Have you heard of the newest social networking craze? Pinterest is more than just a play on words, it’s a virtual pin board where you and others can share like interest. According to their website, “Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.”

How to Join
Currently Pinterest is by invitation only. Don’t worry—you don’t have to be Martha Stewart to get an invite either.  As an addSpace To Your Life! fan you can request an invite here. You also can get an invite from anyone you know who is already a member. Ask your Facebook community—chances are someone you know is already on there.

Beware of the Time You Spend
Once you get an account, beware of the time you spend on the site. It can become addicting. There are new pins added every second, and well, you find something great and exciting with every click of your mouse.

Room Décor, DIY projects and More
You can search thousands of pins in a range of topics from the latest home décor trends, architecture and DIY projects. You never know when you will find something that will make you think, “why didn’t I think of that?”

Once you find a pin you like you can pin it to your homepage (called a repin). You can organize your boards anyway you would like. This way you can have all your kitchen inspirations in one place, and your bathroom décor ideas in another.

Inspiration from Others
Sometimes it takes an outside perspective to help with a project. When you first join Pinterest, you are asked to tell the site what interests you have. This allows the site to populate “friends” that have the same interest as you.

You instantly are exposed to hundreds of pins and new ideas. The most exciting thing is once you find a pin you like, you can visit the website it came from. Exposing you to even more great inspirational ideas.

What Are You Waiting For?
Pinterest is a great way to organize and find new ideas for the home and your personal life. It opens you up to new ideas and allows you to find website you never knew existed. It takes a bit of time to get the nuances of the site down, but soon enough you will be pinning with the best of them.

Have you joined Pinterest? What do you like about the site? Let us know in the comments below.

Miguel is an avid blogger, father of 2, and recent proud homeowner. He loves studying architecture, home design and decor and plans to one day buy a custom home plan to build his dream home.

Wondering how to get your home decluttered once and for all this year? I was asked this same question recently by Amanda Wyant, a writer with Blissfully Domestic.

Click on this link to learn four professional organizing tips to help you declutter and get control of your home and your life in this article.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLJl-8Yu03k

Create a Holiday Organizing Binder – Create one this year and use it for years to come!

Save Your Christmas Card List in a Word Document so you can open it every year when you send cards. Throughout the year you can update and add new addresses. After the holidays, it will be easier to edit and add addresses from the cards you received. Mail cards early before all the busyness of the holiday starts. Buy the cards at the end of the season and save for the next year so you can start addressing cards before season begins next year.

Gift List as an Excel Spreadsheet – print it and put it in your purse or wallet. that has a list of names of people to buy for and I start collecting links to gifts to buy for them. Keep a list all year long on computer for people you buy gifts for. When you see an idea or they mention something they would like I add it to the list. When it’s time to shop I have great ideas for everyone.

Take a weekday off in early December to shop – Take a Tuesday or Wed off in early December and avoid frantic last minute and weekend warriors. 

Create a Hostess Gift Bin Make sure to buy extra small hostess gifts for spur of the moment parties this season and throughout the year.

Create a Gift Theme this year and buy all of your gifts around this theme. Keep it simple: candles and candle platters, linens to include napkins, tablecloths wine accessories such as wine glass tags, cork screws, wine glasses…

Organize a Holiday Sweet Swap. Every person makes a huge batch of one recipe then swaps with each other. This way you don’t have to buy a ton of different ingredients you just have to buy for your one recipe. I LOVE doing this

Stock up on food and gift wrapping staples this week that you know you are going to need for those holiday meals, and tape and ribbons and bows and anything else that you can get a head start on.

Prepare a food backup: of casseroles, snack foods and cold desserts in early December.

Bake and freeze – start making Christmas cookies and baked goods a few weeks earlier than last year. Freezing the cookies/desserts will make the holidays so much less stressful because you won’t have to bake at the last minute.

Give Gift Cards for Local Services – These are clutter free and thoughtful gifts while keeping your shopping simple and stress free while helping local small businesses. Consider gift certificates for professional services such as organizing, massage, spa treatments or image consulting.

Save Your Christmas Card List as a Word Document so you can open it every year when you send cards. Throughout the year you can update and add new addresses. After the holidays, it will be easier to edit and add addresses from the cards you received. Mail cards early before all the busyness of the holiday starts. Buy the cards at the end of the season and save for the next year so you can start addressing cards before season begins next year.

Create Your Gift List in an Excel Spreadsheet or Word Document –  Keep a list all year long on computer and  start collecting links to gift ideas. As the holidays approach, print it and put it in your purse or wallet. Make a list of names of people to buy for and  crossing off names as you buy. When you see an idea or they mention something they would like, add it to your list. Don’t worry if you did not get this together early on this year, simply start now and make your list. You can use it next year to get a head start on your gift planning. When it’s time to shop next year you will have great ideas for everyone.

Take a weekday off in early December to shop – Take a Tuesday or Wed off in early December and avoid frantic last minute and weekend warriors. 

Create a Hostess Gift Bin - Make sure to buy extra small hostess gifts for spur of the moment parties this season and throughout the year.

Create a Gift Theme this year and buy all of your gifts around one theme. Keep it simple: candles and candle platters, linens to include napkins, tablecloths wine accessories such as wine glass tags, cork screws, wine glasses…

Organize a Holiday Sweet Swap - Each person in the swap makes a huge batch of one recipe then swaps with each other. This way you don’t have to buy a ton of different ingredients you just have to buy for your one recipe. I LOVE doing this.

Stock up on the Food and Gift Wrapping Staples that you know you are going to need for those holiday meals, along with tape,  ribbons and gift wrap and anything else so you can get a head start.

Prepare a Food Backup- Make casseroles, snack foods and cold desserts in early December. Buy extra healthy snack packs and keep some in your purse and car so you wont be forced to eat junk food while you are out and about.

Bake and fFreeze – Start making Christmas cookies and baked goods a few weeks earlier than last year. Freezing the cookies/desserts will make the holidays so much less stressful because you won’t have to bake at the last minute.

Give Gift Cards for Local Services – Gift cards for services are clutter free and thoughtful gifts while keeping your shopping simple and stress free. These purchases also help local small businesses. Consider gift certificates for professional services such as organizing, massage, spa treatments or image consulting. addSpace Personalized Gift Certificates are available now! Call 760.436.4266 and let us know what you need.

Have you ever battled to get your fashionista daughter dressed and out the door in time for school? In a recent interview with Woman’s Day Magazine, I was asked for a few tips to get the frenzied mom and kids out of the door in the morning in a more harmonious way.

