by Heidi | Dec 7, 2011 | Uncategorized
Christmas is supposed to be a time of ‘Comfort and Joy,’ a time when our days are ‘Merry & Bright’ and our nights filled with ‘Heavenly Peace.’ More often than not, however, these end up being the most hurried, busy, and chaotic days of our year.
With a little intentional planning and strategic time management (and dare I add limitations), your holiday season CAN leave you feeling ‘Holly & Jolly’ rather than ‘Bah Humbug!’
Take some time to PLAN & PREPARE before even beginning tasks surrounding Holiday festivities.
Do your best to ‘batch tasks‘ into small easy-to-complete steps that can span over a few days. This will serve to keep you from feeling overwhelmed and will guarantee to keep you more productive in the long run.
~Greeting Cards~
- Compile a list of names and addresses of who you’d like to send a card/photo or greeting to
- Purchase enough cards and envelopes
- Purchase postage
- Begin addressing envelopes only (even if it’s just a few a night)
- Another day/time stuff all of the envelopes (again, just a few at a time is still progress)
- Seal envelopes
- Attach postage
- Mail!
*Some services like Shutterfly and SendOutCards will take care of steps 2-8 for you!
~Gift Purchasing~
- Consider your overall budget for gift giving
- Compile a list of names of friends/family/neighbors you’d like to give a gift to
- Brainstorm options of gifts for everyone on your list. (Give similar clutter-free gifts to multiple recipients where possible)
- Set aside a day (or a few days) to purchase gifts on your list plus any wrapping materials staying within your budget
- Wrap gifts and label with recipients name
- Prepare for shipping or set aside for personal delivery
*Click on image above to print your own Master Gift Checklist.
(found via Christmas.organizedhome.com.)
~Holiday Parties, Activities & Celebrations~
Try to limit your holiday parties and activities so that you and your family are not overwhelmed. A couple of events a week may be fine, but having an obligation every day can quickly lead to Holiday stress and anxiety (especially in children).
Choose a few of your favorite activities as a family and don’t feel as though you have to attend each and every celebration you’re invited to.
If you are hosting a Holiday gathering, I would encourage you to also check out the article,
‘5 Tips for Avoiding Mistakes in Holiday Entertaining’
by Heidi | Nov 3, 2011 | Uncategorized
I’m not a huge fan of grocery shopping.
I like to get in and out of the store as fast as possible.
I have found that the best way to do this starts with preparing my grocery list at home.
Once I’ve planned my menu for the week, I write out a list by category of where the food is shelved in the grocery store.
It streamlines my shopping experience SO much when I can see exactly what I need as I’m moving through different areas of the store.
I also don’t loose time back-tracking through the store like I was apt to do when shopping without an organized list.
I’ve made a template to share with you as well! Click on the text link below for a FREE printable grocery list template download!
Happy Shopping!
{This post has been added to a collection of other handmade creations at Tip Junkie}
by Heidi | Oct 23, 2011 | Uncategorized
A large calendar is a key tool to keep any and every family organized. Post one in a central location (like this charming kitchen office nook), so it’s easy for everyone to see at-a-glance who needs to be where and when. Consider assigning each family member their own color to label events & reminders.
A basic Dry Erase Calendar
similar to the one featured above is an easy choice in any home:
Here’s a few more fun options:
Paint a calendar with chalkboard paint right on the wall!
A kitchen or office would be a great location.
Another fun DIY option –
Create a calendar out of a large cork board:
Or, personalize that simple white board option with something like this framed message center:
If your family is more technically driven, here’s a few online options to consider:
Do you currently use a family calendar?
Which one of these is your personal favorite?
by Heidi | Oct 15, 2011 | Uncategorized
Managing a Home is no small task. I’ve created a few printable checklists to help keep you on track and hopefully feel a bit more balanced as well. Click on the title links below to download & print. (I plan to laminate and use with a Wet Erase Marker):
Daily Duties:
This form is intended to help remind you of all the basic routine tasks that help keep your home running smoothly. There are open spaces to fill in your own visual reminders as well.
