Tips & Resources Archives

Photo Organizing Old-School Style

August 7, 2017 by Heather Filed Under: Kids & Family Organizing, Organize, Organizing Projects, Paper management, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources, Uncategorized 2 Comments

I had someone ask me to cover the topic of Photo Organizing this month so here we go! I have never gone too far into this subject here on my blog because it’s quite a HEFTY topic to cover in one post. Here are the basic’s for paper photo organizing systems, I’ll return to cover digital photo organizing another time. It’s helpful to know before you begin if you will be doing this yourself or hiring help. There is an entire trade organization, APPO, dedicated to Photo Organizing!Most of us want to keep at least some photo’s to look at in frames, albums or loosely. But we don’t get to enjoy the photo’s we love because they are in a big jumble with the one’s we don’t care about, the duplicates, damaged photo’s and photos of people you have no clue about!

Chances are that at some point you will be inheriting old photo’s if you haven’t already.

To Digitize or Not? Since many of us don’t print photo’s anymore, at least we know the quantity of printed photo’s isn’t growing exponentially! If you’re someone who still prints photo’s, stop doing that until you have a great system in place. You may also want to digitize your photo’s but it’s best to sort and purge what you don’t want first, deciding what you want digitized as you go. If you’re beginning this process with the thought of digitizing, you may want to buy a package for this service. Companies like Legacy Box send you a box that you can fill, return and have scanned. The box is returned within 1-3weeks with original photo’s as well as your digital photo’s (on a CD).

Gather all your photo’s into one area to work on. This can be a fun project to work on when your Binge watching a favorite series:) Before you begin, have a method to sort photos into such as file folders, shoe boxes, large envelopes, plastic bags etc.Label with temporary labels to keep track of what you have sorted, eventually permanent labels will be attached to bins or albums.

Handling…if you have very old, fragile or valuable photo’s you may want to wear lint free cotton gloves while working on photo’s to keep oils and moisture from damaging them. You can also wipe the photo’s gently as you go. If you find photo’s stuck in albums, don’t force them. Try prying up a corner with something like a flat spatula and dental floss! The floss can be used to “saw” the under side of the photo from the adhesive backing. If you still can’t get it, set it aside and get professional help. Don’t write directly on the backs of photo’s with anything other than an archival pen, I like these.Sort photo’s chronologically and/or by event or person. Your system may be some combination of these. As you start the process of sorting and purging, think about other family members or friends who you might want to send photo’s to and set them aside (labeled) to give them when you’re done. If you’re not sure who someone is, snap photo’s of the photo’s as you go and text or email someone who might be able to help you ID them. It can be fun to share “vintage” photo’s with family and friends as you go! Keep track of what size the majority of your photo’s are and if you plan to organize into albums or boxes, this will be important to know.

Storage can be decided on once you have finished sorting and you know what size collection you have. If you plan to digitize, send the photo’s off at this point. Do your research before you buy storage containers. Look for Archival quality boxes and albums. If your photo’s are standard 4×6 or 5×7 you will have a lot of options to choose from. Remember that larger boxes will get very heavy. Use archival paper dividers to further separate photo’s by category or date and label the cards with detailed information about events, family members etc. Don’t use sticky notes or clips that can damage the surface of original photo’s. If you have negatives that correspond to the photo’s you are keeping, label the plastic sleeves they come in to correspond to the storage system you are creating and store negatives separately. Keep your photo’s in climate controlled, low humidity and light conditions to best preserve them.Cross reference storage-Note in your photo box what negatives and digital photo’s you have copies of and where they are stored (on CD’s, cloud, external hard drive, separate bins etc).

Maintain your system on a regular basis if you are adding to your paper photo collection or if you inherit photo’s. I’ll share tips for organizing your digital photo’s in a later post. This is a great time of year to work on photo organizing and perhaps create some beautiful books with some of the old and new photo’s you come across. Have fun traveling down memory lane!

3 steps to stop clutter before it starts!

July 25, 2017 by Heather Filed Under: Organize, Organizing Projects, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources Leave a Comment

If you can recognize personal patterns in these 3 key areas of your life, you will be on your way to stop clutter before it starts! These are ongoing aspects of life that require practice to create lasting change. With a level of self awareness and a plan, we can stop clutter before it starts and begin to live a more simple life.

Stop Clutter before it starts by sharing experiences not things.

