Storage Solution of the Week: using drawer organizers to store Project Life journaling cards

In honor of January, we're bringing back the storage solution of the week series. Hope you enjoy today's post! 

What it is: Today’s storage pick is the clear, plastic drawer organizer.  

 

Where I got it:  Target. I found this in the seasonal area (back where the holiday items used to be). I have seen similar organizers at Target (and other stores) in the past, but usually they’re acrylic and almost three times more expensive. This three-compartment drawer organizer was $3.49. I purchased it earlier this week, so hopefully they still carry them. ;) 

Why I love it: Well, really, who doesn’t love a good drawer organizer? They’re oh-so handy for taming the chaos in drawers all over the house—for utensils in the kitchen, make-up in the bathroom bathroom, staples, sticky notes and paper clips in the office, and all sorts of little goodies in the craft room. But…the very best thing about this particular drawer organizer is that it holds my Project Life journaling cards absolutely perfectly! And this my friends, makes me quite giddy. (Thanks to this pin for the tip-off on these great little drawer organizers. Hooray!)  

 

Are you a fan of drawer organizers? How do you store your Project Life supplies? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for sharing.

What's on Your Weekend To-Do List?

Happy Friday my friends! I hope you had a fantastic week, and that you have your sights set on a fun and fabulously productive weekend.  I’ve got  busy one planned and I’m really looking forward to it! Here’s what’s on tap for me this weekend:

Play List

• Movie night. (And decide on a treat to bring and share!)

• Boot camp

• Dinner with friends

• Holiday card project

 

To Finish

• Update the family cleaning schedule

• Enter to-dos in Remember the Milk

• Set up 2012 files in my office

• Get and wrap a birthday gift

• Clean house

• Select 2012 goals and write goal statements

• Laundry

• Plan weekly meals

• Go to Michael's

 

Whew, feels like it’s going to be busy but fun—just how I like it. What's on your to-do list this weekend? I'd love to hear from you! Hope you have a great weekend!

10 Simple Organizing Projects

Think of THE most organized person that you know. I can almost promise you that person has a cabinet or a storage area or a few drawers that aren't totally in control 100% of the time. No matter where you think you fall on the "organization spectrum," we all have areas that can use a bit of tidying and improving. So it is in that spirit that we've pulled together this list of 10 simple organizing projects.

 

If you are just starting out on being more organized, these bite-sized projects introduce order into your life one step at a time. If you're ultra-organized, you may find an idea or two for your home, too. And to everyone who is somewhere in between, here are 10 projects to help you get more done so you have more time for fun. Enjoy!

 

1.  Cut the paper clutter! You need that sports schedule, the business cards, the carryout menu, but what you don't need are those stacks of papers shifting from one vertical spot to the next. Create a FREE home reference binder to corral your paper clutter.  

 

2. Got kids? Then you probably "got" paper clutter too. If there is one group of people who sure can create a large influx of paper, it is our children! Use these solutions to organize your kids' artwork. 

 

 

3. Get everyone in the family on the same page by using a family message center. It's a centralized place for the family's to-do lists, schedules, chores, reminders and notes. 

 

 

4.  Leave a note on your message center reminding everyone about family game night, which will be so much easier to pull off after your organize your games.

 

5.  Of course, all this family time works up an appetite. But, oh no! You returned from the store only to realize you forgot the farfalle for tonight's dinner! Creating an errand center mini zone will help you stay on top of errands to run and items to purchase, as well as centralizing your coupons, sale flyers, receipts and more. 

 

 

6. You'll be fully prepared to run those errands, once you've gotten a grip on your glove compartment with project number six.

 

 

 

7.  Be prepared for those times when you can't get out and run errands because everyone is sick. Keep what you need on hand by creating a sick stash ahead of time.

 

 

 

8.  There's nothing like curling up with a good book when you're sick or at the end of a long day. Best yet, you may rediscover a favorite read after organizing your books.

