Ask the organiser about organising garages and sheds

I've got two sheds that need tackling so any outhouse tips would be good :)
Carl Wokingham, Berkshire, United Kingdom

This is some of what I wrote to Carl...

Sheds is where I draw the line – I don’t even go into mine! I told my husband that dirty, outside work is for him :)

But let’s ask the readers and see what they come up with.

So readers, over to you. Today YOU are all the organisers!

Please share your best garage/ shed organising tips with Carl :)

Well, hello everybody

Thanks to all of you for coming out of lurkdom by commenting and sending me emails :)

I am energised and ready to blog again!

I'll be tackling all the questions I've got so far but don't stop, please continue to ask away.

Talk to you tomorrow :)

You ask, I'll answer

Hello...

Is anyone still reading?

I feel like I'm talking to myself....


Right, so if you're still reading, leave a comment and tell me who you are and where you live (Susan from Sydney, or Jane from Durban, etc.).

I'd also love it if you'll ask me anything - about organising, my life, etc. as I'm fresh out of ideas for blog posts.

P.S. The babies are 16 weeks old today!

Ask the organiser about managing priorities on to-do lists

Happy Monday everybody!

I work off of "To Do" lists and I prioritize all my projects ABCD... using the system from Swallow that Frog. My to do list keeps getting invaded with other projects and requests.

How do I maintain my lists so that they are effective? Everyone and everything wants to be in my A file and I can't find my balance. Do you have any suggestions?

Marcie Rowan

Hi Marcie

Yes, I have some suggestions.

1. Get really clear on your main purpose/ focus for your life at this point
This purpose may change from time to time, or it may not, but it's still a good idea to check in with yourself regularly to make sure you still know what that purpose is.

E.g. this year my main purpose has been to have a healthy pregnancy and birth two live babies.

2. Use only one to-do list
When you use multiple lists, it's very easy to forget about some things on "the other list". I understand about different categories of things so what I do is I have one list with sub-headings like Personal, Business and Household. I can still see it all but it is ordered on paper and therefore in my mind.

3. Only put things on your to-do list that support your purpose
If your purpose is to create a loving, clean, organised home for your family, then you can't be serving on every committee in sight and never spend time taking care of your home.

4. Once things are on your list, eat your frog or, as you call it, swallow your frog
This is where your ABCD system comes in. Or what I use with my clients, the time-value matrix where you focus on urgent and important tasks only.

Do your difficult but most important tasks first. If you hate doing the laundry (like me!), just do it to get it out of the way.

I can't tell you what should be an A priority because we're all different. But I can tell you that tasks which don't support any of your goals are definitely not A priorities.

5. Don't overload your lists
Pick a maximum of 6 tasks a day. When you sign up for the Organising Success Pack, you get a pack of organising forms. My Eat the Frog form only has space for 6 daily items for two very good reasons.

And that's because

1. Most people can't get more than 6 important tasks done daily (including me!)
2. I want you to feel good at the end of every day so rather putfewer tasks and actually get them done

Marcie, hope this helped!

Anybody have any more tips for Marcie? How do you manage your priorities on your own to-do lists?

Ask the organiser - what do you do with out-of-the-way storage?

Somebody asked a question - (sorry preggy brain) I can't remember her name and I deleted the email too quickly :)

She is a short person and can't access the top shelf in her pantry so she often has to throw expired items away.

Any ideas to get organised here?

Of course I do!

1. My suggestion is store surplus items here that you don't need to access very often.

2. Then use see-through plastic baskets so that you can grab the front, pull towards you and see everything on the shelf.

3. I suggest that you keep like items together - for example, I have a big plastic basket with all my baking supplies, like cake and self-raising flour, coconut, yeast, bicarb of soda, baking powder, etc.

this is my old baking basket - I've now transitioned to one bigger than this

4. You could also keep a list of contents on the inside of your cupboard door with the contents of that top shelf, like 5 boxes cereal, 20 boxes milk, etc. and be sure to cross off as you use them.

