Your Life. Organized.

Clutterfree Gift Ideas for 2009

Last Friday kicked off the official holiday shopping season, and to celebrate, I'm sharing with you my favorite ideas for clutter-free gift ideas! If you have your own ideas to add(or something you've been wishing for yourself) , I'd love to hear them, so please leave a comment! Here's the complete list...

What Are You Thankful For?

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving -- my favorite holiday! I love it so much because it's all about my two favorite things... being with people you love and delicious food! I'll be making my famous baked corn pudding, as I always do and I can't wait to be with my friends, who are my chosen family. However, it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without giving thanks, would it? So here's my short list of the things in my life I'm thankful for...

Quote of the Week: Gratitude

On the eve of American Thanksgiving, (my favorite holiday) this week's quote is about gratitude.

"Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation."

Brian Tracy
American Success Guru

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Consumed With Consumption?

When people travel, they shop. It's weird -- even a non-shopper like me can get sucked into it. On the road, an item you might never look at twice when you're at home living your regular life, suddenly seems Extra Neato! Plus, not only are you willing to buy it, you're often willing to pay too much for it! It's a hilarious and nutty thing, this "travel shopping".

I was recently in Vermont with some friends, then in Hilton Head with a different group of friends, and then I went to Nashville. On each of these trips even *I* did some travel shopping.

In one of the stores in Vermont, I got to thinking about how sometimes we get into clutter and debt because we don't see a clear difference or boundary between admiring something and having to own it...

Technology, Simplicity & Danica Theodorakos

I flew to Cincinnati to be in-studio with my BFFs Vicky and Jen and Vicky and Jen contest winner Danica Theodorakos was the guest host for our new episode of "The Big O"!  This episode, we're talkin' technology and how it can make your life easier! Learn all our favorite websites, techno-toys, and services that simplify life, and be sure to email your own ideas and technology loves to Vicky and Jen at comments@vickyandjen.com.

Quote of the Week: Power Within

"Refuse to let your present results influence your thinking. Keep reminding yourself that you have a power within you that is superior to any condition or circumstance you may encounter enroute to your goal."

Bob Proctor

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But It's Valuable

Republished with permission from Unclutterer. Read the original post here.

As a Professional Organizer, one of the things I've noticed over the years is that very often, people who struggle with clutter and disorganization, as well as hoarders, explain or justify their accumulation of clutter by telling themselves...

Organize Kids' Art With a Gallery

If you're like most parents, you love the artwork your kids bring home from school, but it can pile up and become clutter. One of the solutions I've used with my clients is a homemade a gallery. The kids love it because their art takes center stage and moms love it because it puts a simple system in place for handling the ever-present influx of handmade art.

To create a gallery, all you need is a section of empty wall, some common tools and a little time. The photo here is of a client's kitchen where I installed three lengths of cable about an inch from the wall using threaded screw-in hooks at each end, similar to the one shown, only heavier.

I just screwed the hooks into the wall about six feet apart, twisted one end of the cable around one of the hooks, slid a handful of small binder clips onto the cable and attached the cable to the other hook. You can see how the art gets clipped up using the binder clips, and the nice thing is that you don't have to track where the clips are because they hang permanently on the cable. I chose to put three cables up on the wall, one above the other so there is plenty of room for art. As more art comes in, my client just pulls down the old art and replace it with new. 

Another fun way to create a gallery is to position a few magnet strips in rows on a section of wall and hang your kids' artwork that way. Just be very careful to store unused magnets stored on the highest strip and out of reach of children. One other way to show off your art is to simply collect a bunch of picture frames in varying sizes from garage sales, paint them all the same color and hang them in an interesting pattern on the wall. When a new piece of art comes in, just tape it inside the appropriately sized frame.

No matter how you slice it, if you have even a few feet of blank wall space, you can create a gallery to proudly display the precious creations your babies make. 

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Quote of the Week: Thank You To All U.S. Veterans!

It's Veteran's Day here in the United States so I'm skipping the customary Wednesday Quote of the Week in favor of a quote from me...

From the bottom of my heart, I want to publicly thank all the veterans of the United States Armed Forces, living or dead, for the sacrifices they've made and continue to make, on behalf of this great nation. Please know that my gratitude for your service simply cannot be measured.

 

 

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The Queen of Packing Light Strikes Again!

I'm leavin' on a jet plane this morning, heading to Cincinnati to record some "Big O" podcasts with my BFFs, Vicky and Jen! The first show we're taping will feature the winner of our recent "Be A Guest Host The Big O" contest. I can't tell you what the other shows will be about, or I'd have to kill ya. (And I know you don't want that...) Anyway, I'm writing you this morning to pat myself on the back because once again I'm the Queen of Packing Light! This morning I head to Cincinnati and before I get back to Atlanta, I'll hit Philly and Harrisburg, returning home Sunday night. I'll be gone for 7 full days and I refuse to check luggage. This is a picture of what I'm carrying on the plane with me...

Fall Into Abundance!

My friend and colleague Sara Fisher makes a guest appearance here to share some organizing wisdom with my awesome readers.

In Atlanta, we've had an OVER abundance of rain lately! Trees down, flooded basements, leaky roofs. All of this abundant rain causes me to think about paper boxes. Paper boxes and rain…seems like a strange pair, but over the last several weeks as I have been creating abundance for my clients, more than one of them has lost a paper box to the rain.

If you're storing things in cardboard, NOW is the time to make the change to plastic containers. Especially, if shelving is not available to you. Storage containers on the floor should be made of plastic to prevent damage in case of flooding. In addition, bugs LOVE cardboard boxes, which is another reason to make plastic the container to use for storage! And of course don't forget labels!

So now as the leaves begin to change, it's a great time to clear out for a change too. A change to tame stacks of papers, finish summer projects that didn't get done, or liberate closets bulging with clothes. Wishing you the richness of the FALL season, hoping you can FALL into abundance and simple spaces!

~Sara

Quote of the Week: Wealth and Order

"Wealthy people tend to be orderly, while those who struggle have lots of messes. Each mess is a lock on the gate that keeps abundance out."

Raymond Aaron
From Double Your Income Doing What You Love

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"Humor Me" Tip #5

 "Humor Me" Simplicity Tip #5: Schedule An Event 60 to 90 Days Out

Today's HMS Tip is for all you out there who can't commit to taking time off to do something fun, because in your heart of hearts, yo just know your business world will cease to exist if you do! The office will blow up, you'll lose your biggest client, or (horrors!) someone might send you an email and not get an immediate response! 

You know who you are. I'm here to tell you COMMIT! You'll never "find" time. But you can MAKE time, simply by choosing to block time on your calendar in advance. Then once it's in there, you just have to work around it like you'd work your schedule around any other work-related meeting or commitment.

So think of something you'd like to do -- a long weekend in the mountains, a whole day downtown at the museum, or just a Tuesday lunch and movie date with your wife and kids. It doesn't matter what you're blocking time to do; it matters that you're blocking out time in advance and committing to it.  If something for work comes up for that time slot, you simply work around it by saying you already have an appointment that day. Nobody needs to know what that appointment is, do they? Just try it and let me know how it works out! Come on, humor me!

 

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