Organized Assistant » holidays

Self-Care for Professional Organizers during the Holiday Season

Janet — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:23:18 +0000

When friends find out you have your own business, they often make comments like “You’re lucky. You can set your own hours.” Or “That’s great – you can take time off whenever you want to.” But although it’s true that your schedule is more flexible than others, it’s not without its challenges, is it? That’s especially true during the holiday season, when there’s probably a lot more going on in your personal life than the rest of the year. But where most of your friends with regular jobs can plan to do their shopping, baking, socializing and other activities around their work schedule, it’s probably more challenging for you. For one thing, many people don’t realize they need a professional organizer until it gets down to the crunch. Perhaps they’ve realized they need to declutter before entertaining guests, or maybe they need to clear out the old toys from their kids’ bedrooms and/or playroom before Santa drops another bagful down the chimney. It’s very hard to say “no” to these clients. After all, you started this business because you sincerely love to help people get organized. And let’s face it, it’s hard to turn away potential income at any time, but especially when you know there will be days you’re not working, and your own expenses are probably higher than usual right now. But how can you meet the organizing needs of your clients and the financial needs of your family and your business, and still have time for your own holiday activities? Why not apply the same strategies you teach your clients all year round?

Assess your priorities. Are there things you do simply because they’re tradition, or because someone else expects you to do them? Can any of them be eliminated?
Delegate. If certain tasks are necessary to your holiday celebrations, do you have to be the one to do them? Can your spouse or children help? Can you buy a dessert instead of making your own?
Establish a schedule. If you need time off for holiday preparations, special events, or even just to relax and enjoy your family, make it happen. Whether you close down your business for a week or two, or simply reduce the number of clients hours you’ll book, make a plan, and stick to it.

If these last few days before Christmas find you scrambling about and longing for the days when you had a fixed schedule, it may be too late to get out of the commitments you’ve already made, but you do have the power to say “no” to anything else that comes up. Your clients will respect you for practicing what you preach! How do you handle the holidays in your business?

Professional Organizers Blog Carnival for November 2010: Food, Glorious Food!

Janet — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 14:03:47 +0000

Welcome to the November edition of the Professional Organizers Blog Carnival! Our theme for this month is Food, Glorious Food, and we have some wonderful tips for organizing pantries, kitchen cupboards, refrigerators, recipes, menus, and even food itself! Before you can properly organize your client's (or your family's) food supply, you need to prepare the storage area, and Jennifer Crutchfield gets you started by describing her own Weekend Project - Kitchen Cupboards. Jennifer explains that,

Part of the goal of working on this project in the kitchen was to help my family more easily move in a new direction with our food choices. I thought making the cupboards a little nicer looking would help with that goal.

Another important step is to make sure that everything in the fridge and pantry is still good to eat. As Ramona Creel says in Kitchen Magic,

We all know how disgusting it is to pull an item out of the fridge – only to discover that it has mutated into something no longer edible and (quite frankly) a bit scary. However, we often mistakenly confuse "non-perishable" with "indestructible". Even Twinkies have an expiration date! This article will lead you through creating an organized (and non-lethal) kitchen environment!

Jacki Hollywood Brown has some good advice about Organizing the Fridge, and Geralin Thomas takes us on a tour of A Hoarder's Pantry: Sugar and Spice and the Not-So-Nice, explaining that,

The pantry is one of the quickest ways to get your family organized, save money, time, and shelf space.

With the holiday season fast approaching, several bloggers have shared posts to help us get ready: Ellen Delap - Thanksgiving Preparations: From Early Bird to Procrastinator

For Thanksgiving, which are you, early bird or procrastinator? Helpful hints for both!

Audrey Cupo - Organize The Fridge Before Thanksgiving

In order to prepare for the large amount of food you might be preparing for Thanksgiving (including the storage of that pre-cooked turkey), I suggest that this is a good time to organize the inside of your refrigerator to accommodate the room you will need to store all that food.

