Sunday, November 23, 2008
Organizing Tips!!
Get a desktop shredder or standard shredder. Reduce the risk of identity theft and shred anything with an account number. Shred as you go so you don’t get buried in “shredding to do’s”
Friday, November 21, 2008
Organizing Tips!!
Procrastinating on a task? Use a timer, give yourself 15 minutes to do it and see how it goes. The momentum almost inevitably sets in. Just gotta get over the hump.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Organizing Tips!!
On birthdays and Christmas store away a few gifts for a rainy day. What a great surprise to get a new toy a month or two after the birthday or holiday. Kids get inundated with gifts…they won’t miss one or two plus they’ll be so excited to get them AGAIN!
Monday, November 17, 2008
Cost of Getting Organized - Priceless
Cost of Getting Organized -- Priceless
Five bottles of Windex, expired food and over $50,000 in expired checks. These are the real life things that get uncovered through the organizing process. This is neither minimizing nor exaggerating. Just as “organized” is a relative term so is the value of the results. Every client engagement is a new opportunity to change someone’s life for the better.
A bottle of Windex costs about four dollars. No big deal right? Wrong. Think about that as one of the dozens of product that a disorganized home has in duplicate, if not multiples. This adds up. In today’s economy some families do not have the luxury of continually replacing what’s misplaced; a family should however invest to create efficiencies that last a lifetime.
The average cost of a meal out for a family of four is between $30 and $100. The cost to prepare the same meal at home is a fraction of the price. Getting organized in the home and kitchen with simple menu planning and organizing basics can bring back family dinner at home and save hundreds, even thousands of dollars each year. Poor meal planning is not only costly due to last minute eating out but also with food that doesn’t get used and goes bad.
Life happens, sometimes life happens all at once and brings with it a mound of paperwork, a truck load of stress and some overwhelm just for good measure. When family members get sick, pass away or need help we deal with the emotion and grief while drowning in the details. Getting paperwork organized saves time and money, (over $50,000.00 for one client), and can alleviate the suffocating feeling.
Decide you’re worth it. Decide to invest in your emotional, physical and spiritual well being by creating, for yourself, a truly amazing and beautifully functional space.
Invest in getting organized.
Five bottles of Windex, expired food and over $50,000 in expired checks. These are the real life things that get uncovered through the organizing process. This is neither minimizing nor exaggerating. Just as “organized” is a relative term so is the value of the results. Every client engagement is a new opportunity to change someone’s life for the better.
A bottle of Windex costs about four dollars. No big deal right? Wrong. Think about that as one of the dozens of product that a disorganized home has in duplicate, if not multiples. This adds up. In today’s economy some families do not have the luxury of continually replacing what’s misplaced; a family should however invest to create efficiencies that last a lifetime.
The average cost of a meal out for a family of four is between $30 and $100. The cost to prepare the same meal at home is a fraction of the price. Getting organized in the home and kitchen with simple menu planning and organizing basics can bring back family dinner at home and save hundreds, even thousands of dollars each year. Poor meal planning is not only costly due to last minute eating out but also with food that doesn’t get used and goes bad.
Life happens, sometimes life happens all at once and brings with it a mound of paperwork, a truck load of stress and some overwhelm just for good measure. When family members get sick, pass away or need help we deal with the emotion and grief while drowning in the details. Getting paperwork organized saves time and money, (over $50,000.00 for one client), and can alleviate the suffocating feeling.
Decide you’re worth it. Decide to invest in your emotional, physical and spiritual well being by creating, for yourself, a truly amazing and beautifully functional space.
Invest in getting organized.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Organizing Tips
Organize your kitchen from the back to the front. Use the way back, high shelves for the items that you pull out once a year, put the occasional items midway and the everyday items close to the front and down low.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Organizing Tips!!
Use a wire riser under the bathroom and kitchen sink to double up your space. Rolls of TP or other small items can fit underneath.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Organizing Tips!!
IKEA has a very cool and colorful hanging sorter for kids rooms. This is great for stuffed animals or lightweight toys. Use the one in, one out rule to keep from overpopulating the stuffed animal kingdom at your house.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Organizing Tips!!
Brace yourself ladies! Use the one in, one out rule for shoes. Yes, I said it. I know they are shoes – I LOVE SHOES but, if here is dust on them it’s time to let them go. If they give you blisters let them go. If they need repair, repair them or let them go.
www.asimpleplanconsulting.com
www.asimpleplanconsulting.com
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Organizing Tips!!
Donate books, magazines and videos that are collecting dust to the local library. You can build your library and get a tax write off. Any books they can’t use are sold to benefit the library.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Organizing Tips!!