5. I'm also short and I keep a cheap plastic stool nearby my pantry so when I want to get to the top shelf once or twice a month, I can quickly access it.

Hope these tips help you.

What other tips can you share with this reader?

Ask the organiser - what are the best storage boxes for paper?

This question came in from someone who is also pregnant with twins.

Seeing as you are the queen of de-clutter, I thought I would ask you where the best place to buy storage boxes is?

I need to start on my spare room cupboard (babies room) this weekend and have lots of files and papers that need to be sorted out.

My advice is actually contrary to what you’d expect – don’t buy a thing until AFTER the declutter is done. Just look at all the stuff I threw out here and what Anne, our makeover blogger, threw out here

I’d use the tops of photocopy paper boxes (or similar, like large shoeboxes) to sort the paper and once you decide how you want to store the paper, whether in files, plastic display folders, etc, then go out and buy just what you need.

When I’m organising people’s offices, all I take with me is a permanent marker and post-it notes and then only when it’s all done, we get the stuff if they don’t have it.

This post is about business filing but look at the pictures and apply the principles to your household stuff.

Some more posts on organising and storing paper

How to file

Different categories of paperwork

And more on paper organising


Hope this helps!


Any other tips for this pregnant mom?

Organising different categories of paperwork

Hi Marcia, My biggest organising challenge is trying to find a way to keep (and later find to use again without tearing the house apart) all my different teaching worksheets and the accompanying examples from arts and crafts and science things that I do. I teach several different classes that range from three-year-olds all the way up to teaching English to executives. Therefore I have a wide assortment of materials that I use, much of which I have made myself. Any ideas? I do not have an extra room or even a closet at home for all this. Besides private classes, I work in two schools, where in one I have no space to leave anything and in the other I have a small cupboard. So most of the stuff goes home to our three bedroom apartment - with nine people living in it! Susan

Here's my answer.


Wow, Susan, that IS a challenge. Teaching all those classes with no storage space. And then having to bring it home to your apartment.

I have a couple of suggestions for you.


1. Go through everything you have and declutter as much as possible
It's even more important to have only what you need when you have limited space.

You might find that you've been teaching a particular subject for years and you know it so well that you don't need half the stuff you think you do. (I've found this to be true for my goal-setting and time management workshops)


2. Categorise and label
Now that you have less stuff, it's going to be really easy to sort it all out into files and label it.

The better you label, the easier it will be to find.

I'd tend to sort first by subject, then by level. E.g. English - 3-year-olds, executives, etc.


3. Dedicate a place for all your teaching worksheets
You now have less stuff and it's all organised. Now you know exactly how much you have to store.

Definitely use the small cupboard in the one school; if possible, I'd try to fit everything you need at that school into that cupboard.

Then dedicate a small space in your apartment (even if only a banker's box) for the rest of the stuff.


By the way, there's more on paper organising in 7 easy steps to organise your office.


Any other suggestions for Susan?

Ask the organiser - tell me your favourite online calendar?

I still haven't got myself a planner and I am still in the process of organising my stuff (schedules, tasks etc) but since i can't seem to find a decent planner I'm opting to go electronic. I can't use my outlook cause it's very slow and i use just my gmail for the emails.

Do you have any suggestions on how I can organise my schedules electronically other than outlook?

Thanks!

--
Ella Pelayo
Virtual Assistant
www.epvirtualassistant.wordpress.com

Here's my answer:


Hi Ella

I am no good with electronic tools because I’m a paper gal ;) but I do use Outlook for my time-based appointments.

I would say gmail because I’ve heard such a lot of good things about it.

For tasks, there are a number of things I’ve played around with like http://simplegtd.com http://tadalist.com and http://rememberthemilk.com

For scheduling I still recommend Outlook but sync it to your phone too so it reminds you of appointments and then, I like to also print out the page for very busy days so I don’t forget anything.

