Thursday, May 22, 2014

Continue Staying Organized

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Once you have organized your space whether it is a drawer or an entire room, the real challenge is keeping it that way. Many clients get their area or areas organized, but fail to realize that it requires monitoring and purging. It will take some additional work to maintain the organized space.
Once you have found a system that works for you, you must continue to monitor that system because updating is often needed. At least once per month you should look at the space and decide if there is a piece of the puzzle not working for you and readjust. Maybe you need to just take a few items out, or label some pieces you forget about because they are out of sight. After you have organized the space, make sure you come back in 6 months and look at all the pieces to see if some you have not used since the organization, and purge those. Eliminate items you are not using so those you are using are easily accessible. Making decisions about items coming into the space immediately will eliminate clutter because clutter is delayed decisions.
Review your processes for system often to make adjustments to reflect your current life. If you started the organizing when your child was 2 and they are now 13, the system should look and be different. If you change occupations or your family status changes, make adjustments to accommodate your changes. To stay on top of your spaces review them often.
Julie Riber has been a Professional Organizer since 2004. She helps organize her clients home and businesses. She is a Golden Circle member of the National Association of Professional Organizers and a board member of the Ohio Chapter of NAPO. Sign up for her free monthly newsletter with organizing tips. http://www.transformare.net

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Organizing Your Time to Fit It All In

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Time management is for everyone not just businessmen. If you are one of those feeling that you just can't get it all done, then you need to start by writing down your schedule for everyday for a week. Write down the time, the activity, and how long you spent on it. Include everything such as your morning routine, making meals, driving kids around, grocery shopping, even choosing clothes. After a few days you might start to see a pattern and some events you spend too much time completing or others you need to spend more time on.
For instance, if it is taking you 20 minutes in the morning to choose what to wear each morning, then possible going to choosing in the evening will save you time each morning. Pay close attention to times that you are wasting much of your time or it is taking longer than it should to complete a task. If you are a morning person, then the evening should not be the time you are trying to make a multitude of decisions. Leave that for afternoon or morning. The same goes for those of you who are not morning people. Make those decisions in the evening. Continue to look at your schedule and the events you're spending time on during the day.
Once you have a good idea of your days and weeks, sit down and decide what you can let go of and what can be tweaked. If you are spending 2 hours a day reading the paper, can you reduce that to just the main parts and then watch the local or national news? Don't save the papers and think you will read them all later, that trick never works. Your goal is to add some time to your schedule to fit more pertinent events in. You might decide that you need help in some areas such as cleaning or grocery shopping. Maybe you need to arrange more carpooling for kid's practices or parties.
Do not feel bad if you have to miss one or two games during the season. It happens and kids adjust much easier than we think. Do not be afraid to ask for help. Maybe you cannot afford a cleaning service every week or every other, but maybe once a month. Delegate some of the chores to others. Don't try to me super mom or dad as that will just wear you down and get less done. If you are going to the grocery store every day, maybe spending a little time planning the week of meals out will help you cut your time at the grocery store down. Spending a little time and planning ahead will award you with more time.
Learn to say no too. Do not feel the urge to say yes to every task someone asks you to take on or help with. Sometimes you just have to say your schedule currently does not allow you to add the time and maybe the next project you can help on.

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What Can a Life Coach Do For You?

