Organizing Tools Archives - Page 2 of 8

Permanently Reduce Clutter Part 1- Spend Less, Have More

How would you like to spend less but feel like you have more?

Do you wish your bank balance was higher than it is?

Are you surrounded by stuff?

I have always admired people like the late Lady Diana. She dressed with simple elegance. Oh ya, she had a huge wardrobe because she was a princess however, her style was elegant and simple. I’ll bet if she were not a princess she would have had a modest closet filled with a few key items of clothing. The type of clothing items that mix and match. That is my goal for you as well. As the French would say “you do not need a lot of clothes you just need a great imagination”

Check out this short video on Permanently Reduce Clutter Part 1 and then read on for Getting It Togethers Top 5 Tips.

These tips would also work when decorating your home. Simple yet elegant.

Where else do you think these tips would work well in your life?

Please leave a comment in the box below. Your opinion counts.

Tip 1. Use the 6-12 month rule. If you haven’t worn or used it in 6-12 months, get rid of it. Pass it on with love. The only exception to this rule is that one elegant evening dress in the back of your closet waiting for a fancy dance or cruise. If it is a classic it will not go out of style. If you stay the same size it will fit!

You might even have an item in your home that comes out for the rare occasions. You know the tray that holds deviled eggs. But only keep it if you use it and have space to store it.

Tip 2. Align values with spending. I value good/organic food, my health and travel to name a few. So, I know that planning and paying for a vacation, getting a massage, or going shopping at one of my favorite specialty shops is aligned with my values. Knowing what you value makes it much easier to make or not to make spending decisions. Keep in mind “fair trade” and “ethically made”.

Tip 3. Stick to a shopping list. This will help you with not getting side tracked. Take a shopping list with you when you go to buy groceries or clothes. When you know what you are looking for you will save time and money. The most organized people do not just aimlessly wonder around shops. They have a mission and stick to it. Now that doesn’t mean you don’t go window shopping with a friend once in awhile. Hey we all need that fix with one of our BF”s

Tip 4. The 24-hour rule. We have all heard this one before. I think Oprah even uses this rule. Imagine, with all of her money. Think about your purchase for 24 hours. If you still feel you need/want it after 24 hours go back and make the purchase. If you feel you can live without that item after 24 hours you have just saved yourself some money. This eliminates the spontaneous purchases. I also like to shop at places that have a no fuss return policy. For example, an item of clothing might look great in the store lighting then you get it home and the colour is not at all what you thought.

Tip 5. Create a do-not-spend day. Are you old enough to remember when stores were closed on Sundays? Or when late night shopping was only on Friday nights? Ah, the good old days. I use to work in the mall when this was my reality. (Okay, I know I am dating myself now) however one day without spending can add up. Choose a day each week and make that your do-not-spend day. Instead, get creative with all the fun free things you can do. Pack your own lunch or snacks and take a thermos with your hot drink in it. Your mind, body and bank account will thank you!

PS: Here’s something for free on your do not spend day. A FREE discovery call with me. Book it today at www.gettingittogether.ca and gain insights on your passion and purpose.

By donnap|2020-06-07T20:52:33+00:00October 17th, 2017|Home Organization, Organizer|1 Comment

How To Create New Habits

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become your character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
– Anonymous

Would you love to just get up in the morning and be able to do whatever you want whenever you wanted to do it?

If you are retired I bet you can live like that. If you are running a business and or running a household I know you can’t live like that without major consequences.

What I have learned in all my years as a professional time management/productivity expert is that habits and I mean good habits produce the best results.

As humans we thrive best on routine.

Routines are a series of good habits and willpower

Cultivating consistent good habits will help lower overwhelm.

For example, if you have the habit of going to the gym each morning or doing some form of physical activity each day you will reduce your stress which will reduce your overwhelm.

If you consistently cultivate the good habit of preparing healthy well balanced meals you will not feel rushed at meal times.

Let me explain, because habits are really not that hard to keep if the outcome is far greater than not having a habit.

Most habits require a little thinking and yes a little planning.

When you are preparing your evening meal think and plan ahead as to what you will be taking to lunch the next day.

