Home Organizing | Take Control Organizing

Memorabilia Boxes!

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Nikki in Blog, Home Organizing, Staying Organized

It is very common when organizing to find something you want to keep because it holds a special memory. However, when trying to decide where it should go, people often get stuck. They don’t necessarily want to display the item but are really unclear of where it should go!

Solution: Memorabilia Boxes

This is a great solution because it allows items like old stuff animals, yearbooks, travel memorabilia, things like that to have a home.

You can organize the memorabilia boxes by each person in the family. Depending on the age of the person will determine how many boxes or bins you may have.

I have a bin that is more designated towards my high school and college years. I also have a bin designated to my husband and I which contains wedding memorabilia, old cards, pictures etc.

I have a bin for each of my children. This is a great place to store items from when they were babies and young children. You can organize it by year of age or by grade in school.

The options are endless when it comes to how to categorize your memorabilia bins, the point is to have a place for these items to go. No longer the days of wondering what and where the ticket stubs from your favorite concert should go!

You can use any kind of organizing bin, clear or solid, depending on preference. I do recommend labeling the bins, so you are not wasting time opening them up and figuring out who’s who. You could even color code the bins to recognize which one belongs to whom.

Knowing you have a system will make organizing a lot easier!

Happy Organizing!

ADD Friendly Tips To Deal With Clutter!

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Nikki in ADD / ADHD, Blog, Getting Started, Home Organizing, Office Organizing

Getting organized is a challenge for a lot of people, and this is especially true for my ADD/ADHD clients. They know what they need to do, they want to do it, but so many other things get in the way. It causes stress in many aspects of their lives.

I have put together a few ADD Friendly Tips to conquer your clutter…. You may not be able to implement all of them at once, and you may find some ideas work better for you than others. That is OK… this is a work in progress… all I ask is you try! If you want to change to happen, you have to be willing to try!

A few tips to consider when conquering your clutter:

Less is More – First thing’s first, when you are trying to clear clutter, you must first eliminate! When you have less, it’s much easier to stay organized. You don’t want to try and get organized without taking the time to go through your home and office and really evaluate what you need. Keep only the things that have value to you. I suggest you tackle one small area at a time. You will see faster progress, which will motivate you to keep going. It also takes away the overwhelm when you know you are only working one small space and not the whole house.

Purchase with Purpose – Think before you buy, and when you do buy, decide where the item will go in your home. Every item needs to have a permanent home. Place a note in your wallet as a reminder, place it in front of your debit or credit card. Think before you buy. When bringing something new in the home, take something out. This is often called the “In and Out” rule. It will help eliminate accumulating too much stuff.

Make the Homes Convenient and Easy – If you make your filing system too complicated, you will never file. If your kitchen is set up in a way that it is inconvenient to put pots and pans away, it won’t happen, and if it does happen it will not have any order to it. It’s important to organize your belongings the way you use them and in the easiest way. Even if doesn’t make sense to the rest of the world, it needs to make sense to you.

Organize Just Enough – This is so important for the ADDer…. Don’t strive for perfection. Set up a system that works good enough for you. The goal is to be able to find what you need when you need it. This can be in the form of a pile, it does not have to be in a perfect labeled box or bin. When things get lost, which they will, take note of it, and build a system around it. Awareness is the first step towards change!

Happy Organizing!

Dealing with Overwhelm!

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Nikki in ADD / ADHD, Blog, Getting Started, Home Organizing, Office Organizing, Productivity

“I feel so overwhelmed!

This is by far one of the most common statements I hear when working with the clients. Sometimes the clutter around us feels so suffocating it just stops us, stops us from doing anything. Mainly because people don’t really know what to do.

In our podcast this week we talk about how to make organizing a goal. There are some great tips on how to turn an idea into action! If you are dealing with overwhelm and want to make a change, I highly suggest you listen to this podcast. It will give you the guidance you need to get started.

For this post, I want to focus on just getting around the overwhelming feelings you may have and how to break down theses barriers.

Tips on Dealing with the Overwhelm:

Look Forward – We all have different reasons why clutter accumulates. Often times, there are circumstances in our lives and organization just simply got placed on the back burner. You can’t change yesterday, but you do have control of your present and what you do today. You allow yourself to move forward by setting goals and visualizing what the future has in store for you.

One Day at a Time – As much as we want to set timelines and visualize our future, I understand that this can also be overwhelming. It’s important to set goals but there is a fine line in not getting to carried away with the future. Once your goals our in place, now think, one day at a time. What can you do today to get you closer to your goals?

