Kissing Your Socks Goodbye

From The New York Times:

Kissing Your Socks Goodbye

The advice of a Japanese organization expert boils down to two rules: Discard everything that does not “spark joy” and do not buy organizing equipment.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/23/garden/home-organization-advice-from-marie-kondo.html?mwrsm=Email


Kat Reichmuth, Professional Organizer
415.860.2474
Serving San Francisco to Mountain View
www.thesimplifiedlife.org


Thanks for sharing, Kat!

-Kiera Rain, Bay Area Professional Organizer Co.
415-786-8266
Serving the East and North Bay
www.BayAreaProfessionalOrganizer.com

Holiday Card and Decor Organizing Tips!

Wishing You A More Organized New Year! If you haven't done it yet, this is the perfect weekend to pack your holiday items away! Getting organized now, will make decking the halls next year a snap! Use color coded containers so next year you can find your decorations quickly They are on clearnace everywhere right now - so grab them this week! Using containers follows a basic organizing principle and a preset # of containers creates a contained, confined amount of space. This gives your collection boundaries and you will know when you have too many decorations. Using colored bins also ensures that whoever you send to the attic or garage will retrieve the right items! When packing up your decorations, also make sure to pack up the holiday cds - you wont need them throughout the year and you will find them at the perfect time next year. Donate your used holiday cards to St Judes Ranch - they recycle and turn them into new cards. They also now accept greeting cards of all types all year long so there is no need to keep stacks of old greeting cards. How to know which cards to let go of? If they are simply signed Love, Aunt Betty - pay them forward. If one has a very special note that means a lot to you - save it and store it in your memory bin. If you receive cards with photographs, don’t feel obligated to keep them. Smile at them and recycle, instead of stuffing them into a drawer! St. Jude's Ranch for Children Attn:  Recycled Card Program 100 St. Jude's Street Boulder City, NV  89005-010   If you have any leftover unused Christmas cards, either donate them at the same time you donate your used cards or store them in your holiday bins for next year. Do not leave them lying around gathering dust for the next 11 months. If you made a gift list, pack that away for next year’s reference. If you haven’t made a gift list, this is your chance to get a jump start on next year - make one before you pack up. Make a note of who you received gifts from and who you gave gifts to while it is fresh in your mind. This also helps with thank you notes and follow up calls while reminding you who you need to buy gifts for next year. Wishing you a clutter-free, stress-free, prosperous and joy-filled 2015!   Click here to watch my Get Organized in 2015 Tips featured on San Diego Living If you like it, please give me a thumbs up!

addSpace To Your Life! San Diego, CA 92103  Tel. 760.840.9997    facebook        twitter

A Mantra to Live By

the simplified life.

DITCH THE STUFF!

spend only what you have.

buy only what you need.

keep only what you truly love.

leave only a small “footprint”.

Back to basics; back to the simplicity that can bring true joy and contentedness to your life; that is where we at the simplified life. (tsl.) try to bring you.
Spend only what you have: The fact that someone has published a book titled “Maxed Out” and another titled “Affluenza” points to the fact that we as a nation definitely have a problem with overspending. While we don't always hit the mark, we at tsl. try to live by the ideal of only spending what we have.
Buy only what you need: Come on, admit it. You have at least 3 can openers, 6 white tank tops and more gadgets than you could use in 8 lifetimes. What if the only items you bought were ones you truly loved/needed? How much less “junk” would you have to sift through in order to find what you need and what is important to you as you’re rushing out of the house on your way to work?
Keep only what you love: In the past, you may not have applied a “buy only what you need/love” philosophy to shopping and now you have items you don’t need/use spilling out of your hall closet and pantry and piled on your dining table. Now’s the time to pare down and either sell or donate what you’re not using and what you don’t love.
Leave only a small “footprint”:This is something near and dear to  tsl’s heart. I think we can all agree that as a society we are wasteful – from the endless mountains of to-go containers and plastic water bottles to junk mail and all the other papers lying around. It has been said that the average person generates 21 bags of trash per month. Even if that’s an exaggeration, we can all take measures to reduce the amount of waste and in conjunction lessen our impact on our environment.