Please help Ella and share your favourite online calendar.

(I'm particularly interested in hearing from Janet, Suzanne and Beth.)

Ask the organiser - finding the right handbag

Is it normal to want to switch purses about as much as you change your underwear because you can't find one that is "just right"?

Part of my problem is I can find a planner that I want to stick with. I feel comfy with a 3 ring binder planner, but I guess can't make up my mind what size. I don't really want to carry around a lot and I guess I try to be like the other moms around me but my situation is different; I sometimes would like to just have a pocket planner, but I like to see details, ya know?

I am a mom, wife, have a part-time Avon business, work overnights, and am the only driver, I keep track of all administrative aspects of the house and am just confused. Do you think I should just stop and analyse what I like and need and stop trying to adapt to other people...

Charity Wilt

It is absolutely normal to want to keep switching purses (I call them handbags). That's because either you haven't found what works for you, or you don't want to accept what is right for you and your situation. There's no point having a tiny bag if you have lots of stuff you need to carry around.

You are comfortable with your 3-ring binder and it's working for you, so EMBRACE that. Don't try and be like all "the other moms" because your situation and theirs is so different.

About the size, I understand you don't want to lug around a huge binder because a) it's unattractive and b) it's heavy so my suggestion is to experiment going to a slightly smaller size and see if that compromises much on how much detail you can see on the pages. You should be able to tell after about a week if it's working for you or if it's cramping your style, in which case, switch back :)

I think with the handbags there are two things that happen to me:

1. I get bored with using the same handbag day after day after day, which is why I have about 20 (tell your husband - he'll think you're great for only having 6!)
2. I do find that I can use one for a long time if it's really functional.

I bought this beauty a few weeks ago. I love this colour because I feel sassy whenever I wear red. Also, there are so many pockets which means everything has a place and I never have to hunt for anything in this bag. Which also means it stays neat and tidy, another bonus!

I've used this one for the last 3 weeks non-stop without getting irritated (which is big, for me).

So, Charity, getting back to your question... I think you'll keep changing bags until you find a really functional one that also looks good. Definitely make a list of what you're looking for so you can keep your eyes open, and also when you're in the store, repack your things and "fit on" the bag so you can see if it works for you.

Related posts
Organising my handbag
Organising my green handbag
Tackling my handbags

5 things I do to organise my emails

Diane asked me this:
Marcia how do you go about organizing your emails??????? I am working on this but don't know where to start or what type of files to make?


Great question!

If you really want to get total control, I suggest my Conquer your Email MP3 and handbook combo. After that particular teleseminar, participants went from THOUSANDS of emails to just a few, and they were organised!

this is a picture of my own inbox as it looks 95% of the time :)

In a nutshell, I can say that I:

1. Prevent junk from coming into my inbox in the first place by getting off lists that I no longer enjoy. It takes just a few seconds but is worth the time going forward.
   
2. Declutter often and ruthlessly - my goal is 50 a day
3. Reduce the number of folders. Don't over-organise. I like to be organised just enough!
4. Reply immediately if I can answer within 2 minutes.
5. Schedule regular time to process longer emails.
   

It's about making a quality decision and being consistent :)

People call me the Email Ninja because I do in 15 minutes what takes others 2 - 3 hours a day, so this definitely works for me

What other tips do you have to organise your email?

If you're a small business owner, I'd like to also encourage you to sign up for more organising and time management tips at my website

Ask the organiser - running your business with children

Do you have any advice on how to handle running a home-based business when you have kids (toddlers) running around the house? How do I make calls when I have a screaming 3 year old in the background???

HELP!

Ivette Toler

Yes, Ivette, I do have some advice. It all comes down to planning :)

Also, you're going to have to get really focussed ANY time you manage to work on your business.

