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smart start

7/30/2014

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Make a smart impression with these ingenious back to school supplies. Perfect for college students who need to optimize their small spaces.

QUIRKY

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Mark Your calendar

7/21/2014

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Don't miss your opportunity to get amazing tips and tools on getting organized.  Three Professional Organizers will let you on their favorite organizing secrets.  There will be a Q&A time after each presentation so you will have time to ask any questions.

There is still time to register you and a friend for Organizing your Papers Piece by Peace.  Call email or register online to get registered.  612-382-6849 or FinallyFiled@gmail.com.

Going south on France, you will pass The Container Store (just past Gallagher Drive), Jason's Deli (76th street), Romano's Macaroni Grill and then turn left onto Minnesota Drive when you see the Fudruckers.

(Yes it's technically in Bloomington, but Minnesota Drive is the division between Edina and Bloomingto
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July 15th, 2014

7/15/2014

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Say the words garage sale and boy does it start a lot of discussion!  I think everyone has had their good, bad and ugly garage sale stories whether they hosted their own or been to a really creepy one. 

So here is one more musing about garage sales from one of my favorite writers Katy Wolk-Stanley of The non Consumer Advocate.   

Get the point?


 Garage Sale Musings From The Non-Consumer Advocate

Posted: 14 Jul 2014 11:11 AM PDT

My weekend garage sale both a success (Saturday) and a bit of a dismal endeavor (Sunday.)

Saturday’s weather was hot, hot, hot! So much so that my husband set up the large shade canopy over the driveway to provide a bit of much needed shade. It was an excellent decision and allowed people to shop without melting in the 92° urban heat. I’d say that about half of the merchandise was spread out in the sun, but it was still nice to have that bit of shade. We were consistently visited by customers, and I made $211.75.

Sunday was an entirely different beast.  The day started out lovely with soft clouds and mild temperatures. Unfortunately, those “soft clouds” transformed into dark grey booming and angry thunder clouds, complete with heavy rain showers and flashes of lightening.

Needless to say, the weather kept Portlanders from heading out for a day of pleasant garage sale-ing.

Also, it hadn’t even entered my mind how the citizens of Soccer City, U.S.A. would plan their day around watching the final game of the World Cup.  Oops.

Luckily, I spent some time Saturday night rummaging through our attic space for additional STUFF to sell on Sunday. And although most of it went unsold, I did unload an acrylic oriental rug for $40, as well as a few pairs of my son’s outgrown Vans sneakers and miscellaneous other things. Day two garnered a less impressive $82.50 in sales.

And that shade canopy? It transformed itself into a refuge from the rain, without which we would’ve had to scrap the entire day.

Even though Sunday’s customers only came in fits and spurts, it was still worth doing, as the hard work of a garage sale is organizing the whole shebang.  Plus, I had my friend Lise as company, which made it pleasurable, as it’s normally rare to indulge in five-hour long conversations with friends.

Notable moments from the garage sale:



  • The woman who told me, “I was on my way to the liquor store to buy tequila when I saw your sign.”
  • The mother who talked her daughter out of buying a stuffed unicorn, saying to her, “I’ll say to you what I always say, ‘Will you be using it in two months?’ ” Which made the girl rethink her purchase and put the unicorn back into the bin.
  • The multiple potential customers who had a laugh at the Kitty Walk caged cat stroller that my neighbors put into the sale.
  • The eight (?) year old boy who talked me down from $3 to $2 for a pair of black slip-on Vans sneakers. I heard him loudly exclaim “score!” once he got back into his car.
  • The elderly asian man who spent probably 30 minutes fiddling with a VCR to confirm that it worked. He then haggled me down to $3 from $5 despite speaking pretty much no English.
  • Selling my neighbor’s outdoor heating lamp to another neighbor who last summer slept on her garage roof. I once had to yell at her to please not have outdoor sex six feet from my kitchen window. The other neighbors and I had a laugh about how maybe she’s planning on extending her outdoor season.
  • The obviously drug addicted customer who picked a fabric cinch sack from the free box, and then not so subtly snuck something from the clothing area into it. He then walked quickly away when I asked him if he needed help. I would have been happy to give him any clothing he wanted, so this did not bother me.
  • That the little-league size jock strap/cup did not get chosen from the free box, although the expensive hair products I won in a school auction and the toiletries left behind by our Japanese exchange student did.
  • Multiple interesting conversations with neighbors and random strangers.
  • Pretending to walk a large stuffed frog in the Kitty Walk. (Also, realizing that “Kitty Walk” and “Katy Wolk” were almost the same.)
Today I’ll bring the unsold STUFF over to a local consignment shop before I delegate everything to the Goodwill drop off. One thing’s for sure though, which is that I am not bringing the leftover merchandise back into the house. (It’s currently in the garage.) Because once I’ve made the decision to get rid of something, it becomes painful to look at.

