Getting Organized For 2014

One of the things that I love to do at the end of the year is clear out the old, in preparation for the new.  All year long, people ask me about ways they can stay organized both at home and at work.  This post is to provide you all with a structure for ongoing organization.  For me, these actions are prompted by the end of the year, and the excitement of the upcoming year.   However, they are practices that I actually schedule in my calendar on a quarterly basis to ensure that I keep my environment organized.

Basically, the key is to schedule certain "events" in your calendar...occasions on which you will work on certain things around the house.  The most critical ones that I recommend to my clients, and that I practice myself are as follows:


1. Wardrobe Day: On this day, my 13-yr-old daughter and I go through our dresser drawers and closets.  We weed out things that are too small, or that we haven't worn in the last 18 months.  For this, you must be strong, those pieces that are "kinda cute" but that you NEVER wear, go ahead and get rid of them...you're not going to wear them!  We use two garbage bags, one for donation to Salvation Army (or wherever you choose); and one for trash...for those items that you'd be embarrassed to give someone face-to-face.  If they are in such bad shape that you wouldn't hand them to someone, don't pass them off in a bag, just throw them out.

2. Junk Drawer Day:  On this day, go through all the junk drawers in your house.  Group like items from all the different junk drawers together.  Keep them together in an organized way...for example:  I always find tons of pens and pencils around, especially in junk drawers.  While I have two desks in my house, one in my bedroom and one in my office space, which both have a mug with pens, pencils, highlighters, etc. I still have had to create a shoebox (the plastic kind) for all the extras.  Also, keep small items together too, in ways that look presentable: I keep paper extra clips in a small jar (a baby food or mustard jar works); I keep safety pins in a small sandwich bag which I keep in the sewing kit.  If you have one-of-a-kind items for which it is hard to find a home, you can buy a drawer organizer like the one in this picture to keep in one of the junk drawers for those kinds of things. 



3. Book Day: Both my daughter and I love, love, love books.  I recently started downloading my books on Audible.com, but there are certain books that I consider treasures, and I have a hard copy either in my office space or on the book shelf in my bedroom.  Between the two of us, it
is very difficult for us to let go of books, but we make an effort, and we always get rid of a few when we go through this process.  So you might be saying "what do I do with them?"  Well, here are a few ideas:  http://www.booksforafrica.org/books-computers/donate-books.html;

You can also sell your books on Amazon.com.


4. Kitchen Day:  Go through your kitchen cabinets.  Do you have too many take-out food containers?  Do you have 10 plastic tops that don't go to any containers??  How many pots, pans and skillets do you have?  What kind of shape are they in?  Are there some that can be tossed?  How many do you need?  Are you fortunate in that you can donate some and still have plenty?  How many crockpots do you have?  Blenders?  Bullets?  Toasters?  This even applies to flatware, plates, tumblers, etc.  Get the picture?? 


5. Toy Day:  If you have a little one, when they are out at that birthday party next month, that will be the perfect time to go through their toys and get rid of the ones they don't even remember, but would have a fit if they ever witnessed you trying to throw them out.

And the big one...the one we all need to constantly work on is.......   

6. Paper Day:  At my house, I only allow three file drawers: one for business files, one for financial stuff and critical documents, and one for miscellaneous stuff like health, education, etc.  I don't save statements past 6 months (utility bill statements, credit card statements, bank statements).  If you need more than that, you can always get them from the bank or utility company.  As for my business files, when the drawer gets full, some get moved into storage, but I don't keep any business or client files older than 7 years.  My storage is very small, so small that it only costs about $55, and I refuse to get a bigger one, it would only be a magnet for more stuff.  After all, even though I'm an organizer and I live by my own rules, I'm still human :)



The bottom line is, this quarterly purge of paper prevents a situation where I have boxes and boxes of paper at home or in storage, it's just not practical and causes massive clutter over time.


Well I hope this post has motivated you to get your house in order for the New Year.  It is always my pleasure to share tips and tools with my readers and followers, that increase effectiveness, and improve quality of life overall.

Wishing all my readers, followers and clients a joyous, prosperous and abundant 2014.

Transform Your Environment - Transform Your Life!

