110% actually came from my team one season. They expressed that they wanted to get the Binders updated. They said they wanted to get them to 110% with no errors, with enough room in all sections, and add sections the community had suggested. I was more than happy to “grant this wish” and I want this for your summer meaty projects too. But you all know I do not talk about perfection so what does 110% look like for each of the projects I’ve been focusing on?

EASE

E. in S.M.A.R.T.I.E.S. stands for (E)ase. If this is the first time you are organizing an area or you are new to one of the Workboxes, that’s enough this time; you’re done. You will need to use the product or space before you understand how you can improve the ease of your systems. When you revisit an area is when you can strive towards the ease 110% will allow in your life.

Teacher Workbox: You could revisit Teacher Camp, make better checklists, and improve systems for an easier school year coming up.

Paper: Now is the time to start to create cadences for updating your binders. I keep a slash pocket in my Sunday Basket® “for binders.” Once a year, I place updated paperwork in the binders and weed out old paperwork. I tend to do the Financial Binder around tax time, the Household Reference Binder in spring, the Launch & Warrior MAMA Binder in summer, and the Household Operations Binder in October/November.

Health: Create a cadence for meal prepping and stocking your pantry with what you need to support this new goal. Do the Productivity & Profitability Blitz and Kitchen section from The Productive Home Solution®.

Personal: This section is not as easy but it will make you feel lighter to get to 110%. When you have backups of all the products you use, you will experience ease. You may decide now is the time you are going to switch it all up. Find what you want to be using and then make sure you have back ups. I know this can be spendy but I offered a solution in this episode. You could also do Embrace to get yourself to 110%. And then you can use the Back to School Blitz for yourself and your personal supplies.

Kids: After your children are 5, you can update their spaces about every three years. They grow and change in three years - you’ll know when it’s time. And then when they are following the Kids Program for Saturdays and Sundays, you’ll definitely experience ease.

Family Spaces: I’m all about a little help! But what I found as a professional organizer was once the job was completed, the homeowner was often looking for a housekeeper. And I really support this because, you will stay tidy for a housekeeper. They will come in and do all the deep cleaning, but you will more likely put things in their place before the housekeeper comes so they can do their job. And that will help you to maintain your organizational systems.

Remember, you need to complete the space or product once, use it for a while (like a year maybe) or maybe third time going through that space, then you’ll have ideas on how to take it to 110% and iterate to experience ease.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Friday Workbox®

• Teacher Friday Workbox® (includes Teacher Camp)

• The Paper Solution®

• Launch Binder

• Warrior MAMA Binder

• Kitchen Productivity & Profitability Blitz

• The Productive Home Solution

• Embrace Self-Guided Retreat

• Back to School Blitz

• Kids Program

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

In this episode, I introduce you to Mechelle, married and mother of two. Mechelle found Organize 365® in 2019 through the podcast. One day while on a walk with her friends, she asked “Do any of you know someone who talks about running their home like a business?” She’d been looking for a podcast and then she fell in love with yours truly. She loves all the support and positivity.

Mechelle said she starts almost everyday listening to something from our social media or the podcast. She listened for a while and then started investing in products. She nailed down which products she wanted to purchase after a call with Emily. Mechelle has systems in place that are helping her to run her home like a business. So it doesn’t throw her off to have unexpected company - she’s comfortable with the functionality of her home, she knows it does not need to look “showing ready” at all times. Mechelle appreciates the podcast so much because she said her husband Aaron is very much like me. One day on a cruise ship he got an idea. Hours off of the boat he’s showing a mock up drawing of the tool. And days later he had a physical product in his hands. It wasn’t in the marketplace so he made sure it was.

Stop dusting and start inventing! As women we are told we can’t have it all - you can’t have work life balance. Yes, you can! We need to refocus the priorities. You don’t actually need to dust every week! We are also told we need to have our houses kept to unrealistic standards. With the right systems in place you can increase capacity to get more done. And when you are getting more done, you just may realize new products that you’d like to have that aren’t in the marketplace. That’s the time to invent it! We laughed over Organize 365® and the requests we have made to software designers, eyebrows we have raised, and products that have been invented to aid in these systems that make us so productive. We, the Organize 365® community, are almost collaboratively working towards this handbook for the home.