1. Make a note of your child's routine for a few days. What time does your toddler take a nap/ eat/ play? For how long? Use these times for various business activities.

2. Use the nap time to immediately get on the phone and make all your calls. Let your incoming calls go to voicemail and tell them when you'll return their calls. And then stick to it.

3. When you need to do computer work at your desk, set up a workspace for your child in the same room that you work in. The child can colour in, draw, build puzzles or play while you do your work.

4. Can you either pay a babysitter a couple of hours a week, or get together with another WAHM and pool resources? Use the time only for KEY income-producing activities, not for "busy" work.

5. Register for my free teleclass, 3 Keys to Business Success, on Thursday 31 July at http://takechargesolutions.org, where I'll be sharing specific ways to plan and organise your week.

Any other tips for Ivette? Share in the comments.

Menu Plan Monday 30 June 2008

The Bay Cafe, Ambleside, Lake District - England

Let's see...1 ham sandwich, 1 portion of chips (yes, that's a portion - you'll see I took a bite out of the one if you look closely), 1 coffee and 1 tea for a total of £13 (R208).

I wanted a picture because for that same meal we'd pay about R50 in South Africa.

At the time I thought it was very expensive but I later realised that was NOTHING compared to Dublin :)

Weight loss

I've lost another 0.2kg. Slow and steady wins the race, right?! On the bright side, I went to gym THREE times this week (that's a miracle for me)

Anyway, onto this week's menu...

Monday

Stirfried chicken and veg in a satay sauce on noodles

Tuesday

Dion's night

Wednesday

Curry and rice with pumpkin

Thursday

D - fish and chips

M - healthy pizza and chips

Friday
Tomato soup; cheese and tomato toasted sandwiches

Questions

Please feel free to ask the organiser (that would be me) any questions and tell me if you want to remain anonymous or if you don't mind me posting it on the blog. Thank you kindly :)

And now, I'm off to put the finishing touches to the handbook for the Virtual Organising Seminar and then to bed :)

Have a lovely week, everybody, and here's to healthy eating!

What does it mean to be organised?

It's probably easier to explain what organised is not!

Neat is not necessarily organised.

I have seen some very neat but disorganised workspaces. Everything looks good on the surface, but watch the scrambling when you ask for a specific file!

Lining up all your pencils just so means that you like your pencils all in a row, not necessarily that you're organised.

I think people confuse the looking good factor with being organised because when things look good, it's gives the same feeling that being organised gives you.

I've also seen people who work with piles but they can locate whatever they want very quickly. However, when these people get overwhelmed by the piles of paper, then it's time to go through them and reorganize.

Personally, when I'm working, I spread out a lot so I don't work in a very neat fashion. But I'm organised because all that spread-out paper relates to only my current project.

My definition of organised is being able to find something in a minute or less.

This is always my aim both personally, and when I work with clients. I want to create a system, working with their personalities, where they can find something within a minute or less.

So my question to you is this - can you find what you're looking for quickly? Are you neat, organised or both?

Organising with report covers

I had a question from a reader who was trying to buy my display folders and instead got some report covers.

Hi Marcia

Guess what, I bought the wrong thing, lol. Do you have any ideas on what I can use those report covers for?

Here is my answer:

I have a couple of those which I use

1. to keep related papers together
2. when I had to go sort out a query with our water and electricity dept, I took the last 6 months’ statements and all my notes in a report cover folder.
3. if I have an in-person coaching session with a client that’s not happening at my house, then I take the agreement, old coaching plan, any forms I want to give him/ her, some notes for the session.

Hope this gives you some ideas.

What other ideas do you guys have for report covers?

P.S. If you have more pearls of wisdom, please visit Shannon so you can share with other bloggers

How to make the most of small spaces

I wrote this post for the Clutter Control Freak blog ---->> and I'm reposting it here, partly because of the wonderful tips in the comment. Thanks, Lyn (I should get you to guest blog :)

A reader emailed…

"We live in a tiny house with no storage and have to rent so we can't structurally change anything. I would love any advice on making the most of small spaces. I declutter almost daily, but it's still crazy!"

