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.

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.

Vicki's 2009 SIBLINGS & families REUNION

The reason to plan family reunion fun is to reunite your immediate or extended family. Few of us live next door to our siblings or cousins like was done in the “old days”. Geography divides us. The main reason to plan family reunion (s) annually is that it brings your family back to once again grow together.

BEGIN TO PLAN FAMILY REUNION FUN WITH A MASTER PLAN –  The whole  reunion should be planned beginning to end by one family member. In my family, I and each of my siblings take a year to plan family reunion events on a rotating basis.  THEN we divide up the reunion responsibilities for the year. We typically assign out one meal and one group activity per sibling.  This plan, family reunion master plan I should say, is not overwhelming for the master planner OR anyone helping. Let’s imagine that YOU are the master planner for THIS YEARS family reunion. Before you begin to delegate, you should decide these things:

FIRST, decide on the type of reunion you will hold from these options:

• siblings only (your brothers and sisters)
• adults only, (your siblings and their spouses/life partners)
• everyone’s invited

THEN

1. Choose a date for the family reunion (You should email all attendees three possible dates and see which are workable for the majority of those attending.)
2. Plan family reunion budget expectations
3. Plan family reunion destination specifics including a map for arrival.
4. Invite the guests.
5. Plan family reunion activity assignments based on the number of siblings you have and the length of your family reunion.

NEXT

• Plan Family Reunion  General Costs based on a per person cost.
• Plan Family Reunion Location Destination(s) according to your preference.
• Plan Family Reunion Activities by holding 1-2 per day and assigning one activity per your siblings attending.
• Plan Family Reunion Meals by assigning one meal per sibling attending. (IF you are a small family, assign a dinner meal and lunch meal . Cold cereal for breakfast is fine.)

To listen to my 16 minute audio show on this topic, visit The Organized Woman Show and look for show number 038 titled Organizing Family Reunions.

To see some of my favorite reunion themes, award ceremony ideas, & reunion photo suggestions; scroll up or click here.

Two of my favorite ‘plan family reunion websites’ are these:

• www.familyreunion.com
• www.familydetails.com

If you use a systematic approach when you design a general plan, family reunion meals and events will be successful in the end. By breaking down and delegating responsibilities into smaller components, success becomes more attainable. Began to plan family reunion fun now. Bring your family together this year and enjoy the support you feel from surrounding yourself with those you love!

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.

Organize your Vital Records

In a nutshell, your most important papers are called vital records. Organizing important papers is essential and your vital records need to be easily assessable for them to be any good to you. Vital Records are papers with information that is crucial about you, your family, your home, your finances, your health, and your history. (Think: marriage certificates, social security cards, military discharge papers, life insurance policies, etc.) Most of us have had occasion to need specific information and documents at a moment’s notice. Maybe you’ve already thought about gathering your vital records together, but have never gotten around to it. Or, maybe you’ve tried to gather and organize your most important papers, but have gotten stuck. Some of the “roadblocks” to accomplishing this task are:

•we don’t know where to start or what to look for

•we’re not sure what needs to be kept

•the prospect of collecting all the data is overwhelming OR

•there is just too much paper to go through

Well, now is the time to begin Organizing your Vital Records with my 3 Step ACT formula:

First, ASSESS by taking a look at where you are and asking yourself:

1. Why haven’t I done this before?

2. Why do I need to get going on this project?

3. Where am I stuck and why?

4. What is the most important 1st thing I can do today to get all my vital documents in place?

You may recognize some emotional and accountability issues as you begin gathering these important papers—but don’t let them discourage you.

Next, CREATE  – Decide on a planning strategy. To begin the planning stage, I typically begin with six general document categories, then we sub-categorize those according to the needs of my client. Once you have decided on a plan, calendar the task. Begin with a beginning and completion date. Be realistic about the time you will need to invest in organizing your vital records. I would suggest you plan anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months to complete this organizing task. Be sure to work on gathering the needed information each week. Consider options for storage of your vital records by making sure your items are secured.

Step 3 in my organizing formula is TACKLE. This is the step most people actually associate with the project: digging in to the paper, sorting, categorizing, etc.

Your vital records can be housed on-site or off-site. Choose a container that will protect them from damage. For me this includes archival plastic sheets and a waterproof, fireproof portable safe. The labeling is critical! You also need to decide on a location for final storage of these important papers. Some considerations include: a home safe, off-site storage, a safety deposit box, etc.

As circumstances change, so will some of your vital documents (examples: durable financial power of attorney, health care power of attorney, or living will). It’s a great idea to review your important documents ‘collection’ yearly. Be sure to let someone you trust know WHERE these important papers are kept, then review them together.

Often, we are left to deal with emergencies without the necessary knowledge and paperwork to make decisions and move forward. In times of tragedy, we find ourselves with mountains of important papers instead of being able to take the necessary time to reflect and mourn. Organizing your vital records is a MOST IMPORTANT organizing project. I am sure that the time and money you invest NOW in completing this project will offer you the security and calm of knowing where ALL your important papers are located. You don’t want to worry about retrieval of these important documents at a time when your emotions run high.

Peace of mind is worth a little time NOW, isn’t it? If you need my experience and help in Organizing YOUR Important Papers, please contact me. This project is one you want to make sure is done correctly.

Available for purchase in September 2010, my VITAL RECORDS ORGANIZER which can be purchased in the WIN store online. For further information listen now to my online show, The Organized Woman Show. Show number 031 deals with this very topic.

Blending a family of any variety is an obstacle course with many hardships already built-in to jump over & climb above. The holiday season is especially hard because of all the memories (bad AND good) that come attached to each blended family member.  This week I invited my friend and neighbor, Janet Peterson, mother of 11 children combined, to share some Blended Family Holiday Tips. Listen here to show #023. My friend Janet has maneuvered the course for many years and has been successful! She shares specifics on holiday activities and traditions that have worked for her blended family over the years. A few suggestions include these: