Category Archives for "Organizing Resources"

Eliminate Paper Clutter

A guideline for what to keep and what to toss

Piles of paper are one of the biggest causes of stress in our homes as there are so many different types and sources.

Think about all of your bills, your kids school, investments, taxes, legal stuff, vital documents, magazines, etc., etc., etc. It can be hard to know what to keep and what to toss in order to eliminate the paper clutter.

That is why I have created this handy guide. My mission is to help you declutter and get organized. Cleaning out your papers if a great place to start.

Gone are the days when you can just throw out or recycle documents. Be sure to shred all documents with your personal information on them. Do NOT throw them in the garbage or the recycle bin.

Always check with your accountant or other professional advisor for guidelines specific to you and any business you may be involved in. This guide is intended for basic home papers and there are always exceptions to every rule.

How to eliminate paper clutter

For clearing papers set up 3 boxes:

• 1 box for IMPORTANT & URGENT
• 1 box for IMPORTANT but NOT URGENT
• 1 box for NOT IMPORTANT (this should be your RECYLE/SHRED bin!)

Ask yourself as you are sorting:

1. Does this item require action?
2. Is this information recent enough to be useful?
3. When was the last time I referred to this?
4. Am I truly likely to need it again?
5. Can it be sourced or retrieved from anywhere else?
6. Is there a tax or legal reason why I should keep this?

Have a "DO IT" notepad handy so you can write tasks down to prevent you from getting side-tracked while you are cleaning up your papers.

How to keep your paper under control

Open your mail over the recycle bin.

Subscribe to receive electronic delivery of bills, statements, receipts and set up automatic bill payments.

Give your home office desk an inbox to funnel incoming paper into one manageable stack that you can deal with on a regular basis.

If you have records you need to store for a numbers of years, consider putting them in file boxes for storage. Label the boxes properly so you can find what you need easily. Make sure the papers inside the boxes are in file folders and labelled properly to make purging easy when the time comes.

Label files according to what you think of in your mind first so that it's easier to find the information in your files when you need it. Don't get overly complicated here. If it's too complicated or confusing, you won't keep it up.

Keeping on top of those piles of paper ensures you won't have to eliminate so much paper clutter.

Did you know...?

Approximately 80% of the papers we file, we NEVER look at again.

Most papers kept can be sourced online or from other sources if we really need them.

Fireproof/waterproof safes are an inexpensive way to ensure your vital documents are kept safe in case of fire or flood.

You can repurpose that old rolodex to keep a record of all your passwords.

Setting up a family command centre is a great way to keep your families paper organized. Here is a great article on Organizing Your Families Paper Clutter which includes how to set up a family command centre.

If you schedule 30 minutes in your calendar every week to deal with your paper (pay bills, fill out school forms, RSVP to events, etc.) your paper clutter will be kept to a minimum.

If you need help with eliminating your paper clutter, leave a comment in the box below or click here to book your free no-obligation 30-minute chat with me.

I will get back to you within 48 hours (or sooner!).

Home Styling & Staging Basics

Live well. 

When you experience a beautifully styled home after organizing this is the cherry on top! Imagine a world where your spaces are calm, relaxing, functional and you love the freedom in your life.

Thoughtful decor and clutter-free spaces allow this vision to be your reality. My "north star" is to help you uncover exactly what this means for you.

The principles of styling your home versus staging to sell are quite opposite. Styling your home focuses on:

• Your personality, taste or style
• Says something about you
• Personal
• Enhances function
• Matches your lifestyle

Sell wisely. 

The basic steps to stage your home are the same as styling however, the principles behind staging to sell your home are quite different.

• Focus on the potential home buyer
• Declutter, declutter, declutter
• Impersonal
• Enhance features
• Not taste specific

Did you know? 

85% OF STAGED HOMES SELL FOR 6-25% MORE THAN UN-STAGED HOMES!

7 Steps of Styling & Staging

Download your FREE copy of the Home Styling & Staging Basics guide below and learn more about the following 7 steps to style or stage your home.

1. Choose a concept

2. Start with a clean slate

3. Assess your space

4. Lay out a floor plan and measurements

5. Furniture layout

6. Lighting

7. Accessorizing

Decorating Basics

Your FREE guide Home Styling & Staging Basics also covers decorating basics such as:

1. Furniture placement

2. Area rugs

3. Effective lighting

4. Types of lighting

5. Layering lighting

6. Lighting trends

7. Dining room light fixture

8. Hanging art

Accessorizing

The guide will also lead you step by step through accessorizing your newly styled or staged space.

1. Why accessorize?

2. Accessorizing strategy

3. Tips on accessorizing

4. Dressing your dresser

5. Bathroom accessories

Bonus Tips for Staging Your Home to Sell Wisely

• Declutter, declutter, declutter! This is one of the best strategies before listing your house for sale.
• Declutter and organize before you meet with your realtor. This has an impact on the list price.
• Declutter and organize closets, cupboards, kitchen pantry, etc. as potential purchasers will look inside these areas when touring.
• When your home is clutter-free and well organized, this signals to the prospective purchaser there is enough storage for them.
• A decluttered and organized home shows your level of care for the home and instills buyer confidence.

Questions?

If you have any questions about the Home Styling & Staging Basics guide, organizing systems or products, just simply fill in the content box below and ask me your question. I will get back to you in 48 hours (or sooner).

Need more resources?

Decluttering & Organizing Services

Download Your Home Styling & Staging Basics Guide Here!

Good luck with your styling or staging project and feel free to contact us if you need our services!

Moving?

Moving is an exciting time! And then you realize all of the details and work that goes into the preparation, unpacking and organizing of your new home. Whew!

This is where a Professional Organizer comes in. 

