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5 Ways to Make Your New Years Resolution Stick

January 4, 2013 By Claire Leave a Comment

Over 60% of Americans that make New Years resolutions will keep them through January. After that, the number continues to decline as the months go by. There are many reasons as to why so many resolutions are not maintained, but there are ways in which to improve your chances of achieving the goal.

1) Make it Positive: Resolutions that involve denying yourself something, such as diets, can be difficult. Instead, make the goal something positive, such as attending a fitness class 3 times per week for the year. This type of resolution can help you obtain the ultimate goal of weight-loss, but it will seem less restrictive in the process.

2) Be Specific: The most essential part of developing a goal is to outline in specifics what the goal is and how you will achieve it. For example, if your resolution is to read more, perhaps you could make a goal to complete one book every two weeks, at minimum. Create a calendar and keep yourself accountable to noting when the next reading deadline is and you’ll have greater chances of finishing the goal.

3) Reinforce Yourself: If you’re working towards a goal, it helps to have reinforcement to encourage you. This can come in many forms, such as positive support from friends or family or perhaps a reward of a shopping spree after a benchmark has been met. When setting your goal timeline, add in benchmarks of when you will receive said reward and you’ll have something to look forward to while you are working.

4) Automate: The best way to achieve a goal is to remove yourself as the active participant. For instance, if your goal is to save more money this year, set up at automatic savings transfer to your savings account each payday. Without even thinking about it, you’ll have more money saved by the end of the year.

5) Be Realistic: Goals that are attainable are easier to work towards. Select resolutions that you have a high likelihood of achieving, such as losing 15lbs instead of 50lbs or attempting to have a more organized calendar instead of having a more organized life. Once you obtain the initial goal you can re-plan for future improvements.

We wish you luck in acheiving your New Years Resolutions and a Happy New Year!

TWOW

Getting Ready for the Holidays: Decorations

November 13, 2012 By Claire Leave a Comment

Holiday decorations are an important part of the season. They help to get us all in the holiday spirit and bring a touch of fun into our homes. While each family has their own traditions for how and when they will decorate, we’d like to offer some suggestions on how to prepare for the decorating process in an organized manner.

Before you decorate:

Remove your holiday decorations from storage and review the contents. If anything is broken or needs repair set the items aside and take appropriate action. Then determine if there are gaps in your collection that need to be filled or if there is anything special you’d like to add this year. Take care of all decoration shopping before you start the actual decorating process.
Decide if you have a particular theme or type of decoration that you’d like to highlight this year.
Check your Christmas lights to ensure they are working properly.
Double-check that you know the location of miscellaneous, but important items, such as the Christmas tree stand or stockings.

If you are limited on time, there are several local options for enlisting help for your decorating needs:

Tradition Trees in Metro Atlanta offers a service that will deliver, install, remove and recycle your Christmas Tree. They can also provide wreaths, roping, and other related items. Prices vary depending on tree size, so visit their website for details.
The Christmas Light Pros also in Metro Atlanta provide professional holiday light hanging services, including installation and removal in January. Call for a free estimate.
And of course, The Well-Organized Woman offers full interior holiday decorating services, including decoration purchase, concept design, and organized packing following the holidays.

For more tips and ideas about the holiday planning process, check out our recently released Holiday Planner eBook on Lulu.com. The printable planner is filled with helpful worksheets, checklists, and timelines to assist in your organized planning process.

TWOW

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The Container Store Buckhead Reopens in New Location

November 9, 2012 By Claire Leave a Comment

Yesterday the WOW team had the privilege of attending a blogger preview event for the opening of the relocated Container Store Buckhead. The new store, located on the corner of Peachtree St. and Wieuca Rd., is significantly bigger than the old store and appears to carry a greater variety of products. For frequent shoppers, the parking is also much easier!

