It really doesn’t matter what you collect. However, where you store or showcase your collection can be a problem. Especially if you tire of the collection… then what?

I have a client who collected anything to do with Pigs. Friends and relatives thoughtfully added to her pig collectables on many occasions. With her limited display areas and her abundance of items, her space quickly turned into a pigpen.

Funny enough after years of collecting, she didn’t even like pigs anymore. She had a constant headache, looking at the mess. But, felt guilty getting rid of them. Her thinking was if she had friends or relatives come for a visit, the items they gave her should be out for display.

I am thankful that with reasoning, she finally understands, her company is coming to visit her not those items. Plus, it had been years since she would invite anyone over because her home was so cluttered. Things were put into perspective and she was ready to let go and she did.

When you decide, or fall into a collection you must determine where your items will be stored. And if the collection exceeds the space allotted, you have to reassess, edit, move or stop collecting. Enough is enough.

Collectors often lose interest of a collection and start another one. They may decide its dated, meaningless, juvenile or just want to head into a new direction. The fact is, they just like collecting, its fun a fun hobby and makes them feel good at the time. The result of an expired or tired collection often ends up on the “Wall of Shame” or boxed in the spare bedroom for years. However it could be worse, it could be a tattoo.

If you do not love dusting, be sure to have a glassed in curio cabinet or something incased free of dust.

When displaying your items, remember less is more. The fewer pieces you display the more visible they will be. Enjoy them.

A special request for all Metro readers wanting to get better organized. I am excepting all queries, questions, problems and successes relating to organizing. Send your emails to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Only selected emails will be published. Until next time happy organizing.

Brenda Borenstein is your Professional Organizing Guru. Look out for her column every second Thursday in the Metro in the homes section. For more tips and ideas please visit her website www.organizedzone.com or email her This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

However for those of you who live in the real world like me be realistic and aim for a low maintenance home. It’s easy once you get the hang of it.

To create and be successful with a low maintenance home you have to be disciplined and not too sentimental. There are some rules to this golden lifestyle.

Here they are:

1. Whatever comes in the door has to be deal within the first hour.
2. Have a home and a place for every item, plus growing room.
3. Whoever you live with has to get with the program.
4. Keepsakes have to kept to a minimum and stored.
5. Every week rotate an area of the home that has to decluttered, i.e. magazine collection, a closet, junk drawer.
6. Sort your clothes as you undress for the night, have your laundry basket close, re-hang for another wearing in the closet not on a chair, have a bag for repairs or dry cleaning ready to go.
7. Only keep papers you absolutely need too.
8. Dishes have to be cleaned immediately after cooking and or eating.
9. Beds have to be made every morning.
10. Before you leave for the day, walk around your home and tidy up all loose ends.

This might seem like a lot of work for a low maintenance home but its not. The outcome is wonderful.

This is the Outcome

1. Ready for company at a moments notice.
2. You know where everything is in your home.
3. Everyone pulls his or her weight around the home, living in harmony.
4. You have a special box filled with your mementos in a safe place.
5. Cleaning never overwhelms you or organizing because you never have big projects to do.
6. Getting dressed in the morning is easy with an organized closet.
7. Filing is a breeze as you have systems that just take moments.
8. Making meals is a pleasure; the counters are always clear ready to prepare food.
9. Great to jump into a freshly made bed at the end of long day.
10. Your home really is, Home sweet Home.

Until next time friends, as always I look forward to receiving your questions, comments, and challenges send your emails to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . For your listening pleasure I have been invited once again to the Christina Cherneskey Radio Show CFRB 1010 Sunday August 20th at Noon till One.

Brenda Borenstein is your Professional Organizing Guru. Look out for her column every second Thursday in the Metro in the Homes section. For more tips and ideas please visit her Website www.organizedzone.com or call 416-665-2165 or 1-800-771-6052. She has organized hundreds of homes and says, “There is nothing I haven’t seen and nothing that can’t be overcome.”

This article was inspired by my client Bobby who could have won a world record for the messiest closet ever.

Before cleaning out your closets there are a few things you should know when you start.

1. Always start the process in the morning, giving you more time to complete the task. Nothing is worse than a mountain of clothes on your bed, when its time to go to sleep.

2. Have on hand large extra strong garbage bags, masking tape for labeling, proper hangers and midsize totes for storage. If you have a single hanging bar only, consider getting a closet organizer to maximize space. I usually recommend double a hanging bar on one side, shelves down the center and a full-length hanging bar on the other side. (Approximate cost $50.00 and easy to install).

