Latest Blog Posts
Where are those 2 special boxes?
When you are moving pack 2 boxes that has everything you need for moving day and the first night. Keep these 2 boxes with you and not in the moving truck. These boxes should include:
- Glasses – plastic or glass for drinks or water.
- A roll of paper towels
- A roll of toilet paper for each bathroom
- A bar of soap or container of liquid soap for the bathroom
- A hand towel in the bathroom
- Dishcloth, dish soap and tea towel for cleaning dishes that maybe dusty from moving
- Sheets for the bed and pillows so you can go to sleep at the end of a long day moving in
- Towels for a shower and basic cosmetics to clean up after the move
- Chargers for your phone, tablet and computer
It is handy to pack a pail of basic cleaning supplies so you can do a quick clean before things are unpacked. Bring:
- Cloths
- All purpose cleaning supplies
- Broom and dust pan
- Mop
- Pack it all in a pail
With these things easily accessible you can clean up and get a good nights rest before you continue to unpack and make your new place a home.
Harold Taylor’s, Taylor Time Newsletter June 2015 gave this great advice on storage space. I hope you enjoy it.
If you have more drawer space in your dressers and cabinets than you need, the number of items stored there will increase to fill the space available (Parkinson’s Law).
When you sort through your belongings and donate or scrap the sweaters, blouses, scarves and other clothing items you never use, re-purpose the drawer for those non-clothing items that are causing your closets and other storage areas to overflow. You are re-purposing when you use closet hangar space to hang a shoe holder to free up floor space, or when you remove the bottom shelves of a linen closet to store your golf clubs or use a kitchen drawer to house your toolkit. Don’t feel that you have to use all storage areas for the purpose they were originally intended.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, virtually using Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situation. She uses her love of teaching to reduce clutter, in your home, office, mind and time. She guides and supports you to be accountable for your time, to complete projects and reach your goals. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Click here to learn more about her online course Create an Organized Home.
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
Click here to learn more about working with a Professional Organizer.
Harold Taylor is a time management specialist. This article appears in his June 2015 Taylor Time newsletter. Contact him to get on his mailing list and receive other great information on organizing time and space. Harold Taylor Time Consultants Inc | info@taylorintime.com
Slow decision-making wastes time, as do spur-of-the-moment decisions, which usually result in costly and time-
consuming mistakes. But the worst thing you can do is procrastinate in decision-making. Napoleon Hill, the author of Think and Grow Rich, once conducted a survey of successful people and found all of them were decisive. Don’t be afraid of being wrong. We learn from our mistakes; but if we do nothing, we neither accomplish anything nor learn anything.
Delay until you have enough information, but don’t wait until you have all the information. If you have all the information, the course of action becomes a foregone conclusion: no real decision is necessary. Have the courage to make decisions with only 70% to 80% of the facts. When you have mulled over the facts and considered, the alternatives, sleep on it. Decisions are usually better after a good night’s sleep.
Spend time in proportion to the importance of the decision. For instance, don’t waste a lot of time discussing the menu for the staff Christmas party. The decision to close down an operation or expand the product line warrants a greater expenditure of that costly commodity called time. Make minor decisions quickly. If the consequence of the decision is not important, it is not worth much of your valuable time.
If the decision is yours alone to make, and you seem to get bogged down in the process and get frustrated by your lack of progress, it’s frequently faster, in the long run, to leave the problem for a short period of time. Work on some unrelated jobs for a few hours or even a few days and then tackle the problem anew. The change in pace will revitalize your thinking. But delay it only once or you will be tempted to procrastinate.
Always make short-term decisions with long-term objectives in mind. Don’t make a band-aid decision that solves the immediate problem, but results in time-consuming problems further down the road.
And above all, don’t waste time on past decisions. Instead of saying “If only I had done such and such,” say instead, “Next time I will ..”