Angela Esnouf - Fuss-free Festive Food

Keep in mind, here in Australia we have warm weather for the festive season. The downside is no picture-postcard snowdrifts and no desire to be slaving in a hot kitchen. The wonderful upside is lovely fresh fruit and vegetables and the ability to entertain outdoors.

If cooking is not your passion, or you just need a break, you'll want to read Julie Bestry's strategies for Organizing Your Take-Out Menus, or How NOT To Order Like Bob Newhart. Julie says that,

Food is glorious, but the culinary arts do not come naturally to all. For those of us disinclined to make dinner, we can make reservations...or make phone calls and pick up our take out or delivery orders.

Whether you've made a regular family meal, spent hours preparing a holiday feast, or simply ordered in, you're often going to have leftovers. Elaine Shannon discusses how to give those leftovers new life in her post Frugal Living: The Art of the Leftover, and Jeri Dansky talks about safe storage in Another Scary Thing, as We Approach Halloween: BPA. Jeri says that,

We're past Halloween now, but the concerns about using plastic containers (especially those with BPA) for food storage still remain.

Please join me in congratulating Jeri and Elaine for becoming our latest Professional Organizers Blog Carnival Star Bloggers! The Professional Organizers Blog Carnival for December will be published on Tuesday, December 14, and you are welcome to submit your post on Calendars any time, up until noon EST on Monday, December 13. At that time I will be announcing the monthly themes for 2011, and I welcome any and all suggestions! If you’ve got an idea for a future Professional Organizers Blog Carnival, please leave a comment or contact me directly. Until next time, please take the time to read the posts that were submitted this month, leave comments, and get to know one another. You never know where you'll pick up some new ideas – or even a new friend! Thank you to everyone who participated in this month's Blog Carnival! See you next time!

Professional Organizers Blog Carnival for June 2010: Organizing for Special Events

Janet — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:56:12 +0000

Welcome to the June 2010 edition of the Professional Organizers Blog Carnival! This is our one-year anniversary, and that's why I chose this month's theme. I'm really excited that you've dropped by, because I have a surprise announcement to commemorate this special occasion! But first, this month's contributions...

Many of us are planning one event or another this time of year, so we're lucky to be surrounded by professional organizers to share their tips with us. Take a few minutes to read the following posts and, while you're at it, why not get to know your colleagues by leaving a comment or two and/or following someone new on Twitter? Michelle Panzlaff kicks off the Professional Organizers Blog Carnival this month with Event Planning Tips to Get You Started, explaining:

After spending 8 years in the Hospitality industry and one year as a Catering Coordinator for a large downtown hotel, managing over 20,000 sq feet of space, I can say that event planning has its challenges. Staying organized and on top of details is key.

If you've got a family gathering in the works, you won't want to miss Ellen Delap's Organizing For Special Events or Audrey Cupo's Organizing That Special Event Tina Blazer provides a check list to ensure we get everything done and stay sane when Preparing for Holidays and Special Events. Planning a wedding? Read Beverly Coggins' A Dozen Tips for a Less-Stressed Wedding and Lelah Baker-Rabe's Gift registry tips. Is there a baby on the way? Read Angela Esnouf's Interview with an Organised Mum-to-Be. Of course, not all events are about celebration! Clare Kumar says,

If you've ever held a garage sale, you know that what can sometimes start off as a small idea to generate cash for a few unwanted things can turn into a major event. Here are some tips to ensure your big event is a success.

A big thanks to everyone who participated in this anniversary edition of the Professional Organizers Blog Carnival! We have a fairly small Carnival this month, but over the past year, 50 bloggers have taken part in this monthly feature. At this time I would like to give special recognition to Angela Esnouf, who has contributed to a total of 11 Blog Carnivals to date. Angela has been named our first "Professional Organizers Blog Carnival Star Blogger" and has been provided with a special badge which she can place on her blog. You too can be a Professional Organizers Blog Carnival Star Blogger! Once you have been featured in 10 Blog Carnivals, you will also receive a badge to display on your blog. You can get started today by submitting a post for July, when our theme will be Book Reviews. Whether it's a book you've read recently or an all-time favorite, we want to know about it! You have until Monday, July 12 to make your submission, so you've got plenty of time to read a book and post a review on your blog, or you are welcome to submit a link to one of your older posts. If you need some inspiration, check out the titles in the Bookstore for Professional Organizers. Our theme for August will be Getting Organized for Back to School.

