From Clutter2Clarity

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Save The Date In April!

On Sunday, April 29 I will be giving a talk about clutter and the mind/body connection at Spiritual Beauty Spa in Highlands, NJ.

And in honor of Tax Day and Earth Day, I will also be offering tips on how to deal with excessive paper and lower your carbon footprint.

More details to follow but save the date!

2018. Rosemary Flannery. All Rights Reserved.

Monday, March 19, 2018

Monmouth County Paper Shredding

Happy almost Spring 2018!

My paper shredder was declared dead recently by the Highlands FD, so I am so happy to see that I have a place to get my papers shredded for FREE!!! This is a great time of year to go through old papers especially with Tax Day a month away and add some breathing room to your home,office or storage space.

Here are the dates. For more info, click on the link below.

All shredding events will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. as follows:
• Saturday, March 24 – Marlboro; 1979 Township Dr., Municipal Complex
• Saturday, April 14 – Atlantic Highlands; Parking Lot, Municipal Harbor
• Saturday, April 21 – Freehold Twp.; 1 Municipal Plaza, Municipal Building Lot
• Saturday, May 5 – Aberdeen; 1 Aberdeen Square/141 Church St., Municipal Lot
• Saturday, May 12 – Keyport; West Front Street, Fireman’s Park
• Saturday, June 16 – Upper Freehold; 314 Rt. 539 Cream Ridge, Municipal Bldg.
• Saturday, June 30 – Middletown; 63 Tindall Rd., High School North
• Saturday, July 14 – Spring Lake Heights; Rt. 71 & Brighton Ave., Elementary School
• Sunday, September 16 – Manasquan; Corner of Main St. & Fourth Ave., Parking Lot
• Saturday, October 13 – Asbury Park; City Hall Parking Lot
• Saturday, November 17 – Bradley Beach; Ocean Avenue off Main Street, Lake Terrace

http://www.ahherald.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=25245:county-announces-2018-paper-shredding-days&catid=294:local-news-sp-209&utm_source=newsletter_1259&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ahh-newsbrief

Monday, March 12, 2018

Get Ready For Spring!

Hard to believe Spring is 8 days away (especially with the third Nor'Easter in a week looming for those of us on the East Coast)! With Daylight Savings happening and little peeps of flowers starting to pop up in my garden, I am ready for the warm weather.

Spring is also a great time to step away from binge watching and examine your physical space at home or at work. If you are moving, have an overstuffed attic or storage space, this is the time to tackle it and get ready to lighten your load. Just think how much easier moving will be if you go through items BEFORE you move; an empty attic may become a new playroom or guest room and if you get rid of that storage space full of items you have learned to live without, just think of the money that will go back in your pocket. I am waiting for the pond that is currently to dry out and then I am going to be ruthless tackling my garage!

If you are having difficulty dealing with your clutter on your own, contact me to make an appointment.

2018. Rosemary Flannery. All Rights Reserved.

Friday, March 2, 2018

Unusual Foods For A Clean Home.

I always advocate green cleaning products and this latest article from the NYT is an addition to my arsenal. However, some of their suggestions can be tricky or unpleasant. I’m not a condiments fan so the ketchup and butter/mayo suggestions will not be happening in my home. I use baking soda for metal but if the item is in bad shape, I take it to Franklin Loeffler (732-741-9220) who specializes in brass and metal polishing. He handles all of my metal refinishing and has given new life into items I thought were too far gone. As for water rings on wood, how about using a coaster??

Happy Cleaning!

Stay dry and warm today!

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/27/smarter-living/clean-with-ketchup-vodka-butter-coca-cola-sliced-bread-oil-tabasco.html

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

10 Items To Toss or Donate

Some very practical ideas from House Beautiful. Take advantage of being cooped up during the winter to re-examine your home. The only footnote I have to this article is not all local libraries will take magazines or books, so contact your branch before dumping these items on them.

http://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/organizing-tips/g14538429/things-to-toss-to-declutter/

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

NYC Tree Cycle

If you’re like me you dislike seeing Christmas trees put out on the street after New Year. The city of NY is having their annual ‘mulchathon’ this weekend as an alternative to dumping trees in a landfill. See the link below for details.

https://www.nycgovparks.org/highlights/festivals/mulchfest

For those of us outside of NYC, check with your local municipality to see if they offer this seasonal service. You’ll be happy you did once it’s time to tend your Spring garden!

Sunday, December 31, 2017

Holiday Decoration Storage

If you are in the NYC metro area today, you are experiencing freezing temperatures and the remnants of yesterday’s lovely snow. I have my stack of magazines and endless cups of tea standing by to avoid going outside. However, I have had a lazy week so I am getting a jump start on taking down my holiday decorations. I am not much of a decorator, favoring the 'less is more' philosophy so clearing up will be brief.If you are of the other persuasion, ‘more is more,' then putting away decorations could take a few days. However you choose to decorate, the important thing is making sure everything you have is in usable shape and put away carefully.

While stores like The Container Store have special containers for decoration storage, I have some additional tips that won’t break the bank especially after a busy spending season.

