In this episode, I introduce you to Wendy T. She's married with a 13 year old son, a 10 year old daughter, one cat and one dog. She lives in Southern Australia and owns 2 Air BNB’s. Talking to Wendy gave me a lot of ideas about traveling to Australia, and how to fulfill my wish list. I hope Greg joins me in 2026!

It was interesting to learn that Wendy found Organize 365® through the ADHD Podcast which brought her to the Sunday Basket® Podcast and then to the main podcast. In learning about the Sunday Basket®, she thought this could be the way to gain calm in her home. In 2020, Wendy was in the process of moving. She purchased the old The Productive Home Solution® and found permission to let go of things.  Back then it was the IDLE “process” and we laughed at the placement of the phone book mentioned. She’d experimented with Marie Kondo, but what she found different with Organize 365® were the systems, processes, and schedules. It was more than just decluttering. 

Wendy used to have paper piles in each room and she’d throw papers in them thinking, “Oh yeah, I’ll deal with it later.” When those paper piles started to disappear, that’s when she knew Organize 365® was effective in her life. Our homes don’t have administration offices like work, but Wendy saw her Sunday Basket® as a mini administration space. She could hold things in there until they needed to be dealt with. She loves the ability to think less and follows the tried and true systems of Organize 365®.

We got on a shipping 2.0 conversation (1.0 was the Canadian shipping last episode), this time about Australia. This held Wendy back for a time. We feel selfish spending this money because it seems like it’s for us. The reality is that the family eats better, the Sunday Basket® user is more calm, and the house runs more smoothly. We pay a lot of money for summer camps and soccer, we should spend money to maintain our homes too! After Wendy splurged on the Organize 365® products and shipping them to Australia, she realized it’s like self care. She doesn’t spend money on shoes or handbags; so this is her splurge. Wendy pointed out that because shipping is so high, she appreciates the planning and implementation days to still be part of organizing life with Organize 365®. Planning Day is where she learned about permission for something else…naps!

The planning days brought us to discovering each other's calendars. Australians celebrate different holidays. Their seasons are different from ours. And their school year is different. This got me thinking about America’s natural energy/cadence to organizing and how it matches up, or didn’t in most cases, to Australia’s. Her Golden Window is NOW! We determined Wendy’s weather must be like that of Arizona’s. It’s summer now and can get up to 40 degrees C or 104 degrees F. It’s also one of the busiest times for the Air BNB’s with the gardens. She values her Friday Workbox® even more now with managing people. She’s not doing so much physical work, but she is managing! 

Wendy’s advice is, “Go back to ‘Lisa Basics’. Give yourself grace. Done is better than perfect. Keep at it - chip away. Just start! It’s just a habit. If you build the habit, it  just gets so much easier!” 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• The Productive Home Solution®

• The Productive Home Solution® Planning Day

• The Paper Solution®

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter 

On the Wednesday podcast, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365­® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps and triumphs along their organizing journey. I am grateful that you are reaching out to share with me and with this community. You can see and hear transformation in action. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

On Wednesdays, I normally get to talk with members of the Organize 365® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps, and triumphs along their organizing journey. You can see and hear transformation in action.

For the rest of this month, I have a treat for you on the Wednesday Transformation episodes I want to share with you some of the extraordinary breakthroughs from women just like you who attended Embrace 2022. Listen in for Part 3 of the transformations!

Embrace is now available on demand! You can learn more about the Embrace Self-Guided Retreat here.

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

On the Wednesday podcast, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365­® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps and triumphs along their organizing journey. You can see and hear transformation in action. I look forward to helping YOU learn the skill of organization, too!

Today I’m so excited to introduce you to Laura L. During the pandemic she found me via the Organize 365  podcast.  Laura started her Organize 365® journey with The Sunday Basket® and the binders.  She also created binders for her parents.

The day she got the MS diagnosis, the Medical Binder and the Sunday Basket® became monumental to her daily success.

Laura got into the habit of taking her Medical Binder with her to doctor’s appointments. She loves having everything at her fingertips.  She has noticed that she gets a poor cellular signal in the medical buildings; so it’s nice to have the paper copy to reference. 

Laura was already a fan of all things Organize 365®; but she felt compelled to share her success story with others.  Laura launched her business and is The Paper Solution® Certified. She is thankful for the peace of mind that comes from the organization offered by the Sunday Basket®.  

 Recently at her daughter’s wedding the portable Sunday Basket® was called “The Bag with All the Nuclear Codes.” She was organized and had all the information with her in her portable Sunday Basket ®. Then again the very next day it held the information needed for her mother because she had a doctor’s appointment to take her to.

Her advice if you are just getting started: “Just carve out the time to do it!”

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Paper Solution® Binders
• Paper Organizing Retreats
• The Sunday Basket®
• The Organize 365® Medical Binder
• The Friday Workbox®
• The Portable Sunday Basket®
• The Paper Solution® Certification

I am grateful that you are reaching out to share your stories and progress with me and with the Organize 365® community. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

Going PRO as the Home CEO

Let's talk about how you can optimize your efforts as the CEO of your home in order to be more PRO:

• Productive 
• Proactive
• Profitable
• Positive 

I have studied organization and productivity strategies for years, but many of them are directed at men working in business, and do not cross over to running a home.

I want to give you actual tools you can use to make your home life productive. I know you are in charge of all of the household tasks, even if you do not personally do them. Some of you have outsourced things like house cleaning, laundry, and meal preparation.

Regardless of the number or kinds of tasks you are juggling, I can help you optimize the effort you put into your home. Professionals practice and that is how they get better. Practice will help you to learn new skills, hone your craft, condition your mind to stay on task, and to do more faster and with less effort.

Going PRO allows you to optimize the time, effort, and resources you spend in your life to complete the projects in your life and home. Listen in and see how you can gain productivity in your life in any role right now.

Share in the Organize 365 Facebook group or tag me on Instagram @organize365 and tell us about your #ONEgoal2019 and share your success!

PS I would love to guide you as you go PRO in your house this fall in the next round of the 100 Day Home Organization Program. We start on MONDAY! Join us!

Don’t Start Touching Things…First VIS-U-AL-IZATION 

Start with the end in mind. We do this in our paid work, but now we need to do it for our meaty project. I know it’s so exciting when you have all your supplies. But to be most effective, I want you to have a meaningful start. When you are done, come Labor Day, how does it look? AND how does it function? Will it effectively support you during the upcoming most productive weeks out of the year?

• Teacher

  • When you think about going to school, how do you envision the Teacher Friday Workbox® effectively helping you with your administrative tasks? Compile the paper and slash pockets you need to make it a reality. Maybe set up a table in the corner of a room as your project station for the summer. Communicate with your family and remind them about planned neglect.

• Organizing Your Paper

  • The first few steps are very much like starting the Teacher Friday Workbox®. And you get to start once you have time blocked out on your calendar. How much paper will you go through at time? Starting a Sunday Basket®? Consider the Paper Organizing Retreat or hire a professional paper organizer to help. And then plan it on your calendar.

• Organizing Your Health Journey

  • When spaces are modified to support goals, goals are more likely achieved. Again visualize how the kitchen will best support your new goals. If it’s losing weight, visualize how you want it to look. I know I’m looking forward to a half full refrigerator and replacing some items I will hand down to Abby and getting some new ones I have my eye on.

• Personal Development/Personal Spaces

• Reflect! This is time you are setting aside to reflect on who you are and what you want. I strongly encourage you to attend Embrace. I’d start there because you may find you want to do something different than before Embrace. This is also a time to think about your wants. It’s not like “I deserve this.” No, maybe you have wanted something and everyone else has their needs met…go ahead and dream. And if it’s in the budget, get it! What do you want your life to look like?

• Getting Your Kids Organized

• Dream with your kiddos how their rooms could look. Consider your budget and make a plan. I noticed I did this about every three years. Your kids have grown and are now different people. Make sure you know how you will do it because once you tell them they will want to start tomorrow!

• Organizing Your Family & Communal Spaces

• Just visualize functionality. I remember this lady who had a perfect home and when a magazine came to take pictures, they replaced some of her decor! It was in that moment that I realized even perfect isn’t perfect. These are communal spaces and they will not stay organized long at all. This is the first floor of a two story home. Plan it out on your calendar when you will do each room and in what order. 

Focus

Since this is your summer long project, I want you thinking about it all the time. On the way to the grocery store you may have a great idea come to you; write it down. And the next time you get 5 minutes or 3 hours, you can implement that idea!

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Teacher Friday Workbox®

• Paper Organizing Retreat

• The Productive Home Solution®

• Embrace Self-Guided Retreat

• Kids Program

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter 

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

Welcome to the newest Wednesday Podcast! On Wednesdays, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365 community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps, and triumphs along their organizing journey. You can see and hear transformation in action. I look forward to helping YOU get Organized!

This week, I am sharing my interview with Jessica E. Jessica has a very unique living situation. She has her son at home, her husband works out of the country, and her mom lives with them part -time. As a full time college instructor who will soon be moving overseas, she shares all about how now that she is organized she has more free time and more increased capacity to meet her goals.  I hope you enjoy her story as much as I do! 

I am grateful that you are reaching out to share your stories and progress with me and with the Organize 365 community. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday

For more information about the programs and products mentioned in this podcast please check out these links:

Organize 365®

The Sunday Basket®

ALL ACCESS

Workboxes

Paper Organizing Retreats

I look forward to helping YOU get Organized!

This is going to be a bit of a coffee chat style episode. I want to share about an unexpected event that is ushering in my next life stage.

I’m going to be a grandma! Abby is expecting her baby at the end of September. We are super excited about adding a little baby blessing to our lives!!!

I am still processing how this will affect all of us, but I am SO excited to be a grandma! Abby and the baby will be living with us. As many of you know, I have never been pregnant. And, I have never been a grandma before. I am saying yes to this whole new phase of all of our lives - I want to experience all of it and be there for everything. 

I have always seen Greg and myself as a mentor and coach for our kids. I want to be as present and supportive as possible as I help my kids reach adulthood, and beyond. We work together on critical thinking about why we do things, and this transition is no exception. 

So, in addition to sharing this amazing news today, I want to talk through how our family is planning for this change in our lives - especially with a little baby in the house. I am adapting the book tour. I am thinking through how we will support Abby and the baby as they transition to their next phases of life. And, we are reorganizing our house as we will now have three generations living under the same roof. 

Listen in and you can hear my thoughts about this exciting unexpected event!

Basements and storage areas are the easiest places to hide treasures we aren’t sure if we still want and items we don’t know how to properly get rid of.

Today, I am revisiting this space with more ideas to help you tackle your storage monster.

And with the winter holidays just around the corner, I have a challenge for you and some tips on scaling back and organizing your holiday decorations.

You can find more storage organizing posts and podcasts here: https://organize365.com/home-storage-and-organization-ideas/

Do you ever feel like you’ve got too much on your plate?

Sometimes, we can be so focused on making things more organized, efficient, and productive that we forget to pull the brakes.

Do we really need to do all the jobs we’re doing?

If you’ve been listening to the last few episodes of the podcast, you’ll notice that I’ve talked about shifting mindsets and changing habits a lot lately.

We revealed how you can eliminate your to-do list, and what an organized life feels like. We also uncovered the Sunday Basket 3.0, which isn’t a new product, but a new way of tackling your Sunday Basket when you’re a seasoned pro.

Now we’ve reached the fourth episode of this mini four-part series, where I talk about decluttering jobs and obligations. You know, the things that have loomed over our heads for weeks and we really don’t want to do.

You might feel like you don’t have a good enough reason to get rid of them, which is why they’ve stuck around for so long.

But, I’m here to help you kick the guilt monster out and shut the door on some of those jobs that you just don’t care about anymore. So, if you want to finally declutter those jobs and obligations that have gathered dust at the back of your mind, tune into this episode and find out how to:

Take a step back and evaluate your current obligations

Identify your unique vs. competent abilities

Eliminate tasks from your calendar

And the controversial one... How to break away from a direct sales company.

I received a question about how to quit direct sales. It was a loaded question, but I could really relate to it because as many of you know, I used to work in direct sales. I loved it at the time. But I reached a point in my life and business where I knew I had to break away from direct sales.

Even though you work for a direct sales company, it doesn’t mean you’re obligated to stay until you’re old and gray. You’re a unique person with a unique gift and ability. Don’t sell your soul to any company. You don’t know what’s going on behind closed doors.

A company, no matter what size it is, will always put their best interests first. So, you should do the same and put yourself first, too.

I talk about all this in more detail in the podcast, but what I will say is that if you think now is the time to leave your direct sales gig, or any job for that matter, you’re probably right.

Ask yourself if you were asked to re-join the same company all over again, would you say yes?

If not, it’s time to pack your bags and move on.

It’s Okay To Say No

It’s time to eliminate jobs and obligations from your calendar that you just don’t want to do anymore. Remember – it’s okay to say NO. No can be a complete sentence if you want and need it to be.

If you decide to eliminate things from your calendar using any of my suggestions, I’d love to know how it went for you and how many things you managed to eliminate?

Follow me on Instagram to follow our adventures at the Cincinnati Homeschool Convention this weekend!

Registration for the next round of the 100 Day Home Organization Program is OPEN!! And.. we now have PAYMENT PLANS! I'd love for you to join us!

View the full post here: https://organize365.com/decluttering-jobs-obligations/

'Tis the season to get overwhelmed with stress and give yourself a migraine and cold sweats just thinking about decorating your house for the holidays!

We all love how our house looks when it is all decorated, but the task itself seems like climbing Mount Everest. We can get ourselves so worked up about how arduous the task appears. I know it feels like the biggest task of my life at times.

How can we change our mindset on this?

Recently, I held a "Holiday Blitz" challenge on Facebook Live, a free 5-day "get ready guide" for the holidays. To those of you who took part, I hope you found it super useful. The printables are available here and the videos are still on Facebook.

During the challenge, I discussed how women have many roles that they play, and how we have different things to do all the time that leave us feeling like we are always working. The holidays are a time where there is a lot of pressure on the female head of the home. She needs to produce great food, decorations, and gift ideas, and be the host for guests, just to name a few.

When it comes to decorating, we tend to put up every decoration we have because everybody loves them, right? Well, yes, but would they even notice if we didn’t use EVERY decoration? Well, most likely, they wouldn't!

Where to start?

It was around 10 years ago that decorating my house took on this momentous feeling. I used to love it, but so many things led to a change for me.

I've tried various approaches over the years to get back into the swing and take joy from festive decorating, and the approach that has worked best is a giant purge. We all have that box of decorations sitting in the basement that we no longer use.

You collect all these decorations and wish you had a space, but really they are just guilt in boxes and it is okay to get rid of them. Yes, go ahead and donate them. You will not need them in the future. And you will not miss them either!

That doesn’t mean you can't ever add new things, just as long as they make sense to you. We bought a Christmas tree (ours have to be fake as I am allergic to real trees) around 10 years ago and, at the time, I loved it. Then Christmas tree technology really moved on and I got pre-lit tree envy, but for years couldn’t justify the cost. This year though – I bought it! Or rather, them. I got a few… but they were a great addition for us, as I’ll explain shortly.

What next?

This year, I decorated my entire house in 3-1/2 hours and I’m going to share my secrets with you. I break it down into 4 steps.

Clean

I always decorate on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. The kids are on holiday and I’m off work, but my husband isn’t. So he gets the gift of leaving the house looking normal and returning to it fully decorated. This year, it fell perfectly that our housecleaner was coming that same day, too.

Block out time

I started optimistically by blocking out the whole day, but life happened and I couldn’t get started until 12:30 pm, rather than 10 am as I had originally planned. I already knew I had to be done by 6:30 pm. We had family coming in from out of state, and it was likely that my husband would finish work early. I was a little stressed at losing a couple of hours in the morning, but knew that I had to get it all squeezed in somehow.

Start with the hardest part

For me, the hardest part was always setting up the old tree. So I started with the smallest of the new trees. It took me no time! I was amazed. Then, I moved onto the bigger tree and assumed that would be simple, too. I shifted the furniture around and "ta-da," in 20 minutes I was done and had a beautiful big tree. Getting the new tree(s) saved me so much time and so much stress. It will alleviate so much worry for me next year.

Keep going until you’re done

At 2-1/2 hours into it, and with the Fall decorations down, nativity scenes set up, wreaths hanging, and baby Jesus in his wooden manger, I was done. But I wasn’t done. Those tree ornaments weren’t going to hang themselves! I made excuses. I even hid the ornaments on the other side of the room. I so desperately wanted it to be over already.

But I didn’t quit. Our ornaments are separated into boxes by which tree they go on. I put the living room tree ornaments on and it was so fast and easy. By this point, I realized I had been so close to giving up and had been moaning about something so simple. I looked at what I had left and made a plan. I changed some things up and put things in new locations. Yes, I gave myself permission to change my own rule! We get so locked into tradition sometimes that we lose the sense of things.

By the end, I was exhausted. So I had a coffee and took a nap in the time that I had to spare. My husband was thrilled when he got home and I was so pleased with myself that I actually got it done.

Remember…

You are in control. You can ask family which are their favorite decorations (do this before you put anything up so you know they actually remember it) and you can take away the pressure of having to put up all the other things that they don’t mention and won’t notice aren’t there anyway. Ease the pressure on yourself where you can and bring back the joy of holiday decorating.

To see more about my holiday decorating and whatever else I'm up to, follow me on Instagram. Happy Holidays!

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/205

I’m  super excited to announce a tiny baby step we have been able to take at Organize 365®. This coffee chat explains all the hoops we have jumped through to get this accomplished. If you are international, you can now participate in Planning Day for Home or Work or Both! We’ve been testing the direct shipping process and have had great success with the planning day workbooks. 

You guys…something changed in 2019 and we have been working behind the scenes since then trying to make headway on shipping our products directly to you instead of through a parcel forwarder. And it’s pretty quick. We are so excited to have you join us for Workbox Planning Day at the beginning of December and Home Planning Day at the end of December. 

We have been having conversations with all kinds of shipping companies trying to avoid extra shipping costs. As of right now, if your country is part of UPS World Wide, you will go to international planning day to purchase work or home. You will also be able to purchase the subscription which will save you 20%. 

I am so excited! I hope you are so excited! We are working with UPS World Wide and I have listed the 50 countries that can participate in the upcoming Planning Days in December!!!

This is just the beginning! We are excited about being able to ship even more items in 2025!

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• International Shipping - Planning Day Subscriptions

• CustomerService@organize365.com

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media.

We have dissected S.M.A. from our home organizing acronym, S.M.A.R.T.I.E.S. You know what (S)pace you are organizing. You know at the end of the day the functional feeling will be your indicator that you have accomplished 80% organization ((M)easurable). And the (A)esthetics we know are not going to be like a magazine, but it could have a country french flair or whatever design you like. We are moving onto (R)eactive to proactive, (T)hings in place, and (I)terative today. Let’s look at the six categories I’ve been using as examples…

• Teacher

  • R- You are going to go through last year’s paper and see if you still need any of it. 

  • T- Teacher camp, you can attend a replay and get going right now or catch it live the first two weeks of July to get systems in place.

• Organizing Your Paper

  • R- If you have a chunk of time, put all the paper in one place. Then sort for keep, shred, or recycle. 

  • T- Once you have your organized paper piles, actionable paper goes in the Sunday Basket® and reference paper goes in the binders.

• Organizing Your Health Journey

  • R- Do a total clean out of the pantry and fridge. Toss all food that no longer supports your health goals. Important to restock with food that does provide the health you are looking to accomplish. This is a good time to revisit your recipes.

  • T- 15 minutes a day which could be one drawer at a time. You can do 15 minutes back to back too, but keep the tasks small so if you get interrupted you don’t have a big mess in the kitchen. 

