I am focused on explaining, in detail, the set up of the Sunday Basket®. Just wait till you complete this step - all the paper organized and no more trying to remember everything by cognitive power alone.

The Course

When you purchase the Sunday Basket®, you get access to the in app community and the online course. Once you make your purchase you start getting a string of emails to read then go complete. Now if you've had your Sunday Basket® for a minute, you may or may not remember getting those emails. Not sure you understand the "assignment"? You also get corresponding videos to show what to do. There's good news, last year I revamped all the videos and emails. New to or familiar with the Sunday Basket®, you can go into the course and click on Lisa's emails if you need a refresher and then watch the videos. And just so you know, this podcast series is going faster than the course. You can of course always do the course slower too.

The Paper Piles

Remember there were piles that got recycled, shredded, and archived. Now you are sorting your actionable papers and all those index cards. This is why I say one item per index card, that interrupts you whatever you were doing when that idea came to you, so you can touch it, manipulate it, and move it. Dump all those papers on the floor and begin to sort around yourself. I find that I run out of room if I try to use the kitchen counter. It is important that you sort based on activity like phone calls you need to make, or plans you have for traveling, or items you need to add to your calendar, and piles for individual people.

The Slash Pockets

Each of those piles will go into it's own slash pocket. You will see the slash pockets have two sides. If you need to use both sides temporarily, that fine till you can order more. I will be sharing the reason why I do one idea per slash pocket later. And if you run out feel free to use a paper clip.

It's because of the slash pocket we can play the delayed decision making game. Get in the practice for 4-6 solid weeks of writing everything down on index cards and pop them in your Sunday Basket®. Each Sunday you will review, take action, or place in a slash pocket for safe keeping until it demands to be taken care of or you have time. Back in the day there was more paper which was easier to keep track of all the things. Digital subscriptions, bill pay, and newsletter were physical. I encourage you to print those things out and review during your Sunday Basket® time. Right now sorting and placing in the Slash Pockets is the name of the game.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Preorder your hard copy of Escaping Quicksand

• 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

Step number one of setting up the Sunday Basket® is always the Big Sort. For the first time, I'm going into a detailed explanation of how to complete your big sort. After the big sort and decision making, you will feel empowered. It's time to dust off your Sunday Basket® if you have one because the next few episodes are all about setting up your Sunday Basket® and managing your cognitive load to be productive! If you are getting ready to purchase your Sunday Basket® please note there is a Classic Sunday Basket® and the Complete Sunday Basket®, when ordering. I explained the difference in this episode.

The Big Sort

Ok, so to start, you need a couple laundry baskets. You need to gather all the paper in your house. Yes, even your hiding places. Remember when company was on their way over and you shoved the paper pile somewhere? I've seen it all and I know all about the laundry room, your garage, backpacks, and lots of other places because I saw it in all my organizing client's homes. I'm guilty too! Here's the caveat: If you have newspapers, magazines, or catalogs, place them where you've been collecting paper, otherwise those laundry baskets are going to get really heavy. However, we are not collecting filing cabinet paper or paper nex to the filing cabinet that is waiting to be filed. We'll address them in May.

First, we're going to address newspapers, magazines, and catalogs. If they are a passion of yours, keep them. If you can come up with a plan to read them if that is important to you then set up an area maybe next to your chair, so you will actually look at them but then recycle them once you have read them. And last I grant you an amnesty day. Recycle all of them. If it's the news, it's old anyway. And you likely have a subscription so the new ones are on their way. Also, create a rule on when you will read them and how soon after you will recycle them. I have a routine where I read a newsletter and look through a catalog when I process my Sunday Basket®.

Laundry Baskets

It's time to sort the, what 2 or 3 laundry baskets you filled? I like to sort in the kitchen because I like the height of the counter. You need to set up 4 laundry baskets or banker's boxes with labels: Recycle, Shred, Archive, Active. They are pretty self explanatory except "Active". The active papers are going to end up in the Sunday Basket®. These steps can take weeks. It may be to overwhelming to do all of this in one pass. Remember I say, unapologetically, it's going to take time to get organized. And there's still one more thing you need to do to conclude the big sort.

You Are Already Managing It All

You need to empty your brain. Get a couple packs of index cards. You are going to sit down and just write down all the things your brain is thinking of. You will end up with a pile of thoughts. I know it looks overwhelming but the truth is, this is everything you are trying to manage without help. It can be things you need to remember for that day, something you need to renew or pay, something that you want to do for the next holiday, birthdays, whatever comes to mind! BUT, one thought per card. There is a method to my madness. Now you have active and archive papers and allllllll these index cards. Fear not! In the next episode, we are going to talk about the slash pockets that came with your Sunday Basket®. We are going to organize all that paper and you index cards and remove the overwhelm. In the meantime, If you see any task or item that cannot wait till the next episode, you must complete them. Put them on the list for a day this week and get them done!

