It’s summer! The sun, the water, the shade of a leafy tree and the smell of a BBQ–it’s all calling your name.
But, wait…
You say you need to get organized. Your kitchen, your closet, your papers from the last three months–all need organizing.
It’s a dilemma. Spending time outside means you’re not organizing inside.
I’m a Professional Organizer and even I don’t want to spend much time organizing when it’s 85 degrees and sunny!
The solution for the summer (as well as the other three seasons)?
Get organized in 5 minutes.
No, I’m not crazy. It IS possible to get organized in 5 minutes. You’re not going to organize your entire closet or kitchen in 5 minutes but there are teeny-tiny tasks that you can complete that will move you one step forward towards your organizing goals. And, I’ve said it a bunch of times–it’s those baby steps that will motivate you and keep your eye on the organizing prize.
Here are 10 ways you can get organized in 5 minutes:
Declutter your wallet
A bulging wallet isn’t always a sign of wealth–it can sometimes be a sign of a wallet in need of decluttering! Cash, receipts, business cards, and random scraps of paper multiply like bunnies in between clean-outs. Take 5 minutes to make space in your wallet for money to flow into it!
Create a home for an item that doesn’t have one
We’re always bringing new items into our homes whether it’s children’s artwork, a plant, a picture frame, or a new piece of technology. If the item will be sticking around for a while (or permanently), it’s going to need a place to ‘live.’ Spend 5 minutes thinking of the best ‘home’ for the item and place it in that spot.
Create a file for a new document
Papers also need ‘homes!’ Perhaps you opened a new bank account or you just received your child’s school directory. Those papers need to live somewhere (not your dining room table!). Take 5 minutes to label a file folder, place the papers inside, and store it in a spot that guarantees you’ll always be able to find it.
Delete blurry or duplicate photos from your phone
I was telling my kids the other day about how cameras used to use something called film and you could only take either 24 or 36 shots at a time. And then we had to pay to develop the whole roll regardless of what the pictures could potentially look like. And you had to carry an extra roll of film in case you ran out of shots (and flash cubes, but that’s a whole other story…).
It’s so easy to take multiple pictures of the same thing on our phones. But, that takes up precious space on our little hand-held computers. Ever spend time waiting in a line for 5 minutes? Waiting for the water on the stove to boil? Waiting for the laundry to stop spinning? All of these scenarios and many other 5-minute pockets of time are perfect for deleting blurry and duplicate photos on your phone.
Plan one meal
Does this scenario resonate with you? You come home from work or school or from taking your kids to activities and discover you have nothing in your pantry that comes close to resembling a meal. Taking 5 minutes to plan one meal in advance will save you hours in the supermarket and at the stove, put money back in your wallet, and time back in your day. You won’t feel ‘hangry’ and it may even help trim your waistline, too…
Toss expired food from your fridge, cabinets, or pantry
While you’re planning that one meal, take another 5 minutes to dispose of food that has expired or that resembles a science experiment. Sort through and purge one shelf at a time. Check expiration dates and if you’re brave enough, give leftovers the ‘sniff test.’ By doing this for 5 minutes at a time, you’ll stay on top of your food inventory and keep your refrigerator fresh and clean. Best time to do this? The night before your garbage collection.
Unsubscribe to emails from businesses/organizations you no longer make purchases from/donations to
Imagine if all of those unsolicited emails you receive daily were actual physical pieces of mail. You would have one clogged up mailbox and a whole lot of recycling to do! Get organized in 5 minutes by unsubscribing from unwanted email solicitations. It may take a few days for the ‘unsubscribe’ to take effect but those 5 minutes will have been worth it when you’re no longer using your time to sort through so many ‘junk’ emails.
Test pens and markers
Is your junk drawer overflowing with pens, highlighters, and markers? If so, spend 5 minutes finding out if they still work. This is an ideal job for kids! Give them a pad of paper and a bunch of pens and markers and have them scribble and sort–anything that still works stays and anything that is out of ink or isn’t writing as well as it should gets thrown out or recycled.
Create your to-do list for the next day
Take 5 minutes to write out your next day ‘to-do’ list before you turn in for the night. This technique has multiple benefits. It will help you sleep well–you’ll wake up knowing exactly what needs to be done. It gives your brain an opportunity to think about what needs to be accomplished and places that information elsewhere when you write it down (using paper or tech). Now you can use those morning hours to plan and prioritize your tasks instead of spending time wondering what you should be doing next.
Make your bed
It’s one of the first chores of the day and the first accomplishment of the day. It starts your morning off in a calm and organized fashion. No need to make your bed look picture perfect. Cover the bed with your blanket/comforter, smooth it out, and tidy up your pillows. Unless you sleep restlessly it should take you less than 5 minutes to make your bed. If you have a partner, split the task with them–it will take even less time!
5 minutes making your bed = Time.Well.Spent.
You CAN get organized in 5 minutes!
What 5 minute organizing task will you accomplish today?
Good morning, class! Welcome to Label Maker Hacks 101. I’m Professor Murray and in today’s lesson we’re going to be discovering 3 label maker hacks to save you time, money, and stress.
Please take out your label maker, place it on the desk in front of you, and make sure the batteries are working. We’ll start off with some fingertip exercises, a quick review of the QWERTY keyboard, and then move on to today’s lesson.
If you have walked into my lecture hall by mistake but wish to stay and learn, please refer to my blog post: 5 Reasons Why You Should Own a Label Maker. It is required reading for the Label Maker Hacks 101 course…
No need to take any notes–I have all the label maker hack details outlined for you below. Let the learning begin!
Todays Lesson: 3 Label Maker Hacks to Save You Time, Money, and Stress
Hack #1: How to Save Tape
If you do not own a label maker you may not be aware of the fact that although a new label maker often comes with one ‘starter’ tape cartridge, in order to print more labels, you must purchase more tape cartridges. They can be purchased individually, in 4-packs, and in bulk.
When printing a label, the label maker leaves the first approximately half to three-quarters of an inch of tape blank and then starts printing the word(s) or phrase. After it has been printed, the label maker leaves another half to three-quarters of an inch blank on the right side of the word/phrase.
That’s A LOT of WASTED label tape. Wasted label tape = wasted money
For those who own label makers, you know how quickly a tape cartridge can run out of tape–usually in the middle of typing a long phrase or when you need to it to print out quickly (not that I have any experience with either of those…ahem…).
I’ve been using my label maker on the job and in my home for close to twenty years and in that time, I’ve discovered a way to save label maker tape. This works especially well when needing to print many related labels such as for folders in a file cabinet or for kid’s school supplies.
Here’s how you do it:
1-Think about your needs. What are you labeling? Spice jars? File folders? Pantry shelves?
