Sierra Box Company - Leslie's Blog

Now What's in a Dog Box?

2010-01-21T07:29:33-08:00

Almost a year ago I wrote about an idea of what to put in a dog or cat box. My youngest daughter puts her toys in the dog and cat boxes. She loves animals and the boxes are light and easy to carry from room to room. They are also sturdy. She has three of these in her room.

Of course, there is the normal use for these boxes: dog toys, leashes, treats, etc.

But,I thought I would use these for my Christmas decorations. The cat ones are green and the dog ones are red. Perfect. I would put all the lights and ornaments for the tree in the red ones and then all the other decorations in the green ones. A couple of things might need larger boxes and for that I have the large storage box or the under the bed boxes.

My children’s sports equipment that is in the garage also go perfectly in the dog and cat boxes. The winter jackets and gloves that we hardly need here in Arizona also fit wonderfully in them. So be creative. Of course, all of these items also fit in the regular storage boxes but, for me, I enjoy the dog and cat boxes more for they have bright colors and aren’t so plain. And I do still label each one so I know what is inside. Have fun, Leslie

Digital De-Cluttering

2010-01-06T14:22:07-08:00

Ahhh…the new year of 2010. You may have already done all the cleaning and clearing you want to tackle but if not I read of a great idea. This one has to do with clearing out your computer. I am not a great computer wizard but I can do simple things. Jeri Dansky wrote an article on how to declutter your computer. Decluttering is great, especially if you are backing up your computer regularly. For this makes backing up faster, easier to find items, and, as always, just makes you feel better and less weighed down.

Jeri’s ideas to clear out: unneeded or out of date bookmarks, trash emails, sent emails, programs or applications no longer being used, photos from your camera that have duplicates or are not labeled and in a file, etc. I think this list gets you thinking about you can eliminate from your computer. Tackle it in chunks. Spend 15-30 minutes at a time just clearing things out. Good luck.

Home Inventory

2009-12-09T14:31:31-08:00

In case of fire or burglary each household needs to have a list of valuables and receipts. Make time to do this but by breaking it up room by room it, hopefully, won’t seem so big of a project.

With pen and paper sit in each room and write down each major item in that room. After listing the item, write the year of purchase (or best guess), and an estimate of cost. (If you already have receipts for these items then gather them together so you can make this list perfectly accurate). Make sure you list items in bathrooms, halls, or in drawers and closets. Furs and jewelry may need a special rider on your insurance policy.

After writing down all major items it is time to take pictures or a video. Go from room to room and zoom in on all items.

Next get three copies of your inventory and the accompanying pictures and/or video. Put one in your home safe or strong box, one in your bank safe deposit box, and one in your home insurance file.

Remember to add to your list and the pictures any additional items you purchase that you consider “major.”

Computer Files

2009-11-18T16:13:21-08:00

In Jeri Dansky’s October 2009 newsletter she gave some good ideas on how to organize computer files. If you want a date in the title of your file then start with the year. For example, 2009-03-15. This way items come up in easy chronological order. If your files are dated and by subject or person or doctor or whatever, try this: Jones 2009-10-23. If your item does not need a day then just do this: Jones 2009-02. So all your files for Jones would begin with the name Jones and a different date. Then these would all be under the file folder Jones. Or I have a recipe file and all the recipe sub categories are listed like this: recipes-breakfast or recipes-main dish-chicken and so on. If you want a file to always be at the top, put a symbol in front like this: *family. Hopefully this may help a little with the myriad of files we all have. Good luck.

WD-40

2009-11-12T11:37:46-08:00

My mother received an email a long time ago that she just passed on to me. It is about the history of WD-40. The email listed a myriad of uses for WD-40. Some I knew about and some I didn’t. I just thought I would pass the information on.

Protects silver from tarnishing
cleans and lubricates guitar strings
gets oil spots off concrete driveways
gives floors that ‘just waxed’ sheen without making it slippery
restores and cleans chalkboards
removes lipstick stains
loosens stubborn zippers
untangles jewelry chains
removes stains from stainless steel sinks
removes dirt and grime from the BBQ grill
keeps ceramic/terra cotta garden pots from oxidizing
removes tomato stains from clothing
keeps glass shower doors free of water spots
camouflages scratches in ceramic and marble floors
keeps scissors working smoothly
lubricates noisy door hinges on vehicles and doors in homes
lubricates gear shift and mower deck lever for ease of handling on riding mowers
spraying an umbrella stem makes it easier to open and close
lubricates tracks in sticking home windows
restores and cleans padded leather dashboards in vehicles
restores and cleans roof racks on vehicles
lubricates and stops squeaks in electric fans
lubricates wheel sprockets on tricycles, bicycles, and wagons
lubricates fan belts on washers and dryers and keeps them running smoothly
keeps rust from forming on saws and saw blades, and other tools
removes splattered grease on stove
keeps bathroom mirror from fogging
keeps pigeons off the balcony – they hate the smell
removes all traces of duct tape

It is also used to keep the Statue of Liberty protected from the elements.