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Preorder your hard copy of Escaping Quicksand

• 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

Happy 8th Birthday to the physical Sunday Basket®! The Sunday Basket® is your Golden Ticket to relieve household manager overwhelm. Life is changing rapidly, thank you very much AI, and increasing your capacity is paramount for your new way of living. Now is your chance to get your train car all set up so you can start adding other train cars (Sunday Baskets®) and be efficient like Rockafeller.

Change

Why like Rockafeller? This man from PA, refined oil. After refining the oil he had to transport the oil. He placed the oil in barrels. In order to be more efficient, he asked his workers to see how little material they could used to "seal" the metal bands around the barrels. Once he was efficient in that he questioned how could be be more efficient in transportation. Initially the barrels were transported on train cars but they were heavy and lost some oil along the way. So he came up with an oil tanker. The tanker carried a lot more oil without leaking.

Curiosity

How can you too be curious about everything you do in your homes to increase efficiency? What are your current systems and expectations and are they set for efficiency? I think about my robot vacuum. Grayson's new school has them play outside daily which means dirty shoes so I run it a little more often. But once the baby starts crawling, I plan to run it nightly. I adjust my cleaning standards based on my comfort level of cleanliness and the current phase of my family. I want you to always be asking yourself "Why am I doing this?" "Can someone else do it?" Or "Can I do this less frequently?" How little can you do each week?

Time to Get Your Golden Ticket

A great way to see how little you can do each week is, yes be curious, and get really good at your Sunday Basket®. The Sunday Basket helps you to proactively procrastinate. Your Sunday Basket is your train car. If you are lost as to what I am talking about please revisit ep. 570 (linked below.) Our train cars are each Sunday Basket we have for each project we are executing like a side hustle, someone else's home, work, or planning a big event. It's a safe place for actionable paperwork so that you can take ownership of our household manager role and create systems to be proactive planned.

As a present to you on this special birthday, the Sunday Basket will be on sale and you can get it all set up before Maycember!! What is Maycember? It's a chaotic time of year, like Christmas, but it doesn't affect the majority of the general public so you feel a little crazy. There are 4 main things that can derail your system and Maycember is part of the annual seasonality of life; the energy and load each season has. THern there's if something happens to you personally like you get sick or decide to get your PhD, life stages, and caregiving. When you have your Sunday Basket® routine down it's ike you are on autopilot and have capacity to make decisions in reaction to what the latest unexpected event life has thrown your way!

Not only is it on sale but I'll be diving into the Sunday Basket® more detailed in the next few episodes. Plus there will be two seminars coming up. Live in the Sunday Basket Club, in the app, on March 20th at 1:30pm ET I'm going to explain all about the taxes basket. And on Friday March 27th I'm going to explain how to set up a calendar box. This Calendar box will play a role in Planning Day too. So now from the Holiday Blitz Bundle, I'll be explaining how the Sapphire Sunday Basket will be transformed into an Anything That Can Wait basket. Get your Sunday Basket® to get efficient so that you can have a productive train!

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Sunday Basket Birthday Flyer

• Ep. 570 - Creating a HOME Organizing Train

• Preorder your hard copy of Escaping Quicksand

• 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

I have been feeling the tug to share my personal experience with depression for quite a while.

It may surprise you to hear that I have struggled with depression. I'm a pretty upbeat gal! Well, it surprised me too.

In today's podcast, I share my personal story with depression and how it affects every area of your life.

Here are 5 tips I gave myself and share with clients about how depression affects organization.

1. Give yourself grace.

I cannot even put into words how depression zapped me of every shred of energy to do ANYTHING. And the thought of tackling an organization project was SO overwhelming. My "will power" got up and went - AWAY!

2. Get a friend to help you.

Another friend's perspective, energy and motivation are contagious and can help you push through when you just want to watch TV. Used strategically, friends can help you get organized and stay functioning when your own initiative is low.

Over 50% of the Organize 365 clients call us in to help because they just can't do the organizing themselves in their depressed state.

3. Pick ONE area and COMPLETE it before moving on no matter how long it takes.

Slow and steady wins the race! Your home did not become a "mess" overnight, and it won't get organized overnight either. One step at a time.

