home organizing

10 Organizing Habits You Need To Improve Your Life

April 2, 2020
, , home organizing

Organized people aren’t born that way. They had cultivated healthy habits in order to remain organized. So, even if you believe that you’re a hopeless disorganized individual, you can still learn how to turn things around. From jotting important things down, planning, and getting rid of unnecessary things, there are some home organizing tips you can do and you’ll be on your way to becoming an organized person as long as you are willing to learn and practice.

Organizing Habits You Need To Learn

Take Notes

There’s always that someone you know who manages to remember every occasion and sends greeting cards for every holiday. In most cases, they don’t just memorize them nor does it have anything to do with magic. Trying to memorize everything won’t help you become more organized. You need to write important things down.

A pen and paper is a sure fire way of remembering things, plus, it’s more permanent. You can take notes using the traditional pen and paper or use calendars, notepads, and other apps online. Don’t complicate things by memorizing important reminders and dates in your head. Jot them down. These includes birthdays, meeting schedules, list of groceries, holiday gifts, and more.

Make Deadlines and Schedules

Organized people hate wasting time. They know that by keeping things well organized, they become more productive. They will make and keep their schedules every day, every week. They set goals, make deadlines, and of course, they follow them.

By living a lifestyle that is cluttered, you won’t have the space or time achieve your objectives or make deadlines. Life is way too short. Be sure that you are doing what matters most to you. In case you need a bit of help then you’ll find these basic tips extremely helpful.

Don’t Procrastinate

If you wait too long to do something, the chances are they’ll become more difficult to complete. If you’d like your life to be less demanding and less stressful then you should organize as soon as possible.

Give All Things A Home

Things can easily get lost if they don’t have a home. Being organized means you need to keep everything in your home in their appropriate places. Organized individuals maintain order by storing their belongings properly and labelling each storage space.

Declutter on A Regular Basis

It is best to declutter every week if possible. Highly organized individuals make sure that they have some time every week to organize their stuff.

Keep What You Need

Having more stuff means having more clutter. If you want to be organized then you have to learn how to keep only the things that you need.

Know Where You Will Discard The Items

Get rid of everything that you don’t need. If you have less stuff then you’ll have less clutter. You can sell on eBay or Craigslist or you can also donate them to thrift shops. You can set up a garage sale or you can go to a recycling center. What’s important here is to find a place where you can get rid of your stuff.

Stay Away From Bargains

Now that you’ve removed things that you don’t need, you may have the urge to replace them with things that are on sale. It’s not suggested to go bargain shopping if you haven’t planned beforehand. The best thing you can do is write the things that you need and purchase only those items. Organized individuals do not give in to bargains, which tend to feature false advertising. If you keep on buying items that are on sale, you will only end up with more clutter in your home.

Delegate Responsibilities

An organized life isn’t filled with deadlines, meetings, and responsibilities. As a matter of fact, it has less since things that result in stress have been organized out slowly.

Work Hard

Put the effort needed when necessary. When you’ve delegated some of your responsibilities and created a schedule, then you could organize that you’ve got to do and when you could do it. Keep in mind that staying organized isn’t as easy as it seems. It needs hard work if you wish to enjoy a clutter free life later on.

Call Brunswick Organizing Solutions if you need the help of a professional organizer in getting rid of the clutter in your home or office.

Brunswick Organizing Solutions
Leland, NC 28451
910-477-3768
https://www.getorganizednc.com/

Cities Served
Leland, Wilmington, Shallotte, North Myrtle Beach, Southport, Bolivia, St. James, Oak Island, Ocean Isle Beach, Sunset Beach, Carolina Shores, Calabash, Castle Hayne, Burgaw

 

professional organizers

Professional Organizers Help with Senior Downsizing

March 30, 2020
, , professional organizers
Professional organizers can help seniors move from a home they have owned for years to an assisted living facility, a comfortable condo or other senior community.  The process of downsizing can be rough for anyone but seniors in particular can face a lot of stress when looking at a large home which is no longer filled with family.  With baby boomers reaching retirement many are deciding to move to warmer climates or simply free up their lives by moving to smaller living spaces.  Facing the task of organizing years of accumulated memories can be daunting at best.

