Ellen's Blog, Professional Organizing for Kingwood & Houston

Smart New Year Resolutions You Can Keep

January 7, 2016/7 Comments/in Organizing Skills/by Ellen

The new year has us thinking about the way we spend our time and our energy. What will we do the same this year and what will we change? What smart New Year resolutions will be easy to keep?

Each year resolutions are made and broken. It’s really about life changes, not resolutions. We want enduring change that we can keep throughout the year. Start off with big picture thinking to shape the changes you want to make. Choose just one tip to begin organizing and simplifying your life. What are some smart new year’s resolutions or new year mantras to choose?

Take time to make a plan.

When you’re feeling overwhelmed, it’s important to take the time to stop, step back and to put yourself into planning mode. There is rarely an organizing dilemma that can’t be overcome. Once you acknowledge this, you’re well on your way to conquering whatever project is ahead of you.

Take baby steps.

I love the joke, “how do you eat an elephant?” One bite at a time! Break down the problem or problem area into small sequential steps. For example, instead of trying to organize your entire bedroom closet–a very overwhelming task for many people–just start by removing five articles of clothing you no longer wear, and putting them in a Donation Bag. Or, instead of trying to get 8 tasks done on your To Do list, focus on just one or two at a time. Begin with just 15 minutes a day in a small area. Baby steps help you start a project and complete it.

Do it or delegate it.

Recognize your strengths and weaknesses, and work from your strengths. No matter the organizing challenge or routine, there are just some things that we are not going to accomplish. Choose what you are best at and then find someone to assist you as a partner to get started, help along the way or complete the task at hand.

Less is more.

Simplify your life and your schedule to feel balanced and in control. We take on many different roles and tasks that lead to over commitment and stress. The concept of “less is more” extends to our belongings and schedule. We need a place for everything in our home or office and a time for a routine as well. When we prioritize and stay in touch with these priorities, we feel great about ourselves and our homes.

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Check Lists I Love!

January 5, 2016/2 Comments/in Organizing Skills/by Ellen

When there are tasks that need to be done over and over, a check list is a great way to get them completed. It’s also a sure way to know that a process or series of tasks gets done too. Check lists are reminders of what needs to be done when.

Gathered from a group of professional organizers and productivity consultants, as well as other contributors, try out one of these check lists to make life easier!

Home maintenance check list by Affordable Handy Man

Sabrina’s Organizing Check Lists

Organizing Boutique Travel Check List

Smart Happy Organized Basement Storage Check List

Emergency preparedness and important papers Check List

Tax preparation

Share your favorite check lists here!

Get Organized Month

January 1, 2016/1 Comment/in Organizing Skills/by Ellen

During Get Organized (GO) Month, the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) professional organizers and productivity specialists help individuals, businesses and schools bring time management, organization, storage solutions and productivity into their lives.

In honor of Get Organized Month, this is a round up of decluttering posts to help you jump start your year of organizing!

Declutter with these 6 Smart Strategies

Decluttering with your Kids

Embrace Your Inner Minimalist at the Office

5 Tips for ADHD Productivity

Series: Your Most Organized Year Ever

Get a fresh start with this year’s Get Organized Month!

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Favorite Blog Posts 2015

December 31, 2015/2 Comments/in Organizing Skills/by Ellen

Each year I love to learn what have been the favorite blog posts of the year. This year my blogging focused on ADHD, decluttering, organizing and productivity.

Here are the top 3 for 2015.

15 ADHD Organizing Strategies for 2015

15 Favorite Organizing Products

6 Smart Strategies

At the close of 2015, I am grateful for your commitment to organizing, your following my blog and our connection! Wishing you a wonderful 2016!

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Year End Review

December 29, 2015/11 Comments/in Productivity, Time management/by Ellen

The end of the year is time for reflection. Its a time to think about successes. Your year end review encompasses all the good things that happened this year.

My top 25

Each year I make a list of my top successes. These include time spent with my family, professional successes, and personal successes. Here are some of my list this year:

Week with grandkids
Travel to with family
Service to NAPO Award
Chair of NAPO committee

I encourage you to write your list and share it with someone who can appreciate your successes.

