As a trained and experienced professional Utah organizer I see daily that organizing saves people just like you valuable time and money. My name is Vicki Winterton. I live in Provo, Utah and work with clients located in the Salt Lake and Utah Valley areas. I am both a home organizer and business office organizer with years of experience helping Utahn’s live a better life. In this Utah organizer blog I share a wide variety of organizing tips for organizing nearly everything including YOUR home, time, family, workplace and life. Even though my focus is Utah, organizer topics I share here can be applied anywhere.

Here are some tips concerning the use of this organizing website blog with postings drafted weekly by Utah organizer, Vicki Winterton:

1. Use the search box at the right to find blog postings with topics that interest you.
2. To visit my website, click on the home page link to the left.
3. Please leave a comment in the comment section near the title of any blog posting. I’d like to know you stopped by. By leaving a comment, you can also share your top tips with future visitors.
4. You are invited to use portions of my articles, posts, and lists.  Because the information posted here is copyrighted, be sure you meet these requirements. You MUST include:

• My name – Vicki Winterton
• My business name – ORGANIZING Mind over Matter
• My online organizing podcast name – The Organized Woman Show
• A link to my website  - www.organize-utah.com

Enjoy your time browsing my professional organizer tips and techniques. I’m Utah organizer Vicki Winterton. Please, come back often.

In Provo, UT, The new school year starts today. How do you feel about the 1^st day of school? Do you dread the homework wars? Do you wonder how much you should expect from your children this year?

As an invested parent I did all I could to make sure my children were well rounded. That “all I could” included parent involvement in their education. I visited their schools often and let the teachers know I was watching and interested in what they were teaching my children. I valued those teachers who shared their best with my children and the good teachers KNEW they were valued!

You too can use parental involvement to boost the education your child receives. Your home should be the place where the value of education is shown in many ways.

My guest on The Organized Woman Show this week was RaDawn Pack. A master teacher of 24 years. Listen here to learn from RaDawn. Below are more parent tips for your child’s success in school:

1. Parental Involvement includes Establishing Rules

2. Parental Involvement includes Exuding Positive Strength

3. Parental Involvement includes Expounding your Expectations

4. Parental Involvement includes Exemplifying your Expectations

5. Error on the Side of Growth with Parental Involvement

6. Parental Involvement includes Expecting Greatness from your Children

YOU are the driving factor in your child’s school success. The teacher shares important information, but YOU are the coach and umpire combined. YOU hold so much power! Magnify your power through parental involvement. Enjoy this new school year and show that child of yours that real power is love, strength and discipline combined!

Do you want to get on with the business of organizing your home by downsizing your stuff, but you’re scared you might someday need the items you are currently holding on to? The “what to keep” process begins with two BIG questions, 1) “How do I decide what I should keep?” 2) “How do I know I won’t need that item in the future?”Well, it’s your lucky day! I am a Utah based professional organizer who services clients through out the state of Utah and I am here to answer those questions for you. Please begin by watching the TV segment I recorded recently. It has some great info for you, THEN read on to learn even more!

• WHAT TO LET GO when organizing your home: If it’s not meaningful, OR you haven’t used it in a year, let it go. How will you know you won’t need it in the future? You don’t! You only know that you don’t need it right now AND you haven’t used it recently therefore you probably won’t need it in the future.
• WHAT TO KEEP when organizing your home: Most meaningful or most useful items should be kept. Simply said, that is the key!
• WHERE TO GET STARTED when organizing your home: Look over the ‘What to Keep List’ below and begin with YOUR #1 concern. Use the questions next to the links to clarify what you should keep:

1. Kitchen gadgets – Ask, “Where exactly is this going to go?”
2. Clothing items – Ask, “Do I really need more than ___ of this item?”
3. Children’s school keepsakes – Ask, “Is this a true favorite?”
4. Garage sports equipment – Ask, “Have I used this in the past year?”
5. Important Papers Retention Guide – Ask, “What is the worst that can happen if I let this go?”
6. Things of sentimental value – Ask, “Does this item best represent my memory?”

Each of the above links will give you some great information on organizing your home and will begin the forward movement you have been longing for. PLEASE, leave a comment and share with us which of the 6 home areas is easiest for you to keep organized and why. Others can learn from your experience!

IF you get stuck on what to keep OR if you’ve tried organizing on your own and just can’t do it, contact me, Vicki, at Organizing Mind over Matter. I am trained and experienced to help you with organizing your home spaces quickly and easily.

I teach a business strategy class at my local Small Business Development Center. In that class we discuss the idea that the reason you are in business needs to be of value to yourself and your customers/clients. If what you do IS of value, then now is the time to optimize your space and time by organizing your home business office. My definition of living organized came from a mentor of mine Stephanie Calahan, “Easily finding WHAT you need WHEN you need it.”

