Blog
In addition to actually doing the organizing, another of Angie’s passions is writing about organizing.
She has been writing a blog on organizing ever since Shipshape Solutions launched in 2016. Most of the blog posts were also published as monthly newspaper articles in the Kingsport Times-News and Johnson City Press.
To access the Shipshape Solutions Blog, you can either:
Click on a category below to see all the blog entries from that category; OR
Scroll the feed of blog entries below
- Apps
- Bathroom
- Business
- Children
- Christmas
- Computer
- Decluttering
- Digital organizing
- General Organization
- Getting Records Together
- Goals
- Health
- Home Organization
- Kitchen
- Media
- Medical
- Mental clutter
- Minimalism
- Moving
- New Year
- Office
- Organizing Principles
- Paper organizing
- Phone
- Photo Organizing
- Photo organizing
- Preparing for Death
- Purse
- Residential organizing
- Resolutions
- School
- Technology
- Television
- Time Management and Productivity
- Travel
- Working from Home
Procrastination: The Productivity Killer
Procrastination really does kill productivity. Some may think of it as a synonym for laziness, but the truth is much deeper than that. Read on for the real reasons we procrastinate and for suggestions of what to do about it.
My Top Tech Tools for Organizing
Love it or hate it, technology is an integral part of our lives. If we embrace it wisely, it can greatly enhance our lives, making tasks more efficient and less time-consuming. I can’t imagine my life without the help of tech tools. The older I get, the more I realize how precious my time is, which makes me more willing to use helpful technologies. I also realize that I can’t depend on my memory for much of anything, so any application that can relieve the stress of trying to remember things is welcome.
*Note: this article is an update of a similar article in February, 2018.
Tired of New Year's Resolutions? Try a One Word Theme Instead
Are you tired of making New Year’s resolutions you can’t keep? Or are you ready to just try something different? Try a one word theme!
Five Organizing Lessons I Learned from Mom
Our mothers or other parental figures are often responsible for teaching us basic organizing principles that serve us well throughout our lives. In this article that published just before Mother’s Day 2022, I share five of the most important organizing lessons I learned from my Mom.
Phone Addiction: A Hard Habit to Break
I’m a bit of a tech lover, so of course I love my iPhone. But it’s been a HUGE source of attention clutter for me. In this article, I share my journey and practical tips for breaking the addiction to my phone.
"I'm So Overwhelmed!" Five Tips to Go from Paralysis to Progress
“I’m so overwhelmed!” It’s a common refrain in times of stress. When we reach this point, despite the growing mass of work to be done, we can sometimes reach a standstill where we’re getting absolutely nothing accomplished. The intimidating mountain of tasks looms menacingly in the distance, but we are stuck. How do we combat this paralysis and actually make progress?
Time at Home, Not Time Wasted
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” So begins what I believe is one of the most well-written chapters in all of literature. In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens was writing about the stark contrasts during the time period of the French Revolution, a time that brought both despair and joy. I wonder if someday we might look back at this extended time we’ve had at home during the Coronavirus pandemic in a similar way. This time has brought despair to many – uncertainty, furloughed or lost jobs, sickness, and death. But it’s also been a time of joy – more time with family, lighter schedules, time to reflect on our priorities, and good people rising to the call of the needs around them.
Prevent a Cluttered Calendar: Learn to Say 'No'
I believe that organizing our time is the most important organizing we need to do. We all have the same amount of time each day. We all have numerous responsibilities and lead busy lives. The choices we make about how to spend that time are critical. If we don’t make those choices thoughtfully and carefully, we can end up with an overloaded schedule and its resultant stress.
How to Pack Bags for Frequent Activities
Now that we’re in the heart (and heat) of the summer, most of us are really on the move! Not only are we traveling more, but we are likely also headed to the pool, summer camp, rehearsal, sports practice, hiking or biking, and the gym, among others. Most of these activities require you to bring along supplies of some sort. Don’t you hate remembering at the last minute that you need to bring something but you can’t find it? How about arriving for an activity only to find out that you’ve forgotten something essential? Moments like this sure can turn a relaxing summer day into a stressful one quickly. How can you be assured that you will always arrive to these activities on time with everything you need? By planning ahead and organizing, of course! Here are my top suggestions for packing bags for frequent activities:
"Container Concept" Helps Us Set Limits
I love containers. I love the variety: boxes, baskets, bins, drawers, crates, jars, folders, tins, and…well, you get the idea. I love all of the different shapes and sizes and colors and textures. The Container Store just might be my favorite store. By the way, I really want a Container Store in the Tri-Cities area (the closest one is in Charlotte, NC), so if you have been wanting to open a store, you have my full support and promise of lots of business. As an organizer, my love of containers should come as no surprise. I do spend quite a bit of time figuring out the perfect container in a situation. But when I use the word “container”, I often mean so much more than just a “receptacle in which something is held or carried”. I am referring to a principle called the container concept.
