Category Archives: Getting Organized

Feeling Out Of Sorts in January?

January is literally around the corner.

Some of us are done celebrating, the tree is put away and regular routines took place.

For others, it’s the time of not knowing what day of the week this is, trying to keep children from killing each other, and trying to decide what to cook for dinner that’s healthy-ish and doesn’t require a lot of work.

Holidays burnout settles in, creativity attempts feel stagnant at best and I find myself staring at the blank page more often than I care to admit.

For me, January is the best time to recharge, reset, and start anew.

I suggest to use this time to allow our creative selves to rest.

Rest doesn’t mean to do nothing at all, although, I personally believe there is nothing wrong with that. There is time for active rest and passive rest. You will need to discern for yourself which one is the best for you at any given time.

Let’s use this time and do the things we always want to do but are always too busy.

Take inventory of the art supplies.

Organize the creative space.

Deep clean, examine and/or replace the old brushes.

Catch up on projects that were stashed away until better times.

Invite daily practice of drawing.

I would love to encourage you to share your before and after pictures as you work on your space as it is such a rewarding process.

I invite you to join daily drawing practice in your sketchbook starting January 1st.

You can use as few or as many supplies for it as you like. I prefer to work in a mixed media or watercolor sketchbook and use a pencil, waterproof artists pens (liners), and watercolor.

Are you up for a challenge? Put your intentions in words and add them as a comment below. You are much more likely to act on your intentions if you write them down and let others know.

Here are January creative prompts I picked using January holidays calendar and I added some of my own. You are welcome to use them in order or pick what you like, or not use at all. The goal is to draw daily.

To-Do Lists that will Make Your Brain Sing

 

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Today I would like to share the 5 steps that would make your brain so happy you have created a to-do list!

 

Write everything down.

 

You might need to keep a journal or a notebook accessible at all times, use the Notes app on your phone or something similar. The main idea is to keep all your notes in one place and not scattered through the office/house/car on separate sticky notes.

Very soon you will notice that some tasks keep appearing on your list over and over again. Those are the ones that keep sitting in the back of your mind and take the brain power from the work that needs to be done. Just like a smartphone, the brain collects junk files. Just like the smartphone, if those junk files are not taken care of, they will drain the power from your brain. We don’t want that, do we?

To free the brain from junk files, add them to your list. Once you see which ones keep coming back, spend a couple of minutes deciding if they are really that important or it is something that can be left alone.

For example, if you notice the same “ send the Christmas cards” showing on your list in November/December all you need to do is act on it. If it is still on your list in February, it is time to ditch that idea and free your brain space for something else. Do you see how the same idea can be a VIP file or a JUNK file depending on your own circumstance?

 

At night before bedtime, go through your list and highlight only the tasks that need to be done tomorrow.

 

Why is it important? This activity allows you to free up some space and recharge your brain while you are sleeping without those nasty JUNK files in the background. What is going to happen to all the other important items? They are on your list so they will not perish. The following night, before highlighting, go a few days back on your lists and re-assess their importance. If still important, copy and paste. If not – JUNK file.

Be realistic about what you can do in a day.

 

It sounds like this piece of advice is applicable to over-achievers only, but the truth is that everyone can benefit from it. Being realistic about your day and allowing yourself to under-set your goals allows your brain to cheer when you those items get checked off your list. The happy hormone, dopamine, is a neurotransmitter that helps control the brain‘s reward and pleasure centers. Dopamine also helps regulate movement and emotional responses, and it enables us not only to see rewards but to take action to move toward them. So once you make your brain happy about crossing something off your list, your brain will start looking for ways to get more items crossed off the same list.

Unfortunately, the opposite is true also. When you lose and don’t get done what was on your list, you feel discouraged and upset, your brain does all in its power to help you avoid those emotions again by steering you clear from any lists and tasks, leading you into a procrastination trap.

In a nutshell, if you think you can get six tasks done, write down four as your primary goal and the other two as your flexible goal. Make sure, though, to not add the VIP tasks to flexibles, yes? This way if the four are done and no time for the other two, you are still golden! If you still have time for the other two, well, you did a fantastic job today!

 

Find a way to celebrate every time you check an item off.

 

This is a big deal. Only celebrating will tell your brain to release dopamine. That’s how you train your brain to get things done.  How to celebrate? Great question!

