Time Management Strategies for the Digital Age

Do you find yourself thinking? 

“I’ve Got the Technology.
Now Give Me Back My Time!”

If you are disappointed, frustrated, or downright infuriated at how much LESS time you have now, despite all of your gadgetry and apps, make time for this special event:

The National Association of Professional Organizers in Michigan proudly welcomes

Best-Selling Author and Internationally Renowned 
Time Management Expert 
Harold Taylor

Technology, speed, multitasking, & 24/7 connectivity have erased the boundary between work and personal time. Harold Taylor will discuss the impact of technology on the way we manage time, the increasing importance of holistic time management, ways to control the hectic pace of the digital age of speed, and much more.

Thursday, October 20, 2011, 11:30 am-3 pm

Red Olive Banquet Center, Plymouth, MI
 Lunch Included

$55 non-members ($65 after Oct. 13)
$25 NAPO-MI members ($30 after Oct. 13)

Limited to 100 guests. Make your reservation at www.napomichigan.com

Red Olive Banquet Center is located at 
1051 W. Ann Arbor Rd. 
(between Main & Sheldon), Plymouth, MI 48170.
 For more information: contact Susan Carmody
events@napomichigan.com

Learn more about Harold Taylor at www.taylorintime.com.

What is your time management trick?

Conquering Your Closet Clutter

With the changing seasons, comes a change in your wardrobe.Leading to a perfect time to get your closets, dressers and drawers sorted and purged.

So put on some comfy clothes, turn on some music tunes and grab a few (alright several) bags to begin loading them up with donations.

BIG THANKS to The Courier out of Findlay, Ohio for putting together this awesome article below filled with tips and tricks for getting organized. You can read the article below (which is a bit fuzzy hard to read) or you can go directly to the nice big, easy to read article here.

Remember, to give your items a hard look. Just because it is your favorite shirt EVER, doesn't mean that 4+ years later it loves you. You want clothing that looks great on you and makes you feel good.

What is your favorite shirt EVER?
(yes that top picture is me from 3rd grade.  That was a favorite shirt)

Happy Birthday Organized Solutions!! We're giving away FREE Professional Organizing

In your weakest most vulnerable moments, greatness is there if you are strong enough to see it.

Crazy when I think about it.
-Brand, spanking new single divorce mother of two boys, 6 and 4 years old.
-Been a stay at home mom for 5 years, after leaving a senior engineering position at Ford Motor Company.

Everything I had worked so hard for in my world, shattered apart. Gone.
At least it appeared that way ...

For at that time, I felt an opportunity was at hand.
"Well, if I'm going to start completely over in life. Let's make a difference and have some fun with it."

Single mom, 2 boys, unemployed, HUGE mortgage, alone, family living 2 hours away ... Yeah, let's start a business. All I knew was my whole life I loved to help people and I was learning again how much I loved to have fun. Guess the combo worked!

Organized Solutions is 7 years old today!

Hot Damn!!

I am so thankful for all the people I have met, clients who I have helped and companies who have contacted me. Thank you for reading this blog and commenting.

None of this could have been possible without my boys in my life. These dudes rock my world and keep my head on straight. They have been the best business partners anyone could ask for. It is so awesome to see their enthusiasm for our business.

To celebrate, we are giving away 4 hours to someone in need of getting organized. We need to hear your story. This could be yourself or someone you care about. Send me your nomination by September 30, 2011 and my boys and I will select our recipient. We need to keep this local to the surrounding Toledo area, though I will work to find help for those out of the area. I know professional organizers across the country who can help you.

My email address: angie "at" iorganizeyou.com

Thank you for all your help and support.
You all ROCK!!

Who do you need to thank for your success?

Organizing your Car's Trunk

As you make a turn in your car, do you hear the tumbling of water bottles, soccer equipment and empty beverage cans/bottles bouncing about behind you?

If you don't have a plan to contain these items, every time you go to place your groceries into your trunk you will be greeted with chaos leaving you no clear area to plop your newly purchased items.

Here is one quick organizing solution for getting your items organized in your car trunk:

Organizing your junk in your trunk: foxtoledo.com

(Now, I never said "Junk," nor as a professional organizer would I refer to your items as such.)

With your new plan to keep your daily trunk items in one place, you now have lots of free space for all your shopping needs.

What is the oddest thing you found in your trunk?

Do You Seriously Dust Your Magazines?

Magazines.

Who knew these innocent little reads could cause such headaches as the pile up around you, if you do not keep them in control.

Here's a quick organizing video from Your Rocket Organizer to help encourage you to get your magazines purged and organized:

Organizing your old magazines: foxtoledo.com

Grab a brown paper grocery bag and start loading it up with your old magazines. Any magazine over 3 months has got to go. Most articles are available on-line if that is your justification for keeping it. If there is a layer of dust on them, it has got to go. (plus do you seriously want to dust a magazine?)

Please consider dropping off your magazines to a recycling center or check with you local school to see if they may need them for art projects.

Remember getting organized is an investment in yourself.

Enjoy the day!

What's your favorite magazine?

Organizing for Back to School

Back to school can be a stressful time of year. Families must change from the laid-back summer schedule to the non-stop school and activity calendars that keep you jumping from one activity to the next without a moment's rest.

Here are some tips:

Plan Ahead - The only way you can command your time is to consciously map it. When you monitor your family schedule, you can then plan how and when to accomplish important back-to-school tasks, such as replacing clothes, purchasing school supplies, and attending back-to-school night. Stock your kids' homework stations with pencil and paper basics while purchasing classroom items.

Plan for Paper - Before you start stacking all those important school papers in a long forgotten corner of your kitchen, or on top of last month's bills, put your paper trail in place beginning with in/out boxes for each family member. Show everyone where to place their papers and then sort them daily with your planner at hand to note important deadlines and tasks.

Plan to Purge - We all do better with a clean, organized environment. If you haven't yet gone through everyone's closets, dressers, and bedrooms while evaluating wardrobes for school, do it as soon as you have your routine in motion. Make room for the year ahead by rounding up all outgrown items, discarding everything that can't be repaired, both in the toy and clothing departments. For items in good condition, arrange for a charitable donation or enlist your kids' help and plan a yard sale in late September.

School starts September 6th for my boys here in Michigan.
I'm working on our family schedule for the Fall.
I've got the paper plan down.
I need to dump out my boys dressers and see what fits.

Guess I better get to work......Ah, but it is a beautiful sunny day.
Back to school stuff can wait one more day.

Are you ready for the school year?

Big, Thick, Black ...

Either you make lists or you do not.

Chances are if you DO make lists, you are getting things done more efficiently and without the stress of:

"D'OH! I forgot the bread!"


In this clip Your Rocket Organizer (me ... smile), chats about lists and how they can help you get organized:

Rocket Organizer: Make a list: foxtoledo.com

What's the funniest thing you have added to your list only to cross off?