And here’s the article:

Summer… ahhh… there’s a palpable change in the air – a feeling of lightness, fun, relaxation, and freedom from worry. For me, summer starts when school ends. The end of the school year, projects and sports press us for time resulting in a start to summer that is fraught with stress and anxiety. This year, get it together before the children get out of school and before the temperature rises. Kick the summer organizing into high gear now and your summer savvy will be the envy of all.

Of course, the responsibilities of life and work don’t just go away with the change of the seasons. Especially if you or your children will be traveling this summer, things can get pretty complicated. But there’s plenty you can do to prepare yourself for a fun-filled relaxing summer. Here are some tips and ideas to organize your summer – from “casa”, to camp, to cottage!

1.         STORAGE

Create a space to sort through all of the “stuff” that has been collecting around the house. Make a special pile of things that you haven’t used in over a year. Then decide what you don’t need anymore.

Dedicate an area in the basement and/or garage for seasonal storage. Install storage shelves (make sure they are big enough and deep enough for those big plastic bins) and hooks.  Categorize as follows:

a)   Cottage

b)   Sports – Summer

c)   Sports -Winter

d)   Camp

Get plastic bins that securely shut. Label them clearly with a black permanent marker. You want to make sure the bin doesn’t get “reassigned” while the contents are in use J. For inside the bins, use zip-lock bags to keep things clearly organized. The vacuum zip-lock bags can be very handy for storing all your winter hats and gloves or summer/camp towels and blankets – they take up a lot less space and it keeps them dust and mildew-free.

If you do not have sufficient space in either of these locations, consider purchasing a deck box. Deck boxes are usually less than $100, water tight and provide you with an excellent source of extra outdoor storage for summer outdoor accessories.

2.         INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

Establish Travel Central. Whether it’s in a dedicated notebook, filing cabinet or a vacation category in your handheld organizer – keep all travel information in one place. If you know your family are going to be traveling a lot (to the cottage, to camp) then think about getting a portable file box and that way you will have access to everything you need – regardless of where you or your children are.

Include contact information for

• airlines,
• the children’s camp (address, phone numbers, email etc)
• cottage
• vacation destination
• car rental agencies
• copies of passports
• copies of health card numbers and/or insurance
• frequent flyer numbers
• itineraries
• personal packing lists for each family member
• a “before we leave” checklist
• instructions for house-sitters

3.         PACKING

As you plan and prepare, set aside an area to gather travel essentials for you children’s camp – add travel-sized toiletries, tissues, travel appliances and personal care items. Moving from “list” to “packed” is easier if all your gear can be viewed in one place.

Having a successful and happy summer does require some advance planning, but with a little work before the last school bell rings, you can right the heat wave and have fun all summer long!

About the Author:

On the Board of Directors for Professional Organizers in Canada (POC), Silver Leaf member of POC and a professional organizer since 2000, Isolde’s clients range from the working parent, to retirees, to the organizationally challenged. Specialising in working with entrepreneurs, executives, the home office, not-for-profits and career transitioning. Situations that require sensitivity, ingenuity and insight, helping her clients achieve their dreams, be their own boss, and enjoy the journey of it all a lot more.

Contact information:

Isolde O Neill  Getting It Together Organizing

www.gettingittogetherorganizing.com

Blog: www.organizingodyssey.com

Isolde@gettingittogetherorganizing.com

Tel: 416-737-3898

POC website: www.organizersincanada.com

CAUSES AND SYMPTOMS:

As I said last time about the PILER: They don’t trust traditional filing systems, if it’s out of sight it’s out of mind and they worry they won’t find it again. So they pile.  THE PILER piles because traditional filing systems don’t work for how their minds organize information. THE PILER organizes chronologically not alphabetically. Also unlike the rest of us mortals “current” to a PILER can be up to three years ago! If they have a pile in their office it’s because that pile has something, some piece of information, that potentially holds an answer to something (another pile) they are working on now. Thus they can’t put it away yet – they still need it. The piling system of the PILER only becomes a problem for them when they run out of space to pile. They know exactly what each pile is about and when it was created… so don’t move their piles or they will have a panic attack as they won’t be able to find anything anymore. So when a PILER does finally file something away, it’s when it’s ready for archiving.

