This episode does not follow the usual format you may be used to. In this episode, the words aren’t Lisa’s; they’re yours!

Lisa is combing through stories, anecdotes, and testimonials from the Organize 365 audience. She is celebrating big wins and little victories alike, and finding that we’re all in this together.

Many of these come from the Organize 365 Facebook group--if you’re not a member of the group, join us!

The Out with the Old Decluttering Challenge begins on December 26th. There’s still time to join!

Be sure to check out organize365.com/2018-blessings for notes, links, and photos from this episode.

Like the show? Leave a review!

If you tried any of my suggestions, I’d love to see them! Follow me on Instagram and join the Facebook group for more great organizing tips, then share your photos with me by tagging me @organize365 or using #organize365!

If you’re ready to use my strategies to finally take back your home, jump right in to the 100 Day Home Organization Challenge. You can try a week free to see if it’s right for you!

Want more information on launching your professional organization business? The Professional Organizer’s Think Tank is for you.

Want more information on adding the Sunday Basket Certification to your current business? We’d love for you to join us in the Certification Program!

In the last episode of this interview series, Lisa sits down with Angela Watson of The Cornerstone for Teachers and Truth for Teachers Podcast. Angela is a veteran elementary school teacher turned instructional coach who helps overwhelmed teachers prioritize their obligations and reduce their working hours without reducing their impact.

Follow Angela’s blog, learn more about her online course, and subscribe to her podcast, where Lisa will be a guest in early 2019.

In addition to Angela’s strategies, the Organize 365 Teacher Friday Workbox and Homeschool Friday Workbox are great tools to use if you are an educator.

Be sure to check out organize365.com/angela for notes, links, and photos from this episode.

Like the show? Leave a review!

If you tried any of my suggestions, I’d love to see them! Follow me on Instagram and join the Facebook group for more great organizing tips, then share your photos with me by tagging me @organize365 or using #organize365!

This year, celebrate Boxing Day with the Out with the Old Decluttering Challenge! Tackle your home room by room in this free blitz starting December 26th.

If you’re ready to use my strategies to finally take back your home, jump right in to the 100 Day Home Organization Challenge. You can try a week free to see if it’s right for you!

In the next installment of our interview series, Lisa sits down with Holly Knill, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in Maryland, to discuss the science behind why The Sunday Basket™ works for just about anyone. Based on actual brain science and universal human nature, Holly explains the five ways that The Sunday Basket™, both the routine and the physical tool, are helpful in changing habits to lead a more proactive life.

Lisa’s depression story can be found in Episode 69, and more information about the work that Holly does can be found at The Expanding Heart Center.

You can learn more about The Sunday Basket here, and you can purchase the complete Sunday Basket Workshop or just the box in our shop. The entire Sunday Basket system also comes as a part of The Complete Paper Organization Program.

Be sure to check out organize365.com/sunday-basket-psychology for notes, links, and photos from this episode.

Like the show? Leave a review!

If you tried any of my suggestions, I’d love to see them! Follow me on Instagram and join the Facebook group for more great organizing tips, then share your photos with me by tagging me @organize365 or using #organize365!

Want more information on launching your professional organization business? The Professional Organizer’s Think Tank is for you.

Want more information on adding the Sunday Basket Certification to your current business? We’d love for you to join us in the Certification Program!

In this episode, Lisa chats with Julie Morgenstern, a force in the field of personal and home organization.

Between her books, including Organizing from the Inside Out and Time to Parent, to her informative podcast, Julie has positioned herself as an expert on the effects of true organization on the entire family.

You’ll hear familiar refrains, like “it’s not about the containers!” and “You don’t have to throw everything out!” You’ll get practical tips for organizing a family. You’ll leave with an understanding about the one thing every woman needs in her life.

Enjoy this insightful episode!

Be sure to check out organize365.com/julie-morgenstern for notes, links, and photos from this episode.

Like the show? Leave a review!

If you tried any of my suggestions, I’d love to see them! Follow me on Instagram and join the Facebook group for more great organizing tips, then share your photos with me by tagging me @organize365 or using #organize365!

Try the 100 Day Home Organization Program for free, and see if it’s right for you!

Want more information on launching your professional organization business? The Professional Organizer’s Think Tank is for you.

Want more information on adding the Sunday Basket Certification to your current business? We’d love for you to join us in the Certification Program!

In this episode, Lisa chats about those coveted pockets of time she finds throughout the day. So often, we set aside time to do a task, only to spend the first half (or more!) thinking about what approach we should take. Since our brains are always with us, Lisa shows us how to use humble office supplies to skyrocket your productivity. You may not be able to create time, but you can take full advantage of the time you do have, using the tips in this episode. Grab your index cards!

Be sure to check out organize365.com/more-planning-time for notes, links, and photos from this episode.

This episode, on linen closets, is mentioned in the episode. You can tackle your linen closet, and all of the other spaces in your home, using the 100 Day Home Organization Program (now offering one week free!).

Like the show? Leave a review!

If you tried any of my suggestions, I’d love to see them! Follow me on Instagram and join the Facebook group for more great organizing tips, then share your photos with me by tagging me @organize365 or using #organize365!

Want more information on launching your professional organization business? The Professional Organizer’s Think Tank is for you.

Want more information on adding the Sunday Basket Certification to your current business? We’d love for you to join us in the Certification Program!

Are you ready for a rebirth? In this episode, Lisa explains her new perspective on generations and how when we were born affects how we use our home. Since we are living longer, we have “extra” time to live a vibrant life and use our gifts.

What’s holding us back? Our homes. What can we do about that? And what will Lisa do with her extra years? It’s all in this episode.

Both Generations and The Mindset of Organization are available on Amazon.

Be sure to check out organize365.com/60-is-the-new-40 for notes, links, and photos from this episode.

Like the show? Leave a review!

If you tried any of my suggestions, I’d love to see them! Follow me on Instagram and join the Facebook group for more great organizing tips, then share your photos with me by tagging me @organize365 or using #organize365!

Want more information on launching your professional organization business? The Professional Organizer’s Think Tank is for you.

Want more information on adding the Sunday Basket Certification to your current business? We’d love for you to join us in the Certification Program!

How do I get so much done? Find out in this episode as I talk about what endurance means to me and how I manage to live a productive live without a running to do list.

But basically? Endurance means not stopping. Doing one more (small) thing after you complete a task is like getting a two-for-one bonus. Once you get rolling in your organizing, it’s so much easier to keep going. Starting is the hard part, and you’re already doing that! Just keep going!

Sign up here for the FREE sneak peek of the 100 Day Home Organization Program. Like it? Join the entire program or dive into All Access.

The 2018 Holiday Blitz starts on November 12th and ends with a free webinar on the best way to organize your holidays. You won’t want to miss that webinar, because in it I’ll be releasing a super secret Black Friday special!

Want these show notes delivered to your inbox? Sign up for my newsletter and get everything from the podcast episodes, plus a few extra bonuses!

Be sure to check out organize365.com/endurance for notes, links, and photos from this episode.

Like the show? Leave a review!

If you tried any of my suggestions, I’d love to see them! Follow me on Instagram and join the Facebook group for more great organizing tips, then share your photos with me by tagging me @organize365 or using #organize365!

In this episode, Lisa is talking about why, when taking control over your home and paper, the organization stage feels like the hardest. It’s why the cute container systems don’t work, why we don’t see true organization in photos on Pinterest, and why we need to go through the 100 Day Home Organization Program three times a year. In her simple, logical way, Lisa breaks down the common reasons why organization feels difficult and what we can do to overcome that hurdle.

Turn your memories into tangible treasures at Once Upon a Time.

Learn more about the Paper Organizing Retreats in Cincinnati, and all our other upcoming events, here.

Be sure to check out organize365.com/organizing-is-hard for notes, links, and photos from this episode.

Like the show? Leave a review!

If you tried any of my suggestions, I’d love to see them! Follow me on Instagram and join the Facebook group for more great organizing tips, then share your photos with me by tagging me @organize365 or using #organize365!

Want more information on launching your professional organization business? The Professional Organizer’s Think Tank is for you.

Want more information on adding the Sunday Basket Certification to your current business? We’d love for you to join us in the Certification Program!

In this episode, Lisa discusses how your mindset and visualization of your goals can actually help you achieve them. By righting your mind and fulling believing in that progress, your goals are dust. By using how Organize 365 has changed in one calendar year, Lisa talks about putting your energy in the right places in order to visualize and realize your goals. Full disclosure: She gets a little woo woo! Hang in until the end--you’ll be glad you did!

Bummed you missed the fall Paper Organizing Retreat? No worries! One is coming up in January--you can sign up now!

The Medical, Financial, Household Reference, and Household Operations Binders are available in our shop.

Workboxes for professional organizers, those in corporate jobs, teachers, homeschoolers, entrepreneurs, and direct sellers are also now available!

Be sure to check out organize365.com/manifesting for notes, links, and photos from this episode.

Like the show? Leave a review!

If you tried any of my suggestions, I’d love to see them! Follow me on Instagram and join the Facebook group for more great organizing tips, then share your photos with me by tagging me @organize365 or using #organize365!

Want more information on launching your professional organization business? The Professional Organizer’s Think Tank is for you.

Want more information on adding the Sunday Basket Certification to your current business? We’d love for you to join us in the Certification Program!

In this episode, Lisa describes the seasonal energies throughout the year and how to take advantage of these high and low tides. She’s structured the 100 Day Home Organization Program around this concept, and is carving out space during the fall to dig deep into how she’s spending her time. The Deep Dive calls for each task and responsibility to defend itself and its place on the to do list. Instead of asking, “Can this wait until next Sunday?” she is asking, “Can this wait until January?

For more details on how to do a Sunday Basket deep dive, you won’t want to miss this episode of The Sunday Basket Podcast.

Be sure to check out organize365.com/yearly-deep-dive for notes, links, and photos from this episode.

Like the show? Leave a review!

If you tried any of my suggestions, I’d love to see them! Follow me on Instagram and join the Facebook group for more great organizing tips, then share your photos with me by tagging me @organize365 or using #organize365!

Want more information on launching your professional organization business? The Professional Organizer’s Think Tank is for you.

Want more information on adding the Sunday Basket Certification to your current business? We’d love for you to join us in the Certification Program!

In this episode, Lisa opens up about why she feels that women have so many responsibilities in the home, and how she’s tackling them by thinking about her week differently. We are used to thinking of the week as Monday morning through Friday afternoon, and the weekend as Friday night through Sunday night. But what if the balance shifted, and our week was divided in true halves between our “work” life and “home” life? Would that create the sense of work-life balance we all seem to be craving?

Visit Laura Vanderkam’s website and check out her interview with Lisa to learn all about reframing the way you think about time.

To get Lisa’s Productive Home CEO Planner, join the 100 Day Home Organization Program or get everything with All Access.

Be sure to check out organize365.com/dividing-week for notes, links, and photos from this episode.

Like the show? Leave a review!

If you tried any of my suggestions, I’d love to see them! Follow me on Instagram and join the Facebook group for more great organizing tips, then share your photos with me by tagging me @organize365 or using #organize365!

Want more information on launching your professional organization business? The Professional Organizer’s Think Tank is for you.

Want more information on adding the Sunday Basket Certification to your current business? We’d love for you to join us in the Certification Program!

Episode 245 is the audio of a Facebook Live, where Lisa chats about all the fun and productive things we’ll be doing, and the delicious food we’ll be eating, at our very first Paper Organizing Retreat. Many people are able to organize their home and paper using our Complete Paper Organizing system or the 100 Day Home Organization Program (now available as an All Access bundle), but many of us thrive on community. The Organize 365 Paper Organizing Retreats will give you just that! In this episode, Lisa goes over the weekend’s agenda and answers frequently asked questions about the event.

If you’re missing this one but want to join us for the next Paper Organizing Retreat, check out the live events page to get upcoming dates.

We are proud to have Shred-it, the world leader in information security, sponsor our very first Paper Organizing Retreat.

Be sure to check out organize365.com/paper-retreat-2018 for notes, links, and photos from this episode.

Like the show? Leave a review!

If you tried any of my suggestions, I’d love to see them! Follow me on Instagram and join the Facebook group for more great organizing tips, then share your photos with me by tagging me @organize365 or using #organize365!

Want more information on launching your professional organization business? The Professional Organizer’s Think Tank is for you.

Want more information on adding the Sunday Basket Certification to your current business? We’d love for you to join us in the Certification Program!

Christine Miserandino’s Spoon Theory pivots around the fact that some people, especially those with chronic illnesses, start with less energy than others. In this episode, Lisa breaks down this theory and how it applies to home organization. Lisa shares actionable steps for anyone to make progress in their homes--because having a chronic illness does not mean you can’t live an organized, productive life.

My two books, How ADHD Affects Home Organization and The Mindset of Organization address aspects of this issue as well. You can also listen to this episode of the Organize 365 podcast to hear my experience with ADHD.

If you’d like to hire a professional organizer, in-person or virtually, find the list of Certified Organizers here.

Be sure to check out organize365.com/spoon-theory for notes, links, and photos from this episode.

Like the show? Leave a review!

If you tried any of my suggestions, I’d love to see them! Follow me on Instagram and join the Facebook group for more great organizing tips, then share your photos with me by tagging me @organize365 or using #organize365!

Want more information on launching your professional organization business? The Professional Organizer’s Think Tank is for you.

Want more information on adding the Sunday Basket Certification to your current business? We’d love for you to join us in the Certification Program!

We tell ourselves all kinds of reasons why we can’t get organized. Some of them are legitimate, others others are thinly veiled iterations of “It’s hard” or “I don’t want to.” In this episode, Lisa strips down two of the most common legitimate excuses--chronic illness and young children--and uncovers a new way to tackle the 100 Day Home Organization program that doesn’t involve small bits each day. If you’ve got one of these barriers, or if you’re just a project-oriented person, you’ll want to listen to this episode to find out how to modify the program to fit your needs.

Be sure to check out organize365.com/get-organized-faster for notes, links, and photos from this episode.

Like the show? Leave a review!

If you tried any of my suggestions, I’d love to see them! Follow me on Instagram and join the Facebook group for more great organizing tips, then share your photos with me by tagging me @organize365 or using #organize365!

Want more information on launching your professional organization business? The Professional Organizer’s Think Tank is for you.