by Kat, Professional Organizer/Owner of The Simplified Life
Organizing San Francisco to Mountain View since 2007

5 Tips to Tackle Your To-Do List

Bay Area Professional Organizer De-Clutter to De-Stress with Kiera Rain “Rename your “To-Do” list to your “Opportunities” list. Each day is a treasure chest filled with limitless opportunities; take joy in checking many off your list.” ― Steve Maraboli, Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience 5 Tips to Tackle Your To-Do List! 1) Do you REALLY need or want to do it? Or can you delete it from your list altogether or at least delegate it to someone else? For an example, I'm so glad I have a landscaper who can take care of my yard for me, especially in this California heat. You may consider hiring a personal assistant if your work load is overloaded. You may want to hire a cleaning service or the neighborhood teen to help out with personal assisting, childcare, lawn care, etc. But even better, is sometimes just completely deleting it from your list! No one is Super Human--we can't do it all. Nor should we. 2) Overwhelmed? Set a Timer for 30 Minutes. When it dings, pat yourself on the back and go back to your regular day. Repeat each day for a week. Or one day a week, same day every week. 3) Use the "Snowball Method." The Snowball Method is a visually depicted metaphor that keeps you focused and the momentum building to reach completed success! This is a wonderful way to approach your debt, your to-do list, scheduling, or anything else you need motivation with. Picture yourself in the snow, making a snowball--it's small, it's the size of your hands. If you want to make it bigger, you place it in the snow and start rolling it, and you watch it as it gets bigger and bigger, picking up more and more snow as it travels along. For your work projects, it's the same thing: take the smallest task at hand (returning a phone call, scheduling that dr's appt, mailing out the wedding RSVP). Completing each small thing, one at a time, will make you feel immediately accomplished, taking weight off your shoulders. You'll be amazed at how quickly your to-do list is whittled down smaller and smaller, and you'll gain momentum with the energy you create by getting more stuff done, faster! You save the biggest, hardest, most time-consuming projects for last, and tackle the smallest tasks first. 4) Do things ONE AT A TIME. Don't overwhelm yourself more by trying to multi-task like a superhero in the ending of the world. Pick up ONE THING at a time, and don't pick up another to-do until you've completed it. You WILL get more done this way, I promise. This concept is especially hard for ADHD clients, but it's a bad habit needing to be broken because it's counterproductive. ONE THING AT A TIME--slow and steady wins the race. :-) 5) Make it Fun! Turn on the lights, play some upbeat music, pour a glass of wine, open your windows for fresh fair and more light, leave behind all the distractions (have Grandma come pick up the kids!) Make a Game out of it. Make a Race out of it. Reward yourself with ice cream once you've finished your goal.

The Cost of Hiring a Professional Organizer

The Cost of Hiring a Professional Organizer

Kiera Rain, Bay Area Professional Organizer

Fellow Professional Organizer in Modesto, CA, Brenda of "Bless This Mess" Organizing has all the right words! Cost of Hiring a Professional Organizer While we spend hundreds, maybe even thousands of dollars over time replacing items that have been lost or damaged, human beings generally have a hard time paying for a service for something we feel we “should” know how to do. This is especially true about organization and productivity. We say things to ourselves like, “This is crazy, I just have to take a Saturday and get this mess all cleaned up. It would be a waste of money to pay for something like that!” I felt the same way about fitness. I know how to exercise. But I don’t unless I have invested money, blocked out the class time on my calendar and establish the habit with the help of a qualified and motivating instructor. Now that I have finally accepted the truth about what really works, I gladly pay my annual dues to the Village Yoga Center and enjoy all the benefits that come from improved fitness and keeping this promise to take care of myself. There really are principles to organization; effective methods for creating and restoring order and “follow through” techniques that maintain productivity. I hear repeatedly how glad my clients are that they decided to invest in a service that has changed their lives in a positive and powerful way.

Laundry Basket Turned Play Storage!