• Personal Development/Personal Spaces

• R- Get rid of 20-30% of your closet. Our bodies are constantly changing and your wardrobe may be from before kids or a full time job and now you stay home. I have suits in my closet that I don’t wear, but I keep them because they remind me where I am going, so they are aspirational. It’s ok to keep things like that. And it’s ok to slowly replace your wardrobe. You’ll go through it at least 3 times so you can weed out and add as you go . 

• T- My big special thing I did was black flocked hangers. Is there something fun to help you organize? 

• Getting Your Kids Organized

• R- Only keep the things that are relevant to their age and phase of life. 

• T- A cube system or bookshelf helps you and the child to have defined spaces.

• Organizing Your Family & Communal Spaces

• R- You are fighting the tide of memories in this space. Try to remove the items you think you want gone. If you don’t miss them, then they weren’t serving the space and you can choose to store or donate them. 

• T- Be honest with yourself. Are the things in that space serving your family in the current life phase you are in? 

And (I)terative, this is a step that does not need explaining for each step. You will know it‘s time to iterate when you look around and you are no longer happy walking into that space. When yester-year’s project and today’s project are still out, that could be a sign the family has changed. Maybe you no longer have elementary aged kids, maybe you moved, but something has changed and you need to iterate to make the space functional for your current phase of life. 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Teacher Friday Workbox®

• The Paper Solution®

• The Productive Home Solution®

• Kids Program

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter 

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

These weeks between October 1st and Thanksgiving are typically the most productive weeks of the year. You will get to see your productivity skyrocket and your 2020 goals come to fruition. Once the holidays come, you will turn your focus to social events and making memories, so I want to talk with you about how COVID may be a Golden Window for you.

Some of you have been barely surviving this pandemic. And, that’s perfectly reasonable. I am not asking you to do more, but I want to share some short, actionable podcasts that can help you cultivate a mindset so you are prepared for when you can deep dive into organization and productivity. 

A Golden Window is a time in your life where you have an unusual period of energy, drive, and focus to take back your life and get organized. Are you in a period of your life where you are reevaluating your life? Have you stopped to think about how you use your time, where you live, your job situation, or your home? Everything has changed - for all of us. For a Golden Window, you are ready for the change. If you are merely reacting and surviving, you may not have the extra time, energy, and motivation that a Golden Window brings. 

If you are not in a Golden Window, do not worry. Keep going and give yourself grace. Your turn will come. If you are in a Golden Window (Podcast 242), I want to help you analyze and plan for this opportunity. 

If you are entering a Golden Window, I want to help you end 2020 strong, and to start thinking about how you can use this opportunity to look ahead 5-10 years and begin making the changes towards that future. Listen in as I help you figure out what you want to start and how to take the first step.

Today on the podcast, I want to share with you how I stay calm in chaos. I recently experienced two major unexpected events. One was an emergency, the other was not. However, they both happened at the same time and required me to completely rearrange my schedule.

When the unexpected happens, your priorities often shift quickly. Being organized and having time to think through how to deal with unexpected events has helped me change how I approach chaotic situations. Not every unexpected event or situation is fixable, but being organized means there is more margin to think and decide before reacting.

When I was disorganized, I had many tasks and projects crying out for my attention. I also often felt sorry for myself and I looked for more attention by complaining. As I got organized, I learned how to be a better problem solver. I also was able to shift my focus so I work deeper and faster on fewer active projects. 

This podcast will show you how I changed my mindset, and will give you some ideas for changing yours. I hope I can help you move from reactive to proactive and to find the margin that comes from a more organized life.

You guys, it’s finally here! My newest book - Organization is a Learnable Skill is available for pre-order on Amazon. It officially publishes on June 25, 2021. Listen in to hear about purchase and pre-order bonuses!

Today, I want to share Chapter 1 from the book as a podcast. Remember, if you preorder, you can listen to the audio version of this book on a website up until the book launch. 

This chapter reveals just how reactive and disorganized my life had become, and how much I was struggling in my own life. It is not a matter of if you will experience unorganized periods in your life, it is a matter of when. My relatable story will have you laughing out loud and emotionally releasing the clutter that you have in your life and in your home.

Unlike my previously actionable and tactical books, this book is my story. This is my personal memoir. I share my raw and unfiltered thoughts and I take you along on my transformational journey as I transitioned from a reactive person who moved with the ebbs and flows of life to the proactive person I am today. I share the mindsets and emotional challenges that I experienced during the year that I reclaimed my home.

And, I hope to see you on the book tour in July and August!!! All of the details can be found at organize365.com/booktour (please note tickets MUST be purchased in advance and are limited). 

Last week, I shared with you our first Jump Start initiative which is your personal organization, where I would counsel anyone to start getting themselves organized after they’ve implemented the Sunday Basket®. However, some of you are not going to want to start in your personal spaces for various reasons. One, maybe they are already organized. Two, it doesn’t matter how much it would help you if you were organizing yourself - you are drowning so much that you must start in family spaces. Or three, you need your organizing journey to be more visible and not invisible to get a spouse’s approval or buy in for you to continue. 

Our second Jump Start option, you could do in place of personal organizing or do after. You could do these in reverse order; it doesn’t matter. We’ve pulled the lessons from The Productive Home Solution® into a Jump Start Kitchen Organization Program and walk you through how to get your kitchen all the way organized in six weeks or less. Typically, you get surface level organized and then move on, because everything else seems so much more disorganized than the kitchen. These Jump Start programs encourage you to get all the way organized - either in your personal or in your kitchen spaces. And all the way organized is pretty detailed. 

When you get all the way organized in your kitchen, you’re going to start with figuring out what your zones should be, and what phase of life you are currently in. I want you to pretend that you are moving into this house for the first time. Think about if you were moving in right now, how you would organize this kitchen without looking at anything that’s in any cabinet. Your kitchen is really like a whole house. It does so many things, and every cabinet is like a tiny room that has a purpose for the phase and stage of life you are in. The size of your kitchen doesn’t matter as much as the functionality. Instead of wishing that you had something that you don’t, take what you have and make it as functional as possible. Then if you ever do move or you have the opportunity to make improvements to your house, you’ll know exactly what you want to put in there. 

Secondly, when you organize your kitchen, there are so many of the lessons that will carry over into other parts of your house. For example, when you learn how to organize a drawer step by step, you will know how to organize ANY drawer in your house. The next thing is establishing stations. Organizing stations are dependent on the phase of life you are in, as well. If you have kids, you can create a lunch packing station. Do you host a lot of dinners? Make a dinner station. Drink stations, snack stations, the list goes on! What can you add to this kitchen that will give you some extra space? What can you take away that you only need seasonally? Whoever is the primary cook should be the one to establish the organization in the kitchen. 

I want you to spend a full three to six weeks in your kitchen because you’re going to add 30% more organization to your life. So if you couple this with the Jump Start Personal Organization Program - you will be living an organized life 80% of the time! 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Jump Start Programs

• The Productive Home Solution®

• The Sunday Basket®

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter 

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

I’m excited to announce that The Productive Home Solution® Certification is here! Way back when I started the company, I could foresee that the community would grow and I would not have the bandwidth to provide one-to-one or small group training that most people crave. Once I realized that organization was a learnable skill, I started honing in a way to train others online. When I saw so many MLM and Direct Marketing companies go out of business, I knew this was the time to open certification at this level. It was originally an initiative for 2025, but the market is providing the demand now. I wanted to offer a license that would allow you to offer a class or workshop where people can get to know you and then take advantage of your full range of offerings. They may attend to learn how to organize a child’s room and then see you offer in-home organizing or some related services.

Win-Win-Win

In Organize 365®, I always want it to be a win-win-win scenario for you, the certified organizers, and Organize 365®. In this episode, I shared the evolution of my thinking and how we got to here today with this offering. You win because we have a plethora of certified organizers to help you. And if you are looking for an income opportunity, this may be a fit for you.

Certified organizers win because they get all the great products, training, and this opens the door for potential clients to get to know you because we like to do business with people we know, like, and trust. Do you think someone will just let you into their home and expose you to all their personal spaces if they don’t know you? Likely, not. You also will earn 30% off all purchases made through your affiliate link, but that is not the main avenue that we expect you’ll make an income. As I shared from all my days in direct sales, most don’t make money. I want you to make money. It has also been our experience that our certified organizers get a majority of their clients through the directory. Someone has bought the product and now just needs a person to help them or motivate them.

Obviously, Organize 365® wins because product is sold, but more importantly there is help for everyone. There can be one-to-one help. There is a directory that will continue to fill up with certified organizers in your area that can help you with your Sunday Basket® in a way that I cannot anymore. We are excited you will get your questions answered in a timely manner. And we know for a fact that when people get organized, it frees them up to explore what they are uniquely created to do.  

What Questions Do You Have? 

December 20th, I will be live answering your questions. Please submit questions in advance to certification@organize365.com. Submit them now so I can get them answered on Friday the 20th at 10:30-11:30a Eastern. Once I have finished the live Q&A, we will get replays out to the people who submitted a question. 

What is the Process? 

Complete the online courses through your dashboard. Take a quiz at the end to make sure you understand what we say you are certified to teach. Get HIPPA training (about a $35 fee) because after all, you are dealing with sensitive paperwork and we want you to feel comfortable with how to process it. If you decide to attend the paper organizing retreat in July, you will then be added to the Organize 365® directory of certified organizers. There is a $475 annual licensing fee. 

What’s Included? 

Teal Sunday Basket - including access to dashboard, course, and club

The Paper Solution® Book and 4 The Paper Solution® Binders again with access to dashboard, course, and club

Warrior Mama Binder

Slash Pockets

Paper Retreat Fee

Affiliate link for your customers and you will earn 30% off their purchase amount.

Additional Certifications: The Productive Home Solution®, Business Friday Workbox®, Launch and Kids Program, and Education Friday Workbox®

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• CustomerService@organize365.com

• The Paper Solution Certification®

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media.

Alright, this is going to be a little bit shorter podcast. We’re going to talk about the garage as an extension of the laundry room. We’re in this short podcast series where I’m trying to make visible the…well, they’re actually not invisible spaces. They’re very, very visible…all look like hot mess spaces inside of our homes. But each hot mess has a different purpose.

We have this expectation that while we’re managing all of this, our homes are also going to look like a magazine while we’re doing it. That if we’re doing it right, our house should look like a magazine. But if you can “see” the work, then that’s a problem. And yet, the more complexity your house has, the more people your house has, the more projects your house has, the more chaotic hot spots your house is going to have - because you have all of these projects in process.

When you get all the way organized and you do what I'm going to teach you this summer, your house will look more magazine-ish, especially if you are over 50. Under 50 and have kids; change your expectations. Stop giving yourself an aneurysm over things that are really not necessary. 

Number one, you need the Sunday Basket®. In addition to the Sunday Basket®, you are going to have to keep all of your dreams in a Sunday Basket® overflow space - which is the laundry room. The garage is an overflow of the laundry room. 

The number one thing that will go into this space is really large items. The second thing that ends up in the garage is anything that’s related to an outside project. Other things that end up in the garage are things that are on their way out. 

When you start realizing that you are a production machine, you are the CEO of your household, you’re a household manager, everything is in production. Our expectation at home is that we should be able to walk through this perfect magazine house. It’s not a magazine house, it’s a production machine. 

The cadence for cleaning out your garage is on the red, white and blue holidays in the US - Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day. If you can get your garage and laundry room where they’re actually decluttered and organized, they need to be able to accept all of this “in-processness” with an underlying organization below it. 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Free Week of The Productive Home Solution®

• The Productive Home Solution®

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

Welcome to the newest Wednesday Podcast! On Wednesdays, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365 community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps, and triumphs along their organizing journey. You can see and hear transformation in action. I look forward to helping YOU get Organized!

This week, I am sharing my interview with Adrienne W. She lives with her husband and 2 kids under 5 years old and she works as a teacher. She shares about getting her home organized has given her control over the whole household. She also shares her tip for using her Sunday Basket® to improve communication with her husband. I hope you enjoy her story as much as I do! 

I am grateful that you are reaching out to share your stories and progress with me and with the Organize 365 community. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday

For more information about the programs and products mentioned in this podcast please check out these links:

Organize 365

The Sunday Basket®

100 Day Home Organization Program

ALL ACCESS

Workboxes

Paper Organizing Retreats

I look forward to helping YOU get Organized!

For 2022, we are adding to the Lisa glossary. This week, we are talking about the Organize 365® Research projects.  No matter when you begin your transformational journey (or when you need to reset or restart), this information will be here as a reference for you. Listen in as I teach you about the ideas and beliefs that are at the core of everything I teach and how I approach organizing.

Several years ago, as I was writing the Organize 365® vision, I knew that I wanted to conduct research to bring to light the organizational needs of Americans. I want to be the go-to resource for knowledge about home and paper organization.

I legitimately had no idea how to do research surveys and data analysis. Recently, I have been learning about the difference between market research and academic research. Organize 365® is now sponsoring academic-level study and third-party data collection backed by Harrisburg University. 

Research always starts with a hypothesis — what you think the result will be. I wanted research results that showed that women are doing the majority of the work at home. But, that’s now what we found. We have started to share our initial research findings.

As I learn more about research, we really end up with more questions. One of the steps in research is to define every term used in study surveys. For example, you cannot ask a participant about “mental health” because that term is too broad and open to interpretation. However, you can ask about anxiety or depression. 

When we developed the first survey, I needed to figure out how to define “housework.” The research questions ended up focusing on four different types of housework.

Cleaning - Cleaning is related to the dwelling and covers any task a cleaning company would do. Learn more back in Podcast 422. 

Tasks of Daily Living - These are tasks related to the person regardless of where they live. These are the tasks defined by Social Security Disability and include things like preparing food, consuming food, running errands, planning meals, and washing laundry. Learn more back in Podcast 424.

Maintenance - is an optional housework activity where the property owner makes an additional infusion of money into their investment (property) to maintain and improve their property. In the long run, maintenance expenses increase the value of the initial investment. Learn more back in Podcast 428. 

Organizing - is an optional housework activity where a person makes an investment of current time for a future return of time. This is completely optional and customizable. Time spent today organizing results in an exponential time in the future. Often this involves setting up systems of organization and can be applied to renters and owners. Learn more back in Podcast 426. 

Literature Review 

As part of academic research, researchers look at other studies done on similar topics. The Organize 365® review looked at the role of women in the 21st century home. As I mentioned above, I thought women were doing all of the housework. It turns out that everyone thinks they are doing the majority of the work at home. There is so much work to be done.

Defining housework and recognizing these four areas makes housework feel overwhelming and never-ending. As women become more effective at articulating their role in housework, families will be able to better understand how much work is being done and proactively decide if the work should continue to be done at all. 

Our next study survey has been completed and we are busy analyzing the results. Learn more back in Podcast 430.

#myextra5 

The Sunday Basket® consistently saves people at least five hours a week by getting organized and being proactive. Through organization, you get extra time, and we all need more time. Follow or tag Organize365® on Instagram and share how you are spending your extra time once you get organized! — #myextra5

This episode is a part of the Organize 365® Glossary Playlist. Listen to other episodes on the Glossary Playlist here.

Welcome to the newest Wednesday Podcast! On Wednesdays, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365 community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps, and triumphs along their organizing journey. You can see and hear transformation in action. I look forward to helping YOU get Organized!

This week I am sharing my conversation with Nancy B. She lives with her husband and their two young children. Nancy is a nurse practitioner in Canada. She first learned about Organize 365® through a former grad school professor who was sharing about her Sunday Basket®. Nancy had used the Marie Kondo method successfully for herself but quickly found that she needed something more to keep her growing family organized. She really saw the benefits of her new systems during a medical emergency when she was able to quickly gather medications and information for her husband when he experienced a heart attack a few weeks after their second child was born.

Can you relate to Nancy's story? Are you a somewhat organized person but your systems aren't working now that you're a wife and mom? Have you had a medical emergency in your family and not been able to quickly gather the needed medical details and paperwork? This episode is for you!

Related episodes:

• My Depression Story & How Depression Affects Organization - #69

I am grateful that you are reaching out to share your stories and progress with me and with the Organize 365® community. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday

For more information about the programs and products mentioned in this podcast please check out these links:

Organize 365®

The Sunday Basket® System

The Productive Home Solution™

I look forward to helping YOU get Organized!

PS - Be sure to share YOUR unique way of using #myextra5 and tag your post on Instagram so we can share your wins!

Do you ever feel like you’re behind in your organizing routine?

Maybe you went on a sunny vacation and came back with a stack of mail to sort? Or, perhaps you skipped a few days in the 100 Day All Home Program?

You might feel anxious, worried, or even a little guilty. But, here’s the truth…

After you start, it’s physically impossible for you to be behind in organizing.

Don’t believe me?

Listen to this episode of the Organize 365 podcast to find out why your organizing journey is more like an endless escalator than a staircase with an infinitive first and last step.

The Organizational Journey

To put all of this into perspective, I want you to think about organizing in a similar way to how a baby learns to crawl, walk, and run.

In the beginning, a baby will learn how to crawl on the floor. In organization land, this is basically you when you’re decluttering your house.

Next, the baby might stand up and take a few steps while holding onto furniture for support. This is when you’ve reached out for help and taken the first steps in organizing (congratulations, by the way!).

Maybe you signed up for the 100 Day All Home Program, or perhaps you hired a professional organizer to help you out. It’s all going well because you’ve got that extra support and encouragement.

Eventually, the baby lets go of the coffee table and starts taking its first steps on its own. Granted, they’re wobbly steps, and the baby looks a little like a duckling with its bottom stuck out and arms flying everywhere. But, at least they’re finally walking unaided, right? Sure, they might fall a lot but they’re making progress, just like you.

When you “go it alone,” you might stumble and even feel like giving up at times. But you’ll get there. Soon, you’ll organize all the main areas of your life so well that when you return to re-organize them the following year, it won’t take you half as long.

As you go through your organizational journey, your skills, or "organizational muscles" as I like to call them, will continue to develop and grow.

And, like the baby in this analogy, eventually you’ll start running.

Organizing is Hard. Productivity is Fun!

In Episode 251, I talked about the fact that decluttering is easy. Organizing is hard. And, productivity is fun!

Once you’ve got the hang of things and you start building your organizational muscles, you’ll become so much more productive. Remember that organization is a learned skill. You can’t learn it overnight.

When you first start decluttering like a mad woman, you’ll be left with things that you’re not sure if you want to keep or not. The things that you do want to keep will need to go into containers. At this stage of your organizing journey, you’ve swapped your declutter hat for a productive one instead.

When you go through the 100 Day Home Organization Program for the first time, it can be a bit overwhelming. You’ll get a lot done in your first round. You’ll declutter the house, and by the time you’re done, you’ll think, well, that should do it for another five or 10 years!

The truth is that you’ll never be done organizing!

In fact, I’d go as far as saying that it’s not until the second or even third time through the 100 Day Home Organization Program that you start having those big "ah-ha!" moments.

You’ll discover that organizing your kitchen for the second time with the program is so much easier and fluent than the first time. You’ll have productive formulas and routines in place for your paper. And, because your processes are more streamlined, you’ll be able to get a lot more done in that 100-day time frame.

Snap Photos of your Progress

When you’re in the middle of organizing everything, it’s tough for your mind to see the progress you’re making. So, grab your camera and snap a few before and after shots.

Give yourself that instant gratification of seeing what things looked like before your inner organizing ninja got to work. You don’t need to show anybody the photos if you don’t want to. They can be there for you to look back at on those terrible days when you feel like you’re never going to be organized.

Whenever you feel that way, you can look back at the photos and see how far you’ve come. You’ll know that you have made real progress, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem. Be proud of yourself. You’ve decided to start living a more organized life. You’ve put the gears in motion, and you’re building organizational muscles. That is something to be proud of.