Weekly Tasks:
This form was created to be used in conjunction with the Daily Duties form (fill in your choices on the ‘Weekly Cleaning’ blanks) as well as a space to plan your menu for the wee
There are a few different approaches a home manager can take in completing weekly cleaning and home maintenance tasks.
- Complete all tasks in one day
- Designate one or two tasks to be completed on specific days of the week.
- Daily Docket Approach – complete list of tasks on various days by weeks end. (this seems to be the most workable approach for at home parents with small children or a home manager who needs a flexible schedule)
Monthly Musts: This form was created to help a home manager avoid the dreaded ‘Spring Cleaning’ and instead complete one big cleaning chore every month throughout the year. The other column serve as a reminder of other tasks that should be tended to each month. Don’t forget date night! 🙂 There is a check box to complete these type of tasks on the Weekly Task form as well.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Perhaps you’re currently feeling completely overwhelmed by your clutter & mounting personal organizing goals?? Or, maybe there is a space or two in your home that simply needs a fresh set of objective eyes to to bring to its fullest organized potential?
Maybe having an organizing buddy, cheerleader and coach that could encourage you one-on-one would be just the solution you need to achieve the success you need and deserve – to allow you to live a more peaceful life you LOVE with more time and energy to fully and freely participate in activities and hobbies you enjoy!
Would you like to work with a Professional home organizer based near Atlanta, Georgia?
We currently serve clients in the surrounding metro area as well as Marietta, Kennesaw, Acworth, Peachtree City, Fayetteville, Newnan and expanding!
Contact Heidi to learn more about how to get organized with our professional organizer services. Operation Organization by Heidi provides customized organizing solutions to ‘cure’ your unique clutter challenge / condition.
Call: 770-847-0329 or Email: OperationOrganizationByHeidi@gmail.com to learn more.
by Heidi | Oct 6, 2011 | Uncategorized
One thing I’ve learned as a professional organizer is that storage solutions in a home are generally not always permanent. Our lives are always in motion, our responsibilities and interests change over time and old ones are set aside. You’ll find that storage solutions and systems may need to be re-evaluated and allowed to evolve in order to better suit these changes in different seasons and stages of life.
Be on the lookout for ways to re-purpose the furniture and materials you stow items in/with so they are more suitable for the life you are living right now.
I always enjoy seeing how other people organize their belonging in real life, so, I thought I’d share an example of storage evolution that has taken place in our home/s over the years…
My husband and I inherited this simple hutch from my parents as newly weds about 11 years ago. (we were both fresh out of college with not much furniture.) I suppose you could consider it a family heirloom as it was hand made by my great uncle. It was a natural pine color that I eventually painted.
It’s been moved from one home to another many times over and has landed in several different types of rooms to suit the needs of our family for that particular season of life.
Our first year of marriage it was in an extra bedroom of our first apartment that we utilized as an office space. At that time it held a few extra office supplies like paper, file folders plus a few crafting materials.
When we moved on to a new city and state a few years later it would land in another extra bedroom that I was able to utilize as a scrapbooking studio (lucky me, right?).
A year later, it found it’s way to the dining room in a small 1 bedroom apartment. I then used it to store games for a while and eventually baby clothes as our first born child entered our lives and the rest of the baby gear (portable crib and changing table) shared space in a nearby office nook just off the dining room for a short while.
We soon moved yet again to another new city and state and it landed in our living room. It housed a few toys for our growing babe in the bottom cabinet, drawers were utilized to contain library books and movies that needed to be returned as well as a small portion of our music collection on CD. Each my husband and I used one of the smaller top drawers to hold loose change and cell phones/wallet etc.
A few years later, we added yet another child to our crew and our extra bedroom/office was destined to become a nursery. The hutch then held a good portion of our personal book library for a season.
Fast forward about 2 years and it found it’s way to our present home in our dining room (a-joined to our living room) Initially it held our dvd collection and acted as a homework/chore station for our eldest child.
At present it is still in that same location in our dining room, but the dvd collection has been re-located so the bottom half can now be Operation Organization Command central:
I office out of the home since most of my organizing work takes place on location in clients homes and/or small business. We have a family desktop computer on the opposite side of the room, but it is on a surface with no storage. The magazine files hold inspiration and idea files and magazines. The black bag is what I use to hold my organizing tools (label maker, tape measure, clip board, notebook, camera, business cards and active client files etc). for my ‘on location’ consultations. The white bin houses printables and various checklists that I like to have copies of to provide to my current clients and to offer as hand-outs at my organizing presentations and workshops. The blue box is a hanging file box that houses all my client files plus general business resources.
