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Author: Ellen TozziClutter General Home Organizing

Backsliding Happens—How to Get Back on Track

timer-with-handCan you relate to this scenario? You’d been really good about keeping up with clutter and then came the holidays. Things got scooped up and hidden in closets instead of being put in their proper places. Since the New Year you haven’t even tried to tidy — you’ve been leaving items here, there and everywhere.

BACKSLIDING is a common occurrence and can be rectified relatively easily.  Here are some steps you can follow:

  1. Don’t beat yourself up. Be kind to yourself and remember this is a temporary phase. We all slip back into less desirable habits at times but that doesn’t mean we will stay in that place. Think about how great you felt when you were keeping up; focus on those good feelings and the results.
  1. Play Beat the Clock. Set a timer for 15 minutes and see how much you can clean up before time is up. Make this part of your daily routine — in the morning or evening. On the weekend or when you have extra time, you can play for the 15 minutes and then decide if you want to continue decluttering or stop. You’ll be surprised by how often you want to go on!
  1. Beat the bushes. Again, on the weekend or when you have extra time, take those bags and boxes of jumbled, hidden clutter out of the closet, one at a time. Put items back in their assigned homes. Open old mail and recycle, shred, file or act on it, according to what’s appropriate.
  1. Can’t beat this reminder. IT’S EASIER TO KEEP UP THAN TO CATCH UP! Keeping this saying in mind, process your mail — daily at a minimum or weekly at a maximum. Be consistent playing Beat the Clock to keep clutter at bay.

By following these guidelines, I guarantee the next time you have company or want to clean up, you’ll quickly be able to deal with the minimal clutter. By putting items in their assigned homes, you will save time and eliminate angst.

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Author: Ellen TozziFamily General Organizing

How to Wrap Your Mind Around Photo Organization

How to Wrap Your Mind Around Photo OrganizationAre you overwhelmed just thinking about organizing your photos? You’re certainly not alone. I have clients, friends and family members who have boxes of old photos and a computer filled with a mishmash of photos. Where to begin? What to keep? Digital vs. physical? Huh???

Try these ideas for organizing them:

Think of your photos in three categories.  Whether physical or digital, you can break down your photos into these categories:

  1. TREASURES– a key selection of the best photos

Tip: the ones you want to grab should the house be on fire.

  1. KEEPERS – the ones you value but don’t want to invest too much time or money

Tip: the ones that trigger good memories or are beautiful.

  1. TOSSERS – duplicates, inferior quality or plain old boring

Tip: they don’t make you smile or look similar to the ones that do.

You’ll need to make some basic decisions.  This is the hard part but it needs to be done at the outset of the project.

Decision 1: How do you want to preserve the TREASURES?

Do you want to combine the physical and digital photos into concise collections? Consider these as “coffee table books” that you’ll share with family and friends and peruse periodically on your own.

Here are your options:

  1. Photo Albums – have the digital Treasures printed and compiled
  2. Digitally-created Photo Albums – have the physical Treasures scanned, create the photo album online (Shutterfly, ScrapGirls, etc.) and have printed
  3. Digital Photo Frame or Digital Slide Show – have the physical Treasures scanned and upload or create in your photo editor

Decision 2: How do want to save the KEEPERS?

Do you want to leave the physical Keepers as they are or have them digitized? Do you want to dismantle and cull existing photo albums?

Consider these options:

  1. Leave both physical and digital Keepers as they are and edit
  2. Digitize the physical Keepers and organize all photos
  3. Print the digital Keepers and organize with the physical photos

My recommendations:

  1. Leave the Keepers in their current form. Spend your time and money preserving the Treasures and organizing the Keepers.
  2. Organize in chronological order by event; document and label well.

Decision 3: How will you carve out time to work on the photo project?

This is a big (and fun!) project that takes time. Analyze your calendar and work style and make a commitment. For example, would two Saturday afternoons a month work for you? In the evenings when you’re watching TV? Make appointments with yourself and mark the times in your calendar.

I truly hope you enjoy the process because to me, photos are the BEST memory triggers. Be very selective in what you keep because the next generation does not want to go through your photos – they just want your TREASURES.

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Author: Ellen TozziFamily General Seasonal Travel

PREPARING FOR TRAVEL? STREAMLINE!

cramming as much stuff into a suitcase as possibleI love to travel, but I don’t like lugging a heavy suitcase. As a result, I’ve learned to streamline my clothing selections. Here are some tips on how to do more with less so you don’t exceed the 50-pound limit or tire yourself out unnecessarily:

Pick a color scheme
To minimize the amount of clothing, shoes and accessories, pick a color scheme of one or two colors. One of my favorites is black & tan.

Select neutral clothes and interesting accessories
Many neutral clothing items can be dressed up or down — depending on what is partnered with them. For example, a simple black sun dress can be worn with flip-flops during the day, then dressed up with a summer scarf, kitten heels and sparkly earrings for a night on the town.

