General

I’ve worked with several clients recently who have the best of intentions when it comes to preserving their children’s memories but, in practice, it’s hard to keep up. You know, that pesky thing called ‘life’ always seems to get in the way.

But I do believe it important to find a way to take care of the projects, paintings and awards that matter most – not just to your children, but to you. For this reason, I recommend that everyone keep a Memory Bin.

First off, if you’re doing one for your children, decide up front how much physical space your children’s memories will take up. I tend to recommend 1 medium sized bin for school and extracurricular activities and perhaps another bin to preserve favourite childhood toys and books that they might like to pass down to their children one day.

Once you’ve determined the size of memory space, the ideal way is to preserve your children’s school work in chronological order. Because children’s work is often larger than regular sized paper, use a large butterfly clip to secure the years together. You can lay the paper flat in the bin and add to it as the years go by.

So, now the big question…. how do I know what to keep?? In order to ensure you’re keeping the ‘best of the best’, keep 1 years worth of school and artwork in a separate bin that is easily accessible. Then, when school is out for the year, quickly sort through it and pick the best examples of what your child accomplished that year; A test they studied really hard on, a piece of artwork about your family, their report card, etc. Always keeping in mind that whatever you keep has to fit within your memory bin. The more you keep from one year, the less you may be able to keep from another, so be selective.

(If you’ve got years worth of memories piled up and very little spare time on your hands, don’t worry about sorting chronologically for now. Just make sure the best of the best is preserved in a bin for them and move on. Better yet, if they’re old enough, have them do up their own bins!)

Another big question I get… cards. Should you keep them? Cards are definitely an item that a lot of people have trouble parting with. My own personal philosophy? I heard once about the 5 week, 5 month and 5 year rule, which I use often when deciding what to keep and what not to keep. The question you need to ask yourself is “Will this matter to me in 5 weeks? 5 months? 5 years?” When it comes to cards, they are likely to feel special 5 weeks from now, less so 5 months from now and really 5 years from now? Using this rule should eliminate keeping 95% of the cards that you receive. And don’t feel guilty. The person who sent you that card is never going to ask “What happened to that card I sent you with pictures of my kids when they were 3. Do you still have it?”

And last but not least, don’t forget a Memory Bin for yourself!  You can keep special notes from your kids, your first business card (but just ONE will do), achievements, your own childhood memories, etc.

A Memory Bin is not just a way to keep memories – it’s also a great way to share the story of who a person is and what mattered most to them. So take the time to make sure that the bins of yourself and your family are truly reflective of the type of person that they are or will become.

How about you? Pro or Con Memory Bin? Share your thoughts below!

It’s likely not your favorite chore, but spring cleaning is a great time to give your home a clean slate and a fresh start. You have a really good idea of what was and wasn’t used over the winter months and can use that information to sort and purge accordingly. Here are 3 areas of the home that are ideal places to organize in the springtime:

1.  Your Closets! And that means all your closets including bedrooms, spare rooms, front entry, back entry and even the linen closet. First, start with the easy items. Any coats that are dated, old or worn out, get rid of them. You should also get rid of any items you didn’t wear this past season. Even if they’re in good shape, if you didn’t wear them this past winter, you’re not likely to wear them next year either. Also go through your footwear and winter accessories like mitts, hats and scarves. Once you’ve purged, if you’re still short on closet space, consider storing off season clothing on higher shelving or under the bed in bins or vacuum seal bags.

Once you’ve done all of the clothing closets, hit the linen closet. It’s often overlooked when clearing out closets. Be realistic about how many sheet sets and towels you actually need. Donate any unwanted items to your local animal shelter.

2.  Your Garage. We all know what your poor garage looks like after a long hard winter. Items thrown into a heap, random bags of garbage, dust covered bins of sporting equipment and hardly used tools. Garages aren’t always the most fun place to spring clean, but if you spend the time cleaning it when it’s warm, you’ll be able to park bothcars in there come winter!

