People who have an organized home and office seem to be less stressed and more motivated in life. They are usually productive with their work. Business clients and associates may be impressed with the nice surroundings of your office.
Organized individuals routinely store their items in the most appropriate places in their homes and they may put things back when they are done using them to keep things in order. This helps to keep the home or office tidy. When items are organized, they will be easy to find when needed. You may be more efficient when doing your household chores and you may save valuable time.
You could reward yourself and use this precious time on things you truly enjoy such as writing, walking, or spending time with friends and family. When your home is decluttered and organized, you may feel worry-free and confident when your friends come over to visit.
The important thing is that you should have more time to focus and take good care of yourself and concentrate on a healthy environment and lifestyle. It takes dedicated time to routinely prepare nutritious meals everyday. You may be able to schedule some time for appropriate exercise or daily relaxation time, such as watching a good movie or listening to your favorite music.
It may be easier in general to focus and concentrate when you are organized. You can make specific short-term and long-term goals for your future plans. It is a good idea to periodically re-evaluate your goals and update your plans accordingly. Don't forget to write down your daily "To Do" list every evening in preparation for the next day. It is nice to be able to take great pride in your new organized way of life and everyday routine.
You may possibly be able to save a little money once you are organized because you will realize exactly what items that you have at home when you go shopping. In summary, good organizational skills can lead to many positive benefits in life.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Declutter Your Dining Room and Kitchen Table
Many families are so busy these days. Often times, both parents may be
working and children may have a variety of school responsibilities.
People may begin to feel disorganized when their homes become cluttered.
This type of situation can be stressful and interfere with our daily
lives. Clutter can easily affect the function of a room in your home.
This is especially true for dining room and kitchen areas in many busy homes. Family members may have a habit of walking through the front door and placing some of the following common items on a dining room or kitchen table: mail, newspapers, handbags, car keys, bags of groceries from the store, school books, homework papers, and book bags. The dining room table is a likely spot where paperwork in general may collect, such as bills and coupons for the grocery store, etc.
One helpful solution is to have a designated container, or storage box for each individual family member with their name on it that would be located at a central location in your home. Possibly, you could set up a nicely organized area in the entrance area of your house, so each family member would have a temporary space that would be suitable to place some of their miscellaneous belongings. Maybe a nice bench with shelves or decorative baskets may come in handy to help hold book bags, umbrellas, or handbags. There are beautiful storage solutions, such as sturdy cloth boxes in different colors, a variety of wicker baskets, and even durable plastic containers.
If your children happen to have art or homework projects, you may also want to have special containers to keep their school supplies for their projects. You can label the containers. It may be a good organizing habit to encourage everyone to put away their supplies after they are done using them.
These things sound simple; however, if practiced on a regular basis they can help to keep the household going along on a smooth routine. When you become organized, you will save time and labor in the future while maintaining your home and keeping it tidy.
Some family members may routinely have different working schedules and after-school events. People often become so busy that they forget about the importance of sitting down all together as a family at least once a day for a nice family meal. If the dining room table happens to be cluttered the majority of the time, there won't be any room for the family members to gather around to eat, relax, and communicate during a meal.
I believe a better plan is to get into the habit of routinely keeping your dining room or kitchen table clean and free of all clutter. It may be a nice idea to place a pretty tablecloth on your table. After dinner is finished, you can make sure the table is clean and the dishes are done. If appropriate, some of the family members may share in the responsibility of setting the table and clean-up after the meal. This provides some special time together to share stories from the day and communicate in general.
If family members have snacks before bedtime, you can quickly straighten up the area once again. I have gotten into the habit of doing a quick walk through the rooms in my home in the evening to declutter anything that needs my attention. It is so much nicer to wake up to a clean kitchen and dining room area at breakfast time.
These may be sensible organizational tips for easy everyday clean-up; however, a few simple tips can help with maintaining an orderly home. Learning to organize your home may help you to save time in the future while doing your daily chores in the house.
When you sort through and organize your home, hopefully, you will find a good place to routinely keep most of the items in your house. As you become more organized, you will be pleasantly surprised about how easy it will become to find specific items in your home. As you declutter areas in your house and stay organized, you may feel less stressed in general and more productive with work.
This is especially true for dining room and kitchen areas in many busy homes. Family members may have a habit of walking through the front door and placing some of the following common items on a dining room or kitchen table: mail, newspapers, handbags, car keys, bags of groceries from the store, school books, homework papers, and book bags. The dining room table is a likely spot where paperwork in general may collect, such as bills and coupons for the grocery store, etc.
