Posts Tagged ‘Home Organizing’

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Family with ADHD Gets Organized Together

September 13th, 2012

My favorite part about my job is that I help people improve the quality of their lives – whether I’m working with them side by side or by phone, or even through my blog or newsletter. I received an email from someone I’ve never met, but who was inspired by my writings to set herself and her family on the path towards being organized. I’m sharing her note to inspire you to discover the simplicity, harmony and freedom of being organized in your own home:

“Dear Sue,
My 10 year old son is diagnosed ADHD and my husband and I, we suspect, also have some ADHD in us.  So it’s great to see someone addressing these types of issues when it comes to organization.

Your posts are always so helpful.  I just read your blog post on clutter and financial prosperity.  That is so true, both directly and indirectly!  I also read over your back to school post which is a great reminder for us.  And I just planned out my menu for the remainder of the week.  I try to plan menus and it doesn’t always happen but when it does things definitely run smoother.

Wanted to share my story with you…maybe you’ve mentioned something like this in the past in your blog but here goes. I’ve been struggling all summer to declutter my home. I went back to work full-time a little over 2 years ago.  It was a big transition then and things are now starting to really pile up, closets bulging, financial papers in disarray, etc., etc.  We have a bi-weekly cleaning service come in but I think that actually makes the clutter worse as things are put in piles and stashed away for cleaning. Even though everything looks great after a cleaning, by the end of 2 weeks, things are everywhere again and have to be pile or stashed away;  the cycle repeats itself.  So I’ve decided the whole house needs a good decluttering and downsizing of stuff….I’ve made a little progress this summer but then I get tired, overwhelmed, overly perfectionist-y, burned out and turn my attention elsewhere. It’s almost the end of the summer and my list is still pretty long.

This week, I decided to ask my family for help. My husband can’t stand clutter but he doesn’t know what to throw away, put away, etc. When I was a stay at home mom, we got into some bad habits of me handling everything in the home. So, he usually gets overwhelmed, moves things around a little bit and just retreats to the basement.  Then there are the kids…they are 10 and 6.  They certainly don’t want to waste their free time cleaning. But I can’t do it all.  I am also making a serious effort at getting fit so my time is limited.

So yesterday morning, I wrote them all a sweet note and informed them of my intentions to start the school year organized. I wrote that I would like them all to help and we would start in the evening with our craft pantry and plastics drawers.  Then I left for work before they got up.

When I picked up the kids at the end of the day and asked them about my plan, they were not thrilled. Neither was my husband. But after dinner and some downtime, my daughter and I got started.  And eventually, the guys got involved, too.  I gave them jobs they could handle…I had the kids help me take items out of the drawer. Then together we went through the different cups and decided which to throw away. My husband glued a found broken item. Then he was ready to wipe down the drawers and put everything away. He didn’t put things away exactly the way I would but it was done and organized, which is all that matters. (big aha moment for me!)  The kids and I started on the craft cabinet which really took an all-hands-on-deck approach. To my surprise, they did a really good job of letting things go and my daughter was downright relentless (lol)! We decided we should add a couple of shelves to the cabinet so my husband worked on that. At bedtime, everything still needed to be put away. I took care of that and sent everyone to bed. I ran out of time but will finish putting the last few items away tonight. It should only take a few minutes.

What I’ve been trying to accomplish all summer, the family finished in a couple of hours. In addition to some cleaner spaces and checking off some nagging projects, we also got the unexpected benefits of family bonding and a feeling of teamwork. At one point, one of the kids said it was actually kind of fun!  And I don’t know how many times I heard, “Oh! That’s where that is!”  Now, hopefully the kids will also take some pride in their work and help keep things cleaner. Now we have some momentum and I think we’re going to tackle our dining room tonight.

Well, thanks for listening to my long story. Since you “helped” do this in a sense, I thought you should know. I know it was only half of a pantry and a couple of drawers but I think this is the start of something big in our
home.
Take care,
Chris”

Thanks so much for sharing, Chris – please check in again and let us all know how you’re doing. I’d love to hear from other readers about how your organizing journey is going. And if you need a bit of help, either in person or by phone, please get in touch.

