In this episode, Jennifer H. has returned with an update. The last time I talked to Jennifer in 2019, she was living with her husband in their home and she was excited that her home was to an organizational level that if she needed to have company, she could be ready in a short amount of time; she just needed to tidy up a little. Jennifer was on her 9th round of the 100 Days Program (now known as The Productive Home Solution®). 

Jennifer shared that the next thing that happened was downsizing her home and her mother-in-law’s things so she, her husband, and her mother-in-law could all live in her mother-in-law’s 3-bedroom ranch. Due to Jennifer’s faith, empathetic conversations, and negotiations with her mother-in-law, the transition was pretty smooth. 

In April 2020, due to the pandemic, her mother-in-law went to live with her sister in Wichita, Kansas so they could go through all her things and get situated in her mother-in law’s home. They wanted to make sure she was somewhere safe in the event the world shut down. In May, they moved in. Unfortunately, in June her mother-in-law suffered a stroke. And after care didn’t go according to Jennifer’s wishes. Jennifer appreciates that while the siblings don’t always agree, they all keep saying yes to caring for their mom and moving forward together, having tough authentic conversations. We had such a great in depth conversation about how all of our families responded in different ways to the pandemic, the vaccines, and integrating into life again. And now that her brother has retired, he has moved in too! And Jennifer has acknowledged the season of life that she is in and she is the CEO of their home. And that has started a conversation between Jennifer and her husband about their next chapter and if it’s time for them to move out. 

It’s so important to keep asking “What do I want?” As life and roles change, the answer to that question will change. And the answer to that question will dictate your reaction. And Jennifer says when she asks herself this question, she just takes the next right step towards what she wants. We can’t control others, we can only control ourselves. 

Reliving those experiences really had us looking at tough authentic conversations those events force us to have. Often if we are open to listening to the other person, we find we are saying the same thing, just using different language. Just because you ask a question does not mean you are judging. Not all those events went the way Jennifer would have liked and that brought us to intuition. It seems as though there are shifts in life that force us to look for new solutions. We use reflective learning to aid our intuition to guide us towards a solution and what we are going to do next. When we resonate with an idea, that is a green light to explore the opportunities in that solution. Now that Jennifer feels organized, she can explore her next steps. She is still teaching part time, but also practices Reiki in an office setting. She’s following her intuition. 

Jennifer’s advice is, “If you have been listening to the podcast and you are still struggling, hire one of the organizers on the app to help you. They are worth every dime. And putting yourself on your calendar is the only thing to help you reach your full potential.” 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• The Productive Home Solution®

• The Paper Solution®

• The Paper Solution® Certified Organizer Directory

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter 

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. I am grateful that you are reaching out to share with me and with this community. You can see and hear transformation in action. 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!

Last week I talked about these large Presidential homes and why they were so big. But it also got me thinking about how they were run. Some had staff or slaves to help them, but some like John and Abigail Adams did not. Houses now aren’t built or run like they used to be. 

Think About This

Our homes are small businesses. By that I mean we, our homes, contribute to 68% of the economy. We buy food, clothes, and products to run and repair/improve our homes and function of daily life. Why don’t we run our homes with strategic focus on our priorities instead of trying to equal out daily tasks that will never be done anyway? AI is coming for the house last. We need to be empowered by objectively looking at our homes as an economic unit; a small business. When we have that perspective, we will make better choices. We are managing our work life and our small business (our homes) and the cognitive load is too great. You need to learn to defer tasks so you are working on the most important task. Think, what needs to get done? By when? In what order? And what things, if they don’t get done, are not going to be a big deal? 

The Household Manager Room

I have always said the only reason I would consider building a new house would be to put the master bedroom on the main level and to finally get the household manager office I have dreamed about. We used to have this planning desk, but as I’m sure many of you have also experienced, it’s not big enough. I want a whole room. So as I started to explain out loud all my organization and reasoning for where I have different papers for taxes, my project closets, Greg’s memorabilia, Warrior MAMA Binders, my Sunday Basket®s, picture frames, and some of Grayson’s stuff, it started to sound like a hot mess. I laughed, but in my head and on paper it’s very organized. The only way I would improve their locations is to have this one room that the primary focus is to efficiently run my home. We should all be so lucky to have one space dedicated to the running of our homes. 