Laundry Basket turned Play Storage!

I have this fella in my own garage, but not for laundry--for basketballs, footballs, frisbees, and cleats! I took out the cloth and wah-lah! It's a great storage space for sports things, especially the ones that can get muddy. It's super easy to put all the balls/play things back in, keeping my outside space and garage tidy, and it's also very portable--it has wheels, handles, it's light weight, and it can quickly and easily be lifted in the car for a day of fun out in the park or for a ball game. Highly recommend!

Back to School Clutter Control

Stop Staring at Clutter--Get Organized with Kiera Rain

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What kind of pliers do you use in arithmetic?

Multipliers!

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Back to School Organizing!

Back to School means school supply and clothes shopping, upcoming paper clutter, homework management, busy mornings, after school sports and activities, games on the weekends and more! Shew--Busy Life when you're a parent!

A parent's call to me:
"Kiera, I need your help getting my kids organized for back to school. There's just too much to deal with, and I'm sick of having to shut their bedroom door just so I don't have to stare at the constant tornado!"

I help kids and parents alike get organized for Back to School by helping to first and foremost, get the space de-cluttered. At the end of every session, I provide free donation and recycling haul-away services, and mail back the donation receipt for a tax write-off. I create systems for functionality, teaching the kids/parents how to become Self-Organized. I organize bedrooms, closets, playrooms, backpacks, school supplies, toy clutter, memorabilia, paper clutter, homework piles.

Ready to get started with me this weekend for Back to School Organizing? 
Click Here to schedule your session!

Photo Organizing Tips!

Bay Area Professional Organizer

Stop Staring at Clutter--Get Organized with Kiera Rain

"Of all of our inventions for mass communication, pictures still speak the most universally understood language."  -Walt Disney

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Photo & Memorabilia Organization!

Tubs of pictures in closets and under beds, undeveloped rolls of film, packets of pictures hidden in drawers, scrap booking materials piled up in a corner, photos passed down from an estate, pictures that still need to be framed and hung, outdated photos in frames, hundreds of pictures to sort through on your computer.....It can be quite overwhelming!

As a Professional Organizer, I can help you with your photo, memorabilia and collections organizing. I've been helping clients for years with this task, and clients are always much relieved to get the task done, and are always fascinated when going down Memory Lane. I personally love those sessions--it's a lot of fun to just sit down together, going over photos, chatting about memories while still tackling a huge To-Do on the list! I always love connecting with my clients, and this is always a special privilege of truly connecting with them.

A unique perspective that I bring to the table is that I also worked as a photographer/photo editor at Picture People as a teenager, and it gave me a good eye at focusing on how to best organize clients when handling their photo/memorabilia caseloads. Just check-out some of the before/after pictures below, and scroll all the way down for fabulous Photo Organizing Tips!
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Left: Over 2,000 pictures gone through, sorted, managed into photo albums in chronological order, as well as by Holidays and Special Occasions. Extra photos were mailed to friends/relatives in the pictures.

Below: Pictures arranged in collage frames and hung on the hallway walls, proudly displayed.

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An Organized Way to Hang Your Photos!

There are so many neat and cool ways you can hang your photos. Here's just another idea!
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A great way to re-claim empty corner space by using pictures!

Simple, Easy To-Do Trick to bring personality and style into an empty space!
Follow on Pinterest for More Amazing Ideas! http://www.Pinterest.com/SFBayOrganizer

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An Organized Photo CD Box

Just one of the many ways you can organize your photos is by scanning all the printed photos, transfering all the digital photos, and organizing the combined lots into chronological order using Photo CDs. You can then label the CDs into a small labeled photo box (get a fireproof box for added back-up protection.)
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Family Year Books!

One of the things I highly recommend clients do when photo/memorabilia organizing is to create a Shutterfly.com coffee table book (makes awesome Mother's/Father's Day, Anniversary, and Grandparent Gifts too by the way)! You can also create Family Year Books. This takes scrap booking to a whole new level--you'll love how easy and fun it is! It clears up the clutter, and gives additional photo storage back-up!

