Are you the only one? NO!

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Many times I speak with clients who believe they are the only ones who have a “messy” home.

Uh, NO!

Just this week I explained to a new client the difference between messy and disorganized.  So here it is for you too!

My Definitions:

Messy:  Messy occurs when you don’t take the time to put things where they belong, when you leave the dishes for a couple of days in the sink or in the living room.  Messy is when the laundry sits around the house when it needs to either be in a hamper or be in the wash.  Messy is when there is no system for junk mail and it ends up being in every room of the house.

Now, I am not speaking about one individual, so please don’t think this is in anyway about you!

What is Disorganized then?

Disorganized is not being able to find what you want, when you want it.  If it takes you more than a few minutes to find something (like keys for instance) then you may need to take a look at how often you misplace things.  Are they ever in their rightful “home”?

I am including here some pictures to give you an idea of what I am speaking about, so take a look.

 

Life is not always what it seems.

Suppose for instance this was your kitchen.  Yes, I know it is beautiful, but if you’d take a look inside their cabinets they may have some of the same issues that you have.  Dead space that isn’t usable in any way, shape or form.

 

We, as Americans, have a tendency to move from place to place several times over the course of our lives.  I, personally, have moved six times over the last twenty eight years.

Overwhelming garage overflow So, if you are like everyone else in America, you probably take everything with you from place to place.  Unfortunately, this picture is a measurement of just that practice.

I have a few simple rules for this:

1.  Before moving sort through your belongings and pare them down to manageable levels.  If that printer that you see above doesn’t work for you anymore, then donate it!

Does this picture make you cringe?  I would have to take a deep breath and stare at it for a while before being able to categorize what I see and deciding what needs to be done.  If you’re with me, we could do this together!!

We all have some stored items in our homes.  Things that mean something to us, usually from someone who has died or love.  The rule for this:

2.  If you love the person, but not the item; donate the item and send the person a thank you note.

3.  If you can’t do that, then you have already made the decision that it will live with you for a while.  Understanding this will relieve some of your angst over storing it.

So, how does being messy or disorganized affect your body and mind and even possibly your spirit?

Your body can show obvious signs of stress.

High blood pressure

Anxiety attacks

Overeating from stress

Your mind (your brain) fires off more synapses in attempting to deal with the overload, causing some of the symptoms above.  Think about that one.

Your soul or spirit may be dampened by the overload of messy and disorganized because it wants to feel loved and lightened.

We’ll talk more about these three in a later post.

For now, consider these and if you are going to comment, make it relevant to the post please.  I’ve been getting a lot of spam.

Denise

 

Getting Lost in Your Organization Efforts?

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Whether you are organizing a closet, kitchen, garage or any other space in your home or office the key is to remember what your goal was in starting the project.

Key#1  Remember the goal you want to achieve.

Key #2 Know the tools that are available to you.

What tools will you need to finish the job?  A new file cabinet?  Organizing bins, shoe boxes, labeler or masking tape?  Identify those tools so you don’t have to go looking for them while you are organizing.

Key #3  Who do you know who is willing to help you?

Now, I didn’t say who could do it for you.

This  person or persons must be able to envision the completion of the goal you set and must be able to take direction.  You are in charge of how you want it to end up, not the general person you have helping you. (like your mom, sister, sister-in-law etc.)

Key #4  Hiring a professional organizer who can help you.

Nine times out of ten a professional organizer will help guide you in how  you approach the job.  By directing you, she/he is teaching you the methods they have found work in a variety of homes or offices.

Key #5  You don’t have time to have someone come in to help you.

Alright!  One of the newest services among organizers is the one where busy professionals/busy moms etc have a organizing coach.  Organizing coach’s are not on site helping you move your papers, belongings around.  They work with you by phone, by video conferencing, by email and pictures to help you de-clutter, organize and maintain your newly organized space.

It is a phenomenal way of working, however it is not for everyone.  Some people still need that hands on experience.

The biggest plus to this is you do your work, the organizer guides you, and it normally can be a cost-effective way of getting organized!

