Happy endings to organizing

Gratitude

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I am grateful for our connection

Gratitude   

noun grat·i·tude \ˈgra-tə-ˌtüd, -ˌtyüd\

simple definition of gratitude is a feeling of appreciation or thanks

I am grateful for our connection!  This year has connected me to more colleagues, friends, family and clients.  Each of you has shared my joy with laughter and silly sayings. You have each shared with me leadership, learning, transitions, reflections, and hugs!

  • How to lead and how to follow
  • How to share values and be true to your priorities
  • How to learn collaboratively and share knowledge
  • How to learn new habits and routines
  • How to learn new technology
  • How to make hard transitions easier
  • How to reflect and prioritize
  • How to be your best you and live the life you imagined

 

May your gratitude be a part of your daily habits. Find a small, simple way to make this happen each day. Thank you for all you have shared with me this year. As we enter the holiday season, I look forward to hearing what you are each grateful for.  Post a comment below to share your gratitude.

 

May your holidays be filled with hugs and happy organizing!

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Six Simple Solutions to keep you Sane every Season!

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simple organizing solutions

Do things seem more complicated than ever? Rather than joy and anticipation, are you feeling overwhelmed at the thought of the new year and all it will bring? Start the year with simple organizing solutions to create order and balance in your life.

 

Your calendar

Have a great calendar you love! It can be paper or electronic, whichever is most compatible and engaging for you. It should be portable to travel with you and the format should be week or month at a glance. Rules for using your calendar include writing in everything regularly (from doctor appointments to work meetings) reviewing it daily. Add a weekly planning time for you to review what is coming up and adding items from your master list. This is the single most important tool you can have for time management.

 

Your list

Most people have too much to remember on a daily basis to remember it all without writing it down. Having a list keeps you in the moment, so that you can keep energy and focus on the project you are doing. Keep a spiral notebook or PDA with you at all times, so you can easily jot down notes and lists when the thought occurs. By consolidating all of this in one place you can review and prioritize actions and projects, combine activities and errands and be more productive each day.

 

Command center for your papers

Create a space for papers that require action. Your command center holds all the very important action papers, including bills and other papers requiring an action. Add a section for papers that will be filed. Each day open your mail at this station, recycle junk mail, shred potential identity theft papers and bring catalogs and magazines to a reading spot. By creating a specific work station for these papers, you are ready to act on them with an hour of weekly administrative time.

A place for everything

Often clutter is the result of items needing a specific “home” or space. Designate that space by deciding where the item is used most often and determine to place it back each and every time. By designating a space, you are also setting a limit to the quantity of the item you can own. For example, all clothes must fit in the master bedroom closet or all laundry products fit on the shelves above the washer. Defining a place for everything helps you save money, ease the stress of looking for items and maintain the order you have created in your home.

simple organizing solutions

Keep it Simple Sweetie

By keeping our projects and routines simple, we can enjoy our lives more fully. Routines like laundry and dinner should be as easy to complete as possible. These are activities that enhance our lives by completion rather than complication. Think of simple ways to create routine for you and your family. Can each family member having their own laundry basket eliminate laundry in the family room? Can dinner be sandwiches and soup? The K.I.S.S. principle makes the difference in our homes and activities.

15 minutes of organizing every day

Every day have 15 minutes of organizing to maintain the systems you have set up. After our busy days, we come home tired from our work, but we still need to get a little organizing completed. What can you do in 15 minutes? Get things back to where they belong, get ready for the next day, get lunches made, get your list together, get paper sorted into your command center and get your sanity back! We all can do anything for 15 minutes, especially, if it adds peace of mind and quality to our lives.

 

 

Work on these simple solutions a little each day. Uncomplicated, easy, straightforward and effortless organizing solutions for every season will make this year your best!

 

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Hugs and happy organizing Office Organizing

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office organizing

 

Hugs and happy organizing are client success stories.  Here’s a story about a client’s office.

 

Office desks become overwhelming with scraps, notes, and more. It’s hard to find the time to organize at work. Why organize when every day is chaotic?

 

There are simple steps to organize your office space.   Refresh your desk every evening and do a major overhaul monthly to keep productive in this space.

 

  • Decide what’s most important and what you use daily. These tools are the only items that remain on the desk top.
  • Set up a command center for actionable tasks and current projects.
  • Decide on what works best for you for a task list and consolidate all  your post it notes there.
  • Establish a reference area in a desk drawer or corner of your desk.  Keep what you refer to often in a notebook with inserts on the desk or a hanging file in your drawer.
  • Take home extra items that belong at home, such as extra pairs of shoes, books or personal items.
  • Keep a drawer with personal items such as lotion, snacks or hand sanitizer.