Too many clothes  combined with a fashion oriented child makes for a slow ‘getting out the door and off to school’ morning process. I recently received a new product sample that can definitely help with this challenge. It does take pre-planning BUT, just like any other organizing tactic, the time you spend pre-planning each weekend  will pay off in spades throughout the week.

This is how it can work: Every Sunday night, you and your fashion savvy child can select and accessorize (of course!) outfits for the entire week. One for each day! The Organizables Team has created cool hanging bags that will keep every choice for each day contained and waiting for the morning routine, including shoes, socks, and accessories!

Not only will your morning routine go faster, your endless arguments about fashion will be consolidated into one day, the day you decide together what to select for school attire. Additionally, the closet will be less cluttered and chaotic. Purging at the end of each school year will also take less effort because you will be much more aware of what was actually worn throughout the year! Each bag is marked with the day of the week – Monday through Friday. Each bag also has two pockets to hold the small accessories for each outfit including undies, socks, and shoes.

These bags can also be folded up and used as travel bags to keep overnight weekend trips and family vacations better organized. You can get a set for each child. The boys set comes in blue. You can find these bags online at www.Organizables.com.

So, once again the moral to this story is, a little pre-planning with the proper tools will keep your better organized and less stressed as you proceed throughout the week. If you want to read more solutions to get you out the door faster from my Woman’s Day Article, click here!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvVjDuAo-FM

(Part One)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNJmjy28QsQ

(Part Two)

Shoes, shoes, and more shoes!!! Many women have a major infatuation with shoes. After working with hundreds of clients, as both a professional organizer and image consultant, I have determined why most women love to shop for, and have fun wearing, shoes more than any other clothing item.

You see, even while our weight is upsizing and downsizing, our shoe size is remains basically the same, give or take a 1/2 size.  Not only do our feet consistently stay the same size, they never create a humiliating shopping experience.  Shoes are kind. They don’t make us feel fat or accent bulges in all of the wrong places like a bad pair of jeans or a too snug blouse. In fact, more often than not, the right pair of shoes make us feel sexy, powerful and ready to take on the world! So, this in my humble opinion, is why we typically end up with more shoes than we can reasonably fit into our closet.

My most common organizing challenge is how to fit the largest amount of shoes into the smallest amount of space. With this goal in mind, the common shoe rack rarely solves this problem. The shoe rack takes up a lot of floor space. Don’t get me  wrong, floor space can be useful at times but it also collects dust bunnies when cluttered, disorganized and filled wall to wall.

The Hanging Shoe Bag -   This is my all-time favorite shoe storage device! I have been using this system for years and still marvel at the fact that I can store 10 pairs of shoes in a space no wider than 6.5 inches! For those of us with over 40 pairs of shoes, this means we can fit our entire shoe collection into a space of less than 3 feet! Granted with this system, you need to have extra hanging rod space, or, if you are ingenious, you need that much free ceiling and wall space. Most versions have metal hooks to hang them from the rod although some have velcro straps to rap around the rod. Either version connects effortlessly and easily onto your hanging rod.

The men’s version of the hanging shoe bag is slightly wider (8”) to accommodate the larger shoe width.

Side by Side Hanging Shoe Bags – Another variation of the hanging shoe bag is the side by side pocket model. It has pockets on the right and left and holds 30 pairs of shoes. You can hang it on the back of the door or on an empty wall inside your closet.

Hanging shoe bags provide quick and easy access as well as providing a perfect view of what you are looking for. They are stored easily into pairs. You don’t have to open a lid, move stacks of boxes, bend over or go through any other rigamarole to see and access the shoes you need.

Sometimes you simply might not have the rod or wall space for the hanging shoe bag. If not, never fear, I have other solutions for you.

Shoe Storage Boxes - Plastic and canvas options available

Canvas Shoe Box Organizers - feature front end openings and stack well together. The front door is clear so you can see what is inside and also allows you to access your shoes without having to unstack  your collection.

Plastic Shoe Boxes – These are best used when you have a lot of shelf space and limited hanging space. I keep my special occasion shoes on a shelf way up high in my closet. Shoe boxes protect your shoes from dust and pet hair and also keep your best stilettos from being smashed by others. If you decide to use this method, make sure to buy clear containers so you can get a glimpse of what might be inside. Or better yet, spend the time to take a photo of the shoes and attach the pic to the short end of the box so you will not have to guess which gold heels are actually stashed inside the box!

Back of the Door Shoe Storage – This solution is good under extreme small closet conditions as it does provide storage in a small amount of space.

Back of the Door Shoe Pockets – The disadvantage I see witness is that shoes often become crushed when you try to smoosh them into the pockets.

Back of the Door Shoe Racks – I like this solution because it holds a massive amount of shoes in a very small sometimes unused space. The disadvantage is the wire racks can sometimes warp your shoes so use it gently.

Shoe Cabinets – Hide shoes and can provide self stand alone solution when shoes need to be located outside of your closet. Many models use drop down drawers which let you take shoes in and out very easily.

Here is a larger version of a stand alone shoe cabinet. If you are a visual person, this one is perfect because it has doors to hide the visual clutter of 15-48 pairs of shoes.I like it because it again, uses more vertical space!

Ikea also offers a plastic version which can mount on the wall.

Wooden Shoe Benches - provide a place to store shoes and also to sit while putting them on. Sometimes, I use these at the entrance to homes with a lot of foot traffic, meaning a lot of kids and shoe clutter! Sometimes it is easier to get the kids to take off their shoes as soon as they get in the door than to try to find shoes later when they are running out the door and late for school. Shoes off when coming into the house, on when going out! This also eliminates dirt and makes cleaning the carpet less frequently and solves the challenge of storing shoes in the closet.

Shoe Shelves – can solve many challenges. If there is an ample amount of floor/wall space, I  like using stackable shelves so that I can add to your storage capacity if needed.

Many shelves also offer the advantage of being expandable so that you can customize the size based on your space requirements. If you do decide to go with shelf storage, make sure to buy heavy shelving, especially if you are storing mens footwear. I have found that a lot of shelves simply do not hold up and or topple over when loaded to capacity.

Under Bed Shoe Storage – including plastic tubs, rolling racks and zippered pouches. Under the bed rolling shoe organizers use space that is typically free and clear of clutter.

Under Bed Rolling Racks - The open air rolling shoe racks are good for shoes that you wear frequently. The disadvantage is that they tend to collect dust bunnies.

Under the Bed Zippered Pouches - are best for off-season or occasional shoes because they are too much of a hassle to get in and out of on a daily basis.

Under Bed Plastic Bin Storage – I like this solution becuase it has wheels for easy access.

Shoe Storage Carts - I use these for my clients who have a lot of off season shoes. It is tall but only takes less than 14 inches of horizontal space. It is also zippered so it keeps shoes in clean when in storage. Anytime I can use vertical space and less horizontal space, I am happy!