 

 

9. Next up, let's make it a snap to find that favorite farfalle recipe. Your eating preferences may change with the seasons, but a seasonal recipe binder will put the right foods at your fingertips any time of year.  

 

 

10. If there is anything left of your culinary delights, saving them is a cinch with your oh-so-organized food storage containers. 

 

Need some company as you tackle your organizing projects? Our online workshops provide a great community of people to share ideas, plus you get the expert advice of a professional organizer as you work through projects at your own pace. Organizing 101 is just getting underway, and there's still plenty of time to join the fun! Hope to see you online soon!

 

Happy Organizing!

How was your weekend...?

I hope you had a great weekend—one that was filled with lots of fun and relaxation, plus a bit of getting things done. Here's my update on my Finish It Friday list:

 

Play List

• Boot camp! Check! 

• Do a creative project. Check – I knitted. 

• Create my list of 101 dreams for 2012. Check!  

 

To Finish

• Laundry.  The last load is in the dryer as I type. (Hello empty hampers. It’s nice to see you again.)

• Clean the house. Check!

• Plan meals for the upcoming week and grocery shop. Check and check!

• Take care of the final holiday returns / exchanges. Check!! (Hooray!)

• Finish up thank you notes. Check!

• Water-proof my new boots. Check. Seriously this took about two minutes. Glad I put it on my list because in my mind this was a much bigger project. 

• Give Maggie (our dog) a bath! Check. (Thank you, Jay. :) ) 

 

How was your weekend? Thanks for sharing in the comments!

A Year of Organizing Checklists

 *** To view the pdfs of the printables, please scroll down to the bottom of this post. Thanks! ***

Is one of your goals this year to get more organized? If so, this post is for you. Below are monthly organizing checklists—one for each month of the year. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, then you may recall that last February I started a monthly “get organized checklist" post. With January's checklist, we now have a full year of checklists. Woohoo!

 

Below are links to all of the checklists for the year, as well as links to the original blog posts. Those posts contain more info about the tasks on the checklist. I rearranged some of the rooms for 2012, so the posts won’t follow along exactly in all cases, but it’ll be close. (And chances are good I’ll be doing some posts about the various projects during the appropriate month. So stay tuned!)  

 

Enjoy – and happy organizing! 

January checklist + Original Blog Post

February checklist + Original Blog Post

March checklist + Original Blog Post

April checklist + Original Blog Post

May checklist + Original Blog Post

June checklist + Original Blog Post

July checklist + Original Blog Post

August checklist + Original Blog Post

September checklist + Original Blog Post

October checklist + Original Blog Post

November checklist + Original Blog Post

December checklist + Original Blog Post

What’s on your to-do list this weekend?

Woohoo – it’s Friday! It was a busy week around here. I feel like we aren’t quite in the groove of regular / non-holiday life yet, but we’re getting there. And I have big plans for the weekend! How about you? Have you recovered from the holiday disruption of normalcy? Are you ready for a fun and productive weekend? Tell me about it in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.

 

Okay…here’s what’s on tap for me.

Play List

• Boot camp!

• Do a creative project. Not sure what, but I feel the need to do something creative! (And I feel the need to let inspiration be my guide when it comes to selecting the project.)

• Create my list of 101 dreams for 2012. This is part of my goals workshop and it's such an inspiring exercise. I’m excited to spend a bit of my weekend dreaming! 

 

To Finish

• Laundry.  Hello full hampers. It’s time to do something about you.

• Clean the house.

• Plan meals for the upcoming week and grocery shop. 

• Take care of the final holiday returns / exchanges. We had an unusual amount this year, but I'm almost done. Whew!

• Finish up thank you notes.

• Water-proof my new boots.

• Give Maggie (our dog) a bath! It’s supposed to be unusually warm here this weekend, so it’s a great time to do it! (If there ever truly is a great time to wash a dog. Yuck.)

 

Alright, so there’s my list! I can’t wait to see yours. Hope you have a fantastic weekend!

The Project Live Giveaway Winner Is...

