Creatively Organized Spaces for Organizing & clutter clearing tips for simplified living

Possibilities-WOTY 2021

December 26, 2021 by Heather Filed Under: Inspiration & Education, Planning & Goals Leave a Comment

Possibility
I love the visual map below of possibility. Possibility feels like an opening, it is an outlook, and I’m able to release my grip on expectations. There is no failure, there is only what is possible! The future is certainly filled with LOTS of possibilities. Not every single thing will come to be, but as I navigate through what is happening, I have the choice to pursue or release whatever possibilities come across my path.

Possibilities are limitless.
Possibilities are an invitation.
Possibilities are the seed of the future.

So many possibilities lie ahead as I lean into my final semester of graduate school and as we emerge from two years of living in the shadow of pandemic impossibilities. I hope to fully embrace what is new, undiscovered, around the corner, and unexpected ahead.

Reflecting over the past DECADE of this practice, here are some of my previous words and I love how they connect and flow into one another.

2011: CLARITY
2012: SOAR
2013: RADIANT
2014: PLAY
2015: CHOICE
2016: HARMONY
2017: ACCEPTANCE
2018: FEARLESS
2019: INTENTION
2020: INTEGRATION
2021: POSSIBILITY

I would love to hear your thoughts on the word of the year process. Hit reply and let me know your word (s)?

Fuzzy Goals-Smarter than SMART?

December 9, 2021 by Heather Filed Under: Art & Design, Home, Inspiration & Education, Organize, Wellness & Mindset Leave a Comment

Recently, I learned about Fuzzy Goals!

I have been so accustomed to SMART Goals I had never heard of this contrasting term.

But, I liked the sound of it enough to do a little research. I think of Fuzzy goals as a spectrum.

Fuzzy Goals: A different strategy for goal setting

At one end there is a quantifiable goal (such as a SMART Goal) and at the other end, there is something vague you might wish for but have no idea how to achieve. At this end of the spectrum, there might be an emotional or intuitive feeling that motivates you to act in a certain way and gives you a sense of purpose.

They land somewhere on the spectrum I describe above and you can work through them using the following tips.
They align with your sense of passion or purpose, giving you an emotionally compelling feeling that motivates you.

Fuzzy Goals consist of several elements

They are sensory, they elicit a visual or imaginary reaction that gives you something concrete to recreate.

You can enact these sensory components by drawing, mapping, or collaging your ideas, dictating them into a voice recorder, singing them, writing them in poetry, whatever creative sensory expression that helps you get your ideas flowing.

They can change due to their nature of being fuzzy- they may shapeshift or morph from what your original vision was into something slightly different, and that’s okay!

Think of fuzzy goals as progress over perfection. Perhaps what is perfect is not what you originally envisioned and that the outcome might be even better than what you could imagine.

This might be just the right thing to explore if you’re struggling with goals, now or in the future.

I love the creative, flexible, forgiving nature of fuzzy goals. Sometimes you just can’t force clarity and there is no sense in trying to, but that does not mean you have to remain stuck or paralyzed.

Please let me know what you think of using Fuzzy goals for planning your future!

7 Simple Steps to Tidy Your Kitchen

December 2, 2021 by Heather Filed Under: Organize, Organizing Projects, Systems & Techniques

Start the holidays with a Tidy & Clean Kitchen!

This time of year is great to deep clean the kitchen and fridge. Especially after summer and fall trips to the farmers market and before all your holiday cooking, baking, and entertaining. This year, it’s especially important to keep our homes and kitchens cleaner than ever! Any time is a good time to take a deep dive to tidy your kitchen. I recommend it at least a couple of times a year.

7 easy steps to your most Tidy Kitchen

Re-arrange as needed for things that might not be working well in their current spots-I just moved appliance I don’t need further out of the way and made baking items more accessible over the weekend.
Purge– including out of date food (toss), things you don’t like (give away) things like plastic cups, containers-missing lids (recycle), and cozies that somehow made their way home from summer festivities. No thank you Freebies!
Tidy and sort food and other items by category. Add containers to corral and labels to identify items as needed. Post purge is the best time to do this!

