Seven Weeks To Christmas
Posted on: November 6, 2009
I picked up my calendar last night to organize some of my activities for the month and realized there are only 7 weeks left until Christmas. It sounds like such a short amount of time to get so much done. So I decided then that this was the weekend I really had to get a move on if I am going to have an enjoyable holiday for myself and my kids. And I am going to document my journey right here on my blog so that you too can follow along.
Kids Artwork
Posted on: November 5, 2009
I have four kids. Two are in high school. One is in elementary school and one is in preschool. I cannot tell you how many people over the years have asked me what I do with all of that artwork.
Over the past 16 years, thousands of pieces of artwork have walked through my front doors with everything from drawings to sculptures to models. Miraculously (or maybe not so miraculously) I have managed to organize it all and keep it all under control. I am a natural organizer so many times it happens without a lot of thought from myself but I know that is not the case for everyone. So I have put together several tips that help guide me though the piles so that I can avoid clutter and being overwhelmed.
1. Decide what is worth of keeping. I know that might be a very tall order considering you would like to keep everything but this is where you need to be extra judicious. Not everything is keepable. Perhaps you can sit your child down and go over the keepable stuff with him or her.
2. Have a file box or bin or drawer in your house for keepable stuff to store throughout the year. Preferably this file is flat and a size that can hold odd shaped or sized art. Everything goes into this file.
3. At the end of every school year go through these boxes/drawers a second time and sort out the stuff that is keepable and the stuff to toss. You might have a different opinion on it at the end of the school year. Do your best to eliminate at least 40-50% of what is in this file.
4. Whatever is leftover in this yearly file box should be transferred to a more permanent storage spot like the attic. Get a airtight and waterproof container to store your art.
5. If you have a scanner you should consider scanning the art digitally. This is a good idea for stuff that is not your top pick of keepable items but you still would like to have a momento on hand.
Organizing My Tragedy
Posted on: October 27, 2009
Last week I blogged about my dad who was painfully taken from us a few weeks ago. I do get overcome sometimes with grief and I know that is a normal part of the process. Yesterday a rep from a hospital where my dad was once a patient called my house to ask how to get in touch with my dad. She was planning a reunion and wanted to invite him to come. I had to share with her our painful news. It stung to have to repeat it and sometimes I feel for the person on the other end of the phone who really doesn’t know what to say. So I just talked soothingly and reassured her that I was ok and that things would be alright.
Over these past several days I have found myself migrating to my dad’s condo to clean up and clean it out. To others it might seem like work but to me it doesn’t. I find myself cleaning and dusting and boxing up things and it doesn’t make me sad. It doesn’t make me tired. In fact it does just the opposite. It makes me feel like I am taking care of my mom and dad’s things in a respectful manner the way I feel they deserved to have their things treated.
I love to organize and it is my passion and being able to organize and declutter my parent’s condo for the eventual sale is something I cherish. It’s something I feel I am doing as my last bit of service to my parents who gave so much of themselves to get me to where I am today.
As I organize and clean up and clean out, I learn about myself and I talk to my dad because in my heart he hears me and I feel better for it. This is all a process but one that I am glad to do for my dear ole’ dad.
Death in Family
Posted on: October 23, 2009
Well it has been a while since I have posted anything resembling my blog.
My dad passed away on October 12 and I just haven’t felt like doing any writing since then. I know I will get back into the swing of things soon because I want to. I have been going through my dad’s things and while they do make me reflect a lot and even sometimes make me cry, I feel a sense of peace in making sure his things are handled in an organized fashion.
I guess that’s how us organizers are.
But I have also learned a lot about how to pick up after the loss of a loved one, literally and figuratively, and intent to blog about in the near future.
In the meantime, hug your family close today and have a great and fulfilling weekend!
Visit Me on Facebook
Posted on: October 7, 2009
I am so excited to have a personal fan page on facebook. You can get to it by going to this link:
www.facebook.com/organizinghomeandlife
All kinds of great advice there and I am interactive with my status updates and comments section. I just linked some blogs to it and I am getting ready to add some video to it.
Check it out and interact. Oh, and feel free to ask lots of questions if you need help in any area.
Organizing For Halloween
Posted on: October 6, 2009
Halloween is just a few short weeks away. Here are few tips on how to get organized and planning for the big day.
