Simply Organized – What’s Your One Thing???
One thing I’ve noticed talking and working with people on organizing their lives is that we all seem to have one thing – one thing that kind of takes over our space. Often, we don’t realize how much of space and time our “one thing” controls and takes over. Yet, if we identify it, we can make healthy boundaries that will help us simplify, organize, and prioritize our lives.
In identifying your “one thing,” think about what I would find if I came to your house and looked around. Would I find magazines or clothes or stacks of papers or loose photos in multiple rooms, totally unorganized? Or, think about it this way: do you have your CD’s in different rooms, the case someplace, and the CD another and you can never find the ones you want? Or do you find that you go buy a tool or giftwrap or greeting card, only to find a week later that you already had one, but just couldn’t find it? All of these can be our “one thing” that we spend more time, money, and energy on than we need to, and maybe we have more than just one area that needs organized!
I encourage you to take a little time this week and identify one thing that you could organize that would make your life a little simpler and give you a little more time. Go through each room in your home and pull out the item that has taken over, such as photos. Gather them all together, so you can see exactly what containers you need. Find the best place, only one place, for the item, and you have suddenly given yourself a system that will help you save time, energy, and money. You may be surprised at what you discover you already have. Have fun treasure hunting!
If you want any ideas on storage containers for certain types of items, just email me. I’d be happy to send you some web links and other ideas for containers.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Are You Prepared for an Emergency?
We all remember the difficulties people experienced in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The scale of devastation throughout the initial crisis gave us all of the thought...What if that was me???
In today’s world, there are natural and man-made disasters, the potential harm to our country even has a “threat level” attached to it on any given day. We may not be able to stop an emergency coming into our life, but we can minimize its impact and keep our families much safer if we are prepared.
Take some time to prepare your family for an emergency by going to www.ready.gov/america.
If you would like accountability and more ideas to be prepared, subscribe to SO Projects at www.thesimplyorganizedlife.org.
In today’s world, there are natural and man-made disasters, the potential harm to our country even has a “threat level” attached to it on any given day. We may not be able to stop an emergency coming into our life, but we can minimize its impact and keep our families much safer if we are prepared.
Take some time to prepare your family for an emergency by going to www.ready.gov/america.
If you would like accountability and more ideas to be prepared, subscribe to SO Projects at www.thesimplyorganizedlife.org.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Week in View
Have you ever realized at 9:00 in the evening you were supposed to send snacks to preschool or take in a birthday cake for a colleague at work the next day??? Talk about stress!
Taking some time on Sunday to plan your week will save time through the week so that you are relaxing in the evenings instead of headed to the store. Another great benefit is saving money. If we run to the store to get snacks or a gift or other needed items, we usually end up spending more! Planning ahead allows us to take advantage of sales or other deals. It costs a lot less to bake cupcakes than to buy them from the bakery!
Subscribe to SO Projects to get monthly organizing projects delivered to your email. A year subscription is only $15.00! This month's project offers ideas and tips on how to plan for the week ahead in a short amount of time, which will save time throughout the whole week. Subscribe at www.thesimplyorganizedlife.org today!
Taking some time on Sunday to plan your week will save time through the week so that you are relaxing in the evenings instead of headed to the store. Another great benefit is saving money. If we run to the store to get snacks or a gift or other needed items, we usually end up spending more! Planning ahead allows us to take advantage of sales or other deals. It costs a lot less to bake cupcakes than to buy them from the bakery!
Subscribe to SO Projects to get monthly organizing projects delivered to your email. A year subscription is only $15.00! This month's project offers ideas and tips on how to plan for the week ahead in a short amount of time, which will save time throughout the whole week. Subscribe at www.thesimplyorganizedlife.org today!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
A Great Photo Op!
How many of you have stacks, or maybe a drawer, full of photos that are unorganized, maybe still in the photo envelopes, and you have no idea what order they go in. You know who you are!
Today, many of us have digital cameras, and there are a lot of options to manage photos, rather online, on your computer, ordering photo books or photo prints. Yet, the pile or drawer of photos from the 35mm days is still here, and a little overwhelming to deal with. It’s time to take care of those photos so that you can enjoy them and cherish the memories they represent.
As we begin 2009, try the following ideas to create order out of your photos and remember what you looked like ten years ago. The best way to tackle those photos??? Head on, with friends and with snacks!
