Organize 365 Podcast

There are 5 types of clothing covered in this podcast: 1. Clothing that is too BIG (hand -me-downs) 2. Clothing that is too SMALL. 3. Clothes you don't like and would never wear 4. Dressy clothes & uniforms 5. FAVORITES! :) By categorizing your clothing in these types, you can more easily make decisions on what to keep and where to store your clothes. To view all the posts in this series go to http://organize365.com/kids

In this episode Lisa shares the basics of kid bedroom organization. Get tips to teach your child how to organize and clean a bedroom. Learning the skills of organizing your bedroom is so much more important than just making your mom happy. I want you to think of organizing your bedroom like it is your apartment. It is your very own space inside your parent's home. You don't need to worry about paying rent or utilities, but it is yours to take care of, clean, and organize. Bedroom organizing basics 1. Start a Weekly Cleaning Schedule. You need to pick a day and time WEEKLY to clean and organize your room. 2. Clear the Clutter. Do the TOP 3 tasks to clean your bedroom... Clean up trash and food, take out all the dirty laundry, and clean up your floor. 3. Declutter and Donate. Look around and see if there are any toys or clothes you can donate or get rid of. 4. Clean your bedroom. That means vacuum and dust! Let's take these one at a time... 1. Create a cleaning schedule to clean and organize your bedroom every week. There really is no way around this one. You need to clean and organize your room every week. If you skip a week, the clutter gets so out of control it is really hard to get it done without being overwhelmed. Pick a specific day and time for organizing your room and ask your parents to help you schedule it on your family calendar. You can pick ANY day and time, but I find Saturday morning tends to be the best for most girls, unless they are in a competitive sport. At first, it may take you 2-4 hours to clean and organize your room. But after you go through all 5 of these posts, it will get quicker and easier. Eventually, you should be able to get your whole room clean and organized in an hour or less. 2. Do these TOP 3 bedroom cleaning tasks. Clean up trash and food, take out all the dirty laundry, and clean up your floor. The older you get, the more food and laundry you will have in your room. The younger you are, the more your toys will be all over the floor. Each week, no matter what, start by doing these 3 things first: 1. Pick up ALL the trash and put anything food related back in the kitchen. 2. Pick up all the dirty clothes and put them in the hamper or laundry room. 3. Pick up and put away what is on your floor. 3. See if there is anything you can donate or get rid of. Every week and every time we talk, I am going to be encouraging you to get rid of stuff and declutter your bedroom. Here's why... 1. Your bedroom is not a house. You have limited space to store your treasures and you need to make sure they are STILL treasures and not just old stuff you don't know what to do with. 2. You are always getting NEW stuff which means you need to get rid of OLD stuff. 3. Things break, you lose pieces, and you just stop playing with stuff over time. HOW do you do declutter your bedroom? 1. Decide what you no longer play with or want. 2. Take it to your mom and see if she or your siblings want it. 3. Help mom create a donation box or basket for you to put stuff in each week that you no longer want. 4. Clean your room... That means vacuum and dust! Ahem. Yes. Cleaning means CLEANing. Once you have your bedroom organized, run the vacuum and dust your dresser. NOTE: Please wear tennis shoes or shoes where your toes are covered when you vacuum for safety. :) To view all the posts in this series go to http://organize365.com/kids

Where do I START organizing? That's the number one question I get asked as a professional organizer. And while that is a loaded question with multiple "right" answers, I have decided to start all of my clients with a simple system I call The Sunday Basket. It's not magic, and you don't have to use a basket... any bag or box will do. You see, organization is a way of living and "being organized" is a way of thinking. The Sunday Basket is a system for processing mail, kitchen counter "to do" papers, and ongoing household projects. The weekly routine of collecting, processing and maintaining household to dos and papers is the perfect training ground for all your future home organization skills. And, like it or not, the mail just keeps on coming... giving us plenty of practice to hone and refine our organizing skills. I have complied all the best videos, podcasts, and posts from all over my website into one organized page to help you get your Sunday Basket started in 4 easy steps. Sign up for the FREE 4 step Organization 101: The Sunday Basket here.