On a side note… If you do decide to share your before and after photos, I’d love to see them on Instagram! Please remember to tag me @organize365!

Organizing Pays You In Time

In Episode 269, I talked about the time, money, motivation trifecta that’s necessary for change. Organization always gives you more time. It doesn’t pay in cash, but it does give you the time you need to balance other areas in your life.

When you’ve got more time because you don’t need to spend hours organizing paper, you can put that time to better use.

The 100 Day All Home Program is designed to give you the freedom to live your best life without worrying about organizing your home 24/7. It gives you the tools you need to make a lasting, incremental organizational change in your home throughout the seasons.

Once you complete the program, you’ll find that the areas in your home where you spend most of your time are all better organized. But, when you’re in the heart of the action all the time, it’s easy to look around and think about all the areas lacking the standard of organized heaven that you were reaching for.

But, if you take a closer look, you’ll realize that you’ve come a long way since taking those first baby steps. Your organizational muscles are growing. By the time you do the 100 Day Organization Program for the second or third time, you’ll find areas that you perhaps didn’t address the first time. And, you’ll realize that organizing comes a lot more naturally to you now.

Don’t aim for perfection, aim for progress!

Realize that reaching the perfect organized life takes time. It’s not instantaneous. But, even by taking that first baby step, you’re already ahead of the game. You’re one step closer to living a more organized life that gives you the time you need to live your best life.

Every year I tweak my morning & evening routines when summer ends and the kids go back to school.

Here are 5 steps to create your own morning & evening routines.

http://organize365.com/how-to-create-morning-and-evening-routines/

It's time to add a new term to our organizing glossary: passive organizing.  I've said for years that it really takes three years to get organized, but the first 12-18 months are not easily recognized in that process. The reason is that this first chunk of time is spent in passive organizing.

What is passive organizing? Passive organizing is the time period during which you're becoming aware that maybe organization could help you become more productive. Maybe organization could help you get back your time. You're thinking, you're researching, and you're listening. This is passive organization. The change is happening in your mind, in your emotions, in your heart, and in your beliefs.

Passive organizing is the "pink" work of organizing. This is the time frame when you're working on yourself. You haven't committed to organizing, but you're gathering information and working on your mindset. You're thinking about the when, the how, and the order. You're deciding who you want your teacher to be. 

In passive organizing, you're consuming exorbitant amounts of information. Sometimes, this can cause information overload and paralysis. You might struggle to take action because you see the best in all the options. 

Let's take a little rabbit trail. The Kolbe Assessment is a quantitative test that helps you determine how you think. Among other things, it tells you how you leverage these three areas of thinking and processing in order to complete a project:

• How much do you need to research something before you can do it?
• How much structure do you need before you can take action?
• How much do you need to talk before taking action?

I am a "quick start." I spend the majority of my time talking about a project and then the active work portion of the project comes out really quickly at the end. I verbally process everything and I change my mind a lot. My team on the other hand tends to be much higher in research and/or structure.

An example of this is how I wrote the book How ADHD Affects Home Organization. I completed the writing of the book in a weekend, but I spent two years preparing to write the book and talking about it first!

How much research, structure, and talking do YOU need before you can take action on getting organized? 

The other obstacle to deciding to get started with organing is having a tipping point. You have to reach a point when the pain of continuing to live in the current state of life is greater than the pain of change and learning a new skill to get the result you want. You have to realize that organization is a learnable skill. 

Another tipping point is a golden window. These are big life events: a milestone birthday, a new baby, a new house, a new job, a loss, a health diagnosis, etc. Many times, multiple big events happen at the same time. These are seasons of opportunity. Disorganization leads to more disorganization, but when you seize the opportunity, these are major turning points.

I want to remind you that I was once where you are. Back in 2012, I quit my teaching job, I was overweight, I was depressed, and everything was falling apart around me. You can read my story in Organization is a Learnable Skill and listen to my depression story in episode #69. I was negative and pessimistic. You would not have wanted to be my friend back then. What you see of me now is the after picture!

You must also believe that you can get organized. You must make a decision that you are now going to live proactively instead of reactively. This is where you draw a line in the sand and step over it.

And one day, you will find yourself listening to an Organize 365® Podcast episode and you just get up and start organizing while you listen instead of just gathering information!

Are you ready to draw your line and get started on your organizing journey?

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• The Kolbe Assessment
• Book: How ADHD Affects Home Organization
• Book: Organization is a Learnable Skill
• Get Started: The Sunday Basket® System
• Get Started: The Productive Home Solution™

Related Episodes

• #69 - My Depression Story
• #242 - Golden Windows of Organizing Opportunity

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

The COVID-19 Pandemic has taken away our ability to go with the flow. We are living in a snow globe where our city, job, government, and public health are continually shaken up and we are chasing around. So many people are sharing that life feels so hard right now. There is no flow. The pandemic has stopped our hustle, bustle, and flow. 

Most of us have lived through hard times like this before, and humanity has definitely survived times of uncertainty and upheaval similar to what we are facing now. In the podcast, I share about how we have survived and have the lessons from other times in history when our lives were similarly out of control. 

However, catastrophic events do not impact everyone equally. Depending on your location, family, job, and other factors, you may be experiencing a lot or a little bit of life disruption. Today, I want to talk with you about how to find your flow again - even though it will be different than it was before COVID-19.

First, if you are not a natural flow generator, find and follow good leaders.

Second, get started. Let go of perfection. Release the need to do it all. But, actually taking action and moving your body will produce much better results than thinking about what you want to do.

Third, I really want you to work on your schedules and routines. These basic steps will get you moving in the morning and can keep you moving throughout the day. When you clean up - you know the drill - pick up trash, clothes, and food in that order. Start simple, and just get started.

I also share how my morning, afternoon, and evening routines have helped me to continue to be engaged in my life and make progress during the pandemic. It is typical to be less productive than you were before the stay at home events, but using routines will help you to transition to the next part of the day and keep the momentum going. I share suggestions for setting up your routines and share my own inside the podcast. 

For links to the items Lisa is using, please go to the show notes page on the website. 

On the podcast today I'm sharing another heavy topic. There is a reason why the homes of parents of children with special needs are disorganized. 

In this week’s podcast episode, I talk all about productivity and morning routines.

You’ll discover why my morning routine is different than everyone else’s and why I make no apologies for that!

Two years ago, I recorded a podcast episode where I talked all about my morning and evening routines at that time. If you would like to hear it, click here.

In that episode, I focused on decision fatigue and how setting up routines that you can run on auto-pilot will minimize the number of decisions you need to make. It's amazing the difference a well-planned morning routine can make!

This week’s episode continues to build on that topic with a focus on productivity.

I love productivity.

I’m a productivity nut. If there is any way that I can save 5 seconds a day, I’ll figure it out and I’ll save those 5 seconds, whether I put them to good use or not!

Wasting time is one of my biggest pet peeves. So, I love to study how to be more productive.

However, just recently I noticed that the majority of the productivity gurus that I have been following – those with podcasts, books, blogs, etc. on productivity – are all men.

I’ve tried to change this and seek out female leaders in the productivity field, but they are hard to find.

Even though I am a very productive person, it’s hard not to feel like I’m not as productive as I could be when comparing myself to someone so different than me. There are many differences between the productivity schedule of a man and a woman. There are also key differences between the schedule of a Gen X and Gen Y person. There are HUGE differences between the productivity schedule of people with and without kids!

Many of the male gurus I have been listening to want you to get up early (before 5am), have an ice cold shower, exercise, meditate… this is not for me. I've tried aspects of it. I even found myself in the gym at 6am…it DID NOT work out well for me!

I realized, I was comparing myself to people with such different lives, goals, and challenges than mine.

We all strive for balance.

As women, we are always trying to seek balance in our lives. But you know what… balance is boring!

We can’t perfectly balance everything and if we do – if there is complete balance and not one single thing that gets more of you because you’re so passionate about it – where is the fun in that?!

Think of it like a cookie. First, we all like/need different ingredients in our cookies. The base ingredients are often similar, but the rest varies, whether that’s chocolate, raisins, gluten free, soy free, etc., just like we all have different things going on in our life.

Second, whatever those ingredients are, they are not required in equal proportions. That would not make for a good cookie!

Third, there is no perfect cookie for all. We are all different and unique!

You need to know WHO you are taking productivity and morning routine advice from.

The productivity routine of the modern woman covers 7 items:

1. Household
2. Cleaning
3. Shopping
4. Work - paid or unpaid
5. Self Care
6. Spouse (optional)
7. Kids (optional)

They may not all be applicable to everyone. For example, I know not everyone has a spouse or kids. Personally, I opted out of number 2 and have a housekeeper!

My point is that you need to know who you are, what phase of life you’re in, when you like to wake up, what your expectations are for yourself and work. When you are clear on all of that, you can work out the best morning routine for you.

My morning routine.

I define my morning routine as from the time I wake up until when I start the productive part of my day. For me that is a 5:45-6am wake-up until around 9-10am when I get to work.

I wake up with enough time to get up, get ready, and get in the car to take my kids to school. I’m on auto-pilot with my routine so much so that I don’t need to think about it. Refer to this episode and also this one to learn about my make-up caddy.

It’s almost impossible for me to forget anything with the way that I’ve organized this. In this week’s episode, I talk you through in detail exactly what I do, what I eat, etc.

There are 4 steps to establishing a morning routine.

• Step 1 – Habitualize your regular daily morning routine for getting up/ready
• Step 2 – Determine your best work time for doing your household tasks and work
• Step 3 – Create a flex day – this is a day where you don’t have any big work demands and can blitz smaller tasks and be responsive to new things that come up
• Step 4 – Create a focus for each day – this doesn’t mean you can’t do other things, but always have a focus/priority for each day

There is no perfect.

I’ve spent so much time trying to find the perfect morning routine and the perfect way to be productive. I realize now that there is no such thing as perfect.

I would love for you to look at your own morning routine.

Are you a morning person or not?

Do you like to dive into creative work early or not?

Is exercise something that really helps you first thing?

Get to know yourself and build the routine that suits you. What fuels you? How long does it take? How do you work best?

Let me know in my Facebook group.

Next week, I’m going to talk about afternoon and evening routines.

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/192

Blog post: organzie365.com/creating-a-massive-possibilities-list

This year has been challenging, unpredictable, unplannable, unusual, and unprecedented. We have had to pivot and adjust more than ever before in our lives (at least for many of us). Our brains are processing so much change all the time. Everything needs to be thought about all the time. Our habits and routines have been completely disrupted. We are using our decision making power so much more often and are getting exhausted so much more easily than before.

I want to help you create a massive possibilities list, and not using a to do list. I want to help you to change how you think to focus on chunking and orienting your thinking to bigger priorities. All month, we will be talking about how to adjust our thinking, homes, and lives to take more control of our homes as we continue to move forward during the pandemic. Listen in and hear how I have transitioned from a to do list to a possibilities list.

Learn more about The Sunday Basket®.

Are you driving a car, or conducting a train? Today's episode is about your home organizing train. 

It takes a lot of effort to stop a train. When you are productive, have a lot of impact, and your life is up and running - you get a couple of unexpected events coming at you but can take the first few of them in stride. 

When you are driving a car, there's only so much you can handle. You only have so much capacity, although that car moves fast and is nimble. You can stop it easily, pivot or turn around. The size of your car, how fast it is, how much gas you can keep in the tank has a limit. A train doesn't start or stop very fast - but once you lay those tracks and build those train cars, you can go really far really fast without a lot of effort. 

How do you lay the tracks and build the cars? Organizing. Creating and maintaining systems, habits, and productivity at home and work. Once you have those established - which is going to take a while - the only thing that will derail you are really big life events. These can be catastrophic: like a medical diagnosis, a divorce, or someone passes away. Or they can be happy events: getting pregnant, getting married, moving to a new home. Your train will also slow down and speed up during the Golden Windows of a calendar year. You will need to slow down and "come into the station" at the end of each quarter at work and each trimester at home. This is the piece I was missing that I am going to share with you. 

You have to establish your systems, routines, and habits that your train will run on; otherwise you can't have the train. You must establish these first, so your train has something to run on. If not, then you're stuck in the car. When you're driving a car, you're just on roads that have been established by other people and you decide in which order you want to take those roads that somebody else created. You have to stop at every red light, decide whether to turn right or left, take the highway or the back roads. Constantly making all these decisions unnecessarily. 

Now that you have the engine, it's time to build those train cars. Your first one is the Sunday Basket®. You must become a master at delaying your decision making. You plan your week and stop being pulled by every single decision that comes at you. The next train cars are personal, storage, family, and paper organization - which happens within The Productive Home Solution®. Remember, each of these train cars are going to take a couple of months to build. They will need regular maintenance. This takes discipline and the right mindset. Every car needs to be decluttered and organized every trimester at home. At first, it's going to take more time.

To establish the train tracks, move from a car to a locomotive, put the cars on the track, and get the train up to speed takes at least three years. This realization is such a buzzkill, I know. Don't get discouraged though, it's not like it takes this long to see any positive changes. You can run that train at 50% after a year and it's still going to be better than what you had before! But to make the impact you want and need, those train cars need to be running at 80-90% organized so they are running strictly on maintenance.

A train that is running on maintenance pulls into the depot and you go through it car by car - this is what happens during Planning Days, and now during the new Prep Event I've created. You will revisit each of your train cars - the Sunday Basket®, your personal, storage, family, and paper. If you are this far in organizing, this will feel weird. You will think that you need to tear it apart and start all over each time. But you know the math: you've subtracted by decluttering, added in what you need, multiplied for productivity and now you're in division. You don't have to start all over again. Even if you have a major event, you can go through it all again - but it will go so much faster. 

Moving to a train is a purposeful, disciplined act that requires you to grow organizing muscles, to think long-term instead of short-term, to think strategically instead of giving into immediate gratification. Once you learn this, you will have the skill set with you for the rest of your life. 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Sunday Basket®
• The Productive Home Solution®
• Organize 365® Home Planning Day
• Sign up for the Newsletter

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

Have you ever been looking for something so hard that you miss it? Of course you have. That’s why we have so many idioms for this exact situation, like “If it’d been a snake it would have bit you.” You tear your house apart looking for the glasses that are literally on your head (guilty). You get frustrated at everyone in your house for losing your car keys that are still in the car. 

Often what we are searching for is right under our nose. Perhaps it’s been there longer than we realize.

Today on the podcast, I reflect on my personal history and how it has uniquely shaped who I am and where I am today.

I love sharing my story with all of you and I reflect on this not because I want to tell my story. I want you to see that my unique gift and passion for being the CEO of Organize 365® runs deep. Just like I know there’s something that runs deep in you, too. Picture yourself from the 50,000 foot point of view, then take inventory of your life and your story. You’ll quickly realize that your “something” has been right under your nose the entire time. 

Sometimes we can’t see the forest through the trees. We are so focused on the details of our life that we don’t see the bigger picture. In my business and my life, I give myself permission all the time to dream. I literally schedule this time into my schedule. When you listen to today’s podcast, I am giving you permission to dream. Think back to your upbringing, your life, the experiences you have sought out - everything is so close to you that you may not even see it. Think, dream, and take inventory of your unique personal history.

Your story isn’t done yet. Neither is mine. I’m pursuing a PhD and learning that Organize 365® is growing in different ways than I ever imagined. I’m paving my own paths and writing my own story. Your story is also still in the making. In this podcast I encourage you to look at all the puzzle pieces of your life up until now and let’s start to put them together to help you discover your unique purpose.

• What are the things that you understand better than anyone?

• What is the thing you would sit down on the internet and research for hours?

• What is keeping you from taking the next step in pursuing your unique purpose?

Whatever you’re dreaming about, I'm here to encourage you to take the next step. Whatever it is…do it. Believe you can do it - because believing in yourself is NOT optional. Give yourself permission to dream it and do it!

This is such a fun episode. I hope during this episode you free up your mind for your own story. In order to save you some time googling - here’s the link to the infamous Longaberger Basket Building! Listen in to find out how this ties in!

If you’ve forgotten how to dream or you’re not even sure where to begin, I’ve created the Embrace experience for you. 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Embrace Self-Guided Retreat
• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter 

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

Welcome to the newest Wednesday Podcast! On Wednesdays, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365 community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps, and triumphs along their organizing journey. You can see and hear transformation in action. I look forward to helping YOU get Organized!

This week, I am sharing my interview with Holan S. Holan lives with her husband and young son. She is a rebel dealing with family medical emergencies, and shares how she has been successful despite not following directions for the 100 Day Program. I hope you enjoy her story as much as I do! 

I am grateful that you are reaching out to share your stories and progress with me and with the Organize 365 community. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday

For more information about the programs and products mentioned in this podcast please check out these links:

Organize 365

The Sunday Basket®

ALL ACCESS

Workboxes

Paper Organizing Retreats

I look forward to helping YOU get Organized!

In this episode, Lisa discusses how your mindset and visualization of your goals can actually help you achieve them. By righting your mind and fulling believing in that progress, your goals are dust. By using how Organize 365 has changed in one calendar year, Lisa talks about putting your energy in the right places in order to visualize and realize your goals. Full disclosure: She gets a little woo woo! Hang in until the end--you’ll be glad you did!

Bummed you missed the fall Paper Organizing Retreat? No worries! One is coming up in January--you can sign up now!

The Medical, Financial, Household Reference, and Household Operations Binders are available in our shop.

Workboxes for professional organizers, those in corporate jobs, teachers, homeschoolers, entrepreneurs, and direct sellers are also now available!

Be sure to check out organize365.com/manifesting for notes, links, and photos from this episode.

Like the show? Leave a review!

If you tried any of my suggestions, I’d love to see them! Follow me on Instagram and join the Facebook group for more great organizing tips, then share your photos with me by tagging me @organize365 or using #organize365!

Want more information on launching your professional organization business? The Professional Organizer’s Think Tank is for you.

Want more information on adding the Sunday Basket Certification to your current business? We’d love for you to join us in the Certification Program!

Building block #2 is consistency. I liken consistent people to dependable people. They keep a schedule and plug in things that they’ve said yes to into their current scaffolding which is their calendar, their current plan for the week, month, or year. They say yes, they do what they commit to, and you can count on them. Building block #1 gave you that solid plan, your schedule. Now how do you stay consistent when the unexpected requests come up? 

Consistent People Can Adapt

There was a time when I traded services with a friend. I did her laundry, she made my family meals. I love laundry and by trading for this “service,” I got to drop the cognitive load of prepping and cooking meals. However, I had to adjust my personal laundry schedule to accommodate what I agreed to do for her. 

Another example I shared was when the kids were at preschool I did errands. I would do my Sunday Basket® on Sunday. I would pay the bills, plan out meals, and “grant” the family’s wishes. Tuesdays, I would drop the kids off and that was my time to zip around town and get all my errands done. My family knew this was the cadence and to get all requests in by Monday at the very latest. Knowing Tuesday was errand day gave me the option to say yes to anyone that needed an errand that I was willing to do for them as well as my own. I knew how much time I had and if I could say yes to additional requests. 

Consistent People Can Say No

When you know where your time is going, you know when you can say yes or no. You know if you will have the capacity. Joey came to me this summer and requested my services (LOL). I looked and knew between trips that were scheduled, PhD assignments, work responsibilities, and managing the remodel of Abby’s “apartment,” I could not say yes for 6 weeks. I had to tell my own child no. I didn’t like doing that and it was a heads up to me to adjust the allocation of my time. 

On the other hand, because I know where my time goes and that I am very intentional to spend time with my family, I can say yes guilt free to something I want to do for myself. It is better for my family for me to be consistent rather than make a commitment every other week. I have a commitment that keeps me late one night every other week. But in the name of consistency for my family, the off weeks I stay at work and take a call with my colleagues. It fills my cup and keeps me consistent with my family. 

