My "party trick" is being able to know what you're thinking; I've been doing it for over a decade. My obsession is figuring out how families and homes work. How to make visible the invisible work so ultimately we can spend more time with family and make more memories.

If I stay at least 10 days ahead, I'll have a buffer. If you have a buffer, then it takes A LOT for you to get behind the 8 ball again. Here are the things you need to be thinking about that will happen in the next 10 days.

• Halloween: candy inventory and costumes

• Fall Events: pumpkin patch, festivals, trunk or treat, etc.

• Daylight Savings Time: changing clocks and circadian rhythms

• Election Day: how and when you will vote

As a business owner, I think about how these events will impact my employees.

The more you are the leader, the Household Manager, the CEO and COO of your home - you get to decide what YOU want. You get to ask yourself: "What do I want?"

How do I know what's coming next? I know because I observe my own life, look a couple of weeks into the future, and then I move backwards. I'm obsessive about what is coming next, what is coming next, what is coming next. Always.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Holiday Blitz

• Sunday Basket®

• The Productive Home Solution®

• Sign up for the Newsletter

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

On the Wednesday podcast, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365­® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps and triumphs along their organizing journey. You can see and hear transformation in action. I look forward to helping YOU learn the skill of organization, too!

In this episode, I introduce you to Jayme H, a wife and mom of two. In 2016, Jayme was lucky enough to attend a summit where Lisa was a speaker. From there, Jayme went down the Organize 365® rabbit hole. When she found Organize 365®, she had two children in K-8 and was a teacher. Since then, she has been promoted to counselor and is now principal of her school. Jayme is a unique individual that has found so much success with the Sunday Basket®, that she is doing a pilot of the Education Friday Workbox® with the entire staff at her school.  We’re going to report back to everyone in January on the feedback and results. 

Jayme really loves the process of organizing. In her teaching years, she was stuck trying to be a perfectionist. But now that she’s attended three years of Planning Days and taken advantage of all the other Organize 365® resources, she knows functional organizing is where it’s at! She and Lisa discussed the importance of knowing when to organize and when to move on to doing what you are uniquely created to do. It’s funny, most people start organizing to get control of life and get time back. It’s advised to do The Productive Home Solution® at least three times. But then what? Keep organizing? No! You have earned the time to focus on you now. Many times people want to stay where it’s comfortable. The idea is to get your home to a place where you are not always starting from zero! The Productive Home Solution® gives you an assignment each week, right? If you feel good about that area, you do not have anything to do so go catch up on your show or use it to be uncomfortable growing in what you are uniquely created to do! You don’t have to focus on the whole house all the time, just that week’s assignment. 

She’s one busy lady with her family, her career, and now her side hustle. Jayme and Lisa also discussed household management like the management you see in the workplace. Jayme wanted her home to run as smoothly as work does. When you go to work, you don’t wonder who is going to clean the restrooms. But who is going to clean the restrooms at home? Roles are not defined. Departments are not defined. All of the invisible work in our homes has not been identified, broken down into “departments” and discussed who will take care of what. 

Jayme gained so much time that she has been able to grow her organizing business on the side. The first year putting The Productive Home Solution® into action she gained a chunk of time and then again around year 3.When she got motivated to do her binders, it was easy. She had already decluttered and had those papers in their places so she knew where to go for information! This year she finally felt like she could reply, on Planning Day, as feeling organized.  She uses her Sunday Basket® at school too and her actions have caught the attention of the Superintendent. When Jayme asked about the school implementing the Education Friday Workbox®, he asked if that’s how she’s always remembering to follow up (AKA bug him) about projects and checking on the progress. He quickly agreed and we are so thankful for the opportunity to run this pilot…can’t wait to share with you all in January!!

Jayme’s advice is, “Hold yourself to your own standards.” Stop comparing yourself to others and make the systems work for you. She has recently come to the conclusion that we all have different standards and capacities. You are one person, complete what you think one person should be able to complete; you can’t do it all. 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• The Productive Home Solution® Planning Day

• The Paper Solution®

• Education Friday Workbox®

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter 

I am grateful that you are reaching out to share your stories and progress with me and with the Organize 365® community. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

I’m excited to announce that you can get 1:1 organization help!

