4 Online Tools that Will Seriously Decrease Your Paper Clutter

Ugh….paper. It is everywhere and is likely coming in your home quicker than you can review and toss! I’m a big believer in making decisions about paper the minute it enters my home (recycle, shred or needs action), but sometimes if we don’t have an alternative in place, those items turn into a mound on the kitchen island.

No more. I’m sharing my three favorite online tools for decreasing paper clutter and would love to hear all about your experience or solutions for managing paper in your own home in the comments.

PINTEREST

I’ve raved about Pinterest again and again, but I use it to organize just about everything! As a result it has truly minimized the amount of sticky notes floating around OR the amount of catalogs that are piling up with dog-eared pages.

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3 Simple Hacks for Organizing Your Students

Let’s talk about the vibe of your house on a Monday morning. Is it hectic? Or calm? My guess is that the start of your week reflects whether or not you’ve had the time to prep over the weekend. If you have a few minutes to meal plan, help ensure the kids are caught up on homework and that outfits are chosen for the week ahead, your Monday morning feels like a breeze compared to the alternative.

I’ve written about helping your kids get more organized before, but wanted to take school organization one step further now that we are into the second half of the school year! I reached out to one of the most organized moms I know, Stephanie Starkey with My Greige House, to collaborate on this post. Follow her, you’ll be so inspired by her ideas for cleaning + organization.

So let’s get to it! We wanted to share a few tips + tricks to keep your family ahead of schedule and on top of homework. It doesn’t have to be something that only happens in your dream world - I promise you!

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Why on Earth Would I Hire a Professional Organizer?

Guys…when people ask me what I do for a living, my eyes light up as I tell them I have the privilege of helping families get more organized in their daily lives and homes (with a dash of party styling and event planning on the side).

But it is super common for them to say in response, “I didn’t even know that was a thing.” You see, everyone is aware of hiring house cleaners, wardrobe stylists and interior designers, but home organizing sits somewhere in between.

So if you are feeling bogged down with clutter, are prepping for a major life change or are convinced that there must be a better way to maximize the space in your home, enter the beauty of a session (or two) with a professional organizer. I wanted to lay out some of the reasons why I think hiring an organizer might just be the answer to your prayers (or at least help you whittle that To-Do list down this year).

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2018 Highlight Reel

Wow! 2018 was a HUGE year (my first full year in business) for The Baer Minimalist! So many exciting transformations for clients, collaborations with realtors, countless cups of coffee shared with businesses and individuals making waves in Indianapolis, and tons of drop-offs to charities in need!

What better way to say goodbye to this last trip around the sun than by highlighting my top 10 for 2018.

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How to Wrap Gifts that Beg to be Torn Into

Recently a friend asked how I got such tight corners and clean lines when wrapping presents. Well, surely I didn’t intend for this to be a secret. So today, I’m sharing my tricks for wrapping presents that look like they were done by Santa’s elves themsleves.

  1. Gather all of your materials (wrapping paper, gift wrap tape, scissors, topper and of course, the gift). Make sure your wrapping paper is rolled out on a flat surface. This is ESSENTIAL.

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Top Five Consumable Gifts for 2018

I’m constantly working to help others declutter their spaces, so when it comes time for the season of giving, I’m always trying to think of gifts that are consumable or feature some sort of new experience as an alternative to gifting another ugly Christmas sweater!

Of course there are exceptions, but the idea of treating those you love to something unique that doesn’t add clutter to their space is the perfect way to be a gift-giver extraordinaire. And that doesn’t mean you can’t get creative when it comes to wrapping if you still want to create a thrill around opening!