... Alexes Brown, who was chosen by random selection. Alexes commented, "I totally need this! My two little ones ages 2 and 9 months keep me so busy that I'm so behind on documenting their lives. I would be so thankful to win so I can no longer feel so bad for getting so behind."

 

Congratulations, Alexes! Please email jennifer at simplify101 dot com so we can arrange for your goodies to be sent to you. And thank you to everyone for entering!

Achieving Goals, Reaching Dreams: Congratulations, Aby!

When we talk about our upcoming workshop, How to Achieve Goals and Create a Life You Love, our founder and co-owner, Aby, frequently shares that this workshop contains the process she used not only to create simplify 101, but also the life of her dreams. And in the last year alone, this process has empowered her to…

• Create the habit of exercising multiple times per week.
• Create the daily habit of meditating.
• Have the most successful year at simplify 101 to date.
• Help her kids achieve their big dreams.

 

I really like it when people practice what they preach, don’t you? I like it that she is not only throwing out some good concepts, but backing them up with her own proof that this stuff works. How well does it work? It works so well that Aby was featured as an organizing expert in THREE major U.S. magazines this month – Better Homes & Gardens, Family Circle and Redbook.  On top of that, Better Homes & Gardens has asked Aby to host a facebook chat on paper clutter from 2-4 pm tomorrow, January 5!

As we were talking about this exciting development yesterday, Aby pulled out her Goals Binder to show me this page from seven years ago. Inside the page protector, there’s a Better Homes & Gardens magazine cover, and an article on organizing that quotes several top professional organizers.

 

"I didn't set out in January of 2011 and say, ‘I want to be in three magazines this year,’” she said, “but this is definitely something I've had on my radar screen since 2005. If you would have asked me back then if I would ever be quoted like that, I would’ve probably laughed and said, ‘Me? Like I would ever end up in Better Homes & Gardens?’ That would’ve seemed like total pipe dream.”

It was a dream, but she was brave enough to capture it in her binder, which is something she refers back to in order to stay focused and grounded. And while features in magazines were not a specific goal of hers last year, having the most successful business year was. I can’t think of a better mark of success than gaining that kind of national recognition, can you?

"Things don't always happen exactly as you want them to,” Aby said. “Sometimes you just have to set an intention, and then let it go."

I truly think that’s what happened… Aby set that intention when she added the page to her binder, and look how it has unfolded. Aby is understandably humble about sharing all of this with students and blog readers. But I want you to know, not just because I am personally super proud of her, but also because it shows what incredible things can happen when we allow ourselves to dream, when we set goals and then have the courage to work towards them.

Congratulations, Aby!

P.S. You are all invited to Better Homes & Gardens facebook chat tomorrow, January 5, from 2-4pm CST! Simply post your paper clutter questions on their wall, and Aby will be there to answer questions.

P.P.S. If you would like Aby’s help in achieving your own goals and creating the life that you love, the workshop starts tomorrow. Grab your seat today!

Want to get organized in 2012? Sample the Organizing 101 online workshop for free!

***Updated:  The free sample offer has expired.***

Who doesn’t love a free sample? It’s so much easier to try something before you buy it. That’s why I am really excited to tell you about this offer — a free lesson in our Organizing 101 workshop. If you’ve heard me blog about my online workshops before, and thought that sounds interesting, but do I really need that? Or Hmmm…I wonder what those workshops are all about? Would they work for me? Then today is your lucky day! You can find out firsthand what goes on in our online workshops absolutely risk free and free of charge!

I’ve designed the simplify 101 workshops not only to help you get organized, but also to have a lot of fun while doing it. Our online workshops offer:

• Simplicity: Each concept is structured in small, straightforward steps that can be easily tackled.
   
• Value: Get the benefit of an in-home organizing expert at a fraction of the cost.
   
• Convenience: Learn valuable organization techniques from the comfort of your own home, at a schedule and pace that works for you and your family.
  