One top drawer holds mints, an extra cartridge + manual for my label maker, a pocket filer to house business related receipts on one side, and a stock of business cards:
Extra change, back up camera, GPS + charging cords/devices for everything is stowed in the other.
Onto the bottom drawers – one is used to house a binder that I collect and organize various blog article ideas. That scroll of paper is a vinyl quote that I won on a blog give-away…it has a future nearby this piece of furniture eventually…
The second drawer is still a homework station for my eldest child that is currently in first grade. He brings a homework packet home every Monday and is required to turn it back in on Friday. We keep it here so he always knows where to find and return it after completing a page or so a day at the dining room table. Our dining table has a handy drawer on either end that holds pencils and sharpeners.
There you have it!
I know we still have another move (or two) coming in our future, so this ol’ hutch may still have a few more evolutions yet…
Do you have a piece of furniture that has been re-purposed one or more times over the years to better suit your family needs? Do you see potential for evolution in others?
by Heidi | Sep 22, 2011 | Uncategorized
Giving children a small amount of age appropriate chores is a wonderful way to help them feel as though they are contributing to the family, introducing them the life skill of home management as well as developing a healthy work ethic. It also provides a wonderful opportunity to instill a sense of personal responsibility which will also serve to build their self esteem.
In addition to daily routine self care responsibilities, there are several household chores that are manageable even for toddlers.
Here’s a sampling of a few age appropriate chores:
*Age 2-3 *
- Pick up toys
- ‘Help’ make beds
- ‘Help’ feed pets
- Dust low shelves
- Carry flatware and {non breakable} dishes to and from the table
- Carry dirty laundry to basket or specified area
* Age 4-5 * (in addition to above list)
- Make a bed {with a simple comforter}
- Empty waste baskets
- Bring in the mail
- Water plants
- Set Table
- Unload and help put away groceries
- Help with light yard work (picking up sticks and rocks before mowing)
* Between 6-8 years of age*
(any of the above list, plus…)
- Keep their room and play areas neat and tidy
- Water plants
- Pour drinks
- Make beds
- Sort laundry
- Sweep floors
- Fold clothing
- Put away clean clothes
- Assist with basic food preparations
- Help wash cars
- Answer phones
* 9-10 years of age *
(any of the above list, plus…)
- Change sheets
- Help with meal preparations (like peeling veggies and measuring ingredients)
- Prepare simple snacks
- Wash dishes and/or load/unload dishwasher
- Walk and clean up after pets
- Vacuum
- Sweep
- Take garbage out
- Help with yard work (pulling weeds, raking leaves)
*Age 11 and up*
(more ‘adult’ chores can be introduced in addition to chores listed above)
- Plan and cook meals (with adult supervision)
- Wash their own laundry
- Clean bathrooms
- Change light bulbs
- Mop floors
- Mow lawn
- Clean out garage/shed
- Supervise younger children with adult at home
One of the best ways to introduce and motivate children to complete chores is with visual charts or checklists. With very small children, verbal encouragement goes a long way. Older children may do well with an extra monetary incentive, but that depends are your personal family values.
Here’s a few options:
Create your own custom chore cards with photos of your home like these featured on The Creative Mama.
Let kids choose their own chores on a rotation basis with this Free Printable Kid’s Job Application and Job Cards courtesy of Living Locurto.
Tip Junkie featured a fun {printable}weekly cart and ticket system .
Children are rewarded with tickets for completing chores or by displaying good behavior which can be redeemed for store items or activity rewards.Conversely, tickets can be taken away for failure to complete chores or bad behavior
If you’ve ever considered connecting an allowance to chores, My Job Cart.Com offers a great online chore chart and reward system that is free, easy to use, and will help in organizing and motivating your kids not only to complete chores, but also to learn first hand how to Save, Share and Spend.
For even more chart ideas, check out this article:
‘Ease Morning Madness with Routine Charts for Kids‘