 

Check out these small biz ideas!

Hugs and Happy Organizing Your Command Center

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command center organizing your papers

 

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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Hugs and happy organizing Storage

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storage organizing

 

Hugs and Happy Organizing posts are about client successes. Here you will find a happy organizing story about storage.
We all want more storage! Having an extra closet makes all the difference!
  • Be sure to keep your floor clear.   When your floor is cluttered, storage space becomes chaotic.
  • Review what you are storing annually.  Be sure to decluttered what is past it’s prime or unused.
  • A great shelving installation makes all the difference. Inexpensive or custom, shelving heights should make it easy to store items.
  • Color coded, labelled bins make it easy to retrieve seasonal storage.

 

More posts on Hugs and Happy Organizing here.

 

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Hugs and happy organizing Teen Closet

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Hugs and happy organizing is all about sharing client success stories. Here is a happy ending for organizing a teen closet.

teen organizing

Is your teen’s closet out of control?  Too many clothes, shoes, and hats to keep organized?  Too busy to get organized? Just schedule two hours with your teen on a Sunday afternoon to get her or his space organized. Organizing your teen closet will make everyone happier.

  • If the floor of the closet is covered with shoes, pull them all out, match them up and see which are beyond repair or use.  Drop these in the trash asap.
  • Go through tee shirts and decide which are to wear and which are to make a quilt.  Store the memorabilia in a box at the back of the closet or on the top shelf.
  • Set a timer for 15 minutes and group clothes together by tops, bottoms, dresses, exercise, and sleepwear.
  • Set a timer for 15 minutes for each clothing group. Create a consignment pile.  As an incentive to your teen, getting money back for clothes will help them make good decisions about what should leave.
  • Consider bins for tee shirts, swim stuff, underwear and jammies.  Label the bin so everyone can drop in the items.
  • Check out shoe storage options. It can be a rack on the bottom of the closet or just a basket.  (Your teen won’t take time to put shoes in a box.)
  • Keep it simple and easy.  The easier it is to put laundry away, the more likely it will be!
  • Add a 3 section laundry sorter (click on clothes on this affiliate link) to keep clothes off the floor.  Place it where the clothes drop.

 

Kids love their clothes!  Help them keep up with them with an organized closet.

 

Hugs and happy organizing: Master Bedroom Closet

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Hugs and happy organizing is all about sharing client success stories.  Here is a short story about master bedroom closet organizing. 

 

hugs and happy organizing master closet

 

Nothing’s more important to starting the day easily than organizing your master closet.  But it can be difficult to part with expensive clothes and shoes.   Sometimes we are completely overwhelmed with the task when working on our own.  Push through your resistance and start your closet organizing.

  • Start with the floor.  Keep only what makes you feel or look fabulous.  Bring in bags to drop items in to donate.  Keep items on hangers for consignment. Ask yourself, would you buy it again today?
  • Decisions about shoes depend on comfort and wear.  Well worn loved shoes and unworn uncomfortable shoes should be the first to go.
  • Group items by category, either by color, size, style or where it’s worn.  Set up an area for clothes that are not too dirty but have been worn once or twice.  Have a routine for rewearing or hanging these back.
  • Your closet looks best with consistent hangers (affiliate link).  Whether it’s slim line or white tube hangers, your clothes pop when everything hangs at the same height and one color hanger.
  • Choose a shoe organizing product that works with the space you have.  The product should be able to house all the shoes you have currently.
  • Set up a laundry routine that works with your newly organized space.  Doing laundry more frequently is easier with smaller loads. You can complete the laundry cycle in a shorter time frame too.

 

Hugs and happy organizing is all about client success stories. Here you will find a craft and sewing room organizing success story. – See more at: https://professional-organizer.com/WordPress/category/hugs-and-happy-organizing-2/#sthash.9nr5nfLt.dpuf

Find more Hugs and Happy Organizing stories on pinterest!

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– See more at: https://professional-organizer.com/WordPress/category/hugs-and-happy-organizing-2/#sthash.Sg3AW5WW.dpuf

 

Share a Little (Organizing) Love

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organizing

 

The month of February is all about hearts, flowers, candy and love.  There’s a lot to love about organizing and productivity! Organizing is a gift you give yourself and a gift to others. In the book, The Five Love Languages, Gary Chapman refers to as gifts of service and gifts of quality time. An “act of service” is doing something for another person as an expression of love.  A “gift of quality time” is spending time together.  A gift of organizing is a small act that makes a big emotional impact to us, to our colleagues and to our family.   Share a little (organizing) love this month. Here’s a small sampling of these ways to get organized and share some organizing love.

