Creatively Organized Spaces for Thriving Artist & Entrepreneurs

Caring for our Lovely Linens

March 27, 2018 by Heather Filed Under: Closets, Organize, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources, Wellness & Mindset Leave a Comment

I was inspired to write this post after finding sadly rumpled fitted sheets and other linens jumbled into closets and baskets time and again. Our lovely linens are slept on every night, they dry us off daily after we shower or wash our hands, we count on them to keep crumbs and stains off our tabletop and other surfaces. I love linens, old and new…I adore their function and beauty so lets give our linens some love and learn to care for them to help them last.

Think about all the linens you use in your daily life, how and where you use them, store them, fold them and treat them. Though I don’t necessarily fold everything as Marie Kondo does, I do take the time to thoughtfully fold or hang each linen, giving them adequate storage to keep things neat and tidy and allow for easy access.

Keeping Linens Clean

Because I have a degree in fibers, people often pick my brain about cleaning their linens, especially vintage and antiques. Though I won’t go into great detail about vintage linens in this post, I will offer some suggestions for cleaning which will help prevent damage to your linen collection, no matter the age. The most important thing to know is what fiber your linens are made of and feel them to determine if they are brittle and dry, if so they may not be strong enough to clean. Most vintage and antique linens are likely made of cotton, linen or a blend. Special linens like blankets and some towels may also contain other natural fibers like silk or wool. Cotton and linen are fibers made from plants, wool and silk are made from animals, therefore each type of fiber will need to be cleaned differently. If your not sure, check out this post for more helpful info. Generally speaking, treat your linens in a more delicate manner than you might some other household laundry. According to Victoria & Albert Museum (and other textile conservationists),

“If you wish to preserve your textiles, you need to avoid or minimise the need to clean them. It is important to prevent dirt accumulating rather than causing unnecessary damage by repeated cleaning treatments. Not all textiles were originally intended to be washable.”

If you get a stain on linens, pre-treat as soon as possible. Lots of people like to use products like oxy clean, which are safe and effective in a general sense. If you are stain prone and want more specific stain pre treatments, check out these specialized products formulated for specific stains. Use color safe (non-chlorine bleach) on colors, and chlorine bleach on whites as needed (use caution, this can degrade fibers over time). Add vinegar to substitute half or so of the detergent which will help remove extra detergent residue.

Sort linens by color and type of fiber, washing according to labels (if you can find them). Wash towels using cool or warm water (unless you feel the need to sanitize, if someone has been sick for example), without fabric softener which can prevent towels from absorbing water and doing their jobs:). Shake towels when removing from the wash to fluff them up before drying. I recommend cleaning delicate items separately, using delicate laundry bags for smaller items and hang them to dry. Hang dry as many items as possible which can help prevent wear and damage.

Dry cleaning may not be necessary if the linen is made of cotton, linen, acrylic (blends), nylon or polyester. When a label says “Dry Clean”, it is recommended but when the label says “Dry Clean Only”, that’s what is highly recommended to prevent damaging the item. The site “Tip Nut” offers some great recipes for cleaning vintage linens. If you are a linen lover like I am, see this excellent video to learn more about specific vintage linen cleaning products and techniques.

Linen Storage

Where you store each type of linen, will of course depend on your home’s storage spaces. You may have room to store your extra towels in the bathroom, extra sheets in a closet or cabinet etc. Many homes have a “linen closet” in a hallway, outside the bedrooms. These widely vary in size and function. Take a quick evaluation of where you currently keep where. Furniture can also function as a great place to store linens, especially place mats, fabric napkins, table runners and other kitchen/dining room linens.

Overflow and extra storage can be placed in plastic bins if needed. Store less used items with cedar chip sachet’s (I can’t stand Moth Balls-who can!?) to protect them from moth damage. Always, always store linens clean. Body oil and food residue will attract moths and cause long term damage. Prevent linens from directly coming into contact with wood, some plastics and cardboard, which are not archival or acid free. We often find yellow stains on older linens that were stored improperly. If you have vintage or antique linens, invest in archival storage to preserve your treasures.

Kitchen & Dining Room Linens

Since these are often both functional and decorative, there are no “rules” to how many you might have. Some people collect liens, other use paper towels for everything, not sure why when there are so many fun kitchen linens! When it comes to purging kitchen linens, let them go when they are badly stained, miss matched, have holes or are “out of style” or you’ve changed your decor.

The kitchen is the obvious spot to keep towels, rags and aprons as well as frequently used place mats and napkins. If you have a spare drawer or two you can store these items directly in your cabinets. You can also keep some linens in baskets, neatly tucked into your pantry or other convenient spots. Keeping like with like w

ill minimize rummaging through and leaving linens in a jumble. I prefer to hang long table cloth’s and runners, ironed and folded. If you dry clean your larger table cloths, remove the plastic and leave linens hanging. I recommend storing seasonal linens with other seasonal decorations, with the exception of table cloths, which should be hung or folded neatly.

