Organizing Blog
The One Thing I Want to Do In 2019
I really don’t like to do New Year Resolutions. Resolutions seem unattainable and most of the time I have forgotten about them by the end of February. It is so much pressure to change my habits. This year I want to think of things differently. So I am going to work on...
Ruthann Quoted in Real Simple Article
Ruthann lends her expertise to the article The Things in Your Bathroom You Should Get Rid of Immediately by Kelsey Ogletree. For many people, the bathroom becomes a place where you store (or stuff) all of your personal care items into any available space. Yet that’s...
Tips for Packing Your Suitcase
I don’t know about you, but I love to go on a trip. It really doesn’t matter to me if it is by plane or by car. I just like to travel. What I am not so fond of is packing my suitcase. I tend to take too much because I like to have some of everything. So here are some...
When Things Go Wrong to Your Home
I have been having lots of discussions with insurance companies over the past year. One thing I have learned is that you better have good records. Insurance companies are not our friends nor do they have your best interest in mind. Your best defense is good records....
Home on Wheels
This is not a blog about Tiny Houses, but I might do one on that topic some day. This is about that place that you probably spend a good percentage of your time. Your car. I know you have seen those cars or vans in parking lots that have discarded fast food wrappers,...
Parking in the Garage
Do you know the one room in your house that you are probably not using for the purpose for which it was intended? Yep, you got it right, the garage. Most Americans are not using their garage for a place to park their car. It has become the place where things go...
Book Review: Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism by Fumio Sasaki
First of all I love Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism because it has great before and after pictures. These pictures are not only of the author’s spaces but of some of his friends. There are only five chapters and they are all packed full of great...
What Minimalism Looks Like For You
For most people the word “Minimalist” is a scary word. They think that you have to live with very few possessions in a very tiny space. For some, this may be true, for others it might just be living with less stuff in a big house. When I want to start a new project or...
Book Review: The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson
The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson is a cute little book, only 117 pages, but it is full of ideas for helping you let go of the stuff in your house before you die. It is not meant to be morbid, it is meant to be helpful if you are...
Attic in 4 Stages: Pre-planning and Decision Making Before You Start
Everyone has a place in their home that they really never want to go. Mine is the attic. One reason is that the only way you can get there is by pulling down some stairs from the ceiling of the hallway. Another reason is because it is either really hot up there or...
Dorm Rooms
It’s that time of year when I am helping my youngest son move back to Birmingham Southern College for his senior year. This will be his final move to a dorm. The smartest thing I ever did was to have about 3 to 4 – 66 quart containers for his stuff. Every year when he...
Ruthann Is Quoted in Vestavia Voice
Ruthann appears in Vestavia Voice's January 2018 issue in the article, "Getting Your House in Order," which appears on page 16. The following is an excerpt: While getting healthy takes the top prize for the most common New Year’s resolution, getting organized...