Try out a use that you didn’t know about before. It is amazing stuff. Leslie

Jewelry

2009-10-28T17:24:32-07:00

I have recently heard about a couple of different ways to store jewelry. The first is for earrings. Just use an ice cube tray – any configuration will do. Just place a couple of sets of earrings in each “ice cube.” Two of my daughters are using this method. The tray just sits on their dresser and the earrings are easy to see and find the pair that matches for the day.

The second is a multi-tiered pants hanger. Just place this on a rod in your clothes closet or on the back of your closet door. Large earrings and rings can be put on an upper tier with bracelets on the middle tier and necklaces can hang from the bottom one. This keeps everything from being one big jumble. (This is from Donna Smallin in “The One-Minute Organizer A to Z Storage Solutions”) Leslie

Remember the Mail

2009-10-21T14:26:59-07:00

Just a reminder about the daily chore of sorting mail. Don’t let it pile up. We just returned from a week’s trip and it is always a time consuming job of sorting the mail while we are gone.

Bring in the mail and sort it now. About 40% of mail is junk. Put it in the recycling immediately. If there are items to file then file them immediately. As for bills put them immediately with your bill paying stash. Presto, the mail is done.

Also wanted to remind you to throw something away every day. It doesn’t have to be big, but throw away something. If you can, go through a drawer, cupboard, closet, or shelf every day or so. It may take awhile but you will make progress. I just finished going through my mother’s entire home. I went over to her place one afternoon a week and we started in the kitchen and worked our way through everything. All the cupboards, closets, and drawers. We even went through her paper piles and files. We got rid of a lot of stuff and put things where they belong. My mother is a “tucker”. She keeps a rather clean home with a few piles but if there is something she doesn’t know what to do with she “tucks it” into a closet or cupboard so things are out of sight but also out of place. We remedied that and got it all put back in the right place. Much better! Good luck and don’t give up. Leslie

Just A Little A Day

2009-09-30T12:24:02-07:00

I was reading a review on a book entitled, “Why Make Yourself Crazy – 300 Strategies for a Stress Free Life.” One of the ideas to help make ourselves stress free was to “throw something away every day.” This is great. It encompasses the fact that to begin to declutter it takes desire and the discipline to begin. Then it only takes a little a day, around 15 minutes. Just pick a drawer, shelf, or pile and begin. The main idea is to throw away what is not needed and will, probably, never be used or has already been dealt with or used. Just sit down, go through a pile, throw away, save the few things needed, and go on with your day. Then tomorrow do the same thing. You will be amazed at the difference.

When you have finished going through a filing cabinet, closet, room, or whatever and only have what you really want and need, then it’s time to find a place for each of item and then ALWAYS put it back there. Remember the principle – “only touch it once.” Don’t put something on the floor, counter, dining room table (or wherever it doesn’t belong) only to have to touch it again and put it where it really belongs.

Food Storage

2009-09-09T13:09:38-07:00

I felt like I should address a different type of storage need today. With the whole economic downturn our church has been stressing water and food storage. I wanted to pass some information along.

First food item we need to store is water. If something were to happen and our water system was jeopardized in some way we would need water. A city near us recently had their water supply contaminated for a couple of days until the city could work out the problem. We need 1 gallon of water per day per person and we need a two week supply. We also need 1 gallon per person per day of water for hygiene and cleaning needs. So. . . the total is 14 gallons of drinking water (mainly small water bottles by the case) and 14 gallons cleaning water per person. This can be stored in large tanks in your backyard. I have 15 flats of water under two beds in our home. We also have 5 55 gallon drums in a shed in the backyard full of water.

Next we should have a 3 month supply of food on hand. The easiest way is to pick 14 meals that you and your family enjoys and write down the ingredients and their amounts. Times these amounts by 6 to equal 3 months. Total these amounts and then slowly start adding these items into your normal grocery shopping. Plan on in a few weeks having these ingredients on hand. Again, you can utilize under the bed storage or rearrange your closets and make one a food storage closet. With our weather, food should not be stored in the garage. But that extra toilet paper, paper towels, etc can.

Another item that is recommended is cash. If we are out of electricity the ATM machines won’t work, credit card swipe machines won’t work, etc. Keep a few hundred dollars in small bills in a safe place at home – easily accessible. You may need to purchase items and the only way will be with cash.

I hope this gets you to thinking and, more importantly, acting to get prepared for any type of contingency. Leslie

Time to Rethink Reality

2009-09-02T12:17:44-07:00

I was just reading an organizing newsletter by Jeri Dansky. She said something very profound. We need to rethink what we actually use and need. For instance, I do crafts and love to sew. But I can’t do and don’t have time to do all craft projects that I like. So I limit myself to the very best ones. I don’t do cardmaking. I think they are great but I know I will never make any. So I don’t have any cardmaking supplies. But I do have tole painting supplies, sewing supplies, and photo album supplies.

If you have dishes that look beautiful or are so cute but you haven’t put them on the table in ages, then maybe it is time for them to go. Maybe give them to a married child or sibling?

How about linens? Do you have 10 sets of nice sheets for your bed but only use your 2 favorites? Think about downsizing.

The list could go on and on. My point is that if you(or I) are hanging on to supplies or items that we will NEVER get to or will NEVER take the time to use, we should dispose of them. Give them to someone who will use them or sell them on Craig’s List or whatever. So rethink your reality of what you actually use. Good luck, Leslie