2-On paper or on your phone, write the words or phrases you wish to create labels for.
3-Type those words/phrases into your label maker. As you type, press the space bar 5-6 times between each word/phrase. This will create a small blank space between each word/phrase.
4-Press the ‘Print’ button and watch your label maker miraculously give birth to one long label with all of your words/phrases on it.
5-Use the built-in cutting tool to separate the label from the label maker.
6-Use a scissor to cut in between each word/phrase.
Look how much label maker tape you’ve saved!
This label maker hack will eliminate a bulk of the wasted tape on both ends, saving you inches of tape and piles of money.
Hack #2: Keep Your Font Sizes and Styles on Display
Every label maker is different but most offer the user multiple font styles and font sizes to choose from.
Depending upon how old or new your label maker is determines how many font styles and font size options it has. I own a nineteen year old label maker so I only have 5 font sizes and 9 styles. Newer models have upwards of 14 fonts and 10 font styles.
When creating labels for a project, I like to be able to offer my clients some size and style options. Sometimes the nature of the project dictates what size and style font to use. Attic bins need the largest font while small objects require the use of the smallest font. But, sometimes we’re able to use any size and style–that’s when I ask my client to consider their choices.
In order to show my clients their style and size choices without printing all of them out on the spot (and repeatedly using an excessive amount of label tape), I devised a system that would save me precious time and precious label maker tape.
Here’s what I did–I advise you to do the same:
1-Select a short word (I chose cat because it’s short and hey, I like cats…)
2-Print out one label of that word for each size and style your label maker can create.
3-Stick the labels to the back of your label maker or on a large index card for easy reference. Keep the index card in the same place where you store your label maker.
Taking time to set this up takes the work of remembering all the font styles and sizes out of your brain and onto the back of your label maker or on an index card.
After creating the font display almost two decades ago, I now just turn my label maker over, show my client the selection and say, “Pick the font you want!” Happy clients!
Hack #3: Split it Down the Middle
Label maker tape has two parts to it–the label itself and the backing that covers the stickiness.
If you’ve had a label maker for as long as I have, you may remember that label tape was not that easy to work with. When I started using a label maker almost twenty years ago, it was very challenging to get the backing off the label. And frustrating. The backing was about a hairline larger than the actual label. With a keen eye, a few long fingernails, and a lot of practice I was able to remove the backing fairly easily and look like a label maker rock star to my clients.
People must have filed complaints because Brother (the label maker company) eventually changed the backing of the label tape. Hallelujah! Now, the backing of the label splits in two horizontally allowing for MUCH EASIER removal. On the Brother website, it’s called ‘easy-to-use and easy-to-peel-off split-back’ tape. Less stressed customers = happier customers!
No more struggling to remove the backing of the label. Here’s what to do:
1-Take the label with the words facing away from you and gently bend it in half away from you on the horizontal. You’ll notice a line that will divide the backing in two.
2-Remove both backing strips and apply the label to your surface.
Now you know how to take the backing off the label–what a time (and fingernail) saver!
I hope you enjoyed today’s class. There will be no final exam on the material. Your homework is to practice what you’ve learned and share these hacks with other label maker owners.
Now, go forth and share your new-found knowledge. Class dismissed!
This blog post is the fifth in a series of posts designed to teach you how to meal plan during times of crisis and in your every day life (post-coronavirus). If there was ever a time to consider practicing the Art of Organized Meal Planning–it’s now.
We eat every day–many times a day. When we’re not eating, most of us are probably thinking about food. When I dream about food, those dreams usually consist of mouth-watering meals and decadent desserts that I have not shopped for, prepared, or cleaned up after. When I need to think about food, it’s more like what I’ll be cooking every night for a week, what produce is on sale at my local market, and what recipe can successfully use up the leftovers in my fridge.
If I chose to keep all that cooking, recipe, and shopping list knowledge in my head, my brain would probably explode!
As I mentioned in my first post in this Organized Meal Planning series, it’s important that you use your brain for generating ideas–not as a storage device. Planning out your meals on paper or a digital device takes the everyday decision making out of your brain and places it outside of your head. This ‘write-it-down’ system is especially helpful if you’re in charge of feeding a family or you have food-related needs to consider such as food allergies, diabetes, or a low-sodium diet. Even if you’re only in charge of feeding yourself, it’s still a worthy idea to write down the food-related knowledge you need to reference on a daily or weekly basis.
For the purpose of meal planning, I’d like to discuss three types of meal planning knowledge to be organized:
A lot has to happen before walking into a supermarket. We need to think about what foods we like to eat and when we want to eat them. We need to see if those foods are in our pantry and take a close look at what foods are languishing in the back of our fridge. How can we keep all of this information from turning into a food knowledge jumble?
Lists, lists, and more lists!
Lists
Why do people use lists?
Lists:
• help us to remember things
• declutter our brains
• reduce anxiety
• bring order and organization to our efforts (including meal planning)
What are some types of lists that would help take Shopping Knowledge out of your head?
• What I’ll Be Cooking this Week list (7 days of dinners or whatever # of days works for you)
• What I Need to Buy Next Time I Go to Trader Joe’s list
• What’s on Sale at Whole Foods this Week list
And the Big Daddy list: The Everything-I-Need-to-Buy-for-the-Week-at-the-Supermarket Shopping List
I would advise against trying to remember everything you need to buy when you head to the supermarket–even if it’s just a few items. Write them down on paper or in your phone–your preference. This is not the time to be testing your memory. Creating lists will keep you organized and ready to shop. The fewer trips you need to take to a supermarket, the better–virus or no virus!
Recipe Knowledge
I have been cooking for many years and have collected more than my share of recipes. No matter how often I’ve cooked certain meals, I still haven’t completely memorized any of them. I always refer to a recipe when I cook. Here are three ways I keep my recipe knowledge organized:
Paper recipes
Grandma’s handwritten apple pie recipe, a recipe ripped out of a magazine, and a print-out of your favorite Julia Child recipe all need a home–a place ‘to live’ while waiting to be used. In the organizing world, we call this place to live a ‘container.’ A container can be anything from a ziplock bag to a basket to a bin. Since printed recipes are flat, storing them in a ‘container’ that organizes paper is a smart idea. A few examples:
• A two pocket folder if you don’t have many paper recipes
• A poly paper sorter for a few different recipes across many categories
• A recipe box for recipes written on index cards
• A binder with plastic sleeves for many recipes across a variety of categories
It’s time to cook! Take the recipe out, use it, then return it back to it’s folder, sorter, box, or binder. Next time you’re planning to make Grandma’s apple pie, you’ll know exactly where to find the recipe.