Smaller Wheeled and Sealed Storage Cart – Good for stowing under hanging clothes.

Shoe Carousels – You can hang this unit form your hanging rod.  The Swivel hanger allows you to access every pocket and shelf in one swirl. Lifts all your items up off the floor and organizes them so when you are ready to use them they are visible and clean.

Revolving Shoe Trees – These work fantastic when stashed into the small unreachable corners of your closet. I had one installed to the left of a built in cabinet in my two sliding door closet. It served me well for years and made good use of the corner that was never easy to reach. When I needed a pair of shoes, I simply spun the rack and found what I was looking for.  Make sure the space you choose has room around it for the shoes to move since each carousel rotates for easy location.You can buy these as stand alone units or, in my super small closet situation, the floor to ceiling model was perfect!

Standing Racks are yet another way to keep your shoes off of the floor. These are a little better than the shoe rack because they keep your shoes on place and separated.

Shoe Storage Wheel - This is a very interesting and novel way to store your shoes. I have not seen it personally so cannot vouch for it’s quality, but it looks pretty cool! They say you can store 20-30 pairs of shoes inside. The unit is on wheels so you could stow it under your hanging clothes and pull it out to access your shoes. Very interesting. I would love to play with one of these in person!

If you still cant find the perfect solution for your shoe collection after reading this article, I quit! Have fun upgrading your shoe storage, and most importantly, stow your shoes somewhere besides in piles on the floor of your closet!

The following is a comprehensive list of items you will need for your dorm room. Before starting to pack, check with the university and your prospective roommate to see what will be provided in your dorm room so you can avoid duplication. By making sure you have all your items neatly categorized, you can make unpacking and getting settled a fun event rather than a chore.

Main Items

You might need a mini-fridge, toaster and microwave as well as a few dishes for when you eat in your room. You may also need a fan, mirror, lamp and curtains or blinds.  For entertainment bring a TV, stereo or DVD player. A bulletin or message board can provide a means of communication between yourself and your roommate, as well as a place to display photos and store important information.

Your Bed

You should have two sheet sets with matching pillowcases. Many dorm beds are ‘extra-long‘, so be sure to check before purchasing sheets. Two pillows, a mattress pad and comforter or blanket are also necessary. Use bed risers to add storage space for an under the bed bin and take a sleeping bag for emergencies or sleepovers. A small light that clips onto your book is useful for reading at night without disturbing your roommate.

Your Bathroom

Four towels and two washcloths should be adequate. Pack a toiletry kit – make sure this is big enough to neatly store all your items. If you put everything away neatly after each use, you will never have a conflict with a roommate over ownership. A separate shower tote is a good idea; this can store shower shoes as well as your shampoo and other ‘wet’ items. Don’t forget your hairdryer!

Clothing  and Laundry Items

Don’t overdo. Closet space is usually at a premium, so consider leaving half your wardrobe at home. You can plan to switch some of your clothing out over Thanksgiving break to rotate your winter wardrobe in. Consider carefully which clothes you do take and avoid too many ‘dry clean only’ items. Buy a laundry bag or hamper, and a basket, and a tote to carry detergent and other necessities in when you go to the laundry. Choosing neutral colors for your bath and bed linens will help make laundry day run more smoothly. Remember to take an iron or steamer as well, and plenty of hangars. An over the door shoe holder is a wonderful space saver, as are plastic storage bins or drawers. Buy a little sewing kit to make simple repairs like sewing on buttons.

Your Desk

Your dorm may have a desk and bookcase; if not, you will need to provide them. A lamp and wastebasket should be purchased along with whatever office supplies you may need. A drawer organizer will keep small items from becoming jumbled, and a power strip with surge protector will guard your computer against information loss in case of a blackout. If your dorm does not supply one, you will need a chair as well.

Miscellaneous

A good alarm clock with battery back-up is essential, as is a small first aid kit, a flashlight and extra batteries. A camera, small tool kit and tape measure are all good things to have. A binder for important papers and contact information can also hold doctor’s prescriptions, bills and receipts. A ledger for budget planning is also a great idea and will help you manage your money.

Once you have decided what items you will need in your dorm room, packing and moving can be accomplished with ease. Label your cartons as you pack and keep a corresponding list so you can find things quickly. By following these simple tips, you can make your transition to campus life easy and fun!

I recently listened to a Lorin Beller Blake, a very successful entrepreneur and dynamic keynote speaker at the Moms in Business Unite Conference and wanted to share her tips with you to help you achieve more balance in your life:

1.      Quality time with family.  Choosing to pick up my daughter from school each day is one way I choose to have quality time with her every single day. So, choose quality time with family. It does not have to be long. A few minutes each day is invaluable.

2.     Book it!  I also put in my calendar my work out schedule on a weekly basis.  That schedule is just as important as my work, if not more important! Schedule things that you typically let go by the wayside if you are committed to impact your life here.

3.    Daily goal review.  Look at your goals on a daily basis (or at least weekly) and be sure that, within your week, you create the time and space for each area of your life.

4.    Three goals per day.  Set only three goals each day taken from your goal sheet or “to do” list – no more. Meet your commitments to yourself (more on this later in the book, SPLASH!). Accomplish those things early in the day and then allow the rest of your day to unfold naturally.

5.    Keep it simple!  People think that in order to have more fun and recreation in life it means more vacations! Crazy! What could you do every day for five minutes that is pure joy and fun for you? It might be to walk outside and notice the flowers, stop and really listen to the birds, or bring a massage therapist into the office every Friday for everyone that wants to partake. Bring fun and joy into every day, rather than put it off for the next vacation! Bring a tiny bit of the feeling of vacation into your world today. It changes the feeling of the day.

6.    Acknowledge.  Take two minutes out of each day to acknowledge someone, either at home, at the office, or both. Doing this has us switch our energy to what we are truly happy about rather than things that frustrate us. Acknowledge those around you; it changes the tone of the day!

7.    Bold Actions.  Take a bold action every day toward a big goal. Progress makes us feel productive. It makes us feel that we are in a state of action and makes us feel in charge of our world. Bold actions are key to balance. Take a bold action in each area of your life on a regular basis.

8.    Health and Fitness. Years ago, I was in the fitness industry. We (mistakenly) make people feel like workouts need to be an hour to an hour and a half long.  This is really not true for basic good health. Dr. Mehmet Oz, cardiac surgeon and co-author of YOU: The Owner’s Manual and YOU: On a Diet (among others), debunks some of the ideas we used to have about fitness, including:

•    Increase your heart rate only 60 minutes per week! We need this for peace of mind anyway. That can translate to taking three (3) 20-minute power walks a week. Take the break to do this during work hours if you can. You need it!

•    Walk 10,000 steps daily. (Wear a pedometer to see if you are close!) Park a few rows out in all parking lots. Take the stairs, not the elevator, and you’ll quickly make headway toward reaching 10,000 steps.

•    Work in only five minutes a day of stretch/flexibility exercises! (I do this with my daughter when she wants to get on the floor and play.)

•    Incorporate strength training into your workout schedule. A total of 30 minutes per week is sufficient!

9.    Simplify! Throw things away. Be clutter free. Messiness and accumulating “stuff” creates negative energy that truly leaves us feeling more heavy, more unbalanced, and adds to our “to do” list. I am a huge believer in creating clutter free space!

10.    Stop multi-tasking! Yes. Stop! We think that this allows us to get more done.  But really, it makes us crazy!  Do one thing a time and do it well.  Let’s get more mindful about whatever the task is at hand. Love the task at hand.  When we multi-task, we do not fully enjoy anything we are doing.

So above I shared HOW we can get more balance in our lives… now, 10 tips on BEING more balanced!  It IS a state of mind as well!

1. Breathe.  Really breathe, deep down to your toes. Fill your entire chest cavity. If you actually put one hand on your chest and one on your belly, both hands should move if you are truly breathing.
2. Slow down.  I find this one challenging, but when I get conscious enough to be aware of the silly speed at which I am moving, I breathe, slow down, and life magically changes!
3. Notice our surroundings.  When I do the first two steps, I realize, “Ah, the wind is blowing, the chimes are singing, the water on the lake is calm, the sun is out, the air is warmer. When we do this, we begin to engage all our senses and, in doing so, life is more balanced.
4. Acknowledge each other.  This was also part of the doing list, so that must mean it is ultra important!  But acknowledgement is not just something to do; it is a way of being.  When we get out of our own way enough to be able to see how others are being and what they are doing, we can acknowledge them. This actually starts with a way of being in order to do it well and consistently.
5. Yes or no?  Be clear, conscious, and aware of “choice” in every single thing you are saying “yes” and “no” to. This guarantees that you will enjoy life more. It is when we fill our lives with “shoulds” that we begin to resent the world and ourselves.
6. Be Silent. Among the noisy world find silence. I notice silence at a red light. I notice silence after asking a question. I notice silence in a gaze. I notice silence while waiting for a plane. The world is a very, very noisy place. But if we actually look for the silence, it is everywhere. And in that silence, work-life balance is found.  “Go quietly amid the noise and haste and remember what peace there may be in silence…”  – From Desiderata, written by Max Ehrmann in the 1920’s
7. Be in the moment.  Moments matter. In work-life balance it is the moments that matter. My husband and I both work from home. Our lives are busy and fast-paced. Phones are ringing and we are constantly having our own conversations in our offices. Even so, we can sometimes walk past the other person, have our eyes meet, and say “hi” without saying anything. That is a moment. Or, there may be a time when he is on the phone and he reaches out and touches me when I know he is focused elsewhere. In that moment, he is letting me know I am noticed – and that matters. Create moments! This creates work-life balance. Creating moments does not take away from the time in your day and does not take any planning at all. It only takes thoughtfulness and care for humans in your world, and nothing more really matters. One more thing about moments: Don’t only create them only when you feel good – create moments when you don’t! You’ll be surprised how it gets you out of your “funky mood.”
8. Be grateful. As they say, create an attitude of gratitude.  I remember that when my daughter was three years old, we began ending our day together asking, “What are you grateful for?” She was three and she got it!  She would tell me two things she was grateful for and I shared mine with her. We have continued to do that and it is a fun way to spend time at the end of the day.  For an entire month, she told me she was grateful for the “puppy that JoJo gave me.” Other days, she says: “I’m grateful for you, Mommy,” and she gets to hear that I am grateful for her. She hears that I am grateful for others – for things we do, things we have, and experiences we create. I also tell her things I am grateful for about my work. I tell my colleagues in conversation what I am grateful for rather than finding something to complain about. It is amazing how it quickly changes the tone of the conversation! Try it!
9. Be joyful about the little things.  We tend to skip over them but stop and be joyful about things that you are truly joyful about. Celebrate in that moment.  This is much like gratitude but slightly different. It is about bringing joy back into your life consistently. I notice how many people don’t laugh any more, and when something is funny we chuckle. Live out loud and laugh out loud!
10. Reflect.  Notice your life. Notice your body. Notice. Notice. Notice. Be curious. It is amazing how much of life we miss and how much you’ll see by just reflecting. It is the only way we see our progress, others’ progress, and the world’s progress. Reflect. Notice. Be curious.

Finally, Here are some tips from women who have created businesses models based on the 30-hour work week:

1. Have written and well known company values. The values should be discussed regularly and actually run the company rather than the people.
2. Reduce or eliminate personal use of technology during the workday, i.e. email, cell phone, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
3. Allow work from home and pay by project rather than hourly, OR reduce full time salary slightly and reward based on quality and bottom line rather than just hourly.
4. Have weekly planning sessions for teams.
5. Be thoughtful about the amount of email that is sent internally. Use face-to-face communication rather than email for basic communication.
6. Utilize leadership and leader behavior to increase the level of communication among the team.
7. Allow for leaders to emerge at every level of the company.  Breed creative thinkers and problem solvers.
8. Negotiate contracts on a work week that is shorter.
9. Have set contact hours that are less than the ones you actually work.
10. Take vacation/time off often. If you schedule it, it happens!
11. Everyone in the company should have goals in all areas of their lives.
12. Maintain a state of freedom and choice versus the thought that life is all work.

Lorin Beller Blake is an inspirational and powerful leader of women business owners. Since launching Big Fish Nation – a set of creative tele-programs, books and tools designed to guide and empower women business owners – in 2001, she has served thousands of  ‘Big Fish’ and helped empower them to realize their ideal lives – not just as successful, prosperous entrepreneurs, but as women who feel balanced and fulfilled on all levels.

I recently received a question from an addSpace follower. I am certain that many of you also have a similar concern so I wanted to go into detail and provide practical steps to help you declutter your life. This is what she asked:

What questions can I ask myself as I sort through boxes of “stuff” in order to get rid of most of it?

The answer:

For starters, if these boxes have been packed and loaded for a long period of time (over 3 months), before you open them you need to ask yourself – “what exactly is in there?”

If you don’t have a clue what is packed inside, this will be a major hint that you haven’t missed it. This, in turn, means that you probably don’t  need any of it. You could make your life VERY easy and save a lot of time by simply not opening any of these boxes and taking them immediately, lock, stock and barrel, to your favorite charity.

If your curiosity is simply too powerful to take this action, you need to make a few agreements with yourself before you begin to open your boxes.

Your agreements to yourself might go something like this:

If I say to myself: where did this come from?- it goes!

If I can’t think of where it will live once I unpack it, it goes!

If I can’t think of how it fits into my life now, it goes!

If it was a gift and I don’t like or need it but feel like I am obligated to keep it, it goes!

If it was cool in the past but doesn’t really fit into my life now, nostalgia or not, – it goes!

Like it or not, if it does not serve me now – it goes!

There are so many more questions you might ask yourself, I could write a novel. Basically, everything that you decide to keep should serve you NOW either because you love it or it will add value and be useful to your life now!

Some people do the best unpacking and purging of their mystery boxes in the presence of another person who is not emotionally attached to the contents. This is why Professional Organizers have so many clients! We are trained to help our clients make the tough decisions and teach them the valuable skill of letting go with grace. A word of advice for this or any purging project; the worst person to enlist for help is someone sentimental and/or who has a personal history with the stuff within your boxes. They will end up foiling your plans and talk you into keeping most of the stuff!

Once you have decided what to get rid of, do not pass go, do not let it sit overnight. Take it immediately to charity before you second-guess your decisions. In order to accomplish this, start early enough to finish before the charity closes for the day. This will also provide you with a time frame in which to accomplish you task.

Speaking of time, if decisions become difficult, you might want to use a timer.  Again, decide in advance how long you will give yourself to decide on each object that you unpack. One minute should be the longest it takes to decide whether the item is worth keeping. Longer than one minute and you might find yourself cruising down memory lane, stalling out and never quite finishing this task!

If you get stuck, call on me. I will accelerate the process and help you get it done quickly. I didn’t name my business addSpace To Your Life! by accident.

Realize that everything that you decide to keep will require a piece of your energy. At a minimum, it will require energy to store, maintain, remember to use and eventually get rid of anyhow. Protecting your energy for more important things than stuff is yet another good reason to lighten your footprint in the world. The more stuff you own, the more energy it takes to maintain your lifestyle. Want more energy? Own less stuff! Case closed . . .

Here is a quick Q&A to help you understand a bit more about Kathi Burns, the founder of addSpace To Your Life!

1.How did you get started in the business?
I started this business as a love offering for a friend in need who was sick and being over run by her clutter. As I volunteered with her, I discovered that I loved this work and that I had an innate ability to help people learn how to release and let go. After doing a bit of research, I also learned that there was a big need for people with my skill set.

2.What do you enjoy most about your profession?
Helping clients shift away from stuck habits and move toward a life of their dreams. Helping them embrace change with open minds and anticipate the best is a result of their release from being stuck in the muck of their stuff.

3.What separates you and your company from the competition?
As both a Professional Organizing and Image Consultancy, I help clients change on the surface level of their environment. Their block could be a wardrobe that does not create a successful image or a home or office that does not function properly. I am all about environments and my goal is to make them function at their highest level.

4.Who is a good prospect for you?
Anyone who is experiencing some type of transition in their life. Switching careers, getting married, downsizing or starting a new business are a few examples. Basically anyone who needs to make a profound change and wants to learn the easiest and quickest way to move through it is the ideal addSpace client.

Also, any corporation that wants to host a workshop or training program to create a significant increase in productivity within their departments.  Also any organization that needs an inspiring  and motivational speaker for their next conference.

Too many magazines, too little time ~ this summer, I vow to read more! Does this sound familiar? Most of us purchase magazine subscriptions with the good intention of cuddling up with the latest fashion news or staying on top of business trends.

Time has a way of stealing away our well-intended reading time and, if we are not careful, before we know it, we have 3 months of magazines piled up in a corner or in piles sliding out from under our desk. Sadly every year tens of thousands of magazine subscriptions never even make it out of their plastic sleeves! So, what tips do Professional Organizers like myself provide to tackle this challenge?

These 5 pro tactics will help you to get out from under your ‘to read” clutter.

1. Determine where you usually read your magazines / newspapers. Some of us read in multiple locations, for instance by the couch and in bed. Others might read on the go during lunch or while waiting in the carpool cue.

Once you figure out where you read, you need to create a landing spot in each of the areas for your reading materials as they enter your space.

For instance, I read magazines in bed, but newspaper fliers and ads in the living room. Because of this, I have two reading baskets. As items arrive in to my home, I take them immediately to whichever basket is appropriate.

For those on the go, putting magazines into a bag or briefcase as they arrive skips the potential pile problem. A bag also again creates a contained amount of space for reading materials.

2. Create a magazine/newspaper holding zone. Make sure that whatever holding zone you create, your papers remain vertical. Do not let them get plopped into piles. While piles are easy to create, they are also easily overrun your space. A vertical basket is perfect not only because it keeps your materials vertical, it also creates a contained amount of storage space.

3. Decide how many magazines you really need in your life at any given time and make a system that visually cues you when you reach the maximum capacity. If you try to add a magazine to an overstuffed bin or bag and it just won’t fit, you will be prompted to downsize and get rid of a few in order to make space for the new, which leads to tip #4.

4. Be prepared to diligently and constantly downsize and recycle your reading collection. When you are ready to weed down your collection please do not toss them into the trash. Recycle.

Keep in mind that many other organizations would love to reuse your old magazines. Inquire around your neighborhood to determine which senior centers, doctors offices, libraries or thrift stores might make use of your old magazines. With funds limited, schoolteachers are desperate for art supplies and will usually welcome your magazines for student art and research projects.

Whatever you recycling method choose, your assignment is constantly to move your collection out and onto it’s higher good. Keep magazines and newspapers flowing out of your life as frequently as they flow into your home.

5. Remember that everything in your environment requires energy. Here’s the bad news about subscriptions. Every time you enroll into another subscription, you need to realize that it will require a good amount of energy from you.  A paid subscription requires monetary energy. Even if it is free, it will also require your energy to receive it, keep track of it and ‘get it gone’ after a set amount of time in your life.

Many folks do not stop to think about how much effort a new subscription will require. Please take a moment to pause and consider how much time you have to spend before you enroll to receive anything new into your life.

Bonus tip: If you are the type who always sneaks a quick peek into each magazine as soon as it arrives, take a moment to edit your reading task right then and there. Tear out only the articles that appeal to you and recycle the remainder of the magazine immediately. The upside to this technique is that when you finally do sit down to read, you easily pull out only the stuff that you want to read and your ‘to read’ collection is not so overwhelming!

Many of us experience the need to downsize or help others downsize. The tips below will help you become a downsizing master!

They say you teach what you need most to learn. As I filmed this television show in preparation for my talk at the Western Reserve Masonic Community in Medina Ohio, I realized that I was in the thick of downsizing as well.

During this particular trip to Ohio, both my brother and father were in the midst of downsizing and I was able to help.

Click here to watch this news  segment filmed on the Good Company Show in Cleveland Ohio

Here are Your 8 Tips

Purge your home and life a little every day

Every time you open a drawer or closet door and look inside, ask yourself what is there that you no longer use.

Keep in mind that you probably only use 20% of the items that you own and are storing.

Purging and releasing items as you encounter them makes downsizing less of a monumental task.

It also moves your good out into the world!

Start early before you have to move so you can work at your own pace

Working at your own pace is less stressful. Preparing for a move, even though you may stay in your home for as long as you wish, makes letting go and moving on easier — for you and your family.

Ask family members for help. Those who live distances away can help you during holiday time, special celebrations or visits.

Determine in advance how much space you will have for memory items

Gather them into one area to see how much you have collected over the years.

When items are scattered throughout the house, it is more difficult to sort and purge.

Set up a table and a lamp to spread out your items as you begin to sort. Sorting into large flat box lids will help you keep track of what you are sorting. Use large thick contractor garbage bags for donations and garbage. You can hang them off the back of a chair or hang them off the door of your oven or dishwasher by shutting the door on one side.

For children’s artwork and keepsakes, sort and set a deadline for each child to claim and remove their memories.

Schedule a time for donation truck to pick up whatever is not taken. This will ensure that everyone knows it is a firm deadline.

Contain and downsize rarely used items like holiday décor and entertaining platters.

Your new home might not accommodate a full size tree. Think ahead and keep your smaller more precious décor items.

Store with style and keep smaller sizes in mind.

Think small and once you have your collection widdled down to a minimum, reward yourself with attractive storage containers.

Create or buy attractive storage containers suited for your specific items, whether it is CD’s, candles or your sun glass collection.

Make sure you have enough space to hold all ‘like’ items together. When items become separated from their pack, you lose track of how many you own and will tend to buy duplicates and become cluttered with unnecessary excess.

Set up a permanent donation box in your home for unwanted items.

You will soon develop the automatic habit of releasing old and unwanted items on a regular basis.

As the “donate box” becomes a permanent part of your life, you will happily and easily clear at least one box of old possessions every month!

Assess each storage space every time you open the door or drawer

Do a quick scan to check if there is anything inside that you have not used for the past 6 months or a year.

If you are downsizing, ask yourself if you will need it in your new smaller home. If not, let it go now.

Optimize your storage space by creating separate zones to contain each type of item within.

Contain collections of ‘like’ items in plastic bins. This will make it easy to keep each category of items under control so they don’t grow beyond your storage area.

It also will make it easier to pack, move and unpack.

Use baskets to serve as quick and easy drawers in deep spaces. Use pre-made plastic drawer bins for instant cabinets within cabinets.

Working from a home office can have many conveniences. Being at home means that anything you need is just a few steps away. It also means that the space which other family members need may encroach on the office. Many people have the problem of having to work in a cramped home office. Here are a few ways to help create more space in the home office.

1. Clean and Organize

Cleaning the home office is the first step towards creating more space. This will not only clear some space to work with, but will also help to get an idea of the entire space and what can and cannot be moved.

Start by organizing papers, moving them into piles or placing them where they belong. Do not worry about throwing away the papers at this point, just make sure they are manageable and in some order.

Next, take time to gather wires and other electronic clutter. Use twist ties or tape, but try and make sure that there is no large tangle of wires behind the furniture. This will help if you have to move the furniture later and also just makes the room look nicer.

2. Assess Furniture

Once the home office is clean, it is now time to look at the furniture in the room. If there is a lack of space, this is the place to start making changes. Remove furniture that is not being used. Because it is a home office, furniture from other rooms in the home may have migrated into the space.

Now look at the furniture that is actually being used. Make sure that there is not a better configuration. See if printers can be placed underneath of a desk or on a shelf. See if things that are taking up desk space can be placed somewhere else.

Finally, if no helpful changes can be made, consider purchasing new furniture. Look for modular multi-purpose furniture. This refers to desks that have special cabinets for computers or surfaces that roll out. Wheeled storage containers can also help because they can be moved around as needed.

3. Use the Walls

Above the regular furniture there is usually a large area of wall that can be utilized. There may be pictures there or other decorations, but they can easily be turned into a massive amount of useful storage space.

The most obvious way is to install long shelving units. This is especially handy if there are a lot of reference books or other bound papers. The walls can also be used for specialized shelving units like a grid of small cubbies to hold sorted materials.

There are also narrow bookshelf-like installments that can be mounted to the wall to provide a sturdy surface for equipment or electronics.

4. Throw away unwanted things

Once the space in the home office starts to clear up, it is time to look at what to get rid of. First, consider throwing away unneeded documents. If there are simply too many documents that cannot be disposed of then it may be time to try scanning documents and storing them digitally and then shredding the originals.

Also look at getting rid of items that may be in the office because of indecision. This can include items such as computer accessories which do not really work but look too valuable to throw away. It is time to decide what to do. Either get it repaired or dispose of it.

Other items include any distracting decorations, broken furniture or storage containers that are unused and sitting empty.

5. Store things elsewhere

One advantage of a home office is that it is located in the home. This means that items which cannot be thrown away and are taking up too much space in the office can be stored somewhere else in the home. An attic or basement can be very useful for this purpose. Just make sure that the space where the items will be stored is safe from flooding, leaks or other conditions that could cause damage.

Once more space has been found in the home office the final step is to maintain the space. Do not let documents or mail build up into unmanageable piles. Keep them organized and throw away things that are not needed right away.

If after trying everything there still is not enough space, it may be time to consider buying smaller office equipment. Computers and printers have decreased dramatically in size in the last years. Monitors are also smaller and flatter than ever.

There are also instances where the scope of what is being done in a home office exceeds the capacity of the space. In a case such as this a second room in the home may need to be claimed as an office extension or, more likely, it may be time to look for a commercial office space to rent outside of the home.

Please note~ My guest author for this article is George Baker. George works with vacuum bags, so if you ever need to know anything about Numatic vacuum bags then he is the guy to ask.

Hello Kathi,
I did spring cleaning. I filled 5+ bags of clothes, and a bag of shoes for Goodwill )
But OMG! Those early 90′s leather boots have been sitting for over 15+ years on the bottom of my closet:

Stove-pipe shape… A truly hideous type of boots. And the ooold leather (inside and outside) was stiff like plastic (I hope you can see it on the photo).. Ewwwwwwwwww!! Nasty! We have to respect the difference between donating something that poor people could reasonably need, versus just trying to foist our clutter off on someone else and make ourselves feel better because we “donated it”. So I did it. Compacted those old boots as small as possible and stuffed them straight into the big back kitchen garbage bag. I hate to toss things, but those boots… just plain old unsanitary shoes with the value 0.00 dollar. Did i do a good job? I´m correct that the boots were 100% garbage/0% donation items (+ 100% uuugly lollol)?
I hope you send me a reply )

Best Regards
Victoria

Hi Victoria,
I congratulate you on your motivation to spring clean your closet! I am not certain if I agree with your decision to send your boots to the landfill. They looked like they were in good enough shape that someone could use them, with plenty of sole remaining etc. I typically send questionable items to the donation facility and let them decide because they have much more experience knowing what is worthy of donating or not.

Also, I have to admit that right now, more than ever,  my viewpoint is biased. During the NAPO National conference last week I learned that 600 million kids are without shoes and that Americans alone throw out over 600 million pairs of shoes each year into our landfills! It seems ironic that the numbers matched up this year. So, with that being said, I realize that your boots would not have helped a child but none the less… might have helped someone. This is my inclination.

With that being said, I still think that you did a tremendous job and deserve credit for taking your closet from disorganized and full of ancient history into one that serves you now. Great job!

Thanks for your comment and keep in touch.

Kathi

Do you attend multiple weekly meetings and have trouble finding or organizing the relevant paperwork? Smead has an organizer solution for you. Check out this video clip, filmed at the NAPO National Conference, where I explain how you can keep each meeting’s paperwork organized and at your fingertips.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE1GBBfaRx8

Looking to travel and get away in the next few months? Below you will find a link to a list of everything I keep packed and ready to go in my suitcase for quick getaways and business trips.

During my latest trip to Ohio, I minimized my collection into three mini containers. This allowed me to keep my shower/wash toiletries separated from my hair and make up items. As I moved from location to location, I could then pull out the pouches that contained only what I needed at each instant.

Click here for a free  downloadable and printable list

PS As I was researching for a good photo, I found an excellent article on going green and recycling to create your own toiletires kit, which is what I have done for years. Check this out at Planet Green!

Situation: Too many books and toys and not enough storage. All this clutter and the little girl could not decide what she wanted to play with.

Solution: We downsized the toy collection and got rid of the outgrown games and books. We also reorganized the closet which gave us a bit more room for extra items that did not belong loose in the room. The dog loved the new found floor space!

Despite numerous government schemes and seemingly constant press coverage, when it comes to energy efficiency, businesses still contribute a huge proportion of our carbon emissions. So while you might have all the latest energy efficient appliances and micro generation technologies at home, leaving your computer on standby all night in the office is helping undo your good work. Hence below is a list of our favorite ways to green your office and save some money at the same time.

1. Join a green credit scheme: as a way to offset your emissions on a larger scale many companies join a green credits scheme in which they purchase a certain number of credits which each individually represent a certain volume of their emissions, the money contributing to developing an alternative renewable energy source. For example, in a number of carbon credit schemes, one credit allows for the emission of one metric tonne of carbon dioxide, hence you are able to offset all your harmful carbon emissions, and all for the good cause of developing sustainable energy production elsewhere. The system was finalised in the controversial Kyoto Protocol, meaning there are now 170 countries worldwide involved.

2. Use recycled paper: with the average worker in the USA using over 12,000 sheets of paper each year, switching to recycled can make a real difference. The urban myth that it is more expensive is exactly that, a myth; recent figures [PDF] show the prices of recycled paper have plummeted. The stats are convincing: buying one tonne of recycled paper saves 20 trees and 700 gallons of water, as well as saving enough energy to power the average household for 6 months. Enough said.

3. Buy Fairtrade products: aside from the obvious ethical issues, Fairtrade products also go a along way to helping the environment. A minimum fee from each product sold goes towards sustainable production in the country from which the product came, and another fraction of the money goes towards developing the communities in which the producers live. Many of the farms guarantee the use of only natural fertiliser and as many of the materials used as possible are recycled. So whether it’s your coffee, tea or fruit, the more Faitrade you buy the greener (and arguably healthier) you’re office will be.

4. Use CFLs: CFLs, or compact fluorescent lamps, offer a much more environmentally friendly way of lighting your office, as they use nearly one fifth of the energy as their incandescent counterparts. By using alternative ultraviolet technology to emit a white light, they easily outlast their competitors and save 2000 times their own weight in greenhouse gases. Although they are more expensive to buy, their longevity means they have to be changed much less often.

5. Compost: instead of throwing your waste away, get your office a compost bin. If you can’t make use of the compost in your building then donate it all to local gardening projects. Composting waste where possible minimizes what you send away to harmful landfill sights and makes a tangible difference to the environment. With an ever-growing list of things that will compost (from apples and bananas to hair trimmings and leather wallets), it is definitely a worthwhile venture. If you are charged for waste collection then this will actually save you money too!

5. Turn off lights: if you’re intent on keeping your incandescent bulbs, then at least switch them off when you leave the room. Of the average bulb’s energy consumption, only 10 – 15% actually goes towards producing light, the rest is wasted on unnecessary heat and other useless by-products. So to minimize how much energy you waste (and the number of times you have to buy new bulbs), simply switch the lights off whenever possible.

6. Paper alternatives: Paper accounts for around 40% of all municipal solid waste in the USA and sometimes printing or photocopying your documents simply isn’t economical, hence it pays to consider digital alternatives in the form of Electronic Document Management. Scanning your documents as opposed to photocopying saves paper as well as allowing many more ways of managing your files by having them saved digitally. And of course where possible send email as opposed to letters – it is you who will benefit financially.

7. Buy second hand: As a general rule, reusing old items is paramount to prevent unnecessary resource use, and this is particularly true in the case of office furniture. Second hand items are cheaper, save energy and resources and are generally a lot sturdier, meaning they won’t need replacing again in a year’s time. This policy can also work with your office floor, with refurbishing original floorboards often more economical and greener than laying down carpet or tiles!

8. Remanufactured cartridges: Instead of buying completely new cartridges very time your printer ink runs low, send your empty cartridges back and replace them with remanufactured ones. These are used ink cartridges professionally cleaned, refurbished and refilled with new ink, at a fraction of the price of their brand new alternative. As well as saving copious amounts of resources, they can save your business up to 75% on price, so it makes financial sense as well.

9. Energy rating: simply turning all your appliances off overnight can save up to 30% on energy, but to take it a little further you should buy energy rated computers screens, which tell you when you purchase how efficient they are. For example, a popular way of rating involves energy grading, an A being the most efficient, saving you money as they require minimal amounts of energy to run. Similar ratings can be found on your kitchen appliances like your fridge or dishwasher, meaning your office can run much more energy efficiently just by carefully selecting which appliances you buy.