Tip: Google Shutterfly Coupons when you're ready to check-out.

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Tip: Take Pictures of Memorabilia Items instead of Keeping Them

Know that old T-shirt from high school that you loved and still love, but no longer fits? Take a picture of it, and add it to your photo album, donating the shirt instead of it collecting dust! You can do this with any memorabilia item that can be donated/recycled to de-clutter your space while still preserving your special memories of the item! Whip out your camera phone to take the snapshot, and you can immediately post it on your social media, send it as an email/text, save it to your camera roll on your phone, and download it to your computer files (even print it out if you want!) Gotta love technology!

Unique Space-Saving Ideas!

Bay Area Professional Organizer Stop Staring at Clutter--Get Organized with Kiera Rain "It's not that I'm a slob--it's just my life is a mess. The mess is a reflection of my life."   --Recent Client __________________________________________________________________________ Unique Space-Saving Ideas! Getting Organized can be really fun and inspiring! Just check out the neat ideas below (mostly found on Pinterest.com/SFBayOrganizer) to save space in your home! __________________________________________________________________________ What to do with the Cat Litter Boxes? Little Known Fact: Clients with pets have Pet Clutter. Toys, Treats, Vet Records/Files, Leashes/Collars/Food and Water Dishes....and the dreaded, messy Cat Litter Box for those who are owned by cats. (see what I did there? ;-) What to do with the cat litter box? Where should it go? Suggestions where the Kitty Litter Box Can Go: Closet Floor with Rug Underneath Corner Litter Box Guest Bathroom OR! You can get rid of it all together! Check out the CitiKitty toilet training kit--it works! __________________________________________________________________________ Grow a Garden Pyramid! This is a super great way to grow a garden if you have a small yard or concrete patio with no yard. You can also do an indoor garden in a corner of your home--think herbs and spices for your cooking, or catnip for the cats! __________________________________________________________________________ Closet Organizing Use these 3 drawer bins in your closet--hang clothes easily above. Add a hamper beside the 3 drawer bin to hide your dirty laundry in the closet. You can also add a three tiered shoe rack organizer on one side of the hamper instead of having two bins. (PS. I do not recommend over-the-door shoe organizers because of the added eye clutter and clients frequently not being able to open/close their door all the way.) __________________________________________________________________________ Keep Sheet Sets Together Inside Pillow Cases! Super easy DIY trick to keep your linen closets organized! Don't forget to purge and donate any excess linens/towels you no longer need/want/use. Towels and Blankets are super needed things at shelters--please donate! __________________________________________________________________________ Garage Organizing Tip! Bungee Cords at Their Finest! __________________________________________________________________________ Make-Up Organizing Trick! Use a magnet board so you can easily see and grab your make-up when you're getting ready! More Ideas on Facebook __________________________________________________________________________ Handy-Dandy Bathroom Organizing Tip! Definitely steal this idea for your own bathroom! Just use PVC pipe and screws! __________________________________________________________________________ Magazine Holder Turned Bathroom Organizer! Super Simple DIY Bathroom Organizing Trick--just install a Magazine Holder inside a cabinet door! __________________________________________________________________________ Use Swimming Foam Noodles to Keep Your Boots Straight! Grab a couple of foam swimming noodles to cut up and keep your shoes in tip-top shape! __________________________________________________________________________

Kitchen Organizing Tips!

