Home Organizing Archives - Page 8 of 9 - Ellen's Blog, Professional Organizing for Kingwood & Houston

Words Matter: Organizing Mantras

February 4, 2016/8 Comments/in Home Organizing/by Ellen

Words matter! When we talk to ourselves and others about organizing, it’s best to keep a positive approach in how we describe our work. It’s in finding words that convey a positive perspective that we can be the most successful.

Start and cultivate a feeling for organizing

How can we approach getting started on organizing? Would you have to be in the mood to start? Would you tell yourself I am ready to get started? Sometimes we have to just start and then we feel more in the mood for organizing. Your organizing mantra can be “put your big girl panties on and get started” or “I envision the serenity of my space.” Get started to get your groove and feel the organizing love.

Tack on one more habit to an existing habit

Research shows that it takes 66 days to create a habit. We can be discouraged when habits don’t happen right away. The positive spin on new habits is to “hook” a new habit on an existing habit. Think of habits you already have as routines and start there.

Who can help me?

Asking for help can be hard. But it’s a lot more fun and much easier when you work with a partner to get stuff done. Look for a partner in someone who has different strengths from you. It’s not that you are any less skilled, strong or resourceful. It’s picking a partner who you work well with together.

Is this good for me?

Letting go of stuff can be hard. Smart strategies for decluttering include asking yourself if your stuff is still good for you. Is your stuff still helping you do your best? Is it still valuable and functional for you? Good stuff is everywhere in our homes and offices. It’s just not still good for you.

What works?

Something works for everyone! Dig deep if you need to but find what works and capitalize on it. You might be surprised at what is really working.

Choose your words with care. Create mantras that feel positive, uplifting and fun.

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Getting Prepared and Organized in Case of an Emergency

May 19, 2015/2 Comments/in Home Organizing/by Ellen

Disasters happen across the US and throughout the year resulting in property damage, injuries and stress. There are some tasks that you can do to keep yourself organized during these potentially high stress situations. Getting prepared and organized in case of an emergency makes everyone feel in control and as ready as possible.

Create a Kit

Include items like water, canned foods, a can opener and blankets. These are the basic necessities that can support you in case you are stranded or without power. If anyone in your family, including your pets, requires medication, make sure to grab this medication prior to exiting your home. Additional items like batteries, a flashlight, a first aid kit and wet wipes can come in handy. Consult ready.gov for a checklist.

An Evacuation Plan

One of the most challenging aspects of dealing with disasters is knowing where your family members are located and how to get to them. If everyone is in the same house, write down a plan to leave the home and get to safety. If family members are at school, work or running errands, determine what meeting place will be the central location and how to evacuate the area. It is good practice to document these processes and review them periodically.

Get Digitally Prepared

With the use of mobile phones, computers, tablets and other technology, there are a number of ways to protect your family during an extreme situation. Make an investment in back up chargers for these devices. Using cloud technology, identify pertinent documents and take photos of all your belongings and upload this information into a solution that can support photos and documents. Safely storing your information in the cloud can protect in case your home is no longer standing after a tragedy.

Get Your Home Prepared

With some effort, making enhancements around the home can help protect your home a little better during disasters. Add boards to windows and move outdoor furniture in or out of the line of the house when a hurricane warnings are issued. Trim back trees and shrubs when heavy winds and potential wild fires are expected. Invest in a generator if you are prone to a lot of storms which take out the power regularly.

These helpful tips can help make a difference during high stress situations. It is good to practice emergency preparedness when an emergency is not present to get in the habit when the unexpected happens.

Elizabeth Dodson is the co-founder of HomeZada, a cloud-based home management and organizational software tool. HomeZada strives to educate and provide resources for homeowners in all areas of home management, including home improvement projects, maintenance, inventory, and preparedness.

Hugs and Happy Organizing Your Command Center

Hugs and happy organizing are client success stories. Here is a story about a client’s command center in her kitchen.

Paper is a necessary evil on our kitchens. It’s best to have a dedicated command center in our kitchen for paper, school supplies, technology and projects. A kitchen desk and cabinets make up a great station for these items.

Clear out your cabinet completely. Keep this area designated for just the command center.
Consolidate office supplies, use bins to keep them together and label the bins.
Set up bins for your kids and your incoming papers. Label the bins
Keep a daily routine to go through the mail and backpacks for 5 minutes daily.
Once a week set up an hour to work on papers and other admin tasks at your home.

All good organizing systems rely on having a place for everything. If you have more categories, you need more bins. Having a good routine for daily and weekly management makes a difference too.

More Command Centers here!