One helpful solution is to have a designated container, or storage box for each individual family member with their name on it that would be located at a central location in your home. Possibly, you could set up a nicely organized area in the entrance area of your house, so each family member would have a temporary space that would be suitable to place some of their miscellaneous belongings. Maybe a nice bench with shelves or decorative baskets may come in handy to help hold book bags, umbrellas, or handbags. There are beautiful storage solutions, such as sturdy cloth boxes in different colors, a variety of wicker baskets, and even durable plastic containers.
If your children happen to have art or homework projects, you may also want to have special containers to keep their school supplies for their projects. You can label the containers. It may be a good organizing habit to encourage everyone to put away their supplies after they are done using them.
These things sound simple; however, if practiced on a regular basis they can help to keep the household going along on a smooth routine. When you become organized, you will save time and labor in the future while maintaining your home and keeping it tidy.
Some family members may routinely have different working schedules and after-school events. People often become so busy that they forget about the importance of sitting down all together as a family at least once a day for a nice family meal. If the dining room table happens to be cluttered the majority of the time, there won't be any room for the family members to gather around to eat, relax, and communicate during a meal.
I believe a better plan is to get into the habit of routinely keeping your dining room or kitchen table clean and free of all clutter. It may be a nice idea to place a pretty tablecloth on your table. After dinner is finished, you can make sure the table is clean and the dishes are done. If appropriate, some of the family members may share in the responsibility of setting the table and clean-up after the meal. This provides some special time together to share stories from the day and communicate in general.
If family members have snacks before bedtime, you can quickly straighten up the area once again. I have gotten into the habit of doing a quick walk through the rooms in my home in the evening to declutter anything that needs my attention. It is so much nicer to wake up to a clean kitchen and dining room area at breakfast time.
These may be sensible organizational tips for easy everyday clean-up; however, a few simple tips can help with maintaining an orderly home. Learning to organize your home may help you to save time in the future while doing your daily chores in the house.
When you sort through and organize your home, hopefully, you will find a good place to routinely keep most of the items in your house. As you become more organized, you will be pleasantly surprised about how easy it will become to find specific items in your home. As you declutter areas in your house and stay organized, you may feel less stressed in general and more productive with work.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Spring Organizing Made Easy
By
Julie Riber
Spring cleaning can be any easy task for anyone to do if you just
have a few basic rules. First, do not try to spring clean your entire
home in one day or even one weekend. Spread the process out over a month
or two depending on how much you want to accomplish.
Second, write out a plan as far as the goals you would like to accomplish. An example would be to clean out all closets or just yours and the guest closet. List each task separately so that planning the time is easier. Are there tasks that can be accomplished in 30 minutes or less such as wiping out the fridge or washing out the trash can? Those are tasks you could accomplish one evening after dinner or one weekend morning.
Divide the tasks into time frames such as 30 minutes or less, 1-4 hours, or half a day. This too will make it easier to plan your time.
Next, decide what days you will accomplish the bigger projects by putting them into your calendar. If you don't schedule the project, it will never get done. Keep your list handy so when you find you have a little extra time, you can get one or two smaller tasks accomplished. Make sure to award yourself after you have completed a few smaller spring cleaning tasks, or a larger one by buying yourself something you need or having coffee or lunch with a friend.
To keep yourself motivated and not discouraged, start the spring cleaning with a few of the smaller tasks and then move into the larger projects. Remember, a few projects might become interrupted, so plan your schedule to be flexible. An outdoor event might be cancelled due to weather, so can you move your project up a weekend? Spring cleaning is a time for renewal and removing cluttering from the areas you feel need to be revamped. Make it fun and the goals attainable.
Second, write out a plan as far as the goals you would like to accomplish. An example would be to clean out all closets or just yours and the guest closet. List each task separately so that planning the time is easier. Are there tasks that can be accomplished in 30 minutes or less such as wiping out the fridge or washing out the trash can? Those are tasks you could accomplish one evening after dinner or one weekend morning.
Divide the tasks into time frames such as 30 minutes or less, 1-4 hours, or half a day. This too will make it easier to plan your time.
Next, decide what days you will accomplish the bigger projects by putting them into your calendar. If you don't schedule the project, it will never get done. Keep your list handy so when you find you have a little extra time, you can get one or two smaller tasks accomplished. Make sure to award yourself after you have completed a few smaller spring cleaning tasks, or a larger one by buying yourself something you need or having coffee or lunch with a friend.
To keep yourself motivated and not discouraged, start the spring cleaning with a few of the smaller tasks and then move into the larger projects. Remember, a few projects might become interrupted, so plan your schedule to be flexible. An outdoor event might be cancelled due to weather, so can you move your project up a weekend? Spring cleaning is a time for renewal and removing cluttering from the areas you feel need to be revamped. Make it fun and the goals attainable.
