Category: Christine Daves

BINS! I have found myself using bins at a lot of client’s homes recently. There are so many reasons to containerize things in bins – it helps us know where to find things, keeps items of a certain type together, streamlines visual appearances, and collects clutter that we want to keep accessible. I am picky […]

I love learning things at the Minnesota State Fair! This year I learned about recycling textiles from a display in the Eco Building. It read that clean, worn-out clothes with missing buttons, holes or small stains CAN be donated to Goodwill and the Salvation Army. These items are recycled into rags, wiping cloths, insulation, carpet […]

My only child is moving across the country for his first year of college. My husband and I are excited for him but have some trepidation about what we will do with our time. No matter how much we spoil our dogs, we won’t go to their baseball games, they won’t call us when they […]

I recently moved my home office from a traditional space on the first floor to the guest bedroom upstairs. My husband started a new job working from home and we have an old, needy, labrador that can’t manage the stairs and cries when left alone. Thus, to avoid 8 hours of canine cries, whimpers, and […]

Occasionally I get calls from overwhelmed clients who just lost a parent and have found themselves with a house full of stuff that they have to deal with. While the client grieves, they are burdened making millions of decisions about every item in the home. It is challenging, in part, because what may look like […]

Most of us have things that are meaningful to us but that we might not need to see all the time. For example, I frequently find paintings that clients made with friends at wine-n-paint events. While they evoke wonderful memories, the paintings might not be masterpieces – so what to do with it? There are a […]

Does your pantry make your life easy? A lot of pantries are overflowing. There are bags of pasta falling over; 8 types of specialty flour – each partially used; a bag or two of dried fruit of mysterious origin; unlabeled bags of spices; left over Halloween candy; and who knows what else. While we are […]

Happy New Year! Congratulations on making it through another holiday season! Hopefully you found moments of peace, joy, and a little magic! For me, the new year always invites personal reflection. Specifically, I take time to consider what ‘clutters’ my schedule. I think we can fall into activities out of habit, expectations, or feelings of […]

Anti-Clutter Gift Giving Ideas I love the holiday season! I love the music, the lights, decorations, seeing friends and family, and the festive mood that the season creates. Finding gifts, wrapping them, and even waiting in the long line at the post office to mail them brings me joy! I realize many people do not […]

Clients often say “I have too many books!” and my response is “There could be a lot worse things to have too many of!” Of course, I understand that what they are really saying is that books are a component of the clutter that they do not like. That said, we do live in a […]

We do not have hurricanes or tsunamis in Minnesota, so I do not a keep a Go-Bag at the ready. But the week of the riots in South Minneapolis I put one together. It had our portable lockbox, dog food, dog leashes, and a few other necessities. Fortunately, the riots passed and the items in […]

As summer winds down we often find ourselves looking for storage solutions for the patio chair cushions, pool supplies, beach towels, bug spray, sunscreen, bike helmets, picnic gear, sandals, etc. Storing off season items, in out-of-the-way spaces, can make space for the muddy and salt-covered snow boots, winter coats, ice skates and ski equipment that […]