A Personal Organizer | Helena Alkhas

Professional Organizing Glenview, IL | Become a Professional Organizer

Organizing Tips

Get Organized: 6 Ways Your Clutter Is Affecting You

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Filed Under: Clutter & Declutter, Organizing

Learn About The Effects Of Clutter And How Decluttering And Getting Organized Can Improve Your Health And The Well Being Of Your Whole Family

Simply “being messy” isn’t a disorder but there are emotional effects to living in chronic clutter. When your home is in a constant state of clutter and disarrey you can become overstimulated by your environment. Overstimulation is a known cause for anxiety and can have other negative health and wellness impacts.

Overstimulation occurs when the senses – sight, smell, hearing, touch, and other senses – are maxed out from too much input. Too much stimulation can lead to anxious feelings and other feelings like anger and depression.

6 Ways your clutter is affecting you.

Living with clutter and in a disorganized environment can add to the stress levels within the whole family. Here’s how:

1. Kids Need And Thrive In Structure

Disorganized and clutter filled homes tend to be very unstructured. Laundry gets out of control and kids are running around looking for clean clothes. Eating take-out becomes a habit because there is not enough food in the house to make a meal. All of the disorganization in a home creates unnecessary stress.

Kids love structure and predictability and it’s much easier to parent or even plan for me-time when everyone knows what will happen.

If scheduling makes you feel too rigid, if you feel a routine will take away the spontaneity from daily life, if you like to roll with the flow, try a new perspective on how you see routines.

I like to present routines as “what you do to clear the way for what you love to do.”

2. Order Creates Calm

Being at home should feel peaceful. It should be where you push reset and reconnect with yourself and your loved ones. Having a pleasant environment free of clutter and over stimulation helps families unplug from the world and re-charge for each new day.

If your home is in a chronic state of clutter and disorganization, it is hard to recharge.

Subconsciously your mind is thinking about the piled-up dishes, laundry, unfinished projects, and other signs of clutter. It’s sending you the negative messages associated with what “should be done”. The constant sense of things being undone can trigger anxious feelings of overwhelm.

3. Families Are A Team

If one member of the family is expected to carry the lion’s share of responsibility, it will most likely cause resentment and fatigue. Sometimes people check out when they feel unsupported.

Families are a team, and everyone should be contributing to the welfare and care of the home. Even stay-at-home parents need support with home maintenance and responsibilities.

On the other hand, is important to understand what “organized” means to each family member and be respectful of that. My expectations of what organized means are very different from that of my children or my husband. Adjust and pick your battles.

I like to remember that not every hill is worth dying on.

4. Disorganization Wastes Time

Being disorganized robs families of their time. Time to recharge and connect with one another.

When family members are constantly spending time looking for lost items, people can become chronically late and end up doing things in a constant state of hurry. The scramble to clean up for unexpected company or devoting an entire day to catch up on laundry can cause undue anxiety and cause you to miss out on fun activities that bring you joy.

5. Disorganization Causes Embarrassment

The end results of living in chaos or overwhelm can cause embarrassment. Missing appointments due to a disorganized schedule can cost time and money.

A co-worker asking for a ride might result in an uncomfortable situation when your car is piled with food containers,  tossed-aside clothing, and sports equipment.

Having company in your home when it doesn’t truly reflect who you are can make you feel uncomfortable.  On a personal level, your mental and physical health can suffer from living amidst constant clutter.

6. Being Disorganized Costs Money

Families who are not organized tend to eat out more often, spend more on clothing and other items, and fail to stay within their means. This is a result of not planning ahead and not keeping track of what you already have.

This stress can affect each member of your family and the relationships you have.

Being organized makes it possible to manage a budget, keep track of important items, and prep ahead for meals and grocery shopping. Being organized extends the life of clothing and other frequently used items because you can see what you have and what you need.

Conclusion

Once you look at all of the effects of clutter you can begin to see how time spent decluttering and organizing your home and routines is time very well spent. An overstimulating environment that is the result of constant clutter is cause for anxiety.

Sitting on your sofa after a long day or staring at yesterday’s dishes don’t promote relaxation. Scrambling to find your kids shoe when you are already late for work won’t get your day off to a fresh start.

