Your Life. Organized.

The Big O: Feed Me!

If you know me at all you know I'm all about food. Listen to the newest episode of The Big O with me, and your hosts Vicky and Jen as we discuss how to organize food. From the cabinets to the pantry to the fridge and freezer we'll share our best tips for staying organized and saving you money on your grocery bill!

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Related articles

Week By Week Kitchen Organizing: Part I

Week By Week Kitchen Organizing: Part II

Week By Week Kitchen Organizing: Part III

Quote: Shine

"As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

 

Marianne Williamson
Author and Speaker

 

 

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Quote: Kindness

"Kindness is an inner desire that makes us want to do good things even if we do not get anything in return. It is the joy of our life to do them. When we do good things from this inner desire, there is kindness in everything we think, say, want and do."

 

Emmanuel Swedenborg
1688-1772, Scientist, Philosopher and Theologian

 

 

 

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Organizing Mistake #8: Not Paying Attention

Our 8th installment in the series Organizing Myths and Mistakes is Not Paying Attention. We've covered seven myths or mistakes in the past few months and perhaps this one should have been slotted in a little earlier, but oh well. Better late than never!

We all get caught up in our own life and live on autopilot now and again. Did you ever find yourself behind the wheel and forget where you're going? Or maybe you're so used to taking a certain route that your car just goes there without you even thinking? Not paying attention is one organizing mistake that leads to clutter and chaos. 

We're so busy living our lives that we often don't pay attention to how much STUFF we really have. Think back to the last time you moved, if you can remember. Didn't you wonder where all the STUFF came from? You never really grasp how much you own until you have to pack it all up and move it, eh?

If you really slow down and LOOK at all the things in your space, I guarantee you'll be surprised at what you find. There are things sitting in plain view that you've stopped seeing. They've become part of the landscape and you haven't noticed them in months, maybe years. There are secret stashes of stuff in your closets and cabinets that you've forgotten about. There are even things lurking in the teeniest of places like desk and night table drawers.

A key factor in keeping your life and spaces organized is to pay attention every day to what you're sharing your space with. Resist the urge to pack things away in unlabeled boxes, never to be seen again. Do a quarterly "clean out something" session, even if it's small. Just target a different area of your home every quarter and you'll eventually hit and eliminate all the secret clutter stashes you never knew you had.

Quote: Thanksgiving

There is no greater difference between men than between grateful and ungrateful people. 

 

~R.H. Blyth

 

 

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Quote: Luxury

"Everyone can have a luxury life. It's a state of mind. It's not necessarily about having the biggest house. It's about living life to the fullest."

Paul Miklas

 

 

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Organizing Mistake #6: Buy First Plan Second!

So far in our ongoing series called Biggest Organizing Myths & Mistakes, we've covered over-organizing, doing it the right way, it's genetic and it's too expensive. Today the topic is one near and dear to a lot of hearts out there and it's (ta-da!) SHOPPING!

OOH FUN! I know you like to shop for organizing products. So do I! Who doesn't love The Container Store?? (I know, right?) Zoinks. The mistake isn't buying organizing products. Heck, I do that all the time. The mistake is buying first, and planning second.

Organizing any space is likely to require the purchase of products and tools in some fashion. It could be something as simple as a drawer divider or pencil cup but it might be a full blown new closet system. Regardless, don't buy a thing until you've got your plan in place.

I've worked with way too many clients who have secret stashes of organizing products lurking about the house and office. It's like The Island of Misfit Organizers (and nobody wants a Charlie In The File Box). Would you go to the grocery store, load your basket with random items then come home and go online to try to find a recipe that contains them all? Of course you wouldn't. You find the recipe you want to make, THEN you go buy the ingredients.

Organizing works the same way. Plan your project -- or hire a NAPO Professional Organizer in your area to help you put together a project plan. Once you know your goals and the parameters, it will become clear which products you need to buy. Shopping deliberately with a plan in mind and a use for each product helps you avoid wasting time, money and prevents your home or office from being the place containers go to die.

Join me next week for Organizing Mistake #7!

 

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Quote: Imperfectly Happy

"Being happy doesn't mean everything is perfect. It means you have decided to look beyond the imperfections."

Gerard Way
Musician and Writer

 

 

 

 

 

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Quote: Standards

"Set higher standards for your own performance than anyone around you, and it won't matter whether you have a tough boss or an easy one. It won't matter whether the competition is pushing you hard, because you'll be competing with yourself."

Rick Pitino
Basketball Coach, Author and Speaker

 

 

 

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Organizing Myth #4: Getting Organized Is Expensive!

Four weeks ago we started a series to discuss Biggest Organizing Myths and Mistakes. So far we’ve covered Over-Organizing, Do It Right, and It’s Genetic! This week’s installment in the series covers the myth that getting organized is just. Too. Expensive.