Since she already declutters daily, I can't use that one :)

I do have a couple of other ideas however:

1. Make every piece of furniture do double duty:
Use bookcases as room dividers. Buy ottomans with storage space inside.

2. Go vertical:
Use your walls, especially in the kitchen and bedrooms.


3. Get rid of knick-knacks:
Cutesy items make your space feel even smaller. Choose one or two quality pieces instead.

4. Live simply:
Instead of having 20 t-shirts, choose the best 10 and donate the rest. The less stuff you have, the less storage you need!

What other ideas do you have for our reader?

Now here's what Lyn wrote:

From Lynda, September 20 2007

1. Thin your stuff and make sure what you use everyday is stored where it's easy to get at. A good trick is to empty the shelf or drawer into a box. When you use something, take it out of the box and put it back in the drawer or on the shelf. At the end of the week, remaining items can be tossed or stored in a less convenient location.

2. Instead of knick-knacks, find beautiful versions of what you need to use.
Living room: Decorative box for remotes, a set of pretty coasters, a warm throw, and candles.
Bathroom: Decorative containers for bathroom toiletries, towels rolled and stuffed in a wine rack, Attractive hooks for towels and robes.
Kitchen: Keep often used utensils in a pretty pitcher by the stove, use seasonal potholders and towels, store fruit, in a decorative bowl or colander

3. Shelves and wall hooks are your friend. For example, we use a small board with 6 hooks by our front door for hats, coats, and purses and another in our bathroom for towels. Glass shelves in the bathroom hold q-tips, etc.

4. More on double-duty and hidden storage: Out of season clothes under the bed, craft or spare office supplies under the sofa, extra sheets between your mattress and box springs, skirted side tables, ottomans with trays on top for side tables or paired instead of a coffee table.

5. If you're really pinched for space in the kitchen, try using one plate, set of silverware, cup, and glass per person. Store spares for dinner parties.

Aren't those ideas great? What other ideas do you have?

Organising with health problems

I'm working smart today and making this my Works for me Wednesday post!

Jo has left a new comment on your post "Fall Y'all bloggy giveaway - a virtual organising ...":

My organizing question is- how does a mom of three, who has cancer and health problems, become good at organzing despite her Adult ADD? Tough one I know but one I battle constantly. WANT to organize, exhausted all the time, start something and never finish. I just want to get things done for once.

Here's what I sent Jo in an email but I'd love you all to also pitch in with your ideas.

Hello again and thanks for your great question.

1. If you know HOW to organize (have systems and so forth), then I’d get some highschoolers in, pay them minimum wage and get them to do it according to your specifications.


2. Can your relatives help?


3. Advertise on your blog for someone good at organising/ professional organiser to come in and help you – maybe do an hour or two free and you can do a nice testimonial for them.

The main thing is that once the systems are there, you can get anyone to “follow your rules” even if you physically can’t do so.

Readers - please share your ideas in the comments! Thanks.

If you want to answer some more questions :), visit http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com

Fall Y'all bloggy giveaway - a virtual organising session

This giveaway is now closed!

Do you know what a virtual organising session is?

1. You book and pay for the session.
2. I email you for times suitable for both of us.
3. You take photos of the area you need help with and after compressing, email them to me.
4. On the session, we Skype (if you have a headset and microphone) or chat online in my chat room.
5. We talk through the area, you take notes and I send you any pictures if we agree to that on the phone/ in chat room.
6. And it's as easy as that!

Why I love them

• Organising in your pyjamas
• No make-up and cute clothes needed
• No travelling time (Joburg traffic is awful). You won't believe how many emails I get (from the blog) where people say, I wish you lived here in ________.
• Cheap and affordable for you!