Pick an area where you can get a quick win and start there:

• Your night stand
• Your dresser
• The car
• The Master Closet

The key is to MAINTAIN that area when you tackle area #2. The Productive Home Solution™ is ordered in a way so the areas you organize will stay organized as you move on to the next area of your home.

4. Acknowledge your limitations.

I know how frustrated you are! Knowing what I USED to be able to do made me even MORE depressed when I couldn't seem to tackle even the basics when I was depressed.

If it's a bad day... it's OK! You have time to get organized and take care of yourself.

And when your desire is beyond your physical ability - hire help.

5. Surround yourself with positive people.

I know it's easier to say than do, but I always felt better when I made myself go OUT and BE with people, even though I didn't want to.

I can't even tell you how many times we will be laughing with clients and then they say,

• "I can't believe how fun you make organizing!"
• "I haven't been able to laugh like that in a long time."
• "If I knew how quickly you could get this organized I wouldn't have waited so long to call."
• and our favorite. "I can't believe there are people who actually LIKE to organize!"

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Preorder your hard copy of Escaping Quicksand

• 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

Here it is, the first chapter of my latest book Escaping Quicksand. I thought it was necessary for the reader to understand that I too have found myself in quicksand and realized there was no rock bottom to hit. Through escaping "the quicksand", I learned the lesson of the unpopular truth that you have to make yourself a priority.

How Did I Get In the Pit of Despair?

I've always been a planner and organized. But the systems I brought into adulthood slowly started to break as the complexity of life increased by adding a spouse, a house, and children. I suppose it was around the time of the 2008 recession that life gave the final push into the pit of despair. My father had fallen which led to a decline in his health and ultimately his passing. My sister and I shared roles to care for him and then settle his estate but it was a lot financially, logistically, and emotionally. On top of that I had become a very negative person that no one really wanted to be around. The more I fought to not sink lower in the quicksand of the pit of despair, the deeper I fell.

Grandma's Car

As I was getting ready to turn 40 I realized that no one was coming to save me. If it was to be it was up to me! I remembered all the inspirational and motivational speakers I'd heard in the back seat of my grandma's car and when I'd been in tow with my mother at events. Some of their one liners started popping into my head. It was at that point that I realized I needed to support myself in the same way I support my family members in their daily lives, with their diet, physical fitness, and education! It was up to me to fix my broken life. We are so busy taking care of everyone else that we get lost in the mix and never get put on the list. The first thing I did was organize my physical spaces and that's when I wrote Organization is a Learnable Skill.

Pampering Is Not Self Care

Yes, a pedicure is nice, but we need to do so much more to take care of ourselves. There's child care and elder care — but when do we get to self-care? It's not selfish. When I realized no one was coming to save me, I was not ready to assume care for myself. My life was a mess, and I remember thinking, "How was this my life?" I had taken care of my family, of course, but something clicked and I knew, "If it was to be, it was up to me." That felt overwhelming because at that point I could only go day by day. I freed up time by quitting my job, and it became my mission to get out of the quicksand.

This book explains how I took care of myself so that I could better take care of everyone else. We all know the cliché truth that on an airplane you have to put on your own air mask before helping a child. It's uncomfortable to focus on yourself — but you must.

If you loved hearing this chapter, then you'll want to preorder your hard copy of Escaping Quicksand because you'll immediately join the book club. I'll be releasing the audio version one week at a time to allow you to process and implement the chapter. There will also be discussion questions for the community to chat about. I look forward to seeing you in the book club!

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Preorder your hard copy of Escaping Quicksand

• 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

I've been talking about a book I've been writing and I'm here to tell you all the juicy details and that you can preorder it now! In the end, I realized the world didn't need a book on how to organize your home because you have no resources to complete the tasks. Escaping Quicksand will arm you with the tools to get your home organized and move to productivity!

Thought Process and Creation

This is my sixth book. I don't tell you that to brag. I tell you that to share that I have published each book in different ways. Not sure if you have written a book but I always like to share my journey and thought process in case it's something you have been thinking about doing too.

I really struggled with feeling "set" on the book theme. I wrote two other versions of "the book" I thought I was going to publish. But one morning about 5am, it came to me. The first chapter was written in about an hour and it felt right. I finally nailed down what people needed. I wrote a book on shifting your mindset to accomplish your home organization goals! I shared the first paragraph with my team and they unanimously agreed, yes this is the book people need. I wrote it in two weeks. It was effortless and I felt passionate about what I was sharing.