Hand Towels
Dish Towels-some people differentiate -for example using flower sack cloths for drying dishes
Aprons
Place mats
Table cloth’s
Fabric Napkins
Cocktail Napkins
Table Runners

Bedroom Linens

As a rule, keep 2 sets of sheets for each bed in the household, that way you are only storing one set of extra. Reuse, donate or recycle old sheets if they are badly stained, torn or very worn. If you have extra closet space in the bedrooms, you might be able to store bedroom linens in each bedroom closet. This can help to identify what sheets go on what bed!

Keep like size sheet sets together, folded neatly (see how to fold a fitted sheet here) and either on a shelf or in a basket, labeled (with the roo

m/size). Like kitchen linens, bedroom linens can be seasonal and may contain body oils that should be cleaned before storing linens for the season.

Sheets-flat and fitted in various sizes
Blankets
Duvet’s
Duvet Covers
Coverlets and quilts
Pillows

Bathroom Linens

Fluffy towels, who doesn’t love them!? Some people use a different towel every day, which honestly seems excessive to me, especially since we use our towels to dry off our Clean bodies! I recommend changing towels ever few days to week, depending on your personal preference and lifestyle. I prefer a tri-fold for towels, which make them look neat when hanging on the rod but also allows them to evenly dry between uses. However you like to display your towel, use the same fold when you store them so that you are not re-folding when you put out new linens.

Hand Towels
Bath Towels
Wash cloth’s
Floor mat’s
Beach Towels

PS…I didn’t mention Ironing…did you notice? Bah, I don’t love to iron and tend to go for fabric’s that don’t require it, or I steam, or I store up ironing and do it all at once while watching a movie! How about you? Do you like to iron, love to do laundry, hate to fold? What’s your least or most favorite part of taking care of your linens?

Spring Cleaning Tips: Greener ways to Clean

March 20, 2018 by So Me Filed Under: Health, Inspiration & Education, Organize, Tips & Resources, Uncategorized Leave a Comment

It is time to SPRING open those shutters, let the fresh air in and kick the winter blues out of the house. You guessed it, Spring is upon us!

Spring is such a beautiful time of year, flowers are blooming, the weather is getting warmer and the animals are playful everywhere you turn. While Spring as a season might be beautiful, Spring cleaning is not as glamorous, and for many people can feel like a drag.

But, it’s a perfect time to de-clutter, organize your closets and leave your home with that clean and fresh smell. There are so many cleaners and cleaning products on the market but do you really know what’s in them?

How healthy are the cleaners that you use?

Non-toxic cleaners should be used around your home year around – not only in the Spring, and especially if you have small children. The benefits of greener cleaners include; fewer toxins and chemicals being absorbed into the skin, less damaging to the environment and better air quality in your home and they are less expensive in some cases (DIY cleansers!). If you want to better understand the toxic chemicals to look out for in your cleaners, check out my previous wellness post on the subject.

GreenWorks Multi-Purpose Cleanser is a great cleanser to use for virtually any room in your house. It can be used for a variety of different tasks and is safe for your home and your children. Not only is it made with 97% organic materials, but it also works on those stubborn stains or hard to handle messes.

Method is another cleaner that has the environmental seal of approval. The method product line comes in a variety of different cleaners including hand soap, dish soap, laundry detergent, bathroom cleaners, all-purpose cleaners and even a body wash for men and women! They come in a variety of scents and uses all biodegradable materials. They’ve thought of everything!

Mrs. Myers is a wholesome midwest cleaning brand started by Mrs. Thema A. Meyer. She created Mrs. Meyers because of her penchant for keeping things neat and tidy and the scents were inspired by her garden. Her line of cleaning products which range from hand soap, body soap, laundry detergent and air fresheners are all made with natural scents like mint, basil, and lavender. If you want your home smelling like a bouquet of roses this Spring, you better get cleaning with Mrs. Meyers!

For those who want to know EVERYTHING that is in their cleaners, DIY is the way to go! Many homemade cleaners are made with ingredients you probably already have around your home. Vinegar, essential oils, baking soda, olive oil, and water are the key players in most of your homemade cleaners.

Bathroom

Vinegar is a key ingredient to getting rid of bathroom dirt and grime! For tough toilet stains, add ½ baking soda along with a few drops of essential oils into your toilet bowl when you’re ready to tackle the toilet add ¼ cup of vinegar and scrub away the mess as it works its magic.

A spritz of pure vinegar can be used in your shower and sink on soap scum and hard water residue. Add it to a spray bottle and spritz it on, letting the vinegar soak for 20-30 minutes before wiping off. If that doesn’t work, add baking soda to the mix and try again in 15 minutes.