Want more information on adding the Sunday Basket Certification to your current business? We’d love for you to join us in the Certification Program!

In this episode, Lisa outlines what she calls “Golden Windows” of opportunity, life phases that bring with them circumstances that are prime for organization. Some Golden Windows happen just once in a lifetime, others happen several times a year. When these Golden Windows come along (or better yet, more than one at a time), we can capitalize on them and target that energy toward resetting and reorganizing our home.

The directory of Organize 365™ Certified Professional Organizers can be found here.

Listen to the podcast about Lisa's three new years for details on how she divides her calendar year, and learn about the 100 Day Home Organization Program and All Access, both of which follow those new years.

Be sure to check out organize365.com/golden-windows for notes, links, and photos from this episode.

Like the show? Leave a review!

If you tried any of my suggestions, I’d love to see them! Follow me on Instagram and join the Facebook group for more great organizing tips, then share your photos with me by tagging me @organize365 or using #organize365!

Want more information on launching your professional organization business? The Professional Organizer’s Think Tank is for you.

Want more information on adding the Sunday Basket Certification to your current business? We’d love for you to join us in the Certification Program!

When we use our planner as our datebook, we may have an idea of the times of our appointments and commitments, but we don’t align our weekly focus with the goals we actually want to accomplish in our lives. In this episode, Lisa explains her purposeful decision to not do laundry, and the deeper reason why she chooses intentionality over obligation.

Lisa shares the problem with the readily available planners in today’s market, and why the Home CEO Planner is different.

If you are looking for permission to let go of the guilt and start intentionally focusing your time toward the things that matter to you, this episode will speak to you.

Listen to Podcast 134 to get the full details on how Lisa divides the year into three planning seasons.

If you want to get your hands on your own Home CEO Planner, join the 100 Day Home Organization Program.

Be sure to check out organize365.com/planner-productivity/ for notes, links, and photos from this episode.

Like the show? Leave a review!

If you tried any of my suggestions, I’d love to see them! Follow me on Instagram and join the Facebook group for more great organizing tips, then share your photos with me by tagging me @organize365 or using #organize365!

Want more information on launching your professional organization business? The Professional Organizer’s Think Tank is for you.

Want more information on adding the Sunday Basket Certification to your current business? We’d love for you to join us in the Certification Program!

Grab the tissues! This episode was recorded live at the Organize 365 RISE: You Are Enough National Convention, held in June 2018. Lisa interviewed Dawn Carlson, a wife, mother of four, business owner, and new Certified Sunday Basket Workshop Organizer.

In this interview, Dawn shares her story of transformation from depressed, struggling, frazzled woman to a confident, productive CEO with Organize 365. Using the 100 Day Home Organization Program and virtual organizing, Dawn took back her home and freed herself to do what she is uniquely created to do. Dawn gives us a glimpse of the real-life ups and downs of home organization, and brings us the inspiring message that YOU can do it.

Dawn is a member of our All Access, a program designed to help you transform your home in one year.

Interested in a live event with Organize 365? Check out the upcoming events!

Be sure to check out organize365.com/240 for notes, links, and photos from this episode.

Like the show? Leave a review!

If you tried any of my suggestions, I’d love to see them! Follow me on Instagram and join the Facebook Group for more great organizing tips, then share your photos with me by tagging me @organize365 or using #organize365!

Want more information on launching your professional organization business? The Professional Organizer’s Think Tank is for you.

Want more information on adding the Sunday Basket Certification to your current business? We’d love for you to join us in the Certification Program!

In this episode, Lisa talks us through the story of Angela, a wannabe professional organizer who finds encouragement and motivation through Organize 365. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be a profitable, confident, productive professional organizer, this episode is for you. Organize 365 has launched programs to help you START your business, MARKET your business, and GROW your business. With the Sunday Basket Certified Workshop Organizer program, Angela transforms her business from a small hobby business to a money-making profession she loves.

Snag that free checklist here!

Want more information on launching your professional organization business? The Professional Organizer’s Think Tank is for you.

Want more information on adding the Sunday Basket Certification to your current business? We’d love for you to join us in the Certification Program!

Be sure to check out organize365.com/238 for notes, links, and photos from this episode.

Like the show? Leave a review!

If you tried any of my suggestions, I’d love to see them! Follow me on Instagram and join the Facebook group for more great organizing tips, then share your photos with me by tagging me @organize365 or using #organize365!

We’ve reached the final episode of the Kid’s Organization Series. I hope you’ve all enjoyed this mini-series so far and found the advice useful when it comes to organizing your bedroom – or mini apartment as I like to call them!

In previous episodes, I’ve talked about organizing your clothes, closets, and rearranging the furniture in your bedroom. But now I want to talk about organizing your toys, collections, and how to save space if you’re sharing a bedroom with someone else.

Eliminate Your Nightstand

If you share a bedroom with a sibling or a friend at college, every space counts. With two beds in the room, it’s unlikely you’ll have a lot of space to work with unless you’re lucky and have a massive room for you both.

If you’ve been keeping up with the podcast, you’ll know that my son is preparing for college and we’ve been shopping for his new apartment. During one of my many Walmart visits, I came across storage headboards. Well actually, there were more like mini bookcases with shelving suitable for things like an alarm clock, picture frames, ornaments, books, and other small items.

A storage headboard eliminates your need for a nightstand, giving you more floor space to work with. If you want to have a lamp near your bed, you can use a clip-on dorm lamp that can clamp onto your headboard. They are adjustable and you can angle it so that you can read at night without shining a stream of light in your roommate’s face – phew!

Cube Units For Bunk Beds

If you have bunk beds in your room, a storage headboard is probably out of the question. But don’t worry, I’ve got the perfect solution!

IKEA are the masters of storage units! Their KALLAX shelving units are my favorite. They are available in a range of different sizes, but if you’re looking for the perfect bookshelf for bunk beds, I suggest going for the 1 x 5 unit. It takes up very little space and you can easily attach it to the wall with a standard L bracket.

You’ll need to think about functionality over appearance. Most people will immediately assume that the unit should be facing outwards, but this isn’t how I do it. I recommend connecting the unit to the wall sideways so that the kids can reach into the shelves from their beds.

Reducing The Bedroom Clutter

If you share a room, you MUST reduce the number of collections and toys that you keep because there just isn’t enough room to spare. If your family has additional storage space or a family bookshelf, etc., then you might be able to keep some of your possessions there if you don’t want to donate or throw them out.

Cube units are easier to work with for organizing your bedroom because they’re functional, long-lasting, and you can easily separate them if you like. A 2 x 8 unit, for example, can be stacked on top of each other with your TV on top.

My daughter took a slightly different approach to her shelving units and, instead of putting a TV on top of her 2 x 8 unit, she put her hamster cage on top of it. It’s not a regular hamster cage either – it’s a hamster mansion!

Organizing Books

Is it just me or is every home overflowing with books? I was a preschool teacher and when my kids were young, we literally had EVERY picture book ever published. The house was covered in them until I finally decided to do something about it.

My kids were never big readers. They preferred to play with toys rather than sit and read for hours. So, I took all the picture books and stored them in the loft. I then put their toys in their bedrooms and they were so much happier.

If you’ve got a lot of books, you should think about donating some of them or moving them to where everyone else in the family keeps their books. I suggest assigning one of your cubes in your shelving unit for books – and that’s it!

Organizing Your Toys & Collections

Everyone has a passion project. Your passion project is the type of toys that you’re currently into. Whether it’s PS4 games, Monster High Dolls or Lego, your passion project will probably take up at least four of the cubes in your unit.

Toys are different from collections because toys are the things that you play with while collections are more personal and private. Your collection is special because it has a memory connected to it and, even though the rest of the family sees it as junk, you don’t see it that way.

There’s just one thing to remember – your entire collection HAS to fit into one cube. You can store them in a bin, but once that container fills up – it’s time to go through it!

You should spread everything out on the floor and go through it piece by piece. Prioritize your collections and only keep the items that you still love. Everything else should be donated or thrown out because they’re just taking up space that you don’t have.

Find A Display Area For Your Collections

Once you’ve gone through the bin, you need to find a flat surface in your room where you can display your favorite pieces from your collections.

I suggest putting them on a ledge or “floating shelf” that you can hang up on the wall with a nail or L bracket. This type of shelf comes in a range of sizes and is relatively inexpensive. You can find them anywhere, including IKEA, Target, and even Walmart.

You can attach it to your wall and use it as a collection shelf. If you share a room with a sibling, get two shelves for your collections and stack them on top of each other.

I hope you enjoyed this special Kid’s Organization Series as much as I enjoyed making it! I’ve organized plenty of kid’s rooms in the past. It’s one of my favorite things to do because each child is different and their bedrooms reflect their personalities – I think that's fantastic!

If you tried any of my suggestions, I’d love to see them! Follow me on Instagram for more great organizing tips, then share your photos with me by tagging me @organize365!

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/237

We’re continuing our Kids Organization Series and following up last week’s topic of redesigning your bedroom with an episode all about cleaning out your closets and organizing your clothes – it’s exciting stuff, I know.

But don’t worry, a closet clean out doesn’t take as long as you might think. As you continue to improve your organizing skills and return to a space you’ve previously organized, the process becomes much easier and quicker.

If you haven’t listened to my previous podcasts offering clothing organization tips, you can go back through podcast episodes 103 to 107 to listen.

Have you caught up? Great! Let's get stuck into organizing your closet!

Donating Unwanted Clothes

Donations should happen on a regular basis. In fact, I would go as far as saying it should be a part of your everyday life.

I go through my closet and reorganize the clothes quite often. So when I began going through everything recently, I didn’t have much to do. There weren’t many clothes that I needed to donate, but that wasn’t the case when it came to organizing my kid's closets.

I’ve always taught my kids the value of donating to those in need. When they were really young, like around six or seven years old, we would reorganize their room together and they would give me the things that they wanted to donate. Now that they’re much older, they take the things they want to donate and put it in the donation area.

So when it came to organizing their closets, a lot of the clothes were set aside to donate. This is not only a great way to get rid of all the clothes you don’t want anymore, but it also frees up closet space and gives those clothes to someone in need.

Organizing Hangers

When I told my kids I was going to help them clean their closets, they were pretty excited about it. I started in my son’s room first, and if there’s one thing you need to know about his closet set-up, it’s the fact that everything he owns (except for socks and underwear, etc.) is hung up in the closet.

However, a large part of his closet consisted of empty hangers that took up way too much space. So, the very first thing I did was take all of the empty hangers and put them in a laundry basket. I made sure that all of the hangers faced the same direction because as you know, hangers love to get tangled together.

Putting your empty hangers in a laundry basket is great because it gives you more free space on the rod and you can just grab a hanger whenever you need one.

Keep Vs. Donate

To keep or not to keep? – that is the question!

One of the biggest decisions you’ll make when you clean out your closet is deciding which clothes you want to keep and which you wish to donate. When I help my kids go through their closets, I hold each item of clothing up high for them to evaluate. They look at it and decide its fate with a simple “yes” or “no” response. It’s a quick process of elimination and I go through the clothes super-fast for two reasons:

1. I don’t want this to take forever
2. I know kids can get bored

All of the clothes that they want to keep are hung up in the closet and all of the clothes they want to get rid of are put into trash bags for donation. Instead of carrying all the bags downstairs and into the car, I tie a tight knot at the top and take them to the top of the stairs and I roll them down! It saves a lot of time and energy because I don’t have to keep running up and down the stairs – plus, it’s just fun to roll things down the stairs!

Sorting The Clean Laundry

The next step is to go through all of the clean laundry items and sort out the pieces of clothing in the same way as we did before. This is where you’ll look at each piece of clothing and decide if you want to keep it or donate it to Goodwill.

While you organize your closet, you should keep in mind whether or not you plan on buying any new clothes soon. For example, my son needs new white long sleeve t-shirts for college, so we ended up donating his old ones because we knew that we were going to add a bunch of new t-shirts to his closet very soon.

As we organized the clean laundry, I held up each piece and again, my kids answered either “yes” or “no.” Anything that they wanted to keep went back into the closet. And anything they wanted to donate went into the donation bags – and yes, we rolled them down the stairs again!

Organizing Closet Shelves

My daughter's closet has multiple shelves that I built for her when she was much younger. Back then, she would use them to store her toys, but now she uses them to store her clothes. So when we were in the process of organizing her closet, we used the shelves to store other pieces of clothing that she didn’t want to hang up including her leggings, workout clothes, soft shorts, etc.

We hung everything else up in the closet and put the winter clothes on one rod and the spring/summer clothes on the other rod. We then took small bins or storage boxes and used them to store things like socks, underwear, swimwear, and things that she can grab whenever she needs them.

And there you have it, the easy (and speedy) way of organizing your closet!

I hope you have fun going through your clothes. And if you have a dresser drawer in your room, you can arrange it in the same way. But instead of hanging the clothes you want to keep in the closet, you fold them up and put them into your dresser – simple!

Next week, I will be talking about collections, toys, and sharing your bedroom. :)

Remember to sign up for the Back To School Blitz!

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/236

On this week’s podcast, I kick start the 3-week Kid’s Organization Series. It’s for kids between the ages of 7 and 21 – so whether you’re still in school or preparing to graduate from college – this series is for you!

I tried something a little different this week and recorded my podcast on video, too. If you would prefer to watch this episode, you can do that here... https://youtu.be/2Q9JWKBOFVc

Organizing Your School Art & Memories

But before we get started, I want to reach out to all the kids out there who are bored out of their minds this summer. If you can relate, I’ve got your back! One of the things you could do is go through all of your old artwork and school papers and sort out the things that you love and want to save to look back on in years to come. Sort everything into two piles – a keep pile and a recycle pile.

Once you have gathered all of the papers and artwork you want to keep, you can store it all in a plastic tub and keep it in your closet, or you can put everything inside a binder using sheet protectors. You can create your own binder OR you can ask your parents (as nicely as possible) to let you order the Organize 365 School Art & Memory Binder where you can safely store and protect all of your papers and artwork so that they will last a lifetime.

Organizing your artwork is something you could do while you’re in the process of redesigning your bedroom, which is something that I did A LOT when I was a kid because I loved switching things around and making my room feel “brand new” again.

So, if you want to redesign your bedroom this summer and change things up for yourself, follow these easy redesign tips!