For those of you who have been reading my blog for a while you know that one of my tips is to wash all of your produce when you bring it home from the store before putting it in the fridge. This is a great habit because it then allows you to prepare your evening meal and lunch for the next day with ease not with overwhelm.

Habits are best kept when they are non negotiable.

As one of my very smart clients said to me “it is all about discipline “that is hitting the nail right on the head. So how do we capture discipline? When the pain of remaining the same is far greater than the pain of change. You know the people that have a heart attack and then their discipline to change and make new habits is so great there is no stopping them.

Check out this short video on How To Create New Habits and then read on to get all the tips.

How do we go about sticking to our habits? Follow these Top 3 compelling Getting It Together Tips.

Tip # 1 Desire. You have to have the desire to want to stick with your habit. For an example, I have some challenges with my neck so my desire to have a healthy pain free neck has made me cultivate the habit of going to the gym each morning and stretching out my body and strengthening my muscles. Or the desire to have a happy dog means you walk them daily.

Tip # 2 Determination. Our mind is a very strong muscle. We can strengthen it to become so determined that there is no stopping us. Look at how we were all so determined to walk and to talk as toddlers. How determined are you to get things done before going on a vacation? How determined were you to fit into your wedding dress? Use this same determination to create your habits.

Tip#3 Discipline. Why is it that some people have more discipline then others? Is it in our DNA? Can we learn it? If the payoff is great and we want something bad enough we will cultivate the discipline. (For example: taking vitamins) This does not mean we will be perfect all the time. We will fall off the rails sometimes however we know that with strong desire and determination we will get back on track.

If it takes less than a minute to do something, get in the habit of doing it right away,

Not all habits are good ones. For example biting your nails, smoking or over drinking. To break a bad habit you need desire, determination and discipline as well as replace it with a good habit. Try 10 deep breaths every time you go to bite your nails. It will change your thought process and hopefully get you on track with having well manicured fingernails.

By donnap|2020-06-07T20:52:35+00:00September 13th, 2016|Home Organization, Self Care Organization|0 Comments

How To Set Priorities

Do you feel like you are putting out fires all day long?

Do you feel like your time is never your time?

At the end of the day do you wonder what you really got done?

Take a look at this short simple video on “How To Set Priorities”

Then read on to get the top 4 quadrants to getting things done.

#1 Urgent/Important:

You wake up in the morning. What is one of the first things you do?

Is it urgent and important? If you are like most people it is….going to the washroom J

Then, getting washed up, fed and out the door to work. These are “must do’s”

These tasks have timelines if you want to be on time. They are urgent and they are important.

Waking up in the morning and checking emails is “not” urgent or important.

Don’t get me wrong, your emails could very well be important; however do they need to be responded to before you have even taken care of your personal needs first?

What other “must do’s” do you have on your list of things to do?

(Oh wait a minute, you don’t have a list?) Let’s start there.

Do yourself a favour and write out your 6 most important things (6 being the magic number) you must do for the next day. These are things that only you can do. Then put these “to-do’s” in either the first or second quadrant.

#2 Not Urgent/Important:

This is the best quadrant to work from.

These are things that are important to you. Quality time with your family, exercising, clearing out the clutter, downsizing your aging parent’s home, spending time with friends, getting your taxes done. Achieving highly productive work activities without the sense of stress.

If you procrastinate on these above items they get moved to #1.

For example: Your Doctor orders you to start taking care of yourself, your parents pass on and now you are left with downsizing their home, your friends get resentful because you never make time to see them, your kids complain that all you ever do is work or your marriage is in trouble because you are having an affair with your mobile device. Your boss is yelling at you for the overdue reports.

Impeccable scheduling will eliminate the above examples.

#3 Urgent/Not Important:

Checking personal emails every single time the notification goes off. Note to self; turn the notification off. Instead, set aside 2 times per day to check your personal emails.

Responding to texts the second they come in or worse while driving.

Answering your phone even when you are not free to talk. Like while you are with family and friends, while you are at dinner, while you are in the shower (yep, someone did that to me once)

Saying “yes” when you really mean “no”.

Anything that is a creative avoidance to what you really need to be doing and want to be doing.

#4 Not Urgent/Not Important:

Anything that is taking valuable time away from what you really want to do in life.

Watching endless TV, playing endless hours of video games, getting screen sucked, attending functions that are not contributing to your professional goals, attending meetings without an agenda or timeline, talking on the phone to a negative person who is not willing to take action to change their life and so on.

Don’t get me wrong, we all need some down time. Is yours in proportion to the rest of your life or are you using this quadrant as an escape?

PS: Are you still feeling time strapped? Connect today and receive your FREE weekly plan sheet. I will go over the best way for you to manage your time.

Know anyone who is always late? Share the love by sending this link to them.

www.gettingittogether.ca

By donnap|2020-06-07T20:52:35+00:00June 14th, 2016|Home Organization, Organizer, Organizing to Move, Time Management|1 Comment

How to Online Date

Who would have ever thought you needed a system or needed to be organized to online date?

Well, at Getting It Together. All things. Organized. We did.

Check out this short video on “How to Online Date” and then read on to get Getting It Togethers’ top 6 tips.

Let’s first look at some very important safety measures one needs to take before getting started.

Protect your privacy. When selecting an “online” name choose something that does not really relate to you so that if an ex lover was looking for you they would not be able to put 2 and 2 together.

For example: If you are a horse lover do not use this in your online name. Do not use your initials or a pet name that someone might have had for you.

When it is time to connect with the online person, ask them for their phone number.

Never give yours out (if you are a female reading this) and when you do call the person be sure to block your number until you have had at least one or 2 calls. There are ways to block from a cell phone and a landline. Cell: #31# and land line is *67

Know your objective. Do you want a long term relationship, just some fun, dating or a friendship? Be clear about this and make it clear in your online profile. What are your non negotiables? Be very specific with your profile.

You do not want to waste your time with people who are not a good match.

Set aside time to peruse the online site, a time to connect via the online email system and a time to meet. This is where good time management and great organizational skills come in handy. Designate say Tuesday and Thursday nights after work to connect and one or 2 lunch hours for the pursuing part. Don’t jump to reply every time you get a message. This is not the best use of your time.

Be organized. Have your little black book system. As shown in the video, you will want to have a system for keeping track of the people you are “talking” to online and the ones you are meeting. Post it notes are the best thing for this as you can move them around.

Have fun! Meeting “strangers” online is not for the faint at heart. Keep in mind that each person is basically feeling the same way. A little uncomfortable, maybe nervous or shy and certainly vulnerable. Make your conversations light hearted, friendly and engaging.

Follow the 4 agreements. Once you have started connecting be sure to keep the four agreements in mind. Don’t take anything personally. 2. Always do your best. 3. Be impeccable with your word ( online dating is not the place to lie or exaggerate…. No place is) 4. Do not make assumptions. This is where being clear and getting clear are extremely important.

If you haven’t read the book “The 4 Agreements” by: Don Miquel Ruiz I would highly recommend it. It is a fabulous read even if you do not online date. Great daily words to live by .

Here’s wishing you a life filled with love, joy, laughter and fun whether you are single, married, searching for a mate or not.

I am a sucker for a good love story. Please leave your comments in the box below on how you and your spouse/partner met.

PS: Feeling a little unsure about online dating? Treat yourself to a coaching session where we will discover your objectives, goals and needs. Contact me today at www.gettingittogether.ca

By donnap|2020-06-07T20:52:36+00:00April 13th, 2016|Organizer|0 Comments

How To Make Good Habits

Have you vowed to get organized once and for all?

Do you dream of impeccable time management habits?

Is this the year you will exercise, eat better, get more sleep, stop smoking or make some other positive change?

Why is it that some people can make good habits a habit and others can not?

Check out this short video on how to make good habits

And then read the Getting It Together’s Top 5 Tips on how to make good habits.

Tip #1: Visualize. In order to move forward with new habits you need to see yourself already there. Visualize yourself as a non smoker or as eating healthy whole foods. Think about how this new habit will improve your life.

Tip #2: Journal. Once you have visualized yourself already in the new habit now you will want to keep track of it in a journal. Write out all the benefits of achieving this new habit like increased energy or that you will be able to find what you are looking for in 20 seconds or less once your home is all organized.

Tip #3: One step at a time. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to organize your whole home in one day? In most cases this is impossible however if you set up small baby steps you can accomplish it. Take 15 minutes a day and work on one small area. For example your sock drawer. Take out all the odd socks and holey ones. Donate any extras if you have too many pairs and leave the rest. Easy to do in 15 minutes for sure.

Tip #4: Grab a buddy. Things are always better with a buddy. Who do you know who would like to get in better shape? Team up with them for long walk and talks. Make it a habit to meet once twice or even three times a week. Make each other accountable. Leaving a comment in the comment box below is a great way to becoming accountable. Tell us what your new habit is and we will hold you to it.:)

Tip #5: Have a plan. Know what you need to do in order to reach your goals. What daily habits do you need to instill to keep organized, eat better, get in shape, or stop smoking?

PS: Enter to win!

Getting It Together has just had a makeover and we want to hear from you. Please leave a comment in the comment box and your name will be entered into a draw to WIN a purse Organizer.

Check it out www.gettingittogether.ca/products

Share the love by sharing the link. Thank You

By donnap|2020-06-07T20:52:36+00:00October 28th, 2015|Home Organization, Organizer, Time Management|3 Comments

What To Do With Your Greeting Cards – Do You Toss, Keep, Store Or Dispose Of Them?

Several of the homes I am working in right now seem to have an over abundance of greeting cards. These are cards the family members have received over the years. One of the questions I get asked frequently is “should I keep these cards? I will get to that in a minute. In the mean time I find it interesting that most of these greeting cards are in an old box, they are bent and sometimes still in the envelope….unopened! Boxes of cards can get very dusty and musty smelling too.

Do you have boxes of greeting cards that you have received?

What is your purpose of keeping them?

Read on to get the TOP 5 Getting It Together’s TIPs on What to do with your greeting cards.

Tip#1 Decide if you are an Ecard person or a paper card person. Pick one method and stick to it. Some people are NO card people. Maybe as a family they have decided to not send any cards. (You might decide to put the money you would spend on cards and donate it to a charity of your choice) Then there is the “send out card” company. They do all the work for you once you have given them all your details.

Tip#2: Purpose. What is the purpose of keeping a card? If you give someone a card do you expect them to keep it FOREVER? Probably not. Just like if someone gives you a card they do not expect you to keep it forever. I heard of a lady who kept every card she had ever received. Her thought was that she would re-read them all one day when she was in an “old folks” home. She thought she would like to remember all the kind things people had said to her. I visit an extended care home once a week and I hate to say it but there is no room in those places for a lifetime supply of greeting cards.

Tip#3: Keep the very special ones. So you decide that yes indeed you would like to keep the very special cards. After each Birthday, Anniversary, festive holiday season sit down with a cup of tea.

Look over all your cards and select your 2-3 most precious ones. I put one or 2 of my most special greeting cards in random places in my www.1t031.com binder. That way when I open a page I get a warm fuzzy feeling from the person who sent me the card.

Tip#4: Store them properly. Once you have narrowed down your cards, store them in a plastic shoe box. Many hardware stores carry these boxes at a very reasonable price. Our local store just had them on for .67cents (Canadian) each. It would be fair to have one box per person in the household.

Tip#5: Recycle, repurpose. Please be sure to recycle all greeting cards you are not keeping or repurpose them. One way is to turn your old greeting cards into gift tags. Cut out part of the pretty picture, punch a hole in the upper corner and put a ribbon through it. Check in with your local school or senior centre’s to see if they would like cards for craft projects. I knew one lady who could take a greeting card and turn it into a box. She then put small candies or a piece of jewelry in it and gave them away.

Love to hear from you. What do you do with your greeting cards? Please leave a comment in the box below.

