We have dissected S.M.A. from our home organizing acronym, S.M.A.R.T.I.E.S. You know what (S)pace you are organizing. You know at the end of the day the functional feeling will be your indicator that you have accomplished 80% organization ((M)easurable). And the (A)esthetics we know are not going to be like a magazine, but it could have a country french flair or whatever design you like. We are moving onto (R)eactive to proactive, (T)hings in place, and (I)terative today. Let’s look at the six categories I’ve been using as examples…

• Teacher

  • R- You are going to go through last year’s paper and see if you still need any of it. 

  • T- Teacher camp, you can attend a replay and get going right now or catch it live the first two weeks of July to get systems in place.

• Organizing Your Paper

  • R- If you have a chunk of time, put all the paper in one place. Then sort for keep, shred, or recycle. 

  • T- Once you have your organized paper piles, actionable paper goes in the Sunday Basket® and reference paper goes in the binders.

• Organizing Your Health Journey

  • R- Do a total clean out of the pantry and fridge. Toss all food that no longer supports your health goals. Important to restock with food that does provide the health you are looking to accomplish. This is a good time to revisit your recipes.

  • T- 15 minutes a day which could be one drawer at a time. You can do 15 minutes back to back too, but keep the tasks small so if you get interrupted you don’t have a big mess in the kitchen. 

• Personal Development/Personal Spaces

• R- Get rid of 20-30% of your closet. Our bodies are constantly changing and your wardrobe may be from before kids or a full time job and now you stay home. I have suits in my closet that I don’t wear, but I keep them because they remind me where I am going, so they are aspirational. It’s ok to keep things like that. And it’s ok to slowly replace your wardrobe. You’ll go through it at least 3 times so you can weed out and add as you go . 

• T- My big special thing I did was black flocked hangers. Is there something fun to help you organize? 

• Getting Your Kids Organized

• R- Only keep the things that are relevant to their age and phase of life. 

• T- A cube system or bookshelf helps you and the child to have defined spaces.

• Organizing Your Family & Communal Spaces

• R- You are fighting the tide of memories in this space. Try to remove the items you think you want gone. If you don’t miss them, then they weren’t serving the space and you can choose to store or donate them. 

• T- Be honest with yourself. Are the things in that space serving your family in the current life phase you are in? 

And (I)terative, this is a step that does not need explaining for each step. You will know it‘s time to iterate when you look around and you are no longer happy walking into that space. When yester-year’s project and today’s project are still out, that could be a sign the family has changed. Maybe you no longer have elementary aged kids, maybe you moved, but something has changed and you need to iterate to make the space functional for your current phase of life. 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Teacher Friday Workbox®

• The Paper Solution®

• The Productive Home Solution®

• 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, we are joined once again by the fabulous Rhonda H. You may remember Rhonda from last year on the podcast; she has been part of the community for a long time. Rhonda will be working with us in the fall with the Homeschool Friday Workbox®. Rhonda has every Organize 365® product you can imagine and recently she decided to do Embrace again. 

The first time Rhonda did Embrace was in 2022. Due to life circumstances, she couldn’t take action on much and her family still very much needed her. She would watch the videos before bed and write a few things down. It was at this time that she decided to get The Paper Solution® Certification. She went on a feeling of knowing that’s what she wanted to do, but didn’t know the “how” yet. It was a small step she could take in the direction she wanted to go. It was important for Rhonda not to be discouraged by the stage of life she was in, rather to take small steps towards who she wanted to become. 

THIS time though…Rhonda has been able to take a much deeper dive!  She’s attentively listening, taking notes, reflecting, and collaborating with other women from the community. It started with her and two other ladies that got certified at the same time as Rhonda. When others in the Organize 365® community heard what they were doing, they asked to join. Of course, Rhonda and the other ladies were happy to invite them in. As women, the complexities of our lives are constantly changing. Embrace gives you a chance to stop and think about where you are now and where you want to go. Be in community and learn from each other who may have faced the same challenges or phases of life and encourage one another as we all figure out our next steps.

