Organizing your Weekend can be overwhelming and before you know it ~ it's over.
Try this~
Using an agenda with time slots - (This can be your phone calendar too)
First - Plug in everything that has to be done which has a set time.
Soccer game, Dinner Engagement - Concert, etc.
Next - Look at what needs to get done ~ Laundry, mow the lawn, grocery shopping
Next - What would you want to get done? Go for a hike, read a book, breakfast with a friend
If you enter all your Have To Do - Need to Do and Want to Do into time slots they are more likely to get done. Remember that you can only do so much. Be realistic, ask for support where you can to make your day a success.
Have a great weekend.
~Eve
Friday, February 24, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Do As I Do ~ Not As I Say - Organizing The Teenager
Do As I Do ~ Not As I Say
I often get asked if it is possible to organize a teenager. One might throw in the words ADD/ADHD, but it really doesn't matter. A teenager is a teenager. Very few will be neat and orderly. We have brain studies that back this up.
When a parent tells me their child won't pick up their room and then I go into the parents room and it's not much different, it's hard to argue with the teenager that says, "why should I if they don't." When you have a maid daily that teaches the child they can leave their room in the morning looking like a tornado hit it and when they come home from school it looks like the Pottery Barn Catalog photo, they know they can't compete so they don't even try. I will talk about housekeeper and organization on another day.
Nonetheless, there is hope. We know that children learn much better from what we do than what we said. The next piece of the puzzle is to create boundaries to enforce it. Whey in comes to teenagers, pick your battles.
Here's what I do:
1) I created systems that work for my son ( who is ADD and all that stuff)
~Hooks - Hooks and Hooks ( I think 12, to be exact)
~Open bins that sit on the floor below floating bookshelves and at the foot of the bed
(Floating shelves replaced the white child bookcases he had and created more floor
space the bins (no lids - they were for toys as a kid) now they hold comic books -
magazines - computer cords - shoes - shoes - and shoes)
2) The boundary - Since mornings are difficult for my son, I forgo expecting him to pickup his room or make his bed. I am happy if he gets up, eats breakfast and out the door in time. The compromise is this: After dinner every night we have a 15 minute sweep - everyone in the house goes around and picks up what they dumped through out the day - and puts it away. All clothing in his room has to be on hooks, put away or in the laundry but nothing on the floor before going to bed. When they see you going around picking up your stuff during the sweep and putting it away then it becomes harder for them to argue. Do as I do, not as I say. Does it work? 85% of the time..... yes. I pick my battles - he's a teenager.
3) When you have systems and boundaries it keeps the sense of chaos down to a minimum and when you really feel like you need things to get back in place, it's easy because everything has a home.
So, create systems and boundaries and you will introduce your teenager to habits and responsibility.
~Eve
Here's a floating shelf desk concept from The Container Store - These work great in teenager's rooms. The floor space can be used for open bins as well.
I often get asked if it is possible to organize a teenager. One might throw in the words ADD/ADHD, but it really doesn't matter. A teenager is a teenager. Very few will be neat and orderly. We have brain studies that back this up.
When a parent tells me their child won't pick up their room and then I go into the parents room and it's not much different, it's hard to argue with the teenager that says, "why should I if they don't." When you have a maid daily that teaches the child they can leave their room in the morning looking like a tornado hit it and when they come home from school it looks like the Pottery Barn Catalog photo, they know they can't compete so they don't even try. I will talk about housekeeper and organization on another day.
Nonetheless, there is hope. We know that children learn much better from what we do than what we said. The next piece of the puzzle is to create boundaries to enforce it. Whey in comes to teenagers, pick your battles.
Here's what I do:
1) I created systems that work for my son ( who is ADD and all that stuff)
~Hooks - Hooks and Hooks ( I think 12, to be exact)
~Open bins that sit on the floor below floating bookshelves and at the foot of the bed
(Floating shelves replaced the white child bookcases he had and created more floor
space the bins (no lids - they were for toys as a kid) now they hold comic books -
magazines - computer cords - shoes - shoes - and shoes)
2) The boundary - Since mornings are difficult for my son, I forgo expecting him to pickup his room or make his bed. I am happy if he gets up, eats breakfast and out the door in time. The compromise is this: After dinner every night we have a 15 minute sweep - everyone in the house goes around and picks up what they dumped through out the day - and puts it away. All clothing in his room has to be on hooks, put away or in the laundry but nothing on the floor before going to bed. When they see you going around picking up your stuff during the sweep and putting it away then it becomes harder for them to argue. Do as I do, not as I say. Does it work? 85% of the time..... yes. I pick my battles - he's a teenager.