There are real emotional consequences to clutter and chaos. You can improve your mental health and increase the enjoyment you get out of every day by taking steps to become clutter-free and organized.

Get Organized: Declutter And Streamline For A Simpler Life

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Filed Under: Clutter & Declutter, Organizing

Learn how decluttering and streamlining your home and routines can drastically improve your daily life.

Being in a constant state of disorganization can make the ins and outs of your daily life feel overwhelming. Simple tasks can seem nearly possible to accomplish leading you to avoid things that need to be done. Next thing you know you have an unreasonable to-do list in front of you and you feel that no matter what you do you can’t get anything done.

So how did your home and life get like this? Where you first overwhelmed in some part of your life and then you became disorganized or was it the other way around? Regardless of which scenario came first, being disorganized can make for chaos both in and out of your home.

When you streamline and declutter your home, the positive effects ripple through every facet of your life.

When you are organized and your routines and home are streamlined to function the way you need them to, you will have more energy to complete your tasks and meet your own and your family’s needs.

Disorganization has many negative effects, here are a few of the major ones:

  • Depression
  • Health issues
  • Anxiety
  • Reduced property values
  • Lost productivity
  • Inability to complete daily tasks

In most cases, being disorganized seeps from one area of life into another.

As one area becomes affected, it spreads into another until a sense of overwhelm, hopelessness, and helplessness sets in. Before long there are messes everywhere – literal and figurative. Your home, your routines, and even your relationships can become disorganized and chaotic.

If this all sounds too familiar to you, don’t distress.

Messiness and mild-to-moderate disorganization isn’t a prediction of failure. Some people are simply less organized than others. There’s nothing wrong or shameful with being messy or having a lifestyle that someone else might consider cluttered. Failure to make the bed doesn’t label a person unorganized. If the lack of organization is causing disharmony in your family or you are avoiding important tasks at home because you can’t seem to get “it” together, you might want to consider changing a few of your habits and creating a few new routines. streamlining might be a solution that can help you clear some clutter and make your daily life easier to manage.

As with most organization, you’ll start by sorting through and decluttering.

Yes, this can take time and effort, but the results are worth it. Once you have the resources in place to make the most out of your time in your home and in your mind, you can expect to feel things getting less stressful. You’ll discover you have more time each day to accomplish the things on your to-do list and have less anxiety about chores and the expectations of your family.

Here are some of the biggest impact ways you can declutter and streamline your life:

Conclusion

When you make a commitment to clear the clutter and streamline your home, it will be easier to get more done in your day-to-day life and make it possible for you to do more in less time, with more ease. Having systems in place and using your energy wisely creates harmony in your home, family, work, and personal life. The satisfaction and pride that comes from running an efficient home that is free from clutter and chaos are worth the time and effort it takes to get there.

Be Less Busy! 5 Essential Tools For Running A Pro Organizing Business

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Filed Under: Become a PRO Organizer, Entrepreneur Life

5 tools for entrepreneurs that will make running your business easier and more productive every day.

I’ve never met an entrepreneur who would turn down the chance to learn about a tool that might help them run their business more efficiently, complete tasks with more ease, and be generally more organized and more on-task with their projects. That’s what this post is all about. In the sea of hundreds of tools and apps marketed towards entrepreneurs, there are some that simply stand out and shine like pure gold.

Be less busy! 5 must-have tools for entrepreneurs that will make running your business easier and more productive every day.

Here is my essential list of top 5 tools for entrepreneurs.

1. DropBox

An invaluable tool for any small business owner. Transfer and store large files with complete ease without using up massive amounts of storage on your computer. The Dropbox organization is also key to find everything you need in a flash. Crete and organizes files by client, project, date, or any other way that makes sense for your particular business.

2. LastPass

How many hours a month do you think you spend looking for and trying to remember lost passwords? Search no more!

LastPass keeps all your passwords in one place so you never have to try and remember the name of the second street you lived on in your childhood.

Another great feature is that LastPass lets you send access to your password info for particular accounts safely and securely to other people on your team.