You Are the American Economy

Our homes are like startups. Very little money in the beginning, but the systems help us to focus and eventually turn a profit. The less goals at one time that we are focused on, the more productive and profitable our economic unit will be. We need to have managerial mindsets. In our homes, we have finances and operations. No matter if it’s just you, you are married, with kids, or even a multigenerational home. The focus is no longer divvying up tasks, it’s productivity. You take a leadership stance. You can only control and change you and your mindset. Decide what you want to do and lead by example. Oddly enough, others usually follow suit and fill in the gaps. When I decided I was no longer grocery shopping and cooking, Greg stepped in and our “food life” is even better now. And keep in mind as our family’s grow, our roles will change too. As your kids grow, instill chores or hire help. Just like in business, people quit and systems change; so will your small business. It’s good to do an audit of your home every couple of years. And as a leader with goals in mind, decide how to move forward effectively, productively, and profitably. 

Going into the next 5 episodes, I want you to think about the systems you have in place and how they can make you productive from a leadership standpoint. And how to run your home through strategic planning instead of a reactive mode of just trying to even out the workload.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• The Paper Solution®

• The Productive Home Solution

• 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!

In this episode, I introduce you to Julie C., mom of three boys and two dogs and a wife. In December 2019, Julie was starting to organize her office and thought, “There’s no TV in this room, maybe I’ll find a podcast to listen to.” She was really drawn to the messages along with the teaching of the Organize 365® Podcast. Julie had previously tried the Freedom Filer® Filing System, but ended up confusing herself with it. That’s when she implemented the Sunday Basket® and got her paper under control.

Then when the unexpected event of a cancer diagnosis was received, Julie was able to lean on her Sunday Basket®. Julie’s oldest son was a senior and she wanted to make sure his graduation celebration was perfect. Her family and friends were able to help her plans play out due to the organization of actionable items in the Sunday Basket®.

I have noticed in my 50’s, some of my friends have experienced a cancer diagnosis or a heart attack. These unexpected events throw life off kilter. This is usually when we realize we need to get all the info out of our heads and onto paper in the event people need to access accounts and such and we are not in a capacity to do so. Our team had a crazy fall last year and I did a 6- part series of the different events and how my staff was handling them; check out episodes 555 through 560 to hear all about them. 

We can’t control much in these events, but the Sunday Basket® gives us peace of mind. And I mention that Julie being able to have peace of mind gave her the ability to rest, which is when our bodies repair and heal. Julie was also encouraged by the Organize 365® community, realizing others had been in her shoes and learning what they did. 

Once Julie was back to work, she attended the Friday Workbox® Planning Day sans the Friday Workbox®. I laughed, but Julie explained all the benefits she gained from simply planning. Like scheduling a workout, actually putting it on the schedule in her day. Julie has also acknowledged with her kids getting older, she has more time. Due to the podcast, she was inspired with all her extra time to go for her Doctorate in Education for Leadership and Healthcare. 

Now that she’s planning to go back to school, she’s also been evaluating cleaning in her house. We talked about how you can clean your house OR you can hire that out and use that time towards a project or something like going back to school. We also talked about the stigma that comes with hiring someone to clean your house. You could feel “holier than thou” OR you may consider how grateful that person is to work, which could be what they really enjoy, and the ability to make money for their family. 

Julie recently became a member of The Productive Home Solution® and appreciates The Paper Solution® Binders. It’s so important to have the information documented and now in her Medical Binder for the future. And speaking of the future, she wants to get the Launch Binders for her boys. We talked about learning the skills of cleaning your home or other home management tasks. We often learn them in the dorms at college. But what if you don’t attend college, then how do you learn? In either setting, we agreed the Launch Binder is the way to go to share common knowledge with your children as they embark on their independent adult journey.

Julie’s advice is, “Just get started. Lean on the system, it doesn’t have to be ‘done.’ It’s a journey, not an end product.” 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Friday Workbox®

• Friday Workbox® Planning Day

• The Productive Home Solution®

• The Paper Solution®

• Launch Binder

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter 

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. I am grateful that you are reaching out to share with me and with this community. You can see and hear transformation in action. 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!