When the Organizer is Disorganized
Sometimes a story is just too funny to keep to yourself, even if it paints you in a slightly unfavorable light. I had been looking forward to attending my first NAPO (National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals) conference for years. NAPO is an organization of 3,500+ members who are dedicated to helping people and businesses bring order and efficiency to their lives. I have been a member of NAPO from the very beginning, even before I officially launched my business in August, 2016. I had taken online classes, read their daily email discussions, and had corresponded by email and phone with several organizers from all around the US. When I decided to attend the NAPO 2018 conference in Chicago, I just couldn’t wait to finally interact with other list-obsessed people like me.
My Top Tech Tools for Organizing
This week’s article is a break from the usual topics of decluttering and home organizing. As a lover of technology, I am often amazed at how much I rely on it to keep my life organized. My husband Eric is a computer programmer with Groupon and has always been quick to utilize technology, while I have tended to resist. He may have felt at times like he was dragging me kicking and screaming into the digital age. Although I still tend to utilize notes on index cards for daily reminders, I have mostly transitioned to digital tools for almost everything. In this article, I will highlight my favorite tech tools for organization.
The Importance of Daily Routines in Organization
When I comes to being organized, I believe one of the most important concepts is establishing and maintaining effective routines for regular household tasks. If you focus on those routines and get them down to a science, you’re more likely to find the time for more extensive organizing projects.
Doing a Good Job: It's the Little Things
My husband Eric shared a quote with me recently that I can’t seem to get off my mind. So I finally decided to spend a little more time reflecting on what I might be able to learn from it and how I might be able to inspire others by sharing it. The quote is from Kyle Richter, CEO of a software company called MartianCraft, and it was shared during his presentation at the 360iDev Conference in Denver this past August. “There’s a big difference between being good at your job and being good at doing your job.”
I think this principle is true regardless of the field of work. Every field of work has a primary task or set of tasks that takes up most of the time and focus. But there are also a myriad of other responsibilities inherent in any job. You can be the absolute best at that primary task, but if you neglect the others, your overall performance (and sometimes the entire company) suffers.
"I Wish I Hadn't Gotten Rid of That!"
Early in August, as area schools were starting back, I was preparing for a news interview on WJHL’s Daytime Tri-Cities. The topic I chose to present was organizing for the school year. I was thinking back to how hectic those school mornings could be, and trying to remember anything I had done when my girls were young that alleviated some of the stress. As I gathered items for the interview, I remembered one in particular that was a favorite organizing tool. We used this particular item to help plan ahead for choosing an outfit for school. It was a hanging garment bag with five pockets. It was pink and purple (perfect for a family with two girls), and the five sections were labeled with the days of the school week Monday through Friday. On Sunday evenings (if I had kept up with the laundry to make this possible), we would pick out a school outfit for every day of the week. This prevented that last-minute scramble and potential argument about what to wear. On a stressful school morning, anything that can save just a bit of time and hassle is invaluable. I loved that garment hanger!
Do You Have a Cluttered Mind?
Every day in my work as a professional organizer, I help people deal with clutter. We work with physical clutter, which could be as varied as books, kitchen utensils, office supplies, tools, or toiletries. We work with digital clutter like email, documents, or passwords. But so many times, I find that the most harmful clutter in our lives is the clutter in our minds.
Variety is the Spice of (My Working) Life
I love my job as a professional organizer! There are so many aspects of my job that I enjoy. I am challenged and fulfilled. I constantly learn new things. I get to work with so many amazing and interesting people. I have a flexible schedule. But what I love most about my job is the variety. Every day is different. Each day I have a new organizing challenge. I’d like to tell you about some of the different organizing jobs I have done. It could be that there is something I can help you or a friend with that you hadn’t thought an organizer could do. Or at least it might be an interesting read in the theme of “A Day in the Life of an Organizer”.
A Clutter-Free Christmas
Of all the characters in all the Christmas specials I watched every year as a child, I feel a certain kinship to the Grinch. Both of us desperately want to stop Christmas from coming. After celebrating Thanksgiving, I find myself wanting to second the Grinch’s lament, “I must stop Christmas from coming! But how?”
Just Say No! You Won't Die, and the Earth Will Continue to Spin.
Anyone who knows me very well might be laughing about the fact that I am writing a blog about saying “No“. In my last blog entry, “The Paralysis of Being Overwhelmed”, I discussed the reasons we can get overwhelmed, how to break out of that state, and how to prevent it in the future. But honestly, the reality is that I may talk a good game, but I get in over my head on a far too regular basis. The main reason I get overwhelmed is that I am terrible at saying “No”. My family knows this all too well, which is the reason a magnet with the words “Stop me before I volunteer again” is on my refrigerator. Eric bought it for me years ago hoping it would make a difference. I see it every day. I quote it. But too often I don’t heed it.
The Paralysis of Being Overwhelmed
Does this blog title and picture seem all too familiar? “I’m so overwhelmed!” is a phrase I use more often than I’d like to admit. And when I’m in that state of being overwhelmed, I have a long list of things to get accomplished, but nothing is getting done. I am paralyzed into inactivity, which only makes things worse. The list gets longer, I get more frustrated and hopeless, and my mood deteriorates quickly. If you can relate, read on. I am hoping I can share something that can help both of us!