Home Organizing for Beginners: Organizing, cleaning and time management strategies

How to clean your kitchen with this simple kitchen cleaning routine

Today’s microscopic home organizing topic is HOW TO CLEAN YOUR KITCHEN.
I despise having to clean the kitchen before I can make dinner. It’s so frustrating to have to clear the counters and wash the needed pots and pans before I can even get started. This was my reality way too often. I’d walk in the door with a crying baby on my hip and 2 toddlers running around begging for something to eat. When I got to the kitchen I’d realize that we hadn’t really cleaned things up from the night before. Now not only did I have no clue what I was going to make for dinner but I had to consider whether the darn pans I might need were clean or not!
As a mom whose home organizing journey needs a fresh start you want to be set up for lasting home organizing solutions, right?  In order to make that happen you’ll have to do something different than you’ve done before or what society tells us.
Instead of feeling bad that you can’t consistently clean your kitchen every night after you tuck kids into bed, you can get into a simple kitchen cleaning routine and lean into what comes naturally for you. In this episode you learn why “clean the kitchen every night before you go to bed” isn’t the best advice, I’ll share what is better advice and how you can implement a simple kitchen cleaning routine.
Would you like to talk through your specific kitchen cleaning dilemma? I’m here to help. It's super easy to enlist my free support. Go to www.homeorganizingforbeginners.com and click the Ask Me Anything link.
Your Home Organizing Educator,Tammy

Enjoy more family fun this summer when you use this summer cleaning strategy

Today’s microscopic home organizing topic is a summer cleaning strategy.
Summer is busy or busier, right? In a different way because the weather is warmer, there’s more things to do, there’s more family fun to be had.
Imagine this scenario. I know you’ve had something like this happen already this summer.
It’s early Saturday morning. Your kids come running into your bedroom to wake you up and beg you to take them swimming. The sun is shining bright and you think, yeah. I would love to. What a fun thing to do with them! But then reality sets in. Saturday is cleaning day. How can you just skip it and think the week will all work out? Ugh. The dishes are piled in the sink, you have no clean clothes and the toilets are disgusting. You realize you have to tell them no. That you just can’t because there’s too much to get done today. You know that if you go then you’ll be paying the price all week long.  They cry, you feel terrible, but yet, you know you have to be the responsible one. You have to be the mom.
But what can be done so that you can actually say yes more than you say no? Better yet, what can be done so that YOU can plan it and surprise THEM!
As someone who is or feels like they’re just starting their home organizing journey you want to be set up for lasting home organizing solutions, right?  In order to make that happen you’ll have to do something different than you’ve done before or what society tells us.
Instead of skipping most of the family fun this summer you can put a summer cleaning strategy in place. In this episode I’ll share with you what a summer cleaning strategy is, what it means in the overall cleanliness of your home and how to implement your strategy today!
This may be a lot to take in on your own. I’m here to help you create a summer cleaning system that works for you and your family. It’s super easy to enlist my free support. Go to www.homeorganizingforbeginners.com and click the Ask Me Anything link. Complete the form and I’ll email you your very own customized recommendations.
I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks so much and have a great day!
Your Home Organizing Educator,Tammy

How to find time to organize (when you can't even keep up with daily tasks)

I received a question from a listener, Alasa. She asked “How can I find time to organize when I can’t even keep up with daily tasks?” 
Alasa asked me this question and is receiving customized recommendations back through email. She initiated our conversation and my free support and you can too by going to www.homeorganizingforbeginners.com and clicking the Ask Me Anything link.
Today’s microscopic home organizing topic is how to make your home feel less messy. Yes, less messy. I don’t want to make a promise that in a few simple steps you can make your entire home feel organized and impeccable. That isn’t reality. But you can make it feel less messy in a few steps. And this is a starting point.
As someone who is or feels like they’re just starting their home organizing journey you want to be set up for lasting home organizing solutions, right?  In order to make that happen you’ll have to do something different than you’ve done before or what society tells us.
Instead of holding yourself to an impossible standard that you don’t have time for, you can focus on making small areas of your home less messy so that you make progress, build momentum and keep moving forward in your home organizing journey. In this episode I’ll share some encouragement, what the problem is that prevents progress and the steps you can follow to make your home feel less messy.
Your Home Organizing Educator,Tammy

A capture system is a game changer (trust the process so you get more done with less overwhelm)

This is the third of a 3 part series on overcoming overwhelm at home. Last week I reviewed how prioritizing the way we’re taught actually makes us feel more overwhelmed and how you can prioritize instead so that you get stuff done.
Today’s microscopic home organizing topic is creating a dependable system that will capture all the thoughts, ideas and to-do’s that cross your mind.
The whole concept of a capture system is what I had been looking for seemingly forever, but until I found it I didn’t know it’s what I needed or that I was even looking for it. Are you like… what was that?! With a capture system I don’t stress or get overwhelmed as often. 
As someone who is or feels like they’re just starting their home organizing journey you want to be set up for lasting home organizing solutions, right?  In order to make that happen you’ll have to do something different than you’ve done before or what society tells us.
Instead of allowing overwhelm to rule your life and make you feel anxious and frustrated, you can create a capture system so that you have something you can depend on to capture all your thoughts, ideas and to-do’s. In this episode I’ll share the components of a capture system, the only tool I use within my capture system and how you can implement the same thing or something similar.
If you want to bounce ideas off of someone to help you develop your own capture system, one that YOU can depend on. I’m happy to help. Go to www.homeorganizingforbeginners.com and click the Ask Me Anything link. Fill out the form and I’ll get back to you. This is a completely free service! My experience and expertise in your inbox! All you have to do is ask.
Your Home Organizing Educator,Tammy

