In my first blog I focused on organizing kids only...now, after a recent move and dealing with the 9 months post move fallout I feel the need for fellowship with my moms! This blog will focus on the many needs, pitfalls and solutions that we as busy moms all need to know about to make our lives easier. I will also be addressing topics that You want to know about. If you would like to see a particular subject addressed contact me and let's figure it out together!
I have had an ongoing battle with my children's socks. This is a particular area that I as an organizer am ashamed that I cannot handle. But, I have found a solution.
Having a 7 and 4 yr old, I have kept all in between and baby socks lumped together for more than a year I know. I have dumped the basket all the way out, sorted, piled it back in and repeated the step as needed for more than one solid year. I know every time I do this I say to myself I am going to take care of this once and for all. It is similar to the day I made the decision to purchase a flip fold. So I purchased a product called Sockpro Sock Holders, from...
Last week I discussed a few ways we could dress up our homes for the upcoming holiday season. It seems that is always my favorite part…getting the house to feel festive, warm and inviting. There is a whole other side to the holidays which is usually the part I dread. Especially now that we have moved and once tried and true traditions have to be adjusted to allow for more travel. Most of my clients tend to agree with me that the holiday season can produce more anxiety and stress even over tax season!
Before the holiday season begins it is a good time to evaluate our current décor and begin thinking of ways to enhance what we have for better enjoyment and functionality. Quick changes can be made to update rooms and provide a fabulous background for hosting holiday events.
We have to think of decorating in terms of layering. Special to the holidays is the chance to create ambience and an atmosphere that glows with warmth and coziness that no other time would seem appropriate.
When we talk about time management what comes to mind? Tips like: take small bite size portions; make a task management log of the things you do daily; research to find where the minutes are going. We most often fail to notice the small steps required to reach the larger goal. We obsess about not fitting it all in our daily agenda. I believe that is because we are not able to think that long term or to plan from the end to the beginning. At the end of our life, what is going to be the most important to reflect on? The amount of "going" we crammed into our life or the moments in time we spent doing what we adore!. Did we take on too much not giving quality to those areas in our lives that were most important?...
This week I found a soapbox! Over the weekend I had an individual post on two of my recent blogs that they were "lot about you"…well, yeah! Mostly they are. They are a lot about my experiences, my mistakes, my successes, my failures. But my one desire is that they inspire hope to my readers. See, I only want for my readers, fans, clients, friends, family and anyone else who is interested what I want for myself. The opportunity to manage my time well. To start my day rested and well organized. For my schedule to run as close to as planned allowing for minor hiccups without total devastation on my emotional well being. And for my home to run like a well oiled assembly line creating the most of my day to...
Home offices…now here is a topic I feel very close too. Having worked from a home office for nearly 4 years, and a husband who also works from a home office I feel comfortable speaking from experience.
In the last decade many changes have been made in our country resulting in a huge increase in the number of Americans currently working from home. Over 48 million make the 60 second commute daily and those in the know expect this number to increase drastically in the next 20 years. We are also a long way off from becoming a paperless society. Paper consumption has nearly tripled with computer usage making a lot of home offices paralyzed by disorganization.
Folks who work from home usually end up working more hours per week than those who travel to a cubicle. We also fail to punch out Friday afternoon with a half hour spent cleaning our desk to start the weekend.
For those of us who are multi tasking moms who work from home, well the line between family and work are non existent most of the time. As I type there are Legos, DS game cards and some sort of new trend in rubber bracelets that have been left behind by my children completing their homework from my desk.
In our last home, my dining room table was used as my workspace. As a decorator and organizer I require lots of room to spread out floor-plans, fabric selections and literature. I had my own space and my husband had not really been required to keep his own workspace separate from mine.
Since our move, I have relocated my office within our new home a total of three times. ...
Imagine the following scene: The family has returned home after a long day. Mom and dad have been very busy at work, either at home or at the office. Kids have been at school all day, and are tired. The kids now have homework to complete. They have just returned from dance or ball practice or are about to go to practice. Everyone is going in different directions at chaotic speeds. And to top it all off, everyone is hungry! But guess what! Mom methodically pulls a few things out of the refrigerator, and then very quickly and easily assembles the ingredients, and voila! She serves her family a home cooked meal! But get this…they all sit calmly, around the….TABLE! And do you...
This week we have been working so hard for all our clients to bring new products and services to Lulagrace. We want to say thank you to all of you that have been following us! Traffic results have been tremendous and we just can't thank you enough for your support. Please keep the comments coming as we love to hear from you. Next week, we hope to introduce a brand new product that has been fabulous in our own lives. So, we decided to customize it for each of our clients and make something very functional that caters to the individual. Again, way to go with the feeback! If you can, follow us at www.101wyde.com to hear us on Saturday morning's "The Clutter Prescription", based out of...
So you ve tried it all! Bins, stackers, sorting. How mad have you been when you've accidentally stepped on one. Ouch!!!
So, here is the issue. If you have em your kids love em, but they can be a burden to store.
We have tried every trick in the book. Let's face it, nothing sticks.
We have found the best way to store them is, to be frank, unsorted!!
For LEGO collections up to 5000 pieces, it is easiest to use a drop-cloth draw string approach.
We have discovered that by customizing a sheet by cutting it into a circular shape and adding a drawstring, it is easier to pull together and creates a ready-made play area for your kids!!
At building time, the pieces can be easily spread out over a wide area. It is easier to see them...
Oh how I absolutely despise doing laundry. Now, I know there are folks who say that folding and sorting clothes can be somewhat therapeutic. That has never been me. I really have tried, I have invested in multiple multi-compartment laundry hampers (which fall apart), flip folds (which I LOVE), several glass containers to make doing laundry seem pretty. I have several shelves in my laundry room that house everything I need right there within reach. But I STILL hate doing laundry. In our first home I had a washing machine in the kitchen and our dryer was located outside in an exterior room. I always said, "if I could just have my washer and dryer side by side I would do a better job of keeping it going." Now I do, but things didn't...
Melissa Searcy is a professional organizer and independent decorator now living in Jasper, AL. Formerly of Montgomery, Melissa owns Lulagrace Interiors where she was a regularly featured guest on morning television and had articles featured in the local newspaper and many local monthly publications. For more information you may visit her at www.lulagrace.com. Melissa is also a member of the Facebook community at Facebook.com/melissa.searcy or on Twitter at Twitter.com/LulagracePO.
If you notice any problems with this site, please contact our webmaster.
And if you don't see what you need you are welcome to "ask the organizer" any question!
To see what people are saying about OnlineOrganizing.com, check out our visitor comments.
OnlineOrganizing.com is a service mark of Bradford, LLC.
