NAPO-NC Responds to Quality of Life Study with Four Success Strategies

In the spirit of GO MONTH (Get Organized) I had to share the results of this recent study on Quality of Life as it relates to organization.

Triangle – RALEIGH, NC. – In a recent survey conducted by the National Association of Professional Organizers, 96% of respondents stated that they could gain more time at home if they were better organized, and a surprising 91% claimed the same in their professional lives. In fact, 71% went so far as to state that the quality of their lives would improve if they were more organized.

Clearly these numbers indicate why so many people make “getting organized” a New Year’s resolution. For those planning to tackle their personal or professional organization in 2011, the North Carolina chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO-NC) offers the following strategies:

1. Be specific. Lori Bruhns, President of NAPO-NC, suggests that “’Getting organized’ is too vague for someone to actually tackle. Instead, we encourage people to specify ways in which they would like to become more organized, such as ‘I’d like to streamline my morning routine’ or ‘I want to leave work with a cleared desktop.’”

2. Take baby steps. NAPO-NC Treasurer Tracey Gritz, notes that “Sometimes a job seems insurmountable. Taken all at once, it may be. But, if you stop and list out all of the small steps that it takes to get to the end, you suddenly have series of very do-able tasks that will lead to the successful completion of your goal.”

3. Reward yourself. “Take the time to play a board game with your family, go out for coffee with a friend, invite people over to celebrate, or take a long bath to reflect how far you have come in the space,” states Stefanie Watkins, NAPO-NC’s Vice President.

4. Enlist support. Karen Krasner, Director of Community Relations for NAPO-NC, recommends “telling a friend or family member what you hope to accomplish and when you plan to finish. Ask them to keep you accountable by checking in with you periodically to see how it’s going.”

If you are one of the 96% of people who believe they could save time at home by being more organized, implement the above strategies and contact me! I can help with a one-on-one organizational assessment of your home or office and provide hands-on help to clear the clutter and simplify your life.  Call or e-mail: 317-867-1540 or jnusbaum (at) simplifiedspaces (dot) net.

Originally posted 2011-01-13 08:30:45. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

GO Month’s “Great Organizing Give Away”

Getting organized consistently tops the list of New Years Resolutions. Many people use the start of a new year to make goals to improve their lives, and becoming more organized can help save time and money, increase productivity, enhance one’s quality of life, and reduce stress. In fact, in its most recent national survey, the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) found that 91 percent felt they could be more efficient at work if they were better organized. Overall, 71 percent indicated their quality of life would improve with more organization.

Although just about everyone seems to understand the benefits of being organized, it’s not always easy to figure out just where to start.  To offer people solutions to become more organized in their office, with their time and in their home, professional organizers from around the globe are joining together to participate in the first ever “Great Organizing Give Away” to celebrate January as Get Organized (GO) month.

On January 25, 2010 seekers of organization and productivity wisdom can go to www.AskTheOrganizingExperts.com and sign up for free resources such as ebooks, tip sheets, audio programs and more as well as opportunities to enter into drawings for amazing prizes. Organizing information will be categorized into three main categories:

• your office
• your time
• your home

Business professionals, parents, students and seniors will all find expert resources to help them make 2010 their best year yet.

The Organizing Genie is excited to have been invited to participate in the Great Organizing Giveaway.  More details soon.

Happy GO Month!

Originally posted 2010-01-23 23:44:30. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Garage Sales 101 – Preparing, pricing and advertising

Here’s the next installment in our Garage Sales 101 series. Today I’ll talking about how to attract potential buyers for your sale, preparing your stuff and pricing.

Step 3: How to Attract Buyers to a Garage Sale

Advertising is obviously a very critical planning task – without bringing in lots of potential buyers, you cannot have a financially rewarding sale. The time and effort invested in having a garage sale is significant, so it makes sense to invest time in promoting your sale to ensure you get the biggest bang for your time investment. Here are some thoughts and tips for promoting your garage sale:

Advertise, Advertise, Advertise

Look for free or very low-cost ways to get the word out about your sale. Neighborhood newsletter, local community papers and signs strategically placed on the street are also good options.