As a female, mom, business owner, and head of household, I see all organizing differently. I see it through all those unique lenses. Despite what all the consultants have said, I just have to run Organize 365® in my own Lisa way. At the end of the day, I want to offer as many ways as possible to learn organization because we all agree it’s learnable and yet only 13% FEEL organized in any particular area. I want to offer what works for you so you can have more time to dive into what you are uniquely created to do.

Ok, you want a personalized organization roadmap? 

Now you can get your own customized, personalized organization road map. I know, with all the free content from the podcast and blitzes, what more could you need? Well, maybe within your business or your household The Productive Home Solution® leaves you with questions or it all just seems too overwhelming. Now all you need to do is email customer service and you will get a form to fill out to get a call schedule with Tanya, Stef or Monique. You can address all the burning questions you have that apply to your unique household or business. At Organize 365®, we understand how the energy of the season and big events impact the home and business. Book your call, get your roadmap from a member of the Education Team, and get to work. No obligation to buy one single thing!

You just need to decide:

• The time you can allocate for organizing 

• The amount of money you have to spend on organizing at the current time

Give this gift to yourself! 

Episode Resources:

• CustomerService@organize365.com

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter 

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

I had a huge revelation I have to share with you.

I'm going to equate my PhD journey to your journey and how you're getting organized with Organize 365®. Hang in there while I explain. 

How is what you're doing now getting you ready to get organized? In episode 501 ("Passive Organizing"), I talked about how things like listening to podcasts and doing free blitzes are passive organizing. If you're listening to this podcast and reading this email, then you're learning to become a person who thinks about organization, productivity, and becoming an organized person. You are starting to identify as a person who's learning the skill of organization. 

It's the same as when I was doing "passive academia" during the postbaccalaureate program to set me up for extreme success for the PhD program. In the 6 week time frame between being accepted to when the postbaccalaureate started, I didn't know what to do or where to start. The only thing I knew to do (since I knew no one at the university) was to search for PhD podcasts in my podcast player. Doing so helped me to assimilate into the world of academia. It helped me to identify as a person who was getting a PhD.

We are always in a process of passively doing the next thing, auditioning for the next thing, or actively doing it. You are so ready to be in the auditioning or active stage because you listen to this podcast and you understand the lingo. We speak the same language and you've been passively organizing...it's time to move to the next step!

Audition organizing is when you're investing your time versus your money. There are so many ways you can do this with Organize 365® - so many ways that I don't mention often enough. The podcast, blitzes, free week of The Productive Home Solution® - you can follow me for a long time and never buy anything and still get organized!! 

Is that going to keep me in business? NO. So that's where active organizing shows up. You actively organize with your dollars. You've tried with your time already, now it's time to try with your money. You start to take advantage of the paid things to move you forward faster. Do you want to get organized in a longer amount of time with less money or a faster amount of time with more money? 

When you have all the resources at your disposal, you make faster progress because you're not wondering how you can get the same effect without the item you need. You can get from passive organizing to audition organizing with the Holiday Blitz. You can get from audition organizing to active organizing with The Productive Home Solution®. If you've already done the Holiday Blitz but you're not ready for The Productive Home Solution® - then start with the Sunday Basket® or the Holiday Blitz Bundle. Try out a planning day by registering for the Holiday Blitz Mini Planning Day! What would set you up best for running even faster and being even more prepared for when you're ready to take advantage of the next opportunity?

Everything is happening FOR us, not TO us. You're in the right place at the right time. If you are in the active organizing stage and you've made the investment in Organize 365® and you're seeing the transformation - THANK YOU! Please come be my guest on the Wednesday Podcast if you haven't done so. For everyone in our community app, thank you for nurturing everyone who is new to this journey and affirming and encouraging them along the way. Remember how you felt when you were moving from passive organizing to auditioning? Then auditioning to active? Reminisce on those feelings and use that as fuel to help others be successful the way you have. 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Holiday Blitz

• The Productive Home Solution®

• Sunday Basket®

• Sign up for the Newsletter

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

On the Wednesday podcast, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365­® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps and triumphs along their organizing journey. You can see and hear transformation in action. I look forward to helping YOU learn the skill of organization, too!