They think their “system” allows them the greatest flexibility in multi-tasking. They can dip in and out of the many projects and problems they are working on.

Next week I am going to explore the PILER further and discuss how they are perceived and the kinds of dynamics they create as a result of their piles. Stay tuned!

What's Your Type?

I have over 12 years experience working in business environments, helping organizations  with efficiency, company moral and productivity.

Specifically, busy professionals, parents and entrepreneurs call me when they want to be more efficient with their time, their processes and systems so that they can be more productive with less overwhelm. They want to be organized because they want their life back.

So why is it so difficult to organize our spaces?

The first reason is because we were never taught how to! Not in school, not in college, not at home. We may be taught how to tidy, how to clean but not how to organize.

The other reason is because we have relationships with our environments. We have relationships with the things we put in those environments and we have relationships people in those environments too. When it comes to how people behave “organizationally” in their environments – I have broken it down into 4 types.

The Spreader, The Piler, The Filer (or “I’m All Right Jack”), and Nester. I created the “organizational type” system because I noticed one major area being consistently ignored when it came to tackling office overwhelm, clutter and moral. There are three areas to examine when dealing with organizing an office environment – indeed any environment. They are as follows:

1. Environment: You have a specific space within which you work or live and this space can’t shrink or enlarge. What you have and what you do in that space must fit into it if it is to function properly.
2. Function/Activity: What you do in that space, how many people use it, and how many activities happen in the space also affects how I approach creating the right organizational solution.
3. Personality Type. The organizational type you are also affects how you interact with the space.

The Piler

Meet the PILER: They don’t trust systems, if it’s out of sight it’s out of mind, they’re worried they won’t find it again. So they pile. They pile on their desks, they pile on the floor, they pile on the window ledge. If there’s a surface – it has a pile on it. The great thing about these kinds of people are that they are the master of multi-tasking. They have all kinds of projects on the go, are active members of committies and love what they do.

Q: Recognise yourself?

The Spreader

Meet the HIDER/SPREADER: They are unique in that they are both sides of a coin. You’ll recognize them in one of two ways. Either they will have what kind of appears like an organized space but when you open a drawer, a door, look under their desk, behind the door. Yikes!!!! Complete chaos. The other way you will recognize them is because literally everything will be everywhere, all over their desk, spilling out of drawers, cupboards. Nothing organized. The fantastic thing about the Hider/Spreader is that they have the most amazing minds. They are innovators. Their mind is full of ideas and thoughts.

Q: Recognise yourself?

The Nester

Meet the The Nester: You can’t miss these folks. They have practically every room of their home in their office. Pictures, wardrobe, photos, blankets, first-aid, food. Their office is a home away from home. And that’s the best thing about them. They are also like your home away from home. They are welcoming, they cheer you up, they care about that plant that never gets watered. They care. The Nester humanizes every office.

Q: Recognise yourself?

The Filer (or “I’m All Right Jack”)

And finally I’d like to introduce you to THE FILER They command attention because seriously, they file, their desk is never covered in clutter, they personal belongings all over the office. The life blood of any successful, smoothing running organization –  they are accurate and agreeable. So what’s wrong with them!!!! Well, on the downside they can be heard to say occasionally “If it ain’t broke why fix it?” and they are probably responsible for the walls lined with large ominous filing cabinets dating back eons. And that means that they can be the very people who can miss opportunities to grow and improve efficiency. There’s always room for improvement after all.

Q: Recognise yourself?

Next week I examine  the challenges of each Organizational Personality Type and suggest tips to help each of them. Stay tuned!

Unwrap the gift of time – tips on keeping on top of the holiday season

http://www.heartandstroke.com/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=ikIQLcMWJtE&b=4016859&ct=11516905

Recently I was featured in an article for the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Newsletter about preparing for the holiday season.

My mother died. Last year. It was such a shock, so sudden. I felt like an onion; every day a new layer of grief, of retrieved lost memories would unfold. It was all I could do to just keep going. And as an entrepreneur one has no choice. It’s my business, if I don’t work, I don’t earn. I had no choice but to keep going.