Professional Organizers Blog Carnival – December 2009 Edition

Janet — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:43:28 +0000

Here it is – the 7^th Professional Organizers Blog Carnival, and the last one for 2009. We have a record number of professional organizers participating this month, and I'd like to thank those who are joining us for the first time, as well as our regulars and everyone in between! Grab your favorite beverage and get ready to read and enjoy!

Since it's the festive season, it's no surprise that many of this month's entries are related to holiday preparations. In A Few Thoughts on the Holiday Season, Jane Veldhoven gets us thinking about what's really important to us at this time of year, and how we can maximize our enjoyment of it. Jacki Hollywood Brown has some great ideas for Clutter Free Gift Giving, and reminds us that:

The holidays can be one of the happiest times of the year as we enjoy the company of our family and friends. It is also one of the most clutter-generating times of the year. Take a look at these gift ideas to reduce clutter and save you time and money.

You can read additional clutter-free Christmas gift suggestions from Angela Esnouf in her special series, beginning with Angela's Advent, Day 1. Joan Kosmachuk tells us how to Simplify your Holiday Decorating with Live or Edible Decorations, and Lelah Baker-Rabe suggests a few simple things you can do to create a year-round gift wrap station to minimize stress and maximize efficiency, in her post Preparing for every day: Gift wrap station. If you're looking for a unique way to keep track of Christmas card lists for yourself or your clients, check out Jeri Dansky's Forget the Address Book: Use an Address BOX. Of course, this is also a good time for making plans for next year. Elaine Shannon tells us all about her own Planning Day, saying:

I love organizing so much that I have organized some planning around my 2010 goals. Yes the organizer is organizing herself. So many people wonder why they are not moving forward in their business but don't have a score card to compare it to. By failing to plan as we know you plan to fail. With a few strategies you can take charge of your new year and meet your goals..whatever they may be!

While you're making those plans, you might find it interesting to read about other organizers' success strategies. Anne Blumer tells us how she got to where she is today in her post, Ask the Organizer Panel, and Angie Weid shares The Story Behind Organized Solutions, saying:

This post is sharing a story of being kicked down, learning to stand back up and keep on working toward success. My hope is that it encourages fellow organizers to be strong and succeed.

Lisa Montanaro offers some eye-opening information in Coopetition: A Fantastic Way To Boost Your Business, a sneak peek of "Don't Go It Alone: It Takes a Village to Run A Successful Business," which she'll be presenting at the 2010 NAPO Conference in Columbus, OH. Looking for interesting organizing resources? Be sure to read My Brain Book from Hellen Buttigieg and PaperBackSwap.com from Michelle Deo. Janet Baker discusses the why's and how's of Indexing Your Document Management Filing System is Worth it When You're on the Road. If you're curious about hoarding from the client's point of view, you won't want to miss Geralin Thomas' Anatomy of a Client. Deb Lee tackles The Myth of Work/Family Balance, asking:

Is it realistic to think that work/family balance is possible? Can you be a great parent and a great employee (or entrepreneur) at the same time? Can a family where both parents work achieve this balance?

Janine Adams wraps up this month's Professional Organizers Blog Carnival with a look at her favorite social networking site in Why I Love Twitter. I hope you've enjoyed this month's edition. As you visit your colleagues' blogs, be sure to take a moment to leave a comment or two and get to know one another. As the Carnival continues to grow, I'd love to know what you'd like to see in the future. Specific topics for each month? Two separate carnivals, with one dedicated to organizing and the other to business ideas? Or just keep it the same?