The Blog

Beyond Home Organization: The 2 Forgotten Zones

07/25/2012 By Nancy Borg With 1 comment

Your spaces, and how you organize them, are a reflection of yourself.  Let’s talk about two very personal spaces (outside the home), that may be a daily challenge.

Your Handbag/Wallet:

  • Is your wallet bulging with miscellaneous papers and receipts?
  • Are you struggling to find the appropriate credit card when making a purchase?
  • Can you find the proper medical papers to present to the Dr. for an appt?
  • Is there a ton of loose change on the bottom of your handbag?
  • Can you find the gift cards for the store you are shopping in?
  • Have you walked into Bed, Bath, and Beyond, countless times, and forgotten to take the coupons?

When your wallet is bursting, and all those crumpled receipts and dollar bills have no order to them , it’s time to clean out.  In fact, it is a great habit to weed on a schedule.  If every day is not realistic, then try to weed weekly.  Control the chaos.  Pick a day, any day, and empty out the entire wallet.  Know what stuff you have in there. It shouldn’t be a mystery, it’s yours. 

Put your currency in order, place the loose change in a designated jar, and most importantly label your receipts.  Most stores have a computer print out with the description of  the item on it, but often there are some that have an ambiguous cryptic code, or secret department number, and you have no clue what you have just purchased.

Tip #1:  On top of every receipt,  jot down the item or for whom you purchased for, so if you should need to return or exchange, you will avoid frantically pulling out wads of paper and having to search and read each and every one.  Make life easier for yourself.  It’s good to be organized.

Tip #2: Corral store gift cards and coupons in a labeled Ziploc or use (a zippered pencil case works too) and keep them in your purse, or leave them in your car in a designated place.  This way, whenever you shop the stores, you will have them when you need them and know where to access them.

Solution:  You can opt to purchase this purse organizer below that can be transferred from bag to bag.

http://www.purseperfector.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your Car:

Does your car look like a bomb hit it?  ‘Fess up;

  •  Is yesterday’s coffee still in the cup holder?
  • Are their clothes, paper, toys, snacks, used tissues, and random things scattered all about?
  • Is there adequate room for passengers?
  • Would you be embarrassed to give a friend a lift?
  • Is your outside of your car clean? How often do you wash it?

It doesn’t matter whether you have a luxury car or a jalopy; whether you’re working or just busy;  Messy is messy.

Tip#1: Try to empty the car at the end of every day.  Avoid looking like it’s another home on wheels.

Tip #2:  Keep a small trash bag in the car to maintain the unwanted paper, food, drink, tissues.

Tip #3:  Organize the glove compartment and center console with essentials you continually search for ; hand cream, glasses, loose change, and keep emergency items handy.

Solutions:

  Floor organizer

 

 

 

 

           

Cargo pockets for kid’s toys and crafts

 

 

 

  

Handy Organizer for sunglasses and cell phone

 

 

 

 

“On the go” does not have to mean “disorganized. ”  Organize your personal spaces and be ready for multiple activities and incoming receipts.

It’s not your entire house, it’s just 2 zones…you can manage it, right?  Need to talk about it?  I am here, let’s have a conversation.

 

 

 

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The Big Bang Theory of July

07/18/2012 By Nancy Borg With no comments yet

Is it just me, or are you getting the feeling that retailers are pushing summer out? Summer’s not over…but it’s definitely on sale!  It appears that everything is on sale!  The stores promoting summer seasonal items are practically giving them away.  Get more bang for your buck. Be smart. It’s a great opportunity to purchase summer clothing, outdoor furniture, barbecue accessories, or summer anything for next year.

It’s also a perfect time to assess your inventory.  Think ahead and pay attention to the things you are currently using that you know are on their last leg.  Take the time to replace, repair, or toss the broken or unwanted stuff at the end of this summer.  I know it’s easier to just shove the broken beach chair into the shed or garage and deal with it next year, but do yourself a favor, and act on it now.  No need to hold onto the leaky garden hose, deflated pool floats, cracked pails and shovels, broken umbrellas, or moldy coolers.

Fall clothes will soon to be dominating retail stores, so bathing suits and summer clothes are super inexpensive. It’s a great opportunity to organize for next summer. Why not take advantage now? Buy new basics and save them for next summer.  Be ready.  Be organized.

There is nothing as sweet as being ready and prepared for summer fun!  Oh, and that old rusty sand chair?  Let it go, it’s done. It owes you nothing.  It well served its purpose. Be ready for the first blazing beach day next year, and avoid that last minute trip to the store when you realize the old one’s broken. You’ll be so happy you did! You can also enjoy wearing something brand new at the start of the season at half the price!