Cookbooks with post-its
One would think that the abundance of recipes found on the internet would eliminate the need for the traditional cookbook, but people still buy and use cookbooks. I have a bunch and reference them often. For quick and easy retrieval of your favorite recipes, use post-its to mark the pages you wish to refer back to. No need to search the index or table of contents every time–you’ve got the page and recipe marked off. Paper post-its work perfectly, but if you’d like something sturdier, try writeable tabs that can be repositioned.
Pinterest
OMG, Pinterest. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
When I first started using Pinterest, I mostly looked for and curated articles about organizing. Then, I noticed there were also recipes appearing in my Pinterest feed. Lots of recipes. Recipes for family dinners, holidays, food allergies, school lunches, and more.
Early on in my admiration for Pinterest, I realized that I could create ‘Boards’ not just for topics in organizing, but also for the recipes I thought might work for me and my family. It was then that I realized Pinterest could be a valuable recipe organizing tool. At first, my Pinterest recipe board titles were pretty vague such as “Recipes – tried” and ‘Recipes – haven’t tried yet.” Now, the titles are more specific which makes it quicker and easier to find the recipe I’m looking for.
Part of the beauty of using Pinterest to organize recipes is that the recipes you want to save don’t always have to come from the Pinterest platform. Let’s say you just read an article on BuzzFeed about 5-ingredient dinners or you just watched a show on the Food Network and wish to save one of the recipes without printing it out. Most recipes found online have a ‘Pin It’ button. Click the ‘Pin It’ button or hover over and click on the main image for a clickable Pinterest logo to appear. This will prompt Pinterest to open and ask you what board you’d like to save the article/recipe to (If you have a Pinterest account, try it out on the graphic at the top of this post…).
If you appreciate Pinterest even half as much as I do, I think you’ll find it to be a fairly effortless way to organize recipes you discover online and on Pinterest.
Planning Knowledge
Meal planning takes more time and effort than most realize. Here are a few ways to keep all of your meal planning knowledge organized and ready when you are:
Evernote
Much like the above-mentioned Pinterest, I have the same feelings of love and affection for Evernote. It’s a note-taking app that stores every piece of information you could ever need to keep track of and retrieve for yourself or others. Before I started using Evernote, my brain was a whirling dervish of details and data and my surfaces were dotted (more like–covered) with post-it notes.
How has Evernote revolutionized the way I organize my meal planning knowledge? Two main ways…
• Everyday dinners
• Holiday meals
Everyday dinners
I have about 30-40 different meals I make for dinner and rotate them over a series of 4-6 weeks. Keeping a list of them in Evernote frees up space in my brain. Organizing the meals by categories that are helpful and meaningful to me cuts down on the time spent thinking about what to cook on a particular day. One category is food type (poultry, meat, vegetarian), one category has to do with occasions (easy meals for busy afternoons with kids) and one category is for the food allergies we monitor in our household (meals with no allergens, meals with one allergen, etc.). When I’m meal planning dinners for the week, I open this file and my choices based on my family’s schedule and what’s on sale at the market are right in front of me.
Insert *sigh of relief* here…
Holiday Meals
Since we renovated our home over four years ago, we have taken on the hosting of more holiday meals. All of my notes, links to recipes, seating arrangements, and shopping lists are in Evernote. They are listed individually by holiday by year with a post-mortem included so I have a note of what worked and what didn’t. This has made hosting the holidays infinitely easier. No more trying to remember how many pounds of chicken I bought for twenty people. No more wondering what recipe I used for the Thanksgiving sweet potato casserole. It’s all in Evernote.
Insert a ‘happy holidays’ *sigh of relief* here…
Meal Planning Apps
Have you ever considered using a meal planning app? There are meal planning apps for families, for those with dietary restrictions, those who need a little help in the kitchen, and those who wish to connect with food bloggers and ‘foodies.’ If you think a meal planning app will help keep you organized, check out the information in the articles below. You just may find one that works for you!
I’ve been meal planning and cooking for my family for years. I know what dinners my family enjoys (they’re all listed in Evernote!) But, like I’ve said above–I can’t hold the list of dinners I cooked last week or last month all in my head. I don’t always remember the last time I made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner or how many times we did ‘take-out’ in a month. We are a food allergy household and I find it helpful to know what I’ve served for dinner and when.
That’s where my meal planning notebook comes in handy. Since the beginning of coronavirus lockdown, I started using a spiral notebook to track what I cooked for dinner. I wrote the days of the week down the left side of the page and next to each day, jotted down what I cooked for dinner that night. At this point, I have pages and pages of what I’ve made for dinner for the past five months. Having this information at my fingertips has saved me time and mental energy at meal planning and list-making time. As I plan meals for the week ahead, all I have to do is turn back a few pages to see what I’ve prepared and when I’ve served it. This has made meal planning so much simpler for me at this time. I appreciate the fact that my brain has room to think about what’s most important right now–staying safe.
Ready to make lists, take inventory, and plan for shopping and eating? I know you are!
What shopping, recipe, and food planning knowledge will you take out of your head and organize today?
This blog post is the fourth in a series of posts designed to teach you how to meal plan during times of crisis and in your every day life (post-coronavirus). If there was ever a time to consider practicing the Art of Organized Meal Planning–it’s now.
*Note – This is not a Sponsored Post. I’m blogging about a ‘cool product’ that works for me. All words, photos, and opinions are my own.
My kids are fourteen and ten years old now but I remember a time when they were little and I carried around A LOT of stuff for them. I owned a stroller with a large basket so I would have plenty of space to store extra diapers, toys, snacks, and anything else we would need when away from home.
There are a million and one products marketed to new parents but one that I found to be most useful was TheMommy Hook. David Abels, dad of three and the inventor of The Mommy Hook, knew that he and his wife could not be the only parents that couldn’t push a stroller, keep an eye on a child (or two), and carry a multitude bags at the same time. In 2006, The Mommy Hook was born and millions have been sold worldwide. I remember hanging everything from a diaper bag to shopping bags to whatever I needed handy for my young children from that giant hook on my stroller’s handle.
If you’re unfamiliar with the product, learn more about it here.
I own three Mommy Hooks plus a mini one that must have come packaged as a bonus.
OK–you’re probably thinking, ” What does all this have to do with getting organized for meal planning?”
I’m so glad you asked. Here’s my story…
Before the schools closed in mid-March due to the coronavirus, I had a feeling that we would be heading into some kind of lockdown situation. My husband and I took a deep dive into our pantry, fridge, and freezer, then made shopping lists, and split up to hit 4-5 different markets in our area in the span of a few days. I went into meal-planning mode and planned out our meals so I wouldn’t have to go to a supermarket or rely on delivery for a while unless absolutely necessary. I went three weeks straight without food shopping–only using what I had in the house to feed my family.
