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The following is excerpted from the best-selling book: Organizing Your Kitchen with SORT and Succeed:

What is your goal? Are you trying to get or stay healthy, looking to set a good example for your kids, or are you just tired of fighting clutter in your kitchen?

If you want to get healthy, the kitchen is a great place to start. Research shows that cluttered kitchens prompted people to eat 44% more snack food than a kitchen that was organized and decluttered.

Unless you are working with a paid professional organizer, do not start out with the goal to organize your entire kitchen. For most people, it’s just too big of a goal to accomplish in the ideal project timeframe of between fifteen minutes and four hours.

Instead, pick smaller goals to organize your kitchen, and tackle them one after the other, perhaps on different days:

Clear the sink

Clear the countertop

Remove or re-organize magnets and notes stuck to the refrigerator door

Baking supplies

Cleaning supplies

Pantry items

Small appliances

Everyday dishes

Grill, picnic and party gear

Refrigerator (inside)

Freezer (inside)

Towels, napkins, placemats and tablecloths

Pick one of these mini-projects, or choose something that’s specific to your kitchen, and write down your goal. It can be a single bullet point. It can be on scrap paper or the back of an envelope. Just write down the one thing you are working on today, right now.

Yes, actually writing it down is the first step to getting started. If you’ve ever gotten distracted while organizing (and really, who hasn’t?), then you’ll appreciate this.

A written reminder can help you stay focused on your project and reel you back into the kitchen when you start to wander off. It’s the equivalent of having that professional organizer or good friend there beside you, tapping you on the shoulder, reminding you to stay focused on what you said you were going to do today.

After writing down your goal for this project, actually get started. You’ve already completed one-fifth of the SORT and Succeed system to organize your kitchen or anything in your home.

Everyone knows that our lungs are the major organ in our respiratory system, that our brain is central to our nervous system and that our stomach and intestines are partners in our digestive system.

How does that connect to organizing? Just look at the word: there is an ORGAN inside organizing!

Our bones — amazing organs within our skeletal system — form the structure of our bodies while they protect our internal organs. With the help of ligaments and tendons, our skeletal system allows us to move.

Let’s look at our households like our bodies — and see ORGANizing from an interdependent, systemic perspective:
• providing structure and support
• filtering toxins (clutter)
• creating space for nourishment
• allowing time to digest our days
• minimizing distractions

As the daughter of a D.O., the osteopathic approach always takes the whole person into consideration. Likewise, I consider the whole household when organizing.

On that note, let’s all head into 2019, protecting our:
• organizing time like our brains
• organizing framework as we maintain our posture
• organizing schedule as routinely as brushing our teeth
• and use our ORGANizing muscles to stay healthy!

Happy New Year

In between holidays, most of us aren’t working…a great use of some of that free time is to get a little organizational housekeeping out of the way. Here are some great, easy steps you can do to start 2019 off on the right foot!

December 31 is the deadline for getting all of your donations together, whether it be financial or stuff. With the new tax laws in place, try tracking donations using It’s Deductible to easily track what has been donated. If it is stuff you want to donate don’t wait until the 31st. I have seen donation centers unable to accept items toward the very end of the year.

Do you look at your holiday cards every season and have no idea who you need to send them to?

This is the time to update your 2019 Holiday Card List! Document who you sent cards to and who you received them from. Keep a record so that you can just pull out your list next year and start addressing. You can do that on a spreadsheet or if you really want to be ahead of the game, you can make a document for your labels so that all you have to do next year is “edit” and ‘print”, easy peasy.

Do you find old gift cards all over your house? Gather your gift cards together in one place so that you can easily find them. If you have a lot, put them in an envelope and label it with the cards you have.  This will help save you from letting them expire. Use them before the restaurants that you have them for go out of business (this happened to me this year). I made a reservation and the next day they closed, annoying.

Put your Christmas decorations away properly.

Give away any decorations that you haven’t used in a while. Decorating time will be more pleasant next year if you are only dealing with pieces you really love.
Store the things you love in nice containers that reflect their value to you, There are great containers for wrapping paper, ribbons, wreaths, ornaments, dishware, glassware. Check out The Container Store, Amazon and Frontgate for a wide selection, but don’t wait too long they sell out.

Paper Clear Out
One thing my clients do (actually I do it for them) is to pull all of this year’s bills, receipts and other documents out of their files, we separate the tax documents for the accountant and the most of others get tossed/shredded/filed. The result: clean files ready for the New year to begin and all your papers are gathered for your accountant…yes!

Thoughts for the New Year
Take some time for yourself to review this year’s events (use the photos on your phone to quickly do this).
What was great about this year?
What would have made it a better year?
How can you make the New Year better?

And finally….For ribbons, bow, cards and other miscellaneous items try the Organize It All Christmas.
For your special ornaments try Snapware Snap ‘N Stack Square Layer Seasonal Ornament Storage Container
For your LED lights these are great and they stack very well Christmas Light Storage Wheels with Bag
For your Christmas china and wine glasses we suggest Household Essentials Dinner Plate Holiday Storage Chest
Wine Glasses
Saucers
Dessert Plates and Small Bowls

As the year closes, I am inspired to note some of the TOP Productivity and Organizing Tips that I personally used throughout the year that made the most positive difference in my daily life:
1. Do the hardest task first thing in the morning, before opening emails.
2. Completely clear off your desk area at the end of the day, so that the work space is clean and clear for the start of a new day.
3. Be clear on priorities so that when you feel “pulled in many directions” you can quickly and methodically generate a numbered “to do” list that sets the mind at ease.
4. Compartmentalize: accept that time and energy is limited; define how many hours each category of your life gets and make peace with that.
5. Use a small zip pouch in your purse into which you put receipts and other scraps of paper.
6. Listen, don’t interrupt: so much can happen when you hold a silent space while speaking with a friend, relative, client, co-worker. Getting to understand more deeply can lead to better success/solutions.
7. Set aside tasks that don’t require huge amounts of brain activity (e.g. laundry, opening mail, putting stuff away) to those times of day when good quality mental prowess is at a minimum,
8. Plan the week the Thursday before.
9. Pad your schedule: things take longer than anticipated and the Unexpected always happens. Wiggle room is imperative.
10. And most important: schedule in, as an event in my calendar, time out for self-care! Yup, even purely FUN STUFF!
I’ve made this list, I’ll be checking it twice… and every week to make sure I stay on a productive and healthy path in 2019. Wishing the same and A Happy New Year to All!