Include as many senses as you can. Ticking it off on your computer or phone – add a touch tone. Do a little happy dance. Reward yourself with a stroll around the office and a friendly chit-chat with a co-worker. Get a cup of coffee. Or tea. Or a glass of water. Make sure your celebration is visual (include something you can see, such as a thick line all the way across the goal), auditory (whisper “yeah!” as you are slowly crossing the thing off your list), and tactile (by using a marker that glides over the paper). Get creative and your brain will reward you!

 

Take care of yourself first.

 

Taking care of yourself is not optional. When planning for your day, insert the times when you will be taking care of yourself. A short walk around the office or a quick stretch might be just exactly what your brain needs to recharge or get perspective on the problem you were stuck solving for a week. Now, if you don’t include self-care into your to-do list, chances are you won’t do it.

Set your priorities straight from the very beginning and take care of yourself first. You are the one who makes things happen. So go, make them happen!

Setting the Goals Through the Fog

Today is day 8 of the New Year and unlike the years before, I have no resolutions and no particular goals. This is very sad as I always strive to set my goals high and resolve to be a better version of me in the next year.

 

I do not want to add all the details in what and how happened; I simply do not want to re-live some of the experience 2016 added to my list. Let me just say it was not kind. Many might agree, others won’t.

 

Although it was a tough year, I still got to go home and visit my family most of which I hadn’t seen in more than 9 years and my boys had never had a pleasure to meet. It was a highlight of the year and most of it was a beautiful trip,  but it also had it’s own challenges and trials.

 

Last year I spent a lot of time in active meditation, writing and drawing. Lots of self-digging, personal improvement work and trying to see through the glass ceiling.

 

The foggy glass ceiling, may I add. Maybe there is not even a ceiling there, just the fog. The future is foggy and there are way too many uncertainties that make me anxious. Anxiety, fear of the unknown, lack of understanding of where I am being taken and why sit heavy in my heart.

 

Then my eyes catch a colorful piece of paper I had pasted onto my office wall in September of 2016. I read the words and feel my heartbeat starting to slow down.

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Let me tell you more about these. They are a result of several months of meditating and asking questions. They seem quite simple and straightforward but I remember I had to fight for every word.

God has shaped me and placed me where He needs me.

(I believe with all my heart that God’s hand is in everything there is and He has me here and now for a reason.)

 

His purpose is divine.

(Even if it looks foggy and unclear to me from my end of the road, it is still there. Did you ever drive into a patch of fog? You may slow down, turn the headlights on and keep extra cautious, but you are still moving through it, right? You are not going to stop in the middle of a road just because there is a foggy patch.)

 

I will see it once I’m ready.

(Sometimes the foggy patch is longer than I anticipate, and it is important to remember that the patch has its borders. The sun will shine again. Just keep pushing through.)

 

I have all the support I need in order to make it happen.

(Count my blessings! I am so blessed with a husband who gets me!)

 

My God will give me everything I need to live a life of abundance.

(Have faith, little heart. Have faith.)

 

These short and simple statements are called affirmations and they help me when my high-functioning anxiety creeps in and steals my sleep at night. They also help me see the purpose in my daily routine duties and chores. They help me see that even emptying the dishwasher brings more to my household than just the dishes being put away. It helps with keeping the kitchen organized, the counters clean and meals prepped with ease and on time.

 

If you find them helpful and would like to have one on your phone or on your wall, you are welcome to use this free download. Click on the image and download your *pdf file. All I ask in return is for you to let me know that you got one in the comments below.

 

May the Lord be with you!

God’s purpose is divine

Superwoman No More!

If you look at my profile on Facebook or my website online you will probably learn I am a professional organizer. If you read deeper into my posts online and my blog, you will learne I had owned a business before this one, I was a teacher, and I love to cook and entertain. I am a fanatic of Pinterest and all things streamlined to make my life easier so I can have time to do things I love, like sewing and painting. I homeschool my kids because I don’t believe public schools are meant for everybody and I really enjoy seeing my boys growing up every day.

 

I own a business, I have a blog, I run a support group on Facebook, I homeschool, and housekeep every day of the week. I take my kids to practices, I teach Russian at the homeschool co-op, I was promoted to an intermediate level at the dance class I am taking. I served chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting for dessert last night and have a Mississippi pot  roast in my crock pot as I am writing this.

 

If you are reading this and thinking, is this woman even real, I have to say Yes, I am real.