You guys know I’m a history nut and this episode is all about homes from the past and our current homes. I live in the purple state of Ohio. Fun fact, more Presidents have come from Ohio than any other state; 8 Presidents to be exact. I’ve toured Presidential homes in Ohio many times. I was even the greeter at Stan Hywet’s home. It’s so funny for me to think about homes in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s versus homes today and how we use them. And I absolutely drool over the libraries. These were successful people and successful people read. Homes in that time were multipurpose. They were large. Not for the sake of large rooms, but for the sake of having space for entertaining and working. It’s so easy for us to forget how much harder things were in the past to travel, work, entertain, to just live!

Eating

If you stop and think about life in the 1800’s to early 1900’s, there weren’t easy travel paths. There weren’t restaurants, nor were there hotels. If you had guests, they were likely not there for just the afternoon. It’s so interesting for me to think about the need for eating areas for workers, family, and formal entertaining spaces to have meals with guests. He even had a morning breakfast room! Meals were long, too. There wasn’t tv, movie theaters, or public spaces to hang out. So long dinners it was. And due to the architecture of the homes, the guests never saw the kitchen or the other eating areas. The largest room would often be the entertaining space. Owners may have entertainment and the whole community would be invited. The talent would stay with the owners. 

Sleeping

These homes were so large with so many rooms. On top of all of the entertaining and eating rooms, they needed to sleep. One of the President’s homes had the owners' wing with bedrooms, another wing for live-in workers. There was a wing of rooms, kind of like a hotel for guests. Remember, guests were probably there for a week or longer and your workers lived there, too. 

Working

The doctors, lawyers, and other professionals of that time didn’t have big fancy offices they drove to each day. No, they worked from their home offices that usually had separate entrances. Some of the doctors had a secretary office that you would enter, then proceed to the doctor. I think the reality is we are all working from home nowadays. We all, well not Greg, but most have email on our phones or are checking on something at the office if you do have a brick and mortar you report to each day. 

Ponder

Do our homes reflect how we use them? On the podcast years ago, I asked Jay Papasan, who co-wrote The One Thing, when did we get home manager offices in every home. He snickered and said architecture is the last thing to change, and that’s granted we all agreed on what we want! That’s why all of our homes are fairly similar to that of the 1950’s, after the war. Until next week’s episode, I want you to ponder some spaces in your home. I want you to think about your formal spaces and if you use that space often. Have you allocated space to an activity you don’t do like entertain guests? Lots of times we meet at restaurants. So are you using your spaces effectively, functionally for your life today? Are you using your house functionally to eat, sleep, and work? 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• The Paper Solution®

• The Productive Home Solution

• 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!

In this episode, I introduce you to Mara D., mom of four boys and happily married up in Connecticut. Mara organized her closet the Marie Kondo way and felt lighter and brighter. Her friend planted a seed saying she should do that for others. But how? She searched for podcasts about starting an organization business and found the Professional Organizer's Think Tank Podcast. Mara loved that it really gave her direction on how to get started.

We discovered we are both educated in the psychology world. There’s a difference though between clinical and general psychology PhD’s. I’m learning so much about psychology, but really I just want to do my own research in the future. I’ll be focusing on positive psychology.  I don’t have an employer paying for me to do this or a grant to be approved for me. Once I get my PhD, I will be paying to do research for the sake of the general population. Clinical seems to be for the sake of diagnosis for insurance and medication purposes to get things back to normal. 

Mara was explaining the Sunday Basket® to all of her clients. When it came to paper, Organize 365® had the solutions. Some organizers may say it ‘s all digital, that you don’t need the paper. But not in our capitalist society. I mean our birth certificates and social security cards are still on paper! And because we aren’t a socialist country, our health information for example is not available to anyone. It’s only available to the people we choose to provide care to us. So then Mara got to thinking, maybe I should experience the Sunday Basket® since I’m telling all of my clients about it. That was like If You Give a Mouse a Cookie because then she wanted to get Sunday Basket® Certified and The Paper Solution® Certified; she values The Paper Solution® Binders.