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Organizing a “Texas Basement”

February 15, 2015/4 Comments/in Home Organizing/by Ellen

It’s quite funny but in southeast Texas we have no underground basements. The same applies to southeast Louisiana. Due to the water table in Houston, our “Texas basement” is storage above the garage. (In other parts of the country this is called the attic!) It can be accessed by a pull down ladder or through a door. No matter where your basement is located, Texas or not, some of the same organizing strategies apply! Organizing a Texas basement is the same as other basements.

Partner up, partner.

It’s always best to work in a partnership with a big space. Your Texas basement can be overwhelming otherwise. Choose a partner that helps you make good decisions about your stuff. Your partner could be the owner of some of the stuff or just help you reflect on whether it can be donated. Have a conversation ahead of time about priorities and what help you need to make decisions. It’s also great to have another set of hands to help move your boxes and bins together. It helps offset accidental injury. Set a date on the calendar that can’t be changed, no matter what. Get your partner and get going partner!

Use vertical space wisely.

There’s always lots of wall space in our Texas basements. Use this vertical space well by adding storage with shelves.

5 tier shelving

Using these inexpensive, 4 or 5 shelf units in your basement or attic gives you loads of additional storage. You can stack bins on them, store luggage on them, or even place large holiday decorations on them. Line up 3 or 4 shelving units for maximum storage. Since these are light weight and portable these are a great asset for your space.

Use plastic bins to contain your goods.

Here in Texas we have a lot of big insects! We like to protect our goods by keeping them stored in plastic bins, rather than cardboard boxes. Cardboard attracts bugs and we want to be sure our items are secured away from bug stuff.

These 66 quart bins with a latch make it easy to carry your stuff up those stairs to your Texas basement. It’s not too big or heavy. It’s best to label two sides and the top of your bin to know what you are storing.

Choose wisely what you store

Because we have limited storage, we need to make good decisions about what to store. In Texas the heat is definitely a factor in what to store in our Texas basements. With temperatures in the 90s during the summer, you want to store only items that can withstand that heat.

Typical storage includes:

Holiday decorations make of wood, metal, or fabric
Archived tax preparation papers

Typical storage should not include:

Photos
Technology

Our Texas basements make it especially hard to store furniture. But that can be a blessing in disguise. Your furniture can be donated to a local furniture bank or homeless shelter where families are setting up their new homes. It helps us make good decisions on what to keep and helps us bless others with our donations.

Whether it’s your basement or attic, be sure to check regularly for “unwanted guests”. Pests can get into your space and ruin what you are storing.

Remember that this storage, like all other spaces in your home, needs a regular review of what’s being stored here. Date your boxes and bins so that you can check in a year or two whether you need the items. Treat your storage space like all other valuable space in your home.

What do you store in your attic or basement?

15 Home Organizing Tasks that Take 15 Minutes

February 5, 2015/1 Comment/in Home Organizing, Organizing Skills/by Ellen

It’s completely paralyzing at times to think how long it will take to organize your home. It seems like every step you take and every room you enter has hours of organizing to do to get it together. But as we know from Lifehacker, there are betters way to get this job done! It can be just flitting from space to space with 15 minutes time slots to organize your home. I am obsessed with organizing in 15 minutes. These 15 home organizing tasks are an easy way to get organized.

1. Go through one pile of paper on your kitchen counter

For 15 minutes you can tackle a lot of paper. Grab a stack on your counter and let it go. Not sure what to keep, check here.

2. File 5 papers and take 5 papers out of files

Remember that awesome filing system you created in 2001? Get in there and renovate it with 5 files at a time.

3. Recycle magazines over 6 months old

Cull through and pull out last season’s magazines and be ready to enjoy the more recent ones. Recycle these when you go by to get your oil changed, visiting the doctor’s office or other places where people wait.

4. Sort through old cell phones and chargers and place in the recycle bin.

Gather up old technology and delete all your contacts. Recycle or resell your phones. Donate your old chargers because there are others who want extras.

5. Take the hard drive out of your old computer and disable it.

There may be more than one computer you need to recycle at your home or office. Your computer can be recycled or donated once the hard drive is out. Take out a screwdriver to get this done and free up a lot of office space.

6. Toss expired items on one shelf of your pantry

Take a look at the expiration dates and make a decision. There are lots of considerations for out of date food. Take out what you consider expired and toss.

7. Rearrange your kitchen utensil drawer to consolidate knives, spoons and spatulas

Have you recently purchased new cooking utensils? It’s time to divest what you replaced and send it along to donate.

8. Go through your car to toss trash and bring in items to distribute.

Our cars need a little organizing too. If there’s a trash build up, grab a bag and get it to the garbage. If it’s items that need to get back inside your home, bring a basket to gather them together to carry them inside.