7 easy steps to your most Clean Kitchen

Give everything a sanitizing wipe down including the cabinets, switch plates, counters-moving everything out from the walls, and wiping the backsplash.
Clean out appliances such as the microwave, oven, toaster and make note of anything broken or missing that I might want to add to a wish list.Take a quick look through the pantry and make a list of staple items needed for upcoming baking and cooking (sugar, flour, chocolate chips, spices, herbs, etc), this way you can be spontaneous when the urge to get creative in the kitchen strikes!

Finally, the Fridge! Remove and wipe everything including contents, the shelves, and drawers. Toss expired food (see gide below). If you can, remove “parts”, clean and scrub the crevices with an old toothbrush and baking soda. Repeat the process for the freezer, defrosting according to your manufacturer instructions if needed. If you have a water filter built in, it’s a great time to check and replace that too.

Break each step down over a weekend or a whole week (7 steps-7 days!) depending on the time you have. As you pull things out, use up leftovers (especially in the freezer) to make room for all the great food you’ll prepare and eat over the holidays.

If you ever question keeping or tossing, HERE is a great list of food expiration. Learn how to read these labels for safety and to prevent waste. Common sense should prevail. With a “toss it” mentality there are probably lots of things you-should-never-have-bought. These things can be donated if you hate to waste but know you won’t use it. Use your judgment, and follow your intuition…and FYI-Sugar never expires!

Happy pre-holiday cleaning!

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There SHOULD BE no judgment about organizing

November 4, 2021 by Heather Filed Under: Inspiration & Education, Organize, Tips & Resources, Wellness & Mindset Leave a Comment

There should be no judgment about organizing. Unfortunately, there are a lot of very distinct ideas and stigmas about what it means to be organized. When I tell people I’m an organizer it prompts many conversation and comments like, “I’m totally organized, I love to organize, it’s in my nature” or “I NEED YOU”, or “really, you like peoples closets?” Yes, to all of that. Then there are those who shy away from saying anything. Their quiet hesitance leads me to think they feel less than organized or feel others might judge them (or maybe the subject just BORES them:).

It makes me sad when people feel ashamed about being or not being organized; there should be no judgment about organizing.

A space like the one above might make us feel ashamed but sometimes, this happens and it’s okay!

When I start working with someone new, I asess their organizing style and needs through both conversations and a tour of their spaces. An asessment includes alot of questions about how we learn our organizing habits and how we feel about being organized (or not). I never want someone to feel they are being judged for how they organize their life!

Wouldn’t you hate someone coming into your home and telling you that how you’re doing something is WRONG?

I work with many clients who are chronically disorganized. It’s a real thing, and it’s not a judgment. There’s a non-profit dedicated to better understand how different people think about organizing! ICD does a great job of dispelling myths about disorganization through both education and research.

How did you learn to organize? Did someone teach you and if so, how (through words or actions)? Most of the time, we pick up habits around organzing and they are neither intentional or necessarily the best way for us to organize. That’s exactly why we need to go easy on ourselves, and others when it comes to how we organize.

There is no RIGHT or WRONG, there are just differences! There should be no judgment. I feel nothing but compassion for anyone who wants to learn new organizing skills. This can be through a combination of hands-on, one-on-one training with an organizer, reading books, watching video’s etc., it’s all good!

Your home or business doesn’t have to look like a magazine to be functionally organized for you! We all get messy, clothes pile up, kitchen counters get cluttered (my kitchen is tiny and this can’t be avoided) and tables and surfaces are rarely bare.

Being messy isn’t the same as being disorganized.

If you know where things go and are able to maintain, than organization isn’t too far away.

The example above is better. It migh not be perfect but it’s functional with room to breath, space to find things & work. It’s all about how you feel in the space.

