Day One | Mini Declutter in 5 minutes/day for one week

For one week we are running daily Tips to Declutter in 5 minutes. 


Day One Tip: Call and schedule a pick up for one week in advance.


If you've already got a favorite charity that will pick up your donation, call and schedule a pick up. Make a note of how they like to have the boxes marked  for Day 2. I found a new favorite with a Google search of "donation pick up boulder." The search gave me local and nationwide organizations but I like to do everything online, so  Pick Up Please was perfect for me; they let me schedule online, they sent my reminder and receipt by email, and I feel great about it helping Veterans. Think about whether you prefer phone or email and choose the charity that fits your style.

The magic of the human brain is that when you decide to donate some of what's cluttering up your house, you will start seeing candidates for donation everywhere: boxes of summer clothes that are out of style, a comforter for a king-sized bed you no longer own, that tetherball pole that has been propped up in the garage for three years.  The way that our brains handle the overwhelming amount of visual stimuli we encounter every minute is to blur everything except what we are focusing on.  We literally see what we expect to see. So by choosing to focus on finding clutter to donate, it will pop into view. There's a great book on the topic of how our brains see what we expect to see in Designing with the Mind in Mind.


That's why we are bringing you this series. 

To give you a little added incentive, if you post a picture of your donation on the Orderly Chic Facebook page by July 1, 2012, you'll receive a $10 voucher for any products on orderlychic.com.

Kay talks about the how the design of the Grocery List Board makes kids more independent

Kay talking about Grocery List whiteboard (3)

Tip: take a picture with your phone before you leave for the grocery store.

[PRESS RELEASE] Graduation Gifts Have Never Been More Chic

BOULDER, CO – Have a future graduate in your life? Not since Dr. Seuss’s “Oh, The Places You’ll Go” has a gift been more appropriate than the clever products of Orderly Chic by Boulder, CO mom/designer/entrepreneur Kay McLellan

Orderly Chic’s one-of-a-kind message boards help brighten up any locker, refrigerator or office space with their sleek design, making them an ideal solution for new graduates craving a little organization. “People have told me that they like the fact that these boards are practical and stylish”, McLellan says.

The Orderly Chic website and Amazon Store offers Grocery list boards for kitchen and Weekly Calendar for home office, Skulls, Cupcakes and Coffee Cups for caffeine lovers, and Mirrors and Black list boards.

Orderly Chic is the brainchild of industrial designer Kay McLellan, who was inspired to create a line of products that eased the stress and pain of daily life after she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 2001. Orderly Chic products are available at Amazon.com. For more information on Orderly Chic , please contact Kay McLellan at 888-492-8235 or info@orderlychic.com. Visit online at www.OrderlyChic.com

Kay talks about the Grocery List design (1)

Kay talks about how dividing the board into different parts of the store makes the shopping trip easier.

[Quick Tip] Mother's Day

There's nothing I love more than a splendid Mother's Day brunch with my kids but experience has taught me that they and their father will ask me on the Saturday before..."Where do you want to go for Mother's Day?" 

This is pretty predictable. 

But of course all the great brunch places will be booked...again experience has provided me with data to support that fact. So I've got a choice. I can stew. I can imagine that Brad never forgets to make reservations for Angelina. I can call my girlfriends and complain about how only moms seem to be able to think 5 steps and 3 weeks down the road. 

Or I can, as I did this year, love them just the way they are and simply pick up the phone to make a reservation at my top choice restaurant and my chosen time, ensuring for myself the lovely day I dream of.

So this year, when they excitedly ask "Where do you want to go?" I can say happily "Chautauqua Dining Hall at noon." I know it will be lovely!

So make that reservation today and share with me your hometown favorite.

What are your best quick tips? Share them on our Facebook Wall! 

[Quick Tips] Graduation Gown

When your graduate picks up the cap and gown, have them take it immediately to a dry cleaner and have them steam out the wrinkles.

This will save the graduation morning realization that the gown has been turned into origami while being hermetically sealed in plastic. When we discovered this, at least we were lucky enough to have a gown that could tolerate low-heat ironing. Other moms told me that some gowns are made of of fabric that can't be ironed. 

What quick tips do you have to make life easier? Share them to our Facebook Wall!