Trash Day Tuesday: Umbrellas

Welcome to a new series that I like to call, Trash Day Tuesday. Every Tuesday, we will embark on a mission to de-clutter your home one space at a time by tossing away items that you don't use or need. We often forget to assess our items and their uses, so Trash Day Tuesday will help us do just that and tackle our clutter.

Drowning in umbrellas- at least they aren't broken.
Source

Today's topic is related to rainy days. No matter where you live, you probably own an umbrella, a poncho, or some other item that helps you stay dry on wet days. When the skies are leaking, umbrellas are a saver. I load up on umbrellas but I only reach for a select few when I actually need them. When umbrellas break on me, I never throw them away, thinking that they might come in useful one day. Sure, the day when all my umbrellas are broken and I'll have to pick the less broken one. When it rains, I shuffle anxiously through hoards of broken umbrellas to find one that stays open. It's frustrating, time consuming, and ridiculous. Tell me I'm not the only one in this boat.

This Tuesday's task is therefore rather simple- going through your umbrella collection. Let's do it!!!

First order of business is to pull out every umbrella in your house, no matter its condition.

Separate umbrellas into 3 categories: broken, flimsy/bad quality, and good quality. Broken umbrellas will obviously be tossed out. Flimsy/bad quality umbrellas you should keep as emergency or guest umbrellas. The good quality umbrellas you will obviously keep and store for your own personal or familial use.

Tada, you are done! And it probably took you 15 minutes and you easily organized one group of items in your house!



Useful Umbrella Tips
1. Every household should have personal sized umbrellas and one large diameter umbrella. There should also be good quality and working umbrellas for every member of the household.

Large cane umbrella, like a porter's umbrella.
Source

2. Everyone should have a small box of guest umbrellas. These are umbrellas that you don't mind giving away to guests in case it starts raining when they are leaving your house. Dollar stores have cheap umbrellas but you should try to use the umbrellas that you have and don't like- sounds bad but hey, at least you are thoughtful enough to give your guests an umbrella regardless of its condition. :)

3. If you don't fancy being surprised by and unprepared  for rainy weather, then consider having a spare umbrella in your office and in your car for emergencies. The quality of umbrella depends on you.

4. Folding umbrellas are great for travel. I personally love Tote umbrellas. They fit in purses and briefcases and are extremely sturdy, wind resistant, and durable. Most folding or mini umbrellas can not withstand a bit of wind, but these are tough! Plus, they open and close automatically! I recommend Tote umbrellas!

5. After you have used an umbrella make sure you let it fully dry.

6. Umbrella sleeves should not be mislaid. They serve a purpose- to protect your umbrella. Always close your umbrella and place it in its sleeve.

Don't toss or lose your umbrella sleeves. You need them! Use them!
Source

Storage Tips

1. Store guest umbrellas in a box near your front entrance.

2. Store personal umbrellas in an umbrella basket. These baskets can be decorative and, in my opinion, can add an old world charm to your house.

I love these types of umbrella baskets.
These would look beautiful near the front
entrance- aesthetic and functional.
Source

Show me your umbrella basket.

Clean Up Your Smartphone

Source

I've been bedridden for almost a week now. I've caught the flu and have been enjoying all the wonderful trimmings that come along with it, like incessant coughing and fatigue. During this time, I have hardly touched my phone but when I finally did, I had a billion missed called and messages. This made me think- how unorganized are our phones exactly?                                                                                      

Smartphones are, of course, equipped with smart organizational capabilities. Apple, for example, has folders in which you can group like applications. There are slots for most used applications on the dock. You can rearrange the spatial organization of your applications and folders. I am sure most smartphones have similar capabilities, which allow its user to organize their device to their organizational needs and preferences. I am also sure there are some annoying limitations, but at least there is a way to make sense of all the electronic mess that you see everyday on your device. This is how I would suggest you tackle organizing your device:

1. Uninstalled/delete all applications that you do not use. Really evaluate your applications. If you have three web browsers, is there a reason why you keep three? Do they all provide something the others don't have? Is one the clear winner? The fewer apps I have, especially fun ones, the less time I spend wasting on my phone because I have no discipline and can't possibly control how much time I spend on the apps I enjoy. 

2. Group like applications together in folders. You might have categories such as: games, productivity, reference, navigation, news, photo/video, social networking, utilities, lifestyle, finance, entertainment, books, education, etc. Toss similar apps in one folder and actually label it. Some phones are so smart that they label the folder for you depending on the contents of the folder. Neat, right?!

3. Save your device's contents on your computer. Back up, ladies and gents!

4. Organize your folders/apps in an order that makes sense with the frequency of their use. I use my iPlan calendar everyday, this is why it is the lone app on the home screen. Applications that you use frequently should be on the first page while all other apps and folders that are not used often should be stored in a secondary spot, perhaps another page so they are out of your immediate view but still accessible. 

Home screen on my phone.
Simple- just how I like it.

I have one folder, entitled iPhone Apps,
which houses the majority of my applications.
The shot you see above is the first "page" of the
folder, which are applications I use frequently.
The remainder of the "pages" in this folder
are filled with iPhone factory applications
that cannot be deleted. 

Other tips:

1. Regularly backup your photos/other documents and delete them from your phone. 

2. Merge your contacts and delete duplicates. (I might do a post on how I organize all my contacts, regardless of where their information is stored.)

3. If your device comes with a removable SD Card, only try to keep photos and documents on the SD card. 

What does your home screen look like? Let's do a "what's on my phone" tag- show me your home screens. :) 

Welcome!

Hello my dear friends,

First and foremost, WELCOME to Chaos Free. *hug*

My name is Taguk Mook (not exactly- it's a childhood nickname that has stuck...at least it's better than some other nicknames that I have had such as Blinchik, Russian for crêpe/pancake haha). Embarrassing nicknames aside, I am so glad you are here and interested in ridding yourself of chaos! I hope to inspire you to implement some of my tips and tricks for becoming organized and clutter-free. Yes, it is possible!

The vision behind this blog is fostered by my fascination with entropy and my philosophy towards life, which I attribute to my wonderful sister. We live in an antithetical world- it is full of disorder  and yet we have a disposition for trying to make sense of it by simplifying the complex chaos! My philosophy, therefore, is already inherent to us- habituated simplicity is best. A life conditioned to choose simplicity, not a whimsical flirtation with it, is one that is far more happier. Simplicity is relative for everyone, so this might mean living off the grid with no possessions to some or just cutting down on possessions and getting orderly. Wherever you find yourself on this spectrum, you must always actively choose to get rid of the clutter and chaos to live a freer and simpler life. I hope this philosophy is able to manifest itself in your life through my thoughts on this blog and affect you in ways that help you live a more fulfilling life.

Theorizing to the side (and taking my own advice), I am here to share my thoughts on organization and helping you live in your spaces more efficiently and freely! LET'S DO IT!

Thank you for stopping by and I hope to see you again when I begin more substantive posting!

Tune in soon for a two part series on tackling mail, electronic and snail mail. 

Lots of hugs,
Taguk Mook