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5 Ways to get ready for September

September is undeniably one of the busiest times of the year. The kids are back in school, extra-curricular activities are back in full swing, and everyone is getting back to business. If you find yourself dreading the fall rush, here are 5 ways to get yourself ready for September right now.

1. Organize Your Kitchen. The kitchen is the heart of the home and having an organized kitchen not only makes things easier for you, but for your family as well. Here are a few things you can do  Purge any expired items from the pantry, cupboard and fridge. Sort your plastic containers and be realistic about how many you’ll actually need. Place a large calendar on the wall or fridge so everyone can see it and note everyone’s activities. Set up a ‘mail station’ with filing and recycling so you can take care of incoming mail immediately.

2. Organize your Closets. Figuring out what to wear in the morning can be a huge time waster. Go through each closet in the house and purge everything that’s worn out, you don’t like or doesn’t fit. Put the remaining items back in the closet with the hangers facing inwards. Then, as you wear certain items, place them back in the closet with the hangers facing out. At the end of six months, consider discarding anything that you haven’t worn.

3. Get your Paperwork under control.  For many households, managing paperwork can be a frustrating and seemingly never-ending task. If you don’t already have one, set up a simple filing system that allows you to not only file paperwork quickly, but also allows you to retrieve items as they’re needed. For most families, a two drawer filing cabinet with an alphabetized sorting system works perfectly.

4. Get ready to store all that amazing artwork! Throughout the year, your kids will inevitably bring home artwork that you, or they, may want to keep. Before the school year starts, purchase an item that will help you contain and organize items from each of the kids. Two great options are www.schoolfolio.com, which is large enough to hold those big projects and can separate different months or different years of artwork, and www.dynamicframes.com, which displays and stores your children’s artwork.

5. Create Vision Boards. This is not only a great way to use up old magazine and flyers lying around the house but it will also help put everyone in the right mindset for the upcoming school year. Sort through the magazines and have the kids pick images that make them feel positive, happy and

No matter what, September will bring a new kinds of chaos, but, if you set the stage right, it will be a chaos that you can easily manage and contain.

I have been waiting for months to get some curtains put up in the spare room of our new home. Although the entire process would end up taking less than 15 minutes, it had been something my husband and I had been putting off since we first moved in well over 6 months ago.

Finally, yesterday, the big moment arrived! Yayyyyy, curtains! And not only that, but my parents had generously donated a headboard they were no longer using so we were able to put that up as well.

After we finished hanging the curtains, mounting the headboard and tidying the room, something strange happened. I felt a strong desire to make everything else around me feel as put together as that room.

I proceeded to head down to the kitchen and cleared up papers that had been lingering on the counter for days, I put away shoes, hung up jackets, wiped countertops, took the garbage out, cleared out the recycling, loaded the dishwasher… I couldn’t stop!  I was on a roll!

Just the simple act of showing our house a little love and taking pride in just one small space, made me want to extend the same courtesy to everything around me. And, strangely enough, I found that even extended as far wanting to take better care of me.

I feel so incredibly blessed to be a part of a profession that allows me to create that feeling for clients every day. And it was a great reminder that organizing isn’t just about sorting or labelling – it’s about taking pride in something and telling yourself that you’re worthy of a space that is a reflection of who you are and the things that matter to you. And by taking care of your things, you’re actually taking better care of yourself.

Having just recently returned from a much needed holiday to the Southern States, I thought it would be a great idea to pass along some of my favorite travel tips to help keep you organized while travelling and ensure you have everything you need to have a great time!

1.  Pack a full change of weather specific clothes in your carry-on. So, for instance, if you’re traveling from Canada to California, make sure you pack a pair of flip flops, shorts, a tank top and bathing suit in your carry-on. If your luggage gets lost or delayed, you’re still all set for warm weather and lounging around the pool (what better way to wait out delayed luggage?)>

2.  If you’re travelling with someone else, pack a few of your items in their suitcase and vice versa. Again, on the off chance that one of your pieces of luggage gets lost, you’ll each have items in both suitcases.

3.  A week before you leave, start keeping a list of things you’ll need and write down items as you think of them (sunscreen, camera battery charger, ipod). It’s harder to remember what to pack when it gets closer to the time that you leave because you’re thinking about a thousand other things. And, additionally, once you’ve made the list, keep it in your files for next time. I had a list for camping items that I kept for years and used that every time I went out.

4.  Photocopy your drivers license, passport, credit cards and bank cards. Then let a relative or someone staying behind know where the documents could be retrieved should you require a copy of them while you’re away

5.  Empty all unnecessary items from your wallet. This could include gift cards, business cards, membership cards, receipts, extra credit cards, etc. In case your wallet gets lost or stolen, you’ll only have a few items to worry about. When travelling you should consider taking on the basics which would be a drivers license, credit card, bank card, health care card(s) and your passport.

