1. Have a drawer for each person who uses the bathroom to store his or her toiletries and cosmetics. If you don’t have the space to store items in the bathroom, give each person a basket to transport their things to the bathroom from his or her bedroom, where the basket is stored.
2. Purchase under-sink storage shelves or baskets to make good use of this under-utilized area.
Find a shelf or stacking baskets to use under the sink
3. If medications are stored in the bathroom, safely store them where small children can’t gain access.
4. Store cleaning supplies safely, out of the reach of children, nearby so you can do quick cleans ups.
5. Add hooks or towel bars to the walls or over-the-door racks/hooks to hang and dry towels after use. Not enough room in the bathroom? Install hooks or bars in the bedrooms. This will keep towels off the floor, neat and clean.
Swing out towels bars provide space between each towel so they can dry quickly
Here is a link to a lovely informatic from Modern Bathroom to help you have a visual of organizing a bathroom.
If you need help organizing your bathroom book a 30 minute complimentary virtual assessment.
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, office, mind and time. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Bring lots of hangers, you can never have enough. It is a great way to make new friends by sharing the extra hangers.
Buy thin hangers because the closet space is limited
Use a second hanging bar to make more room in the closet
1. Store your clothes in the closet. Double your hanging space by purchasing a lower hanging bar. Add an extra shelf up high in the closet to store off-season items mitts, hats.
2. Under-bed storage containers are very helpful for sports equipment, food, laundry detergent, musical instruments, etc
3. Use vertical space to add more storage. There are many types of carts with drawers which can be used to store school supplies, cosmetics, food etc.
4. Use the inside of the bedroom and closet doors to hang items. Over-the-door rack and hook products accommodate coats, clothes, etc
Lots of hooks can be very useful
Use the space on the front and inside of the doors
5. There are many pocket style items that hang from the closet bar. Buy one or a shelf for shoes to use to double the shoe space storage.
6. Make sure anything you buy is returnable because you won’t exactly what you need until you get there.
Need some help planning your move book a 30 minute complimentary appointment to get help planning the space in your new room.
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 enjoys working with her clients to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situation. She reduces clutter, streamlines processes and manages time to help her clients be more effective in reaching their goals. Julie can coach you to break-free of the physical or emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms.
Controlling the clutter at the entrance to your home can be a nightmare. With many people using the same area and all having different organizing styles clutter can develop. Together decide on what will be stored near the doorway and how it will be stored. When everyone knows the plan, everyone can participate in keeping the entranceway clutter-free.
1. A place for coats
Place hooks low enough that everyone can hang up his or her own coats, sweaters, and jackets.
2. A spot for bags and backpacks
Establish a space that can be reached without help for each person’s backpack or gym bag. This could be a shelf, cupboard or hook.
Organizing Backpacks
3. Use vertical space
Have enough space near the entrance for shoes that are used regularly. Buy stackable shoe racks and use vertical space efficiently. Footwear worn occasionally should be stored elsewhere and brought out as needed.
4. Use the inside of doors
Have a place for seasonal hats, gloves and scarves. A hanging shoe organizer is ideal for this purpose. Put regularly-worn hats, scarves and pairs of gloves into the pockets, where you can easily see each item and quickly select what you need. Storing hats, mitts and scarves directly with a jacket also helps to keep everything together. During the warmer months put sunscreen, insect repellent, sunglasses and hats in the pockets
Use a shoe organizer for hats baseball caps gloves sunglasses
5. Have a collection basket
Have a basket to collect mail, newspapers, schoolwork as you come in the door. It will keep all the paperwork in one place and you can easily take the basket to your work area to sort it and deal with items quickly.
Samsill Pop,n Store Container
6. Collect garbage and recycling
Do you need a garbage can and recycling bin near the entranceway? Some people do and some people don’t. It helps to keep the area clean. Garbage from the car, a backpack, gym bag or snack can be easily tidied up and not left lying around. I saw this wastebasket with 4 compartments on one of my trips.