Stay Consistent Even When Your Energy is Low

Consistent people stay consistent even when their energy is low because they realize that their future time is as limited as their current time. One glance at your schedule and you can see that project you want to push off to next week, but then oops, you don’t have time to complete it next week. This mindset is that of maturity and self discipline. When I had low energy about recording some videos, I knew I’d feel better once I had them completed. And as I have said many times, I am where work comes from. My team could not start working on them until I had recorded them. I didn’t not want to put my team behind. And when I looked ahead there was no other time I could record them. You will feel so much better the next day knowing you did what you planned to do and knowing there really wasn’t any other time you could have “caught up” later. Just like at the house, I’ll see a few quick things I could do quickly. Your future self will thank you when you run that thing upstairs or put something away.

I have had such a full calendar for a while now. I always think, “What will I do if I or an employee gets sick?” I know my priorities and I know what I will delete or delay in the event it cannot be done. Consistency doesn’t mean you are consistent in every area, totally regimented. It means you are consistent in the areas of priority. Up next? How to be flexible within your schedule. 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Podcast 10 Year Anniversary Giveaway 

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter 

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

The Procrastinate on Purpose By Rory Vaden is the book that explains how I am so ridiculously productive and it has NOTHING to do with time management.

I had so much fun sharing about the significance calculation, the rule of 30 and how all this relates to getting your home organized!

Rory's Focus Funnel:

1. Can it be eliminated?
2. Can it be automated?
3. Can it be delegated?

No?

Then do it now or procrastinate it on purpose.

Links mentioned in the podcast:

100 Day Home Organization Challenge

My Weekly, Monthly and Yearly checklists.

Rory's book on Kindle

The audio book version of The Mindset of Organization is finally here!! I hope you enjoy the sample chapters in podcast 140. You can get a free audible copy of The Mindset of Organization and start a free 30 day trial of audible at Organize365.com/audible

Welcome to the newest Wednesday Podcast! On Wednesdays, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365 community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps, and triumphs along their organizing journey. You can see and hear transformation in action. I look forward to helping YOU get Organized!

This week I am sharing my conversation with Andrea P. She lives with her husband, their young son, and their dog in the UK. Andrea with diagnosed with ADHD as an adult. She sought the diagnosis because while she compensated well into her adult years while she was single, life became too much when in a space of 3 years she married, bought a house, adopted a dog, and had a baby. I'm sure many of you can relate! She found that organization is a learnable skill and is now thriving!

What resonates with YOU about Andrea's story? Do you have ADHD?

I am grateful that you are reaching out to share your stories and progress with me and with the Organize 365® community. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday

For more information about the programs and products mentioned in this podcast please check out these links:

Organize 365®

The Sunday Basket® System

The Productive Home Solution™ (formerly All Access)

The Paper Solution® Binders

I look forward to helping YOU get Organized!

PS - Be sure to share YOUR unique way of using #myextra5 and tag your post on Instagram so we can share your wins!

You are probably confused right now. Lisa Woodruff, muscles? Well, the muscles I'm talking about are your organizational muscles!

Are you ready to build your organizational muscles?

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not very good at physical exertion at all. In fact, I think sweating is a sin! I prefer to exercise my mental and organizational skills. Really, I am pathetic when it comes to exercise. I can literally go days when my step counter on my phone reads less than a thousand.

There was a time a few years ago when I was able to walk 10,000 steps, but I just don't have the time now. And I don't want to make the time to do it, but I am making an effort. My goal this year is 5,000 steps and so far I'm doing pretty good. Bear in mind, this is my whole exercise program. I'm just trying to move more. I'm not trying to lose weight, just maintain it.

Organization is similar to exercise in that regard. You have to match your organizational goals to the organizational outcome you want. Only compete with yourself!

Hitting A Roadblock

A lot of you will hit a roadblock this week.

Isn't it freaky how I know that. Well, here's what happens...

Over the Christmas break, you had time off and decluttered like a mad woman. The first step to getting organized is to declutter so you can see what you have left to organize. You got rid of everything that didn't move. Even the dog and children were afraid to sit too still in your house!

You followed my advice and bought the bookshelves and bins from Home Depot. You've taken down Christmas and your holiday decoration area looks amazing. You feel like a boss, you're on a roll.

You go from room to room, decluttering, taking out the trash, making donations. It looks better, but it doesn't feel organized and you don't know what to do next.

Maybe I haven't recorded a podcast for that particular room and you're stuck, but decided not to buy the 100 Day Home Organization Program. You're saving money and it's expensive. Maybe you'll buy it later.

And you're right, it is a little expensive and it should be. It was designed by a professional organizer and it works!

It's OK, you don't need to buy the 100 Day Home Organization Program. I'm going to tell you how to grow your organizational muscles on your own.

I am going to show you step-by-step how to tackle two areas in your home, the master bathroom and your linen closet.

Organizing The Master Bathroom

In just 15 minutes a day, you can organize the bathroom that you use every day to get ready to the point you feel like I came in and did it for you.

Day One - Take a look at your towels. Do you need all of them? Remove the ones you don't need. Wash the ones you need out on display and freshen them up. Then, you're done with towels.

Day Two – Make-up. Get rid of old samples and colors you don't wear and perfume that gives you migraines. Consolidate them into one space. It might help to take a look at the blog I wrote about Organizing Make-Up. You could also add in some organizational tools like the Make-up Manager I use like this one on Amazon (affiliate link).

Over the next few days, assess your nail polish, your jewelry, your underwear and socks (yes, I keep all of these in my bathroom). Then look around you at the walls, do you like what you see?

Continue until you have organized every single cabinet, drawer, and shelf, and then do it again.

This is how you get organized, by spending 15 minutes a day in the same space every single day until you can go into that space for two 15 minute sessions in a row and there is literally nothing to do. It takes repetitive action, but your master bathroom will be amazing.

Organizing Your Linen Closet

Back in 2006, it took me about 4 months to organize my laundry room. Every 2 or 3 days, I would spend half an hour trying different things until I was happy... new shelving, new cabinets, new countertops. I had a blast doing it.

Nobody cared. No one goes in there, no one messed it up. I could do what I wanted. I would run the washer and dryer at the same time. It was like white noise. I couldn't hear the rest of the family. It was amazing!

But in the podcast, I focus on the linen closet. First of all, you need to empty it all over the floor and check out the bulky items (towels, blankets, comforters).

Be honest with yourself here as these take up space. Do you need so many? Why do you still have towels from the 1980's? It is a cycle... we buy new and store the old ones in the linen closet. It's the same with bedding, get rid of them.

If you think you don't have this stuff, just wait until you empty everything onto the floor. You'll see that I'm right. I had four sets of 20 year-old flannel sheets that I loved as a child, but my children didn't want them on their beds!

Get rid of old towels and donate others that don't match your color scheme anymore to a homeless shelter along with any old single sheets. Be ruthless, what's the worst that could happen?

That is how you organize your linen closet. But if you're thinking, "Wait, wait. There's still more stuff in here." I know you'll figure it out. And if you don't know how to take the next step, then you need a professional organizer to guide you.

The Beauty of the 100 Day Home Organization Program

You can organize your house like we did in these two scenarios, going back in day after day. But, if like me, it takes you 4 months to organize your laundry room, you can see how long it would take to do your whole house this way.

You will get the same result room by room, but with the 100 Day Home Organization Program we go through the entire house in 100 days, take a break, and then do it again. Each time, your whole house is more organized, not perfect, but better.

But in addition to the 15 minute daily actionable tasks, the real beauty of the 100 Day Home Organization Program is that it comes with a lifetime membership. There are no renewal fees. Once you're in, you're in.

Am I Too Late To Join?

I launched the 100 Day Home Organization Program in December in order to capitalize on the momentum of January 1st. You're all fired up and ready to go as we hit the kitchen.

Perhaps you didn't sign up because you just didn't have the money at the time. Or you had done the kitchen a couple of times already and didn't want to do it again. Or maybe you thought you could just do it on your own.

Maybe now you're starting to realize how beneficial it would be to have a professional organizer, one that has organized 100's of homes, just to tell you what to do each day and you can go do it.

Well, if like those that have emailed me asking when the 100 Day Home Organization Program opens again, you thought you'd missed out... surprise!

I am opening the doors again this weekend only. If you join between now and Monday, you can start the program on January 22nd when everyone who started on the 1st is done with the kitchen and moving onto the master suite (bedroom, bathroom and closet). Don't try to go back to day one, jump in with everyone else in the master bedroom!

You can join us mid-stream, not have to do your kitchen, and get both the Winter and Summer 2018 planners at no extra cost.

To find out more and sign-up, just click here.

I am SO excited to be able to offer you this opportunity and I hope you will join us as I know this program works.

It looks like it's going to be a long winter. You're going to be inside a lot, so let's get organized while we're there. Join us!

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/211

In this week’s podcast episode, I talk to you about organizational energy.

At the beginning of 2017, I recorded three podcast episodes in a row after I had come to the conclusion that there is a cycle to getting organized.

The first step is decluttering. The second step is organization. The third step is increased productivity.

I want to take some time to "unpack" what each of these steps are and understand the energy behind decluttering, getting organized, and becoming more productive.

What do you tend to focus on?

If you’re a homeowner, you most likely tend to focus on one of these five: decluttering, organizing, being productive, cleaning, or decorating. And you’ll likely subscribe to and follow people (podcasters, bloggers, authors, etc.) who have the same focus as you.

For example, I’m focused primarily on organization and on having a home that is organized in a functional way. To become organized, you first need to declutter. When you have worked on organization, you then tend to start working on productivity. I focus on all three steps as I see them as interconnected, but you’ll rarely hear me talk about cleaning or decorating!

Let’s look at what I mean by these steps…

Decluttering

Decluttering is the act of reviewing a space and removing what no longer needs to be there.

Quite often, decluttering needs to be completed as a group/family activity. At the very least, you need input from your family members when it comes to deciding what to do with their items.

Decluttering is 70-90% physical and 10-30% mental. It becomes more of a mental exercise when you are dealing with items that are of emotional significance.

Organization

Organization is 50% physical and 50% mental.

The mental aspect of getting started. Then the physical emptying out the space. Then comes the mental decision making on what to do with items. Back to physically buying and filling containers to use. And ending in mentally evaluating and reevaluating if the organization methods you chose is the BEST for you.

Back and forth between mental and physical at a rate of 50/50.

Increase Productivity

Productivity is 10% physical and 90% mental. Being productive is largely a decision-making activity.

For example, if you decided that you wanted a new capsule wardrobe, you would spend 90% of your time working out the when, what, and how of it all. Then, the actual act of going out and buying what you want, after all the decisions have been made, would take just 10% of the overall time.

Cleaning

Cleaning is 100% physical. There is very little thought process involved. You know what needs to be cleaned and you, or someone else, needs to take action. The only mental aspect is often us trying to justify or avoid doing a task that just needs to be done! That is why it is the easiest item to delegate!

Decorating is something that I have so little experience with, I’m not even going to attempt to explain that one!

How this relates to energy cycles

In today's podcast and post, I explain how energy cycles throughout the year ebb and flow and how they relate to home organization. (This post is a long one and this email is long enough! Read the whole post here.)

but I will post the energy you are feeling right now...

October - December

At this time of year, we start planning for the holidays.

Thanks to those of you who took part in my holiday blitz this past week!

Your focus is back to cleaning again. You want to clean before Thanksgiving and before you start putting those Christmas decorations up.

The energy that is coming in the last 6-7 weeks of the year will come in waves.

The energy will not be constant. The waves will come and you should ride them and not push them off. It’s harder to resist than to actually go and do what you want to do.

For example, you’ll get an urge to go clean a room, declutter the kids’ rooms, decorate, etc. Whatever it may be, you will find you have these urges. I recommend just acting on them.

December 22nd

It seems funny for me to be so specific with a date, but on December 22nd my blog traffic will double (like it has done for the past few years)!

I’ve realized that most of us start organizing on December 22nd. It’s when the kids are home for the holidays. Extended family start to arrive, if you are at home on the holidays. You are done with your holiday shopping, wrapping, etc. Most of the cleaning is done. You have time off work (with most jobs). It’s winter so you don’t want to be spending too much time outside. You will start to think about a home organization project that you could undertake. Family are around to help with decluttering. The focus is more decluttering than organizing at this time.

From December 22nd to January 1st, the decluttering energy turns into an organizational energy.

The 100 Day Home Organization Program

I open enrollment for my 100 Day Home Organization Program at certain times of the year for a reason. The timing is well thought through and I base it on the cycles and energies that I’ve discussed in this week’s podcast episode.

I’m pleased to let you know that the 100 Day Home Organization Program has just opened again (November 10-14). Click here to register. If you join now, you’ll start receiving the daily emails right away and you'll get the new and improved planner.

Remember, the 100 Day Home Organization Program is not just for Christmas, it’s a lifetime membership!

You can do the program again and again until your life has transformed. My goal is for you to live an organized life so you can spend your time doing what you love and pursuing your life purpose. What a great gift that would be, at Christmas or any time of year!

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/202

This week’s podcast episode is a special one for me as it's all about my new book, How ADHD Affects Home Organization, which launched June 1!

In this week’s podcast episode, I share a lot about why I decided to write the book, what my goals are, and how I truly believe that this book is REALLY going to help people with ADHD feel empowered and able to take control of their home organization!

If you’d told me years ago that I’d one day be the author of a book called How ADHD Affects Home Organization, I’d have found it hard to believe... I don't have a degree or PhD in the subject!

However, it’s a topic that I’ve specialized in for almost 20 years in order to help my children. I’ve worked hard on overcoming every challenge that my children have faced, no matter how many attempts it took. We’ve tried a 100% natural approach with no medication at all, and we’ve tried various medications and alternative therapies, too. I’ve read medical journals, researched like crazy, and over the years I’ve developed an obsession with understanding how the mind works and how we can improve it.

I’ve parented, taught, and professionally organized people who struggle with ADHD. I’ve helped people from all around the world get their homes organized and stay organized.

My podcast series on ADHD last spring was very popular.  SO many people got in touch to say how much it had helped them and how I was able to explain things in a way that no one else had ever managed to before.

Through all of the above, I came to accept that I am an expert and I can and should use my expertise to really help others.  It seemed about time to write a book and so I did... and that’s why I’m launching How ADHD Affects Home Organization.

This book is for people who find themselves overwhelmed, even paralyzed, with home organization. Where you put effort in and don’t make progress, and you spend money on organizing solutions that just don’t work! My book is for people who know what to do, but just can’t get started!

Organization is not easy. And if you have ADHD, it’s a lot harder, but it’s not impossible! It’s all about understanding how your brain works, then working with your brain and not against it. It’s about recognizing your strengths and weaknesses, using them to your advantage, and finding strategies that work for you.

How ADHD Affects Home Organization explores the executive functions of the mind and how they affect your ability to organize your home. In particular, I take 6 executive functions (flexible thinking, working memory, self-monitoring, task initiation, planning, and organization) and explain for each one what it is, why it’s important when organizing your house, and I share solutions to problems that you may face.

The kindle book is free from June 1^st - 3^rd. Then from June 4^th, it’ll be 99 cents for the rest of the month. If you buy the Kindle version, you’ll also receive a discount when downloading the audio version from Audible.

Please get a copy of the book and please, please review it, too. It really helps more people receive the message that they too can get organized!

This book will help the loved ones of those who have ADHD, too. Once you understand how the brain of a loved one with ADHD works, you understand them as a person a little bit more than you did before.

I truly believe it’s going to be a game changer and really help a lot of people. I’m so EXCITED! I want to remove the cloud over people who have ADHD and offer them hope, solutions, and empowerment.

To get your copy, please click here!

Marie Kondo is like the Atkins Diet of organizing. Yes, it's true. Let me explain.

Please understand that this is NOT an anti-Marie Kondo episode! I think Marie Kondo is awesome in so many ways. She's done so much to raise awareness for organizing and decluttering in the media and the general public. There are benefits to her method, but I do feel that the Marie Kondo method is not the best long-term solution for the average American woman or home.

Last week I kicked off this podcast series by talking about passive organizing. When you're in this information-gathering stage, your interest and initial motivation can be sparked by things like Marie Kondo's book or TV show. 

In this episode, I explain why Marie Kondo's organizational method is like the Atkins Diet of organizing. 

First, ultra-low-carb diets like the Atkins Diet can give you quick results. You can get really, really quick results using the Marie Kondo method. That quick win can give you the motivation that is needed to keep going in the beginning. The problem is that you have to get rid of nearly everything to get those results!

Americans (and Australians) in particular tend to have larger homes and more stuff in those homes. Japanese homes are usually much smaller and rooms are more often multifunctional. When an American woman uses the Marie Kondo method of organizing, there's a lot of pain and chaos that goes along with pulling everything out of a particular space. It's like the headache you get when you go through carb withdrawal.

Second, the Atkins Diet is very one-size-fits-all, as is the Marie Kondo Method. There are strict rules to follow without deviation to get those results. Marie Kondo's Method is very prescriptive, telling you exactly how you should have each area of your home.

Do you have paper? She says get rid of it all except a tiny folder. This doesn't work for the typical American because so many important documents must be kept and presented in paper format. My grandson, Grayson, is a toddler and he already has two pieces of paper that must be kept track of for the rest of his life: his birth certificate and his social security card. We are not and cannot be paperless in the United States at this point in time. There are too many variables in the American household, especially in terms of paper, making a one-size-fits-all approach difficult to follow.

Don't even get me started on books. Marie Kondo says to get rid of all of your books. I did it. I got rid of all of my books. And I regret it! I love books and bookshelves. I have a couple of custom bookshelves in my home and I want more. I have hundreds of books on Audible and I'm in the process of buying many of those again in paper format so I can highlight them and write in them. 

(Side note: I'm so used to thinking in terms of pink, purple, blue, and green work that I'm starting to highlight information in my books this way using our Organize 365® highlighters.)

Third, the Atkins Diet is very restrictive and not as filling. The Marie Kondo Method is very restrictive and not as fun. There is one way to follow her program. If you don't follow the program to the detail, you don't get an A. But, I want an A in organizing.

The problem is, I like stuff. I'm organized, but I like stuff. I don't have a ridiculous amount of stuff, like clothes, but my closet is far from being a capsule wardrobe. 

These types of prescriptive systems tell you exactly what the end should look like to be considered organized. Minimal. Rainbow ordered. What if you have 35 pieces in your wardrobe instead of 33? What if you kept your books instead of getting rid of them all? Then you didn't follow the method and you don't get an A. You're not organized. 

Lastly, most people cannot maintain the Atkins Diet for the rest of their lives. In a similar way, it is difficult to maintain organization like Marie Kondo. As soon as you stop following the prescriptive directions, the organization falls apart. It doesn't last. The Marie Kondo method of organizing gets you started, but it's not a sustainable way for most Americans to live.

Organization is a skill that must be learned.

You must know how and why you want to get organized. Your phase of life and the type of order that you want play a part. You need to practice making decisions that become rules and then habits for your life and home so that in the long term, you deal with less decision fatigue. 

Marie Kondo's method of tidying is a wonderful place to start your journey. You can make some great visible progress with her system, but if you are not naturally a minimalist, it is not a sustainable lifestyle. 

If you're like me and you like stuff (and are a bit of a rebel), it's time instead to focus on learning the skill of organization. Use the momentum of these quick-start methods to propel yourself into lifelong organization rather than endless cycles of decluttering and feelings of lack.

