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 Pamela A. to discuss her organizing journey and transformation. Pamela spent many years looking for her solutions to get herself and her home organized. With two small boys and a husband, she was on an endless search for organizing solutions. 

She found the Organize 365® Podcast through a Google search. She was hooked and binged all the old episodes while driving to and from work. That’s SO many episodes. If you are also new around here - I highly recommend using our Organize 365® Podcast Playlists to find what you’re looking for.

Flash forward to today - Pamela’s boys are now 27 and 33 years old. Pamela works full-time at a hospital. She has been living in the same house for the past 29 years (similar to me). There are upsides and downsides of staying in the same house for so long. When you move, it forces you to make decisions about your stuff. Pamela and I discuss that over the years she has accumulated a lot of stuff - that’s not hers. 

Pamela’s house is home to all her sons’ stuff, her grandparents’ stuff and now her own mother’s belongings as well. It’s a lot. Pamela watched the video I made where I show the process of organizing a storage room and she said she’s going to need a dumpster like we used in this video. Watch it for free.

Listen in to this interview to hear our in-depth conversation about:

• Why do we keep all of this stuff?
• How much should we realistically be keeping of things like children’s artwork, books, American Girls, Legos, etc?
• How to organize a storage room and how long will it stay organized?
• Why we use our basements and storage rooms for delayed decision making and how to avoid this in the future.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Process of Organizing Your Storage Space Movie
• The Sunday Basket®
• The Friday Workbox®
• The Productive Home Solution™

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!

Proactive versus Reactive

Listen in to how I map out someone going from a completely reactive life to a proactive one.

Since I don’t have a lot of margin in my life right now, there are things I used to do regularly that I’m unable to do. I now have a 2-week break from school and I will be sharing how I plan to continue my proactive living without the additional margin in my life.

At first I thought I would take the additional time off from school and put it to working more, but SURPRISE, I have decided to take some additional time off from work to do more personal and family related things. I want to have the flexibility to do whatever my energy is in allowing myself the freedom to do all these things in whatever order and be even better prepared for my next school semester.

Here are some of the things I plan to take care of during my break:

• Reorganize the storage rooms
• Clean out the family room and toys
• Move into outside living
• Personal organizing - closet, bathroom, purse, car, supplements, and personal care
• Stock the house for the next 4 months
• Deep cleaning
• Catching up on podcasts
• Listen to audiobooks
• Sunday Basket® deep dive
• Binder updates
• Photo printing
• Puzzles and TV watching with Greg
• Fun family outings

I am in a season where I am running really fast and I love it! What season are you in and how are you planning for these areas of your life?

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Follow my journey on Instagram - Check out the PhD Highlight Button

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!

This episode answers a question I get a lot. How do you know when you are organized? What does it mean to be fully organized? Does anyone ever feel finished? Is there an organization finish line?

Let’s get into it! 

First, you’re going to want to follow along with the Organize 365® Research - get a FREE copy of our newly released research magazine here.

Our most recent research study aimed to answer these questions about what it means to be organized and where the finish line might be. In order to do this, we broke organization up into the four categories we defined - personal, storage, family & communal spaces and paper. This allowed us to zero in on different areas and give people an opportunity to rank if they felt organized in any of these areas of their lives. 

• 15% of respondents felt they were personally organized
• 14% of respondents felt that their storage rooms were organized
• 18% of respondents felt that their paper was organized
• 13% of respondents felt that their family & communal spaces were organized

This is a huge problem because our research has already revealed that 87% of Americans believe organization is a learnable skill. So the majority of people believe this to be learnable, but yet they have not achieved it. My concern is that people start to think they are the problem. When in fact, the real problem is that we don’t have a good way to learn the skill of organization or know when you’ve accomplished it. 

Listen in to hear more about how Swiss Cheese Organizing is only exacerbating the problem. Which leads to one of the most important points of this podcast:

The order in which you attack organizing your home is MORE important than the amount you get done in any one area.

Learning to be organized and becoming organized is a commitment. Just like any other new skill or lifestyle choice you may make - getting healthier, getting out of debt, getting a degree. It’s going to take time. Probably eighteen months to three years. Once you understand that it is going to take time - there’s a relief in that. A release of pressure. Let go of the idea that you can get this done in a weekend. That if you don’t instantly start feeling and operating more organized, you’ve failed. You cannot get a transformation overnight or in the nooks and crannies of your everyday life. This is a commitment.