For more information, call Denise at 910-620-6413.

Top Ten Organizing Tips for January 2011

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Grab a pencil, pen or turn on your printer!

This year is your best year for the last several.  Things are turning around financially (yes all over the country) and you need to be organized to take part in what the revival is going to bring your way!

So, let’s begin:

1.  Use your tools!  Your Planner, calendar, PDA, Blackberry or Android, etc. are an absolute necessity in tracking what is happening in your life.  Stay on top of those appointments, job interviews, and meetings by tracking them with your latest and greatest electronics or planner.

So of all of these which do I recommend?

a.  If you are using a planner/calendar then I recommend Planner Pads http://www.plannerpads.com.  Planner pads come in 3 convenient sizes, with accompanying items.

b.  If you, however, are using an electronic method, such as a PDA or iPod, then make sure you download the applications that you have researched thoroughly.  What you don’t want to do is to get started with one system, then 3 months down the road switch to another, then another as you search for the ONE that fits your personality and your needs.  i.e.  If you are constantly breaking your phone, iPod, PDA, but can always find your calendar, then use paper!  Okay, just take a break.  I’ll be back, computer issues.




Whose Space Is It Anyway?

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I can hear it now!  That’s not me!  I don’t keep stuff like that…

Well, no one said you did.  But if you look at the items in the picture I could almost ‘swear’ you are keeping some of those things somewhere in your garage or home as you read this post.

An extra printer, an old office chair, a garden hose that you think you’ll use one day (even though you bought a new one last summer).

Think how wonderful it would feel, not to have to look at those extra items sitting there gathering dust.

What would you give to achieve a garage that you could actually park in?  Or perhaps turn a room into an actual guest room, instead of an overflow room!

Many of us (yes even organizers) have overflow in their homes, their cars, or closets/drawers.  If you could, and many of you could…would you bring someone in (an organizer) to help you see the vision of a beautiful home or functional garage?

That is just one of the things that I do.  Helping you to see the results you are looking for.

Think about that one for a few minutes, then send me an email!  denise@progressiveorganizingsolutions.com

Mindmapping Tools Training! Learn from the best!

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Freemind with Bob Jenkins

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
-- Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States

I do believe that old Teddy knew what he was talking about.

Let’s consider…

Do what you can…

Do you actually know what you can do is my question.

The trend in the past was to stay with a company for a lifetime. You learned what you needed to do on the job,and grew as they taught you what they wanted you to know. However in recent years we’ve needed the added benefit of knowing more. The edge we need to compete in the marketplace these days is overwhelming to say the least.

So, we do what we can to increase our level of competition. But, how do we know what we need?

This blog is all about using the tools at your disposal. You just have to know what they are.

The tool today is FreeMind mindmapping software. You can download it here.

http://www.freemind.sourceforge.net

The software is only part of the equation though.

Knowing how to use it to benefit you is the meat of this review. I love the software, but as usual with softwares learning how to use them is the most crucial action we can take in using software that can help us be the best we can be.

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
– Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States
So,coming back to Teddy’s quote we have to follow through on “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”  So we are doing what we can by utilizing the software (what we have) and that last bit about “where you are.”, yes, you can train right from your living room chair (or the more uncomfortable office) to learn how to use mindmapping software that gives you a way to map out your plans.

I finally found a tutorial on using Freemind. Check it out…

http://www.DiscoverFreemind.com/plan/?profits=2494

Let me know what you think of it!

Denise

What is Your Best Time of Day to Get Organized?

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Everyone has different times of day when they work best, so why isn’t that true of getting organized? Or is it?

I’ve had clients who want to work after 4pm, as well as people who want to get started as early as 7:30am. If you had to think about when you feel most capable to make decisions about what to do with your belongings when would your time be?

Organizing requires thought, planning and action.

This is what I do. I meet with a client. I think about their situation after listening to them. I help them to reach their specific goals through planning and then work with them to achieve the goals.