Wishing you simplicity, harmony and freedom,

 

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Posted in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Home Organizing, Organizing Process

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Clear the Clutter and Find Prosperity

August 14th, 2012

I recently read the book Great With Money by Melissa Burke and Ellen Rogin. With the goal of the book being to help readers create a prosperous mindset and a confident approach to money, you might expect it to focus on how to earn more and spend less. Well, it may surprise you to know that “clear your clutter” is the first step to prosperity described by the authors. Yup, clearing the clutter in your life is the first step towards prosperity.

Even without the benefit of seeing disorganized homes and offices on the level that I do, these authors wisely recognize that being surrounded by clutter can block you from achieving more in your life – your piles of paper and other stuff represent unfinished tasks and postponed decisions that can weigh you down. The clutter not only physically blocks you from accomplishing things, but the mental clutter it creates can prevent you from moving forward in your life. You’re too busy focusing on what you haven’t accomplished to be able to think about creating new accomplishments.

Sure, great achievers like Albert Einstein were famously buried in clutter. However, I’m guessing that because you’re reading a blog about organization, you sense is that being better organized would help you accomplish more. As Swiss philosopher Henri Frédéric Amiel stated, “Order is light, peace, inner freedom, self-determination: it is power. To conceive order, to return to order, to realize order in oneself, around oneself, by means of oneself, is well-being.”

Not only does clearing clutter and creating order create a physical and mental path towards prosperity, it can actually directly generate prosperity. While helping clients de-clutter their homes and offices, I’ve discovered money (I once found $3,500 cash that the owner had no idea existed tucked away in a book!), uncashed checks, unused gift cards, and uncashed savings bonds. I’ve found things clients knew were “here somewhere” and saved them the trouble of having to buy replacements. I’ve consigned clothing and household items to resale shops that have generated income, and donated items to charity which have generated tax deductions. I’ve unearthed financial documents, insurance forms, medical paperwork, etc. that had direct financial implications for the client.

What financial potential lies buried in your clutter? What could you achieve if only the mountains of paperwork and stuff disappeared? What steps towards de-cluttering and organizing your life can you take to start realizing more prosperity? I encourage you to take at least one step today to move you in the right direction. Good luck on your journey.

Wishing you simplicity, harmony and freedom,

 

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Posted in Life Lessons, Simplicity

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Manage Mealtime Mayhem

March 7th, 2012

Several years ago I saw a sign that said “I have a kitchen because it came with the house” in a client’s home. It’s a relief to know there’s at least one other person besides me who doesn’t like to cook. After all, with the huge number of cooking shows on TV, cooking magazines staring at me in the grocery store, and specialty spice shops and olive oil stores popping up all over, I can’t help but think that everyone except me loves to cook (and is good at it as well). I do love to eat, however, so I’ve done all I can to make meal planning as painless as possible. Whether you’re the cook in your home or are lucky enough to be the beneficiary of someone else’s cooking, enjoy these tips to make mealtimes less stressful.

Plan meals for the week. I used to spend stress-filled hours (ok, minutes, but it seemed like hours) staring at the refrigerator and freezer each evening trying to figure out what to make for dinner. I finally took my own advice and now plan dinners for the upcoming week every Sunday. I write them on an erasable whiteboard attached with magnetic clips to my refrigerator. It’s amazing how much less stressful my day is just knowing I can answer the question “What’s for dinner?”

Create a rotating menu routine. I have 21 index cards, each of which contains one dinner suggestion as well as any special ingredients that I’m not likely to have on hand. Rather than having to put a lot of thought into what to make for dinner, I just grab the seven index cards in the front of the stack and use them as my
starting point. I check my calendar to determine which nights might require a quick meal or an early or late dinner based on my husband’s and my schedules. I reorder the seven index cards to correspond to each evening, and write those meals in order on my whiteboard. I write the special ingredients from the index
cards onto my grocery list and check my freezer and cupboards to make sure all of the non-special ingredients are on hand. I put that group of index cards in the back of the stack and I’m ready for next week’s meal planning.

