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Love Your Home
Remember the first time you walked through your home and all the ideas you had of how you wanted to set it up to suit your tastes and lifestyle? Then you moved in, set things up and life went on. Now when you look around your home the vision you originally started with seems to have lost its appeal or the set up is no longer working for you.
In order to get a fresh perspective, try this: close your eyes and watch, in your minds eye, all of your possessions floating out of the house and onto the front lawn. Look around at the empty space and then imagine only the items that you use or love being brought back into your home, item by item. Where would you place each item? How would your home look and feel if it were just as you want it?
I recently visited a clients home to offer some suggestions and tips for maximizing space. Here is what they wrote:
"I am writing to thank you again for your advice about decluttering our home. You may not remember what my sons bedroom looked like when you were here. A very small room with hardly any room to move about because of all the furniture in it - queen sized bed, headboard, computer desk and chair, bookshelf. The doors to his closet had been taken off and stored under his bed and his dresser was in his closet.
Your advice was to get rid of the dresser & headboard, move the bookshelf into the closet and use a smaller bed.
About ten days ago Nicholas and I finally had the time to implement your suggestions. We played musical dressers that day, moving Nicholas' dresser into our room, one of our dressers into Danielle's room, and a closet organizer from Danielle's room (not sure of actual name, it hangs vertically from the rod in the closet and provides six shelves) into Nicholas' closet. We also moved the bookshelf into his closet. We got rid of the queen sized bed and replaced it with a double. We also got rid of the headboard.
What a transformation! The room is still small but now there is room to breathe. Nicholas put the doors back on his closet which helps to make the room look a lot neater. I thought you would be interested to hear what a difference your suggestions made!"
This month, rekindle the love you once had for the home you live in and start enjoying your space once again!
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| OFFICE |
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Simple Solutions
When it comes to organizing your office, it is often the little things that make the biggest difference. Simple solutions such as placing your phone on the left side of your desk if you are right handed can actually make a big difference in how your office functions. This allows you to use your right hand to write notes or use the computer when you answer the phone.
Paying attention to where things normally get placed also helps to work with your natural tendencies, instead of against them. Here are a few other simple solutions that may help to streamline your office:
- Maximize the use of Vertical Space: Set up a vertical desktop file system for any paper that requires action and add a low shelf above your desk to free up some workspace.
- Organize your Office Supplies: Never have so many pens, pencils, paper clips, etc. that you need an entire drawer for them. Keep only what you need and store the rest.
Frequency of Use Rule: Files you access daily or weekly should be easiest to get to. Keep these on the desktop or in a desk file drawer, with less frequently used files in a file cabinet or archive box.
- Plan Your Day: Take ten minutes at the end of each day to clear your desk and make a top 5 must do list for the next day.
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| LIFE |
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Friends Helping Friends
I often talk to people who are doing some amazing things so I've added this section to share them with YOU! If you have a business, an event, or a great idea that you think is worth mentioning and would benefit the readers of this newsletter, let us know and it will be included in our next monthly newsletter:
Alan Philips Clinical Counsellor of Confidential Counselling and Consulting Services brings us this Stress Tip of the Month on Reducing Emotional Clutter:
Emotional Clutter (EC) are those pent up worries, anxieties, angers and/or stressors which, when triggered, result in internal frustrations or emotional outbursts and tend to interfere with our ability to connect in a positive way with others. A very effective method to help reduce EC is to go for frequent (brisk) walks. Walking releases endorphins, which create feelings of happiness and (after the walk) relaxation. So…walk, walk, walk!
For more information contact Alan Phillips, Clinical Counsellor, Confidential Counselling and Consulting Services by phone at (250) 491-4684 or e-mail: alan@stresslessspecialist.com |
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The mere existence of knowledge somewhere in the organization is of little benefit; it becomes a valuable corporate asset only if it is accessible, and its value increases with the level of accessibility. ~ Thomas Davenport and Laurence Prusak |
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NEWS AND EVENTS |
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Paper Shredding Day!
Do you have boxes of paper clutter in your home or office that need to be shredded? This job could take hours if your shredder only takes a few pages at a time. That's why, on Saturday, March 14th, Organizing Help and Okanagan Paper Shredding are teaming up to offer a paper shredding day! Between 9:00 am and 12:00 noon you can bring up to five file boxes of paper and for a small donation have your paper instantly shredded on-site.
If you would like to participate in our paper shredding event, please R.S.V.P. to info@organizinghelp.ca and we will forward the details to you by e-mail.
Organizing Workshop Series - Okanagan College
This April, Organizing Help is proud to offer an "Organize Your Life Workshop Series" through Okanagan College in Kelowna. Check the Okanagan College Continuing Education course calendar for further details or to register for an upcoming workshop.
Organize Your Life
Maximize space, time and technology at work and in your daily life. Professional Organizer, Linda Andersson, shares her expertise through three targeted workshops that give you a better understanding of your own organizing style. Learn how to work with, rather than against your natural tendencies to prioritize, simplify and create an organized day.
Organize Your Space
Date: April 8, Wednesday
Time: 6:30 – 9:00 pm
Cost: $39 plus GST
Provides insight into different organizing styles so you can make better use of your space and increase personal productivity.
Organize Your Time
Date: April 15, Wednesday
Time: 6:30 – 9:00 pm
Cost: $39 plus GST
Empowers you to be proactive rather than reactive with your time and eliminate self-imposed time robbers.
Organize Your Technology
Date: April 22, Wednesday
Time: 6:30 – 9:00 pm
Cost: $39 plus GST
Helps you process electronic information more effectively while eliminating computer clutter.
Check out our BLOG!
For further organizing tips and strategies, visit our Blog at www.organizeratwork.blogspot.com
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