Some of my favourite travel tips

1. Start making lists ahead of time. These can include lists of things to pack, things to do, see, eat, etc. Download my travel checklist

2. Always take extra plastic bags for dirty laundry, shoes, etc.

3. You don't have to plan out each and every day but at least if you have a rainy day, you can look on your list and choose an indoor activity.

4. Count on buying things while you're on holiday so plan for this and take less with you. Our baggage allowance is 25 kg (hold & hand luggage) and I'm planning to take 18kg or less!

5. Decide on a colour scheme and stick to it… well, mostly. For instance, on this trip, I'm going for autumn (fall) colours like brown, yellow and orange, and also taking some clothes in military green.

6. Count the number of days you'll be away and plan just enough sets of clothes, remembering that you need more tops than bottoms. You won't use all so make a note of what you didn't use so that you don't overpack next time.

7. Pack travel size toiletries or if you have some old hotel toiletries, use those. I actually keep my toiletry bag permanently packed with everything except my Speedstick. Whether we're away for a long weekend or a long holiday, all I have to do is grab my Speedstick and I'm ready.

8. Take a backpack. There is a reason why these are so popular with tourists - your hands are free to eat, browse, carry your water (okay, that's for me), etc.

9. If you read the Bible, next time you go away, don't take the whole Bible. Simply go to a free online Bible site and print out a chapter for each day you'll be away. You can try a different version of the Bible you usually use for added variety. The added convenience is that you don't have to bring these pages back with you.

10. Whether you're flying or driving, take any magazines or ebooks that have piled up around your house. You can catch up on your reading and again, leave the magazine or ebook in the airport lounge. I have about 4 Shape magazines to catch up on and yes, they're already packed.

Do you want to use this article? You may, as long as you include this complete bio with it: Marcia Francois, the Take Charge coach and professional organiser, coaches people to reach their goals and maximise their potential. She publishes the popular “Take charge of your life” monthly ezine. If you're ready to live your dream life, get your FREE subscription now at http://www.takechargesolutions.org

Sorting your clothes is easy as 1, 2, 3

This is my suggestion for purging your clothes closet.

Make 3 piles:

1. Clothes you don't love anymore or that don't suit your lifestyle
2. Clothes you love and that fit you
3. Clothes that you're not sure about, for whatever reason

Then you action the piles

Pile 1 - donate or throw out
Pile 2 - organise in your wardrobe or on your shelves according to your personal preferences - by colour, style (smart, casual, etc), or season/ sleeve length, etc.
Pile 3 - move to another place in the house or to a storage container. Diarise a "to look at again" date. When you look at this pile again, fit everything on. You will be able to look at the clothes unemotionally and decide whether they deserve to take up space in your wardrobe (you want to keep them) or whether they need to be donated.

Last year when we moved into our new house I fit on ALL my clothes before I packed anything into my cupboards.

I made 3 piles:

1. Stuff I liked and that fit me (in the wardrobe)
2. Stuff I liked and that didn't fit me (in a spare wardrobe – deadline 1 November this year)
3. Stuff I didn't like and that didn't fit me (to the church's welfare box)

Well, I fitted on all the clothes (about 4 pairs of pants and 3 suits) from the spare wardrobe a few days ago (we'll be on holiday on 1 November) and most of them now fit!!! There is also a suit that fits but that I don't like anymore which is going to the welfare box this weekend.

The stuff that doesn't fit me nicely will also be donated.

Oct 2006 - organising challenges

Week 1 – Declutter your kitchen counter tops.
Do you really need everything on your counter tops?

Go around your kitchen with "new eyes" and see what you can declutter.You should only have things that you use more than once a week on your counter top. If, for example, you have an electric frying pan out that you use once a month, consider storing it in a cupboard and only taking it out when you use it.

Tip - use vertical space wherever possible. Instead of a canister with your cooking utensils, consider mounting hooks above your stove for them.

Week 2 – Organise your clothes on shelves.
I would suggest that you put all the clothes you frequently use at shoulder height and the rest either one shelf up or down.

I swop mine around every winter or summer and I find that it helps to keep my shelves neat and tidy. My jeans and T-shirts are now at shoulder height and the long-sleeved tops and jerseys have been moved a shelf down now that it's Spring.

Week 3 – Declutter and organise your recipe books and files.
This week, we are going to sort out all those recipe books in the kitchen. I know what it's like because I'm just like you.

You see some gorgeous books at the bookshop, imagine cooking all those delicious meals and buy the book. If you're lucky, you make one or two recipes and then that's it - they start gathering dust.

So our challenge is to sort the books into two piles - books I use (or have used) and books that just look pretty and take up space. Let go of the second pile to other cooks, second hand bookshops, etc. and free up some space in the kitchen.