Create a themed menu routine. Another option to make meal planning easy is to have a theme for each day of the week. Themes help narrow down your options, which for me is the biggest challenge of meal planning. For example, Monday is breakfast for dinner; Tuesday is Mexican; Wednesday is pasta; Thursday is soup; Friday is fish; Saturday is pizza – you get the idea. You could also include a night where family members take turns planning (and maybe even cooking!) what’s for dinner.

Here’s a link to my newsletter where you can find some more ideas to help you make mealtime easier than ever. I’d love to hear what helps you manage mealtime mayhem in your home.

Wishing you simplicity, harmony and freedom,

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Posted in Home Organizing, Household Tasks, Organizing Process

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Time Changes How Meaningful Things Are

April 27th, 2011

girl playing with dollhouseI was recently reminded of how, over time, the significance of our possessions can change as I was helping a client clean out her basement. She had lived in her house for 45 year, raised her family there, nursed her husband through a terminal illness there, and celebrated countless birthdays and holidays there. Her basement was filled with many relics of her fulfilling life – toys that had belonged to her kids, photographs of people she wasn’t sure she could identify, kitchenware that had belonged to her mother, travel information from trips taken long ago – many items that were useful and meaningful at one time, but now stood stacked, dusty and intimidating.

As I helped my client go through the boxes and piles, she had a variety of reactions to what was inside: from “Oh, I remember that!” to “Hmm, where did that come from?” She viewed each item she discovered in terms of what role it might play in her life now, rather than the role it had played in the past. After all, if she had lived without it for all this time and had relegated it to the depths of her basement, it couldn’t be that important to her.

I helped her try to figure out who the unidentified people might be in some of the photos, then put them aside for her to pass on to her late husband’s side of the family. I wondered along with her about when her mother might have used some of the serving pieces and household goods we uncovered, then put them in a pile for her kids to go through. I helped her move an old, tattered chalkboard to the curb for garbage day, recalling how her kids had played “teacher” with it. I took a dilapidated, kid’s-sized table and chair set to the curb as well, remembering the kids coloring and playing games at it. I added a broken doll house to the garbage pile as she recalled how surprised she had been that her daughters didn’t play with dolls, but did enjoy the doll house.

As we travelled down memory lane together, my mom and I shared some great memories, celebrated her rich life, and looked forward to the future – a future that includes a cleaned-out basement and the relief of knowing that she hasn’t burdened her kids with having to figure out what the stuff in those dirty old boxes is after she’s gone. Thanks, Mom.

What things are you holding onto that are or will become a burden to you or your family? Take some time now to decide what’s meaningful and let go of the rest.

Wishing you simplicity, harmony and freedom,

Signature Sue

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Posted in Home Organizing, Keepsakes, Seniors

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How To Organize Your Personal Papers

March 30th, 2011

colorful filesMost people know someone who seems to be so organized they never seem to put any effort into keeping their personal files in order. If you’re not one of those people, follow these ten tips to get a hold of that mountain of paper that has taken over your life and home.

1. Designated place Even if the filing space is limited to one drawer, it must be designated as the place where files are kept in some sort of order. All paper should be funneled in the direction of the designated file storage place and away from flat surfaces around the home. Strict care should be invested in gathering paper that must be kept and throwing away all of the excess.

2. Appropriate supplies Purchase file folders and labels and have enough supplies on hand to keep the file area orderly. Waiting to purchase supplies can cause havoc in a short amount of time. Buy some fun colored folders that will catch your attention.

3. Organized area The area around the file drawer or cabinet must have some easy-to-reach organizers for quick placement of inbound paper. Stacking trays will help define major groupings that can make filing easier. Group paper into meaningful subjects and use enough folders to organize without creating too many topics. Have a recycling container sitting near the area for easy sorting without having to carry anything to another room.