Creating peace and productivity

Do you find that you are impacted by these hindering experiences below?
- Consuming energy looking for things in your home that you are unable to find because they aren't organized
- Paying bills late because your financial papers, etc. aren't organized, you can't find certain bills, and/or haven't even opened them yet to know that they are due
- Spending money on clothing, housewares and other items because you can't find the one you already have...somewhere in the house
- Walking into room after room and being reminded of the chaos...in lieu of experiencing your home as a peaceful abode
- Avoiding having people over because you are embarrassed about all the messy clutter
- The inability to generate your creative thinking - clutter interferes with creativity, preventing the mental space for it, and instead causing internal noise and confusion

Clutter impacts us in many ways, and most people are not even aware of it. According to a poll conducted by about.com, out of 12,600 people, 35% of the people surveyed said they need an intervention to take place in their home because of the clutter. The same 35% even said that they avoid going home because they can't relax there with all the clutter around. Additionally, another 37% admitted that their home is cluttered most of the time...and they don't event attempt to deal with it unless they have someone coming over.

It's a proven fact that people who suffer from clutter are often in denial and unable to recognize that they need a professional to intervene. Many of my clients tell me, when they finally call me in to intervene, that they have told themselves for 2 years or more that they can and will manage the clutter themselves. However, the more time that goes by, the more the clutter multiplies, and the harder it is to recover.

Investing in getting your environment in order is the most generous gift you can give yourself. In addition to solving all of the challenges listed above, calling in a professional to get you organized will support you in everything you are out to accomplish in your life and have you sleep peacefully at night, and happy to go home after work.

I invite you to visit us at www.concierge-4-hire.com to learn more about how we make the difference for hundreds of people every year. We won't judge you. In the process of getting you organized, everything we see and hear will be kept confidential, and if you don't see the amazing difference in your home once we have brought our God-given gifts and talents into the equation, we will give you your money back! That's our guarantee, and we stand behind it 100%!!

Pairing Food and Wine

The world of wine is a vast one, and one of my favorite things to do is experiment with different wines. By no means do I claim to be an expert. I have, however, been to quite a few wineries over the past few years, and some of them carry very unique wines that you won't find anywhere else.

My favorite red wines are Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, Pinot Noir and Chianti. So we'll start with Pinotage....this is a very unique wine that has a peppery aftertaste. The grapes used to make Pinotage are grown in South Africa. Pinotage is excellent with chocolate, and surprisingly, one of my favorite foods to enjoy with it is sweet potato pie.

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the first red wines I was introduced to. It is a full bodied red wine with a fruity flavor. It has actually become my go-to wine for lamb, pork and beef.

Merlot, which also has a fruity flavor, is not quite as rich. This wine actually pairs better with chicken.

Shiraz is a fabulous wine. Some of the best Shiraz's come from Australia. It goes great with corn beef brisket or roasted duck.

Pinto Noir is a light wine with challenging growing requirements and is, therefore, not as popular as most red wines. If you want to pair a red wine with fish, this is a great choice, particularly with tuna or salmon.

And lastly, Chianti! This is the perfect wine with lasagna and other pasta...especially pasta with tomato sauces. It's also awesome when paired with roast beef.

My favorite whites, in this order, are Reisling, Sauvignon Blanc, and Prosecco. On occasion, I will also buy Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Muscato.

Riesling is my absolute favorite and the white wine that I buy the most. I love, love, love this wine with crabs or shrimp. It also pairs great with chinese or japanese food, as well as curry. Try it with a slice of apple pie. You'll love it!

Sauvignon Blanc is a light, crisp wine that is good with seafood as well....crabs, shrimp, scallops...even lobster.

Prosecco is a unique, sparkling Italian white wine that pairs nicely with many foods..but the top ones are dishes with mushrooms, and spicy foods.

As for the last three...Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Muscato, I rarely buy them, but when I do, I normally just pair them with chicken, fish or seafood.

I want to also mention a great recipe that I came across once at a holiday party...a combination of Reisling, Chardonnay and Muscato, with fruit. I call it my "white Sangria" recipe.

I want to leave you all with one of my favorite wineries that I recommend that you visit if you are ever in the Pennsylvania area. It's called Franklin Hill Vineyards, and it's located in Bangor, PA. They actually make two wines that are to die for. The wines are called "Bliss" and "Fainting Goat." Sometimes I purchase a case of each and give them out as Christmas gives during the holiday season.
I hope this little wine-pairing list is useful to you wine lovers who are looking for suggestions when you visit the wine store.