Once you have successful systems in place, it’s not too difficult to keep things in order. If you’re looking for help in creating systems because what your doing is a good fit, or you don’t think you ever learned how to be organized… please send me an email and lets talk. Even if we don’t work together, you will learn something helpful and I promise, there will be no judgment about organizing, I promise.

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The Sacred Space of Home

October 6, 2021 by Heather Filed Under: Art & Design, Home, Inspiration & Education, Organize, Wellness & Mindset 2 Comments

This is the time of year that I find myself craving the sacred space of home. How about you? Even while the weather can not make up it’s mind which seasion it wants to be, my attention begins to turn inward. I’m happy for rainy cooler weather when I can stay inside, wrapped up with a blanket and a book, knitting and a movie or cooking in my kitchen.

Lets dive into cultivate the practice of creating the sacred space of home.

Each of us needs to define what makes a place home. I invite you to explore all of your senses.

How does home feel? Cool, warm, dry, soft, cozy, clear, cluttered, bohemian, calm, energetic, loving, nurturing etc…

What does home look like? Is it colorful, minimalist, bright and sunny, eclectic, sentimental?

What are the smells of home? Fresh, like baking or cooking, do you use aromatherapy, candles, what scents do you love?

What do you hear? Children playing, birds singing, trains, pets talking, traffic, sirens, the school nearby, filled with music, stop and notice.

What do you taste? Does home mean homecooked meals and nurturing food or are you happy to have coffee and grab something elsewhere.

Each of our senses invite us to explore what makes home meaningful for us.

Through the journey of our senses we come to notice the objects, the light, the people, the smells, the memories that we create and evoke when we cultivate home as a sacred space.

When our homes are overly cluttered, overflowing with so much stimulation that we begin to feel crowded out and confused, we need to re-connect with how we want our homes to feel. I invite you to take some time before the holiday season to get clear about what defines the sacred space of home for you. Spend some time clearing out or at least packing away what no longer feels sacred. Life can become so busy and overwhelmed with obligations, we frequently turn away or ignore things that no longer serve our lives.

The popular books The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up and Spark Joy by Marie Kondo have become quite popular over the last several years. I personally think it is because Marie hit on this idea of sacred space and sacred objects in our home. She invites us to hold and gather our objects to determine if they “Spark Joy”. At the root of what she is cultivating is the process of reconnecting with our life as sacred!

The things we invite into our home and our lives should express who we truly want to be but so often we settle for less.

How sad is that? Having spent so much time in our homes over the past year and a half, have you created a sacred space for yourself and family? Have you cleared out clutter and celebrated the sacred through objects that have meaning? Special mementos and objects carry energy and I certainly want to be cultivating a practice of surrounding myself with what feels sacred, meaningful, has the least impact on our planet…things that are well designed and function beautifully!

What does Creating Sacred Space of Home mean for you?

Take some time to envision and intentionally edit out and create this space for yourself and your family to nurture you in everything you do.

I’m here to support you if your feeling overwhelmed, having a hard time envisioning your home as a sacred space or just need a fresh perspective and helping hands. If so, please let me know how I can help. We all deserve to feel supported and nurtured in our homes.

Essential Documents for Everyone

August 19, 2021 by Heather Filed Under: Organize, Paper management, Productivity, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources 2 Comments

Being prepared for the unexpected means having essential documents (and copies of them) in order and easy to find. Some people call these their Vital Documents. Whatever you call them they are really important! I recently learned that 98% of all South Carolina residents have no will! If that’s your situation and you don’t know where to start, let me know and I can guide you in the right direction!

Absolutely Essential Documents-The Short List

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Do I need a Home Inventory?

August 9, 2021 by Heather Filed Under: Estate Planning, Kids & Family Organizing, Organize, Organizing Projects, Planning & Goals, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources, Uncategorized Leave a Comment

Do you have a disaster and or legacy plan? Wondering if you really need a home inventory? Whether you have one started or have nothing at all read on to learn why you need a home inventory and how to protect your personal property.