4. Necessary paper Understand what must be kept and eliminate all unnecessary paper. Throw junk mail away when it arrives, and sort bills into an organizer that will gain attention when the bills are due. Separate long-term storage documents from short-term papers that must be accessed easily and quickly. Keep papers that must be addressed this week in a separate place to ensure action is taken.

5. Electronic copies Consider receiving  bank statements, credit card statements, and utility bills as electronic versions. Store only documents  that cannot be accessed online. Consder scanning documents so you don’t have to save paper copies.

6. Personal system The most effective filing system is one that is designed by the person who will use it. The system must be designed for easy access in an order that is logical to the user. Alphabetizing may work for some files while date order is more useful for others. Learn from the suggestions of others, but make certain that the final product is useful to the person who must access the information.

7. Lockbox Some documents are irreplaceable and must be treated with care. Some people prefer the safe deposit box at the bank, and others would rather have a lockbox or safe in the house. Legal documents should be kept in a place that is safe from natural disasters and prying eyes.

8. Available shredder Keep a working paper shredder next to the recycling bin in the filing area. Better to overuse the shredder than to not have one. Shred every piece of paper with personal information including the name and address of anyone living in the house. Protect all personal information and shred anything that is removed from the files.

9. Flow control Whenever paper enters the house, file or throw away each piece without setting it down on a flat surface. Receipts should have a separate folder for easy placement when returning to the house. Coupons should be filed away for easy access when leaving the house. Incorporate the flow of paper in the house into the filing system to prevent clutter on flat surfaces in other areas of the home.

10. Maintenance activities In December, set aside an afternoon to create new files for the coming year and purge unnecessary paper from your files. Remember to shred anything that contains personal information. Review the lockbox contents and replace any legal documents that must be updated. Shorter periods of time throughout the year should be used to keep the files clean.

I hope you enjoyed this guest posting from James Adams, a writer and reviewer of Dell cartridges, at an online store where shoppers can buy buy printer cartridges. I’d love to hear how you’ve set up your filing system.

Wishing you simplicity, harmony and freedom,

Signature Sue

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Posted in Filing, Mail Handling, Paper Organizing

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Spring Clean Your Way to Organization

March 2nd, 2011

Spring CleaningFor those of us who have slogged through an especially challenging winter, Spring can’t come any too soon. It’s time for nature to renew itself and bring forth new life. You, too, can experience this sense of rebirth by renewing your commitment to getting organized. Imagine how freeing it will be to be able to sit down at the kitchen table without moving a mountain of stuff, get your kids out the door without (too much) stress, or find important papers when you need them! If you’ve made previous attempts to get organized, yet failed, use this time of new beginnings to make a fresh start.

Follow the simple steps I’ve outlined below to get started on your way to organizational freedom. If you find you just can’t get there on your own, feel free to give me a call to discuss how I can help you – I’m able to assist you even if you don’t live in the Chicago area through telephone or Skype coaching sessions:

Make a list of all of the areas you want to organize (e.g., the spare bedroom, basement, linen closet, etc.).

Break down each area into smaller projects, such as dresser, bookshelf, closet floor, bottom right corner of desk, etc.

Schedule time on your calendar to work on each of the smaller projects. Ideally, a minimum of an hour would be best so that you’ll actually see some results. However, if you can only schedule intervals of 15 minutes or so, that’s ok – every little bit gets you closer to your goal.

Make appointments with any outside professionals that you will
be hiring to help you, such as a rug cleaner, window washer, etc. Making these appointments will help commit you to getting started.

Be prepared. Have all the supplies you will need on hand so you can keep going once you get started: garbage bags, a stepladder, boxes for sorting, cleaning supplies, etc.

Here’s a link to my newsletter where you’ll find additional ideas to help you spring clean your way to organization.

Wishing you simplicity, harmony and freedom,

Signature Sue

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Posted in Home Organizing, Organizing Process

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Interior Design That Can Help Organize Your Home

February 23rd, 2011

Alcove with storageNew interior design can be great for revamping your home and breathing new life and vigor into rooms that have become dated and stale. However, interior design can be more than just aesthetically appealing; it can create space, storage and help you organize your home.
 
