The Organizing Project

01/14/2024

Hello! I haven't posted anything here for a long time, but I came across this today and I thought of all of you! What a great idea!

10/18/2022

Well, last week, I did a thing. I purchased a local event rental business with a couple of friends and I couldn't be more excited! If you are looking for centerpieces, arches, candles, lanterns or any other decor or props for your upcoming events, photo shoots, reunions, weddings, etc. please hit up Old Oaks Vintage Rentals in Fairbury.

On another note, due to the time this new business will take, I am dissolving The Organizing Project. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to all of you for your support! I had a lot of fun and met a lot of great people along the way. On to new adventures!

06/11/2022

06/09/2022

Let's talk shoes. The kids are home from school and you are constantly tripping over the pile by the door right?

First, get rid of those that don't fit, are worn out or you really never wear. Do you really need two pairs of gardening shoes, or three pairs of slippers? Oh, and those tiny Crocs were so cute when your teenager wore them at age three. See what I mean?

Next, set a limit on how many pairs of shoes can be kept by the door. In our house, it was always 2 per person. Maybe a pair of slides or slippers that you could throw on if you needed to run out and one other pair. If you were leaving a different pair, then one pair needed to be picked up and taken to their bedroom closets.

Next, decide what will be the most efficient way to accomplish your goal. If your family is like mine, they aren't going to take the time to put them away neatly, so you need the easiest solution possible.

If you have the room, give everyone their own container just big enough for those couple pairs to be thrown into. You can find nice baskets or even some great plastic containers.

If you don't have the room, what about one large container that they can all throw them into? Maybe you have a closet that they can kick them into or you have a large basket, crock or crate.

Make it as easy as possible and you can stop tripping over those piles. You may have to be a nag for awhile, but your family will eventually get into the routine.

05/19/2022

Number one rule to adopt, to help give you, and everyone else in your house, some time for summer fun is this:

IF IT TAKES LESS THAN A MINUTE TO PUT IT AWAY, DO IT NOW

For things that take longer, start by getting a "dump bin" for every room in your house. What's a dump bin?

Any container that you choose. Any size that you choose. Cute, generic, whatever. Just get something that your family can throw things in when they are done and they don't want to put it away right then. One day a week, or even every morning, everyone in the house clears out the dump bins and puts things where they go. The smaller the dump bin, the more frequently this will get done and the less time it will take to get it done.

05/19/2022

Summer is almost upon us! I don't know about you, but as my kids were growing up, I always looked forward to spending time with them doing things that school activities typically didn't allow time for us to do.

I would start my summer with big plans for adventures and activities and by the end of July, I would realize that we hadn't done even half of the things that I had hoped to do with them!

There is always MORE! MORE to pick up, to clean, to sort through, to wash, to fix, to mow, to w**d.... I could go on and on.

Don't get bogged down by all of that. In fact, put that to do list on the back burner. Spend time with your family. They will be gone before you know it.

Stayed tuned for some tips and tricks for how to survive the summer and enjoy your time with your family!

Please tag others that want to take back their summers!

02/16/2022

Questions to ask yourself while decluttering your space....

1. Do I NEED it?
2. Do I USE it?
3. Could I get by without it?

02/05/2022

📢Check in time. What have you been doing? How is the editing going?

02/04/2022

Yesterday I posted a decluttering challenge for this month, that suggests taking 5-10 minutes in ONE room each day. Check out this link for another way to approach decluttering!

Here are 10 things you can get rid of today that feel SO GOOD to declutter. If you want to declutter without the overwhelm and anxiety, it starts with a mind...

02/03/2022

🏠Let's challenge ourselves for the rest of this month. Just a little. We are just going to spend the rest of the month making our house more manageable. We aren't organizing. We ARE REMOVING. EDITING. PURGING. DECLUTTERING. Whatever you want to call it. We are freeing up space.

Clutter can OVERWHELM us. 😵‍💫 It can consume us! It causes stress, tension, short tempers, bad moods, and SO many other unhealthy things. We all have so many things that we don't need and the things in our lives that ARE needed often go by the wayside.

Think about how much nicer it would be to come home from a busy day, to a visually pleasing, comfortable, relaxing space. Dinner is in the crockpot. You actually have time to decompress from your day and visit with your family, read a book, have a drink, enjoy a fire.

This month, I challenge you to make more space and not to fill it back up.

Rules...

1. Everyday, grab a garbage bag for trash and a box for donations. Take 5-10 minutes in ONE space, getting rid of things you don't use or need.

2. During those 5-10 minutes, DO NOT DELIBERATE. You are only getting rid of the things that need no consideration. The goal is to see how many things you can get rid of in just a small bit of time.

Questions to QUICKLY ask yourself during these 5-10 minutes....

-When's the last time I used this?
-Does this still fit my lifestyle?
-Does this item still make me feel the same as the day that I bought it?
-Could someone else put this to better use?

3. This rule is the most important and will be the hardest for sure! (Keep in mind, its the shortest month!) DO NOT BUY ANYTHING ELSE THIS MONTH. Groceries, personal hygiene and comsumables do not count, but everything else does. Avoid Marketplace, Amazon, Target, Walmart etc. this month. We all know how hard it is to go into a store and stick ONLY to a list, so DO NOT go in! Order groceries online this month instead and pick them up. Doing that, frees up time, physical space, headspace and additional clutter.

4. FINALLY, get those things out of your space. Have in mind, a place on your daily route. Set them on the curb and post a curb alert on social media. Take them to a donation center, a drop box, a local school, Boys and Girls Club, thrift store, a church, shelter, humane society, nursing home, daycare center, veterans home. WHEREVER. Just get the stuff out of YOUR space!

If you want to post pictures of what your tackling, feel free! We all love to see before and afters. REMEMBER we are NOT reorganizing. We are just freeing up space for when we do!

02/01/2022

Snowstorm coming... anyone feel like organizing some things while you're shut in? Anyone up for another group project?

12/28/2021

Overwhelmed by all the new things that just came into your house? When you're putting it away, remember this rule...One In One Out.

If you need to declutter more than one thing, go into a room with a basket or bag. Look around and ask yourself if there's anything in that room that you haven't even touched in one or two years. If it serves no purpose, put it in that basket or bag and give it to someone who could use it or donate it to a thrift shop.