  • Family dinner time together is often a shared act of love. It’s a gift of service for those who prepare the meal and clean up and a gift of quality time together.  Start with an easy meal plan and use a list or grocery app.  Organize and label your pantry so everyone knows what’s available and it’s easy to make dinner. Partner with a family member to make dinner and clean up together.  I love the FamilyDinnerProject.org to find easy meals and table topics.
  • There are many acts of service as part of organizing. Here’s some gifts of love to do. Put away another family member’s laundry for them. Do one of your family chores for someone.  We all love it when we have one less thing to do and that someone has helped us do something hard to do. What small gift, like unloading the dishwasher or vacuuming the car, can you do that will make your family or friend feel loved?
  • Our blessing others with our goods is an act of love. In the book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Marie Kondo encourages us to keep only what “sparks joy.”  Marie is sharing to keep only what we love. Take donations to a local charity with your family and see together the impact it can make.  Our community is blessed to have so many ways to help others.
  • Organizing can be quality time together and lead to better productivity. Work together with a family member or friend to declutter a space. Listen to their ideas and help them make decisions and know what to let go.  Or you can work alongside your friend or family member as a “body double.” My clients share stories that when they are organizing, just having another person in the space tethers them to the task, helps them think through ideas and helps them get organized. Set aside time each day during homework time with your kids. While they are doing their work, you can work on your paper work and administrative tasks.
  • Share your gift of service by working on a family project together. Work together on a service project for a local philanthropy. When you model acts of service, you are sharing important values and giving back to our community.

 

The true gift of organizing is the connection you create with your family and friends. Just as important as words of love, these acts of love make an impact every day, not just on Valentine’s Day. Your little (organizing) love lasts all year!

 

 

What kind of (organizing) love do you share?

Hugs and Happy Organizing: Craft Room Organizing

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Hugs and happy organizing is all about client success stories. Here you will find a craft and sewing room organizing success story.

 

hugs and happy organizing sewing and craft room

 

Sewing and crafting are wonderful ways to express creativity! What happens when we are overloaded with materials, too many projects, and a limited space?  Craft room chaos!  You can enjoy your quilting, crochet, sewing, and knitting more with craft room organizing.  Follow these simple steps for your craft and sewing room success.

  • Start with decluttering. Decide which materials inspire you and which can go on to another home.  In Houston, Texas Art Asylum is a wonderful resource for sharing your stash.
  • Group you materials by project type.
  • Group your projects that are started, and consider how you will keep materials together for each project. I suggest ziploc bags or clear plastic containers (Amazon affiliate link).
  • Group your tools together, such as scissors, needles, and rulers. Place these in an easy access spot on  your work space.

What made a difference in your craft and sewing area?

 

 

More Hugs and Happy Organizing success stories on pinterest.

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Hugs and Happy Organizing: Pantry Organizing

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Hugs and happy organizing is all about client success stories. Here you will find a pantry organizing success story.

 

 

hugs and happy organizing pantry

Families, family dinners, family holidays all focus on the pantry!  Is you pantry chaotic? Is it a jungle of different cans, granola bars and seldom used mixes? Difficult to know what to make for dinner? It’s time to organize your pantry to make your life and your family meal times easier.

  • Remove all the items from the pantry, tossing what is expired.  Everyone has their own opinion of “expired”. Decide on yours and follow through on it.
  • Group the items together by use and like the grocery store. Typical categories include baking, breakfast, canned veggies, canned meats, beverages, pastas, rice, snacks and condiments.
  • Use plastic bins to help group items together and take advantage of deep shelves.  Bins help you “reach” to the back of a deep area.  Place a front and a back bin so you can move the front bin and reach the back bin.
  • Remove snack items from boxes for easier access for your kids.  Place these bins on a low shelf for easy access for the kids too.
  • Label the bins so everyone knows where items belong.
  • Place items into your pantry by use. The more frequently used items should be stored near the entry.  Extra storage of bulk purchases should be in the back and at a lower level.
  • Keep the floor clear.  Just like a closet, blocked access creates disorganization.

Keep a grocery list dry erase board easy to access in the pantry. Family can add to the list and it’s easier to grocery shop too.

More Hugs and Happy Organizing success stories on pinterest.

Want to rethink the gift giving? Clutter free gifts make the difference! Join me on pinterest for Happy Holidays.

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