The concept that a to-do list could be a bad thing had never occurred to me before I became a Professional Organizer. The people I meet who are struggling with disorganization have them. I had one. Organized people have them, so how can it be a bad thing?

First of all, having a to-do list is very different from completing one. I have clients who have many to-do lists, just none that are actually completed.

Here are a couple of questions to ask yourself:

Is it for show? There is no award for having the most items on your to-do list because if there was, I would have gotten it back in my cluttered, chaotic and disorganized days!

Is it something you know you should have but don’t know how to make it work? (this should be taught in school, don’t feel bad)

Are you using it as a form of self defeating punishment to remind you of all the things you didn’t do?

Secondly, the list can either energize or beat you down.

Is your list making life easier or are you completely burdened by it?

So, this isn’t about what side of the bed you get out on every morning. This is a follow up to a blog I did on why it’s important to make your bed, Making your bed is the path to living organized. That particular blog post triggered a variety of reactions from the readers. The interesting part for me is what I am about to share with you in this follow up. So, if you would like to go back and read the original that might provide you with a little more background.

As a mom, I am continuously humbled by my children and I believe that is a good thing. Once I got past the ego within, I could actually use this to be a better mom and it shows my kids that I don’t have all the answers. The problem is that my ego likes to rear its ugly head from time to time.

This week I realized that both of my teenage sons were making their beds. I shamelessly gave myself a pat on the back for nagging them into this change in routine. Thinking I would be a good mom and praise them for this new change in beh...

The reason I know that creating an organized system has no right way or wrong way is from personal experience. There are alot of books out there that explain why this  method of organizing is superior to another method and THE ANSWER for everyone. I realized that each of these authors had a different approach to organizing and it didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. This led me to the conclusion that there is no one answer. It is an individual process that can only be defined by me which will in turn lead to a lifestyle change. The organizing process is dependent upon each individual and their learning style along with physical ability and motivation coupled with the space being organized. This creates a customized organizing system that will provide for easy maintenance and sustainability. The process of organizing a space can be broken down into steps that are able to be used in every area. I will not go into those here.

Understanding learning styles goes a long way in the creati...

The holidays for me are exciting, I’ve always been enamoured from Thanksgiving through Christmas with all of the sights, sounds and smells. Once the fall decorations go up in late September we didn’t see the actual home decor until after New Year. It was pretty and lifted life up out of the ordinary.

As I’ve been on my own organizing journey as well as accompanied countless others, I started to find myself less thrilled with all of the stuff related to the holidays. It seemed to hit me when I went into a home of a client with loads of bins and boxes of holiday decorations-all holidays. There was another organizing project that I was working on that affected the way I look at the decorations and the holidays now. This particular client had a complete set of very expensive Christmas China along with an extensive collection of expensive holiday decor. The client had been holding on to all of this in hopes of passing it on to her children. Sadly, the children had no interest in them. All ...

As I was reaching a milestone birthday, I decided I really wanted to challenge myself. So, 28 days before my birthday I began a quest. I actually gave myself not one but two challenges. These are challenges I would not have been able to entertain prior to living organized. The first challenge was to do 50 pushups and the second challenge was to say 50 prayers/day.

The significance of 50 was related to my birthday. Yep, I turned 50! This is hardly noteworthy because people have milestone birthdays every day. To me, it was a big deal and I wanted to prove to myself that I can do anything that I put my mind to. Saying 50 prayers a day is a lot but I knew that wouldn’t be as hard as the other challenge because I pray every morning anyway. Being a Catholic I knew where to go to say 50 prayers, the Rosary. I pray daily but am not consistent with praying the Rosary. The Rosary is a beautiful way to honor the Virgin Mary. It was a practice or discipline I really wanted to grow in.

Now, the p...

Show of hands, do you make your bed? Well, that’s pretty silly because I can’t see you! What if I told you that making your bed can make you organized and more productive? Do I have your attention?

In a Commencement speech given by U.S. Navy Adm. William McCrave at the University of Texas, he told the graduates, “ if you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.”

This made me think of the correlation between making your bed and living organized. To live organized is to find order in your life. One of the most basic places to find order is in the start to your day. This one act leads to other good habits. Making the bed changes the entire feel of the room. Who knows, today you make your bed and next you’re putting away the laundry sitting at the foot of the bed. This is really one of those areas that very few people will see. You see it, your mind sees it and this is where the mind shift happens. After all, making your bed is the first step to decluttering. Clutter is th...

I want to share with you how I got caught up in the economy of distraction and how I got myself out of it. It all began with a day recently that I completely accomplished nothing. This was an unexpected gift of FREE time that I wasted! If you own a business then you know there really isn’t free time, there is always something to do. One thing I want to point out is that I coach clients on using their time. You would think I would be able to prevent this myself! It is likely that I missed this because I was too close to the situation. On this particular day, my husband came home and in his very sweet way asked about my day. As I reflected on what I had done that day, I actually couldn’t come up with anything significant. I had spent time social media surfing, looking online for nothing in particular and looking at my 3 email accounts without actually answering them. I had even started the laundry but didn’t finish that either! I was pretty much distracted in every area of my life: praye...

When tragedy strikes such as a natural disaster, theft, illness or even death, the last thing you want to worry about is if you can find everything you need. The problem is that most of us don’t want to think about horrible things happening. The reality is that they do happen and death escapes no one.

Are you prepared? This is a great question to start with. With a little preparation and planning you can feel better about the unknown. You may need other family members to take care of you or your affairs and this is going to really be helpful to them. The last thing anyone wants to do in the event of an emergency is to sift through papers. Preparation is the key to making this a little less stressful.

Let’s take a look at how to prepare.

Step 1 is to gather the following:

-Insurance policies & contact info

-Bank accounts & contact info (including investment and retirement)

-list of monthly debts & contact info

-passports

-original social security card

-health insurance cards

-...

Living balanced is a topic near and dear to my heart. It is the place I am at my best. It is found in the mind, body and spirit. It took me a long time to figure out why I was struggling with myself and my relationships. The imbalance I had in my mind, body and spirit did not lead me to being my best version of me.

Living balanced does not mean your mind, body and spirit must be divided equal, that might be impossible. Nor does it mean that life is perfect, that too, would be impossible. The point of living in balance is knowing what you need to be the best version of you.

Think of the mind, body and spirit as ratios. There may be times when you are 60% mind, 20% body and 20% spirit. If you are feeling like you are at your best with these ratios then you are living balanced. The problem may come in if you live this way all the time. Tuning into what makes you and then figuring out what makes you better is a great benefit to living balanced. After a period of time living with a focus ...

November is a special month to slow down and count your blessings. 

This mindful process helps to make the month even more meaningful.
You can do these by yourself or with your family.

1. A family Gratitude sheet
This is a really great way to get everyone involved and focused on being thankful. By keeping this in a central location in your home everyone gets to share in the gratitude. Don’t forget your out of town guests, they can join in too! When the month is over, the paper goes into the memento keeper for the family scrap book.

Supplies:
A tablet of paper
Pen ( if you have little ones, they can use pictures instead of writing, in which case you will need glue)

2. A gratitude board is a more creative way to display what you are thankful for in picture form. You can choose to build on it as the month progresses or make it all at once. Plan to have it in a place
people can see it.

Supplies needed:
Cork board, dry erase board, poster board or anything else of that size
Pictures of all ...