The best way to tackle the garage is on a sunny day. Open the door and use the driveway to sort everything. Also, if you can, plan ahead to have a truck to haul away any items to donations or the landfill. Once you’ve decided you don’t want something, you should get rid of it that same day. Use bins and shelving to keep everything else organized. Or, depending on your budget look at installing some customizable options like built in tool or overhead storage.

3.  Storage Spaces. Again, the job isn’t glamorous, but if you do it now, you’ll be making things easier for yourself in the long run. I suggest doing the storage once in the spring and once in the fall. In each season, rotate items forward that you’ll need for the next 6 months. In spring, pull forward any camping gear, sporting equipment or gardening supplies. In the fall, bring forward all of your Christmas decorations and winter items. Once again, make sure you keep only what you’re actually using and keep it stored in clearly labeled bins. And, depending on the size of your storage room, shelving is a great option to help utilize vertical space.

Dedicating a small amount of time to Spring Organizing will pay off in huge dividends for the rest of the year. Happy Organizing!

Let me start this blog by saying this: “Stop Being So Hard On Yourself!”

I’ve had a number of clients lately express their frustration on how everyone else is organized except them. They seem to continually compare themselves to a friend, neighbour or, a lot of times, a parent, who was so much more organized than them and they think they have somehow failed. My female clients in particular are especially hard on themselves. And I’ll tell you what I’ve told them:

“Stop being so hard on yourself!”

Yes, of course some people are organized, but that doesn’t make them better people than you. Just because someone has different priorities, doesn’t make them right and you wrong, or vice versa. If you wish you could have a more organized home, then don’t hesitate! Get started today and, if you’re not too sure where to start, call someone who can help you get started – a friend, a colleague, a Professional Organizer. It doesn’t matter.

However, the thought of bringing someone in to help out brings me to another challenge that a lot my clients face – they feel guilty getting help because they don’t like to admit they can’t do it on their own. To which I reply, why should you?  We hire people to do things for us all the time. It doesn’t mean we’re not always capable. What it means is that we know there are others who are better at something than we are so we trust them to help us out. The same applies to getting organized. I do it for others because I love it, it is my passion and I’m good at it. So it makes sense for me, or any other person passionate about organizing, to help you out so you can get back to doing the things that YOU are passionate and knowledgable about.

And lastly, let’s just remember this – Life gets busy and sometimes the reason your house gets messy is because it’s busy being lived in and that’s not always a bad thing.

Hiring someone to help you organize is not an admission of defeat, it is an acknowledgement that you are ready to move forward and are taking the best possible steps to do it as effectively and efficiently as possible.

So, please, if I can say it one more time… Stop Being So Hard on Yourself!

I’ve recently found it difficult to update this blog as it’s hard to write about the tips and tricks of organizing when your life has taken such a dramatic turn.

As you may have read, in January I told you how my Mom had been diagnosed with liver cancer. On February 7th, exactly 3 months after her diagnosis, she passed away  We were blessed to have been by her side in her final days and, as mother’s often do, she was the one comforting us, having no fear of leaving this world as she knew exactly where she was going. As one of my Mom’s friends so eloquently put it “Heaven is a better place now.” I couldn’t agree more.

Today, I write this blog as a tribute to her and all that she was and all that she taught me.

I have never known anyone kinder. She was always thinking of others, putting their needs before her own.   There wasn’t a visit home that didn’t have an abundance of my favourite meals and desserts waiting to be enjoyed. She loved taking care of her family and making us all feel so special.

She made the best pecan pie I’ve ever tasted. And whenever I smell fresh baked bread, I think of her in her kitchen, with her marble rolling pin and the counter covered in flour as she kneaded dough and formed it into perfectly rounded buns that were mouth-wateringly delicious and lighter than air. (I recently tried to emulate these masterful creations. Mine came out dense as biscuits.)

She was a woman who loved to smile and laugh – nothing brought her more joy than being around her family. On several occasions, I can remember her and I laughing so hard, I could barely breathe as tears streamed down my face.

She loved to play games with our family, especially at the holidays when we were all together. I am smiling now thinking of every game of yahtzee, crokinole, uno, scrabble and triominos – all hold such wonderful memories and inside jokes that only those closest to her will truly understand. These are moments I treasure every single day.

