Day #17 - Organization Challenge - Computer Files Organization

Hi Organizing Buddies!!! Where have you been, Maria? Well, I've been busy. . .:) I recently bought a new computer. .. actually, my husband bought it for me. I've been busy reloading my programs and applications, transferring files, and basically, setting up the new computer. I've had my old computer for over 4 years and my husband has been wanting to get me a new computer for a while now. I've had an older version of Windows on my computer . . .I think 2003 or something like that. I don't like to mess with my computer because I hate having to figure out a new version of anything. It worked fine for me up until recently so I really didn't want a new computer.

Unfortunately, lately my old computer had been running really slow, had very little hard drive space left and I've been transferring all my files to a data drive just to have room for new stuff. For the past month or so, my old computer was beginning to flake out on me. . .primarily due to low memory and my CD/DVD drive stopped working. It was driving me crazy so I finally agreed to get a new computer! I'm now on Windows 7! Yay! I LOVE IT!!!! And I now have a 500 GB memory as well as a 500 GB data drive. Holy Cow! That's a 1000 GB of memory! Can you imagine how many photos I can upload on both drives!!!! That's NUTZ! LOL!

Anyway. . .because I'm on the subject of computers. . .I realized how messed up all my files are. I have at least 4 different "My Picture" folders, 3 different "My Documents" folders and everything is just all over the place. I can't even remember what folder I filed a photo in because I have so many of them! It's ridiculous! It's because this is my 3rd computer in about 8 years and each time, I've had to transfer all my files from one computer to another and rather than cleaning them up when I switched computers, I just transferred ALL of them. . .junk files and all!

Now that I'm on a new computer, I am totally confused. Seriously! I don't know what folder I filed a particular picture or document and I have to sort through all these files to figure it out! Do you have a problem with your computer files? Do you have photos that you should have deleted because they're duplicate photos of one subject? LOL! Are your files disorganized? Well, today is the day you will organize your computer files!!!

Today's challenge is to delete photos that are duplicates or just plain ole' junk photos, delete old documents that you either downloaded or created and no longer need, organize all of your photos in appropriate folders, and delete old unwanted files.

This may take a few days so. . .do the best you can! When you're done, your computer will have more memory, run smoother, and you will be less confused and frustrated. . .:)

Before I go, I wanted to let you know that I am COMPLETELY done with organizing my linen closet. I washed ALL of the towels, blankets, sheets, comforters . ..everything, folded all of them nicely, and organized them by categories and colors. My linen closet now looks fabulous! How are you doing with your linen closet?

I washed all of the comforter sets and put them back in their packages. They really didn't need to be washed but they have been sitting on the shelves for some time now and was exposed to dust and lint so I decided to wash them and put them in plastic bags to keep them free of dust so I don't have to do this again! LOL!


My laundry room is now free of clothes. They are all hung up in the bedroom closets. Hey, did you know. .. my laundry room is upstairs next to my craft room. It is so convenient to have a laundry room upstairs but at the same time, it can be bad because there's a tendency to treat the laundry room as a closet because it is located upstairs. But, nonetheless, I love having it upstairs. . .it's easier to transfer the laundry from the laundry room to the bedroom closets.

Look. . .no clothes hanging on the rods or folded on the shelf. I can actually fold down the shelf now. LOL! Previously there were clothes hanging on the rod and sitting on the shelf. Now, it's all clean! I am so happy about it!

If you want to send in a photo of your organized linen closet or what ever else you organized, feel free to email it to me at cardinspired@gmail.com and I'll post it on this blog. I haven't had much response but I'm figuring you are still organizing your stuff. . .:) Come on, play along!! Share your photos. . .it's fun to see other people's organization!!

Hope you all have a wonderful organizing day!!

Day #15 Organization Challenge - Trash Bag Challenge - Donation

Hey Organizing Buddies! Happy Saturday to you all!! Hey. . .it's that trash bag, again? Yup! Remember challenge #13 was to walk around your house and throw stuff away and I told you there was going to be a second part to this trash bag challenge!

As we organize each section of our house, there will be things that you'll want to either throw away or get rid of. Due to the poor economy, sadly many charitable organizations are very low on donations so rather than throwing the stuff away or worse, keeping them when you don't use the items, why not donate them to someone who needs them.

This second trash bag challenge will focus on items that can be donated. It will be an ongoing challenge.

Here is the challenge. . . .