6.  When packing clothes, consider whole outfits, not just individual pieces. This also includes underwear (a black bra under your white shirt may not be the best look – unless that’s what you go for), belts, shoes and accessories. Think each outfit through and be realistic about what you’re actually going to wear.

7.  Take extra plastic and/or cloth bags and ziplocs. Extra bags are great for keep dirty laundry separate and ziplocs work if you’re taking any items that may leak or stain. They’re also great for packing up snacks on the go.

8.  Once you’re packed, take a couple of quick pics of your suitcase. Again, in case anything gets lost or stolen, you’ll have a bit of a visual record of everything so you can remember what you had.

9.  Put your important travel documents (hotel info, airline tickets, travel vouchers) in your carry-on and make sure you put them back in the same place EVERY SINGLE TIME. Although I find I’m constantly checking to make sure I have my passport with me, there is only one side pouch in my carry on that I have to look in since I always keep it there. It keeps you from freaking out or having to dig through your bag or purse while people wait impatiently behind you.

10.  Give yourself more time than you think you’ll need. Trust me when I say that you’re far better off being early and bored than late and stressed. Unexpected things like accidents or long line ups at security can’t always be avoided, so it’s best to be early, grab a coffee and magazine and relax than start your vacation off annoyed, frustrated and panicked.

So enjoy the travel season – get out, have fun, enjoy your adventures!

Got any travel tips of your own? Please post them below!

Pop Quiz:

Take a quick look around. See clutter?

1. Yes
2. No

If you answered Yes, how long do you think it will take you to organize it?

1. No problem – 10 minutes or less
2. Roughly the same length of time it takes to watch Modern Family (which is, honestly, far more appealing)
3. There aren’t enough hours in a decade to handle this mess

If your answer was #3, I’ve got good news for you – This is simply not true. Most of us tend to think organizing our clutter is going to take much longer than it actually will, which is why it tends to keep piling up – it’s just too daunting.

However, the real truth is that it can be done a lot quicker than you think. Since spring is (hopefully) just around the corner, let’s use the garage as an example. And if we were to look at organizing like a recipe, it would likely look something like this:

1 cup of concentrated time (preferably in a high energy part of your day)
4 tablespoons of tools (garabage bags, recycling bin, donation pile, hazardous waste)
1 package of energy boosting music
*Optional:  1 glass of ‘fun’ (for hot days, we recommend something in a pale ale)

Once you’ve gathered your ingredients, set the timer. Organizing a large space can be really overwhelming if you commit an arbitrary number (ie: “I’m going to clean the garage today”). 1 cup of concentrated time needs to be something specific and reasonable based on your energy levels and the scale of the project. If you’re unsure how long it will take, start with 1 hour. And, if after 1 hour you’ve had enough, then walk away. No guilt. No remorse. You committed one hour and you completed one hour. Good for you. Pat yourself on the back and move on to something else.

If, however, you are determined to get it done, keep in mind that quick decisions are the key to success. Don’t dwell on an object. If you don’t love it or use it, get rid of it. If you find you do use it, but it’s not supposed to be in the garage, then establish a pile of objects that need to be taken someplace else. DO NOT take it where it needs to go. Not only does it waste time and energy but if you’re in ‘clean up’ mode, you’ll invariably find an object in another room that needs to be taken care of and it’s far too easy to stray off course. Keep your favorite tunes cranked, your glass half full and your mind on the prize – you can do this!

Sometimes, when I’m organizing, I get the mantra from ‘Finding Nemo’ in my head: “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.” Because that’s really all it is. Break it down into small pieces, deal with one thing at a time and just keep chipping away.

So, what happens when your time is up? First of all, congrats! You set a goal, stuck to it and now have a cleaner, more organized garage to show for it.  But don’t let the momentum stop there – don’t forget that you still have to deal with the piles of donations, garbage, recycling and waste.

If you’ve got some time, it’s likely worthwhile to save some cash and take care of the items yourself – drop off the donations at your local Sally Ann, take the big stuff to the dump, drop off your waste at a local firehall and throw your recycling in the big green bins. Whatever you do, try to deal with it as quickly as possible – the longer it sits there the less likely you are to deal with it.

So the next time you’re ready to tackle a space, keep the recipe in mind, set realistic expectations, and, above all, cut yourself some slack and don’t take it too seriously.

Happy Organizing! (and Happy Easter!)

Recently, I was waiting outside a car wash bay and started to do what I always do when I have a bit of free time – I organized. And while I realize this is normal for me, it’s likely not for everyone else.

So, here are 5 things you can do with just 5-10 spare minutes of time to keep yourself organized, your space clean and your life a little more clutter-free!