No one could comfort me like she could. Whenever I felt blue, I knew I could call her and instantly feel better. After a particularly wrenching bought of food poisoning (which I encountered while out of the country), I called her once I was back in Calgary and, even though I was feeling better, she insisted on coming for the night just to give me a hug and make sure I was okay. She brought me ginger ale and stroked my hair as I recalled my pitiful ordeal.

On her final days, she gave me a piece of advice that I found particularly poignant coming from her. “Don’t try to be all things to all people.”, she told me. This certainly wasn’t the first time I’d heard this but coming from her and knowing who she was, it resonated strongly. Whenever I find myself trying to decide what’s best for me, I hear those words of advice and make a decision that I know honours those special words, her last gift to me.

When you think of all the words that describe a wonderful Mom, you are describing mine. I am so grateful that she was my Mom and although I miss her every day I know she lives on in me and every single life that she touched. It is my hope that I take a little piece of her everywhere I go and continue to pass on her joy, her kindness, her warmth and her love to everyone that I meet.

Mom – thank you for all the wonderful gifts that you gave me. I could not ask for a better angel to watch over me.

On November 8, 2011, at 7pm I heard the word everyone dreads: “Cancer”. As I was just about to sit down at my monthly organizing meeting, my Dad called to tell me that our worst fears had been confirmed. My Mom had been diagnosed with liver cancer. I was in complete shock…. and still am.

It’s amazing how quickly life can change, isn’t it? Things that seemed so important no longer are. You’re not too sure how to function normally – or what ‘normal’ even is anymore. I remember feeling like I was seeing the world through a bubble – nothing seemed real. I’ve heard people write about it but I had been lucky enough never to have experienced it until now.

Surprisingly, my work became a much needed security blanket and I continue to be grateful that I get to wake up every day and know that I’m doing something that I love and that I’m helping people along the way. When you suddenly realize that life is short, there is great comfort in knowing you’re spending your days in a meaningful way.

It also amazes me to see and hear how many people this has affected in such direct ways. The number of my clients who have suffered through the cancer of their siblings, their spouses or even themselves. I cannot express what it means to me to be able to help these people. To be able to do a job that helps them move forward. And it is also incredibly meaningful for me to see that things can get better, that life does move on and that true happiness is possible again.

For those that are suffering through this illness right now – whether it’s a friend, family member or yourself – my thoughts and prayers go out to you. Stay strong. Have hope. Find peace.

When working with my clients, many of them say to me “I’d love to see your house. I bet it’s immaculate.” And I always answer the same way, “No, it’s definitely not. It’s often a bit messy. But, the difference is, when I’m ready to clean up, I know exactly where everything goes.”

That’s one of the biggest hurdles for most people when it comes to organizing. They want to get organized, but as they start, they find themselves with an ever-growing pile of “I don’t know where these belong” and get frustrated and disheartened and give up.  

One of the major benefits of being organized is being able to put things away in a space that suits them. No cramming, no shoving, no bending, no breaking – just place it in it’s container and move on to the next.  

If you find that you’re ready to get organized but aren’t too sure what to do with seemingly random items, ask yourself “If I were to use this, where would I use it?” For example, if it’s floss, you’d most likely use it in the bathroom, so that’s where it should be kept. But what about items like, for instance, a flashlight? It could be used anywhere, you’re thinking. So put in the place your mind would most likely look for it first. If the power were to go out, where would you most likely look for it? Maybe your bedside table, or a kitchen drawer or maybe the closet. We all have slightly different ways of doing things so try to tap into what makes the most logical sense for you.

For other items, you may find that you store them in several places in the house; items like scissors, pens, notepads are a good example of this. And that’s okay to store them in several different areas of the home, you just want to do it in a spot that makes sense to you.  

And finally, don’t be afraid to change your mind  You may think the logical place for items is one spot but can never remember where it is. We’re constantly evolving and changing so it makes sense that the way we do and see things does as well.  

Do you have something in your home that you just can’t figure out what to do with? Post your comments below!