Kitchen

Most kitchen surfaces can also be treated with vinegar, but if your surfaces are made from marble, granite or stone stay away from the high acidity and use vodka or rubbing alcohol instead. Mixing equal parts water and vinegar will make a very effective multi-purpose cleaner that can be used on most surfaces including countertops, floors, and walls.

To tackle greasy frying pans just add salt – and give it a good scrub! If you need to clean a cast iron pan add olive oil and a teaspoon of course salt and rinse well with water. The best way to sanitize surfaces is with a lemon, simply cut it in half and run it over the surface you would like to disinfect.

Having the right ingredients is only half of the job, having the right cleaning tool is the other half. Sponges that have a harder edge are good for scrubbing stubborn pots and pans. Rags or microfibre clothes are excellent for disinfecting surfaces and the magic eraser is great for removing soap scum, scuff marks and any other war wounds your child puts into it!

Laundry

The laundry room is where most people run into trouble with the homemade detergents because if you throw a cup of vinegar in with your clothes, they wouldn’t come out smelling very nice. Laundry detergent is a bit tougher to make, only in the sense that you have to add more ingredients. Combine bar soap (chopped and processed), baking soda, essential oils, vinegar and washing soda and you will have created a very effective and pleasant-smelling laundry detergent.

Instead of using dryer sheets that lose their scent after one use, try using laundry ‘scenters’ that will stay fresh for up to 30 loads of laundry, or more! Add your favorite herbs or loose tea to a sachet (one that has holes that the herbs can aerate is best).

Floors

Every room in your house has one and floors can be tricky to keep clean. Anyone with hardwood floors can keep it simple by washing (or steam cleaning) with warm water, just be sure not to over soak your mop when washing the floors.

If your floors still aren’t looking as clean as they should, add a bit of dish soap in to bring out the dirt and let those floors shine.

Laminate floors are very delicate and steam mops shouldn’t be used on them. When cleaning a laminate floor clean with a light mop and spray the cleaner onto the mop, not directly onto the floor. Using a mixture of three parts water, one part vinegar and a squirt of dish soap should do the trick.

Most other floors are easy enough to care for and don’t require any special precautions. A typical all-purpose floor cleaner is a cup of water, ½ cup of vinegar and a tbsp of vegetable oil to bring out the floors natural glow.

There are hundreds of different homemade cleaner recipes out there, all have different purposes and work differently for all homeowners and their grime, but the one thing we can all agree on is that they are made from natural ingredients and have a positive impact on your home and the environment. If you have any recipes you’d like to share, please leave them in the comments below!

Love or Loath Laundry? Quick Laundry tips

March 13, 2018 by Heather Filed Under: Closets, Home, Kids & Family Organizing, Organize, Organizing Projects, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources 1 Comment

Do you love or loath laundry? I don’t mind it but I know for so many people Laundry is not about love, at all! That’s why I work with my clients to create a laundry schedule, including what I to keep on top of weekly laundry tasks.

In creating a laundry schedule I ask a few questions to help determine what the best household action plan for doing laundry…here are some questions you can use to create your own laundry schedule.

How many household members? How many loads of laundry per person per week do you generate?
How many “able bodied” people do you have do delegate laundry to? Kids age 10+ should start learning to help with laundry, including having a laundry basket in their room, helping to bring laundry to the washer/dryer, helping to sort, fold and put laundry away.
Do you have a cleaning person that helps with laundry? If so, what day do they come and what laundry tasks do they do or could you delegate to them (sheets and towels or more)?
Do you and your kids do sports activities or work that generates extra dirty (stinky:() laundry? If so, how soon after these activities do you need to wash things (to re-use or prevent smells)?
Do you take a lot of things to the dry cleaner? If so, do you have a pick up drop off service or is this something your drycleaner offers?
Do you have a lot of ironing, do you like to iron?

With all this info in your back pocket, calculate how many loads need to be done per week and who will do them. Then, take a look at your weekly schedule and assign laundry tasks by the date to yourself or other household help (kids, spouse, cleaning helpers etc).

I change and wash whites, or linens (towels, sheets and the oddball other white items) on Wednesdays and thus the term Wednesday Whitewash! Maybe doing a couple loads mid weeks and more on the weekends makes sense to you and with your schedule or maybe your weekends are busy with family activities and your better off tackling one load per evening through the week.

Keep Laundry Contained

In my observation, many people do not have laundry baskets, have them where they need them (in the bedroom, bathroom or closet) or seem to use them at all! I find laundry in piles on the floor, draped over furniture, hanging form hooks, light fixtures and everywhere else you can imagine. If you don’t know what’s clean and what’s dirty, you will constantly be re-washing items or at least giving your nose a workout with the sniff test. Keep dirty laundry contained in a basket or bag and use this to take laundry to your laundry area and then sort (or buy bins with sorting compartments if you have room). There are tons of great laundry basket options, like these available…so measure your space and determine what/how many you need and invest!

Minimize Maintenance

When you buy new clothes, think about their laundry requirements.