Planning On Graph Paper

I don’t know about you, but I find it easier to envision a redesign when I’ve drawn up a quick plan on paper first. Measure your bedroom and notice where the windows, doors and outlets are.

In my case, I’m redesigning my son’s bedroom which measures 10' x 10'. So, I’ve drawn out my plan on the graph paper to fit 30 squares across and 30 squares from top to bottom.

[So, three squares of the paper is equal to one foot and one square of the paper is equal to four inches.]

Marking Doors, Windows & Outlets

Before we can get to the fun part of moving furniture around and getting creative with your bedroom, there are a few things you will want to mark on your plans such as doors, windows, electrical outlets, and vents.

Leave enough space for any door openings in your room, whether it’s the main door to your bedroom, a closet door, or the door to a bathroom, etc. Figure out how much space you need to leave free and mark this on your graph paper as a semi-circle. You can watch how I do this in this week's video... https://youtu.be/2Q9JWKBOFVc

Also mark the placement of all of the windows in your bedroom. I also like to label each of the electrical outlets and the vent to allow heat and air conditioning to enter the room without any obstruction.

Using Post-It Notes As Furniture

Now that you have all the boring stuff marked on your plan, you can start redesigning your bedroom with Post-It Notes.

Create a Post-It Note for each piece of movable furniture in your room. Many of you will have a desk, a dresser, or a bedside table. Measure it and cut a Post-It Note in the same shape and size that corresponds with your plan.

Remember, three squares on the graph paper is equal to one foot. So if your bed measures 6' x 3', you’ll need to convert that measurement to fit the dimensions of the squares of your plan. You can liven things up by using multi-colored Post-Its and labeling each one as you go.

When I was a kid, I would do this ALL THE TIME. I would plan my new bedroom design over and over again. And when I was done with that, I made a plan for future homes – I just loved it. What can I say? Some kids played sports and some kids planned their future homes in excruciating detail and precision!

Moving Big Pieces Of Furniture

When it comes to redesigning your room and moving big pieces of furniture around, you need to think of the process as a huge jigsaw puzzle. Make sure you leave enough space in your room to move things around in the most efficient way possible and try not to limit your own walking space. You’ve got to be able to walk around your room without climbing over furniture to get to the other side!

In this week's video, I show you (using my Post-It Note furniture) how to move your bed and desk and not get stuck in the room!... https://youtu.be/2Q9JWKBOFVc

If you have too many things that can’t fit in your bedroom or your college dorm room, I suggest renting an outside storage unit. This is especially useful if you’ve recently moved back home with your parents and there’s not enough space to keep all of the things you accumulated throughout college. Just put it all in a storage facility – out of sight, out of mind!

The Kids Organization Series

I hope you enjoyed this first episode of the Kids Organization Series and found some useful tips and ideas for organizing and redesigning your own bedroom or apartment. In this series, I’m going to be focusing on all the things that you don’t have time for during the school year that you could finally do in the summer.

If you’d like to catch up with the podcast’s I recorded last year for organizing your bedroom and collections, go to organize365.com/kids. Don’t forget to take photos of your newly organized bedroom and tag me @organize365 on Instagram – I’d love to see how you're organizing your rooms and share it with my followers!

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/235

Living through renovations, natural disasters, and moving can be a very stressful and disorganized time. Your house is turned upside down in the blink of an eye and before you know it, you’re stepping over stacks of books on your way to the bathroom and the dog is snoozing on top of a box labeled, “The GOOD China” – just thinking about it gives me a headache!

Instead of gritting your teeth and living through the chaos, you can follow these three easy steps that will help to not only organize your home during transitional times (such as moving or renovating the kitchen), but they’ll also help to keep you sane.

1. The Hot Mess Room Challenge

The first step is to do the Hot Mess Room Challenge well in advance. The challenge is different for everyone because no two “hot mess rooms” are the same. Your hot mess room could be your basement, the guest bedroom, or your garage. It’s the room in the house that has collected a mass of random items that don’t have a place anywhere else in the home. If you’re thinking of a room like that in your house, it’s your hot mess room!

So, what is the Hot Mess Room Challenge?

The Hot Mess Room Challenge takes 28 days to complete and it takes you through the progress of getting your hot mess room organized. You can think of the hot mess room like a jigsaw puzzle. The challenge will help you to separate each piece, organize each one and, in the end, put them together into an organized storage unit.

The Hot Mess Room Challenge can be download it right here. It’s delivered directly to your inbox, ready to download!

At the end of the 28-day challenge, instead of a hot mess room, you’ll have an organized storage room with shelving, bins with color-coded labels, and a complete inventory of everything you have stored in that room.

When disaster strikes and you need to find something such as a flashlight or a photograph of a family member, you can’t waste time looking through boxes upon boxes. Having an inventory gives you peace of mind knowing that if you ever needed something in a rush, you'll know exactly where to find it.

2. The Sunday Basket®

Once you have completed the Hot Mess Room Challenge, you’re ready to move onto stage two – organizing your Sunday Basket® System!

You need to make sure that your Sunday Basket® is ALWAYS accessible to you 100% of the time. In fact, you should think of your Sunday Basket® as your lifeline during these stressful transitional times.

Your Sunday Basket® is where you will keep your color-coded lists of everything that is in your storage room and an inventory of the things you have packed into boxes. If you are renovating your kitchen, for example, you would label boxes with things such as “Utensils,” “Dishes,” “Pots and Pans,” etc. So when you need to find something inside one of the kitchen renovation boxes, you can check the Sunday Basket® checklist and it will tell you exactly where you can find that item.

Another reason why you need your Sunday Basket® up and running when you’re moving or renovating your home is that, in both of these cases, you’ll have paperwork coming in such as household bills, invoices, etc. and you can keep all of these papers organized in your SundayBasket®.

3. The Organize 365 Binders

Before you move or renovate your home, you need to make each of the four Organize 365 Binders to eliminate your filing cabinet and organize all of your paperwork. Once you have all of your binders arranged, you can move to your new house without trailing a bunch of unsightly and disorganized filing cabinets with you – how awesome does that sound?

It takes time to organize each binder, so I would suggest tackling one at a time. If you’d like to find out how I organized my binders, you can head over to the Sunday Basket® Podcast to hear more about that and each of the four binders I mention below:

Medical Binder: You should think of the Medical Organizing Binder as a caregiver binder and store information regarding your family’s medical and health history, doctor information, diagnosis tracker, immunization record, hospitalization and surgery history, and so on.

Financial Binder: The Financial Organizing Binder is for all of your finances, which includes everything you need to keep your finances in order during a home renovation, a move, or when a natural disaster strikes. Inside, you should keep your insurance policy information, financial prep sheet, credit card inventory, bill payment records, debts and loans, and any other finances that you need to keep track of.

Household Reference Binder: Every homeowner needs a Household Reference Binder. It’s where you should store everything that you want the new homeowner to know (if you’re selling your house), including home exterior and interior information, home appliances, and details of things such as when you last checked the hot water heater, etc.

Household Operations Binder: The Household Operations Binder is the key to maintaining your home and running the household. Inside this binder, you should keep all of the basic household information, important dates, trackers, meal planning, and your plan in the event of an emergency.

Whenever you’re moving to a new house, renovating, or in the aftermath of a natural disaster, you’ll need to know where you keep your four binders. I suggest keeping them in the same place where you store your SundayBasket® so you can just grab it all and go!

I hope you found these three steps useful when it comes to living through renovations, moving to a new home, or recovering from a natural disaster. Purchase your Sunday Basket® and Binders in my shop today!

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/234

Friday Workboxes will increase your productivity in your "work" just like the Sunday Basket^® does for your home. 

This podcast was originally a Facebook LIVE. You can watch the video here. 

Check out all the Organize 365 Friday Workboxes here.

Join the Organize 365 Newsletter to stay on top of new products as they launch.

And follow Lisa on Instagram to see behind the scenes of her everyday life and watch new products as they are developed. 

Just because you live in a small home doesn’t mean your storage space has to be limited. Over the years, I’ve received A LOT of emails on the subject of maximizing storage space in small living spaces such as studio apartments, condos, and tiny houses.

In fact, I received this email from an Organize 365 fan named Amy just the other day and wanted to share it with you:

“Since having a baby, it’s been so hard to keep on top of things at home, but listening to your podcasts in the afternoons usually gives me a little push. Do you have experience with organizing small homes and apartments? Our apartment constantly feels cluttered, but in reality, there are very few things we can get rid of, it’s just a small space. Any advice for those of us who don’t have basements, garages, spare rooms or even a hall closet and also don’t have a lot of money for complex storage systems that fancy tiny homes all seem to utilize?”

Amy is in a situation that I know many of you can relate to. Living in a small space with a baby usually means that there is going to be a lot of “stuff” – it’s just the way it is.

The issue lies with the fact that you genuinely NEED all of that extra baby stuff because you never know when you’ll need it again, especially if you’re planning on expanding your family in the future.

The Baby Issue

I’m not saying that having a baby in a small space is an “issue,” but it’s important to realize that children come with a lot of clutter. Expecting to add more kids to your family without expanding the amount of space taken up in the home is an unrealistic expectation.

Now that I’ve given you that little reality check, we can dive into the good stuff!

If you’re fortunate enough to have a nursery in your home, it’s a good idea to try and keep most of the baby related items in there as much as possible. And if you want to maximize your space WITHOUT decluttering, I have four space-saving suggestions for you!

1. Create More Space

Before you say anything – Yes, I understand that you can’t just click your fingers together and magically increase the size of your home to create more space. That’s not what I’m saying, but it is essential to start looking at your house with “new eyes.”

Try and see your home’s potential. It may be difficult at first, but trust me – there’s always a way to create more space!

A great tip I have for you is to use shoe holders over every door in your house. You can avoid using hooks (which can damage the door frame) by using 3M Command Hooks instead.

With Command Hooks, you can just pop the shoe holder over the top and it’ll hold the rack in place without causing any damage to the door – phew!

So, what can you store inside these fantastic shoe organizers?

I’m glad you asked!

You can literally store all of the little things in your house inside the shoe holders. For example, on the back of the bathroom door, you can put your shampoo, soaps, and items that you would typically put in your medicine cabinet, etc. On the back of the nursery door, you can store cute little baby things like hair accessories, tiny socks, diaper rash cream. and baby wipes, etc.

2. Increase Storage Space With Bed Risers & Space Saver Bags

A bed riser is cheap. You can pick one up from somewhere like Walmart for just $10. Bed risers can lift your bed a few inches or even a few feet above the floor, giving you additional storage space.

I’m a huge fan of bed risers. Our master bed has not one, but TWO bed risers underneath it because… well, I couldn’t see the TV screen over the bed frame!

We also ended up putting our dog’s bed underneath our bed. So, every night our dog Hunter sleeps underneath our bed. If you have a dog and he’s a part of the family like ours is, then this news probably won’t surprise you in the slightest. It’s definitely a unique storage solution to store your dog’s bed (and your dog!).

You can use one bed riser or double it up for even more storage space. Another great way to maximize space in the home is to use a Space Saver Bag. You can put your big fluffy blankets in there over the summer and other out-of-season clothes to help save yourself more space.

Use a vacuum to suck all the air out of the bag and watch in awe as the fluffy blanket that kept you warm all winter gets flattened into a very thin pancake. Store the bag underneath your bed and don’t think about it until next winter!

3. Go ‘Vertical’

If you really want to make the most out of the small space that you DO have, you’ve got to start thinking vertically.

Take a trip to Ikea and get yourself one of those cube storage units and stack them on top of each other against the wall. Build it all the way up to the ceiling if you can and store different items in each cube so you can have less clutter around the house – sorted!

4. Use An Outside Storage Facility

I understand that not everyone can afford to invest in an outdoor storage facility, but if you can save up just a little bit of money each month, you can have enough to rent a small storage unit to help declutter your home.

Choose a size that’s right for you and use it to store all the extra things in your house that you won’t need for a while such as holiday decorations, memorabilia, and baby equipment that your child no longer needs but you may come back to in the future for the next little one.

There’s ALWAYS storage solutions if you’re willing to think outside the box. Don’t let yourself be limited by the physical amount of space that you do have and try to look at it from a new perspective and, who knows, you might even come up with a few of your own creative storage ideas along the way!

My entire company is run from my small home office in my bedroom. A small space forces you to constantly prioritize your space and your to-do's. Check out the NEW Friday Workboxes and get your homeschool, teaching, direct sales and entrepreneur businesses organized in a box. :)

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/233

Summer is meant to be a relaxing time of the year filled with fun activities, holidays, and warm afternoons spent soaking up the sun on the beach. However, summer is my least productive season (and I’m a productivity NUT, so that’s saying a lot!).

Things just don’t get done and, before you know it, the summer has ended and all you have to show for it is a great tan but not much else. When we go head first into summer without a second thought about routines or schedules, we often end up feeling bored because we don’t know what to do with our time.

I’m not saying you should have a structured plan and organize every little detail of your summer, but it wouldn’t hurt to have a few routine days that you can use sparingly throughout the summer.

I have five different routine days for the summer that I’d like to share with you:

1. Help & Support Day

If you have kids, you need a day off. It’s as simple as that. Yes, we love our children, and we’d do anything for them, but sometimes we need some time for ourselves – a bit of ME time is good for you!

I’m a full-time working mom with two teenagers and just last summer, I hired a nanny. I know what you’re thinking, “Why on earth did you hire a nanny for two teenagers?”

Well, here’s why:

Reason 1: There was a lot of random driving that needed doing last summer and I didn’t have the time to drive my kids around. So, the person I hired to help me out would drive my kids to wherever they wanted to go and I was able to concentrate on work without any interruptions – success!

Reason 2: I had a lot of household chores and projects I wanted to be done, but had no time to get to. She was able to scan all of my scrapbooks, do the dishes, clean the kitchen, and do the laundry – and it was fantastic!

If you’re not a mom, this probably sounds ridiculous. But if you ARE a mom, you might be thinking… “brilliant – I NEED THIS!”

When I was a teenager, I worked as a babysitter. Before the summer kicked off, I would approach the parents I worked for and ask them if they wanted a day to themselves. I would be happy to look after their kids while they got their hair done (because it was the 80’s and hair was literally everythingback then) and when the mom’s heard this, they thought it was a genius idea.

I created a desire in them that they didn’t even know existed! Not to boast, but I was basically an entrepreneur from birth.

So, when I became a mom, I was looking for someone who would sell the same services as I did – and I found them!

