Tag: Professional Organizing

Shop Your Own Stuff First

It’s fair to say, most of us have plenty of stuff.  Sometimes, more stuff than we need!  And sometimes, we have excessive amounts of things, but we STILL CAN’T FIND THEM!  ( So frustrating, I know.)

I taught two classes in Woodbridge this summer. A participant who attended both was chatting with me before the second class began.  She said that my advice to “shop your stuff first” had really resonated with her. She used the example of deviled ham:  Her husband had a taste for deviled ham, and asked her to pick some up at the store when she was out. She asked him if he had checked the cabinet first, and proceeded to find 4 cans of ham in the cabinet already. This is not a criticism, by any means, because many of us operate exactly that way! It happens!

Cleaning out a client’s linen closet last week, she kept exclaiming “Oh great, I was just going to have to go buy this or that” when we came across new items like cleaning supplies, unwrapped pillowcases and sheet sets, first aid supplies, light bulbs, etc.

I’ve been in homes with overcrowded bathroom storage and linen closets, with a dozen rolls of toilet paper in every storage space… except the bathroom that needed some!

The moral of this story (or this blog article, at least), is to Always Shop Your Own Stuff First.

Shopping Your Own Stuff First helps you:

  • Save money by not re-buying items, and by using up your stuff before it has a chance to expire;
  • Save time by reducing your errands and shopping; and
  • Cut down on clutter by avoiding excess stock piles of stuff

But to make the “Shop Your Own Stuff First” advice work, we need to set our homes up to succeed.

Determine what you have.

Explore all those places in your home where you stash purchased inventory.  Perhaps your closets, cabinets, laundry or utility rooms, your car’s trunk, the garage, etc.?

Establish a home (or homes)  for storing your inventory. 

We have chrome shelves in the laundry room where we keep our extra pantry supply inventory like paper towels, toilet paper, light bulbs and cleaning supplies.  As we use items, we restock from this inventory.

For the client and her linen closet I mentioned earlier, we established one shelf in her large closet, at eye level, for all her different types of inventory. Now she can tell at a glance what she has and what she needs to restock.

Always shop those storage areas first!

Working with a client last week, we were preparing for a party.  She had pulled out her stock of tea lights, other candles and candle sticks, and filled in as much as she could with what she had before purchasing more.

We have a cabinet with school supplies like new notebooks, folders, loose leaf paper, pens, etc.  Today before we headed to Office Max / Depot, the high-schooler first checked our supplies to determine what we already had and what we still needed.

Shop differently:

  • ALWAYS Shop Your Stuff First!
  • Always use a list.
  • Know yourself and your family.  Don’t buy what you won’t use.  An 18 pack of toilet paper that no one likes is not a deal, no matter how cheap it was.

Creating this one good habit, of Shopping Your Own Stuff First, can save you time and money and eliminate hassle and clutter in your home!

To:

Receive more ideas and suggestions like these;
Book time with me in person or virtually;
Arrange a presentation for your upcoming event; or
Discover the benefits of Organizational Coaching;

Please contact me.

Call / text 708.790.1940
Online at  http://peaceofmindpo.com
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Start With “Of Course I Can” and Go From There

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Start with “Of course I can” and go from there.  Are you thinking “Ok, ‘Of course I can … What’?”  Well, my friend, that is up to you.  But you can do it, whatever it is you focus your mind and heart and efforts on to accomplish.

Let me start with this week’s conclusions:

  • The power of positive thought is remarkable. And if we pay attention, we see obstacles disappearing.
  • We can make time for the things that are important to us.
  • The Holidays are a busy and wonderful time, and they can also be an opportunity for positive change.

I spent 10 hours alone in the car last week, on a brief but important road trip to Ohio for my uncle’s funeral.  He was a good man.

At first, I did not know if I would be able to attend since life is busy with family, work and the holidays.  I was able to attend, though, because of my awesome family and because God cleared the obstacles.  It really was amazing.

If I had focused on all the reasons why I should not go, well, then, I would not have gone.  Instead, I focused on how to make the trip happen, and it happened.  Try it.  Start with “Of course I can                “ instead of “No way, I can’t                              , not in December or today or at this age”.  And see how differently you feel.

We make time for the things that are important to us.  What is important to you?  My niece took an honors placement exam very early this past Saturday at her (hopefully) future university, then drove 2 hours home in time for a Choir performance.  Because both were important enough to make time for.  My son was double-booked last week with a volleyball tournament and dress rehearsals for a play, but he handled it all, with help, because it is all important.

What is important to you?  Really important?  Now figure out how to make time for it.

As often happens with lone road trips, I sing loudly, say a rosary, listen to a book on tape, then I let my brain mull over challenges I am facing.

  • Holiday party planning?  Check
  • Christmas Dinner menu?  Done.
  • To-Do List?  Check, check.
  • Idea for presentation next week?  Yep, check.
  • New promotional ideas.  Done.
  • Other projects for December – get through my professional and personal reading back-log… ummm….
  • Stratetgy to get back on track with weight and wellness?  Ummmm…….