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There are so many things that we juggle every day. Work, family, kids, friends, school, extracurricular activities.... How do we manage to fit it all in? How do we manage to keep it all together?
How do we manage not to get lost in our lives?
Everyone is so busy today and we are all being pulled in so many directions. How do we know if what we are doing is right or wrong?
Sometimes we doubt ourselves. And our life choices.
So how do we get back on track?
One way is to use a "life coach." Why not? You have a coach for other things in your life.. like your workouts / health, business consultants, career coaches. Why not have a "life coach" that can help with balancing "all" the areas of your life. Balance between work and family. Balance between what you are doing with your life and what you "want" to do.
A life coach will help you figure out your priorities. They can help you figure out what's stopping you from achieving your goals. They can help you figure out what you want to achieve and how to achieve it.
If your life is in transition they can help you find your direction in life. What's important in your life. They can help you with a "plan."
Most people know what they want their life to be like. They just need someone to push them in the right direction. Coaching is a partnership. A life coach will ask you "where you are now", "where do you want to be" and "what's stopping you".
They point you in the right direction. They help you find it inside of yourself.
Life coaching can cover many aspects of your life. From stress management, career planning, business coaching, family and life balance, time management and so much more.
A life coach looks at things from a different perspective than you do. They are an outsider who can see things that you can't. They help you get and stay on track.
But before you can utilize a life coach you must be ready to change. You must be ready to achieve your goals. To find your direction in life. To listen.
Once you have made up your mind that you want a better life, happier life or more balanced life you will be open to the guidance that a "life coach" can give you.
If you can organize your home and your business isn't it about time that you organized your life?
Member: National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO);
Member: National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD)

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Different Ways To Use A Professional Organizer

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A professional organizer isn't just great for helping you organize your closet.
They can help you organize all of the rooms of your house including your garage and basement. They can help you in many ways that you probably never thought of. They can help you with space management, showing you how to use your space more efficiently.
They can be a life coach, guiding you through the clutter of your life. They can be a business coach, helping you organize your procedures and workflow. They can help you with time management, showing you how to make better use of your time.
They can help you with paper management, dealing with all of the incoming paper and creating a filing system. They can help you with project management, defining your goals and coming up with a game plan. They can help you with organizing and planning meetings and events.
They can help you declutter, organize and stage your home for a sale. They can help you with downsizing, rightsizing and everything in between. They can help you organize your kids and your family.
They can teach you how to create a more usable and functional space. They can teach you organizing skills that will enable you to become the organized person that you can be.
A professional organizer is never judgmental. A professional organizer is patient and caring. They will never make you get rid of things that you are not ready to get rid of.
By becoming more "organized" you will also become "less stressed", "more efficient" and will "save time and money".
Less Clutter = Less Stress (sm)... in your home, your business and your life.
Member: National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO);
Member: National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD)

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Schools Out - What Do You Do With All Of The Kids "Stuff"?

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Yippee! Schools out! The kids are beyond happy. Summer is almost here. Fun in the sun!
As you look around you see backpacks on the floor with the contents of their locker /desk strewn everywhere. Your office / desk / refrigerator is already bursting with their "art work" and crafts. How did you accumulate so much "stuff"?
Just remember - you have 12 years of this! How do you get a handle on all of their "special papers"? Don't let the clutter overtake you. You will easily end up with more boxes of their "stuff" every year.
I know you and the kids are excited that school is out and the last thing that you want to do is spend hours going through their stuff. But it's easier to just bite the bullet and get it done now and be able to enjoy the summer without having to look at the clutter all summer long.
There are a number of ways to go about this. One, get one (1) box or plastic bin for each child. Put in dividers for each school year. Pick one or two or three (no more or you'll run out of room) great pieces to save. Put all of their report cards and awards into the folders.
Instead of a box, you can also use a large pendaflex folder for each child. You will need to explain to your child that you can't keep "all" of their pictures because you just don't have the room (trust me - my kids decorated an entire wall of my office with their art work and I left it up until they "begged" me to take it down when they were 15).
Do this at the end of every school year so that you are not overwhelmed when they are going away to college and you decide it's "finally" time to clear our their stuff (trust me....they go from 12 to college overnight!).
Take a look at their backpack and see if it still is in good condition for next year. If it is, clean it out and store it for next year. If it's, not throw it in the garbage.
Go through all of their school supplies and get rid of everything that is broken. Sort all of the "good" supplies into a box for next year. Make a list of what you have left over that can be re-used so that you don't have to buy it next year.
Now you can relax and enjoy your summer...that is until it's time to "get organized" for the next school year. But that's another article!
Member: National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO)
Member: National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD)
Certificate of Study in Chronic Disorganization
NAPO, Quantum Leap Trainer
NAPO in the Schools Trained Provider

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Video Titled "Clutter Video Tip: Linen Closet Tips for More Bathroom Storage"

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Video Titled "How to Clean Out Your Locker for End of School"

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