Blog
In addition to actually doing the organizing, another of Angie’s passions is writing about organizing.
She has been writing a monthly blog on organizing since 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 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
- Estate planning
- 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
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:
An Organized and Stress-Free Vacation
We’re finally in the midst of the summer break from school, and all across the country, families are rejoicing. It’s a wonderful time for making family memories. Of course some of the best summer memories are made on vacation. For my family, that usually meant a trip to Myrtle Beach. As a child, I was lucky to not have to worry much about the planning, because my mother pretty much took care of everything. As an adult, it didn’t take long to realize all of the work involved. Great vacations don’t just magically happen. Being organized is always important, but it may be even more important with regards to travel. One careless mistake like forgetting to put your suitcase in the car (me) or forgetting a passport for an international trip (a friend) can ruin a vacation. Here are some of my top tips for traveling.
Traveling (Through Life) Lightly
Whenever I hike, I am always thankful that my backpack is so light. When I travel, I try to apply that same principle when packing my suitcase. If I stuff too many items in my suitcase, I end up lugging a very heavy suitcase everywhere. If I’m flying, I would have to pay an extra fee if the suitcase weight is over the 50 pound limit or I would have had to take two suitcases. I don’t want to face any of those consequences, so I make my selections carefully. When it comes to backpacks or suitcases, I definitely agree with American travel writer Rick Steves’ who describes two kinds of travelers, “those who pack light, and those who wish they had.” What if we evaluated every item in our home just as carefully? What if we were just as discriminating in our choices?
"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.
Reflections on my First NAPO Conference
On a Sunday afternoon at the end of April, I was on a plane headed home. As always, there was a safety video playing with detailed instructions about how to operate your seat belt, the importance of identifying the closest exit (“keeping in mind that the closest exit may be behind you”), and how to find an inflatable lifejacket in the unlikely event of an emergency. Since my husband and I love to travel, I have watched this video and listened to this message countless times. But that day, I was particularly inspired by one of the opening lines of the video. “At Delta, we believe a good trip is not about the destination, but about the people you meet along the way.” I couldn’t agree more.
Are You Ready to Reclaim Your Garage?
Happy spring! I hope you’ve been able to enjoy some time outdoors on the warmer days. Lawn mowing season is in full gear, and many people are working on their vegetable and flower gardens. Or maybe like me, you’re enjoying trips to the Kingsport Farmers Market, where you can enjoy the fruits and vegetables of someone else’s gardening efforts. As you enter your garage for supplies to begin these tasks, odds are that over the fall and winter, your garage has accumulated some clutter and may need some attention.
Organizing in Mexico: A Unique Challenge
Last week I had one of the most unusual and challenging organizational projects ever. I am sharing this experience with you because the principles I learned hold true for any organizing task. My husband Eric and I were in Cozumel, Mexico volunteering on the campus of Ciudad de Angeles (City of Angels), Ciudad de Angeles (https://www.ciudaddeangeles.org/) is a Christian children’s home that provides a permanent home for orphaned, abandoned, abused, and needy children in Mexico. Our family has been involved with Ciudad for about 13 years, and we visit yearly to spend time with the child we sponsor and to help with improvements to the campus. Our “Mexican daughter” isn’t a child anymore; she’s actually now 20 years old and a student at the local university.
Homeless Clutter
When it comes to my job, helping people deal with the clutter in their homes is my bread and butter. Clutter is defined as a collection of things lying about in an untidy mass. Clutter can accumulate anywhere in a home, but what I encounter most often is cluttered surfaces in the common areas of the home like the kitchen, living room, and bedrooms. Sometimes clutter piles up because we simply don’t take the time to put items back in their proper place. Taking a few extra seconds to return items to their home instead of placing them somewhere quickly easily solves that problem. But what if an item has never been assigned a proper location, or home? What do you do with it when you finish using it? More often than not, that item will end up on a kitchen counter, desk, coffee table, or some other surface. When that same outcome occurs frequently, before you know it, the surface is no longer visible or usable.
Book Review: The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson
From the first time I heard about this book until its publication in English at the beginning of 2018, I had eagerly anticipated reading it. There had been much buzz about it among organizers since it is a topic that is well-known to us. Written by Margareta Magnusson, a Swedish artist and widow who is “somewhere between 80 and 100”, this book details a common practice in Sweden called death cleaning. The title alone is quite an attention grabber. Perhaps you assume that it means cleaning someone’s home after they die. This is, after all, a very common occurrence here in the U.S. The tradition of Swedish death cleaning is an attempt to completely prevent this situation from occurring in the first place.
Organizing Your Purse
I may never find the perfect purse, but if I can get my purse organized and keep it that way, that’s just about as close to perfect as it will ever get for me. If you really want to make a difference in your daily life, spend some time organizing your purse. I guarantee it will simplify your life, save you time, and make you feel like cussing less. Doesn’t that sound wonderful? So, without further ado, here’s my step by step plan for organizing your purse.
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.
5 Steps to Decluttering Success
One good thing about being stuck inside is that I can focus on anything inside my home that needs to be done. When it comes to organization (my favorite of all activities), I believe the top priority should always be decluttering. Decluttering simply means removing what doesn’t belong in a space. Most of us would agree that we just have way too much stuff. When a space is overloaded with stuff, any efforts to organize that space are wasted. My goal in this article is to give you a practical list of steps that you can use to declutter any area of your home. With this checklist in hand and a little bit of time, you should be able to tackle any space and make significant improvements.
The Many Faces of Clutter
You might have an image in your mind right now that symbolizes your definition of clutter. That image might be similar to this photo of a garage that I recently helped declutter and organize. That’s how most people visualize clutter. But clutter is a much broader concept than just piles of stuff.
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.
Organizing Your Christmas Supplies
The holidays are in full gear now, and most of us are busy with shopping, decorating, baking, and holiday parties. Since most of us decorate our homes for Christmas, this is the ideal time to get our Christmas decorations and gift wrapping supplies better organized. This article will give you some practical tips for organizing your Christmas ornaments, lights, wreaths, other decorations, and gift wrapping supplies.
Why "Shipshape Solutions" ?
Starting a business is a pretty overwhelming task. There are so many decisions to make, and the To Do list is overwhelming. As I think back to the summer of 2016 when I was working on starting my organizing business, one of the most difficult decisions I had to make was choosing a company name. I wanted it to be something unique, and with hundreds of organizing businesses in the country, that wouldn’t necessarily be easy. I wanted a name that could somehow relate to a logo. I thought about it for months, sought ideas from family and friends, looked at lists of organizing companies, and was still stumped.
A System for Morning and Evening Routines
Sometimes one small tweak can make all the difference. When listening to one of my favorite organizing podcasts, “A Slob Comes Clean” by Dana White, a podcast guest said something that really stuck with me. This guest, a homeschool mother of 9 children, said, “Anything that causes me stress, I create a system.” Her examples included their household morning routine and table chores. I can’t even imagine all of the work that goes into running a household of that size! But I also know that this principle could be used in many different ways. Systems are a key to organization, especially to maintaining organization!
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!