Moms Rock!

I love working with moms and I enjoy helping them make their daily lives easier and less stressful through the tool of organization. God has given us an awesome responsibility and it's so easy to at times feel caught up and overwhelmed with the every day tasks. I truly believe that organization is tool that can help us so much.

I've recently had the opportunity to get know and work with some great women who took my Paper Organizing for Busy Moms Virtual Workshop. I am always so impressed by their determination and commitment. These women are taking care of their families, working and striving for organization and balance in their lives.

Feeling Off-Balanced?

What are those things that are most important to you?

Are you satisfied in those areas of your life?

If not, what is one thing you can do today to start making changes?

The Secret About To-Do Lists

Writing a task on your to-do list doesn't automatically make it happen, but here are 4 simple tips that can help make your list work harder for you.

1. Be specific. Be clear on what you want to accomplish and how.


2. Set a deadline. When do you want to accomplish your task by?


3. Be realistic. Don't pile on so much that you start to feel overwhelmed. If you are guilty of overloading your daily list, try for 2-3 tasks a day.
   
4. Break it down. Take large projects and break them down into smaller tasks.

What are 3 things on your to-do list? Here's my to-do list for the month of October:

1. Set up the baby crib.
2. Upload our last summer photos to my online photo book project.
3. Call about piano lessons.

For more Works-For-Me ideas, visit We Are THAT Family.

Quick Organizing: Magazines

Do you feel like you just don't have a lot time to devote to organizing? No problem! You can schedule mini organizing session with yourself to tackle small projects. These mini tasks may give you the motivation to tackle larger organizing projects.

I've come up with 8 simple home organizing projects that you can do in 20 minutes or less. I'll be sharing these quick project with you during the next few weeks.

Project #1

Weed through that magazine pile and keep only the last 2 months' issues. Straighten up the pile or put them in a decorative basket. Re-evaluate the subscriptions you are getting. If you find you just have the time to read all the magazines, decide which one you will no longer receive.

For more Works-For-Me ideas, visit We Are THAT Family.

Want to Get Organized? Here Are the Steps

"Where do I start?" I am asked that over and over. Many have good intentions of getting organized-they just don't know where to start. Start small! If organizing is a challenge for you, break it down and start small. Pick a drawer. How about that junk drawer that just won't close (or open) when you want it to? Here are 5 simple steps that will help you break your organizing project down and keep you on track.

STUFF System™

Sort. Take everything out of the drawer and sort like items together. Get all the batteries together. Pile up all the pens and pencils.

Take Out. Throw out broken items and pieces that just don't go to anything. Make a pile of items that just don't belong in that drawer, but don't take them to their homes yet! Wait until you are all finished before you do that.

Utilize a System. How can you divide that drawer to make the best use of the space? Pens and notepads on the side closest to the phone? Flashlight near the front so you can find it in the dark?

Fill Containers. Use small inexpensive containers to to contain like items. Remember those piles you created while sorting? Keep them together so when you retrieve something and return something, its quick and easy. Plus, you will keep your stuff from getting all mixed up from opening and closing the drawer.

Follow-Up. Yes, it will take work to keep your new organized drawer nice and neat, but having a system in place will make it so much easier.

So, where can you start today? What drawer or shelf or cupboard will help you get warmed up? Pick one small area that you can do today and follow my STUFF System™.

Get your copies of my special reports just for moms, 5 Must-Know Organizing Tips For Busy Moms and The Clutter-Free Gift Giving Guide HERE.

How Do I Find the Motivation to Follow Through With Getting Organized?

Yesterday I shared a list of 7 Reasons to Hire a Professional Organizer. My very humorous blogging friend, Helene over at I'm Living Proof that God Has a Sense of Humor, asked a great question that I would like to answer.

Helelene wrote: How ironic this post is!! My husband and I today were just chatting about how less chaotic our lives would feel if we got more organized. We can't anything around here b/c things are just stuffed into closets or cabinets. I always read your posts and think you have such great ideas....now do you have any suggestions on how I should actually motivate myself to follow through? See, that's my problem...I wish I could just snap my fingers and it would be all done for me...LOL!

Helene, great question! How to get started.....ALWAYS one small step at a time. Here are a few past motivation posts that might help. Before you even start, it might be helpful to verbalize or write down some of your goals.

