider to be a pretty fabulous shoe collection. Even though an ex used to tease me that I have feet like Frodo (he often asked me how I enjoyed my trip to Mordor), I love wearing sandals because of all the beautiful bright colors and funky styles.

Eventually it comes to the point where peep-toes become unacceptable, so it’s time to put away my summer shoes for the winter. Usually I do this when I’m switching from my spring/summer wardrobe to my fall/winter wardrobe.

KBB_storing_summer_shoes_2I first prep my shoes for storage by wiping them down with a barely damp cloth or paper towel to try and rid them of some of the dirt and grime that have built up over the summer. Then I zip zippers and do up buckles and place them on a sheet of newspaper where I spray them with an all-purpose protector spray. You can usually find these at any place that sells shoes. Depending on the brand you need to let those puppies dry for about 1 hour. Make sure it’s in a well-ventilated area because that stuff stinks!

For shoes that are made of real leather I go the extra mile to use a bit of mink oil to protect and condition my shoes to make them last longer. Before using, test on a small, barely visible area in case it darkens the leather. I have found, however, that this is usually only temporary.

For those of you who have never used mink oil before, less is more, otherwise you’re going to find yourself oilier than take-out fish and chips. Squirt a small amount onto a paper towel or rag and rub into the shoe, working with small areas at a time. Use a second paper towel or rag to wipe off any excess.

Let the mink oil cure on your shoes for a couple of hours before storing. I store mine in clear plastic, stackable shoeboxes that fit on the top shelf of my closet perfectly.

This would also be the perfect time to give those boots a little loving before wearing them this season. Spray them down and oil them up and they’ll be in good shape for the rest of the season.

I’m always sad to say good-bye to my summer shoes but let’s face it- there’s are a lot of cute boots out this season too.

KBwB-Flower-50

Do a creative way of stashing your shoes away for the winter? Write me at keepingbusywb@gmail.com or comment below. For more organizing ideas that aren’t quite as fabulous as your shoes (but let’s face it, are almost just as good), visit my busy page.

Where Do I Start?

Posted on by
Reply

KBB_blank_pages

I am the first to admit, we’ve all been there. Even the most organized of us have had our moments where we’ve abandoned all sense of routine and have left our spaces to be taken care of by the cleaning elves.

Unfortunately, there are no such things as cleaning elves so we’re left to deal with the giant messes we’ve left in our collective wake. It doesn’t mean we’re lazy- it just means we’ve been busy, too tired or too frustrated to get things done. Ok, sometimes it’s laziness too.

But when faced with a back log of filing, a large organizational project or even just a big mess from last night’s party it can be hard to know where to begin. How do we motivate ourselves to tackle all that work.

I have bad news: there is no right solution. Everyone procrastinates, falls behind or gets overwhelmed from time to time. We’re busy people getting busier, so it stands to reason that backlog will happen to even good people. The best solution is prevention- figuring out why we get so over our heads in the first place.

But that’s not helpful advice to anyone trying to find their laptop under giant stacks of paperwork and mail that have been collecting dust for at least a week. (Disclaimer: That has never happened to me before. Ever.)

Here’s my advice then. Consider it a gentle kick in the behind.

Make like Nike and just.do.it.

I’m serious. It’s as simple as that. You may send me hate mail telling me, “Oh, B, but you don’t understand X”, or, “I just have to do Y”, etc.

But honestly? You don’t. Just pick one thing and start. It may mean that you figure out it’s a bigger project than you anticipated. You may realize that you’ve picked the wrong thing to start with. But at least you’ve learned more about the task at hand. It may even lead you to create a plan to get the rest of your project done.

But worst case scenario: you actually got something done! Celebrate! Do a crazy dance at your desk! (Make sure no one is watching first.) Take that happy, accomplished feeling and run with it. Who knows? It may be the source of motivation you need to start another project, and another. Before you know it, you could find yourself chugging along like the efficient little organizer you are deep down inside.

So go ahead and do it! Get off of your computer, or iPad, or phone, or whatever and do something. (Unless it involves one of the aforementioned devices.) Then let me know how good it feels. Just so you know, that light airy feeling you’re experiencing? That’s the feeling of the weight being lifted off of your chest.

KBwB-Flower-50

Need more help with jumpstarting your project? Find out more about what I do here. Feel like doing it yourself? Check out my other articles on running a business or keeping busy for inspiration on how to get your next project going.