Professional Organizing in Madison, Wisconsin

     In the May 2011 issue of the Primo Solutions, LLC newsletter, I wrote an article on how to create a Command Center.  You can find it here:

http://archive.aweber.com/primosolutions/UcVo

     In this article, I'd like to go into a little more detail on how to put a command center into action.   One of the main reasons for having a command center is to filter out information.  We can't possibly read or do all the information that comes into our homes, so a command center is an intentional place to triage information....make decisions as to what information will make it into our lives and what information will go into the Circular File.  (The Trash!!!!)

Tip One:  Location, Location, Location

     It's important to have a designated location and to be firm with yourself on using that location only to process your paperwork.  I like to use the analogy of the task of getting dressed.  Have you ever decided to get dressed in the living room in front of the TV?  Or in the car?  I hope not!   You probably get dressed in an area near where you store your toiletries, clothes, jewelry and maybe a mirror.  The right tools for the right job.  The same is true of processing paperwork.  If you open your mail in different places around the house, you will not have the tools you need to complete the job and you also won't be in the mind set of making decisions - a key compontent to processing paperwork.

TipTwo: Clutter is Post-Phoned Decisions®

     Speaking of making decisions, it takes focus and energy to make sure you are tossing everything you should be.  Author Barbara Hemphill has a great set of questions to help you make that decision.  With every piece of paper or information that you don't know what to do with, ask yourself these questions: 

1. Do you need to take action on this information?
2. Is it difficult to obtain this information again?
3. Is the information recent enough to be useful?
4. Does it have tax or legal implications?
5. Can you think of a specific situation in the future where you would use this information?
6. What is the worst thing that would happen if you tossed this paper, and then you later found out you needed it again?

Tip Three: Have you ever heard of opportunity costs?  

     In general, we tend to think of what would happen if we needed information and didn't have it.  It's easy to say "but I might use that someday!"  But what if we were to change our thought process, and instead ask ourselves what opportunities are we missing because we are too busy looking for, filing and managing all the information that comes at us?  We can be paralyzed by too much information, too many choices and too many paper piles.  This stifles our creativity and zaps our energy, leaving us to wonder what great things we could achieve without the paper clutter.

Tip Four: A word of caution:  

     Be patient with yourself!  No one becomes a perfect information filter in one day.  You are bound to toss something that you wish you hadn't - it's the only way we learn.  So let yourself make mistakes, learn from them, and move on.

     Please feel free to contact me if you have questions or concerns using your command center or filtering out information.  I'd love to hear your stories as well!

All the Best,

Dannie

All trademarks and registrations are the property of Barbara Hemphill

     Have you been bitten by the Spring Cleaning bug?  I know I have!  This time of year, just as the trees and the grass are renewed, I get the urge to clean out and renew my home.  I open up all the windows and start a fury of cleaning.  Well, actually not just cleaning, but also purging.  This is the time for fresh starts - out with the old and in with the new.  Or better yet, out with the old and in with NOTHING - just some fresh breathing room!  So what do you do with all your unwanted treasures?  You have a few choices - you can throw them in the trash, you can recycle them, you can have a yard sale, you can give them to friends or family, or you could donate them to a locat charity (which happens to be my personal favorite.)

     Donating your gently used, unwanted treasures to a local charity serves so many purposes: 

1. It is an added tax benefit if you itemize deductions on your taxes.
2. It helps you free up much needed space and breathing room.
3. By freeing up the space, you can more fully enjoy and be grateful for the treasures you keep.
4. It helps the environment by reusing unwanted treasures instead of placing them in the landfill.
5. It helps someone else who will use your unwanted treasures and be grateful for them. 
6. By learning to let go of excess material goods we can learn to place our values on relationships instead of things.
7. Find out how your donations can have a direct impact on the community at: http://donate.goodwill.org/ 

    If you decide to donate to a local charity, how do you keep track of what you donate?  How do you know how much it's worth?  Will you be able to prove you donated it if you are audited?  That's where this iphone app has helped save me lots of time and headahces.  Check it out here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/idonatedit/id341013253?mt=8

     This is how it works:  First, I choose a donation location.  Then, I add items that I am donating by choosing from a list of categories.  The application automatically figures out how much it is worth and about how much of a tax savings it will be for me.  When I am done adding in the items that I am donating, I can take a picture of the donation for the record as well.  That's it!

