Extra Baggage?!?!?

Have you noticed when you get back from vacation you somehow bring back more stuff than what you took on vacation? I swear we needed an extra suitcase to hold all the brochures our youngest son wanted to bring home so that he could play “Disney World Worker”!

Sometimes even before we go on vacation we start accumulating brochures, after brochure, after brochure because were just not sure where we want to go and we might as well hold onto it just in case we decide to go there ‘someday’… I understand that sometimes it’s nice to hold onto a brochure or two to remind us of trips we might want to take but if your drawer is exploding from vacation brochures or travel magazines, now might be a great time to “clear the clutter” and just save the most important one or two brochures for that trip someday.

As with any vacation you take you always manage to pick up a few momentos along the way. I know my purse was stuffed with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck…MOUSE…can you hear the song!?!!? So anyhow…

As soon as you got home from your vacation, start your laundry or for a special treat to yourself take it to a laundry service this one time so that you are not so overwhelemd. To clean out your purse from the trip, turn it upside down on your kitchen counter and start tossing out brochures, candy wrappers, tickets, food, or maps from a local area and other signs of a vacation.

When you get home its best to completely empty out your bags, suitcases, toiletry bags and wallet. If you purchased small travel bottles of shampoo or soap wash them out so that are ready to be filled again. Keep the toiletry bags stocked for your next trip. Stick a note in your suitcase if you ran out of something or if you wanted to remember to bring Qtips or whatever for next time.

Now what do we do with all those hundreds of photos you took on vacation!?!?! I feel another blog coming on!

Author Michelle Lehman of Organizing Solutions “Clear the Clutter” Michelle is a Professional Organizer in the Tulsa area. Her articles have been featured in the Tulsa World, The Oklahoman, Chicago Sun-Times and The Chicago Post-Tribune. Michelle appears on TheNewsOn 6 KOTV and Fox23 News This Morning giving organizing tips and recommendations.