3. Get rid of obstacles that are in front of the closet.

4. If you have sliding doors that are cumbersome, remove them temporally or replace with a sliding curtain.

Now here’s what ya gotta do!

5. Deal with the items on the bottom and top of closet first. Sort then group in to broad categories in separate piles on the bed or floor. Some categories might not even make back into the closet for example, sewing, dry cleaning, crafts, returns, pictures, repair, and keepsake.

6. Have a systematic approach in deciding what you should actually keep. Think about if that stain will ever come out of a garment? Will you ever be a size 5 again and if you are will you wear that old thing? Yes the shoes were very expensive but they always hurt your feet? Dated? Too Short? Too tight? Always hated that colour. Never fit you right. If you are unsure try it on and see what you think.

7. Completely empty everything from the closet and sort into appropriate piles. If you are doing it right at this stage your room will look like a cyclone went through it. Have no fear the hard part is done.

8. Place bags and or purses on a shelf, standing upright if possible, group by colour and size.

9. Hang belts on a belt rack or looped through a wooden hanger.

10. Scarves can be hung on pant hangers if room permits or folded in a drawer or small bin.

11. Shoes should be stored out of the shoebox to maximize space and also to see what you have. Arrange them by colour ensuring seasonal shoes are stored elsewhere.

12. If hanging space is very limited even after the purge, use shelves for holding folded sweaters, casual T-shirts and tank tops arranging them by colour and folding them GAP style.

13. When hanging all items make sure that the hangers are consistent and the items face the same way. To avoid the annoying folded creased pant, use a pant hanger and hang them upside down in full length.

14. Hang all tops together arranging them in from lightest to darkest. Ranging from tank top to full sleeve.

Brenda Borenstein is your Professional Organizing Guru. Look out for her column every second Thursday in the Metro in the Homes section. For more tips and ideas please visit her Website www.organizedzone.com or call 416-665-2165 or 1-800-771-6052. She has organized hundreds of homes and says, “There is nothing I haven’t seen and nothing that can’t be overcome.”

This week I had the great pleasure of organizing the home of a loving family consisting of two lovely parents, three teens, four dogs, two cats and a house full of junk. I must say that although I am a pro and organized over 1000 homes- this one threw me for a loop. Not because it looked like a crack house but because the people living in the home didn’t fit the chronically disorganized profile. The family members were happy, not in transitional state, their physical and mental health were good, no personal traumas, they had the extra time and loved being at home. Puzzling to me at first, cause everyone tells their story why things are the way they are. Well, turns out they never learned the basic skills needed to keep house and desperately wanted to fix the situation.

Before we could teach them anything we spent two days clearing out the garbage that they had become accustom to living with. After the 3rd 8-foot garbage bin was filled, Basic housing keeping 101 began. These tips were inspired from the organized success of this family.

Kitchen Basics

• We started in the kitchen with the fact the facet was broken making it difficult to use the sink. Fix the essentials number one. The broken facet resulted in a leaking tap, creating moisture and mold issues $$$.
• Use rubber gloves while cleaning, much less yucky especially if you are not use to it.
• Disinfect sink basin before washing dishes.
• Have a clean area to dry dishes; ensuring your dish rack is clean.
• Degrease kitchen doors with a suitable solvent. If you are cleaning with environmentally friendly products make sure they current, as they are date sensitive.
• Pull out your fridge and stove and dare to dust, degrease and disinfect.
• When washing the floors, sweep first, wash and dry floor twice changing the buckets water in between washing.
• Don’t neglect baseboard, walls and ceiling webs.
• If a cupboard or a drawer is slightly broken- don’t suffer with it repair it for optimum use.
• Most people wash the top surface of their kitchen table after each use, thankfully! Just add the legs and sides to the régime.

Bathroom No Brainers

• Remove the cat litter, newspapers, empty shampoo bottles and clothes.
• Hot dripping taps, will add up $$$, try using a washer fitted into the tap.
• For families members sharing one bathroom, store the bare minimum in the bathroom and especially surfaces. Utilize mobile mini buckets for storing your personal toiletries.
• Attach a rag to the inside cupboard door and store all purpose cleaner under the sink for daily use.
• Remove carpets from bathroom and replace with any washable flooring.

If you have organizing questions or comments that you would like me to address please email us at metro@organizedzone.com This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 416-665-2165. We love hearing from you.