The Embrace experience is like middle school camp. There’s costumes, music, but most importantly, a lesson wrapped into each video. There are thought-provoking ideas for you to think about and explore. What roles can you not be replaced in? What do you want? What are the skills you have acquired over life? What are you uniquely created to do? Who do you want to be? It’s a progressive program that helps you to dream and then reel it back based on real life limitations. It continues to stretch you to dream and realize how that could all play out in the long run. It’s healthy empowerment, dreaming with a little tough love and reality. And if this is the meaty project you took on this summer or if you do Embrace, go listen to the playlist on Spotify. Keep it top of mind while you are driving and ponder that question of “What do you want?” This is a perfect reason to get a hotel room for a night or two and really take time for you; undistracted time to think and reflect and really dig into you can make a plan for your next chapter.

Rhonda’s advice is, “Do Embrace even if you are repeating it. Get the fun add on’s and get a group together. You will get more out of it because you are in a different phase of life than you were the last time you did it!” 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Embrace Self-Guided Retreat

• 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!

Don’t Start Touching Things…First VIS-U-AL-IZATION 

Start with the end in mind. We do this in our paid work, but now we need to do it for our meaty project. I know it’s so exciting when you have all your supplies. But to be most effective, I want you to have a meaningful start. When you are done, come Labor Day, how does it look? AND how does it function? Will it effectively support you during the upcoming most productive weeks out of the year?

• Teacher

  • When you think about going to school, how do you envision the Teacher Friday Workbox® effectively helping you with your administrative tasks? Compile the paper and slash pockets you need to make it a reality. Maybe set up a table in the corner of a room as your project station for the summer. Communicate with your family and remind them about planned neglect.

• Organizing Your Paper

  • The first few steps are very much like starting the Teacher Friday Workbox®. And you get to start once you have time blocked out on your calendar. How much paper will you go through at time? Starting a Sunday Basket®? Consider the Paper Organizing Retreat or hire a professional paper organizer to help. And then plan it on your calendar.

• Organizing Your Health Journey

  • When spaces are modified to support goals, goals are more likely achieved. Again visualize how the kitchen will best support your new goals. If it’s losing weight, visualize how you want it to look. I know I’m looking forward to a half full refrigerator and replacing some items I will hand down to Abby and getting some new ones I have my eye on.

• Personal Development/Personal Spaces

• Reflect! This is time you are setting aside to reflect on who you are and what you want. I strongly encourage you to attend Embrace. I’d start there because you may find you want to do something different than before Embrace. This is also a time to think about your wants. It’s not like “I deserve this.” No, maybe you have wanted something and everyone else has their needs met…go ahead and dream. And if it’s in the budget, get it! What do you want your life to look like?

• Getting Your Kids Organized

• Dream with your kiddos how their rooms could look. Consider your budget and make a plan. I noticed I did this about every three years. Your kids have grown and are now different people. Make sure you know how you will do it because once you tell them they will want to start tomorrow!

• Organizing Your Family & Communal Spaces

• Just visualize functionality. I remember this lady who had a perfect home and when a magazine came to take pictures, they replaced some of her decor! It was in that moment that I realized even perfect isn’t perfect. These are communal spaces and they will not stay organized long at all. This is the first floor of a two story home. Plan it out on your calendar when you will do each room and in what order. 

Focus

Since this is your summer long project, I want you thinking about it all the time. On the way to the grocery store you may have a great idea come to you; write it down. And the next time you get 5 minutes or 3 hours, you can implement that idea!

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Teacher Friday Workbox®

• Paper Organizing Retreat

• The Productive Home Solution®

• Embrace Self-Guided Retreat

• 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!

Now that you know all about Annie, it’s time to learn about her Teacher Pilot. Annie was part of the Teacher Friday Workbox® Mastermind. And she had lots of ideas. So when I put feelers out to see who wanted to run a pilot, Annie raised her hand high. Annie had been using the Teacher Friday Workbox® and she wasn’t shy about it. When Annie’s school hosted a “choose your own adventure” personal development day, Annie offered to teach about organization and the Teacher Friday Workbox®. From there, interest grew and we were able to narrow down our pilot participants. 

I think everyone is in agreement that while massages are nice, to give yourself peace of mind and ease at work feels more like self care! I went on a little sidebar about self care. Self care is such a buzz word among Annie and her peers. But what actually provides long lasting self care? You know, child care and elder care is noted because someone else has to administer that care. But self care, you are the one administering it and it too needs to be done daily. But it’s invisible. Self care is not “in addition to,” but it should be baseline - like we all need daily self care!