1. Get your costumes today! It’s still early enough but go today in order to avoid the rush and getting the scraps that are always left at the last week.
2. Buy candy now. There are some really great deals in the stores on candy. Figure out how much you will need and don’t forget to count the kid’s school parties.
3. Pull out your Halloween decorations from the attic and set everything up around the house and outside of the house. Kids love the festive and spooky look.
4. Search the local papers and online to find the local haunted houses or party celebrations.
5. Buy your pumpkins before all of the good ones get sold. Pull our your pie recipes and start planning your baking list.
6. Keep making lists and planning ahead because as soon as Halloween is over it will be time to launch into Thanksgiving mode.
Organizing Your Kids
Posted on: September 26, 2009
It’s a subject I have been thinking about for some time now. As my teen boys grow into adulthood I am beginning to help them with some of those life skills that will be necessary once they leave the house and go off on their own. Organization is one of them but it’s a struggle. It’s hard enough to get them to study and do their homework. But I keep pressing on hoping that something will rub off on them and when they do get to college they will at least take a small bit of organizing knowledge with them.
So how do you teach them? For me, it’s all about making organization easy and fun. For example, my oldest son could never get his clothes into the hamper. But by chance I took him to Target one day and there were some nifty cool hampers there. He wanted one but when I pointed out that I wasn’t going to waste money on something that was not going to get use. He assured me that was not going to be the case. I gave in and bought it for him and I have found that he does use it. Problem solved. One down and only 200 more to go. LOL
As for the other teen organizational problems my intent it to blog about it in a series entitled “Teen Organization”. I hope to be able to provide many different suggestions on how to keep your teens organized from my own experiences as well as other people’s experiences. How do you get your kids to be organized? Leave a comment if you have any kind of ideas.
Holidays are Coming
Posted on: September 25, 2009
- In: Decluttering | Holidays | Organizing
- 1 Comment
It’s my favorite time of the year – a planners dream….the end of September means that the holidays are right around the corner. Year after year we all continue to get behind and each year I become more and more determined to not become behind. This is why my goal is to have a holiday game plan in place by October 1. Some of the things on my goal sheet are exampled below:
1. Halloween costumes – start shopping for those now. Avoid the long lines. If you are making your own costumes, start now as well.
2. Holiday portraits – if you are not taking the portraits yourself, this should be planned out now including making the appointment and going. It takes a few weeks to get portraits back and it is best to avoid procrastinating on this. As the holidays get closer it will get harder to make a timely appointment.
3. Holiday greeting cards – Start getting your address lists in order. Print out mailing labels and return address labels. You can find some good sales on holiday cards so if you buy now you will be way ahead of the game. You can then start to write up your cards or start to create your family newsletter.
4. Thanksgiving plans – Thanksgiving is only 2 months away. Start contacting your family and friends to see how you all will celebrate your Thanksgiving day. If you are cooking, start to plan out what the menu will be and what kind of recipes you will need. Get your decorations together and ready to be put out after Halloween.
5. Purge in your house – This rule is really important especially if you have kids. Your kids will likely get many gifts so it is important to purge any old items or toys or games that they no longer use. Do the same for clothes too. Think of giving these items to charity.
6. Speaking of charities start thinking about whether or not you want to give to charity this holiday season. If so, figure out how much you will be giving whether it is money or merchandise. If merchandise, start shopping now.
7. Have your kids get their holiday gift lists in order as well and start a budget for yourself to ensure that you are not overspending and that you are keeping within a specific budgetary guideline.
8. Gifts – it’s never too early to shop for the favorite people in your life.
If you can start accomplishing some of these tasks early you will be way ahead of the game.
Menu Monday – Sept 21, 2009
Posted on: September 22, 2009
Welcome to my first Menu Monday on this blog. I love to plan my weekly menus mainly because I am really busy and without laying out plans I will never get to make homecooked meals for my family for the week. So here goes for this week. What does your week look like?
Monday – grilled chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans
Tuesday – chicken with lentils and chirizo
Wednesday – pork apple tenderloin
Thursday – Shrimp tacos
Friday – Chili
Saturday – chicken salad salad
Sunday – my little guy’s 4th birthday so we will be celebrating with a bbq
Have a great week!
Organizing Your Home and Life 