OK, folks…it’s August. Any day now, the mail will arrive with teacher assignments and the excitement (and anxiety) of the new school year will start to bubble up!

While the kids won’t go back to school for a few more weeks, we all know the
planning for the FDOS (“First Day Of School”) starts much sooner, behind the scenes… The work done here will set you (and your kids) up for a successful transition from summer to school! Check out my Do’s & Don’ts…they save me the first day headaches…every year!

1.) DO Roll Back…Bedtime

The relaxed bedtime routine during the summer can be a FDOS killer! One small adjustment, each day, in the week or two leading up to the start of school can ensure success. Start rolling back their bedtime by 15-minutes each night. Continue until you reach your desired school year bedtime. Later, when it’s time to get up at 6:30am, they are already adjusted. Bodies and brains are ready to go, move, learn!

2.) DON’T Get Trapped In The Paper Chase

Don’t sit on those must complete school and medical forms. Save yourself the 11th hour scramble…If your kids require ongoing medical monitoring (think daily meds or allergy related epi-pens), contact your school nurse at least 3-4 weeks prior to the start of school. There will be forms that need to be filled out by your physician before the start of school.

3.) DON’T Over-Do The Back To School Clothes Shopping 

Summer clothes rule on the first day of school. Look back through your FDOS pics…most likely shorts, skirts, dresses, tanks and tees…I only buy a few things and then buy clothes when they do need them, closer to October. Give yourself a break and put Fall shopping on the back burner for now.

4.) DO Set Your Kids Up For Success – The Homework Station 

Create a homework station. Quiet, calm, comfortable and consistent is what you want. Pick up some extra supplies for your kids’ homework station…items you might not have around the house. For my twins, I purchased extra protractors, rulers and a dictionary. I knew that they would need them at home as well as school. Bonus: it eliminates the, “I left my protractor at school” excuse. Set them up for homework success with a “homework caddy”. Stock it with pencils, glue sticks, crayons, rulers and anything else they may need to get their homework done. I also make a color coded file for each of them that stays at the homework-station. When they come home, they put any important papers, that need to be reviewed, in their folder. Everything they need….is within reach.

5.) DO Prep Your Pantry 

School makes kids hungry! And they need good fuel to keep their bodies and minds moving. Give them easy access to healthy snacks (for lunches and after school) by prepping your pantry. I prefer to use clear bins so they can see what’s inside and they can grab and go. The clear bins make also make it easy for me to see what’s inside so I know when to restock. I can also see what they are eating and what they aren’t.

6.) DON’T Get Caught Up In The Tasks 

Take some time to enjoy the last days of summer leading into the first day of school. Plan ahead and save time, every day, for good quality family time. Remember that all of the emotions that you are feeling….the stress, excitement, anxiety, fear….well, your kids are feeling that too! Make your home and the days leading up to school a safe, calm, comfortable space to quell the Back To School nerves. Talk to your kids about how they’re feeling, spend quality time and enjoy each others company before the craziness begins!

Need more inspiration? Want to see these tips & more in action, at my own home? Click the link below for a sneak peek video into this professional organizer’s back to school setup:

How To Set Up Your Home For School Year Success

While working with clients on managing their paperwork and filing systems, and/or time management/productivity we often come across very old (meaning over a year) TO DO lists.

Are YOU haunted by these? Know they are out there lurking to challenge and shame you? I AM!!!

Here are some thoughts to guide you as you contemplate your next move against these demons.

Option #1: Look at them

Pros:

• They can serve as a reminder about some still very important priorities that may have fallen off your daily and weekly planners. Scheduling the tasks back in your life can get you on track to achieve your goals.
• They can give you a sense of accomplishment when you note what DID get done.
• They can give you a GOOD LAUGH at the things you thought were urgent.
• You can see that the world did not end because you were not able to get to a certain project.

Cons:

• Viewing what did NOT get done can make you feel frustrated or ashamed or angry.
• You are using time that might be better spent on doing your top 3 high priority tasks as you know them TODAY.

Option #2 Throw them out

Pros:

• You avoid any negative emotions that might arise
• You are able to move on from the past and be in the NOW

Cons:

• You might miss out on a learning opportunity. Insights you might gain include:
  • That there are simply not enough hours in a day/week/month/year to do what we all yearn to do.
  • Accepting the concept of limits can be liberating.
  • Our to do lists are sometimes not in alignment with our core values and/or abilities.
  • We might be trying to prove something to ourselves and/or others and that might not be a good thing.
  • Perhaps we are avoiding confronting something that could stir up uncomfortable thoughts and feeling.

My recommendation:
Take an hour or two off and, armed with a legal pad or journal, bring those lists to a coffee shop/library or other secret hideaway. Review them in a loving, self-accepting way. Jot down any thoughts that arise.
Then, like you would with the old tub of cream cheese that is festering in the back of the frig, growing green and black molds, TOSS the old to do lists out.
Onward to what calls to you NOW!