9. Spend 15 minutes with your child decluttering toys

In 15 minutes your child will begin learning about decision making and prioritizing. It’s a great first step to teach organizing. Focus on letting go of 3 toys, making it easy for your child.

10. Pull out what’s too small and reorganize your child’s closet

It makes every morning easier having just what fits in your kid’s closet or dresser.

11. Sort through your single sock bag, match up what you can, then donate the rest.

This task is only worthy of 15 minutes. Reuse these socks in the cleaning area, as dog toy, or potpourri holder.

12. Eliminate towels that are worn for regular use.

You purchased new towels but the old ones are in there making the linen area look shabby.

13. Cull down to 2 sets of sheets per bed in your linen closet.

An uncrowded linen closet makes a lovely sight.

14. Go through your old home décor and donate what won’t be used.

Well used curtains? Not matching colors? Loved that back when? It’s time to bless others to bless their homes with this decor.

15. Spend 15 minutes for 5 days eliminating what you doesn’t make you look or feel fabulous in your closet. First shoes, then tops, bottoms, dresses and finally accessories.

It’s true! If you would not buy that today, it doesn’t belong in your closet. Taking your closet organizing in baby steps helps you make the most of your wardrobe. You will love this space and you will know everything you have after you organized.

Happy Fall Y’All! 5 Tips for Fall Organizing

September 11, 2014/6 Comments/in Home Organizing, Office Organizing/by Ellen

Sad to see summer go? Tired of the heat? Happy for the change of seasons? Looking forward to that first fall day? It’s that transition time, mostly known as Indian Summer, where we welcome fall. Take advantage of this transition time by organizing at your home and office. It’s time for fall organizing!

It’s time to start and end activities. Put away your summer swim bag, the sunscreen and goggles. Create a bag or notebook for kids’ school papers or new responsibilities like homeroom mom. Right away you will have a spot for all those papers.

Freshen up your clothes. Look through your closet and let go of clothes you did not wear this season. Put them in a shopping bag and immediately drop these off at a donation location. Do the same for your kids clothes and get their drawers in great shape for school time. Everyone will be happier and less stressed getting ready in the morning.

Host your family meeting and go over family responsibilities at home. Perhaps chores got lax this summer or everyone wants to shift chores. Take 15 minutes to write out your chore chart and place it where everyone sees it each day. Include homework time in your chore chart daily. Plan some end of summer fun and check in about upcoming Halloween plans for your family.

Set aside an hour to freshen up your office. It takes just a few focused minutes to eliminate all the extra paper and other stuff that has accumulated this summer. It could be shoes to take home, resources you no longer need or books to return to colleagues. Taking just an hour to refresh your space helps you be more efficient and effective at your desk.

Think through your daily routines at home and work. Start a new strategy for handling the biggest time takers, such as email and paper management. Decide on a pattern for when and how long you will get these tasks done daily. Getting a fresh perspective and a great routine helps you get these tasks done more easily.

The change of seasons helps us take advantage of refreshing our spaces. It energizes our organizing!

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Quick Start Back to School: Back to School Supplies

July 24, 2014/0 Comments/in Back to School, Family Organizing, Home Organizing/by Ellen

Your kids just got out of school and it is already time for Back To School. It’s hard to get started, so I have created this series Quick Start Back to School to get everyone going! The first post is about Back To School Supplies.

Back to school and it’s all about back to school supplies! Every year your kids bring home unused school supplies at the end of the school year. The sales for supplies start in mid July. Maybe your supplies are in many different spots in your home. Quick Start Back to School by first organizing your school supplies.

Choose a central location for office and back to school supplies.

It should be easy to access for everyone.
It should have shelves or drawers to help store different categories of supplies.
It’s one stop shopping at your home this way.

Gather and sort your supplies.

Keep paper together, writing supplies together, notebooks and dividers together.
Use plastic bins (shoe box and sweater box size) to corral each group.
Overloaded with supplies? Donate to local charities having school supply drives.
Label bins and place on shelves or in drawers. Label the outside of the storage area.

Itemize your back to school supply needs.

Find online resources for school supply lists on your district website.
Compare your list with your existing supplies.
Use a smart phone app to compare prices at stores.
Go shopping.

Set up your supplies.

Stock backpacks with supplies.
Set up your homework station.
Consolidate remaining supplies in your new station.

Check the ads and be prepared with your list! Quick Start School Supplies gets you up and running for this school year.

What’s your best tip for school supply organizing?

Check out my pinterest Student Success board.

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Recycling and Reselling Your Stuff

April 24, 2014/0 Comments/in Home Organizing/by Ellen

We are all looking for ways to make a difference for our planet. We want to reduce what we have, make better use of our stuff and recycle what we are done with. We are making a commitment to make our world a better place. April is the annual celebration of Earth Day and a time we focus on ways to reduce-reuse-recycle.