The WOW team absolutely loves The Container Store for their multifunctional and innovative storage products, but also for their commitment to conscious capitalism. If you’ve never heard about the store’s corporate culture, you might be interested to know that it is dedicated to running their business in a way that is good for the environment, local communities, and their employees, as well as the bottom line. For example, their employees are paid significantly higher than the average local wage for similar jobs and receive 263 hours of training in their first year (compared to an average of 7-10 in the industry). Learn more about their Founding Principles here.

In celebration of the store opening, there will be events and giveaways held this Saturday and Sunday (11/10-11/11). Some of the reasons to check out the new location this weekend include:

Prize giveaways every hour, on the hour, including a $1,000 Elfa Space Makeover
$10 Store More Gift Cards for the first 100 Facebook Check-Ins &
10% of all sales throughout the weekend will be donated to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

Thanks again to Container Store Buckhead for inviting WOW to be a part of your grand reopening events. We loved the new location and will certainly be shopping there soon.

TWOW

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Getting Ready for the Holidays: Gift Wrap

November 2, 2012 By Claire Leave a Comment

It is officially the first week in November, which means that the holidays are just around the corner. Each Friday until Christmas we will be posting ideas for how you can get organized for the upcoming festivities. Additionally, we are very excited to announce that The Well-Organized Woman will be releasing it’s first eBook on Organized Holiday Planning next week. Please check back then to download your very own copy.

The first item on our holiday to-do list is to review our gift wrap supplies. The act of looking through your supplies and determining what you have and what you need is important for two reasons. First, it ensures that you do not buy duplicates of things that you already have. Second, it should serve as inspiration for how you choose to wrap presents this year. If you have a lot of ribbons or bows you could make those the focal point of all wrapping this year. In other words, try to use as much of the supplies you currently have before purchasing anything new. Below are a few additional tips and ideas for maintaining organization of your wrapping supplies this holiday season.

Keep wrapping supplies organized in a portable carrier, such as the Gift Wrap Work Station from Container Store or the over-the-door option pictured below from Better Homes & Gardens.
Purge anything that is torn, ripped, or in other ways poor quality.
Sort decorative supplies by category. For example, keep all ribbons together, tissue paper together, and bows together, etc. Then sort wrapping paper by occasion, such as all Christmas paper together, all baby shower paper together, etc. This way you know exactly what you have for each potential gift-giving event.
Store gift bags inside of one large gift bag.
After wrapping gifts, make sure the supplies are returned to their rightful homes.
Donate any gift wrap you no longer want but is in good condition to Goodwill – another shopper might love something you no longer use!

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Emergency Preparedness Checklist

October 29, 2012 By Claire Leave a Comment

Hurricane Sandy currently has a lot of people in the Northeast frantically making last minute preparations for the storm. As planners, we’d prefer to ready ourselves for possible inclement weather before it is ever an issue. In order to help prepare for future weather-related emergencies, we’ve put together a list of must have items. This checklist was developed in part from the emergency preparedness lists of FEMA and the CDC, as well as our own recommendations.

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS SUPPLY LIST:

Baby

Diapers, 5 day supply per child
Baby Wipes, 5 day supply per child
Formula or baby food, 3 day supply per child

Clothing

3 day supply of clothes per person, accounting for cold and warm weather
Rugged or distance type shoes

Documents

Copies of S.S. cards, birth certificates, marriage records, immunization records, passports, and drivers licenses for all family members
Copies of insurance policies for home, health, and vehicle
Checking & savings account # information
Current photo of each family member for identification purposes
Written phone numbers and addresses for important contacts

First Aid Kit & Contents:

First Aid Kit Box with contents inside
Tweezers
First aid booklet with CPR ‘How To’
Two pairs of latex or other sterile gloves
Sterile dressings to stop bleeding
Hydrogen peroxide
Ipecac syrup (induces vomiting)
Needles
Rubbing alcohol
Safety pins
Scissors
Razor Blade
Cleansing agents or soap and antibiotic towelettes
Antibiotic ointment to prevent infection
Burn ointment to prevent infection
Adhesive bandages in a variety of sizes
Thermometer
Prescription medications for family members that need them, check expiration dates every year
Petroleum jelly or other lubricant to prevent dryness, chafing, or cracking of the skin during extreme weather conditions
Calamine lotion (sunburn/insect bites)
Prescribed medical supplies
Nonprescription drugs, such as non-aspirin pain relievers, feminine supplies and personal
Antidiarrheal medications, antacid for upset stomachs, and laxatives