2. Pool Day

Who doesn’t love a pool day? Whether you’re practicing your backstroke or soaking up the sunshine, everyone loves a good pool day in the summer.

Most pools open between 10 am and noon, so you have most of the morning to do whatever you like, and the kids can have their own independent time, too.

When it’s time to go to the pool, pack your swimwear, towels, and whatever else you need to bring with you and go out and enjoy the day as a family!

Remember, the pool tends to zap up all of your energy and brain power, so you probably won’t have the energy to get much done when you get home. Take it easy and order some pizza to finish the day off in style!

3. Errand Day

You can eliminate a lot of time from an errand day by just buying things online like I do. You can shop for groceries online as well, so this might be a good option for you if you don’t feel like pushing a cart through a store.

You’ll probably need at least one or two errand days over the summer. Some of you may need an errand day each week, while others will need just one errand day per month.

The best way to prepare for errand day is to create a list of what needs to be done and check off each task as you go.

4. Home Day

This is my favorite kind of day where you can stay home and do whatever you like with your time – it’s paradise!

I usually like to focus on one of my larger projects on a home day because I’ve got plenty of time to get it done. However, there’s nothing worse than enjoying your home day and having someone tell you that you need to get up and leave the house. That’s the worst, isn’t it?

Avoid this scenario by telling everybody it’s a home day. Make sure they know that you have no intention of driving them around the country or to McDonald’s for some fast food (unless you change your mind, in which case, that’s perfectly fine!).

One of the best ways to make a home day super successful is to introduce your kids to a new activity. This can be anything from a new subscription box to a science kit or homemade play dough.

I love play dough, and I often make homemade play dough that kids of all ages (including me) like to play with. It’s a creative pastime and it doesn’t cost a lot of money, which makes it perfect for a low-key day at home!

Visit the blog post to get my homemade play dough recipe to try for yourself!

5. Big Event Day

A big event day is basically a day spent outside of the house doing something BIG. This can be anything from the amusement park to the zoo. It’s always a good idea to plan for the big event day the night before it actually happens.

If you’re going to be traveling, make sure to fill your car with gas in advance. You should also pack and plan everything you’ll need for the big event day, such as snacks, food, etc.

Each of these summer routine days is designed to give you some inspiration and guidance if you’re struggling to be productive over the summer months. I hope you found it helpful and you can use some (if not all) of these routine days this summer!

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/231

Before I get into this week’s topic, I have TWO very exciting announcements for you!

First, this is your LAST chance to register for the Organize 365 National Convention! That’s right, tickets are almost sold out, and registration for the event closes at midnight on May 29th – so make sure to click here to learn more and sign up!

The second announcement is for all the teachers out there and anyone who feels like once the school year starts, their head starts spinning! If this sounds like you, the 100 Day Home Organization Double Time is EXACTLY what you’ve been looking for. It cuts the time of the 100 Day Program in half, which means you can get it done TWICE as fast!

Don’t miss out on this one time offer! There are just 120 slots available! So, if you miss out this time, you’ll have to wait until August to sign up. If you manage to get your hands on one of these treasures, you’ll receive the current planner AND the brand-new planner that we’re launching in August – now that’s what I call a real VIP experience!

Registration for the 100 Day Home Organization Double Time opens Friday May 25th and ends on May 29th at midnight or until the 120 slots have been claimed. Once they are gone, they are gone!

If you want to be one of the first people to try the 100 Day Home Organization Double Time Program, click here to sign up!

Now, onto setting your summer goals!

Summer Is Coming!

Summer is just around the corner and most of you are probably busy packing your suitcases and planning your summer vacation. It’s an exciting time of the year. I know I’m really looking forward to planning my summer and spending more time with my family.

Is it just me or does anyone else feel like summer is the dreamiest season of the year? Do you know what I mean? Things just seem to merge together and before you know it, you’re right back at the start of the school year again and you’ve no idea where the time went. Weird, right?

Well, I think I’ve gotten to the bottom of it. Let me share how you can reach your summer goals without fail – I promise.

Try Not To Have Too Many Goals This Summer

When you think ahead to the summer, it’s tempting to overestimate just how much you can get done. I’ve always thought of July as the “Bermuda Triangle” of months. Nothing happens in July. It’s almost impossible to get any work done and I can’t explain why.

Instead of giving yourself a hard time because you “failed” to reach all of your summer goals, take a step back and realize that it’s okay! It’s okay that you didn’t get the kitchen painted this summer or that you didn’t have time to declutter your closet – give yourself a break, it’s summer after all!

I think one of the main issues we all run into over the summer is the mistake of setting too many goals for ourselves in such a short space of time.

Summer is very short, and it’s very spontaneous. One minute you could be focused on organizing your kitchen and the next thing you know, you’re running down the street in your flip-flops trying to sniff out where that delicious smell of BBQ'd ribs is coming from – unplanned things just happen.

Give yourself the grace from the beginning and know that you’re not going to get a ton of goals accomplished in the summer – and learn to be okay with it.

Set Yourself One Or Two Goals MAX

I always try and focus on one specific area of my life over the summer. Sometimes, I might go as far as assigning myself two goals for the entire summer, but it’s okay to have just the one.

Here is a glimpse into a few of my previous summer goals throughout the years:

In 2015, I decided to focus my summer on improving my personal health and working on my marriage. I walked 10,000 steps per day and invested in having more one-on-one time with my husband. We spent summer nights talking outside on the patio, and that was the same summer we discovered (and binge-watched) the TV show “24.” It was an easy-going summer and one that I really enjoyed.

In 2016, I redesigned my websites because we had just launched the 100 Day Home Organization Program. A lot of my free time was spent in front of my computer screen. I decluttered my desktop, posts, and Pinterest boards, which helped me to have a real work-focused year with limited distractions and clutter.

In 2017, I focused on decluttering the house and began to work on redoing different spaces, such as the kid's bedrooms and our landscaping. This summer project grew more momentum and ran into the beginning of 2018 – we recently had our windows and doors replaced!

So now that you’ve heard all about my previous summer goals, I bet you’re thinking, “Great Lisa, but what are you focusing on this summer?”

Well, this summer, I’m going to focus on my kids.

My son is preparing to leave for college and will be moving into his own apartment, so we have to help him get ready and prepare his living quarters before he begins his studies.

My daughter also got her temporary license, so I’ll spend a lot of time driving with her and taking a few road trips to help her gain more confidence as a new driver.

What Is Your ‘BIG Summer Win?’

You’ve heard all about my summer goals, but now it’s time to start thinking about what YOU want to accomplish this summer. What “BIG WIN” do you want to achieve over the next few months?

The key here is to get as specific as possible with your big summer win. The more you can narrow it down to just one specific goal, the more likely you are to succeed.

I would love to hear your big goal for the summer so please share it with us in the Organize 365 Facebook Group or go over to Instagram and tag me on what your big summer priority is going to be – I can’t wait to see what you guys will be up to this summer!

Oh and don't forget... if you are ready to jumpstart your home organization journey, I would LOVE for you to join me in 100 Day Home Organization DOUBLE TIME. Registration is only open until Tuesday IF the planner supply lasts that long!

Join Here.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/230

Before we get into the main topic of this week’s podcast episode, I have two time-sensitive subjects I want to share with you.

First, the Organize 365 National Convention will be held in Dallas from June 7th to June 9th. Ticket sales end at midnight on May 29th, so make sure you get yours while you still can! The tickets are selling FAST, so click here to get your ticket today!!

The second thing I’d like to discuss is the 100 Day Home Organization Program. Although it can be completed within 100 days, some of you may not be able to complete the program within the recommended time slot, and that’s okay. So, keeping this in mind, I’ve decided to reveal how you can do the 100 Day Home Organization Program in double time on next week’s podcast episode!

Now with that out of the way, let’s get into the meat of this week’s podcast episode!

This one is a little different from my usual podcasts because I’ll be focusing on the seasons of parenthood and how each one brings new changes to our organization routine.

My Mini Epiphany

The other day seemed ordinary enough, nothing that remarkable or exciting happened. I pulled into my driveway with my daughter, and at the same time, my husband Greg arrived home with the dog from daycare. Then, my son pulled up to the house. At that moment, we all arrived home together as a family – and I had an epiphany.

Okay, so it wasn’t like a mind-blowing ordeal where I discovered the true meaning of life or anything. But still, it made me realize something very important.

I’m happy.

It may seem like a throwaway thing to say but if you think about it, how often in our busy lives do we take a moment and appreciate what we have? How many times have you stopped to ask yourself, "Am I happy?"

It’s not as easy as it seems, right? And yet, that’s how I felt. Happy.

Seasons of Parenting

I’m the type of person who enjoys every season of parenting. I live in the moment.

My son Joey is leaving for college soon, and many people have told me that I’m going to be sad when he leaves. But I don’t think I will be that sad. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll miss him when he goes. But at the same time, I love seeing him grow up and going off to college is just another step in his journey.

If you’re a new parent, you’ll face many obstacles throughout your child’s life, and with each stage that passes, another will take its place. When you overcome these obstacles, your organizational strength will grow, and you’ll have the tools you need to prepare for the next challenge in life.

So, let’s take a look at each season from babyhood all the way through to your child graduating from high school (you may want to grab a tissue!)

The Early Years of Parenting

New parents face a great deal of change in the early years, especially in the baby, toddler, and pre-school stages. Babies are a handful, and they can quickly go from one diaper size to the next. You always need to change your stockpile of diapers and then you need to organize what your kids will eat and drink.

As you continue to expand your family, you’ll also develop your mental bandwidth to include not just yourself, but each additional little human that you’re responsible for.

Grade School: The Game Changer Year

When you have younger kids, your house can suddenly become overloaded with toys, clothes, and apparatus such as strollers and car seats, etc. But as the kids grow up, you can start to move the toys into their bedrooms and put the strollers and things into storage or give them to another family member if you don’t plan on using them yourself.

And once the kids go to all-day school, your home and organizational routine will change drastically.

This is a time that I like to call "The Game Changer Year."

It’s dramatic, I know. But seriously, when the kids are in school for most of the day, you’ll not only have more time for yourself, but you’ll also have more time to organize your home. Everything seems to flow a lot easier, and you can treat yourself to some quiet time now that the kids are off to school.

Even those of you at work while your kids are at school will notice a distinct difference in function of your home and the organizational progress you make will STAY!

FYI - I highly recommend taking a day or 2 off work while your children are at school to reclaim your home. :)

Middle School: Gaining Independence

Oh, middle school – how I’ve missed you!

If you didn’t know, I used to be a 7th and 8th-grade school math and science teacher, so forgive me if I get a little nostalgic thinking back to the good old days.

What I love about this age group is their ability to form their own opinions, and being able to witness their brains process change and develop as they progress through the school year.

Middle school is a time when kids are starting to become more independent in their actions.

High School: Graduation & College

Whether you love it or loathe it, high school is one of the most memorable times of a child’s life. Their independence starts to take shape, and they begin to think about driving and colleges.

I don’t know about you, but I love helping my kids take their beliefs, ideas, and unique talents and figuring out what it is that they want to do with their lives. It’s up to us as parents to launch our kids into adulthood with the tools and strategies they need to make decisions that will help them succeed and live a fulfilling, happy life.

Eventually, my kids will be done with college, and maybe someday they’ll get married, or they’ll travel around the world with their friends – and I’m really excited for all of it. I have enjoyed each season of parenting and the organization that goes along with it and I hope you do, too!

As I am typing this, I just received the final workbook for the Organize 365 National Convention in Dallas from June 7th to June 9th. Oh my goodness, is it chock full of productivity, goal setting, and personal development! It brings tears to my eyes as I envision those of us attending being transformed and connected in ways only a live event can.

I know many of you have immovable plans, but if you are still thinking... maybe I should. You SHOULD! You will not regret it! Come see me!

Register at www.organize365.com/Dallas.

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/229

Spring break isn’t just for kids. Adults need a breath of fresh air every so often to recharge their batteries and diminish work-related stress and anxiety.

Taking a spontaneous break isn’t something I do very often, but the more I live a truly organized life, the clearer I can see the patterns of how to breed more productivity in organization and a large part of this is taking the time to relax, unwind, and de-stress.

My impromptu adult spring break adventure began a few weeks ago without me even realizing it until I was mid-way through the week!

I share my story on this week’s podcast episode and it begins with replacing the windows in my home. I know what you’re thinking, what does something as mundane as windows have to do with spring break? As it turns out, deciding to upgrade my windows kick-started a week of relaxation and organizing because it gave me the opportunity to take some time off work.

Upgrading Our Windows

Greg and I had been thinking about moving for some time, but we finally decided against it and focused on renovating and upgrading our current home instead.

Our old wooden windows were once the envy of the neighborhood back in 1986. But that was over three decades ago and they are no longer functioning.

The entire process took three days. Although this didn’t bother us much, our dog Hunter wasn’t pleased since he had to get shipped to doggy daycare until the workers were done.

Even though all of this work would be going on in the house, I knew I couldn’t take a break from my work schedule. However, I also knew that the workers would be replacing the windows in both of my kid’s bedrooms and trying to walk through the room to reach those windows would be almost impossible!

There was one clear solution – I had to take a break from work (if only for a few hours) and clean my kids' rooms so the workers could cross the threshold to reach the windows.

Cleaning & Organizing The Kids' Rooms

Since both of my kids are teenagers and their rooms are more like mini apartments than bedrooms, let’s just say that I don’t go in there very often!

But on this occasion, I didn’t have a choice. I took the morning off work and assigned myself an hour and a half to clean each room. I stuck to my schedule and finished both rooms on time, but when I finished cleaning, I didn’t feel like working.

If you know me, you’ll know that I always feel like working. However, Monday passed, and then Tuesday came and went, and I still didn’t feel like working.

My Adult Spring Break

By the time Wednesday arrived, it hit me. I had scheduled my own spring break! Granted, most of you probably would prefer to go on a sunny vacation for spring break, and the idea of cleaning your kid’s rooms and organizing the inventory sounds like work. But for me, it’s heaven!

I spent a large part of my spring break creating and organizing my Household Reference, Household Operations, Financial and Medical Binders. I even revealed how I arranged them and I also recorded a podcast series that you can listen to on The Sunday Basket Podcast.

When I wasn’t organizing my binders, I was out shopping with my family and getting things done that I usually didn’t have time to do.

