Make a Little Space to Organize (3)

Once you've decided what to toss, come up with a system for those items you choose to keep, says Jennifer MacDowll, a professional organizer with Organized Space.

With paper, for instance, "get a filing system that really works," she says. For small items, she like plastic containers because they can be stacked one on top of another and are easy to label.

Take advantage of vertical space, too. Tall shelves can make all that empty air work for you.

That's especially true in closets, which tend to have a lot of unused wall space.

Another good idea is multipurpose furniture such as a hollow ottoman with storage space inside, or a bed with drawers underneath.

Don't think you have to sacrifice style in the process, says MacDowell.

"There's some really ugly stuff out there," she says. "Keep looking until you find pieces that work with your decor."

"Everything in my home has a place," Stanley says. "Whenever someone gives me something, right then I'm already thinking whether or not I'm going to keep it."

Realize, too, that decluttering is an ongoing, never-ending process that demands vigilance.


Info Cloud
Teaching Topic: Code-Switching  語碼轉換

You hear all the time people talking when all of a sudden they switch to another language, then just as quickly they return to their original language.

Right, when people alternate between two languages where they, quick word, phrase or sentence, it’s called code-switching. So why do people code switch?

To keep secrets, now how many of your parents have ever done this in front of your kids?

Umm, okay, another reason might be the prestige associated with using foreign words. Code-switching indirectly reminds listeners that I’m bilingual or I’m in the know.

Next, people switch between languages because the proper phrase in their mother tongue is too formal.

Or too embarrassing to say, in this way the form phrasebecomes a kind of euphemism.

People also code switch for economy that is they’ll temporarily jump to a foreign language because it’s just easier. To say the same thing in their mother tongue would take extra time and effort.

Right, finally people code switch for fun to create puns, for instance, Chinese speakers instead of saying “shei, shei”, might say in English “three queue” a play on the words “san kyu”, which sounds similar to the English phrase thank you.

Language Lab
stack v.
to arrange (things) in a stack : to put (things) in a usually neat pile
- The books were stacked neatly along the walls.
- The chairs in the gall were stacked up after the meeting was over.
a usually neat pile : a group of things that are put one on top of the other
- Stacks of files were scattered on the floor.

vertical adj.
positioned up and down rather than from side to side : going straight up
- The painting was composed of many vertical lines.
- This ballpoint pen writes on vertical surfaces.
horizontal adj.
positioned from side to side rather than up and down : parallel to the ground
- the horizontal line 地平線

decor n.
the way that a room or the inside of a building is decorated
- The cafe's simple but elegant decor attracted many customers.
- We were impressed by the extravagant decor of Caesars Palace in Vegas.

vigilance n.
/ˈvɪʤələns/
carefully noticing problems or signs of danger
- Addiction to online games is a problem that requires constant vigilance.
vigilant adj.
/ˈvɪʤələnt/
- Security kept a vigilant guard of the building because of some previous incidents.

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