Sort laundry by color and by weight. I don’t like to wash my husbands heavy duty work pants with my delicate tops or undergarments (which should be in a bag). Sort weekly loads by dark/light/white and weight. This helps keep clothes looking newer longer.

Do you love linen but hate ironing? Maybe these things should be kept for less frequent use or sent to the dry cleaner?

Keep it Green Clean

Do you dislike using dry cleaners because of the chemicals? If so, look for a green cleaner in your area. While we are talking about green options, look for cleaning products that are phosphate free and use minimal scents and chemicals (though there seem to be more an more products on the market to mask odor-that doesn’t mean it’s really clean!). This might seem obvious but wash things only when needed. If you’ve only worn something for a couple hours, didn’t sweat or spill on it, then wear it again before laundering. This is not only going to save you time, it will keep your clothes looking new longer and will save resources (water power etc).

Consider hanging delicate, knits and lightweight items to dry (like the French do!). I use a collapsible laundry rack to dry about 1/3 to 1/2 of every laundry load, it takes a bit more time to dry but it keeps my clothes fro wearing out as quickly and saves energy. When it comes to stains, do pre-treat as soon as possible and if your really stain prone, check out these stain specific products (not all stains are alike!) by Carbona.

Any way you schedule it, whether you love or loath laundry, having this household task in perpetual motion will keep you from melting or collapsing under this task mountain!

Understanding How we Learn

March 1, 2018 by Heather Filed Under: Inspiration & Education, Productivity, Tips & Resources, Wellness & Mindset Leave a Comment

Understanding how we learn can unlock many opportunities and stop us from berating ourselves for not doing things the way we think we “Should”. The word should, should be used with caution…it’s a slippery slope but I’m getting way off track here. Lets get back to understanding how we learn.

Have you ever thought about how you LIKE to learn or what feels natural to you? Are you someone who can pick up a book, follow diagrams and move forward with the making? Do you like to listen rather than read? If someone shows you how to do something can you pick it up and go with it? Do you need to read, write and listen to really absorb new information?
Do you learn by connecting with the person, thing or idea?

What are your biggest obstacles to learning? How do you identify or define them? Maybe you haven’t given much thought to how you learn, since you may no longer be in school but learning remains a big part of life for many of us, whether we are learning for professional reasons, creative reasons or are just curious by nature (that’s ME!).

There are 7 basic learning styles described below and shared directly via Learning Styles Online, where a wealth of more in dept info can be found if your deeply interested!

Seven Learning Styles

Visual (spatial):You prefer using pictures, images, and spatial understanding.
Aural (auditory-musical): You prefer using sound and music.
Verbal (linguistic): You prefer using words, both in speech and writing.
Physical (kinesthetic): You prefer using your body, hands and sense of touch.
Logical (mathematical): You prefer using logic, reasoning and systems.
Social (interpersonal): You prefer to learn in groups or with other people.
Solitary (intrapersonal): You prefer to work alone and use self-study.

In addition to these 7 styles, Experiential learning techniques utilize a variety of the learning styles above but are more specifically defined as “learning through reflection on doing“. Experiential learning and “teaching” through skills transference are a big part of the hands-on organizing process, though experiential learning can exist without a teacher. This type of learning gained more influence in the early 70’s through the research of David Kolb (no relation to the Kolbe personality testing). There are additional learning styles defined within the Kolb experiential learning method, more can be found on them here. Some of his findings share similar theories understood about personality types, which is partially what led me to want to share this information. If you missed my recent post about personality types, see it here.

Kolb states “that in order to gain genuine knowledge from an experience, the learner must have the four abilities described below:

Concrete Experience: The learner must be willing to be actively involved
Reflective Observation: The learner must be able to reflect on the experience
Abstract Conceptualization: The learner must possess and use analytical skills to conceptualize the experience
Active Experimentation: The learner must possess decision making and problem solving skills in order to use the new ideas gained

In most cases when someone wants to become more organized, they have an interest in learning the skills needed and are willing to try new systems as well as reflect on how the process worked for them. This type of learning is familiar in the professional organizing world largely because this type of work is often self motivated, requires reflection, analytical skills to visualize the outcome and problem solving to make adjustments to new systems or processes.

The questions below are helpful in the reflection phase and are defined as the five stage experiential learning cycle:

Did you notice…?
Why did that happen?
Does that happen in life?
Why does that happen?
How can you use that?

Recently, there have been quite a few recent articles written discrediting learning styles as myth. Some of these new theories don’t discredit learning styles completely (some have) and others have shifted towards Learning Strategies, which might actually be a more accurate way to think about how we learn!

Mostly, I think it’s important to understand why we want to learn, how we learn and what we can do to better support our unique, personal process of learning. Science and technology may determine that some of what has been largely adopted as truth may not be fully accurate for all of us. I’d have to agree with that because as much as these theories might seem concrete, how we learn in real time will be deeply affected by so many factors, I for one am grateful for people who want to keep learning about learning. I’ve found some great articles written on the site Learning Science and Cornerstone University if you want to dive deeper.