     To store the information so it's ready for tax time, I e-mail the report and picture to myself (with one click) and I take the receipt from the charity and scan it into my computer.  Now I have all the information ready to go for next April 15: donation receipt, value list, and picture.

     What's your favorite way of purging unwanted goods?  I'd love to hear some stories!

Joyfully,

Dannie

There are a few things to take into consideration when choosing a photo organizing program for your computer.  First, you will need to decide if you want your photos available to you on your computer (a software program) or on any computer via the internet (a cloud solution).  There are pros and cons to each - you just need to know what will work best for you.

A software program that you install on your computer usually can only be accessed on that computer.  So if you want to organize your photos in multiple places, like the car, on a vacation, or at your favorite coffee house, then you need to have a laptop computer that you can take with you.  On the flip side, you do not need to have internet access to organize your photos.  I take my lap top with me on long car rides and organize photos in the car - even though I don't have internet access.

Examples of software programs:

1. iPhoto (for mac users)
2. Creative Memories Memory Manager
3. Ulead Photo Explorer 8.5
4. Corel Photo Album 7 Deluxe
5. ACDSee 2009

A web based solution will be available from any computer as long as you have internet access.  That means that you could be at the library, at your friends house, at your desk top or on a lap top - any computer with internet access, and you can organize your photos.

Examples of web based programs:

1. Picasa (actually a combination of web based and software based)
2. Flicker.com
3. smugmug.com
4. photobucket.com
5. dropshots.com

Once you have decided on which type of program you would like, then you can start looking at the details of each program.  The four things that every program should be able to do are:

1. Organize photos for easy retrieval 
2. Archive - make it easy to store older photos in folders or CDs
3. Edit - you should be able to crop, rotate, get rid of red eye, and even clone for better pictures
4. Share - a good program will have multiple ways to share photos with your friends/family.

Other things you want to consider are how easy it is to use and how much support is available if you have problems.  You should not need to be a professional photographer to use these programs!

Here is a basic demonstration on how Memory Manager from Creative Memories works:

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Let me know if this was helpful!

Digital cameras are awesome, aren't they?  I can take as many pictures as I want and delete the ones I don't like!   I really love taking family pictures and making photo albums and my family loves looking at them.  They love to reminisce about past events and about  the people that have come and gone in their lives.

One challenge for digital photos is keeping them all organized on the computer so you can enjoy them.  Photos come from many different sources - cameras,  phones, e-mail, facebook, CDs, and you can probably name many more.   I tend to take more pictures, because I know I don't have to print all of them.  There is a wealth of different programs available both on your desktop and on the web.  Put all of those things together and it's no wonder that it's challenging to organize pictures.  Have you ever been afraid to delete the pictures from your camera because you aren't sure if you would find them again on the computer?  Or wondered which ones you had imported and which ones you haven't? I know I've been there.

A few years ago, I applied organizing principals to the goal of being able to enjoy and share my digital pictures.  First step: Today's Mail is Tomorrow's Pile®, a principal from author Barbara Hemphill.  What does that mean?  It means that I need to know exactly what I'm going to do with my pictures today and everyday forward, so they don't keep getting lost on my computer.  The first step is NOT getting overwhelmed with the pictures already there, but making sure to be consistent and clear with what to do with pictures going forward.

I researched a few photo organizing programs, but I was somewhat overwhelmed with the choices.  I decided to go with a company that I had used for over 10 years: Creative Memories.  Their program is a desk top software solution and is very powerful.  Now, every time I get a new picture, I import it directly to CM Memory Manager.  I also take the time to tag each photo, so that it is easy to sort my pictures when it is time to print, share or create scrapbooks.  After I consistently was adding pictures to my Memory Manager, I was able to go back and start collecting older pictures to add to the program.  This is still a work in progress!

Here is a shot of the layout of Memory Manager: 

To summarize, here are the first steps in getting your digital photos organized:

1.  Decide on a photo management program.

2.  Every time you get new digital pictures, import them directly to your program.

3.  Each time you import into your program, tag each picture for easy sorting.

4.  Back up your photos.  I suggest https://mozy.com/?gclid=CObOu9aCvaYCFcIKKgodlEuRGw&mcr=1&ref=0811cfe9&s_kwcid=TC|12983|mozy||S|e|6528400565" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Mozy or Carbonite.  If you choose to back up to an external hard drive or discs, make sure you store your pictures at a different location from your computer.