 

I am so real, that I have a load of laundry in the dryer and no desire to get onto it. I have the roast in the crockpot  thanks to my freezer meal club friend Mandy. If not for that, I would have been working my butt off in the kitchen instead of writing this.

 

My youngest has just climbed onto my lap as I am writing this and is refusing to go, so I am working on my laptop sitting in his lap. He wants his cuddles and he will get them no matter what.

 

I have a lot on my plate and becoming a professional organizer was a very logical step for me to take. How else can I help others to get the crap load of stuff done and enjoy their loved ones and their lives? I help by  coming to their homes and streamlining their kitchens and pantries and closets. I speak at events. I have a blog.

 

What I had recently realized, though, is that it’s not what I am really doing.

 

I am not Martha Stewart, the Flylady, or Marie Kondo.  And I don’t want to be like them. Don’t get me wrong, they all are doing unbelievably incredible work, but that is not what I am.

 

I am a real woman. Some may say I am mature, others may suggest there are areas in my life that need some work. There is always room for improvement, you know?

 

Well, so you know, he hasn’t left and this is how the majority of this blog post has been written.

blogging with a toddler

blogging with a toddler

 

I haven’t cropped that picture on purpose. Because crumbs on the floor happen a lot more often than the vacuum. And I had made peace with that. There will be dishes in my not so shiny sink and there will be wet laundry forgotten to be moved into the dryer. Because I am a real woman, there will be pizza for dinner. And I will get so tired and touched out that all I would want is to run off and sit in Target’s parking listening to my own thoughts.

 

I have lived a Superwoman lifestyle for seven years. My kitchen always sparkling, my laundry was done and my vacuum ran. I ran a daycare out of my home, working 70 hours a week. I was in high demand, business thriving and yet somehow I felt I was failing. I know now it happened because I was taking care of everything and everyone but myself.

 

You see, I failed to recognize that I was in the center of pretty much everything happening in my life, the lives of my family, my household, and my business. I took it all for granted not realizing I put so much strain on myself, I gave out. I quit the business. I focused on myself and my family.Thankfully, I was able to do that.

 

I failed to recognize that I was in the center of pretty much everything…  I took it all for granted not realizing I put so much strain on myself, I gave out.

 

I could say there won’t be a Superwoman anymore. I chose to be me instead of being her.

 

But, just as before, others would ask me how do you manage it all? How is your home clean, meals are prepped and laundry folded, you have time to run a business, homeschool, be a part of a freezer meal club, speak at events and love on your husband and kids.

 

There is only one answer. I am not a superwoman, not anymore anyway. I listen to my system and to my body. If it tells me I need to slow down, I do so. It won’t cause the world to end if my laundry piles don’t get done tonight. The world won’t collapse because my sink isn’t as shiny as a new diamond ring.

 

NO MORE!

 

On the other hand, my family might collapse if I am overtired and extra cranky. If they need my support and my attention and all I can think about is that the bed didn’t get made this morning.  I chose to be there for them and put them in as my priority.

 

I believe your life can be much easier and much more enjoyable if you have your things organized in a manner that works for your lifestyle. I do not believe the quality of your life can be influenced by owning a closet system from California Closets, or being able to afford the best baskets ever for your pantry. Those are merely things and they exist to make your life easier not to make you happy. What makes you happy is the relationships with your loved ones at the time saved with the help of those systems.

 

No, I am not a superwoman. Not anymore.

 

I have created systems in my life to support my lifestyle.

 

I have accepted the fact that I can not have it all at all times but at the certain time, I can truly have it AND enjoy it all.

 

Do you feel like that sometimes?

 

Do you feel the pressure of modern America have it all picture worthy and Pinterest-like?

 

Are you ready to step down, take off the cape, and just live your life?

 

If you said yes to the questions above, please, join us at the Superwoman Anonymous, a Facebook support group I created to support real life women like you and me who sometimes just want a minute of quiet in order to hear our own thoughts.

 

And yes, if you are wondering, I am for hire. I can and I will help you change your life. One closet at a time.  But that is something we can discuss in private, over here.

 

How a Thrift Store Find Helped Me to De-Jam My Kitchen Drawer and Get to Sleep In on Saturday Morning

One of the first shopping addictions I ever got since I moved to the U.S. was thrift store shopping.

 

Having moved countries with one suitcase that held clothing not very suitable for the American culture, I had to get my wardrobe and I was on a budget. My soon to be husband at that point lived a bachelor’s life with a kitchen that needed to become a cook’s kitchen and a desk being used for a dinner table. So, yes, I learned to love thrift stores really fast.

