Downsizing…Now What?

May16

Professional Organizers in Canada – Guest Blog
Professional Organizing Strategies & Tips

Are you ready to downsize? Know someone who is? A well organized move can make the difference between chaos or a peaceful transition.

There are ways to plan for a stress-free move. Follow our Downsizing Checklist to start on the right path:

1. Start the discussion early: For some, the decision to move may not be a welcome idea. Plant the seed early to start discussing the benefits of downsizing.

2. Determine what isn’t moving: Next is the time to do some space planning and decide what you don’t want to move. Decisions can be made to sort into the following categories:
  • Pass to family/friends
  • Sell
  • Donate
  • Recycle
  • Waste
3. Contact a Realtor: Ask for referrals, find someone you enjoy working with!
4. Declutter and stage: Time to get the house ready for sale. Consider decluttering and staging if your home needs an update.
5. Book moving company: Make plans for truck rental, moving assistance, or hire a moving company.

6. Packing: Purchase packing supplies, enlist the help of family and friends, or hire a Professional Organizer to get the job done quickly.
7. Update address: Be sure to notify utility companies, services and personal contacts.

8. Moving day: Assign one person to be in charge of all questions of what is going where.

9. Unpacking: Make the transition as smooth as possible by unpacking right away.

If you are stuck or require assistance anywhere along the way, call a Professional Organizer – we are here to help!

Happy Organizing!

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LOVE IT? PIN IT!

Jul22

When I was a teen I used to store all the things I treasured in decorated binders. Any meaningful piece of paper, beautiful picture, magazine article, DIY ideas, quotes, song lyrics…. anything I loved and wanted to preserve.

I would insert them in different sheet protectors, label the clear sheets according to generic group categories, and put these into a folder embellished with stickers or beautiful pictures with clear contact paper on top 🙂

My teen pins

In my view, Pinterest© is a modern version of an old habit, and they managed to take it beyond!

Let’s define a couple of terms you may not yet know:
“Pinterest” is an online pin board to collect and share what inspires you.
“Pins” are individual images considered worthy of sharing with others or saved for future references.
“Boards” are collections of pins organized around a common theme defined by the user. YES, you define your own boards with the names you like… you can be creative, it’s yours!  Continue reading →

Organized Holders

May17

Many of us have a small office somewhere in the house… and the visual effect is not always the one we would like to see… often creating distraction from the task we have to do.

On the bookshelves we have not only books but also magazines and some papers and we feel annoyed because they are in the middle of the house. And even though we manage to put them in paper holders, they don’t look good to the eyes.

When we have no choice we can still choose to tackle the issue in the best way possible. Here is a simple and useful tip to deal with it.

First: define what you will store in each of the magazine holders. This will help you with the sorting… and while you peek on the papers you can do some purging! Continue reading →

Dropbox™ me a Pic!

Apr5

In this blog I want to speak about a website/tool that I really love! It’s fantastic, and useful, and very easy to use… and free!

The whole idea behind this site is to share files. You upload files of any kind to share with you 🙂 or with somebody else.

Yes… it’s not a mistake! What I mean with you sharing files with yourself is that they are stored in a place where you can retrieve them from, using any computer. For example, you upload pictures that are in your hard drive and then show them to your friends and family using any computer or a device with the APP.

But even better  … you can share your folders with others so that they see what you uploaded in their own devices! And of course, they can upload files themselves to share them with you.

For example, my brother had a baby and I live abroad. I really “need” to get pictures to see how he is growing up!

My brother creates albums (folders) and uploads pictures, and I can see them all by just logging in to the website… and not only that, I can show off my nephew’s pictures using the Dropbox APP installed in my phone!!! And believe me… I do 🙂 Continue reading →

Comfortable at work

Jun15

Can you start your day with a mess around your desk? I guess your answer will probably be: what mess? 😉

Seriously, I can’t. I need to have my space clutter free to feel comfortable and functional; and to be able to concentrate in my job (that for me means to have everything in its own place).

My daughter tells everyone about my organizing skills, and her friends now call me “Norganizer” 🙂

One of her friends asked me for help in organizing her office.

I met her at the office and she explained that she recently moved into a new office space after an employee who quit left the room vacant. Some of the stuff in there was useful to her while others were not. The office is located near the front entrance of the building, and is attached to the sprinkler room. Thus, it has two doorways which must be clear at all times. This made it complicated to move things around much. Continue reading →

Hook on the door

May4

If you’ve made up your mind at night on what to wear the next day, where do you prepare the outfit? Over the chair piled with clothes that you wore during the week? 😉

Let’s say you are taking a shower and want to have your outfit ready when you come out. Do you feel comfortable leaving the clothes on top of the bed or inside the bathroom (on the counter top)? I don’t… mmm

I often choose a few options of what to wear and can’t decide what best matches my shirt. And not always have the time or patience to take everything out of its hanger to try on the different alternatives.

I recently discovered a hanging door-hook that can help me facilitate all these “struggles”.

The hook on the door

It hangs on my walk-in closet door (that usually stays open) and I use it with several hangers. Continue reading →

Does this happen to you too?

Mar26

I love trays… they come in so many different shapes and materials… I even have a sandal-shaped one! Every single time I pick one, I realize that they also love me back… because they all want to come with me 🙂

Once I was wandering around in a discount store and I found it, the solution to my drama!  There it was, the perfect gadget.  A holder that was going to help me to sort them and keep them straight.

I bought it and went back home so happy, wasting no time to put my new discovery inside the cabinet.  I placed all the trays and cutting boards sorted by the materials they are made of, and I could even fit in my glass cutting board without fearing it could break down!

There are additional advantages to it I wasn’t aware of at the beginning: Continue reading →