Finding The Time To Organize

We all live such busy lives that it can be challenging to find the time to organize anything. The more I started to think about a week-long adult spring break, the more I was convinced that this is something I’m going to do every year.

My Sunday Basket and 100 Day Home Organization Program with 100 Day Productive Home Planner saves me a minimum of five hours per week. It helps me to organize and plan by season – which is much more practical than planning for the entire year in advance because life always gets in the way of our plans.

By planning your schedule every 100 days, you can carve out pockets of time for yourself so you can spend your time wisely and get more done.

Find out how you can live a more organized and happy life by joining us at the Organize 365 National Convention. It’s going to be an awesome experience and I would love to have you there. Grab your tickets here before they sell out!

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/227

I took Gretchen Ruben’s Four Tendencies quiz and discovered that I’m a Questioner.

I say "discovered," but I guess it’s not that much of a surprise at all.

Did you take the Four Tendencies quiz and find out what you are?

A couple of weeks ago here in Cincinnati, Ohio, I had the Sunday Basket® Workshop Certified Organizers in town for a boot camp. I told them that I had recorded the podcast with Gretchen Ruben and so they took the Four Tendencies quiz. We found out that the majority of them are Obligers. We also had a few Questioners in the mix, though I don’t think we had any Rebels or Upholders.

So I think the majority of people who listen to my podcast are probably Obligers or Questioners. And as a Questioner myself, I know that being a Questioner is not an easy road.

Questioners are analytical.

I’m going to tell you about my questioning tendencies and how it relates to the Organize 365 products I develop. Instead of using the term Questioner, I’ve always said that I’m very analytical. So I think people who are very analytical are probably a Questioner on Gretchen Ruben’s scale.

Also, I think your personality comes into play, because you can be a contrary Questioner or you can be a productive Questioner. I’m a productive Questioner. I question and I analyze so that I can get an end result or so that I can help others get an end result. That is my overarching questioning–ness. I question something to figure out how to solve a problem.

My ultimate goal as a teacher, educator, coach, motivator, parent, and human being is to solve problems and help people achieve the end result that they have for themselves. So I am a Questioner, an analyzer, in order to get you to the end result that you desire.

Obligers & Questioners

I think the majority of you up to this point have been Obligers, but in March I think I had some Questioners on the 100 Day Home Organization Program wait list! I got a couple of emails that asked, "Why are you making me wait? This is ridiculous. Here is my money, let me in please. Can I have the program? I don’t want to wait a month." I literally got three of those emails in one week!

I do not promote the 100 Day Home Organization Program every day of the year. I promote it for ten days, three different times of the year, when I know you will have the best end result of jumping into it. Now, I analyzed this quite a bit. I do not need the external motivation that an Obliger needs.

My goal for Organize 365 is to get you to your desired end result which is an organized home. And as an educator, and a teacher, and an analyzer, I know that your best chance for success is to start in September, in January, and in April. You’ll get as far as you possibly can because you’ll be going with the natural energy of the year.

However, I know that doesn’t work for everyone. And so in the future on the wait list page at the bottom, there’ll be a button that says, “Can’t wait, click here.” If you just took that quiz and you’re an Obliger, you wait until September and you start with everybody else. You will have so much more success with the 100 Day Home Organization Program if you’re doing the weekly Facebook Lives and if you’re in the Facebook Group because everybody is doing the same thing which will help you get to your end result of organizing your house.

The next round of the 100 Day Home Organization Program starts on MONDAY! And... I have opened registration for those of you who keep emailing trying to get in. :)

You can sign up through the new store here... https://organize-365.myshopify.com/

(Your planner will get there by FRIDAY.)

An Update On The Sunday Basket® Club

We started the Sunday Basket® Club because a bunch of you Obligers came to me and said that you needed to pay a monthly fee so you would do your Sunday Basket®. And you said you wanted a Sunday Basket® class. I want you to have excellent value when you put money into Organize 365. When you pay for something at Organize 365, I want you to say at the end, “Oh, my gosh, it was worth so much more than that!”

So, I price accordingly. I price for the value that is in the product, but I also price so that when you’re done, you realize you got even more than you expected.

With the Sunday Basket® Club, I was going to do twice-a-month training sessions on how to organize your paper, which I started doing in January. But I quickly realized that people were joining in February and not getting January’s "how to get started with organizing your paper." There’s an order to it that was missing.

So… introducing the new Sunday Basket® Club! It’s $99 a year. You can do the Sunday Basket® on Sundays with Monique and Ryan, and then every other Monday night, is a Facebook Live Q & A, just like in the 100 Day Home Organization Program. It’s an opportunity for you to tell me what you want to hear by telling me what questions you have about your paper.

For Questioners, simplicity comes at the end when you’ve decided what the answers to your questions are. That’s how we get simplicity. So go ahead, ask me all the questions you want in the Sunday Basket® Club!

I Want To Get You Results

We are constantly analyzing and tweaking. Part of why I say, “Progress, not perfection” is because as a Questioner, I know there’s no perfect. If you give me something that’s perfect, I’m going to question it.

I want you to get the best end result and that is why I do everything that I do. I want to give you all of the options so you can get the end result of getting your house organized. And sometimes, you see too many choices so you can’t make a decision in order to get to your end result. I am trying to tailor my products to what you need.

So that’s a sneak peek into how a Questioner thinks and why I make changes. Every change I make is to benefit you.

The 100 Day Home Organization Program hasn’t changed in years. I am going to make it available on demand in the future, but I’m still going to do the launch model because that’s what works for the majority of my audience.

Next week, we’re going to dive into physical products and the highs and lows of creating them!

And there’s still time to join me in Dallas, Texas for the Organize 365 National Convention on June 7-9, 2018! I can’t wait to meet you and give you a BIG hug!

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/224

You asked and I listened. This week on the podcast, I’m thrilled to welcome author Gretchen Rubin.

Gretchen is one of the most influential writers in the world on human nature. She hosts an award-winning podcast and her best-selling books have been published in 30 countries and sold over 3 million copies!

On the podcast, we talked about Gretchen’s most recent book, The Four Tendencies, and how your personality type relates to getting your home organized.

Which Personality Type Are You?

Gretchen explained that the The Four Tendencies are four different personality types:

• Upholder
• Questioner
• Obliger
• Rebel

You can probably tell which one you are just from the name! But if you want to take the survey for free, visit gretchenrubin.com.

Gretchen explained that these personality types vary depending on what motivates you. We’re all motivated by two main kinds of expectations:

• Outer Expectations: such as a work deadline or request from a friend
• Inner Expectations: our own desire to do things

Upholders readily meet both types of expectations. Questioners question all expectations, so they'll only do something if they're convinced it makes sense. They make everything an inner expectation and object to anything they see as inefficient or irrational.

Then there are Obligers, those who readily meet outer expectations (things other people want), but struggle to meet inner ones (the things they want). I think there are a lot of you out there!

Finally, there are Rebels, those who resist all expectations, both outer and inner.

Obliger is the most common type of tendency, with Rebel and Upholder being least common.

Listen to the podcast to find out which tendency I have. Hint: No one guessed it correctly on Facebook!

Making The Sunday Basket® Work For Your Personality Type

I enjoyed telling Gretchen about the Sunday Basket® and it was interesting to unravel that it’s my Obliger audience who were saying, "We need you to go through the Sunday Basket® with us on Sunday."

I’m so pleased that I created the Sunday Basket® Club to give people the outer accountability that they need.

How Does Personality Type Affect Home Organization?

I think we have all of the tendencies in our family of 4! So how does this help us to get our homes organized, especially when dealing with the variety of tendencies in our family?

I listened with great interest to Gretchen’s advice on how to get the home organized when taking personality types into account.

Gretchen explained that a big problem for Obligers is that they often struggle to delegate tasks. Do you recognize this tendency in yourself? This is where it helps to have people hold you accountable.

Another great tip that Gretchen gave is one that I’ve heard myself say before… if you want to clean out the spare room, invite guests. That may well be the only thing that you need to do!

Your Habits = Your Identity

Like Dr Phil always used to say – You have an identity from being cluttered, but then you get organized and you have a new identity. So you have to really focus on that. Once you become organized, you ARE living a different kind of life.

We don't realize how much of our life is habitual.

This is why both mine and Gretchen’s podcasts ask so many questions. It's to help people think about making choices and changing habits.

I LOVED talking to Gretchen. She concluded on the show that if we have habits that work for us, we're much more likely to be healthier, happier, and more creative.

Hey, have you signed up to join me in Dallas, Texas for the Organize 365 National Convention? I can’t wait to meet you and give you a BIG hug!

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/223

I want to share with you three reasons that I am an ultra-productive person. Productivity is definitely a mindset and a way that I was just inherently hard-wired for, but it is something you can learn.

#1 Productive People Don't Waste Any Time

You might be thinking, “Well, duh. I don’t waste time either.” But it’s more than just not wasting time. I see time as my friend and I am in complete control of my time.

This mindset shift alone will take a while for you to cultivate, especially if you’re thinking it can’t work for your circumstances. It is a mindset.

Along with not wasting time, I reorganize my time - all the time. I see my day as blocks of time, but because I’m in control of all of my time, I move things around.

#2 Productive People Are Results Oriented

I didn’t realize until recently how I do a to-do list and how an unproductive person does a to-do list. If you watched both of us doing our to-do lists, we would both look equally busy and look like we were getting the same amount done. But at the end of the day, my to-do list is done and you feel like you never got started on your to-do list.

Here’s the difference. I measure my success each day in finished products, not actionable work. Busyness gets me nowhere.

Productive people are not busy, they are producing. That is the big distinguisher. You have to stop some of your busyness in order to get an end result, which means you have to know where you’re going.

When you look at the whole day at the end of the day, what did you actually get finished? What did you get done? What have you produced?

Productive people are measuring what we are finishing and producing, not how we are spending our time.

#3 Productive People Follow Tried And True Action Plans

The biggest secret about productivity is that it is all about experimenting and creating habits. That is what productive people do. They try, they analyze, they look at their results and then they tweak and tweak.

Productive people follow tried and true action plans. Whenever I have something new in business that I have never done before, I try to find somebody who has done that and I ask them what people they use, what system do they use, what is their process? I may tweak that for my own business, or I may tweak that for my own productivity or where it fits best in my schedule, but I don’t start everything from scratch.

The 100 Day Home Organization Program was developed by a professional organizer (me!) who took all of the spaces in your house, divided them into an organized chart, and then created the order in which you organize them according to the areas where you spend the most time and the areas of the house you have the most control.

The 100 Day Home Organization Program WORKS!

If you are looking to PRODUCE an ORGANIZE home, follow this system. ;)

Being A Productive Person

The things that I do that make me a very productive person are I don’t waste any time and I feel that my time is in my control. I am results oriented, not busyness focused, and I follow tried and true action plans to get the results I want.

If you are looking for a way to end up feeling 100 days from now that your house is more organized, I really do think that the 100 Day Home Organization Program is the solution for you. We would love to have you join us.

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/222

This week’s podcast episode is about the 100 Day Home Organization Program which is now open for registration!

Many of you listen to my podcast for a solid six months or more before you believe that you can become organized.

Eventually you try the Sunday Basket® and attend a Sunday Basket® Workshop. After 6-8 weeks of using the Sunday Basket®, you wonder why you waited so long.

Then, the intrigue sets in – would the 100 Day Home Organization Program work for me?

Yes, IF you aknowledge these two things...

First, it will take you a full calendar year, three times through the 100 Day Home Organization Program, to become fully organized… you can do it… and it works!

Second, you have to be willing to make an investment. An investment of your time, money and motivation. A big part of the transformation starts with the transaction. What you pay for, you value and you take it more seriously.

I Liken The Program To Montessori Learning

On the podcast, I share an email that I received from Marcy who likened my methods to the classical model for education (the grammar, dialectic and rhetoric stage). Marcy made so many great points and this intrigued me as it’s not something I was aware I was doing.

This got me thinking about Montessori teaching methods, something that I’m very familiar with having worked as a Montessori teacher.

In a Montessori classroom, students are grouped by three year age groupings and not by grade. Over the course of three years in the same classroom, children interact with students 3 years older and 3 years younger than themselves. All teachers in the classroom teach all age groups. You get a real depth of education because you are with different age groups throughout your education. You learn how to be mentored and how to be a mentor.

Another key aspect of Montessori is it repeats the curriculum over and over at a different level. The same presentations are delivered to children, but expectations are different based on their age. Kids move at their own pace, as long as the work gets done. They can deep dive into the topics they love the most and there is no limit – peers do not hold individuals back.

When I worked as a middle school Montessori teacher, I always made sure that I incorporated what was going on in the real world into the classroom.

This is very similar to how I teach in the podcast. I am very thoughtful about what I teach and when. I want to meet you where you are.

I teach three steps to getting organized.

1. Declutter
2. Organize
3. Increase productivity

Click on the links above to listen to my popular podcast episodes on each.

By repeating the 100 Day Home Organization Program over and over agian, the amount of time you spend on each stage will change.

The first time you do the program, you’ll spend most of your time decluttering. Give yourself grace. You must take pressure off yourself. The expectation is that you’re going to start taking some action. You may not get through the full 100 days your first time (not many people do!).

If you start the program now, your second time through will begin in September. The organizing energy in September is really strong! You will spend more time on organizing from September to December the second time you go through the 100 Day Home Organization Program.

Newsflash, you will not believe what you didn’t get rid of the first time! You can never get rid of as much as you need to because your mind won’t let you.

But when you get to the point where you have empty space, this will rock your world!

Empty spaces can feel strange. In round two, you will learn to start living with a few empty spaces.

January 1, 2019, you’ll start your third time through the program – this is when you’ll be doing 50% organizing and 50% productivity. People LOVE productivity. But in order to get productive, you have to declutter and organize first.

Join The 100 Day Home Organization Program!

Registration for the 100 Day Home Organization Program is open now until April 3rd.

I can't wait to help you GET organized!

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/221

Hold on tight folks – it’s about to get emotional!

This week on the podcast, I talk about how to manage items related to your hopes, dreams, and memories that are still in storage.

The Hot Mess Room Challenge

As my podcast episodes related to the Hot Mess Room Challenge series draws to a conclusion, I’m still in the middle of organizing all of my crafts! Organize 365 is my passion now so I no longer need to keep all of my crafts. It is time for them to go.