• Capitalize on the internet – I’ve had two garage sales in the past two years and I found Craig’s List to be the best free way to advertise a garage sale.  Several visitors to my sale shared with me that they go to Craig’s List on Friday or Saturday morning to print out the garage sales they want to attend. Then they map their route. I did not do any paid advertising for either of my garage sales after I learned about Craig’s List. Another online resource is http://www.garagesalestracker.com/.
• E-mail friends and family who can pass it along to others. I even shared my garage sale information with Facebook friends and had two people attend that had read it on Facebook. One visitor from Facebook was actually an old high school friend who I’d not seen in 30 years.
• Signs – Make sure these are visible from a distance. Avoid pastel colors, and use block lettering. If your location is not obvious from the address, you will need to post directional signs on the day of the sale. Arrows at each corner also are helpful. Remember to remove the signs once your sale is over.

Step 4: Preparing the Stuff

As you prepare your items for sale, be sure to:

• Search through pockets, purses, and books. You may find items reflecting personal information such as credit cards, Social Security numbers, cards or pictures with sentimental value, or even money. I recall several years ago when I was selling some of my grandmother’s items when she was downsizing, I found a c. 1875 bill in one of her purses.
• Put big items in view of people from the street. This entices buyers to stop. Since certain items like tools, lawn mowers, and exercise and sports equipment seem to catch the eye of make shoppers, be sure these are among your visible items.
• Have bags and boxes available for customers. Begin collecting plastic and paper bags a week or two before your sale. There is no cost to you, and it is a nice convenience that is greatly appreciated by your buyers.
• Minimize buyer objections by sprucing up your items – Use all purpose cleaner or just damp rags to clean off and spruce up your items. I had a buyer once ask me to lower the price on a trash can because she would have to take it home and clean it.

Step 5: Show Me the Money

Now the fun part …setting prices.

Mark the items with a price. This will save constant questioning from potential buyers. Set a price that is realistic and allow for some typical negotiating – but never up – when bargaining with a customer. To price an item in good usable condition, a general rule of thumb is 25 percent to 30 percent of its original value.  Of course, age, style of item will play a part in pricing. For example, an old printer, even in good working condition, won’t bring in the typical 25-30% because of the type of item it is.  It may be hard to sell clothing or accessories in gently used or even new condition if either the style or color reflects its age.

Try to take the work out of looking. If you have lots of similar items like books, CDs or kitchen utensils, save time by simply putting a sign on the table or box indicating your prices. For example, pricing may be 50-cents each or three for $1. Piling all the items on a table or having multiple layers in a box is not conducive for easy shopping. If you take the time to arrange the items in some order, buyers may be more encouraged to browse. Try to set prices at whole dollar or half dollar amounts to make it easy and quick to make change.

Have sufficient money on hand to make change. I typically start with $50-$60 dollars in mostly small bills. Keep all money on your person, either in your pockets, in a money apron or a fanny pack. Money sitting around in an envelope or box is just too tempting if you get distracted. It is advisable not to accept checks.

Post a sign that says all sales are final. You don’t want someone asking for a refund if a cheaper substitute is found down the road.

Originally posted 2010-08-27 13:41:27. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

There is no One Best Way to Get Organized at Home

Organization is an ever-changing process; it’s a journey, not a destination. Every day a new approach or product is being introduced as the magic bullet to organization. But everyone is different in temperament, attitude, build, energy, ambition and family size. Every situation and lifestyle requires a different style and approach of organization to get the job done.

The secret isn’t always in how to get organized - it’s in wanting to get organized and committing yourself to taking consistent action. Once that is achieved, everything will fall into place. Wanting to without action won’t get you anywhere. You can organize as well as the next person if you have the desire and take the action to get it done. There are plenty of resources available to you to learn the skills, including Professional Organizers in most major cities throughout the world to guide you through the process. Simplified Spaces (my company in the Indianapolis Indiana area) is available to work with you personally and virtually.