3) When you have systems and boundaries it keeps the sense of chaos down to a minimum and when you really feel like you need things to get back in place, it's easy because everything has a home.
So, create systems and boundaries and you will introduce your teenager to habits and responsibility.
~Eve
Here's a floating shelf desk concept from The Container Store - These work great in teenager's rooms. The floor space can be used for open bins as well.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Pretty and Functional
See Jane Work does such a great job at creating pretty and functional items for your all your office needs at home and work~
Here's a sample from my book 31 spaces 31 days
Here's a sample from my book 31 spaces 31 days
and how I like to use their products~
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| See Jane Work~ Pretty and Functional - click above link to view at See Jane Work Website |
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| Click on this version to see inside the book |
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
New Testimonial ~ Just in on Facebook~
Leanne Schlinger Overton ~ Santa Barbara, CA
esign and the tips you gave me....you are a professional organizer and fashion coach all in one :) Our guest room closet has twice the space and we can't wait for what you come up with for our master closet. You are amazing. Many, many thanks.
One suggestion I gave Leanne was to get bins like these to store all her sandals and flip flops. One basket can store 12 pair. Height of basket should not be more than 6" so you can see the shoes. One basket takes up the space of one-two pairs of shoes sitting on the floor. This is a much better use of your space when you need shoe storage.
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| The Container Store |
Monday, February 13, 2012
Forget the file cabinet~
Forget the file cabinet
( Kid's, Bills, Medical, Travel, etc.) ~ Eve
Brocade Desktop File - The Container Store
Common Areas ~ What's the purpose of your room?
Formal Living Room or?
If this is
your “pretty” room and you don’t want kids or your partner’s stuff here? If you
have a family room in addition to a formal living room then the formal living
usually becomes the least used room in the home. The irony is a lot of times,
this is the larger of the two rooms.
I recently
was at a client’s home who was frustrated that every time she had her extended
family over she had to move furniture around. She had to add folding tables and
make “do” with the limited space of the separate dining room and kitchen area
to seat everyone. After she told me this I looked at the dining room 10x10
space with the table, china hutch and 2 buffets. I then looked at the gorgeous
living room with a fireplace, high ceiling, grand piano, couch, sitting chairs
and bridge table. She said she never used this room. I instantly said, “why not
switch the furniture of the two rooms to support your needs.”
She never
thought of this because she saw the living room as a “living room” and the
dining room as the “dining room”. But, she
loved the idea. We did some measuring and found that we could move pieces of
the living room into the dining room and then move the dining room pieces into
the living room. I wish I had the before and after of this, but I don’t because
on the day I came back to do the move things had started to happen already.
(Lesson learned – should have taken the photos the day I was there.) We moved
the couch, one side table, the bridge table, console table and another piece or
two into the dining area and it became this fabulous reading/sitting/bridge
room. We put the dining table in the middle of the living room, added the two
leaves and the table became the center piece of the room. All the support
pieces, china hutch, buffet, etc. fit perfect in the room. The piano accents
the space for entertaining and we created 2 sitting areas with wing chairs. In
addition to entertaining her extended family for meals at the table, the client
hosts weekly events for fundraisers, meetings, etc. and now this room can support
those needs as well.
Thinking
how you function in a room is essential to being organized. Now, instead of
having to move things around each time guests come and disrupt spaces, the
client’s environment stays more organized and each room has what it needs all
the time.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Organization as a Lifestyle
Organization is thought of in many ways. A sense of order, simplicity, less is more, pretty spaces and systems that support the way you live, to name a few. However; in the end, it is about choosing organization as a lifestyle that brings together all of the above with the philosophy of being mindful about your stuff on a daily basis. I have seen how belongings can take over your life and the loss of control people feel.
I often get asked, "how do you know where to begin?". The answer is different depending on what motivates you. For some, I say start with what is bothering you the most, but that can be a daunting thought, so I might suggest starting with an easy area that you can see some gratification in a short period of time. Enroll friends, support and anything else that will get you going. Good snacks can help!
I always find it interesting when a client calls me and says they want to decorate and get new furniture, etc. but haven't cleaned out the space yet. Purge first, purchase products later. For those who have a lot to go through, take baby steps, start with getting rid of what you don't need or want in a specific area, then go back and assess what systems you need. It's always easier to to assess how you want a space to function with what you are left with after you purge then deciding on what you need before.
I often get asked, "how do you know where to begin?". The answer is different depending on what motivates you. For some, I say start with what is bothering you the most, but that can be a daunting thought, so I might suggest starting with an easy area that you can see some gratification in a short period of time. Enroll friends, support and anything else that will get you going. Good snacks can help!