Mara points out to her clients that the solution is you; you have to regularly process your Sunday Basket®. The Sunday Basket® allows you to budget your time like you do your money. When you budget, you proactively decide what resources, time or money, will be spent where and when. You are in charge instead of caught off guard and needing to be reactive. It also allows you to procrastinate on purpose. So often I find when I delay tasks, by the time they need to be completed that week, the task doesn’t need to get done anymore. Someone else has completed the task, the deadline has moved, or requirements of that task have changed. So you may think you are working ahead when there is so much magic in just waiting. 

Mara now has more time as a result of planning, is consistent, and more patient with others because her to-do list is getting accomplished first allowing her to pour into others. She has more trust in herself to show up and have clarity in her goals.

Mara’s advice is, “Any system works if you think it, visualize it, and know your why. Visualize the look, the way you’ll feel, and the functionality you desire. Then when you are deciding on items to keep, toss, or donate, the decisions will be much easier.” 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Sunday Basket®

• The Productive Home Solution®

• The Paper Solution®

• Professional Organizer’s Think Tank Podcast Playlist

• The Paper Solution® Certification

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter

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. I am grateful that you are reaching out to share with me and with this community. You can see and hear transformation in action. 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!

Some people say, “Lisa how do you do it ALL?” And some people hear all I’m doing and say, “Me too!” If you say “Me too!,” you are going to love this episode because it’s completely devoted to my process of planning. I share all my strategic thought process behind the days I have meetings to why I make time for the community on Fridays. I remember hearing, “If you want to grow a business, you must be consistent.” I want to offer a consistent experience for the Organize 365® Community. 

The Inception of The Sunday Basket®

I revisited the story of how the Sunday Basket® came to be. I had this 14” high stack of papers. Joey took really short naps. By the time I sifted through the paper stack and found an actionable thing to accomplish during his wink of sleep, he’d be awake again. So one night, when the kids were in bed and Greg said good night early, I sorted all that paper into 40 piles! I placed those 40 piles in separate folders and they all went in my Longaberger Basket. The next day when Joey laid down, I quickly pulled out one folder and got something accomplished.

Reactive to Proactive

Once the Sunday Basket® was proving to be effective for me, I started to enforce the rule of, “If it can wait until Sunday, then it must wait.” Once I processed the basket I could make my weekly plan, my follow through. I have found the waiting to be magical!

I was using one basket for home and work, but soon realized I should split them into their own boxes. And that’s when I started moving faster, getting more done. So 6 years ago, I started manufacturing the official Sunday Basket®, designed to help the slash pockets stand up and color coded in colors that Organize 365® uses. I went into great detail of the evolution of Organize 365® and products in episodes 521 to 525.

New Adult Planning Tools

I look at my week that I am a CEO as Monday 8am to Thurs 8pm. And from Thursday 8pm to Monday 8am, I am a home manager. I shared how this is really working to my benefit. I was getting frustrated though that all the planners start the week with Sunday in the month view. I want to see Saturday and Sunday together. And I wasn’t really sure where to document odd things that need to get done, like a baby gift for my hair dresser or ideas for social media for an episode that would not get published for weeks still. Where does one put that information? So I came up with three new products to help you plan. 

2 Year Dated Planning Calendar (AKA “Lisa 2 Year Planner”)

This planner starts with Monday as the beginning of the week. It starts in July 2024 and goes through 2026. This planner will help everyone who plans out a period of time rather than details of a week or day; it’s not a date book.

Rainbow 52 Week Planner

This planner has 6 rainbow colors vertically, in rows. I can plan out as far as I need to with this information that I used to not know where to write. The pages can be dated or kept blank. There are periods of time I use it and then the week of vacation I don’t. Make it work for you.

Rainbow Weekly Planning Sheet

It’s a similar idea as the planner, but labeled one week at a time, or seven boxes horizontally. I use the pink row for social media ideas, the orange for all things podcasting, the yellow for new products; you get the idea. There are seven boxes but you do not need to acknowledge the week day. You can view it as seven items to plan and implement. You can color code your family for needs and activities or a student for their subjects in school. And it matches the Lisa School Binder from the Kids Program!

All this planning in the name of staying consistent, also known as your follow through. 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Friday Workbox®

• 2 Year Dated Planning Calendar

• Rainbow 52 Week Planner

• Rainbow Weekly Planning Sheet

• Lisa School Binder

• 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!