Ultimately, it’s incredibly helpful when we can better understand our own learning process. Giving a bit of thought to how you learn can make learning much easier and more fun.

What do you know about your learning style or learning strategies? Do you fit neatly into one category or do you find you are a combination of different learning styles or strategies?

The Benefits of Personality Testing

February 23, 2018 by So Me Filed Under: Art, Art & Design, Inspiration & Education, Organize, Organizing Projects, Photography, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources, Uncategorized, Wellness & Mindset 1 Comment

We are all born unique and with different personalities. Are you curious to know more about your personality and how it can affect your day-to-day life? If so, the benefits of Personality testing include giving insight into how we think, handle stress, how we process information and make decisions.

Personality tests are very popular, with many employers requesting a candidate take a personality assessment during the job application process. If you were to Google ‘Personality Test’ you would be flooded with many claiming to be the best. I will showcase a few here that I believe are the most accurate and helpful when we want to learn more about ourselves. No personality test is the same, just as no person is the same.

Myers Briggs

The most popular and well-known Personality Test is Myers Briggs. It gives you insight into many different personality traits and identifies the 16 most distinctive personality types. It is a 15-20 minute assessment that asks you about the way that you think, how you process information, how you make decisions, how extroverted (or introverted) you are, and how you perceive information.

Once you have taken the assessment and receive your result you will also be given information on your personality type and how understandings your type can benefit you in your daily life. You can further research your personality type to help you connect you with like-minded individuals or understand those with strikingly different personalities.

Predictive Index – PI Learning Indicator

The Predictive Index, better known as the PI Learning Indicator is the go-to personality test for employers. It gives a fairly accurate insight into your personality and working style focusing on four main elements; dominance, extraversion, patience, and formality.

The PI takes anywhere from 5-25 minutes depending on how thorough you are with the test. The results might look a bit confusing at first but there are always professionals for you to speak with and a detailed breakdown on their website.

While the PI is very accurate, it is also important to take it every 6 months to a year, depending on the personal changes you are experiencing in your life. Everyone’s personality changes throughout their lifetime and it is good to recognize these changes and adapt to them.

Kolbe

Kolbe offers a variety of different tests for their users including a youth test, finance test, and a relationship test. Kolbe is also unique as they don’t measure your intelligence or your personality but more how you naturally do things in your life.

Kolbe focuses more on your motive, goals and what drives you to achieve these goals. It is a great test to help you recognize what motivates you, and how to achieve your goals.

This test is also very beneficial for business owner’s outer managers who have lost motivation, direction or are looking for ways to keep their success going. The test dives into your creative instincts and showcases how best to utilize your personality.

These tests take 20 minutes and it gives you an in-depth look at your personality and driving factors to your success. Kolbe offers a lot of information and a clear breakdown of their methods and results on their website.

Different Personalities

There are often misconceptions among people that take personality tests. On the surface, it may seem that if we don’t have the correct personality for a job, relationship or friendship that it will never work. On the contrary, personality tests can be taken to learn more about yourself, your strengths and challenges and how to better relate to others in work and personal life. They should never be considered negative. After all, it’s better to know best to have these helpful insights into future challenges before you begin new relationships or ventures!

There are many criteria that personality tests don’t measure specifically including; work ethic, kindness, interests, and ability to learning style (more on this soon!).

I recommend that everyone take at least one personality test in their lifetime. The Benefits of Personality Testing include not only knowing more about your personality but to learning how you can use it to create success in your life. It takes so little time, less time than a favorite TV show, yet can supply both new and reinforced information about yourself. Please share what personality tests you have tried over in our Facebook group.

Being Fearless means asking for help

January 31, 2018 by Heather Filed Under: Planning & Goals, Productivity, Wellness & Mindset 1 Comment

You might be wondering how being fearless means asking for help. Since selecting my WOTY, Fearless I have begun to understand that being fearless is about surrendering. It’s about taking the leap, allowing the free fall and trusting the outcome.

In examining what my deepest fears are, I understand that many of us are striving to control the outcome of almost everything in my life. After all, I’m a professional organizer, which means perhaps I am predisposed to trying to control the outcome of not just my circumstances but my clients! Well, that’s kind of true on the surface but if we began to talk more about why people need to be more organized, there are many reasons.

Being more organized can lead us to feeling more free, not more controlled. Click To Tweet

But we often think that in asking for help we are showing weakness, we think we should be able to EVERYTHING ourselves…or some of us are taught to think this way.

Say it ain’t so! I promise, it isn’t. That is old programed mindset that we can all choose to free ourselves from.

When I began to investigate what I can do to be more fearless, I realized it meant I need to be more willing to ask for help. I began to see that if I really wanted to do all the things I dream of it would require taking some big leaps of faith!