Have a Support System in Place – Getting organized and living an organized lifestyle is not easy. It comes natural for some, but for others it is a constant struggle. Having a support system in place makes a difference in getting through the bad days. Sometimes all you need is a cheerleader and someone to help you through the process. This support system can come from family, friends, a professional organizer, or an ADD Coach. TCO’s mission is to offer this service to our clients who need extra help.

Don’t Give Up – As with any new habit or change in your life, there will be times where it won’t seem so worth it anymore. I see many projects which get started but never get completed. Take the time you need to reflect and get your energy back, but I encourage you to keep trying. Start again tomorrow. Start in small steps, believe in yourself and never give up.

Happy Organizing!

Year in Review!

Posted on December 28, 2011 by Nikki in ADD / ADHD, Blog, Home Organizing, Office Organizing, Paper Management, Staying Organized

Over the course of the year, TCO’s blog covers many subjects. From how to get started, conquering clutter once and for all, working with your ADD/ADHD, and so much more. It is a pleasure to bring you ideas and tips on how to live an organized life!

Take Control Organizing has seen some changes this year, most notably a new look on the web and a new service, ADD Coaching. I feel so blessed and honored to help others. Whether I worked with you personally or maybe you received a tip from the blog or a podcast which motivated you to get started, my hope is it makes a difference.

Thank you for being a part of this community!

I look forward to everything 2012 has to offer!

Here are a few of my favorite posts from the year:

Top 5 Reasons to Clear Your Clutter

Three Essential Steps to Stay Organized

5 Tips to Make Sure You’re Never Late

5 Secrets of Organized People

The Top 2 Things You Need to Get Organized

Why Getting Organized is Not Enough

Clear the Paper

Paper Piles That Work

Weekly Menu Planning

Ask These Questions Before You Organize

Beating Procrastination

Setting Your Priorities

Gratitude

Deciding To Let Go

Financial Papers – What to Keep!

Happy New Year and of course Happy Organizing!

Tips For Holiday Baking!

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Nikki in Blog, Holidays, Home Organizing

Sugar Cookies remind me of my Christmas. My family used to bake Christmas trees every year with green frosting and red hots! Yumm!

For many of us baking is a tradition for the holidays. Whether you are just baking one batch of cookies or several, a little planning and organization can go a long way!

Here are a few tips and suggestions to help simplify your baking:

Decide Recipes – Go through cookbooks and old recipes and decide what you want to bake this year. Many of us have staple recipes but you may want to experiment and try something new. One of my favorite websites to visit for new ideas is allrecipes.com. When deciding on recipes, read through the instructions and think about how complicated the recipes are and how much time you have to put towards your baking. Some recipes are much more complicated than others, keep things simple.

Make a List – Once you have the recipes, it’s time to decide how many batches of cookies and candy you need to make. Make a list of the people you will be sharing with and think about party’s and other get togethers. Determine how much is enough.

Check your current inventory – With recipes in hand, check out what ingredients you already have. It’s helpful to lay everything out on a table. Look at expiration dates and quantities of items. After you look at your current inventory, make your grocery list. Use the TCO Meal Planning worksheets to help you!

Use Coupons – Save money this season and use your coupons. Dig out the Sunday’s paper , go online and do a little comparison shopping, .50 doesn’t seem like much of a savings until you start adding all the coupons up and realize what a difference it really can make.

Plan Your Day – If you are cooking several recipes, do a little planning before and figure out what order you will baking what recipes. This is a good thing to keep in mind, especially if you are fighting over one oven or if certain ingredients need refrigerated and so forth.

Lay it out - On a table, lay out all of your ingredients and measuring / cooking tools. Get everything out at once. This will save time and frustration shuffling through drawers when the oven timer is going off. Have everything ready to go. There will be a lot of the same ingredients used in different recipes, however, on the table I recommend separating the recipes with its own special ingredients. Just to keep the organization and flow going.

Clean up as you go – On of the best cooking tips I received was from Rachel Ray, she has a garbage bowl she places on the counter when she is cooking. Egg shells, wrappers, paper etc, go into this bowl, when it’s full, empty. This really does save time from having to make several trips to the garbage can.

Music / Entertainment – I always do my baking with either Christmas music in the background or I will put on one of my favorite holiday movies. It makes the process fun and festive!

Enjoy the Holidays!

Happy Organizing!