simple strategies Archives

Nov 27

Make Space to Showcase Your Holiday Decor

By Jonda Beattie How to Declutter: Use Simple Strategies

Most holidays I do not do a lot of decorating, but I do love to decorate for Christmas and showcase my holiday decor. It is one of my guilty pleasures. It’s so enticing when we are out shopping to pick up another unique and pretty ornament for our home. I also receive a lot of lovely ornaments from friends. My attic already holds boxes and boxes of holiday décor that I would love to showcase. Too Much Stuff and Too Little Space To Display My Holiday Decor But my house is small, and I do not have a lot of…

Sep 24

Use Backwards Planning to Enjoy Your Holidays!

By Jonda Beattie How Long Will it Take to Organize X

As we turn the page to October things begin to get a bit scary – and I don’t mean Halloween! We are entering the Holiday Season. It can be quite a hectic time between now and the end of this year. To keep events under control, try something we call backwards planning. Most of our clients celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and/or Hanukkah and New Year’s. Most of these holidays have deep family traditions. And as our families grow, new traditions are added. It is easy to overcommit, overspend, and overeat at this time of year. To avoid overdoing, use backwards…

Aug 15

simplify your morning so you can relax into the day

Want to Simplify Your Morning? Do These 5 Things!

By Diane Quintana How to Declutter: Use Simple Strategies

Do you dream of having a quiet and peaceful morning? Maybe you dream that you are sitting at the table enjoying the first steaming hot cup of coffee while reading the headlines waiting for the day to unfold. You can simplify your morning when you retire or maybe sooner than that by tweaking your routine slightly. The morning rush The reality is that we rush around in the morning. There is nothing peaceful about it. We gather the things we need for the day, get breakfast, and make sure that everyone else in the family is also prepared. Then we…

Jun 06

Organize Under the Vanity in Just 10 Minutes

By Jonda Beattie How Long Will it Take to Organize X

You wake up early in the morning and stumble into the bathroom. With one eye open you realize that there is just one sheet of paper left on the toilet paper roll. OK, you can reach the cabinet under the vanity where there is always an extra roll stashed. You grope around and can’t find it – meanwhile knocking some items on the floor. This is not going to be one of your better days. Follow these 4 steps to declutter under the vanity This will be the day to declutter and organize your under the vanity space. The day…

Apr 20

Are You Tired of Paying Late Fees? Use These 3 Tips & Be in Control of Your Paperwork

By Diane Quintana How to Declutter: Use Simple Strategies

If you have ever paid late fees, I’m sure you would agree that no one wants to pay more than the invoice lists. However, when bills go missing in a pile of paper or digital files you have no choice but to pay the additional late fees. Is finding your bills, knowing where to keep them, and figuring out how to get them paid on time adding stress and anxiety to your life? You are in the right place. No one wants to pay late fees and none of us need to add stress or anxiety to our lives. As…

Apr 13

Organizing in 10 Minute Blocks: Chest of Drawers

By Jonda Beattie How Long Will it Take to Organize X

Springtime is a good time to organize your chest of drawers. Seasons are changing and some things you have been wearing all winter are either ready to be retired or rotated. People use their chest of drawers for different purposes. A lot of it depends on what other clothes storage options you have. It really doesn’t matter what you store in your drawers as long as you have a plan. Each drawer should have a purpose. Storing like items together makes it easier to put items away and easier to find items. Here’s an example Let me use my chest…

Mar 09

3 Reasons to Turn Away from Your Screens

By Diane Quintana Blog, It's All About You: A Personalized Approach to Achieving Your Organizing Goals

Screens call for our attention all day long. There is your phone screen, computer screen and the television all offering information and entertainment. We are so attached to our screens it can be hard to turn away from them. Our bodies tell us when we have spent too much time hunched over a screen. Our backs, wrists, shoulders all call out for us to take a break. I know it can be hard to turn away from your screen but here are some reasons to make it worth your while. Sleep better This article from the Sleep Foundation recommends removing…

Mar 02

Honoring National Read Across America Day

By Diane Quintana How to Declutter: Use Simple Strategies

March 2 is National Read Across America Day. If it were up to me everyday would be a reading day. I love to read and often have several books going at a time. My frustration is in finding the time to read. This should be an easy fix for me. I’m an expert on time management so why is this a problem? Most days I have scheduled more things to do than time to do them. This means that I must have a triage plan and spend my time working on the tasks I feel are the most important. To…

Feb 02

Simple Strategies Need Simple Rules

By Diane Quintana How to Declutter: Use Simple Strategies

My mother used to like to say, ‘keep it simple, stupid – KISS’. She was right. The simpler the strategy the easier it is to follow. This is why the primary rule I follow in organizing with my clients is to ask the questions: do you love it? Are you using it? Is it beautiful – to you? When a client answers ‘yes’ to one or more of these questions then the object in question is something to keep. Sometimes people over-complicate the strategies they use to get organized by creating impossible rules to accompany the strategies. This can cause…

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