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Simplify the Holiday Season with Organized Gift Gathering

Published: November 20, 2019

The holiday season can be rather chaotic. Shopping during the busy season, and making sure you have a gift for everyone, along with wrapping and possibly shipping those gifts can cause stress during the season of giving.

One way I’ve helped some of my clients to prepare for the holidays in advance is by creating an organized system for gift-gathering throughout the year. Not everyone will want to do this, but if it is of interest to you, here are some of my tips:

Make a List of Gift Recipients

At the start of the year, make a list of everyone you gave gifts to last year. Of course, you may have some new gift recipients in the upcoming year, but this list will give you a good idea of how many gifts you want to buy. List everyone here, even if it was just a small gift for the babysitter or dog walker.

Gather Any New Gifts You Already Have

Many of my organizing clients have had a collection of new gifts gathered in their home. These may be random things they picked up over the years, or it could be something they’ve decided to re-gift. Look through your home and gather all of these new gifts together in one place. Designate a section of a closet or cabinet to hold this collection.

Match Up these New Gifts to Your List of Gift Recipients

If any of the gifts you already own would be good choices for those on your recipient list, make note of that now.

Write Gift Ideas for the Other Recipients

For anyone who has not been matched with a gift, write down some gift ideas. Maybe your co-worker would like a candle or a scarf, write down whatever comes to mind.

Make a List of Places to Shop

Perhaps you can shop for everything online, or maybe there are certain stores that have most of what you want. Make a list of these places, and plan to go to them to gather your gifts.

Shop for Gifts Throughout the Year

This is a good choice for the budget conscious, and by shopping sales throughout the year, you can save, as long as you stick to your gift-giving list and don’t overbuy.

Do a Late Fall Assessment

Prior to Thanksgiving, look at your new gift collection and your recipient list, and finish up buying anything else now or on Black Friday.

Organize Your Gift Wrapping Supplies

By creating an organized system for your gift bags, tissue paper, bows, gift wrap, scissors, tape and cards, it will be easy to find everything you need when it is time to wrap.

Organize Your Shipping and Mailing Supplies

Likewise, create an organized system for your shipping boxes, packing material, mailing labels and stamps. If your new gifts, gift wrapping supplies, and mailing supplies are in one place, it will be easier to select, wrap, and ship your gifts for the holiday season.

My Favorite Organizing Products for Holiday Decorations

Published: November 13, 2019

The holidays can be a busy time of year, one way to help lower stress during this season is to stay organized. There are some wonderful storage products available to help organize your holiday decorations.

Here are some of my favorite organizing products for holiday decorations and gift wrap:

Ornament storage boxes

Plastic lidded bins (for larger decorations)

Light storage reel & bag

Wreath storage bag

Tree storage bag

Gift wrap & bag organizer

Choosing the right storage products for your holiday decorations depends on the type and amount of items you are storing, and your available storage space. If you’d like personalized assistance and guidance in organizing your holiday decorations, please contact me for information on my in-person organizing services or virtual organizing services.

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Organizing After Your Spouse has Passed Away

Published: November 6, 2019

Organizing can be very helpful in times of transition. Unfortunately, one of those times can be after the death of a loved one. The death of a spouse or partner can be a devastating event in one’s life, and it can bring about many changes. Sometimes, this may result in a move to a new location. I have helped many widows and widowers in the process of sorting through their late loved one’s belongings as they declutter and simplify to prepare for a move.

The grief and emotion surrounding a death of a loved one can be very overwhelming. If possible, it is usually best to wait until the widower or widow is ready to sort through and let go of some of their spouse’s belongings. Unfortunately, if a move is planned soon, this may not be the case. Everyone grieves differently; I’ve had some widows ready to sort through things just a couple of weeks after their spouse’s death, while others are ready after a few months, and others after many years. When you begin to sort through a late spouse’s belongings depends on many factors, but you may find that working side-by-side with a professional organizer to guide you in the decision making process will be of great help.

Here some of my tips when sorting through your late spouse’s belongings:

Determine How Much Space You Will Have

If you are moving to a smaller home, independent living, assisted living or a retirement home, look at the floor plan, square footage of the new space, and available closet space to truly determine how much space you have to keep some of your loved one’s belongings. Once you have a clear space limit, it will be easier to narrow down how much you can keep.

Sort Items By Type

Before getting rid of anything, sort your late spouse’s belongings by type. For example, gather all of his hats together, all of his sweaters together, etc. At that point, if there are pieces of clothing that you hold the most dear, select a small number from each category to keep, a number that will reasonably fit in your place. Select the items that you have the strongest attachment to.

Take a Part of a Collection

If your spouse was a collector, only keep a small sampling of that collection, the one or two best pieces that can represent the collection.

Remember You are Not Throwing Away a Memory

When you give something away, keep in mind that you are not throwing away a memory, you are just letting go of an item that you do not need to use in your life at this time. Your memories of your spouse will always be with you.

Give to Others

Seeing others benefit from your late spouse’s belongings may make it easier for you to part with things. For example, if you have a family member who loves golfing, and you give your spouse’s golf clubs to that person, you know they will be appreciated and used. If your spouse had a large collection of clothes, and there’s a shelter in need of clothing donations, you will feel better knowing that the items that have been taking up space in your closet are now being worn by those in need.

Take Your Time

This process can be extremely painful emotionally, so if you are not under a time constraint to move, take your time going through these things. Do not plan to do this all in a day, because after an hour or two, you may be exhausted from making so many decisions, so know that it is alright to do a little bit at a time.

