Archive for Motivation
Motivation for the Week
Posted by: | CommentsI admit it – I was exhausted this morning. I wanted to complain about going through the morning routine. Make the beds, put away the dishes, wash the clothes. Then it struck me, there are thousands of moms in Japan right now that would be grateful to have their morning chores back. They’d love to have the simple pleasure of being in their own kitchen making breakfast and washing dishes. What they wouldn’t give to have a load of laundry and their own washing machine. It would be a pleasure to make their bed and scrub the floors.
I’m motivated now, what about you?
The artwork below is from group of international artists realized paintings and drawings dedicated to the victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The works are part of an open project called Tsunami, Des Images pour le Japon. The artist is Fanny Blanchet.
Art by Fanny Blanchet http://nynille.canalblog.com/
Motivation 2010 – Organizing Business or Household receipts
Posted by: | CommentsIt is tax season again and if you are one of the many cursing your lack of organization over the past year, then this is your post.
Here is a quick and easy process for organizing your receipts.
- Have two credit cards. Once for business and one for personal expenses.
- Carry an envelope or sleeve with you for collecting receipts (or use your wallet).
- When you arrive home or to the office, empty your envelope, wallet or sleeve of receipts and clip them to a clipboard by your desk. One clipboard for personal expenses and one clipboard for business expenses.
- When you receive your bank statement, match each receipt to the statement and then staple everything together and file.
Done.
At the end of the year if you need to produce a receipt for your expenses to your accountant, (or Uncle Sam) you’ll have them all filed by month.
Here are some important notes that are necessary to make this process successful;
- You must save your receipts and then frequently clip them to your clipboard.
- You’ll need to set aside time to reconcile your receipts to your statement.
- This process works best with a limited number of credit cards. I really believe that it is not necessary to have multiple cards. One for business and one for personal will work for most situations. It is less paperwork, fewer due dates, cleaner reconciliation.
I take one more step after this and send my reconciled paperwork to a scanning service. I then have everything in an electronic format with no excess papers.
Questions? Comments? Let’s get started!
Motivation 2010 – Creative Storage Solutions – Let’s Organize Together
Posted by: | CommentsI’d like to take the next couple of posts to offer a few ideas for odds and ends around the house.
Not everyone has the luxury of enough space to have their own office at home. I humbly fall into that category. This does not mean that I can’t function efficiently and have everything I need for a brilliantly working space. I’d like to share a solution for keeping your office functional, portable and easy to use. It is especially handy for those that might have a small desk in a kitchen area or for those that might work from a dining room table or other surface. I purchased a craft kit and tricked it out with all the essentials for office work;
- Stapler, staples etc
- Paper clips, rubber bands and post-its
- Pens, highlighters and markers
- Inside I have a label maker, letter opener, tape etc …
The portable tote can be taken anywhere in (or out of ) the home to pay bills, organize paperwork, assist with craft projects, etc..
Another problem area seems to be the endless amount of chargers and odd cords. Take a small caddy and label each section for the appropriate cord. I found the example below at the Container Store for under $10.00. I keep chargers for cell phones, camera cords, and other miscellaneous items that I use frequently, but not daily.
Do you need a creative solution for a little problem area in your home? Send me a note or post to the site and I’ll take a look!
Motivation 2010 – Organizing The Refrigerator
Posted by: | CommentsThe next stop on our journey together, THE FRIDGE.
- Do you have a piece of fruit in depths of your fridge that is older than your first-born child? If so, this is the post for you.
- When you need to find that jar of capers, do you need to spend ½ searching? If so, this is the post for you.
- Have your leftovers taken on a life of their own and morphed into a science project? If so, this is the post for you.
The first three important lessons when organizing your fridge are;
- Don’t overbuy
- Will you really use it?
- Pre-plan your shopping trips and make lists
This is the area where I need the most work and I took a big step this year by not renewing my membership to BJ’s, (like Sam’s club). There are four people in my family and I had no business shopping at a megastore. I was actually very cautious and went infrequently, but items did go to waste and I purchased some things I didn’t need. Lesson learned. Planning and making lists is another area where I need some work. I get busy and shopping becomes something I need to do on the fly. This will be my next hurdle and something I hope to get better at this year.
Now that you’ve reigned in your purchases, let’s look at organizing your fridge. Create a home for everything in your fridge and don’t be afraid to use containers and other items to assist your organizing efforts. Here are some examples;
Lazy Susans are fantastic helpers in the fridge and I urge you to give it a try. It can more than double your space and will give you easy access to jars, condiments etc…
Check out the fantastic helpers that I found for salad dressings, yogurt and other items. Group items in categories and use little containers to make finding things easier. Use small Tupperware in the drawers to separate and control clutter.
There is this little space in my fridge under the “meat keeper” that went unused because the height was impossible. I purchased a little pull out drawer and the space became easy to access.
Create zones in your fridge door so that like items are together.
Have a space just for your leftovers so that you can easily weed through them and clean out.
Are you motivated to start on your fridge? Let’s go!
Motivation – 2010 Let’s Organize Together
Posted by: | Comments- How do I begin to organize and where to I start?
- Why am I so overwhelmed?
- How to I maintain what I’ve done?
Take a deep breath. I’m a professional organizer and I ask myself the very same questions. Life happens and we all get overwhelmed.
I’m constantly working on areas of my own home to make my life run a little more efficiently. I consider my home to be a laboratory where I can work on INEXPENSIVE solutions that might benefit my clients. I’m going to tackle projects in my home and document them in my blog. Hopefully this will give you inspiration to begin your own organization projects or you may be able to implement my ideas in your own home. I’m always open to questions and suggestions.
Where do your kids put their papers when they come home from school? If you currently have a system, is it working? If not, what is the hurdle? Now is the perfect time to evaluate your after school routine and tweak the processes that are not working so well.
I have a VERY small space. I’m used to it and it forces me to organize and clean frequently. My three and six year old needed a place to put their school papers after arriving home. I never have time to look at notes, homework and projects right away and I needed a solution that they could handle all on their own. I ended up with a very simple solution and it has been working beautifully. My kids can unpack their backpacks on their own and I can process all the paperwork when I have time to focus.
The girls come home and each has a slot for their papers. So simple that my three year old can do it! It is also a two way street. Outgoing papers can be put back in and then loaded to backpacks in the morning. This little table tucks in the corner behind my door so it takes up very little space. The other important note is that I spent under $50.00 for everything. Of course I could have found a slightly less expensive route, but with my small space I like to choose colors and furniture items wisely to keep a cohesive look. This little splash of red ties in with the rest of my livingroom.
Things to think about if a “homework station” is on your to do list;
- Try to keep it by the backpacks, coats etc… so that the kids can unload immediately after school.
- Keep it simple. Don’t expect little ones to sort too many items. Give them one designated box.
- Make it routine. You might have to remind them to use the systems for a couple of weeks. It takes time to make it a habit.
- You will still need to oversee the process and make certain that you are doing your part to look through papers and process in a timely fashion.
- Don’t be afraid to shop around and look at a few stores for ideas and inspiration.
- It is okay to try a new routine if the old established routine is not working.
Good luck and let me know what works in your home.