And when do people need it? In June of course. I insisted on having it released on June 23rd. Why? Because that's when our year is "wrapping up." The end of June is when I have our team week. It's when school is wrapping up, we're resetting, and dreaming. And July is a great month to read a new book. This is a thinking book. Secret: When you preorder, chapters will be released early!

What's It About

You will start reading the first three pre chapters. I started by sharing my quicksand story. I realized when you have hit "rock bottom", it turns out that you just keep going, like no end to the pit. You just keep sinking until the quicksand swallows you! I want to help you before you get too deep in the quicksand. Inevitably, it seems as though we hit 40 and reevaluate life; that come to Jesus conversation we have with ourselves. We've had enough and know there has to be a solution out there somewhere.

And what about us? When do we put ourselves on the to do list? So, the next chapter is about self care. How do we care for our whole person? Our education, spiritual care, health, and all the other aspects of a whole person. The third prechapter is the fact that our household is an economic powerhouse.

And then we get into the meat of the book explaining Swiss cheese organizing, being a woman of excellence, morning and afternoon routines, letting go of housework expectations, taking "center stage" when doing housework, weekly planning, and from to do lists to productivity!

Get the Book and Join the Book Club

Who loves a book club? There are already over 1,000 people who have preordered the book and have the opportunity to join the book club. You can preorder the book through the Organize 365® website or through your favorite book retailer. Then just upload your receipt and you too can join the book club. I am planning on releasing the chapters early each week for 13 weeks. I will release videos and will be posing questions out there for all of us to discuss about the chapters and how it applies to you as a household manager. This will allow you to change your mindset in real time. It's too easy to just keep reading and not take action. This slow release will give you a week to ruminate about what you read and what the community has said.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Preorder your hard copy of Escaping Quicksand

• 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

Ok, the line leader for executive functions is working memory. Remember? At the end of the line is the higher level executive function of planning. Planning is the ultimate self care because it ensures high priority tasks will get completed and gives you peace. I'm explaining how getting your working memory and prospective memory to play nice, will allow Planning to have a chance to play a role in your life and finally free up your full cognitive bandwidth!

TMP

Time management planning; plan for the day, prioritize, and set deadlines. You wrote your brian down on paper and you decided if it could wait. The items that could not wait need to be plugged into a time block in your week. This is Time management planning. The key to this is leaving a little white space for when life's inevitable interruptions pop up.

Contingency Planning

You uplevel your planning when you have a contingent plan. Choose which items, if need be, for tomorrow's plan can be pushed to the next day or put back in the Sunday Basket®. We all know we will be interrupted but have you made a contingency plan, a back up plan, for the day you are planning? Studies show that people who have contingency plans get more done than those who do not. Those same studies show, mind you this is in the workplace, that even with support staff and a cleaning crew, they still only complete their to-do list, 80% of the time. At least one day a week they are not completing their tasks. Now I ask you, do you think we are interrupted more at home or at work? At home we are definitely interrupted more and we are the support staff and the cleaning crew. I hope this is giving you insight as to why you are not completing your to do list. There is a lot demanding our time.

The Sunday Basket® shines at contingent planning. On Sunday when you are making the week's plan, you can think through your meals, what if there is a snow day, what if a college doesn't meet their deadline. But you must plan at the end. We realized, in looking over the 80 questions submitted for the Sunday Basket® webinar in late December, that most of you aren't getting to the planning step. You should start with sorting index cards and going through slash pockets, then you do random tasks and managerial tasks, for me it's CFO stuff.

Lastly, PLAN! I say it takes me 90 min to 3 hours because it depends on how much I do between sorting and planning. Pro tip: I plan Friday "in pencil." I take all the tasks I need to complete and fill them into time blocks based on importance of completion. I know though, that by Friday, some tasks will have overflowed to Friday. Life happened all week. Some items will have to go back to the Sunday Basket® and some items will be pushed to Friday. There has to be white space for flexibility. That's why we have to honestly answer, "Can it wait till Sunday?" This question may free up time that was already given to something you wanted to do not had to do. There just isn't enough time to get it all done but there is enough time, if you plan, to get all the important stuff done through planning.

Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is the long term planning, like what we do on Planning Day, in the Productive Home Solution™. When planning, it is best to have uninterrupted time because it requires our working memory. We cannot change people so we modify the environment. We cannot eliminate distractions so we must have daily/weekly plans. Planning will never become a habit. But you can use things like the beginning of the school week to plan your weeks and the school year as a reminder to get some long term planning done. Strategic planning is how we get a grounding system in place to tackle the three types of planning; TMP, contingency, and strategic. Planning is the ultimate self care.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• The Productive Home Solution

• Register for Webinar Replays

• 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.