What People Are Saying
"I am extremely happy with the way my closet turned out and loved working with Heidi. Everything fits. It looks great. It is nice that everything now has a place." Susan Mersy"
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Set Yourself Free
Free to find what you need when you need it. Free to live a life you love in a home you love. Free to spend your time doing the things you love with the people you love.
Kitchen
Wardrobe Closet
Simplify Your Email
Paper Control
Keep It or Shred It
Staying Organized
Recommended Reading
Feng Shui for Balanced Living
In the Kitchen
When you open a carton of milk or jar of salsa write on the container with a magic marker the date it expires. For example rice or soy milk is generally good for 10 days from the day you open it (cow milk 7 days). So if you open a carton of rice milk on December 1st, write 12/10 on the carton.
That makes it easy for you and your family to know if it is still good, and it's easier to clean out your fridge on grocery day. If you write on the container the date you opened it, then you are going to have to calculate days every time you use it.
In a 40-degree F Refrigerator:
| Item | How long it lasts |
| Butter | 2 months |
| Cheese, hard | 6 months |
| Cheese, soft & opened | 10 days |
| Cheese, soft & unopened | 3 weeks |
| Eggs, hard boilded | 1 week |
| Eggs, uncooked in shell | 1 month |
| Fish, fresh | 1 day |
| Greens | 2 days |
| Meat, cooked | 3 days |
| Meat, raw | 3 days |
| Poultry, cooked | 3 days |
| Vegetables | 3 days |
| White wine, recorked | 2 days |
| White wine, vacuum-stopped | 10 days |
In a 0-degree F Freezer:
| Item | How long it lasts |
| Bread | 3 months |
| Butter | 9 months |
| Fish, lean | 6 months |
| Fish, fatty | 3 months |
| Fruit | 9 months |
| Hamburger, fresh | 4 months |
| Ice Cream | 2 months |
| Poultry, cooked | 5 months |
| Poultry, uncooked | 9 months |
| Steaks, uncooked | 9 months |
| Vegetables | 6 months |
| Vegetables | 3 days |
| White wine, recorked | 2 days |
| White wine, vacuum-stopped | 10 days |
Organizing Your Wardrobe Closet Quickly and Efficiently
1. Edit - Go shopping in your closet. Try on the items that you haven't worn in awhile. If you would buy them again, keep them. The keepers must fit, be in style and not need major repairs. Donate the rest. If your weight tends to fluctuate, keep the clothes that you don't currently fit in a different place, for example plastic tubs in your basement. Your closet is prime real estate.
2. Categorize
• Hanging -- Pants, Button-Ups, Shirts, Long Items
• Folded -- T's, Sweaters, Sweatshirts, Jeans, Shorts, Sweats
• Folded -- T's, Sweaters, Sweatshirts, Jeans, Shorts, Sweats
3. Color Coordinate within each category
• Left to Right, White to Black
4. Get Matching Hangers - Saves space and makes your closet look great.
5. Hang Belts, Ties & Scarves - Pull out racks save space, time and keep items neat.
6. In Drawers
• Under Garments, Socks, Hosiery, Jewelry, Pashmino's
• Divider Kits are a great way to keep socks & undergarments organized
• Divider Kits are a great way to keep socks & undergarments organized
7. On Shelves - Whenever possible use shelves vs. drawers so you are not digging for your clothes. It is easier to find and access items on shelves then in drawers.
• Purses
• Jeans
• T's
• Sweaters
• Sweat Shirts
• Shorts
• Sweats
• Off Season Clothes on high shelves
• Jeans
• T's
• Sweaters
• Sweat Shirts
• Shorts
• Sweats
• Off Season Clothes on high shelves
"A well appointed closet may not take pounds off your body but it will shed the emotional weight that having a disorganized environment brings."
Better Homes & Gardens, Summer 2006
Simplify Your Email
There are 3 types of emails.
- Junk
- Emails that require an action or response from you
- Emails that you are simply interested in reading or using as a reference (but don't require a response or action).
In Summary
• Get good at using your delete button
• Do important action items immediately
• Don't feel obligated to respond to forwards, or to even read them. If it is a forward you are interested in reading but don't have time at the moment, simply store it in a "To Read" folder
• Never put any emails that require an action or response in your "To Read" folder
• Respond to personalized emails right away
• Stop responding when an interchange has served its purpose
• Do important action items immediately
• Don't feel obligated to respond to forwards, or to even read them. If it is a forward you are interested in reading but don't have time at the moment, simply store it in a "To Read" folder
• Never put any emails that require an action or response in your "To Read" folder
• Respond to personalized emails right away
• Stop responding when an interchange has served its purpose
Paper Control
Do you feel a bit overwhelmed by the amount of incoming paper in your home? Do you have piles of papers that you are not sure what to do with?
The average home has so much incoming paper and mail that it is hard to know what to keep, what to throw and how to file it so you can find it again.
I have an easy effective system for dealing with the paper in your life. With my system you will not have piles of paper on your countertops and you will be able to find any information in your file system within 30 seconds.
To get control of your paper simply click here for your complimentary Needs Assessment.