Whenever you organize an area of your home, always bring a trash bag with you. As you sort through your things, consider donating a few items, especially things that you really haven't used in the last 3 years or so. . .:) If you haven't used them for that long, the likelihood that you'll use them in the future is highly unlikely. Why don't you donate the items to someone who will actually need them. As you organize, throw the unwanted or unused items in a trash bag with the intention of dropping them off to a charitable organization such as the Goodwill or Salvation Army. You can drop them off immediately or accumulate them and make it a goal to drop them off some time this month.

I actually have a few bags that I'm going to drop off at the Salvation Army on Monday. Okay, buddies. . .that's it for today's challenge! I hope you all have a wonderful Saturday!!! Happy Organizing, Buddies!!

Day #6 Organization Challenge - I Love Reading Celebrity Magazines

Yeah. . .I do. I have a subscription for People, Us, and Star magazines. I have my daily fix right before I go to bed. LOL! Reading about the antics of celebrities help me fall asleep! We also have a subscription for the Smithsonian, Discovery, Popular Science, Scrapbook Etc., and Bon Apetit. I also buy a lot of craft magazines! Hello! I blame Publishers Clearing House. . .they sent us those discounted subscription offers and well, we couldn't help ourselves. Rather than subscribing to one or two magazines, we went nuts and ordered like 7 of them. We really need some self-control. I'm not the only one with this problem, my husband likes to order science magazines so put the two of us together. . .we have a magazine subscription problem. I think we need an intervention here.

Actually, the problem isn't that we have a lot of magazines but the real problem is that we don't throw away any of them away. We have them all over the house. Well, today I decided to gather all my magazines and sort through them and made two piles: the keep pile and a throw away pile. Unfortunately, the "keep" pile was bigger than the "throw away" pile. LOL!

I went to the store and was going to buy a magazine holder but dang, they're expensive and so small. I would have needed to buy at least 4 of them. Uh-uh! I decided rather than buying them, I was just going to make my own magazine holder. Looking through the Internet, I found this simple tutorial on creating a magazine holder using a cereal box: Click Here

Well, I had only one cereal box and I needed at least 4 of them so instead, I used a cardboard box and created this larger magazine holder. I applied the same concept as the cereal box. The cardboard box was harder to cut but it's do-able. I then covered it with pattern paper (scrapbook paper) and applied "Mod Podge" glue all over which helps to protect the paper.

Okay, are you ready for a new challenge? Of course you are. Today's challenge is to gather ALL of you magazines and sort them in two piles: the keep pile and the throw away pile. Rather than throw away the magazines, why don't you drop them off at your doctor's office. I'm sure they'll want them. If you're ambitious, create a DIY Magazine Holder following the tutorial.

Well, I hope you'll fit some time to play along. Be sure to visit the previous challenges. I'm sure you'll be able to find one that you can work on! Comment this post if you want to play along! Hey, let me know how you're doing with the previous challenges. .. I'd love to hear your story. ***the comment button is at the top of this post****

Hope you have a wonderful Sunday!!

Day #5 - Ogranization Challenge - Junk Mail are Killing our Trees

Dang, so many junk mail!!!! Can you imagine how many trees could be saved if companies would stop sending junk mail! Junk mail is contributing to global warming! Sheesh! We receive at least 10 pieces of junk mail a day. I usually sort through my mail once a week but there was a time when I would just throw all my mail in a box with the intention of shredding them and throwing out the junk mail. Unfortunately, the mail kept piling up and one day, when I had guests over, I decided to gather the boxes from under my desk in the kitchen and throw them in the hallway closet and there they sat for the past 6 months. I know. . .shameful!

You're like. . ."hey, your challenge is posted late"! Yeah, I know but I was busy. . . .organizing and cleaning the house. Later in the afternoon, I decided to work on sorting and shredding our mail and darn, it took me about 3 hours to finish. Gosh, it feels great to rid of the boxes of junk mail that I've been storing in my closet.

Now to today's challenge.. . . the challenge for today (or tomorrow) is to sort through your mail and shred/throw away your junk mail. . . including those that you have under your desk, closet, drawer or where ever else you've been storing them. .:)

This picture shows the bag of junk mail that I threw away today! Isn't it nuts? From this point on, I promise to sort through my mail regularly and throw away the junk mail right away! Just a little tip. . .when shredding your junk mail, rather than shredding the whole content of your junk mail, rip out the section that has your name, address, and other personal information and shred only that section. It actually saves a lot of time.

Okay, Organizing Buddies. . .let's get rid of our junk mail and from now on, don't let them pile up! Comment this post if you're planning to play along!! I would love to hear from you! Tell me your story. . .I love reading them!

Hope you all have a wonderful day organizing your stuff!!!