Next post, I'll go into more depth on how to choose a photo management program.  Until then, do you have any good tips to share on storing and organizing digital photos?  I'd love to hear them!  Please share!

Family traditions are an important part of our everyday life.  They can link us to our past and give us hope for our future, as well as give us a strong bond with those we share them with.  As Letitia Suk of Focus on the Family notes, "traditions define the identity of a family".  But traditions can also help us simplify our lives - by setting expectations and perfecting skill sets.  They can save us money, time and sanity.  Now that's what I call a winner - building up your family relationships and being productive at the same time! 

Simple traditions such as making the same thing for meals each week are easy to implement.  I know many people who have pizza for dinner on Fridays or sub sandwiches for lunch on Sundays.  In our family, we tend to make breakfast traditions - one is we have homemade muffins on Fridays.  Since we have been doing that for over a year, we have really perfected that skill set.  We always have the right ingredients on hand, we know what tools we need and we know the recipe by heart!  I think we could get batch of muffins to the oven in less than 5 minutes if we were in a hurry.  Meal traditions can also decrease planning time as well as decrease the stress of the dreaded question "What's for dinner?"

Bigger traditions can make life simpler as well, such as hosting a BBQ every Labor Day.  By doing this, friends and family can make plans well in advance.  Kids may anticipate playing certain games or everyone may look forward to a specific menu item.  Again, your planning time decreases and your enjoyment of the event and the people there increases.

Here is a tradition our family looks forward to on birthdays:

Of course, it's important to keep traditions in perspective and stay flexible.  Just as families grow and change, traditions grow and change as well.

What are some of your family traditions?  How do they help you simply your life while building up your relationships?  I'd love to hear your comments.

Right now I'm reading "The 4-Hour Work Week" by Timothy Ferris.  While I find much of the content to be entertaining at best, I loved this story that he tells in chapter 14: (copied & pasted from his blog)

A boat was docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his catch. “How long did it take you to get those?” he asked.

“Not so long,” said the Mexican.

“Then why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more?” asked the American.

The Mexican explained that his small catch was quite enough to meet his needs and feed his family.

“So what do you do with the rest of your time?” asked the American.

“I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evening, I go into the village to see my friends,have a few drinks, play the guitar and sing a few songs. I have a full life.”

The American interrupted. “I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat.”

“And after that?” asked the Mexican.

“With the extra money the bigger boat will bring, you can buy a second boat and then a third boat, and then more until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants. Pretty soon you could open your own plant. You could leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York! From there you could direct your whole enterprise.”

“How long would that take?” asked the Mexican.

“Twenty — perhaps twenty-five years,” replied the American.

“And after that?”

“Afterwards? Well, my friend,” laughed the American, “that’s when it gets really interesting. When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!”

“Millions? Really? And after that?” said the Mexican.

“After that you’ll be able to retire, live in a beautiful place near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take siestas with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends..."

I am excited to have my first give away.  (That implies there will be more, right?)  The cool people at Rubbermaid http://www.rubbermaid.com/ sent a few products to me to try: a four pack sandwich size TakeAlongs and a Blue Ice Fun Shape in the shape of a base ball. I pack four lunches a day and I have used both of these products every day since I got them!  I like the blue ice fun shape because it is thin and it fits well in the kid's lunch boxes and of course, it is more exciting than the standard blue ice packs.  I like the TakeAlongs because you can reuse them over and over and yet, you are not out a lot of money if they get lost or thrown away. (Would my children do that?)

TakeAlongs and the base ball Fun Blue Ice Shape.  See how thin it is?

So here's the deal: leave a comment and I will enter you in the drawing for a pack of 4 TakeAlongs & a Blue Ice Fun Shape.  Please leave in the comment your name and how to contact you, and if you would prefer a boy or a girl theme for your Blue Ice Fun Shape. 

Bonus entries:  An extra entry goes into the hat if you tell me that you:  1) would like my monthly news letter or 2) follow me on Twitter (see sidebar) or 3) join my fan page on Face book (http://www.facebook.com/PrimoSolutions).

Good luck to everyone! 

Small Print:

US addresses only please. This contest will end on Monday 10/5/09at 11:59 pm CST.   Only comments containing all of the requested information will be eligible for entry. The winner must contact me to confirm they wish to receive the prize within two days of my notifying them they've won.