Once you've decided on the ones to keep, buy a pretty magazine folder and keep them together neatly. I download things off the internet too and use plastic flip files to organise those recipes.

Now and again I go through them and throw out recipes I know I have no intention of ever making.

I don't know if I'm lazy or if I just prefer to cook more creatively but the only recipes I tend to keep are for baked goodies.

Have fun with this one - maybe you'll even get inspired to cook or bake up a storm this weekend. THink of me if you make any muffins (I LOVE baking muffins because they're so easy).

Week 4 – Spruce up your coffee & end tables.

Do you have an organising question for me?
Email your question

There are less than 3 months left before Christmas. Wouldn't you like to have an organised, peaceful Christmas? Go to http://takechargesolutions.org/12org.pdf to see how I can help you.

Do you need some distance organising help?

There are two types of people in the world:

Those that like to work alone and do things by themselves. If this is you, you are up to date with all the challenges and email me to tell me how you did and so on...

The second group of people read the challenge every week and say, "that is a good idea. I must get around to it sometime".

If this second person is you, then maybe you just need some ideas and encouragement.

You decide which area bugs you the most and I'll help you.

Go here to look at the 12 most common organising challenges

Sept 2006 - organising challenges

Week 1 – Organise your paper & plastic goodies.

This week, we're going to sort out all the cling wrap, foil, sandwich bags, bin bags, etc.

Dedicate a drawer or shelf for all these packs. If you have a wine rack you're not using, the bottle compartments work nicely to keep it all organised.What other ideas do you have?

You know those metal/paper ties you get in each pack of freezer bags? The ones that pile up because you only ever use 2 - 3 out of every packet? This week, we're throwing them out.

Week 2 – Organise your sideboard OR crockery & cutlery you use to entertain.
Really evaluate all the stuff - if you have 3 sugar bowls and you only ever use 2, give the other one away.

If you have 50 plates and the most guests you ever have over is 20, then use some of them as your everyday plates and get rid of the old, ugly ones. You get the picture...

Do the same for everything you keep in the sideboard but don't obsess - do 15 minutes a day so you're not overwhelmed. You can easily do a drawer or a shelf in 15 minutes if you don't get obsessive compulsive.

Remember, we're decluttering and organising, not detail cleaning.

Week 3 – Declutter and tidy your dressing table or any flat surfaces in your bedroom.
I want you to look around at any and all flat surfaces. Basically, we're targeting all those common dumping grounds like the bedside table, dressing table, top of chest of drawers, chair, etc.

Starting with one "hot spot" at a time, remove everything. Decide what you would like to keep there. Move all the other stuff to a box or basket in the meanwhile. Do not start putting these things away in the rest of the house - you'll get sidetracked!

Now organise the keepers. Do this same process for each of the other hot spots.

When you've done, you can then remove the box or basket and restore the other things to their rightful places, even if it's just to the laundry!

There - you're done. Now doesn't that feel good.

Week 4 – Declutter and organise your bathroom vanity and corners of bath.
A bathroom can be a place of peaceful tranquility or it can be a messy, cluttered space. And you don't have to have a big bathroom to have it feel peaceful. Trust me - I have one of the smallest bathrooms in the world so I know what I'm talking about (when I figure out the digital camera, I will show you what I mean).

Is your bathroom vanity cluttered with lots of stuff - knick knacks, soaps, toothbrushes and toothpaste, etc, etc? See if you can't mount a holder on the wall to use up some of that vertical space.

Get a rubbish bin and look in that bathroom cupboard. Throw out all old medicines, shampoos, anything you're not using. You can donate some things like the shampoo you used once and don't like, and the old medicines must just be thrown out.

Decide to use your bath salts, bath oils and so on or give it to someone who will use it. When you remove all these things from the corner of your bath, you can finally see all the dust that has gathered there. If you do have a decorative bottle, wash off the dust and wipe it down.

This challenge won't take you longer than 20 minutes but it is going to make you feel so good! You can reward yourself by having a nice, long, bubble bath (men too)!

***introducing something new***
If you're seriously doing these challenges, then please take before and after pictures, and send them to me. I'll post the best ones on the blog to encourage the rest of the subscribers.

Spring has sprung!

Happy Spring Day!

Spring is the time of new beginnings, new growth and a new start!Even though the weather (here in Johannesburg) isn't really co-operating with the change of season, no reason for us not to start celebrating this new season.

Clutter stifles your creativity and the flow of any good things (like money, relationships, opportunities, etc.) into your life.

Think about which areas of your life are cluttered:
- your desk...
- your cupboards...
- your debts!
- your car...
- your garage...
- your to-do list...
- your relationships...

Don't get overwhelmed!
I want you to think about which areas you're not happy about and then jot down a few notes. Do it now.....I'll wait....