With four people continuously home and continuously eating for three weeks, it was eventually time to head to the supermarket. Trying to avoid crowds, I ventured out in the late evening to my local 24-hr. ShopRite. Since I hadn’t food shopped in almost a month, my huge order overflowed my shopping cart at checkout. Even with carrying some of the bags on my arm and pushing the cart to my car, a few bags fell off and some cans and boxes got dented. As I stood in the parking lot, exhausted from shopping under coronavirus-conditions at midnight, I knew there had to be a better way. It was in that moment that I remembered The Mommy Hook.
I hadn’t used one in years but I knew that it was exactly what I needed to ensure my trips to the supermarket were easier and more organized. I thought, “If it could work on the handle of a stroller, it could work on the handle of a shopping cart!”
Even though I hadn’t used a Mommy Hook in about six or seven years, I located them, dusted them off, and placed them with my recycle bags to take with me on my next food shopping trip.
Fast forward three more weeks. Time to do another big late evening shop at ShopRite. I brought two Mommy Hooks with me and at checkout, placed 3-4 bags with ‘like’ items on each–light stuff such as chips, pretzels, and bread products, and hooked them to the handle of my shopping cart. Easy-peasy! I got some strange looks from people but I didn’t care. I breezed out of the store, pushed the cart to my car confident that this time, nothing would fall out. I unhooked the Mommy Hooks from the shopping cart handle and placed both with the shopping bags still attached to them, straight into the front seat of my car. When I got home, I grabbed each hook and brought the bags of groceries into my garage.
So.Much.Easier.
Remember–I was doing all this around midnight–when you’re tired, everything needs to be easy!
But, The Mommy Hook isn’t just for use on the way out of a supermarket. You can also use The Mommy Hook on the way in to the supermarket. Clip it to the handle of your shopping cart and hang your recycle bags from it while you’re shopping. If you’re buying as much as I am lately, you need all the space in the cart you can get!
Mommy Hook features:
• Made from lightweight but heavy-duty aluminum
• Soft foam rubber grip prevents slipping and sliding on a shopping cart handle
• Soft foam rubber grip can be grasped comfortably as a handle
• Large enough to hold many grocery bags at once
• Fits most shopping cart handles
Mommy Hook benefits:
• can be used to organize bags of ‘like’ food items together
• creates more space for groceries and bulk items in the main section of a shopping cart
• can be used as a central location for anything you need to access quickly while shopping
Price: from $7.99 – $9.99 depending upon where you buy it.
Worth.Every.Penny.
Years ago I purchased mine at BuyBuyBaby in New Jersey but a quick Google search showed me that they can be purchased at Target, Walmart, Bed Bath and Beyond, and of course, Amazon. If you’d prefer to shop local, check stores in your neighborhood that cater to babies and young children.
Think The Mommy Hook would work for you as one of your organized meal planning tools? Let me know in the comments section below!
This blog post is the third in a series of posts designed to teach you how to meal plan during times of crisis and in your everyday life (post-coronavirus). If there was ever a time to consider practicing the Art of Organized Meal Planning–it’s now.
Do you have a mantra?
A mantra is a statement or slogan that is repeated frequently. It’s often a positive phrase used to motivate, encourage, and inspire yourself or others to achieve a particular goal.
You may have a personal mantra for meditating, feeling empowered, or for living your life. You may even have mantra or two to help you get through this pandemic we’re currently living through.
But, do you have a mantra for meal planning?
I’ve been ‘head chef’ of my household for almost twenty years. That’s twenty years of breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, holiday meals, brunches, and the occasional barbecue. Since going on lockdown in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, I’ve done an inordinate amount of meal planning and cooking. Three meals a day plus snacks for my family of four has kept me (and our dishwasher) very busy. I’ve mostly stuck to ‘crowd-pleaser’ meals and familiar foods to help make this time in our lives dare I say–more palatable.
The more time I spend in my kitchen, the more I find myself repeating a few food-related sayings. I say these phrases so often, they’ve become my meal planning mantras. I sometimes even hear my husband and kids repeating them!
BTW…While I was composing this blog post in WordPress, my 10 year old son walked into the room. He looked at my desktop screen and the image quotes below and asked me what a mantra was. After I told him, he looked at me and said, “Mommy you say ALL of these–a lot!”
Here are my top three favorite meal planning mantras for crisis time or any time:
MANTRA #1: Cook Once. Eat Twice!
Many of us are spending more time than usual eating at home. That’s a lot of meals–especially if you are feeding a family day after day, week after week (and now month after month).
I have been saying Mantra #1 for years. It brings me great joy to cook once and eat twice. It’s a major time saver to not have to prepare each component for each meal every day! The ‘cook once and eat twice’ philosophy requires thought and meal planning but not a lot of extra prep time.
A few ways to ‘cook once and eat twice’ during crisis time or any time:
• Cook enough of a protein at one time for two different meals. For example, cook enough chop meat to be used for tacos one night and bolognese sauce a few days later. Make roasted chicken for dinner and shred the leftover chicken for chicken tortilla soup to be eaten over the weekend.
• Cook enough for two complete meals. Take out those large pots you use at holiday time and double your recipes!
• Use a crockpot. A crockpot makes a ton of food. And you can ‘set it and forget it’ while you’re spending your time working, cleaning your home, keeping your kids occupied, and of course–meal planning.
Think about it: What foods would you like to ‘cook once and eat twice’ this week?
MANTRA #2: Keep it Simple with Kit Meals
If you’ve been a fan of the Food Network for over two decades like I have, you’ve watched a whole lotta cooking shows. One show from 2005 that inspired the above mantra is called ‘Cooking Thin with Kathleen Daelemans.’ It wasn’t just an in-studio how-to show demonstrating low-calorie recipes. Chef Kathleen helped ordinary people with food challenges and taught them about meal planning, goal setting, and gave them tips on cooking lighter. One tip I recall and use in my home is the basis for Meal Planning Mantra #2.
Chef Kathleen often spoke about how keeping a pantry filled with healthy foods would support a healthier way of eating. She would pull items off the shelf that worked together to create a healthy meal and referred to them as ‘kit meals.’ I started using that phrase more often after I had children. Having to come up with fairly healthy dinners without using much brain power (sleep deprivation will do that to ya) led me to create ‘kit meals’ for my family. A box of fish sticks with a box of mac and cheese and a steam-in-bag of mixed vegetables was a ‘kit meal.’ A package of chicken cutlets, one lemon, a bag of Trader Joe’s kale and a box of Near East Toasted Almond rice was a ‘kit meal.’ As long as I had all of the components to the kit meal and a way to keep on top of my pantry inventory, I could feed my family simply and easily. Thanks, Chef Kathleen!
