By: Pharice Brown


So it is 2014 and you manage to make into the new year without cleaning and organizing your home, office, garage, or closet.  Do not think you have gotten away with anything, you will have to face this mess sooner or later. 

For the month of January 1st Green Clean is going to take you step-by-step and get you organized to start your new year off right.  Each day we will post tips and how-to articles to get you moving in the right direction of managing and eliminate the clutter.  As always if your tips and tricks send them to us to be a possible featured blogger.  

 Ask yourself, "Am I junkie?"  Can you relate to any of the following?

1. When throwing out our donating items you happen to find, you didn’t even know you had, gives you strong heart palpitations?
2. Do you notice company will come over to visit, but never stay long?
3. When you return home and the site of things everywhere take your breath away?
4. As you open the bathroom cabinet what you see after everything has fallen out?
5. Is there a collection of random items you think are going to worth money “one day”?

If you answer yes to even one of those questions join us for the month of January to get in all on information that can help set you free from clutter.

~ Here's to clutter free and organized 2014.   Happy New Year!

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Do you have green or Eco-friendly tips and tricks?  We know you do, send them to us for an opportunity to be a Guest Blogger.  What better way to build your community by sharing your knowledge?

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This holiday season give the gift of a healthier home.

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By: Leo Bauta

“Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity; From discord find harmony; In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” - Albert Einstein

I've written a lot about simplicity and decluttering (I can’t help it — I’m passionate about it!) and I've noticed that a lot of readers share my ideal of having an uncluttered home or workplace, but don’t know where to start.

When your home is filled with clutter, trying to tackle a mountain of stuff can be quite overwhelming.

So here’s my advice: start with just five minutes. Baby steps are important. Sure, five minutes won’t barely make a dent in your mountain, but it’s a start. Celebrate when you've made that start!

Then take another five minutes tomorrow. And another the next day. Before you know it, you’ll have cleared a whole closet or a room and then half your house and then … who knows? Maybe before long your house will be even more uncluttered than mine. We’ll have a challenge!

For those who are overwhelmed by their clutter, here are some great ways to get started, five minutes at a time.

