Office Progress

Well it has been I while since I blogged. I have been supper busy making a life and somedays just surviving. I am working as a designer’s assistant and I am so happy doing it. It has its stresses but I still love it. I also became a partner in a paint company and now sell American Paint Company brand chalk paint and I am enjoying working on that as well. I still do HR for my parents company and I also still am organizing for a lovely lady a couple times a month.  I can see why I have not a lot of time to blog and do house projects.

I think today I am going to share my office in progress. I love it, it’s getting there slowly, but it will be the best office ever soon. If you want you can see my thoughts on the office here. I got the cabinets in and realized they were not regular height. They are more desk height and I was more excited cause then I didn’t need to get new chairs and then my office really became free.

My amazing hubby helped me so much with this. I think he really wanted me to get a nice office so I would stay in it and not drag all of it to the living room.  We got to work right away. We started with the closet. It was not a bad closet but if you know me I love a good closet organizing system.

 

Some of the drawers needed to be fixed so I did that well hubby cut the 10foot counter top. Yes 10 feet of awesomeness. I can stretch out all my paper work and it’s awesome. As you can tell I love my office.  

 

We grabbed an other counter from my dad. He had it in storage for a long time. It fit like it was meant to go in this room.

 

Oh it came a long really well. I was a bit worried it was going to be to big but I don't think so at all.

Then I filled I filled it all back up with all my goodies.

Needs a bit of work but it holds a tone of stuff.

 

 

 

For now it looks a bit busy for me but I am still loving it and I do stay in here with my work now. The best part of the office is the window. It lets so much light in and I can hear the birds singing away. 

 Well that is all for today. Thanks for reading my free office makeover. Stay tuned, you know it will change again.

 

 

Big Dreams

Well a lot is going on in our life so why not dream bigger. So if you are a reader of mine you know that I love moving my home around and have more home commitment issues then I do with my husband. He was easy; knowing if that is where the dresser will stay is so hard. Thankfully he still loves me. I started full time organizing for clients and am now an assistant to a local interior designer and loving it like crazy. With more work means my office is in need of a rethink.  I know my office moves more then I work in it. So in order for me to make a plan I figured why not write a blog to get my ideas out of my head. So here is goes.

I love my office up in our old master bedroom. I love how the kids can come and work on homework in here and not over take my dining room. I love how much natural light comes in, and I just love the size.  Now that is where it goes downhill from. I just am asking a lot from a 9’11” x 11’ room, but I have faith that I will get it to where I want it soon.

I am a feeling person, I gravitate to things I like because I like the way they feel. If it gives me joy I go right to it. So I have a mish mash of cheap well-loved things in my office that don’t really spark joy it was just a good deal or free. With my business taking off I want my office to reflect me as an organizer and a creative person. I want to feel joy when I come in here to work. Right know it is busy you can see everything and is a lot of little pieces of furniture.  My goal is peace and joy now how do you make an office and craft room give you peace and joy. You plan!!

So I got my hands on a kitchen cabinet and counter from a client’s home and I am so excited to get to work after my payed work gets done. As always I am cheap and I don’t want to spend a lot of money right off the bat so for now we will just brain storm today.

 

This is were we are now I love the feel of this lay out, not crazy about everything out on display. So here is the plan. I have 3 cabinet units coming today. They will go on the long wall under the window, just like this.

 

EEEEK!!! Can you feel my excitement. Well of course I am crazy and if you give me cabinets I will want to paint. It will be a few weeks before I have time to paint maybe on spring break. I am gravitating to a light color.

  

I LOVE teal so doing a light grey makes for a good back drop for what ever I pick but on the other hand I love color and this room is one I spend a lot of time in. I cant wait to get started on this project and get my dream office to go with my dream job.

 

Please comment and let me know what you think. Has anyone else over taken there small master for a awesome craft room/ office ?

 

 

finding homes for your "homeless" clutter

Wow, can anyone tell me were February went. It has been a crazy busy month here in the valley. I have to schedule more posts in March I think. I have a few projects on the books for March it will be so much fun.