Inspect all of your dishes, ornaments, etc. and look for chips, cracks, and signs of wear. If items can be repaired and still work, then by all means do that. Otherwise it might be time to pare down or replace your decoration inventory. Holiday sales are happening now so it’s a great time to stock up and avoid holiday shopping crowds next year. If everything is in good shape it is important to preserve them for future seasons. For fragile decorations, I suggest wrapping in bubble wrap and storing in Ziploc bags (depending on the size of the item) or sturdy gift boxes. Linens should be washed and can be housed also in Ziploc or cloth bags with some lavender sachets to keep out moths. Dishes and glassware should be stored in zipped quilted cases. Use egg cartons to store fragile ornaments.

Check out your interior and exterior lights to see if they are working properly. Make sure you replace burnt out or broken bulbs. Once you have determined they are in good order, don’t just toss them in a box only to deal with a tangled mess next year. Instead, save the headaches and carefully wrap the strands around pieces of cardboard. If you have multiple lights for multiple locations, label the cardboard according to use.

Cover hanging decorations like wreaths, in large trash bags or reusable cloth or nylon laundry bags and hang on hooks in your storage area or mount uncovered on a heavy duty rod so they're off the floor.

Group like items together to save time and label.

Now that everything is wrapped or contained, it’s a good idea to house all holiday related items in one bin or designated area. I suggest using clear bins so you can see the contents or use red/green or blue bins to designate the holiday contents. Whichever method you use, make sure you post an inventory on the outside of each box so you can access items easily next year as well return items to their designated home post holidays.

And finally, one item that seems to puzzle people on how to handle is holiday cards. Some like to hold onto them, others just toss. If you are going to keep them, curate your collection and limit the number you keep; perhaps scan them and then discard the actual card. If you are going to toss, consider recycling or re-purposing. Just note that the St. Jude's Hospital re-purposing program has been discontinued.

Enjoy the last remaining hours of 2017 and have a wonderful and hopefully organized New Year!

Giving Back

Clarity believes in helping out in the community and has donated de-cluttering time as part of fundraising efforts for the following groups:

Berkeley Carroll School, Brooklyn, NY
Barrow Street Nursery School, NY, NY
Borough of Highlands Library Fund, Highlands, NJ
Clean Ocean Action, Highlands, NJ
Coney Island USA, Brooklyn, NY

Eagle Island, Inc.
Empire Cares Cystic Fibrosis Gala 2014

Henry Hudson PTO, Highlands, NJ
Literacy Volunteers of Union County
PS 107 Brooklyn, NY
Red Bank Public Library

On Earth Day 2009, Clarity partnered with Transcendence Spa to dispense free de-cluttering consultations and recycling tips.

What Are Clients Saying About Clarity

Client feedback is an important part of Clarity's service. Here's what clients are saying about their experiences:

I have been working with Rosemary at least annually for over 10 years: we organized my NYC triplex, my house in VT and my barn! I have a lot of space and closets and tackling them was easier and more fun with Rosemary at my side. In addition to decluttering, she also helped me move into two NYC apartments and my Vermont farmhouse after a total renovation had necessitated moving out. She is a tremendously hard worker and is great at keeping me on task and on schedule.

What I really love about working with Rosemary is that she always makes sure there is time at the end of the project, whether we are spending a couple of hours, a day or a week together, to make sure that everything we are getting rid of actually leaves my space. It is invaluable. So many times before working with her, I would clean out a closet and bags and boxes of stuff I wanted to get rid of would just sit there and sometimes wind up back in the same closet from which I purged them! We take wire hangers to the dry cleaner, donate eyeglasses, take countless things to the various thrift shops on 23rd St. and then come back to a space that is clear and organized. Yea!

In Vermont, she helped me wade through the moldy contents of many boxes after Irene flooded my basement and then we got huge tupperware bins and shelving, so it wouldn’t happen again!

She has so many creative solutions and useful ideas. I have realized that decluttering is a continuing process: which is why I usually do a project with her every year, that way the things I keep thinking I should get around to clearing out, actually do get cleared out!

Dianne Barclay

NY, NY & VT

We hired Rosemary to help us with a seemingly insurmountable task, that being tackling our 850 square foot basement space. Over a decade-plus it became a dumping ground of sorts for every piece of furniture, memorabilia, sports equipment and related items during our distracted years raising 3 young kids. Every time we went down to retrieve something, inevitably we'd emerge with bruised limbs and worse from tripping over and usually toppling boxes, bikes and other items not being used. From back to front, floor to ceiling, the space was literally just covered with stuff, junk, construction materials and things left over from prior renovations, mixed in with personal items to be kept and those long since not needed- which prevented the space from being used and from being able to access any things that we actually wanted to get to!

Rosemary went in with eyes wide open and no hesitation to tackle the job with determination and very good humor. She even middled ground between family members which can be a sensitive affair- a bonus of working with her.

In the end, a few short weeks later, her magic touch led to a de-cluttered space which has inspired us to consider using it for something practical and happy for our family. Rosemary came to our rescue, we absolutely couldn't have done it without her!