Bay Area Professional Organizer Stop Staring at Clutter--Get Organized with Kiera Rain "I'm not a Neat Freak, but I can't stand the stuff all over the place!"   --Recent Client _________________________________________________________________ Sick of a Cluttered Kitchen? Check out the below ideas to have a beautiful, de-cluttered, organized kitchen! And of course, if you don't want to do it by yourself, call me (my cell is 415-786-8266) and I'll be there with you every step of the way to get you ORGANIZED! _________________________________________________________________ Spice Organizing--Magnet Tins on the Side of the Fridge! Super love this organizing idea! You can also use several individual broom mounts inside your cabinet doors to keep spices in their original containers. _________________________________________________________________ Pan Lid Organizing Tip! Wah-lah! This rack allows for quick and easy access to the pan lids. Easy to see, easy to grab, and they stay out of the way. _________________________________________________________________ Magazine Holder = Great Space Saver! There are just so many uses for these Magazine Holders! Start with using them in your kitchen. _________________________________________________________________ Add racks to existing shelves in your pantry! You'll be so grateful you did! _________________________________________________________________ Food! Imagine all the SPACE you'll suddenly have if you purge the junk food, potato chip bags, soda cans, bottled water (just get a filter on your fridge or tap)! Have ONE snack box in the top of your cupboards, where it's not eye level, and a little harder to reach to avoid temptation. I keep my snack box filled with hot coco, unsalted mixed nuts, dark chocolate with almond Hershey bar, popcorn. Make the change--you'll love the new space and the smaller clothes! _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ Over-Stuffed Fridge/Pantry? Spend the day purging your fridge, freezer and pantry. Trash all the expired foods. Wipe down the surfaces. Re-Stock your fridge/pantry with the non-expired foods. Group like-items together. Drinks up top, dairy in the middle, fruits in one bin, veggies in another, condiments on the door, raw meats in one section, cooked meats in another. Create an area just for left-over containers. The Day Before Trash Day Each Week, go through your fridge/pantry--do a quick scan. What needs to be tossed out because it's spoiled? What needs to be cooked right away? What can you transform your ingredients and left-overs into? Take out the trash the night before trash day. Visit www.recipekey.com for awesome ideas on what to cook from the ingredients/foods you have!

Before and After of a Cluttered Bedroom

My client and I did a major overhaul on this cluttered bedroom, crammed full of books, dvds, clothes, makeup/hygiene care products, craft supplies, snacks stashed away, cat toys/pet care needs (like the litter box) and more. 

We first sorted everything into "Like Piles." 

My client already knew she didn't want the tv and tv stand, so we took it to the curb with a "Free" sign on it and it was gone before we knew it! 

She also no longer wanted the impractical table in the room that had no storage--we are instead replacing it with a desk from downstairs. 

She went through her clothes/books/hygiene products/shoes/etc and donated the excess clutter. We recycled/trashed what couldn't be donated. 

And lastly, once the clutter was cleared, I was able to organize the bookshelf and drawer system you see pictured. Cheers for a HUGE Transformation!

See MORE Before and After Pictures Here »

Top Ten Things Clients Say

Top 10 Things Clients Say When Getting Organized!

1.  Oooooo! THAT'S where that is!

2.  Is this the worst you've ever seen?

3.  I thought I'd lost that! Now I have two. Can't believe I bought another when it was right here the whole time.

4.  *Gasp!* Where did you find that? I've been looking EVERYWHERE for that!

5.  Why didn't I do this earlier?

6.  While going through Memorabilia: "Awwww! I had forgotten all about that [vacation, trip, hike, etc.]"

7.   I can't believe I still have this!

8.  That's not even mine!

9.  Why in the world do I own this? No body wants this--not even me.

10.  What in the world IS that? I don't even know what that is!

"I think I'm an Organized Clutterer. Everything is put away, boxed up, labeled--but it's way too much stuff I don't use, just taking up my space."  

--Quote During Recent Phone Consult

Wishing you a Happy New Year!