In this episode, I introduce you to Allie H. Allie is a busy lady being an Assistant Professor, pursuing her PhD, taking care of her four children (currently ages 9,7,5,2), and being married to her supportive husband. Allie wanted to change her negative self talk about her home and her life. She’d been following Sarah Hart Unger’s blog and she talked about me and Organize 365®. Allie first found Organize 365® through the podcast. What Allie found in listening to the podcast was organizational advice that was applicable in our busy lives, but also about how to have a positive mindset. She loved that when she finished each episode there was an actionable task. This was specifically helpful as Allie transitioned from young adult to her own, more mature, family. 

Since she’d been listening to the podcast, when she got her Sunday Basket® she knew what the colored slash pockets were for. She used pink to dream and much to my suprise, after just having her 4th child and getting ready to return to work, she threw in “Learn Italian.” I guess leading by example I have taught you people well to dream! I shared that I love travel and looking back to 2015 it was a dream of mine then that is now starting to come true. And Allie knew it may not be right away, but she dreamed of learning Italian because she is Italian. Also, this goes to show the capacity that is in all of us. Allie pointed out that when we dream and then fulfill those dreams, we are filling up our cups to keep pouring into our families and careers. 

Allie made a makeshift Financial Binder and put all the important papers in there. When she needed her son Henry’s birth certificate, she knew right where to look. She expressed how much time the products and systems save her as well as her cognitive load. And at work she uses her Friday Workbox® to keep all documentation of her accomplishments for the year because the university she teaches at requires that. It’s also a safe holding place for her CEU’s and other certificates. Her students know of it, too. When they finish a lab with results, they suggest placing it in the Friday Workbox® to have for the next time they do that lab or a similar one. Allie pointed out that due to the size of the Friday Workbox®, it’s easy to leave at work or bring home and it keeps her from retaining too much paper. With Allie being successful in her career, a thriving family, her lack of negative self talk, and two hours free most nights, it prompted a conversation about capacity. We are told this lie that you can’t have it all and do it all well. But we humans have so much capacity when systems are in place. Don’t feel bad for wanting more; we can do more than we think!

Allie, being a teacher, is home for the summers. Allie shared that this summer she made a checklist of activities so next summer she’s not starting from scratch with ideas to entertain her four children. And I slipped in a couple of little tips. Once I complete taxes or fill out school paperwork for my children, I always ask myself, “Am I going to have to do this again?” If the answer is yes, I make copies of the filled in paperwork or I make a checklist for ease next time. Also for ease, I make a note to myself when running errands or traveling if I need to put more diapers in the diaper bag or fill up the shampoo. That way when I get home, I fill up whatever it was and then I’m set for the next time I travel. 

Allie’s advice is, “Listen to the podcast, take it in, and decide what are a few things you can implement. Also progress over perfection. We don’t need to be perfect, but nice and good people that are happy.” Often times we get to see the after but we don’t see the “doing.”  It’s in the doing part we get to functional organization, not picture perfect, which results in confidence and happiness.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• The Paper Solution®

• Friday Workbox®

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter 

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. I am grateful that you are reaching out to share with me and with this community. You can see and hear transformation in action. 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!

110% actually came from my team one season. They expressed that they wanted to get the Binders updated. They said they wanted to get them to 110% with no errors, with enough room in all sections, and add sections the community had suggested. I was more than happy to “grant this wish” and I want this for your summer meaty projects too. But you all know I do not talk about perfection so what does 110% look like for each of the projects I’ve been focusing on? 

EASE

E. in S.M.A.R.T.I.E.S. stands for (E)ase. If this is the first time you are organizing an area or you are new to one of the Workboxes, that’s enough this time; you’re done. You will need to use the product or space before you understand how you can improve the ease of your systems. When you revisit an area is when you can strive towards the ease 110% will allow in your life.  

Teacher Workbox: You could revisit Teacher Camp, make better checklists, and improve systems for an easier school year coming up. 

Paper: Now is the time to start to create cadences for updating your binders. I keep a slash pocket in my Sunday Basket® “for binders.” Once a year, I place updated paperwork in the binders and weed out old paperwork. I tend to do the Financial Binder around tax time, the Household Reference Binder in spring, the Launch & Warrior MAMA Binder in summer, and the Household Operations Binder in October/November. 