 So I got a request from an old school friend last week when I had writers block on what to blog about. She really needed help in finding out were I put my “homeless” stuff. These are things like paper clips, pens, candles, screws for something that you may need but don’t want to put in the shed until you know you don’t need it.

The thing with this stuff is it depends on the person’s life really. I use to call myself lazy now I am just distracted or busy. Being distracted well decluttering is a challenge all in its self. I have a few steps to share that I live by that make my home less chaotic.

1.      Nothing in our home is “homeless” EVERYTHING has a home and also everyone in the home knows were said items home is.

2.      Think outside the box. Don’t think because you have an office in the basement that all office stuff needs to be down there. I have a drawer in my china cabinet that I use for “office” stuff. I.e. pens, pencils, paper clips stuff in that nature. I also have a place in my office I have, were things go as well.  

3.      I use a paper planner which I love so much. I had a small scrapbook organizer kicking around so I tossed something’s into it and I just love that I can take it to where I need it.

 

The kitchen drawer.

 

The front door dresser and dinning room.

In my office.

 

 One thing if you didn't notice was I don't have a lot of things, well I do have a thing with ink joy pens and sharpies. The trick is that they fit were they need to be. Clutter I feel is the overflow. if you have a drawer you cant fit anymore into it then then its become clutter. I hope this helps with finding homes for things. Next post will be about paper clutter and how to deal with it.

Have a great weekend

 

 

 

Organizing Kit... Crazy Mama Style

Good morning, it’s a fine day to be alive. I have a song stuck in my head for days. Good to be Alive by Andy Grammer. I just love it, it boosts me if I get up on the wrong side of the bed and it just makes me smile.   

“I've been grinding so long, been trying this shit for years
And I got nothing to show, just climbing this rope right here
And if there's a man upstairs, he kept bringing me rain
But I've been sending up prayers and something's changed

I think I finally found my hallelujah
I've been waiting for this moment all my life
Now all my dreams are coming true, ya
I've been waiting for this moment”

It’s so important the music that you listen to you brings you up. I just love music.

Ok so to today’s little project. I love organizing and I am so happy that I have been able to start making money doing it. I have become very busy, which is great. I needed to make my organizing kit better. My little make up bag was just not cutting it anymore.  So I went shopping in my house and found this little tool box in my storage area.

 

I was not in love with it. It is very plan but a bit of tape and bam its wonderful now. Then filled it with all my tools and some things that just didn’t fit in the old bag. I will be labeling it because well you all know I LOVE labels.

 

I just love what a bit of bling does to a very utilitarian thing. I would love to spray paint it but the yellow is ok for know.  Then I filled it will all the good stuff for helping clients organize their spaces.

 

 





Have a great weekends. Happy Organizing!!!!

 

how to grow in 2016

WOW!!!! Can anyone tell me were 2015 has gone. With the kids in school full time I have jumped both feet into growing my company. I am having the time of my life. I remember as a kid, maybe 10-11 years old organizing my room and cleaning it for hours, I loved it. My family thought I was nuts, I think sometimes they still do. Over the last year I have done some soul searching and personal growth. I have come so far in learning to be a better organizer for my clients and a better mother and wife. I am so excited to see what the path of 2016 has for us.

On that note I have a million excuses for not doing it but no more. I am going to schedule more blog posts for all you fans. I have a busy January planned but I feel I still need to write more. So I am open to your ideas on content you want me to share. I have too many ideas sometimes and it all gets lost in my mind.

In 2016 I want to get my home a bit more organized. With me helping others, my home has gotten a bit out of order. I will make time to put it back or change areas that don't work for us anymore. There are season in life just like there are season in Canada. Most of my clients struggle with this season. It’s the season of busy. Life is busy!! Not like when you had 3 kids under the age of 4 seasons but you are running 100 different directions busy. Between work, school and sports I feel some days I don't know where I end and begin. In the past I was home with on average 5 kids when I had my day home. It was busy but not as busy as this. Now that I am in this season I can see were my clients struggling to balance it all.