Food & Water

A 3-day supply of water (1 gallon per person per day; more if you live in a warm climate)
A 3-day supply of ready-to-eat foods, such as canned meat, canned fruits and vegetables, and ultra-high temperature milk (also called UHT milk)
High-energy foods such as peanut butter, nuts, dry cereal, granola, and crackers
“Stress foods” such as hard candy or cookies
A manual can opener
Eating utensils and supplies (for example, paper plates and plastic forks, spoons, and knives)

Hygiene:

Tampons or pads
Towlettes
Bar soap
Tooth Brush and Toothpaste for each family member
Toilet paper
Hand Sanitizer

Kids:

Games and activities for children

Medical:

Extra prescription eye glasses, contacts, hearing aid or other vital personal items

Money:

Several hundred dollars in small bills
Quarters for phone calls

Safety:

Flashlights with extra batteries
Hand crank-powered radio
Dust masks for each family member
Batteries in several sizes
Work gloves
Plastic garbage bags and ties for sanitation
Flares
Candles
A whistle
A wrench or pliers to turn off utilities (such as water or gas)
Plastic sheeting and duct tape for sheltering in place
Universal or wind-up cell phone charger
Matches in a waterproof container
Emergency reference materials, such as a first-aid book or a photocopy of such a book or manual
Warm blanket or sleeping bag for each person
Rain gear – ponchos or rain jackets, umbrellas
Paper towels
A fire extinguisher
A tent
A compass
Matches in a waterproof container
Signal flares
Paper and pencils
Medicine dropper
Household chlorine bleach, which you can use as a disinfectant to clean surfaces (mix nine parts water to one part bleach). In an emergency, you also can use it to purify water. Use 16 drops of regular household liquid bleach per gallon of water.
Eyedropper for bleach
Backpack, bin or other portable bag for ‘Go Items’
Ziplock Bags to keep everything separated in the bins
Pocket knife
Safety ladder for second floor evacuation

We encourage all of our readers to work on putting together their emergency supply kit as soon as possible. You never know when it might become needed. And visit Ottawa Coast2Coast trainings.

TWOW

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10 Ways to Start Living With Less

October 23, 2012 By Claire Leave a Comment

Many of us would love to minimize the amount of stuff we have in our lives, but don’t really know where to start. The culling process can, for some, be scary and for others, downright unimaginable. For people that fall into this category, we’ve compiled our favorite suggestions for minimizing your stuff.

1) 365 Items in 365 Days: If getting rid of a lot of stuff all at once gives you anxiety, there no other thing to think about, commit to ridding your life of one item per day for a year, check out Veronica Mariajarski best cbd oil for anxiety. The item can be anything you wish it to be, but it must be donated, trashed, recycled, or gifted that day.

2) Expired Items: It’s very likely that you have medicine, beauty products, and food items in your home that are past their expiration dates. Throwing these items out is usually easy for most people, so it’s a great way to get into the spirit of culling.

3) One Item In, One Item Out: Although it won’t lessen your current possessions, committing to the goal of one item out for every item that comes into your home is a great way to maintain the current collection size.

4) Buy Multi-Purpose Products: Instead of buying many single-use products, choose products that have multiple functions. For example, you can save 3 products by buying a makeup with moisturizer, SPF, and anti-aging ingredients built in.

5) Clothing: According to statistics, we wear 20% of our clothing, 80% of the time. This says to us that you can donate a good portion of your clothing and not really notice the loss. Use the flip hanger technique once per season and cull the items that we’re not turned once.