These are just the small perks of being organized. It’s all about planning, whether it be for the season ahead or even for the following year.  Exit the summer with a bang! It’s just a theory.

Want to learn more?  Keep reading, I’ll keep writing.

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What’s on Your Summer Radar?

07/11/2012 By Nancy Borg With 10 comments

The fireworks of July 4th may have faded but hopefully their crackle and boom ignited your summer mode into full throttle.  We all know how quickly summer passes us by, and so this would be the time to plan for it to be a memorable one.  Now.

Summer bucketlists tend to be lofty initially, but all too often, as the heat and humidity rises, so does the procrastination.

So what does your ideal summer look like?

Of course there is no right or wrong answer, it’s more about your priorities and being aware of  your productivity capacities.  How well do you know yourself?

  • Are you more or less motivated in the Summer?
  • In what months do you tend to be more active or more lazy?
  • Do you see summer as a time to complete projects? Or do you view summer as a giant vacation?
  • Do you find that your time-management is easier or more challenging in the summer?
  • How do you even measure productivity?

 

Overall, productivity levels vacillate day to day, but they can also vary from month to month and season to season, depending on the individual’s life rhythm.

Most people enjoy being outdoors in the summertime and so, no matter the activity (work or pleasure) it will be done outside. On a beautiful summer day, fewer people would probably opt to clean out an interior closet or a steamy attic. Likewise, more people might be  inclined to clean-out the garage, mow the lawn, wash the car, or plant the flowers while enjoying the sunshine.

One sure thing is that the summer days are fleeting.  It’s not too late to create a bucketlist if you haven’t yet done so.  Do something awesome this summer.  Take advantage of the gorgeous weather.  Make your days count before Labor Day.

Eliminate regrets with this helpful exercise:  Rather than considering and weighing the summer goals ahead of you, perhaps work backyards.  Pretend that tomorrow is the end of summer and think about what that would feel like? Did you accomplish all that you hoped to?

Now reclaim that time.  What will you put on your summer radar now?  Get going…time is awastin’.

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Habits Worth Breaking: 9 Symptoms of a Bad Routine

07/02/2012 By Nancy Borg With 6 comments

Do you find yourself repeating the same bad behavior?  Are you stuck in bad routines? There is something oddly comforting about sticking with the same old routine, albeit a poor one.  We simply don’t have the time to analyze our every day so we merely continue to repeat the old and familiar patterns.

Ahhh…imagine if we only had the time.  Think for a moment about the possibilities of making the time to change the habits that are no longer working for you.

If you are feeling stressed and overwhelmed with your life schedule, maybe you can identify with the following likely symptoms of a bad routine.

1.  Your morning routine is actually not a routine.  No 2 days are alike.

2. Most mornings you feel rushed and continually search for the same items prior to exiting your house.

3. Typically, you are jumping in for a quick shower instead of enjoying a leisurely one, and time to gather your thoughts for the day.

4.  The kitchen sink seems to be always full of dirty dishes and the dishwasher is always full of clean dishes, not emptied.

5.  Your solution for not hanging up your clothes is failing because every back of a chair, banister, couch, and treadmill is already over-utilized.

6.  You don’t ever schedule a meal.  Hence you eat whatever, whenever.

7.  You don’t have time time for the things you enjoy because you are too busy with the “have-to’s”.

8.  Coming home at the end of the day, you feel a more heightened sense of anxiety, rather than a place of sanctuary.

9.  Increased tension by the end of every week.

Of course if these are your routines and they work for you, by all means, stay with it.  No need to fix what’s not broken.

But if you are frustrated and unhappy with your daily routine, you must make it a priority to implement some change.

    • Can you eliminate one thing you do every day that is counterproductive?
    • Can you find a way to make a “have-to” more enjoyable?
    • Can you modify the way you manage your time?

All routines have a time-management component and so if any of these symptoms resonate with you, it’s time to adjust how you use your time.  Here’s the simple tip;  Always allow yourself more time for everything. It is an effective stress reducer.

    • Think about your day the night before.  Prepare.  Do something that will make the next day run more smoothly.
    • Rise earlier, more wiggle room.  Time to breathe.  Have the nice long hot shower.  Make the time for a healthy breakfast.
    • Have a plan for the day.  Follow through the entire day, including meals.  It could mean defrosting necessary food, purchasing ingredients for the dinner menu, or making a reservation!  It doesn’t really matter what the plan is, just have one.
    • At the end of your day, hang up the clothing immediately because they won’t hang up on their own.  They will still be there tomorrow and beyond.  Avoid letting them accumulate.  Ditto to the dishes.

It’s a goodhabit to change bad behavior.  Give yourself a break today and break a bad habit.

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