My peeps

It’s about the people. It’s the new and existing relationships that make the year the best ever. Who are the people who helped me be the best I can be? As I move forward next year my goal is to surround myself with people who sharpen my authenticity and make me think hard and work hard. Relationships are what make the year outstanding. I like to make a list of these people and send them a thank you note sharing my gratitude.

What’s working for me

Take stock of what’s working in your life and why. It’s the best way to build success. When something works, there are elements that can transfer to work and home that will improve your year. Take time this last week of the year to make a list for yourself and keep it where you can refer back to it and add to it all year.

Your Year End Review prepares you for setting goals and making dreams happen in the coming year. Take time to take stock before you start fresh for the new year.

How to graciously and gratefully accept gifts

December 24, 2015/4 Comments/in Organizing Skills/by Ellen

It’s that lime green sweater your mother in law gave you this Christmas. It’s the wedding gift you have not opened after 30 years of marriage. It’s the purple purse your husband purchased for your birthday. For those awful items, do you use it, display it or regift it? It’s all these gifts that keep you wondering what to do when gifts have been given in the true spirit of giving. How do we graciously and gratefully accept gifts,especially if it’s a matter of “what were they thinking”?

Authentic gratitude

Be sure we have been graciously grateful . A hug, thoughtful note, email or phone call can be the best way to be sure you have shared with the giver your appreciation.

Letting go

It’s a matter of time. Some gifts can be easily given away as donations to charity. There can be returns to the store with a receipt. Little by little you can start to let go of stuff. There is no dishonor in not keeping a gift as long as your gratitude has been conveyed.

Keeping gifts

There are many reasons to keep the most unwanted gifts. Gifts given can be harder to let go of if the family member is deceased. Clients of mine have chosen to keep gifts as keepsakes long after the function and value of the gift has declined. An item can bring a smile to your face or a warm memory. When you find an item that is especially meaningful, be sure to keep it in a place you honor it.

Setting the expectation

Communicate what’s really important to you as you approach a birthday, big event or holiday. It’s not easy to do. Some people will still want to share gifts. Be authentic to who you are about stuff. Be authentic about your gratitude about the gift and why you are not accepting gifts. It’s not an easy conversation and it can start with a gracious thank you first to ensure that the giver knows how much you appreciate the thoughtfulness.

It’s a perspective of practicality, functionality and sentimentality. Give yourself permission to do what is best for you keeping in mind gratitude and gracious living. In the case of “what were they thinking?”, think about the big picture and gratitude.

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6 Tech Tips for Holiday Organizing

December 17, 2015/5 Comments/in Holiday organizing, Technology and Organizing/by Ellen

Holidays can be merrier with by adding some tech help. It’s these little ways to add organizing using your computer, tablet or smart phone. Technology can help you with holiday organizing like lists, recipes, coupons and more.

Evernote for Christmas lists

Make it easy to keep all your lists with you all the time with Evernote. You can add an item after each purchase, match up your purchases with those you are giving to, and keep up with what you gave last year.

Pinterest for holiday recipes

No need to keep paper recipes again! Search pinterest with the ingredients and you find all sorts of recipes for holiday baking and entertaining.

Genius scan or DocScan to scan and print receipts

Having trouble keeping up with holiday receipts? Not sure where to keep your receipts? It’s easy with these apps. You can store them on your smart phone and in the cloud. It’s easy to make returns this way too.

Bank app for keeping up your budget

Your bank app helps you stay on track for your holiday budget. You can access funds, make deposits, and see where money has been spent. It’s great to keep up to date with what you spend each day for gifts, entertaining and decorations.

Pandora for holiday music

I love Pandora! It gives you instant, free access to all the genres of the holidays. Download this on your smart phone or computer to enjoy holiday themes like holiday traditional, holiday country, or Today’s Christmas.

ShopSavvy or Amazon app to check prices

Want to be sure you are getting the best deal? ShopSavvy and Amazon compare prices so you can check what the lowest price for your item is.

More holiday apps of all sorts!

6 Fun and Useful Holiday Apps including snow!
Apps for Surviving the Holidays, including finding wine.
5 Must Have Apps for the holidays, including ones for fitness and travel.

What are your favorite holiday apps?

More holiday fun on Pinterest Happy Holidays!

