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Summertime Responsibilities

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Schools out for the summer! With the kids home during the day there is likely more clutter to deal with. A few helpful ideas include giving kids responsibility early. Responsible kids are made, not born! Remember in a few short years your son or daughter will be someone’s roommate or spouse…will they make a good one??

Cooking, laundry, organizing, and money management can all be included as part of your kids daily routine. Here are a few of the summer “chores” that we did with our kids, so I know they really work! Have your kids help with summer meal plans and have them help cook. Younger kids can help put laundry away and older kids can easily learn to do laundry. Organizational skills are best taught through modeling. If you always return items where they belong your kids will learn to do the same. Talk openly with your kids about finances and teach them how to spend responsibly, save, and give back.

Lastly, reward your children with experiences, not things. Spending time together provides life long memories and living in the Northwest provides endless opportunities.

My Top 5 Father’s Day Gift Ideas

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One of the best ways to get your husband on board with organizing is to provide him with the necessary tools. My husband still appreciates the wall mounted vacuum for the garage that our boys gave him a couple of years ago on Father’s Day. It helps make garage clean up a snap and has also made it much easier to quickly vacuum out our cars! Still wondering what to get the man in your life?

Here are some of my favorite (and affordable!) Father’s Day Gift ideas:

Hoover GUV1. Hoover GUV. $159. This vacuum is carried online or at about every main chain store including Walmart, Sears, Best Buy and Home Depot. I found the best deal on Amazon.

 

 

giftcertlink 2.  Garage Makeover Gift Certificate. $100 off any garage makeover for the month of June. Contact Julie for details.

 

 

 3. Wall Mount Shelf With Hooks. $99. This can be used for so many things in the garage.  Hooks are always a good solution to just about any mess.

 

 

AAA Auto Emergency Kit

 4. Emergency Auto Kit. $35. A must have for every car!

 

 

 

BBQ Gift Basket 5. BBQ Gift Basket. $30. Make your own gift basket with these fun lobster towels from one of my favorite bloggers – Lemonade Makin’ Mama. Add a few drinks, his favorite snacks, a BBQ basting brush and voila! If he’s not into barbecuing then Pinterest is also another great resource for gift basket ideas.

 

What are your Father’s Day gift ideas?

Quick Cleaning Tips

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It is hard to believe June is almost here! Certainly a busy time of year for most of us with graduations, Father’s Day, birthdays, anniversaries and the start of summer. Let’s keep our homes clean so we can spend more time doing what we love!

cleaning equipment in a bucket

Here are a few of my favorite easy clean-up tips:

  • Start small; clean one thing in your home each day. Put together a small bin of basic cleaning supplies to make it easier!
  • Use a good doormat or rug at each entrance of your home. This will cut down about 80% of dirt that enters your home.
  • Eliminate the clutter.
  • Use “green” cleaning solutions. Stop with the disposable cleaning products-they are expensive and wasteful. Use refillable/reusable products.
  • Reward yourself with fresh flowers after you clean a trouble spot.

What are your favorite cleaning tips?

Streamlining Your Space

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Front Deck

We live in a land of plenty and for many people ‘enough’ never seems to ‘be enough’. As we enter the warmer season, my challenge for you is to think about what it is that really makes you happy? It seems to me that the road between possessing things and things possessing us, is very short.

Consider for a moment…

1. De-cluttering. Instead of purchasing more, what if you spend some time this week eliminating, sorting and organizing? Each time we help a client do this we discover lost checks, gift cards, cash, and plenty of new items they didn’t even know they had!

2. Creating additional space. Can you eliminate some furniture from your living space or some toys/clothing from your kids rooms? We helped organize a garage in four hours and reclaimed over 400 square feet of space. The comment from our client was, “I wish I would have done this months (or years) ago!”.

3. Re-inventing your existing space. What can you do with what you already own to create a more beautiful, functional space? Consider rearranging your furniture and lowering your artwork to eye level. This simple change can transform a room! De-clutter your space completely, do away with the knick knacks and fill your home with the things you truly love.

Ready to get started?

Digging Out From Under Your Clutter- free seminar

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Clutter

I’ll be speaking at the Burlington Public Library on Saturday, January 26th from 10:30-11:30am. If you’re looking for some helpful tips and ideas on how to dig out from under your clutter, this is for you!

This is a great deal; there is no admission fee, so bring a friend! If the time or location don’t work for you, check out our classes and workshops for some other options.

Click on the link below for an event flyer.

clutter workshop pdf flyer

 

 

Fall 2012

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backpacks

Fall is in the air!

As summer winds down and we begin preparing for a new school year the pace of life increases. Creating a bit of order now will keep chaos from reigning in your home.

Here are a few of my favorite tips for getting organized for a new school year.

Prioritize: Set goals-what is most important to you, your spouse and your kids? You can’t do it all so determine together what you will do and focus your energies there.

Plan Ahead: We can’t anticipate everything but we can be prepared for so much. School schedules/events, sports, lessons, work, meals, chores, exercise and family time. A little planning and organization can make a big difference as you prepare for fall.

A few things you can do with your kids as summer comes to a close:

  • Sort kids clothing and eliminate anything they don’t like or that no longer fits them.
  • Declutter bedrooms…yours and theirs. Nothing complicates life more than unnecessary clutter.
  • Establish a drop zone for backpacks, sports bags, shoes etc. to keep them from being deposited all over the house.
  • Create a family/life management area (I usually recommend somewhere in the kitchen).
  • Use a bulletin board or magnetic board to track schedules, lists, reminders for each family member.

Play: People often complain that there is little time for fun in their life because so much of life is structured. Remember that you are in control of your schedule and if you don’t like it, change it!

Giving Back!

Blue Skies for Children is a local nonprofit which sponsors enrichment programs and other essentials for homeless, low-income and foster children in Whatcom and Skagit Counties. You can learn more about how they invest in the community by visiting http://www.blueskiesforchildren.org/ or calling (360) 756-6710.

Organized at Last Fall Classes

The Simply Organized Home- $95
Thursday, September 20th 9:00am- 2:30pm

Organizing Paperwork Permanently- $45
Wednesday, October 3rd 7:00pm- 9:00pm

Simplifying the Holidays- $45
Monday, November 5th 7:00pm- 9:00pm

Private classes are currently available. Contact Organized at Last to customize a class for you, your friends and family. With 7 guests, your registration is FREE!