Keep It or Shred It
Keep for 1 Month
• Withdrawal and Deposit Slips (balance against your monthly statement)
Keep for 3 Months
Keep for 1 Year
• Paycheck Stub
• Monthly Statements for your Bank Accounts, Credit Card, Brokerage, Mutual Funds & Retirement Accounts
• Monthly Statements for your Bank Accounts, Credit Card, Brokerage, Mutual Funds & Retirement Accounts
Keep for 6 Years
• W2s, 1099's and other guts of your Tax Return
• Year End Statements for Bank Accounts, Credit Cards, Brokerage, Mutual Funds & Retirement Accounts
• Year End Statements for Bank Accounts, Credit Cards, Brokerage, Mutual Funds & Retirement Accounts
Keep Indefinitely
• Tax Returns
• Receipts for Major Purchases such as Appliances
• Real Estate and Residence Records
• Wills and Trusts
• Real Estate and Residence Records
• Wills and Trusts
Keep in a Safe Deposit Box
• Loan Papers
• Rental Contract
• Mortgage, Deed, Title Insurance Papers on all properties you own
• Titles to Vehicles
• Passport
• Birth, Marriage & Death Certificates
• Custody and Adoption Papers
• Social Security Card
• Stock and Bond Certificates
• Household Inventory including Appraisals (in the case of fire or other disaster)
• Contracts
• Any documentation that is difficult to replace
• Rental Contract
• Mortgage, Deed, Title Insurance Papers on all properties you own
• Titles to Vehicles
• Passport
• Birth, Marriage & Death Certificates
• Custody and Adoption Papers
• Social Security Card
• Stock and Bond Certificates
• Household Inventory including Appraisals (in the case of fire or other disaster)
• Contracts
• Any documentation that is difficult to replace
Would you like to learn some some easy ways to save up to an hour a day, everyday? Simply click here and you will recieve my Time Savers via e-mail. Yours free.
Staying Organized
Congratulations! You are now organized. The hard part is over. Staying organized is simple. Here is a few tips to help you.
1. Don't Put It Down, Put It Away - This is the Golden Rule. It only takes a few extra seconds to put something away and will save you time in the long run plus it will keep clutter at bay.
2. For every new item that comes into your home, try to donate or throw an item.
3. When a new item comes in, find a logical place for it and keep it in its place.
4. Each season walk through your house and garage with a laundry basket. Collect items that should be thrown, donated or repaired. Look at each item in your home and think...
Is this useful to me or will it be in the near future?
Is this a memorabilia item that is important to me?
If you answered no to both of those questions that you should probably throw or donate the item. Repair the items that are in need of repair and return them to their proper place.
5. Every item in your clothes closet should...
Fit well
Be in good condition
Be in style
If you have items that are not all of the above, donate or throw them. If you tend to fluctuate weight then keep clothes that don't currently fit in a separate section or separate closet.
6. Take advantage of my E-Solutions and Time Savers. They are FREE and will help keep you on track.
Recommended Reading
"Nothing to Wear"
If you have an overflowing closet and nothing to wear, this book is for you.
"Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat"
So often clients tell me that they gain energy and loose weight after I help them organize their home. This book is brilliant and inspiring.
"Taming the Paper Tiger at Work"
If your desk and Inbox are overflowing and you have difficulty finding your computer documents, this book is for you. It also includes tips on increasing your productivity while at work.
"Real Simple Magazine"
This is my favorite magazine! If you would like simple useful tips, recipes and organizing solutions to show up in your mailbox once a month, get a subscription. You'll love it!
Feng Shui for Balanced Living
Feng Shui literally means 'wind' and 'water'. It is an ancient art of furniture placement and energy flow in the home which has been practiced successfully in china for several thousand years.
Feng Shui works on the basis that energy currents, known as chi, flow through your home. Having free flowing chi through your home will improve your relationships, your wellbeing and your wealth. It will give you new energy to change and improve your life.
Clutter creates obstructions in your life. By having a major clear out you will notice your life starts to move on.
The first step in Feng Shui is to clear the clutter. Clutter dramatically slows the flow of chi reducing energy movement through your home. So before you use any Feng Shui enhancements, clear your clutter.
In Your Kitchen
Your kitchen is a very important place in Feng Shui because it provides your family's main source of nourishment.
• Do not keep expired foods. They create negative energies. For helpful information about expiration dates and an easy way to keep your refrigerator clear of expired foods see my Helpful Hints guide on my website at www.heididecoux.com.
• Keep counter tops free of clutter, especially papers and mail.
• Keep counter tops free of clutter, especially papers and mail.
In Your Home Office
• Sit facing your door so you donÍt get caught off guard
• Sit with a solid wall behind you or you will feel you lack support
• Place a small healthy plant in the southeast corner of the room for good income and personal growth
• Place a round crystal on the southwest corner of your desk to help work relationships
• Keep your office clear of piles, the clutter will stop the flow of chi
• Sit with a solid wall behind you or you will feel you lack support
• Place a small healthy plant in the southeast corner of the room for good income and personal growth
• Place a round crystal on the southwest corner of your desk to help work relationships
• Keep your office clear of piles, the clutter will stop the flow of chi
Using Aromatherapy
• After an argument, spray geranium or lavender in the room
• After illness spray eucalyptus, lemon or rosemary
• To help you sleep mix up fresh water and lavender in a spray bottle, spray your bedroom
• After illness spray eucalyptus, lemon or rosemary
• To help you sleep mix up fresh water and lavender in a spray bottle, spray your bedroom
If you want to create a new future for yourself, then clear the clutter and make some space in your life for new possibilities and opportunities.
Take a moment for yourself.
Click here for a two minute relaxation technique.
Click here for a two minute relaxation technique.
Take a moment for yourself.
Click here for a two minute energizer.
Click here for a two minute energizer.