Being fearless means asking for help. Deep rooted in the old lack-mindset programing is the idea that I will not be supported, that I will fail, that asking for help is weak.

That’s a big burden to place upon ourselves! That is part what fires me up to help others find systems and solutions for their support! As incredible as it is to be strong, independent women (or men), it’s also totally necessary to ask for help in order to grow personally and professionally. Living in fear means we are limiting our growth, freedom, creativity, health and future.

So absolutely YES, being fearless means asking for help! My clients model that for me on a daily basis.

Since I have spent time investigating my mindset of fearlessness, I have discovered where I feel panicked and afraid to asking for help. Since much of that is related to $$ Mindset, I have limited the kind of help I’ve been willing to ask for. I’ve been afraid to make a commitment to hiring help because I’ve been afraid that the abundance will stop and at some point I may not be able to afford to have the help. In my mind, I LOST the game before it began! That is not my truth, that is no way to live and I am way too curious and adventurous to let that old mindset (ego) hold me back!

Since December I’ve been searching for, interviewing and hiring several helpful people who can make my life and my business run more smoothly. I am 45 years old and have never hired a housekeeper…that was the second person on my list and I was practically walking on CLOUDS when I found the right person and agreed to have them come help in my home two times a month.

I CANNOT WAIT to hand over $$ to them for this kind of help! That is how Fearless should feel!

Do you struggle to ask for help? What holds you back and what makes you feel fearless? I’d love if you share in the comments below or on Facebook here.

Wrangling Donation Resources

January 25, 2018 by Heather Filed Under: Organize, Organizing Projects, Tips & Resources, Uncategorized Leave a Comment

Wrangling donation resources can feel like a huge hassle. Getting organized isn’t just about purging but it certainly helps to motivate us when we know the stuff we no longer need is going someplace it is needed and will be loved.

For some people getting stuff out of the house as soon as a decision is made to part with it is essential (lest you dive back into your own give away bin to take stuff back out!).Have a plan for when and where you want to haul your donations before you begin so they don’t sit around your home or car, tempting you to keep things.

So that you don’t fall into that trap I want to share some of my favorite convenient resources for donations. Some of these are local to the region I live and work in, some are national (with local or virtual options).

Choosing who to donate to…

This can be a challenge for some people, others really don’t care as long as it’s GONE! Some considerations to keep in mind when donating to any non-profit.

Will my donation end up in the hands of someone who can actually use it?
How much $ goes directly to the charity versus overhead/operations?
What are the causes I feel passionate about (pets, homeless, children, housing etc)?

With the above in mind here are some Donation resources for you to consider, the important thing is to make a connection between your passions and those in need. Think creatively and determine where your goods will do the most GOOD!

National: Donation Town, Salvation Army, Goodwill, Fema and Purple Heart

Pet Causes: ASPCA Local Shelters, Pet Consignments like Animal Helpers ReTail here in Charleston (proceeds split between two shelters)

Other Special Causes: Local Homeless Shelters like 180 Place here in Charleston, Schools and Teachers Supply Closet in Charleston (specific teachers or counties offer school drives), Libraries & their book sales, Orphanages like Low Country Orphan Relief here in Charleston, various Churches, Missions and other community or spiritual centers.

When possible, take a picture and list “In Kind” items being donated if you would like to write them off for tax purposes. It’s important to include your full name and contact info, the date and a clear description of each item and the condition they are in. More information about donation receipts can be found here.

It is ultimately up to the donor (you) to assign a dollar value to your donation.

You can determine basic values for clothing and household items using this simple Donation Calculator spreadsheet, or there are programs that will help you do this and include the deductions in your annual tax filing.

When you are ready to donate items, where are your favorite places to go? Do a little homework for national organizations at Charity Navigator so that you can be sure your efforts are gong directly where you hope!

Piles of Paper and no system in sight?

January 16, 2018 by Heather Filed Under: Organize, Organizing Projects, Paper management, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources, Uncategorized Leave a Comment

Does paperwork pile up around you at home and in the office? Piles of Paper everywhere and no system in sight…unopened mail, junk mail littering all your horizontal surfaces. There can be so many reasons that paperwork piles up but getting through your paper piles can be either overwhelming or totally rewarding! Today I share the first easy step you can take to Purge the Paper Piles in your home or office.

Piles of Paper can feel beyond our control but it doesn’t have to be this way!

A lot of organizers recommend gathering everything together first, but we are going to do this a little differently. Before you gather all the Piles of Paperwork it can be helpful to identify why and how you got to your current state of overwhelm. I don’t have all those answers for your situation but I can make some educated guesses based upon my observations with clients, friends and family.

A “Trigger Event”-such as an injury, death, move or birth put you off course. This event caused you to go totally off track and loose your system or maintenance of it.
Maybe you had a system started, but that system may not have been a good fit for you, not everyone works well with the same system.
You never learned how to create or maintain a paperwork system, it’s certainly not taught in school (in most cases)!

