Overcoming Chaos Organizing Services

01/18/2020

Most of us have long lists of tasks, dreams, goals or resolutions. We are all gun-ho about everything we’ll accomplish this year.

The problem is we try tackling EVERYTHING at once. Between February and March we’re so overwhelmed we lose steam and we give up our intentions for the year.

This year, instead of trying to work on every goal on your list, try something new: Focus on ONE goal for 3 months. Choose another goal for the following 3 months after that....maybe it's the same goal and that's okay. The point is to continue this practice of focusing on one goal for 3 months at a time and see what happens.

Life is meant to be done TOGETHER so don’t go at it alone. Find an accountability partner to do this with. I think you’ll get so much more out of this experiment by doing it with someone else.

P.S. I know this might be a lot to ask from you but I am really interested in what happens. Would you come back after your first 3 months and share how it went in the comments below?

P.P.S. If you are a master at this, we want to hear from you! Please tell us the impact this practice has had on your life and share the gold. Thanks!

01/03/2020

Remember that you have the power to change. If your space is cluttered and making you feel miserable DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! Just start. Take that baby step, then the next and the next.

12/06/2019

A Holiday Gift Guide

Up until the end of 2014 I worked for a medical devices company. I had a smart and humble manager with a big heart for most of the years I worked for that company. One Christmas she surprised us with a different kind of gift.

Instead of giving us an individual gift she pooled the money she would've spent and purchased a farm animal for a family in need overseas. She then bought a bag of miniature farm animals and gave us one as a token.

Wow! I was beyond grateful and could just imagine the joy, the smiles and gratitude of the family she blessed. For me it was significant because generosity is of very high value. I see it as a lifestyle more than a once-a-year kind of thing. Since then I've kept my mini goat displayed as a reminder of such generous and life-giving gift on my behalf.

As I sat at my desk today the mini goat caught my eye. It reminded me there are other ways to give during the holiday season:

1. Donate
You can make this personal by donating to a cause that special person holds near and dear. I have a friend that was working with a specific group of homeless people in her area. That year I put together a basket with personal care items and handed it to her. She had tears in her eyes as she received it. Being able to give away those items to her new friends was priceless.

2. Give the Gift of an Experience
Gift a membership to a museum or botanical garden. Gift tickets to the movies or a special event. Gift a class that will build a skill like soap making, pottery making, bread making or cooking. Book a trip to a place you've been wanting to explore together.

3. Make Something with Your Own Hands
There are so many things you can make! Candles, scrubs, tinctures, lotion bars, lip balms, greeting card sets, baked goods, etc. They're fun to make and you have control over the ingredients that go into them as well as the packaging (especially if you're leaning toward zero waste).

12/05/2019

https://www.npr.org/2019/12/04/784702588/the-best-thing-you-can-do-is-not-buy-more-stuff-says-secondhand-expert?utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&fbclid=IwAR3gr7OPv_aM5weMk4bfli13KpmS0TgAY_QxVfYF_aAd1M3wgBwz9FcHx6A

"Your average thrift store in the United States only sells about one-third of the stuff that ends up on its shelves," Adam Minter says. His book explores what happens to the things that don't sell.

11/21/2019

Things that make you go hmmm?

Marie Kondo's shop offers necessities like a $50 "tuning fork" and a $96 ladle.

11/21/2019

From 2013 but still very relevant for this holiday season:

http://www.raisingmemories.com/2013/12/ultimate-list-100-non-toy-gift-ideas.html?m=1&fbclid=IwAR0VWkhv8ku3DEgoH4CJQ7-rdEkQ_sgr3Q0maI0n9Ua-VjRShKkZjaAb1WI

The Ultimate List of 100 Non-Toy Gift Ideas!

10/05/2019

Want to own less and live more? Joshua Becker has you covered with his Uncluttered course. It's open for the next 8 days. This is a 12 week guided course. Once you sign up you get lifetime access to it so you can repeat as many times as you need to.

We often underestimate the time it takes to own less. The truth is it's a long process that involves cultivating different mindsets and doing the action....rolling up your sleeves and removing the stuff from your home. I've been in this process for almost 5 years now.

The benefits of this course (besides lifetime access) are:
1) Accountability - you will join a community of people going through the same process. During this process you can cheer each other on and encourage each other.

2) It's guided - For 12 weeks you will be challenged with baby steps that will move you closer to your goal.

Joshua is kindly offering a 25% discount. Just use code FF25 at checkout. To learn more about what’s offered in this course follow this link:
https://my.becomingminimalist.com/

I am cheering you on friend!

09/17/2019

Give yourself permission to use the good stuff. Stop waiting for Someday/When. You have been blessed with the gift of TODAY.
https://youtu.be/WiVHSRY2I5Y

We live in abundance, but suffer from a scarcity mindset. This talk was born out of a candle melting in the closet before the chance of being lit, and sent G...

06/14/2019

Do you have journals or notebooks with little pieces of loose paper in them? I do and every time I pick up a journal the little pieces of paper slip out. It's so annoying.

An easy way to contain those little pieces of paper is to keep them in an envelope glued to the inside cover of your journal or notebook. You can always use the back cover as well.

If you don't have the right size envelope lying around you can easily make one. Just search for a free template for the size you need (like this one: https://www.greetingsisland.com/envelopes/).

02/02/2019

Here's a little organizing humor to kick off your weekend laundry duties.

01/31/2019

Teach kids to tidy and clean up after themselves. If you don't you are impoverishing them by not allowing the development of important skills and values:

-responsibility
-the value of work
-respect for others living in the household
-value their environment
-contribute to the household/community
-caring and maintenance of what they own
-the benefits of an organized environment
-natural consequences (hello dust, mold, stains and icky stuff)

01/30/2019

Blast from the past. I was shredding documents and found a folder with projects from college including this floppy disk.

I am not sure why I thought I should save this.

How old do you think this is?

01/28/2019

Anyone been KonMari-ed lately? 😄
https://youtu.be/xZfn_O4BiJ4

Thanks for the joy, but get out of our house! Has this happened in your home yet? Thank you for subscribing! Check out our vl...

01/27/2019

The decisions we make today and the actions we take today will shape the way we'll live in the future.

A productive and successful tomorrow starts by taking small actions today:

-lay out your clothes for tomorrow
-pack your lunch
-set what you'll need for breakfast tomorrow
-leave everything you need to take with you by the door

What other things do you do for your future self?

01/26/2019

Coupons.....we save them with the best intentions. Unfortunately we don't really have a designated spot or system to manage them effectively so they end up at the bottom of some pile of paperwork. They never see the light of day.

We often remember our precious coupons when we're at the store. By then it's too late and eventually they expire before we can use them.

A simple solution is to corral into a small envelope. Keep the envelope in your purse or your car. When you add new coupons to the envelope review the old ones and toss (recycle) the expired ones.

If you are a coupon queen (or king) you may need a more substantial system. A small accordion file will do the trick. organize by whichever works best for you: expiration date or category. Just remember to grab your accordion file on your way out (or keep it in the car).

01/25/2019

Let's talk passwords....

Problem:
1. Every website seems to have different requirements (character length, caps, lower case, numbers, symbols)
2. There is no way I can remember all of them.
3. A list is not that helpful unless: it's easy to find every time I need it, it has some kind of search function AND categorization.

Solution:
1. Use a password manager like Last Pass. You only have to remember 1 password.

Bonus Tip: Use the authenticator for added security.

Try LastPass, the best password manager, password generator, and vault for free today! LastPass makes and remembers your passwords, so you don't have to!

01/24/2019

Other apps to organize your business cards.

Business cards are one of the few holdovers from the business world of Mad Men. Gone from the modern desk are most paper documents—but business cards feel here to stay. And for good reason: They're still the quickest way to hand someone your contact info and keep a...

01/23/2019

Business cards oh business cards....little pieces of paper that find their way into drawers, bags, bulletin boards, refrigerators, floors, countertops and jars.

Want to put an end to the madness?

1. Corral them into one place.
2. Declutter - discard the ones you are no longer
interested in.
3. Sort & Categorize
4. Decide how to store them

Here are 4 ways to store them:

1. Good 'ole fashioned Rolodex
2. Binder
3. Index card box (similar to Rolodex)
4. Virtually:
a. App - There are several business card scanner apps.
I am using CamCard. I can easily categorize
and share information.
b. Add to your email contact list or contact database.

Organizing business cards can be daunting if you have a lot. Don't try to do it all at once. Set aside time every week to work on the project. Choose a time frame (5, 10 or 15 minutes) or the number of cards to process (5, 10, 15 business cards).

Before you know it you'll be done with the project.