Here at Organize 365®, we're not about Pinterest-perfect organizing. Our focus is functional organizing. Learning the skill of organizing is a lifestyle change, not a quick-fix project. It requires a mental shift. It's about having what you need, those things having a home, and regularly putting everything back where it belongs.

The Productive Home Solution™ teaches you the skill of organization, guides you in developing systems, and learning to make decisions that become habits. I help you do the mental and the physical work. I show you how to make the invisible work visible. 

Are you ready to move from passive organizing and short-term solutions to actively learning the skill of organization?

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• Organize 365® Highlighters
• The Productive Home Solution™
• The Sunday Basket® System
• The Friday Workbox®

Related Episodes

• #501 - Passive Organizing

• #138 - Why The Magic Art of Tidying Up Doesn't Work For American Women

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

I am answering a reader question today about how I organize projects. 

I’m so excited. It’s my birthday! I am 50 years old today!!!

The women in my family have lived to be old—into their 90s and 100s. I have always been in awe of all they have done in their lives. Organize 365® just turned 10 years old.  I think I am going to live to 100, so I am just getting started.

I have an innate understanding of time and money that I call “Lisa math.” It doesn’t follow the traditional rules about these things, but I am able to use it to show how I understand the world. 

We all have constraints in life. We are naturally limited by our time, money, and energy. Getting organized helps you to develop more capacity by investing your current time for a future return of more time. 

Improving your capacity allows you to do more things in life, handle unexpected events, and live out your unique purpose. 

The mission of Organize 365® is to help busy people get their home and paper organized so that they can do what they are uniquely created to do.

Over the last 20 years, my Sunday Basket® has given me an extra 5,200 hours. I have poured that extra time into creating Organize 365®. I have been able to help many of you save more time by using your Sunday Baskets®. And, boy, have those hours added up!

By end of 2020, the Organize 365® customers saved over 1 million hours!!! At the end of 2021, we have saved over 2.5 million hours. 

Your time and capacity have been unlocked. So many of you have been gracious enough to share how you are living your unique purpose using the hashtag #myextra5. That is the best birthday gift ever.

Almost all sports involve special clothing, equipment and leaving the house. Even walking my dog!

Here are 8 steps to get your sporting equipment organized and have everything you need – when you need it!

1. Get a bag for EACH sport and each person.
2. Create a custom checklist for each bag.
3. Buy MORE of anything you can!
4. Keep the sports bags and uniforms in the car, garage or laundry room.
5. Stocked “Mom Bag”.
6. Stocked “Spectator Bag”.
7. Buy Garage Organizers.
8. Clean Out the Car!

For more ideas and further explanation view the whole post here: https://organize365.com/how-to-organize-sporting-equipment/

When is the last time you took a hard look at your afternoon and evening routines?

We hear A LOT of people talk about their morning routines. (I shared details about my morning routine last week.)

It’s also quite common to hear about evening routines. But, I’ve hardly ever heard anyone talk about afternoon routines. For me, my afternoon routine... or rather, my after-school/after-work routine... is really key to my productivity.

In this week’s podcast, I dive into my afternoon and my evening routine.

Afternoon Routine

When I talk about an afternoon routine, I am referring to the time of day when we are transitioning from work responsibilities back to our family responsibilities.

Personally, my afternoon routine is currently going through changes as my children are getting older and are no longer relying on me for rides home from school and to their various activities. As such, I find myself with more time to work in the afternoon.

For quite some time, my work day ended at 2pm when I left to pick up the kids. If I’d done my work for the day by 2pm, that was a good day. Any work that I got completed after 2pm was what I called "bonus" work!

As the kids have gotten older and more self-reliant, I have been able to carry on with work, if needed, from 3:15pm (when I get home from picking them up) until 5:30pm. Yes, I do work a lot! If I don’t have work to do at this time, I sometimes take a nap.

This year, I have help with my kids' school pick up and my son will be driving, which means my work day will be 8am to 5pm.

Whether your work day ends at 2pm, at 5pm, or whenever, here is one daily routine I recommend you follow during the last 20 minutes of your work day:

• Tidy Up – Take a few minutes to organize your work space. Coming in the next day to a tidy area will get you into the right mindset.
• Calendar – Look at your calendar for the next day and get an idea of what you currently have scheduled.
• To-Do List – Go over the list of goals you have set for the week and figure out which items need to be completed the next day.
• Write It Down – On either an index card or a legal pad, write down your tasks for the next day in the order you need to complete them. Remember to always TRUST the schedule you made the day before! The impromptu coffee run sounds good in the moment, but your rational mind says otherwise.

Following this afternoon routine today will set you up for a successful tomorrow.

Then, 5:30pm to 7:30pm is the time I have set aside to spend with my husband and kids, but I also have time set aside to do other important things for myself.

Here are some of the things that I like to do as part of my afternoon routine after I've spent valuable time with my family:

• Clean the Kitchen – I like to ensure everything is clean and put away in the kitchen. (This is a new addition for me this year.)
• Plan Dinners – Take a few minutes and decide what to make for dinner the next day. This saves you from scrambling to figure it out the next afternoon.
• Pack the Car – Look at the schedule you made for the next day and place anything you need for tomorrow in the car. For example, dry cleaning that needs to be dropped off.

That is my afternoon routine and I think it’s the key to my productivity.

Evening Routine

From 7:30pm to 9pm, everyone in my family likes to enjoy some alone time.

I tend to head upstairs to my office and continue working. But, the work that I do at this time is work that I really enjoy doing and nothing too heavy.

At 9pm, I start my bath and pick my clothes out for the next day. I try to keep my wardrobe pretty simple. Capsule wardrobes really interest me and I’m going to dive deeper into that idea in the fall.

Around 9:30pm, Greg and I watch a TV show. (You’ll need to listen to the podcast if you want to hear me run through my favorite programs right now!)

No matter which small tasks you add to your evening routine to help the next day run smoother, make sure to take time to RELAX.

Remember, at the end of the day, it isn’t about what you didn’t accomplish that day, it’s about what you DID accomplish and how you impacted the people around you.

It’s all in the routine!

Don't miss Lisa and Joey's bear, rope, and toaster Walmart trip in this episode!

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/podcast/routines 

Welcome to the newest Wednesday Podcast! On Wednesdays, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365 community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps, and triumphs along their organizing journey. You can see and hear transformation in action. I look forward to helping YOU get Organized!

This week, I share my conversation with Kristin B. She lives with her spouse and her daughter. Her transformational journey has had some major ups and downs! I hope you find this conversation as inspiring as I do! 

I am grateful that you are reaching out to share your stories and progress with me and with the Organize 365 community. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday

For more information about the programs and products mentioned in this podcast please check out these links:

Organize 365

The Sunday Basket®

100 Day Home Organization Program

ALL ACCESS

Workboxes

Paper Organizing Retreats

I look forward to helping YOU get Organized!

Time to plan out the next quarter of your work? Learn more about the Friday Workbox® Planning Day in this orientation replay.

Watch the video version and download the syllabus here: https://organize365.com/orientation

The Pareto Principle says that 80% of the fruit comes from 20% of the labor. I first learned about this principle when reading 80/20 Sales and Marketing: The Definitive Guide to Working Less and Making More by Perry Marshall. This is not just a sales thing. It can be seen in nature, road traffic, and math. So, I started thinking about how this 80/20 principle applies to our homes and housework.

I know that perfection is not attainable. Instead, I've resolved to strive for excellence. What does it look like to be an excellent homemaker?

We tend to equate cleanliness with organization. We are looking for order but "cleaning" your house doesn't bring that order. 

In this episode, I share with you how I have employed the 80/20 principle in my house to bring it to excellence but not perfection while also giving me time to do what I'm uniquely created to do. (Spoiler alert: We're going to talk more next week about using that extra time!)

What do 80% and excellence look like for my floors, counters/flat surfaces, laundry, and straightening/tidying in my home?

What does it mean to get to 80% in your Sunday Basket® routine and The Productive Home Solution™? 

Read the full show notes here: https://organize365.com/podcast/effort-the-80-20-of-housework-not-all-housework-is-equal 

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• Book: 80/20 Sales and Marketing: The Definitive Guide to Working Less and Making More by Perry Marshall
• The Sunday Basket® System
• The Productive Home Solution™
• Organize 365® Research
• Paper Organizing Retreats

Related Episodes

• Swiss Cheese Organizing - Organize 365® Research Findings - #481
• Organizing Personal Spaces - #482
• Organizing Family & Communal Spaces - #483
• Organizing Storage Spaces - #484
• Organizing Paper Management - #485

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

As we get ready to celebrate February as Black History Month in the United States, I want to share some of the history I have learned about the differences between Black and White Americans owning houses in the US. I am doing my best to use preferred terms and inclusive language, so I am asking for grace as you listen. I am always open to learning new things, but I also want to use this platform to share information about the US history with people who may not have learned these things in school and who have not yet added this topic to their learning journey. 

During the Summer of 2020, I dove into reading and learning about the historical differences between the experiences of Black and White Americans. I am a lifelong learner. I love history. I love to learn about different cultures. I love to learn about all people all over the world. I am learning about myself, my home, and broadening my horizons by learning about the experiences of others in the world. 

As a White woman celebrating Black History month, I want to be respectful, and I want to share information that would be relevant to my primary topic of organizing your home. I also want to acknowledge that my experience is different than that of African Americans, and I thought back to all the things I have been reading and learning about home ownership. I believe that the more we understand the differences that shape our lives, the better we are together and the more empathetic we are towards one another. 

In my history studies last summer, I began to learn how many White people were able to gain college educations and grow their wealth because of home ownership. I was initially shocked to learn about some of the differences I describe on the podcast. My family of origin had very different experiences, and by learning about the history of US housing, my eyes were opened to the reality of the differences in the US. I want to share some of the fascinating, eye-opening information I researched last summer. Links to several of these resources are below:

Black Wall Street - Podcast

The Color of Law - book by Richard Rothstein

NPR interview with The Color of Law author Richard Rothstein 

The Banker - Movie 

In the podcast, I share some of my own learning, insights, and a raising awareness of my own biases and assumptions. I offer you some resources to do your own research and learning. Knowing each other’s stories will bring us better understanding, and better conversations. I want all of us to leave more educated. What unites us is far greater than what divides us.

I received an email the other day and it honestly had me in tears. It was from a listener of the podcast who reached out to thank me for being so open and honest about the struggles of motherhood in episode 261, "My Personal Seven-Year Transformation."

She also talked about her own challenges that she faces on a daily basis as a mother of three boys, one of whom was born with a very rare, life-threatening disease.

As you can imagine, she is not your everyday mother. What many of you find normal, she does not.

You ARE The Mother That Your Children Need

The subject line of this email read, “All I ever wanted to be was a mom.”

When I first read that, I was immediately hooked. As many of you know if you’ve been listening to the podcast for a while, I shared the same dream when I was younger. I always wanted to be a mother and I knew I could relate to the sender almost immediately.

We all have an idea of who we will be as a mother. But, more often than not, that vision never comes into view.

I am keenly aware many of you have never been able to birth a child... like me. Which makes posts like these about parenting, or announcements about our Mother's Day coupons, hard to hear.

It is also why the 100 Day Home Organization Program doesn't organize kids, it organizes YOU... any woman in any size dwelling.

For me, when I found out I couldn’t get pregnant, I hit a roadblock and it almost floored me. But, I steered off that path and made a new path to motherhood. My own path. Adoption turned out to be my road to motherhood and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Motherhood Is Never What We Anticipate... Easy Or Hard

Let me share a few lines from her email:

“Our boys are not typical. Our oldest was born with a very rare disease and will most likely not make it to 18. Each time he gets a cold or any type of illness, it can cause brain damage. He has spent a good portion of his life in the hospital as we fight to give him the best chance he has.”

As you can imagine, not many mothers prepare themselves for such a heart-breaking and difficult roadblock. How can you prepare for something like that? You can’t.

It’s so easy to doubt your ability as a mother, but you ARE the mother your child needs you to be.

Motherhood might not look or feel the way you thought it would. But it doesn’t matter. This is your story as a mother, and you are the mother that your children need.

Parenting A Child With Additional Needs

Whether your child has learning or physical disabilities, your role as a mother becomes so much harder when faced with more than the everyday parenting challenges.

For me, the hardest part of mothering was stepping into and owning the mother my children needed me to be and not the mother that I thought I would be.

If you are struggling with the weight of your mothering right now, listen to this week's podcast.

Don't let society's expectation and what everyone else is doing change how you view your child, your relationship with your child, and what your child needs. You’ve got this and I'm right there behind you.

Happy Early Mother's Day! Still looking for a gift for your mom or what to ask for yourself?

We created Mother's Day coupons you and your family can use to give the perfect Organize 365 gift!

View the full post here: https://organize365.com/not-normal-parenting/

Welcome to the newest Wednesday Podcast! On Wednesdays, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365 community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps, and triumphs along their organizing journey. You can see and hear transformation in action. I look forward to helping YOU get Organized!

This week, I am speaking with Jennifer V. She lives at home with her husband and daughter. She shares about how Lisa is helping her in the survival phase of the sandwich generation, and how she benefitted from upgrading to a real Sunday Basket®. I hope you enjoy her story as much as I do! 

I am grateful that you are reaching out to share your stories and progress with me and with the Organize 365 community. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.

For more information about the programs and products mentioned in this podcast please check out these links:

Organize 365

The Sunday Basket®

100 Day Home Organization Program

ALL ACCESS

Workboxes

Paper Organizing Retreats

I look forward to helping YOU get Organized!

Welcome to the newest Wednesday Podcast! On Wednesdays, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365 community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps, and triumphs along their organizing journey. You can see and hear transformation in action. I look forward to helping YOU get Organized!

This week’s Tranformational Podcast features Sara B. She is a single mom of 3 kids from 5-19. She works full time and is in school part time. Her inspiration for getting organized was tackling her paper piles. She started with the Sunday Basket ® and has transformed her home and life. I hope you enjoy her story and find her as inspiring as I do!

I am grateful that you are reaching out to share your stories and progress with me and with the Organize 365 community. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.

For more information about the programs and products mentioned in this podcast please check out these links:

Organize 365

The Sunday Basket ® 

100 Day Home Organization Program

All Access

Friday Workboxes

Paper Organizing Retreats

Learn more about the Organize 365 Kid's Program here. 

The ONE Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan is the book that has helped me the most in achieving increased productivity.

Using the focus question, “What is the ONE thing I can do, such that by doing it, everything else will become easier and unnecessary?” I prioritize my day on a continual basis.

In this podcast you will hear:

• Why I prioritized a nay over recording this podcast.
• How extraordinary success is sequential.
• About the domino effect.
• How to apply the ONE thing to organizing your home.

The audio book version of The Mindset of Organization is finally here!! I hope you enjoy the sample chapters in podcast 140. You can get a free audible copy of The Mindset of Organization and start a free 30 day trial of audible at Organize365.com/audible

There is nothing more frustrating than nervously watching a tragedy unfold before your eyes and feel like there is nothing you can do to help. The hours I have spent the last month reading articles, watching video clips, and following friends on social media who are going through natural disasters is mind blowing.

This nervous energy eats me alive. I want to DO something.

Ironically in Cincinnati, Ohio, we have very few natural disasters. A stray tornado or big snow storm, but nothing like the fires, earthquakes, and hurricanes I 've watched in the last month.

Even so, emergencies in general are a guarantee in life. Someday you will need to have your medical and financial ducks in a row to facilitate your care or the care of a loved one.

This week in the podcast, Betsy shares her Houston Hurricane story, and I share how you can organize your important documents and help the autistic community at the Avondale House School in Houston, Texas.

The Avondale House is a resource for the special needs community in Houston and a school for children with autism.

For the rest of 2017, when you purchase the medical and financial organizers through this link, 100% of the sale will go to the Avondale House School.

The financial and medical organizers are editable PDFs so you can store your information digitally or they can be printed and put in a binder – it's your choice!

These organizers collect all your important information so you don't have to hunt through your filing cabinet or wish you could take the whole thing with you if you have to evacuate. This will really help you in an emergency situation, whatever that situation may be.

100% of the proceeds from sales of my medical and financial planners will go to Avondale House. This is a "win-win" situation as you get these two great organizers AND you get to donate to such a great cause.

If you would prefer to not purchase the planners, but would rather donate directly to Avondale House, you can do so here.

One thing you will never hear me say is, "It 's just stuff." I know better.

Physical items can be replaced, but it does not minimize the pain and inconvenience of doing so. I hope you are reading this in a house with running water, a working sewage system, and electricity

Like I said in the podcast, my own medical and financial organizers were not filled out, but I am doing it now.

I don't want to, and I don 't "have the time," but I know... one day I will be glad I did.

Prayers to everyone in the path of these natural disasters.

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/194

I want to help you how to have your most productive Fall ever. Make sure you listen in for the KEY concept to ensure you successfully  increase YOUR productivity!

In the last week weeks, we have reviewed how you can work on decluttering, organizing, and increasing productivity. If you need more information on the basics of these three steps, I cover them in detail in Podcast number 144, 145, and 147. 

Fall can be the MOST productive time of the year, if you are prepared to take advantage of the September and October energy. On the podcast today, I explain how I have increased my productivity over the last seven years. I have analyzed how I have improved my skills over the years and I give you the steps to help you improve your productivity.

I will show you how to gain control of your life and achieve your goals, especially in the areas of

• Family
• Finances
• Home
• Self

I want you to improve your productivity so you can get traction on your goals. I want you to succeed at transforming your life so you can focus on your unique purpose. Let’s start TODAY!

Where does productivity come from? Planning our day the night before? Having solid routines? Having a beautiful and well-maintained planner? 

Those things are all important, but they aren’t necessarily going to make you more or less productive.

What are the differences between productive people vs. less productive people?

To begin this podcast, I want to offer grace and understanding for those of you in phases of life where you have very little or no control over your productivity (such as a medical diagnosis, depression and active parenting years). I’ve been where you are and I know that these are all very real constraints.

Productivity comes from being in control of your time.

In order to do this, you need to observe YOURSELF. Look at your day and pay close attention to your energy levels - physically, mentally and emotionally. Become curious about yourself. What makes you more or less energetic? How can you extend periods of productivity? How can you unlock more of your time?

In this episode, which is part one of a four-part series, I discuss the very first steps I took in my transformative journey to becoming my most productive self. I didn’t just wake up one day with the energy and capacity to be the CEO of Organize 365® while also getting my PhD. This was a long journey. The first step in this journey was a wake-up call for me.

I realized no one is coming to save me. If it’s going to be, it’s up to me. This realization led me to quit my job and other habits that were draining my energy on all levels.

Through this series you can follow along on my productivity journey and learn how I had to take total ownership of my life. Productive people are obsessed with knowing what things make them more or less productive, from their diet choices to the amount of sleep they are getting. 

A big part of my transformation was looking at the purpose of the things I was trying to do. Productivity is not just about getting more done, it’s about doing things that matter, knowing why you’re doing them and doing them with a sense of calm.

Want to instantly boost your productivity? Here are two questions you can start asking yourself to be more productive starting today:

1. What’s one thing I can do right now? Keep moving forward. Even if you are only taking one step at a time. When you feel “stuck” ask yourself, what’s the next step that I can do right now.
2. Do I have 15 more minutes? True productivity is not a check mark on a checklist - it’s a completed project. When you are working on something and running out of time, don’t be afraid to spend extra time to complete the project, especially if it will save you time in the future.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®
• The Friday Workbox®
• Brooke Castillo and Kris Plachy Podcast
• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter 

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

This episode, Understanding Inventory at Home, is directly related to Episodes 361 and 362 on the different kinds of work. I am sharing some of my thoughts about analyzing how we use the principles we use to run a business and relate them to how we run our households. I think this is super useful because it allows us to take the emotion out of our thinking, and to realize that there is work to be done. 