Almost all of us need a home inventory, whether we rent or own our homes or businesses. If you have insurance, you need an inventory to prove replacement value. If you are leaving things to family, donation, etc, you also may need an inventory.

Sadly, many people think that because they have insurance, they don’t need to worry about a home inventory. Unfortunately, that’s not true. Insurance doesn’t guarantee you will get replacement value for your property. There are so many irreplaceable things, and all the little stuff really adds up. Having a home inventory will save you a huge potential headache, hours, or worse; pocket expenses lost down the drain. When trying to dig your way out of a disaster, or your family is grieving and trying to determine the value of your estate, this can add stress to an already hard situation. When I became a professional organizer, I learned all about the different home inventory systems and tools available. I also helped clients with creating inventory systems both before and after disasters, mostly flooding and some theft. Trust me when I say you don’t want to inventory your stuff after it’s been damaged or try to remember what’s missing! It’s not the insurance company’s responsibility (or your family’s) to know the value of your personal belongings, (and it’s not in their interest to help you with this). If you can’t prove you owned it (meaning tracking down receipts or charges, photos or other documentation), you may lose altogether.

What needs to be inventoried? The quick answer is everything! You are probably thinking this will take ages, and depending on how much detail you want to include, it could be a significant undertaking but really not so bad if you take it step-by-step and room-by-room.

Without an inventory, you could end up with a mess and thousands of dollars in lost assets! In the case of estate planning, your family may be left trying to figure out what is what. Don’t get stuck sorting toilet plungers from kitchen utensils, holiday decor, and more. Document the items in your home, including valuables and everyday items. This inventory should be updated every 2-5 years depending on your circumstances.

I’ve worked extensively on creating inventory for insurance claims and estates. Here’s what you need to know. Photos and videos are your friends! Spreadsheets are super helpful and may prevent you from having to fill out additional information in the event of an insurance claim. But there are other systems out there that are super helpful and can do more for you than just a home inventory.

As the well-known Sheryl Sandberg quote goes, “Done is better than perfect.” So true in the case of an inventory! Just having photos is better than nothing!

A home inventory Checklist can help you to understand what information will be most valuable in the case of an insurance claim. Most insurance companies would like to have the following. The more info you can provide, the more accurate your claim and reimbursement will be. Remember, the more complicated your assets and estate, the more details you will need.

It may not be necessary to have all the information below. Suppose you’re in a disaster situation and realize you don’t have anything. In that case, the short answer is to photograph every wall of every room, even opening cabinets and closets, and take photos of contents by shelf. Take notes on contents to help jog your memory, noting location and a general description. Photograph anything specifically valuable in each room. These photos and notes will prove invaluable if you have to evacuate quickly and lose the property.

Remember, “Done is better than perfect!” What follows is a more detailed guide of what your insurance company might request. Not having all of this does not mean you will not get reimbursed. The more you can provide, the quicker and more smoothly things will move along.

List items by room- This will help qualify content damage when structural damage has been done.
Include a basic description
Make/Model
Serial or ID number
Quantity
Assign value (replacement value will be paid based on current market value-ex. electronics that may have cost you $500 might be replaceable for $200 today)
Date purchased
Receipt if available
Reference photo’s

Home Zada is one of the most comprehensive home management tools out there and does everything from home maintenance reminders to home inventory. If you’re on the serious side of protecting your valuable assets, I can’t recommend a better way to manage it all in one place! This is a cloud-based option so you won’t lose it if you lose your computer!

Another great comprehensive but inexpensive system is Liberty Street Home Manage software (also cloud-based). It’s under $40 and allows you to enter all the important documentation and photos for all your assets (at multiple locations).

Several insurance companies have their systems, so ask your insurance agent what they offer! It will probably be free and give them everything needed if you ever have to make a claim.