Brenda Borenstein is your Professional Organizing Guru. Look out for her column every second Thursday in the Metro in the homes section. For more tips and ideas please visit her Website www.organizedzone.com. Email your questions to metro@organizedzone.com This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . She has organized over a thousand homes, and says, “There is nothing I haven’t seen and nothing that can’t be overcome.” ]]> http://www.organizedzone.com/brendas-organizing-articles/changes-are-bound-to-happen-metro/feed/ 0 http://www.organizedzone.com/brendas-organizing-articles/can-clutter-kill-metro/ http://www.organizedzone.com/brendas-organizing-articles/can-clutter-kill-metro/#comments Wed, 17 Dec 2008 08:01:24 +0000 admin http://www.organizedzone.com/?p=160 Can Clutter Kill?

Has anyone actually died of a cluttered home? I wonder about all those homes I haven’t got to yet, the ones with the dangerously full furnace room with combustibles thrown about. The homes that lack a safe exit in an emergency situation due to the man made narrowed pathways and tripping zones. How about people suffering with asthma or other breathing problems, inhaling all that dust must be harmful. Well, unfortunately exact statistics are unknown. However, I know from my hands on experience that clutter can kill your motivation, your energy and your spirit… I have seen it even ruin a marriage or two. No surprise there, a cluttered bedroom is not exactly sexy.

So what can you do right now to conquer the clutter? Asides from the obvious, you call a professional and give them carte blanche to fix it fast (Organized Zone Inc. Professional Organizing Services 416-665-2165). I recommend you start clearing the pathways first! Then pick a room and don’t get side tracked.

Why don’t you start in the bathroom? It’s smaller and less overwhelming than an office or a basement. Take a ten-minute break before you start to get relaxed and focused. Envision your functional clean space. With a trash bag in hand go through one shelf at a time, purge all those useless samples we all have – or anything you never use. After the purge, rearrange your items in groups. Keep the less used items in a more remote area. Most of us are visual people, take advantage of that and make it simple for yourself. Put anything you use for your morning routine for example vitamins, medications and face creams at eye level and that will be your instant reminder. If you find your space lacks enough storage be creative add a shelf above the doorway. Also you can maximize the space on the walls with 3M Clips. Those Clips can hook almost anything and you never have to worry about wall damage.

For tomorrow, try your bedroom. And who knows what, the day after that? The main thing is to start and there is no better time then now. Swing into Spring Cleaning today.

I look forward to receiving your emails about your organizing challenges and giving you the solutions that everyone can relate to. www.organizedzone.com, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Brenda Borenstein is your Professional Organizing Guru. Look out for her column every second Thursday in the Metro in the Homes section. For more tips and ideas please visit her Website www.organizedzone.com or call 416-665-2165. She has organized hundreds of homes and says, “There is nothing I haven’t seen and nothing that can’t be overcome.”

It is one thing to partake in a little self-indulgence here and there. But when shopping, buying and hoarding consumes your life and space… then there’s a problem.

Some people think it’s cute or funny to refer to someone as a shop alcoholic. However for a true shop alcoholic, it’s a very real shameful painful addiction.

Kelly 48, in the legal profession, called for some organizing help. I went to her house she greeted me with a big grin on her face. Behind the front door was her 22 her old niece also smiling. Then her mother popped out of the other room, then the cousin, the best friend, the sister and brother all waiting for the organizer (me) to come in, to see my reaction to Kelly’s mess.

Her mother, who she lives with, said that, “I’m organized; it’s my daughter who needs to get organized.” FYI, only half true.

The family was laughing and saying they can’t wait to see what I have to say, almost taunting Kelly. Well, guess what, its not a freak show and I shoed them all away. Kelly took me in her smallish bedroom and shut the door; she was still smiling. Piles upon piles of various items everywhere, I couldn’t see the floor, bed, dressers or walls. She had shelves attached to every inch of wall space, with baskets filled with anything from huge quantities of makeup to a collection of bobble heads.

I told Kelly that I take this very seriously and I am here to help not to judge. I asked her, “What is going on? What are you sad about?” She still was smiling but now the tears started running down her face. She told me she couldn’t pass a makeup counter without buying something. She loves clothes, and tries to make her way to Buffalo every three weeks for deals. Kelly tells me she wants to get built in’s on the wall for more storage space, she wants to paint her room. Kelly just wants constantly! She has a void and needs to fill it, so she does with by purchasing “things”. She avoids my questions and the issues because it’s too painful to verbalize.