Now you get a chance to win a session with me. Because of its nature, you can be anywhere in the world and I can still help you organise your space or time.

A half-hour session usually retails for R150.00 (US$21) in my store.

Here are my rules

1. If you want to win this session, you have to tell me your most burning organising question. Any question about space, time, your business or your life. I'll answer them on the blog or in articles.


2. I am not going to search around your blog to find an email address because I don't have time so please leave your email in your comment. Or go check the box in your blogger profile to show your email.


3. The competition closes on Friday 2nd Nov, 12pm South African time.


4. I will post the winner next Monday because I am on holiday.


5. The competition is open to bloggers and non-bloggers alike!

Have fun and all the best.

More organising and other goodies here...

Organising your medicine cabinet

Dion and I have been together for 15 years today! Married for 12 1/2 of those years :)

A reader emailed this question:
How do I sort out a medicine cupboard? How do I store the contents? What do I keep in a first aid box in a family situation?

Lots of great questions!

1. First off, I would unpack everything and clean the cupboard.
2. While the inside of the cupboard is drying, go through all the medicines and throw away any that have expired. When you repack them, put those that are about to expire in the front.
3. I only have one smallish bag for all our stuff because we’re not sickly. I have Strepsils, Cepacol, Degoran (my favourite – now I sound like a druggie), Nurofen, Panado, burn ointment (because I always seem to burn myself when I use the oven), Tabard, Imodium, cold sore ointment, plasters and Savlon, Norflex and something for gastro cramps.
4. I have a separate travel medicine bag (an old make-up bag) with just a few of each of these main things. I set up this little bag after we once drove 40km to the nearest town for medicines on one long weekend away. Lesson learnt thanks to Lichtenburg!

this looks a bit messy but it's not really - I think it's my bad photography

My medicine cabinet is the corner bathroom vanity cupboard and it has five main sections...

1. medicine (grey bag)

2. Dion’s toiletries (top blue basket and little round thing)

3. cleaning stuff (green basket)

4. extra toilet rolls and air freshener (not visible in this pic)

5. all the bath stuff (bottom blue basket and top right) (candles, bath salts, bath foam, etc) because this is the only bath we have in the house. Our en-suite only has a shower.

I think first aid boxes vary according to your family’s needs so I would buy a standard one and customise it for my family's needs.

What do you keep in your first aid box?

Thank you, Tina

I just want to say a public thank-you to Tina for this button ...

and this one!

These buttons came out exactly as I imagined (even without knowing exactly what I wanted) so clearly Tina gets me! She was so patient with my non-techno side when I asked silly questions like, "what on earth are pixels?"

Thanks again, Tina, I am over-the-moon happy with the results :-)

BTW, click on the buttons to go to all my posts in that particular category.

Ask the organiser - lazy people

Can lazy people get organized, or is the Land of Organized reserved for energetic types?

This question from a reader made me laugh out loud :)

Oh Sherry, if you only knew!

I really believe that anybody can get organised because it's about putting systems and processes into place. Yes, some people have a natural tendency to be organised but really, the same things they do can be learnt by anybody else.

And as for lazy or energetic, I'm actually extremely lazy.

I am organised SO THAT I can have more time to spend with my husband, read, shop and help people.

But when I'm doing something, I'm totally there (in the zone) so I get it done!

Just to give you some examples...

1. I measure out extra dry ingredients every time I bake.
2. I always cook double as far as possible and freeze the leftovers.
3. I prepare vegetables once a week so I only need to chop and dice once.
4. I use my rules in Outlook to file emails for me immediately.
5. I have MANY templates set up in my business so all I do is F3 and the autotext appears.
6. I only file paper when my in-basket is full (about once every 7 - 10 days) but then it takes about 5 minutes because it's all organised.
7. I only do laundry once a week so that I don't waste time loading, drying, etc. a couple times a week (this won't work for most of you).

What kinds of things do you do to save you time on a daily basis?