Recommended Reading to ‘Get Organized’

by Heidi | Oct 31, 2013 | Uncategorized

Welcome to ‘Day 30’ in the month long series of articles cataloging
 Simple Organizing Solutions!  

What would you do if you wanted to learn and develop a new skill?  You would seek out the advice and knowledge from others.  Take classes, seek a coach, etc.   Here’s a few links to continue your organizing ‘education’:

 3 TRICKS to Take the ‘Work’ out of Housework
Key Quote: 
“By changing our thinking, focusing on why we take care of our home and family, and being grateful for our blessings, we can do all the chores and checklists with a glad heart.”

WHY Get Organized
 “Being organized isn’t about being perfect…”

Goal Planning the SMART Way  
 ” In order to be successful in achieving your goals, you must begin with a PLAN”

Finding the TIME to Get Organized
 “The way we spend our time is one of the biggest indicators of what we truly value in life.
If getting organized is a value and goal you want to achieve, it must become a priority – and it will require your time.”

How to Develop a Routine That Works (and stick with it!)
 “You need a routine. It will calm your chaos and bring rhythm, order, and peace to your days.”

You Asked, I Answered: How Can I Stay Organized? 

“Organization is unfortunately NOT a “once and done” type of thing — and that’s the main reason it’s so frustrating for people….”

 The Solution to STAYING Organized
 “often people find that the *getting organized* is simply not a guarantee that you’ll STAY organized.”

How to Get Organized?  Follow these PROCESS Steps
 “When organizing a space it is helpful to follow a series of tasks or actions…”

10 Ways to Simplify Life by Color Coding

by Heidi | Oct 29, 2013 | Uncategorized

Welcome to ‘Day 29’ in the month long series of articles cataloging
 Simple Organizing Solutions!  

If you’ve been reading from the beginning, you’ve hopefully already, 1) Gotten the right mindset and motivation needed to get organized.  2) Zeroed in on one small area to focus your efforts.  3) Have begun narrowing down your belongings to what what you love, use and actually have the room to store. and 4) Considered how to cut clutter at the source by giving each item a specific ‘home’ stored in groups of like items (5) & set a maintenance plan in motion.

An extremely simple yet effective way to organize your home and lifestyle is by…

COLOR CODING!

File Folders

Separate and group filed papers by type:

via a bowl full of lemons

Toni’s System: 

Write out all of your filing needs onto a piece of paper, then categorize each of them into 5 main colored sections.

1.  Green – Bills & Banking

2. Orange – Taxes & Income

3. Red – Medical & Pets

4. Yellow – House & Auto

5. Blue – Memberships, School, Vacation & Other

Other Examples:

Red Folders – Important / Vital Documents (Birth Certificate, Medical Records, Deeds, etc)
Orange Folders – Annually Updated Documents (Policies, Regulations, etc)
Dark Blue Folders – Tax Archives (Tax Returns)
Light Blue Folders – Annual Tax Documents (W2, 1099, Deductions, etc)
Green Folders – Monthly Documents (Monthly Statements, Petty Receipts, etc)
Purple Folders – Hobbies & Interests (Extracurricular Activities, Collections, etc)

Don’t want to invest money into new folders?
Simply add a specific color to the label portion of the file folder with marker or sticker to separate certain types of files:

 via

Planning / Task Management :

via tatertots & jello

via saving sanity and cents

Color Coded Calendars/Planners:

 via

 via

You could also use a highlighter, multi-colored pens, or stickers to color code a personal planner.

In the Closet:

Designate one color of hanger per each person sharing a closet (especially helpful in a shared children’s closet)

Maintain a color coded wardrobe by sectioning clothing with the help of paint chips!

via Jenny Meier

Color Code the Whole Family:

Eliminate the guess work of what belongs to whom within the home by assigning a specific color to common household belongings for each family member.

 via The Anderson Crew Blog

 Emily shares:

…this has made life way easier as i’m no longer saying “whose is this cup?  who was drinking from this last?  who used this towel?  etc.”

via ~ Life as a Mother…of Many

Allison Renee shares:

“…being a homeschool mom, I decided to color code our school things as well.  It is amazing.  No more squabbling over who stole whose pencil.  It is obvious whose pencil it is and we don’t need a judge and jury to get the verdict…”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Some fantastic ideas, right?!

What are you now itching to color code in your home??

Click here for a full index list of articles from this series 

Rock’n AWESOME Organizing & Clutter-Busting Soundtrack!

by Heidi | Oct 28, 2013 | Uncategorized

Welcome to ‘Day 28’ in the month long series of articles cataloging
 Simple Organizing Solutions!  

