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Archive for Move Organizing

So Much Recycling!

Posted by Carolyn on
 April 12, 2016
Recycling

Downsize and Recycle

“I didn’t know there was so much recycling!”

This is the exclamation of almost every client when we start to clear out the clutter.  When clients are downsizing, the pile of recycling and other cast off material gets bigger and bigger and bigger.

It is somewhat inevitable.  Living in one home for many years, sometimes decades, can lead to such a build up in clutter and unused belongings that we just basically forget about. We end up purging out a significant amount of material that can not be re-purposed, is not suitable for sale or donation and therefore ends up in either the garbage or recycling. When clearing out a space, even just to reorganize to make the space function better, clients are often surprised how much debris has collected over the years which ends up no more valuable than the garbage or recycling bin.

If you are looking at a downsizing project, I recommend that you start your project armed with information about how to get rid of what may end up being a very large pile of garbage or recycling. Some of the material can go to your regular garbage pick up or disposal although most jurisdictions now carry volume limits on the service. Check into your service provider, public or commercial to find a) volume limits b) size limits or c) alternate places where you can take the material yourself. Most of these places will have a tipping charge. In the jurisdiction where I live, this charge is $10 per 100 kg or part thereof.

If you know there is going to be huge amount of material to garbage you may want to look into a junk removal company such as 1-800-GOT JUNK. In addition, you will need to have a “staging” area where the goods heading to garbage can be put while you continue to clear out your space.  For recycling, check into the requirements to sort the recycling into different elements such as metal, paper and plastic.

Open Mail over the Recycling Box

If you want to avoid the accumulation, learn to process your paper with a paper recycling box nearby.  I encourage clients to literally open their mail over the recycling box or bag.  Of many, if not most letters, there is very little mail left over when the recycling has been taken out for example the envelop it came in and the inserts.  Discarding these items as soon as they enter the house, will help to keep the paper clutter to a minimum.  It also means less paper to house and manage.

“Even precious treasures left long enough, become garbage“.
One of my favourite client quotes.

 

Home Organizing Move Organizing
Tags : clutter, Downsizing, Paper, recycling

A Moving and Sorting Stage

Posted by Carolyn on
 May 15, 2013
Label your staging area to make downsizing less stressful.

Label your staging area to make downsizing less stressful.

In the world of home moves, staging has become a popular activity to help sell a house.  In the case of sorting and organizing a downsizing project, staging is still used to sell a house but is also what we do to prevent churning and to simplify the decision making process.  This was evident to me yesterday while helping  a family friend pack her father’s household goods as part of a downsizing move to his newly purchased condominium.  A very active bachelor for many years, Jill’s father had accumulated large amounts of sports and recreational gear.  The years, however, were catching up on him and, having limited his activities to his favourite few, he was ready to send away to a new home many of his not-loved-or-needed-anymore household, recreational and sports items.   Jill and I were preparing items for his move next weekend and to take a load to the auction house the following weekend.

As Jill and I walked through the house, she was able to point out to me many items in closets, cupboards and various rooms that had already been sorted and were in various stages of being packed.  Jill expressed concern that her father was planning on moving too many items to his new “pad” and would struggle to adjust to the smaller space.  I suggested to Jill we set up a staging area to accumulate items on which decisions had been made, help identify what was left to sort, collect items for packing together in one area when possible and start to move out the items that were being sold or donated.

Jill had set up a packing station in one part of the house but the area had become congested with items her father was still using on a day to day basis.  We identified a convenient staging area, collected and labelled the sorting, packing and boxing supplies and moved them to this area as a new packing station.  Jill had wisely used a packing table so that boxes could be packed at waist height without the packer having to strain their back by bending, leaning or twisting.  We moved this table to the packing station along with all the remaining boxes.  This cleared out one of the bedrooms so that Jill and her father could more easily see what still needed to be sorted in that room.  In an open area in the living room, beside the packing station, we established the rest of our staging area: in one corner were the items for auction, in another the items listed online to be sold, and in a third the items packed to go to the new condominium.  We then did a second sweep through the house, which had several stories, and grouped items on each floor.  As most of the large furniture was already gone, it was easy to move items into one area on each floor.  We set up areas for each type of item based on where it was to go: auction/for sale online, donation or the condo.  The recycling and garbage we took away and put in the garbage/recycling bins.  Any item for which a decision had already been made was moved out of its place and put into the appropriate pile.  These items can be packed in place and them moved to the main staging area.

The end result of our work was that Jill and her father didn’t have to revisit these decisions each time they entered a room or looked into a closet.  Her father could clearly see the volume of goods heading for the new condo and they could both see the results of their sorting as each room became emptier and emptier.  Finally, Jill could easily see when packing supplies needed replenishing.  All of these small details help to reduce stress in a downsizing project.

Move Organizing
Tags : Downsizing, staging area

“I’ve got that moving feeling…”

Posted by Carolyn on
 March 21, 2013

After many years of deliberating, we made the big decision to sell the house and move on. Not an easy decision since we’ve been here for almost 18 years and had both our children while living in this home. Our lives have changed, however, and children grow up. So, looking for a house the better meets our needs of a home based business, teen age children and sports that come with lots of equipment that needs storage.

Once the decision to move was made, the next step was to get the house ready to sell. I’m looking forward to sharing with you some of the changes we made to stage the house and make it viewer friendly.

Meanwhile, hope you like the new website.

Move Organizing

Back From Summer Vacation?

Posted by Carolyn on
 September 16, 2009

How was your summer? Was it cold and wet like here in Toronto (Canada)? Did you run away from your clutter and chaos and get some vacation time in beautifully organized hotels? Maybe a trip to the cottage where organizing takes on a very relaxed form of archival collecting? I’d love to hear your stories.

And what did Wellrich Organizers do that left the blog pages silent for so long?

I took on the staging job of a lifetime. With the family farm sold off in the spring, the family house was next. I am pleased to say that a summer’s worth of work paid off: new hardwood floor in the kitchen, new kitchen, stripped floors everywhere else, new carpet in the basement, one storage shed, innumerable bags of garbage and recycling – amidst Toronto’s garbage strike – several contractors, the benevolence of soem very dear friends, a few shares in our local hardward store and the help of another stager, Pamela G& Co. The house sold within 48 hours of hitting the market for a very nice sum over asking thank you very much.

The experience has left me with a renewed appreciation for the emotional challenges that face anyone downsizing the family home. Forty-six years of accumulation is a struggle for even the most clutter averse individual. The family history contained in all that accumulation is bittersweet to review and overwhelming to confront.

We got through by chipping away one little bit at a time. The project to clear out the 46 years started several years ago and thank goodness it did. The sooner one starts to clear out the unused, unnecessary items around the house, the freer and easier one can live one’s life today.

Does anyone else have family home downsizing stories?

Home Organizing Move Organizing
Tags : Downsizing, Staging

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