Category: Fall

Posted in Fall, Timely Tips

Skin Care and Recycling – A Curious Combination?

Posted on by Ellen Gurwitz

A few years ago, someone suggested that I add pieces of lemon to my water. (I’m one of the diligent ones, drinking lots of it every day, all day long.) Why? She said that it helps the complexion. It’s something about keeping pores open. Lemon is also good for us internally; something about controlling bacteria. (I’m not a doctor and I also don’t play one on television. Ha!) For more information about the many benefits of lemon, you might google it.

Here in Vermont, fall is transitioning to winter, with snow on the way tomorrow. As we start to hunker down for the cold months ahead, adding lemon to our daily water intake is an easy way to take good care of ourselves. Lemon also reminds us of warmer weather, which WILL return, though not soon.

After tossing hundreds of pieces of lemon, it occurred to me to recycle them in a useful way. What to do? Drop them into the garbage disposal, then run it. The result? It keeps the disposal unit from getting smelly.

Lemon helps our complexions and helps to maintain the garbage disposal, too!
Lemon to the rescue!

Photo credit – Claudia Crespo, through Unsplash.

About De-clutter Me!
De-clutter Me! offers non-judgmental, competitively-priced and confidential assistance to help clear clutter in your home and/or business. We’ve been changing chaos to calm since 2013.

Posted in Fall, Planning Ahead, Seasons, Timely Tips

Do Some Fall Tasks NOW

Posted on by Ellen Gurwitz

As spring comes to Vermont, and oh-so-slowly, everyone looks forward to shedding big jackets, gloves, hats and other cold-weather clothes.

Even though it might not be an attractive idea, NOW is a good time to wash all of that stuff – sweaters, scarves, and everything else listed above. Why? When you want to wear them as the weather gets cold again, won’t you prefer to put on clean clothes, rather than “threads” that were shoved away somewhere for the summer, and aren’t clean?

You also might want to polish boots, or treat them with leather cleaner, or whatever else will extend their usefulness.

About De-clutter Me!
De-clutter Me! offers non-judgmental, competitively-priced and confidential assistance to help clear clutter in your home and/or business. We’ve been changing chaos to calm since 2013.

Posted in Fall, Gardening, Seasons, Timely Tips

Seasonal Gardening Tips

Posted on by Ellen Gurwitz

Local gardening expert Charlie Nardozzi spoke yesterday on a Vermont Public Radio call-in show. He shared some excellent tips. Knowing the always-smiling Charlie to be an affable guy, I’m sure that he wouldn’t mind my passing along a few gems. A professional organizer, I’m also an enthusiastic gardener, though certainly not all-knowing!

• Don’t lay down winter mulch now. It’s much too early, and would provide a home for critters that you don’t want taking up residence in your garden(s). It’s better to wait until late November.
• As you cut back garden perennials, leave hydrangeas at about a foot high. That will be enough for them to bloom next season. (I made this particular mistake last year, cutting one back to just a few inches high. Not good! It’s taken all season for it to finally recover to a foot’s height, and without any flowers. I look forward to gorgeous blossoms next year.)
• With Halloween on a Wednesday this year, schedules may require cutting jack-o-lanterns the previous weekend. Carve them, apply petroleum jelly to the cuts, then immerse them in water. That will preserve them until the 31st.

Happy gardening and Halloween!

About De-clutter Me!

De-clutter Me! offers non-judgmental, competitively-priced and confidential assistance to help clear clutter in your home and/or business. We’ve been changing “chaos to calm” since 2013.

Posted in Fall, Garage, Home Maintenance, Timely Tips

Seasonal Garage Cleaning, Even for a Professional Organizer

Posted on by Ellen Gurwitz

Today, I swept my garage and stored wicker summer furniture, placing the chairs on some old rubber car floor mats. That way, once winter snow melts off the car, the furniture legs will be protected. No old floor mats? You might lay down a used shower curtain liner. (Reduce, reuse, recycle!) No liner available, either? A small tarp would do the trick.

Another possible way to store and protect summer furniture or other delicate items – on top of horizontally-laid tires! If your garage has enough vertical space (and maybe limited horizontal room), that might be another useful option.

Another good use for used shower curtain liners – to cover bikes and other objects that aren’t fun to dust. After all, when spring returns, wouldn’t you rather use these items than spend time cleaning them?

While sweeping the garage each spring and fall isn’t fun, it feels good, in a way. It provides a timely opportunity to clear any clutter that’s accumulated during the previous few months. A great idea – this morning, colleague Steve Ertle, from BTV Creative, suggested using a leaf blower! It does a very thorough job of clearing dust, and is much faster than sweeping. A professional organizer, I was a bit embarrassed that I haven’t thought of that. It must be because I don’t have a leaf blower.

Be careful that no garage items are in the path of the dust, though, or you may have some extra wiping to do. Happy fall!

About De-clutter Me!

De-clutter Me! offers non-judgmental, competitively-priced and confidential assistance to help clear clutter in your home and/or business. We’ve been changing “chaos to calm” since 2013.