We all have our breaking points and for some of us there are more urgent things in life than dealing with a paper piles that seem so unimportant! We push them aside, figure we will have time later and we make a lot of excuses for not getting around to it, day after day, week after week and sometimes for years. When you get to this point, it’s certainly easy to understand why we are overwhelmed and don’t where to begin.

When we fall behind we tend to ignore what is present because we are worried about what is past.

What do I mean? Instead of feeling like you need to go back through everything in the past to get started, start where you are. In my experience if you lost every single piece of paper in your house in a fire or other tragedy, there is very little paperwork that can’t be replaced. I’m not saying it’s something you want to happen just that so much of what we need to keep can be replaced with a few phone calls and emails.

First (before gathering everything in your home/office), sit down and open only your most current paper pile of mail, receipts etc (today or this week’s). Think about what you have coming in. What categories do they fit in? Here are some general and sub categories.

Household-Utilities, finances, insurance etc
Medical-You & your family members
Vehicles-loans, DMV/MVA info, insurance
Financial-Banking, credit cards, investments, taxes
Professional-continuing education, employment, resume etc

Next, list of YOUR categories, don’t think about what you had in the past or what you “think you should have”…just start simple. As you go through what you have, consider going paperless with utilities and bank statements or anything you can easily access online. You may still need one general category for all utilities (to keep track of account numbers etc). By simplifying your incoming mail and what needs to be filed you will create a system that’s easier to maintain.

Simple systems work best, over-organized systems are cumbersome to maintain.

Before you get into purging past piles of paperwork, create a “Staging” area for this project and gather your supplies:

A file box or two depending on how much you have. I prefer the any that hold hanging folders and still close, like these. Bankers boxes will work, just don’t use the hanging files.*
File folders-new or used, different colors or one color…just don’t run out and buy them unless you need to.
Hanging folders are optional but they do make the job easier (used is fine).
Sticky notes for labeling categories, these will be temporary
Pens or pencils (pencils for starting, sharpies or labels for permanent labels)
Labels or a Label maker if you have one

The next step, pick up and sort through a pile to see how it fits into this new simple system. Depending on how long this first step took, you can estimate how much time you will need to sort and purge all your Paper Piles! If you don’t have a good system for your mail when it comes in the house, check out this post on Creating a Practical Command Center.

*Some people may prefer a flat filing system like the drawers below or binders, but for the purpose of purging I will focus on file boxes of some sort.

What we learned In the Studio in 2017

January 4, 2018 by Heather Filed Under: Art, Art & Design, In the Studio, Inspiration & Education, Organize, Textiles & Pattern, Tips & Resources 1 Comment

I always love to recap and share what we learned In the Studio from all the wonderful artists interviewed. Here’s a short highlight and some of my favorite tips, insights and ideas.

We began the year with Chambers Austelle in her small home based studio. She shared a wonderful piece from her collection of vintage family heirlooms, below. Collections can inspire us or become overwhelming, so just keep in mind how surrounding yourself and your work space with collections influences your work.

Cambers also offers the following storage and organizing tips:

I use a filing cabinet, old dental cart, and jars in which I store my materials, supplies, and tools. I use Apple Calendar, a blank notebook, and scrap pieces of paper to organize my schedule. I use envelopes, folders, and binders to organize the business side of my work (see below).

We RE-visited quilt artist Sam Hunter in a newly created home studio. Sam converted her Living Room/Dining Room space into her studio, who says you need to use space conventionally! She has maximized her space by adding a lot of storage drawers and going vertical. Sam offer’s the following great tips:

In this studio, the things around the edges don’t move, but everything in the middle can shift. This allows me to manage different sized of projects and different numbers of people.

I also pay attention if I always look in a specific place for something… If I do that a couple of times and it’s not there then perhaps that’s where I should move it.

In local Painter Michael Hayes studio (converted garage) we got to see a lot of work in a very tight spot!

Michael’s great tip is he keeps a running list …of materials that he need as he runs out of them so that he can run down to the local Artist & Craftsmen and knows what he need to get (rather than getting distracted and buying impulse items:).

Next we visited the Studio of Lisa Shimko, which was fun because her whole home feels kind of like her studio!

Since Lisa’s home overlaps with her studio I love how she’s incorporated her art collection and supplies. She offers this tip:

My decor is definitely mix and match. Mainly books, artwork by others and gifted or found objects. Overall move stuff around to have my sense of homey feeling without feeling cluttered (might look cluttered to others though).

It was a pleasure to take a trip to Richmond, VA to visit the studio of fiber artist and weaver, Andrea Donnelly.

Her studio is rather large, in an old industrial building with other artists and includes 3 rooms for wet (dyeing) and dry (weaving and finishing) process.