Don’t get me wrong. When undertaking any organizing project, chances are good you’ll need some tools, furnishings and products you don’t already own and you can absolutely spend a lot of money in the process. No doubt, I work with clients who don’t blink an eye at spending $60 on a sorter/collator or $38 for a lazy susan, or $58 on a shoe organizer and that’s great. We all have to choose how we spend our money and for some folks, the cost of an item isn’t the most important factor in their buying decision. However, for those who’d like to spend less on organizing products (and maybe more on food and wine!), you too can get organized without breaking the bank.

So first, check around your own house -- and heck your sister's house too -- for items that can be re-purposed. She's not using that old laundry basket in the back of the closet, why not put it in your child's room for stuffed animals? If you really can't find anything you already own that would fit the bill for your project, you'll need to get it elsewhere, but for as little as possible.

Some of my favorite bargain shopping options are Freecycle, Craigslist, Big Lots, Walmart, Target and your local Goodwill Store. And speaking of Freecycle, although it wasn’t an organizing product, our toilet recently needed replacing and after pricing brand new ones, I found one for free on our local Freecycle group, which saved us a few hundred bucks. Sweet!

What are your favorite ways to keep organizing projects inexpensive?

 

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Quote: Pipe Dreams

"No matter how carefully you plan your goals they will never be more than pipe dreams unless you pursue them with gusto."

W. Clement Stone 1902-2002
Businessman, Philanthropist and Author

 

 

 

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The Big O: Organizing Your Photos!

It's that time of the month again! Do you have boxes, bags, bins and billions of megaBYTES worth of photos in your life and don't have a clue what to do with them? Join Vicky, Jen and me for the newest episode of The Big O where we discuss how in the world to take control of all those images! 

 

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Organizing Myth #3: It's Genetic!

Two weeks ago I began a series called Organizing Myths & Mistakes. So far we've covered Mistake #1 which is over-organizing and Myth #2, doing it the right way. This week I'm exposing Organizing Myth #3: It's Genetic! 

Over the years, many clients have expressed a suspcion that their disorganization was a genetic trait handed down through the family like a china pattern. Some things are indeed genetic such as curly hair and cowlicks, and although you're born with a dominant brain type and thinking style, disorganization isn't hard-wired and passed from one generation to the next.

That being said, a disorganized adulthood can be a by-product of childhood years spent in a cluttered, disorganized home, especially if you were never taught organizing skills or saw them modeled by your parents. What many people view as "genetic" disorganization is actually a result of their environment and a lack of skills and habits.

The good news? Just like swimming or singing, organizing can be learned. Although some people have a greater affinity for it than others (just like singing and swimming) anyone can learn organizing skills and use them to improve their lives.

If you believe you're genetically disorganized, here are five basic lessons you may not have learned from your sweet mama, that you can begin practicing today.

1. Store like with like. You keep all your clothes in the same general area right? What if you kept clothing in every room of the house? You'd have a hard time getting dressed every day because you'd never know where to look for anything specific and you'd need to traverse the entire house just to put an outfit together. Group like items together to create families. It's way easier to locate the entire family than an individual item, which could be lurking anywhere in the house.

2. Create homes for as much of your stuff as possible. Do you ever wake up and wonder where your toothbrush is? Nope. It's always the same place you left it, which is probably by the bathroom sink. Apply the same principle to most everything in your home (or office) and you'll save tons of time searching for your things.

3. Less is more. Clutter sneaks into your life in many ways, so pay attention to your surroundings. The only way to have less to manage is by noticing what's in your space and always being open to moving it out of your life when it's no longer important or isn't giving you value. 

4. Think about retrieval. When choosing homes for items and families of items, think more about retrieving the item, as well as how and when you use it, rather than where to store it. Your goal is to make it super easy to have access to the things you use most often.

5. Store things near where you use them. It seems like common sense but you'd be surprised how many people keep their backstock of toilet tissue on the garage instead of in a bathroom. Think about where you use each item (or category of items), then make space nearby to store those things.

What are you favorite organizing basics that help keep you on track?

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Organizing Myth #2: Do It The Right Way

Last week I kicked off a series called Organizing Myths & Mistakes, with Organizing Mistake #1, which is over-organizing. This week’s myth (or mistake) is one lots of folks believe but don’t even realize they believe it: There’s a right way to organize.  

What’s the right way to lose ten pounds? Low-carb diet? Workout like a fiend? Go vegetarian? Low-fat diet? The answer is YES. They’re all different approaches yet they all work for different people. Getting organized is no different. We all have different lifestyles, work styles, habits, tendencies, spaces and situations so it’s only logical that there would be differences in how we get organized too.

Take email management for instance. Some people prefer to check email twice a day and filter everything manually once they’ve responded to it. Others might check email a few times an hour and create a lot of rules to filter email as it comes in. Still others may prefer to use different colored flags to highlight the most important messages. The question you should be asking isn’t “Which one is the right way?” the question is, “Does it work?”

Email is similar to paper in that most people struggle with it. Some people manage incoming bills, statements, subscriptions and such really well with a desktop file box. Others prefer to reduce paper by scanning it or using a tech solution such as Manilla to reduce their paper. Which one works? They both do. Whichever one works for you is the right way.

Successful organizing is about using your creativity and problem solving skills to look at all the variables – time, space, resources, habits, life and work style preferences – and choose the systems that will work for you. That is the only “right way” to get organized.