Below are a few home business office organization ideas pulled from the NAPO website. I’ve added my own thoughts in red.

1. Organize your home business office with time management:

• Use a planner to track appointments and tasks. It can be a paper-based notebook, a computer software program, or an electronic handheld device.

• Create at least one hour of uninterrupted time each morning to tackle projects and action items.

• Allocate nearly 2 times the time for a task that you think it will take. This accommodates for interruptions, etc.

• Break large projects down into small, sequential steps. Schedule these steps into your week with your planner.

• Set priorities for tomorrow – The best way to determine priorities is to ask your self the following questions:

• “What is the best Income Generating Activity I could be doing right now?”
• “Who are the people or organizations that bring the most money into my business?”
• “Where could we cut costs in the business/organization that would allow us to yield more profits?”

2. Organize your home business office by organizing your desk

• Keep only the home business office supplies you need on a daily basis on your desktop or in your desk drawer.

• Create an Action File for your incoming papers and documents.

• Use your in box only for items that haven’t yet been reviewed. Once reviewed file them in your reference file or your action file.

3. Organize your home business office with a good paper file system. Contact me for my 10% discount code on any of the systems you see in the link listed above.

• Create a filing system for your electronic documents that mirrors the one you have for paper.

• Keep a file index (a master list of file names). Check the index before creating a new file to avoid making duplicates. Also use it when deciding where to put new documents.

• Refer to your company’s records retention plan for guidance on how long to keep documents. If you don’t have one in place, leave a comment by clicking here and I will email you the one I use with my clients. Be sure to check with your accountant for his ideas on my suggestions.

Listen to my online show dealing with this very topic. Read more about home business office organization here.

I specialize in home business office organizing and have learned through training and years of experience the strategies that make home business office organization easier to begin AND simpler to maintain. I organize in person for Utah located clients, and virtually with phone and photos for others throughout the USA. If you need help beginning this project, contact me for your FREE 20 minute phone analysis.

Home office organization is necessary in order for your mind to feel calm enough to function well in your home office.

“It was a pleasure working with Vicki. The most helpful thing I learned was organizing my home office paperwork. I can quickly file and find anything now. The ‘sticky notes’ and paper piles previously covering my desk have now been eliminated. The information she taught me has been very helpful.” –Linda in Highland, Utah

“Before I worked with Vicki it took me a great deal of time to find what I needed in my office. Now I know where everything is kept. I now have an attractive, organized space where I get many things accomplished. Order in my office has brought me peace and happiness. I’m now in control, not my things in control of me.” —Norma in Provo, Utah

For additional helps, here are some helpful links to pages and posts on my website and blog:

1. Home office productivity includes making sure your to-do list gets done
2. Home office organization should definately include organizing your MOST IMPORTANT papers – your vital documents
3. Home office organization includes organizing your desk
4. Home office organization includes organizing your paper clutter
5. Home office organization includes organizing the papers in your file cabinet

In the podcast, home office organizing,  which I recorded today. I talked you through the important parts of home office organization. Then in my show page blog I gave you some great information about how to fine tune those items I discussed generally in the podcast. Listen and look for even more great information.

Home office organization is key to peace and order in your life. Don’t give up if you have not yet succeeded! Click here to see before and after photos of home office spaces I have organized, click here. Contact me if you have tried and found you need professional organizing help. I organize by-your-side throughout Utah and by phone and transfered photos nationwide. Leave a comment at the top of this post and tell us your favorite home office organization tip!

I have organized enough kitchen pantry storage spaces to consider it one of my specialties. I worked recently with Heidi, a Park City, Utah client in need of some organizing help with her kitchen pantry. She had tried but struggled with space ratio and the pantry categories she needed. After working beside me for an afternoon she came to know that organizing her kitchen pantry storage area was actually easy. Heidi found me by watching the KSL TV segment I did that focused on organizing kitchen spaces. To view that segment, click the arrow on the video below.

Finding solutions to kitchen pantry storage frightens many women. They feel a little overwhelmed by it. I consider a kitchen pantry to be one of the easiest home spaces to put in order because you already have narrowed down your main use for that space – FOOD STORAGE.

To simplify the process for you, I suggest you listen to my podcast numbered 044 titled Organizing your Kitchen Pantry; then use my SPARK formula found here. Please understand that step 1 of my SPARK formula - Sort your items into Categories – is the hardest part. Many people are concerned with having the categories right. For my clients I provide a list of 30 category options and they choose the 10-15 most applicable to THEIR kitchen pantry storage needs. Brainstorm to find those that fit your kitchen pantry storage needs and pick those most applicable.

These photographs were taken AFTER I organized the pantry spaces for some of my clients. As you view them look for:

• the strategies I implimented and
• the containers I used to organize their kitchen pantry storage areas.

