Archive | December, 2009

What I Learned From My 4 year old Daughter!

Posted on December 30, 2009 by in Home Organizing

Last night after dinner, my daughter wanted to play a game with me… So here she comes down the stairs with her HI-HO Cherry-O Board Game…

I go to get it set up and she stops me.. “No mommy, I want to play like this”…. And I said “No, we need to play the game right and set it up this way”… After a couple of exchanges of going back and forth… I stopped myself and realized, why do we have to play this one way?

What am I teaching her, if there is only one right way to do something? What is the goal we are trying to achieve here?

All we want to do is play together, connect with each other, and have a good time!

What was she teaching me? Not only is there more than one way to play a game, but it was a good reminder that in life we need to be flexible, accept and be open to change, it can be a good thing, and open ourselves to new and different ideas…

Needless to say we played HI HO Cherry-O three different ways last night… and it was great!  She won every single time.. That Lucky Girl!

I understand and agree that there is a time and place for structure.  There is a time where breaking the rules just isn’t acceptable.  I understand at some point she will need to understand what it means to win graciously and how to lose the same way… I figure with her older brother and her friends, she will have plenty of times to learn those lessons…

But last night, while playing with her Mommy, she was the Champion of HI HO Cherry-O three different ways!

The Hit List!

Posted on December 28, 2009 by in Office Organizing, Productivity, Staying Organized

Last week when I was sick, I wrote a post about having a Master To Do List available.  A place for you to get a handle of the many things to do.. a place for you to check off as you completed each task!  I must confess, typically I did this either on my computer or  just on a piece of paper…

Until now…

Shortly after I had written that post, I was reading a blog post ( Helping You Get “To Do” Done Better: Free Applications Every Small Business Must Have!) from my dear friend, Megan Strand.  In her post she references Pete Wright.. Another dear friend of mine and the mastermind behind this website!  Megan and Pete introduced me to The Hit List!

Wow… What a fantastic tool!  Anyone who has a list of things to do, which we all do, can use this!  It’s a fantastic way of organizing your to do’s by projects with sublists, due dates, everything you might need.  I really like the feature of having a folder for things you want to do but are on hold right now.  It’s a great way to keep your thoughts, ideas, and tasks all in one place!  You can focus on what’s due today or work ahead on other projects.  There are different kinds of tags and smart folders, which I am still trying to figure out.  But so far … so good!  I absolutely love this tool!

The best part it is FREE to download in its beta edition.

I highly encourage you to check it out.. and if you have any tips on the tags and smart folders, please share… I am still trying to figure that part out!

Happy Organizing!

Packing Christmas… Welcome New Year!

Posted on December 26, 2009 by in Holiday Organizing

Christmas has come!  And now it is gone!  I had a wonderful Christmas!  With two children in the house it is always a magical time..  Seeing Christmas through their eyes is a great gift!  But here we are now… The end of December!  And I personally am ready to get my house back in order.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas, I love Christmas Decorations.. But as you may guess, I am not a big fan of clutter.  And right now I feel a little overwhelmed by all of this Christmas stuff… My house looks like a Toronto came through it!

So like many of you, I am spending the next couple of days cleaning, packing up, and organizing my house back in order.

Here are some great tips on how to organize your Christmas Decorations..

1.  Group into Categories-  Group your decorations the way it makes most sense to you.  Here are some suggestions:  Outdoor decorations, Tree Ornaments, Holiday Cards, Decorative Items, Linens, Wrapping Items.  Another way to group is to put your decorations the way you have them displayed, for example; all decorations in the kitchen go into one box, all decorations in living room go into box B and so on.

2.  Take a picture of how you decorated and put it in the box with the decorations.  This will make decorating next year very easy!

3.  Obtain appropriate containers-  So many stores are having great sales on storage items, and they have great products just for lights, wreaths etc.  But before going out and buying a bunch of new product, take inventory of what you currently have.  So many times we buy what we do not need.  And make sure to measure and only buy containers you can move easily when filled with items.

4. Pack up what you Love and what is not Broken- If you found items you did not use this year and do not plan on using them again, this is the time to donate.  Don’t waste the space.  Check the lights, there is no sense in packing up lights that no longer work.

5.  Label your Containers-  It will make it so much easier to decorate and find that special something you are looking for next year.

Happy Organizing!

Creating Holiday Traditions!

Posted on December 22, 2009 by in Holiday Organizing

One of the things I love about the Holiday season is remembering the past!  I love going to my parents house and seeing christmas ornaments on the tree that I created as a child!  Or talking about Christmas memories we shared as a family during different times in our lives.  The smell of homemade sugar cookies cut out like Christmas trees with green frosting and red hots as ornaments!  All of these things and more mean Christmas time to me…

Now that I have my own family and Christmas is a big deal around here with 2 small children, it’s been really fun for my husband and I to create new traditions for our family.  But we do this in a simple way, a way that is not stressful for anyone. Because really what is tradition?  It should be something done as a family, everyone having fun, and creating lasting memories! And in our house they do not have to be expensive ravish gifts or dinners, no actually quite opposite in fact…

 

Here are some of our traditions in our family….

1.  We drive around the neighborhoods and look at all of the Christmas Lights – listening to Christmas Music of course!

2.  We bake cookies for Santa and leave them out with a glass of milk and carrots & apples for the reindeer!

3.  Everyone gets to open one gift on Christmas Eve.

4.  We attend Christmas Eve Church Service.

5.  We watch several different kinds of holiday movies and TV shows from the day after Thanksgiving through New Years.

6.  We make Hot Chocolate with Marshmallows.

7.  I dedicate one day to baking and make plates for family, friends, and neighbors.

8.  My sister, my mom, and I go Christmas Shopping one night together and enjoy a nice long dinner together.

9.  All the gifts from Santa are wrapped in different wrapping paper.

10.  Each person unwraps one gift at a time.  So we can really see and appreciate what each person has received.

What do you do to make lasting memories for you and your family?  Share your ideas … I am always open to new ideas and creating new memories!

Happy Holidays!

Organizing and You!

Posted on December 21, 2009 by in Home Organizing, Office Organizing

 

How Can TCO Help You?  We Want to Know!

With the year wrapping up, I am doing a lot of planning for the next year.  I am thinking of different ideas for the website, for the blog and other aspects of my business.  I want to hear from you!

Do you need tips on keeping your shoes straight?  How about tools you can use to keep your closets in order?  Need some ideas on managing paper and keeping the bills organized?  What are you looking for?  Why did you come to an organizing tip blog? Whether you subscribe to this blog or this is first time you have visited…I want to help!

The TCO Blog and my newsletter are both services to you!  If there are areas of home organizing that have you particularly stumped, send me a note!

You can comment on this post, you can send me a note on my site, you can send me a direct message at nikki@takecontrolorganizing.com, or send me a direct message on Twitter@TCOrganizing.  Let me know!  And I’ll keep working to make this site a destination for organizing tips and tools that help you keep your house in order!

As always…. Happy Organizing!