If you’re in the Hot Mess Room Challenge, you’ve already been watching a lot of videos in my storage room. If you’re not and you would like to be, click here. It’s a free 28-day program with printables, an ebook, and all of the videos.

In an ideal world, I would love for my storage room to look like it should at the end of the Hot Mess Room Challenge. Guess what, though? It doesn’t look great yet and it probably won’t look like that ...ever.

The reason? It’s often because it takes us up to 3 times or more to go through a space to get it to a point where you’d want to share the finished result with anyone, let alone announce it on Pinterest!

Tackling Difficult Memories

Our storage room is full of memories.

There are many items in my storage room that remind me of the future that I thought I’d be living.

They represent an unusual kind of loss because the items aren’t attached to the loss of people or money. Instead, they represent a future that I thought I would have, but haven’t yet, or that I know will never happen.

We all have hopes, dreams, ambitions, and pictures of our future that don’t materialize in the ways we thought they would. It doesn’t make it bad. It doesn’t make it good. It is just the reality of our current situation.

Are there items in your storage that remind you of…

• The mom or woman you thought you’d be?
• The person you thought you’d marry?
• The lifestyle you thought you’d have?
• The career you thought you’d have?
• The free time you thought you’d have?

These are difficult, but important questions.

Often, we’re not holding onto things for financial reasons. Instead, we feel that if we keep them, then one day that dream or ambition may come true.

Flip Your Mindset

Instead of focusing on what may have been, focus on what you have. For me, I never thought I’d have a dog, but here I am with Hunter and I couldn’t imagine a world without him.

What do you have that you didn’t think you would?

I never imagined that I could talk to people from my bedroom and inspire others to change their life based on their goals, hopes, and dreams to get organized.

I’m teaching and using my gifts in ways that I never imagined I would. However, it was extremely hard to get rid of all my teaching supplies. Giving up on my dream of owning a day-care center was a process. It took me years to let my teaching license lapse and let my supplies go.

A Yard Sale, Charity Event & Party All In One!

It’s wonderful to receive your emails and see the successes that you’re achieving when you’re getting your homes in order.

On the podcast this week, I had to share Lynn’s story because I LOVE it! She was debating over what to do with all of the things that she no longer needed and she finally settled on a yard sale in her basement.

Everything was free, but people were asked to make donations to charity. She was partying with her friends in the kitchen while people were taking things away and at the same time donating to help others. After 2 hours, most of the items were gone and she’d made over $800 to donate to a local charity. She told me how good it felt on all levels.

Supply & Demand

Steph emailed me to share that smaller families may be the reason why people don’t want to inherit so much stuff anymore. With parents tending to have fewer children these days, we often don’t battle with siblings for nostalgic mementos like we may have done in the past.

Mind blown! She’s absolutely right. It’s certainly true for when my sister and I were going through the family home as there was so many things and only the two of us to sort and acquire them.

Take A Deep Breath & Start

I really want you to look at the things you are storing and ask yourself whether you really need it... BUT at the same time, give yourself more grace if required. Maybe it’s time to get rid of things, but equally, maybe it’s not. It could be that you just needed to hear the words this time and then the next time we talk about it, that’ll be the time to take action.

We know that intellectually we need to get rid of things, but it’s the physical and emotional ties that hold us back from getting rid of things until the third or fourth time.

Previous Podcast Episodes

The main podcast episodes that I recommend you listen to, where I talk about my own childhood memories and how to deal with items when someone passes away, are:

• 3 Things To Consider When You Are Saving Childhood Memories
• What to Save When A Loved One Passes
• 10 Things I Am Decluttering After 30 Years!

Next week, I am sharing how the 100 Day Home Organization Program is like Montessori Education.

Which is appropriate as I am here in Texas this weekend at the Home School Convention. Education is on my mind. :)

I will also be stopping by the Hotel for the Organize 365 National Convention on June 7-9, 2018. All the party plans are humming along.

AND... I'm visiting the 1000+ Sunday Baskets that just arrived this week. I have to go see all my basket babies! Thanks so much for following along on my journey and supporting the new Organize 365 Store!

You may have noticed that I’m not on Facebook as much these days. It’s become so complicated! While I still have a business page and a personal account, please know that everything that I record goes into the Organize 365 Facebook Group - it’s a great free resource. If you’re not in this group, why not?! Head on over and sign up.

What I really enjoy about the Facebook Group is the shared conversations you all have with each other.

It’s great when you post questions and success stories as the whole Organize 365 team LOVE's to see what you’re doing and share it with our wonderful community.

I really like Instagram and, in particular, I love Instastories! Click here to follow me on Instagram.

You’ll often see me posting quick snippets of my life and they’re only available for 24 hours.

If Instagram isn't your thing, you can also see my Instastories on Facebook Stories, as well.

Speaking of Sunday Basket®s, if you love the system and are looking for a way to make a little money on the side, or to drive clients to your existing professional organizing business, please consider coming alongside the already 50 strong team of Sunday Basket® Workshop Organizers! Why now?

You can join between now and April 1, 2018 for a $500 one time fee and a yearly renewal of $250.

Starting April 1, the one time fee goes up to $745, so get in now and save!

50% of the professional organizers on the Organize 365 Sunday Basket® Workshop Organizer Team say they have received a new professional organizing client at their FIRST WORKSHOP. You can learn more about becoming a Sunday Basket® Workshop Organizer and/or sign up here: https://organize365.com/become-licensed-sunday-basket-workshop-provider/

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/220

Does your home ever feel like a craft store?! This week on the podcast, I talk all about how to get your crafts in order so you can create space and have more time to enjoy doing the things you love.

One of the reasons I’ve not tackled the hot mess room on the podcast so far is precisely because it’s a hot mess room and it’s overwhelming!

When there’s so much in there, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and not really know where to begin, especially when you’re listening to my podcast episodes but then can’t physically see the things you should be sorting. Because of this, I’m here to try and teleport myself into your space and give us the chance to tackle this together in the most logical way possible.

Start With The End In Mind

Imagine for a moment that we could stop time and you could have seven full days to dedicate solely to working on your craft. Obviously, it’s not practical in the real world, but it’s a great starting point to look at all of your crafts and work out exactly what you could and would want to use in that time. This will form the basis for everything we do to organize your crafts.

It’s most likely that you’ll have enough crafts to keep you going for seven years rather than seven days. Therefore, it’s going to take you more than seven days just to organize it, let alone start enjoying it! You need to have this reality check. Otherwise, you’re setting up for unrealistic expectations – and we all know I’m the queen of those!

My Scrapbook Downsizing

I have always loved scrapbooking and making photo albums. As a result, I’ve accumulated LOTS of supplies over many years. I came the realize that I didn’t need all of those supplies anymore. I simply don’t scrapbook as much as I used to.

It this week’s podcast episode, I explain how I managed to reduce my craft supplies from taking up two very large closets in the basement to one armoire in the loft.

Why am I telling you this? It’s so you can clearly see how I went from having supplies for a full-time business to supplies that will support me making one or two albums a year.

Letting Go Of The Stamping & Counted Cross Stitch

Similar to my scrapbooking supplies, I used to have A LOT of stamping supplies which I have now condensed to hardly any at all (just a small shoe box versus the whole bookcase that I used to have).

My mother is an artist and makes wonderful rubber stamp cards. Because mom did it, I bought hundreds of rubber stamps and ALL the associated supplies. I was decluttering last summer when I realized that I hadn’t stamped in 15 years. I was only keeping them because:

1. I’d spent a lot of money on them
2. The looked super cute
3. They sat on the gorgeous piece of furniture that my late grandfather had made

I did two things. First, I chose 20 stamps to keep for future projects and I sent the rest to my mom to use and give to others. Second, I took the stamp holder off the wall and offered it to my sister. She was delighted to accept it as she now got something that grandpa had made and she had a use for it.

I did the same with counted cross stitch. I used to LOVE counted cross stitch, but I came to realize that I haven’t done a project in 17 years. I can’t imagine a time when I’m going to do one again any time soon, but I CAN see a time in the distant future when I will pick this hobby back up. So I’ve kept a couple of hoops and all my flosses are in order for when this time comes, but it’s in a small box that’s easy to store.

Allow Yourself To Let Go

Scrapbooking , stamping, and counted cross stitch are examples of crafts that I used to be really into, but am less so now. Similar to what I did, ask yourself if you’re still really into something and if not, adjust the amount of supplies that you hold onto.

As you’re looking at your craft and reliving the memories of the interest in that craft, ask yourself:

1. What is your current need, desire, and excitement for this craft?
2. What is your future need, excitement, and desire for this craft?

Only keep the things you really need and give 90% away! It may not be exactly 90%, but I guarantee you it will be around that amount. You do not need to keep a lot.

Sometimes an advancement in technology makes your craft redundant. My stamps are a great example of this. They’re wooden, but modern ones are clear and much easier to use. If you want to revisit a hobby later, invest a bit of money in new things. Don’t be held back by the old things that you’re storing. Just because you’ve held onto them doesn’t mean you have to use them forever.

Speaking of projects...

OH MY GOODNESS! We have so many new products and opportunities coming out THIS WEEKEND I can't even stand it!!

If you are following me on Instagram or Facebook be ready for LOTS of videos. :)

I can't even decide what I am the most excited about!!

First, I am so happy to announce that the BINDERS ARE IN!

That's right! They are finally ready!

There are five binders currently available - Financial, Medical, Household Reference, Household Operations, and Kids School Memories.

You are going to LOVE THEM!

and... the Official Sunday Baskets® are IN!

I can't even believe my dream is coming true!

If you have already participated in the Sunday Basket® Workshop, you will want to get your Official Organize 365 Sunday Basket® to accompany your slash pockets!

If you haven't yet, we are now offering a special Sunday Basket® Kit for only $97 which includes the virtual Sunday Basket® Bundle 1.0 & 2.0 AND your very own Sunday Basket®!

SHOP HERE

As always, thank you for all you do as the heartbeat of Organize 365.

I love hearing from all of you and am always cheering you on from the sidelines as you take control of your life - one room, one pile of paper at a time.

Happy Organizing!

... Still reading?!

Then you are a SUPER fan!

Have you signed up to join me in Dallas, Texas for the Organize 365 National Convention? I can’t wait to meet you and give you a BIG hug!

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/219

Welcome to the Hot Mess Room Series - Week 2!

It’s time to sort through all of those items that you’ve been hanging onto without ever knowing where they’re likely to eventually end up.

Storage is essential, but it can quickly get out of control. It’s time to ask yourself two simple questions…

1. Will I use this item 1-4 times a year?
2. Is this item saved for a specific person, for a specific date in the future?

If you can answer yes, the item can stay. If it’s a no, it’s time for it to go. Storing things that you need is fine, and the more organized you get, the more you’ll appreciate a well-functioning storage room.

My free 28-day organizational program on this topic goes into much more detail. Listen to my previous podcast for more information and you can sign up for it here.

The number one goal for storage is to ask yourself if an item is something that you’re ever going to use. This applies to your items and the items that you are storing for others.

I covered so many different things in this podcast including gifts, wrapping, furniture, home repair items, sports & entertainment equipment, cleaning supplies, kitchen supplies, toys, home decor, children's storage, making money, and clothing.

You can read all about it in the blog post here.

The Series

I know that organizing a hot mess room doesn’t happen overnight so I’m creating this 4-episode podcast series to tackle things. This is Part Two. Last week, we laid the foundation and over the next two weeks we will cover:

• Craft organization
• Sorting memories and dreams for the future

If you’re not already doing the 28-day challenge, then WHY NOT?! It’s a completely free program and you can start at any time.

Sign up to start your journey here.

Join me in Dallas, Texas for the Organize 365 National Convention on June 7-9, 2018! I can’t wait to meet you and give you a BIG hug!

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/218

Take a deep breath – it’s time to get your hot mess room in order!

This is one of the most requested podcast topics fro me to cover. If it helps, it was equally overwhelming for me to think about how I was going to inspire and motivate you to sort it out.

What I finally realized was, you needed a 28 day course. And I didn't want money to be the reason you didn't tackle this already overwhelming space. So I created a FULL 28 day course complete with a 25 page eBook, 9 full color printables, and 28 daily emails with actionable tasks and daily videos or podcasts to keep you going.You can get the WHOLE course FREE here.

Over the next 4 podcasts, I’m going to tackle your out of control storage area head on. Buckle up and get ready for the ride!

Whether it’s the storage room, garage, spare bedroom, or even your entire house, there’s always going to be things that you just don’t know what to do with.

As things build up in one space, they become a jigsaw puzzle. It’s your job to try and work out what items should go where. To move forward, you need to realize what’s actually in there and then once you’ve achieved that, you can sort it out.

There’s two reasons why you have a hot mess room…

1. You have a lack of time (and decision-making capabilities)
2. You have a lack of space

Lack Of Time

There’s always something that will be more important to distract you from addressing the hot mess room.

The reason that things are in there in the first place is because you don’t know what you want to do with them. They’re all there because you don’t want to deal with them. If you did want to deal with them, you would have!

Lack Of Space

Your goal is to have a functioning and organized storage area. The logistics of this will depend on your individual situation.

If you have a garage and basement and lots of available space to fill, you may need to make tough decisions to reduce the amount of possessions you are storing.

If you live in a smaller space, the reason that you may have a hot mess room is because you literally don’t have a storage area at all.

When we pick houses, we often don’t make our purchasing decisions based on storage even though it’s something that we all need.

Storage is a natural by-product of life. We all need a certain amount of stuff and that is absolutely fine.

Depending on your circumstances, you may need an off-site storage facility. There’s nothing wrong with this.

Here are 3 good examples of when this may be necessary…

1. When two families blend together, especially if children are involved
2. When you downsize, but the kids are still using the house as a storage facility
3. If you move to an area where you don’t have a garage or basement

Make Storage Work For You

Since I started offering physical products, I’ve really had to think about the organizational logistics for myself and the wider team. Initially, we used the Home Depot shelving in the garage to store everything and this very quickly expanded to include an off-site storage facility.

This worked, but it wasn’t ideal. As it got colder, we realized that a physical office with a door would be more appropriate for our needs.

In all of these spaces, we used the Home Depot shelving – there were lots of trips to the store!

The key to organization is to ensure that it works for your needs. If it doesn’t, change it, find a better solution, and move on.