The lucky kindergarten and 5th grade teachers would be the grades piloting implementing the Teacher Friday Workbox®. And one of Annie’s 4th grade teachers got to sneak into the program too. At the beginning of the pilot, Annie asked each participant to give 10 sentences about how they felt about their current organization and hopes of the program. They got training on how to set up the box and systems. Annie offered additional training throughout the year and during one of their personal development days, she offered for them to see how she had her Teacher Friday Workbox® set up. Annie asked for feedback in February too so she could see their progress. They all said that was extremely helpful. As we saw in Jayme’s pilot, each teacher implemented the Teacher Friday Workbox® in different ways. The teachers all want to stay in the pilot and continue to report their wins. Annie noticed it took her three years to hit that sweet spot and she assumes it will for her colleagues too. The overall feedback though was gratitude for this solution. They are excited, even asking for training over summer. Annie agreed and reminded them they also get to attend Teacher Camp coming up in July!! 

Let’s face it: Teachers are not digital and we need to offer non-digital solutions to promote teacher retention. I know this is a big ask. But at the end of the day when we meet the needs of our teachers, they will meet the needs of our students. When you move forward with the Teacher Friday Workbox® for your teachers, make sure to provide time for them to effectively learn how to use the Teacher Friday Workbox® and customize it for their classrooms.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Teacher 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!

Alright, we’re at step one of the meaty project you have decided on. We’re talking prep. We need to wrap our minds around what we are doing, when we are doing it, and our budget. 

Declutter

You may already have some stuff in mind that you have been wanting to get rid of but got held up not knowing what to do with it. I say give it away, donate to donation centers that will recycle or resale the items. Or trash it. Many companies will come out and pick up large items, or get a dumpster and fill it up to your heart's content. And of course, you need to set time aside on your calendar to complete this decluttering. You must be intentional.

Prep

We talked about this in the last episode. Decide on your budget and get your supplies. I always say buy in advance what you think you will need. We are planning this project to be done in August so…save your receipts in the back of the slash pocket you used to plan this project. With supplies on hand, you can stay in that project energy. At the end, return the items you didn’t use. And prepare your family. Let them know your planned neglect tactics you will be practicing. And let them know your timeline and what to expect!

• Teachers - Getting organized and ready for the most productive fall

  • Declutter: Your classroom and Teacher Workbox before you leave for summer.

  • Prep: Your calendar and block off Teacher Camp and try to join us live; such great energy to be surrounded by.

• Organizing Your Paper

  • Declutter: Decide when and how much you will go through at a time and designate where the keep pile will go.

  • Prep: Block off the Paper Retreat or seek out the local help of a professional paper organizer.

• Organizing Your Health Journey

  • Declutter: Toss all expired items (also consider vitamins) or items that do not support your health journey, from your pantry and refrigerator. And declutter the kitchen - Revisit The Productive Home Solution® section for the Kitchen. 

  • Prep: Schedule time daily to track in an app or plan the day for success.

• Personal Development/Personal Spaces

• Declutter: Daily plan for 15-30 min to declutter personal spaces. AM? PM? When is best for you? 

• Prep: Sign up for Embrace and try your hardest to join us live!

• Getting Your Kids Organized

• Declutter: Go through the Kids Program. Kids stuff sells so consider a garage sale within two weeks of hearing this podcast!!   

• Prep: This is kind of declutter and prep together. But as you get through the Kids Program, you can buy clothes once the closet is decluttered, buy paint once another section has been watched and implemented. You get the idea. You could put together a fun calendar for your kids to follow along with the plan. 

• Organizing Your Family & Communal Spaces

• Declutter: Let your family know your plan and what to expect. This may be the project to call in Junk King. They’ll come into your home and remove any items for you that you have delayed tossing for this reason - you needed muscles LOL 

• Prep: Decide what is no longer serving you and your home. Plan the time on your calendar when you will complete this task. 

I know, we didn’t even start! LOL!!  Next week we will begin all the fun now that we are decluttered and prepped!!

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Teacher Friday Workbox®

• Paper Organizing Retreat

• The Productive Home Solution®

• Embrace Self-Guided Retreat

• 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!

I’m so excited to share another educator that is helping other teachers learn about organization for retention and enjoyment in their educational careers. Annie discovered Organize 365® in 2019 through the podcast. Annie comes from a long line of paper pilers. She prides herself on how organized she was in college but once she got married and settled an estate, she too started paper piles everywhere. She loved the idea of the Sunday Basket® and made one of her own; that lasted 8 weeks. And 2 short weeks later, she was all access! What we noted from her listening to the podcast before having the products, it’s like you have the time to let the information sink in. You build the habit before making any purchases. This is so common with our podcast listeners.

