Before and After #4

Home offices are nice to have but not if they become clutter-central. Here are a few before and after pictures of an office I organized recently.

Before and After #3

My latest job was a doozy! The garage of an extremely busy family. Here are a few before and after pictures.






I grouped like objects together. All sports equipment together, all tools together, lawn care items together, etc.

Plan to Procrastinate

Did you know that we are in the middle of National Procrastination Week? (Yeah, I was going to write this post on Monday but I put it off) Well hopefully we can all get motivated to stop procrastinating this week because next Tuesday (March 10th) is National Organize Your Home Office Day. Are you as excited as I am? Focus! Breathe!

Okay, so first off you'll need to take a look at your home office and decide where your weaknesses are. Are there piles of papers to be filed? Is your bookshelf in disarray? Is your office a catch-all for clutter? Can your furniture be arranged in a more efficient or pleasing way? Start planning what you need to do now so that you can procrastinate doing it until next week. Or show that procrastination who's boss and start early!

The Downside of Organizing

So yesterday I decided to organize the garage. I grouped like-items together (all of the hunting stuff in one corner, all of the sports equipment in the other, etc.). I rehung tools on the peg board (it was getting too cluttered). I moved the refrigerator a skosh so I can get out of the truck on my side (no more crawling over the seat to get out the other side). I moved plastic tubs onto newly cleared off shelving. I gave away an old t.v. and sold the extra washer and dryer which created more space. Overall it was very productive. So what is the downside, you ask?

I accidentally found my birthday present! Oops! That's what I get for being too organized. My birthday is on Sunday and although there will be no surprise for me that day I love my present: Cross-country skis!!!! Yippee! It's snowing right now too, so Sunday should be fun.

Man's Best Friend

We have two dogs (Timmy and Abbey), which requires a lot of doggy accessories: dog toys, food, bowls, leashes, treats, medicine, cleaners, dog bags, etc. So I needed to find a place to store everything without totally cluttering up the house.

(Timmy) (Miss Abbey)

Our dog food holder is a giant garbage can in the garage. But I don't want to have to go out there every morning and night to feed the dogs. (Bare feet on cold concrete first thing in the morning doesn't make me happy.) So I emptied a drawer in the kitchen and designated it the "doggy drawer". That is where we keep the bowls, a 20 quart food container (which only needs to be filled from the garage once a week or so), medicine, doggy cleanup bags, leash, etc.

Their toys I put in a cute basket by the fireplace so they can reach them when necessary but I can hide them away when I need to.

Happy Birthday Dad

It is our Dad's birthday today. We would like to thank him for having four daughters....Not that he really had a choice on our gender, but it's worked out really nicely for us. We love you Dad! (And sorry for all the estrogen-induced drama you've had to put up with over the years.)

Before and After #2

Sometimes the simplest projects can make all the difference in a room. For instance the following pictures show the before and after of a bookshelf I organized. This room didn't have a lot of furniture in it but the way objects were placed made it seem cluttered.

We sorted through and donated unwanted books, then removed anything that wasn't a book from the shelf. We organized books by size and put magazines in new holders on the top of the unit.


Before


After

National Time Management Month

Okay, so the New Year has begun and you realize that your resolution of "being more organized" is not quite going the way you had planned. There is no better time to get organized than February, which is National Time Management Month. Sit down and make a list of all the things you need to get done today. Then make a list of what needs to be done this week and this month. Is it manageable? Are you totally overwhelmed just thinking about it? Maybe you should hire a professional organizer to assist you in organizing your home or office space. That's the first step in the process. Once your space feels less cluttered and more zen-like, you'll be able to focus on what needs to be done.

Another option is to hire a virtual assistant. It used to be that only the rich and famous had personal assistants to run errands, make phone calls, locate gifts, set appointments, remind them of special events, etc. Not anymore! Virtual assistant services are booming and oh-so helpful to the Average Jane. So rather than trying to do a little bit of everything, focus on a few responsibilities and tasks and do them extremely well. Eliminate some responsibilities by delegating them to someone else (like a Virtual Assistant).

Here are a few that I recommend: Ask Sunday is an award-winning service that is featured on The View, Business Week, etc. Check them out at http://www.asksunday.com/. Hudson Virtual Solutions is newer to the game, but less expensive and gives you a very personal touch. It also helps that the owner is a good friend of mine :) Visit them at http://www.hudsonvirtualsolutions.com/index.html. (On a side note, they also use proceeds to foster animals from their local shelter which I think is pretty great.)