Here are five gift ideas to add to your arsenal this holiday season:

Indianapolis Food Tour Experience: This past summer, our wonderful city launched food tours in Fountain Square, Fletcher Place and Mass Ave. Food tours have got to be one of my FAVORITE things to do when exploring a new city, but I feel like this is also a really fun thing to do right here in our own backyard. Foodies will be pumped to receive this as a treat to use in the new year, giving them the chance to devour bites from a number of restaurants AND see behind the scenes of some innovative Indianapolis establishments. Tours start at $55 per person and can be booked here. Gift certificates can be ordered through Sarah Frey with the Indy Cultural Trail (sfrey@indyculturaltrail.org).

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Tried + True Strategies for Taming Toys

Phew, we made it through Black Friday, but gift giving season is just getting started. In your house, this might mean that it looks like the Target Gift Catalog is being shot for 2019 the minute the gifts are torn into. I’m talking dozens and dozens of new play sets with 1000’s of little pieces that are strewn across your living room. Don’t worry, I’ll be joining you next year as we have twins on the way.

With that in mind, I wanted to address some ways to tame the toys without being a scrooge. I enlisted a few moms to help tackle this beast and the tips were amazing!

Toy organization is a different animal compared to general home organization. Toys can range from a thousand tiny pieces to over-sized and oddly shaped, but I promise you, there is hope. By creating a solid foundation, installing creative organization systems and taking the time to keep things organized, you can slay this giant.

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Hacking Your Way to a Chic + Organized Holiday | Part 2

We’re back with Part 2 of our guide to hacking your way to a Chic + Organized Holiday Season. If you missed last week’s ideas, hop on over to learn the importance of a Holiday Checklist, best practices for hosting and attending events first.

These ideas are the brainchild of Caryn O’Sullivan, CEO of Drapery Street, and myself and were presented to an amazing crowd at the Indiana Design Center on November 8.

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Hacking Your Way to a Chic + Organized Holiday | Part 1

Raise your hand if you are in charge of shopping for gifts each holiday season?

How about prepping the meals?

Planning out outfits for family photos? Not to mention scheduling them?

My guess is everyone has three hands raised, so we don’t even need to mention wrapping the gifts, booking flights for distant celebrations, hand addressing the holiday cards, decorating the house. I mean the list is LONG, and can certainly be a major stress during the most magical time of the year.

So when the Indiana Design Center reached out to see if I’d be open to sharing best practices and tips for a chic + organized holiday season, I jumped at the chance. I partnered with Caryn O’Sullivan, CEO of Drapery Street, and last Thursday we presented to a full house.

But I couldn’t leave you out of it, so without further ado, here are a few tried and true holiday hacks to add some joy back into your season.

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Tips for Organizing Large Sports Equipment

As a Minnesotan who went to college in North Dakota, hockey was the big sport growing up. Now, don’t mistake that for me ever having picked up a hockey stick, but I do know my way around the ice rink on good ole’ figure skates.

With Fall sports in full swing, a question was recently posed to me about how to organize all of the “stuff” that comes along with sports. Whether you or your kiddos play football, hockey, or lacrosse, you are bound to have a ton of equipment taking up prime real estate in the garage or mudroom.

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Recipe for a Gorgeous + Functional Pantry

Chances are, your pantry is one of the top contenders for the most trafficked storage space in your home. Whether you have a large walk-in space, or a small reach-in pantry, it is way too easy for this space to get crowded.

I've put together a simple recipe to turn your pantry into a gorgeous and functional space in no time, that the entire family can help maintain.   

1. Discard Expired Goods and all Packaging – It's amazing how many items are hidden inside the pantry that expired one, two, sometimes eight years ago. Toss anything expired and consider donating items to a local food pantry that won’t be consumed in time. From there, pull all beverages from their cardboard containers, toss the bulk packaging that eats up valuable space and give those shelves a good wipe down.

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Back to School Organization Tools + Tips

Every summer growing up, I couldn't wait to go back to school shopping! Beefing up my collection of Lisa Frank products, multi-colored gel pens and planning out my locker decorations made me borderline giddy to get back to the classroom. 

I had the chance to help a young client this year get organized for the school year and came across some amazing products that would help make the transition back to school much easier. 

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