1. Designate a spot for incoming papers. Papers often account for a lot of our clutter. This is because we put them in different spots — on the counter, on the table, on our desk, in a drawer, on top of our dresser, in our car. No wonder we can’t find anything! Designate an in-box tray or spot in your home (or at your office, for that matter) and don’t put down papers anywhere but that spot. Got mail? Put it in the inbox. Got school papers? Put it in the inbox. Receipts, warranties, manuals, notices, flyers? In the inbox! This one little change can really transform your paperwork.
2. Start clearing a starting zone. What you want to do is clear one area. This is your no-clutter zone. It can be a counter, or your kitchen table, or the three-foot perimeter around your couch. Wherever you start, make a rule: nothing can be placed there that’s not actually in use. Everything must be put away. Once you have that clutter-free zone, keep it that way! Now, each day, slowly expand your no-clutter zone until it envelopes the whole house! Unfortunately, the neighbors don’t seem to like it when you try to expand the no-clutter zone to their house, and start hauling away their unused exercise equipment and torn underwear when they’re not at home. Some people don’t appreciate simplicity, I guess.
3. Clear off a counter. You want to get your house so that all flat spaces are clear of clutter. Maybe they have a toaster on them, maybe a decorative candle, but not a lot of clutter. So start with one counter. Clear off everything possible, except maybe one or two essential things. Have a blender you haven’t used since jazzercise was all the rage? Put it in the cupboard! Clear off all papers and all the other junk you've been tossing on the counter too.
4. Pick a shelf. Now that you've done a counter, try a shelf. It doesn't matter what shelf. Could be a shelf in a closet, or on a bookshelf. Don’t tackle the whole bookshelf — just one shelf. Clear all non-essential things and leave it looking neat and clutter-free.
5. Schedule a decluttering weekend. Maybe you don’t feel like doing a huge decluttering session right now. But if you take the time to schedule it for later this month, you can clear your schedule, and if you have a family, get them involved too. The more hands pitching in, the better. Get boxes and trash bags ready, and plan a trip to a charity to drop off donated items. You might not get the entire house decluttered during the weekend, but you’ll probably make great progress.
6. Pick up 5 things, and find places for them. These should be things that you actually use, but that you just seem to put anywhere, because they don’t have good places. If you don’t know exactly where things belong, you have to designate a good spot. Take a minute to think it through — where would be a good spot? Then always put those things in those spots when you’re done using them. Do this for everything in your home, a few things at a time.
7. Spend a few minutes visualizing the room. When I’m decluttering, I like to take a moment to take a look at a room, and think about how I want it to look. What are the most essential pieces of furniture? What doesn't belong in the room but has just gravitated there? What is on the floor (hint: only furniture and rugs belong there) and what is on the other flat surfaces? Once I’ve visualized how the room will look uncluttered, and figured out what is essential, I get rid of the rest.
8. Create a “maybe” box. Sometimes when you’re going through a pile of stuff, you know exactly what to keep (the stuff you love and use) and what to trash or donate. But then there’s the stuff you don’t use, but think you might want it or need it someday. You can’t bear to get rid of that stuff! So create a “maybe” box, and put this stuff there. Then store the box somewhere hidden, out of the way. Put a note on your calendar six months from now to look in the box. Then pull it out, six months later, and see if it’s anything you really needed. Usually, you can just dump the whole box, because you never needed that stuff.
9. Put a load in your car for charity. If you've decluttered a bunch of stuff, you might have a “to donate” pile that’s just taking up space in a corner of your room. Take a few minutes to box it up and put it in your trunk. Then tomorrow, drop it off.
10. Create a 30-day list. The problem with decluttering is that we can declutter our butts off (don’t actually try that — it’s painful) but it just comes back because we buy more stuff. So fight that tendency by nipping it in the bud: don’t buy the stuff in the first place. Take a minute to create a 30-day list, and every time you want to buy something that’s not absolutely necessary (and no, that new Macbook Air isn't absolutely necessary), put it on the list with the date it was added to the list. Make a rule never to buy anything (except necessities) unless they've been on the list for 30 days. Often you’ll lose the urge to buy the stuff and you’ll save yourself a lot of money and clutter.
11. Teach your kids where things belong. This only applies to the parents among us, of course, but if you teach your kids where things go, and start teaching them the habit of putting them there, you’ll go a long way to keeping your house uncluttered. Of course, they won’t learn the habit overnight, so you’ll have to be very very patient with them and just keep teaching them until they've got it. And better yet, set the example for them and get into the habit yourself.
12. Set up some simple folders. Sometimes our papers pile up high because we don’t have good places to put them. Create some simple folders with labels for your major bills and similar paperwork. Put them in one spot. Your system doesn't have to be complete, but keep some extra folders and labels in case you need to quickly create a new file.
13. Learn to file quickly. Once you've created your simple filing system, you just need to learn to use it regularly. Take a handful of papers from your pile, or your inbox, and go through them one at a time, starting from the top paper and working down. Make quick decisions: trash them, file them immediately, or make a note of the action required and put them in an “action” file. Don’t put anything back on the pile, and don’t put them anywhere but in a folder (and no cheating “to be filed” folders!) or in the trash/recycling bin.
14. Pull out some clothes you don’t wear. As you’re getting ready for work, and going through your closet for something to wear, spend a few minutes pulling out ones you haven’t worn in a few months. If they’re seasonal clothes, store them in a box. Get rid of the rest. Do this a little at a time until your closet (and then your drawers) only contains stuff you actually wear.
15. Clear out your medicine cabinet. If you don’t have one spot for medicines, create one now. Go through everything for the outdated medicines, the stuff you’ll never use again, the dirty-looking bandages, the creams that you've found you’re allergic to, the ointments that never had an effect on your energy or your eye wrinkles. Simplify to the essential.
16. Pull everything out of a drawer. Just take the drawer out and empty it on a table. Then sort the drawer into three piles: 1) stuff that really should go in the drawer; 2) stuff that belongs elsewhere; 3) stuff to get rid of. Clean the drawer out nice, then put the stuff in the first pile back neatly and orderly. Deal with the other piles immediately!
17. Learn to love the uncluttered look. Once you've gotten an area decluttered, you should take the time to enjoy that look. It’s a lovely look. Make that your standard! Learn to hate clutter! Then catch clutter and kill it wherever it crops up.
18. Have a conversation with your SO or roommate. Sometimes the problem isn't just with us, it’s with the person or people we live with. An uncluttered home is the result of a shared philosophy of simplicity of all the people living in the house. If you take a few minutes to explain that you really want to have an uncluttered house, and that you could use their help, you can go a long way to getting to that point. Try to be persuasive and encouraging rather than nagging and negative. Read more about living with a pack rat.