Think about it: What kind of ‘kit meals’ could you make for your family?
MANTRA #3: The ‘L’ in Lunch Stands for Leftovers
Of the three meal planning mantras, I think this one is my favorite. It’s also the most recent one I’ve come up with. If I’m not running errands after working with a client, I come straight home and eat lunch. So as not to waste food, I try to make sure I eat leftovers at lunch time.
At the moment, I am not working with clients in their homes. I am in my own home eating lunch with my family every day and going food shopping as infrequently as possible. In an attempt to make sure none of our food went to waste, I created Mantra #3. It’s actually a take-off of a mantra I’ve chanted to my children over the past few years:
“The ‘M’ in “Mommy’ Does Not Stand for MAID!”
It’s a great title for a children’s book. I’ll keep that in mind when I’m not so busy meal planning…
To prevent food waste, I have been managing the leftovers in our home for the past few months #likeaboss. During the early days of lockdown, I would stand in front of the refrigerator and tell my family that if there were leftovers in the fridge, they had to be eaten for lunch. That’s when I would say (OK–yell) “The ‘L’ in Lunch Stands for Leftovers.” I think if my family put a dollar in a jar every time I repeated this mantra over the past few months, we’d have enough money to pay off our mortgage. It has gotten to a point where my husband and kids won’t think about making something for lunch without looking for leftovers first!
When planning your meals, consider cooking enough to have extra servings for leftovers. Even if there’s one portion of food left from dinner, that’s one meal someone can eat for lunch.
Leftovers: Plan for them. Eat them. Don’t forget about them!
Think about it: What leftovers can you eat for lunch tomorrow?
Tell me! What are some of your favorite meal planning mantras?
I have been thinking about blogging about meal planning for a while. With the coronavirus pandemic currently a part of our everyday lives, there isn’t a better time to talk about it.
I’ve been a Professional Organizer for eighteen years. I’m also the ‘head chef’ in my family. One of the most vital organizing systems I’ve created in my home is the meal planning I do for my family.
Why do I meal plan?
I grew up with my mom planning our meals–I witnessed the benefits of planning ahead. As a single woman (an elementary school teacher living on a tight budget) I shopped, packed my own lunches, and planned dinners according to the needs of my schedule. Now, as a wife and mom, good nutrition, multiple family food allergies, and a busy lifestyle make meal planning a necessity to stay on top of our food needs.
Why is it important to meal plan?
We eat every day. Multiple times a day. To live. There’s no getting around that…
Anything we do multiple times a day, every day should have some kind of automation so we don’t have to constantly be thinking about it.
Meal Planning is a multi-step system and organizing strategy designed to take the every-day-multiple-times-a-day thought process of ‘what-are-we-going-to-eat?’ out of your head and put it onto paper or your favorite digital tool.
You want to avoid organizing your sock drawer–OK. I’ll give that to you. But, please–don’t avoid meal planning. Especially now.
Why is its important to meal plan NOW?
In the time of coronavirus, food shopping is considered an essential trip outside of your home. For safety reasons, we’re supposed to stay out of public spaces as much as possible. This is not the time to be running to the grocery store for a forgotten ingredient or because you can’t think of what to cook for dinner.
Meal planning is a time management strategy but now, it is also a safety measure that will ensure you spend as little time as possible food shopping in public. You’ll also know exactly what recipes you’ll be making, what foods you’ll be eating, and when you’ll be eating them–one less thing to think about every day when we have so many other recent lifestyle changes to juggle.
*If you currently do most or all of your food shopping online due to age, illness or personal choice, it’s even more important to take the time to create a meal plan for you and your family.
If you’re a beginner to meal planning (or any other organizing) I advise you to start small, start easy, and start where you are. I want you to have the tools necessary for meal planning–not only for the sake of good nutrition, saving money and time, but also to keep you safe.
What are the benefits to meal planning?
Besides promoting healthier eating, meal planning saves you time, money, and stress.
Time
With meal planning, there’s no need to take time out of your day to run to the market, find a parking spot, grab a few items, stand on line, come home and eat later than you wanted to. Meal planning will put hours back into your life!
Money
With a meal planning system in place, there’s no need to pull out a menu and order last minute takeout–often more expensive than a home-cooked meal. Fewer trips to the store means fewer opportunities for impulse shopping which can add up to hundreds of dollars a year. With many people out of work at this time, meal planning is a necessary part of tightening up a budget.
Stress
This coronavirus pandemic is causing us to feel more stressed than usual. Our brains are working on overdrive. With that being said–we HAVE to eat. But, we don’t have to keep all that food-knowledge in our head. Meal planning takes the every day decision-making out of your brain.
“Your mind is meant for having ideas, not for holding them” says David Allen (the founder of the Getting Things Done work-life management system). Bluntly said, (by me)–your brain is not a storage device! We already have enough swirling around up there–we shouldn’t keep any more information up there than we need to!
Are you ready to learn how to meal plan? Great! Follow the steps to help you get organized for meal planning…
My Seven Step System for Meal Planning:
Step 1: Do a Brain Dump
Take four separate pieces of paper. Write the word ‘breakfast’ one one, ‘lunch’ on the next piece, ‘dinner’ on the third and ‘snacks’ at the top of the fourth piece of paper.
Take a few minutes to do a ‘brain dump’ of what meals/snacks you like to eat and write them on the appropriate papers.
Ex:
breakfast = almond butter on a bagel, blueberry pancakes and syrup, cereal with milk and fruit
lunch = chicken nuggets and french fries, turkey sandwiches and chips, cheese sticks with crackers and baby carrots
dinner = chicken cutlets/steam-in-bag veggies/rice, spaghetti and meatballs
snacks = dried apricots, Oreo cookies, pretzel rods
Step 2: Ask for Ideas
Gather the members of your household and ask them to brainstorm their favorite meals in each of the categories and add them to the appropriate lists.
Everyone eats? Everyone gets a say!
*In the time of coronavirus–remember to also list out meals you may be cooking for/delivering to family and friends. You’ll need to add those ingredients to your shopping list, too.
Step 3: Start Meal Planning
Now that you’ve written down meals that everyone likes to eat, it’s time to start meal planning!
Two things to consider:
-what recipes you want to make
-how many days you want to plan for–two? Five? A whole week?
It’s now time to take out a new piece of paper (to plan out your meals) and consult those four pieces of paper from Step 1 and Step 2 for ideas on what meals to plan for.