Your system of organization should fit you and your lifestyle personally. It should be tailored to your style, your schedule and your motivation. I have to take all of these variables into consideration when I begin working with a new client. What works great for one client, may not work at all for the next. Some of us are day people; some are more productive at night.

I’m convinced that anyone can achieve an organized lifestyle if they learn the skills of organization, if they have the desire, seek out the resources to learn the methods and principles of organization and take the necessary action to move forward, at whatever pace works for their personality.

Don’t be discouraged or beat yourself up if it’s a slower process than you’d like. The clutter didn’t appear overnight and it won’t go away overnight! You’ll get there, as long as you take consistent action!

So go forth and simplify ….

Originally posted 2010-10-07 11:22:46. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

How to Avoid the Linen Closet Avalanche

Oh how easy it is to accumulate a large collection of mismatched and worn-out linens that crowd shelves in heaps, so jammed together that when you tug for a towel or reach for that yellow sheet, everything comes tumbling down.

With these tips, whipping your linen closet into shape will be one of the easiest organizing projects you’ll tackle. And it’s an excellent way to feel you have at least one thing under control.

Sort, Purge and Organize
First, sort all your towels and sheets to determine which are worth keeping and which should go. Turn worn-out and thread-bare towels and sheets into rags or garage dust covers.

Have you ever thought about how much is enough when it comes to linens. A guideline that I uncovered is that you don’t need more than three sets of sheets per bed and as few as three sets of bath sheets or towels, hand towels, and washcloths per person (more if you change towels daily.) This gives you one set in use, one in the hamper, and one in the closet ready for action. You’ll need only one or two sets for guests (one on the bed and one in the hamper or closet).

Resist the temptation to hoard extra sets for emergencies. Honestly, what emergency could occur that you would need extras, ones that really just sit in a closet and never to see the light of day? Use the one-in/one-out inventory rule to keep your inventory under control. When you acquire a new set, retire an old one.

Give your linens room to breathe
There are few things more refreshing than the fragrance of clean sheets and towels. But if your linen closet is crammed full, you’ll actually cause the opposite to occur. Textiles experts indicate that air flow is important to the safe storage of most textiles. If linens are crowded without room to breathe the fibers retain moisture, which attracts mold, mildew and possible permanent damage to the fabric. Experts recommend airing out your linens every three months to eliminate trapped moisture. If you find you have musty smells in your linen closet, experts suggest that you can chase away mustiness with an open container of baking soda, activated charcoal, or calcium carbonate.

Over the next several months I will be featuring excerpts of my new book and family chore system ‘Mom, Can I Help Around the House? A Simple Step-by-step System for Teaching Your Children Life-long Skills for Pitching in and Picking up’ To learn more about the book, visit: www.KidsandChores.net

I start this series with an explanation about why, as an Organizing Consultant, I felt this topic of calming the chaos by getting kids on board to contribute to household maintenance was so necessary to write about and put forth.

In my work with clients for the past four years, I’ve observed many characteristics in chaotic homes, but here I focus on four major characteristics that I’ve found to be most common.

1. Lack of systems and homes for belongings
Without systems and procedures, each time a task is performed; it’s like reinventing the wheel. Time, energy and productivity are lost. In addition, if belongings do not have consistent homes, then again, time, energy and productivity are lost when searching for needed items. Without systems and regular homes for belongings, family members have nothing to count on in the home, like “this is the process for performing this task, or this is where we put this item.”

2. Children not consistently performing home maintenance tasks as an active member of the family team
Let me share with you one lesson I’ve learned in my many years as an Organizing Consultant and parent of two … you cannot truly gain control of your home and achieve an organized lifestyle if your children are not an active and contributing member of the family team working toward the common goal of keeping the home picked up, organized, and running smoothly.

From my observation, the less the children are given clear home maintenance expectations (chores) and consequences for not performing these expected tasks, the more chaotic and disorderly is the home, and the more frazzled and overwhelmed is the home manager.