Julie Riber has been a professional organizer in the central Ohio
area since 2004. She helps organize individuals spaces, time, and lives
and she helps businesses streamline processes, increase productivity,
and organize their spaces. She is a Golden Circle member of the National
Association of Professional Organizers and a board member of the Ohio
Chapter of NAPO since 2005. Sign up for her free monthly newsletter with
organizing tips. http://www.transformare.net
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Julie_RiberClutter Attracts Clutter
By
Julie Riber
Do you have piles of mail and paper that just seem to get bigger?
Clutter attracts more clutter because once you create a pile, it is
easy to continue to add to that pile. Once it is too high, you just
start a new pile.
So how can you prevent this from happening? One is to take a look at where all the clutter accumulates and decide if that piece of furniture is necessary for that room. I find many little tables in my clients homes that just attract piles. The table is not really needed or missed when it is removed. If the piece of furniture does not have a designated purpose, remove it.
Another way to prevent piles is to go through your mail everyday instead of waiting for a week or more. I usually find mostly junk mail in the piles. Most people separate the important bills and letters and then put the junk mail down. They believe they will look through it later, but they never do. The best item you can purchase is a shredder and have it next to the door you come in with your mail and shred the junk mail as soon as you come in the door. Make yourself do it everyday so that pile does not start. Have one basket or area to stick your bills. If you feel comfortable, try paying some of your bills on line and this will eliminate some of the mail you receive.
Do you have a room that all your miscellaneous items get dumped? It might be a guest room or a seldom used room that gets all the overflow from the family. The items usually have no home or they are not needed any longer but disposal has not occurred yet. Disposal is hard because you either paid too much, you do not have time to take it, you forget to take it, or you do not know where to take the item. Many different charities and groups can use the items you are no longer using and Professional Organizers have a list of those charities.
To stop dumping unused items in that room, ask yourself if you actually need the item or if someone else could use it more often. Have boxes or totes in your garage or near the front door for charities and keep filling and donating the items as they accumulate.
Remember, gifts are given to do with what you want. Do not feel guilty for giving away a gift you no longer need. You are not obligated to keep any gift for any period of time.
Work on one pile at a time of either paper or items. Continue to ask the hard questions and ask if you are unsure of who will take it as a donation.
So how can you prevent this from happening? One is to take a look at where all the clutter accumulates and decide if that piece of furniture is necessary for that room. I find many little tables in my clients homes that just attract piles. The table is not really needed or missed when it is removed. If the piece of furniture does not have a designated purpose, remove it.
Another way to prevent piles is to go through your mail everyday instead of waiting for a week or more. I usually find mostly junk mail in the piles. Most people separate the important bills and letters and then put the junk mail down. They believe they will look through it later, but they never do. The best item you can purchase is a shredder and have it next to the door you come in with your mail and shred the junk mail as soon as you come in the door. Make yourself do it everyday so that pile does not start. Have one basket or area to stick your bills. If you feel comfortable, try paying some of your bills on line and this will eliminate some of the mail you receive.
Do you have a room that all your miscellaneous items get dumped? It might be a guest room or a seldom used room that gets all the overflow from the family. The items usually have no home or they are not needed any longer but disposal has not occurred yet. Disposal is hard because you either paid too much, you do not have time to take it, you forget to take it, or you do not know where to take the item. Many different charities and groups can use the items you are no longer using and Professional Organizers have a list of those charities.
To stop dumping unused items in that room, ask yourself if you actually need the item or if someone else could use it more often. Have boxes or totes in your garage or near the front door for charities and keep filling and donating the items as they accumulate.
Remember, gifts are given to do with what you want. Do not feel guilty for giving away a gift you no longer need. You are not obligated to keep any gift for any period of time.
Work on one pile at a time of either paper or items. Continue to ask the hard questions and ask if you are unsure of who will take it as a donation.
Julie Riber is a professional organizer in the central Ohio area
for over 5 years. She helps organize individuals spaces, time, and lives
and she helps businesses streamline processes, increase productivity,
and organize their spaces. She is a Golden Circle member of the National
Association of Professional Organizers and Immediate Past President of
the Ohio Chapter of NAPO. Sign up for her free monthly newsletter with
organizing tips. http://www.transformare.net
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Julie_Riber
A Look Into A Professional Organizer's Home
By
Julie Riber
Over the past 7 years of being a Professional Organizer, I have
been asked by many of my clients what my home and office look like. "I
bet your house is super organized", they always say. Yes, my home is
organized, but it does not look like I live in a magazine. We live in
our home and so we might have a newspaper out on the counter or the
kitchen table for the afternoon or my son might have his clothes on the
floor when he wakes up. It is not about being a neat freak, it is about
being able to find the items you need in a reasonable amount of time.