Take Care of Yourself

Self care is very important when going through a process like this. Rest or treat yourself after you’ve done a little bit of decluttering of your late spouse’s belongings. Whether that’s going out with friends, or watching your favorite movie, do something to reward yourself for taking these steps.

If you need assistance with decluttering after your spouse has passed away, a member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals may be able to assist you. If you live the Raleigh, North Carolina area and would like my guidance and assistance, please feel free to contact me.

11 Reasons to Organize Your Craft Room

Published: October 30, 2019

In many homes, a bonus room or spare bedroom is used as a craft room. These rooms can be used for a variety of hobbies such as sewing, knitting, painting, or scrapbooking. Oftentimes, these spaces can become disorganized with the various small craft supplies needed to create each project. There are so many benefits to finally decluttering and organizing a craft room. Here are 11 reasons to organize your craft room:

1. To motivate yourself to finish a craft project you’ve already started.

2. To make your crafting hobby even more enjoyable with a visually pleasing and organized space.

3. To create a dedicated workspace for crafting.

4. To be able to work on a hobby whenever you feel like it, without taking too much time to clean up or set up a place to paint, knit, scrapbook, sew, etc.

5. To save time searching for things while you are working on your craft projects.

6. To make sure supplies can be put away easily and properly.

7. To save money, by not buying things you already own because you can find everything.

8. To be able to teach your craft to others such as friends, family or students.

9. To have a space to make gifts for others.

10. To make money by selling your crafts online or at craft fairs.

11. To lower stress by relaxing and unwinding while crafting.

The main benefit of organizing any area is that you and your family will save time searching for items resulting in less stress and chaos. If you live in the Raleigh, North Carolina area and need hands-on organizing assistance or want a do-it-yourself plan, I’d love to help you. If you live elsewhere, I offer virtual organizing services via FaceTime and Skype to help you with any size organizing project. Please contact me for a free phone consultation to get started.

Save Time with Transportation Services for Kids

Published: October 23, 2019

One way to improve time management and productivity is to delegate some tasks to others to free up your own time and resources. I often work with busy parents to help organize their homes and schedules. One common errand parents need to think about is carpooling their children to and from school and after-school activities such as soccer practice, dance lessons, or swim lessons.

Parents can often trade this task off with family, friends or neighbors, but when those people are not available there are now helpful alternatives. Although you may consider using Uber or Lyft, those companies do not transport people under 18 without a parent present.

For safety, and your own peace of mind, there are car service companies for transporting children to and from school and activities now available in many locations. In the Raleigh and Cary area, here are a few options:

Go Kart Kids

Discovery on Wheels

Capital Concierge on Call

With companies like these, the drivers have been background checked, and safety is of the utmost importance. You can schedule pick-up and drop-off times in advance, and in some cases even request the same driver. If you live outside the Raleigh, NC area, search online to see if there are child transportation services like these available near you.

Although we’d all like to be there for our children at all times, sometimes schedules conflict, so it is wonderful that companies like these exist. Delegating transportation can be a huge time saver and help families to balance their busy schedules.

Decluttering & Organizing When Moving in Together

Published: October 16, 2019

I help many people to declutter and organize when they are going through life transitions. One big transition is when a couple first moves in together. Decluttering and organizing with a professional organizer’s help can help to reduce conflicts and make sure couples are starting off on the right foot when it comes to cohabitation.

Whether you are moving into a place already occupied by your significant other, or renting or buying a new place together, setting up organized systems and creating a home for everything can certainly improve harmony in your place together.

When I work with couples to help set up these organized systems, here are some of things we focus on:

Determining What to Declutter

Usually, when you move in together, you will want to declutter some belongings from your past to make room for your new life together. A professional organizer can help you on either end, before you move out of your current space, or when you’re in your new space starting to combine belongings, to systematically go through and declutter what you no longer want or need, and organize the items you are keeping.

Layouts of Rooms and Furniture Selection

Once you have the measurements of the place you are moving into, you should determine exactly how much furniture will fit in the space. You may have to pick and choose who’s kitchen table or sofa you use, or buy something new altogether. Either way, too much furniture can lead to a cluttered room. There will be compromises as you determine what furniture looks and fits best in your new space.

Closet Choices

Clothing storage is one area where couples may have conflicts. Discuss the closet space available, determine if you’re going to share a closet, or each have your own. You will probably need to sort and cull your clothing during this process. I recently had some home organizing clients where the man moved his clothing into the guest room closet, so the woman could have the bigger closet space in the bedroom! Compromise is key!

Laundry Processes

Determine a laundry process of who does the laundry, where dirty clothing is collected, when it is done, and how and when clean clothing is put away. Also, the dry cleaning drop off and pick up process should be determined as well. Setting up a system like this can reduce conflict.

Kitchen Set-up

One place where couples may have two of everything is in the kitchen. In this room, it is important to sort through and choose the best kitchen supplies, cookware, dishes, utensils, etc. that will work in your kitchen together. Keeping two of everything will just lead to clutter and disorganization.

Bathroom Layout

Again, if you’re sharing a bathroom together for the first time, you will need to designate areas for each of your belongings. If you have more than one, you may each want to claim your own bathroom to give you more space and reduce arguments.

Mail Systems

Simply considering who picks up the mail, and where it is placed so the other person can receive and respond to their mail is extremely important. This will prevent missed events or unpaid bills and other arguments.

If you live in the Raleigh, North Carolina area and are moving in together and need hands-on organizing assistance or want a do-it-yourself plan, I’d love to help you. If you live elsewhere, I offer virtual organizing services via FaceTime and Skype to help you with any size organizing project. Please contact me for a free phone consultation to get started.