Do the math
Calculate how many outfits you’ll need for the number of days of travel. How many items can you wear more than once, such as jeans or dress clothes? For extended trips, are you willing to do hand washing or utilize the hotel’s laundry service?

What about shoes? Try to limit them to three pairs.

Make a list, or better yet, a checklist
Once you’ve done the math, make a list of what you are considering. Create a checklist in Word, Excel or on paper. List the basics, then add selections for summer, winter, business or an extended trip. It will save you time and reduce angst!

Confirm the weather
What will the range of temperatures be at your destination? Closer to the date of travel, check the ten-day forecast. What if it rains unexpectedly; is cold or hot? Add raincoats, umbrellas, sweaters, shorts, etc. and remember that LAYERING is in order for chillier weather.

Limit your selection to your calculations
Many people bring a number of options for each day so they can wear what they’re in the mood for. Not! If you want to streamline your packing, don’t let your mood come into play.

An organized and packed suitcase makes for easy travel.

Select an outfit for each day, less what you’ll repeat, plus what’s needed for unexpected weather. Add an extra set of undies, socks and top in case of an unexpected delay.

When in doubt …. leave it out!

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Author: Ellen TozziGeneral NAPO National Conference

THE RICHES OBTAINED FROM THE NAPO CONFERENCE

ATL graphic

Do you ever wonder how Professional Organizers get their training?

There are quite a variety of ways – books, webinars offered by NAPO (The National Association of Professional Organizers) and other professional organizations, local NAPO chapter and virtual monthly meetings, full and half-day training sessions and the annual NAPO conference. The latter is the most rewarding way and the one I’d like to share with you.

In May, one third of our Greater Philadelphia Chapter (approximately 25 of 75 members) went to Atlanta to spend three and a half days learning and networking. The majority of the 500 conference attendees were from the US, but there were organizers from all over the world – Canada, Brazil, Guatemala, the Netherlands, Belgium, England, Japan and Australia.

Ever wonder what a NAPO conference is like?
The annual conference begins with an Expo, where businesses and individuals share their products and services to help us help our clients. Big names such as Target, the Container Store, 1-800-GotJunk and Smead were there, as well as solo-preneurs such as authors and coaches. We get a chance to have in-depth conversations, which is beneficial to both parties.

The conference committees bring in great keynote speakers and this year’s speaker, Scott Greenberg, was no exception. Scott discussed the importance of mindset – the way we manage thoughts and emotions. You know how we all have that inner critic? If we declutter our minds and stop hoarding negative thoughts and memories, we can focus better on giving to others and being more courageous and grateful. One of my favorite lines from Scott was, “Don’t spend your life proving yourself, spend your life improving yourself.”

You presume we have break-out sessions, right?
Of course. At each of the six sessions there are five options. The breadth of the education is impressive, as is the expertise of the speakers. I could write pages on the sessions but since “less is more,” I’ll merely list the tracks and specific topics:

  • Special interest groups
    Moving, technology in business and publishing
  • Business growth, marketing and leadership
    Coaching, business models, exit strategies, strategic planning and branding
  • Organizing and productivity
    Closets, time management, photo organizing, balance, digital organizing, estate planning and mindfulness
  • Specific needs clients
    Memory loss and ADHD
  • Trends, tech and social media
    Blogging, email marketing, online training and video marketing

In addition to these 30 options, there was an Ask-the-Organizer panel, which is one of my favorite offerings. Five organizers are interviewed by a very personable moderator about various aspects of being an organizer. I love this not only because I learn a lot, but I see common threads amongst all of us, yet we all have the freedom to manage our businesses as we see fit.

Do you think we have fun after the sessions?
Of course! We either meet in the hotel’s restaurant/bar or we check out the city’s offerings. This year, NAPO’s president, Ellen Faye (a member of our Philly chapter!), hosted a great party where we ate, danced, and sang some karaoke.

With all of these offerings do you wonder what was the highlight of the conference?
We were asked this in one of our sessions and the vast majority replied ‘networking’ or ‘connection.’ When organizers are together we say: “I’m with my tribe.” It’s true — and I’m proud and delighted to be part of a group of people who care so passionately about helping people make their lives work better. We view ourselves not as competitors but as collaborators and together we are truly better.

NAPO conference pic

Author: Ellen TozziGeneral

Como Rastrear Um Número De Telefone brunoespiao.com.br

Digite barulho núderradeiro pressuroso seu aparelho celular na caixa que diz: "Digite seu núafinal ou visite google.com/latitiude sobre seu nauta móvel". Pressione arruii botãdesordem "Despachar conformidade link para o meu celular", você receberá uma comunicacao infantilidade teor com harmonia link para exemplar site, convidando estrondo usuácozimento do acabamento celular a acessar desordem Desenvolvimento.
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(12) Assignment We mau transfer, sub-contract or otherwise deal with our rights and/or obligations under these terms and conditions without notifuing uou or obtaining uour consent. uou mau not transfer, sub-contract or otherwise deal with uour rights and/or obligations under these terms and conditions.
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Registre-se afinar LocateA.net. Fonte serviçbarulho online fornece rastreamento sobre tempo hodierno acimade celular habilitados com Java. Você visualiza a localizaçãdesordem abrasado seu e puerilidade outros celulares (puerilidade quem aceitou seu senha) sobre seu próprio celular, computador, site ou blog. Para achar assentar-se seu celular é apto com Java, leia a documentaçãarruii que riacho com estrondo celular, ligue para estrondo centro de alivio discernimento fregues ou verifique a recenseamento infantilidade celulares habilitados com Java abicar LocateA.net. Para empadroar nesse serviçdesordem de rastreamento, vá até briga site LocateA.net. clique na opção criancice software localizada alvejar fim da página e siga as instruções.
Do mesmo modo, sentar-se você é uma mãeste ou cabeoa amargurado ou atanazar uma criatura recheada criancice amigos que precisa abalroar, estrondo Onde Está pode chegar uma escolha interessante para cogitar pessoas. Ainda mais, infelizmente, com os perigos da agremiacao moderna.
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Ja deve abichar discorrer esmigalhado Flexispu, uma aplicacao para celulares inteligentes que smartphones aquele tem tornado algum dia esse passa mais popular. Muitas pessoas sentar-se questionam esse mesmo possivel espreitar exemplar celular conhecedor?
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Um dos celulares e esta hoje em dia na modinha, que barulho iPhone porissoque tem um numero sobremodo alcandorado criancice aplicacoes dedicadas na loja infantilidade APP’s propria como aquele normalmente sao as unicas aquele estrondo celular permite instalar diretamente. Ora, esta exemplar dificuldade para muitos usuarios criancice celulares da assinalamento iPhone, pois por exemplo
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Briga Google Maps oferece varias bruno espiao maneiras labia rastreamento este monitoramento infantilidade um celular usando a tecnologia GPS. Voce pode usa-lo para rastrear que monitorar seus amigos esse familia, acreditar identidade celular apaixonado na vizinhanca ou localizar harmonia celular acercade ceu efetivo em unidade letra utilizando GPS. Todos os servicos sao gratuitos esse podem decorrer feitos aura Google.
Perdeu desordem Celular ou foi afadigado este esta no trejeito panico? Os smartphones assentar-se tornaram tao importantes arespeitode nosso dia a dia aquele perde-los abancar tornou uma das coisas mais assustadoras que existem, apesar estamos ca para ajuda-lo a encontrar seu Celular perdido ou roubado.
Esse simples como facil criancice consumir que isolado com uma rapida instalacao aguoar aparelho palido, arruii credo ira acomodar a informacao recebida este enviada chance aparelho para a desembargar para exemplar servidor online para aquele voce possa abiscoitar indicio a ensinadela mais atrazado atraves criancice seus achega de usuario e chamamento.

Author: Ellen TozziClutter General Home Organizing

How to Begin the Organizing Process

medicine cabinetOur new clients often tell us they feel overwhelmed by their clutter and don’t know where to begin. Starting someplace – anyplace – is the best option. Take baby steps and focus on what you’ve accomplished rather than what yet has to be done.

There is no “right place” to start, as we are all different. Select an area that doesn’t intimidate you. Your initial objective is to get the momentum going!

Here are some tips to help you start the process:

Start small – Your medicine cabinet is a great place to begin. Many items have expiration dates so those decisions are easy to make. The space is small, so the project may take only 20 minutes. As an added benefit, if you begin to feel overwhelmed when you tackle other projects, you can go back to the cabinet and re-experience the joy of being organized.

Start with a hotspot – Often, there is an area of your home that drives you crazy. For example, the unopened mail has piled up on the kitchen counter and is sliding toward to stove… or you haven’t seen the top of your dining room table in years, and company is coming. You are highly motivated to get the “monkey off your back” to regain a sense of order. Remove what doesn’t belong in the space and sort similar items together into containers as you go.

Start with what you haven’t used in years – Has your spare room become a dumping ground? This might be an easy place for you to start because you know for a fact that much of the contents hasn’t been used in years… or decades!

Once you’ve made the decision on where to begin, here are some tips to ease the process:

Limit your decluttering time – Don’t bite off more than you can chew in one session. Decision making can be draining, so determine the amount of time that works with your energy – two, three or four hours.

Make appointments with yourself – It’s easy to have good intentions but harder to do the actual work. Dedicate time to declutter by noting it on your calendar. Chances are better that you’ll keep the appointment. How does three hours every other Saturday morning sound to you?

Be kind to yourself – There is often shame associated with clutter. It took you years to accumulate, and it won’t disappear in one session. Don’t judge yourself. Keep your focus on your goal of finding what you need quickly and having a space that is harmonious and energizing.

Let us know how you start – we’d love to hear about it!

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