Tuesday’s Tip – Car Boot Sales Planning

This week’s Tuesday’s Tip ties in nicely with the main topic of the week “Bank Holiday Decluttering”.

If you do decide to sell your decluttered and unwanted items at a Car Boot Sale, it is a good idea to do a little bit of research beforehand. Find out about suitable Car Boot Sales in your area. You’ll want to know:

• Where is the exact location of the Car Boot Sale
• When can you enter the site for set-up
• What are the opening times
• What are the fees per car
• Whether you need to pre-book a
• Whether there is any catering on site or whether you need to bring a flask/some nibbles etc.
• Whether there are toilets on-site

A little bit of research beforehand will save you from unpleasant surprises on the day. Check out Car Boot Junction online to start you off. It’s an extensive directory for Car Boot Sales across the country.

Also beware: the first thing that happens when you set up is that your car will be surrounded by the Pros, people who are professional dealers at these events and make their living this way. They will try and buy anything of value off you at rock bottom prices so that they can sell them at their stand for a profit. Therefore make sure you know how much your prized possessions are actually worth and how much you are willing to let them go for.

Bank Holiday Decluttering – Part 1

May having 2 bank holidays is a great month for decluttering. You can either do a major decluttering session on the first bank holiday and then a car boot sale on the 2^nd, tackle two large projects including a sale for each one on the Mondays or use the first weekend for being productive the second for much needed rest and relaxation. It’s up to you.

Whichever option you choose, here are my top tips for making the most of your decluttering session:

Before you start: Be sure you know what you want to achieve and get realistic what you can achieve. Your home didn’t get cluttered in one weekend. You can’t really expect to have it sorted overnight. Which room or which area bothers you most, that’s your first project.

Go with the weather: since it is now finally starting to get warmer, make the most of a sunny weekend by tackling the garage if that’s on your list, or the garden shed. Should it be rainy and cold, tackle a room or two in the house, the loft or some cupboards, whatever needs doing.

Baby steps: Don’t try and tackle the whole project at once. Break each job into smaller sections and tackle them one by one. You feel less overwhelmed at the beginning and a great sense of achievement every time you finish another chunk, especially if you have written out a list and get to cross things off one by one. This only works if you completely finish one section though, before moving onto the next one.

More top tips will follow on Friday, just in time for the Bank Holiday weekend. See you then!

Tuesday’s Tip – Making Money – The Video

Today I’ve got a video for you. It is a clip on YouTube showing the lovely Peter Holmes from BBC1’s Trading Up. The video shows a good example of how you can turn your spare room into more than a bit of spare cash. It is sponsored by the lovely people at Big Yellow Self Storage (I apologise for getting the name wrong in the post about Declutter to Make Money). Once you have decluttered your spare room – often referred to as the “junk room” – why not put the items that are left and that you want to keep in to storage. Check out Big Yellow Self Storage what they have to offer.

And here is the video:

Be inspired and start to plan what to do with the extra cash!

Increase Your Efficiency to Stay Ahead in Business

Companies need to focus on boosting productivity at a time where any inefficiency could be highly costly, despite the fact the average person in the UK wastes 33% of the working year – that is 87 days of the 235 days worked (The 2008 Proudfoot Global Productivity Report)  .

In March 2009, business advisor BDO Stoy Hayward announced predictions that more than 320,000 jobs may be lost over the coming months so now, more than ever, companies will need to have much more organised and efficient workforces.

Practical organisation solutions can easily be implemented throughout an organisation. The benefits of implementing learnt time management and organisation techniques, and improving office environments that employees are proud of, increases productivity and thus the company becomes more competitive.

With the UK having the longest working week in Europe – an average of 43.6 hours compared to the EU average of 40.4, businesses need to become aware of the simple changes they can implement in the day to day running of the business by improving office filing systems, making better use of their desk space or learning new time management techniques, which leads to less waste and more effective resource management.