P.S. I am looking for new clients, both virtual and on-site!

So what time of day do you work best?

Is it in the morning, before breakfast, when you’re having that first cup of coffee and planning your day?

Is it after 10am, when the first rush of fires you had to put out is under control again (yes talk to me about avoiding fires through planning and manipulation!)?

Is it after 2pm when you’ve got an afternoon break and you start looking at tomorrow’s schedule?

Are you tired after work? It feels like a physical tiredness, yet you know it has to be mental…yes I do know what I’m talking about.

Your life, and everyone around you, is affected by how you make decisions every day of every week, of every month/year that you live.

Think about what your best time of day to get organized is.

I’d love to have a round table discussion about this and if enough people respond I will arrange to have a call session with all of you.

So, let me know.

Talk to you soon,

Denise

Organizing Your Closet

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Well ladies (and gents too):

It’s that time of year again.  We’re all tired of our winter clothes and want to throw that horrible coaat into the donate bin.  Yet, going into your closet you see the same old clothes time after time.

Organizing your clothing can be a great way to give yourself a fresh view of them.  They will still be the same clothes, but by organizing them, categorizing them, matching them up with same color or styled pieces you can literally create a new wardrobe.

Alright ladies, let’s begin with you.  Women, in my experience, usually have an upper and a lower hanging bar for their clothing.

Tops, blouses, sweaters and jackets, blazers, coats, scarves, etc. all get crammed onto the upper rod on one side of a two sided closet.  It doesn’t matter what sleeve length or how wrinkled the items are going to get, you can always stand in the closet and search for what you want to wear forever and a day, then have to iron the piece you finally choose.

You know I am talking to you!

So, let’s give you a few rules to live by.  The rules will help you to walk into your closet, put together an outfit and walk out in just a few minutes, instead of a half an hour.

Closets are meant to be a place where you can store clothing that you can see.  So being organized in your closet is like getting close to heaven!  Well, at least it is for me.

1.  I suggest taking everything out of your closet.  Start with a clean slate.

2.  Piece by piece decide if you use the piece. Asking yourself questions about the piece, examining it for tears, wearability, stylishness, and finally but not least, ask yourself if you love it.  If you don’t, do not take up valuable real estate in that closet with something you can’t stand.

3.  On your bed, arrange the tops in this fashion:

a.  Sleeveless

b.  Cap Sleeve

c.  Short Sleeve

d.  3/4 length Sleeve

e.  Long Sleeve.

About now,  you’re going, hmmm, if I get this organizing project out of the way just look at what else I can accomplish!!

If you complete this portion of the project, then move on to the bottom hanging rod.  Go through the pants with the same precision as above.  Shorts, 3/4 length pants, long pants.  Decide if you ever wear them, when was the last time, do you pass them over for something else or if they have ever fit correctly.

Okay, I know that was a terrible run-on sentence, but you get the message.

I want to hear from all of you on how this works for you.

I’m thinking of starting a call session for people who want to hash out ideas on their organizing problems.

Let me know what you think!

That’s it for tonight’s ideas on organizing your closet.  So take a gamble and risk it all for you to be better organized!

For now have a great weekend getting organized!

Denise

Time Management at work and play!

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Too many times we work in places that we never feel like we get our work accomplished.  There are days that we constantly seem to be interrupted over and over again, so much so that by the time we leave work we realize that nothing that was supposed to get done, actually got done!

Here are some statistics about how typical office workers feel about their days at work.

“Research shows that this is how office workers spend their typical work day:

- 28%: Unnecessary interruptions (with recovery time)
- 25%: Creating content (productive work)
- 20%: Meetings (may or may not be conclusive with action plan)
- 15%: Searching for information (half the time, search does not yield results)
- 12%: Thinking and reflecting (productive, creative work)


So what do you do?


1. Have a clear objective of what you want to achieve for the day or the next 2 hours and let nothing distract you. If you need to focus and concentrate then turn off the chats (digital or not) and the email alerts.