The System

Whatever your system, start from an empty space for the optimum organization. The more uniform, the better. Your shelving and storage need to be neat, tidy, and clearly accessible.

I personally use the HDX ventilated 24” deep shelving from Home Depot. I love that it is heavy duty yet very flexible and lightweight. (How to set up your storage room and the exact products I use are in the the WHOLE course FREE here.)

It works for basements, storage facilities, garages, and even attics because it is so adaptable in height. It’s the system I LOVE for setting up a storage room.

If space is limited, you can place folding tables on the top of the shelving to make a countertop to work on. It’s a great money-saving tip.

The beauty of this system is that you can find anything at any time. Color-coded bins will hold your items and the contents will all be indexed in a home reference binder. You will keep this in the house for when you need to use it.

Sign Up!

I’m offering you the opportunity to enroll in a special 28-day program just for the hot mess room. It’s completely FREE! I’m super, super excited about how much this will help you.

Sign up for this 28 day daily organizational challenge and you’ll get…

• Daily actionable work that will yield real results
• A 2-minute video each day
• An eBook and a comprehensive shopping list of how to set up a storage room
• 9 colorful printables to track what you have stored in your storage area

Imagine getting organized in just 28 days! It’s a reality and it’s my FREE gift to you!

Click here to start your 28-day organizational hot mess room journey.

Hey, have you signed up to join me in Dallas, Texas for the Organize 365 National Convention? I can't wait to meet you and give you a BIG hug!

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/217

It’s the big one guys!

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been super excited to introduce you to some of the people that have really helped shape who I am over the last decade. So I couldn’t think of a better way to finish the series than by inviting my very own sister, Emily Kelly, onto the podcast!

Emily takes you on the journey of some of our life experiences and shows you how I’ve become the person and businesswoman I am today... and to dish the dirt on everything about me that only a sister can know! We’re very lucky to be in such a special relationship.

I’m also super excited to let you know that Emily is now part of the Organize 365 Team. She is running the Sunday Basket® Workshop Organizer Certification Program.

Entrepreneurship Runs In Our Family

We grew up in a 100% entrepreneurial family so the idea of working for someone else was just never entertained. For us, we were taught that you either owned the company or you started one from scratch.

On the podcast, Emily takes us back to when she was 3 years old to the story of her first friend whose mom owned a home goods shop in the valley and our Mom who was running her business from our basement.

Every day, they’d play "shops" with the little guest checks or receipts lying around from both homes. It was that or trading stickers. It’s all we’d ever known. Everywhere we went, we were pretending we were in business. It was so much fun!

By contrast, since I was 4 years older, I was often out babysitting and dreaming of the day I’d become a mom!

To picture the scene, we grew up in a neighborhood in Akron with no traffic (or sidewalks!) and there were very few children. It meant that we had to make our own fun. I’ll never forget the day Emily and her friend set up a lemonade stand outside the house.

Entrepreneurism was everywhere for us, but it’s lovely to reflect on the fact that we learned business from different perspectives because of our ages.

Our Mom’s Business

Emily loves that we’re both true to form with the women on mom’s side of the family when it comes to business minds. We have inherited the attitude of "I have an idea and it’s going to sell."

Our grandma mailed fabric all over the world so people could make their own clothes. Grandma Green had a flower shop, and our mom’s idea grew while working for a clothing business.

Emily and I have such fun recalling the stories of mom and grandma taking clothes for a huge end-of-season event to Cleveland to maximize sales in the 1970’s/80’s. Everyone helped with it.

Mom saw potential right away. Many people were being successful with the trunk parties, but no one had the undergarments. Cue mom! She literally got on a plane to New York, went to a show, and started buying lingerie.

She had slips coming out of her ears! It was an old-school direct sales business that she’d created on her own. Emily says that just blows her away!

It reminds me of when I got on the plane to Dallas and asked the manufacturer to produce my Sunday Basket® for me.

Mom grew the business to where she had women working for her in 26 states when she sold it just a few years later. It was an amazing achievement with lots of reinvestment. We are both so similar in the way we approach business today because of how she was.

White Gloves, Party Manners & Favorite Games

Emily and I recall how when we were young, we took etiquette classes to learn all about silverware and to get our slips out for formal dinners (slips feature heavily in our childhood!). We also learned how to get out of a car in a skirt. I often wondered, would any of this help me see the royal family? We’re both BIG royals. I would have put being Queen on my list of jobs to be when I grew up if I could. I can’t wait for the royal wedding and new royal baby this year!

We did love to play lots and lots of games when we were growing up, too. We came up with all sorts of games. By far, our favorite was one we made up called "big friend." Visit the blog post here to view a short video of Emily and I sharing our memories of the game.

Entrepreneurism Ran In Our Dad’s Family, Too

Our dad was no exception to entrepreneurism. Sales was his strength and Dad’s company had over 100 employees. His father and grandfather had a coffee company. Our father’s company in Akron that he eventually became co-owner of was called Alcon Tool. Dad’s enthusiasm for manufacturing made us fall in love with the industry.

Dad’s ethos on work is something that stays with us both today. It doesn’t matter what role you play in the team, everyone is equally important. That’s what I’m trying to grow at Organize 365.

Dad’s Passing

Our father passed away 10 years ago just before he was 61.

On the podcast episode, Emily and I reflect on this most upsetting time in our lives. We talk about how it was kind to put us both as executors, but not practical. We found our own roles and formed a strong team at a difficult time.

Growing Independently

It’s true that we had a privileged upbringing in both education and financial support, but in every single generation, the businesses that our families grew started from scratch. There was no inheritance, but just a great idea and the determination to succeed. Dad started life as a salesman and left as a partner.

When I reflect back, my best advice would be to take a look at what you have and not what everyone else has. I’m successful and I’m very blessed, but I work really hard. I want to give back as much as possible, but I create zero excuses for myself.

Having my husband Greg working allowed me to start Organize 365, but Emily is a very successful single woman. So it’s not your spouse that makes or breaks you.

Think about the "something" you were uniquely created to do and give it to the world. Every reason why you’re not pursuing it is an excuse. Take what’s in your way and get rid of excuses to move forward.

This podcast is about our family highlights because it’s all about encouraging and inspiring you. When you focus on the positives, opportunities become bigger and brighter and you can chase them.

If you focus on what could have been, things look darker and it’s harder to chase your goals.

Creative Memories

The time when Emily and I worked for Creative Memories was a super exciting time in both our lives.

Replacing my teaching salary with direct sales so I could stay at home with my family was my dream and I was going to do everything I could to get there.

My dad helped me decide on Creative Memories. We both felt it had a big reach... it turns out we were right! As Emily says, I joined and went straight to the top! Emily was one of my great customers and after turning me down initially, I finally managed to get her to sign up, too. She went straight to the top as well!

We built teams and were in the top 6% performers of the company.

We take a lot of what we learned in those days with us now to run a fun community workshop feel.

Emily & I As A Team Again

This brings us to today and where Emily and I find ourselves in the organizational realm. Although it’s not the most profitable, I’m staying with the home and paper organization, as it’s the area where I feel I can recreate the community buzz of Creative Memories.

I’m constantly pivoting and moving forward to create this feeling in your house and at our workshops. It’s awesome to have Emily on board to run the Sunday Basket® Workshop Organizer Certification Program. Prices go up on April 1st so get in touch with Emily to talk about the next steps as soon as you can. We’d love to have you on the team!

Emily and I see the vision of bringing people together all over the world. It’s a space where you can share experiences and move forward from them. No one should feel alone and that’s why the workshop model works so well.

Emily is so excited to be on board and she feels just like she did when we worked together at Creative Memories. For her, we’ve never been better than then as a team.

I love Emily and so will you, I am sure!

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/216

I am so excited to introduce you to Melanie Moore on this week’s Organize 365 podcast! As many of you know, I’m running a series of the top 5 people who have helped shape and define me over the last decade and Melanie definitely qualifies.

Melanie is the Director of Training & Development at CinchShare, a social media scheduling software that helps entrepreneurs, business owners, and anyone using social media to spend more time doing what they love rather than being tied to a computer.

We use CinchShare at Organize 365 and I’m delighted that CinchShare is sponsoring the Organize 365 National Convention on June 7-9, 2018 in Texas. Melanie is going to be the Master of Ceremonies!

How I Met Melanie

The first time we spoke, I was in Walmart when my cell phone rang. The lady on the end of the phone sounded so enthusiastic that I pretended to know exactly who she was (even though at that stage I didn’t!).

At the time, Melanie organized events where companies would come together, share ideas, and take them back to their own teams to grow their businesses. She asked if I would be a speaker and I couldn’t wait to jump in and say yes. I’d always wanted to be a national direct sales speaker and this was the perfect opportunity to learn and develop. She couldn’t pay me, but asked if I had a book I’d like to sell at the end. I said, "Yes." The speaking opportunity was in 2 weeks so I had 2 weeks to write a book... which, of course, I did!! :)

Be An Action Taker

After several meet-ups, we realized that we were both action takers.

Being an action taker is a lot of fun. It opens up time to spend on things you enjoy rather than deliberating over things that don’t hold so much significance. For example, when something breaks, I’ll buy a new one right away. I won’t take hours pondering it. If the new one doesn’t work out, we’ll try again.

Why Melanie Is An Inspiration To Me

Melanie’s enthusiasm and expertise is infectious. And we both talk as fast as each other! I love that we both see the bigger picture in life. We’re able to both draw on our direct sales experience and see what’s working and what isn’t. The opportunities for both of us that arise from this are just super exciting.

Organize 365 National Convention in Dallas

Tickets are available NOW! 

Describing this convention is something I am having a hard time articulating. It’s a convention that meets a retreat with a splash of the group activities you did on school field trips.

Think of it as a chance to meet and hug me (I’m a big hugger!).

It’s all about getting like-minded people in a room together and learning so much from each other.

Prepare to meet new friends, enjoy new experiences, and open your mind to a world of possibilities that you never thought possible. Give yourself the time to take a step out of the real world and purposefully plan your next year. I promise you, you’ll walk out of the convention as a new person.

As Melanie says, “You’ll be a new person on a new mission. You’ll see clarity like you’ve never experienced. Clarity alone will bring you back every single year.”

Rise – YOU Are Enough

I want you to leave the conference believing in YOU. The convention will give you the resources you need to continue on your organizational journey and open up time in your calendar and space in your life for the future you want to happen. The more organized you are, the better your personal and professional life can be.

I have a burning desire to see people thriving and living a relaxed life where they can live out their free time. The Organize 365 community is super awesome. We all learn from each other, including me! For example, thanks to a suggestion from someone in the group (thank you!), I now peg my jeans instead of hanging them so I have a designated space for each TYPE of jeans I wear. The peg is a brilliant idea!

Supporting each other also brings us to synergy and the idea that 1 + 1 = 3 (or for me and Melanie, 8 million!). It’s important to get off technology and see people face-to-face. Melanie is such a wonderful example of this and I’m so happy that our paths crossed. There’s so much value in speaking to people.

If you dream it and believe it, you can achieve it. As Melanie says, she can’t wait to see my dream of running a national convention actually come to fruition… and neither can I!

We’re super excited to meet you all. There are only 160 tickets available. Once they’re gone, they’re GONE! Join us for some big surprises, be ready to be inspired, and take action. Come to Dallas and rise with us. 

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/215

I’m super excited to introduce Laura Vanderkam to the podcast. I’m a HUGE fan and I’ve wanted to get her on the show since I started out. Laura is the talented author of several time management and productivity books – I’ve read them all! She is here to guide us through life by saying, "Hey! It can be tough, but there’s so many different ways to manage our time and make things easier."

I feel like I already know so much about Laura from her inspirational podcast, "The Best of Both Worlds." I’m always searching for podcasts about successful women and how they do it (aren’t we all?) and this is where I discovered Laura. The podcast is all about loving our families and our jobs as one, a concept that’s often presented as oppositional, but this one aims to prove it doesn’t have to be that way.

Laura and her co-host Sarah Hart-Unger have taught me so much, not only about organizing my life for the better, but also giving me the confidence to speak up and stand my ground on the things that are important to me.

Can You Have It All?

Well, according to Laura – yes, you can. Not only that, she tells you how to hit it out of the park. My personal light bulb moment was coming across, "What Most Successful Women Do Before Breakfast," one of Laura’s books. To me, the content really makes sense. It’s about loving harmonizing your family and career, helping out, being flexible, and organizing your time to allow you to feel fulfilled in every part of your life.

Grab Those Goalposts

Use goals to manage your time. I’m a big believer that you can pretty much do whatever you want if you pick a goal and set steps to make it work. I definitely look at my time differently now thanks to Laura.

Unfortunately, good things don’t just appear like magic. You need to think about how you’re realistically going to get to where you want to be. Set manageable targets within achievable timeframes and the goal setting process will start to flow. The book "I Know How She Does It" is really good for this.

Prioritizing Family Time – Anytime

Talking about looking at time differently, I love the concept of shaking things up. A simple change can affect your life dramatically. For example, if you feel like you’re missing out on quality time with your family, why not try making your meal time together at the beginning of the day. There’s so much pressure for family meals to be in the evening, but this can happen at any other time. How about breakfast?

Breakfast food is fun and often people, especially children, are in a better mood in the morning. So it really can be a great option for busy families to have that time to sit together. Work out what works best for you and your family and shake it up.

Looking At Your Time Differently

Who knew the middle of the week was Thursday evening? I know, right?! This is a game changer. Laura explains that if you start from Monday morning, the midpoint of the week is really Thursday evening, even though it feels like the end of the week.

For Laura, managing time is about balance. What does balance mean to you and how can you achieve it? Don’t be leisurely about your leisure time. It’s not about scheduling things you have to do – it’s about scheduling things you WANT to do! While she doesn’t suggest planning every part of your life, sometimes we do need to schedule our free time. If you want to go for a run, factor in that 20 minutes somewhere.

Laura also says it’s important not to blame anyone else. You are in control. Don’t use the kids as an excuse for not being able to do things. I pick 1-3 things I want to accomplish and look at how that fits in with the family – at least then I’m in the equation. We need to think about ourselves.

The Great Sleep Debate – Are We Getting Enough?

