How To Organize Blog Written By Professional Organizers

Oct 31

For a Stress-Free Holiday the Calendar is Your Best Friend

By Jonda Beattie Ask the Organizer How to Organize

We are definitely in the midst of the holiday season. Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Year are all on our radar. If you want to have a stress-free holiday, now is the time to start planning. Thanksgiving is marketed before Halloween. Christmas ads are already in full swing. New Year’s Eve champagne party ads collide with Christmas carols. And Kwanza and Hanukkah wedge ads in between, over, and under the big 3 – Turkey Day, Santa Clause, and the dropping of the crystal ball on New Year. The overlapping of holiday marketing can be very stressful. We want it all.…

Oct 24

a woman taking a continuing education class

Continuing Education is Important

By Diane Quintana Ask the Organizer How to Organize

Jonda Beattie and I recently attended the 2021 Institute for Challenging Disorganization Virtual Conference. There were 10 world-class experts in their field presenting valuable and current information to the attendees. All of us there were inspired and re-energized by these fabulous continuing education classes. I want to share some of what we learned and why Jonda and I feel participating in classes such as these is important. Continuing Education Classes Anyone can call themselves a professional organizer. What sets us (and others who feel as we do) apart is that we are constantly taking classes and listening to recordings. This…

Sep 05

Are You Ready For A Natural Disaster?

By Jonda Beattie Ask the Organizer How to Organize

September is National Preparedness Month. The 2021 theme is “Prepare to Protect. Preparing for disasters is protecting everyone you love.” While you can never be truly ready for a natural disaster, you can be somewhat prepared. Some of us might be tempted to think, “I don’t live in an area prone to natural disasters. It will never happen to me.” As someone who was once ordered to suddenly leave their house due to the possibility of a tree crashing on top of it, I can tell you that we all need to be prepared for a disaster. Natural Disasters Can…

Aug 22

5 Common Reasons You Don’t Complete a Project & How to Move Forward

By Jonda Beattie Ask the Organizer How to Organize

As Professional Organizers Diane and I often get calls from people who are overwhelmed by projects that have been hanging around for what seems like forever. It might be a huge project like clearing out a cluttered home to put it on the market, dealing with unopened boxes scattered around since a move 5 years ago, or paper that has taken over an office and spilled into the rest of the house. We have found that most people have common reasons for leaving these projects hanging. These people are not stupid or lazy so why can’t they do this? These…

Jul 25

Create a Home Maintenance Plan Using These Four Steps

By Jonda Beattie Ask the Organizer How to Organize

I think we can all agree everyone needs to have a home maintenance plan. If you aren’t sure what it is or why you need one, read this recent post: why everyone should have a maintenance plan. Just because you believe you need such a plan doesn’t mean that you know how to create one. There are four distinct steps involved in creating a home maintenance plan. Everyone’s plan will be unique to them but will incorporate these four steps. Now let’s look at the steps to take to develop a home maintenance plan that will work for you. You’ve…

May 11

5 Components of Planning a Party You Will Enjoy

By Diane Quintana Ask the Organizer How to Organize

I love to give a party and have I ever been missing them this past year! There are 5 components to planning a party so that you will have a fun time along with your guests. Now, I am feeling hopeful that I can once again plan a party but on a smaller scale (for this year at least). When planning a party, the five components I embrace are the guest list, date, theme, menu, and location. Guest List: This is a key component. I love to invite a diverse group of people who will enjoy each other’s company. Usually,…

Feb 10

Declutter Your Love Nest for Valentine’s Day

By Jonda Beattie Ask the Organizer How to Organize

Valentine’s Day is this coming Sunday. You would love to experience a romantic evening, but you look around your love nest and notice the piles of shoes by the front door. Then there are the piles of papers and magazines cascading off the coffee table and the CDs and DVDs scattered on the floor. The living room needs to have some serious work done to look romantic. You don’t have a lot of time to make this work. Maybe just scoop it all up into a box that you stash in the spare bedroom and deal with it later. But…

Nov 17

How to Make Giving and Receiving Gifts Stress Free

By Jonda Beattie Ask the Organizer How to Organize, Blog

Gift season is almost upon us. It is hard to imagine the holidays without giving and receiving gifts. Giving gifts makes us feel good as we imagine our loved ones opening our gift with delighted smiles or squeals of joy. As a fairly new grandmother, I want to find the perfect gift for my grandson. I also want to shower his parents with thoughtful presents. Besides family, we also like to give gifts to friends and to people who have gone out of their way for us. But before we pull out our credit card and start scrolling through items to…

Oct 27

parents on the floor with lots of toys all around them in the living room

3 Fabulous Tips for Organizing Toys in the Living Room

By Diane Quintana Ask the Organizer How to Organize

Let’s face facts. If you have children, you have toys. Toys always end up in the living room because that’s where the family hangs out. While it’s wonderful for the family to spend time together when the children go to bed the last thing you want is to be surrounded by toys. I’m sharing 3 fabulous tips for organizing toys in the living room so that you still feel like you have an adult living space. Adult living space Your lovely living room doesn’t feel or look so lovely when you are surround by toys. Toys on the coffee table,…

Oct 20

The 5 Best Small Laundry Room Ideas

By Jonda Beattie Ask the Organizer How to Organize

The smaller the laundry room the more important it is to have a specific place to put everything. This makes it is easy to retrieve and put things away. It is also important to remove any unnecessary items so that you have room for the essentials . Say goodbye to wire hangers, mismatched socks that have been around forever, and any products you don’t use in this area. Let’s start with the essentials. The most important tool in your laundry room is the washing machine. Only slightly less important is the dryer. If your space is small, stack the washer…

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