Book Review: Growing-Up Organized by Lea Schneider

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Amanda Darlack

In preparation for my presentation “The ABC’s of Raising Organized Kids,” I’ve come across a little gem of a book.

Growing-Up Organized: A Mom-to-Mom Guide by Lea Schneider is an easy-to-read book brimming over with practical suggestions for organizing both your home and your time.  It covers:

  • Children’s bedrooms
  • Closets
  • Homework
  • Toys
  • Laundry
  • Chores
  • Time management
  • Clutter
  • Responsibility

The author, a Professional Organizer, knows what she’s talking about.  What I really admire about her is that she understands how to really teach children, including very young children, basic organizing skills.  As a preschool teacher, I appreciate her emphasis on training young children in age-appropriate ways.

Growing-Up Organized is a self-published book, and this is particularly evident in the type face and page formatting.  However, the content of the book is top-notch, and I highly recommend it.  Because it is self-published, it is not readily available in libraries.  However, it is available from Amazon.com at a very reasonable price.

Amanda Darlack is a Professional Organizer with Living Peace LLC of Salem, MA and Winchester, MA.  Check us out at www.living-peace.com.  Or call (617) 519-5693.

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Is a Bigger House More Organized than a Little House?

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Hillary Adams Case

I have been working with a client in a small home with four family members.  She often comments on how small the house is and “how it would be easier to be organized if she had more space.”  I had to break the news to her that I highly doubted that her home would be more organized if it were larger. She and her family would simply find more things to keep in the home.

I feel it is almost to her advantage to have a smaller home.  The size limitation forces the need to keep the clutter to a minimum.  This message seemed to make sense to her, and I give the message with full confidence.  I have seen larger homes that are filled to the brim because the homeowner can get away with accumulating for a longer period of time. Due to the small size of my client’s home, she felt the need to get organized sooner than if her home was larger.

Embrace your small spaces.  Learning how to best use them (and the verticle space) by not cluttering with too much furniture, oversized furniture or knick knacks.  Less stuff will help make your small space feel larger.

If you have the luxury of a large home, be honest with yourself about how much stuff you need to keep, even though you have the space.  Being organized has less to do with the amount of space you have and more to do with how you use that space.

Hillary Adams Case is a Professional Organizer with Living Peace LLC of Salem, MA and Winchester, MA.  Check us out at www.living-peace.com.  Or call (617) 519-5693.

Hillary Adams Case

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Timelines & Space Planning- An Organized Move Video Series (Part 2)- NAPO-NE Video Tip

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Erin Elizabeth Wells

Part 2 of An Organized Move Series. In this video, Erin Elizabeth Wells, Certified Professional Organizer and Living Peace Founder, discusses the steps involved in creating a timeline for your move process and how to develop a functional space plan for your new home.

Erin W

Erin Elizabeth Wells is a Founder and CEO of Living Peace LLC of Salem, MA and Winchester, MA and is a NAPO-NE member.  Check us out at www.living-peace.com.  Or call (617) 519-5693.

 

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Never forget the food you have

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Rebecca Burley
White board

My white board where I write down the food I have

Many of us, myself included, have a limited number of narrow yet deep kitchen cabinets in combination with no pantry! I understand first hand how hard it can be to keep track of food buried in small cupboards. It becomes difficult to use food before it expires and keep track of the cabinet contents. So I came up with a quick solution that works great for my needs and I want to share it.

I posted a small (8×11) dry erase board on my fridge. I created two columns, one for the cabinets and one for my freezer, yet another area that food can get buried in. In one column I listed all the food items I had stashed in the deepest recesses of my cabinets such as mustard, jellies, bulk coffee purchases etc. I only wrote down the items I cannot see if I open the cabinet door.

In the other column I recorded the foods I have in my freezer, the steaks, chicken etc that I keep individually wrapped but can never see. Now with a quick glance at my white board I can know exactly what I have, where it is and how much! No more guessing and digging when I create my shopping list.

Rebecca Burley
A Spacious Place
www.TheSpaciousPlace.com
Rebecca@TheSpaciousPlace.com
978-895-6362

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Back Up Your Digital Photos

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Amanda Darlack

I can’t tell you how many parents I know whose computers have crashed and have lost hundreds of photos of their children’s early years.  When it happens, it kinda makes you sick to your stomach.

So I have a personal policy that my special photos must be stored somewhere besides my personal computer.

I usually burn the photos to a CD or DVD, but I don’t see this as a fail-safe plan because they would be destroyed if the house burnt down. (I know, I’m a little paranoid.)

To resolve this I have an account with Shutterfly and upload my special photos there.  (Snapfish is another option.)  There is no cost and no limit to how many photos I can store there.  If, heaven forbid, the computer crashes or the house burns down, they are safe.  I could download them or have an archive CD created and shipped to me.

And in the meantime, I can use my Shutterfly account to create and order photo albums and to share photos with friends and family.

Uploading doesn’t take long and the small time it does take is worth the peace of mind.

Amanda Darlack is a Professional Organizer with Living Peace LLC of Salem, MA and Winchester, MA.  Check us out at www.living-peace.com.  Or call (617) 519-5693.