3. Procrastination runs rampant in chaotic homes
Procrastination is a bad habit. There is really nothing positive that comes from choosing to procrastinate. In the organizing world we define it as a delayed decision. There are many causes of procrastination, most notably our increasingly fast paced 24/7 lifestyle, but essentially, procrastination is an impulse to delay an action or decision until a later time. Procrastination is always present in disorganized and chaotic homes. Procrastination often spreads to all family members – when one person gets away with it, it opens the door for others to adopt the same behavior.

4. More stuff comes into the home than leaves
With the massive debt that the average American carries, it is no surprise that our homes are bursting at the seams with over purchasing and consumption. Common in chaotic homes, are often few limits placed on how much stuff comes into the home. Impulse purchasing is common, with little analysis about the purpose of a new purchase or where it will be stored once home. Then as a result of our busy lives, we never get around to the drudgery of purging little used and no longer valued stuff. Without regular efforts to equalize our stuff (eliminate equal amounts of existing stuff as new stuff is brought home), our homes are soon bursting at the seams and in a state of chaos.

There are many more common characteristics than the four I’ve detailed above, but these major characteristics will give you some food for thought. Can you identify your own household in any of these characteristics?

Originally posted 2008-08-22 08:57:18. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Organize Home Maintenance Records

When it comes to taking care of your biggest investment ~ your home, there are a lot of things that you need to manage and keep organized. In most households, these tidbits of information are spread out throughout the home ~ instruction manuals and receipts stuffed in a drawer, paint numbers on the top of a paint can in the garage. Does that sound familiar? With home maintenance and repair, it is important to be organized and current on everything that you have done to your house. It is easy to lose track of all of the home repair projects that need to be done and when.

 

Another item that is easy to lose track of are all of the home improvements and repairs you have made to your home over the years. Home improvements need to be considered when you sell your home for calculating the sales price and then for calculating capital gains after the sale. So where do you go to store and then easily find these important records about your home?

 

To keep your house in tip-top shape, you need an organized system and home where this information lives for easy reference and retrival. I found a product titled the Home Maintenance Organizer that I now offer in The Simplified Home e-store (www.TheSimplifiedHome.net) and to my local clients. This home record organizing system provides a solution to, and a home for, all the home repair/maintenance clutter. The Home Maintenance Organizer is a binder where you can record and store all of the important information about your house, like window sizes, room dimensions, when you last had the furnace or refrigerator serviced, paint colors, and much more. This system also comes with an essential set of guidelines that will tell you what home repairs should be done and when.

 

The binder also has storage for ongoing projects that are happening around the house as well as places for important documents. The binder is an easy to carry with you system when shopping for window treatments, appliances, etc.

 

Another system to use for vital and archived home records, like home deed, mortgage, home title, etc. is our HomeFile Financial Planning Organizer Kit that is used in a file cabinet or filing box. This is a ready-made home filing system to hold all your vital personal and home records, most of which that you need to keep, but don’t need to access often.

 

 

Both these ready-made organizational systems solve the clutter problem of how and where to keep home maintenance records and will and make sure your biggest investment is always taken care of.

Originally posted 2009-02-07 13:23:47. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

6 Bright Ways to Save

What it comes to saving energy in your home, lighting is an easy place to start, according to Edison Electric Institute. You may wonder what lighting has to do with achieving a simplified home. Quite a bit actually. Simplifying your home environment and life includes more than organizing your stuff and everything you own having a home. Simplifying life includes designing your environment for greater productivity, and lighting contributes greatly to how you feel and work in your space. It also means using your resources efficiently, which is what I’m referring to in the following 6 ways to save.

These bright ideas may help you become more energy efficient.

1. Dust light bulbs and fixtures regularly.
2. Provide task lighting over desks, tool benches and the like so you don’t have to light the whole room.
3. Put lamps in corners of rooms so the light reflects off two walls
4. For lamps left on more than two hours a day, use compact fluorescent bulbs, which use up to 66 percent less electricity than incandescent bulbs. A 23-watt compact fluorescent bulb can replace a 100-watt incandescent.
5. Use dimmable incandescent bulbs wherever possible.
6. Install photoelectic controls or timers to turn outdoor lighting off and on each day.