“We don’t need to increase our goods nearly as much as we need to scale down our wants. Not wanting something is as good as possessing it.” - Donald Horban

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Do you have green or Eco-Friendly tips and tricks?  We know you do, send them to us for an opportunity to be a Guest Blogger.  What better way to build your community by sharing your knowledge?

1st Green Clean - A Leader in Home Management Services
Give the gift of a healthier environment.

Imagine how much better you will feel to have a pristine and healthy working environment and all you did was make a phone call.  1st Green Clean can transform your life.  1st Green Clean is a professional firm here to manage with a superior level of detail to the cleanliness of your business.  You can also brag to your customers about your commitment to their health, office experience, and supporting the environment by going chemical free.  We work with a goal of exceeding your expectations and increasing your value. 


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Vegetable- and plant-based oils, such as olive and sunflower, dislodge dirt, diminish scratches and imperfections, and “hydrate wood that has aged or dried out from exposure to the sun,” says Hunter.

Price: About $7 a pint at supermarkets.
Use Them to Clean Your…

Cast-iron pans: Make a scrubbing paste with vegetable oil and a teaspoon of coarse salt to combat cooked-on debris, then rinse with hot water.

Hands: To get paint off your skin, rub with vegetable oil, then wash thoroughly with soap.

Leather shoes: Wipe away dirt with a damp sponge, then apply a drop of vegetable oil to a soft cloth and rub the surface to remove scuff marks. Buff the shoes with a chamois to a shine.

Rattan and wicker furniture: To prevent rattan and wicker from drying or cracking, lightly brush them with vegetable or sunflower oil and gently rub in with a cloth. Warm the oil on the stove first to thin it and make it easier to apply.

Stainless-steel surfaces: For extra sparkle, pour olive oil onto a cloth and buff.

Wood furniture: Make your own polish by mixing 2 cups olive or vegetable oil with the juice of 1 lemon; work it in with a soft cloth. To smooth out scratches in light-colored wood, rub them with a solution of equal parts olive or vegetable oil and lemon juice.

1st Green Clean prides itself as a premier leader in residential home management services for both large and small homes. Our concept of providing a comprehensive program, with exceptional management support is what separates 1st Green Clean from our competition.

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(866) 905-9002 ext.104

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by Janet Attard A cluttered desk is more than just an eyesore. It wastes your time, and that costs you productivity and money. Here are five ways to get your desk neat and organized and keep it that way.

Do you feel like you’re buried under a mound of paper by the end of the day? If so, join the crowd. According to the Smead Corporation, which manufactures filing systems and records management products , the average office in the US spits out more than 45 paper missives each day – adding up to a whopping 1300 sheets of paper each month. Where does it all go?

Good chance that where that paper is “going” now is on top of your desk. And in the hutch over your desk.. and next to the printer…And, Oh no! The cat just jumped up on your filing cabinet and knocked a big pile of papers onto the floor.

What can you do to put an end to the clutter when paper seems to clone itself when you’re not looking? Here are several suggestions:

1) Start with a plan
Sort through and categorize the papers on your desk. Consider which you’ll need close at hand, which you need to save only for archival value and what you can read and toss. Give each of those categories of paper a “home.” Make a list of your categories if necessary so you remember whether proposal samples get filed under “Samples” or under “Proposals“. Store that list on your computer – and resist the temptation to print it out!

2) Start with the filling cabinet, not the desk
The rationale for that is simple. If you don’t have an orderly system for filing papers – and room in your filing cabinet to put those files – you’ll never get your desk cleaned. Toss out old files and review your overall system. Set up your filing system so files you need regularly are near at hand. Consider color-coding to group similar files together and make them easily identifiable. Move files you don’t need often to an out-of-the way location.

1st Green Clean prides itself as a premier leader in residential home management services for both large and small homes. Our concept of providing a comprehensive program, with exceptional management support is what separates 1st Green Clean from our competition.

1st Green Clean - A Leader in Home Management Services
(866) 905-9002 ext.104

Proudly serving the Washington, D.C. Metro Area since 2007.

Don't miss the timely information and tips we share in our blog and newsletter. Sign up today! http://www.1greenclean.com/our-blog.html

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By 1st Green Clean Guest Blogger: Kathy Hadley

Having too much clutter or an unclean or untidy environment is an outward sign of the stuck flows of creative energy in your life.

This is one of the easiest and fastest ways to open up the flows of more good in your life.

I’m going to tell you how to de-clutter & clean the easy way.

Most people do it backwards and therefore get slowed down and maybe even don’t get it done.


Here is the easy way.

First, just clear the space.

