WHAT KEEPS ME ORGANIZED

I usually get tons of questions about my profession…"What does a professional organizer actually do? Do you panic when you start a huge, overwhelming project? What should I do about this space/problem in my house?" But the most consistently asked question is, "How do YOU stay organized?" So I thought I would share a blog on what keeps me organized and the tools that I use in my daily life that helps me stay on top of things.

KEYS & THINGS

Are you that person that constantly misplaces or can never find their keys? I feel your pain! Tip: First – make sure you designate a home for your keys. Install a hook, entryway organizer or use a catch all tray for your keys and things so that you know exactly where to find them on your way out the door. Also, I absolutely love my O - Venture key chain that my best friend told me about (https://o-venture.com/). My keys are always easy to find and I can wear them on my wrist when I want to just grab them and go! You can find a great selection at Kiki in River Ranch too (http://www.shopkikionline.com)! My purse is also always meticulously organized and I only keep what I use on a daily basis in the contents - wallet, planner, iPhone, iPad, cosmetic bag, sharpie, etc. - you get the picture! Anything extra just weighs my purse (and me) down and adds clutter to my daily life! Tip: designate a home for your purse as well - once you get into this habit you will never have to look for your purse or keys again!

DAILY ORGANIZATION: IPAD + PLANNER

I use a combination of my iPad and planner to stay on top of my daily routine, appointments, planning, etc. I'm old school - still love the feel of a great pen and nice paper. I have spent years searching high and low for the perfect planner and finally found it – the Passion Planner! There is so much I love about this planner – resembles a Moleskine (my favorite journal), the nice paper, positive weekly quotes, monthly and weekly scheduling, personal and work to do lists, passion planning, etc. The story on how it was created is pretty neat too (www.passionplanner.com)! And of course I am addicted to my iPad – who isn’t these days! When working with my clients on how to effectively use a planner, I always say that using multiple planners causes more work and less organization. However, I pencil in everything into my planner and then also use my iCal for my appointments so that the reminders notify me on a timely basis.

FAVORITE ORGANIZATION APPS

Speaking of technology, there are tons of Apps that can help you stay organized these days! My favorites are my Notes, Pocket, Tiny Scanner, Houzz and Pinterest. I use the Notes app when I need to jot down a client memo, grocery or to do list, etc. really quickly. The Pocket app is incredible if you like to save articles, videos and other things of interest on your favorite sites and want to read them later. Pocket saves it all in one easy place! So that Real Simple article or new recipe you come across but don’t have time to read at that exact moment – just drop it into your Pocket app and you can read it later! Tiny Scanner is great for my business - I am a receipt Nazi. It scans documents, photos, receipts or just about anything, saves it in a file and creates a PDF so that you can email the document. I live on the go and run tons of errands for my clients so I Tiny Scan every receipt daily for my files. I also cannot live without my Pinterest and Houzz apps – if you haven’t discovered either one of these gems, please do. I save quotes, art and organization inspirations, build Boards and Ideabooks for my client - both apps are treasure troves of information. Especially if you are the creative type like me!

PRIME IT

I am sure none of you are new to the world of Amazon Prime, but it is life saver for me! I use organization products from an array of places – the Container Store, IKEA, Walmart, Target – etc. So I try to pre order my favorite supplies for clients on Amazon Prime to cut down on time spent errand running. I also prime tons of my groceries, art supplies, etc. to save time running personal errands too. Amazon Prime is almost like a personal assistant! You just can’t beat avoiding Lafayette traffic and free shipping and returns!

SOUTHERN GREEN CLEAN

I have the best house cleaning service an OCD person could ask for – Southern Green Clean (http://southerngreenclean.com). Not only does SGC make all of their own green, house cleaning products, the owner and her team are passionate, a joy to work with and actually clean my home better than I do!!! There is nothing in the world that brings me more joy than coming home to a clean, orderly house that smells like tea tree and lavender oil! They save me hours and hours of cleaning per week and keep me on top of my own organizing projects.

So there you go - my top five of what keeps me organized. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about anything in this blog. I hope it inspires you to get organized in some way - big or small!