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, virtually using Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situation. She uses her love of teaching to reduce clutter, in your home, office, mind and time. She guides and supports you to be accountable for your time, to complete projects and reach your goals. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Click here to learn more about her online course Create an Organized Home.
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/53326337@N00/4473565014″>Well, that’s perplexing…</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/”>(license)</a>
There are many networking groups available to business people to make connections with potential clients and 
businesses. Groups meet for breakfast, lunch or supper. Some groups have an educational component. Most networking groups are based on building relationships with the members of the group so to be successful choose a group that you can attend regularly for two years. If you are looking for a networking group go to the Meetup.com site to find a group in your area.
Some people do find that they don’t have enough time in their day to exercise. Here are 2 ways to combine networking and exercise.
1. Netwalking – Instead of meeting for a coffee, meet while walking. During the good weather walk outside during cooler weather, walk inside on a track, at a mall or along hallways. Most malls open early and have mall walking programs.
2. Sweatworking – Fitness clubs are starting networking groups. In this environment, you naturally have a common interest, health and exercise. This is a more relaxed atmosphere to build relationships with other networkers. Here is a great article describing sweat working. http://www.forbes.com/sites/learnvest/2015/06/01/sweatworking-the-new-way-to-advance-your-career/2/
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, virtually using Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situation. She uses her love of teaching to reduce clutter, in your home, office, mind and time. She guides and supports you to be accountable for your time, to complete projects and reach your goals. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Click here to learn more about her online course Create an Organized Home.
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
It starts again on July 1, 2015
You may remember that in April I had joined the Ultimate Blogging Challenge where you blog everyday for a month. I started out great for the first 10 days feeling like I had some fun content. The suggestions they sent as part of the resources where somewhat helpful. I had forgot about blogging about books. They suggested blogging about fun days and so I talked about the world figure skating chapionships. However as time went on my business got very busy and I felt like I didn’t have interesting content so I blogged less. I am glad I tried this experiment because:
1. It is not for me, once a week is a good time frame for me. I can keep up with the schedule and I have content I am proud to share
2. I discovered that my new blog had not been set up the way I thought and articles were not being shared with my social media sites. Since I was blogging regularly I notice the change and got it corrected.
3.I received 30 different ideas for blogging. Most were personal rather than business topics but they are excellent for brainstorming new ideas and new approaches to blogging.
So overall I think the experiment was valuable. Give it a try, it starts again on July 1, 2015 and let me know how it went for you.
At the National Home Show in Toronto I learned about this great product for the do-it-yourself photo people. Oceans Sales Ltd is based in Calgary, Alberta sells a box that contains 3 frames, 3 4A letter printable canvas, canvas tape and instructions. You take the picture, print the picture and mount it in the frame. In just a short time you can have your pictures hanging on your wall. The product is called photo2canvas http://www.oceansales.ca/our-products/wellness-leisure/smart-living-photo-gallery-kit.html
This award winning frame system allows you to create your own professional quality canvas printed from your home printer using “Living hinge frame technology” and your own digital photos.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, in person and virtually. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situation. She uses her love of physical activity to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you to manage your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Click here to learn more about her online course Create an Organized Home.
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
On April 10, 2015 I had the opportunity to attend the World Championship Synchronized Skating Championships in Hamilton, ON Canada. It was an event that I just decided to go to a the last minute. It was a fantastic evening. There were 25 teams of 16 skaters, females and males, from 20 countries . Canada, Finland, Russia and Sweden were represented by 2 teams each. Two surprising countries in the competition where Mexico and Turkey.
I watched the short program for each of the 25 teams. A routine may consist of:
- straight line sequences,
- wheels,
- block pattern where they travel in a square or diamond pattern across the ice ,
- circle step sequences,
- spins in unison,
- pass through where 1 lines pass through the other line and
- many of the skating elements you have seen in other skating competitions.
