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.

Organized Clutter?

These two words have very opposite meanings. At dictionary.com we get the definition of both words:
n. clut·ter
1. A confused or disordered state or collection; a jumble.
v. or·gan·ized
2. To put together into an orderly, functional, structured whole.
a. To arrange in a coherent form; to systematize.

At the conclusion of a seminar I taught recently in Mapleton, Utah many people come forward to visit with me and some use this term, organized clutter, to describe their living conditions. I believe there is no such thing. Either there is Order OR there is Clutter.
_____________________________________
Tips to Prevent Clutter
Here are three simple questions to ask yourself before you bring
something new into your space:
1) Am I going to use it often?
2) Am I going to use it now, or in the very near future?
3) Where is it going to go?
REMEMBER THAT:
• everything must have a place and space is limited
• clutter can not be disinfected or sterilized…only reduced
• possessions are never as important as people

—————————————-

Problems can not be solved at the same level of consciousness that created them. — Albert Einstein   THINK ABOUT IT!
One of the best ways to prevent clutter, is to stop it before it starts.
The best way to stop it before it starts is to set up systems that meet your needs.  Remember that there is no such thing as organized clutter. Happy Organizing!

For organizing help

Home based business ideas and marketing strategies are something I have focused on for over 25 years. I am an entrepreneur at heart and have formed three very successful home based businesses over the past 23 years. I was invited recently to teach a class at the Orem Utah, Small Business Development Center and promised to share here some home based business ideas and marketing links.  I have found these helpful in the early stages of getting a home based business up and running:

• Concept Design Studios – A logo and branding design option that comes highly recommended.
• A list of THE best blog directories to which you should join: Technorati, Blog Catalog, and Google Blogs
• A book on writing your own press release by a woman I am a great fan of, Janet  Meiners Thalaer. Click here to find it on Amazon
• Submit your own press release announcing your website, blog, business, new products/services or important business happenings.
• MailChimp A simple way to email newsletters, manage your subscriber lists, and track marketing campaign performance. FREE if you have less than 500 email subscribers.
• Affiliate Marketing Partnership options found at: Commission Junction or Linkshare

As a side note, as a business strategist and a home based business ideas specialist, there are a few things you should avoid:

• Using your tight marketing budget on PR firms or major advertising campaigns
• Spending too much money  in the beginning
• Investing in expensive marketing materials that soon become outdated and/or obsolete due to business changes

If you have not yet designed your own business plan you should realize it is one of the first home based business ideas you should take on. I suggest you begin with my 1 pg business plan summary or click here for a very detailed business plan template.

Finally, working a home based business has some nice rewards. It also has some real obstacles. One of the very best home based business ideas I can offer is to make more money and find more time by learning to set boundaries with yourself and with those who share your life. You can learn to easily prioritize your day so you can make more money; then schedule your work priorities so you find more time for your business building projects. If you struggle with this and need some personalized help, I can help you simplify your life and better organize your home office systems including:  papers, computer data, time  and space. Contact me at ORGANIZING Mind over Matter by clicking here.

As a Utah based productivity coach and practicing professional organizer, Orem and all cities within the greater Wasatch front area serviced, I was invited to speak at the local business think tank, Orem’s SBDC, on the topic ‘Marketing Strategies for a Home Based Business’. I shared with the workshop attendees some important tips for marketing their business.

As a Utah orgainzer, Orem / Provo based, I feel honored to have been given the opportunity to address this group. I believe I was chosen to address this issue because my business has performed so well. Even in this tough economy, I tripled my client base and doubled my income in 2009. I am an experienced business strategist and my marketing campaigns have something to do with this, but the main reason my business has done so well is because I am very good at servicing a growing need. I replace disorder and stress with order and peace in my workplace based clients offices AND my home based business clients lives.

As a productivity coach and professional organizer, Orem / Provo based, I set up customized office systems for managing time, papers, data and office spaces that work immediately AND continue working as time goes on…plain and simple!