This is a very personal blog. And I guess that’s why I have written nothing, or next to nothing in over a year. How personal does one go with a professional blog? Would it be of relevance or interest to readers?

I think it is. A good percentage of my clients are people who have, or are going through, grief. It could be the loss of a loved one, but it could just as equally be the end of a marriage or career. And the majority of my clients are working professionals who run their own businesses. I can tell how long an individual has left it before seeking help just by the type of chaos that accumulates. It could be months, a couple of years or a decade. It’s usually a decade though. A decade of things building up, dreams being put on the back burner and health issues being ignored.

I remember the moment when it first hit me that my mother wasn’t just ill but was about to die. It was like my whole soul turned to dust. I explained to my clients what was happening and that I would have to postpone our work. They were amazing and so understanding.

I knew from my experience of working with people who had lost a loved one that piles build up, things get lost and before you know it you are surrounded and engulfed in documents, To-Do lists and chaos. I run my own business, an organizing business no less. I could not afford to fall behind. I also wanted to be able to be fully with my family at this time and not worry about my business. The biggest struggle with being self-employed is creating boundaries between your personal and professional life.

And so, a year later I am sitting down to write this blog.Of course the loss of my mother will always be with me. A client of mine put it this way: “Grief is like this backpack you are carrying, that you will carry your whole life. It’s always there. Some days it feels like you are carrying a backpack of bricks and other days it’s just lip balm”. Up until now it’s just been bricks I have been carrying. I so appreciate the days when it’s as light as lip balm.

There’s all kinds of help out there when you are struggling with grief and loss. But there’s little or nothing about how keep the day to day practicality of living your life together. Or even what to expect, what to be on guard for. The following are just some tips that I think you might find useful if you have been through or are going through a deep loss and feel like you are loosing control of the basic skills in managing your life.

MEMORY:

I found that my memory was no longer reliable (actually it’s still goes blank occassionally) and this causes enormous anxiety and problems…. particularly if you have arranged to meet someone, a potential client say, and you have no idea where you wrote down their number and address, to let them know you are running late (because you can’t find your keys!). It is important to keep everything in one place – a note book.

Get a note book. I like the one by Blueline (A9 Series) because it’s hard-backed and you can open it flat. Then get some of those tabs Avery sells called Note Tabs. In the front of this book you will write any messages, conversations, addresses of where you need to go, phone numbers etc. There is a space at the top right hand of the page for putting the date – make sure you do this every time you start a new page. Then halfway or so into the book put a stick-on tab that says “To Do’s”. This is where you will write your To Do’s. Again when you write a To Do list date it at the top right.

I also have an app on my iPhone for shopping because I would go blank when I got to the grocery store and come home with the oddest things. This way when I entered my drugstore or supermarket I would check my shopping list app and see what I needed.

If you have everything in one place then when you forget, which you will do a lot of, you know where to look.

DECISION MAKING

Another major problem that affects even the most mundane moments. It’s quite amazing how hard it is to make a decision when you are in a fog. Create some rules for yourself. Here are some that helped me.

Perishable Items:

At the beginning of every month go through your fridge and kitchen cupboards and dump anything that is past it’s sell by date. Don’t “if, and or but” yourself over this just do it. The goal here is to prevent a situation getting out of control. You don’t want to labour it – it’s a rule and a routine – do it and move on.

Housework:

This is a hard one. Housework never ends but during times of grief and loss it quickly gets out of control. If you don’t have a cleaner and can’t afford one then each week focus on one room, deep clean it and maintain it that week. Then the next week focus on another room. Maintaining a tidy house is easier if you know the deep cleaning is being done on a rotation basis.

Laundry:

Not only could I not decide what to wear but I couldn’t decide if I needed to wash it, iron it or purge it! I am not usually this anal but when you can’t decide what to wear because you don’t know how you feel because you are not sure that last time you felt anything then pulling out the “Martha Stewart” is not a bad thing. I did this simple thing in my wardrobe that really helped me. I categorised my wardrobe in the usual way one would (trousers, skirts, dresses, shirts etc) but then I organized them by colour. I did this with everything and it really helped me put an outfit together on the worst of days.

If you can’t face doing your laundry then drop it off somewhere to be done. It comes back all sorted, folded and perfect looking – and seriously you can’t put a price on that.