As an example, let’s create a one-day sample meal plan using the meals from above:
MONDAY
breakfast: cereal with milk and fruit
lunch: turkey sandwiches and chips
dinner: spaghetti and meatballs
snack: pretzels
Whether it’s one day or a whole week, do the above exercise for each day you are planning meals for.
*It’s important during this coronavirus crisis that you be in the supermarket as infrequently as possible for everyone’s safety. Please try your hand at planning out a few of your meals. If you’re not used to doing much cooking or meal planning, start off planning for 1-2 days and slowly work your way up to a week’s worth of meals. Don’t stress about this–start where you are.
Step 4: Take Inventory
After listing out all the food items you’ll need for the meals you’re planning to make, it’s time to take inventory and see if you already have the ingredients for those meals. Take the list from Step 3 and a pen and carry it to your fridge, freezer, and pantry area(s). If you already have the item at home, circle it on your list–no need to buy it (unless you want to stock up on more while at the store). Any items not circled will be added later to your Shopping List.
*If you’re using a specific recipe, take time to review it to determine what ingredients you’ll need.
Step 5: Shop at Home
You don’t always have to start from scratch. Meal planning can also start at home. It’s a time, money, and stress saver to meal plan with…
-items that are about to turn green and fuzzy in your fridge
-items that have been in your freezer long enough to have a few ice crystals on them
-items in your pantry that are about to expire
-items on sale at the supermarket
Maybe you have mushrooms that have 1-2 days left in them. Plan to make mushroom omelettes for lunch or chop the mushrooms into the sauce to go over spaghetti and meatballs. Or, maybe on page 3 of your supermarket’s sale circular, you see that chicken cutlets are on sale. Consider buying enough to make chicken based meals once a week for a month.
Add these ‘shop at home’ and ‘supermarket sale’ options to your meal plan for the next few days. This is not the time to let food go to waste!
Step 6: Put it on your Calendar
There’s a famous time management quote that says, “What gets scheduled–gets done.” Let’s combine that with David Allen’s quote from above about how your brain is not a storage room. Take your meal planning ideas out of your head and put them on your calendar!
What day do you want to make that spaghetti and meatball dinner? What day next week do you have a 4pm Zoom call?
Take out your calendar and organize those meals you just spent time planning for.
Some things to consider…
-Do you want to eat meat and vegetarian meals on alternating days?
-Do you want to create ‘theme nights’ such as Meatless Monday and Taco Tuesday?
-Which days do you want to cook? Which days would you prefer to support a local restaurant with a take-out meal?
-Do you think you’ll have enough food for a ‘leftovers night?’
All good questions to ask yourself while scanning your calendar and meal planning for the days of the week ahead of you.
*In the future (after the coronavirus pandemic is over) your schedule may include days/nights where you’re working late, your son has to be at baseball practice, or your daughter has a dance class. Check your calendar for those events and plan to make on-the-go and quick-prep meals (or takeout) on those days.
Step 7: Make Your Shopping List
You’re ready to make your shopping list! Grab a long piece of paper or your phone (whichever you prefer) and start listing out the foods you’ll be needing to purchase for your pre-determined amount of meals.
Here are two ways to do this:
-List out your foods by category (an easy place to start–especially for beginners)
-List out your foods by supermarket aisle (for advanced meal planers and/or those who are familiar with the aisles of the stores they shop in).
Listing foods on your shopping list by category can look like this:
Ex: spaghetti and meatball dinner from above (with a box of spaghetti already in your pantry)
Shopping List
Cans/Jars/Boxes: spaghetti sauce
Bread: Italian bread
Meat: 1.5 – 2 lb package of 85/15 ground beef
Spices: oregano
Dairy: butter
Produce: lettuce, cucumber, fresh garlic
Listing foods on your shopping list by supermarket aisle can resemble this (using my local ShopRite as an example):
Ex: spaghetti and meatball dinner from above (with a box of spaghetti already in your pantry)
Shopping List
lettuce, cucumber, fresh garlic (my store opens into the produce section)
oregano
spaghetti sauce
1.5 – 2 lb. package of 85/15 ground beef
Italian bread
butter (dairy is the last aisle in my store)
This infographic spells out the basics…
Congratulations! You’re a meal planner! The more often you do it, the easier it will become–I promise! And over time, you will notice your meal planning efforts saving you time, money, and stress–now in crisis time and anytime.
Be safe. Be healthy. Be a meal planner!
What meals will you plan this week? I’d love to hear about them in the comments section below…
What we’re experiencing with the Coronavirus is unprecedented.
Many of us are on lockdown. With children. My kids are 13.5 and almost 10. They’re great kids who play well together (most of the time), take their new online/distance learning education seriously (it’s week 1…), and have a basketball hoop outside to help them shake off some energy. I spend my mornings shuttling between their two bedrooms answering questions, assisting with technology, and I even learned a new skill–how to highlight text in Google Docs.
‘Online school’ in our town will be from 9am-1pm Monday through Friday for at least the next two weeks. After lunch and some ‘chillaxin’ time,’ the plan is to use part of the afternoon for what I call ‘Electives.’ This afternoon my kids will be taking ‘Home Economics’ and helping me make meatballs. Yesterday, my youngest son and I explored watercolors during ‘Art’ and tomorrow he’ll practice his xylophone during ‘Music.’
Besides the basic school electives, I could not call myself a Professional Organizer if I didn’t at least try to engage my kids in a little organizing while we are house-bound. It’s an important life skill and we’ve got the time to practice it!
Life with kids regardless of their age can be hectic. Over the past few months, my husband and I have been juggling our workloads, our two kids on three different basketball teams, volunteer work for religious and professional organizations, family and friends, with little time to tackle some organizing projects that have needed our attention (Familiar with the whole ‘shoemaker has no shoes’ saying?).
You may have experienced a similar weekly/monthly time crunch. As long as no one is ill in your household, this would be a good time to have your kids sharpen their organizing skills after completing their schoolwork. It will teach them a life skill, help keep your home in order, and keep them busy with a productive activity when the day feels like it may never end.
Here are some ideas on where to begin and tips to make it as painless as possible…
Three areas of organizing to focus on with your kids are: organizing time, organizing space, and organizing stuff.
Organizing Time
For many kids, their online schooling will take place in the morning. But afternoons, evenings, and weekends are wide open. Let’s work with them on some time management skills…
Promote the benefits of sticking to a basic schedule – Kids thrive on routine. It gives them a sense of security and predictability. School-aged kids follow a schedule in school–create something similar in your home. During this period of time spent at home, it’s imperative for your child’s well-being for them to know what’s coming next in their world in the days and weeks ahead.