It took Mechelle about 2-3 years to effectively be using the systems. The first round was like a baby walking. When they fall down, we laugh with them and encourage them to keep going. She gave herself grace and just kept going. The second round she was able to put planning day into action. She kept listening to the podcast and growing. She’s put effort into areas of her life like health, creativity, spirituality, relationships and currency. She’s gained the perspective of spending her time like her money which has resulted in capacity, energy, and freedom. The dailiness of our homes is a never ending story with responsibilities shifting due to our phase of life. Remember I. in S.M.A.R.T.I.E.S. is (I)terative. You just have to keep each space functional for the phase of life you are in. And Mechelle has been doing that.

Mechelle’s advice is, “Listen to the podcast and see what speaks to your heart, then reach out to customer service and discuss goals, and then start with the Sunday Basket® (out of head and onto paper). ”

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• The Productive Home Solution®

• Home Planning Day

• The Paper Solution®

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter

On the Wednesday podcast, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365­® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps and triumphs along their organizing journey. I am grateful that you are reaching out to share with me and with this community. You can see and hear transformation in action. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

We have dissected S.M.A. from our home organizing acronym, S.M.A.R.T.I.E.S. You know what (S)pace you are organizing. You know at the end of the day the functional feeling will be your indicator that you have accomplished 80% organization ((M)easurable). And the (A)esthetics we know are not going to be like a magazine, but it could have a country french flair or whatever design you like. We are moving onto (R)eactive to proactive, (T)hings in place, and (I)terative today. Let’s look at the six categories I’ve been using as examples…

• Teacher

  • R- You are going to go through last year’s paper and see if you still need any of it.

  • T- Teacher camp, you can attend a replay and get going right now or catch it live the first two weeks of July to get systems in place.

• Organizing Your Paper

  • R- If you have a chunk of time, put all the paper in one place. Then sort for keep, shred, or recycle.

  • T- Once you have your organized paper piles, actionable paper goes in the Sunday Basket® and reference paper goes in the binders.

• Organizing Your Health Journey

  • R- Do a total clean out of the pantry and fridge. Toss all food that no longer supports your health goals. Important to restock with food that does provide the health you are looking to accomplish. This is a good time to revisit your recipes.

  • T- 15 minutes a day which could be one drawer at a time. You can do 15 minutes back to back too, but keep the tasks small so if you get interrupted you don’t have a big mess in the kitchen.

• Personal Development/Personal Spaces

• • R- Get rid of 20-30% of your closet. Our bodies are constantly changing and your wardrobe may be from before kids or a full time job and now you stay home. I have suits in my closet that I don’t wear, but I keep them because they remind me where I am going, so they are aspirational. It’s ok to keep things like that. And it’s ok to slowly replace your wardrobe. You’ll go through it at least 3 times so you can weed out and add as you go .

  • T- My big special thing I did was black flocked hangers. Is there something fun to help you organize?

• Getting Your Kids Organized

• • R- Only keep the things that are relevant to their age and phase of life.

  • T- A cube system or bookshelf helps you and the child to have defined spaces.

• Organizing Your Family & Communal Spaces

• • R- You are fighting the tide of memories in this space. Try to remove the items you think you want gone. If you don’t miss them, then they weren’t serving the space and you can choose to store or donate them.

  • T- Be honest with yourself. Are the things in that space serving your family in the current life phase you are in?

And (I)terative, this is a step that does not need explaining for each step. You will know it‘s time to iterate when you look around and you are no longer happy walking into that space. When yester-year’s project and today’s project are still out, that could be a sign the family has changed. Maybe you no longer have elementary aged kids, maybe you moved, but something has changed and you need to iterate to make the space functional for your current phase of life.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Teacher Friday Workbox®

• The Paper Solution®

• The Productive Home Solution®

• Kids Program

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!