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Nov 07
holiday gifts

5 Ways to Make Holiday Gift Giving Less Stressful

By How to Declutter: Use Simple Strategies
Gift giving whether during the holidays or for an occasion can be very stressful. We stress over finding the ‘perfect’ gift. It can be stressful if a loved one has asked for a gift that is hard to find, very expensive, or in short supply. Then we stress over getting it to the recipient on time. So much stress! It is even more stressful during the holidays when people are already busy with decorating, baking, and hosting parties. We can make holiday gift giving less stressful by focusing on planning in advance and being organized. Here are 5 things you…
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Oct 31
holiday home décor on a Christmas Tree

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

By 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.…
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Oct 24
a woman taking a continuing education class

Continuing Education is Important

By 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…
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Oct 17
pantry shelf

Organizing the Pantry in 10 Minute Blocks

By How Long Will it Take to Organize X
Each October I deep clean and reorganize my kitchen. I know the holidays are right around the corner and I want my kitchen completely decluttered and ready for the extra cooking and food preparation that I do for the holidays. The first place I like to focus on is the pantry. Today I’m talking about organizing the pantry in 10 minute blocks so that it’s not overwhelming. If I can do it you can, too. The kitchen is one room that requires daily upkeep and maintenance but despite that daily care there comes a time to go beyond the wiping down…
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Oct 03
decorating for the holidays - fall

Decorating for the Holidays. Why or Why Not?

By What is Your Reason to Get Organized?
The holiday season is upon us.  October has Halloween. November has Thanksgiving. December has Hanukkah and Christmas. Decorations start popping up everywhere – in stores, along downtown streets, in the Botanical Gardens, and in yards. How much decorating for the holidays, if any, do you plan to do?  When my children were young, I decorated for every season and holiday. Macramé skeleton anyone? Now, not so much.  Why do people decorate for the holidays?  1. Family Tradition They’ve always done it.  Every year a family that I know gathers at Thanksgiving and makes an ornament that expresses something they are thankful for in the past year. Then this ornament goes back…
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Sep 26
man celebrating because he got his work done

Productivity and You: The Best Way For You To Get Things Done

By It's All About You: A Personalized Approach to Achieving Your Organizing Goals
We all want to be productive, right? How do you know what is the best way for you to get things done? That’s a very good question. As a professional organizer, my job often involves helping my clients figure out strategies and solutions for them to accomplish tasks. I am going to share with you 3 ways for you to figure out the best way for you to get things done. Ask yourself these questions to figure out the best way for you to get things done: Am I a big picture person? It’s important to know yourself. Do you…
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Sep 19
create a home inventory

How to Create a Home Inventory

By How Long Will it Take to Organize X
September is Natural Preparedness Month. Earlier this month I wrote about survival tips for surviving a disaster. Now, I am going to focus on a plan to have in place for your home if your home is destroyed or partly destroyed by a disaster. To make this plan complete you will create a home inventory. Very few people could sit down and create a complete list of everything in their home if it was destroyed. I have a friend whose home was partially destroyed by a fire and by water damage from trying to control the fire. The home was…
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Sep 12
A loving couple creating simple home organizing solutions

Create Simple Home Organizing Solutions

By How to Declutter: Use Simple Strategies
Feeling overwhelmed in your home and looking for some simple solutions to get organized? Look no further. As a professional organizer, my goal is to create simple home organizing solutions for my clients to follow. The simpler the solution the better because that means there’s a greater chance that it will be used. There are a couple of typical hotspots in most clients’ homes. These are closets, bedroom, kitchen, laundry, dining table, and the family room. Here are some questions to ask yourself as you create simple home organizing solutions for yourself in each of these areas. Let’s look at…
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Sep 05
Emergency Kit for natural disasters

Are You Ready For A Natural Disaster?

By 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…
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Aug 29
why do we do the things we do - drawing on the wall

Why Do We Do the Things We Do?

By What is Your Reason to Get Organized?
Have you ever wondered why we do the things we do? I wonder this all the time. What drives me to do some of the things I do? Sometimes I stop in my tracks after I’ve done something, shake my head, and think to myself “why on earth did I just do that?”. We, as adults, know that for every action there is either a reaction or a consequence. This is something we learn as we grow up. As adults, we can hear in our minds our parents chiding us saying “you shouldn’t do that” or “you should hurry up…
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