Make the most of an alcove

When decorating a room, look at the layout in detail and try to identify areas that could be used well for storage. Alcoves, for example, might seem like a useless, awkward space but actually can be used to make a room look great and help organize your stuff.

Many furniture companies now supply or will design furniture specifically for alcoves, such as desks, bookshelves and cupboards. This extra storage space could be perfect for tidying away books, CDs, paperwork or anything else lying about.

Put up some shelves
Another design tip to help organize a room and maximizse space is to add shelves. It seems obvious but many people forget or don’t bother to put up shelves in their living room and bedroom. They are inexpensive, easy to put up and can add a new dimension of space for your belongings.

Most hardware and home design stores have hundreds of styles and sizes of shelves available and so you are sure to find some that suit your interior design. If you have the free wall space, shelves can be the perfect addition to help organize your home.

Get furniture with storage
If you are re-designing a room you are probably going to be buying some new furniture. Obviously cupboards, a chest of drawers and cabinets are great for storage, but you will probably already have stuff you want to fill those up with. 

So, why not get extra storage in other pieces of furniture? There are many sofas on the market now that have storage underneath the seats, which is ideal for stuff such as linens or board games. Similarly, many beds, foot stools and coffee tables offer extra, hidden storage which is ideal for clutter.

So there you have it, a few ways you can use interior design to help organize your home. However, before re-decorating or buying new furniture you should consider the costs and the impact on your contents and home insurance coverage.

I hope you enjoyed this guest posting from fresh! Insurance Group. I’d love to hear how you’ve combined interior design elements and organizing techniques in your home or workplace.

Wishing you simplicity, harmony and freedom,
Signature Sue

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Posted in Home Organizing

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Eliminate Linen Closet Chaos

February 2nd, 2011

Organized linensJumbled sheets, mountains of pillows, and towels tumbling out when you open the door – does this sound like your linen closet? Your linen closet has great potential to be a highly functional storage area. However, it’s easy for things to disappear in it if you don’t keep it organized. You can tame your disorganized chaos with these simple steps:

Keep only what you use.  Are you still storing sheets from when your now-grown kids were toddlers? Have you given up satin sheets for flannel? Have you changed your bathrooms’ color schemes?  Make sure the sheets and towels you’re storing are actually the ones you’re currently using. Consider donating linens that you no longer use but are in good condition (domestic violence and homeless shelters are often looking for such items). If they’re not in good condition, you may be able to donate them to your local animal shelter. You might also consider turning old sheets into drop cloths and old towels into rags. Of course, if you don’t need more drop cloths or rags, get rid of them. You may be able to find a painter who can use the sheets, and a youth group who can use the towels for their car wash fundraiser. If you have table linens you’re saving for sentimental reasons, either use them or move them. They should only be taking up valuable space in the living area of your home if you’re using them.  Otherwise, pack them up in archival safe tissue paper and boxes, or pass them on to other family members who may enjoy them.

Consider how much you need. I suggest having a maximum of two sets of regular sheets per bed, plus two sets of flannel sheets per bed (if you use flannel). This will allow for one set to be in the laundry at any given time. You should only need one set of sheets per guest bed unless your guests tend to stay longer than a week. Be realistic when you consider how many blankets you need. Determine which blankets are used throughout the winter, keep an extra one in case a houseguest needs it, and get the rest out of the closet.  You can stow one in your car to provide warmth in case your car breaks down in the winter, and donate the rest. One set of towels per person per week should be adequate. Allowing for laundry, keeping two sets per person and a set or two for guests should be sufficient. 

Here’s a link to my newsletter where you’ll find additional ideas to help you organize your linen closet.