PAPER MANAGEMENT:

Paper and document management is a massive problem for everyone so its even more challanging during these times. You need to have a system in place for paper management. I can’t stress this enough. It is neigh on impossible to manage papers when you are in emotional upheaval let alone make a decision about them. Spend the money early on, on getting someone in to put a filing system in place. If you can’t find what you want in five seconds the method you are using is not working. If you do this early on it will be a fraction of the cost financially and emotionally than doing it two, five or ten years later. Opening up old wounds when you have finally found peace is doubly heartbreaking and takes ten times longer to sort (and therefore ten times more expensive). So get a paper management system in place.

When mail comes in break it down into two categories. One will be “Actionable” – i.e. a bill that needs to be paid, an event that has to be scheduled, a letter mailed. The other will be “Filing” – i.e. bank statements, manuals, warranties, cards etc. Don’t make it any more complicated than that. It’s hard to make a decision about something you don’t have a feeling for. So don’t. You just need to be able to find it. When the filing tray is full then file it away (which will be easy because the system you have in place takes care of that). Every day go through your actionable drawer/box and do what makes sense that day to do.

Newspapers, magazines and fliers:

Keep them one month and then recycle. I know you think you would like to read them when you have more time, or they’ll be good for future reference, or you think of someone you want to send the article to. But you won’t and you will just add to your sense of overwhelment and guilt. The grieving process can take years. And you need to put yourself first here… not something that really belongs on a “one day”  To Do list. Again, the goal here is  to prevent something getting out of control. Every month recycle newspapers, magazines and fliers etc.. that you have had a month.

TIME:

I had no sense of time – at all. Also I would get to the end of a day and it would seem like I had done nothing. When it came to scheduling clients I miscalculated how long it would take to get to their businesses. Or I would show up on the wrong day. I remember waiting in a doctors waiting room for over two hours before I realised I had come on the wrong day! I was so sure I was meant to be there, I never properly checked in – just said “Hi” and sat down.

Day Timer – doesn’t matter whether you have a smart phone or a wall calander – write it down. Then at the start of each day check to make sure you know what day it is. You can confirm this via your computer or smart phone. Sounds horrifying but time kind of morphs and you do have to make sure you know what day it is. Once you know the day and date then look over your schedule  so that you get a spatial awareness of what’s ahead.

Also I found writing everything I did into my schedule very useful. Because I would forget how long ago I had spoken with someone. Even if I was just out and about doing errands – I would mark it in my schedule. If I got together with a friend, I would put it in my schedule (even after we met). It’s just difficult to tell what happened recently and what happened…. well a year ago.

INVOICING:

This has got to be a well oiled machine. I invested in a great invoicing system that is web based and very user friendly Freshbooks. I would not have been able to stay on top off things had I not had such a system in place. My billings went out on time, clients got billed for the right days, times and supplies and I could do it from anywhere.

It’s hard going through loss but when you have to run and maintain a business on top of that… well it’s really hard. And I can say that now from personal experience. I was fortunate that I knew from working with and organizing individuals that I would  have challenging times ahead in keeping my business running smoothly. So I got all my systems, processes and environments in shape and today my business is thriving, my clients are happy and I was able to take personal time out for myself, my family and the grieving process and still maintain “business as usual”.

However, Martin Zibauer of Cottage Life approached me regarding traditional Irish dishes he might write about. I was delighted to be of help. My mother’s Irish Stew came to mind immediately. I dug the recipe up and sent it to Martin. I warned him that though it did seem like a pretty bland meal it was “simply delicious”. Martin made the stew and wrote about it for Cottage Life:

Cottage Life

What was interesting about this article was that the dish was so simple – really just lamb, potatoes and one herb. But it’s simplicity allows the ingredients and the meal delight the senses. And I agree with Martin that culturally now-a-days we have become so complicated with our tastes.

It is the same with our lives. We create homes that accommodate so many purposes and needs. We have kitchen gadgets especially designed for one function and one dish. We have creams for so many different parts of our bodies.

Sometimes simple really is best and sometimes it’s also delicious. This year see where you can simplify your life so that what’s important can really be enjoyed and savored.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!