With fondness,

The Nachsin family, Brooklyn, NY

Rosemary helped me get organized before the arrival of my second child and her efforts were a godsend. She spent multiple hours per day organizing room-by-room with precision focus and creative ideas for saving space. I highly recommend her services - for either urgent needs or ongoing 'maintenance'. After I had my baby, she even came back to help fine tune some of the original spaces we'd worked on and I plan to engage her expert services regularly.

Margaret Hoover, NY, NY

Our magazine, Every Day with Rachael Ray, had just moved offices. The staff had set up their new workstations, but who had time to deal with some 50 boxes of cookbooks? In steps Rosemary Flannery to save the day! Not only did she organize the books by category, but she created a true "lending" library, complete with computer database, checkout card catalog, and numbering system to allow for expansion. We used to have random books on shelves scattered throughout the office, now we had a true reference library. This wouldn't have been possible without Rosemary, whose cataloging skills, gently guiding take-charge attitude, and perseverance truly led us from clutter to clarity! --Pamela Mitchell, former Executive Food Editor, Every Day with Rachael Ray
NY, NY

Thanks again for all your marvelous help. You are indeed BETTER THAN XANAX! And no side effects!
Terry Corrao, Brooklyn, NY

Ashamed at the growing clutter around our house in London, I called in Rosemary for a morning look around and very quickly we came to an agreement about priorities. With 2 growing children, a dog and cat, there were many priorities in my mind, but Rosemary very gently narrowed them down to some intensive work in the 'playroom' which had become a boy's computer room and had a sad, neglected feel to it. When the day of action arrived (Sort out Saturday) I was up far too early clearing irrelevant lofts, but Rosemary came in like a modern-day Mary Poppins, and with great fun and warmth, turned what could have been a stressful day of forcing me to 'let go' of stuff to a really practical, therapeutic series of constructive questions. Just 3 hours in, the room had been transformed into what she termed a 'man cave' where I now centre my self-employed life. The transformation was amazing, and felt completely natural. There's no way I would have been able to have made these changes on my own, so it really pays to have someone as experienced and professional as Rosemary by your side! We followed up SoS with a few sessions via Skype between NY and London to make sure I was on track with the other aspects of de-cluttering we had discussed. The overall effect is like a waterfall - now my boys have started to tidy-up after themselves, and the house is beginning to look more like the vision I had when Rosemary first came round. I can't recommend her services enough - it's like having a close friend and ally helping you get, literally, your house in order!

Adam Woods, London, England

Cathi Coridan thanks Rosemary for her recommendations for having a great garage sale! I priced things to SELL (even those that used to belong to grandma!) and grouped merchandise by "department" just like in the store! Even with the heat of the day, it was a fun and profitable experience! Thanks Rosemary!!

Cathi Corridan, Springfield, MA

Rosemary has been helping me systematically purge my house. We started with paperwork (which I am overrun with due to my freelance business on top of my regular job).
I was so inspired, I started clearing out one closet at a time on my own, making it though four so far. I have donated clothing, books, etc. She came over recently and we began tackling the garage.
There is nothing like friendly support when you're in the trenches!!! If you need help, contact Rosemary, she's better than psychotherapy and makes a fantastic gift for yourself or someone who has everything literally!
Tracey Seaman, Middletown, NJ

Hiring Rosemary was literally the best thing I’ve done in years! I was so sick of looking at all the clutter in my flat that had been accumulating and expanding for years and years and thought, what is one thing I could do for myself that would have a huge impact on my life, and my solution was, get Rosemary over to London and let her loose on my flat. Then from the moment she arrived her enthusiasm for decluttering and providing the most useful tips on keeping things tidy and in their respective places was just incredible-and contagious and after 2 weeks of Rosemary transforming my flat, drawers and cupboards I have continued to utilise all her useful tips and hints to ensure I didn’t go back to my old ways. In addition to transforming my flat, Rosemary tackled my huge “to do” list of things like, get a repair man in for this and that and I am happy to say that after 11 years in my flat I finally have beautiful gas fireplaces, smoke detectors and an intercom that actually works!

I can’t thank Rosemary enough for all her hard work, enthusiasm, dedication and wonderful guidance in making my living space and life so much less cluttered and relaxing-she’s like a magic wand that EVERYONE who knows her should make use of-she’s just fantastic!!!
Nora McCormick, London, England

what an amazing experience - even tho' 'scratching the surface' of my clutter-itis, Rosemary has given me enough impetus, and friendly advice to continue the fight against it for months to come!
Adam Woods, Teddington, England

"You are an angel dropped at my doorstep."
Jodelle Reed, Summit, NJ

You're my guru.  You're my
inspiration.
TW Barritt, LI, NY

From Clutter2Clarity

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Save The Date In April!

Monday, March 19, 2018

Monmouth County Paper Shredding

Monday, March 12, 2018

Get Ready For Spring!

Friday, March 2, 2018

Unusual Foods For A Clean Home.

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

10 Items To Toss or Donate

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

NYC Tree Cycle

Sunday, December 31, 2017

Holiday Decoration Storage

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