Screeching halt (thoughts, not car).  I am driving through Northern Indiana, eating Mike and Ikes, watching the sunset. Professional Reading Project?  Healthy eating?  In December?  All the reasons why these would not work zipped through my brain.

Who has the time?  For work or health?  What about all the parties?  And the holiday foods?  And it’s cold outside!   I should eat more salads, but I don’t like eating salads or exercising outside (as preferred) in the winter.

However, I get frustrated with clients and friends who take the whole month of December off from making positive progress. So, learning from recent experience, I looked at the situation though the lenses of “Of Course I Can” and “removing the obstacles”.

Reading project?  in December?  Why not?  Nothing new on TV, might as well read!

And healthy eating?  Why not?  I make the menus, I can certainly add healthier items.  The parties we’re attending?  I can eat lighter through the day, or be more selective at the parties.

Who has the time?  Well, we could walk to school and to run errands, instead of driving.  And it’s not that cold yet!  Obviously I can find the time when something is important enough.

I started positive change that moment, last week, on that very drive home.  I put away the Mike & Ikes, and ate my apple instead.  And I did NOT stop for fast food for dinner, but waited 2 hours to eat healthy at home.  And today, I made a crock pot of minestrone soup minus the pasta, to replace salads for lunches this week.

So my challenge to you this week is to fill in the blank for yourself:  “Of course I Can                              “.  And see how far a positive outlook can take you.  Remember:

  • The power of positive thought is remarkable. And if we pay attention, we see obstacles disappearing.
  • We can make time for the things that are important to us.
  • The Holidays are a busy and wonderful time, but they can also be a time for positive change.

Six Essential Steps to An Organized Desk

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Spend an hour on your desk for National Clean off your Desk Day!   

     Focus on visual results, and save acting on ideas for another day. Corral your papers into meaningful places, so you can see what you have and start getting things done.

     Most folks are capable of sorting and piling papers into categories of their own choosing. But mid-sort, they find they need to reclaim their work space, and the papers get piled together again and set aside, instead of finding a new home. So the desk stays a mess, and they never feel “done”.

     Another challenge with papers is that they typically represent something else, like a memory, an event, a task to complete or an idea we want to keep. Acknowledging that, you need a physical storage system for your papers and ideas, and the motivation and perseverance to finish and maintain your system.  Here is what you need to do: 

    1. Remove non work related items from your desk (see last year’s blog for a list).
    2. Set up a physical system for Passive Papers (Idea from Freedom Filer, and tweaked for my clients!).
      1. Passive Papers have been acted upon, and now wait for a pre-determined time until they are no longer needed for reference (e.g., receipts, paid bills, balanced bank statements, etc.).
      2. The storage system consists of 24 hanging folders in an open top vertical holder on your desktop
        (preferred) or a very near desk drawer.  Label the folders 2 for each month, with a  “- Even Year” or  “- Odd Year” tacked on the end.  You will end up with two full years of folders, one set for last year (2011, ending in “- Odd Year”), and one for this year (“ –  Even Year”).  The Odd Year folders will hold last year’s papers from your desktop, and the Even Year folders are for adding to during 2012.  Few papers need to be kept longer than one calendar year. 
    3. Set up a physical system for Active Papers, also in an open vertical folder holder on your desk top, with folder names based on What Actions To Take or By Project, or sometimes, both!  For Example:
      1. What Actions To Take:  Receipts for Reimbursement; Calls to Make; Bills to Pay; Forms to complete and return; or Coupons, gift cards and shopping ideas.
      2. By Project (examples from my desk):  Past clients to check in with; Proposal for Home Office and Productivity Class Series; LLC Research and Paperwork; Event Folder, May Communion Party.
      3. Strategic Management, product development ideas
    4. Set up a box for Archival Papers / Treasures.  Archival Papers are long-term record keeping papers, like home purchase papers, filed taxes, appliance manuals and warranties, wills, etc.  Treasures are school project, travel papers, received greeting cards, photos, etc.  These are all projects for another day, get them off your desk.
    5. Grab two bags, one each for papers to shred later and recycling, and start distributing your desk papers to their new homes.  Grab a notebook and jot ideas down as they occur to you, do not get distracted and lose focus.
    6. Now, Get Up and Put Your Stuff Away.  You have distributed your papers to your new folders, but you may have other items that need to go elsewhere in your home or office.  Get up and Put Them Away in their final homes.  Even if this 10 minutes is in the middle of your project, Get Up and Put them away.  Then bask in the glow of your clean desk top, and keep going.  A fellow organizer calls this the Stand And Deliver step, but I can’t find out who that was, and I would happily give her credit.  The point is…. Embrace “Done”!  And feel good about your efforts!

Next Week I will offer some insight on work-flow and productivity, to get things done now that your desk is looking better!