Annie and I agreed how the paper can get out of control when you add others into your life. She spoke to the passing of her mom. Her mom knew where stuff was, but once she had passed her father did not. And the great man that her father was, he too was a fan of paper. He never owned a computer during the time of running his business so you can imagine all the paper Annie got to organize! Annie spoke to the benefits of the Financial Binder and while we agree it’s a little morbid to put together, it’s an act of love you can give to someone who may have to settle your affairs once you are gone. If you too struggle with asking, you can use my famous line “100 years from now, If I needed this…”

Annie is thankful for the time she has gotten to focus on her side career. She is a professional organizer, too. A lot of times people learn to organize for themselves and can’t help but to want to share it with others. Annie was perfectly content in her teaching career and life but couldn’t help organizing people on the side. She is so rewarded seeing other adults gain confidence through organization. 

She can also see how all the small changes she’s made over the years have added up to big changes in her marriage and home. She can remember when she got down to just one junk drawer and got rid of bags of her clothes. Now when she goes into her closet, all of her clothes feel good to her. That was when she realized she was organized! She wishes she would have implemented progress over perfection from the beginning. Annie likes things to be perfect, but she now has an appreciation for moving forward instead of being stuck in analysis paralysis. 

We talked about what seems to be 3 year blocks of time; about 3 years to get organized, about 3 years to focus on your health, and about 3 years to set goals and understand how to tackle them. And then watch out world - they become unstoppable!

Organization and your next project are waiting for you, too. If you are hesitant, I want you to ask yourself, “If not me, then who?” And “If not now, then when?”

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• The Paper Solution® Financial Binder

• 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!

Alright, alright…you have put all your project ideas in your Sunday Basket®. You have identified your extended Sunday Basket® areas for larger items, like a mattress for an upcoming project. And you have said yes, I enjoy completing projects here, like me working on projects on my bed. And we took a hot minute to think through our paid employment so that, as we work on this meaty project, work will be chugging along to set us up for the most productive time of year once summer is over. I know you are saying, “Yes, but Lisa, WHAT is the project?”

SMART vs. SMARTIES

Accomplishing goals at work and/or at school happens naturally. But when it comes to accomplishing goals at home, it just doesn’t seem to work the same way. The tool that we commonly use for goal setting is the SMART goal. I explained why SMART goals are great for work and school, but will leave you feeling defeated at home. 

Just in time for summer, I have a new goal setting tool for you to use at home and it’s called the SMARTIES goal. This was not a short episode and that is because I wanted to really explain this new way of setting a goal for your meaty project.

S is for Space, the room or person ( ie a child) you are organizing.

M is still for Measurable, but it’s a feeling we are measuring. Is your space functionally working and are you feeling organized?

A is for upgrading the Aesthetics within your budgets, like a gallon of paint or cubes to put your cereal bags in. No one is being given this idea of a room full of new furniture and finishings.

R is for learning skills to go from Reactive to proactive in your life.

T is for Time order, not timeline. The date is not as important as the time needed to complete this project. It’s going to take the amount of time it takes!

I is for Iterative. This space you are choosing to conquer will never be finished because the people using the space will continue to grow and need different things in that space.

E is for Ease, deep sigh…no guilt, no judgment, no unrealistic timelines. Once you learn organization, you’ll have ease in these projects.

And finally, S is for Share! Lots of times, once you get the hang of organizing you want to do it for your family and friends. Feel free to share these resources with them. And hop into the community and share what you have been doing. You may give someone an idea or get one yourself!

Choose That Meaty Project (detailed explanation in the second half of this episode)

1. Career Goals - Getting organized and ready for the most productive fall

2. Getting Your Kids/Family Organized

3. Organizing Your Paper or a Loved One’s Paper

4. Organizing Your Health Journey

5. Personal Reflection and Leaning Into What You Were Uniquely Created To Do

6. Organizing Your Personal Spaces

7. Organizing Your Family & Communal Spaces

I’m excited to cheer you on this summer as you pick a meaty summer goal! Use my free SMARTIES goal printable and get ready to listen to the podcast this summer as you organize and tackle your summer goal. Let’s do this!