7. Protect your personal property
It is tempting to store keys, phones and purses near the door. Don’t do it. Find a more secure location for those items so no one picks them up and walks away with them when you’re distracted.
8. Have multi-use furniture
It is nice to have a place a person can sit to put on their shoes or boots. Have a stool that also has storage space. It can be a good place to put a blanket for sitting outside when it gets cool, cushions for chairs, small toys for children or pet supplies.
Nebel Foldable 15″ Tufted Square Storage Ottoman
9. Re-purpose furniture
Add a deacon’s bench, buffet, or dresser that is sitting around your home. Place it by your entranceway to provide additional storage with no additional cost.
Declutter your entranceway often. Place items back in their correct storage place, let go of items you no longer need, store off season items way from the entrance and remove garbage and recycling.
Book a virtual organizing appointment and work with Julie to get your entranceway working well for you. Click here for more information about Virtual organizing services
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 enjoys working with her clients to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situation. She reduces clutter, streamlines processes and manages time to help her clients be more effective in reaching their goals. Julie can coach you to break-free of the physical or emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms.
No matter how beautiful and organized your laundry area looks, if you don’t have a routine for getting laundry to the washer, into the dry and back to bedrooms you will still have a problem. These tips will help you establish a routine that will work in your household.
Collect the laundry
1. Keep a central collection area for your laundry close to where people change. The main bathroom, near the bedrooms, is often a good choice. Keep three hampers – one each for light, medium and dark-coloured clothing. Make sure everyone knows to empty pockets, because no one else is going to check. You may prefer to have each person have their own bin in their room.
Have everyone in the family sort their laundry and put it in the hamper.
2. Keep a stain remover nearby so that everyone can treat the stains on their own clothing. Children may need help with the most difficult, like blood. Use shampoo without conditioner on grease stains. Once stains are treated, fold the clothing to prevent stain remover from touching the hamper. Remember to place clothing in the correct laundry hamper.
Schedule time
3. Establish a day when the laundry will be washed. Clothing will need to be in the hamper and someone will bring it to the laundry room. You may need to establish a day or time for each member to do their own laundry.
Set timers
4. As you’re placing clothing into the washer or dryer set a time on your phone, stove, clock so you remember to switch the clothing to the dryer or take it out of the dryer. It is easy to forget that the washer or dryer has completed the cycle if it isn’t near where you are working. Then time passes and you didn’t get much laundry done that day, the clothing in the dryer is very wrinkled or the damp clothing has an unpleasant oder.Setting up routines makes it easier to accomplish tasks taking less energy and time to complete them Click To Tweet
Organize an area
5. Have a table or space available so you can fold and pile items as they are removed from the dryer. Making piles of clothing allows people to come and pick up their clothes and put them away. If you have small children in the home place their piles of clothing on their bed, pants, tops, underware, socks etc and help them to learn to put it away in the correct spot. It is a skill that will last them a life time.
6. Have a place to hang up clothes – a line, door hooks or a free-standing wire rack. Don’t spend your time folding clothes that get unfolded once they reach the bedroom. Hang them up straight out of the dryer.
7. Establish a laundry supply shelf or cupboard. Be sure to have a variety of supplies available so you can easily handle any stain – detergent, bleach, shampoo, stain remover, a bar of laundry soap – and quick hand-washing items. Include a basin so you can conveniently soak or hand wash items.
For tips and articles to help you organize your mind and space join Julie’s Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
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 enjoys working with her clients to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situation. She reduces clutter, streamlines processes and manages time to help her clients be more effective in reaching their goals. Julie can coach you to break-free of the physical or emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms.
Y0u might be using an app to help you plan your meals and make your grocery list or paper and pen. Here are a few tips to help you take that plan and make it happen. The easier it is to get the meal onto the table the less likely it is that you will eat out.
menu planning
1. Plan meals for a month or more and then repeat the plan.
2. Cook double portions so you can use the planned-overs on another day.
3. Have each family member participate in simple meal preparations that are age appropriate.
4. Cook together on weekends and prepare a number of meals for the week.
5. Partially prepare meat – dice it, brown it and then freeze it.
Share your best tip for making meal preparation easy.