We help with the heavy lifting to make your move pain and stress free as we provide move preparation, unpacking and organizing services.

Imagine having a Professional Organizer by your side when the moving truck shows up to help you unpack and ensure your new home is set up and organized right away.....sounds like a dream right?

The moving preparation and unpacking services we offer you include:

• Assistance with decluttering and sorting prior to your move.  If you don't need it, use it or love it, why move it?
• Help with requesting estimates from 3-5 movers and booking the mover.
• After the moving vehicle is unloaded we can help unpack and set up the essential areas of your new home right away.
• We can help you unpack and organize all areas of your new home. 
• We ensure the right organizational products and systems are put in place so you can settle in and start enjoying your new home sooner.

The Ultimate Moving Guide - Our Free Gift to You!

For our valued clients, we have prepared a comprehensive moving guide to help you plan, prepare, pack and put your essentials away.

This guide will lead you step by step through the entire move process as your Professional Organizer can't be there for you at every stage. 

The Ultimate Moving Guide will ensure you stay on track and in total control of the many details that need to get done when moving your home. We know it can be overwhelming and we don't want you to miss anything.

The following is covered in detail in the moving guide:

• Packing supplies you will need.
• Selecting a mover.
• How to pack. 
• Moving plan checklist with a suggested 8-week timeline.
• Moving day checklist.
• Unpacked to settled guidance.

If you need our help, please use the content box below to send us an email and we will get back to you within 24-48 hours!

We have included a BONUS resource here to help you declutter before you move.

Good luck with your move and congratulations!

Keeping Your Home Organized Through Every Season

Have you decided this is your year to declutter the garage, the pantry, and all of your closets? Good for you! 

Getting your home to an organizational level that works for you and your family is well worth the investment of your time, dollars, and energy.

The benefits of getting rid of your clutter are numerous and life-changing. You will have more time, find things faster, and spend less time lost looking for stuff. You will save money by not buying duplicates of items you can’t find.

You might even make some money by selling or consigning your no longer useful items. The peace of mind and reduced stress that decluttering and organizing brings is a game-changer for your life.

Decluttering and organizing does take planning, determination, and commitment to see your home transformed. By arranging your families organizing projects by the seasons, the likelihood of completing all of your plans over time improves.

Finally Organized

The first and most important step when organizing any area is to minimize. Ask yourself what adds value to your life compared to what you don’t want, need or use. Once items are reduced, it is much easier to organize and arrange what’s left.

The second key to ultra-functional spaces is to keep like with like and knowing where everything is. Keep your daily essential items close at hand. Store away items you don’t need or use every day.

You can start organizing in any of your home however, we suggest you start with the easiest areas or projects first. Donate, consign & trash what you know can live without.

Another strategy is to start with the space that causes you the most frustration. When you get these quick wins under your belt, you will be super excited and motivated to keep going.

How Long Does It Take To Get Organized?

There are quite a few different factors to consider when determining how long each room or area will take to get organized. Some of these reasons are:

• The size and layout of your home.
• How long you have lived in your home.
• The shopping habits of you and your family.
• How much visible and hidden clutter there is.
• Is anyone in the home is chronically disorganized or has a hard time letting go?
• If someone in your home is a collector.
• If everyone in the family is motivated and willing to declutter and get organized.
• Decision making speed when decluttering.
• Whether you get outside help from friends, family, or a professional organizer.

Decluttering Principles

• Keep only the belongings that are relevant to your life today & define your current vision.
• Let go of items that point to your past or parts of yourself that you want to change.
• Only hold onto things that make your heart sing and bring you joy.
• Release objects that make you feel sad, guilty, or unhappy with yourself or others.

Storage Principles

• Items that are used more often should be stored within easy reach, preferably at eye level.
• Things that are used infrequently and heavy should be stored below the waist.
• Stuff seldom used and lighter should be stored above the head.

Basic Steps Of Organizing

1. Remove everything
2. Organize – put like with like
3. Edit/declutter
4. Clean space & keep items
5. Containerize & label
6. Return everything – put items where you use them

Getting Unstuck When Organizing

If you are stuck on whether to keep or get rid of an item, ask yourself these 7 questions (hint – if you say “No” to one, some or all of these questions, considering getting rid of it). The more of these decisions you make, the easier it gets:

1. Have I used this in the last year?
2. Will I use it in the next year?

3. Would I buy this item again today?
4. If it’s broken is it worth fixing or will I spare the time & money to fix it?
5. Is it easily replaced or borrowed if I need it again?
6. Would I keep it if I moved?
7. Do I have a duplicate of this item in better shape?

If you are still agonizing over an item, put it in a box with a sticky note with an expiration date on it for a few months from now. If you don’t reach for the item in that time frame, remove it from your home.

Keeping Your Home Organized Through Every Season

You can start your home organizing journey at any time of the year.

We suggest starting in the spring as this is typically the time of year you are more energized for a fresh start. The months of March, April and May are when we begin thinking of clearing out the dust and dreariness from the long, cold winter months.

There is excitement that winter is over and for the promise of summer ahead. So, take advantage of the burst of get-up-and-go that spring brings to kick start your organizing projects.

Now You Can Keep Your Home Organized Through Every Season!

Get Started Right Away Transforming Your Spaces!

Why Would You Give This Away For Free?

I get asked this question all the time. When you claim your copy of this amazing resource book, you will too.

I created this because I am on a mission to help people like you find your freedom through organized spaces. I know this resource will be exactly what some people will need to finally get and stay organized.

By gifting this incredible resource to you, it's my way of starting our relationship together on the right foot. I want to earn your trust so that I can help you find your freedom to live your life.

If you have a second, I'd love to know: