Blog | Claire Kurtz is The Well-Organized Woman

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

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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Stop Losing Your Things with 5 Easy Tips

October 2, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment

Between our hectic lives and sometimes hectic physical spaces it’s easy to occasionally lose things. Whether it’s your keys, cell phone, or some other important item, the loss of a belonging can cause serious difficulties in our lives. You can keep this problem from happening with a few small tricks.

1) Everything in it’s Place: The old adage is helpful when it comes to losing things. Designate homes for your belongings and commit to returning them to these locations once you are done with them. As a secondary level of organization, attempt to keep like items with like items. This will assist in at least getting you to the general area in which the item should be located.

2) Launch Pad: A launch pad is an area of your home that houses items that you consistently take with out outside, such as your purse, wallet, keys, and cell phone, etc. Ideally, it should be located near the entrance to the home and have enough space to store the items neatly. When entering the home deposit the items and do not move them again until you leave.

3) Mental Notes: Even when we have the good intention of leaving an item a place we think we’ll remember, it sometimes slips from our memory. Science tells us that if you actively chose to make a mental note when leaving the item somewhere you’ll be more likely to remember the location later. So when you are setting something down, take a moment to say to yourself ‘I’m leaving my phone on the kitchen counter’ or something similar.

4) Out & About: Experts state that the top 4 places for losing things are airports/airplanes, restaurants, public restrooms, and hotels. That being true, we need to be especially aware of our possessions when out and about. To keep from leaving things, commit to a routine of checking for your items before leaving the location. For example, before you leave a hotel room, check the closet, drawers, under the bed, in the bathroom, and around the room. Think of the process as the final step before you can check out and you’ll lessen the chances of leaving that phone charger on the wall.

5) Technology: If these tricks don’t help, resort to technological help. KeyRinger, a sound-enabled locator device, can be attached to keys, remotes, and other items. FindmyiPhone is an app that can be downloaded to an iPhone that allows GPS tracking of missing iPhones.

We hope these tricks help, but remember the most important thing to keep in mind when something has become lost is to stay calm. It’s likely you know where it is, so as long as you remain composed you should be able to locate it.

TWOW

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Networking: How to Make the Most of It

September 27, 2012 By Mandi Leave a Comment

A recent article by Richard Branson about networking got us thinking about the process of networking and how to best organize your efforts. It can be challenging to consistently put yourself out there and also do the necessary follow up to obtain the best results. For maximum return on time invested, consider using some of our below tips.

Scheduling: Finding time for networking opportunities can be tough. First, we recommend determining how much time you are willing to commit per month. Once you have a time allocation, research opportunities that occur during your available time, RSVP, and put the appointment on your calendar. If it helps to get you there, invite a friend to join you.
Business & Calling Cards: You should always have a few cards on you in case a networking opportunity arises. Keep a small pile in your purse or wallet and another in your car. Cards should include relevant contact information, but should also be unique enough to be memorable. If you’re unemployed and looking for a calling card, check out Moo.com, which offers unique social media style cards, as seen in the photo.
Keeping Track: Remembering who was who and what conversation was important at an event can be difficult. Make it easy on yourself by making a few notes about the person and/or your conversation on the back of each business card that you receive. Once home, transfer the contact information, including the notes to your preferred contact system or phone.
Ask for Recommendations and Connections: No matter the person you meet, it can’t hurt to ask if they have any recommendations or connections they can make that will serve your needs. For example, if you’re looking for a particular job and meet someone at an industry networking event that doesn’t have any openings, consider asking them if they know of any other agencies that do or how they found their current position.
Scheduling a Follow Up: The key to great networking is to actually follow up with the contact. In order to streamline this process, attempt to set a follow up meeting or call with the contact while with them. If they can, schedule something for the coming week and get it on both calendars. If the other person cannot commit, immediately mark on your calendar to outreach to them within 2 business days.
General Contacts: For people you met while networking that aren’t necessarily a right fit for your needs, it is still important to follow up. While they may not be who you are looking to meet, they may be able to connect you with that person. Within 2 business days, send a brief, but friendly email saying you were glad to meet them at the event.

What are your favorite networking tips?

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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20 Ways to Get Organized in 10 Minutes or Less

September 18, 2012 By Claire Leave a Comment

Most people would love to be more organized, but have a tough time executing the steps needed to get there. Fortunately, there are quick fixes that overtime can lead to a more organized life. Check out our ideas below and add your own via comments.