3. Slack

Communication is key to successfully running a small business. Slack makes team communication a breeze. With search features to find that conversation and link share from a month ago, to the ability to sign in to your account and manage several feeds at once, Slack is a must-have if you have even one other team member working with you in your business. You can even set up a thread to chat and keep in contact with people who are working

4. Grammarly

Nothing has the potential to destroy the legitimacy of your business like consistently bad grammar and spelling. That said, there will always be something here and there that sneaks by you, but Grammarly is an indispensable tool for staying on top of your spelling and grammar from web text and blog post, to social media captions and newsletters.

PS: Is English your second language like it is for me? Don’t think twice and sign up for it!

5. The Contract Shop

Not quite a legal eagle? The Contract Shop is here to help. With a huge selection of contracts for the entrepreneur and small business owner, contract shop is a great tool to have in your business. You’ll find a contract for every need here, because no one wants to try to create a legal document from scratch and stress over wondering if they covered all of the bases.

Bonus Business Tool

Fiverr

If you are an entrepreneur who runs a business solo, or with only one of two people on your team, there will come a time when you need a task completed for a project that is out of your wheelhouse. Great at writing but need some video work done? Adept at marketing but not so great at creating graphics? Head to Fiverr and grab some talent from their pool of skilled bloggers, writers, photographers, graphic designers, and video editors. With people working in every budget you are sure to find a match for your task or project.

Conclusion

There is a sea of apps and tools on the market today that are helpful for entrepreneurs running a small business. Some are great for large project completion, tracking progress on projects, and some are great for running the day to day things, like communicating with team members and scheduling social media posts. This list does not exhaust your options, but these are tools that I use constantly in my business that make my job as an entrepreneur so much simpler, more organized, and more manageable.

Do you have any favorite tools that you use in your small business that make your job easier? I’d love for you to share them in the comments below! Have questions about a tool in this post? Ask me! Let’s chat about our favorite biz tools we can’t do without!

How to Plan Your Monthly Family Calendar For The New School Year

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Filed Under: Organizing, Paper, Routines & Time

Use these tips to plan your monthly family calendar of routines and activities to reduce stress and keep the whole family running smoothly as you transition from Summer to back to school.

How to Plan Your Monthly Family Activities & House Routines

Your “month planning day” should ideally happen on the first day of the month, simply because it will be an easy reminder for you. This will give you a long-term idea of what is to come, how far you need to plan ahead, what resources and materials you need to buy or schedule and best of all when you will have free time for yourself and for your loved ones.

As we move towards the end of Summer and get ready to transition into another school year, these monthly planning days are an indispensable part of keeping your family routines and schedules on point.

1. Gather Your Supplies & Information

For this planning I suggest you have with you:
–          Your personal calendar
–          Your spouse’s calendar
–          Your family calendar, if you use one. You can download a family to-do calendar right here. 

I use a calendar that has a 2-page “month view” space where I write down all the appointments, events, and deadlines I need to fulfill in the following month. It also has enough space to write my
1. Appointments,
2. A Task List and
3. Daily Notes.

Find one that fits you the best. There’s really no ideal calendar, one-size-fits-all. Electronic or paper, make sure you stick to one that fit your needs and how you like to use it.

2. Review Your Information & Schedules

Now that you are ready, go through your notes, all those pieces of paper you have scattered around the house, close to the phone, or in your purse and go through them, one by one, putting down on your calendar the appointment that was made, the phone call you’ll have to return or that deadline you have coming up.

Using the information of your spouse’s calendar, fill in – I use a different color for my husband’s schedule – any information that is relevant for your family schedule, like “dinner on 05/18”. Knowing when you can count on your spouse for dinner, kids pick up or drop off has a direct impact on your planning – and your sanity.

Next, enter all the kids’ classes, practice time, appointments, school exams, play dates, and parties. If it’s easier for you, use different colors here too.

Now that you have everybody listed on your calendar, you can already see which days are going to be tight in time – and therefore require a more flexible dinner, homework, house chores schedule and the days you will actually have time to do the laundry, enjoy your family sitting around the table or even your favorite TV show.