PS: This picture is of the system I use to store new greeting cards. This box has dividers in it for all of the special occasions. Once I buy my cards I simply file them under the appropriate occasion. I also use my perpetual calendar that is part of my 1to31 Organizing System. This helps me keep track of all my friends and families Birthdays, anniversaries and special occasions. Check it out www.1to31.com

By Rowena List|2020-06-07T20:52:36+00:00August 11th, 2015|Home Organization, Organizer, Organizing to Move|0 Comments

How To Get Financially Organized – Part 2

Hopefully by now you have your systems in place. Did you decide to go paperless or are you feeling more comfortable with a small file cabinet? Did you check out the fees at your bank? If you received the 1to31 organizing system how are you doing with it? Do you need a quick consultation on how to get the most from it? If so please contact me and I will walk you through it. In the mean time, check out this short video on

How
To Get Financially Organized

– part 2

and then read Getting It Together’s Top 5 Tips Tip #1: Automatic savings. Set up an automatic savings deposit every month. Look at your finances and decide what amount can go to your savings accounting. If it is done automatically you will not miss it. Even small amounts add up. Check out the documentary “livingononedollar” if you do not believe me. I save all of my change and add it to this account. Those loonies and toonies add up for those of us living in Canada. I see the States have a one dollar coin now too. Welcome to our world America. Tip #2: Make a monthly date with yourself. Once a month take the time to look over your financial situation. Review your bank statements and files in your file cabinet if you are not paperless. If you receive everything online set up files on your computer using the same file names in tip 1 from part 1 of

How To Get Financially Organized

. Also each month reconcile your spending, your cheque book and your budget. Tip #3: Have a financial goal. Whether you are just starting out in your first job or are established in your career it is important to have a financial goal. How much do you want to save each year? How much do you want to donate if anything? Take a good hard look at all of your expenses and come up with a plan. If you find this overwhelming give me a call and I will help you organize all of this. This tip alone will be very empowering if done correctly even if you do not make the kind of money you would like to be making at this moment in time. Tip #4: Clear out the old. Once a year clear out all of your old bills, investment statements and any other papers that happen to make their way into your files. That can happenJ Tip #5: Talk. It is important to talk to your kids early on in life about money and finances. Get them to set up a short term and long term savings account. Talk to your partner about your financial goals. Do you have the same values around money, saving and spending? P.S.>> Click here to listen to my Guest spot on BlogTalkRadio. It was so much fun! A great short story to end with. Shared by one of my readers. Thank you The Magic Bank Account Imagine that you had won the following *PRIZE* in a contest: Each morning your bank would deposit $86,400 in your private account for your use. However, this prize has rules: The set of rules: 1. Everything that you didn’t spend during each day would be taken away from you. 2. You may not simply transfer money into some other account. 3. You may only spend it. 4. Each morning upon awakening, the bank opens your account with another $86,400 for that day. 5. The bank can end the game without warning; at any time it can say, “Game Over!”. It can close the account and you will not receive a new one. What would you personally do? You would buy anything and everything you wanted right? Not only for yourself, but for all the people you love and care for. Even for people you don’t know, because you couldn’t possibly spend it all on yourself, right? You would try to spend every penny, and use it all, because you knew it would be replenished in the morning, right? ACTUALLY, This GAME is REAL … Shocked??? YES! Each of us is already a winner of this *PRIZE*. We just can’t seem to see it. The PRIZE is *TIME*

Each morning we awaken to receive 86,400 seconds as a gift of life.
And when we go to sleep at night, any remaining time is not credited to us.
What we haven’t used up that day is forever lost.
Yesterday is forever gone
Each morning the account is refilled, but the bank can dissolve your account at any time WITHOUT WARNING…

SO, what will YOU do with your 86,400 seconds? Those seconds are worth so much more than the same amount in dollars. Think about it and remember to enjoy every second of your life, because time races by so much quicker than you think. So take care of yourself, be happy, love deeply and enjoy life! Here’s wishing you a wonderful and beautiful day. Start “spending”….

DON’T COMPLAIN ABOUT GROWING OLD…!

SOME PEOPLE DON’T GET THE PRIVILEGE!

By Rowena List|2020-06-07T20:52:38+00:00April 21st, 2015|Media Appearances, Organizer, Organizing Finances, Time Management|0 Comments

How To Get Financially Organized Part 1

Do you panic when it comes to tax time?

Do you dream of having all of your important papers ready at any given moment for the bank?