6) Meal Planning: Americans often over-buy at the grocery store. Keep from committing this sin by planning your meals and grocery list before heading to the store. Do not buy anything off the list while there and you’ll notice less expired and wasted food in your kitchen over-time.) Unnecessary Buying: Have you ever gone to Target for toothpaste and come out with $200 worth of stuff? Keep the Target syndrome from happening to you, by taking into the store only the amount of cash you need to purchase the items on your list. By leaving the credit cards in the car, you’ll find you only leave with the items you absolutely needed.8) No Paper Rule: Almost all paper items in your life can be found in digital version. Bills, magazines, newspapers, coupon mailers, etc. can all be accessed online if necessary. Stop these things from entering your home by: signing up for a junk mail stop list, opting for paperless billing, reading magazines and news online, and committing to not printing unless absolutely necessary.9) Eliminate Duplicates: If you have multiples of certain items, donate, trash, or recycle them as an easy way to minimize the amount of stuff in your life. An common example of this is kitchen utensils. Often people have 3-4 of the same type of utensil, but typically only use their favorite. Get rid of the extras and you won’t even notice their gone.10) Examine the Excesses: Once per year, examine the things you have and decide what is really necessary. For example, if you pay for a gym membership, but have been once in the past few months, it’s not the best use of your finances. If your children have moved out and there are now just two people living in a 5 bedroom house, it could be time to downsize. If you pay for the premium movie channels in your cable package, but rarely watch them, shut them off and pocket the difference each month.We hope that these ideas have given you some inspiration for how you can live with less while not sacrificing in terms of lifestyle and happiness.

TWOW

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Organization & Time Management for Entrepreneurs

October 16, 2012 By Claire Leave a Comment

The ELEN chapter of ABWA in Alpharetta recently invited me to speak about organizing and time management for entrepreneurs at their monthly luncheon. We had an excellent time networking with the members of this group and wanted to share some of the tips we gave in our presentation. In order to manage the variety of daily obligations that entrepreneurs face, we recommended focusing on four organizational areas:

Routines & Task Management:

The importance of routine in your daily, weekly, and yearly lives cannot be underestimated. We recommend, taking a look at the things your business requires of you on a regular basis and then begin to set up routines that will allow you to accomplish each task in the most efficient way. You should also schedule time to prepare for upcoming days and weeks. Sunday evening is a great time for this on a weekly basis. Below are a couple additional tips for integrating routines into your life.

Prioritization: Decide what the top 3 things need to happen each day and commit to getting them done.
Requests for info/action from others should happen in the morning
Batching: Group tasks into categories when making your to-do list (phone calls, emails, physical tasks, meetings, professional tasks, personal tasks, etc.)

Managing Email, Calls & Interruptions:

Dealing with the daily influx of demands for an entrepreneur can be difficult. In order to achieve the greatest efficiency, we recommend telling others what style of communication you prefer. For example, if you are best on email, tell employees and others that they should reach you in that manner. This way you will not be bombarded with phone calls or in-person drop-bys that drain you of time. A few more tips are below.

Email Inbox: Use for items that need current action. File all other emails in well-labeled folders immediately upon receipt. Review and clean out folders weekly.
Closed-Door Time: Schedule time each day when you will silence the phone, close the office door, and turn off email, so that you can finish necessary tasks

Paper Management:

This is the most common concern among entrepreneurs. Managing the necessary, and not so necessary, paper that comes into the business can quickly become unmanageable. We’ve outlined our best tips for keeping the paper under control below.

Filing: Use well-labeled files (physical or digital) and commit to reviewing the contents once per quarter. Shred, toss, or recycle unnecessary items or things that haven’t been needed in 1+ years. Google ‘Suze Orman what to keep documents’ for a list of must keep financial docs with timelines.
Expenses: Keep track of receipts for business with an app like Expensify or a desk scanner like NeatDesk.
Go Paperless: Attempt to eliminate all paper from your life by scanning, opting out of paper statements/mail, and not printing. Digital records are easier to search, permanent (if stored safely), and require less space.

Needing Assistance: (Personal Assistance, Professional Assistance, and/or C-Level)

A final issue that we commonly see with entrepreneurs in not knowing when to get help. Whether it’s an assistant, an employee, or even a C-level adviser it is important to bring on assistance if it will help your business grow or efficiently maintain. If you are dealing with one of the below issues, it probably means you could use some help.

1) Your work/life balance is suffering

2) You’re in over your head

3) You’re doing tasks poorly and taking more time than the job should require because it is not your expertise

4) You’re doing tasks that are below your level when you could be focusing on more important things.

We hope these tips for entrepreneurs are helpful and would love to hear your favorite organizational ideas for people with their own businesses.

TWOW

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14 Ways to Prepare for Fall

October 9, 2012 By Claire Leave a Comment

Fall has arrived and that means it’s time to start readying our homes for the change in season. In order to prepare you and your home for the cooler weather, we’ve put together a list of simple organizing projects.

1) Warm Season Gear: Organize and store items such as pool toys, beach towels, and outside sporting equipment.

2) Garden: Prune your perennials, add a layer of insulating mulch for plant warmth, and trim trees that could provide a threat to your home during a winter storm, Go take a quick look at this knee pad review if you are struggling to find a pair of knee pads that will suit this or any type of work. Applicable to all industries and trades, you’ll be able to find some knee pads that are right for you.

Prune, Mulch, & Plant: Prune dead branches and foliage, trim overgrown plants, and prepare the garden for planting by putting down a layer of mulch, call in the Savannah hardscapes if necessary.

3) Reorganize the Kitchen: Relocate warm weather items, such as ice cream makers, to higher shelves and shift down things like the crockpot and soup bowls.

4) Pool: Schedule an appointment for your pool to be winterized and mark the close-up date on your calendar.

5) Weather-proofing: Determine if your windows, doors, or pipes needs weather proofing or insulating. Clear out gutters and downspouts. Contact Gutter Guards Gettysburg for gutter cleaning services.

6) Heater check: Have a professional firm come and inspect your heating system before turning it on. If applicable, have the chimney swept.

7) Closet Changeover: Conduct the Fall closet changeover using the process outlined here. While you’re at it, purge summer items that were not worn this year from the collection.

8) Artwork: Set up a system for displaying, temporarily storing, and keeping children’s school artwork.

9) Prep the Coat Closet: Clear out space and organize the coat closet to accommodate for regular use.

10) Reverse Ceiling Fans: Keep the warm air down by reversing your ceiling fan blades.

11) Clean out the Pantry: Review the contents of you pantry and toss anything that’s expired or not being eaten.

12) Roof: Inspect your roof and repair any broken shingles.

13) Lawn: Have your sprinklers winterized and prep the lawn for the cold weather.

14) Deck: Put down a fresh coat of sealer on your deck and get patio furniture covers, if needed.

Good luck with your organizing projects and have a happy Fall season.

TWOW

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Get Organized for Halloween

October 5, 2012 By Claire Leave a Comment

Halloween may not be one of the most important holidays, but for families with children the day can require much preparation. In order to avoid last minute scrambling, we’ve put together a list of things to get organized ahead of time.

1) Costumes: By shopping for costumes earlier in the month of October you’ll not only have a better selection, but you may also get a better price. Costume stores typically offer coupons in early October, so keep a look out in your coupon mailers or check online sites like retailmenot.com for discount codes for online shopping. For optimum organization, you should aim to have all costumes purchased by the second week in October.

2) Decorations: Halloween decorations can help to get your family and neighborhood in the holiday spirit. Plan on decorating your home and yard by the weekend of October 20th. If you’re carving pumpkins, ideal timing is the weekend before (27th) Halloween to ensure they stay fresh. Keep in mind when you are decorating that the weather changes quickly this time of year, so if you have delicate ghosts or spider webs, be sure to bring them in before any rain hits.