Home Contents is a UK Based app that makes home inventory a snap with your digital camera in-phone. And finally, in the app department, My Stuff has several free and paid options with great features for adding items to folders, tagging, etc for easier sorting and organizing.

If you prefer to stick with a spreadsheet-style inventory, just do a quick search for Home Inventory Checklist to find quite a few good options for free. Most of these templates you can download and use on your computer/device.

Spreadsheet systems (I’ve used comprehensively with insurance agents to recover contents lost) can be clunky, and it’s difficult to see photos of items with their descriptions quickly. Another drawback is that unless you back up your computer or device, you risk losing your inventory (photos and checklist) and your contents in case of a disaster!

If a home inventory for disaster or estate planning is something you want help setting up, let me know, and I’d be glad to assist!

No matter what system you choose, I hope you make a plan, schedule it on your calendar, and start your home inventory today!

It’s time to prepare for natural disasters

July 28, 2021 by Heather Filed Under: Emergency Preparedness, Organize, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources 1 Comment

No matter where you live, it’s practically impossible to ignore and vital to prepare for natural disasters! With the change in our climate, especially if you live along the coastlines, it pays to get organized, ‘Just in Case’ there’s a natural disaster!

On cue for hurricane & fire season, it’s time to prepare for natural disasters.

Do you have a plan, know your evacuation route, and have supplies ready?

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Sanctuary Spaces Challenge

February 2, 2021 by Heather Filed Under: Uncategorized Leave a Comment

Our homes have become so much more for each of us over the past year! If you struggle with clutter or not able to create sanctuary spaces for yourself to retreat to please use the tips and guidance of this four-week challenge and jump in at any time. Do as much as or as little as your life needs.

This challenge focuses on clearing the spaces in our home that collect clutter. Each week or segment tackles the clutter in the corners, on the surfaces, and hiding behind closed doors.

Week 1: Sweep the surfaces
Week 2: Clear cabinets & closets
Week 3: Deep clean drawers
Week 4: Box & Bin binge

Clutter collects where items don’t have a permanent home. Horizontal surfaces can be a major source of clutter collection for so many people. They just seem to fill up moments after they are cleared. Know yourself and your family/household members. Are you “Pilers”? If so, identify what lands on those surfaces and find ways to relocate them or collect them neatly. For surfaces that collect the same clutter over and over, create containers for spare change, loose papers, hooks for keys, masks, and other everyday items. Give everything on every surface a home and get in the practice-AKA-Habit of daily, and weekly maintenance to keep things in order.

This week we continue by clearing out closets and cabinets where clutter often hides.

👖👕👓👞
Each day this week, pick a room or a category and systematically weed out the clutter, collecting it in bags or boxes to be donated, sold, or given away. Think about these spaces that contain kids’ clothes, your clothes, the kitchen pantry, and cabinets in the kitchen, laundry, and bathrooms! Remember that clutter collects where items don’t have a permanent home. These hidden spaces are the storage workhorses of our homes and need to be regularly maintained so that they don’t get clogged up. Remember the one-in-one-out rule to help keep a handle on the everyday items that live in these spaces.

This week our focus is on digging through those drawers!

🖇🗄✏
Most of us have drawers in almost every room with lots of space for hidden clutter.
🍴🔑✂️
Each day this week, systematically weed out the clutter, collecting it in bags or boxes to be donated, sold, or given away. It’s time to tackle the kitchen drawers *including everyone’s favorite #junkdrawer, bathroom drawers, file cabinet drawers (purge those papers each year), and sock drawers to name a few.
🔎🧦🧤
Like past weeks, pick a category (papers, clothing accessories, kitchen items, etc) and work through each one systematically purging. Kids and other household members can help, assign a drawer, and dive in!

This week our focus is on boxes, bins & baskets.