Yes, this is something I can do. I know where the items I need are and
can obtain them within 5 minutes. Now, five minutes might be too fast
for you, so maybe you need to obtain your items within 10 minutes. It is
an individual issue. Mail on the counter might not bother you, but
dirty clothes on the floor does. Clutter and its limits are individual
choices. So when do you know your clutter is a problem?
You should not have to buy something because you cannot find it. This is when you know you need to do something about the clutter in your home. Think about the amount of money you can save by not buying items multiple times. This goes for bills too. I have many clients who spend hundreds of dollars a year on late fees because they cannot find the bill to pay. This again, is when you know clutter has messed up your life and you need to gain control.
My house has a place for everything and many places are labeled for the rest of the family to know where to get items and where to put them back. Do not assume that once you eliminate the clutter in a space and it looks great, that everyone else will know what you did and where to find the items again. De-cluttering is a household affair and labeling just makes it easier for everyone. If mail is the issue, then as soon as the mail comes in the house, eliminate the junk mail. Have a recycle bin or trash can out in your garage or where ever you enter the home. Do not bring junk mail, ads you will never use, or flyers into your home. I find more grocery store ads and flyers in my clients home and most are to stores they never enter. Also, remember that most grocery stores have the current ad in the store as you walk in. Put your bills in a place that will be easy to find, will not attract other clutter, and you have access to anytime. Do not just set it on the counter. That is where they can accidentally get thrown out or lost in a sea of paper.
Take control of your clutter by making sure you need and use the item. If it was purchased on a whim and has been sitting there for years, get rid of it. I live with the items I actually use. For the things I use occasionally, I try to store those in the basement or a top shelf, so they are not taking up space where everyday items can be placed. Every season and holiday, as I put items away, I ask myself if I will be wearing or using that next season. Purging on a regular basis will also keep your clutter under control.
Be proactive when it comes to your space.
You should not have to buy something because you cannot find it. This is when you know you need to do something about the clutter in your home. Think about the amount of money you can save by not buying items multiple times. This goes for bills too. I have many clients who spend hundreds of dollars a year on late fees because they cannot find the bill to pay. This again, is when you know clutter has messed up your life and you need to gain control.
My house has a place for everything and many places are labeled for the rest of the family to know where to get items and where to put them back. Do not assume that once you eliminate the clutter in a space and it looks great, that everyone else will know what you did and where to find the items again. De-cluttering is a household affair and labeling just makes it easier for everyone. If mail is the issue, then as soon as the mail comes in the house, eliminate the junk mail. Have a recycle bin or trash can out in your garage or where ever you enter the home. Do not bring junk mail, ads you will never use, or flyers into your home. I find more grocery store ads and flyers in my clients home and most are to stores they never enter. Also, remember that most grocery stores have the current ad in the store as you walk in. Put your bills in a place that will be easy to find, will not attract other clutter, and you have access to anytime. Do not just set it on the counter. That is where they can accidentally get thrown out or lost in a sea of paper.
Take control of your clutter by making sure you need and use the item. If it was purchased on a whim and has been sitting there for years, get rid of it. I live with the items I actually use. For the things I use occasionally, I try to store those in the basement or a top shelf, so they are not taking up space where everyday items can be placed. Every season and holiday, as I put items away, I ask myself if I will be wearing or using that next season. Purging on a regular basis will also keep your clutter under control.
Be proactive when it comes to your space.
Julie Riber has been a professional organizer in the central Ohio
area since 2004. She helps organize individuals spaces, time, and lives
and she helps businesses streamline processes, increase productivity,
and organize their spaces. She is a Golden Circle member of the National
Association of Professional Organizers and a board member of the Ohio
Chapter of NAPO since 2005. Sign up for her free monthly newsletter with
organizing tips. http://www.transformare.net
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Julie_RiberOrganize Your Room, Get Rid of The Clutter
By
Renee Pullman
Do you use a room in your house until you fill it so full of
stuff that you can hardly get around in it? Do you then move on to the
next room? Lots of stuff that you never really use cluttered and
crowded. Did you know that organizing the room will do wonders for you
and you will be able to enjoy the room again.
A well organized room is not just finding things when you want them but it is about making a welcoming room where you can relax and work in comfort and without all the stress that clutter makes. When you set out to organize the room you must identify what you want to do with the room. You must decide what to keep and what to throw out. Given a little time you can get the room they way you want it to be.