Go vertical in your closet by using hanging shoe holders to keep shoes off the floor.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Organizing Tips!!
If cable modems, wireless devices and surge protectors are cluttering up your desktop and floor Velcro them to the back of your desk and wrap the cables with twist ties or rubber bands to keep your area clear.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Organizing Tips!!
If you take your shoes off in the garage before entering the house us a hanging shoe sorter for shoes. (like the ones that hang on the back of the door) Hang it on the wall low enough so that every member of the family has pockets at their height.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Mission: Situational Disorganization
Remember the Flintstones and the dreaded closet where everything fell out on Fred’s head? If you’re younger than it would be the closet that the Kraft brothers open on Zamboomafoo. Or maybe it’s your real life closet. Do you open the door just wide enough to get your arm in so you can hold back what’s falling?
How does it happen? How do wonderfully organized, intelligent people get so overwhelmed and disorganized? In the professional organizing field this is considered situational disorganization. An event or series of events occur in life that takes our feet right out from underneath us and we get behind or we lose the umph for keeping things in order.
These do not have to be bad things; the birth of a baby, a child goes off to college, change of careers. Sometimes these things are more challenging; loss of a parent and gain of their stuff, moving to a smaller home, starting a business. All of these events are considered to be in the top 10 of stressful events in life – what if you have a few at a time! Whoa…hold on.
So what if the clutter takes less meaning while all of this is going on? No big deal unless it adds to your stress. During the time of change and grief we need to be kind to ourselves and allow ourselves to heal. We also need to keep moving in a forward direction so we don’t stay stuck.
So how do we keep the clutter from sucking our energy from us?
Do a little at a time. One drawer at a time. One shelf at a time. Ask for help from a friend or professional. Invest a few minutes to reduce stress – you would be amazed at the momentum that gets going when you just step in and start.
Give yourself the gift of stress reduction and order when all else seems to be going crazy! You deserve it!
Kelli Wilson is a professional organizer and owner of A Simple Plan Consulting. Kelli started A Simple Plan in 2005 with the intention to help others reduce stress and find serenity by reducing clutter and streamlining their homes. Kelli is President of the Sacramento Chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers, a disciplined martial artist and mother of two. She strives for serenity in her life which she knows is contagious to those who desire it. Kelli can be reached at 916 765 6104 or Kelli@asimpleplanconsulting.com. Her website is www.asimpleplanconsulting.com
How does it happen? How do wonderfully organized, intelligent people get so overwhelmed and disorganized? In the professional organizing field this is considered situational disorganization. An event or series of events occur in life that takes our feet right out from underneath us and we get behind or we lose the umph for keeping things in order.
These do not have to be bad things; the birth of a baby, a child goes off to college, change of careers. Sometimes these things are more challenging; loss of a parent and gain of their stuff, moving to a smaller home, starting a business. All of these events are considered to be in the top 10 of stressful events in life – what if you have a few at a time! Whoa…hold on.
So what if the clutter takes less meaning while all of this is going on? No big deal unless it adds to your stress. During the time of change and grief we need to be kind to ourselves and allow ourselves to heal. We also need to keep moving in a forward direction so we don’t stay stuck.
So how do we keep the clutter from sucking our energy from us?
Do a little at a time. One drawer at a time. One shelf at a time. Ask for help from a friend or professional. Invest a few minutes to reduce stress – you would be amazed at the momentum that gets going when you just step in and start.
Give yourself the gift of stress reduction and order when all else seems to be going crazy! You deserve it!
Kelli Wilson is a professional organizer and owner of A Simple Plan Consulting. Kelli started A Simple Plan in 2005 with the intention to help others reduce stress and find serenity by reducing clutter and streamlining their homes. Kelli is President of the Sacramento Chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers, a disciplined martial artist and mother of two. She strives for serenity in her life which she knows is contagious to those who desire it. Kelli can be reached at 916 765 6104 or Kelli@asimpleplanconsulting.com. Her website is www.asimpleplanconsulting.com
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Getting ready for weather changes
We're getting ready to start changing from shorts and tanks to warmer clothes, our closets are getting ready to transition. Our warm blankets are coming out. The BBQ may be traded in for the crock pot!
If you are ready to transform and declutter to get ready for the cooler weather and the holidays call me! I can give you lots of tips and ideas for keeping it simple!
Let's talk!
Kelli
kelli@asimpleplanconsulting.com
www.asimpleplanconsulting.com
If you are ready to transform and declutter to get ready for the cooler weather and the holidays call me! I can give you lots of tips and ideas for keeping it simple!
Let's talk!