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 enjoys working with her clients to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situation. She reduces clutter, streamlines processes and manages time to help her clients be more effective in reaching their goals. Julie can coach you to break-free of the physical or emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms.
It is a big change in lifestyle when students move home for the summer, for the students and the parents. Sometimes students think
What are your expectations?
It will be just like before I left
I will have the same responsibilities as I did living away from home
I am on vacation for 4 months
and so on…
Sometimes parents think
they have lived on their own so they should have no problem contributing around the home without being asked
now I have someone to help with all the work
things have changed and we do things differently now
and so on…
Each party in this living situation has different expectations so make a contract with each other so it is clear what the expectation are. My daughter presented me with some rules when she moved back home for a few months. She asked me to look at them and see if they were suitable and to add any rules. It made things very easy and simple because there were less misunderstanding.
Your contract/ agreement might cover the following ideas.
May I have the car?
Car
Who pays for gas?
When can they use it?
Do they have to ask to use the car or can they just take it?
Food/ Groceries
Who buys the groceries?
Who pays for the groceries?
Do you buy everything on the list?
Do you buy only the things you need from the list when you go shopping?
Cooking
Who cooks?
Who plans the meals?
Do you cook for everyone or only yourself?
What needs to be cleaned?
Kitchen
Who cleans up the kitchen?
What needs to be cleaned, floors counters, stove, sink?
Who does the dishes?
Who empties the dishwasher?
Schedule
Do you record your activities in a specific place, electronic or paper?
Do you need to tell where you are going and when you will be back?
Are there any activities you are expected to attend?
Laundry
Who is responsible for laundry ?
Cleaning
Who does the cleaning, is it a shared task?
This checklist of ideas makes it seem like working out an agreement will be a lot of work. The agreement only needs to cover areas that cause conflict, tension or have changed since the student last lived with you.
Our agreement looked like this:
Food
Make a contract / agreement with everyone in the family to reduce stress and misunderstandings
Buy groceries: give Mom the bill, buy everything on the list
Weekday meals: First one home cooks, Mom will try to plan the meals for the week
Car
Mom will pay for gas
Kitchen:
Clean and wipe counter and island and stove
No dishes in sink or on the counter, put them in the dishwasher before going to bed
Schedule:
Record your evening activities and times when you won’t be home for supper on the calendar
Politely and conversational let us know where you are going and when you plan on returning. This for safety reason, if you don’t return we need to know where and when to start looking for you
Tell me what items you put on your contract in the comments below.
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 enjoys working with her clients to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situation. She reduces clutter, streamlines processes and manages time to help her clients be more effective in reaching their goals. Julie can coach you to break-free of the physical or emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Remember to donate items to charity and not to put them in the garbage.
Being organized is not about being perfect.
Anyone can learn to be more organized. It is a set of skills that can be taught. Organization creates efficiency and effectiveness, making your life and surroundings perform optimally for you. When you start organizing remember these tips:
Accept your limitations on time, space, energy and money
Be consistent, do a little at a time on an on-going basis
Acknowledge your successes. Success breeds success motivating you to do more.
Take it one day at a time
How do I decide where to start?
I tell my clients:
to start with the space that is bothering them the most.
sometimes you may need to start in an area of your home that you are going to use for storage. Organizing that space first will give you more places to store items that need to be removed from other rooms.
How do I start?
Get some boxes and bags for :
garbage
recycling
things to go to other rooms – put them in a container and take them after you are done working in the space your are organizing. If you leave the room you might never return
things to be returned to other people – put them in a container and return them to the correct owner after you organizing time is over.
don’t buy organizing products – wait until you know what you are storing, where you are storing it, and how much you have to store. Then you can the best container to hold the items.