Like when you are going for a loan or mortgage.

If your house was on fire what would you grab?

The interesting thing is almost everyone interviewed says their photos. No one ever says their important documents. In fact both are very hard to replace if not almost impossible.

Why not set up a system that is easy to grab? Yes for the most part things will be on your computer however I have found that people still like to have a paper trail. I think it is because we feel more in control if we have that important document in our hands and then we can file it. We can see it at a quick glance and more importantly we can touch it. What do you think? Please leave it in the comment box below.

We are still not a paperless society. There are certain things that we need handy in paper format like a power of attorney or a will.

In order to get financially fit I would suggest watching this quick video (Part One) and then follow these simple Getting It Together’s Top 5 tips on how to get financially organized.

Tip #1: Set up a small and I mean small file cabinet or portable file box. The reason you want to keep it small is so you will toss out the outdated information as the new information comes in.

Create File Folders for:

Savings Account
Chequing account
Credit Card accounts (I suggest having two credit cards especially if you travel)
Retirement accounts
Mortgage
Investment accounts
Insurance: life, critical illness, disability, home and car
Loans
Will and power of attorney
Tax return from past yr and current yr.
Miscellaneous

I personally have all these important documents in a binder. My executor knows exactly where it is and what is in it. This will make her job easier when the time comes for her to deal with my affairs. Being this organized with your important papers is a gift you give to the people who are left to deal with your affairs. There is nothing worse than trying to find all the important papers while grieving.

Tip #2: Set up online banking and telephone banking. Like it or not sooner than later we will have to do 90% of our banking online and why not? It is a great way to save time. You can do all of your banking while the kids sleep or on your coffee break at work.

Tip #3: Set up automatic bill payments. The best thing I ever did to get financially organized was setting up all of my bills to be pre-authorized to go on my visa. Then once a month my Visa gets paid automatically from my account. Yes it is important to check your credit card statement to make sure that all of the purchases are yours. You can do that online before it gets paid. If you set up this system it is important to pay your credit card off in full each month. The last thing you want is to be paying interest on your phone bill etc. The best part is you get extra travel miles if you collect those.

If you are not comfortable with automatic bill payments then set yourself up a little area in your home where you pay bills. Is it in the kitchen or do you have a small office area? Make sure you have the supplies required.

Stamps
Envelopes
Pens
Paper
Return address labels
Shredder
Recycle bin.

Once the bill is paid file it until the next months bill comes in at which point you can shred the last months bill. There is no need to keep a life time of phone bills. Even if you are in business for yourself you only have to keep 7 years worth. All major companies keep a record of our bills should you ever need an old statement.

Tip #4: Reduce banking fees. Check with your bank to see how you can reduce monthly banking fees. If I keep a balance of $1000.00 or more in my account I avoid all fees. If you are a senior you might be able to avoid fees. Each bank has different policies. Shop around to get the best deal for you.

Tip #5: Use your 1to31 system. Don’t have one yet? Check it out at www.1to31.com

If you are still getting paper bills file them under the date in which they need to be paid. The 1to31 is the best place to keep track of them.

By Rowena List|2020-06-07T20:52:38+00:00April 14th, 2015|Organizer, Organizing Finances, Tax Organization|0 Comments

How To Organize A Wallet

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA What can you tell about a person’s shape, size and condition of their wallet? There are wallets that look like filing cabinets, ones that look like there is nothing in them and then there are some wallets that are held together by an elastic band.

What does your wallet look like?

What does your wallet say about you?

What would happen if your wallet fell on the floor in a coffee shop?

I love what the great money guru Susie Orman says “the thinner the wallet the richer the woman”. Susie feels that if your wallet is thin you have a handle on what is inside of it.

Check out this short video on “how to organize a wallet” and watch your money grow.