We want people to know how much we care about them, often this is expressed via the exchange of gifts. Some people love to buy gifts, some people love to wrap and give gifts, some people cringe when they see a gift because they feel they already have too much stuff. Whether you are the person giving or receiving, it can be challenging to know what “Stuff” is worth to someone else. We need to have more open and candid conversations about the consumption of stuff and let people know when we prefer to receive less. When it comes to the art of gift giving, we can eliminate unneeded clutter and hurt feelings and give more thoughtful gifts by sharing our feelings openly and honestly. One way to give meaningful gifts that don’t create clutter is to share experiences and events, meals, concerts, vacations etc rather than buying actual things. This is my personal favorite way to stop clutter when it comes to the art of gift giving.

Another clutter trap that can stop us in it’s tracks is memorabilia. This might include kids artwork, handmade gifts (from family or friends) or things you associate with an event or occasion. This can be tricky, especially when you know someone spent minutes, hours, days or longer creating something for you. Maybe you can use it, maybe you know someone else who would love it more. You do not have to announce to the gift giver that you have sold or donated their masterpiece, you can discretely let it go when the time is appropriate.

Greeting cards and correspondence…Keeping every card you were ever given, just because you love someone doesn’t really help you remember the special moments! Keep a few special letters, cards and photo’s, take digital photo’s of a few you might be on the fence about and recycle the rest.

Memorabilia is more meaningful when you can easily access it rather than have to sort through a lot of clutter to find it.

Is your kids artwork clutter? It might be! Is this their first handprint or their fiftieth? Are they better at playing music than painting and putting together crafty creations? Create an artwork gallery wall, display things on rotation, snap photo’s of their art and as with above, only keep what is really unique, lets their personal creativity shine or helps you hold onto a very special memory. You are still an awesome parent even if you don’t keep every drawing, painting or artwork they ever made.

Before you buy, get to know your shopping triggers. This is not the post to cover addressing deeper issues with shopping addiction, yet I’m not making light of a situation that can be a big problem. Shopping for things we don’t need and spending more than we want can be a not so healthy pattern for the average person. Bring awareness to what you tend to shop for and when you find yourself wanting to spend. What are your patterns and traps? Do you love an estate sale, shoes, online shopping at 2am when you can’t sleep? Look for your traps and stop clutter before you buy. Find ways to distract yourself from shopping when you know you could easily fall into that trap. Delete the sale emails, don’t keep your tablet or phone by the bed, reward yourself for not shopping and use the one in, one (or more) out rule if you must shop. Buy things that you need, buy good quality but don’t buy for the sake of buying.

Want to learn more about what you really need and what you really use? Read this great article about the Pareto Principle.

The muddy river metaphor

July 9, 2017 by Heather Filed Under: Organize, Productivity, Tips & Resources, Wellness & Mindset Leave a Comment

I was recently reading one of my favorite authors, Mark Nepo, as he described lack of clarity as a muddy river. The muddy river is a helpful metaphor to illustrate how clutter can run through our minds, our homes and our business. Standing in a muddy river, everything seem so unclear, which can cloud our actions and decisions.

When you’re stuck in a muddy river and unclear how to move forward, find stillness.

Our vision, inspiration and flow of life become clouded when we are unclear about the stuff that surrounds us in our homes and lives. Like a fast running current, we can’t see the bottom. The silt and rushing waters make it virtually impossible to find our ground. When we are uncertain we can become stuck!

I might risk dipping my toe into the running waters, right on the edge, while feeling safe from the vantage of the shore. Stop and take it in. Inch by inch trust your feelings, and sensations. Act based feelings rather than making decisions based on external forces.

[bctt tweet=”Our feelings are our most trustworthy guide as we move through the process of letting go” username=”hkpowerstudio”] (of clutter, of grief, of old patterns).

How do we get unstuck? By learning to trust our feelings. It doesn’t always come naturally. Our culture teaches us to lead with thought, not feeling! This is when it’s most important to stop, cut through the thoughts. Pay attention to what is underlying and recognize how we feel.

When we pick up a sentimental item, can we identify the feeling that object evokes? Is it joy, bitterness, saddness, or nostalgia? Does it evoke memories; good-bad or mixed? It’s important to invite and honor how we feel about our stuff. By doing so, we can take honest action in the decisions we make about keeping or getting rid of stuff.

The muddy river metaphor as tool…

Setting our intention is a helpful tool when we begin to make decisions about releasing clutter. Once we are more in tune with our feelings we can decide how we want space to feel. We create that space and those feelings by making decisions and only allowing what evokes those feeling into our space.

Setting an intention is as simple as deciding and acting from a place of alignment!

The process of getting clear about your clutter might proceed something like this:

Go into a clutter filled space with a journal or piece of paper to take notes.
Sit in the space for about 5-10 minutes and notes how the space feels. What emotions come up?
Pick up objects and invite a response based on how you feel. This is like testing the waters. Some people are physically impacted by touching items, others are more visual. It’s good to try both and take notes on how yoyu respond.
Decide how you WANT to feel in the space. Write down these feelings and set an intention to create that feeling!
Begin the process of clearing objects and clutter that are not in alignment with your intentions and how you want to feel.