Put away the stacks of folded laundry currently living on a chair/floor/dresser top, etc.
Remove wire dry cleaning hangers and put them in your car to return with the next dry cleaning drop off
Throw out expired food
Review a stack of mail and trash, shred, or file the contents
Gather excess travel size personal care products and put them in a bag for donation
Toss single socks whose mates have long been lost
Delete 25 emails from your inbox
Pick one surface to clean, remove all unnecessary items, and return them to their homes
Clean out your purse or wallet
Make a To-Do list
Recycle magazines that are 4 months old or older. If you would like to keep it for specific info, tear out the article and place it in a dedicated magazine binder with plastic sleeves
While at the gas pump, do a sweep of the car and throw out any trash
Add yourself to a ‘do not mail’ list, such as 41Pounds.org
Create 3 file folders on your computer and add appropriate documents from your desktop
Review your kitchen gadget drawer and pick out any duplicates. Place dupes in a bag in your car for donation
Look through your coupon file and recycle anything that’s expired
Select 1-3 pairs of shoes that haven’t been worn in the past year and ready them for donation
Pick 3 file folders that you haven’t touched in a couple of years and review the contents. Try to throw out as much as possible
Throw out expired medications
Add 10 minute blocks to your calendar for future organizing sessions

Good luck!

TWOW

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Internet Time-Suck: How to Avoid the Temptation

September 14, 2012 By Mandi Leave a Comment

The distractions of the internet are never-ending. Between social media, online articles, email, and instant messaging, one can waste hours of potentially productive time on essentially useless browsing. The graphic provided from Nielson research shows the average ways in which we use the internet. We are all guilty of the internet time-such, but some have more trouble with it than others. In order to curb this potentially detrimental habit, we have a few strategies:

1) Determine Why: There is usually a reason why you are drawn into the distraction of internet surfing. Perhaps its boredom, perhaps attention-deficit, or maybe it’s a stress reliever. However, if you understand the why, you can more easily shift the habit into something productive. For example, if you are distracted by internet surfing due to boredom, consider instead switching to a new work task that will re-engage your interest. If you’re looking for mindless stress-relief, perhaps a quick walk outside the building would provide a healthy release.

2) Internet Breaks: If you absolutely need a internet break, determine how much time you can afford to browse and set a timer to keep you to it. The site http://minutes.at/ offers a free timer service that allows you set hard time limits per site. When your time is up, use an app, such as Pocket, to bookmark any pages that you’d like to come back and read later, so that you aren’t tempted to stay a bit longer.

3) Total Browsing Limits: If you are the kind of person who finds themselves lost online for several hours a day, consider setting a weekly internet time allotment. For example, if it’s not for work or school, you will only allow yourself 2 hours per week of browsing time. Keep track of your total on a notepad or phone timer app.

4) Minimize Opportunity: If you are under deadline or need to concentrate on something at work, turn off access to internet distractions. Close down your browser window, turn off instant messaging, and silence your phone from receiving social media notifications. This strategy also works if you need the internet to complete part of the task. The difference is that you do all of your online research first, copy the information to an offline source and then close down the browser to complete the work.

5) Block Access: If you just can’t trust yourself to follow the above suggestions, there is a more serious option available. Services such as, Leech Block for Firefox and Chrome Nanny for Google Chrome allow you to set preferences of which sites will be unavailable for access during which times per day.

Although internet browsing can be a very enjoyable and appropriate activity, there are certainly times that all of us have stayed a bit too long. Hopefully with these tips, we can maximize efficiency and minimize the time-suck.

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Hobby Gear & Supplies: How Much Is Too Much?

September 11, 2012 By Claire Leave a Comment

Hobbies are a valuable addition to our lives. They give us something fun and recreational to focus on that isn’t work or other responsibilities. The problem is that many hobbies require significant amounts of gear or supplies. We often meet clients that while in love with the hobbies they participate in, are overwhelmed by the amount of ‘stuff’ they have collected to facilitate the hobby. In order to help limit the number of hobby items, we have several recommendations:

1) Try Before You Buy: Often the instinct is that you cannot try a sport or hobby without first purchasing the necessary gear and supplies. For example, someone who wants to take up cycling may feel the need to get a bike, helmet, appropriate clothing, and anything else they may need before starting out. If the sport isn’t for them, however, this stuff ends up indefinitely taking up space in their garage. Instead of purchasing first, consider renting or borrowing gear to ensure that the hobby is something you’d like to continue long term.

2) Set Your Limits: Another common hobbyist trend that we see is the personality who seems to enjoy the thrill of the supply acquisition more than the actual hobby. This seems to be particularly true of scrapbookers who often have enormous collections of supplies, with few finished scrapbooks. To keep this from happening, give yourself limits on how much you will buy, how much you will spend, and how often you will shop for hobby supplies. Make the limits firm and stick to them so that you don’t end up with excessive amounts of stuff with little time to use them.

3) Pay it Forward: For those who fall into the category of large amounts of unused hobby supplies, there are many options for culling it from your home. Play It Again Sports will pay you for your used sports equipment. Goodwill, Salvation Army, and the other charities will accept just about anything you’ve got. A final option is to post about the available stuff on your social media accounts. There’s a good chance someone in your network will be interested and you can rest assured that the stuff is going to good use.

In the end, the most important thing about your hobby is that you’re enjoying yourself; so have a great time!

TWOW

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8 Reasons to Hire a Professional Organizer

September 7, 2012 By Mandi Leave a Comment

We often meet clients that are well-versed in the general principles of organizing. They understand what needs to happen to get them on the right track and yet their homes are still disorganized. When they call us they are initially skeptical about the need for an organizer, but end up extremely happy with the service and results. You may wonder why is there such a discrepancy. We’ve put together the top 8 reasons why hiring a professional organizer is better than attempting to do it by yourself or with a friend.

1. Objectivity: We have no attachment to your belongings and thus can help make difficult decisions about parting with said things a bit easier. We come prepared with lots of thoughtful questions about the frequency of use, necessity, and usefulness to assist in determining whether to keep or cull.

2. Calm & Collected: We organize people’s homes for a living, so we’ve pretty much seen it all. No matter the extent to your organizing needs, we will not become overwhelmed. We can help you achieve this peace of mind as well.

3. Efficiency & Organization: Instead of just making things fit anywhere they can, we strategize about the bigger organizational picture to ensure that your home and life is left with increased efficiency.

4. Completion: When attempting an organizing project by yourself, you can sometimes get distracted and leave things in a more disorganized state than when you started. When you hire us to organize we promise the job will be finished to your satisfaction.

5. Expertise: We are full of recommendations for products, resources, and information that will help you to achieve the organization that you’re looking for. Be it a storage solution or a way of setting up your desk to maximize productivity, we’re happy to impart our wisdom.

6. Fresh Eyes: When you are living in the disorganization for a long time it can become normal and blind you to new ways of doing things. Professional organizers can walk into your home and see patterns of disorganization, as well as potential solutions that you may overlooked.

7. Maintenance Strategies: While physical organizing is the first step, keeping things that way is the hard part. While we organize we impart strategies for how to correct behavioral habits that are contributing to the long-term disorganization, thus leaving you prepared to maintain things on your own.

8. Donations: Before we leave your home, we take the items that you are donating to charity for you. It may seem insignificant, but often times people never get around to donating the items they cull and then they eventually reintegrate themselves into the home. By removing the items immediately we can guarantee this doesn’t happen.

Obviously we’re partial to hiring a professional to help you with your organizing needs, but if you’re still unsure, feel free to give us a call and we can discuss your particular situation.

TWOW

How To Stay Organized When You Are Moving With Kids

September 4, 2012 By admin 1 Comment

No matter what your situation, staying organized during a move is a daunting task. There is so much to do and to plan, and there are always unexpected problems popping up at the last minute. Parents of young children especially have their work cut out for them. Not only do kids usually have a disproportionate amount of things to pack (especially the tricky to organize toys), parents have to make sure that favorite toys don’t get accidentally packed away and they still have access to the right food, toiletries, and supplies that come with raising a kid. Plus, kids are especially disturbed by a change in their routine, which means they might be in need of some additional time and attention – two things that you will be very short on during a move! In short, staying organized for a move when you have children is challenging, but here are a few tricks to ease the process:

Make A Kid-Friendly Checklist

A checklist can be a great way to stay organized for any task, so why not get started teaching this valuable skill to your kids? Some of the anxiety that children face during a move is a fear that their favorite possessions aren’t going to make it to their new house. Help alleviate this fear by going through their room together and making a checklist of their things. Spend some time helping them pack and checking off the items as you go along. This will help to put them at ease and reassure them that nothing important gets left behind. You can even give them special stickers to decorate the boxes once they are all packed up. This will also give you the chance to make sure their rooms get packed up in an organized way.

Get A Helper

Once your distraction technique has run its course and you can sense your child becoming antsy or bored, it might be time to call in some reinforcements, they can be that assistance you need . This is a challenging time for a child, so why not arrange for their favorite babysitter to take them to the park or to the swimming pool? Even if it is for a short period of time, you will be amazed at how much more you can accomplish when your little one is away – especially if you know that they are out having fun! If you are moving to a new city or state, this is also a great time to arrange play dates with their friends, on this Website you will find some of the best Worldwide Moving Companies for either business and residential situations.

Remember, this is a stressful time for everyone in the family. These tips will help you stay organized and happy throughout your move.

This post was generously written by Logan B. Logan is a guest author and organization expert. When he isn’t writing, he’s helping people find the best moving company for the job.

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