Don’t try to clean around the clutter .

Don’t start sorting right away.

Don’t look at it.

Don’t do anything else with the clutter and everything in the space.

Just remove it.

Remove all the clutter from the closet, room, counter, cabinet or whatever area you are about to clean and put it all in a box, then clean the area & only put back what you want.

Then, only AFTER you have cleaned the space and have it how you want, go through all the rest and sort what you want to keep or get rid of.

This method words wonders and makes doing the de-cluttering so much faster and easier.

Most people go in and start to sort through everything first and that is mentally and physically exhausting and is also why they stay cluttered and un-tidy.

I have had coaching clients use this method and it made a job that they couldn’t get done for years something they get done in one day.

Then, once the area is clean, set up a bin or shelf or area that you say is your limit for that stuff.

By stuff, I mean whatever it is that tends to accumulate for you.

If it is books, then have a space for books.

If it is mail, have a space for mail.

If it is clothes, have a space for clothes.

If you have a collection, then have a space for the collection.

In other words, once that area is full you will have to get rid of something or put it in storage (and I even suggest that you limit the storage space.)

That physical limit of the box or shelf not only keeps the space organized but it gives you a visual method of limiting what you have in your space.

Less IS more!

This system works and makes you feel good!

BUT MOST importantly it frees up the Spiritual and Mental STUCK energy in your life which then allows the free flow of more good and wanted to come into your life.

I literally have helped a lot of people with this and almost every one had been stuck in the overflow of clutter for years.

Once it is done, it is very simple to keep it this way.

Kathy Hadley

What are some of your de-cluttering or organization tips?

Did you ever clear a lot of clutter from your life and then have a miraculous manifestation?

Share your results or any other thoughts or ideas in the comments.




About Kathy Hadley




Kathy Hadley is a professional life coach located in Wichita, KS.

Hadley, known as the “life coach to life coaches” around the world, believes her mission is to help people live the life they truly want. With her long 25 year reputation and experience with a worldwide networking group, she is a top advisor and expert to help life coaches and clients achieve maximum peak potential.

“What I stress the most is that we are all real people, with unlimited possibility within” says Hadley. “My goal is to de-mystify the Law of Attraction and give people real, tangible results.”

Her approach is direct, straightforward and to-the-point. Her matter of fact approach is what draws men and women all over the world to her website, products and classes online.

In 2013, Hadley launched a new Facebook website which is designed to reach the audience of men and women who are ready for change in their life. She aims to attract the 21-65 crowd and help them use the Law of Attraction, Universal Laws and practical principles to increase their wealth, increase their health and increase their happiness in life.

Her powerful 30 day program “Simple Law of Attraction” is currently a best-selling product and is available online at her website www.kathyhadleylifecoach.com

MYO (Make Your Own) Wood Cleaner and Furniture Polish

Mix in a dark colored spray bottle (plastic is ok):

½ teaspoon of olive oil

½ cup of vinegar or lemon juice

Shake well.  Using a microfiber cloth, spray and wipe.  This mixture can be used to clean and polish your wooden surfaces.  The vinegar or lemon juice will clean the olive oil will polish.

1st Green Clean prides itself as a premier leader in residential home management services for both large and small homes. Our concept of providing a comprehensive program, with exceptional management support is what separates 1st Green Clean from our competition.

1st Green Clean - A Leader in Home Management Services
(866) 905-9002 ext.104

Proudly serving the Washington, D.C. Metro Area since 2007.

Don't miss the timely information and tips we share in our blog and newsletter. Sign up today! http://www.1greenclean.com/our-blog.html

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Castile soap means soap made only from vegetable oil instead of animal fat.

Diluted castile soap can be used as an all-purpose cleaner, laundry or dish soap, spot remover and body wash.

Buying in bulk is a great idea because castile soap is so versatile.

Look for “Pure Castile” that is non petroleum-based and does not contain detergents.  The greenest choices use organic ingredients and come in 100 percent post-consumer waste recycled packaging.

If you have green or eco-friendly tips, please forward them to us to be featured.

1st Green Clean - A Leader in Home Management Services
(866) 905-9002 ext.104

Proudly serving the Washington, D.C. Metro Area since 2007.

Don't miss the timely information and tips we share in our blog and newsletter. Sign up today! http://www.1greenclean.com/our-blog.html

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More working Americans are spending  more of their time in their home office!

Keep your workplace a healthy, happy, attractive and productive workplace. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation service quote and start experiencing the 1st Green Clean difference for yourself today.

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