As you walk through each area of your home, think about:

1. What do you see?
2. How do you feel?
3. What are the negative results of being unorganized in this specific area?
4. Now visualize this space organized. What would it look like?
5. What are the positive results of being organized in this specific area?
6. How would you feel?

Finally, to get started, you have to make a commitment. You are right, it's not just going to happen at the snap of a finger (darn!). Set an appointment with yourself to focus on one area at a time. What I mean is write it on your calendar, make childcare arrangements so you are not distracted and spend that time just organizing - no answering the phone, no running to the store for this or that.

Use my STUFF SYSTEM (TM) to break the job down into steps.

If you find it's difficult for you to get started, consider working with a professional organizer. I find that some of my clients just need the support in the beginning while others want the support and accountability throughout the process.

One Step at a Time With Positive Thinking

This morning at my exercise class, I was reminded of the power of positive thinking. When it comes to exercising, I am my own worst enemy. My mindset totally affects my performance.

This is something I have been well aware of since I started sports in Jr. high, particularly Track and Field. Back then and throughout high school, I would make myself physically sick due to nervousness. I believe competition is healthy; it pushes us. But, what was making me so nervous wasn't the performance, it was the fear of failing and the fear of the hurt. I didn't have to win the race, but I did want to improve my times or jumps.

By the time I got to college, I wanted to give up Track and Field. I didn't think I could go through another season of pressure, nervousness, and fear. Luckily, the women's coach didn't forget about me and encouraged me to give it another try.

I learned a great thing -- positive self talk and visualization. I think maturity definitely had something to do with my shift, but I looked at my races in a whole new way. They were just races and not the deciding factor of who I was as a person.

You see, I believe I was putting too much focus on my performance identifying who I was as a person. We can never be perfect, but still can be a good person who strives to do their best, to learn from mistakes, and to grow.

So, this morning at exercise class, I found myself saying, "I can get through this set of push-ups. I can do all these squats (even though my legs were screaming). And, I will try to hold this plank as long as my body will allow me!" Do I always achieve everything? No, but I accomplish a lot more than when I focused on the hurt, the hard work ahead of me, and when I let my fears and negative self-talk rule my mind and spirit.

"What does this have to do with organizing, Paula?"

I'm glad you asked! Organizing, like any other challenges you may face, needs a positive outlook. If you tell yourself negative things like, "If you could just get your act together....why can't you be more like.....you are never going to get organized.....this is going to be too much work" you won't.

But, what if you changed your approach? What if you told yourself positive things throughout the process? It might sound something like this: "I am going to get this office organized....it will be a system that works for me and my family...I can do it one step at a time....I will try again tomorrow."

Just try it and then try it again and again. See if it opens new doors for you. It sure has for me!

Where I went to college: University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Where I take those awesome exercise classes: Rock Lake Activity Center, Lake Mills

Six Questions to Help You Find Your Motivation for Organization

Think of an area in your home or office that you want to get organized. Visualize yourself standing right in that space. Get a piece of paper and write down your thoughts to the following:

1. What do you see?
2. How do you feel?
3. What are the negative results of being unorganized in this specific area?
4. Now visualize this space organized.
5. What would it look like?
6. How would you feel?

Top Three Questions I ask My Clients

An important step of getting organized is to identify YOUR motivational factors. Get a piece of paper (or a computer) and start writing (or typing) your thoughts to these three questions:

1. Why do you want to get organized?
2. What does organization look like to you?
3. How will you feel in your organized space?

Don't worry about writing a master piece. The important point is to explore all your thoughts. Organization is different for everyone and taking the time to find out what that means to you will hopefully provide you with a little bit of motivation.

Don’t focus on what you haven’t done, but what can be done.

Do you find it hard to get started on a big project? Do you get overwhelmed by all that needs to be done? Do you start making mental lists of everything that needs to be done and what you have failed to do? Try this. Focus on what CAN be done. Start small.

Last year I had the opportunity to hear an outstanding speaker, Mark LeBlanc. Mark is the author of a great book called Growing Your Business. One of his methods of focusing on what can be done is choosing 3 activities a day that will bring you closer to your goal. These don’t have to be major projects, but small steps.

Once you start giving yourself opportunities to succeed, you will empower yourself to do more and to continue to grow. What CAN you do today?