So set a goal this month to be more organized, less frazzled, and get help! You can't do everything on your own and still live a stress-free life. There are people out there (including me) that love to organize, so let us do it for you.

Before and After

I helped a client clean out her closets. She had a lot of stored items that we were able to go through and donate/throw out. We organized the hanging items by category (sweaters, collared shirts, pants, etc.) We got her down from 6 storage bins to only 4. (We also organized and cleaned out her drawers.)

Here is a before picture:




Here is an after picture:



It may not seem like much, but she was thrilled to have each article of clothing in its place. She has so much open storage space available on the other side of the closet now.

Happy Valentine's Day

"If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?" --Anonymous

"Without love, what are we worth? Eighty-nine cents! Eighty-nine cents worth of chemicals walking around lonely." --Hawkeye, M.A.S.H.

"I love being married. It's so great to find one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life." --Rita Rudner

"Instead of getting married again, I'm going to find a woman I don't like and give her a house." --Groucho Marx.

"Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That's relativity." --Albert Einstein

Happy Birthday to Sister #3

Here are a few things you may not know about her:


1. Her name is Terri.


2. She is the mother of a beautiful little girl who recently turned 6 years old.


3. She is an avid reader and writer. (It's just a matter of time before she's published.....right?)


4. Her favorite color is purple (her front door,mailbox, and fence are painted purple!)

5. She loves to eat the center of other people's cinnamon rolls.

6. She loves "chick flicks".


7. She doesn't need caffeine to function properly! (I know, it's amazing but true.)


8. Her favorite holiday is Halloween.


9. She collects decorative marble eggs.


10. She is very organized and loves to keep a clean home. (Okay, maybe you already knew this one)




We love you sis! Happy birthday.

The Container Store

I ablsolutely love this website. It allows you to search for containers by the item you are trying to store. There is also a "Get Organized" tab that you can click on for expert tips and ideas. I really enjoyed reading through all of their suggestions.

I loved looking at all of the creative storage ideas too. Like the "grassy toothbrush organizer" by Umbra. Here's a picture:

Isn't that cute? It's only $8.99.

So check out the website by clicking on the title of this post.

I'll do more searching and try to feature my favorite organizing product each week.

Declutter

Are you constantly trying to declutter your space but only seem to be moving piles from one place to the next? Follow these simple tips to increase your declutter skills:

1. Stay Focused: Go through one area at a time. Don't wander from pile to pile or room to room. Focus on one task and finish it before moving on to the next. Sounds easy, but it's not.

2. Downsize and Purge: Clutter slowly creeps into your home. It starts small and grows with every passing day. Go through each room and start purging. Throw away what you can and downsize what has to stay. For example:

• Are you moving that pile of magazines from one location to the next? Do you really plan on re-reading the entire magazine? Try cutting out only the articles that you will use in the future and recycle the magazine. (Keep the articles organized by topic in a recipe box, or taped to a piece of paper and filed in a binder.)



• Does your mail pile up on the kitchen counter or the office desk? Do you only go through the piles when it becomes a fire hazard? If your mailbox is down a long drive, use that time to pick out the junk mail. Throw it in the trash can outside and don't even let it in the house.

3. Start Small: Does the thought of tackling the clutter in your entire home make you want to cry? Anything is manageable in small quantities. Just try working in small blocks of time (15 minutes/day) Pretty soon, you'll be finished decluttering and hopefully you will have created an organizing habit.

Introduction

Business Name: Four Sisters Organizing Services, LLC

Objective: Our goal is to offer exceptional home and office organization services. We also want to keep you informed on new organizing products and give you great DIY tips so you can get organized with or without us.

Services Offered:
· Organize and declutter closets, kitchens, storage areas, bedrooms, etc.
· Organize and declutter home offices, craft rooms, photos, laundry areas, etc.
· Rearrange living spaces to be more pleasing and efficient
· Pack or unpack for relocation
· Organize children and seniors
· Set up filing and recordkeeping systems
· Bookkeeping assistance
· Take discarded items to local donation facilities
· Research and shop for organizational products to fit your needs

Our locations: Bozeman, Montana and Twin Falls, Idaho

Okay, now that we have all of the general information out of the way, we can focus on what really makes us happy......Helping you get and stay organized.