Wishing you simplicity, harmony and freedom,

Signature Sue

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Posted in Home Organizing, Organizing Process

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Focus on Organizing Your Photos

January 4th, 2011

PhotosHappy New Year! I hope the coming year is your best yet. If you’ve been enjoying the past month of holiday celebrations as much as I have, you probably have lots of photographs capturing the good times. The question now is what to do with all those photos. If your pictures are in digital format, you may choose to store them electronically on your computer or one of the many photo storage websites that are available (eg., Picasa, Flickr, etc.). But what about the photos you choose to print, as well as the mountains of old photographs you have stashed away in boxes and drawers? They may be your only way to remember family gatherings, vacations, holidays and other special moments. Here are some tips to help you organize those glimpses of the past:

 Sort your backlog.  

  • Gather all your photos from everywhere in your home into one place. You may also want to pull pictures out of albums that aren’t photo-safe.
  • Label individual shoeboxes, bankers’ boxes, lunch bags or shopping bags with each year that the photos cover – one container per year.
  • Grab a photo from the backlog and determine if it’s worth keeping. Toss pictures that are blurry, duplicate (or pass the duplicate on to someone else who might appreciate it), uninteresting or unflattering (as long as there are other pictures of that person that you’re keeping). 
  • Put the photos you’ve chosen to keep into the appropriate year’s container. 
  • Repeat.
  • Keep the process going. If your backlog is as big as most people’s, you won’t get it all sorted in one session. Schedule blocks of “photo time” on your calendar – as little as 15 minutes a week will keep things moving. You might consider sorting during TV commercials, and making this a family activity.

Determine how you want to permanently store your photos. Typical options include photo albums, picture frames, and photo boxes. Another option is scanning them and storing them as you would any other digital photo. When considering which medium to use, it’s important to consider several factors:

Here’s a link to my newsletter where you’ll find additional ideas to help you organize your photos.

Wishing you simplicity, harmony and freedom,

Signature Sue

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Posted in Home Organizing, Keepsakes, Organizing Process, Photos

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From Disastrous to Delightful in 15 Minutes

December 20th, 2010

I was recently doing a marathon baking session at my house when what to my wondering eyes should appear but a huge mess in my kitchen. As the pictures below show, there were pots and pans and all kinds of things all over the place.

Messy kitchen table

MessY kitchen counter

Some of you may be wondering what all the fuss is about, but that’s not the normal look of my kitchen. I feel a bit like Oprah when she bravely goes on TV without her makeup – after all, I’m supposed to be neat and orderly.  It just goes to show that things can occasionally get out of control for even the most organized among us. The trick is to have a regular system of getting things back in place. I wasn’t alarmed about my mess because I knew that in no time I could get the room whipped back into shape. After all, everything had a place where it belonged and all I had to do was put it there.

Just like I do with any organizing project, I picked a place to start (I chose the stove) and dug in to pick up an item, identify where it belonged, and put it there. Dirty spatula? – Dishwasher. Dirty cookie sheet? – washed, dried and put in cabinet. Bin of sugar? – Into the kitchen cabinet.  I just kept moving to my left – counter, sink, drainer, counter, kitchen table – until everything was put away.

Clean kitchen tableClean kitchen counter

You may think that it’s cheating to put things in the dishwasher because it’s not the permanent home of an item (although when I was first out of college, my roommate and I used the dishwasher to store our pots and pans, but that’s another story for another time). At any rate, I don’t view putting things in the dishwasher as cheating – after all, that’s where they belonged at the moment I picked them up.

Curious about how long it might take me to clean up my mess, and in anticipation of using my experience as material for this blog, I actually timed my kitchen clean up from start to finish.  In 14 minutes and 23 seconds, everything was where it belonged. Knowing that the timer was running, I was especially diligent and focused on being efficient in my endeavor. In what seemed like no time, the kitchen was back in shape and I was back to my usual question of who can I get to cook dinner for me?

The next time you’re feeling overwhelmed by your clutter, set a timer, pick a place to start, and just pick one item at a time to move along towards its home.

Wishing you simplicity, harmony and freedom,

Signature Sue

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Posted in Home Organizing, Organizing Process

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