To learn more about how to save money and protect the environment, visit www.getenergyactive.org.

Originally posted 2008-12-07 09:20:34. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

7 Simple Steps to Turn Closet Chaos into Closet Nirvana!

Imagine how marvelous it would be to open your closet door and in place of the regular junk pile, you find a well-organized, attractive array of clothes, shoes and accessories. Imagine the focus, calm and efficiency you would realize as you look into your closet and can walk straight to the item you need and get dressed in a snap.

You are experiencing Closet Nirvana, and it is possible, if you follow these seven simple steps.

1. Purpose the space
Before you get started, you need to visualize the result and what purpose you want this space to serve for you. What do you want to accomplish by organizing your closet? Consider your lifestyle and what you need to have good access to. For example, do you want better access to shoes; do you want to be able to do all dressing in the closet? Brainstorm the current problems you now experience and visualize the results you would like to see at the end of your efforts.

2. Begin a purge
If you are like most clients I work with, your closet has become a dumping ground for a sundry of unrelated stuff that you do not know where else to store. Before you can improve a space you have to purge the excess, clutter and stuff that does not fit the purpose of the space, in order to get to what is most valuable to you. As you start purging, consider the 80/20 rule and be honest with yourself about how this applies to you.

You wear 20 percent of your clothes, shoes and accessories 80 percent of the time.
Think about it … you likely reach for the same pair of favorite jeans, khakis, blouse, pajamas, and shoes yet your closet is bursting at the seams with clothes that have not seen the light of day in months and even years. I recall a client who held onto more than fifty pairs of pajamas all stuffed in several drawers that could barely be opened. She did not have any idea what was stuffed in these drawers. As you consider each item, be honest when you ask yourself:
• When did I last wear this?
• How did I feel when I last wore it?
• Do I find it beautiful?
Let the answers to these questions drive your purging decisions.

3. Decide how and where to store off-season clothes
A common complaint I hear is there just is not enough space. Many clients make the mistake of storing in their closet every piece of clothing and accessory they own rather than just what they wear. To free up space for better access to what you currently wear, remove off-season clothes and accessories to another part of the house. Storing in the main closet items like formal wear or ski-wear, that is rarely worn, contributes to closet chaos.

4. Install second hanging rods
In many homes I see, the hanging structure of the closet consists of ventilated shelving that the builder installed. By installing a second hanging rod, you can double the hanging space for pants, shirts and some skirts. By improving the use of the vertical space with a second hanging rod, you improve your access to your belongings.

5. Sort clothing by style, length and color (like with like)
During the purge, it is essential to be able to view the entire inventory you own of each color and style in order to make educated decisions about what to keep and what to purge. I recall a client who had so many sweaters that when sorted she owned as many as 25 sweaters in each same color. By viewing them all together, sorted by color and style, she could easily purge the excess and duplicates.

When rehanging items back in the closet, sorted by length and style, you improve access to your possessions and the efficiency of the space. If all blazers are hung together, space is opened up for a second hanging rod, a bank of shoes or laundry basket. Hanging clothes by color and style also improves your ability to quickly match outfits and find what you need in a snap.

I have clients whose primary goal of contracting a Professional Organizer to organize their closets was to reduce the time it took them in the morning to get dressed and out the door to work. This step will definitely reduce your dressing time.

6. Look up for storage
In most closets, there are opportunities to install additional shelving above the hanging space. Less used items like hats and dress shoes can be moved to this less accessible space and free up areas at eye level for most used items.

7. One in /One out rule
Most of the hard work is behind you and you are now experiencing closet nirvana. In order to keep your newly organized and peaceful space from returning to closet chaos, implement the one in and one out rule. Every time you bring a new item into your closet space, choose at least one item that goes out.

Now, go dive into that closet and take action!
Happy Organizing!

Originally posted 2008-08-17 08:37:40. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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