 

Later on, moving states, switching from an apartment to a house, moving states again… What can I say? Thrift stores, craigslist, neighborhood garage sales had saved us lots of funds that would be used on something else.

 

Why am I telling you all this? Because I just got done thrift store shopping and found some awesome items, of course!

 

Usually, when I come home from that kind of shopping and he sees my glowing eyes, he says, “Look , boys, mama is back with some treasures”!

 

But not this time. This time, when I showed him my finds and told him what I was going to do with them, my dear husband said, “Thanks, God!”

 

Would you like to know what I told him? I said,

 

“This will help us to de-jam our kitchen drawers”.

 

Being a person who is into creating systems and making things work for my family, I have been struggling with this particular drawer for way too long. We have lived in this same house for five years and this is the most hard-working drawer in my kitchen. It holds my spatulas, and whisks, and ladles, and the potato masher. I cook a lot and I love to cook. I also multitask when I cook, meaning I can be making soup, dicing veggies for a freezer meal, and baking cupcakes at the very same time.  It requires clear counter space and LOTS of cutting boards and utensils to avoid cross-contamination. And HAND WASHING. But that’s for a different post.

 

Having decluttered that particular drawer more than once I have come to a conclusion that I need a better solution. I didn’t want to just go online and buy a fancy crock that would probably cost anywhere from 30 to 60 dollars depending on the brand. Most likely I won’t love it. It would just be a piece I use in my kitchen.

 

A couple of days ago I had to run to Walgreens to pick up a couple of thing for the presentation I was doing next morning and I had a free hour. And a thrift store is right there. How could I resist?

 

This place I went to has two aisles with shelves full of knick-knacks, glass, plates, bowls, cups, holders… You name it. There is so much stuff, that it is hard to see anything. I literally spent an hour in those two aisles. Slowly moving from one shelf to another, scanning the contents and picking things up.

 

My tip for thrift store shopping is completely opposite to what I recommend when you are decluttering your house. When decluttering, you want to detach from your belonging, so I ask that you don’t touch and hold them.

 

While thrift store shopping, do not grab a cart. If you see something you like, pick it up and carry it around with you (given we are talking small-ish items, not bookshelves or coffee tables, yes?). Keep looking around. Found something different? Put the first item dow, it’s not going anywhere, and pick up the next thing. Listen to yourself. Is there a bond being created between yourself and this item?

 

Why is this bond so important? Because the last thing I want you to do is to get more clutter into your home. If something is going to make its way in, I want it to bring value and joy and be functional.

 

I had picked up and carried around three different items at that time. But after I held them for about ten minutes I could tell I wasn’t that thrilled about bringing them to my home and adding them to my life. I put them back.

 

If it doesn’t thrill you, leave it where you found it.

 

As I was ready to leave empty handed, I saw IT. Sitting in the back of the highest shelf (yay to being 6 feet tall, it does have its advantages sometimes). Sporting of white color and round shape. Hand drawn flowers. A nicely shaped spout.

pitcher1

It is heavy. No nicks or scratches. A bit dirty, but nothing baking soda wouldn’t take care of. Made in Italy. Three dollars.

pitcher2

I am thrilled. I am happy for I have found this one item I didn’t know I was looking for. It will hold my utensils so it is functional. It will please my eyes. It will make my husband’s kitchen adventures a lot more pleasant. He makes breakfasts on the weekends to let me sleep in. How dear is that?

 

Woo hoo! This is how I know this little pitcher has found a new home in my kitchen.

 

I brought it home, gave it a good wash, re-arranged some spatulas and used a bigger tray underneath all of that to corral it all in one spot. DONE!

pitcher3

 

Do you like thrift shopping?

7 Reasons Why You Won’t Hire a Professional Organizer

Reason #1  I should be able to do it all  by myself.

When you look at your house through the eyes of your parents who would say something like, why can’t you keep your room clean? you feel sad and guilty. You start getting back into the “what is wrong with me”  and “why can’t I, really?”

Growing up, I was told my future husband would throw me out of the house because I am so untidy. But I learned. It took more than three days. I lived on my own and learned the rule of Sunday. Sunday is the day when my place is supposed to be cleaned out and picked up. It was way too much fun to get my friends over. I was ready every Sunday. I learned basic meal planning when my mom would tell me we were having company and she was too busy at work. I had to figure out finances when she had two major surgeries in a row and I was left in charge of the household, my brother’s dinners and hospital visits.