Below is the link for my promised business builders. Before you go any further, leave a tip for future blog visitors near the title of this post by clicking on comments and sharing a business building question OR a marketing tip that has worked well for you. If you just happened upon this post titled ‘Organizer Orem’ and did not attend my class, please share a tip with us before you read on. I am a firm believer in questions and answers. That is what a good business strategist does. Now that you have completed that request, click here to access the business building information I promised.

If you are interested in hiring Utah’s productivity coach/professional organizer, Orem / Provo based to help you simplify your life and better organize your office spaces, papers, computer data or time, OR if you would like to know more about marketing strategies for YOUR home based business, please contact me at ORGANIZING Mind over Matter.

Home Organizing Workshops

Join Vicki for any or all of the 3 classes she will be teaching during the month of January 2010 in conjunction with National Get Organized Month. The class information is listed below. If you have any questions about the Utah professional orgainzer, Vicki Winterton, and her organizing classes please contact us.

“I just wanted to say thank you for your time in teaching me about time management. As you promised, the “Action File” has changed my life. I’m able to stay on top of the paper mess that comes into my home. I knew the importance of daily maintenance prior to your class (I only learned this in the last year!), but you’ve taught me how to perform daily maintenance on the paper mess, not just tidying the house. Wow! What a great thing!” –Diane, 2009 UVUcommunity education class

You control Christmas OR Christmas controls you. By learning to simplify Christmas through Holiday Planning this holiday season can be both peaceful and joyful.

I was invited again to do a Studio 5 TV segment titled “Overcome the Overwhelm: Tips to Simplify Christmas”. I shared some great tips for Holiday Planning including some clutter-free gift ideas to make this holiday season easy to manage.

The three tips I shared for better holiday planning were:

1. Make a list of ALL your holiday plans, activities and events, THEN PRIORITIZE your list.
2. Schedule your “Must Do’s” on your December Calendar. Then add in pencil your “Might Do’s”. (see below to print your own Calendar pages)
3. Simplify EVERYTHING you’ve kept on your calendar.

To receive a FREE copy of your very own Christmas Holiday Planner pages, click any of the page links below you would like to have. These are PDF pages and will print just as they are shown. Please leave a comment telling us what you have found to be a “must do” holiday tradition for you or your family.

1. Christmas Holiday Planner (cover page)
2. Holiday VALUES Analyzer
3. Holiday Priorities List
4. December 2009 Calendar
5. Holiday Family Traditions
6. Holiday Decor Inventory
7. Gift List Planner
8. Gift Closet Inventory
9. Holiday Meal Planner
10. AFTER the Holidays Analyzer

We had 75 entires in our drawing and I am pleased to announce that Heather McDonald of Pleasant Grove is the LUCKY WINNER of the Smith’s Food Stores gift card center $100 certificate. She will be able to choose any combination of gift cards from the more than 300 retail stores sponsored and stocked through Smith’s Food & Drug Stores. To enter, Heather subscribed to The Organized Woman Show by email. YOU can subscribe too, right below the show summary (scroll down one or two inches to find it on the left hand side). Click on the link and fill in your email address. You will then be asked to go to your email inbox and finalize the request. It is very easy; 1,2,3 and you are signed up. Once signed up you will be entered in the Smith’s gift card drawing AND will receive weekly updates of new shows with easy tips to help you better plan and organize yourself, your home, your workplace, your family and/or your career.

My online radio show, The Organized Woman Show has many new shows to help you maneuver the holidays easily and with greater finesse. Click on the link above to listen and learn. Some of the shows my co-host and I have recorded this month include:

• 025  Goal Setting including Resolution tips
• 024  Organize your Christmas Decor Storage
• 023 Blended Family Holiday Tips with special guest Janet Peterson
• 022 Organizing a last minute Party
• 021 Winter’s Fun Family Traditions with special guest Cindi Barton
• 020 Clutter Free Gift Ideas
• 019 Preparing a Holiday Meal
• 016 Preparing For House Guests

I help frazzled women and men remember how peace looks and feels. As a Utah Valley organizer (professional), productivity coach and small business owner, I have learned much about business development through the Utah Valley Small Business Development Center located in Orem. One of my favorite parts of being a business owner is recognizing ways to better my business services and offerings. Five days ago I attended a class on Social Networking offered through the center.  I thought social networking might be a new way to inform others of the benefits of organizing and managing 1st their time, then their office spaces, papers, data, and computer’s email inbox.

