Getting Organized This New Year!

10 Jan

A Major “Mini” Resolution

New-Year-Resolutions
Happy New Year!  2014, a new year, fresh and ready to be filled with projects, adventures, and naturally a few resolutions.

Like many people, I have an organizational goal for 2014 (shocking, I know 😉 ), to pare down to the essentials to reduce excess in my life (& by doing so, reduce stress.) 

The Major Mini Problem

While unpacking after moving earlier this year, I noticed far too much of type one thing: mini toiletries! After a hotel stay I always keep the half-used bottles of shampoo and conditioner, figuring they’ll just get thrown out if I don’t.  But instead of finishing off the bottles at home, I’d “file” them away in the drawer of minis, in clearly labeled Ziplocks (hair, face, lotion, etc. -remember “like with like”?), with the idea I’ll use them again when I travel.  But then I get new stuff, and the stash grows.  So, my resolution is to use up all of these minis by the end of 2014, and attain a less-cluttered vanity in the process.

In conversations with friends and experiences with clients, I know I’m not alone. Keeping hotel “minis”, and eventually ending up with a bigger-than-intended stash, is a common issue.  So, what to do about it? 

To achieve my resolution I am ignoring my full-sized products and putting out the minis, one bottle at a time, until I’ve reduced the stash to just one of everything, which will live in my travel kit, ready to go at a moment’s notice.

526612483_df70725fb0If you have a stash of mini toiletries that has grown unwieldy, (particularly full ones) and this tortoise-like approach isn’t for you, here are a couple other ideas:

  • One friend whose brother is serving in Afghanistan right now sent over her stash of full mini bottles in a care package. You can send care packages in flat rate boxes through the USPS.  Find out more about shipping restrictions.  If you don’t have any connections to anyone in the military, but this idea appeals to you, find a soldier through Any Soldier Inc. (or its affiliates, Any Marine, Any Sailor, Any Airman, and Any Coast Guard).
  • A client whose hotel toiletry collection had grown out of hand donated them to Boston Children’s Hospital, where parents are often staying overnight in high-stress situations, and giving little thought to planning their own personal hygiene! Children’s was near and dear to our client’s heart, but you can get creative!

What are your New Year’s Resolutions (organizational or otherwise)?  Leave a comment and let us know!  If that resolution falls into the “tackle that closet” or “deal with my kids’ cluttered playroom” category, we’re always here to help!

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