In this episode, I introduce you to Kathryn P. who found the Organize 365® Podcast when the paper became too overwhelming and she was looking for help. Kathryn is one of the most generous people. She is a mom to her 18 year old, a foster parent, and is also a teacher. In our conversation, it was clear she does not let any of her kids go without. She provides a safe space for them. Each kid comes with a lot of paperwork though. After Kathryn moved from her 2 bedroom apartment to a 4 bedroom home she now owns, there was just too much stuff and too much paper!

Who doesn’t shop the estate sale of the home you are buying? LOL! Kathryn was a smart cookie and did just that! Listen in as we discuss Kathryn’s move from the apartment to the home that was partially furnished due to that estate sale. There were also some renovations that were required. Kathryn used painting and other tasks as ways to teach and bond with her foster kids.  Kathryn also set up her “general store” in her attic. She knows where all the extra supplies are for each kid's needs like pencils, luggage, and stuffed animals. 

Being a teacher and a foster parent serves Kathryn well because she understands what these kids need in the school setting. She takes the kids to their doctor appointments, obtains the 504C’s, and of course an IEP for school. That equates to a lot of paperwork. She decided to make her own Warrior MAMA Binder for the kiddos to keep things organized. This is also where she keeps the sign in sheet for the social worker’s visits. While discussing the slash pockets, I got such a great idea from Kathryn; each kid gets half of a slash pocket. Yes! We are starting to work with a school on a pilot program and I was thinking they’ll need extra slash pockets, but this solution solves that dilemma! See, we all need a community to share ideas and encourage one another!

On another teacher note, we discussed the natural cadence of a teacher's life. We call them Golden Windows. Kathryn and I discussed her floors getting replaced. She was prepared, in her most recent Golden Window, to replace her floor until the contractor told her she was missing something. So now she just knows that it gets shifted to next year, same Golden Window, in summer. That’s why we do the planning days. Maximize these natural breaks the school year gives you and plan because then life gets going fast again and you don’t have that time to plan. The planning days give you an opportunity to think about the next 120 days, what needs to get accomplished, holidays/special occasions, prep for those holidays/special occasions, and establish what you want routines to look like. This helps Kathryn to focus on her classroom and her foster kids and not sweat things because she has planned for them.

Kathryn’s advice is, “Focus on one thing and find the joy in it.” If you look at the whole project, you will be frustrated that more isn’t getting done. Kathryn gives her time and attention to the kid(s) when she has them and organizes when she doesn’t. She chooses to focus on the positives. 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• The Paper Solution® Warrior MAMA Binder

• Education Friday Workbox®

• The Paper Solution®

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter 

I am grateful that you are reaching out to share your stories and progress with me and with the Organize 365® community. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

Today on the podcast, we talk to Jacquie Denny - Founder of Everything But The House which is based in Cincinnati. She is a female business owner I met years ago when I was still doing in-home professional organizing. She and Co-Founder Brian Graves met at a tag sale and began EBTH in 2008. Their first online sale was $10,000. They were so excited that they took their spouses out to dinner!

Everything But The House began as a business to bring estate sales online in order to get better prices for their clients and reach a broader market and audience. They would go into a house, photograph everything, then invite buyers into the home to pick up their items. Within about 6 years, they changed their approach and now take all the estate items into a facility so buyers no longer visit the home of the client and potentially damage it or the surrounding property during the transaction.

Every single home has these 3 things: saleable, donatable, and disposable items. When Lisa first met Jacquie, she asked: "What about the paper?" to which Jacquie asked: "What paper? - We don't do paper." That's when I knew focusing on paper was the right business model for Organize 365®!

We talked about how the generations that Jacquie has worked with have transformed the market place. The Silent Generation stays in the same house their entire lives and never downsizes. The Baby Boomers are more apt to downsize or sell off their items before they end up burdening their children with them. Now Gen X and younger generations are far less interested in valuable items and would much rather spend money on vacations or life experiences. Jacquie says she's currently downsizing the largest generation in history - and they think furniture is their most valuable property. Not a lot of 20 or 30-somethings want the big, ornate dining room sets anymore!

Jacquie mentioned a few things she's learned over the years that she thought would be helpful for others to hear.

First: don't make the mistake of assuming that the longer you hold on to an item, the more valuable it gets. Everything has a 'shelf life' or a life cycle. So for example, if you have a signed Joe Burrow item - sell it while he's still hot! Don't hold on to it thinking in another 5-10 years it'll be worth more than it is now after he's no longer "at the top of his game".