The instructor, Sean Roylance, began talking about Facebook and Twitter; pointing out the benefits of each option. As he discussed the benefits of twitter, he brought up a sample of his twitter page after saying that he was very careful to ONLY follow those individuals that he felt gave him consistently good information. In fact he, as a computer website programmer and SEO specialist, limits the people he follows to a mere 20 individuals.

I was delighted to see my friend and mentor (a tech savvy wonder woman) Janet Meiners Thaeler aka NewspaperGirl up on his screen. Janet made a big difference in my business a year ago. I heard her speak at an event and we became friends. She helped me get my newly redesigned website up and taught me some basic tips about marketing my business online. She is known more recently for her insights involving Press Releases (see her new book, I Need a Killer Press Release, Now What??? )

Along with Sean, I too value her insights and knowledge. She helped me set up this blog and convinced me that taking my business online was a good idea. Her work has allowed many clients to find me and benefit from the organizing services and productivity coaching I offer them. Her insights have allowed me to help others live their best life.

If YOU are a small business owner and would like to better manage your business, I would suggest looking into the classes offered through your local Small Business Development Center. And be sure to read Janet’s posts (here’s a recent one she wrote for Small Business Trends about getting publicity).

Each day I acknowledge something I am grateful for. Today I found three: Janet, Sean, and the Utah Valley Small Business Development Center.

I was interviewed on the WIN Show (The Womens Information Network) this month because I am a show host with The Organized Woman Show. In the interview, we talked about how my FREE WIN online radio show, The Organized Woman Show, can benefit listeners in their lives. We touched on systems for organizing your shoes, systems for organizing your papers, systems for organizing your time, and how to organize any portion of your life.  To watch the interview, click the title here: The Organized Woman Show with Vicki Winterton.

My show co-host, Laura, and I record and upload 8 new shows a month. Our shows talk you through the steps to plan and organize your spaces, your papers, your office, your family, your personal time, etc.  If you would like to be notified by email each time a new organizing show is available to our listeners, subscribe to The Organized Woman Show through RSS or Itunes feeds by clicking on this link and then click on  the or logos on the right side of the web page to subscribe yourself through your email account. You can then pick and choose which shows interest you.

I’d love to have you join me to win online at The Organized Woman Show for ANY of the many 12 minute shows that meet your needs or may be the answer to an organizing question you need answered. If you have an organizing concern that a new show could answer for you, just email me at vicki.theorganizedwomanshow@gmail.com and recommend a show topic. Be sure to include your specific question or concern.

My goal and the goal of The Organized Woman Show is to allow you to live a better life by learning a new way to accomplish your life goals. I want to help you live your best life!

I offer you options to organize your life and bring relief to life’s obvious pitfalls! Are you tired of feeling overworked and unable to maintain control of your life? After participating in any of these options you will feel you are better able to take control of your time, spaces, family, etc.

1. Please join me as I conduct a Utah Valley University community education workshop, Organize your Office (I teach this 2 hour class each January and October) which will focus on helping you better organize your life by implementing the following:

• Balance – Time management for busy people in 3 easy steps
• Five steps to organize your home and/or business office
• How to organize your inbox with my 6 D’s and
• Three systems for managing your incoming papers AND file cabinets

Now, if that is not enough, here is help #2 for organizing your life a little better.

2. The Organized Woman Show now has greater than 40 shows to help you organize your life. Some of the show titles included are:

• Fun Fall Family Traditions to help you organize your life and your family fun
• Perfectionism – Is it worth it?
• Setting up a Family Management Center to help you organize your life
• Setting up Family Rules so all family members understand that if they live there, they work there

We are now recording four new shows each month to help you better organize your life. Click on the or feeds in the middle right of the show page to be automatically notified through email of new shows as they are loaded. If you subscribe, you get to pick and choose the shows that interest you most.

3. I was invited for the 5th time to be the organizing expert on a KSL TV’s Studio 5 segment “How to Prepare for Murphy’s Law”. I shared the trick to preparing for Murphy’s “drop in” visits.