Category: Organizing Tips | Organized To Perfection

Do not Procrastinate in 2020!

September 1, 2020 By Beth Fuchs Leave a Comment

We are more than halfway through this year and as you know, everything can change on a dime in 2020! I know you are strong and I hope you have been able to weather the storm that 2020 has given us! I know we always want to be organized as best as we can but life gets in the way and things change. BUT I am here to help you get control of your work and life schedules for things in your home! My mantra for 2020: Do not procrastinate!

Due to the country had to shut down in March, you may have had to cancel or postpone your doctors appointments. Now is the time to reschedule your doctors appointments so you have your checkups up-to-date. Making up your doctors appointments is very important and you should not delay in keeping up with your health. All doctors offices are following strict guidelines to keep all of their patients and staff safe and healthy due to Covid-19 so you should feel safe going into their offices.
Don’t delay on home repairs or renovations that you need or want to do in your home. Many of the contractors are an essential business and they have been working during the pandemic. Many of the appliances around your home do not give you a warning of when they go out and now is a time set up an appointment for maintenance on your household appliances. Now that we are heading into the fall season see if your furnace needs a cleaning or are your other appliances in good shape or do they need to be replaced.
Get together with friends and family with safe practices! For several months now I know we have not been able to get together on a regular basis with family and friends due to the concerns of keeping everyone safe and healthy. Now with the warm weather and easier ways to get outside, if you feel comfortable, get together with your family and friends. Of course I want everyone to stay healthy and safe and that is the number one priority, but I know that staying connected in your relationships are very important also!
In the past I have always heard people say “I wish I had time to work on my favorite hobbies, start reading books by my favorite author or take time to take care of my health”. Now is the time to do that! We may have additional time in our schedules now due to the pandemic or we have limited time, but I want you to really think about not delaying your wishes, whatever they may be. Also getting your home better organized now so you feel peace and calm in your home or connecting with your family and friends, please do not procrastinate!

Years from now when we look back at this year, there will be many emotions, thoughts and comments that changed all of our lives. I want you all to take a minute to make the most of this year and keep moving forward because I know things will be better if we work on it! I have listed a few ideas and projects for you to think about and work on and if you need help with accomplishing these, please let me know. Some of them may not be a direct path to organization, but if you get your life and home in order and get better organized, you will have time to work on these ideas that I have listed here.

I wish that you all stay healthy and safe during this year!

Organizing Your Mind Tips

October 9, 2017 By Beth Fuchs Leave a Comment

I hope you are all having a great fall season so far! I always love when the change of seasons happen in the Midwest and the vibrant colors on the trees occur. I would like to take a different approach this month about organizing and talk about your thoughts and how you should think about tackling your organizing projects.

One important thought I would like for you to consider when you are starting an organizing project is what is the PURPOSE you are trying to achieve here with your space? Are you trying to make space so new items can be organized and fit in that space? Are you finally ready to get rid of old paperwork that is weighing you down and taking over the dining room table? The question you need to ask yourself is what is your GOAL you are trying to achieve here. Once you figure out the purpose and the goal for the space that you want to get organized, the process of sorting, purging and organizing will be easier to work on.

The second important thought I would like you to think about is what are the CONSEQUENCES if you do not have that specific piece of paper? Or what would happen if you recycled your kids old school papers from 4 years ago? This is the question that you need to ask yourself when you are looking at sorting and purging paperwork in your home or even your office. What is the consequence if you got rid of the papers? Do you need to keep the papers for your accountant, lawyer or your medical history for your doctor? If you can not think of any reason to keep the papers or there are no true consequences that you can think of, then it is ok to let it go. If you are truly in doubt then keep the paperwork but plan on reviewing the papers in about 6 months or 1 year when it may be easier for you to get rid of the paperwork.

Most of the time my clients are overwhelmed at the start of the project and do not know where to start. The best way to handle this is to take 1 CATEGORY at a time and only work on that. For example if you are working in your bedroom, only address the clothes in your room or your closet. If you are working with your papers on your desk area, only look at papers that you know are 100% recyclable and you can get rid of them. And if you are in your garage area, just look at gardening items or just the tools to sort and organize. Most people get overwhelmed and look at the picture as a whole but if you just take a small category to work on, then it is manageable for you and you get the project completed!