In a situation like this I recommend a dual approach, working closely with a therapist and a professional organizer. Kelly will get the emotional and physical support for this journey through counseling and coaching. I call the process getting organized from the outside in. While working side by side with an organizer she will take action, ownership and responsibility of decluttering, letting go and organizing her physical and personal space. With a great feeling of accomplishment and success she will be open and able to focus on the emotional issues.

Brenda Borenstein is your Professional Organizing Guru. Look out for her column every second Thursday in the Metro in the Homes section. For more tips and ideas please visit her Website www.organizedzone.com or call 416-665-2165. She has organized hundreds of homes and says, “There is nothing I haven’t seen and nothing that can’t be overcome.”

Yet, sometimes buying on sale isn’t what you bargained for at all. For example my client Carly makes it her mission to only buy on sale. It doesn’t matter to her if she needs it, will use it or has the room for it. The main thing is, that she thinks she got a deal. Then she gets buyers remorse when she comes to the realization that she has no where to put this new purchase and she must toss it in the basement with all the other bags.

Carly, hubby and two kids live in a cute two-bedroom bungalow, a snug fit for any family. But for this family and the excessive buying pattern, they were bursting through the foundation of the house.

Carly knew she needed a mess intervention. So she called the dream team in and we came to the rescue once again. I think we need capes.

First we identified the physical problems, and then we created a sane solution.

These were the two major problem areas.

1. Both bedrooms completely dysfunctional.
Problem: The master bedroom had 2 extra dressers to accommodate the children’s clothes and the closet was not accessible because of mountains of stuff on the floor in front of it. The kids’ room had no dressers for clothes, and a ton of toys and books on every surface.
Solution: Master bedroom- Sort through and remove all kids clothing transfer to kids room. Relocate extra furniture pieces from MB into children’s room for their clothes. Rezone master bedroom to adult only zone. Kids bedroom: Brought in two dressers, one for each child. Labeled everything. Removed and relocated most toys and books and placed in the basement playroom. End result -WOW

2. Basement is a fire hazard, completely unusable space.
Problem: Every item ever past down or purchased on sale was stored in the basement. Also Carly is a teacher and a crafter and every item she believes she will need or use one day. No accessibility to anything. No room to work.
Solution: Make use of the large backyard and take everything out side. Started by sorting into categories costumes, office, crafts, games, toys, sports, keepsakes etc. Every category was sifted through, pared down and edited. Then we zoned the empty space, for a seating area with media centre, office, craft, toys and games. We purchased a freestanding 5-shelf unit to hold the bins of sorted toys. Only items that fit in the zone were allowed back into the space. All the excess items were sold, given away or boxed labeled and stored in the garage. End result- AMAZING

In two days after a lot of hard work, they got their home back. Carley has an acute awareness of excess stuff. And after being faced with making 1,000’s of decisions on items she never even knew she had. We are hopefully she will be keeping her shopping addiction under control now.

Shana Tovah and Happy Thanksgiving!

Please come out and meet me at the International Home Show October 6 – 9 @ 6900 Airport Road. Join me for one of my free organizing seminars and bring your questions.

Brenda Borenstein is your Professional Organizing Guru. Read her column every second Thursday in the Metro. For more tips and ideas please visit her Website www.organizedzone.com. Contact her @416-665-2165 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

She has organized over a thousand homes, and says, “There is nothing I haven’t seen and nothing that can’t be overcome.”

The collection started with plenty of excitement. The shelved parameters of the rooms quickly got filled to capacity with beer cans. Apparently, at the beginning it had a real eclectic look. The collection continued to grow throughout the years and throughout the house to the point where there was virtually no more living space.

I asked Bob one question. Did you actually drink all that beer? The answer was, “Yup most of it” That was the icebreaker and we went from there.

With limited room to work we started with a logical plan of action.

Step 1- Attack the garage to create storage space for items we need to filter out to house.
It’s time to sell the 1979 Thunderbird Vehicle. Purge garbage and recycling.
Purchase solid but inexpensive shelving units to temporally house beer collect for sale.
Hire labour to move all beer collectables and place on shelves. Collect all gardening items from various areas all over the house and create one permanent zone in the garage.

Step 2- Basement recreation room now emptied.
Reclaim the space for living. Create zones for office, sitting and music.

Step 3- Laundry room
Quit beer-making projects for now. Clear out clutter. Clean up the room by adding laminate flooring, painting the walls. Use existing shelves to house hardware, shoe care, light bulbs, seasonal clothing in bins, cleaning products.

