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So what does a professional organizer do for fun? 
Well for this organizer, this weekend it was getting 'Crafty' with construction paper. 

Not my usual fair, yet there is a cute little girl that I know that has a bunch of artwork, and I had an idea on how to make a fun place for her to store it.

Wan't to get crafty and try this out too?
It could be a great way to spend quality time with the kids. Allow them a chance to get crafty and help decorate it. And, as you put it together they can sort their artwork and maybe decide to let go a few of their less favorite pieces. Narrowing down their collection to the ‘Best of the Best’ will help ease clutter and leave you all with their best works to praise over and over again.
  
 Here's all that I used to make this one:
  * 4 large sheets of construction paper
     (Cost: $4.00 at my favorite local Dollar Store)
  * Scissors & Tape
  * White glue
  * Ribbon for frills
  * A little imagination
 
Tips: You don't have to stop with one. At approximately $1 per sheet, you can make many more and not break the bank. For example you can make one for each school year, and for each child (if you have multiple children). You can even create one to hold more craft paper for future works.
Safety Tip: Remember to watch when using a stapler that you tape the seam up to prevent any snags on clothing or little fingers. Ouch!

More Important Tip: Have Fun!

& if you want to share your creation afterwards, I would be thrilled to see them and post them to my blog and perhaps newsletter. I relish the thought of getting to see just how creative my readers are!
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Sure, you can tie shoe laces...
Once you learned how, that is.

I am certain that there was once a day when you didn't even know what shoe laces were, let alone how to tie the silly things. Yet, chances are now that you have mastered this skill. Right?!
The same thing can go for organizing. It's about learning the steps and then practicing them. Eventually it becomes second nature.

The first step;
Recognizing that tying shoe laces is a good idea.
How can you find any motivation to getting organized, when you are not familiar with what it feels like or even what it looks like to be better organized? 

In the same way we have to trip and fall a few times before we figure out that we better tie those darn pieces of string, sometimes it takes a painfully embarrassing missed appointment or missing valuable documentation for an important project, to make us think, 'Hmmm, maybe I could be better organized?"
 
So, if you can relate to this. If you think maybe life and work could be easier for you, if you were more organized. If you want to explore this and find out what you can do to make things run a little smoother, professional organizers like me are here to help.
 
And if you know someone that could be more organized, try sharing this blog with them. Everyone is welcome to go to my 'Home' page and sign up for Tidy Times too. Everyone that does will get my free gifts sent to get them too.

Find out how you are doing with your organizational skills!
Visit my 'Residential' and 'Business' links above for free copies of the 'Personal Assessment' & 'Workplace Assessment'
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Determining what ‘needs’ to get done, what ‘should’ get done and what ‘could’ get done, and in what ‘order’ is what we call ‘Prioritizing’. 

We all know that our priorities are mainly going to be items that come directly from our goals. However, along the way there will always be priorities that come to us that we didn’t expect or plan for. We also find that during our journey towards out goals, that we find new possibilities spring up that catch our eye. 

To help us stay focused on what truly matters here are three ideas to consider:

  1. Focus on ‘Value’ over ‘Deadline’
Instead of dealing with every item on your list based on its apparent deadlines, first separate your ‘to-do’ list into ‘Valuable’ and ‘Not so Valuable’. My Tiger Tables and Copy of the Time Matrix will help you do this with greater ease, so if you haven’t tried using them, give it a try and see for yourself. Another thing to watch for here is ‘crises’ that others push on you at the last minute. Don’t let poor planning or follow through from someone else become your issue unless it is important enough.

  1. When taking on new responsibilities considering letting go of others.
Like your hallway closet has a limit to how many coats and shoes it can hold, so too does your calendar. If you are going to take on a new project, and you already have just enough time to get what you need done, decide what you are going to give up to make room. You can not continue to pile on projects and responsibilities without clearing a few items off your plate. If you can delegate or hire help to enable you to do more, than do so, yet before you commit ask yourself if you really have the time and if the project really has the value. Tip: be careful not to sweep things under the carpet ‘for now’ as this habit can lead to a mountain growing under you that you wont notice until it’s too late.

  1. Decline doing what is not of value to you.
Saying ‘no’ can be hard, I know. It is after all something that I struggle to get better at myself. As helpful, loving and creative people we want to help, support and show just how much we are capable of when it comes to new assignments and opportunities. You may have read my article ‘Don’t let others ‘Should’ on you’ and sometimes the case is that we ‘Should’ on ourselves. Learning to say ‘no’ can be difficult, yet it is a valuable skill if we want to stay focused on what is truly important. When assignments come up ask yourself if it aligns with your overall goals, or if it is too important to let go. If you answer is ‘no’ then decline to get involved.
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Too many bake trays, not enough baking going on? 

Need a way to keep the wet shoes and boots at the door from ruining your floor?

Tired of trying to coral and contain the many little spice jars and sticky bottles of oil and vinegar in the cupboard?

 Let's rethink the possible uses of those extra baking trays...  

1. Try using baking trays or pans as cabinet organizers. 
Gather up those small items such as small spice jars, pouches and small bottles and place them in a spare baking pan. Then treat it as a drawer, carefully sliding it in and out of the cabinet when you need to get items stored near the back. You can also use small to medium sized baskets if you have those instead. What ever you use the beauty of using baking pans or leak proof baskets is that it will catch drips and small spills thus making clean up a lot easier. Tip: For taller glass bottles use deeper trays.

2. Give your old baking pans the 'boot'.
Rectangular baking sheets and pans can make wonderful receptacles' for wet boots and shoes. Again the pan or sheet can help catch muck from the street and when it's dry the pans can be washed and replaced easily. If they fit you can even slide them into existing cubbyholes at the doorway, taking their contents out of the way.
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It brings me great pleasure to announce that Tidy Tiger will be participating in the 2010 Vancover Home and Interior Design Show this year, as part of the POC team!
Being involved in the POC as an active member and participating on the BC Chapter Executive team is very important to me.

Having opportunities to work with my fellow organizers in promoting our industry is something I place much value on.

Please come and see us this year from September 9-12 at the New Vancouver Convention Centre.

Details and tickets are available on-line. Just click the image above!
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