In the last 4 podcasts I shared how the executive functioning part of the brain affects home organization. Today I want to share 5 general tips for achieving home organization success if you have ADHD. Simplify EVERY area of your home EXCEPT for your passions. Box up past projects and put them in storage. {Keep them, but not in your work space.} Clean up your craft/ project area every 1-3 weeks. Maintain and straighten you home every 2-3 days. Reflect on what IS and is NOT working often. View the post and podcast here: http://organize365.com/organizing-with-adhd/ Link to Alpha Brain: http://GetOnnit.com/365

I have been hedging my affinity for Goodwill due to the backlash in public sentiment. My goal is to help you declutter your house, not debate current news events. However, when I received an email from the Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities agency asking to help spread the word about the goodwill that Goodwill was doing in our community, I was excited to jump in. In today's podcast, I go more in depth about my affinity for Goodwill over the last 20 years and how I have experienced excellent service and amazing opportunities in my community for the disabled because of the opportunities Goodwill provides. By using the voucher in today's post, the value of your Goodwill donation will NOT be sold. It will be given as a CREDIT to the less fortunate in our community to use as money in the Goodwill shops. It has been my experience that Goodwill lives up to their mission, "Goodwill Easter Seals of Miami Valley and Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries provide vocational training to people with developmental disabilities. Goodwill's core mission is to empower people with disabilities and other needs to achieve independence and to enhance their lives. The local Goodwill organizations are a part of the world's largest and most successful network providing employment and training services for people with disabilities and other barriers to employment." No matter where you donate, giving the items in your home which have become clutter to others in need is always a blessing! View the post and voucher link here: http://organize365.com/spring-cleaning-donations-goodwill-vouchers-people-butler-county/

This week, you will turn your clocks forward and lose an hour. Oh, how I hate to lose time! However, the changing of the clocks reminds me to do a few other semi-annual maintenance tasks! Here are 12 things to do When you change the clocks this weekend.

I LOVE to sort paper! But I know even the strongest man will break out in a cold sweat at the thought of sorting a mountain of paperwork. This week in the podcast, I am walking you through how I think about paper and where it all goes. I don't even think it is the sorting as much as the KEEP pile that will drive you bananas. I keep paper in 3 places: The Sunday Basket Binders Files/Or scanned You can see pictures of the process and download a printable over on the blog post, but if you want to understand how I decide if a paper is a basket, binder, or file paper, you'll want to listen to the podcast.

The days I can get both kids to school ALL day and actually be ABLE to work are a mini miracle. After spending years and years wishing .... there were no snow days.... children didn't get sick.... my home didn't need maintenance... unexpected tasks wouldn't pop up... I gave in and realized that the only thing I can control is ME. So I set out to streamline, systematize, and proactively take care of anything I needed to do for the week... in advance. Did you know that for every hour you spend planning, 3-4 hours are saved from redundancy, waiting for information, and not being prepared. I don't know about you, but I'll take that trade any day! In the podcast, I share a few more productivity stats and tricks. I have set aside my Sundays as the day that I get done everything I possibly can. Obviously that entails doing the Sunday Basket, but here are 10 more tasks I do each Sunday that save me HOURS and HOURS each week.

Today is all about YOU. Why do we save what we save, and how can we make the decision to get rid of it? In this podcast I am sharing the 10 items I have help on to for 35-15 years. How I acquired the item, what it means to me and why it is time to let it go.

This week's podcast and post is week 2 of a 3 week series dealing with different types of MEMORIES. This week is all about what you save when a loved one passes... a spouse, a parent, or a child. Tough stuff. No one is ready. And the decisions sometimes need to be made quickly. The podcast is full of lots of details that get lost in a blog post. Losing a parent is never easy. Any items that are left in your parents' house not only have meaning because your parents used them, but they are from your childhood as well. So I'm not going to lie, I filled a 27 foot U-Haul full of stuff and brought it back to my house after my father passed away. View the whole post here: http://organize365.com/what-to-save-when-a-loved-one-passes/

For years I just "organized" my piles in cuter containers, better systems and a larger house. But organization is not about containers or beautiful systems. It is about keeping what you want and love so you can enjoy those items now and in the future. So today I want to talk about the items you are saving for your kids. Specifically - kids artwork, clothing, school papers, old toys, pictures, cards, books, old sporting equipment, etc. 1. What do THEY want? The first question you need to ask is what does your child want to keep? So often I and other mothers save everything "for our kids". But what I realized is I was having trouble letting go. Letting go of memories, stages of life and opportunities to do more in their short years at home. At first we save ALL their clothes in case we have another child. But when no more children come, we just say we are saving the clothes for grandchildren. REALLY?! I DID like it when I had some of my baby clothes to reminisce with my mom about when I had my children. But none of them fit. The stains you can't see now - we glaring when I looked at those clothes 30 years later. My kids are pretty good at getting rid of things when they are done with them. WE put them in the basement! :) So really ask your kids - starting at the age of 4 - what THEY want to keep. 2. What do YOU want? Honestly your kids do NOT want every. single. spelling test they ever did. But I know a mom who keeps them all. Her child's handwriting is so precious to her. That is TOTALLY FINE. Just know you are saving the for YOU not them. Think about it this way. What if your mom showed up today with 18 boxes of every single school paper you ever did? Nostalgic? Would you like to see them? Sure of course! For a few hours. Would you want those 18 boxes in your basement? How about your baby clothes? 5 large tubs full? Every single toy you played with? 3. WHEN do you each want it? I'm not totally clueless. I know your storage room is accumulating boxes of things your kids DO want to keep. And those kids want to keep things at YOUR house long after they leave. It's all about making decisions. While making a scrapbook of pictures, a binder of school papers and a baby blanket {more below} all take TIME - and lots of it. They are a way to: Process through the piles. Pick the best. Experience the memories together. Enjoy a NEW creation. Empty out your storage room without emptying out your heart. I have explained in great detail how to make photo albums and save your kid's school papers in binders. Today let's tackle baby clothes. Head on over to the blog post to see how I turned our kid's baby clothes into blankets.