Professional organizers Myrtle Beach can help you sort through the many items that have been collected over time.  They have the organizing skills to help you arrange items for handing down to family members, donating or preparing for the move.  They can do as much or as little of the work as you need.  The feelings that come with letting go of so many treasured items can be overwhelming and a professional organizer can help you make these hard decisions and will work with the moving company to ensure your items are handled with care.

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office organizing

How To Set Up and Organize Your Home Office

March 27, 2020
, , office organizing
Maybe you have decided to leave the office life goodbye and work from home. Or perhaps you’ve set up a home office for your new side hustle. Working at home allows you to control your schedule and if you know what you’re doing, you may even be able to skip out early whenever you want.

However, you can’t just sit on the couch with your laptop and expect to be productive. It is crucial to create a workspace or office within your home. If you don’t, you will be distracted, and you’ll fall behind your deadlines, and pretty soon you will no longer be comfortable working at home anymore.

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Blog for Jimmy Smith

March 23, 2020
, , home staging

I was contacted by Jim Smith whose mother had passed recently and daddy was placed in a nursing home.  Jim needed his parent’s townhouse cleaned out and staged so he could get ready to sell it.  When I showed up for the initial assessment, I noticed all types of military memorabilia.  His dad, Jimmy Smith, was an Army Veteran and couldn’t wait to show me all the medals and awards his dad received for his service during World War II.

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Home organizing

Home Organizing: Where Do You Start?

March 19, 2020
, , home organizing
Are you interested in home organizing? If yes, have you ever wondered where you should start? You need to begin with your storage spaces, which at first, would seem counterintuitive. Why not begin in your living room or kitchen, since these are the places in your home that you use the most.

The main idea here is to come up as much storage space as you can before you start organizing the rooms you always use. By doing so, you will have enough storage space once you move on to the spaces and rooms you use the most.

Home Organizing Tips

Storage Spaces

The place to start organizing is the storage space. When you dive deeper into your home, you will be doing a lot of decluttering and you will have to rearrange a lot of things. You should organize your storage space first so that when you find clothing, appliances, books, shoes, as well as papers, they will all have a place to go. They’re going to be tidy, neat, as well as clutter free.

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TIME MANAGEMENT

February 28, 2019
, , , , , , Blog

As a former teacher, time management was extremely important.  I was a special educator working with students with multiple disabilities.  These students thrived on a set schedule, routine, and consistency in their daily school day.  I always posted the schedule for the day on the board and the expectations. By doing that, I was, for the most part, able to alleviate some behaviors that would be centered around the unknown.  This was particularly affective for students with autism.

The definition for time management is “the ability to use one’s time effectively or productively”.  It is the process of organizing and planning how to divide your time between specific activities.  Good time management enables us to work smarter, not harder, so that you get more done in less time.  Failing to manage your time can damage your effectiveness and may cause undue stress.

Time management is an important part of the organizing process.  Often, we get distracted while performing a task and thus the task is left not completed.  This can get frustrating.  Our lives are often “cluttered” with things we want to do and things we need to do.  The first step in effectively managing your time, is to prioritize the projects or activities.  By that I mean to list all the things that you need to do and things you want to do.  Then determine what needs to be done immediately or later.  Overplanning can cause stress as well.  I would recommend limiting 2-3 needed tasks done daily and maybe 1-2 tasks you want to do.  A person that does not have good time management skills may need to write down a daily “to do” list.  Once a task is completed, you would check it off your list.  This provides a sense of accomplishment.  As you begin to develop your daily list and method of completing these tasks, it will become easier and you can see that your day will be more fulfilled!! 