  
• Quality Content: Receive downloadable lessons with color photography, online materials, and high-quality audio to reinforce each exercise.
  
  
• Creativity: Incorporate your own personal style and ideas into your organizing solutions. 

• Community: Receive inspiration from the ideas, support, and successes of other students in your class, and benefit from the expertise of a knowledgeable, results-oriented instructor. 

• Satisfaction: Enjoy the gratification that comes from doing your own projects. You’ll take control of your life, add creative touches, and bring about positive, empowering change in your home and life.

 

So…what is Organizing 101 all about? If you’ve read organizing books, but your home is still more cluttered than you’d like it to be, Organizing 101 is for you! In this online workshop, you’ll learn how to de-clutter your home using simple yet effective organizing principles. The information is presented in bite-sized pieces over the course of six lessons, making it easy to digest and act on without feeling overwhelmed. By taking simple action steps you won’t just learn how to get organized—you’ll understand the process and begin creating change in your home right away!

In Organizing 101, you’ll learn basic organizing concepts, plus you’ll uncover the reasons why your past organizing efforts may not have gone as you wished. (Plus, you’ll find out what to do about it!) You’ll also learn a simple, step-by-step organizing process, set compelling goals for your future organizing projects, and create a plan you can follow to create the organized home of your dreams! 

 

If you’ve set your sights on getting organized in 2012, follow this link to sign up now for your “taste test” of our workshop. Make sure to follow all three steps in the registration process. (It is really important that you do all three steps. So please read carefully—I want to make sure you can take advantage of this offer.)

 

Then, for one week beginning next Tuesday, January 10^th, you’ll get a free week in Organizing 101! Hurry—this offer ends Monday, January 9^th, 2012 at 9 PM US CST and we won't be able to grant any extensions. So sign up now! I hope to see you online soon. 

 

See you online soon!

The Wishing Tree: Visualizing our New Year's Goals

A while back, I posted a picture of my Thankful Tree, which came from an idea I found on Pinterest. (Thanks, Pinterest!) I was a little sad at having to take it down to make room for our Christmas decorations, but Aby gave me a great idea… My tree has now been reborn as a Wishing Tree!

 

I gathered these branches from my backyard this fall. I liked the bare wood for the Thankful Tree, but now after spray-painting them silver, they look so sophisticated. I cut bright white stars out of cardstock (thanks to the die cut at our local library), then hole-punched them. In my Thankful Tree, we hung the leaves directly on the branches, but we're hanging the stars with silver and black ribbons.

 

This tree is sitting on a table in our entryway, which is an area we walk through or past constantly. Over the last week, we’ve all been adding our stars. Some are sweet: “Be nicer to my family.” Some are serious: “Eat healthier!” And some are just downright funny: “Have a less chewing puppy.” (I feel pretty confident that wish will be granted once our newest addition is done teething!)

 

From the small to the big things, each star represents our family’s hopes and dreams for this year. I am loving this tree for so many reasons.

1. It looks so pretty! All the silver, white and glass represent the new year to me – a shiny, new, clean slate.
2. I think it’s nice not only to write down what we want, but also to share it in such a public space. Talk about accountability!
3. It’s powerful to visually see those stars all through the day. As Aby says, “The more you can keep your goals top of mind, the easier it will be to create them.” I think that’s so true.

I think this is a great way to get us started towards turning our wishes into goals, and to that end, I think sometime over the next week I will ask each of us to decide which of these is our absolute top priority for the year. Then, those wishes become goals, and we can encourage each other to work towards achieving them. I think I’ll find a way to draw extra attention to the goal stars, maybe with some glitter Mod Podge.

 

I’m not sure how long the tree will be up, but I will find a way to keep those top goals on display throughout the year.  And, I’m pretty sure a new family tradition has been born.

 

Happy New Year!

P.S. Could you use a little help in defining or achieving your own goals? Aby's life-changing workshop, How to Achieve Your Goals and Create a Life You Love, begins this Thursday, January 5, 2012! We'd love to see you there!