Try using these techniques when you are starting a project and I know they will be very helpful for you so you can start and finish the task at hand! If you have any questions about my service or would like some clarification on some points I have addressed here, please let me know and I would be happy to help you out. You can reach me at beth@organizedtoperfection.com or my business line at 630-668-0993. Thank you and have a great fall season!

Organizing memorabilia items

November 10, 2016 By Beth Fuchs Leave a Comment

44010gdisplaycube_600 This is the time of year where parents and kids want to keep certain items as a memory and keepsakes so they are protected and can be displayed or shared with family members. Many people have a hard time trying to figure out the best way to store and protect family pictures, newspaper articles or sports memorabilia. Here are some ideas and some solutions for the best way to keep your memorabilia items safe.

Now that the baseball season is over with the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series (yes it is still unbelievable to say that in Chicago), the fans are looking to store their memorabilia items from the games. One solution are items from The Container Store www.containerstore.com and ideas on Amazon www.amazon.com to organize your sports memorabilia. I have worked with several clients where they have several items that they cherish and want to keep safe and I help them solve their problems.

Also parents love taking pictures of their kids when they are in school plays, high school football games and prom. Many people do not print out pictures anymore but have them stored on their cellular phones. You can download pictures to your computer or go to Dropbox www.dropbox.com to find out solutions to organize your pictures. Also archive boxes are a secure and easy way to keep newspaper clippings, fine linens and christening gowns safe. The boxes are easy to stack and can be stored in closets, under the beds or shelving units.

If you have young kids or have grand kids and you want to preserve their special artwork you can do that with artist portfolio. There are several solutions online or you can go to the store Michaels Arts & Crafts, www.michaels.com, for solutions to protect their art projects or paintings. This is a great way to keep your kids artwork organized and the artist portfolio can hold many projects instead of having them all over your kitchen or dining room table.

As many of my clients know I always recommend to them to protect and honor their family memorabilia items and keep them in a safe place. I always see the joy and happiness on my clients face when they come across these items and it is my job to help them protect and preserve them the best way I can. If you have any questions about how to organize your memorabilia items or other organizing questions please contact me and I would be happy to help you find solutions to your specific needs. Thank you and I hope you all enjoy the holidays!

Small space organizing projects

September 26, 2016 By Beth Fuchs Leave a Comment

spice-pic My challenge for you this fall is to organize places that you never think of or were afraid to go to! For example, the very back area of your pantry, under all beds and bathroom cabinets, drawers and under the sink. Here are a few tips to help you through this process.

Start with the pantry and clear out completely one shelf at a time. Is the food in the back still good? Did the food expire? Expired food or ingredients for food should be thrown away. It certainly is not worth getting food poisoning or feeling sick. If in doubt, throw it out! Now go to all of the bedrooms and get a flashlight and look under all of the beds. Get a coat hanger, if needed, to clear out all of the water bottles, clothes, books, tissues and toys. You will be surprised at all that you find, including items you thought were missing!

Next project is to clean out and go through all of your bathroom drawers. Throw out any expired medicine and old makeup. Again, you don’t want to get sick or cause skin rashes. Use small containers to hold hair products, nail products, makeup and first aid items. If you use dish pans for all items under the sink the items will stay dry if pipes leak.

Another great project is to sort and organize your spice area or drawer. As you sort through your spices you may see ones that you never use or have not used in several years. If you have not used certain spices in several years do you need to keep them? And if you have limited space and need a solution, I would recommend you only keep the spices that you use on a regular basis and get rid of the ones that you have not used in a long time. Check out some retail stores like Target or The Container Store for options to store and organize your spices plus other solutions for your bathroom cabinets and under the bed storage.

After you are done with these small spaces you will feel a great accomplishment! If you have questions or need additional help with these spaces please contact me and I would be happy to help you get results!

PROUD & ACTIVE MEMBER