But here’s the really important thing to remember - in three of the four areas of organization we have defined (personal, storage and paper), once you get these areas organized they will stay organized for a long time. Today’s episode includes approximate timelines for each area and tips for maintaining them once they are organized.

There is so much organization goodness in this podcast and I want you to take from this that there is no one finish line for organization. There really are four finish lines, but also we are going for excellence not perfection. Create your own benchmarks and allow yourself the time you need to make this transformation and learn this skill.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The State of Home Organization Research Magazine - my free gift to you!
• Watch me organize Michelle’s Storage Room
• Excellence vs. Perfection in Home Mangement
• The Productive Home Solution™ Planning Day
• The Productive Home Solution™ Course + Planning Day
• Home ALL IN Bundle

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!

Today I’m interviewing Lindsey S. She’s a high school special education teacher that found me through my podcast with Angela Watson. What’s so interesting about this interview is that Lindsey S. was already living an organized life when she found Organize 365®. But her life was speeding up and she had the wherewithal to know she had to implement some new organizational systems and skills if she was going to keep up.

She lives with her husband, twin 5 year old daughters, and 9 year old daughter. Lindsey holds nothing back in the hopes that her story will help others. One of her daughters has a learning disability and one has autism. Her openness in sharing her journey advocating for her children is admirable. Even as a special education teacher of 12 years (knowing the ins and outs of the systems in place), she still needed a system for organizing and presenting her documentation for each of her daughters. She uses the Warrior MAMA Binder! 

We talk about parent intuition and observation which is something I’ve always known (anecdotally) is a thing. But I’m learning more and more about it in my PhD program. Lindsey has thoughts on this also!

Switching topics to how Lindsey organizes herself and her household - you have to hear how Lindsey is “chunking” out her Sunday Basket® time! If you are in a busy season of life and can’t seem to find the time to do your Sunday Basket®, this podcast is for you! 

I am floored to find out Lindsey also has Sunday Baskets® for each of her girls! She walks me through how these are set up and it is absolutely genius! She gave me some ideas to implement in my own life with my daughter.

Then, she walks us through her Friday Workbox® which has been amazing for her since she has so much administrative work that she’s been able to make visible (and pretty) with a Friday Workbox®. The Friday Workbox® helps her easily glide through her day. It’s given her more capacity and time.

How is Lindsey using the time she’s unlocked through implementing Organize 365® systems and courses? Listen in to find out!

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Organize 365® Warrior Mama Binder
• The Sunday Basket®
• The Friday Workbox®
• The Productive Home Solution™

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!

We are nearing the end of my first trimester and I am now in the mindset to be successful in this 4 year journey. In this podcast, I’m talking to you about planning.

Processing this journey, I am a whole to part learner, looking at the end of the journey to understand what I will need to move through this journey. I am spending time attending webinars and meetings finding out more about the field I am studying and what else I may want to focus on to further the impact I could have.

Once you make a decision, it is not set in stone; you can re-decide, modify, and make changes. As I move forward, I will continue to re-evaluate and plan my PhD experience.

Planning for me is the key to not slip back into a reactive life, but to continually be looking at how I am using my days, weeks, months, trimesters, and the next 4 years, for the most impact possible; for myself personally, for my company, and for the people I am doing the research for.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Follow my journey on Instagram - Check out the PhD Highlight Button

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 used to think that once my kids got older that summer wouldn’t be so much of a challenge. Wrong. Adults get summers, too. 

Have you heard motivation coaches say “you only have so many summers left” OR “you only have so many summers left with your kids?” It may sound cliche, but it’s true! When you put it in this context, it becomes very clear that you should absolutely prioritize your summer experiences!

In today’s podcast, I have some questions for you about your summer plans! We break it all down and I’m giving you my tips for planning your summer! It can be whatever you want it to be!

Questions to ask yourself:

• What are your summer traditions?
• When you think about summer, what do you think about?
• What are things you do in the summer season exclusively?
• What have you done in the past that you want to repeat this summer?
• What is something new you want to do this summer?
• Are there any big milestones or birthdays or events that will be happening over summer?