How to I get the room looking nice?
There are 5 steps to follow:
Step 1 Sort
Sort everything in the room into categories. The categories depend on what is in the room. You might have:
electronics
books
tools
computer items
dishes
food categories
cosmetics
paper supplies
Figure out the categories of things you have in your room and sort the things you can see and then work in the drawers and cupboards
Step 2 Part with items
Part with items you no longer need and donate them to charity
Step 3 Assign a home
Find the best place to store the item , close to where you use them and so you access them easily. Things you don’t use very often can be stored further away and in less accessible places.
Step 4 Containers
Now is the time to get the right container to store the items. Anything can be a container:
If you need some help with your organizing book a 50 minute break through organizing session . Click on the link to book your complimentary appointment, and speak with me to get helpful tips to get you unstuck. Organizing Break Through session
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 enjoys working with her clients to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situation. She reduces clutter, streamlines processes and manages time to help her clients be more effective in reaching their goals. Julie can coach you to break-free of the physical or emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms.
Scheduling helps everyone to understand what needs to be done and when it needs to be completed.
Weekly Agenda Page
I like to develop a weekly agenda page for each child in the family. They have their own page posted on the refrigerator or bulletin board.
Record all Weekly Activities – School, Home and Extra Curricular
At the beginning of each week, I record all their activities, music lessons, group activities, sports, etc. I also record their special activities at school so they remember to bring library looks, physical education clothing, and musical instruments. It also includes any chores that they have to do around the house. If you prepare it on the computer, many things don’t change from week to week.
Record Additional Activities for the Week – Test, Projects, Parties
The children will add to the page, tests and projects that have been assigned at school. Before they can play, watch TV or have screen time they have to complete everything on their list. If you start this habit for them when they are young, it teaches them how to organize their time. You will be helping to instill in them a habit that will last them a life time.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Library books
Physical education
Class trip
violin
Practice piano
Girl Guides
Collect garbage
Skating
Birthday Party at Susie’s
Set table
Empty dishwasher
Paper or an AppI like paper because I can see everyone’s week at a glace without switching between screens and accounts. But if you enjoy technology because you can access information from anywhere at anytime try Choice Works for scheduling with your children’s activities. It allows you to select activities and list them by picture for non reading children or in words.
A Students Guide to Effective Time Management
Thanks to Amy and Peyton for sending me this article for young adults entering college and university. This article has many helpful tips to help you be successful at school :A Students Guide to Effective Time Management
Timeboxed Schedule Maker
Thanks to Whisper Wels for sending me this link for their schedule makerto create your own timeboxed schedule.
Time management is about finding a system that works for you and your children to make life easier. Please leave a comment about agendas, systems and apps that you use.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, in person and virtually. She enjoys working with her clients to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situation. She reduces clutter, streamlines processes and manages time to help her clients be more effective in reaching their goals. Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Do you have children in your family with Lego laying allover the floor? Here is a fun organizing tool to make cleanup of toys easy and fun . Check out swoop bags.
Need help getting toys and home routines organized? Contact Mind over Clutter for a free one hour assessment in person or virtually to get you on the road to success.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, in person and virtually. She enjoys working with her clients to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situation. She reduces clutter, streamlines processes and manages time to help her clients be more effective in reaching their goals. Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
This 6 minute video is a great look at our society and our relationship with “stuff”. It is easy to collect “stuff” but it is hard to know how to get rid of things.
Need help simplifying your life and home contact Mind over Clutter to work with you in person or virtually to help you meet your goals.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, in person and virtually. She enjoys working with her clients to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situation. She reduces clutter, streamlines processes and manages time to help her clients be more effective in reaching their goals. Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Recipient calls or e-mails to book their appointment
3 hours of organizing time.... $150.00
On-line Lifestyle Organizing Coaching leading professionals From Clutter to Freedom Residential Organizing Services for the Region of Niagara, Hamilton, Halton-Peel and Surrounding Area
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, office, mind and time. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
