Preparing for house guests involves more than providing a comfy place for them to sleep, it’s an opportunity to make those house guests feel welcome and guarantee their time spent with you is memorable. Why have house guests if it is not a positive and memorable experience?

Each of the four seasons brings with it a different reason for out-of-town guests to come knocking on your door. Preparing for house guests can be much easier on you IF you organize and prepare well in advance. Listen to my online radio show, show 016 House Guests- Preparing For, to learn:

1. common hosting concerns when preparing for house guests
2. the purpose of hosting and preparing for house guests
3. easy preparations for guest’s arrival and stay

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.

I was called by my friend and the CEO of the WIN online, Paula Fellingham, a few months back and asked to organize many of the comings and goings of show hosts for the upcoming Women’s Information Network National Launch on September 26, 2009 in Salt Lake City, Utah. I used my SPARK formula to organize three points of need for the WIN executive team. (I always consider it a great compliment to be asked to manage or organize anything by someone who already knows me.) Yesterday I finished up the job they had confidence I could do:

Set into Categories all the show hosts coming into Utah from out of state

Purge from the list those, who after financial consideration or time constraints, had reluctantly changed their minds

Assign incoming show hosts a recording time for the WIN Show and lodging accommodations during their stay

Round up airport transport times for pick ups and deliveries

Keep the documents easy to find and organized on my computer until Paula and the WIN executive team were ready to put my plan into action

Oh, the mind of a professional organizer and experienced corporate events manager. (I gained “events management” work experience years ago by working with three of the largest corporations in Utah. That experience benefited me greatly.)

The WIN online executive team

I learned much as I worked this event. I am excited to greet these accomplished WIN show hosts who have been communicating with me the past 30 days.

Please, join us for a day of learning at the Salt Lake Community College Campus Auditorium just west of the freeway on 9400 South. I’ll be speaking. See you there.

Four techniques and time management tips were discussed in my recent TV appearance on Studio 5. Click here to view How to Pad your time for Murphy’s Law.

Here they are again:

• Plan Ahead to Prioritize your Tasks with only a 5 minute investment each day–two of my favorite locally produced planners are: daily home planner & jot it down
• Simplify by shortening your morning routine
• Delegate Tasks that someone else can do nearly as well as you
• Estimate Time Accurately by rewinding your journey

For additional time management solutions click here

Kristin Nielsen of Salt Lake City, Utah won a SET OF 3 FAVORITE TIME MANAGEMENT PLANNERS in a random drawing held September 10, 2009. See her biggest challenge in the comments for this post.

My husband and I have been married for 31 years today. When we married we thought ourselves very similar. Our marriage planning looked to be easy. Exactly one year after we married, we found out we were expecting our first child. Once we had children we learned how different we were. Those differences brought with them great conflict. We chose not to plan together much because we no longer saw eye to eye. It took us 15 years to figure out what worked for us and our children. We came to better understand our own wants and needs and each others wants and needs after attending some life balance sessions together. We learned that our marriage was important to us and to our family’s happiness. We learned that planning together for an ultimate goal was important.

Thirty one years together. I am thankful for a husband who allowed me to change, grow and become the person I was meant to be AND I am very grateful he was willing to change, grow and better himself. Time has been good to us. Happy Anniversary Honey. I love you!

Studies show that children lose much of what they have learned during the summer school break IF their brains are not encouraged to retain. Organized summer programs for kids are now available at a very reasonable cost. The school year has come to a close. Are you wondering which summer activities will enrich your child’s learning while allowing them fun participation.

For the Utah area, here’s a link for Summer Programs filled with learning options at Organize Summertime Activities For those of you who live in other states, contact your school district special education or gifted and talented resource director about organized summer programs and learning options for your children.

I recieved a phone call a few months back from a TV producer. She invited me to be a guest on her show. Today, I returned from taping a KSL TV Studio 5 segment titled: Declutter, Organize, THEN Spring Clean.

The show producer and show host were a delight. I thourally enjoyed the experience they provided me. Listen to my online radio show The Organized Woman Show. Be sure to sign up for the RSS or itunes feed to be informed of new organizing show topics we address. Email me and let me know what you’d like to learn.

I learned again yesterday the I am blessed with the gift of space design, better known as organizing stuff. Yesterday I worked with a client who received me as a “Christmas Gift” from her husband. She is a busy wife, mother of 4, care giver to 2 cats, and talented musician.

   I have met with her 3 times and each time I see the concern in her face lessen and hope for order return. (I see this often in my clients as we progress forward.)

In our initial analysis I toured the home to see and hear her needs. (2 hours together) In our second session we tackled the kitchen beginning to end and I talked her through the pantry which she completed alone. (7 hours together) Yesterday we took on the family control center, her action file, the family reference paper file and archived papers file. (3 hours together – this took so  little time because she had learned the session before how to delete and categorize & had become very good at it)

She was very proud of herself in that after two weeks time, her kitchen and pantry had remained organized. She had been very concerned at our first meeting that she would be able to begin, complete AND maintain the spaces we organized together.