I have some tricks that might work for you. If you feel you are in the "busy" season of life.

1. LEARN TO SAY NO!!!! This is a hard one for all us moms. It’s hard because we want to make everyone around us happy. You don't want to disappoint people. Well I am sorry but if you say yes to that thing you may be also saying no to someone you love. For example, I said yes to a job that was not my "job" it was something else that was not my thing, I didn't want to do it but I didn't want to disappoint the person. Well taking on that job left me drained to be with my family. I have learned to say no to stuff that is not on my path. It’s on someone else's path but they don't know how to follow it or are too scared to do it alone. I have gone down a path with a person to show them were they need to go and do, but at some point I leave them and continue on mine.
2. OWN YOUR TIME!!! Lots of moms wake up and don't know what they are doing that day. They wait till someone plans there day for them. I am so guilty of this too. When my second was born I started to plan my days down to what time we would have snack and reading time. I would schedule playdates and own our days. I LOVED IT. Just because I was a stay at home mom didn't mean I had to be at the whims of the universe to plan my day. I loved having our days planned out, the kids did much better, and there was also a lot less stress in the home. Yes some days did not go as planned, kids get sick and plans change, but planning the day meant that I felt in control of my time.
3. BE PRESENCE- there is a movement out in the world about being presence. With all our technology now a days, it’s crazy how people are connected and disconnected, literally at the same time. We are connected to people around the world in a split second but then we are also disconnected to realty. When was the last time you saw the color of your kid’s eyes. Like really looked them in the eye and talked to them. I watch people a lot and I see parents looking at their phone more than watching their kids play on the playground. Recently we went on a trip to see my in laws 4 hours away. The kids were in the back with their tablets and stuff, doing their thing. A few hours in to the trip red says mom "where are we". I tell her and she was like wow that went so fast. That's how I see the world right now. At some point you will look up and see a full grown person in front of you demanding your attention good or bad, and you will wonder were the time has gone. So at least give your family and friends your full presence, which all people really want.
4. BEWARE OF BLEED TIME- Like a cut that will not stop bleeding, your time can run away without your directed pressure and attention. Bleed time to me is Pinterest, Facebook, heck any kind of social media. A few years ago I was redoing my laundry room and looking on Pinterest for the best system that would work for our family. Then my clever, sarcastic husband said "you know you don't need to organize your laundry if you just do it". He was totally right (shhhh don't tell him that) I was looking at systems to store dirty laundry. Hum sounds insane really. So I now have a laundry system that is just doing it. I also set a timer if I want to be on Pinterest. I really can loose and hour on that thing. I can do a lot in an hour to relieve the things that cause me anxiety and stress. Walking the dog, doing a quick home blessing (aka clean) or reading my book. The average person has 4 hours a day in bleed time that adds up to almost 13 years in a life time. 
5. DONT BE A STRESSCASE- I love this one. The top points all lead into this one. Are you running around doing things for others that they can do for themselves? Are you saying yes to things and then regretting it? Are you not planning your day with YOU in mind? You want to get healthy but you don't have time to get to the gym, don't have time to make healthy meals. You are setting yourself up for failure before you even start. If you are planning your week then you have to keep in mind that on hockey night you can’t make a 5 course meal. I like to schedule meal prep days. I love it, the kids help me and we listen to music or they just talk. We do it on a Sunday. It charges us up for the coming week and it makes the week run smoother. You can read about that here. I find a lot if not all my clients go shopping and are not percent or they are sooo stressed to get groceries. They put stuff in the cart and then get home and forget they got it and why they bought it. I think being organized before you go to the store is vital to your budget and your sanity. You are on path that is to remove clutter from your home you can’t be buying stuff just because it was a good deal. You need to be awake and present with a plan.

I hope these points help you to grown in 2016.

