Help Make a Dream Come True

The Children's Dream Fund is an amazing organization that serves Florida's west coast, with the single purpose of fulfilling dreams for children ages 3-18 who have been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. They get referrals from several hospitals in the area with a wide array of dream wishes - from trips to Disney World, meetings with celebrities, computers, play sets, cruises and shopping sprees.
Read the rest of this post »

National Get Organized Month

I would be remiss in my duties as a professional organizer if I didn't plug Get Organized Month. It's sponsored by the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and is dedicated to raising awareness of the benefits of - you guessed it - getting organized!

If you'd like to take advantage of all that GO Month has to offer, then you have a plethora of resources at your disposal. Here are just a few of those…
Read the rest of this post »

Tips for a Safe Fireplace

With rising utility costs, many homeowners are turning to fireplaces and woodstoves as an alternative or partial heating source. Woodstoves and fireplaces are built safer and more efficient than ever, but can still pose a danger to your home and family if you aren’t careful.

These tips will help keep your family and home safe while enjoying that cozy fire:
Read the rest of this post »

Can I Have a Drumroll Please?

Thanks to all of you for leaving such great comments - you have some great ideas on keeping your craft and sewing areas neat and organized! I may even feature some of these in upcoming posts!

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for - here are the winners of our Win a Singer Sewing Machine Contest:
Read the rest of this post »

Organizing Fever

Ok, so the plan was 5 minutes a day, right? Well, recently this strange phenomenon has overtaken my brain. My “5 minutes” has turned into several days of wanting nothing but to clean and organize and rearrange everything in sight!

It happens only once or twice a year. Maybe it’s the idea of starting my New Year fresh. Maybe it was that my house had reached such ultimate grossness that I didn’t want to be home anymore– I don’t know. But I’m LOVING it!

To date, I have taken down all my Christmas decorations and stored them all in my shed in these moisture resistant Sterilite bins. Then I cleaned and rearranged everything in my living room.
Read the rest of this post »

Un-Deck Your Halls the Right Way!

As you un-deck your halls this year, be thinking about improving your Holiday storage.

Do you store your decorations in cardboard boxes? Not so good if you store them outside. Plastic bins make the perfect outdoor storage solution. There are even bins with dividers specifically for delicate ornaments!

Tired of trying to fit that round wreath back into a square box? Try a Wreath Keeper!
Read the rest of this post »

Resolve to Spend 5 Minutes a Day

How many times have you looked around and thought, “I wish I had the time to organize my (you fill in the blank here)…”?

I do it often. Especially this time of year. It’s the time of year when a lot of us take stock of ourselves and our surroundings. I want to start my new year off right. Clean, organized, on top of things…or at least have a plan, right? But so often I am overwhelmed by the size and scope of the projects I’ve let pile up around me, that I soon give up in frustration.
Read the rest of this post »

Merry Christmas

Have a beautiful day!!

Contest Closed

Got a storage dilema in your kitchen? Leave us a comment telling us about your storage problem (and if you've found a solution, please tell us that, too!) and you'll be entered into a drawing for this solid rubberwood Kitchen Workstation from Home Styles, featuring locking industrial casters and all the storage space you need!

Or you could win one of these other great prizes:
Read the rest of this post »

Space Treat: A Bag a Day Keeps the Clutter Away.

Well, we're deep into the holiday season now. I've been to quite a few parties and have more to come. Every time I arrive somewhere, I've always got gift in hand and so does everyone else. You know what that means, more stuff… and where is it all going? So even if you're not hosting a party, you're probably bringing some kind of gift through your front door this time of year.
Read the rest of this post »

7 Holiday Anti-Stress Tips

Here are 7 Tips to help you ease your stress and get ready for the holidays without having a major anxiety attack:

1. Write a list of everything you need to do for the holidays. Make it a general list. For example: Don't list what you'll get for each person, just write "buy gifts".

2. Next - go through your list, eliminate anything you don't HAVE to do, & rearrange it in order of what needs to be done first. Then hang up your list where you'll see it.
Read the rest of this post »

Diagnosis: Donation Dilemma

Symptoms:

   • In the spirit of the holidays you feel moved to finally pull out that pile of charitable donation request letters and contribute.
   • You begin to wonder, how much did I give last year, and to whom? Where are my check records? Or if you donated directly via the internet and a credit card, you may have no record at all.
Read the rest of this post »

Out of Sight, Out of Mind? Not so Much

Do you have one thing on your to-do list that you keep avoiding? You know, that thing that makes you stress-out just a little whenever you think about it. Does it keep transferring over to tomorrow’s list?

You may think “out of sight, out of mind”. You may mistake that slight feeling of relief you experience when you set your mind to putting it off until tomorrow as a stressful situation averted.
Read the rest of this post »

Congrats to Our Contest Winners!

Ta-ta-da-da! And the winners of our Win a New Bedroom Contest are…

   • Grand Prize of a South Shore bedroom set goes to comment #116 - Judi!

   • First Prize of a goes to comment #57 - Charee!

   • Second Prize of a goes to comment #73 - Fidget!

   • Third Prize of a goes to comment #39 - Robin!

   • Fourth Prize of a goes to comment #113 - Rochelle!

Congratulations, we will be emailing the winners today. And thanks to all of you for entering - this was our best turnout ever! Stay tuned for our next big contest on Monday December 8th!

Last Day to Enter to Win a New Bedroom!

Contest Closed - check back tomorrow when we announce the winners!

One of our vendors, South Shore Furniture, has agreed to provide one lucky winner with this beautiful new bedroom set!

Here are all the prizes:

Grand Prize:
South Shore Furniture "Versa" Full/Queen Bedroom Collection with:
   • 1 headboard
   • 1 6-drawer dresser
   • 1 mirror
   • 2 nightstands
Read the rest of this post »

Space Treat: No Memory Required

Filing your paper is more about being able to find the documents you need than it is about just putting them away.

Clients who are fond of paper piles often tell me they know where everything is in the pile and can find anything when needed. This often turns out to be true… but it takes them 15 or 20 minutes to do so. Sound familiar?

Spending 15 minutes a few times a week adds up to hours. Is that really how you want to be using your time? Not to mention, it takes incredible skill to sift through these piles without disturbing it's precarious order.
Read the rest of this post »

Happy Thanksgiving!

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have never a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!

Have an Amazing Day!!

5 Ways to Have a Happy Thanksgiving for Adults with ADD

Well, the holiday season is officially upon us! And for some adults with ADD, this is the most stressful time of year. Here are a few practical tips for managing your ADD this Thanksgiving (or any holiday.)

1. Know Your Own ADD and Plan Ahead to Deal with It

You know yourself better than anyone, so ask yourself "How does my ADD affect me on the holidays?" Make a list of all the things that tend to stress you out, and make a plan to deal with them.

Here are a few examples:
Read the rest of this post »

De-cluttering Your Feed Reader

I have two gmail accounts - don't ask, it's a long story - and what I've been doing is using the one as my main Google Reader account and the other for some blogs I wanted to keep track of, but they don't post regularly so those posts can pile up.

I've been subscribing like crazy to both my Google Reader accounts so they're getting out of hand and it's not uncommon for me to find 81 items unread, which is unusual for me.
Read the rest of this post »

Now Open: Neat and Simple Living Cafe

Ariane Benefit from the Neat & Simple Living Blog has created an amazing online gathering place called the Neat and Simple Living Café.

This "cafe" is a place to connect with like-minded people and support each other in dealing with common life challenges shared by creative people, ADDers, and most self-employed people. Here is an excerpt from the ‘welcome’ page:
Read the rest of this post »