Kelli
kelli@asimpleplanconsulting.com
www.asimpleplanconsulting.com
Monday, September 29, 2008
Taking care of you
For a long time I have known that what you focus on grows but I often forgot or distrusted. I got a refreshed version this weekend. I heard it said that with every shadow there is a light....for without the light there could be no shadow (well duh!). But I heard it with different ears this weekend. So when it seems dark in the shadow we need only turn around and face the light. Seems simple but that 180 degrees can seem insurmountable sometimes...whether it's life stuff or clutter it can feel too hard!
Maybe you can just turn your eyes a little, then your head, then your whole body - little and at a time if that's what it takes.
Look for the gift in things!
Kelli
www.asimpleplanconsulting.com
Maybe you can just turn your eyes a little, then your head, then your whole body - little and at a time if that's what it takes.
Look for the gift in things!
Kelli
www.asimpleplanconsulting.com
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Amazing Women
Our eWomen Sales and Marketing Summit was a huge success yesterday. Sheila Stewart our keynote rocked the stage with her "head trash" battle tips. Our panel of experts were amazing and even more dialed in with their break out sessions. Darla Givens was an amazing moderator for our lively panel disussion. eWomen Network is where you need to be to build your business and meet women who can help you get to the next level.
ask me for more information kelli@asimpleplanconsulting.com
ask me for more information kelli@asimpleplanconsulting.com
Monday, September 22, 2008
Your Clutter Can Be Enlightening
En.light.en.ing – to give spiritual or intellectual thought to
Think about this – Our external environment is a reflection of our mental and emotional condition.
Now drop down into your heart and take a look around. Do your feelings match your desktop or your garage? Are you always searching for something? Are you often overwhelmed? Are you over-extended? Where are you on your priority list? If you are nodding your head or saying yes out loud let‘s get real with it, let’s break it down.
Organized is a relative term. Having an organized desk top, organized schedule or organized home means something different to everyone. The key question to ask in each and every space is “How’s that workin’ for you? (I’m channeling Dr. Phil). And the truth is that we have to really get honest, I mean REALLY honest, about what is working for us. We can’t let the fear of taking action allow us to convince ourselves that it’s working for us. Nor can we continue to allow excuses for what creates stress in our lives – there is choice in everything we do – sometimes we have to look a little deeper for it.
So what if you say, “I work and I don’t have time to be organized.” I say emphatically you can’t afford NOT to be organized. Imagine taking a few minutes before you run out the door in the morning to pick a few things up so when you walk in the door at the end of the day it “feels” better. Breathe. Imagine taking a few minutes each night before bed to set the things you need by the door so you don’t rush around in the morning. Breathe. Imagine taking a few minutes each week to plan meals so you don’t have to spend the money and calories to eat out. Breathe. Really, it only has to take a few minutes, when our hair is not on fire, to gain so much on the other side.
What if it were as simple as “You deserve to take a few minutes of time for yourself today to avoid the stress tomorrow?” Look at that statement and how it feels when you say “I deserve it”. Do you believe it? I mean really believe that you deserve to take the time for you?
Professional organizers are almost always high energy “doers” and “givers”. We want to help people find solutions for their own stress and disorganization. While I have always been organized and work well with a goal in sight I have been “enlightened” lately about life and the stuff attached to it. I have been comforted by the retail therapy…until the bill comes. I have been comforted by the chocolate bar…until I feel nauseous. The common denominator was always that I was searching externally to be comforted. Millions and millions of Americans do this with shopping, collecting and hanging on to stuff.
I challenge you now, as I have challenged myself, to look at whether the stuff around you is adding to the amazing life you want to have or taking the very breath of life from you each day! Yes it sounds dramatic, but it’s true, we may have become numb to it or deny that it affects us to the degree it does, but clutter and disorganization creates stress. You know it’s true…
So where do you begin? You just do. Write down three things you can do to feel more organized and do them consistently. Maybe it’s the three I gave you above. Do this for you because you deserve it. Talk to a friend, get an accountability partner, hire a professional if you can, take a single action to get the momentum going. You can do it!
Think about this – Our external environment is a reflection of our mental and emotional condition.
Now drop down into your heart and take a look around. Do your feelings match your desktop or your garage? Are you always searching for something? Are you often overwhelmed? Are you over-extended? Where are you on your priority list? If you are nodding your head or saying yes out loud let‘s get real with it, let’s break it down.
Organized is a relative term. Having an organized desk top, organized schedule or organized home means something different to everyone. The key question to ask in each and every space is “How’s that workin’ for you? (I’m channeling Dr. Phil). And the truth is that we have to really get honest, I mean REALLY honest, about what is working for us. We can’t let the fear of taking action allow us to convince ourselves that it’s working for us. Nor can we continue to allow excuses for what creates stress in our lives – there is choice in everything we do – sometimes we have to look a little deeper for it.
