Professional Organizers Articles
Savoring a meal together is somewhat of a lost art...
Article written by Bethany Rule Vedder
Founder of http://www.SaneMoms.com
Savoring a meal together is somewhat of a lost art. When we eat, there's all too often the sense of hurry-up-and-get-on-to-other-things embedded in the experience. The service Hot by 6 provides helps us prepare healthy meals to eat together, and that's a huge step towards that for all of us! I'd like to take that just a wee bit further, and make the case for truly savoring meals together.
When was the last time you really savored something? Took it in slowly, enjoyed every aspect of it, reflected on it, and felt pleasure? Nibbling at that truffle perhaps? Having a small hand tucked in yours on a cool day? Savoring takes time, openness, and vulnerability. I have a friend who hums a bit when she eats. She always chews slowly and thoughtfully, and mmm-mmmms quietly to herself as she enjoys each bite. I found it amusing at first, but the older I get the more I envy her obvious enjoyment. She truly savors every bite.
Preparing, eating, and enjoying food together gets at the roots of our connections with each other. It's the great leveler. Everyone needs to eat, no matter how rich or poor. To quote Donald Miller , “Eating is one of the only socially acceptable ways we can share vulnerabilities.” Sitting down at someone's table is an act of acceptance. We sit close together, chewing and sipping and making our particular noises, sharing conversation, enjoyment, and the simple pleasure of filling our bellies.
The more present we are at a meal, the more we're able to connect, relate, and be vulnerable with each other. Thinking about what we have to do next, who's going to clean up, and how to get that stain out of the rug makes us unable to savor, enjoy, and connect. I'd like to suggest a few simple rules that can help even the busiest households truly savor their (however brief) meals together.
*Ban all electronic devices. No texting, calling, emailing, or gaming at the table. Will it really all fall apart if it doesn't get answered for 20 minutes? If it absolutely must be answered, leave the table to do it.
* Actually sit at a table together, and stay there for the duration! Most little ones can learn to sit even if they're done eating, and its teaches respect for the event of eating together, not just the food.
* Take turns starting the conversation. If your kid wants to talk about the new game she learned at school, let her have the floor for a few minutes. Ask fun questions. Encourage dreaming.
*Keep the manners to a minimum. Figure out what your minimum is, let the kids know it, and stick to it. Spending the whole meal correcting your offspring is a guaranteed savor-killer!
*Chew each bite as slowly as possible. It's extremely hard for most of us (all?!) but just try it for the first bite and see how you feel. Pretend it's a sip of the most expensive wine you've ever tasted, and you'll notice a lot more than you thought possible. It can be addicting, and allows your body to notify you when it's actually full, not 10 bites later.
Those ideas are just as viable whether your meal is 15 minutes long or a leisurely hour. Kids might get dismissed early, but everything else stands!
Humor me with one last idea, that I believe is dangerously close to extinction. Invite guests once in awhile. When did it become assumed that eating dinner together had to be a dinner party? Dinner is dinner, and does not have to be fancy, expensive, or a big deal. Simply share your evening meal with someone else occasionally. Ask your neighbor, a lonely co-worker, or a friend or two, and see how it transforms your evening. Keep it just as simple as if it were your own family, and ditch those feelings of pride that make you want to scrub the floors or make fancier food. Share your meal, no matter how humble, and you will be the richer for it. The fellowship adds the savor, and you will find joy and relief in being simply human together. Bon apetit!
Bethany Rule Vedder is the founder of http://www.SaneMoms.com, the
online home for moms like herself who are just a little crazy. "It's a
place to talk about you, yourself ... your fearful, lonely, confident,
confused, empowered, stretched-to- the-limit self: the mom that was a
woman first." Her background as a life coach means she gets people,
listens well, and knows how to ask great questions. She also designs
websites, adores travel, pursues change, and excels at getting the job done
Tips To Help You Find More Time In Your Day Without Getting Up
at 4:00 a.m.
by Marilyn Bohn
Do you ever say, “my time is not my own or I never get anything done”? Then maybe you can you relate to this story of a woman I call Barb.
Barb decided this was the day she was going to organize her bedroom. She started right after the children had gone to school. As she was making her bed she found a baseball cap that needed to go to the hall closet; on her way to the closet she saw a broken figurine so off she went to get the glue. There was no glue so she went to write it on her grocery list.
The bedroom door to her daughter’s room was open and her bed was unmade. She thought, “Ah, I will do a random act of kindness and make her bed”. She spied a book she had been looking for and was on her way to put it in the book case and realized she was thirsty so off to the kitchen she went for a drink of water. There were dishes in the sink which would only take a minute to load so she stopped and loaded them.
As she was heading back to her bedroom and she tripped over a pair of shoes someone had kicked off; she picked them up to take them to the room where they belonged. She spied a plant that was drooping and she decided to water it.
Her day went on and on like this until her children were home from school and she wondered where the time had gone. She felt like she hadn’t accomplished anything and she hadn’t in her bedroom.
We have all had days like this because we are busy women and we have busy lives. It doesn’t matter if we are single, married, have children, don’t have children, work outside the home, are stay at home hard workers, or are empty nesters; we are all in the same boat. There are a ton of things we want and need to get done every day. We all have good intentions and we are doing the right things. But the feeling that we never get anything done leaves us frustrated, stressed out and discouraged. At least I know I feel this way when I am having one of those days.
Barb could have reached her goal of organizing her bedroom by working in the green light. This means by staying in her bedroom and not leaving to put things away in other rooms until she was through with her goal. By using a BE basket (belongs elsewhere) she could put things in the basket and take them where they belong when she was finished.
Another way we can all take charge of the time we have each day is to use little pockets of time.
If you were to save 5 minutes a day x 7 days a week that amounts up to 35 minutes a week. Times that by 4 weeks in the month it equals 140 minutes which if over two hours a month in time saved. Times that by 52 weeks and you have just saved over 30 hours a year.
We all have pockets of time we can use which will make it seem like we have more hours in the day. Pockets could be when we are waiting on someone else; we’re on hold on the phone, waiting for the cookies to bake, waiting for a phone call or waiting for the children to come home from school and there is just a little pocket of time. This is 10 to 15 minutes when we don’t feel like doing anything big yet we can accomplish a lot by using these small pockets of time.
Some suggestions of things we could do: Straighten a coffee table, recycle magazines that are over three months old, clear a space on your desk, straighten the gadget drawer, write a thank you note, straighten one drawer in your dresser, sort the mail, write in your journal, snuggle with a child, visit a friend on the phone, check the oil in your car, pick a bouquet of flowers, plan a meal. (Use Hot by 6 as they have great time saving tips when it comes to meal planning)! Start being aware of pockets of time that you have in your day. By using them you will bring more order and peace to your life.
Think of the time of the day you have the most energy and work on larger projects when you are most energetic. You will get the project done faster and have energy to spare.
Take control of your time so you can do more of the things you love to do, you’ll feel less stressed and frustrated which will lead to a happier and more peaceful life.
 
Marilyn is a professional organizer and invites you to visit her website www.marilynbohn.com, she is a sought after public speaker and author who is passionate about teaching ways to organize your life and how to reduce clutter. She works with women and seniors in their homes and offices. On her web site she teaches you to get rid of clutter by using her Lights On Organizing System. She provides practical information on how to declutter your home, office and life. In her blogs, articles, and videos she gives timely tips on how to clear clutter and how to declutter everything in your home and office. She is the author of a book called Go Organize! Conquer clutter in three simple steps which will be in major bookstores in December 2009.
It's time to get organized in the kitchen! Our friend and national organizing expert Vicki Norris and President of Vicki Norris' Restoring Order® shares some secrets to keeping your kitchen ready for great food, friends, and hospitality: When people call my company and ask about organizing services for their kitchen, nine times out of ten they don't need help organizing their gadgets and pots and pans. What they really want is help digging out of the paper pile! They can't remember what their counters look like because they are covered with mail, permission slips, homework, coupons, bills, and countless other types of paper. They need archeological help! Let's face it: you can't enjoy home-cooked meals, relaxing time with family, and hosting events if you can't even get to your kitchen counters and you're embarrassed about the mess. The kitchen is the nexus of the home and its gateway, so everything lands here first, especially paper. Here are two of my favorite strategies to "restore order" to the kitchen: Take command: Create a household hub with a small desk or a few feet of counter space. Set up a communication center with laptop, phone, charging station, and a place to leave notes for family. From here you can surf recipes, print directions, or make appointments. Establish a Household Reference Binder to keep frequently referenced paper like service provider information, upcoming events, schedules, rosters, school info., menus, membership cards, gift certificates, and other "cheat sheets" you use in daily life that would otherwise be tacked to the fridge or stuck in the junk drawer. Mail-away: Accept that paper will be assaulting your counters on a daily basis. Establish a processing center to deal with incoming mail. Establishing an Action Center will help you queue the daily mail into actionable categories like: "to do", "to read," "to pay," and to file." Think of your processing system as a "runway" and keep those papers landing and taking off.no parking! And don't forget to schedule time each day or week to take ACTION!
True organizing is about clearing the way for the important things. Now that you've reclaimed your kitchen surfaces, set out some fresh flowers, candles, or a bowl of fruit and enjoy the kitchen once more as the cozy heart of the home. Wishing you a life of order so you can live on purpose! ~Vicki Norris
 Vicki Norris' Restoring Order®
Organizing Services, Products, & Books
Speaking & Media Resource
www.RestoringOrder.com
Vicki@RestoringOrder.com
503.625.5774 office • 888.625.5774 toll free • 503.680.5774 mobile
Check out my new blog! www.VickiNorrisBlog.com
If You Can’t See It, You Can’t Use It!
