The Miss Organized Show

Professional Organizers Talk Shop and Longevity in Business

If you've ever thought about becoming a Professional Organizer, check out my interview on this fun podcast with Melisa Meral, host of The Pro Organizer Bootcamp ™ Podcast [https://www.proorganizerbootcamp.com/podcast] as we talk shop and building a professional organizing business for the long game. Serious about becoming a Professional Organizer? Check out Melisa's course How to Start a Professional Organizing Business in 30 days. [https://www.proorganizerbootcamp.com/course]

Organize Your Garage So You Can Have a Happier Summer

How can you have more fun and less stress during the summer? Organize your garage. With garages getting used more during the summer, if you can’t easily find and put back the items you use, it’s only a matter of time before your garage becomes a disorganized dumping ground. A disorganized garage will cause preparation time to take longer and may deter you from even leaving the house in the first place. And even if you do get to your activity, you may not be able to enjoy it because you’re thinking of all the work ahead of you to put everything away. Avoid the summertime blues with these garage organizing tips: Tip #1 - Make a specific plan. Decide what tasks you want to accomplish in your garage and book a date on your calendar to do them. You’ll increase your chances of actually getting them done. Tip #2 –Clear walking paths. To be able to walk easily from front to back and side to side in your garage, sort items on the floor into piles of 1) Bigger items that can’t be contained for ex: bikes 2) Items already contained in boxes, bins and bags 3) Items small enough to be contained (put these in bankers boxes), 4)trash 5)recycling 6)empty bins and boxes Tip #3 – Create zones. Group like items together into zones based on the similarity of use of the the items for ex: sports/outdoors (camping, beach, soccer), holidays, memorabilia, tools/home maintenance & repair, kitchen overflow (aka the Costco zone).  This will help you find and put things away faster, which is key to easily maintaining your garage. Tip #4 – Macro not micro-sort. When doing a first round of sorting, avoid micro sorting items into smaller categories but instead macro sort using bigger categories. For example, holiday versus Christmas or sports versus soccer. This will make the organizing process go faster. Tip #5 – Use shelving and bins. Shelving will get your items off the floor and bins will make it easier to grab and go. I recommend 5-shelf metal shelving units, ceiling racks and 56- 66 quart sized plastic bins. With summertime right around the corner, the sooner you get organized, the sooner you can enjoy a happier and more relaxing summer. Listen to more episodes of The Miss Organized Show [https://themissorganizedshow.buzzsprout.com/]. Get more tips and tricks by visiting my website Miss Organized [https://missorganized.com/blogpost/].  For a more in depth look behind the common reasons why people clutter and hoard check out my book "If Clutter Could Talk....The Stories It Would Tell."  [https://amzn.to/3OFWHuJ]

Get Organized For Your Kids

As a professional organizer, people always ask me why I do this work. Considering I often work in cluttered, dirty and chaotic conditions with people who are stressed out, depressed and overwhelmed I sometimes ask myself the same question. But then I have a rewarding experience with a kid and I’m reminded why I do what I do. It’s for the kids. I’ve seen, firsthand, the negative impact clutter and uncleanliness have on kids. For some kids, like those with autism, even a small amount of disorder can be disruptive in their lives. Besides affecting their self-esteem and sense of security, they often have anxiety, sleep issues, unbalanced energy and struggle in school.  But in order to help the kids, I know I have to help the parents first. Parents are the role models that show their kids how to keep a home, how to think and feel about stuff and the value placed on things. They learned from their parents how to do the same. Even conversations about things can have a long-lasting psychological impact. Telling your kids grandma will be mad if they got rid of something can cause them to feel guilty about letting things go. Guilt often leads to clutter and indecision. When a parent finally decides to reach out for organizing help, it’s usually because they realized the damage their home conditions are having on their kids. Often, they tell me how they grew up in clutter and don’t want to make their kids suffer like they did. Working with families are my favorite projects. Watching the transformation in their kids when their homes, especially their bedrooms, get organized inspires me every time. If the kids are present, even better. They love helping and learning how to organize. A five-year-old little girl who was separating paper clips for me cried out when being put to bed, “But, I don’t want to go to bed, I want to stay up and organize with Tracy.” That’s why I do what I do. With that being said, check out my blog [https://missorganized.com/get-organized-for-your-kids/] with tips and tricks to organize kid spaces.  Thank you for listening to the Miss Organized show.  If you would like to learn more about how I can help you clear your mess to relieve your stress, visit my website at missorganized.com [http://missorganized.com].  You can also find me on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/missorganizedsandiego] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/missorganized/].  And if you want to take a deeper look at the whys of clutter and the hows of organizing, check out my book on Amazon If Clutter Could Talk The Stories It Would Tell [https://www.amazon.com/If-Clutter-Could-Talk-Stories/dp/1484829913].

