Everyone has an unmatched sock pile, don’t you? I do. How did we get it? How long do we keep it? The questions for me are endless. I do think there is some secret connection between washing machine manufacturers and sock companies! (Conspiracy 101!) Think about the time it takes to go through that sock pile and try with a positive attitude to match up all the socks to only match a couple! It’s like being on an emotional roller coaster. Let’s face it,  it’s another chore. One we aren’t likely to put on the chore list.  It probably gets attention only when someone is looking for socks, at least that is how it works in our home.

The fad for some is to wear mismatched socks which is a good thing if you are under the age of 18 and a female.  As an adult, I am not sure that is a professional look for the workplace! I actually saw Amazon selling mismatched socks, can you imagine? Who would pay for that? In a short amount of time, you will have your very own pair through the process of doing ...

Can you feel it? The weather is warming up and the robins are hanging out all over the yard. Spring must be here or at least in close proximity. Watching my children play lacrosse in the yard tells me it is here.

For me, this means I no longer have my evenings free or Saturdays and there is lots to coordinate on a daily basis. I am not complaining, just stating the facts. I’ve learned the hard way how to make this less painful on myself. I use to run myself ragged and fed my family junk. This was my situational disorganization. I couldn’t keep up with household tasks not to mention have a social life. Not anymore, I have developed my “ A” game.

The 1st thing I do is get it on the calendar. For example, just today my 7th grader’s schedule for lacrosse came out so I marked the calendar and then added it to my phone. I like a 2 step system. It helps solidify it in my brain!! My high schooler’s schedule I have a rough idea of so I mark off that time on the calendar as well. The only thin...

I have been sick for the last 3 weeks, some days I’ve been more functional than others.

The nasty sinus infection that just wouldn’t leave had really taken a toll on my body. Living with a  foggy head made it tough to be on my “A” game which is what I must be every single day as a wife, mom and business owner. Good thing I have systems in place so I don’t have to worry about it so much.

My family stepped up and proved themselves quite helpful. They followed the systems and life ran smoothly around the Illig house.

Do you have a system in your home? You probably do and really didn’t think about it in that sense.

I’ll share with you some of the systems in place in our home….

1.    A schedule-it’s an outline how the day could go if everything goes as planned. It starts with waking up and goes to bedtime. I make sure we build in time for the unexpected as best we can. Even if the unexpected happens just having a schedule allows us to cope with it in a less stressful way.

2.    Menu- ...

The 1st month of 2017 has gone by, what do you have to show for it?

It’s an honest question. Were you able to stick to your goal(s) for the New Year?

If you haven’t,  no worries! That’s right…I said, NO WORRIES! I am not here to make you feel bad about yourself.

Here’s what I want to tell you…it’s February and not too late for you to make changes, set goals, whatever you need to do to become the Best YOU!

All I want you to think about is WHY…

Why do you want to accomplish that goal?

Why do you need to make this change?

Why haven’t you thought about becoming the BEST you?

Addressing the “why” is the key to success. I learned this myself. I needed to figure out my “why” in my fitness/wellness plan for the New Year. I had already fallen short by the 2nd week of January. It wasn’t looking good. One morning I was reading my daily inspiration and came across something talking about the “why”. A light bulb went on, achieving my daily fitness/wellness plan became a lot easier once I ...

I was recently reflecting on why closets seem to be the most common space people would like organized.

For me, having been a closet clutterer I think the closet is where we hide everything about ourselves. Yep, by closing that door, we’ve hidden it or have we??????

Maybe, you’ve hidden purchases from your significant other? You don’t want them to know you are a “shopper”. “No, it’s not new…I’ve had this a long time.” Sound familiar?

Perhaps you just don’t want to face how much money you’ve spent on shoes or clothes? It’s easy to throw it in the closet and pretend you didn’t buy anything!

Has a weight gain caused you to buy another size to add to that closet? I see clients with a lot of sizes in their closet. This is in hopes of getting back to the smallest size. Now, chances are that if you are carrying more than a 4 size range in your closet you are not going to wear these clothes you’ve hung onto. Of course not…you are going out to buy new stuff to celebrate your weight loss. Mor...

