Ellen's Blog, Professional Organizing for Kingwood & Houston

Find great ideas on Houzz.com

January 21, 2013/0 Comments/in Organizing Skills, Productivity/by Ellen

It is always important to have a vision when you are organizing. It might be you are looking for a space that is decluttered or a space that is brimming with organizing products. Take a look on Houzz.com and see what you find!

You can find my professional profile at http://www.houzz.com/pro/edelap.

Get Organizing Month IKEA Event on January 19

January 13, 2013/0 Comments/in Organizing Skills, Paper management, Productivity, Technology and Organizing/by Ellen

YOU ARE INVITED!

Free Workshops at IKEA Houston offer Organization Tips for New Year

Reduce clutter with the help of National Association of Professional Organizers

January is officially “Get Organized Month!” To celebrate, IKEA Houston is partnering with National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and Houston-area vendors to host free organization workshops and offer donation drop-off locations to help you clear the clutter.

WHEN: Saturday, January 19 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

WHERE: IKEA Houston (I-10 and Antoine)

WHAT: Enjoy complimentary one-hour workshops offering post-holiday organizing tips and win fun prizes while you watch! NAPO’s professional organizers and an IKEA Houston visual merchandiser and blogger will lead interactive demonstrations about creatively reducing clutter and utilizing storage spaces to the fullest.

Workshop Schedule:

• 11:30 a.m.: “Junk Drawer Diaries” with Neitra Blair

• 12:30 p.m.: “The 5 S’s and You—Streamlining Your Space (and Life)” with Alynn Blakemore

• 1:30 p.m.: “From Piles to Smiles: Making Paper Disappear!” with Certified Professional Organizer and Family Manager Coach Ellen Delap

• 2:30 p.m.: “Getting Organized with Technology” with Janice Simon

• 3:30 p.m.: Meet the Blogger; DIY workshop with Ashley Rose of SugarandCloth.com

• 4:30 p.m.: DIY Workshop with Genna Riggins, IKEA Visual Merchandiser

RSVP: Workshops are free, so sign up for as many as you’d like! To RSVP and learn more, visit www.inspiringlifeathome.com/getorganized. Please RSVP and use my name! I love that IKEA will know who is sending attendees their way!

Recycle, Shred and Donate:

Donate and recycle books, old furniture, computers and clothes and bring documents for FREE shredding! Friends of the Houston Public Library, Houston Computer Recycling, Houston Furniture Bank and Salvation Army will be onsite to available to collect books, computers, furniture and clothes, and Southern Shred will be on site to shred your personal documents.

Hope to see you there!

– IKEA + NAPO

Organizing Tools: Plastic Storage

January 13, 2013/1 Comment/in Green Organizing, Organizing Skills/by Ellen

All too often I find that people view organizing as “I just need more bins!” Sorry to say, this is not the real solution! However, great bins do make a great tool for organizing.

Use clear plastic, consistent size bins for your organizing. Consistent sizes are shoebox size, medium size, and 66 quart size. Consistent sizes helsp to can stack bins, easily. With consistent sizes you can move them around your home and office where needed and interchange their uses.
Color code the bins for specific storage. We all love the green and red bins for Christmas and the orange bins for Halloween. You can extend this concept to pink for spring and Easter, a color for each person in your home, or a color for the attic or basement.
Label 2 sidese and the top of the bins. Even with clear bins, it is more visual. A bin “index” can help too!

Image courtesy of Rubbermaid. Its the new Rubbermaid Clever Store!

NAPO Get Organized Month: Have your scheduled your Power Period today?

January 10, 2013/0 Comments/in Office Organizing, Organizing Skills, Productivity/by Ellen

Have you scheduled your Power Period today?

Check out my blog post for the National Association of Professional Organizers Get Organized Month!

www.napo.net

http://napogetorganized.com/2013/01/04/have-you-scheduled-your-power-period-today/

Organize Your Closet

January 6, 2013/5 Comments/in Family Organizing, Organizing Skills/by Ellen

Our closets are our best friends and our worst enemies. We all would agree we never have enough storage in our homes. What exactly is in that tiny area? So many different items – shoes, clothes, keepsakes, small gifts, and even more. Use these tips to organize your closet ad personally design your best use for this space!

Hangers, hangers everywhere
The first step to a more visually appealing closet is to use multipurpose hangers for your wardrobe. Available inexpensively, choose slim line hangers . You will find these hangers add uniformity and a visual sense of order. And remember, when you remove an item from the hanger, take the hanger off the shelf, and store it nearby for the garment to return!

Evaluate then donate
A major source of closet problems is clutter. By honestly evaluating the need and use of the items in your closet, you will find space galore! Place a sturdy handle bag in your closet to place clothes or items that are too old, too small or large, or just “not you” to donate to a worthy cause. Each time you take a blouse off a hanger and it does not work, place it in the bag! If you have professional wardrobe items, you can donate these to Dress for Success!

Use your space most effectively
Do you see white wall above, below or around the items in your closet? If so, there are many options to maximize the space in your closet. Double rods double your space! Use a shoe organizer to convert the back of your closet door to hidden extra space. It can be used for scarves, jewelry or other items.