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Decide to Decide: Organizing is about Follow-through

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Hillary Adams Case

In the organizing industry, we have a phrase coined by Kathy Waddill, “decide to decide.”  What does this mean?

In her book The Organizing Sourcebook, Waddill talks about “decide to decide” as the need to follow through with projects and tasks in our lives.  I see this most with my clients in the follow through of taking items designated for donation to the Salvation Army, Goodwill, donation bin, what have you.  This results in some of the items originally designated for donation creeping back into the home because the client has a chance to convince herself getting rid of the item may not be a good idea.  This behavior can be detrimental to the organizing process.

Regarless of whether you are working with an organizer or not, consider the effect your decision of bringing items back into the home is having on your overall goals and visions.

Go with your initial gut reaction when sorting an area initially. Put items designated for trash or donation in containers with lids so you will not be tempted.  Schedule a charity pick-up at the end of your organizing session. Or, plan time to take a trip to drop off donations just after you finish organizing for the week.

“Decide to decide” does not only apply to following through with removing items from the home, but also projects around the home.  Many of us are notorious for saying, “I should do ____ in my home.”  The ____ could be anything from filing papers, fixing a leaky pipe or tackling boxes still left from a move.  Whatever the task is, we need to hold ourselves accountable for following through with those tasks.  Schedule time in your week to get some work done.

Just think how much better you will feel when all those nagging projects aren’t nagging you anymore!

Hillary Adams Case is a Professional Organizer with Living Peace LLC of Salem, MA and Winchester, MA.  Check us out at www.living-peace.com.  Or call (617) 519-5693.

Hillary Adams Case

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Move Organizing- Finding your resources- An Organized Move- Part 1- NAPO-NE Video Tip

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Erin Elizabeth Wells

Erin Elizabeth Wells is a Founder and CEO of Living Peace LLC of Salem, MA and Winchester, MA and is a NAPO-NE member.  Check us out at www.living-peace.com.  Or call (617) 519-5693.

Erin W

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Re-defining “Organized” after Having Children

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Amanda Darlack

I recently ran into an old friend who was telling me about how her idea of what an “organized home” looks like has changed since she’s had children.

Before she had children, my friend was very particular about how her home looked.  Now, she has three children (including an infant) and all the equipment and toys that come with them.

Did I mention that her family lives in a two bedroom apartment and that she works from home while her husband is getting his Ph.D.?

Yes, her definition of “organized” had to change in order for her to keep her sanity.  The toys are going to be in every room of the house.  The school work is going to live on the kitchen counter.  Her office work is going to have to be in her bedroom.  And that’s OK with her.

Sometimes we have to pick our battles in order to save our sanity. My friend’s home is small and full, but she can still find what she needs when she needs it. Her home is functional.  Her family runs smoothly because she is organized.  It just doesn’t look like what she used to think “organized” looks like.

Amanda Darlack is a Professional Organizer with Living Peace LLC of Salem, MA and Winchester, MA.  Check us out at www.living-peace.com.  Or call (617) 519-5693.

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Making sense of memorabilia

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Rebecca Burley

It’s usually on the very top shelf of your closet or buried in the basement. It’s usually in a cardboard box, sometimes beaten up and ripped by multiple moves, or sometimes clean and crisp because it has never been opened. When I come across this little treasure with a client I usually hear, “Oh I know what this is…Wow it has been a long time!” Have you guessed? It is a collection of childhood, school and special memories known to most of us as personal memorabilia.

We often keep these items because they are associated with a special or significant time in history and our lives. We have the best of intentions and clients are often reluctant to let any of these items go. But they are perfectly content to pack the everything back up to be stashed away, often times where the box will remain untouched for many more years. This has always perplexed me. How can something be so important to us but not fit into our lives now? If we are not going to enjoy it in some manner why are we keeping it?

If you have things that you simply cannot bear to part with consider making it a part of your everyday surroundings. This solves two issues: boxes of items you never use will not be creating clutter and you can now enjoy the things you consider so dear! Here are a few ideas I have suggested to people for the various memorabilia I have run into:

Newspapers from important events – Get them matted and framed for display.

Collections or heirloom decorations – Display only a few at a time in your house or office and rotate the items frequently so you can enjoy them without cluttering the house.

Old kids clothes/blankets – Have the clothes made into a quilt or blanket that can be enjoyed now or given as a gift.

Old toys – Be realistic. Are you ever going to use it or will your kids use it? Probably not. Keep only a the most precious in a safe place, and take pictures of the rest before giving them away.

Trading cards – If you choose not to sell or give away the collection put the cards in an archival album so they can be viewed and enjoyed.

The bottom line is if you are not going to make room for these types of items in your life it makes little sense to keep it all hidden away. Why keep something in a box if you cannot enjoy it?

Rebecca Burley
A Spacious Place
www.TheSpaciousPlace.com
Rebecca@TheSpaciousPlace.com
978-895-6362

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How to Help Others Get Organized- NAPO-NE Video Tip

Posted on January 20, 2012 by mmurphy

Maryann Murphy, Professional Organizer and NAPO-NE member offers a suggestion of how to work with a client or family member who may be less than enthusiastic about organizing.
Learn more about Maryann on her website.

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