Preview this email in your browser. Bay Area Professional Organizer "De-Clutter to De-Stress!" by Kiera Rain You'll never hear someone say, "I regret organizing my house!" Happy New Year! Cheers to a Phenomenal 2015! On a Personal Note: New Year's Day is actually also my Birthday! I had a lot of fun celebrating both the New Year and my bday. On New Year's Eve Eve, we went to Santa Cruz and toured the Mystery Spot (highly recommend you go!), hung out at the boardwalk, and had a wonderful dinner at Hula's Island Grill and Tiki Room. On my bday, we went out to eat for brunch, played in Benicia, ate at my favorite restaurant Texas Roadhouse in Tracy, went shopping, and then watched the 3rd Hobbit Movie (which was my favorite part of the whole day! LOVE LTR!) Last year, same day, I was in Ireland watching the 2nd Hobbit Movie! :-) This year, I hope for continued business growth, I'm looking forward to my son starting preschool in September, and I'm excited about the balance I worked really hard at creating last year to continue into this year--financial balance and plenty of routine self-care. Life throws ya curve balls out of left field at times, and it's a good thing I have my eye on the ball when it comes zooming at me! I'm not afraid to take a crack at the ball and SWING! What are your New Year's Resolutions? Cheers to 2015! Kiera Rain Bay Area Professional Organizer Co. 415-786-8266 CELEBRATING 5 YEARS IN BUSINESS! Wahoo! This January marks 5 years in business! I'm so proud and blessed to have made it this far! I love being an entrepreuner, and the rush of the roller coaster ride! I started off Professional Organizing at the age of 14! My mother was the sales/marketing manager at Mercer County Mall in West Virginia, and she hired me seasonally to organize the management offices and two story storage rooms where the Christmas and Easter Decorations lived, among other misc boxes. After that, I organized businesses and country clubs, and in January 2010, I opened my own business, focusing on home and business organizing! I LOVE what I do! Even 12 years later. In celebration of my 5 year anniversary, I'll be hosting a Celebration Party for Clients, Networking Pals, Friends and Family in May, the 5th month, so stay tuned for more details in the upcoming months! I'm super excited to celebrate with you all! Changes to my Business for 2015!  WahhWa *I am now only working the East and North Bay. I want less travel time and more time with my son. I will of course continue working with existing and past clients out-of-the-area, and take on their personal referrals, but for New Clients, I will be sticking to the East and North Bay. *I am referring Kat of The Simplified Life for San Francisco to Mountain View. I am referring Amy Hawkins of Take Charge Organize to cover the South Bay/San Jose area. Please email me for a referral for Amy or Kat. *I am no longer working with hoarding, OCD, Severe ADD. I will finish working with past/current clients, but am not accepting New Clients in these categories. After 12 years of specializing in Hoarding, I am taking a New Direction for 2015. *However, many people think they are hoarding, worry that they are, but in fact are not hoarding. Call me for a free phone consultation to see if this is the case. It's not about the excess amount of stuff you have that makes you a hoarder, it's the mentality. Do you get really angry and have emotional outbursts? Or do you just hold on to a lot of stuff and avoid going through it? Call me to help you figure it out! If I can't help you, I know someone who can. *I am now referring hoarding cases to Rachel Seavey of Collector Care. *I am no longer focusing on Corporate Organizing. I am now focused on Home Offices and helping Small Business Organization--everything from paper clutter, preparing for taxes, financial organizing, email organizing, photo organizing, computer document organizing. I prefer to work with clients one-on-one, so I'm leaving the corporate gigs. I started out working with Corporate Organizing at 14 years old, so it's definitely time for me to focus on what I enjoy the most. *I LOVE Whole Home Organizing! It's my passion!  I want you to know I'm here for you for your entire home organizing needs: kitchen/pantry, garage, closets, playrooms, bedrooms, craft rooms, junk rooms, guest rooms, home office, any cluttered and disorganized area that stresses you out! "I don't even want to come home. There's just too much "noise" from all the stuff. I can't relax. It just stresses me out to look at it, and I dread doing it, so I don't." --Kathy, yesterday's client Let's Get Organized for the New Year! CHEERS to 2015! Organizing Process FAQ And Pricing Schedule a Session Call 415-786-8266 for a Free Phone Consultation with Kiera Rain! info@TheBayOrganizer.com http://www.BayAreaProfessionalOrganizer.com Fan on Facebook Follow on Twitter Copyright © 2013 Bay Area Professional Organizer You are currently signed up for Organizing Tips and Tricks Email. Every time a new e-newsletter is sent out by Kiera Rain, Bay Area Professional Organizer, a Tree is Planted!

San Francisco Bay Area, Walnut Creek, California, 94598, United States