1. Collecting tax documents. Collecting, organizing and preparing tax documentation is overwhelming. I think it is because the information you need comes to you in a trickle through the mail, your email inbox and your own receipts - little by little - every day for weeks like Chinese water torture. So I have come up with a few ways to alleviate my anxiety and take the torture out of tax preparation. Have a file, box or basket to put ALL incoming tax information. Make a master list AFTER you file your taxes this year of the documents you needed to find. Above is a picture of my list. Set aside a 3-4 hour chunk of time to organize and prepare your taxes in one sitting. I actually look forward to this day. :) 2. Purging all my files & creating a color coded filing system. After I file our taxes in early February I purge our filing cabinet. The first time I really did this it took days and I was able to get rid of 80% of what I had. Download my FREE Printable - To Shred or Not to Shred So I thought and thought and came up with this simpler, yet still cool, system. I already had colored hanging files {which I LOVE!!} and I assigned each category in my filing cabinet a color. Then I purged each file as I put the contents in the new colored file. 3. Systematizing my home based business income & expenses for 2016. Tax time has been a breeze the past few years because I have kept up with my business taxes each month. Having been in business for myself for over 20 years, I know how hard it is to keep everything organized. This year I disciplined myself to do my finances in my business all by myself DAILY! Each month I would reconcile and do my tax prep on the 1st of the month. I actually started to look forward to it because I have created a checklist and form to fill out each month so I didn't miss any expenses. Each month I knew how much I actually made. I was able to continually refine my process and reduce my expenses. This year I had my graphic designer make my pages in to adorable printables and they are available in my ETSY shop both as a digital download or printed with divider tabs in a DUO Binder. Click here to read the full post, download the printable and enter the giveaway!

My goal as a professional organizer is to help people get rid of the stuff they don't want so they can breathe and enjoy the stuff they choose to keep. Honestly, the quickest and easiest way to do this has been to donate everything that can be donated at Goodwill and trash the rest. However, as I have matured as an organizer and grown my Cincinnati team, I have started to see how the items you may no longer want or need will fit a need somewhere else in the community. As our team had moved in to organizing and cleaning out family homes for sale it has become more apparent that we should and could be sharing these treasures for good. So, this fall our team set to work and researched who really wanted and needed the stuff our clients no longer used. I am so sad I had not taken the time to do this earlier. :( The items you and I no longer like or need -really do fit a need someone else in the community has. This list is specific for Cincinnati, but it will get you thinking outside of the box no matter where you live. This list will continue to be updated and refined. Feel free to leave a comment or contact me with more current information and additional donation locations I have not found. Click here to read the full post.

Congratulations!! You made the decision to GET organized. There is just one problem... where do you start? In today's podcast you will learn all about HOW to start, WHERE to start and be encouraged to just START! Check out the complete post and links here: http://organize365.com/ask-the-organizer-where-do-i-start-organizing/

Over winter break I double dog dare you to accomplish the following three things all at the same time with your children. 1. Spend one-on-one time with each child. 2. Go through their room with them and find out what they still love and what they're ready to part with. 3. Help them see the value of organization by donating their unwanted items to charity, or selling them on Craigslist and eBay and earning some money. Check out the complete post and links here: http://organize365.com/winter-break-triple-threat/

In my professional organization experience I have noticed 3 distinct phases of life a woman goes through in relation to her home and clutter. 1. Ages 25-40 the Accumulation Phase 2. Ages 40-55 the Survival Phase 3. Ages 55+ the Legacy & Downsizing Phase Once you have determined your phase of life, then you must select what Organizational Stage you are in. 1. Overwhelmed 2. Creating Systems & Organization 3. Refinement & Styling

Today I'm answering a reader question, how can you organize two households and one? This response has been long overdue and I'm happy to go through how you organize combining two households into one. On the podcast I talk about the different things to consider when you are melding two households with children and those without children.

I am answering a reader question today about how I organize projects. In this podcast I talk about organizing projects in your Sunday basket. Organizing projects for your work. And how I organize my goals.