3) Candy: Stores like CVS, Costco, and Target have deals on large bags of candy early in the month, so now is the time to stock up on the sweets you’ll need for trick-or-treaters.

4) School Activities: Schools often plan Halloween activities, such as costume parades and trick-or-treating. Find out the dates of these events now and mark your calendars to ensure your child will be prepared. In addition to the activity dates, also add deadlines for costume and accessory (candy pails) purchases.

5) Trick-o-Treating Plans: Plan on setting up your trick-or-treat plans two weeks ahead of time. If you are coordinating with other families, set a meeting time, location, and plans for child supervision and safety. It’s also a good idea to assign each child a ‘buddy’ to stay with for the evening to ensure no one is left alone.

6) Party Plans: If you plan on throwing a Halloween party, you’ll want to send out invitations the first week of October. During the second week, you can start to plan decorations, food, theme, music, and other party needs. The third week is the time to firm up these plans and finishing buying necessary non-perishable items, such as decorations, I always make sure to place antique clocks during this time; however, this year we will need to get a Repair for one of them . The last week leading up to the party is the time to decorate your space and complete the grocery shopping. On the day-of, you’ll prepare the food and drinks, set up last minute items, don your costume, and get ready to have a spooky evening with friends.

7) Holiday Food: Although Halloween is best known for candy, some people have traditions that include certain Halloween foods. Ensure you’ll be able to make these for friends and family by making a list of foods and necessary ingredients two weeks before the holiday. When making the list, keep in mind the little items, such as spices for pumpkin seed roasting and drinks such as apple cider.

We hope that by getting a head start on your Halloween plans this year you’ll have more time to enjoy the festivities on the day of.

TWOW

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Sleep Routines & Environment

September 21, 2012 By Claire Leave a Comment

Sleep is an essential human function. We all need roughly 8 hours a night, and yet many of us cannot seem to get enough. Experts agree that consistency, along with the right environment, can assist in making this process easier. To an organizing and time management professional, this says to me that the way we organize our our bedrooms and daily routines can drastically affect the quality and quantity of our sleep. For optimal sleep, try implementing the following suggestions into your life.

1) Routine: The most important thing you can do to encourage sleep is to develop a daily sleep routine. In this routine, you’ll want to perform the same activities, in the same order, each day to let your body know you’re getting prepared for sleep. This may include brushing your teeth, setting the alarm, or taking a few meditative breaths. Whatever the activities are, do them right before getting into bed each day. The same is true in the morning, have a waking up and getting up routine that is the same each day.

2) Atmosphere: Ideally, your bedroom should be cool, dark, and quiet. The darkness stimulates natural melatonin production, the temperature encourages the body’s natural tendency to cool down while sleeping, and the silence helps to eliminate obvious interruptions. If necessary, consider purchasing ear plugs or a sleep mask to help achieve this environment. A bath can also raise your body temp enough to simulate the ideal cooling effect. Finally, the room should also be free from all stress-inducing items, such as bills, work materials, or chore items.

3) Timing: Just like with any routine, you’ll want to maintain consistency by keeping your bed and rise times stable. Although the weekends can sometimes throw off our sleep schedule, it is important to maintain similar timing as much as possible. David B. Agnus, author of ‘The End of Illness‘ says this will help to train your body to start shutting down around the same time each day and lead to improved sleep and health.

4) Distractions: Although technology is an important part of our lives, it can also be a hindrance to our sleep. Consider turning your phone on silent or leaving it in another room during sleeping hours. This will help reduce the urge to check it when you see a new message come in while you should be getting some shut eye. TVs, computers, and tablets can also delay sleep as the light can trick the body into thinking it should be awake. As a general rule of thumb, attempt to leave all technology out of the bedroom.

When you start to think about sleep in the same way you would for other routines or responsibilities you can start to understand the importance of basic things like establishing a bedtime. We hope these will help you get the restful night’s sleep you deserve.

TWOW

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