I also like to include my household chores in my planning. I like to know that the kids won’t be living out of laundry baskets or that there won’t be dinner because I didn’t shop for the week. So, checking on your already planned calendar, look in what day of the week you could include your laundry and your grocery shopping.

Many moms like to cook some of the week dinners on Sunday and freeze them or that prepare double batches and freeze one (my personal favorite). This is a great solution if you work out of the house or if you spend your afternoons driving the kids to their practices – or in my case, both. Nothing better than getting home knowing you are ready for dinner!

3. Plan Your Menu For The Month

Plan your meals ahead, make a list of what you need and while you are at it, check your pantry. You will have accomplished 2 great things:
–          A month’s worth of peace of mind, because you know what’s coming.
–          A list of dinners for the following weeks and
–          The grocery list of all you need to feed your kids hungry tummies!

4. “Sync” Your Calendars

Finally, if you use a family calendar (like the kitchen one), put down all the main events you marked in yours. This will give you a source of information when you are answering the phone while cooking and need to give an answer there and now.

5. Celebrate & Stay On Top Of It

Now go ahead and give yourself a round of applause. You are on your way to enjoying a smooth month and a smooth transition into the new school year!

This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Get organized and start saving time, for the rest of your life!

Top 3 Tips To Get Organized For Summer Vacations

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Filed Under: Living, Moves, Travels & Vacations, Summer

Simple Steps For Great Summer Vacations

Ah, summer vacations.

It’s the one time of the year most people look forward to. Whether you’re planning a major trip to another country or city, heading to the beach or going on a road trip, taking a vacation is one of the most important things we can do for our family and ourselves.

Summer vacations require planning and organization. Surely you wouldn’t want to go and realize in the middle of the trip that you forgot to bring a few things! For a stress-free, fun-filled trip, you need to plan and get organized.

Follow these suggestions and have the much-deserved break you need!

Top 3 Tips To Get Organized for Summer Vacations

 

1. Do Some Planning For Your Summer Vacation

  • Jot travel plans in an old school travel notebook or a nice app, like Evernote,  depending on whether you prefer to take notes digitally or with a pen and paper. Getting everything you are thinking about written down or recorded in some way will let you see all of the things you and your family would like to do on your trip. From here you can see what you will need to pack, how long you will be away, and get a better idea for any arrangements you need to make for lodging, or house care while you are out of town.
  • Start with your ideas and inspirations for your summer vacation. Where do you want to go and what do you want to do? How many people are traveling and where will you stay? These are just a few questions you need to answer when you start planning your trip. You don’t necessarily have to make a strict schedule of your travel plans, but it helps to have a good idea of all the things you would like to do so you can be sure to make time for them while you are at your destination.
  • Research your destination. Ask your friends and family for suggestions. Purchasing a travel book and/or a foreign language dictionary may also be helpful as you prepare for your trip. Travel websites are a great opportunity to check out locations as well as snag a great deal of two on travel, places to stay, dining, activities, and more. A few hours of planning are worth the effort if everything runs smoothly!

2.Gather And Organize Your Documents

From plane tickets to passports and other documentary requirements, you will need to prepare these beforehand. Depending on where you are traveling to and how you are traveling, you will need different documents and paperwork. A little efficient research will save you hours of headache later if you find you have forgotten a document you or a family member cannot travel without.

Be sure to check your passport . Is it about to expire? If it is, have it renewed as soon as possible.

Are you traveling with minor children? They need to express written permission from parents or guardians if you are not the parent.

Once you have done your research and gathered updated and current versions of all the travel documents you need, put all the paperwork in an envelope or folder, and label it clearly.

If it’s going to be a family vacation, assign everyone their own folders for a hassle-free trip. Giving everyone their own information makes for a lot less shuffling around of papers and a lot less time looking for lost items. Even if you’re going on a break with friends, this applies as well, as this method will help keep things organized.

You wouldn’t want to panic during the trip because you couldn’t find your important documents!

Shop organizing products on this post

RFID Safe Document Organizer

 RFID Safe Ticket Organizer

 Ticket Organizer

3. Get Packing for your Summer Vacation

Once you have decided on your travel destination, research the weather conditions for the time of year that you will be there.