I was inspired by Laura tracking her sleep over a couple of years and had every intention of tracking my sleep for 2 weeks – I ended up doing 2 nights! I’ve always said I need 6/7 hours, but the issue is I love sleeping in on the weekends. The purpose of Laura’s study was to see, in actual numbers, what the life of a professional woman looks like. It turns out, we have a lot more free time than we think. It’s how we use that time that’s key.

Outsource The Things That Actually Take Up Your Time

We need to ask ourselves, where are we actually spending most of our time? It’s likely to be picking up laundry or doing the daily house chores, but we definitely need to look beyond the obvious if we want to save time.

Many of you know that I used to organize people professionally. I’d get constant calls from women asking me why they suddenly felt overwhelmed by the housework, despite work not changing and their kids being older. The reason was mostly because they’d gotten rid of the nanny who had been looking after the kids AND the housework. Often, they’d just need a part-time housekeeper to fill the gap and they’d be back on track. Laura points out that those little jobs we often multitask are actually taking up tons of valuable hours that we could be spending elsewhere. She says to set aside a time and, if it’s not done in that time, it’s probably not that important.

We definitely underestimate the hours it takes to sort the home, but give yourself credit for doing that activity, whether you outsource it or not.

Putting You In Control

If something’s not done, I feel like it’s my problem. I know that I often put that on myself. I’m sure many of you can relate, but Laura says there’s always a choice and I think that is so important to remember. Sometimes you are doing this to yourself and you can take back control.

Balancing family, free time, and chores can be overwhelming. What I LOVE about Laura is that not only does she have great ideas for managing your time effectively, she’s able to make me see that I can’t do it all. I’m WORKING And best of all – that’s ok!

Looking Forward

The next book from Laura is called "Off The Clock" and it comes out on May 29th. It’s a time study about tracking time and how people look at their lives. How do people spend their time differently? Laura found that people who felt like they had a lot of time had done something different or memorable. They felt like they had more time because they were doing something with their time that they actually remembered. The conclusion was that when you do this, your time actually expands. I LOVE it! The date is already on my calendar to get it.

To find out more about Laura Vanderkam, click here.

Follow me on Facebook and on Instagram – I’m currently addicted to Instagram Stories!

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/213

I have mentioned on the podcast many times before that there is one blog that I read every single day... it is Andrea Dekker's. There is so much great material on her blog andreadekker.com.

Andrea has four children under the age of six and she explains how she manages all their very different requirements, and her own, with a simple "be prepared" mantra. She also shares with us some great advice on selling your unwanted items on Craigslist, something she does often with success.

How We Both Got Started

Both Andrea and I started out with very different blogs. For me, I remember I was going to be this "guru" to help when your kids had food allergies and other things. But then I realized that dealing with that and dealing with everything my kids needed me to do was just too much! That is when in 2012, I launched Organize365.com. Though for Andrea, it was a little different.

Andrea explains on the podcast that she just fell into doing what she does. After finishing college, starting work, and getting married, she realized she hated her job. Her father gave her some great advice when he told her to find out what she enjoyed doing and figure out a way to get paid for doing it. In doing that, she would be successful even if she didn't make a lot of money.

So, a job she really disliked ended up being the springboard to starting her own organizing business, which was essentially her dream job. This was back in 2006. She didn't even have internet in her own house. But eventually she began to write her own blog, and she took some work as a virtual assistant.

One of many things I love about Andrea's blog is her level of consistency. She would post every day at 8am and, just like reading a newspaper, I would sit down to read her blog every morning. I even copied this routine when I started blogging. My posts went up at 8am because Andrea's posts did!

Andrea is good at routine. She takes the normal, everyday tasks and makes them more efficient and functional. She explains during the episode that she doesn't have creative, cool things to share. She just focuses on functionality and frugal solutions.

If It Doesn't Work, Change It

I was delighted that Andrea was willing to share a couple tips for my Organize 365 listeners. And I can certainly relate to the first tip about constantly evaluating what works and what doesn't work. Take the kids' toys for example... if the toys no longer fit in their space, then something has to go. Don't continue to just accumulate without purging as you go along.

I am a self-confessed consumer, but the kids' toys change as they get older. I find that spreading them out into different rooms, or making them responsible for their own toys in their own space, makes it less overwhelming for you to clean them up again afterwards.

Making the house work for you and your children is key. Andrea makes her house work for her. It’s almost like a preschool room... the kids can help themselves.

I remember when my children were born, I kept the socks upstairs because that's where you keep socks, right? But we always put socks and shoes on in the family room. So when I moved the socks downstairs, it was like the heavens opened and the angels started singing because I didn't have to go searching for socks anymore. Make your house function for you and your family. It works until it doesn't work. And then when it doesn't work, change it.

How To Sell On Craigslist

The thing about purging and reorganizing is that you end up with a bunch of stuff that I tell you to load in the car, take to Goodwill, drop it all off, and move on. This is where Andrea gives us some great advice as she is so good at selling on Craigslist.

On her website, she has some great articles on this topic where she goes into great detail about how to write the advertisement and what things are most important when selling via Craigslist. Click here to see her "Craigslist 101" posts. And she even has one on how she sold her house on Craigslist – click here to see it. She really is that good at this!

Her best piece of advice is to be honest with yourself. Is it worth your time to take pictures, post the ad, respond to emails, and to sell the item? If not – donate it! If you are going to sell, make sure you take high-quality pictures and list the measurements. The more information you can give, the fewer emails you will get with questions about your item.

Also with pricing, Andrea gives a great tip... Take a look at similar items in your area and price your item a little bit less. Even at just a couple dollars less, people will subconsciously be drawn to your item.

This is where I am so different from Andrea. I have literally given things away that are worth hundreds of dollars just to have them out of the house. In fact, I did that with my daughter's guinea pigs. I gave them away and paid my daughter one hundred dollars before she changed her mind. I'm just not good at selling things. ;) - No guilt here if you too are in the survival phase of life and just want the clutter gone!

Lighten Your Load

Having been fully through the accumulation stage, (20s and 30s) I am working my way through survival (40-55). I am so pleased to direct those of you struggling with young children and mountains of toys over to Andrea's blog to see how she is thriving during the accumultaion years with 4 children under 6. In this week's blog post, I have lots of links to my favorite posts on Andrea's blog.

If you want to see the crazy antics I am up to, follow me on Instagram and watch my daily Instagram Stories to see a peek into my life.

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/212

You are probably confused right now. Lisa Woodruff, muscles? Well, the muscles I'm talking about are your organizational muscles!

Are you ready to build your organizational muscles?

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not very good at physical exertion at all. In fact, I think sweating is a sin! I prefer to exercise my mental and organizational skills. Really, I am pathetic when it comes to exercise. I can literally go days when my step counter on my phone reads less than a thousand.

There was a time a few years ago when I was able to walk 10,000 steps, but I just don't have the time now. And I don't want to make the time to do it, but I am making an effort. My goal this year is 5,000 steps and so far I'm doing pretty good. Bear in mind, this is my whole exercise program. I'm just trying to move more. I'm not trying to lose weight, just maintain it.

Organization is similar to exercise in that regard. You have to match your organizational goals to the organizational outcome you want. Only compete with yourself!

Hitting A Roadblock

A lot of you will hit a roadblock this week.

Isn't it freaky how I know that. Well, here's what happens...

Over the Christmas break, you had time off and decluttered like a mad woman. The first step to getting organized is to declutter so you can see what you have left to organize. You got rid of everything that didn't move. Even the dog and children were afraid to sit too still in your house!

You followed my advice and bought the bookshelves and bins from Home Depot. You've taken down Christmas and your holiday decoration area looks amazing. You feel like a boss, you're on a roll.

You go from room to room, decluttering, taking out the trash, making donations. It looks better, but it doesn't feel organized and you don't know what to do next.

Maybe I haven't recorded a podcast for that particular room and you're stuck, but decided not to buy the 100 Day Home Organization Program. You're saving money and it's expensive. Maybe you'll buy it later.

And you're right, it is a little expensive and it should be. It was designed by a professional organizer and it works!

It's OK, you don't need to buy the 100 Day Home Organization Program. I'm going to tell you how to grow your organizational muscles on your own.

I am going to show you step-by-step how to tackle two areas in your home, the master bathroom and your linen closet.

Organizing The Master Bathroom

In just 15 minutes a day, you can organize the bathroom that you use every day to get ready to the point you feel like I came in and did it for you.

Day One - Take a look at your towels. Do you need all of them? Remove the ones you don't need. Wash the ones you need out on display and freshen them up. Then, you're done with towels.

Day Two – Make-up. Get rid of old samples and colors you don't wear and perfume that gives you migraines. Consolidate them into one space. It might help to take a look at the blog I wrote about Organizing Make-Up. You could also add in some organizational tools like the Make-up Manager I use like this one on Amazon (affiliate link).

Over the next few days, assess your nail polish, your jewelry, your underwear and socks (yes, I keep all of these in my bathroom). Then look around you at the walls, do you like what you see?

Continue until you have organized every single cabinet, drawer, and shelf, and then do it again.

This is how you get organized, by spending 15 minutes a day in the same space every single day until you can go into that space for two 15 minute sessions in a row and there is literally nothing to do. It takes repetitive action, but your master bathroom will be amazing.

Organizing Your Linen Closet

Back in 2006, it took me about 4 months to organize my laundry room. Every 2 or 3 days, I would spend half an hour trying different things until I was happy... new shelving, new cabinets, new countertops. I had a blast doing it.

Nobody cared. No one goes in there, no one messed it up. I could do what I wanted. I would run the washer and dryer at the same time. It was like white noise. I couldn't hear the rest of the family. It was amazing!

But in the podcast, I focus on the linen closet. First of all, you need to empty it all over the floor and check out the bulky items (towels, blankets, comforters).

Be honest with yourself here as these take up space. Do you need so many? Why do you still have towels from the 1980's? It is a cycle... we buy new and store the old ones in the linen closet. It's the same with bedding, get rid of them.

If you think you don't have this stuff, just wait until you empty everything onto the floor. You'll see that I'm right. I had four sets of 20 year-old flannel sheets that I loved as a child, but my children didn't want them on their beds!

Get rid of old towels and donate others that don't match your color scheme anymore to a homeless shelter along with any old single sheets. Be ruthless, what's the worst that could happen?

That is how you organize your linen closet. But if you're thinking, "Wait, wait. There's still more stuff in here." I know you'll figure it out. And if you don't know how to take the next step, then you need a professional organizer to guide you.

The Beauty of the 100 Day Home Organization Program

You can organize your house like we did in these two scenarios, going back in day after day. But, if like me, it takes you 4 months to organize your laundry room, you can see how long it would take to do your whole house this way.

You will get the same result room by room, but with the 100 Day Home Organization Program we go through the entire house in 100 days, take a break, and then do it again. Each time, your whole house is more organized, not perfect, but better.

But in addition to the 15 minute daily actionable tasks, the real beauty of the 100 Day Home Organization Program is that it comes with a lifetime membership. There are no renewal fees. Once you're in, you're in.

Am I Too Late To Join?

I launched the 100 Day Home Organization Program in December in order to capitalize on the momentum of January 1st. You're all fired up and ready to go as we hit the kitchen.

Perhaps you didn't sign up because you just didn't have the money at the time. Or you had done the kitchen a couple of times already and didn't want to do it again. Or maybe you thought you could just do it on your own.

Maybe now you're starting to realize how beneficial it would be to have a professional organizer, one that has organized 100's of homes, just to tell you what to do each day and you can go do it.

Well, if like those that have emailed me asking when the 100 Day Home Organization Program opens again, you thought you'd missed out... surprise!

I am opening the doors again this weekend only. If you join between now and Monday, you can start the program on January 22nd when everyone who started on the 1st is done with the kitchen and moving onto the master suite (bedroom, bathroom and closet). Don't try to go back to day one, jump in with everyone else in the master bedroom!

You can join us mid-stream, not have to do your kitchen, and get both the Winter and Summer 2018 planners at no extra cost.

To find out more and sign-up, just click here.

I am SO excited to be able to offer you this opportunity and I hope you will join us as I know this program works.

It looks like it's going to be a long winter. You're going to be inside a lot, so let's get organized while we're there. Join us!

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/211

In 2018, I want you to start valuing and looking at your time differently. Who you spend your time with, what you spend you time on, and how you want to spend your time in the future.

In today's podcast, I am answering the question, "How did I purposefully create the Organize 365 business and organized life that I am living right now?"

It is true. I am fulfilled, satisfied, and debt free, but it hasn't always been like this. It has been a journey. For me, the change came when I hit 40. I think milestone birthdays are like a window of opportunity to think about how we spend our time and money, and to make shifts to propel us through the next decade.

In this podcast, I share a few key transitions in my thought process, and how I spent my time and money in the last 6 years that really were the catalyst for this change.

1. I shifted my focus from thinking about our income needs to how I wanted to spend my time.
2. I focused on hiring help both at home and in my business.
3. I expanded my thoughts beyond how to be a great professional organizer to how to change the organization industry.

Finally, this past fall I reflected on all of these changes and created the... 

Organize 365 Mission, Vision & Values

Mission: To inspire, motivate, and teach busy women to take back their home and paper with practical and doable organizing systems and programs that work.

Vision: Through research, targeted surveys, and data analysis, Organize 365 will bring to light the organizational needs of the homeowner to shape and develop the discussion about the "stuff" in American homes through podcast conversation and book-thought leadership.

As a trusted leader in home and paper organization, Organize 365 will be the "go-to" resource for busy women, future professional organizers and home-organizational brands, and the media.

Organize 365 will help the homeowner finally get organized with home and paper organization courses, products that combine teaching and application of practical organization principles.

Values: We value the power of positivity. Our words, mindset, and actions shape our reality. Organize 365 uses empowering words to shape personal change. We build community. In community, everyone can learn to be organized, action is easier and happens exponentially.

Organize 365 believes organization is a learnable skill. We live life in abundance. Resources are not limited, but limitless. Through collaboration, Organize 365 connects the right people and resources for maximum benefit and sustainability.

We believe in transformational freedom. As you let go of one thing, you are open to receiving the next. We strive to unlock your life's purpose through the process of decluttering, organizing, and increased productivity.

I hope you have enjoyed learning a little about the roots of Organize 365!

Ask yourself this... If I could do, be, and have anything in the world and I didn’t have to worry about all the things that I’m worrying about, what would that look like?

Follow me on Facebook and on Instagram – I’m currently addicted to Instagram Stories!

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/210