So what if you say, “I work and I don’t have time to be organized.” I say emphatically you can’t afford NOT to be organized. Imagine taking a few minutes before you run out the door in the morning to pick a few things up so when you walk in the door at the end of the day it “feels” better. Breathe. Imagine taking a few minutes each night before bed to set the things you need by the door so you don’t rush around in the morning. Breathe. Imagine taking a few minutes each week to plan meals so you don’t have to spend the money and calories to eat out. Breathe. Really, it only has to take a few minutes, when our hair is not on fire, to gain so much on the other side.
What if it were as simple as “You deserve to take a few minutes of time for yourself today to avoid the stress tomorrow?” Look at that statement and how it feels when you say “I deserve it”. Do you believe it? I mean really believe that you deserve to take the time for you?
Professional organizers are almost always high energy “doers” and “givers”. We want to help people find solutions for their own stress and disorganization. While I have always been organized and work well with a goal in sight I have been “enlightened” lately about life and the stuff attached to it. I have been comforted by the retail therapy…until the bill comes. I have been comforted by the chocolate bar…until I feel nauseous. The common denominator was always that I was searching externally to be comforted. Millions and millions of Americans do this with shopping, collecting and hanging on to stuff.
I challenge you now, as I have challenged myself, to look at whether the stuff around you is adding to the amazing life you want to have or taking the very breath of life from you each day! Yes it sounds dramatic, but it’s true, we may have become numb to it or deny that it affects us to the degree it does, but clutter and disorganization creates stress. You know it’s true…
So where do you begin? You just do. Write down three things you can do to feel more organized and do them consistently. Maybe it’s the three I gave you above. Do this for you because you deserve it. Talk to a friend, get an accountability partner, hire a professional if you can, take a single action to get the momentum going. You can do it!
Friday, August 1, 2008
TGIF
Hi - I spent some time with a friend earlier this week talking about finding our passion in what we do...I think some people never find this and think that a job is a job and it's not supposed to be fun...I know that belief is inside me somewhere trying to sabotage my dreams. I am doing what I love and what I am amazing at...helping people find peace through clearing clutter. It's clear to me it's not about the stuff and that addictive behavior, whether eating, shopping, stashing stuff or clutter - takes away from our spirit. Tell me what you think!
I want to hear about that and I am fascinated by the voices in people's heads...does yours say you can do anything? Does it say "you're great"? Does it say "You suck?"
Please share
Kelli
I want to hear about that and I am fascinated by the voices in people's heads...does yours say you can do anything? Does it say "you're great"? Does it say "You suck?"
Please share
Kelli
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Late Bloomer Blogger
Hi Everyone
Well...I DID IT! I'm blogging. Sometimes you just gotta step into the unknown and put on your "big girl britches" as one of my friends say....and do it!
So - My intention is to blog, my intention is to share my organizing expertise and my intention is to share the goings on of a woman business owner with 2 busy kids in beautiful California.
I am a Professional Organizer - yes that's what I said. Some people immediately say "I need you" and some say "What the heck does that mean?" For those who need me - I say! Let's talk. For those who don't know - I help people get their life back from their clutter. It's AMAZING...it's not about the stuff...there's is so much more to it! I am also a partner in a business that helps Professional Organizers get going...Educating Organizers.com. Check us out. My business A Simple Plan Consulting is transforming into something amazing! If you haven't heard about Micheal Gerber...google that guy and buy his books.
So...I've stepped off into this amazing life of business ownership, abundant life and love and blogging...talk to you soon.
Kelli
Well...I DID IT! I'm blogging. Sometimes you just gotta step into the unknown and put on your "big girl britches" as one of my friends say....and do it!
So - My intention is to blog, my intention is to share my organizing expertise and my intention is to share the goings on of a woman business owner with 2 busy kids in beautiful California.
I am a Professional Organizer - yes that's what I said. Some people immediately say "I need you" and some say "What the heck does that mean?" For those who need me - I say! Let's talk. For those who don't know - I help people get their life back from their clutter. It's AMAZING...it's not about the stuff...there's is so much more to it! I am also a partner in a business that helps Professional Organizers get going...Educating Organizers.com. Check us out. My business A Simple Plan Consulting is transforming into something amazing! If you haven't heard about Micheal Gerber...google that guy and buy his books.
So...I've stepped off into this amazing life of business ownership, abundant life and love and blogging...talk to you soon.
Kelli
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