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!

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.

The key to spring cleaning is to declutter first, organize what you decide to keep, and only then begin your spring cleaning projects. Here are my four steps to success as you start the spring cleaning process:

1. Divide the Clearing Out and the Cleaning Up into two entirely different projects as you begin.

To begin the spring cleaning process round up a pen and notebook. Walk through your home and make a list of 3 spaces that need your attention as you begin the spring cleaning. Of those 3, begin in the room where you spend the most time. That room will give you the greatest satisfaction. Decluttering is ALWAYS the first step. Why deep clean things you will not end up keeping? Round up 3 large labeled boxes or bags, Label them 1) Give away, 2) Put away, 3) Throw away. When you run across things you are not sure about, ask yourself these two questions: “Do I truly love this?” and “Is this item useful to me in my current life?”

2. Organize What’s Left before you begin your spring cleaning. Purging is the 1st part of my formula. Organizing what’s left is the other half. There are 3 key elements in maintaining your newly organized spaces:

■ Store your kept items where they will be used.

■ Label the container and/or the space so others know where to return the used items.

■ Adopt the something in/something out philosophy.

3. Now you can begin spring cleaning once the purging and organizing are completed. Professional organizers are not professional housecleaners; none-the-less I have learned some cleaning tricks in my years of working side by side with my clients. Here are a few spring cleaning suggestions:

■ Use the North to South approach or you will sabotage your efforts. Start at the top and work down to the floor.

■ Schedule blocks of time to clean and then be sure you honor those appointments with yourself.

■ Get others involved in the project. At my home we understand the “If you live here, you work here” philosophy. Those large projects become very doable when others join in and help.

4. I have made a list of some of my favorite spring cleaning products. Click here to view my spring cleaning recommended products.

Decluttering, organizing AND spring cleaning,  are about being aware of your surroundings. Because you lead a complicated and pressure filled life, clutter and grime build up. Grab a notebook today and begin your week of decluttering. It will make your spring cleaning a breeze. When our surroundings are organized and newly cleaned, your life feels at peace. Now isn’t that’s refreshing?

To listen to my online podcast dealing with this topic, click here and look for show number 035 titled Organize your Spring Cleaning.

To view my 6 minute Spring Cleaning Video, click here.

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

Are you tired of making New Year’s Resolutions that, by the end of January, have become another failed attempt at improved self image or moral? Each resolution you set represents a longing of the heart, a personal stretch toward better health, more happiness, or increased wisdom. THIS YEAR  try a new approach. By working on one resolution or goal at a time and following my few simple steps below you will find success in making and keeping your New Years Resolutions.

To begin, make a list or a photo board of your successes this past year. Don’t be modest; make sure you note the learning and the progression that happened.

Next, begin the process of defining your new goals by setting up major goals broken into smaller goal steps:

1. Personalize your goals. Make them specific to you. Use the words “I” and “me” often. Realize you need to focus in on YOU in this step.
2. Write as if you had already accomplished the goal.  Use such terms as “I have”, “I see”, “I feel”, etc.
3. Adjectivize (my own word) the benefits of the Resolution. Use lots of descriptive words to explain the benefits of achieving your goals and resolutions. Words such as: calming, peaceful, energized, terrific, etc.
4. Calendar and schedule with (a) beginning, (b) progression, and (c) completion dates.

Reward yourself with prizes or recognitions of achievement not only when you complete your set goal, but also each day you actively work toward your desired resolution.

Complete THEN Repeat. When you have completed your first New Years Resolution, begin on goal #2. However grand the change we hope for, the vehicle for change is small, simple, daily steps that move us forward. It is the step by step changes each day and week that transport a new goal or resolution to completion. Change is ALWAYS hard for us to make. Be sure you  don’t overwhelm yourself by working on too many goals at once.

If you would like to receive my New Years Resolutions/New Goals Template, please leave a comment on this post and share with us what YOUR top three New Years Resolutions are this year. We love to hear from you!

Just think of it, for ½ the cost of a new desk or ½ the cost of a new TV set, YOU OR SOMEONE YOU LOVE can receive the gift of peace! In fact, I guarantee greater peace of mind!

Imagine the opportunity to organize your home spaces or business office spaces so they are easily maintained for $500 or less at my special Christmas rates?

Suggest this gift option to those buying gifts for you OR give this gift to someone you love who has tried and just doesn’t have the know how to make it happen on their own.

Organizing Gift Certificates Available

Contact me now for organizing help once and for all at 801-623-8411