Andrea keeps her space clutter free with the following tip:

I try to keep from having too much “extra” stuff around in the first place, buying what I use and using what I have. I do keep an inventory of my basic materials, but those are continually cycled through and replaced by new things, so clutter doesn’t really build up.

Andrea also shares:

I would say that as a visual artist my organizational processes and systems are intuitive, tactile, and informed by my need for beauty. So my shelves are open for things I use a lot, and those things are organized in a way I find aesthetically pleasing. This works great for pretty things like cloth, my weaving tools, and cones of thread. Things that are more utilitarian, like tape and paper, pliers, hammers, etc, are organized in nice chests and toolboxes within easy reach.

Finally I stopped to visit the studio of Susan Irish, also here in Charleston, who has a bright, functional and spacious studio she converted over the garage in her home.

Susan use to be challenged by finding things…

This was once the bane of my studio practice and greatly cut into the inspirational flow. So now I try to have all that stuff near me, semi organized and contained but still visible so that I feel like it is there waiting to be incorporated.

I adore that she has incorporated many found objects into both her storage and art. And if it’s metal, think Magnetic!

What were some of your favorite tips or lessons from the artist we visited this year? I’d love to hear from you with your own suggestions and tips for studio organizing and storage as well! Happy creating in 2018, I’ll return soon with new In the Studio interviews!

WOTY 2018 Fearless

January 1, 2018 by Heather Filed Under: Productivity, Wellness & Mindset 2 Comments

You might be reading this title and thinking what the heck does WOTY 2018 Fearless even mean? I’ll back up a minute and share more about the idea of the Word of the Year (or WOTY)…I began this practice years ago and over the last year I have embraced Acceptance.

This past year has taught me a lot about what it means to find self acceptance. I’ve come to terms with some of my deepest wounds, released some of my self judgement and worked to become more accepting of myself and others. Each year as I select a word (or a word selects me) I choose to embark on a process of discovery about how that word affects me, my relationships, my business, my mindset and more. This year I selected my word on my birthday (November 1) and was resoundingly reassured of this choice through the repeated symbol of the Shark. I found a very large Shark’s tooth on the beach while taking a walk on my birthday and shark has continued to show up in mysterious ways since then…including in an Animal Oracle reading I did with spirit animal cards (also on my birthday:).

Here are some of the my past WOTY’s over the years…you can read more about each year’s word here. I’ve been asked how I come up with the words I select, it’s a process of discovery and it’s become more intuitive over the years. Some people also use different terms, like One Little Word or Core Desired Feelings. As each word becomes a part of my life for a year, I don’t just leave them behind at the end of the year. I continue to deepen my relationship with each feeling and word over time even after the year with that word has ended. Each word I select becomes like a member of my family!

I’ve found more Clarity (2011)-the year I redirected my career and became an organizer.
I’ve learned to Soar (2012), as we embarked on moving to a new city and leaving the past (‘Sore’ness) behind.
I’ve chosen to see myself as Radiant (2013), as I began to show up and be more visible in my community and my business.
I’ve become more Playful (2014), despite challenges and obstacles we can always find fun:)
I’ve discovered I always have a Choice (2015), especially in how I respond and react to life’s circumstances.
I’ve found Harmony (2016) in the true sense of knowing that sometimes it comes with dissonance.
I’m more Accepting (2017) of myself, my mistakes, my vast gifts-which I am learning to embrace and I am learning to be more accepting of others!

In 2018, the word I am embracing and hoping to embody in a more dynamic way is Fearless! To help me embrace a better understanding of fearlessness I used the Thinkmap tool (Visual Thesaurus)…so in becoming fearless I will be Audacious, Brave, Dauntless, Hardy, Intrepid, Unfearing and Unafraid (at times)! I would add that there must be a healthy sense of Adventure, a deep sense of Trust or Faith that all will turn out as it should and an ability to embrace Change.

Each Year when I select a word, or the word selects me! I discover a deeper understanding of that word in my life in ways I could not have imagined! For example, when I choose the word Soar, little did I know I would also be finding a deeper understanding of the same word, spelled quite differently with a totally different meaning. I learned to Soar about the Soreness of loosing beloved pets! I have had to find acceptance of more this year than I could ever have anticipated, with our current political environment there are so many people with ideas other than our own that we MUST learn to accept (or become further divided).

So each year as I carefully ponder what my word will be, there is a sense of excitement and a bit of trepedation…but this year I’m taking a big LEAP of faith and choosing to be (come) more Fearless than ever! Will I jump out of planes, walk on hot coals, learn to surf, speak in front of vast crowds, get a tatoo or eat strange foods? Who knows, you’ll just have to follow along to discover along with me how to become more fearless! No doubt I will still have many fears at then end of 2018 but it’s about the journey of discovery and what I learn about myself along the way…

Do you choose a word for the year? If not, do you have another practice that is part of your New Year ritual?

PS…I don’t do resolutions, do you?