Use the muddy river metaphor to help you gain clarity in your decision making process. When we understand how clutter makes us feel, we can act on decision making from a place of intention. We then create a space that reflects the feelings we want rather than being stuck with what we have unintentionally created by indecision.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed or not sure where to begin and need some guidance with this process, please email me to schedule a call so we can talk more about how I can help.

In the meantime you might want to check out my Clutter Action Plan!

Create a Practical Command Center

June 21, 2017 by Heather Filed Under: Kids & Family Organizing, Organize, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources 3 Comments

Today, I’m sharing ideas to Create A Practical Command Center. Since this month is all about kid-friendly organizing in the home I think it’s important to have a place where you can collect everything needed to “take command” of schedules, stuff and tasks for your family!

I’m going to break it down by why, where and what! Not every command center (and there are thousands on Pinterest to choose from!) will have what YOU need.

[bctt tweet=”Get inspired by others but don’t get stuck repeating someone else’s idea of success.” username=”hkpowerstudio”]

Do you need help to Create a Practical Command Center?

Let’s start with your why. Defining the reason you need to create a command center is the first step!

Perhaps you’re losing things or can’t keep track of them, feeling overwhelmed, feeling rushed and you’re juggling too much information!
Mail is tossed everywhere including the kitchen counter, the coffee table, the dining room table or some other horizontal surface which means when you go to pick up, things get misplaced.
You have a hard time getting out the door with everything you and your family need.
Maybe you can’t locate homework or school paperwork & neither you nor your kids know where these things belong.
Do multiple schedules (both parents and kids) have you scrambling, missing appointments or running late?
Always looking for last minute gifts because you missed that party invitation? information for your babysitter or other important items you need regularly.

The next important step in creating a practical command center is knowing what you need to include.

Mail sorting station-which might include trash, recycling bins and shredder-with individual slots for household members
Calendar or schedule-either a traditional paper system or a white/blackboard calendar. Decide what information will be included on this calendar. Maybe it’s just for the kids and family activities (sports, parties, Dr’s Apts, school events etc). Each family member or category can be assigned a color for easy tracking.
Charging Station
Grab & Go Kid Stuff-If you have small children, having extra supplies in a cabinet, ready to go is a great time saver. Include activity books, diapers, bug spray, change of clothes or other essentials for small children.

Bags, backpacks and other gear-if you have the space you can incorporate cubbies, baskets or hooks for storage. This area is for regularly used shoes, bags and purses and is a great place for people to drop items without cluttering up the main part of the house. Something similar can be set up in a closet, with an organizer hanging inside the door. Label each household member’s hook, cubical or shelf. Practice regular weekly to tidying (putting things away, cleaning out bags etc).

Key Hooks
Basic utility items-this can be a drawer or a hanging organizer with things like batteries, pens/pencils, chargers, scissors, notepads, a hammer/screwdriver, tape measure and anything else you use regularly. Identify what you want to keep where so it doesn’t turn into a “Junk drawer”!
Fun stuff-a bulletin board, white/black or magnetic board, or hanging system for artwork and fun messages!

Via Your Home Theater

Lists-to do, grocery or chore charts for parents and kids.
Household Binder-this is a great place for emergency contacts, vital household information (for babysitters etc), schedules, invitations and more! If space is limited you can create a command center in a binder! Just use different tabs for the different information you need to keep track of and keep it in a central location.
Via Thirty Handmade Days

We all have different needs and when you know why you need some sort of command center it will give you insight into what to include. If you look at the list above and you say to yourself that you only need a couple of the items I included as examples then you can focus on creating a system that includes only what you need. Sometimes we get sucked in by other peoples systems because they have shared how great they work (for them) or we think it looks so incredible!

Being specific and simplifying your home management system will set you up for success!

Now that you understand why and what you need for creating a practical command center, let’s identify where this system should be.

Depending on your home and space considerations, here are a few places you might want to put a command center. If you don’t have space to put everything in one spot, that’s okay. Paperwork, mail, electronic’s, your binder or supplies could go in one area and hooks for keys, clothing and gear could go someplace else.

Near the front door
Mudroom
Kitchen
Laundry Room
Hallway or other central location
Closet or niche-including the inside of the door
A simple binder or portable bin (accordion file, file tote etc)

Here are a few tips to help you identify how to install your command center.

Go Vertical to get things up off your counters and on the wall. You can use the side or inside of a cabinet. If you have a lot of shelves, bins etc to hang, create paper templates and tape them up until you’re happy with the arrangement. This will save you patching unnecessary holes!