I’m happy to have rehomed many, many things that were just sitting unused and unappreciated in my home. The sports gear will see action, the clothing will be worn and the knickknacks can collect dust in someone else’s house.

Remember people, crap out of the house, money in!

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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Organized Family Vacation

7/11/2014

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Louise Kurzeka of Everything's Together and President of NAPO MN
I am so excited to post this link from SMEAD on how to get organized for your family's vacation.  The guest speaker is our very own NAPO MN president Louise Kurzeka.  Louise is a longstanding organizer in Minnesota and is well recognized within the greater NAPO National organizing community.

You can view this webcast at Organized Travel.  Remember to see the printable checklists which can be found at SMEAD.

Happy vacationing!







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Enjoy your outside

7/7/2014

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Ingredients:

Witch hazel
Mixture of essential oils: Choose from rosemary, thyme, mint, cedar, lavender, catnip, citronella, tea tree, and lemongrass — citrusy and minty scents work best
Distilled water
Vegetable glycerin


Directions:

Fill an 8-oz glass spray bottle halfway with distilled water (plastic bottles may possibly be harmed over time due to the essential oils). Fill almost to the top with witch hazel. Add in 1/2 teaspoon of vegetable glycerin, which will help the bug spray stay on your skin. If you don’t have glycerin, it will still work without it. Add in your mixture of essential oils — about 25-50 drops. The more drops you add, the more effective the spray will be. Screw on the top. Shake. You’re ready for use!



Source: DIY All-Natural Bug Spray | Free People Blog

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organizational oasis

7/6/2014

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Are you independent or in-dependence?  When you fail to create and maintain organized systems, you become completely dependent on other people to handle those matters for you. 

The first session is FRIDAY, JULY 12th.  Claim your spot today for the following sessions and educate yourself on how to take back your independence over paper clutter.  Learn from the professionals on what papers to keep and how to organize them.  Plus you will receive take home tools that you can continue to use at home.

Can't wait to see you there. 

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Home safety when on Vacation

7/1/2014

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Keep your house safe when you are on vacation.  The best option would be to have a house sitter.  If that is not a viable option, here's a checklist of safety reminders for you.
Three Days Before
  • Suspend mail and newspaper delivery.Contact the post office (usps.com) to hold your mail; you no longer have to do this in person. Do the same for your newspaper delivery. Or have a trusted neighbor collect mail, packages, and newspapers while you’re away so they don’t accumulate at the front door, a sure sign you’re not home.

One Day Before
  • Set timers.To keep your house from sitting dark all evening, install plug-in timers ($4 to $10 each at home-improvement stores) on lamps in several rooms. Set them to turn on and off at different times. Consider putting a radio and a television on timers, too (use the same plug-in timer models).

  • Discard perishables.Don’t return to a smelly refrigerator. Toss dairy products, cold cuts, and produce, or donate the food to a local shelter.

  • Adjust the refrigerator temperature.Make sure the thermostat isn’t on the supercool setting. This will keep the refrigerator from blowing a circuit while you’re away. A closed-up house can raise the kitchen temperature, thereby increasing a refrigerator’s energy use by up to 50 percent in summer.

Three Hours Before
  • Adjust shades and blinds.Leave them partially open so your house looks lived-in. You also want to be sure passersby can see that the lights are on at night.

  • Leave a car in the driveway.If you’re taking yours with you, ask a neighbor to park her car there while you’re away.

  • Set the air-conditioner.If you have central air-conditioning, raise your thermostat so that it’s set about 10 degrees below the average outside temperature. But don’t turn it off. Without the help of air-conditioning, mold and mildew can develop in houses in humid climates.

  • Unplug appliances.Your toaster, coffeemaker, dryer, radios, televisions, and phones not connected to an answering machine can be unplugged. You’ll save electricity and also eliminate the risk of a power surge blowing out a machine.

  • Turn off water and gas.If you use gas, turn off the pilot light and shut down the water heater. Shut off the water to the dishwasher and the clothes washer, too; pressure surges while you’re gone could otherwise burst a hose.

  • Empty trash cans.You don’t want ants and flies feasting while you’re away.

Fifteen Minutes Before
  • Lock all doors and windows.Believe it or not, people often forget to lock their doors after loading up the car. If you have an attached garage, lock the inside door in addition to the garage door.
  • Double check that all entrances are tightly locked.  Pull on doors to ensure that the locks are engaged.

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    Kimberly Dahline

    Welcome to my blog.  I am glad you are here to read the musings on organizing and finding balance in your life.  I hope you find them inspiring and motivating.  

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Advocacy through Organization
Kimberly Dahline, Your Organizational Advocate
Member of NAPO, NAPO, MN
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612-382-6849
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  • FinallyFiled
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