You MUST plan your seasons. There are natural points throughout the year to do this. Listen to this podcast about what I call Golden Windows to learn more.

Here’s why this is important - it’s natural to be reactive at home. The Productive Home Solution™ Planning Day trains you how to plan and proactively prepare for all the foreseeable stuff. It’s not enough to just think about or want it - you have to make a plan for it or it won’t happen.

Planning Day helps you understand the cycles and seasons. You learn to create plans for how you will use your home, what your schedule and capacity will look like during that season and how to tap into energy for optimum success.

Planning Day is part of the Organize 365® courses that make the invisible work visible so you aren’t in reactive mode and you can unlock your time for yourself, your family and community!

What do you want your summer to look like? Join me on Planning Day and let’s put thought and planning into making your summer amazing. It’s your turn to plan and I’m so excited to be your teacher!

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Productive Home Solution™ Planning Day
• The Productive Home Solution™ Course + Planning Day
• Home ALL IN Bundle
• Embrace - Self-Guide Retreat - now available on-demand

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!

You are in for a treat because in this episode we meet Deanne. She found Organize 365® through the book “How ADHD Affects Home Organization.” She’s a mental health professional who was seeking resources for her clients, but also found the book to be helpful for her and she wanted to learn more about functional organization!

Deanne lives with her husband, her 15 year old son and an 18 year old exchange student from Norway! She also has two older sons that have launched. 

Since Deanne is a mental health professional, we jump right into the connection between organization and mental health. How does organization impact our mental health? We speak anecdotally about the physiological and emotional distress that organization can cause.

Deanne started her own functional organizing journey with The Sunday Basket®. It’s a great place to start! She now has a Sunday Basket® she manages on her mom’s behalf, a Friday Workbox® for her business and has gotten her oldest son using his own Sunday Basket®.

Deanne plays many roles in life - she is a wife, mother, business owner, caregiver for her mother and I’m sure many other things. We get into what functional organization and systems like The Paper Solution® Binders can do for you as you are balancing these roles and having to advocate for others. 

As Deanne took on caregiving for her mom, she became the power of healthcare and power of attorney. She set up a Sunday Basket® for her and had to sort through a room’s worth of paper on her mom’s behalf. She has made it a point to set up her own binders. We discuss how doing our binders is (1) a gift we give to those that will one day have to advocate for us or settle our estates and (2) a project that doesn’t need to be perfect. If you are using The Paper Solution® Binders and they are at 80%, that is absolutely an A+ and will save you and your family time in the future.

We discuss the process of implementing the Sunday Basket® and our learning styles. How did you implement your Sunday Basket®? Did you do it all at once or one step at a time? Deanne waited until she had a big chunk of time and could get it all set up the way she wanted. 

She’s now well on her way. This interview covers so many topics, tips and positive organizing affirmations!

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• How ADHD Affects Home Organization
• The Sunday Basket®
• The Friday Workbox®
• The Paper Solution® Binders
• Additional Resources for Getting Organized with ADHD

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!

Why is it that when we decide to undertake something that’s going to make a difference in our lives, we still try to cut corners?

When I decided to go back to school in pursuit of a PhD, my mindset was initially to make the supplies and things I already had work for my school venture. But when I’ve needed something, I’ve found it’s just better to go ahead and get it. Some of these supplies help me move forward faster, be more productive and/or just be able to get my assignments and reading done in different places.

Do you have the supplies or tools you need where you need them? It makes all the difference. Listen to my story about scissors to find out why.

Here are some of my favorite supplies mentioned in today’s podcast:

• Fiskars scissors
• Shokz Wireless Open-Ear Bluetooth Headset
• Organize 365® 2.0 Highlighters
• Organize 365® 2.0 Productivity Tabs
• Organize 365® Slash Pockets
• Jergens Cherry Almond Lotion

Don’t live in frustration over not having what you need where you need it. The time and sanity savings will offset the investment.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Follow my journey on Instagram - Check out the PhD Highlight Button

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!

In today’s podcast, we will discuss how you can get your home organized when you are never home.

There are different seasons in our lives in which we will need to change our organization.

How does your home change for different seasons of your life?