Time to containerize
Looking for a certain pair of shoes? Are your scarves wadded up in a drawer, hard to find? Clear containers with labels are the way to go! Different shapes and sizes can be used to maximize your space.

Daily routine
This is the Organized You – your evening routine to help you keep organized! Everyone needs a daily organization time, time to put away items and to get items prepared for the next day. When you put off organizing daily, it becomes a major chore. Unfortunately, your mother was right about this!

Struggling with organizing? Join my monthly newsletter and get a burst of organizing and productivity ideas.

Organizing Tools: Your Calendar/Planner

December 30, 2012/7 Comments/in ADD and ADHD, Family Organizing, Organizing Skills, Productivity, Time management/by Ellen

There is nothing more important for organizing our time than a great calendar/planner. You can use this tool to incorporate planning as well. The strategy of not only recording dates can be the key to making your life more organized and less stressful.

Choose a calendar/planner that works for you. It’s a calendar/planner that makes it easy to record dates at any time. It also helps you view time the way you think about time, at a month at a time, throughout a week, or just in a long string. Your calendar can be as simple as a yellow pad, very exact like Franklin Covey planners, or with technology on your smart phone.
Create a habit of recording dates as soon as possible. There are always lots of dates swirling n your head for you and your family. By entering these on your calendar/planner asap, you won’t have to remember them, there will be fewer conflicts of dates and activities, and you will start to grasp a greater sense of due dates and upcoming events.
Refer to your calendar/planner diligently. How often? At least in the morning and evening, but also throughout the day to keep you on track with appointments and projects.
Use your calendar as planner for big and little tasks. Breaking down big projects with your own time line, creating accountability dates to complete a project, and adding in baby steps makes your planner a strategy to get things done.
Post a family calendar for your kids and partner to add dates. Keeping everyone in the loop and keeping everyone communicating keeps your family organized.
Have a weekly review to get ahead of the game. Once a week, make a date with your calendar to look ahead, see what is coming, prioritize and get in gear.

Using a calendar/planner eliminates the mental clutter of remembering dates and times and helps you focus on completion of a project. The more you use your calendar/planner, the more indispensible it will be!

Image courtesy of The Container Store www.containerstore.com

Your word for 2013

December 29, 2012/0 Comments/in Organizing Skills, Productivity/by Ellen

Each year I ask my clients to think about the one word that is the word for the year. It is the word that defines the year for them. It is a word to use when times are tough and things are rough. It is the word to celebrate their goals for the new year.

In the last 2 years I have initiated this, I have had different words. In 2011 it was blessings. In 2012 it was thrive. For 2013 is FABULOUS!

This year I am looking forward to all the fabulous connections, blessings and more that life will bring. What is fabulous? Over the top, amazing and magical. I am looking forward to this word driving what I do with my business and my life.

What is your one for the year? The word that will describe your goals and more for 2013?

Setting Your Goals One Step at a Time

December 20, 2012/3 Comments/in Family Organizing, Organizing Skills, Productivity, Time management/by Ellen

Is making changes in your home or office are at the top of your list for the new year you are on target. Getting organized is one of the top three new year’s resolutions every year. Like any change, taking small steps get you to where you want to go.

Be sure to set positive, specific, measurable, date driven steps to accomplish your goals. Write it down, exactly how you will go about the change and the deadline you have. A measureable goal helps you see what you have accomplished and making yourself accountable to a date makes your success assured.

Here are some ideas to help your organizing and productivity this year.

If your goal is to declutter your home and get organized

I will declutter one junk drawer in the kitchen or other small space in my home in 2 weeks.
I will keep 10 pairs of pants and eliminate the rest by next Sunday.
I will spend 10 minutes every day going through my mail and eliminating paper.
My family will have a nightly 10 minute pick up time to get toys and clothes back to their homes.

If your goal is to work smarter and be more productive

I will add one hour first thing in the morning to work toward a project that is of primary importance.
I will add 10 contacts to my data base this week to grow my business.
I will have a 5 minute meeting daily with my assistant to set my plan in motion for the day.
I will spend 15 minutes at the end of the day writing my list for tomorrow, putting paper back into folders, and filing emails to get ready for the next day.

If your goal is to be more organized about money, save money and improve finances

I will save $10 a week by automatically withdrawing to a savings account.
I will write down every expense for one month by category to determine where I can spend less.
I schedule one hour every week for administrative time to pay bills and work with paper.

If your goal is to improve your health

I will walk 30 minutes a day, five days a week.
I will drink 2 glasses of water each morning before I leave the house and 1 glass with each meal during the day.
I will be in bed by 10:30 every other evening.

Whatever your goal, whatever your steps, remember to establish these firmly in a spot during the day. I like to do my baby steps first thing, early in the day, or otherwise the day gets away from me. If you miss a day, just get right back to it the next day. We can’t do every goal and be successful. Aim for one big area this year and see what you accomplish. Tackle your goals in small bites and see the difference for yourself!