Health: Create a cadence for meal prepping and stocking your pantry with what you need to support this new goal. Do the Productivity & Profitability Blitz and Kitchen section from The Productive Home Solution®. 

Personal: This section is not as easy but it will make you feel lighter to get to 110%. When you have backups of all the products you use, you will experience ease. You may decide now is the time you are going to switch it all up. Find what you want to be using and then make sure you have back ups. I know this can be spendy but I offered a solution in this episode. You could also do Embrace to get yourself to 110%. And then you can use the Back to School Blitz for yourself and your personal supplies. 

Kids: After your children are 5, you can update their spaces about every three years. They grow and change in three years - you’ll know when it’s time. And then when they are following the Kids Program for Saturdays and Sundays, you’ll definitely experience ease.

Family Spaces: I’m all about a little help!  But what I found as a professional organizer was once the job was completed, the homeowner was often looking for a housekeeper. And I really support this because, you will stay tidy for a housekeeper. They will come in and do all the deep cleaning, but you will more likely put things in their place before the housekeeper comes so they can do their job. And that will help you to maintain your organizational systems.

Remember, you need to complete the space or product once, use it for a while (like a year maybe) or maybe third time going through that space,  then you’ll have ideas on how to take it to 110% and iterate to experience ease. 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Friday Workbox®

• Teacher Friday Workbox® (includes Teacher Camp)

• The Paper Solution®

• Launch Binder

• Warrior MAMA Binder

• Kitchen Productivity & Profitability Blitz

• The Productive Home Solution

• Embrace Self-Guided Retreat

• Back to School Blitz

• Kids Program

• 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!

In this episode, I introduce you to Mechelle, married and mother of two. Mechelle found Organize 365® in 2019 through the podcast. One day while on a walk with her friends, she asked “Do any of you know someone who talks about running their home like a business?” She’d been looking for a podcast and then she fell in love with yours truly. She loves all the support and positivity.

Mechelle said she starts almost everyday listening to something from our social media or the podcast. She listened for a while and then started investing in products. She nailed down which products she wanted to purchase after a call with Emily. Mechelle has systems in place that are helping her to run her home like a business. So it doesn’t throw her off to have unexpected company - she’s comfortable with the functionality of her home, she knows it does not need to look “showing ready” at all times. Mechelle appreciates the podcast so much because she said her husband Aaron is very much like me. One day on a cruise ship he got an idea. Hours off of the boat he’s showing a mock up drawing of the tool. And days later he had a physical product in his hands. It wasn’t in the marketplace so he made sure it was. 

Stop dusting and start inventing! As women we are told we can’t have it all - you can’t have work life balance. Yes, you can! We need to refocus the priorities. You don’t actually need to dust every week! We are also told we need to have our houses kept to unrealistic standards. With the right systems in place you can increase capacity to get more done. And when you are getting more done, you just may realize new products that you’d like to have that aren’t in the marketplace. That’s the time to invent it! We laughed over Organize 365® and the requests we have made to software designers, eyebrows we have raised, and products that have been invented to aid in these systems that make us so productive. We, the Organize 365® community, are almost collaboratively working towards this handbook for the home. 

It took Mechelle about 2-3 years to effectively be using the systems. The first round was like a baby walking. When they fall down, we laugh with them and encourage them to keep going. She gave herself grace and just kept going. The second round she was able to put planning day into action. She kept listening to the podcast and growing. She’s put effort into areas of her life like health, creativity, spirituality, relationships and currency. She’s gained the perspective of spending her time like her money which has resulted in capacity, energy, and freedom. The dailiness of our homes is a never ending story with responsibilities shifting due to our phase of life. Remember I. in S.M.A.R.T.I.E.S. is (I)terative. You just have to keep each space functional for the phase of life you are in. And Mechelle has been doing that.

Mechelle’s advice is, “Listen to the podcast and see what speaks to your heart, then reach out to customer service and discuss goals, and then start with the Sunday Basket® (out of head and onto paper). ” 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• The Productive Home Solution®

• Home Planning Day

• The Paper Solution®

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter 

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. I am grateful that you are reaching out to share with me and with this community. You can see and hear transformation in action. 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!