“I had a good time with Vicki as we concentrated our efforts on getting my pantry put together in an orderly and logical way. It was helpful to have an objective set of eyes see for me what was obvious, but I had been missing. The finished product is liberating, and inspires me to move to other areas that need the same kind of detailed attention. I love the sense of having power over my things instead of the other way around.”—Leslie in Provo, UT

Listed here are some other articles I’ve written that might interest you:

• Kitchen Pantry Storage – Will it work this time?
• More “able” kitchen pantry storage solutions
• Organize my Freezer
• Organized Food Taste Tests
• KITCHEN Table of Condiments

Organizing your kitchen pantry is a project you can begin and end in a day. Home storage areas like a pantry are easy to maintain through daily maintenance.

IF you find you need one-on-one help to truly understand how to organize any home space, please contact me. If you try and “just don’t get it” I can work alongside you if you live in Utah or with photos and phone conversations if you live outside Utah. Professional organizing help allows you to be sure you fully understand the steps to organize once and for all. This is your day to live a better life. Why not begin with your kitchen pantry storage?

Contact Utah professional organizing expert, Vicki Winterton, by calling 801-623-8411 or email Vicki by clicking here.

Leave a comment at the top of this post if you feel you can add useful information for future visitors. Thanks for stopping by!

All mothers are working mothers. ~Author Unknown

Childrens bedroom storage options is one of the most requested presentation topics I receive as a Utah located professional organizer. Young mothers throughout Utah have hired me to help them figure out how to improve their childrens bedroom storage systems. I am currently working alongside 3 young mothers on their childrens bedroom storage areas. Maria in Springville, Utah needs help with her family’s playroom and childrens bedroom storage areas. Jen in Cedar Hills, Utah needs ideas for her childrens bedroom storage and was even more concerned with her downstairs playroom. Mandi in Sandy, Utah needs help with laundry room workability and her 5 childrens bedroom storage areas.

Jen put it best when I asked her why she had contacted me. She stated that she had invested lots of money in her undergraduate and post graduate education. She was now a mother and homemaker and felt SHE was worth the little bit of money she would now invest (through me) in her current life’s work. I am grateful I get to help Jen, Maria and Mandi set up home systems that simplify their current lives. These systems allow them to free up more of their valuable time in the things they value most.

Today I  recorded show number 042 titled How to Organize your Kids Bedroom Storage. Read through my notes here and then click the link above to listen. My tips will help YOU with your childrens bedroom storage options by spelling out the step by step formula for childrens bedroom storage organization.

I promised my show listeners some favorite product ideas for children’s bedroom storage. I will list one idea for each of a few categories listed below. Please realize that there are many more options. You will need to look at your needs first and then find a product that will help fill those storage needs for your chilren’s bedroom. Storage preferences are very individual.  What works beautifully for one person may not work for another. Consider these product suggestions a starting point:

Childrens Bedroom Storage Toy Console much like is used in a Kindergarten classroom

Childrens Craft Tote = An electricians bag (be sure to remove the shoulder strap)

Childrens Bedroom Storage Hat Rack – Over the door help for caps, shoes and purses

Childrens Bedroom Storage Box4Blox

Lucky you, I have even more tips on organizing your childrens bedroom storage areas. Click this link to take a look.

Of all the rooms in your house your kid’s rooms are the ones that change the most over time.  Remember, your child’s room may be in your house…but IT IS your child’s room. Ask for their input and ideas. They will be much more willing to help maintain the space if THEY contributed to the rooms overall design and set up.

Because this article interested you, these might be just what you are looking for:

• Organizing Closets
• Summer Programs for your Kids
• Organizing a Blended Family

If you need help organizing childrens bedroom storage or any other home storage area, call me for a free 20 minute phone analysis at 801-623-8411. I service the Salt Lake and Utah Valley areas of Utah and anywhere in the nation virtually. Our rates are reasonable because we believe we win when you feel you have received a good value.

Remember when organizing kids rooms, that children learn more from what they see than from what you tell them. To train your children on room upkeep, model the behavior you want from your children!

When organizing kids rooms, these tips will help you move toward success:

Establish zones – Create zones for your children’s favorite activities (reading, art projects, etc.), then label those room areas. Get your child involved. A few typical zone options include:

• Toys
• Sleeping
• Clothing
• Etc.

Get rid of the toy box – In order to find what they need in that bottomless pit the’ll have to empty it. The space is simply too big. A toy box cannot be sub-divided. Donate it.

Set toy limits – Give your children two or three shelves for their toys. Make sure the shelving and storage units are the right height for your little ones. Every 6 months rotate the hibernated toys back in with those you have stored and they will think they are the luckiest children alive.

Set toy routines. Limits help manage clutter, and so do routines. Set a given time every day OR after every activity (this is the way we did it in my home) for them to put their things away, and make it fun! They will learn the fundamentals of organization and also learn about personal responsibility.

