The Clutter Fairy Weekly #55

Clutter to Catastrophe: More Organizing for Safety and Ease of Access

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We often talk about how clutter disrupts our comfort, productivity, enjoyment, and pride in our homes, but in some circumstances, it even becomes a threat to health and wellbeing. In episode #55 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly, Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, asks questions aimed at uncovering where clutter danger lurks in our homes and offers strategies for improving access and regaining peace of mind.

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Homework Assignment

For 2021, we’ve introduced a new segment tentatively called the “Homework Assignment.” (We’re still looking for a snappy title for this ongoing segment. See Contest below.)

Make Your Home a Little Safer

For this week’s assignment, we’d like you to pay attention to a few clutter issues in your home that might present safety issues, then take an action to improve those issues. To accomplish this week’s task, we ask you to address the first item on the following list that applies to your situation. (For extra credit, keep going down the list until you’ve completed them all.)

  • Clear access to all of the exits from your home. Remove anything that would prevent your using any door or window as an escape route in an emergency.
  • If your exit routes are already clear, focus on removing any obstructions on the floor that make it difficult to move freely through your space.
  • If your floors are already free and clear, focus on making sure that the location of your fire extinguisher offers quick and easy access in case of a fire. (This would also be a good occasion to check the condition and recommended replacement date of your fire extinguisher. Or if you don’t have a fire extinguisher, then now would be a great time to invest in one.)
  • If your fire extinguisher is in good condition and suitably located, then your assignment for this week is to read (or re-read) the instructions to familiarize yourself with how your fire extinguisher works.

Watch the video or listen to the podcast for our full discussion of this week’s assignment.

Chat Transcript

Download a transcript of the chat that took place during the live event.

Note: For best results, we suggest you right-click (Windows) or control-click (Mac OS) the link above to download the chat transcript text file, then read it in your text-reader or word-processing app of choice. If you click the link directly, you may get quirky results viewing the text file in your browser.

Contest!

We’re looking for a catchy name for our new “Homework Assignment” segment. E-mail us your suggestions. Our panel of experts will pick the winning entry, and the winner will receive a free one-hour virtual-organizing session with Gayle!