10 Organizing Gifts for Everyone

December 9, 2015/6 Comments/in Holiday organizing, Organizing products/by Ellen

It’s gift giving season. While we often think of giving gifts of experiences, you can also give gifts for organizing. The gift of organizing is a functional, practical and fun way to share. Here are my top 10 favorite organizing gifts.

Travel time is the best time to be organized. Give a gift of a Vera Bradley travel accessory to help keep makeup and jewelry organized on the go. It’s also a great gift for people who exercise and get ready at the gym.

Enjoy all your favorite pieces of jewelry with this Little Black Dress jewelry organizer. It’s easy to find your earrings, necklaces and bracelets with slots for each piece.

Gifting legos this holiday season? The Lay and Go Lego organizer is for you! It’s easy to store and play with all your legos this year.

Too many stuffed animals or blankets in your child’s room? The Sprouts bin is the perfect place to organize and store these.

Our families have lots of technology! Make it easy to store and access with this Kbag electronics organizer. The zipper section is great for cords or flash drives.

Struggling with all the passwords we have? Give the gift of a password directory. It’s easy to store at your computer desk.

Make dinner time special with table topics. Every one will have a chance to share.

Make it easy to file with this stylish file tote. Everyone has paper and everyone needs paper storage.

A spot for watches, phones and more with this men’s valet. Keep receipts in the drawer and you are all set!

Everyone loves a label maker!

BONUS Top 10 non clutter gifts

Once a month cleaning lady at home
Lawn maintenance or semi annual landscaping clean up
Tickets to an event, such as a baseball game, play, or concert
Season passes to amusement park, zoo or museum
Baby sitting for your adult kids to have a date night
Subscription to streaming online tv shows and movies
Donation to a charity of choice
Gift certificates for clothes, music, sporting goods or other items
Spend the day together just being spontaneous.
Professional organizer or productivity consultant

Do you have a favorite non – clutter or organizing gift you love? Share it here!

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Simple Holiday Traditions

December 3, 2015/11 Comments/in Holiday organizing/by Ellen

Family traditions are part of what makes every family special. Your kids will reflect back to you what are existing traditions you may not realize your family has already. It’s in creating tradition that we connect with our family. It’s the simple holiday traditions that are memorable. Here are my top 10 holiday traditions.

1.Purchase a personalized ornament with the year on it for each child

Each year I add a new ornament to our kids’ collections. It’s a special reminder of the year gone by. I love that our kids will take these on to use on their family trees in the future.

2. An evening holiday walk to see Christmas decorations and sip hot cocoa

There’s nothing more fun that a walk to see the holiday lights in your neighborhood. Bring hot cocoa to keep warm.

3. Celebrate the 12 days of Christmas with 12 donations to local charities

Your holiday will be especially meaningful with donations to those who have little. Choose little ways you can contribute with either goods or funds.

4. Add Christmas songs to your Pandora channels

The music of the season brings a smile to our faces. Your music is always with you too!

5. Organize your Christmas cards by binding them together in a book

I love this small way to cherish the holiday cards we receive.

6. Purchase ready-made gingerbread houses to decorate and host a hot chocolate buffet

Assemble your gingerbread houses the day before so they are sturdy. Decorate and display for a week. Be sure to decorate your own too.

7. Host a holiday movie night and invite a family to join you

Whether it’s Charlie Brown Christmas or Christmas Vacation, all families have their favorite movie to watch every year.

8. Host a hot chocolate buffet and crazy Christmas sweater get together

Get crazy with hot chocolate mix ins like marshmellows, candy canes, cinnamon red hots and whipped cream for a hot chocolate buffet. Add in the crazy Christmas sweater phenomenon. It’s an evening full of laughter.

9. Gather up gently used family coats and bring the donations as a family

We all have coats, scarves and gloves we have not used in a while. Bring these as a family to donate to share the joy of giving.

10. Drop off treats for fire department, police station or other emergency responders in your community

We are supported by many in our community who keep us safe. Remember them this holiday season with homemade or store bought treats. It will bring joy to you and those you meet.

What are your holiday traditions? It takes just a few minutes of planning, a spot on your calendar and communication with your family to share the joy of holiday traditions.