Blog & Video

Organize, Simplify, Solve. “If a home doesn’t make sense, nothing does.” ~ Henrietta Ripperberger

Organize for Healthier Relationships

Has anyone damaged a relationship because they were always late, or they were too busy or overwhelmed to put care into a relationship? Putting effort into time management and home organization can reduce stress and make spending time with friends and family a more frequent and less stressful event. Whether it is with your Friends, Children, Partner, or Yourself, organizing your home can positively impact your relationships. Be a Friend. Other than Facebook, are you able to make friendships a priority? Do you have time and energy for book club or girl’s night out? Do you feel comfortable having neighbors in your home?

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Update Your Preferences to Get Organized!

What progress have you made with your resolution? As January comes to a close, many struggle with their resolve to get organized. In truth, most people have already abandoned any attempt to forge a path ahead. If this is the case,  a little self examination is in order. Try Updating Your Preferences! When you join a site or sign up for a new organization, you fill out your preferences for what you want. Do you want to learn information about events? Get alerts for sales and deals? Receive newsletters? Options are available to you and periodically you can go back

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Sanctuary: The Connection between Health and Organization

January is the month of resolution for most people. The most common resolution is to Get Healthy! and the second is to Get Organized. Most people however, fail to tie to the two together. Looking through my files I found a perfect example of how these two important decisions are connected and how a professional organizer can help.   The homeowner of this bedroom, we’ll call her Mary, was the winner of a NAPO contest. Her prize: one room in her home organized! It included a budget for fresh organization tools and a special treat. Mary is the matriarch of

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Confessions of a Christmas Cranky-pants

Confessions of a Christmas Cranky-pants

I love Christmas! I love Christmas Eve too. Watching my family give and receive gifts, over -eating delicious food and enjoying all this warmth and festivity in my beautifully decorated home is the best! But the doing it part… not so much, actually… not at all. I don’t like shopping or wrapping, I don’t like the decorating, and I’m not too crazy about cooking and baking anymore either. I especially don’t like the pressure of having it all done on time. Forgive my crankiness… I wasn’t always like this, quite the opposite really. Stories of my Black Friday maneuvers are

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7 Ways to Prepare the Family for Back to School

It’s that time!  Back to school is here!  That can mean a scramble in routines, new places to be, early mornings, and lots of paperwork.  Let’s prepare for what could be a chaotic time! – Create a Command Center: Dedicate an area of your home for a “command center” set up with a family calendar, a place for class/sport forms, filing system, and supplies.  You can display the calendar so all family members can see the schedule, and make sure to keep it up to date.  All family members should be familiar with the space in order to develop a

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Managing Kid’s Toys

If you missed my post on Simplifying Life which has a focus on doing less + having less, check it out here! This is part II in the series and it’s all about toys!  Toys can easily take over and consume our homes if we allow it.  I aim to be mindful while managing Olivia’s toys and here are a few ways… 1. Know Your Boundary to Keep to a Minimum: In order to keep them to a minimum you have to know your boundary.  I have designated areas in the house, and if the toys begin to override those areas, then it’s time to

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Springtime Activities for the Family

There is so much to love about spring, and there are endless amounts of activities offered throughout the city.  Here are some of our favorites, which happen to be free, require minimal effort and keep us active — pretty darn perfect in my book!  With the craziness of life, it’s often the simplest things in life that are the most enjoyable and that’s usually my goal. Walks: Heading out with no real plan always leads to something enjoyable (most of the time). I grew up on a river so we usually head toward water, either the Tidal Basin, Capitol Reflection Pool, or Yards Park.

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Simplifying Life

I’ve come across a lot of people seeking simplicity in their life lately and seen various books/articles on the topic in passing. Here is one article that I came across multiple times and recommend — becomingminimalist.  We live in a fast-paced world, and it’s easy to get caught up in the chaos. Simplifying life looks different for everyone, and it all depends on what you are seeking. For me, simplifying life falls on two things. The first has been important to me all my life and involves having less. With less stuff, less clutter, I have a clear mind and I’m

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Springin’ It Up!

Nesting has certainly amplified my spring-cleaning game over here. There are so many ways to prepare the house for spring and the list could go on and on. So instead of sharing everything you could do, I’m just going to share ways that I spring it up in our house… And it’s important to note that I don’t do this all in one day. I always break it up to make it easier on myself. Declutter Clothing + Cabinets: I start here every season. As I go through the clothing closet, I try to donate items that I didn’t wear

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Welcoming + Preparing for a New Baby

The third trimester is upon us!  Time to finish up nesting and soak up every minute with just Olivia.  I’m so excited to welcome a new babe to the family and see Olivia as a big sister.  I’m most looking forward to what a little brother will bring out in Olivia while watching them learn + grow together.  Of course, it’ll have it’s challenges but giving her a sibling and growing our family is such a blessing. Welcoming a new baby to the family is an exciting time full of baby snuggles, hugs, and kisses. Ideally, It’s a time to slow down and

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Spring Declutter

Spring is officially here next week! Time to declutter and organize! Yes, it can be an overwhelming task but there are ways to manage the chaos so you can be successful. Here are some tips to smoothly manage the process… It’s Going to Take Time: Don’t expect to complete your house in one day. Set a realistic goal for completing the house so you can work efficiently without getting exhausted. Plan to spend at least a couple hours in each room. Determine where you’ll begin and end the job to keep yourself on track. Commit to One Room at a Time: Start

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Organizing Kids’ Spaces

Kid’s spaces can quickly turn into an overwhelming mess. Here are some helpful ways to organize and maintain their space… Build Routine: Build a routine for the kids to pick up the space at the same time every day – before naptime, after dinner, before bedtime. This will get the children involved in the cleanup and manages the mess before it becomes too overwhelming overtime. Begin Floor Up: Consider where toys and items are placed. Arrange their favorite and most-used items lower to the ground so they can easily play and very importantly, put them away. Designate a Space for

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