In fact, Robbie Weir, programme manager for Envirowise, the resource efficiency company, has found that more efficient time management and organisation will not only save those pennies but ‘can also lead to an increase in turnover of up to 4%. (Envirowise Press Release 2008) 

With statistics like these, time management and organisation guidance is crucial for riding the current storm. The way to achieve this is through engaging with employees; it is essential to find solutions that motivate employees, and create a fresh outlook on the business and working day – particularly during times of economic uncertainty, when negativity can nibble away at workers’ enthusiasm.

Tuesday’s Tip – Don’t Move Clutter

If you are planning to move in the near future, start now to declutter. You don’t want to move all your clutter with you. Why not take it as an opportunity to start fresh, with a new house and new habits. Living clutter free – now there’s a challenge.

This is just a little a taster of the next bigger topic – clutter and moving. Come back soon to read more about it, it’s probably going to run for a couple of week since it’s a big topic.

Declutter to Make Money

I have already talked about your different options to make money from decluttering by selling your unwanted items. But have you ever thought about decluttering so that you can make money? A recent survey, commissioned by Big Yellow Storage has come up with some amazing facts.

Households across the UK could be making up to a whopping £38 billion a year, just by storing excess clutter to rent out a room. That equates to over £3 billion a month based on average rental incomes across the UK. It could mean an extra personal income of as much as £320 a month or £3,840 a year per household! It’s time to get the junk out of the spare room to make some money.

More than a third (36%) of us that have a whole room in our home filled with junk and the storage company found that nearly one in three (31%) would definitely rent out a room to make money and beat the credit crunch. With recent figures showing that the rental market is continuing to flourish with a 20% rise in tenancies, it looks like some people have already cottoned onto this lucrative scheme.

You could rent out full time or part time. For instance, you could rent out to weekly commuters from Monday to Friday and have the room to yourself at weekends for your own houseguests or visitors.

In any case, there is money to be made. And it all starts with a few hours spent decluttering. If the task seems too overwhelming to tackle on your own you could hire a professional declutterer. It is a small investment compared to what you can earn in the long or even medium term and the job will much easier to tackle with expert help.

Also, check with your financial advisor as renting out one room in your own home can even be tax free!

Tuesday’s Tip – The Wisdom of Goal Setting

Goal setting was not invented recently, it is in fact hundreds, if not thousands of years old as the quotes below show. Here are some of my favourite quotes on goal setting:

If you don't know where you are going,
you'll end up someplace else.
Yogi Berra

There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something.
Henry Ford

Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what harbour he is making for, no wind is the right wind.
Seneca

Who aims at excellence will be above mediocrity; who aims at mediocrity will be far short of it.
Burmese Saying

In absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily acts of trivia.
Author Unknown

Less Clutter – Less Arguing

There are all sorts of reasons why people argue. Disagreement over money, the in-laws, how to raise the kids and jealousy are to name but a few. But one reason of arguments, and it’s quite high on the list, is clutter and mess.

Clutter may unnecessarily take up room but it’s also a source of contention for everybody, with almost one in three (33%) of us arguing about mess at least once a week and 2.4 million of us are arguing about it more than once a day! 18-24 year olds are quickest to lose their temper over mess and 38% of us claim clutter is the main source of arguments. That’s nearly five times more than rows caused by the remote control and double the number caused by housework! (Based on a survey of 1065 people in the UK commissioned Tickbox, on behalf of Big Yellow Storage).

And it would be so easy to get rid of this particular enemy of calmness. Only 15 minutes of decluttering every day will make an enormous difference (see Flylady!). Even if you don’t do anything on Sundays you will rack up 1 1/2 hours of decluttering every week and your house will get back in shape soon.

And while we’re on the subject of decluttering, you will probably come across some items that you want to keep but haven’t really got room for. This could be sports equipment you only need half of the year or ornaments that are seasonal. Have you ever considered putting them in storage? There are lots of companies out there offering different packages. Simply google “storage companies” or go to yell.com and look for “storage” in your area.

And why not hire a Professional Declutterer to help with the job. At Well Organised, we are non-judgmental and objective and will give you a different point of view. And best of all, we will put new systems in place for you that should make it much easier for you to keep on top of things.