 

 

Good morning world, what a fine November morning it is. Today I got up oh way to early to get the hubs off to work, and of course I tried to go back to bed but my brain would not let me. Well this week my organizing class did not run this time. I was a little bummed but trying to keep a positive mind set, I tried looking at it as a blessing. Today I am deciding to take my class again lol yes I am going to get my house in a bit of order over the next 4 weeks. Even though we are on day 7 in November but I think it will be great. My home is not noticeably cluttered, but it could use a bit of a cleaning. The 4 weeks will take me just into the beginning of December which will work great with getting ready for Christmas crazies.

I will be starting today full force. The beautiful thing about taking it over 4 weeks you don't get over tiered at least I don't. some people need it done in a week. I find the systems fail if it is to fast. I also have to run my business and run the house with all the kids after school stuff. I am also working part time in my parents business. wow no wonder i cant stay up till 9 pm lol. As Brendon Buchard would say your life's work should be fun. its work but it does not feel like it. It is just what i love to do.  I will be posting my progress every week and may even share some tips from my class.

thanks for reading.

meal prepping made for busy people

Good day!! fall is in the air here and I love it. With fall comes a very busy schedule. With funds being a little snug as well I need to have a plan for meals. Meal planning is one of the most asked questions I get. Really meal planning to me is very personal, not every one likes the same foods and some can cook and some not so much. For me I love to cook, but with our schedules I don't have time to spend hours cooking but I still want a nice meal every night. Its nice to know that when we leave skating that there is a plan at home, it takes away from the impulse to run to a fast food place.

With that being said I have some really quick ideas that even if you are already busy you still can prep for meals.

1.  Make a quick plan, like set your timer for 10-15 minutes and think of what you would like to have this week. FYI 90% of the time I get to the store and that plan changes, a different meat is on sale or a different veg is being cleared out. I shop deals all the time, nothing is in stone.
2. Plan your shopping day when you have the time. Don't go to the store when you have 1hr till your next appointment. The best day for me is Saturday. If my husband is home he watches the kids or if not I take them with, there getting older they are a lot of help now. plus they get to learn how to shop. For example last week red and I were looking at getting apple but I asked her what was cheaper buy the 6 lbs bag or get single apples she had to do the math and figure it out, she loves doing that kind of stuff and she also retains it way better. MM likes to count stuff so I get him to count lots of stuff it is always a learning experience.
3. PUT THE FOOD AWAY! I know this is a big one. shopping is exhausting but if you finish the task you don't have to think about it for a few days at least. I use to sell Tupperware and I have a lot of fridge smarts and I love them.  DONT WASH your vegetables or fruit. I just toss it in the containers and wash as needed.

Ok, on to the prepping now. I love to batch cook. I really didn't have a concrete meal plan this week, I really was just in need of easy meals. I could not decide if I wanted to make taco or lazanga one night so I took a step out of both dishes. I cooked 5 lbs of ground beef with a bit of onions. Now I have 5 dinners almost ready, or ready for the slowcooker. Then I got my favorate meat ball recipe and tossed it together well my beef was cooking. I like to mix pork and beef together. I lined a pan with parchment paper and baked them. Got 2 meals out of them. well the meat balls and hamburger was cooking I cooked a family pack of breakfast sausage in the oven. got 6 breakfasts out of them. well I was waiting for everything to cool I tossed some carrots, onion and broccoli in to a pot and sautéed them for a few mins then added 4cups of vegetable broth let it boil till the vegetables were soft then I mashed them gently. let is cool. I refrigerated it for the next day and made a butter and flour rue and added that and lots of cheddar cheese. mmmm my favorite broccoli soup. You can also freeze the vegetable mash in a ice cube tray and add it to stuff. I used it once for quiche, it worked well.

When everything was cooled I bagged it froze it. Now tacos take no more them 10-15 minutes to get ready. Its amazing how much just cooking the meat makes life a bit easier.

So its not big but it is when you have 30 minutes to get a dancer fed or a little boy who just skated his heart out fed before he has a melt down. Do something today to make meals easier.