 

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Quote: Why Wait?

"There's no need to wait for the bad things to be over. Change now. Love now. Live now. Don't wait for people to give you permission to live, because they won't."

Kris Carr
Author

 

 

 

 

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Organizing Mistake #1: Over-Organizing

I admit it. I've always been a tad judgmental of people who just do enough to get by. As a first-born (and a Virgo) I guess I'm wired to push for perfection and that sometimes means going above and beyond what's necessary. (My husband is laughing right now, I just know it...) In relation to work ethic, I've always considered going above and beyond a good trait. However, when it comes to organizing, not so much.

When you finally do catch the organizing bug, it can be hard to know when to stop. Remember that time you just wanted to clean out one drawer and suddenly every kitchen cabinet was emptied out on the floor and you were stuck there all day trying to put it back together? Yeah like that. We can all get on an organizing roll because it feels so good to clean things out, declutter and put order to your stuff. However, beware of one of the big organizing mistakes people make: Over-organizing.

This is one instance when it's absolutely appropriate -- and even desirable -- to do just the minimum. Whatever you're organizing, don't overdo it. For example, when I'm working with a family, we typically collect what I call Vital Documents into a single folder for the entire family. This includes birth certificates, Social Security Cards, copies of driver's licenses, marriage licenses and such. Some folks would have a folder for each person, labeled and named. I say WHY make it that specific?

Why create several folders to hold so few documents, especially given how infrequently that kind of information is accessed? Make ONE folder, call it FAMILY VITAL DOCS, throw them all in there and sift through it when you need something.

If you apply this "only do as much as necessary" philosophy to all your organizing projects, you'll find your systems are easier and less cumbersome to maintain. Stay tuned for next week's installment of Organizing Mistakes.

 

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Quote: Getting Even

"The only people you should get even with are those who have helped you."

 

Napoleon Hill
1883-1970,  Author

 

 

 

 

 

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Mom Lessons

My mom's birthday was last week. It would have been her 70th. In this photo from my first wedding, she was 45. Sadly, she passed away in 2004 at the young age of 61. When someone passes young, you have no memory of them being old and while I can clearly picture my grandfather's face at 80, I have no way of imagining what my mother's face would look like today. Perhaps when I and my sister reach 70, then I'll know.

For most of the years I knew her, my mom was a very hard-working single parent. Although she wasn't perfect (what parent is?) she did her best and I always knew she loved me, even when she was impatient, upset or just being what I thought at the time was Mean Mommy.

My mom was very clear that her primary job as a parent was to produce capable children who would grow into adults that worked hard, contributed to the world and respected others. Make no mistake. My mom was not my girlfriend or my confidante and I thank God for her wisdom every day.

Mom knew it was important for her kids to learn life skills by helping around the house. By the time I was ten, I could do most everything that needed doing. Laundry, dishes, making beds, dusting, cleaning floors, taking care of the garden, taking care of the animals and cooking.

When I was thirteen, we moved into a house we built ourselves and by "built ourselves" I mean my grandfather, uncles, mom, my brother and I actually built it from the ground up with our own hands. Granted, my brother's and my hands weren't nearly as helpful as adult hands, but nonethess we were part of the process. I remember pounding nails, measuring boards, washing salvaged marble tiles and laying tile into countertops at the direction of my uncles. We moved into that house in 1979 and it's where I lived until I left home. It was in that house I learned to tend the garden, can and freeze fresh produce and split and stack logs for firewood. Mom made sure we kids weren't strangers to hard work and for that I am grateful.

In honor of my mom and her life, I'd like to share some of the lessons she taught me. Some she taught me directly in words, (often through clenched teeth) and others were shared lovingly and indirectly through her actions and deeds. Many of these lessons might be the ones your parents taught you, but perhaps a few will make you wonder.

Don't walk on someone else's lawn.

Chew with your mouth closed.

Don't talk with your mouth full.

When you're bad you get hurt.

What goes around comes around.

Life isn't fair.

Earn your own money.

Whatever job you have, do it well. Your name is on it.

The world doesn't owe you a living.

Hard work never killed anybody.

You can't always get what you want.

Treat others with respect.

Treat the property of others with respect.

Look around you. Observe what needs doing. Then do it.

Pay with cash. Lay it away. Write a check. Or don't buy it.

Don't sit on cold concrete. You'll get hemorrhoids.

Don't run the water while you brush your teeth.

Turn off the lights when you leave a room.

Don't take the last cookie.

Do what's right even if it doesn't benefit you personally.

Protect your peace of mind.

 

I know my mom is at peace and I just hope I've been able to live my life in a way that would have made her proud.

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Quote: Plan Your Life

"If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much."

 

Jim Rohn
1930-2009, Author and Speaker

 

 

 

 

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Quote: Choosing Success

"So it is, life is actually made up of our choices. We are the sum total of them, and if we hold to an attitude of love and thanksgiving for all the good things within our grasp we may have what all ambitious people long for -- success."

 

Delma Neeley

 

 

 

 

 

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