Step 4 – Bedrooms
Remove the dusty walling hanging rugs from above the bed. Start by sorting all items that are on floor surfaces, dressers top. Continue the sorting process in the drawers and closets. Remove several pieces of furniture to open up the space. Considered built in units for maximum storage potential. Filter out all paperwork, hardware items and anything else that does not belong in a bedroom. Try to make nice with the wife.

Step 5 – Kitchen
Remember cleanliness is next to godliness. For instant space remove large bulky appliances and platters that are rarely used and place in basement storage. To utilize every drawer, repair broken drawers, and dump your junk drawers. Use the counters for food prep not storage. There will be plenty of space in the cupboards to store pantry and dishes once we pare down the assorted plastic containers and grocery bags.

Bob’s spirits are high again; he has worked hard with the organizing team by his side to reclaim his space. Bravo! Time to celebrate with a nice cold beer, on second thought better not.

Brenda Borenstein is your Professional Organizing Guru. Look out for her column every second Thursday in the Metro in the Homes section. For more tips and ideas please visit her Website www.organizedzone.com or call 416-665-2165. She has organized hundreds of homes and says, “There is nothing I haven’t seen and nothing that can’t be overcome.”

Last week I received an email or cry for help from what seemed to be an extremely detailed lady. She has about a zillion bags give or take in a variety of sizes. Sarah reads my column regularly and writes in part:

“My question is: I have a very tiny space and I like to separate: (1) grocery bags; (2) clear fruit bags; (3) plain (white/gray) bags–both small and large; (4) extra large plastic bags; and one for (5) miscellaneous. I’ve tried small cardboard (Liquor Box-10×8) with compartments in a section of a bottom cupboard — takes up too much room. Considered 5 separate Potato Chip containers — too difficult to access. Can you help?”

Sarah thanks for your question.
Part A: Storing so many bags in a small space is definitely not practical. Although I am not a fan of the plastic world, there is always the Bag Saver available at most Wal-Mart’s and Canadian Tires. This is a plastic unit the size of a forearm with Tooney sized holes throughout. The unit can attach to the back of a door, wall, underneath a cabinet or wherever you to access it from. That should handle most of your day-to-day supply. One side can store clear bags and the other side can store “grocery bags”. Extra large bags can be laid flat in a drawer or at the bottom of a cabinet.

Part B: Think outside the plastic bags. Another absolute resolution is to substitute an environmentally friendly solution to the bag dilemma. Such as storing food in glass containers, shopping with reusable canvas bags. Always recycle your plastic and paper in the proper bins for waste.

Until next time, happy organizing and keep your questions coming.

Brenda Borenstein is your Professional Organizing Guru. Read her column every second Thursday in the Metro. For more tips and ideas please visit her Website www.organizedzone.com. Contact her @416-665-2165 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

She has organized over a thousand homes, and says, “There is nothing I haven’t seen and nothing that can’t be overcome.”

Here is the wake up call. School is starting and you are not ready.

What do you need to do to be organized for the start of school?

• Pick out a great outfit for first day.
• Purchase your supplies.
• Look over documentation for entrance.
• Charge your Ipod.
• Review old notes as a refresher.
• Reacquaint with friends.
• Figure out travel arrangements to and from school
• Change your sleeping pattern by going to bed earlier and practice waking up earlier.

Whatever plans you make, know that preparation will play a big part in your ultimate success. When you are organized you will have a feeling of control and confidence. Organization is very powerful it will allow you to focus on the task at hand, quicker and more efficiently.

Parents, students and teachers, before school begins take a quiet moment and write a list of all the things you would like to improve on, to change, to experience and any goals you want to achieve. This list can be your secret blue print to your success this year.

Last bit of advice before I send you all off to school,

• Treat others, as you would like yourself to be treated.
• Take 10 minutes at the beginning and end of the each day to visualize your successes and accomplishments.
• Give yourself plenty of extra time in the morning to get ready.

Have the best school year, make everyday count and stay organized.

If you have organizing questions or comments that you would like me to address please email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 416-665-2165. I love hearing from you.

Brenda Borenstein is your Professional Organizing Guru. Look out for her column every second Thursday in the Metro in the homes section. For more tips and ideas please visit her Website www.organizedzone.com. Email your questions to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . She has organized over a thousand homes, and says, “There is nothing I haven’t seen and nothing that can’t be overcome.”