It very exciting to be part of the crowd when the Canadian teams entered the arena and the crowd went wild. If you have a chance to go to a World Championship Competition for any sport go out and support the participants. I knew nothing about Synchronized Skating, I learned a lot and had a great time. The Pan Am games are coming Toronto Canada you have a chance to learn a lot and have a great time too.
Block formation
A lovely spiral
Line Skating Pattern
When I was at the National Home show in Toronto last month I stopped by the Straga Products booth. www.stragaproducts.com They make lovely wooden cutting boards that can be personalized. They make great presents for weddings, birthdays, client appreciation, etc. What would you have written on your cutting board?
Personalized cutting boards make a great gift
What is a virtual assistant?
Virtual Assistants are professionals that supply businesses with help in areas where the owner can’t or doesn’t want to do certain tasks. This allows the owner to do the work that they are good at and hire a Virtual Assistant for as many hours as they need or can afford.
Who is Janet Barclay?
Janet Barclay of Organized Assistant www.organizedassistant.com is a fantastic Virtual Assistant. She specializes in website design and social media. She designed my first website 13 years ago and redesign my new responsive WordPress website. She takes care of hosting the site and letting me know what directories I might want my site on in addition to the directories she has already used. She is a wealth of information and will answer my questions quickly and clearly.
An Organized Assistant can help you virtually all the time
Need blogging help?
She also is a blogger. She runs Blogging Organizers for, yes, Professional Organizers who blog and Professional Organizers Blog Carnival. This blog has a different topic each month and contains lots of information for the public, submitted by Professional Organizers. Her current topic is Organizing Basements and Attics http://organizedassistant.com/organizing-basements-and-attics-professional-organizers-blog-carnival/ She helps the industry and Professionals Organizer become better known to the public. If you are in a specific industry, look at her blogs and how she is helping the industry to grow, increasing her visibility and helping other people in the industry. It is a great model to explore if you want to become a leader in your industry and love blogging.
Website design
Janet is a website design and website maintenance virtual organizer. She helps you take care of your website so it is backed up, virus free, has good SEO and is updated regularly.
There are many Virtual Assistants who each specialize in different areas such as,
- bookkeeping,
- social media,
- webcast videos,
- and specific software programs. etc.
Janet facilitates the Golden Horseshoe Virtual Assistants Association www.GHVA.ca. Check out this site if you need help virtually all the time.
Let me know in the comments what tasks you hire out to a virtual assistant.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, in person and virtually. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situation. She uses her love of physical activity to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you to manage your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Click here to learn more about her online course Create an Organized Home.
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
If you are interested in starting your own home based business, how to start a home-based…. is a great series of books. They contain information about the field of business, clients and practical materials such as forms. Some of the books in this series are Computer Repair Business, Personal Chef Business, Interior Design Business and Professional Organizing Business.
Great series of books for information on how to start a business
how to start a home-based Professional Organizing Business has sections on:
- helping you to decide if Professional Organizing is for you,
- setting up your office,
- finding and working with clients,
- products and
- forms
For approximately $20.00 you will have enough information to confidently start your business. The book contains a script for the first phone conversation with a new client. This is very helpful, especially with your very first client. It has sections on setting your rate and a number of different ways to charge along with the pros and cons of each way. The book lists a number of ways to market your business.
Chapters on skills to be a competent organizer.
Along with the business side of professional organizing, half the book contains skills and information a person needs to be a competent organizer. It teaches the psychology of clutter, why areas become disorganized, how to declutter a space and products to use to organize a client.
Forms
The section containing forms is very helpful and they are easy to customize to your own business. There are assessment forms, invoices, mileage records, marketing planning sheets etc.
This book is written by Professional Organizer Dawn Noble. It is easy to read and use.
If you want to start a business see if this series contains a book that could help you be successful.
If you want to talk about becoming a Professional Organizer contact me, I would love to chat with you.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, in person and virtually. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situation. She uses her love of physical activity to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you to manage your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Click here to learn more about her online course Create an Organized Home.
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