Create a visual schedule of their days
Work with your kids to create a paper-based or digital schedule for weekdays and weekends using the concept of Time Blocking. From the website Doist.com: “Time blocking is a time management method that asks you to divide your day into blocks of time. Each block is dedicated to accomplishing a specific task, or group of tasks, and only those specific tasks. … With days that are time blocked in advance, you won’t have to constantly make choices about what to focus on.”
Together with your kids, create a list of everyday and weekly tasks, to-do’s, projects, and fun to plug into their daily at-home schedule. Tweak as necessary.
Help them prioritize tasks
Prioritizing is all about figuring out what is most important. Assisting your child with the art of prioritizing gives them a life skill that prepares them for the future. Take that list you made with your kids for Time Blocking purposes and use it help them make decisions as to what’s most important to accomplish during a ‘school’ day and on the weekends while at home. Be flexible–this unusual time isn’t easy for them or us.
For more on the how time management can make your life and your child’s life easier, read…
An organized space is key to one’s physical and mental well being. Your kids are already being forced to stay indoors for most of their day and may be stressed about the global pandemic. This is the time to help them make sure their personal space is clean and orderly.
Bedroom/Playroom Stand with your child in the room and together determine the categories of items that need to be organized. Basics are books, toys, clothes, electronics, etc. I don’t recommend purging much more than any trash that might be around the room. This is a challenging time for everyone and keeping the space in order is more important at this point than getting rid of what you think your child doesn’t need anymore.
Online learning workspace Your child(ren) will be engaging in online/distance learning for at least a few weeks–it’s important that their space be organized. This may include laptops, Chromebooks, scrap paper, pens/pencils/crayons, a spot for a snack, etc. Talk to your child(ren) about their needs and help them set up and organize their temporary school space for success.
Organizing Stuff
Oh, the things that can be organized when you’re at home for weeks on end!
Books, Toys, Art Supplies, School Papers Like I mentioned above, no need for much purging unless something is broken and beyond repair. Just keeping each category of items all together in one spot will be sufficient. The phrase, ‘organized enough’ is one to keep in mind as the days turn into weeks.
Clothes
Spring is coming! After we ‘flatten the curve’ and we’re safe to go back to our usual lives it’s going to be too warm (in many parts of the country) to wear the clothes we wore in March. This is the perfect time to try on shorts and bathing suits and take inventory of what clothes your kids will need for the Spring and Summer. *Tip: I park my kids in front of the TV to try clothes on them. It keeps them occupied, I hear less complaining, and it gets the job done fairly quickly and painlessly!
Pantry
Do you have a space in your kitchen where your kids can get their own snacks? If not, this is the time to make one. You’re most likely trying to work–the fewer interruptions you have, the better. Talk to your kids about what snacks they’d like to have accessible in the fridge and pantry/cabinet. Set up a bin, bag, or shoebox (whatever you have handy) and place the snacks where they can reach them themselves. *Tip: Know your kid–if they can’t be trusted alone with a baggie of Cheerios when you’re not in the same room, stick to something less messy or one or two of something like a Fig Newton or a granola bar.
Helpful Tips
Group Like with Like
Most kids as young as preschoolers can follow this basic organizing principle. Dolls with dolls, all socks in one drawer, all copies of Captain Underpants live together on the shelf, etc.
Break it Down
Keep organizing projects short and sweet. No more than 15 – 30 minutes a day for everyone’s sanity! One shelf. One drawer. One bin of Hot Wheels cars. That’s it. Do more tomorrow. Or wait for the weekend.
Put things back where they belong
This is a basic organizing principle that is used in schools and is beneficial at home, too. Take 10-15 minutes a day to do a sweep of toys, books, school supplies, etc. and put them back where they live. This will make it easier for your kids to find what they need next time they need it–and less likely for them to need to interrupt you while you’re TRYING to work from home.
Plan for tomorrow
Planning is another important life skill. Have your kids think about what they want to eat for lunch tomorrow, what they might want to wear (most likely pajamas), and who they might want to FaceTime with after their schoolwork is done. Planning ahead helps kids to make decisions and focus on their future needs.
Not About Organizing, But Still Helpful Tips
• While you’re cleaning out your drawers/cabinets/shelves if you find something a local friend or neighbor could use, drop it off at their apartment or front stoop (and call/text/email them to let them know it’s there!). Kindness goes along way during a pandemic…
• Organize video playdates for your kids. It’s not really organizing but it does take planning and effort. My youngest son has had two already and it has kept him happy and in touch with his friends.
• Stay as calm as you can with EVERYONE home ALL THE TIME. Here’s a great Youtube channel with relaxing music that I listen to when I’m feeling stressed: OCB Relax Music.
• Engage in some adult and kid coloring for stress relief. It’s a relaxing group activity and goes very well with the relaxing music I just mentioned. If you don’t have any coloring books in the house, type ‘adult coloring book printable free’ into Google–pages of hits appear. Do the same for your kids, print a few pages, and relax a bit while coloring.
• Buy (if you can find any…) these Clorox wipes that smell like a piña colada. Who couldn’t use some of THAT right now? Am I walking around disinfecting my house or am I walking on the beach? (I’ve heard being sequestered can make one delusional…)
We’re living in stressful times but getting your home and kids organized can help reduce that stress. Be safe. Be healthy. Please do your part to ‘flatten the curve.’ Together we can save lives.
Some people blog about their small business, some blog about personal challenges and accomplishments, and some even blog about blogging!
Whatever you choose to blog about, it’s important for you to organize your blog. Why does your blog need to be organized?
• An organized blog is an easy blog to read
• An organized blog is a blog readers want to come back to (and isn’t that what we want our readers to do?)
• An organized blog represents YOU. You don’t want to look disorganized to your readers!
Whether you’re thinking about starting a blog or wish to tweak an existing one, here are a few tips based on basic organizing philosophies that will keep you on track and help you organize your blog:
Schedule It
We make appointments for the doctor, an oil-change, and the cable guy, Why not make an appointment for yourself to blog? Blocking out the time on your calendar gets you one step closer to accomplishing the task. Figure out how many times a week or month you are able to post and stick to that schedule. But, be realistic. Brainstorming, writing, taking photos/video and commenting takes more time than you think it does.
Sort It Out
Compile a list of topics you’ll want to discuss on your blog. Look at a calendar–are any of your topics seasonal? Plug them into the months they belong in. For instance, as a Professional Organizer, I would start blogging about Spring Cleaning in March. A chef might blog about the best foods to barbecue in May. Other topics may revolve around holidays, trade shows, milestones, or history.
Break It Down
Take your topics and create sub-topics for them. So, if the chef were to blog about Barbecuing in May and has decided to schedule one blogging ‘appointment’ per week, he or she might blog about the benefits to cooking on a clean barbecue the first week, do a hot dog review the second week, offer grilling tips the third week, and list his or her top ten recipes for summer grilling during the fourth week.