It seems like a natural fit for Professional Organizers to help spread the word about National Preparedness Month.  We love to plan and be prepared!  But how, you ask, do you prepare your family for any emergency that comes your way?  I'm glad you asked!  I have found two websites (Ready America and Ready Wisconsin) that have wonderful information on how to get prepared:

http://www.ready.gov/

http://readywisconsin.wi.gov/READYWI/

Here's the skinny:

1.     Get a kit (stuff you need in your home similar to a first aid kit only much more extensive)

2.     Make a plan (so everyone in your family knows how to communicate and where to go)

3.     Be informed (study different potential emergencies and appropriate responses)

Both the Ready America and Ready Wisconsin have check lists of what to include in your kit, forms you can download and print on how to make a family plan and specific information for different populations like kids, seniors and pets.  Ready America has lists of potential emergencies and appropriate responses based on what state you live in, and Ready Wisconsin has a preparedness tip of the day and even instructional videos on how to get prepared.  There is so much more information and many downloadable, free resources!  But just obtaining the information isn't going to help your family in an emergency.  It takes action to be ready.  So let's get going on this project!

As with any big project, breaking it down into manageable parts is a good starting point. My first action step is to make my emergency kit list and then to buy a few items on the list each time I go to the store.  What is your first step? 

I found this cartoon in a recent issue of Real Simple Magazine.  I keep it on my vision board as it always makes me smile.  It is particularly funny to me…I’m not sure if it’s because I am turning 38 next month, or if it’s because I studied the “What to Expect when you’re Expecting” book so much when I was pregnant with my kids.  I realize it’s is a parody, but I can’t help but see the expectations of a mom my age to be unrealistic…I can’t change a diaper in under 2 minutes (my nine month old can’t be still for 15 seconds!) and I would never start any conversation about Japanese fashion, let alone an insightful one.  And then there’s the over the top, stereo typical expectation of moms these days: “write a best-selling novel, work full time, and run a charity organization”.  We only are seen as excelling when we do it all!

I think organizing has a lot to do with expectations.  The “organizing” part of life is setting up realistic, consistent expectations of when and how things get done and who does them.  Organizing daily life can help free up time to study Japanese fashion…or take your kids to the park.  I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this.

So what can you expect of me as I enter my 39th year?  You can expect to see more insightful blogs and newsletters on setting up realistic expectations for daily life - on getting and staying organized.  I’ll get to that right after I research “Duran Duran”.  I think I’ve heard of them…

Dannie

First Confession: Organizing is not my natural tendency. Really, there is so much else I want to do! So many ways to spend my time!

There are professional organizers who have been organizing since they were children. In fact, my daughter has a friend who cleans and organizes rooms when she comes over! (silly me. I thought the Wii would be the game of choice.) Then, there are other professional organizers who did not start out so organized, but rather learned from personal experience and many, many other brilliant people how to get organized. I belong to the latter group, and that's why it's such a joy for me to help others get organized. I've experienced the benefits myself! Don't believe me? Here's some proof: this is my closet about four years ago. It was my very first organizing project! What I have learned in the past four years is that spending time on getting and staying organized in my home is similar to investing money....it takes a significant initial investment (of time & energy) but the return (of time & energy & sanity) is even greater.

Second Confession: The current condition of my house is not perfectly organized!

It is, however, organized enough for me to concentrate on the “big stuff” (life goals, parenting & relationships) because I know most of the “little stuff” (housework, meals & laundry) is taken care of. So, if you come over to my house and open one of my closets, don't expect to see it looking like a Pottery Barn ad. And you may have to step over someone's train set or Harry Potter books to navigate through the living room. But you're welcome to come over anytime.

Third Confession: I don't always like telling people I am a professional organizer.

Don't get me wrong...I love being a professional organizer. I love it when clients tell me they have learned how to manage their files, or papers, or meals, or what every it is, without feeling overwhelmed or frustrated. But sometimes when I tell people I am a professional organizer, a huge wave of guilt sweeps over their face, and they say “you wouldn't want to see my house!” Or once when I told a stranger that I was a professional organizer, he said, (with a smirk), “oh, right. People are so lazy that they have to pay someone to organize for them!” How far from the truth. I can tell you one thing: four years ago (when my closets and home looked like these before pictures) I was working outside the home 20 hours every weekend, taking care of a home and three children under the age of six, as well as doing volunteer work. I know I was not lazy. Nor was I incapable of taking care of my stuff. I just needed to learn some new skill sets and how to apply them, and I am so thankful to the women who taught them to me.

I'd love to hear your thoughts! Happy Organizing!

Dannie