2. Get a draft copy of your work out in the designated time – even if it is not perfect. Start with a framework and fill in the content as you go along. Keep the momentum going, it is progress against perfection.

3. Do not allow yourself to be interrupted unnecessarily – turn off the emails alerts, online chats and let the answering machine does its work if you are doing creative or productive work. Manage your emails with filters and rules.

4. Take breaks in between chunks of concentrated work time - enjoy your brief coffee break. Do a little stretching, take a deep breath, relax your neck and your shoulders and then come back to more focus work.

5. Keep it simple and clean – your work place, desk and filing needs to be simple and streamlined. Make good use of the trash bin. This un-cluttering will clear you mind for more creative and productive work.

6. Set yourself up for efficient work before hand – get your documents, files, references organized each time before you wrap up work so you do not waste time looking for files and tools the next time you start work.

7. Enjoy your work - that will fuel you to be productive at work.”      Retrieved from The Desk Demon Network

Wow!  Can you imagine feeling that if you work every day for four hours a day that you really only get one hour of  work done every day?  That’s such a tremendous waste of time!

So let’s say you use the formula above to be more efficient at work.  Do you think this is feasible?

There are two of the items above that I want you to focus on.

The first is #1.  Have a clear objective.  Write it down and pretend it’s written in Gold and decide you will achieve that goal!

The second is #3.  Stop letting interruptions rule your day.

Recently I’ve had a co-worker interrupt me 11 times in one day.  Her interruptions hit the high time today when knowing that I was on the phone she walked into my office, talking to me very loudly, so loudly I couldn’t hear the person on the phone.

You may be that person who is interrupting your co-workers and not getting your work done because of it.

If you are, then work on understanding why.  Are you a person who needs to be around other people more than working alone? Whatever the reason, work on focusing on your work in shorter stretches of time and then taking a break.

There are many ways to increase your productivity at work, and time management is just one of them.

Hope this helps,

Denise


Virtual Organizing

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i folks,

Sorry I’ve been away for a bit. I’ve been in training for the past two months on making my website, my blog and my connections work better for me and for you!

Today’s topic is dear to my heart and if you are in the need for organizing you really should take a look at a possibility you may not have considered before.

Virtual Organizing!

Virtual organizing is a method that is growing around the U.S. and possibly the world. I know this because I am a virtual organizer. I can sit in my office and work with people from around the world, helping them to de-clutter their homes and offices, their garages and attics even though I am sitting at home in my pajamas. (My last International client was in the Netherlands and my domestic virtual clients are in Texas, North Carolina, and West Virginia.)

I know you have all heard about people working from home before. Telecommuting has been a trend for several years. Well, in essence, that is what I do for some of my clients. I coach my clients from home.

I have to say, I do not coach all of my clients from home. Probably half of my clients are virtual clients and the other half I drive, using expensive gas, because they need me to be with them when I work with them.

So, how exactly does this work?

Virtually, of course. I begin by asking key questions about the space you want organized. I ask about your hot spots, your most needy situations and then when I receive pictures and text by email I will then formulate a plan to work through with you.

If I were working with you in person I would formulate an outline to work by, and then when we’ve finished the job I would work out a maintenance schedule with you and then be on the phone to you every few weeks, months, then years to check in and see if the processes we put into place are still working.

With virtual work the long distance contact is more frequent, but just as important. Preset schedules for phone calls, following prescribed directions, homework and making sure you show up for online appointments can be crucial to your success.

Today I spoke with an organizer in Denver, Colorado called me to ask me all about virtual organizing. I waxed on lyrically until an hour later we finally hung up and I knew this was something that I loved to do.

CALL TO ACTION!

If you are interested in learning how I can help you with your organizing project (even helping you to de-clutter and make your space what you want it to be!! Then I want to invite you to call me, or email me, or respond to this blog in the comments section.

I am writing my August Newsletter: Organize Your Life and want you to submit ideas for articles to appear in the newsletter. Let me know what you want to hear about.

For now, remember “Organizing is an art.” A quote from Barbara Hemphill