What is the purpose of the room, TV, sleeping, games, whatever it is be clear on it's primary purpose. Then make a list of the things you want the room to contain. These things should, of course, support the main purpose of the room. Then position these things at places they make sense in the room.
Get rid of the things in the room that do not support the purpose of the room. Do these things belong in a different room or do you just need to get rid of them. Next position the things that you want to keep strategically in the room. You want to be careful of the things you keep and how you position them, after all you are getting rid of clutter and not laying the grounds to re-clutter the room. Be sure to utilize the storage within the room, drawers, cabinets, closets, etc should be used efficiently and not as catch-alls for accumulating more stuff.
Having your space laid out properly is a very good thing. Be sure to throw away all the junk and sort and organize the rest. Maintain your freshly organized room, whether your room stays organized is all in your hands.
A well organized room is not just finding things when you want them but it is about making a welcoming room where you can relax and work in comfort and without all the stress that clutter makes. When you set out to organize the room you must identify what you want to do with the room. You must decide what to keep and what to throw out. Given a little time you can get the room they way you want it to be.
What is the purpose of the room, TV, sleeping, games, whatever it is be clear on it's primary purpose. Then make a list of the things you want the room to contain. These things should, of course, support the main purpose of the room. Then position these things at places they make sense in the room.
Get rid of the things in the room that do not support the purpose of the room. Do these things belong in a different room or do you just need to get rid of them. Next position the things that you want to keep strategically in the room. You want to be careful of the things you keep and how you position them, after all you are getting rid of clutter and not laying the grounds to re-clutter the room. Be sure to utilize the storage within the room, drawers, cabinets, closets, etc should be used efficiently and not as catch-alls for accumulating more stuff.
Having your space laid out properly is a very good thing. Be sure to throw away all the junk and sort and organize the rest. Maintain your freshly organized room, whether your room stays organized is all in your hands.
When you organize a room you give it a new life as well as waking something inside you up. I invite you to visit http://deskorganize.net and learn more.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Renee_PullmanSaturday, June 2, 2012
Be Realistic When Planning Your Organizing
It is important to be realistic when planning your organizing goals that you want to accomplish. Everyone is usually very busy these days with many various responsibilities each day, either with their work or their family or both. I find it extremely helpful to write my daily "To Do" list and try to balance enough time to complete a few organizing goals each day, even if my smaller projects may only require less than an hour in time.
Don't think "all or nothing" when beginning an organizational project. I used to start my day with good expectations and lots of energy planning to spend a couple of uninterrupted hours to completely finish organizing a really large room from top to bottom.
However, many times my plans were somewhat unrealistic because you often times may need to start and stop a project if working on a specific room or section in your home due to other responsibilities, such as preparing lunch or supper for other family members, etc.
For example, today I am planning to finish cleaning and organizing 2 more cabinets in my kitchen, which includes a total of 6 shelves. I also want to clean and organize a large drawer in my kitchen. I would really like to clean the whole inside of my refrigerator too, but realistically I may need to put that project on tomorrow's schedule.
I am planning on making a lot of homemade chili today lunch, in addition to making a large chicken casserole for supper. At least with those two meals, hopefully, I will have some leftovers for the next day, which may save me some time tomorrow.
As I complete my inividual projects today, I will make a check mark of completion on my "To Do" list and I will have a good feeling of accomplishment for the day. It's helpful and optimistic to remember that after you successfully complete each specific project, it should save you time in the future and make it easier to maintain your living area in the home and help you to relax and truly enjoy your environment!
Don't think "all or nothing" when beginning an organizational project. I used to start my day with good expectations and lots of energy planning to spend a couple of uninterrupted hours to completely finish organizing a really large room from top to bottom.
However, many times my plans were somewhat unrealistic because you often times may need to start and stop a project if working on a specific room or section in your home due to other responsibilities, such as preparing lunch or supper for other family members, etc.
For example, today I am planning to finish cleaning and organizing 2 more cabinets in my kitchen, which includes a total of 6 shelves. I also want to clean and organize a large drawer in my kitchen. I would really like to clean the whole inside of my refrigerator too, but realistically I may need to put that project on tomorrow's schedule.
I am planning on making a lot of homemade chili today lunch, in addition to making a large chicken casserole for supper. At least with those two meals, hopefully, I will have some leftovers for the next day, which may save me some time tomorrow.
As I complete my inividual projects today, I will make a check mark of completion on my "To Do" list and I will have a good feeling of accomplishment for the day. It's helpful and optimistic to remember that after you successfully complete each specific project, it should save you time in the future and make it easier to maintain your living area in the home and help you to relax and truly enjoy your environment!
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