Don’t keep every piece of schoolwork or artwork – How do you pick and choose between what to keep and what to throw away? You set space limitations! Twice a year ask your child to pick the best of the best. Pick one to frame and two or three to keep for posterity. Problem solved.

Click here for additional tips on Organizing Kids Rooms

Organizing kids rooms is a task that is fairly easy to do once you realize that children are easy to please. They love us, plain and simple. When organizing kids rooms be sure you organize so your children are able to maintain the spaces appropriate for their age. Teach your children early in their lives that you are their loving mother…NOT their slave!

Changing Behavior

I recently read the book ‘Getting Organized’ by Chris Crouch. He focuses on changing behavior and points out that anytime we encounter a new idea there are three possible outcomes:
1. Nothing will happen
2. We will alter our behavior in some minor ways
3. The idea will significantly change our behavior and our life forever

A year ago I worked with my client Susan in Alpine, Utah. She greeted me when I arrived with this statement, “I am just NOT an organized person!” “My mind does NOT work that way.” She and I worked side-by-side for a total of 10 hours. Susan learned, as we organized her kitchen, pantry, and family management center that, in fact she WAS an organized person…Her mind DID work that way. She went on, as can most of my clients after working on 3 spaces beside me, to organize the rest of her home so her home spaces “worked nicely” for her. (She had considered up-sizing so their family of 7 could be comfortable in their home. She found this was no longer needed.) Changing behavior through change to home and business spaces is my specialty.

At ORGANIZING Mind over Matter we teach you that when you learn a better way, you need to realize the benefit of it’s application in your life. To make that stretch, you need to move beyond the comfortable. Is better organization of YOUR time and space a better idea? If so, now is the time to begin changing behavior ! Take a look at my before and after photos to:

1. motivate you AND
2. get a few ideas of how to tackle your own spaces.

Listen to my podcasts or Email me at 801-623-8411 to talk about beginning your change!

4 Keys to Sort through Sentimental Clutter

One of my recent clients, Miss M in Springville, Utah was a sentimentalist. She was attached to her sentimental clutter. She was a wonderful mother of 4 and loved every outfit her children had worn through the years.  She also had many toys that they no longer used but had been kept for sentimental reasons. After I shared and reinforced the tips below, through our side-by-side work, she was able to understand that living in an orderly home brought much greater joy to her and her family than did the “stuff” they retained from the past. She learned that sentimental clutter is like heavy chains she was carrying  around day in and day out. These are my tips to overcome sentimental clutter:

1. Honor the past, but choose to live in the present
2. Set realistic limits – numeric or space related
3. Consider space saving alternatives for item display
4. Be cautious about what you buy in the first place

In Summary:

• Sentimental clutter can be overcome by making behavioral change a process. It takes some real thought and contemplation. Once decided, the change becomes permanent.
• Sentimental clutter is often based in fear of loss. Decide if the items you are holding on to are serving you in your current life. If they are, display them in a way that honors the memory.

As owner and trained professional organizer at ORGANIZING Mind over Matter, I have loads of experience and may be able to help you clarify your wants and set up systems to meet your goals. Miss M of Springville, Utah had tried unsuccessfully to move beyond the sentimental clutter surrounding her. For her, success came in stopping the rationalizations that had become a part of her “inner talk”. She needed to answer to someone else. I was trained to help her rethink her wants.

Because you found this useful, here are a few other articles I have written that may also catch your attention:

• Before and after photos of home spaces
• How to change behaviors

If YOU have tried to overcome sentimental clutter and struggle with setting up lasting processes and organizing systems to support your best life, call Vicki now at the number listed here.

Overcome PROCRASTINATION – Do you put off tasks that you do not want to do or like to do? Do you say, “I’ll just do it tomorrow.” Procrastination, for one reason or another, happens to the best of us.  Overcome procrastination by following these steps:

1. Break the project down into smaller steps until they are manageable.
2. Prevent distractions and interruptions from occurring.
3. Get organized – Being unorganized causes chaos and is very distracting
   When you are organized, you are better able to focus on a task instead of the clutter
4. Do NOT demand perfection from yourself. Perfectionism causes postponement.
5. Create a mental picture of the project you wish to complete.
6. Reward yourself. Give yourself points or prizes as you work through the task.
7. Avoid overextending yourself. Evaluate your obligations and then prioritize them.
   Is there anything you can omit, delegate or move to a different time frame? Set realistic goals. When possible, finish each task before starting the next.
8. Make the task at hand as pleasurable as possible. Ask yourself a question, “Can I make this more enjoyable in any way?”

Overcome procrastination by simply beginning. I wish you success as you begin once again! If you don’t know how or where to begin, I may be able to help.