However….what if you could save the planet and make money at the same time? There are lots of sites dedicated to recycling and reselling your items. Here are some sites that help you do just that!

Swop.com

SwopBoard is an online marketplace to buy, sell and give back to local schools. You can buy, sell and donate money to schools through your sales.

Sell Your Phone On Ebay

Get cash selling your phone on eBay. Simply select your device, see its current value, and list it and sell it.

Ebay Sells for You

Selling professionals handle everything – taking photos, describing your items on eBay, answering any questions and shipping to buyers. You get 70% of proceeds.

Gazelle.com

Gazelle gives you an online quote, you ship your stuff with a prepaid mailer, and get paid by PayPal, check, or Amazon gift card. You can sell smart phones, ipads, tablets and more.

Thredup.com

Thredup pays you real money for the clothing and covers 100% of the cost to send your clothes.

Chairish

Sell used furniture online with this virtual showroom.

EagleSaver

Sell your DVDs, books, CDs and games online.

Have a resource to share? List it here!

I love sharing ideas on pinterest, especially about reusing, recycling and upcycling.

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Garage Organizing Do’s and Don’ts

April 8, 2014/4 Comments/in Home Organizing/by Ellen

Did you know…

§ 38% indicated that the garage was the messiest room in their home.

§ 25% of people with two-car garages don’t park any cars in their garage and that 32% parked only one.

§ In a recent poll people 25% of respondents said they want a three-car garage, even considering the extra cost.

Spring is a great time to organize your garage. Here are some simple ways to get your garage organized with do’s and don’ts.

DO’S

1. Start with a team. Garage organizing is a big project and best done with lots of help. Your team can be your family, church or high school teens, or anyone you can corral to help.

2. Plan for small, manageable time and space pieces. Schedule several times throughout a month to work in 2 -3 hour segments. Work in sections throughout your garage, such as floor first, left wall, back wall, then right wall.

3. Set up pick up times for your donations. It’s easier if a charity comes to you to pick up rather than loading your car.

4. Establish categories and zones for your keep items, such as car, athletics, gardening, camping, storage.

DON’T’S

1. Just buying shelves and containers is not the way to start. Have a plan so you know what to purchase and how much to purchase.

2. Just relocate items in the garage. Now is the time to review, recycle and donate what is not used at your home.

3. Pull everything out of your garage and onto your driveway. It’s easy to get overwhelmed while organizing. Taking it in small increments helps you make good decisions and finish the project over time.

4. Keep things for an unscheduled garage sale. If you don’t have a garage sale on the calendar already, donate and get a tax deduction instead.

Remember, your garage is the most frequently seen space in your home. Organizing your garage gives you the greatest financial bonus in money saved from storage unit costs and wear and tear of your car costs. Most importantly you have access to what you use.

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Easy Ways to Organize your Recycling

April 2, 2014/3 Comments/in Home Organizing/by Ellen

With the best of intentions, it’s easy to get stuck when you are recycling. All of my clients recycle paper, plastic, glass and cardboard. They have one step of recycling all set, but other steps can foil their best intentions. Think about easy ways to organize your recycling in order to make recycling happen.

First off, it’s important to know what to recycle! Here are some ideas thanks to Earth911. Did you know that pizza boxes can’t be recycled because of grease? Check out what can and can’t be recycled.

Let’s make recycling super easy!

Easy to access products

Photo compliments of the Container Store

Make recycling easy with these stack-able totes. These totes can be placed just outside your back door to drop items in after rinsing. Generously sized, you can recycle a lot and then carry these to the curb or your car to complete this job.

Easy to drop off locations

Schools often have paper and cardboard recycling. Drive by and drop off paper once a week. Best Buy has drop off for electronics. In Houston we have Drop off Houston, a free take-back program for electronics at over 30 locations city-wide. This includes televisions,fax machines, hard drives. computer monitors, DVD players and computers.

Easy to remember

Set a reminder in your smartphone, write in red on your calendar, or add a note to your kid’s chore chart to keep your recycling routine going. It’s up to everyone in your family to help make recycling happen.

When I was growing up, my dad and brother would recycle newspaper once a month together. It was a great way to share the responsibility and to talk about what is important. Set up team work in your family to make recycling a priority and a family value. It also lessens the load when you share the responsibility with many family members.

I love that our city is focusing on recycling in all ways. Easy, convenient recycling is available in Houston and Kingwood.

I want to also thank Keep Kingwood Green for their local initiatives too!

How can you make organizing happen at your home or business?

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