Here is a great article about garage organizing from the San Francisco Chronicle:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/10/HOVS1F5P8O.DTL
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
Free Shredding Event in Wilmington
The Wilmington area Professional Organizers of NAPO-GPC will host a free shredding event on Saturday, September 18, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The shredding truck will be located at the Sports Authority on Rt. 202, across from the Concord Mall in Wilmington, DE. Click here for details.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Hazardous Waste Recycling Event
Delaware County is hosting a Household Hazardous Waste recycling event on Thursday, September 16, 2010, at the Rose Tree Park in Media, PA. They will collect Computers, printers, fax machines and portable televisions at this event. See http://www.co.delaware.pa.us/recycle/hhw.html for details.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Manage Your Time
The summer is over, children return to school, coworkers return from vacations, and everything seems to move faster. If you’re grappling with how to manage your time better, to have the quality life you want, here are some tips to get started.
Set goals and priorities.
If you have an idea of how you want your life to be, it’s easier to make decisions on how to spend your time. Write a list of important things in your life, such as career, children, spouse, friends, education, hobbies, etc. Then write numbers next to each item, assigning number one to the most important item, number two to the second, etc. When you get two invitations for one night, refer to your priority list to decide which is the best choice.
Create a “task block” schedule.
Have you ever seen network executives working on a TV programming line-up? They take names of TV shows and put them into a schedule to see how the week looks. You can use a similar exercise to look at your personal schedule. You can use Outlook, Palm, Excel, a paper calendar or even a piece of paper with times written on it. Make sure you have space for 24 hours in each day. Input items on the schedule, until all space is filled, using categories such as such as sleep, eat, work, travel, chores, errands, family time, personal care, entertainment, etc. It may be good to overestimate time for items like travel and chores. Take a step back and look at your schedule. Does it line up with your goals and priorities?
Your health is #1.
Everything you do gets harder if you don’t take care of yourself. Try to eat well, sleep and exercise. Set aside at least one or two hours a week to treat yourself to some “me time” by going to the gym, reading, watching a movie, going to a museum or doing something else that feeds your soul. Take time to recharge, and it will carry you through the stressful events of the week.
Say “no.”
It sounds easy, so why is it so hard? Saying “no” more often will give you time to concentrate on how you want your life to be. Have you ever looked at your week and realized that half of the things you do don’t meet your vision for your life? You may think people will be angry or disappointed with you, but I think you’ll find that they respect and value you more when you stand up for yourself.
Set goals and priorities.
If you have an idea of how you want your life to be, it’s easier to make decisions on how to spend your time. Write a list of important things in your life, such as career, children, spouse, friends, education, hobbies, etc. Then write numbers next to each item, assigning number one to the most important item, number two to the second, etc. When you get two invitations for one night, refer to your priority list to decide which is the best choice.
Create a “task block” schedule.
Have you ever seen network executives working on a TV programming line-up? They take names of TV shows and put them into a schedule to see how the week looks. You can use a similar exercise to look at your personal schedule. You can use Outlook, Palm, Excel, a paper calendar or even a piece of paper with times written on it. Make sure you have space for 24 hours in each day. Input items on the schedule, until all space is filled, using categories such as such as sleep, eat, work, travel, chores, errands, family time, personal care, entertainment, etc. It may be good to overestimate time for items like travel and chores. Take a step back and look at your schedule. Does it line up with your goals and priorities?
Your health is #1.
Everything you do gets harder if you don’t take care of yourself. Try to eat well, sleep and exercise. Set aside at least one or two hours a week to treat yourself to some “me time” by going to the gym, reading, watching a movie, going to a museum or doing something else that feeds your soul. Take time to recharge, and it will carry you through the stressful events of the week.
Say “no.”
It sounds easy, so why is it so hard? Saying “no” more often will give you time to concentrate on how you want your life to be. Have you ever looked at your week and realized that half of the things you do don’t meet your vision for your life? You may think people will be angry or disappointed with you, but I think you’ll find that they respect and value you more when you stand up for yourself.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
What’s Your Reason?
As a Professional Organizer, I hear a lot of frustration from people who are trying to organize their spaces. I’ve heard it all! Here is my top ten countdown of reasons why people think they can’t get organized. 10. “If I get rid of something, I may need it later.”
You may, but if you forgot you had it and haven’t used it in several years, you probably won’t need it. Plus, you probably will be able to buy a similar thing if you need it later.
9. “I’m so busy, I don’t have time to organize.”
Organizing an hour a week will give you several more hours in your schedule.
8. “All of this stuff may be worth something.”
If you are serious about making money, research your items’ worth, and be willing to sell. Call an appraiser if necessary. Your space is valuable too, and you need your space now.
7. “I’m saving this to give to my kids.”
Do your kids really want it? Ask them, and don’t be afraid to get your feelings hurt.
6. “All of this stuff has memories.”
It is difficult deciding which sentimental items to keep, but you know you need the space. Keep the memories, part with the stuff. And clear your house for new memories.
5. “Those clothes are three sizes too small, but I’m on a diet.”
If you have items of clothing that haven’t been worn in a year, take time to sit down and be honest with yourself. It adds stress to have a closetful of tiny dresses staring at you as you are dieting. Keep clothes one or two sizes too small at most, not all of your clothes from high school.
4. “This is all other people’s stuff.”
The kids leave stuff, your spouse dumps stuff, your room is full of junk! Start by dividing what belongs to whom. Find places in the house to be “homes” for their stuff. If it has no home and hasn’t been used in over a year, consider donating it. Then lay down the law: you deserve a clutter-free space for yourself!
3. “I’m just a messy person.”
Messy and disorganized are two different things. Some messy people can find what they need in two seconds, while some neat people don’t know where anything is. Organization is about retrieval. It’s still possible to be organized if you like your space full of things.
2. “It’s so bad, I don’t know where to start.”
There is no “perfect” place to begin. Start somewhere, anywhere. Start with a small project, and make a list of other small projects you can do a few hours at a time over several weeks or months.
And finally, drum roll please...
1. “I can’t do it alone!”
Maybe it’s time to call a Professional Organizer. Visit www.saralong.com to read about what a Professional Organizer can do for you.
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