On the podcast today I'm sharing another heavy topic. There is a reason why the homes of parents of children with special needs are disorganized. In this podcast I go through the five stages I have observed parents with special needs children go through. You can read the complete post here: http://organize365.com/organizing-special-needs-children/

I have been feeling the tug to share my personal experience with depression for quite a while. It may surprise you to hear that I have struggled with depression. I'm a pretty upbeat gal! Well, it surprised me too. In today's podcast, I share my personal story with depression and how it affects every area of your life. Here are 5 tips I gave myself and share with clients about how depression affects organization. 1. Give yourself grace. I cannot even put into words how depression zapped me of every shred of energy to do ANYTHING. And the thought of tackling an organization project was SO overwhelming. My "will power" got up and went - AWAY! 2. Get a friend to help you. Another friend's perspective, energy and motivation are contagious and can help you push through when you just want to watch TV. Used strategically, friends can help you get organized and stay functioning when your own initiative is low. Over 50% of the Organize 365 clients call us in to help because they just can't do the organizing themselves in their depressed state. 3. Pick ONE area and COMPLETE it before moving on no matter how long it takes. Slow and steady wins the race! Your home did not become a "mess" overnight, and it won't get organized overnight either. One step at a time. Pick an area where you can get a quick win and start there: Your night stand Your dresser The car The Master Closet The key is to MAINTAIN that area when you tackle area #2. The Productive Home Solution™ is ordered in a way so the areas you organize will stay organized as you move on to the next area of your home. 4. Acknowledge your limitations. I know how frustrated you are! Knowing what I USED to be able to do made me even MORE depressed when I couldn't seem to tackle even the basics when I was depressed. If it's a bad day... it's OK! You have time to get organized and take care of yourself. And when your desire is beyond your physical ability - hire help. 5. Surround yourself with positive people. I know it's easier to say than do, but I always felt better when I made myself go OUT and BE with people, even though I didn't want to. I can't even tell you how many times we will be laughing with clients and then they say, "I can't believe how fun you make organizing!" "I haven't been able to laugh like that in a long time." "If I knew how quickly you could get this organized I wouldn't have waited so long to call." and our favorite. "I can't believe there are people who actually LIKE to organize!" These thoughts come from my personal experience. What about you? Do you have any tips to share?

Do you have more to do than time to do it? Here are 10 ways to outsource your household tasks. I am a wife, mother, and business owner. Over the last 20 years I have juggled those three commitments in various ways. And what I've come to understand is that no one person can do everything. I have tried all of the ideas where you have your kids and your husband help you with the household tasks in order to free up some of your time. And I do many of those, but what do you do when there's not enough of you and your children and your husband to get everything done? In order to grow my business over the last 20 years I have always hired help. Sometimes that is in the form of help to actually help my business as in a personal assistant, or an editor. But more and more I find it that the tasks I need to outsource are household related. And really at the end of the day, the majority of the clients that the Organize 365 team organizes are really busy career oriented women who have let the household tasks go in order to focus on what is more important, their spouse, their children, in their career. Click here to read all 10 items I have or am about to outsource.

Planning my week on Sunday saves me hours of time each week. These FREE printables will help you save time too! Click here to download your printables: https://organize365.com/sunday-basket-planning-printables/

My list of "to do's" to get my kids ready for school grows longer every year. You can download my Back to School and Home Office Supply lists at www.organize365.com/school-checklists

This podcast was originally aired in 2014. The content of the podcast and show notes have become a part of the Kids School Memory Binder. If you would like to learn more and/or purchase a binder, click here.

My cellphones won't charge, and won't turn on, yet I still have them. WHY?

How to decide what batteries to keep and where to keep them. Hear Lisa's funny, or not so funny story about the smoke detectors and the fire chief.

Come listen to the game I play with children to help them donate their furry friends.

Lets talk about books. There are 5 different kids of books: memory books, reference books, pleasure books, books you are finished with and electronic books. How many do you need?

Where do you store your Magazines? How many magazine collections do you have? Storage solutions and ideas for carving out reading time are on today's podcast.

Where do you store your catalogs? How many do you use? Are you still shopping from Catalogs, or are you an online shopper?

Before we dig too deep in the IDLE process let's talk about stages of organization and stages of life. Determine if you are in an acquiring or downsizing stage of life.

Clutter is delayed decision making!

From paperwork to tax deductions and pills to therapy. Professional organizer, Lisa Woodruff, shows you how to organize your kid's medical needs.

Making the transition to motherhood is a process. Babies and Toddlers require a LOT of organization! Professional Organizer Lisa Woodruff talks about the organizational step she took to bring order into the chaotic baby years.

Lisa shares how she came up with the idea for a new podcast series called Organizing Life's Stages and Unexpected Events.