Right, now that you've made a list, it's time to take action.
Just do one thing every day for 15 minutes. If you do this every day in September, just imagine how much you can get done. (I made a business to-do list so I'll be doing this along with you).

If you need help, go here. Bookings close for the Houghton workshop on Wed 6th September. Don't delay.

I will send out the monthly newsletter this weekend and also give you some testimonials from tomorrow's Organising Workshop. Also, look out for more information on Discovering Yourself early next week.

I'm only doing one of these workshops and then we're jetting off to Thailand!

Here is our travel blog if you're interested -

Have a wonderful weekend!

Love and success
Marcia Francois
www.takechargesolutions.org

Get more done!

The One-Minute TIP - http://www.philiphumbert.com/TIPS

The twin secrets to getting more done are clarity and a sense of urgency.

When the phone rings and company is coming in 20 minutes, it's amazing how much cleaning can get done!

When you know exactly what you're trying to achieve, and know it must be done today, the same principle applies!

Never let "Murphy's Law" that work expands to fill the time available apply to you.

Have a sense of urgency about making those calls, getting those sales, finishing your most important projects.

Be a person of ACTION! Git 'er done!

I found some lists for you...

I found some great checklists for you here: http://listorganizer.com/lists.htm. You can try a few for free and then if you like her lists, you can buy the book. I bought the book a few weeks ago and I'm very happy.

I'm very careful before I recommend any products to my list but I can definitely recommend her stuff. Oh, by the way, I don't get any commission - I'm just a happy customer.

Don't you love lists? If you're coming to my organising workshops, you will get a free household organising file with 14 different lists and forms to help organise your life. (These are not the same ones here http://takechargesolutions.org/downloads.html )

After this series of workshops is done, I will start selling the package of lists on my website, so if you ABSOLUTELY can't come, we'll miss having fun with you... but at least you can also buy online.
For more info on the workshops, read here: http://takechargesolutions.org/spring.pdf

Have a great week.

Aug 2006 - organising challenges

Week 1 – Organise your cleaning supplies.
This week, we're going to sort out all the cleaning supplies. Throw away ugly sponges and cloths in your kitchen and bathroom, and use up all those near-empty bottles. The aim is to reduce the number of cleaning products you use. If you don't enjoy using something, use it for everything in one week and get it done. Then don't buy it again. Last month, I mentioned that you can use one multi-purpose cleaner for almost everything.

***My challenge to you – I use dishwashing liquid, Handy Andy, Jeyes Gel (for toilets) and Teepol gel for everything else – showers, windows, car, etc. How many products do you use? Post your answers in the comments below.

Week 2 – Organise your photo albums or digital photos.
This week we are going to organise our photo albums or digital photos. This might take 15 minutes every day if you haven't done this for a while, or it might take just 30 minutes.

We have ours organised by periods in our lives, if that makes any sense. I have a set of 4 albums for baby & school years, university pictures, wedding and friends. Then we generally have an album for each holiday... but you know how it goes? Sometimes you really get into the whole picture thing and other times, you just can't be bothered.

If you take digital photos, use this time to sort those out too. Delete any pictures you hate, decide which you want to print and maybe burn some to CD.

Don't get overwhelmed - just do 15 minutes a day. You are going to be sohappy when it's all sorted out.

Week 3 – Tidy and organise all your jewellery.
For the guys, use this opportunity to sort cufflinks, belts, male accessories.

1. Firstly, throw away everything you don't love or use. Is there some item someone else will love or can use? Give it away.
2. Gather all the jewellery that needs to be fixed and diarise when you will take it to a jewellery store. If there are watches that need batteries, this is the time to schedule when you're going to get those attended to.
3. Now organise. You can use plastic ice cube trays to keep your things neat and tidy. Or stick a couple of hooks on the inside of your wardrobe (just underneath your goals list!) and hang your necklaces there.

Week 4 – Declutter and organise your document folders in Word and Excel.
This is something you have to do properly once and then maintain on a monthly basis. Remember the definition of organised is being able to find something in one minute or less (some people say 30 seconds but I know from personal experience it sometimes takes a few seconds just to focus!).

First step, open all the documents (I find that doing this 10 at a time works best). Delete those you no longer use. For the rest, keep a notebook next to you and start jotting down broad categories for your subfolders. You can then create subfolders and file.

Don't just file all your documents in My Documents. Name your subfolders the same way you think.

For example, in My Documents, I have a folder called Coaching. Subfolders in there are called Clients, and then the subfolders in there are my individual client names. Another subfolder is called Agreements for the different versions of contract I have, and still another is called Tools. In this one I have things like the Find your Mission worksheet, my Debt Reduction worksheet, Time log, etc (tools I designed to help my clients). I also have a subfolder called Coaching Programmes, and mini subfolders for Love 101, Clean Sweep, Creating Reserves, etc.