Our work will never be done - at work or at home. Once we recognize that, it reduces our stress. We can then conscientiously pace ourselves to prioritize what is truly important and urgent. Because of the COVID pandemic, we are home more and we are using our homes differently than before. This means that the nature of our work and our homes is changing. 

We are now keeping a larger stockpile of many home goods (toilet paper anyone?). My previous productivity advice to outsource, hire help, or automate things is not always available or economically feasible anymore.

Let’s start over and look at the home through a different lens. I want us to think about our household inventory in terms of time, money, and physical items inside our homes. In the podcast, I share with you some business terms, and then apply them to our homes and lives. Bottom line: The goal of living an organized and productive life is to achieve as many goals as possible using the least amount of time and energy. Then, you can use the remaining time, energy, and money to do what you are uniquely created to do. 

Right now, I am looking at the inventory we keep in our house. Is it the right amount? Is it in the right location? And, I think the key question is: how many of those to do list items and goals are even necessary at all? Listen in and I’ll explain how our inventory continues to change (and what I predict will happen after the pandemic is finally gone). I even include some of the ways I am thinking about inventory inside my own home and family.

Vocabulary Lesson (based on The Phoenix Project - Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, and George Spafford):

Throughput

• Business - the rate at which the systems generate money through sales
• Household - the number of to do and goal items you can accomplish (per day)

Inventory

• Business - all the money the system has invested in things it intends to sell
• Household - all of the items the home has that it intends to turn into to do items or goals

Operational Expenses  

• Business - all the money the system spends on turning inventory into throughput
• Household - all the time and energy we spend turning inventory into finished to dos or goals

I'm so excited to have Eve Rodsky on the podcast again!

Eve first joined me on the podcast back in episode #312 where she discussed her book Fair Play: A Game-Changing Solution for When You Have Too Much to Do (and More Life to Live). I highly recommend going back and listening to that episode so you have a foundational understanding of the concept of Fair Play. Since she was here last time, she has released the Fair Play Documentary that I also think you should go watch.

In this episode, Eve and I discuss the invisible work being done at home and how society has tried to erase the gender division of labor in the home. So much focus has been on women and giving women tools to better balance work life and home life. Eve found it difficult through Fair Play to give solutions to families who said that both the man and the woman in the household were doing a task. Enter the mustard. How did the mustard get into your refrigerator? This is a great example that you have to hear Eve use to explain the difference between the execution of a task versus the cognitive labor related to a task. It's eye-opening!

We then discuss some of Eve's family background growing up with a single mom as well as my daughter Abby's life as a single mom today. A large number of children each year are both to single moms. These single moms are unfortunately at a disadvantage because they are usually holding all of the cards for their families and therefore have fewer work and income opportunities available. 

Eve also walks me through an exercise that I hope you will also do for yourself.

First, what is an activity outside of your roles that you love to do and share with the world? This goes beyond self-care or exercise or pleasure reading.

Second, what is something you love to do? What values does doing this thing bring up for you?

I of course talked about travel and learning, but Eve helped me see how understanding the values underneath these things will help you find activities that can bring up these values for you even when you're unable to do the activities you really want to do.

I hope you enjoyed this conversation with Eve Rodsky as much as I did!

Connect with Eve Rodsky

• Visit FairPlayLife.com
• Watch the Fair Play Documentary
• Follow Fair Play Life on Instagram
• Listen to episode #312 - Fair Play with Eve Rodsky

I was on a plane in 2017 for a 5 hour flight from Los Angeles to Cincinnati when I committed to 5 values that I wanted to have within Organize 365®. This will be a 6-part series to share why I chose those 5 values plus one extra value that I felt needed to be added. I can trace my positivity back to 6th grade at church camp when I accepted Christ as my savior. But when my dad picked me up he said “No you didn’t, now get in the car.” I was always a positive child so I wasn’t mad or hurt, I knew it was just this special relationship I had with God. 

Sharing my dad’s belief in me

“Dad, I’d like to run daycare centers in corporate buildings.” I explained as dad had asked me what I wanted to go to college for. My dad had so much belief in me at just 17. He proposed that I take the money they were going to spend on college, which was about $100,000, and invest it in me and this business idea. I ran into the kitchen to pitch the idea to my mom, but she stood her ground. My mother was hell bent on me being the 4th generation of female college graduates in our family. 

The decline

As a little kid I was so positive, there was so much natural optimism. Even at 17 I had so much faith in myself, plus my dad’s belief in me. But then life…I was so excited for the MRS (Mrs. Woodruff) degree and was ready to start our life. But children didn’t come despite our desperate desire and so we adopted. But then more life was handed to me when my parents decided to get divorced, then my dad passed away, and I had to settle his estate. 

I did inherit a little bit of money where we were able to remodel the kitchen and afford some more medical testing. I was always fighting a battle with people. They thought I was crazy because of everything I was doing for my kids and their health. Which got me thinking, “Am I the problem here?” (Funny how today’s society supports all the measures I took so many years ago.) I went from positive Lisa to cynical! Another blow was when my supervisor informed me that I wasn’t a good teacher. I made up my mind that I was going to quit. I wasn’t doing good at anything. I had become so negative and not fun to be around. Greg supported me quitting even though we had the most debt we have ever had. I turned in my resignation the next day.

It’s not happening to you it’s happening for you

The final straw was that first Monday while the kids were at school. I looked around and thought, whose house is this? I was so disconnected from my life. I realized that I, and my attitude, was the problem. Then and there I decided to take my life back and to be positive. I changed all the inputs, like the friends I kept, the shows I watched, the things I read.  I knew I wanted to stay Greg’s wife and the mother to my children. I ended up writing my book “Organization Is A Learnable Skill" to document how I took my life back. I now know that life is not happening to me, it’s happening for me. I sat down and wrote down 40 areas I was going to address. I remembered that belief my dad had in me to start a business and I was now going to do just that. And from that list one of my first programs was born, the 40 Weeks One Whole House Challenge (now incorporated into The Productive Home Solution®).

Being positive is a core value for Organize 365®. It’s funny how fast a negative person can infiltrate the staff in a matter of days. I can’t have that and I don’t want to turn that ship around. My experience has been that positivity leads to success. So we are positive at Organize 365®.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• The Productive Home Solution

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter 

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

Welcome to our new Wednesday series of transformational stories from our new Friday Workbox Certified Organizers! Organize 365® recently upgraded all of the Business Friday Workbox Systems and we are so excited to share the stories of the certified organizers who helped us make these improvements!

On Wednesdays, I normally get to talk with members of the Organize 365 community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps, and triumphs along their organizing journey. You can see and hear transformation in action. 

Today, I am sharing my conversation with Jenn Dickel. Jenn shared about finding a Mastermind back in early 2020. She is back today to share her experience in our newest Mastermind to improve the Friday Workbox and become a Friday Workbox Certified Organizer. Jenn is a businesswoman and entrepreneur who loves to help others focus on improving their productivity. 

You can find Jenn at Seasonal Navigation Organizing, on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. 

I am grateful that you are reaching out to share your stories and progress with me and with the Organize 365 community. If you are ready to share with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday

For more information about the programs and products mentioned in this podcast please check out these links:

Organize 365

The Sunday Basket®

All AccessCCESS

Friday Workboxes

Paper Organizing Retreats

Organize 365® Certified Organizers

Just as there are 4 phases of life that I identified in the Mindset Of Organization Book, these 3 phases of parenting all need different organization as well. The more you understand where you are in life, the more successful you will be at finding and implementing the organization you need to make your life function better.

Parenting Stage 1: 0-6 years old – You Do It All

The first stage of parenting is sheer survival! Under the age of 6 almost all daily duties with your children fall on your shoulders. The days are long and I’m not sure who said the years are short – they weren’t for me!

Organizing yourself and your family in this stage is like shoveling snow in a snow storm. Organization is unique to you and your family and likely will completely change every 3 months. My solution was to chunk my year into 3 month groupings. I would make a few goals for each of my kids, purge their clothes and toys and keep plugging away.

Parenting Stage 2: 7-12 years old – You Do It Together

The grade school years of parenting were the easiest for me. I loved the structure, the fact that my kids were still under my control and the great friends I made during those years. These are very social years where the kids and parents connect and enjoy activities together.

As your kids age through this stage their toys will go from being everywhere – to being only in their rooms. These are the years when your kids learn chores and establish their contributing roles to your family dynamics.

Parenting Stage 3: 13+ years old – Guidance & Support

This parenting stage is as time consuming as the first, except this time I am in my car all the time and not at home. Luckily for me I view that large quantity of driving time as the best quality time I get with my teens. Deep thoughts, but dreams and life lessons are often talked about in the hours and hours of time I spend with my teens in the car.

I find myself going from managing one family calendar to providing and supporting my teens as they take on their own calendar scheduling, activities and start making their big lifetime goals come to life.

In this episode, I introduce you to Carrie T. who is married with two children. She has a daughter away at college and her son is still at home. Carrie travels a lot to see her daughter compete and listens to the podcast during those long drives. Carrie actually found the podcast many years ago when she was looking for organization podcasts. She loved the advice that “Your brain is working while you are listening and the solution will come to you.” She valued other organizational programs, but gravitated towards Organize 365® because of The Paper Solution®. 

Carrie started with a DIY Sunday Basket®. It was fine, but she couldn’t find the right colored folders so she had to create labels in the color instead. She realized she was doing a lot of work for something that she could just purchase. She asked for the official Sunday Basket® one year for Christmas and dove into setting it up on Christmas day. She valued that everything was in one place. She wasn’t looking for papers. She could almost always find whatever she was looking for in her Sunday Basket®. She admitted she may have over slash pocketed, but she’s definitely got the hang of it now. She’s looking forward to the tax write off of getting a Friday Workbox® next.

Another reason Carrie asked for the official Sunday Basket® was for the community that she desired. She loves attending the Sunday Basket® Club. She likes to attend live, but also uses the replay to pause the recording and finish each task in her time. Then she hits play and continues on. We talked a little bit about how each week you go through all of the rainbow slash pockets, but the 2.0 slash pockets don’t need weekly attention. We agreed on average it takes about 90 minutes to process each Sunday. And I know about every 4-6 weeks I thoroughly go through my Sunday Basket® and that can take me about 3 hours. She also values the division of workboxes in quarter 4 for the holidays, the next year, and taxes. It’s like 3 external brains for the different hats you wear as a household manager. 

Carrie wishes she’d just gotten the official Sunday Basket® sooner. She has so much more peace of mind now because she knows “It’s in the Sunday Basket®.” With her extra pockets of time and her children getting older, she’s playing with the idea of getting her pilots license. She wants to be able to fly to see her children and attend their sporting events. 

Carrie’s advice is, “Keep listening, and if you feel like the Sunday Basket® is the right thing to do, just do it! Do it now.” 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• The Paper Solution®

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter 

On the Wednesday podcast, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365­® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps and triumphs along their organizing journey. I am grateful that you are reaching out to share with me and with this community. You can see and hear transformation in action. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

For the very first podcast of 2021, I shared what my pink slash pockets will be for the first New Year of 2021. Now that we are halfway through that first quarter, I want to share what I have completed, what I have completely let go, and why this has been the best experiment I have ever done inside of my Sunday Basket®.

My Sunday Basket® is my habit and weekly system that keeps my actionable to dos, my ideas, my mail, keeps my family running smoothly, and allows me to focus on work during the week without worrying about household tasks. 

Consistent use of the Sunday Basket® helps your brain move from reactive to proactive. After about six weeks, most users find they have capacity for the Sunday Basket® 2.0 slash pockets. These slash pockets hold the papers and ideas related to larger projects that require a consistent infusion of time, money, and/or motivation to be completed. The 2.0 slash pockets focus on four major life areas: home, family, money, and self. 

In today’s podcast, I am sharing what I’ve been doing so far in my personal pink slash pockets so far in 2021. I was focusing on launching my kids into #adulting, family photo memories, creating an Organize 365 scrapbook, systematizing beauty, and my to be read list. 

Listen in as I share what projects I have completed, what projects I called “good enough to be done,” and which things I have decided to abandon or ignore. And, I’d love to hear about YOUR pink slash pockets in 2021 on Facebook or Instagram! 

Also mentioned in this episode:

Organize 365 Kids Program

Organize 365 Launch Bundle

Organize 365 Memorabilia Binder

Welcome to our new Wednesday series of transformational stories from our new Friday Workbox Certified Organizers! Organize 365® recently upgraded all of the Business Friday Workbox Systems and we are so excited to share the stories of the certified organizers who helped us make these improvements!

On Wednesdays, I normally get to talk with members of the Organize 365 community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps, and triumphs along their organizing journey. You can see and hear transformation in action. 

Today, I am sharing my conversation with Jennifer Butler. Jennifer is one of our newest Friday Workbox Certified Organizers. Jennifer brings experience as a parent of a child with a serious medical illness, and as an entrepreneur. She also has experience with autism, ADHD, and living internationally with her family. She brings all of this life experience and knowledge to her services.

You can find Jennifer at House of Order, on Instagram, and Facebook.

I am grateful that you are reaching out to share your stories and progress with me and with the Organize 365 community. If you are ready to share with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday

For more information about the programs and products mentioned in this podcast please check out these links:

Organize 365

The Sunday Basket®

All AccessCCESS

Friday Workboxes

Paper Organizing Retreats

Organize 365® Certified Organizers

In this episode, I introduce you to April R. She is a single mom of 5 children with a cat and dog to love on, too. April was watching someone on social media talking about the habits of people with ADHD and April identified with many. Then she came across the episodes about ADHD and naturally listened to the ones that followed. She used to think organization meant cleaning. She now knows organization means productivity. 

April’s proudest accomplishment as a result of learning from Organize 365® is her beloved drink station!  She has a tiny kitchen and there are lots of people in the house. But April took it a step further by placing it in another room. I pointed out that also takes it away from the triangle of cooking. April repurposed a hutch she got off Facebook Marketplace. She was able to accommodate all of her children and their drink preferences. She has gotten a lot of compliments from friends, but now with her sister (who had handyman skills) she wants to take it up a notch with cabinets instead, floating shelves, and a mini fridge. 

April shared a lot of lessons she’s learned. Or is it one lesson applied in multiple locations?  She’s improved her flexible thinking executive function. She’s applied the drink station organization to her work and other spaces in her home. After her success with the drink station, she invested in the Sunday Basket®. And even though she didn’t use it effectively in the beginning, she was collecting in it the way she was supposed to. Then she would go through it every so often. Would you believe she found thousands of dollars just waiting in there for her? You've got to hear the episode to understand or maybe you have too!

It dawned on her how her oldest daughter had a bigger bedroom than the two that shared. So she swapped them. That also gave the older daughter, who goes to school online, a better connection to their wi-fi and more privacy. April and the girls got the benefit of sharing a bathroom space instead of just April using it, as well as the connections she’s building with her two youngest as they get ready for their day together.

April also shared about how she touches base with all her kids on Sunday to plan ahead. And how she developed an A/B meal plan (with a little help from Chat GPT) for when her kids are with her and when they are at their dads. But she knew what to ask for due to what she has learned through Organize 365®.

She’s been prepared for the unexpected. When hurricane Beryl was coming their way, she was able to plan ahead and be prepared to ride it out. I told her about the snow day box I developed when my kids were younger to make it exciting to have the kids home. She’s realized that just because she’s organized it doesn’t mean it’ll keep things from happening.

She has so much more joy and awareness now. She feels confident when one of the kids needs something from her and she can go get it from her Sunday Basket®. She has so much joy with the intentionality of how she’s spending her time with her kids and she’s so excited about the future. 

April’s advice is, “If you don’t know if you should get the Sunday Basket®, do the drink station or just try one thing.” It’s true in the midst of your overwhelm of thinking you need all the systems. Just start with one thing or it seems too overwhelming to even start. All the systems are independent of each other. And as April added, then it just gets easier to add another system. 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• The Paper Solution®

• The Productive Home Solution®

• Home Planning Day

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter 

On the Wednesday podcast, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365­® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps and triumphs along their organizing journey. I am grateful that you are reaching out to share with me and with this community. You can see and hear transformation in action. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

Come listen to the game I play with children to help them donate their furry friends.

You are scheduled and consistent, but can you be flexible? I am not talking about all of the stuff others want you to squeeze into your week, but you.The things you deemed important to get done and you scheduled, do you have the ability to be flexible in how and where in your day they can get completed? 

Flexibility in the Name of Productivity

Life is chaotic and throws lots of unexpected things at us, throwing a wrench in our perfect little plans. Are you able to overcome these obstacles or do they turn your day into a wasted day? A few ways I am flexible to still accomplish the goals of the day are ways I choose to be flexible. These unexpected changes keep me on my toes and force me to be disciplined to keep my eyes on my priorities.

You can be flexible in when. I wanted to record 4 episodes the other day until Abby needed me. Grayson came with me to the office where I knew I wasn’t going to record, but I could still be productive with a different goal of the day. Once Grayson was picked up, I could choose to count it as time with him and use my later in the day “Grayson time” to record. 

I also use “wasted days” to be productive. If I’m out of the office and have a technician coming for one item, why not schedule a few more? The other day I had a technician come for the furnace, A/C, and a person to finish where we modified the wall by the fridge. I did stuff around the house while all these technicians were at my house. 

Another example I’d like to share is if someone in our house gets sick. I’m the mom and it’s nice to have mom when you are sick. And I want to be there for my family. So then I look at what’s coming up in the week. It’s all about the flexible thinking of pivoting. What has to get done, moved to next week, go back in the Sunday Basket®, or scratched off the list forever? 

Pat jokes that at Organize 365®, we pivot so much it’s like we’re dancing. It’s not so much when in the day or how it gets done, it’s more about THAT it gets done! Productive people are about completing tasks thus being productive.

The To-Do List Will Never Be Done

Your Sunday Basket® is the keeper of the master to-do list items, right? You go through your basket and determine what must get done in the upcoming week. We like to load up our to-do list but we are frustrated it never seems to get done. Could you be the problem? The trick is to see what can wait, must wait. Let’s say you are left with three things that must get done, which is ok. Schedule those, be flexible to ensure they get completed and then…it’s up to you! Yes, you could say there’s more in the Sunday Basket® and you want to do more. 

But alternatively, what if you used that time for a hobby, relaxing, catching up with friends or family? And I have found the items I delay completing, end up getting done by someone else, are no longer relevant, or don’t need to be completed anymore. Also, I want you to think about the last time you completed the items on your to-do list. How did you feel? Like superwoman? Yes! Don’t you want that feeling more often? Take care of what must get done and the rest leave so you too have discretionary leisure time. 

Being flexible in the name of productivity is a skill of truly productive people. Truly productive people are also always optimizing. Join me next week as I explain how you too can always be optimizing to be truly productive. 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Podcast 10 Year Anniversary Giveaway

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter 

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

In this final week of the series on spaces to organize, I'm talking about the second optional space to organize: memories and photos. Now, I don't personally believe that this is an optional space to organize for me and my family. It's kind of a passion of mine!

After you have sorted through the four essential areas of paper -- medical, financial, household reference, and household operations -- you're still left with a lot of paper that I categorize as memories and photos. What do you do with all of these things?

In this episode, I explain that there are different levels of final organization of memories and photos that you could choose to end at from simple boxes of collated photos to photo albums and binders. I love creating topic-based albums: holidays, vacations, birthdays, etc. I also personally love creating binders and albums because my family is more likely to pull them off the shelf and look at them over items kept in a box. Organizing your memories and photos can be such a source of joy for your family as they look back at the family history you've gathered and fun memories from their lives.

In our Saving Your Story Photo Organization Program, I walk you through sorting all of your photos, eliminating duplicates, and creating final albums with those photos. 