Second: things that will almost always hold value are jewelry, art, and luxury goods (such as purses and shoes).

Third: what you paid for something or how much it means to you has no influence on what you'll sell it for...it's all about the market!

Fourth: the biggest sin you can commit is this - hanging onto an item you aren't emotionally ready to let go of, putting it into a storage facility where it’s forgotten until someone else finds it after you're gone. The diminishing return on that item while it sits there month after month is harder to swallow than letting go of the emotion attached to it, selling it while you still can and using that money for something else.

Some people let go of things to pay for expensive vacations. Some people sell things to pay off medical bills. Greg and I ended up selling our gold class rings in 2008 to keep the kids in school, and selling other items that our families had bought for the kids when they were very young (remember layettes?) in order to pay medical bills and other expenses. Sometimes you have to give up things that you think are valuable in order to survive!

Want to find out more about Everything But The House? Browse their "Marketplace For The Uncommon" and see if you can find a treasure, or reach out to them to sell a treasure you might already own. Remember, everything is something to someone!

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Everything But The House

• Free Consultation (online)

• Call 888-965-8672 (or listen to the podcast for Jacquie's number!)

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

On the Wednesday podcast, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365­® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps and triumphs along their organizing journey. You can see and hear transformation in action. I look forward to helping YOU learn the skill of organization, too!

In this episode, I introduce you to Jacquie Denny, a Cincinnati native and Founder of Everything But The House. I remember calling Jacquie many years ago to have breakfast to talk about Organize 365®. Jacquie had discovered her own successful business through settling her father’s estate and I was looking to pick her brain. She watched as the auctioneer sold her father’s items for pennies on the dollar and thought there just had to be a better way. She also knew that children or loved ones settling an estate likely have full time jobs on top of trying to settle an estate, which is like a full time job of its own. She stumbled into solving a large need for people in her surrounding area by sharing her lived experiences to make others’ lives easier. Now Jacquie finds herself becoming like a family member, almost like a therapist, to families as they navigate this difficult time.

Jacquie was an empty nester for 18 months till Jacquie’s dad got a cancer diagnosis. Caring for your parents is so much different than caring for your children. You don’t know how long they will be with you. You may not realize all the appointments they now have, prescriptions that need to be picked up, unexpected lengthy tests they may need. You may even need to cook for them, possibly feed them, and assist in daily hygiene. Unfortunately over the course of 10 years, Jacquie and her husband said goodbye to all of their parents. Jacquie really shared a lot about what it takes to care for loved ones and the toll it takes on the caregiver. And in the end, all of the arrangements that need to be made during an emotional time. Nowadays it's common to not live in the same state as your parents or siblings. Often, parents have remarried and we find ourselves as executors of multiple estates. As their decline begins, it’s a good time to discuss with siblings, or whomever will be helping with caregiving, what the expectations are based on convenience, what your job will allow, and proximity to the loved one. 

Jacquie had been a stay at home mom when her father passed. After settling one estate after another, her family defaulted to her because she was a stay at home mom and had done it before. Settling an estate is an all consuming process! Jacquie’s business filled this void. She started working her business on the weekends while her husband traveled for work. Little did she know that her business would explode when she went online, with the help of her business partner Brian in 2008. At the end of the day, one of the things that helps Jacquie with her families is organization! Things are going to change and be unpredictable, but with organization it’s easier to pivot. Jacquie’s hope is that all of us will use our experiences and hand down advice to our children on how to survive it better. Do as we learned, not as we did.

Jacquie’s advice is…

• The more organized you can be, the better off you’ll be because things continually change.

• Utilize a lot of communication and patience to sustain sibling/other caregiver relationships.

• Don’t assume your support system knows what you need in your caregiving role. 

• If your loved one is not in a facility, contribute how you can remotely with:

• Sporadic visits where you assume a lot of the daily responsibilities to give siblings or whomever a break. Do some deep cleaning or make freezer meals for when you head home. Help them run errands or pick up their kids (your nieces/nephews) from sports or activities.

• Cold hard cash to cover the meals, gas, prescriptions, personal care items of your loved one.