I have another main folder called Organising tools. In there I have subfolders called Household (which has my menu planner, cleaning lists, shopping lists, etc), Work (which has my daily planner and follow-up list) and Personal (which has my travel checklist {Dion and I each have our own customised lists}, weekly goals, health chart , etc. Now you get the picture.

One thing I want to mention - this filing system might not necessarily work for you and that's fine. Find something that works for you and organise according to that. You will only keep something up that gels with your style. If you're not sure, email me and I'll help you find categories.

Tip - when I buy e-courses, I paste each day's lesson into a Word document, so at the end of the course, I can delete the 10 emails and have one Word document for reference.

10 ways to save time for what matters most

It seems like everywhere you go, you hear the same message. I don't have enough time, I need more time, I'd love to exercise more, play more, __________ more (fill in the missing word) but I just don't have the time.

Here are a few of my favourite time-savers. If you have any more to share with me (and your fellow readers), please post them in the comments section below.

1. Do your grocery shopping when the stores are empty
I've started doing our weekly shop on Friday nights at 6.30. My favourite Pick & Pay closes at 7pm so the store is not very full and all of us shoppers are in "accomplish" mode so not a lot of browsing and so on. We're armed with our lists and get on with the job. I've saved at least an hour from doing the weekly shop on Saturdays like I used to do.

2. Whenever you cook, cook double
I cook at least double of everything for the nights when I have coaching appointments or consultations in the evenings. It then takes just a few minutes to defrost in the microwave and saves me about 30 minutes (you guys know I don't believe in spending a lot of time in the kitchen anyway, unless it's to organise something J ). You can freeze individual portions of just about anything – soup, rice, casseroles, etc.

3. When you return home from the shops, cut all your vegetables immediately.
Yes, it will take a bit of time, but it saves you time during the week when you're busy. Remember, you can spend some time every night getting out all your chopping boards, knives, etc. AND cleaning it afterwards, or you can do it once a week. I vote for once a week. Do the same for your meat and chicken if you separate it out for different meals.

4. Set up a menu plan for the week
I mentioned this point last month with regard to saving money, but the best part of it for me is that it saves me time. You don't have the indecision every night of opening that fridge or cupboard and wondering what to cook. It's already decided. Try it and see – you won't look back. You can download a free menu planner off my website.

5. Choose your clothes in the evening
This is another underestimated time saver. When you choose your clothes in the evening, you can see if your shoes need to be cleaned, if all the buttons on your shirt are still intact, and so on. Then in the morning, and if you're like me, you need all the help you can get just to get out of bed, you're set to go.

6. Pack your lunch in the evening
Not only does this save time, but it also helps you to remember everything. I have a little cooler bag that I use to pack my lunch while supper is cooking (or defrosting). I pack my sandwich, cereal, yoghurt, my cup-a-soup and my two fruits.

7. Use TV time for other mindless tasks
I understand that TV is relaxation time but this works for me. I exercise with weights, wrap gifts, pack my bag, update my diary, sew buttons, go through my old magazines, etc, etc. all while watching TV. The list goes on and on. At least at the end of a show, I feel like I've accomplished something instead of just being a couch potato.

8. Tape TV programmes and watch them on video later
I'm a HUGE Dr. Phil fan and I tape the programme every day. If I had to sit and watch the programme live (well, first of all, it's right in the middle of the day) it would take an hour, or to be more precise, 58 minutes. Because I tape it and fast forward through all the ads, it takes only 43 minutes. The reality TV shows like Survivor, Amazing Race and The Apprentice are usually only about 37 minutes long. Just goes to show how they plug all the shows with ad breaks.

9. Batch routine tasks
Keep all your filing together so that you file 5 things at once. Make all your telephone calls at the same time. Write out all greeting cards for the month at one time. And wrap all the gifts at one time too – yes, in front of the TV!

10. Automate as much as you can
This is what I'm trying to do with the business more and more, like automating this newsletter, so I can focus more time on my core genius. For example, I use the AutoText function in Microsoft Word extensively for all emails I write a lot, like questions on my coaching and workshops, my e-signature, etc. I'm actually also busy compiling these into a FAQ page which I'll upload to the website soon. I read a great tip in an online newsletter recently. Whenever you comment on a blog, make it meaningful and use the same wording as a post on your own blog. I did this with my spending fast post on the blog. By the way, I'm going to discuss lots more of these types of productivity-type tips at the Spring into Organising workshop.

Bonus tip - say no to things you don't want to do.
That's all I'm going to say because this is the topic for next month's newsletter!

Do you want to use this article? You may, as long as you include this complete bio with it:
Marcia Francois, the Take Charge coach and professional organiser, coaches people to reach their goals and maximise their potential. She publishes the popular “Take charge of your life” monthly ezine. If you're ready to finally live your dream life, get your FREE subscription now at http://www.takechargesolutions.org/