Is organizing memories and photos optional for you? What is keeping you from organing this space?

Check out the blog post and more details here:  organize365.com/organizing-foundation-organize-365-story-part1

This week on the blog, I am starting a series sharing the foundation of Organize 365®. I share the five foundational principles that are the bedrock of everything I teach inside of Organize 365®. I want to ensure that we have a common vocabulary and you know what the foundational principles are. No matter when you being your transformational journey (or when you need to reset or restart), this information will be here as a reference for you.

This episode is a part of the Organize 365® Glossary Playlist. Listen to other episodes on the Glossary Playlist here.

Some people say, “Lisa how do you do it ALL?” And some people hear all I’m doing and say, “Me too!” If you say “Me too!,” you are going to love this episode because it’s completely devoted to my process of planning. I share all my strategic thought process behind the days I have meetings to why I make time for the community on Fridays. I remember hearing, “If you want to grow a business, you must be consistent.” I want to offer a consistent experience for the Organize 365® Community. 

The Inception of The Sunday Basket®

I revisited the story of how the Sunday Basket® came to be. I had this 14” high stack of papers. Joey took really short naps. By the time I sifted through the paper stack and found an actionable thing to accomplish during his wink of sleep, he’d be awake again. So one night, when the kids were in bed and Greg said good night early, I sorted all that paper into 40 piles! I placed those 40 piles in separate folders and they all went in my Longaberger Basket. The next day when Joey laid down, I quickly pulled out one folder and got something accomplished.

Reactive to Proactive

Once the Sunday Basket® was proving to be effective for me, I started to enforce the rule of, “If it can wait until Sunday, then it must wait.” Once I processed the basket I could make my weekly plan, my follow through. I have found the waiting to be magical!

I was using one basket for home and work, but soon realized I should split them into their own boxes. And that’s when I started moving faster, getting more done. So 6 years ago, I started manufacturing the official Sunday Basket®, designed to help the slash pockets stand up and color coded in colors that Organize 365® uses. I went into great detail of the evolution of Organize 365® and products in episodes 521 to 525.

New Adult Planning Tools

I look at my week that I am a CEO as Monday 8am to Thurs 8pm. And from Thursday 8pm to Monday 8am, I am a home manager. I shared how this is really working to my benefit. I was getting frustrated though that all the planners start the week with Sunday in the month view. I want to see Saturday and Sunday together. And I wasn’t really sure where to document odd things that need to get done, like a baby gift for my hair dresser or ideas for social media for an episode that would not get published for weeks still. Where does one put that information? So I came up with three new products to help you plan. 

2 Year Dated Planning Calendar (AKA “Lisa 2 Year Planner”)

This planner starts with Monday as the beginning of the week. It starts in July 2024 and goes through 2026. This planner will help everyone who plans out a period of time rather than details of a week or day; it’s not a date book.

Rainbow 52 Week Planner

This planner has 6 rainbow colors vertically, in rows. I can plan out as far as I need to with this information that I used to not know where to write. The pages can be dated or kept blank. There are periods of time I use it and then the week of vacation I don’t. Make it work for you.

Rainbow Weekly Planning Sheet

It’s a similar idea as the planner, but labeled one week at a time, or seven boxes horizontally. I use the pink row for social media ideas, the orange for all things podcasting, the yellow for new products; you get the idea. There are seven boxes but you do not need to acknowledge the week day. You can view it as seven items to plan and implement. You can color code your family for needs and activities or a student for their subjects in school. And it matches the Lisa School Binder from the Kids Program!

All this planning in the name of staying consistent, also known as your follow through. 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Friday Workbox®

• 2 Year Dated Planning Calendar

• Rainbow 52 Week Planner

• Rainbow Weekly Planning Sheet

• Lisa School Binder

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter 

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

I am grateful that you are reaching out to share your stories and progress with me and with the Organize 365 community. On Wednesdays, we will be sharing the challenges, progress, missteps, and triumph of women just like you who are progressing along their organizing journey. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply here. I promise, I’m not scary and it’s just us talking!

Today, Monique H shares her journey of getting organized and progressing to a career as a professional organizer. I am humbled and honored to have been part of her journey. 

For more information about the programs and products mentioned in this podcast please check out these links:

Organize 365

The Sunday Basket

100 Day Home Organization Program

ALL ACCESS

Workboxes

Paper Organizing Retreats

I look forward to helping YOU get Organized!

In her latest book, Lisa Woodruff explores the executive functions of the mind that directly affect your ability to organize your home: flexible thinking, working memory, self-monitoring, task initiation, planning, and organization. Along the way, she provides tips and strategies for overcoming obstacles—tools you can use to get the organized house you’ve been dreaming of.

Now available as an Audible Book.

How ADHD Affects Home Organization

In this episode, we are joined once again by the fabulous Rhonda H. You may remember Rhonda from last year on the podcast; she has been part of the community for a long time. Rhonda will be working with us in the fall with the Homeschool Friday Workbox®. Rhonda has every Organize 365® product you can imagine and recently she decided to do Embrace again. 

The first time Rhonda did Embrace was in 2022. Due to life circumstances, she couldn’t take action on much and her family still very much needed her. She would watch the videos before bed and write a few things down. It was at this time that she decided to get The Paper Solution® Certification. She went on a feeling of knowing that’s what she wanted to do, but didn’t know the “how” yet. It was a small step she could take in the direction she wanted to go. It was important for Rhonda not to be discouraged by the stage of life she was in, rather to take small steps towards who she wanted to become. 

THIS time though…Rhonda has been able to take a much deeper dive!  She’s attentively listening, taking notes, reflecting, and collaborating with other women from the community. It started with her and two other ladies that got certified at the same time as Rhonda. When others in the Organize 365® community heard what they were doing, they asked to join. Of course, Rhonda and the other ladies were happy to invite them in. As women, the complexities of our lives are constantly changing. Embrace gives you a chance to stop and think about where you are now and where you want to go. Be in community and learn from each other who may have faced the same challenges or phases of life and encourage one another as we all figure out our next steps.

The Embrace experience is like middle school camp. There’s costumes, music, but most importantly, a lesson wrapped into each video. There are thought-provoking ideas for you to think about and explore. What roles can you not be replaced in? What do you want? What are the skills you have acquired over life? What are you uniquely created to do? Who do you want to be? It’s a progressive program that helps you to dream and then reel it back based on real life limitations. It continues to stretch you to dream and realize how that could all play out in the long run. It’s healthy empowerment, dreaming with a little tough love and reality. And if this is the meaty project you took on this summer or if you do Embrace, go listen to the playlist on Spotify. Keep it top of mind while you are driving and ponder that question of “What do you want?” This is a perfect reason to get a hotel room for a night or two and really take time for you; undistracted time to think and reflect and really dig into you can make a plan for your next chapter.

Rhonda’s advice is, “Do Embrace even if you are repeating it. Get the fun add on’s and get a group together. You will get more out of it because you are in a different phase of life than you were the last time you did it!” 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Embrace Self-Guided Retreat

• The Paper Solution® Certification

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter 

On the Wednesday podcast, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365­® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps and triumphs along their organizing journey. I am grateful that you are reaching out to share with me and with this community. You can see and hear transformation in action. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

In this podcast series, I will be sharing how my habits, routines, and the different ways I think about time. This week I’ll be sharing my Sunday Routine.

I always learn more from listening to real-life stories of how other women are “getting it done.” Thanks for letting me share mine with you!

As I shared in the last podcast episode, Saturdays are fundays around here, which means Sunday afternoons are my domestic workday. 

We started watching church from home sometime in late 2018/early 2019, and Greg’s mother has been coming to our house on Sundays for the past few years. My Sundays are now spent entirely at home. I decided for this season to add all housework tasks in and around my Sunday Basket® time on Sundays from 12-4.

I fit my housework into a four-hour time block.

Each weekend, I give my home and family a four-hour block of time. Some weeks I am running to check all the to-dos off my list, and other weeks I am looking into my Sunday Basket® to find projects to fill that time. 

I have always found that getting my machines and people started first, before I dive into the work only I can do, has improved my productivity. I do the same thing on Sundays during this work time.

1. I go through my emails and make decisions.
2. I review my meeting agendas for the week.
3. I get myself organized. I clear out papers, plan my outfits, and update my calendar so that I have time to get my most important work done. 

In my 20s, 30s, and 40s, four hours would not have been enough time for all of this. This podcast series is not for you to compare your schedule with mine, but to open your thoughts and explore the possibilities of what your everyday life could look like.

How much time do you need to spend on housework each weekend? Which day or days will you do so, and for how long?

Today's episode is going to be a refresher to some of you, and new to a lot of you. I've recorded two podcast series that I'm going to reference, plus a concept I created years ago. This will get us all to the same place of thinking as we end the year.

Are you the one thinking: "Ok, I want that productivity that Lisa has and I'm doing #allthethings. So why don't I have what I think I should have as productivity?" You're busy running around like a chicken with your head cut off, trying to make the merriment for everyone around you the entire month of  December. What you're craving and what you want is to figure out how to finally get organized so you could be more productive, so you could be less stressed, so you can get more done. 

So why is it that we can declutter, get kind of organized, and then get to productivity - and yet we still don't achieve our goals? Or we get some time back, but not a lot of time...then one little unexpected life event comes and you feel like you've been put behind 6 months at home. Why is it such a regular occurrence that getting sick or an unexpected event can derail us so badly? 

Organization is a three-part cycle: Decluttering, Organization, Increased Productivity. I'm going to add a fourth part to the cycle - Impact. This is the one that most people never get to. We're always going for productivity, but really I think we're going for impact and productivity is the step before impact. Now consider the Lisa Math that I do...and let's fit all of this together. 

Adding is organizing. Subtraction is decluttering. Multiplication is productivity. Division is the impact. 

Impact comes from organization. Not productivity - impact. Productivity will increase the speed of the organization you have, but that's it. If we're only as productive as our organization will let us be, how do we optimize organization? Productivity is time bound. You can only get so much done in a day. 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Sunday Basket®

• The Productive Home Solution®

• Planning Day Prep Event

• Workbox Implementation Event

• Sign up for the Newsletter

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

Ok, just one more detail we need to nail down before you start your project - identify your project space. 

We all have a lot going on and I’m guessing a lot of projects. It’s ok to be working on more than one thing at a time. In this episode I share some of those things that I have going on. But how do we organize the projects, have appropriate amounts of time to work on them, and a dedicated space where we can leave a few projects out that are “in progress?” Keep in mind, the biggest difference between work projects and home projects is that work is income generating and home is production generating. Once we finish this remodel and get Abby’s washer and dryer downstairs, we will not be generating income from that project, but we will have increased productivity for both of us. Keeping that in mind, you need to plan financial resources for these projects, too.

Ok, I had a moment of clarity recently. In preparation for this episode, I was thinking of my project workspaces. I realized almost always my work space has been my bed! I loved my room growing up. My mom would update it from time to time and I loved doing projects on my bed. Then when the kids came along? Again, it was my bed. I would help get them ready for bed, Greg would bathe them, and then we’d put them to bed. The kids liked me upstairs when they went to bed, so then I would work on projects in my room for the next 3-4 hours. In my bedroom, on my bed. As a rule, the kids did not go in our room because they were where I was and that was with them in the kitchen, likely. Therefore, the projects were out of the range of little hands. 

Which brings me to an important point. Make sure all your basic supplies are in the project area. Back in the day, I made sure all my scrapbooking supplies were available in my project space. Make it easy for yourself so once you start you have all the things you need at your disposal. 

The other project space, but really I’d have to label it as a workspace, was my kitchen. I love the layout of our family room, kitchen and dining room. When the kids were little, and I revisited this with Grayson, I sectioned off the rooms with baby gates to make one self contained room for us for the day. I remember I used to make awesome playdough (see recipe link below.) It lasted a long time. I kept it out of reach in the laundry room, but all the toys for playdough were within the kids' reach. We basically lived in the kitchen. And as the kids grew, I would alter the cabinets for our needs. At one point, we needed one cabinet dedicated to medicine and vitamins. And I would “audition” the new arrangements. My friend, Carol, used to audition a set up or furniture. Like a bookshelf, she’d audition it in a space in her house and, if it was functional, it stayed and was possibly upgraded. If it didn’t work in that place, then she would audition it in other places. I encourage you to do the same. Try out a desk in your bedroom. If you like it and it works for your life, keep it there. Maybe you get a nicer, better quality desk or realize you need one with drawers or more work space. But you get the idea. 

I want to give you permission to have those project piles around without stressing. Our homes are lived in, not museums. It's about making peace with the ebb and flow of project life. Honestly, it’s refreshing. It’s all about being smart with your space and making it fit your project lifestyle.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Lisa’s Playdough Recipe

• The Sunday Basket®

• The Paper Solution®

• The Household Operations Binder

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter 

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

In this episode, we get an update on Molly, who you first heard about in Episode 239.

As an almost-40 mother of three, Molly was living in a state of overwhelm. She found Organize 365, and her whole life transformed. This is the second six months of that transformation.

Lisa walks us through Molly’s year not as a perfect model to measure ourselves against, but to reassure us that an imperfect path to organization still leads to organization.

Resources from Molly’s journey:

The 100 Day Home Organization Program

Paper Organizing Retreats

The Sunday Basket

Friday Workboxes

Embrace: You are Enough National Conference

Be sure to check out www.organize365.com/a-year-to-get-organized-molly-update for notes, links, and photos from this episode.

Like the show? Leave a review!

If you tried any of my suggestions, I’d love to see them! Follow me on Instagram and join the Facebook group for more great organizing tips, then share your photos with me by tagging me @organize365 or using #organize365!

If you’re ready to use my strategies to finally take back your home, jump right in to the 100 Day Home Organization Challenge. You can try a week free to see if it’s right for you!

Want more information on launching your professional organization business? The Professional Organizer’s Think Tank is for you.

Want more information on adding the Sunday Basket Certification to your current business? We’d love for you to join us in the Certification Program!

Welcome to the newest Wednesday Podcast! On Wednesdays, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365 community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps, and triumphs along their organizing journey. You can see and hear transformation in action. I look forward to helping YOU get Organized!

This week’s Tranformational Podcast features Suzanne G. She is a minimalist, married to a maximalist. They got married in their 40’s and they share their home with her adult stepson. They have combined houses twice and she had to make space just to hang up her coat in the entryway.  I hope you enjoy her story and find her as inspiring as I do!

I am grateful that you are reaching out to share your stories and progress with me and with the Organize 365 community. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.

For more information about the programs and products mentioned in this podcast please check out these links:

Organize 365

The Sunday Basket ® 

100 Day Home Organization Program

All Access

Friday Workboxes

On the Wednesday podcast, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365­® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps and triumphs along their organizing journey. You can see and hear transformation in action. I look forward to helping YOU learn the skill of organization, too!

In this episode, I introduce you to Lori S. Lori is married with two adult children. Her daughter has completely left the nest and is getting married next spring and her son is in college. Lori has always been an organized person and loves to plan as much as I do. She found the podcast while looking for new ideas and systems to try on her organizational journey.

Lori immediately upgraded the DIY Sunday Basket® in her kitchen to the real Sunday Basket®. She and I discuss how all the solutions ebb and flow, shrink and expand depending on your phase of life. 

A real light bulb moment for Lori was when she learned my philosophy on getting your storage room organized. In The Productive Home Solution™, I teach you how to organize your storage room as a store. This has allowed Lorie to transform her home over the past year.

Lori has unlocked her time to do what she is uniquely gifted to do and that includes writing a book! We discuss Lori’s book, “One Shade Greener at Home: A Room by Room Guide to Reduce Toxins, Lighten Your Environmental Footprint, and Live Simpler”. Listen in to hear the things I’m doing to live greener!

Lori and I both agree that small consistent steps over time make the biggest difference!

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®
• The Productive Home Solution™
• The Paper Solution®
• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter 

I am grateful that you are reaching out to share your stories and progress with me and with the Organize 365® community. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

In part two of this three part Ready, Set, Go series, we are going to discuss the middle child of the Ready, Set, Go family - SET. What does it mean to get SET and to be SET?

The running joke for visionary entrepreneurs like myself is the quote, “Ready, Fire, Aim!”

And boy have I lived that quote in the past! At first, in my 20s, it was because I didn’t know what I was doing - at home, at work, or as a parent. I learned the hard way - every time!

But later in my 30s, it wasn’t really my fault anymore. There wasn’t enough time to prepare or aim. Life was moving so fast that I was missing important things while running at Mach 1 speed!

It wasn’t my fault. And it’s not yours either.

The last time we had “preparation time” in our calendars was in grade school where our teachers carefully planned our assignments and workload so we had time to complete things.

By the time high school arrived: extra-curricular activities, part-time jobs and sleep filled in all the cracks and then some.

No one has enough time. And no one is going to give us more time. #truth

Work colleagues, parents, children, partners, neighbors and friends all want our time. Some demand, some plead, some expect it without question. And we give it…gladly, lovingly, freely.

We get up earlier, stay up later, eliminate hobbies and rearrange our days.

Eve Rodsky compares our time this way, “Men’s time is worth diamonds, and women’s time is like sand.”

Ouch. You can’t unhear that. But, it’s true for me.

Greg has a golf night. He goes on fishing and golf trips. I haven’t had a hobby night or gone on a trip with friends since having children (22 years ago)!

After work, Greg makes dinner and then watches TV. Now, I do the dishes (sometimes), take a bath and do a puzzle. But I feel weird about it.

Until a few years ago, my after-work activities involved driving kids, cleaning the kitchen, laundry, straightening up, etc. until I felt it was an acceptable time for me to stop “working” and take my bath.

When are we going to give ourselves the permission to take back a little of our time?

Last week we talked about being ready. The truth is you and I are OVER ready. We have been for decades. But we don’t make the plan and run the race to a different end. Why is this?

SET is all about saying your time is not more important, but AS important as everyone else’s.

For me, in this season, it means I am going to start my Ph.D program and travel - A LOT. For work, for pleasure, and for me.

Let me be clear. My family is not happy about it. They intellectually support it, but in words and actions, they are not pleased with the change.

Am I being selfish? Maybe.

Would I want it for every single one of them? Absolutely! When one of my family members wants to…further their education, move out, have a baby, take a trip, find a new doctor, pursue a new passion…I facilitate the how, when, where, and payments.

I am happy for the sacrifices of time and self-focus I have devoted to my family over the last 25 years, and for the ability to grow Organize 365® around my family.

But now I want to pour more of my time and talent into my unique gifting.

So, how do we get SET to do the things we want and need to do in life?

We know how to help others in our lives get set. We set our kids up for school, set-up their school supplies, bookbags, dorm rooms, etc. We set our partners up for their endeavors and trips. We know how to get set-up; we just don't often look at doing it for ourselves the way we do for others.

How do we SET ourselves up for success?

Getting SET comes after getting ready because when you are getting SET you are already ready. You are doing the final steps before you GO (more on that next week).

What do you need to GO? Get that together now.

How can you get SET for a productive and proactive new year?

If your goal is to reclaim your home and your time - I have the solution for you. The Productive Home Solution™ is a new way of thinking about your space and time! Half of the battle with anything we are ready and set to do is deciding what the next step is (and then the next step after that). Avoid decision fatigue and use The Productive Home Solution™ as your roadmap to guide you through the journey of getting organized. Organization will carry you through so many of your goals and was the first step for me getting to where I am today.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Productive Home Solution™
• Organize 365® Year End Bundle
• The Productive Home Solution™ Planning Day - December 31, 2022

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

Planning my week on Sunday saves me hours of time each week. These FREE printables will help you save time too! Click here to download your printables: https://organize365.com/sunday-basket-planning-printables/

My goal as a professional organizer is to help people get rid of the stuff they don't want so they can breathe and enjoy the stuff they choose to keep.