The seasons I’ve identified that require the most functional organizing changes are:

• Children 0-5 years old
• Children in middle and high school
• Empty nesting
• Caregiving for a loved one
• Settling an estate
• Welcoming another generation of your family into your home - listen to this podcast on multigenerational living

There will be seasons of life when you will not be home much. 

When I started podcasting in 2012, I was going through a season of life where I was never home. My children were in two different schools that both required me to drive for hours a day. 

Looking back now, I can safely say it’s a season. So if you are in a season where you are never home, just know that this is a season. Some seasons feel never ending, but all of these seasons do end. I encourage you to take from these seasons the best that they have to offer knowing that one day you will be on the other side.

Why do we want to get our home organized when we are never home anyway? Organizing gives us a sense of control. In a season where you are already pressed for time and feeling a loss of control, you may be wanting to feel organized, proactive and productive when you are at home.

Where to begin?

At Organize 365®, we’ve identified four areas in every home that need to be organized in different ways and at different times and intervals. These are personal, family and communal, storage and paper. During a season where you aren’t home very much, I’m going to recommend you focus on personal organization.

Start with your car. I’ve always defined personal organization as your closet, bathroom, bedroom and car! You need to think about your car completely differently during this season. It’s now an extension of your home. 

In 2012, I turned my car into my portable house! The trunk was my “car closet” and the front area was my personal cockpit. I set up my car to serve my changing needs.

Your secondary focus should be just your personal spaces (as time permits at home). Focus on your bathroom, closet and your side of the bedroom. Do quick tasks that you can complete in 15-20 minutes.

Write everything down. If you are away from home as you are listening to this podcast, something you can start doing today, from anywhere, is to start writing everything down. Everywhere you have a thought, you should have a notepad to write it down. 

Take your Sunday Basket® with you. You need your Sunday Basket® more than ever during this season, but you may want your portable Sunday Basket® to be your primary Sunday Basket®. When you are out and about throughout the day, you will get 15 minute breaks in the action. Look at your portable Sunday Basket® and think “what’s one thing I can get done in this 15 minute pocket of time?” I processed through my Sunday Basket® in waiting rooms, in my car while waiting for my kids and so many other places. 

It won’t be perfect. Focus on the moments. Build the future life and future person as you go. Support yourself along the way with personal organization that works for you. And bring your Sunday Basket® along for the ride.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Portable Sunday Basket® with Pencil Pouch
• The Sunday Basket®
• The Productive Home Solution® Planning Day
• Organizing Personal Spaces

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!

Meet Marie. This podcast has been a long time in the making. Marie started listening to the Organize 365® podcast back in 2015! She’s had all the versions of The Sunday Basket®. 

Marie lives with her husband of 23 years, 18 year old daughter and 15 year old twin daughters. She also has a 20 year old son who lives in an apartment nearby.

Marie is experiencing the teenage years with her children and is wondering why she still doesn’t feel as organized as she would like and where all of her time is going.

This is an all too common theme. I’ve seen it time and time again. You think because your kids are now teenagers that you should be organized. Your kids are much more independent than they were so surely you should be getting your time back.

Not so fast. This is a transitional time period where your kids may act and speak as though they are independent - they have independent thoughts, make decisions and it’s a really fun season of parenting. But you are still very much in active parenting. 

Whenever you’re in a transitional period of time, there’s a push and pull between the now and the soon-to-be. You are still very much in the current season, but starting to wonder what you are going to do next and wanting to get into the next season. You’re in the inbetween. Embrace it. What’s one more experience you want to have during this season? What’s one more memory you want to make?

If you’ve ever wanted to hear what goes on during a virtual organizing session - this is it! This interview quickly turns into a session similar to what I used to have with my clients when I did professional organizing. 

Want to try it for yourself? Ask yourself:

• What lights you up?

• What don’t you like to do?

• What are your family/household members into?

• How organized do you want to be?

• What really needs to happen in the next 12-18 months or in the season you’re in?

• When you think about having your home organized, what does that look like for you?

• Have you implemented The Sunday Basket® and how is that working for you?

Tune in as we also discuss what it truly means to save five hours with The Sunday Basket® and leadership versus management!

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• The Productive Home Solution™

• The Productive Home Solution™ Planning Day

• The Paper Solution®

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!