Get that ‘Make it Happen’ attitude with
“What a Feeling”

 

Get charged up to WHIP your space into shape!
with Devo’s “Whip It”

 

Put clutter ‘in it’s place’ while jamming to
“Hit Me With Your Best Shot”

Defeat any negative attitudes of pessimism or feelings of being over-whelmed with
Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”

Motivate yourself to ‘soldier on’ through sorting with
“St. Elmos Fire  – Man in Motion”

Rise up to the challenge of tackling a space or trouble spot you’ve been ignoring for far too long with Survivor’s,
‘ Eye of the Tiger’

“Don’t Stop Believing” in your dreams of organized bliss!!

When you can see the finish line of your goal ahead, keep your motivation strong with inspiration from the ‘Chariots of Fire’ opening scene:

You can build a beautifully organized space…
“Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us {you} Now”!!

Simple Labeling Solutions

by Heidi | Oct 27, 2013 | Uncategorized

Welcome to ‘Day 26’ in the month long series of articles cataloging
 Simple Organizing Solutions!  

If you’ve been reading from the beginning, you’ve hopefully already, 1) Gotten the right mindset and motivation needed to get organized.  2) Zeroed in on one small area to focus your efforts.  3) Have begun narrowing down your belongings to what what you love, use and actually have the room to store. and 4) Considered how to cut clutter at the source by giving each item a specific ‘home’ stored in groups of like items (5) & set a maintenance plan in motion. 

Once you’ve contained belongings in boxes, bins or baskets – take the next important organizational step of LABELING.

Though it’s fun to look at fancy-schmancy labels, a few simple options will do the job very well in order to fulfill the purpose of identifying what is inside your containers without looking inside. No label maker needed…


Tape:

via martha stewart

via (pssst- this tape is from a lint roller! genius!)

Blank Adhesive Labels:

{found at office supply and craft stores}

via

the sunny side up blog

Binder Clips:

– Clipped to a basket or bin:

via Better Homes and Gardens

-Clipped on a wire shelf

via organizing made fun

-Clipped on paper trays and/or cubby boxes

via permanently primary

Still want to have a simple solution with just a little bit of fancy flair??

Check out the collection of 

Free Printable Storage Labels from BHG:

Click here for a full index list of articles from this series 

Simple Storage Container Solutions

by Heidi | Oct 25, 2013 | Uncategorized

Welcome to ‘Day 25’ in the month long series of articles cataloging
 Simple Organizing Solutions!  

If you’ve been reading from the beginning, you’ve hopefully already, 1) Gotten the right mindset and motivation needed to get organized.  2) Zeroed in on one small area to focus your efforts.  3) Have begun narrowing down your belongings to what what you love, use and actually have the room to store. and 4) Considered how to cut clutter at the source by giving each item a specific ‘home’ stored in groups of like items (5) & set a maintenance plan in motion. 

Once you’ve narrowed down your possessions, you will likely need to contain some of it before placing it in it’s assigned home on a shelf, or in a cabinet/closet. 
 
Take care to not purchase containers before the purging & identification of what you actually have room to store!  In fact, I would encourage you to use what you have around the house for clever containment solutions before spending any money. 

If you do choose to purchase containers, you can find many affordable options at reasonably priced retailers like wal-mart, target, home improvement stores, and even dollar stores like pictured below:

Don’t let lack of funds for purchasing products halt your organizing products…
Even a cardboard box will do as a first step:

 Check in with the produce area of your local grocer to find some free large, heavy duty boxes.
 

Don’t just throw items into containers mindlessly, either.  Store like items with like items for ease in locating things when you need/want them.

 via

  

Consider purchasing containers in one uniform size if they will be stored in one space together or on one shelving unit to maximize storage space and enable ability to stack if needed:

Use a Calendar

by Heidi | Oct 25, 2013 | Uncategorized

Welcome to ‘Day  24’ in the month long series of articles cataloging
 Simple Organizing Solutions!  

Whether you use a personal planner, a traditional wall hanging calendar or an electronic calendar – tracking your events, activities and appointments beyond the day-to-day is crucial. 

Eliminate the pressure to recall all that you are responsible for purely by memory. 

Review your calendar briefly every evening as you plan and prepare for the following day ahead as well as a more in depth study at least once a week to have a good understanding where your time is going and to ensure you don’t over-commit on one particular day etc.  I like to have an in depth review on Sunday nights to help set the stage for a peaceful, orderly and productive week ahead.

If you are married and/or have a family, sit down with them once a week to review personal and family commitments a bit together as well so everyone is on the same page with what to expect.  This is especially important if there are several transportation and/or child care needs to cover.

If you are managing several family members schedules on one calendar, I would definitely recommend assigning a specific color to each family members particular events so it’s easy to see at-a-glance who needs to be where and when.

Here is link to a free printable calendar for 2013-2014 if you don’t yet have a calendar, but are ready to commit to this habit right now: