From the category archives:

Organizing

The Gift of Giving: Stress or Joy?

by Michaeline on November 17, 2012

If asked, most people would admit that gift giving is the biggest stresses when it comes to the holidays.

Gift giving is supposed to give you a great feeling on the inside. It is a way to share and to acknowledge our loved ones during this special season.

But many times gift giving doesn’t feel that way because it is considered one of the biggest stresses.

You have to decide what to buy, where to buy it, wrap it, ship it and/or deliver it. That’s a lot of work! Yet once you have a gift buying list, gift ideas, past gift lists for reference and supplies on-hand, holiday gift giving can be an enjoyable process.

How do you determine your gift list? How many people can you reasonably handle buying gifts for year? Is there a magic number….maybe 6 – 10? Maybe you feel that you can’t exclude anyone. All I can say is when your list of names is manageable you will enjoy the season.

Here are some ideas for taming your gift list more manageable: [click to continue…]

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Organizing for Out-of-Town Guests

by Michaeline on July 9, 2011

I recently had the pleasure of opening our home to a friend for an overnight visit and we are expecting a visit from out-of-town family in two weeks.

In preparing for guests, besides cleaning there are things that you can do to help make your guest’s visit enjoyable. There are many sources out there and tips one of the websites that I thought had interesting points was http://simplemom.net/tips-to-help-guests-feel-welcome/

Here are a few additional tips from me:
• Schedule time ahead of the visit to de-clutter and clean your home so you are not exhausted when your guests arrive.
• Ask your guests if they have any food preference or allergies ahead of time.
• Have a variety of breakfast and snack foods available including fresh fruits, veggies and bottled water.
• If possible, determine what meals will be eaten at home or out so you don’t have to do too many grocery runs during the visit.

A little project management can help ensure a great visit anytime. Of course, having great guests helps too! And I love my house guests!

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Holiday Planning Update

November 13, 2010

We are now six weeks away from Christmas. Where are you with your holiday planning? If you started on November 1 you should be making some progress on your task list and hopefully you are feeling less stressed. Have you been able to break your task list down and handle a little bit at a [...]

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Eliminate Holiday Stress

November 6, 2010

It is worth repeating….you don’t have to let the holidays and all the associated tasks and events stress you out this year. There are many things you can do to take the stress out of the season including:  Create a planning checklist.  Look at commitments and pick or choose. Know that you don’t have to [...]

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Organized for the School Year: Healthy Meals and Snacks

August 21, 2010

As a new school year approaches and schedules become hectic, wouldn’t it be great to have a handle on healthy meals and snacks? Getting our children to eat healthy can be challenging. It is so convenient sometimes to pull through the fast food drive through when you are tired and the children are hungry. By [...]

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More Organizing for Back to School: The College Dorm Room

August 14, 2010

So you have a teen headed for college. ..If you read my previous post you already have created a checklist, taken inventory and started shopping. But what do you do to organize a college dorm room? Let’s face it dorm rooms are tiny. Here are a few tips to help your college-bound student set up [...]

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Organizing for Back to School

August 7, 2010

Whether you are sending your child off to their first day kindergarten or your teen to college. There are some tips to help get back to school organized: For children of all ages: Start by creating a check list Obtain a list of supplies from the school. Many times the school will send a letter [...]

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Habits of Highly Organized People

March 6, 2010

The March 2010 issue of O- The Oprah Magazine included a large section devoted to organization. That must mean that spring is in the air. Actually most magazines have a standard organization or declutter article these days. Part of the article in this magazine  included “The 10 Habits of Highly Organized People” which I thought was spot [...]

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Organize Yourself for Networking

May 5, 2009

In my most recent post, I discussed getting rid of business card clutter. To make sure that you keep the business cards that you need and will use from your next networking opportunity take the time in advance to set yourself up for success. Here are some tips to make the most out of your [...]

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Creating Your Filing System

April 14, 2009

Why filing systems don’t work: • You are trying to adapt someone else’s system. • You have set up a very complex system (maybe color coded and too many small categories). • Your file cabinet is not in a convenient location. • You are trying to keep too much to start with (records versus references). [...]

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