"Help! I'm drowning in here and very overwhelmed!", this is a common statement I hear from so many clients. For many of us a home office doesn't have to be a room all its own. It may be as simple as a space in the kitchen to a larger room devoted to being a home office. As an organizer, I generally see the dysfunctional home office. 

Why is the home office such a challenge????

-It's the perfect storm of paper...

So many categories of paper ending up in this one place creates the perfect storm!

-You may not be alone...

Your office space may be in a high traffic area allowing access to everyone in your house. That's alot of extra paper!

-May have more paper than space...

Sometimes these areas end up overwhelmed by the amount of paper and the limited amount of space! Is a purge in order???

-No system in place...

The method of piling paper on a desk is the only "organizing" there is! How do you find what you are looking for??

Creating a system that works for you is not as hard as...

The nice thing about an organizing retreat is that it creates in you a sense of urgency. I know many people like working with a deadline or shall I say working up to the deadline!

You can even share this with a friend and both of you work on this. It’s easier to have someone hold you accountable and celebrate with. Don’t you agree? 

An organizing retreat is a nice way to get 5 simpler projects done in a concentrated amount of time. For this retreat I recommend picking projects that would take you no longer than 15 minutes. If you’ve never organized your space before you definitely need to start here! For the more advanced, I still recommend 15 minute projects because we all need some maintenance from time to time.

Notify the people you live with so they don’t think you’ve lost your mind! One of the things my family liked was coming home to find what I had done that day. I never told them, I just let them figure it out.

How to pick the projects? Go through your house and find the ar...

Well, I am not a fitness expert I am an expert in helping people live more organized lives. One thing I’ve noticed is that most of my clients lack some sort of exercise program. When I started on my organizing journey one of things that sustained me was my workout.  I want to show you why there is a direct correlation between the two.

Benefits of working out:

1.    Clarity of thought

2.    Positive energy

3.    Improves physical ability

4.    Reverses the effects of stress

5.    Builds self esteem

These are some of the bigger benefits. Of course, there are many more but I want to make that connection between exercise and living organize for you.

1.    Clarity of thought

Studies have told us that even mild physical activity helps keep our brains fit. 

How does this lead to living an organized life?

Clear thinking leads to better decision making. This is everything from how we spend our time, what we need to accomplish each day to what we eat and what we buy. Do I need to buy ...

Each year when my children go back to school it takes me back too. Not only do I go back to where my children were the year before but I also take myself back to my days in school. Not college, goodness couldn’t do that to myself again! I like going back to the K-12 years.

For me, it was all about what new outfit was I going to wear and the squeaky shoes on the newly waxed floors of the school. There is always that buzz of excitement when you realize who your teachers are. It’s almost electric!!! I really like new school supplies. There is just something about the untouched points on the crayons along with the brand new erasers on the pencils. Then there’s all of the blank pages in my notebooks just waiting for me to write all of my answers and thoughts into. Just writing this takes me back!

Now, I have 2 boys left at home and they could care less about all of that! They do like me to help them organize their binders with the tab dividers. For me, back to school now means getting my ...

Patriotism and inspiration are in the air….

I was watching the Olympics with my family last night, which truly inspires me. I feel like I can achieve ANYTHING when I see the athletes push through to do their very best. Don’t you? Well, this got me thinking….what if we were to think of our homes as an Olympic venue? What if we could host at least 5-10 events in a 2 week period just like the Olympic

What would that look like?

For me, it would look something like this…

Sprinting through lots of 15 minute projects

This is a good place to start unless you are an expert.

By tackling one or more of these a day you’ll be in shape like an athlete!

-dresser drawers

-junk drawers

-spice cabinet

-medicine cabinet

-cupboards ( 1 at a time)

-bookcase 

What you want to look for is anything expired, no longer wanted, no longer useful or you just don’t want it. Then you want to make the space more functional for YOU. You may add organizing accessories once you are finished.  

Marathon ...