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• SMARTIES Goal Printable

• 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!

Anna feels so strongly that the Teacher Friday Workbox® is the solution to ease the overwhelm and increase teacher retention, she created a course in the formal setting of a university. She’s here today to give a peek inside the course.

She knew based on her previous life in the education world that not all courses qualify to be reimbursed. There needs to be a focus on how the student would benefit from the teacher completing this course. Proactively, she knew to include SEL (social and emotional learning) standards. SEL being included makes the course even more attractive to those that would be approving reimbursement because schools are starting to require these skills to be taught, but there isn’t a lot of material out there for teachers yet. AND in this course, Anna provides lesson plans for the teachers enrolled in this course. 

We alluded to schools having funds that were for personal development. And they are Region 10 from Covid funds and in schools that have innovation as one of their core objectives; you can access funds earmarked for innovation workforce readiness in either essential or soft skills. Schools will reimburse for 60%-100% once you produce your transcript. 

Anna took time in this episode to read the course description. She was sure to stress the importance of learning organizational systems to support executive function. It explains how teachers will learn how to streamline their administrative tasks. And then she went over the modules. Module 1 is getting started and an introduction from yours truly. In Module 2, there will be a focus on ADHD for students and teachers and you get to listen to the ADHD podcast. Module 3 is so much fun as you set up your workbox, label your slash pockets, and dive into the app. Module 4 is learning how to support students' organizational skills and learn about the Lisa Binder; this is the module with the lesson plans helping students to develop SEL standards like self management competency. The last module will reiterate the importance of practicing all the skills and systems you have been taught.

Curious?

We tried to anticipate some questions you may be having and we want to put your curious mind at ease. I can’t recap them all so you will definitely want to listen to the full episode.  

1. Yes, you can take advantage of this course if you have the Teacher Friday Workbox® already. You’ll be lucky enough to have two workboxes AND the graduate credits plus all the other goodies.

2. You can simply take just this one course through Ashland University.

3. If you have existing products with Organize 365®, all products will be consolidated in one account.

4. This is a work at your own pace course so you can be creative as to how and when you complete course work. 

5. This will be an evergreen course offered multiple times during the year. 

Anna is conducting surveys before and after the course. We cannot wait to see the results, share them with you, and continue to improve the course. Now go get registered!

Managing Executive Functions with the Teacher Workbox Course $900

• 3 graduate credits once you complete the course and transcript

• Teacher Workbox to set up and keep

• Lifetime Access to online community

• Weekly Co Working Sessions

• 5 Day Teacher Camp (there is a replay)

• Last day to register for this specific course is 7/1/2024

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Teacher Friday Workbox®

• Managing Executive Functions with the Teacher Workbox (Ashland University)

• 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!

Summer is a great time to focus on you. This is the time of year I always take to reflect on me and my journey. My staff is preoccupied with all the things that come with summer so I take it as a time to sharpen skills and attend conferences. I love conferences, do you? About 7 years ago, I created one of my own conferences to offer to women. We did it live for the first five years, but with Covid and now me pursuing my PhD…it’ll be a minute until I get to offer it live again. But…

What are you uniquely created to do? 

I’m offering for you to take two days to focus on you and discover what you are uniquely created to do in this life. I know as women, possibly wives and moms, we want to find some sort of family-work balance. Make a plan and find a way to do it all! This experience is chalked full of Lisa shenanigans, lessons, and applicable advice. It is a virtual event but I will still guide you through filling out the workbook. AND this year with the add on…a TWO hour zoom call with me, Lisa, at the end of June! I can’t wait to hear all you learn and what you discover!

What is in the Embrace Experience?

• Self Guided Retreat

• Embrace Workbook

And the Add On?  

• 2 hour LIVE EXPERIENCE being hosted by Lisa on Saturday, June 29, 2024 at 10am-12pm ET (replay will be available for approximately 25 days)

• Exclusive Standalone Blush Pink Sunday Basket® – there is no other way to buy this exclusive color!

• Embrace Workbook

• Bonus video from Lisa delivered via email

• Surprise gift

Join us for the LIVE EXPERIENCE by purchasing the Embrace Experience + Add On or, if you already have the Embrace Experience, the Embrace Experience Add On Only! 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Embrace Experience + Add On

• Embrace Experience Add On Only

• 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