Here are Getting It Together’s Top 5 Tips:

Tip#1 Toss. Go through your wallet and discard anything that doesn’t belong. ATM receipts, expired coupons or gift cards, frequent shopper cards for places you no longer shop, old shopping lists, etc. You want your wallet to hold important things like money. You do not want it to look like a filing cabinet. One big wind storm and every piece of paper goes flying. (Did you ever see that on Seinfeld?) If so please leave a comment in the comment box below. 🙂

Tip#2 Photocopy. Take your credit cards, drivers license, medical card, etc and copy the fronts of them, then turn them all over exactly in the same spot and copy the backs. Usually the back of the card displays the phone number to report lost or stolen cards. If your wallet gets stolen or lost you will know exactly what was in there and will have all of the correct phone numbers handy to call and report them as missing. Keep these copies in your online files and in your safety deposit box.

Tip#3 Organize. Sort your wallet contents by type: Susie would agree with having all your money facing the same direction. Have your bills starting from smallest to largest. Organize identification, credit cards, medical cards, shopping/membership/gift cards, etc. Use the sections of your wallet to keep these categories separated so you can find your cards quickly. Since writing cheques is not that common, only carry one cheque with you at any given time.

Tip#4 Condense. Do you have kids? Do you carry ALL of their medical cards with you? No need to. Take a blank business card. Write all the medical numbers on the card. Place it in your wallet. If you have 4 kids, that just saved on space and weight. Store the original medical cards in your files.

Tip#5 Clear out. Once a week take a minute or two to clear out all the unwanted papers and receipts from your wallet. Take the excess change and put it in your piggy bank, laundry money or parking meter money. I keep a small change purse in my car for parking. All that change can really weigh your wallet down.

Black Pouch, Purse - GIT Want to be wallet-less? Put the contents of your wallet in my favorite purse organizer. The Pouchee purse organizer. There is a place for your credit cards, money, lipstick, eye glasses and receipts. It makes changing purses fast and easy. Check it out HERE.

Do you have any other tips for keeping your wallet organized? If so, share below!

By Rowena List|2020-06-07T20:52:40+00:00October 20th, 2014|Organizer|4 Comments

Organizing Family Photos

Organizing family photos does not have to be an arduous task as long as you ask yourself these key questions.

What is your ultimate goal with organizing family photos?

Who would like to inherit all your family photos?

Would you like a family photo album for each family member or just one communal album?

Have you asked your family members if they would like a family photo album or is this something that you think they would like?

Do you make a hard copy or do you put each family member’s photos on a disk?

Do you organize your album by event or chronological?

Please ask yourself these questions and get clear on your outcome before starting the project.

The reason why I am getting you to really analyze these questions is because putting together family photo albums can be tricky. The upside is it can also be loads of fun and very rewarding.

I am going to assume you want to put together a family photo album for each family member. I’ll also assume that your pictures are in hard copy format not digital.

Check out this short video on Organizing Family Photos:

Use these top 5 Getting It Together tips to move forward with organizing family photos.

Let’s say you have 2 children. One we will call Tim and the other Sue.

Tip#1: Take a big white envelope and label it TIM. Take another big white envelope and label it SUE.

Tip#2: Take one small pile, small box or one old photo album. Divide the pictures between each big white envelope. Do not worry about anything else at this point. Just the sorting and dividing of prints between the 2 envelopes. If both children are in one picture you could scan it and put the photo in each envelope.

Tip#3: Take each envelope and do a ruthless purge. Toss any photos that are out of focus. Toss any where the eyes are closed or beat red. Toss any photos in which you have no memory of taking it, do not know where it was taken and or do not know who else is in the photos.

Tip#4: Next take your envelope of pictures and sort them by date or by events. For example you could put all birthday pictures together. Then all Christmas pictures together, etc. I find this to be far more effective than trying to do an album by date.

Tip#5: Put together the album. You may choose to write a little story on each page.

Once you have completed the 2 albums watch with delight as your grown children open them and devour the pages. I am sure they will be thrilled.

Still feeling a little overwhelmed by all the photos in your home. Call me for a FREE 30 minute phone consultation. We can discuss your personal needs. I’ll give you some tips and encouragement to help you move forward with this project.

Did this video and article help you with moving forward? If so, please leave a comment in the comment box below and please share the love by sharing this blog post with your family, friends and social media peeps. Thank you. 🙂

By Rowena List|2020-06-07T20:52:41+00:00June 9th, 2014|Home Organization, Organizer, Time Management|0 Comments

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