Hooks-anything from command to fancy decorative hooks
Shelves-floating or brackets, for small lightweight items
Baskets and bins-from shoes to paperwork, corral it in bins

I love to use these clear pockets for small stuff (bug spray, glue, gloves and more!).

Label things and assign lower spaces for small kids, upper spaces for adult stuff you don’t want the kids to get into!

Keep it simple-eliminate un-necessary clutter. Maintain your new system by assigning one day a week for a quick tidy up. Friday’s and Sunday’s are both great days for this 15 min assignment. After a few weeks or month keep it simple and eliminate the unnecessary clutter of items you are not using. Start simple and if the system works, expand upon it and get creative to make it as beautiful as it is practical!

Need additional help identifying why, what and how to create a practical command center? Give me a shout and let’s see how I can help you create a perfect command system for your household!

Your Moving Guide to Uproot With Ease

May 16, 2017 by Heather Filed Under: Move Management, Organize, Productivity, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources Leave a Comment

Moving can be one of the most exciting events in your life. New city (or just a new zipcode), new terrain, new people – for many the perfect way to hit reset on life. But that free spirit mentality only lasts so long once confronted with the realities of moving. Then comes the stressors of a new job, finding a place to live, new social circles, not to mention the move itself. Moving is considered one of the top stress activities in life but with this quick guide we hope to help make moving a breeze.

Are you flying, driving, shipping or towing your belongings? As the to-do’s pile up, the dollar signs follow, but armed with the right tips you can avoid some unforeseen hiccups on the road.

Uproot with Ease, Your Guide to Make Moving a Breeze

Location, Location, Location
– Moving on a whim? Do your research. How does the cost of living compare? Job market? Weather? These characteristics will all factor into your overall happiness post-move.
– No car? Check out the new city’s walkability score and how effective their public transit systems are first.
– Yes car? If the climate is different where you are headed you may need to make some adjustments to your vehicle such as all-season or snow tires. It is also worth taking note of parking. While many cities may offer street parking, some may require you pay for a garage.
– Weather change? While your instinct may be to layer up for cold weather or pare down for warmer climates ahead of time, it may be worth it to wait. Unless your are headed from 80 and sunny to 10 and snowy, scope out what residents are actually wearing. That born and bred neighbor will likely be able to give you better advice than a weather forecast.

The Long Haul
– Driving? Plan your route, and a backup, ahead of time. If your travel time amounts to multiple days pinpoint where you would like to stop and stay. Try to avoid big cities during heavy traffic times and trade off drivers if possible. Also remember, it’s a road trip! Maybe you can check out some landmarks or the largest ball of yarn en route!
– Towing? Consider your options. There are many different moving services providers today including U-Haul, Budget, etc. Companies offer multiple sizes in vehicles from minivans to mac trucks, but check to see if your nearest location offers the size you have in mind, and if they allow you to drop off the vehicle at a sister location.
– Shipping? When you consider the cost of a rental, gas, and hotel stays for some moves, shipping your belongings may make more sense. Companies like Pods and U-Haul offer such services which can include storage and the option of them packing the unit for you.

New Digs
– Renting? If Craigslist is your go-to consider additional sources like Trulia, Apartments.com, as well as local realty companies. Many real estate companies include lists of available properties, but call and find out if there are others soon to be available that are not showing on the site. Also inquire as to whether maintenance is performed between tenants, what is expected in terms of personal maintenance, can Fido come, and what may or may not be included in the rent price, i.e. electric, water, etc.
– Brand new? Explore the different neighborhoods, preferably during a trip pre-move. Does the social scene cater to young adults or established families? How convenient are things like laundry, groceries, etc?
– Downsizing? Do a purge before the move. Donate any clothing, kitchenwares, furniture that either won’t fit or won’t belong. Chances are you will be doing another overhaul post-move.

Getting Social
– Exercise? Join a local yoga studio or fitness club. Running and cycling meet ups are not only a great way to meet people, but also to explore your new home. Use the MINDBODY App or head over to the local recreation center to find activities near you.
– Networking? Whether it’s through a social-based platform like Meetup or a local “young professionals” group, there are a number of online sources to network in a social or business setting. Two personal favorites are Meet My Dog and Supper Club.
– Lend a hand? Volunteering will not only give you all those positive feels, but getting out in the community will help you learn more about the city and its residents. Not sure where to go? Volunteer Match can help with that.

Most importantly, keep an open mind. Living in a new place gives us the opportunity to learn more about ourselves and this great, big world we live in. Don’t let the burden of packing and hauling and unpacking cast a shadow over the new people you will meet and experiences you will have. Plan ahead and take the plunge!