getting organized | Claire Kurtz is The Well-Organized Woman

Guest Post: Top Tips for Fall Decorating

October 19, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment

The weather’s turned cool and you’ve shifted from backyard barbecue to stovetop soups and stews. Now that the colors of autumn are all around, it’s a great time to update your décor for fall. Interior Designer Christopher Grubb of Arch-Interiors Design Group in Beverly Hills is used to styling the homes of his luxury-loving clients for all seasons. Here, he offers ideas on how to infuse warm hues and cozy textures into the home, helping you celebrate the harvest season no matter what your budget might be.

Update picture frames. This is a great change if you use wood or fall colored frames, or a mixture as well. It brings new life to your existing photos, and you’ll see them in a whole new light.
Fresh paint is always an inexpensive way to make a big impact. Think of adding a burgundy accent wall in the dining room, a terra cotta hue in the living room, or maybe a rich harvest gold in a breakfast nook. The options are unlimited.
If you have a chandelier in the dining room, add some new shades in a rich, fall color. There are some very fun beaded ones that sparkle with the lights on or off.
Find a great pattern for throw pillows with fall colors, and then complement them with solid colors. You can do this in the living room, family room, media room or bedroom.
Add linens. Tablecloths and napkins in the dining room or breakfast nook make a big difference. Choose fall shades in a solid color with colorful complementary napkins, or vice versa.
Switch out or add an area rug. If you have a solid colored one, choose a fun, patterned one for fall.
Switch up your accent towels in the bath. It’s a simple way to add a fresh touch of fall color. Use a combination of solids and prints and accent them with a new floor mat.
Fresh cut flowers can be costly, but they’re a great way to add a touch of any season to the home. One great thing to do is incorporate branches of leaves that are turning fall colors. They make a great statement and bring the outdoors inside. Also, arrangements of dried corns, nuts, and pomegranates instantly give a sense that the season is changing.
If you’ve had the same sofas or side chairs for years, you can find affordable slipcovers with great fall colors or warm textures such as chenille. If you’re crafty, look into making your own. Slipcovers can make a big change in your home without the high cost of reupholstering. Plus, they can be washed and dried.
Change drapes to a fabric with more weight to add warmth in any room. Velvet of chenille is a perfect fabric because of its thickness. You can add them as side panels on either side of a sheer drape.
A new comforter with warm colors is a great way to bring fall into the bedroom. Mix with fall-hued throw pillows to give the effect of a complete room makeover. Add fresh new sheets in fall colors such as pumpkin, hunter green, chocolate brown, or deep gold for a reminder every night that fall is in the air.
Accessorize! Start with your favorite fall colors such as burgundies, golds, browns, etc. Check out swap meets and garage sales for a mixture of glass vases or pottery. Group various colors and sizes together on a console, mantle, or coffee table. But be sure to remove some of the accessories you already have. Often we leave things out year-round and actually over-accessorize our rooms. Put them away temporarily and then add pieces of your own color scheme.

This post was generously written by Beverly Hills Interior Designer Christopher Grubb from Arch-Interiors.com.

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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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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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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Guest Post: Is Your Bed Linen Keeping You Up At Night?

August 31, 2012 By admin 1 Comment

The kind of bedding you use can mean the difference between a good night’s rest and not getting any sleep at all. People spend about a third of their lives in bed, but many don’t take the time to actually understand what kind of sheets and duvets are the best for them. In fact, many people don’t even know how much of a difference a quality duvet and good sheets can make for their sleep. Many people suffer with bedding that is too hot, doesn’t breathe well, is rough on their skin, and doesn’t wick moisture away from their body. This short guide will teach you everything you need to know about sheets and duvets.

Sheets
Sheets are probably the most complicated piece of your bedding to understand. There are so many options to choose from which can make it feel overwhelming. There are three primary things you need to know about when shopping for sheets and they are thread count, fabric types, and weave styles.

1) Thread count is often touted as the easiest way to determine the quality of sheets. This is only partially true. A good rule of thumb is the higher the thread count, the softer and smoother a sheet will feel. But the problem is that some manufacturers use smaller threads to increase thread count. Another problem with using thread count as the measure of quality is that higher thread counts may trap more heat and not breathe as well as lower thread counts. That can be good in the winter, but bad in the summer.

2) The type of sheeting fabric used can make a big difference in the quality and softness of a sheet. Usually you’ll see sheets made of standard cotton. It’s a good starting point, but it’s not the only available option. Pima cotton is another popular material that is a little softer and has more sheen than normal cotton. Finally, there is Egyptian cotton, which is known for its exceptional quality, softness, and sheen.

3) Weave styles may arguably be the most important thing when considering sheets. The weave is what is primarily responsible for how a sheet feels and how well it traps heat. Sateen weaves resemble satin and can feel very soft and almost cool to the touch. Flannel weaves are thicker and yield a fluffy and very soft feel. Percale sheets are very lightweight which makes them good for keeping you cool at night. Trying to sleep on a mattress on floor is also a good idea.

Duvets
Duvets are less important than sheets when it comes to bedding, but they can still mean the difference between restless nights and a good night’s rest. Three things to take into consideration are the fabric, fill, and type of construction.

1) Most outer parts of duvets are constructed of cotton. The same rules here apply for thread counts in sheets. Usually a higher thread count means softer and higher quality, but that isn’t always true.

2) The fill is the most important part of a duvet. The way this is measured is in terms of fill power. A high fill power means a fluffier duvet, while a lower fill power means a denser duvet. Higher fill powers usually cost more, but they don’t necessarily equal more comfort. Generally fill powers that are on the low side are a little cooler.

3) Duvet construction is something most people don’t even think about, but there are several ways a duvet can be constructed and the differences can be big. Baffle duvets tend to be the warmest because they keep the down in place, while sewn-through duvets can lead to thin spots in the down. Finally, box construction ensures that the fill remains in place so the warmth is evenly distributed.

About the Author
This post was written by Robin Beaumont co-founder of The Best Bed Lin en in The World. Robin is an avid writer on the subject of fabrics both as a guest and on his own blog andworks with some of the biggest and best 5 start hotels in the world.

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