  • Will you need light clothes, or will you be doing a lot of layering? Dual-purpose items, such as pants that turn into shorts or a jacket that turns into a travel pillow are wise choices. Choosing pieces that can be layered or worn for different occasions will save you major space in your luggage. Learn how to pack light, as this will save you costs in airline baggage fees. Grab the packing list here to make sure you have what you need.
  • There are some basics you should check and have in tow when you leave for your trip.  Be sure to check the amounts of certain toiletry products you can fly with if it is applicable. Check to see if you need an AC/DC adapter for electrical items, bright light reading material, and bring travel games if you are traveling with kids. In the event of delays, these activities will keep them busy!

Conclusion

Traveling should be a fun and relaxing time to make memories with your family. By using these travel preparation steps, you will be on your way to creating a smooth ride for the whole family this Summer!

Home Organizing Ideas: Organizing a Narrow Entry

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Filed Under: Entrances & Mudrooms, Organizing, Readers Love

Bring all of the Elements of a Great Entryway into a Narrow Area.

Many homes and apartment units have really tiny entrances or a very small foyer with little to no storage. The problem with these areas of the home is that all of the things we bring in and out of our home with us every day, several times a day, end up living here!

It’s amazing what these little spaces can hold, but also it can be challenging to create organizing systems that both look nice and offer a lot of function. Organizing a narrow entry requires a lot of imagination!

Even if you don’t struggle on a daily basis with a narrow entrance in your home, keeping this area organized is very important for many reasons, both for the practical side of life, but also for the psychological impact clutter has on us. This post will help you keep your entryway organized whether you have a small or large entry area.

During an ongoing project, I started searching for solutions to make life simpler while organizing a narrow entrance for my busy client and her children.

Here is a list of what we’d like to have in this “perfect” entrance:

  • Great lighting – nothing worse than entering the home and it’s dark. When we open the door, we really want to be able to spot the space, move around without bumping into things or each other.
  • A landing space – at minimum a place to “land” the wallet, car keys, and your purse. Of course, if we can fit more, we will!
  • A mirror, if possible.
  • Hooks for jackets, coats, and hats.
  • Bins for small items like gloves, scarves, and other accessories.
  • A rug to keep dust to a minimum in your home.

Take a look at some of these great entrances and find some inspiration to make landing and taking off to and from daily life a feel good experience in your own home!

 A very long and narrow entry accommodate a bench and a mirror. The closet will hold all your seasonal items.

A long and narrow shelf with small drawers underneath was installed and serves as a console for arriving and placing your keys and wallet. This really keeps the entryway  clean of clutter.

 An entrance without a closet can be very challenging but adding a bench and baskets will create the seating and storage for small items you need.

A coat hanger can be added for jackets, umbrellas and other seasonal gear.

Image: BHG.com

A bright and clean narrow shelf serves as a console to the entrance and a small bench gives you a seat. Image BHG.com

Image: BHG.com

Want a great way to create both sitting space and storage at the entryway: Bring in a bench with hidden storage! Image: BHG.com

Beautiful wallpaper was used to create the mood in this entryway where the drawers under the seat and the shelf above it hold all you need for a perfect take off! Image: BHG.com

Image: marthastewart.com

Here is a very creative way to bring storage into a narrow entryway for all that’s being used during different seasons. These pastel knobs let you get creative with where you hang items and you can group them at different heights so even the littlest family members can stay organized!

From the always great: marthastewart.com

Image: marthastewart.com

Again, creativity creates a unique entrance and a beautiful one! A bench, hooks, and under the bench basket storage gives you all you need to give everything a place to be.

Image: IKEA.com

This is the mother of all entryways for a busy family! This super functional piece of furniture has all the room you need to keep the space clear of clutter and houses what you need when you need it.

Conclusion

With a few simple additions, such as benches, mirrors, hooks, shelves, and baskets you can create n organized narrow entryway in virtually any space that you have to work with. Remember to try and make a home for those items you use everyday and swap storage solutions out seasonally if you need more or less of a certain kind of storage.

Did you find this post on organizing a narrow entry useful? What tips and examples will you use to organize your entryway? I’d love for you to share in the comments below!

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