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

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

Day 3: Wash a load of blankets or sheets you no longer need.

I've been in the spot where I wanted to put something out for donation but it was too late to wash it. So that's today's activity. Take a look in your linen closet or wherever you tend to pile those unused blankets, sheets, etc., and throw them in the washer so they'll be ready to go by Day 6. If they don't need to be washed, you're one step ahead of the game.

To keep up with all our tips, click here.

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

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



Day 2: Pull out boxes or trash bags and put a label on "Donate to charity." Invite the family to contribute.

This is simple, just get out the boxes and some trash bags. Put a label on it so that you start thinking about what to donate and it will pop into view. I also like to imagine a specific person -- maybe the wife of a Veteran -- who really needs that king-sized comforter while I gain the space it occupied. When you  invite the kids to contribute, you are also training them to declutter their own spaces. Everyone feels the pinch of loss when we give our belongings away -- and kids are no exception -- but when we can visualize someone who can make better use of our clutter, our sacrifice has meaning. This lesson is valuable for kids and something I like to remember myself.

To keep up with all our tips, click here.

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.