There are many strategies that can help one with using their time more effectively.  Some people prefer to use their phones and some prefer paper and pen methods to manage their time.  It’s important to always keep your calendar up to date with upcoming appointments, events and activities.  Lastly, always start your day with a clear focus of expectations, minimize distractions, have a task checklist and focus on high-value activities!  As my previous principal always told us, “and don’t forget to take time to smell the roses.”

Extended Treasures

January 22, 2019
Blog

Relocating has it’s challenges! Inevitably, you wind up in your new home and begin to question yourself:

“I had no doubt that this must come with me; it means a lot to me and I can’t let it go.”  The point is that it brought you joy in your former state of being, your former home. The question now is, “Does it bring you joy now?”  The answer to this critical question (be totally honest with yourself) determines one of several paths you may now explore.

You can sell it, gift (donate) it, or re-purpose it; even if the answer is ,”Yes, it does still bring me joy …”

If it is not “working” with your current situation you can donate or sell. Hold a ceremony, take your time, and thank it for the pleasure it has shared with you! Then allow it to share the same with others of this life …

~   Let It Be   ~

A more palatable option is to allow it to extend its life by re-purposing. Everything Old Is New Again can be your mantra! Exhaust the number of options at your fingertips! Discuss options with others, check out creative sites like Pinterest, Real Simple (magazine) and perhaps take a chalk painting class!

When you extend your mind to new possibilities the result can be life changing ~

 

The pictures shown here of Karen’s Early American dining room set (which belonged to her husband’s parents) was re-purposed in their new home that complements their coastal theme decor.  She used farmhouse chalk paint and washed with tea stain and silver wax on hardware!!

Cookie Making Organization

December 8, 2018
Blog

I love Christmas time and especially making homemade cookies to share with my guests during the holidays and to give them as gifts to my family and friends!  I usually make at least 7 kinds of cookies! I recruited two friends to help this year and they graciously agreed.  In turn, they also got to take cookies home with them, as well.  I decided to double the cookie recipes to allow for plenty for each of us.

After locating the recipes the next step was looking at the ingredients.  First, I did an inventory of the things I had at home, then made a list of items that need to be purchased at our local grocery store.  Each of the helpers agreed to buy items from the list and they were asked to bring them on the cookie making day!

The next step was to set a cookie making day on a convenient date for each of us.   When that day came my friends arrived at the designated time we set and each was given a fun apron to wear, snacks, drinks, and all the items needed were ready to use! The types of cookies and their respective recipes were made available for each of us to view. I even had Google Home play Christmas carols to set the mood for our day together!

The kitchen was arranged by zones.  Next to the stove, zone 1, I placed the baking sheets, pot holders, and spatulas, the baking zone!  The next “zone” or zone 2 was the cookie making area.  This zone had 2 mixers, mixing utensils, bowls, measuring cups, and measuring spoons, readily available for use when needed!  Zone 3 was the ingredients zone.  I placed a portable table in the middle of the kitchen, since I don’t have an island, and had all the ingredients needed for all 7 cookies.  The ingredients were organized by wet and dry ingredients.  For example, flour, powdered sugar, sugar, oatmeal, baking soda, etc . were on one end of the table and on the other end were the “wet” ingredients; eggs, vanilla extract, almond extract and such.  Zone 4 was the cooling zone.  Once the cookies were baked, the cookies were transferred to cooling areas that were placed on wax paper.  The last zone, zone 5, was the packing station.  Once, the cookies were cooled, they were ready to be placed in containers.  I mostly use cookie tins over the years of cookie making.  I ask my friends to bring containers to take home their cookies.

Each of us, had assigned tasks to do so we never got into each other’s way.  For example, two of us mixed the ingredients while the other person manned the baking and cooling zones.

We had a great day of cookie making and my biggest recommendation is to be organized and prepared before your friends arrive to help!  The day flowed without a hitch and a good time was had by all!  The cookies  tasted pretty good, as well!!!

Zone 1

Zone 2

Zone 3

Zone 4

Zone 5