Plan to Have a Clean Slate

It’s that time of year again when that clean slate desire is in the air and people are motivated to purge and organize their homes.  They buy the bins; say they’ll do it this weekend and daydream what their spaces will look like when they’re done.  The weekend comes, they jump right in, become overwhelmed and then mentally check out an hour later. They call it quits for the day but resolve to doing it next weekend.  Sound familiar?  Finishing an organizing project takes more than just containers and saying you’re going to do it. You need a plan. Without a plan, even just a simple one, it’s easy to get stuck, sidetracked and overwhelmed.  Here’s some tips to create a project plan so you can finish your projects once and for all.  Tip #1 Create a goal. When you start with a goal in mind, it’s easier to create tasks to accomplish those goals. For example, converting an office into a baby’s room, adding exercise equipment to the garage or creating space in your kitchen.  Tip #2 Forward think and backwards plan. Now that you have forward thought to come up with your goal now think backwards to determine the action steps. Have an if/then conversation with yourself. For example, “If I want to put the Peloton in the garage, then I have to move the tires.” Continue working backwards till you find the easiest step to start with.  Tip #3 Write it down. Keeping visual track of the action steps will enable you to spend less time thinking and more time working once you’ve gotten started. I recommend Franklin Planner, Basecamp or Trello for project tracking.  Tip #4 Schedule a specific time. Instead of saying you will do it this weekend, look for a specific time frame, for example 10-2 and add it to your calendar. The more specific you are, the better the chances you will do it.  Tip #5 Prioritize. As much as everyone wants to get it done right away, you just can’t. Look at your list of action steps and prioritize which ones need to happen first.  Having a plan in place before you get started is the best way to ensure you will actually finish what you set out to do. By following your plan, you’ll have that clean slate feeling before you know it. And it feels glorious! Website:  Miss Organized [https://missorganized.com] Book:  If Clutter Could Talk....The Stories It Would Tell [ https://www.amazon.com/If-Clutter-Could-Talk-Stories/dp/1484829913]

Loving Your Home is Loving Yourself

February, the month of love where gifts of candy, cards, flowers and jewelry are given and received as expressions of love.  But, what about showing yourself some love?  Acts of self-love are the oxygen masks we must put on ourselves first to be able to love others. Not doing so can lead to fatigue, resentment, depression and sickness. It can burn us out and make us feel like we have nothing left to give.  Massages, quiet time, a nature hike and bubble baths are wonderful ways to express self-love.  But would you believe organizing is too?  Organizing helps to calm and clear the mind. It creates a supportive and nurturing environment that meets your personal needs and preferences. It saves time by making cleaning easier. It restores energy, boosts confidence and increases overall well-being.  Here’s some organizing tips to get your self-love fest started.  Tip #1 - Purge clothes that don’t serve you. Having a closet of clothes you love and use will start your day on a positive note and make you feel much better about yourself.  Tip #2 – Create a home spa. Organize all of your spa products like bath salts, candles and essential oils in one spot so you’re ready to go when you’re ready to unwind.  Tip #3- Set up a workout space. Loving yourself is much easier to do when you physically feel good. Whether it’s yoga, weight training or cardio, you’ll more likely exercise if your workout gear and equipment are easily accessible.  Tip #4 – Organize your calendar to schedule YOU time. With all of the responsibilities we have taking care of others, it’s easy to forget about taking care of ourselves. Even if it’s only for 30 minutes, schedule time for YOU.  Tip #5 – Designate a YOU only spot. Whether it’s an entire room or just a small space on a counter top, creating a sacred space for only you exercises boundaries which is a form of self-care.  Focusing on loving yourself, is vital to loving others. So go ahead and self-love yourself to death. Website:  Miss Organized [http://www.missorganized.com] Book:  If Clutter Could Talk....The Stories It Would Tell [https://www.amazon.com/If-Clutter-Could-Talk-Stories/dp/1484829913]