📦
These are great places to store things that we need to keep but don’t want to see, BUT, for some people that’s out of sight is out of mind. When things get tucked away for long periods, we forget about them & which means we probably don’t need it! It’s time to tackle them! Think about where you have things in bins & decide which ones need to be sorted through. Some baskets & bins get used regularly, those might need a quick review. It’s the stuff in deep storage that can become a hidden burden. It might be the right time to let that clutter go!
🗃🗳
Each day this week, systematically weed out the clutter, collecting it in bags or boxes to be donated, sold, or given away.
📦
Like the past 3 weeks, pick a category or space (papers, clothing accessories, kitchen items, etc) and work through each systematically purging. Kids and other household members can help, assign a bin, and dive in!

Congratulations! Did you create some sanctuary space in your home?

Decluttering & having space to keep what you need in convenient, easy to access storage is one major step in that direction!

Any time is the best time to start! It doesn’t have to happen room by room. You can start creating sanctuary in a drawer, a closet, or a box by decluttering storage spaces all around your home.

As you find ease in these spaces & with the process of decluttering, make it a regular part of your daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly home maintenance schedule.

Maintaining the clutter is a part of life! Begin the process before clutter comes into your home. I hope this will be a year with more sanctuary & less clutter in all your spaces.

Closets-the most frighting space in your home?

January 22, 2021 by Heather Filed Under: Closets, Organize

Guest post from the desk of Celeste B.

What is the most frightening space in your home? I’ll bet it is a closet of some kind, the place where the detritus of modern living has accumulated and grown neglected. Whatever else might be growing there is not to be ignored either. Wallace and I don’t have a garage, which I describe as the American ultra-closet for many people. Instead of renting a storage locker, many homeowners have co-opted the “extra” space taken up by the second car and dedicated it to barbeque grills, canoes, roof racks, children’s playthings, freezers, adult playthings, infrequently used tools, unfinished projects, unpacked moving boxes, wedding presents and generally redundant or bulky items that are rarely called into service, such as the trailer for the float you build for the July fourth community parade and that you don’t want to get rusty in the driveway.

Somewhere you have probably got a closet dedicated to similar use: housing family movies or slides with their projectors, sports equipment, never used vacuum cleaner attachments, orphaned framed art and bric-a-brac including that fondue set with all the skewers still in its box. There is nothing sentimental about fondue unless you enjoyed it on your honeymoon in Quebec, a lovely city.

Your reluctance to tackle the closet cleanup is not uncommon. Everyone has it and, besides, what are you going to do with all that stuff once it is sorted out? A pile in the hall is no different than one in the closet and re-distribution is a temporary solution. You have to agree with your partner to accomplish this cleanup because there may be items precious to one of you that deserve special consideration. Woeful is the partner who sends the varsity letter jacket to the second hand store without permission. Blessed is the organizer who seeks approval before, during or after a closet purge. Hoarding is another matter altogether and there is probably no agreement available to assuage the concerns of that pathology.

Closet clutter-clothing and more

Supposing that you are operating as one coordinated force on this, then there is a happy avenue for de-accessioning, as the museums call it. The yard/garage sale is by far the most satisfactory because, not only do you enjoy seeing people appreciate your stuff, they actually pay you for it. It is amazing always to see the cheery buyers sifting through the crockery, books, art and cast-off furniture, ever on the lookout for treasures overlooked by the rest of the world. It is somehow satisfying to see these burdens taken on by others as if they are financial Samaritans. And best of all, the many charitable second hand stores have liberalized their acceptance policies so you are able to load up most of the failed sales and freight them over for receipt, thereby putting many disadvantaged people to work in furthering the life of these goods. That is a win-win with a tax deduction to boot!
Kisses, Celeste

Thank you Celeste! Your practical tips and lighthearted attitude will help us all laugh at our clutter conundrums no doubt!

*If you would like to hear more from Celeste please contact me. I’m sure she would be delighted to learn of your enthusiasm and I’m happy to pass your message along as well as ask her to join us again with more fun and lighthearted posts!