Delegate
Sometimes we need to take a break from blogging. Find other blogs of similar topic/interest and link to their information for your readers. Check out blogs that are pertinent to yours and invite their authors to be guest bloggers on your site. You get a break from writing while your guest blogger gets a whole new set of readers (and possibly followers). It’s a win-win!
Get Rid of the Clutter
Too many pictures, videos, or advertisements detract from what you’ve written. Keep the look of your blog simple and streamlined. You have to grab the reader’s attention within the first five seconds of their arrival at your blog. If they have to spend those five seconds looking for your latest blog post, they may not return out of frustration. (Nooooo!)
Maintain It
Stay on track with posting to your blog. If you know you’ll be on vacation or going through a life-changing event, write posts in advance or have a guest blogger fill in for you. Keep all photos and videos for your blog in one place on your computer. Once a month, review your topics and subtopics and make any necessary tweaks or changes.
After applying the above principles, your newly organized blog will be low-maintenance, a pleasure to post to, and a joy to read.
Which organizing philosophy would help you organize your blog the most?
I’m excited to announce–Organized Artistry has a YouTube channel!
It’s something I’ve been considering adding to my business model for a while. YouTube is a great vehicle for reaching those in need of organizing assistance outside of my Northern New Jersey area. I thought it would be a creative marketing tool for my residential and virtual organizing services as well as for my book and any books I write in the future.
Slowly in 2018, I created the channel, added a banner, uploaded a few FaceTime videos but I wasn’t putting a ton of time and effort into it. Why? What held me back? A few things…
Time
As a business owner, parent of two, and volunteer for business and religious organizations, did I really have time to pursue something new?
Knowledge
My son told me it was easy to make a YouTube video. He said to me, “My friend from middle school and my camp counselor have YouTube channels. How hard could it be, Mom?” I tried to convince him that Mommy’s YouTube channel had to be a bit more professional than teens playing Xbox together and videotaping it. I’m still not sure I’ve convinced him…In order to have a professional-looking channel I was going to have to figure out the ‘How-To’ part.
Doubt
Was anyone going to watch? Could I fit creating, optimizing, and uploading videos into my already tight schedule?
Bad Hair Days
Yes, if I’m being honest, bad hair days kept me from making videos. I don’t have the most predictable hair and it doesn’t always look as professional as I’d like it to look. Kinda silly, but true. #honesty
What I know about owning a business is that it has to always be moving forward and keep up with the ‘times’ in order to survive. Many articles I read this past year pointed to video marketing as a game changer for 2019. I decided if I really wanted to make it happen, I had to schedule it, learn what I could, deal with doubt, and my hair. Here’s what I did…
Time
I decided to block out time in my day to brainstorm ideas, write scripts, and film the video (when I’m not working with clients). Mornings after I drop my son at school until noon are my ‘Power Hours’–the time of day when I’m most alert and motivated. This time management technique worked for me when I was writing and self-publishing my book, too.
Knowledge
Do you know the best place to learn about starting a YouTube channel? It’s YouTube! I started watching ‘how-to’ videos while on the treadmill, while getting dressed/putting on makeup, and when I was cooking dinner (it’s the perfect accompaniment to chopping vegetables). I took notes on the videos and created a section in Evernote for them. I also purchased an online course to speed up the process–it’s proving to be a good investment so far.
Doubt
I still have my doubts but I moved forward anyway. I’ve been in this place before as a business owner and realize that anything new is going to stir up feelings of doubt. I decided I wouldn’t let it stop me.
Bad Hair Days
Almost a year ago, I started following the ‘Curly Girl‘ method of caring for my hair. My hair is healthier, looks better and is now (in my eyes) more ‘video-worthy.’ And I bought some products to cover my ‘roots’ so I can film my videos and camouflage some gray hair and hairline without having to run to the salon as often.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been working diligently on the ‘Channel Trailer’ for my channel–it’s the first video people will see when they come to my channel if they’re not subscribers. Want to check it out? There may be a few pics of me as a little kid in the video if that piques your interest…You can watch it here or click the video below. Feel free to leave a comment, hit the ‘Subscribe’ button, and remember to click the little bell next to it to get notified when I post a new video!
If there’s an organizing challenge you’d like me to make a video about, let me know at .
Keep an eye out on the Organized Artistry YouTube channel for organizing tips, organizing hacks, and decluttering know-how. My videos will help you to get organized and gain more space in your home, more time in your day, more money in your wallet, and less stress in your life.
Who can’t use a helpful organizing tip now and then?
Today’s ‘Helpful Organizing Tip” has to do with how to organize your shoes. I’ve worked with clients who own over a hundred pair of shoes. It can easily happen if you live in the Northeast where the temperatures can vary from zero degrees to over a hundred degrees. With those climate extremes, men and women need everything from flip flops to snow boots and everything in between. Then there are people who do not live in a climate that requires many pair of footwear–they just love shoes!
The first time I worked with a client with a large amount of shoes I learned a valuable lesson I’d like to share with you…
The Helpful Organizing Tip for today is:
Don’t organize your shoes on the floor. Use your bed instead.
Why? I’ll explain it to you in one word: HEADACHE. Not the ‘pain-in-the-neck’ kind of headache that requires two Tylenol but the real ‘pounding-above-your-eyes-I-have-to-lie-down-now’ headache. Continuously bending over to the floor to sort, examine, and pick up tens of pairs of shoes can cause a physical headache.
We don’t want that! We want to get organized and be headache-free! Read on…
Instead, try this solution: Drape an old flat sheet over your bed and place the pairs of shoes for sorting on top of it. No bending and no headache. Too many shoes to fit on your bed at once? Break down the task. Start with your summer footwear and when you’ve finished sorting and purging them, take the ‘keepers’ off the bed and repeat with your fall/winter shoes.
Need a visual? Check out my YouTube video below…
Share this tip and video with a shoe-lovin’ friend!
A blog by Professional Organizer Stacey Agin Murray bursting with cool products, 'gotta-tell-a-friend' ideas, and a whole lotta organizing know-how. Learn more...
Subscribe to the Blog
Subscribe to the blog and never miss a post!
About Stacey
When you grow up in a 5’x12′ bedroom, you learn to organize pretty quickly! I chose to take that knowledge and turn it into a business helping people find what they need when they need it. I’m also the author of The Organized Bride’s Thank You Note Handbook–a book that offers wedding thank you note-related organizing tips and how-to’s plus 101 unique sample thank you notes (what bride can’t use that?).
Contact Stacey to Get Started!