Honestly, the quickest and easiest way to do this has been to donate everything that can be donated at Goodwill and trash the rest. 

However, as I have matured as an organizer and grown my Cincinnati team, I have started to see how the items you may no longer want or need will fit a need somewhere else in the community. As our team had moved in to organizing and cleaning out family homes for sale it has become more apparent that we should and could be sharing these treasures for good.

So, this fall our team set to work and researched who really wanted and needed the stuff our clients no longer used. I am so sad I had not taken the time to do this earlier. :( The items you and I no longer like or need -really do fit a need someone else in the community has.

This list is specific for Cincinnati, but it will get you thinking outside of the box no matter where you live. This list will continue to be updated and refined. Feel free to leave a comment or contact me with more current information and additional donation locations I have not found.

Click here to read the full post.

Welcome to the newest Wednesday Podcast! On Wednesdays, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365 community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps, and triumphs along their organizing journey. You can see and hear transformation in action. I look forward to helping YOU get Organized!

This week, I share my conversation with Jordan B. She lives with her husband and two teenage sons. Jordan started with her Sunday Basket®. After doing the 100 Day Program, she finds it much easier to have guests over without stress. I hope you find her story as inspiring as I do! 

I am grateful that you are reaching out to share your stories and progress with me and with the Organize 365 community. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.

For more information about the programs and products mentioned in this podcast please check out these links:

Organize 365

The Sunday Basket®

100 Day Home Organization Program

ALL ACCESS

Workboxes

Paper Organizing Retreats

I look forward to helping YOU get Organized!

I have been hedging my affinity for Goodwill due to the backlash in public sentiment. My goal is to help you declutter your house, not debate current news events.

However, when I received an email from the Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities agency asking to help spread the word about the goodwill that Goodwill was doing in our community, I was excited to jump in.

In today's podcast, I go more in depth about my affinity for Goodwill over the last 20 years and how I have experienced excellent service and amazing opportunities in my community for the disabled because of the opportunities Goodwill provides.

By using the voucher in today’s post, the value of your Goodwill donation will NOT be sold. It will be given as a CREDIT to the less fortunate in our community to use as money in the Goodwill shops.

It has been my experience that Goodwill lives up to their mission, "Goodwill Easter Seals of Miami Valley and Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries provide vocational training to people with developmental disabilities. Goodwill’s core mission is to empower people with disabilities and other needs to achieve independence and to enhance their lives.  The local Goodwill organizations are a part of the world’s largest and most successful network providing employment and training services for people with disabilities and other barriers to employment."

No matter where you donate, giving the items in your home which have become clutter to others in need is always a blessing!

View the post and voucher link here:

http://organize365.com/spring-cleaning-donations-goodwill-vouchers-people-butler-county/

Welcome to the newest Wednesday Podcast! On Wednesdays, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365 community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps, and triumphs along their organizing journey. You can see and hear transformation in action. I look forward to helping YOU get Organized!

On today's Transformational Podcast Elizabeth P and I talk about her organizing journey. Elizabeth is firmly in the sandwich generation. She initially was living in and traveling between two cities. I hope you enjoy her story and find her as inspiring as I do!

I am grateful that you are reaching out to share your stories and progress with me and with the Organize 365 community. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.

For more information about the programs and products mentioned in this podcast please check out these links:

Organize 365

The Sunday Basket ® 

100 Day Home Organization Program

All Access

Friday Workboxes

For the final episode in this series about the Education Friday Workbox®, I'm talking with Kate McDonnell. Kate is single and lives with her cat in Colorado. She has been a teacher for over 15 years. Her career started with teaching science but her background is in computer programming. She now teaches many different technology-related courses in different formats with a schedule that changes every week.

Kate is also a certified organizer. You can find out more about working with her here.

In this episode, Kate and I discuss the challenges of teaching and organizing so many different classes and then the administrative work that goes along with that. Kate loves using the portable Sunday Basket® to carry her Slash pockets and papers with her to her various schools. We also talk a little about managing email. You know that I'm not your digital organizer, but I do have some tips for organizing email. (I share even more about email organization in the email course inside of The Productive Home Solution™.)

Learn more about the Education Friday Workbox® here.

Registration for Teacher Camp is now open. Click here to learn more and sign up.

See the full blog post at: overwhelm-to-plan-organize-365-story-part3

This is part three of a series sharing the Organize 365® Story. This week, I want to talk with you about what happens as we move from one phase to the next. Typically, we get overwhelmed, feel like we are living in chaos, and struggle to have a plan. We struggle to keep pace with the new change while we are trying to learn a new level of organization, and the transition takes longer than we expect. As things get moving faster and you begin to feel overwhelmed, the way to regain clarity and be able to adjust from being reactive to productivity is the Sunday Basket®. This week, I want to share the details of the Sunday Basket® to help the Organize 365® community to have a shared vocabulary and foundational language.

No matter when you begin your transformational journey (or when you need to reset or restart), this information will be here as a reference for you. Listen in as I teach you about how I think about how we get our homes organized. These ideas are at the core of everything I teach and how I approach organizing and will help you take those first steps towards learning the skills of organization.

This episode is a part of the Organize 365® Glossary Playlist. Listen to other episodes on the Glossary Playlist here.

In The Paper Solution, I teach you how to ditch your file cabinet and replace it with portable, functional binders for reference papers. The Paper Solution will tell you how to set up your binders, gives you access to sample printables, and gives you a list of what to include in each of the binders I recommend you create. 

The Medical Organizing Binder

Before my father passed away, I was his power of attorney for health care. I was doing my best, but I did not know his medical history, diagnosis, or even his medications. I started out writing down information on scraps of paper, but I was traveling several hours between my home and his, and it was hard to keep it organized. Having test and lab results recorded in an organized way helps me to feel less anxious and more informed.  

The Medical Organizing Binder keeps track of your diagnosis, family history, and what is normal for you (or for the person you care for). Everything I and the medical team could want to know about my children is organized in one place. And, in the US, digital medical records are not kept indefinitely and they do not always transfer between providers. The Medical Organizing Binder allows you to keep a complete personal medical history in a portable and organized system. For details on what to include in your binder, listen to the podcast and then check out page 209 of The Paper Solution. 

Try out a sample FREE mini Emergency Medical Binder printable at organize365.com/emergency - Feel free to share this link with family, friends, and co-workers!

Has your New Year’s energy kicked in yet? It’s time to capitalize on that energy! We know you have goals and we have the tools you need to get you there!

One of the things that I have learned over the last decade is that life is work. There’s unpaid work at home and paid work at work and sometimes there’s unpaid work at work and sometimes there’s paid work at home. It’s all work. In order for me to be the best me I can be I need to plan for both the unpaid and the paid work that is my privilege and responsibility as a contributing member of society.

We have heard from many of you that you are trying to decide or pick what your focus will be in 2023 and I say we should just have it all.

An organized person unlocks their time, allowing them to pursue what they are uniquely created to do! The start of the new year feels like the turning of a page, a clean slate to make lasting organizational change in our lives - at home and at work. Organization is a learnable skill. One that will take you wherever you want to go.

Follow your renewed energy that the new year brings and use it to maximize your progress! Half the battle in learning the skill of organization is deciding what to do next. The “Organization Is For ME 2023” Bundle can make those decisions for you. This bundle will assist you with getting organized and making consistent progress towards your goals at HOME and at WORK.

Why can’t we have it all? Why can’t you be organized with your paid work and your unpaid (but oh so fulfilling) unpaid work? 

That’s why we’ve put together the Organization is for Me in 2023 Bundle - to help you do just that. You don’t have to choose between work and home. This bundle is going to give you the courses and tools you need to excel at both. 

In this bundle you’ll get The Productive Home Solution™ with Planning Day. As well as The Friday Workbox® system with the Goal Planner and Planning Day for your work.

Imagine how amazing it will feel to unlock your time in 2023?! How it would feel to come home to an organized house and create a system and routine for managing your work, passion projects or business?

This is your YEAR! Be all you can be with the Organization is for Me 2023 Bundle!

Episode Resources:

• Watch the video
• Organization is for Me 2023 Bundle
• The Productive Home Solution™

On the Wednesday podcast, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365­® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps and triumphs along their organizing journey. You can see and hear transformation in action. I look forward to helping YOU learn the skill of organization, too!

In this episode, I introduce you to Katelyn S. In this can’t miss interview, you will get to hear how Katelyn went from a self-described borderline hoarder to being ready to move with just two suitcases (one dedicated to her Organize 365® products) halfway around the world! 

Katelyn’s transformation brings tears to my eyes. She absolutely embodies the Organize 365® mission, visions and values. When I started Organize 365®, I wanted to have a positive impact on helping people become organized so they can do what they are uniquely created to do and when you hear Katelyn’s story - you will hear how organization freed up her time and mind to do exactly that. 

Listen in to find out where Katelyn is headed and why! She has some exciting adventures ahead of her.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®
• The Education Friday Workbox®
• The Productive Home Solution™
• Embrace
• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter 

I am grateful that you are reaching out to share your stories and progress with me and with the Organize 365® community. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

This time of year we have a lot on our plates and a new perspective can always be helpful. I recorded this episode to give examples of what I presume is happening in all households, but in our minds we conjure up a totally different scenario. In this episode, I am talking about the homes with a married couple with children, which I realize is a small population, with lessons that anyone can apply to life.

Failed Delegation

I think it’s fair to say that no one is doing nothing in the house. Some people do less, like in my family, but my little Lisa heart is happy doing all the things, even at home. But when I do feel my capacity waning, I decide to delegate or delete since I know I can’t get it done. The other day Greg said, “You do a lot, let me do something for you. How can I help?” So I gave him a couple of small tasks and he asked for more. I thought I was giving him the task of getting the fence installed, but Greg thought it would be a collaborative effort. Then things were lost in communication or lack there of. The fresh perspective here is, if you delegate, delegate the whole task otherwise you end up micromanaging to ensure the task was completed!

Motivational Shift

In my studies I have come across this Self Determination Theory by Ryan and Deci. It explains the 6 levels of motivation. I chose Sunday dinner at our house to show the shift from Amotivation (total lack of motivation) up 4 levels to Integration Motivation (meaning in congruence of goals.)  When we started family dinner at our house, Greg was the cook and I felt obligated to help with some aspect of the meal (AKA Introjection Motivation - do it for approval of clothes-guilt). I would help with the salad and rolls thinking about how much the meal cost us and do the dishes because that’s how it was when I was a kid. Whoever didn’t cook, cleaned up.

Over time, it has become something that is a part of our family. It’s weird if due to a trip or another reason, we don’t have Sunday dinner. It’s like something is missing. At Sunday dinner I take care of the salad and rolls. I then clean up the dishes and get dessert ready. Identification Motivation - I do the salad, rolls, and dishes because you identify as the person in the family that does those things. My motivation changed. 

Not too long ago, I was blissfully washing dishes after Sunday dinner. My heart was so content with gratitude. It wasn’t because I got to wash dishes. It was because Sunday dinner started earlier due to a football game. We had appetizers on all the fun dishes we’ve collected over the past couple years. Grayson and our dog get so excited when Nana, Greg’s mom, comes over. I was washing the dishes we used to dish out the meal that Greg had cooked and it made him so happy. It’s great to have our children join us and sometimes their friends will join us, too. We all look forward to it and it’s rewarding to everyone. I now experience Integration Motivation, meaning it’s in congruence with our family’s (or a group's) goal. Our family’s goal is Sunday dinner.

As the household CEO, there’s always something to do. You need to decide to do it, delegate it or delete it. I’m always trying to gain perspective on why I do the things I do. I’m a fan of longevity and significance. I ask myself what is the significance of this task? How does it help others? Is it necessary? When I consider these questions I can make the decision on what to do about the task at hand, like going to the grocery store, delegating new tasks to a family member, or helping with Sunday dinner. It’ll give you a new perspective on that task! 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Organize 365® Podcast Resources

• The Sunday Basket®

• The Paper Solution®

• The Productive Home Solution

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter 

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

At Organize 365®, we divide our work into four categories. As a shortcut, we use the Friday Workbox® colors to categorize the different kinds of work. These colors are pink, purple, blue, and green. 

Creating a shared vocabulary and defining different kinds of work gets all of our team on the same page. Together, we move faster in the same direction and have fewer episodes of miscommunication. 

Today is Wednesday - it is a mix of purple and blue work.

Wednesday tends to have some departmental meetings and I use the rest of my time to focus on some purple work to meet end-of-year deadlines.

In this podcast, I will take you along and talk to you at different times during my workday. 

Part of what I share is some different productivity habits I have slowly added in over the past 30 years that help me to be more effective and get so much done. 

Listen in and I’ll share about my meetings with Amy, Mary, and Sue. I also share some of the details of how Organize 365® functions, how I make decisions, and how I go through my workday.

Sometimes, you need to do a whole bunch of different kinds of work on the same day. In many ways, Wednesday is a rainbow day for me. 

What systems or tools do you use to keep your work organized during a rainbow day?

Do I have ADHD? My mom doesn't think I have ADHD. I didn't think I had ADHD. At one point, I adamantly opposed people who suggested I had ADHD.

But, in more recent years, I have thought: Maybe I do have ADHD?

When I would organize women in the Cincinnati area, many would start their appointments by telling me that they had or thought they had ADHD. My kids received their ADHD diagnoses when they were children and attended Springer School and Center for many years. I was a teacher and I saw many kids receive their ADHD diagnosis and the support put in place for them.

My book How ADHD Affects Home Organization came out of this time of discovery and research about ADHD and research about organization. (By the way, you can now get the audiobook for free on our new Organize 365® ADHD Playlist!)

People who have ADHD need more structure and support. It's not an issue of intellect. It's an issue of executive functioning. Everyone learns at a different pace and organization is a learnable skill. It's just that people who have ADHD tend to need a person to help put structure in place for them to learn the skill of organizing.

In this episode, I fill you in on my journey of learning about ADHD and then coming to the point of deciding to find out if I actually have ADHD... or not.

Many things came together recently for me to reach this point personally. I have done some biohacking with my Oura Ring and Apple Watch. I began a partnership and series of webinars with ADHD Online and learned more about their services.

But, it was my recent meeting with Barbara Hunter that pushed me over the edge. She was at Springer School and Center for over 20 years. I took any class they offered as my kids were students there. They often bring in top-notch experts in conjunction with Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Barbara is now doing executive function coaching through her company Integrated Learning Designs. In this meeting, we were discussing how there are many resources for students and employees with ADHD, but no one is really addressing how ADHD affects your home life.

So, then, I pondered out loud whether I actually have ADHD or not. Do I really want to know? What would it change if I knew? I wouldn't medicate for ADHD at this point in my life if I have a diagnosis because I have skills and systems already in place to make my life run smoothly. What would knowing that I have or do not have ADHD do for me? What I really want to know is my level of executive functioning and how to optimize that, whether I have ADHD or not!

Barbara tells me there's a test for that! It's called The BRIEF-A. I was in! Just in our casual conversation, Barbara saw signs in me that pointed towards an ADHD diagnosis. And I saw more signs. I always had a floating "C" in school, I'm a talker, I interrupt people, I'm a busybody who doesn't vacation well, and I can't sit to watch TV without a puzzle to work on or laundry to fold. So, I made arrangements to take the test with Barbara.

Before that, still unsure of if I really wanted to know the answer, I decided with some trepidation and some encouragement from Joey to first take the test from ADHD Online to see what they had to say.

The results? According to ADHD Online and their assessment, I have ADHD.

Next week, I talk about my results from The BRIEF-A and my meeting with Barbara Hunter. What does Barbara have to say about my executive functioning based on The BRIEF-A?

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• Book: How ADHD Affects Home Organization
• ADHD Online
• Springer School and Center
• Barbara Hunter and Integrated Learning Designs
• The BRIEF-A

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

In case you missed it, today I am sharing this audio replay of my recent Stay at Home Parent webinar.

I mentioned a previous webinar, Swiss Cheese Organizing. In this webinar, I share how the order in which you get organized makes a difference. I know it is hard to prioritize your limited time and resources, but you are worth it! AND your organization will help everyone around you! 

Now is the perfect time to join the Organize 365® community in the Complete Home Organization Bundle. This bundle includes all the essential tools for organizing, planning, and managing all the roles you play, as well as a FREE Complete Sunday Basket® System and The Paper Solution® book!

Sign up TODAY so we can ship out all your school supplies next week in time for Home Planning Day on August 24th!

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Swiss Cheese Organizing Webinar

• Complete Home Organization Bundle

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter 

On the Wednesday podcast, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365­® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps and triumphs along their organizing journey. I am grateful that you are reaching out to share with me and with this community. You can see and hear transformation in action. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

As we head into 2021, I want to talk with you about moving from a reactive life to a proactive one by resetting your daily routines. In 2020, many of us picked up some bad habits and time wasting activities that snuck into our schedules. I am working on recapturing my time for purposeful activity, and I want to share my thoughts and strategies with you.

When I consider daily routines, I look at the morning, afternoon, and evening time periods. I am going to discuss each of these and share what I was doing pre-pandemic, how 2020 dramatically changed these times of day, and what I want these routines to look like in 2021. 

I first shared my thoughts about a morning routine back in Episode 192. You can listen to that if you want more information about my morning routine before the pandemic of 2020. 

We are going to start with the morning routine, because that is when our day first starts. Traditionally, morning routine strategies are written by men without children who take over an hour to get their day started - even without showering, hair or makeup. My reality is that my mornings have almost always been dictated by what my family needs. 

My basic morning routine takes me about 45 minutes just to get prepared to leave the house and start my day. When I get up, I get ready for the day and then leave my bedroom. I do not lounge around the house in the morning. I get ready for the most dressy event of the day and stay dressed all day long. I do not ever go back and change my clothes. 

With the pandemic, my morning routine faced several disruptions. I had all this content that I felt like I had to consume before I could get out of bed and start my day. My spouse and whole family were home too, which changed how I was working. Around this time, my mental mindset was changing and the podcasts I listened to completely changed. We had to quarantine several times as a family due to COVID exposures (everyone was thankfully safe and negative). Joey totaled his car, which meant he needed more rides. Honestly, I just abdicated my morning routine in so many ways, and became reactive to the changes happening in my life. 

As you build your morning routine for 2021, ask yourself: What do you want?

• When do you want to get up?
• When do you want to start your work day or tasks?
• What things do you want in your morning routine?
• What do you want done early in the day?
• Do you want to change what media you are consuming in the morning?

Please feel free to share your morning routine ideas in the Organize 365 Facebook Group!

Proactive versus Reactive

Listen in to how I map out someone going from a completely reactive life to a proactive one.

Since I don’t have a lot of margin in my life right now, there are things I used to do regularly that I’m unable to do. I now have a 2-week break from school and I will be sharing how I plan to continue my proactive living without the additional margin in my life.

At first I thought I would take the additional time off from school and put it to working more, but SURPRISE, I have decided to take some additional time off from work to do more personal and family related things. I want to have the flexibility to do whatever my energy is in allowing myself the freedom to do all these things in whatever order and be even better prepared for my next school semester.

Here are some of the things I plan to take care of during my break:

• Reorganize the storage rooms
• Clean out the family room and toys
• Move into outside living
• Personal organizing - closet, bathroom, purse, car, supplements, and personal care
• Stock the house for the next 4 months
• Deep cleaning
• Catching up on podcasts
• Listen to audiobooks
• Sunday Basket® deep dive
• Binder updates
• Photo printing
• Puzzles and TV watching with Greg
• Fun family outings

I am in a season where I am running really fast and I love it! What season are you in and how are you planning for these areas of your life?

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Follow my journey on Instagram - Check out the PhD Highlight Button

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!