Buy some pretty photo boxes. You will be much more motivated to get the photos organized if you have some great containers to put them in.
Invite some friends over for a photo party. Have them bring their photos, photo boxes, and snacks. The task won’t seem so overwhelming if friends are coming, and it will be much more fun. (You can laugh at each other’s 80’s style hair and makeup and other photos.) Plus, having a date on the calendar makes it much more possible that you will follow through and get it done.
As you sit down to organize the photos, start by putting them in piles according to year. When you first look at a set of photos, you may not remember exactly which date it is, but if you narrow it down to the year, you have a good start.
After you have them organized by year, try to get each year chronologically. If they are in piles by years, go by seasons and events to get them in order. Also, purge as you go! You can throw away photos you don’t want or need. If you don’t want to throw them away, place them in a box for extra photos. Kids have a lot of fun with photos and create all sorts of great art with them!
At this point, you have organized and you have purged. You are ready to place them in the great photo boxes you purchased in order chronologically. Now, you can enjoy them instead of feeling a ten pound weight on your shoulders every time you see them.
Final notes:
You can choose to put the photos in albums instead of boxes, but I suggest doing the boxes first. This way, they are organized and it is a project that you can complete instead of getting some in albums and then getting bogged down because it takes too long.
Today, many of us have digital cameras, and there are a lot of options to manage photos, rather online, on your computer, ordering photo books or photo prints. Yet, the pile or drawer of photos from the 35mm days is still here, and a little overwhelming to deal with. It’s time to take care of those photos so that you can enjoy them and cherish the memories they represent.
As we begin 2009, try the following ideas to create order out of your photos and remember what you looked like ten years ago. The best way to tackle those photos??? Head on, with friends and with snacks!
Buy some pretty photo boxes. You will be much more motivated to get the photos organized if you have some great containers to put them in.
Invite some friends over for a photo party. Have them bring their photos, photo boxes, and snacks. The task won’t seem so overwhelming if friends are coming, and it will be much more fun. (You can laugh at each other’s 80’s style hair and makeup and other photos.) Plus, having a date on the calendar makes it much more possible that you will follow through and get it done.
As you sit down to organize the photos, start by putting them in piles according to year. When you first look at a set of photos, you may not remember exactly which date it is, but if you narrow it down to the year, you have a good start.
After you have them organized by year, try to get each year chronologically. If they are in piles by years, go by seasons and events to get them in order. Also, purge as you go! You can throw away photos you don’t want or need. If you don’t want to throw them away, place them in a box for extra photos. Kids have a lot of fun with photos and create all sorts of great art with them!
At this point, you have organized and you have purged. You are ready to place them in the great photo boxes you purchased in order chronologically. Now, you can enjoy them instead of feeling a ten pound weight on your shoulders every time you see them.
Final notes:
You can choose to put the photos in albums instead of boxes, but I suggest doing the boxes first. This way, they are organized and it is a project that you can complete instead of getting some in albums and then getting bogged down because it takes too long.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Find Two More Weeks in Your Year!
Real Simple Magazine found that people spend an average of 55.2 minutes per day looking for everything, from their keys to the warranty for the washing machine. That adds up to two weeks per year, time much more valuable than wondering where the permission slip is for your son’s field trip.
With a simple system, you can gain back those lost minutes each day. Taking some extra time now to get everything in its place will bring more order in your home. Then, maintaining the system will become a natural part of life, instead of stealing almost an hour a day.
With a simple system, you can gain back those lost minutes each day. Taking some extra time now to get everything in its place will bring more order in your home. Then, maintaining the system will become a natural part of life, instead of stealing almost an hour a day.
- Everything needs a home: Have a place designated for the kids’ toys, the sports equipment, the warranty manuals, the paperwork that needs your attention, and even the keys – in other words, everything!
- Everything gets only one home: If the credit card bill could be on the counter, in a file, in your briefcase, or in a drawer, time is wasted looking. Make sure there is only one place designated for each thing.
- Everything goes home at night: Spending a few minutes each evening making sure things are put away will turn that 55 minutes a day looking for things to five minutes maintaining a workable system.
Visit my website www.thesimplyorganizedlife.org
for more organizing tips and products!
for more organizing tips and products!
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