There was nothing wrong with me. There was a time when I didn’t have the skill and I now have it. I learned it, so can you.

Sometimes, though, you are not ready or are just not willing to spend time learning on your own.

Self-studies are great as long as you stay diligent. BUT, there are other times.

The times when you want it done.

When a tap is leaking, you hire a plumber.

When you need to get organized, you hire a professional organizer.

 

Reason #2 What? You mean someone actually would be going through my things and telling me I MUST throw them away?

Well, kind of… That’s a really good one. We tend to multiply the things we own. They make us feel better about ourselves, keep the hope that some of the burned bridges can be restored, help us keep the memories.

At some point, though, you may ask yourself if it is you who owns the things or the things own you? Have they taken over the prime real estate of your home?

Let me be more specific. Do you own so much makeup that to get ready in the morning you spend more time digging through it than applying? If your answer is yes, then it may not be a bad idea to have someone else take a look at your collection and help you discard the items you don’t use, don’t like, or it’s just time for them to go.

Do you wear everything that is stashed in your closet?

Is your pantry organized enough so you can make dinner without having to run to the store?

Are your drawers so full, you can’t even close them, and you garage is a dumping ground?

All of the above would be a good reason to hire a professional organizer.

 

Reason #3 Why would I need one? I can find everything in my house. Eventually.

When you spend 5 minutes a day looking for something, it is really no big deal, right? Make it ten.. Or twenty. And now you are late. You are stressed. You are sweating and your hair’s a mess. You get to the meeting and you start thinking up one more reason. Another lie to cover up why you really are late. Tired of lying yet?

Another way to look at it is to add up all those minutes. 20 minutes a day add up to 7,300 minutes a year. That is 121 hours. That is 5 days. What could you have accomplished in 5 days?

 

Reason #4 I don’t need anyone else confirm I am a slob.

This has nothing to do with you being a slob. There always is a reason for a person to seek the help of a professional organizer. You may have never had a chance to learn certain organizing skills. They never teach that at school, you know.

You might have fallen a victim to the “get more” disease and are having a hard time to stop.

You may be an exhausted and sleep deprived mom who just doesn’t have the mental energy to get through this on her own.

Whatever your reason is, if you are considering getting help, this is the first step.

 

Reason #5 There will be a better time for it

There will be a better time to wear this pretty dress, and then i gained 20 pounds and it wouldn’t fit. There will be a better time to chat with this neighbor. The neighbor moves to a different state and never hear of her again.

There will be a better time to read this book, cook this meal, enjoy this bottle of wine, fall back in love with my house…

You get the picture. The life is now and the time is now. What are you really waiting for?

 

Reason #6 I can just go with a cleaning service. Professional Organizing is overrated.

Yes and no. I had a client who had her cleaning lady help her get organized. They bought a lot of plastic bins and moved all the belongings from overstuffed drawers into those bins and in the garage. Where it stayed until she realized she needed to park her car in there. This was when I came in. We spent three days organizing that garage. We ended up digging through every single bin and purging, purging, purging. Getting organized doesn’t mean you have to purge. It means you can not organize one spot at the expense of the other. Your house should become and well oiled mechanism that makes your life easier not over complicates it.

 

Reason#7 This is too expensive

Let me ask you this. What are the options?

Option #1 You could sell your home and shoot for a bigger one.

Pros: you get more space, the need for a professional organizer is non-existent anymore

Cons: you pay for the move $5,000. You pay the fee to your real estate agent $7,000. You move into a new house, you need new furniture, appliances, hire a painter to get the walls repainted and such… anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000. AND, let’s not forget, your mortgage and property tax skyrockets. You do the math. Just seeing these numbers freaks me out. Haha.

Option #2 You could do everything in your power to fall in love with your house again. If it takes some painting done, so be it. If it takes rearranging the furniture and maybe swapping a couple pieces, great!

If you need more space, you know who to call. GhostBusters! Just kidding.

 

Having said all the above, it really is up to you. It is up to you if you had had enough and you want your house back. It is up to you if you want to gain the control and be in charge of your things. It is up to you if you are done wasting your time and making up excuses.

 

This is all your choice.

 

BUT, if one day you know you are ready to get help, – do hire a professional organizer.