• Be creative on how you can lighten the load and show you care.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter 

I am grateful that you are reaching out to share your stories and progress with me and with the Organize 365® community. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

I recently realized that I haven't fully explained the ADHD Bundle and what my reason is for creating it and selling it the way I do. The # 1 reason why families go bankrupt is because of medical expenses. I want to support families however I can and make it easier to use your Health Spending or Flexible Spending accounts on products and services that are related to your diagnosis.

Listen to my Coffee Chat today to hear more explanation about the ADHD Bundle and how it qualifies as a medical expense.

If you have an ADHD diagnosis and your doctor and/or therapist has said that you need organizational support - you can buy the Organize 365® ADHD Bundle with your pre-tax dollars.

This bundle has all the most beneficial products and programs that Organize 365® offers to support you with your diagnosis. Ask your doctor for a prescription explicitly for this ADHD Bundle so you have justification to provide to the HSA company or for tax purposes.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• ADHD Bundle

• ADHD Reference Page

• ADHD Book Club

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

Our Organize 365® Dream Team has experienced way more than its fair share of unexpected events this year. Like...A LOT. Nearly every single one of them has dealt with or is dealing with really big life events. I asked a few of them who were willing to share about those unexpected events and how they navigated them.

Pat's episode will wrap up this podcast series. Believe it or not, this is her FIRST time on the Organize 365® Podcast! I can't believe it took 8 years! It doesn't bother Pat at all though, because she's definitely a more "behind the scenes" kind of person. She's also the most seasoned employee on the Dream Team. She lives with her fur babies (a cat and a dog) and a temporary houseguest - her sister.

Earlier this year, Pat's sister had surgery and has been staying with her ever since. She also has some chronic conditions that limit her mobility, so her stay has been longer than expected. They have agreed that she's going to stay at least another 6 months while her house is being repaired and renovated so she can live in it safely. They also realized during this unexpected event that her sister needed help cleaning and organizing the house that she's lived in for over 35 years. It's also a 100+ year old house!

More often than not, the relationships with your siblings are the longest ones you'll ever have. Some people choose to never get married or have kids. I have a feeling this 'trend' of seeing older female siblings living with one another (temporarily or long term) will continue for years to come.

Pat's message to everyone is this: the bottom line is that everything we do requires effort, but it's always so much easier when you have the right tools to help you. Organize 365® provides these tools, but you still have to do the work.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Sunday Basket®

• Friday Workbox®

• The Paper Solution® Medical Binder

• The Paper Solution® Financial Binder

• The Productive Home Solution®

• Sign up for our Newsletter

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

On the Wednesday podcast, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365­® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps and triumphs along their organizing journey. You can see and hear transformation in action. I look forward to helping YOU learn the skill of organization, too!

In this episode, I introduce you to Andi M. She has a crazy house with lots of ADHD floating around as well as other diagnoses making it pretty difficult to get chaos under control. Cue Organize 365®! Andi started with the ADHD book and then the podcast. Andi sent her three children to three different schools for three different reasons after homeschooling! With that much change, Andi knew her Sunday Basket® would play a vital role. 

Andi shared about their move from Iowa back to Ohio. She shared about her son’s IEP and the transfer. We went over the financial benefits and hurdles that come with the options of an IEP or 504C for a child with a learning disability. Please know each state has their own rules so check with your state for clarification. 

In the early days of her children being tested for diagnoses, listening to the Organize 365® Podcast let Andi know she was not alone. There was a virtual conversation being had. There were similar stories being shared. There was advice being offered. Lisa seemed to understand what she was going through. Before she knew it, she and Lisa were like virtual best friends. It may surprise you to know that Andi got the Sunday Basket® for the community!  She wanted to chat with others about their organizing and how they were doing it. When we organize, we are in our homes alone. The community lets you know others are experiencing the same hurdles and you can celebrate their wins with them. The Sunday Basket® has never been about the Sunday Basket®; it’s about the families and how they make it work for their lives. Andi’s advice is to start with your paper. When you get your paper organized, it leads to action. Nothing will happen if you don’t have the paper to register for the class, for example. 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• The Productive Home Solution® Planning Day

• The Paper Solution®

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter 

I am grateful that you are reaching out to share your stories and progress with me and with the Organize 365® community. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!