1.  Organize your wallet. Inevitably, when I’m at the doctors office, I find that once they put me in that little private room, there is nothing to do while I wait except read a few inspirational poster quotes and review pregnancy charts. So, what I do now is clean out my wallet. I go through receipts – rip up the ones that I don’t need and sort the ones I do need into a special section to be retrieved later. I check out my gift cards to remind myself what I’ve got and where I can spend my next guilt free shopping trip and  I remove old or expired membership cards for places I no longer frequent. Easy, simple and works as a good distraction from the coughing and hacking coming from the next room.

2.  Organize your purse (or murse, if you’re so inclined).  Got 5 more minutes? Then do the whole purse! Just like the wallet, go through each compartment and throw out unwanted or used items (gum wrappers, half used kleenex’s, old lip gloss, etc), sort and compartmentalize each item (pens and business cards in one section, personal items in another) and then put it back together – good as new. Only now hopefully a bit lighter and a lot more organized.

3.  Clean out your car.  Stuck in a car wash line-up? It’s a great time to clean your car on the inside as well. Go through your side door panels, glove compartment, middle console and the floor and follow the same rules as the purse – purge the garbage, sort and compartmentalize items that you’re keeping and, if you’ve got a bit more time, wipe down the dashboard and doors. And, after all that, if you’re feeling super ambitious, tackle the trunk.  It’s amazing what a difference 5-10 minutes and little concentrated effort can make. This is also great to do on long boring road trips (ever driven from Calgary to Saskatoon?). Of course, tackling the trunk may prove to be slightly more difficult, but, as a passenger, it’s fairly painless to go through your side door, glove compartment and middle console and give everything a bit of a wipe down. Just remember, safety first.

4.  Network.  For so many entrepreneurs, it’s hard to find an hour, let alone a few minutes in a day to keep on top of what matters most, which is being a great resource for our customers. So, the next time you find yourself sitting in the coffee shop, waiting for your client to arrive, pull out your smart phone and make a connection – Comment on a blog, post a tweet, search connections on LinkedIn – whatever it is, take advantage of it!

5.  Sort Your Mail.  Blech, you’re thinking  Who wants to sort mail?? (Besides me, of course).  Which is why doing it in short, quick increments can sometimes be best. If you find yourself with a few extra minutes before you have to head out the door, grab the recycle bin and go to town. Open up ALL of the envelopes (even if you know what’s in them) and recycle the envelope and any mail ‘spam’ they managed to stick in there along with it. Recycle old flyers, newspapers and direct mail notes for products or services you have no desire to purchase. Then sort the remaining papers into two piles – Stuff to file and Stuff to do. They’ll be a lot easier to handle now that you know exactly what you’ve got and what needs to be done. Now get out the door or you’re going to be late for your next appointment!

Bonus!  (This has nothing to do with organizing – it’s just one of my favorite tips)
6.  Read the Rags – for free!  Whenever I’m at the grocery store, I’m likely to be the only person looking for the longest line up. Why?  Because in the time that it takes for the longest line-up to make it’s way through the till, I am completely up to date on the latest fashion trends, who ‘Wore It Best’ and what makes Brad and Angelina the best and/or worst parents of the decade and/or century. And it didn’t cost me a dime.

I have found it increasingly ironic that in these past few weeks the reason I’ve been able to update my blog is due to a my own disorganization of time management.  It is both humbling and, let’s be honest, slightly embarrassing to admit it, considering what I do for a living.

However, within the irony, I have been able to take comfort in knowing this has given me a unique look into the lives of my clients.

Over the past 10 years my life, for the most part, has been fairly status quo – there were a few job changes and a couple of moves, but never a whole lot at once and nothing I hadn’t been through before.  Then 2010 hit and my life took off in all kinds of wonderful and crazy directions – new marriage, new house, new career, education upgrade – and, all of a sudden, I found that keeping up with housework, organizing the mail, doing the laundry, eating healthy and working out were no longer the second nature tasks I had once enjoyed.  They were slowly eating away at my sanity as I tried to figure out how I was going to manage the once molehill-like tasks that had grown quickly into mountains.

During one particular task that focused on time management I suddenly realized that it’s really easy to stay and keep organized when life is structured and predictable.  But when you find yourself in unfamiliar territory like welcoming a new baby or starting a new career, things can get awfully chaotic, awfully fast.  And it’s because you haven’t had a chance to figure out where these new things fit that leaves in a constant state of panic.

In my case, the good news is that, eventually, the tornado slowed to a wind gust and the wind gust to a breeze and, in that time, I found a place to breathe, refocus and reset my priorities.  And I let go of the notion that they’re going to be the same as before, as long as I was still giving myself the time I needed to take care of me.  It’s easy to put ourselves and our needs at the bottom of the pile, but, if you do that, there’s only so long you can run on empty.

I am very grateful for the lesson this has taught me and for the opportunity it has given me to relate to my clients. To be able to say ‘I understand’, and truly mean it, is a gift.