by Lorie Marrero
Organizing your pantry and refrigerator are some of the best things you can do to eat more healthfully. You can get organized, save money, and lose weight all at the same time! The key to almost any organizing project is visibility, because you can’t use it if you don’t know you have it. To gain this visibility, first sort your pantry items into categories and group them together on your shelves. Here are some of the most common categories for reviewing and sorting your pantry items: • Baking Mixes
• Beans & Rice
• Beverages
• Bread & Buns
• Canned Beans
• Canned Fruit
• Canned Tomatoes
• Canned Vegetables
• Cereal
• Chips
• Crackers
• Dried Fruit & Nuts
• Flour & Sugar
• Jams & Jellies
• Pasta
• Sauces
• Snacks
• Spices
• Syrup & Honey Throw out anything that is stale or that you have not used in the last 6 months or so, such as gift basket leftovers. Discard excess packaging so you can easily grab items when you want them. Use baskets or bins as drawers. You can get baskets that are the depth of the shelf, load them up, and then pull them out like a drawer to get things in and out. Make sure you label the baskets so you will have visibility to what’s in there. Small items like individual oatmeal packets, snack bars and boxes of raisins are especially better stored in bins to corral them effectively. People are often surprised that I do NOT believe in buying big sets of matching pantry containers. It may look neat, but transferring every cracker and marshmallow into containers is not how I would like to spend my time. Often you can’t fit all of it into the container and still end up with the remainder in the original bag anyway. If you do want to buy some containers, buy rectangular- or square-shaped ones instead of round ones, as they use the space more effectively. Turntables or “Lazy Susans” are a great way to gain visibility in the pantry. Turntables allow you to spin things around and make what was once behind everything now be in the front. I especially love double-decker turntables for spices. Along with pantries, refrigerators can also be organized. Do you serve toast in the mornings or biscuits? Why not get a bin and put all of your jellies and jams in there and carry the bin to the table, instead of juggling an armful of various jars? You can assign homes to items—more than just the milk jug. The main issue in organizing refrigerators is maintenance. You need to make sure that there is not spoiled food that will get smelly or make people sick and you've got to make room for the new stuff to come in. The easiest way to maintain the fridge is to “hook your habit” to the day before your trash is picked up. This way any smelly food will get thrown out and taken away, and it will keep things moving out regularly. It only takes five minutes. Seeing what you have means that menu planning, grocery list making, and cooking are all easier. If you want to eat at home more to save money, lose weight, or both, your new view of the pantry will do the trick!
Lorie Marrero, CPO®
Creator of the Clutter Diet®
Organize Online with the Pros!
Get your house in shape® at www.clutterdiet.com
Read our blog at www.clutterdietblog.com 
5 Steps to Simplify Your Life
By: Christa P. Wagner
Savvy Solutions Organizing, INC
www.savvysolutionsorganizing.com
Do you ever wonder how some people always seem to get so much done, but also have time to do the things they love? Do you wish you were one of those people, but instead everyone wants a piece of you? Your kids need a ride to the movies, their teacher wants you to work the fair, your spouse wants you to attend a business dinner, you pick up the slack for less experienced co-workers, your family wants you to visit every holiday; the list goes on and on. Activity overload is a syndrome. We continue to take on more than we could ever possibly get done, and meanwhile we neglect our highest priorities.
Well, it’s not too late. There’s no time like the beginning of the year to start afresh and make adjustments that will positively affect your life and happiness. Listed below, you will see 5 Steps to Simplify Your Life. Take an hour, over a cup of coffee, and spend some time planning how you will simplify in 2009. Life will never be perfect, and you might not be the most organized person out there, but you can certainly live a happier, more enjoyable life.
Ready?
1. Decide What is Important: Knowing what is important helps you make decisions about your life. You choose to do or not do something based on its importance to you. When we are not clear on this, we don’t make the best choices, or sometimes we just haphazardly move through our day. Moving forward put your #1 priority first.
2. Hire It Out: Just because something is on your To Do list doesn’t mean you have to do it. Take a minute to consider your options and who can help you out. Moving forward, delete, hire or delegate the tasks you cannot or do not wish to do. Hot by 6 is a perfect resource at dinnertime.
3. 4 New Habits: People take on too much, and then they aren’t as successful and give up. This year, instead of creating the long list of promises to yourself, select 4 new habits (perhaps a couple mentioned here) and focus on each independently for three months at a time. When we add one behavior at a time, we increase our likelihood of accomplishment.
4. Learn to Say No: To make the best use of your time and to increase your results, you must eliminate tasks, requests and time-stealing activities that do not add value to your life or career. This will become much easier as you put your #1 priority first.
5. Reward Yourself Along the Way: By putting rewards in place, we increase the likelihood of keeping up and staying motivated. Now of course, as a professional organizer, I discourage rewarding yourself with things. Reward yourself with something that is a treat or a special event.
So what do you have to lose? It’s a new year and time to simplify your life into a satisfied and relaxing one. We would be happy to answer any questions; please submit questions to info@savvysolutionsorganizing.com. For more information about Savvy Solutions, please go to www.savvysolutionsorganizing.com.
Make it a great year!
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At Hot by 6 we are all about saving time and money by simplifying your life through organization. While we focus on doing that through meal planning these organizers are exceptional at helping to get you organized in other areas!
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