You guys know I’m a history nut and this episode is all about homes from the past and our current homes. I live in the purple state of Ohio. Fun fact, more Presidents have come from Ohio than any other state; 8 Presidents to be exact. I’ve toured Presidential homes in Ohio many times. I was even the greeter at Stan Hywet’s home. It’s so funny for me to think about homes in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s versus homes today and how we use them. And I absolutely drool over the libraries. These were successful people and successful people read. Homes in that time were multipurpose. They were large. Not for the sake of large rooms, but for the sake of having space for entertaining and working. It’s so easy for us to forget how much harder things were in the past to travel, work, entertain, to just live!

Eating

If you stop and think about life in the 1800’s to early 1900’s, there weren’t easy travel paths. There weren’t restaurants, nor were there hotels. If you had guests, they were likely not there for just the afternoon. It’s so interesting for me to think about the need for eating areas for workers, family, and formal entertaining spaces to have meals with guests. He even had a morning breakfast room! Meals were long, too. There wasn’t tv, movie theaters, or public spaces to hang out. So long dinners it was. And due to the architecture of the homes, the guests never saw the kitchen or the other eating areas. The largest room would often be the entertaining space. Owners may have entertainment and the whole community would be invited. The talent would stay with the owners.

Sleeping

These homes were so large with so many rooms. On top of all of the entertaining and eating rooms, they needed to sleep. One of the President’s homes had the owners' wing with bedrooms, another wing for live-in workers. There was a wing of rooms, kind of like a hotel for guests. Remember, guests were probably there for a week or longer and your workers lived there, too.

Working

The doctors, lawyers, and other professionals of that time didn’t have big fancy offices they drove to each day. No, they worked from their home offices that usually had separate entrances. Some of the doctors had a secretary office that you would enter, then proceed to the doctor. I think the reality is we are all working from home nowadays. We all, well not Greg, but most have email on our phones or are checking on something at the office if you do have a brick and mortar you report to each day.

Ponder

Do our homes reflect how we use them? On the podcast years ago, I asked Jay Papasan, who co-wrote The One Thing, when did we get home manager offices in every home. He snickered and said architecture is the last thing to change, and that’s granted we all agreed on what we want! That’s why all of our homes are fairly similar to that of the 1950’s, after the war. Until next week’s episode, I want you to ponder some spaces in your home. I want you to think about your formal spaces and if you use that space often. Have you allocated space to an activity you don’t do like entertain guests? Lots of times we meet at restaurants. So are you using your spaces effectively, functionally for your life today? Are you using your house functionally to eat, sleep, and work?

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• The Paper Solution®

• The Productive Home Solution

• 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 Mara D., mom of four boys and happily married up in Connecticut. Mara organized her closet the Marie Kondo way and felt lighter and brighter. Her friend planted a seed saying she should do that for others. But how? She searched for podcasts about starting an organization business and found the Professional Organizer's Think Tank Podcast. Mara loved that it really gave her direction on how to get started.

We discovered we are both educated in the psychology world. There’s a difference though between clinical and general psychology PhD’s. I’m learning so much about psychology, but really I just want to do my own research in the future. I’ll be focusing on positive psychology. I don’t have an employer paying for me to do this or a grant to be approved for me. Once I get my PhD, I will be paying to do research for the sake of the general population. Clinical seems to be for the sake of diagnosis for insurance and medication purposes to get things back to normal.

Mara was explaining the Sunday Basket® to all of her clients. When it came to paper, Organize 365® had the solutions. Some organizers may say it ‘s all digital, that you don’t need the paper. But not in our capitalist society. I mean our birth certificates and social security cards are still on paper! And because we aren’t a socialist country, our health information for example is not available to anyone. It’s only available to the people we choose to provide care to us. So then Mara got to thinking, maybe I should experience the Sunday Basket® since I’m telling all of my clients about it. That was like If You Give a Mouse a Cookie because then she wanted to get Sunday Basket® Certified and The Paper Solution® Certified; she values The Paper Solution® Binders.

Mara points out to her clients that the solution is you; you have to regularly process your Sunday Basket®. The Sunday Basket® allows you to budget your time like you do your money. When you budget, you proactively decide what resources, time or money, will be spent where and when. You are in charge instead of caught off guard and needing to be reactive. It also allows you to procrastinate on purpose. So often I find when I delay tasks, by the time they need to be completed that week, the task doesn’t need to get done anymore. Someone else has completed the task, the deadline has moved, or requirements of that task have changed. So you may think you are working ahead when there is so much magic in just waiting.

Mara now has more time as a result of planning, is consistent, and more patient with others because her to-do list is getting accomplished first allowing her to pour into others. She has more trust in herself to show up and have clarity in her goals.

Mara’s advice is, “Any system works if you think it, visualize it, and know your why. Visualize the look, the way you’ll feel, and the functionality you desire. Then when you are deciding on items to keep, toss, or donate, the decisions will be much easier.”

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Sunday Basket®

• The Productive Home Solution®

• The Paper Solution®

• Professional Organizer’s Think Tank Podcast Playlist

• The Paper Solution® Certification

• 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!

I know it’s only July, but you guys…there’s one month when all the schools seem to be out, except year-round schools of course. And that means it’s time to refresh, which means it’s the Back to School Blitz time. This is a free, pre-recorded blitz to get prepared for the kids to start their next year in school. However, this is a cadence you as an adult have experienced since you were in school, so if you don’t have kids…you can still do the Back To School Blitz for yourself!

I remember I used to take one week as “camp counselor” with my kids to get prepared. It’s a time to schedule physicals for fall activities, get routine dentist cleanings, might be time for new glasses. And oh by the way, the paperwork! One of the favorite things I did for myself one year was I copied the paperwork. Then the next year, I just copied from one doc to the other. Easy peasy!

Let’s take one week together to go through your kids' clothes because they are growing! And then you can plan your shopping spree. They may want to express themselves differently this year. If you do this blitz for yourself, you may find you are in a different phase of life and you want to edit your wardrobe to match your lifestyle now. And I want you to be prepared for the school supply list or look around your office. Is it time to get a new set of pens, highlighters, or a working stapler? I remember the year we needed the scientific calculator - like why? My kids weren’t going to be scientists. You may need to budget for an item or two, but at least you won’t be surprised.

Back to School Blitz (Now-August 22nd)

Day 1 Clothing

Day 2 Command Center

Day 3 Supplies

Day 4 Personal Grooming

Day 5 How We Get Out The Door

It’s more fun when you invite a friend or family member to do this with you. This is a great, free introduction to Organize 365® for someone that you know who could benefit. When Labor Day rolls around and you realize it’s back to reality, I want your train to already be chugging along for the ten most productive weeks of the year and that comes with planning now.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Back to School Blitz

• 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!

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!