10. Daylight strategy: it may sound basic, but fitting larger windows to increase the amount of light in your office makes business sense. With turning off lights when out of the office able to save up to 19% on energy costs alone, taking them out of the equation completely is a definite money saver. So paint the walls a light color, and let natural light reflect all round your office, possibly saving you thousands on heating and electricity bills.

11. Encourage your office to use public transport: if taking the train yourself doesn’t feel like enough, then get the rest of your office doing it. For example, a bus carries 40 more times people than a car, and with each kilometre a car travels emitting approximately 160g of carbon dioxide, the reduction of harmful effects on the environment would be enormous. Add this to the eliminated petrol costs, road tax and maintenance and it might even make you a little better off, if not definitely greener.

12. Reusable kitchen utensils: estimates say that around three billion plastic cups are dispensed by vending machines in the UK each year alone, and without taking into account all the disposable plates and forks thrown away every day, a lot of resources are wasted. Stock up your kitchen with reusable cutlery, mugs, glasses and tableware. Not only will your morning coffee taste better, you’ll have more loose change in your pocket and more importantly your office will be doing its bit for the environment.

13. Recycle your computer: instead of simply throwing out old office computers, there are a number of companies who will actually take them off your hands and recycle them for you. Many have a no landfill policy, and often the working parts are refurbished and sold on at a bargain price, reducing the waste of resources on brand new parts. So to save traveling back and forth from the dump with last year’s computers, simply get in touch with a recycling company and let them do all the work for you.

14. Don’t overfill your kettle: if everybody filled their kettle with just enough water to cover only how much they needed, we would save enough electricity to power all the street lights in the UK. So when it’s your turn to do the morning coffee round, go easy on the water! As well as reducing water waste, in the long run you’ll save your office a bundle on utility bills.

15. Stick with your pen: 14 million pens are sold worldwide each day, and considering a landfill site full of plastic pens will still be there in 50,000 years, it is perhaps worth considering using them until they are completely empty as opposed to throwing them away at will. While they may be cheap originally, buying less will contribute to saving your office money.

16. Switch off: if you leave your computer on all day for a year it will (indirectly) emit 1,500lbs of carbon dioxide annually, an enormous effect on the environment. In fact, it would take between 100 and 500 trees to bank the same amount of CO2. Put this on an office wide scale and you can quickly see the damage caused by leaving your computer on. Without even considering the cut in your energy bills, turning off should be compulsory for everyone in the office.

17. Print & photocopy on both sides: we are wasteful by nature and as creatures of habit we will continue that way until we force ourselves to change. There is enough paper thrown away in the UK each year to fill 103,448 double-decker buses according to the We Are What We Do organization. If you must use your photocopier then make sure you use both sides of each sheet!

18. Keep warm: install double glazing and wall insulation, it’s a great way to reduce central heating use and save water and help store heat through solar gain. Although the investment may be more expensive to begin with, it should keep your office warmer and keep your heating bill down. Similarly in summer, keep the windows open as opposed to turning on the air conditioning, and you should see a large cut in your energy use.

19. Green energy: if you want to go straight to the source of the problem, then switch to renewable energy sources such as solar, wind or hydro power. This of course may not be convenient for some businesses, but if it is for your office then it is highly recommended. As more people who get involved, the more clear and distilled the green message gets.

Our guest blogger James Adams writes at Office Kitten, a UK based supplier of discount stationery for businesses in the UK.

This is a transcription of an interview that I had with a client part way through our organizing process. This was recorded during a shining moment when her teenage daughter had also decided to get help getting her room organized after watching the progress we were making in her mom’s closet. I always say, “be the change you want to see” and this time it caused the ripple effect even before we were done with mom’s project. This conversation took place as we were standing in her daughter’s room and enjoying our accomplishments!

Client: The reason I called you in the beginning was because I just basically lost hope about this room and about every finding a way to create some kind of a system for my teenager.  It was just always so unpleasant every time we would get in here. It was about more than the clutter, and it was about much more than what to keep and what to get rid of and how to organize it.

And so I think we started avoiding it. What finally made the difference was beginning to work with you and begin to do it for myself. I was learning how to create systems and how to find organization and order for my life and my things. My daughter must have been watching that and wanting to do it to because she one day just began after watching me. And it was the most amazing journey for me to see that my modeling of that helped her to want to do that for herself.

Kathi: She totally wanted it, she’s like, “I want to sort my clothes by colors like Mom,”….

Client: Yeah…and then she got so excited. She got into it after that because it was joyful rather than feeling oppressive and not fun. It used to be like OK, we’re going to do this and then it would always be, “And we’re going to do it all in 8 hours! We’re going to do it in one day!” And it never worked. It never stayed because it wasn’t from a place of carefully weighing and understanding why you were keeping this thing, and getting rid of that thing.

And I think it has to be the strategy you taught us for it to work, it has to be an outgrowth of who you are and who you want to be in the world.

Kathi: That’s nice.

Client: That’s my truth.

Kathi: And so now I think she can make these decisions easier, and if you ever can’t make a decision,  then you just call me and I’ll get you unstuck. And it won’t take much….

Client: No but you have been amazing, and how I think you’ve helped most is every time we would hold something up and say, “But I can’t get rid of this!” you would say, “But it’s the memory that you have, you don’t need the thing anymore, or take a picture of it or do something but let go of the thing,” and also the idea that you’re moving it forward for somebody else who can use it and probably needs it….very powerful.

Kathi: I love that.

Client: I do too.

Kathi: Pass on your good. Move it forward, out into the world. Well, thank you.

Client: It’s been a joy to work with you.

Kathi: And you too. Ditto, we’re fans.

Client: We are. Fans of each other!

Situation

This room needed to function as a laundry room, crafts and storage area as well as the production area for a home-based business. Although the home is beautiful, it is small craftsman built back when closets and all rooms were very small.

Challenge

My client has a popular line of gorgeous baby accessories including burp towels and bibs but does not have a lot of room to create and sew as the orders come in.

Solution

We divided and conquered this room by first determining which activities were most important within this space. After deciding that the home-based business needed as much space as possible, we re-contained and moved every unrelated item up and off the counter and into the side cabinets. We decided which shelves should hold which craft based on the frequency they were needed. The more frequent gift wrapping and card-making supplies were stored in the shelves at eye level.

Once the counter was clear, we were able to sort and organize all fabrics and place them within the sewing zone to the right and under the counter.

As you can see in the photo below, we still have an area for miscellaneous projects and tools in the side cabinet.

The one thing I love about craftsman cottages is that once you can organize and look beyond their small size, they often have exceptional built-in storage areas!