I always find it interesting when a client calls me and says they want to decorate and get new furniture, etc. but haven't cleaned out the space yet. Purge first, purchase products later. For those who have a lot to go through, take baby steps, start with getting rid of what you don't need or want in a specific area, then go back and assess what systems you need. It's always easier to to assess how you want a space to function with what you are left with after you purge then deciding on what you need before.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
the Daily Practice.sos by everything's organized: Getting Ready for Tax Season
the Daily Practice.sos by everything's organized: Getting Ready for Tax Season: Tax season is just around the corner~ Rather than dreading tax season, wouldn't it be amazing if you just got it done. Being an organize...
Getting Ready for Tax Season
Tax season is just around the corner~
Rather than dreading tax season, wouldn't it be amazing if you just got it done.
Being an organizer I am one step ahead of the game each year. When tax season roles around, it's just easy. Why? I plan through out the year. It is a daily practice. It's also never been easier.
With downloading expenses from the bank into programs like Quicken or QuickBooks all you really need to spend some time setting it up initially and then committing to when you will download the information. I do it weekly and sometimes bi-weekly depending on how much activity has gone on in my accounts. I manage 5 accounts for me and 4 for a clients including 7 credit cards. Sounds daunting? Not really - it takes less than 1 hour a month to update everything and at the end of the year, all my expenses are calculated. My tax calculations are ready by Jan 5th, every year. Not trying to show off, just want you to see that if you do it through out the year, the stress is minimal.
The real work comes in setting it up. Knowing what you need each year and making sure your categories reflect that. If you are not good at setting this up, get someone to help. Plan on 2-5 hours depending on how many accounts you need to do. Just paying bills online is not enough for taxes. Downloading into programs that categorize expenses is the next step. There are some cyberspace programs like Mozy.com and some new Apps ( I am not totally up on all this ) for those who really want to make it simple. Either way, I encourage you to set up your systems now for this year so you will be ready for next year.
As for this year, if you have not set up your system to give you expense reports for taxes then the best way for you to get ready for tax season is the following:
a) Make a list of what categories you need for tax purposes.
b) Sort through all last year documents and make piles by category
c) Toss any paper work that is not tax related or informational that you need for referencing.
c) Receipts - if you are an independent contractor - meals, entertainment, travel. parking/car, medical expenses, etc.
If you are not sure what you need - get a copy of last years return and follow the same guidelines or ask your accountant.
Start early - take baby steps. Think of it this way, if you set aside 4- 6 - one hour time slots or 8-12, 30 minute time slots between now and March 15th, you most likely will be done collecting all you need.
Remember if you just say when you will do it...it will get done :)
~Eve
Rather than dreading tax season, wouldn't it be amazing if you just got it done.
Being an organizer I am one step ahead of the game each year. When tax season roles around, it's just easy. Why? I plan through out the year. It is a daily practice. It's also never been easier.
With downloading expenses from the bank into programs like Quicken or QuickBooks all you really need to spend some time setting it up initially and then committing to when you will download the information. I do it weekly and sometimes bi-weekly depending on how much activity has gone on in my accounts. I manage 5 accounts for me and 4 for a clients including 7 credit cards. Sounds daunting? Not really - it takes less than 1 hour a month to update everything and at the end of the year, all my expenses are calculated. My tax calculations are ready by Jan 5th, every year. Not trying to show off, just want you to see that if you do it through out the year, the stress is minimal.
The real work comes in setting it up. Knowing what you need each year and making sure your categories reflect that. If you are not good at setting this up, get someone to help. Plan on 2-5 hours depending on how many accounts you need to do. Just paying bills online is not enough for taxes. Downloading into programs that categorize expenses is the next step. There are some cyberspace programs like Mozy.com and some new Apps ( I am not totally up on all this ) for those who really want to make it simple. Either way, I encourage you to set up your systems now for this year so you will be ready for next year.
As for this year, if you have not set up your system to give you expense reports for taxes then the best way for you to get ready for tax season is the following:
a) Make a list of what categories you need for tax purposes.
b) Sort through all last year documents and make piles by category
c) Toss any paper work that is not tax related or informational that you need for referencing.
c) Receipts - if you are an independent contractor - meals, entertainment, travel. parking/car, medical expenses, etc.
If you are not sure what you need - get a copy of last years return and follow the same guidelines or ask your accountant.
Start early - take baby steps. Think of it this way, if you set aside 4- 6 - one hour time slots or 8-12, 30 minute time slots between now and March 15th, you most likely will be done collecting all you need.
Remember if you just say when you will do it...it will get done :)
~Eve
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