How to prioritize your brain dump (to get more done and not feel overwhelmed)

I find that sometimes I don’t want to take the time to do this whole brain dump thing. Then prioritize it? I fool myself into thinking that if I just roll up my sleeves and get started that will be way more effective. 
What happens then? I find myself starting one thing only to notice that another thing needs to be done too. I wind up with several things started and nothing actually completed. In last week’s episode I shared that my husband was in the hospital for a few days. 
He’s fine, but the whole situation set us back in our normal daily tasks. Basic housework things. Once everything settled down I thought well I’ll just dive in. I got started with laundry, then worked on the kitchen and then into cleaning our bathroom. Doesn’t sound so bad. 
Unfortunately I forgot about the laundry and it wound up being in the washer overnight.
As someone who is or feels like they’re just starting their home organizing journey you want to be set up for lasting home organizing solutions, right?  In order to make that happen you’ll have to do something different than you’ve done before or what society tells us.
Instead of allowing overwhelm to rule your life and make you feel anxious and frustrated, you can do a brain dump and prioritize it so that you’re spending your time on the right things. 
In this episode I review how prioritizing the way we’re taught actually makes us feel more overwhelmed and how you can prioritize instead and get stuff done.
STEPS TO PRIORITIZE YOUR BRAIN DUMP and GET IT DONE
Review your brain dump. Do you feel satisfied that you’ve captured the majority of things that have been in your head? If so, move on. Otherwise add to the brain dump until you feel like you’ve captured it all for now.
Select the 3, yes only 3 most pressing items. You must make progress in order to build momentum. When you build momentum you will continue and ultimately get more done in less time. Prioritize the 3 most pressing times.
Do the first item.
Do the second item. Stop yourself from trying to multitask.
Do the 3rd item.
Repeat steps 1-5 until you are done or run out of time.
Remember the goal was to overcome the overwhelm.
Would you like help with your brain dump and prioritizing process? I would love to connect with you. Go to www.homeorganizingforbeginners.com and click the ask me anything link. This allows you to share with me what you sticking point or specific struggle in the process is then I can get back to you with a solution tailored to you.
Join me again next week. I’ll wrap up this series on overcoming overwhelm at home. Thanks so much and have a great day!
Your Home Organizing Educator,Tammy

How to do a brain dump (to get stuff done and move through the overwhelm fast)

Today’s microscopic home organizing topic is brain dumping - the best way to get all the things out of your mind so you can get the right things done.
This is the first of a 3 part series on overcoming overwhelm at home.
Do you ever feel overwhelmed? That’s a silly question, right?!
EVERYONE feels overwhelmed at times. While it would be great if we could implement something that completely eliminates overwhelm from ever happening again, I don’t think that’s realistic. Do you? Life throws us curveballs, unexpected things. We can even be overwhelmed with normal daily life of running a household, working, trying to simply do all the things. 
As someone who is or feels like they’re just starting their home organizing journey you want to be set up for lasting home organizing solutions, right?  In order to make that happen you’ll have to do something different than you’ve done before or what society tells us.
Instead of allowing overwhelm to rule your life and make you feel anxious and frustrated, you can start with a brain dump to get yourself moving in the right direction and to squash the overwhelmed feeling. In this episode I’ll share with you what a brain dump is, why it works and how to do one.
HOW TO DO A BRAIN DUMP
Let’s get into the steps you need to take to make it happen.
Decide if you want to use pen and paper or type it up. There’s no wrong method to use.
Start writing. Everything that comes to your mind. Don’t worry about the order. Just write or type. The goal is to get it all out of your head.
Write/type until you can’t think of anything else. 
Keep the list you're making handy so that as you think of more things, because you will, you can add to the list.
 
That’s it! This is the first step to overcoming the overwhelm at home. In next week’s episode I’ll share what the next step is, prioritizing. I’ll share the best way to prioritize and what to consider when you’re doing so. But if you’re feeling like you need extra help right now. It’s an urgent situation. Please go to www.homeorganizingforbeginners.com and click the ask me anything link. This allows you to ask me any question you have about home organizing, including overcoming overwhelm. I’ll get back to you with a solution that you can utilize right away.
Join me again next week to continue learning how to overcome overwhelm at home.
Thanks so much and have a great day!
Your Home Organizing Educator,Tammy

How to Keep Kids Closets and Dressers More Organized

Today’s microscopic home organizing topic is Kids Clothes that Don’t Fit.
When my kids - all 3 of them - were born they fit into 9 month size baby clothes. The biggest at 10 pounds and the smallest at 9 pounds 8 ounces, the clothes we got at the baby shower were simply too small. Nobody was predicting that our babies would be so big! Not even my doctor. Even the diapers we had initially were too small for their baby bottoms. I do miss the days of having babies, being able to hold them in my arms and snuggle. Now they’re all too big to fit on my lap and they don’t even want to!
Anyhow. What to do with all the baby clothes, toddler clothes, kids size clothes as they grow. Because they grow out of these things so fast, right! They wear these things once or twice then they’re too small!
As someone who is or feels like they’re just starting their home organizing journey you want to be set up for lasting home organizing solutions, right?  In order to make that happen you’ll have to do something different than you’ve done before or what society tells us.
Instead of letting kids' clothes spill out of their closet and dressers because most of them are too small, you can implement a simple process that will help you move these items out of the house for good. In this episode I’ll share with you what the process will do for you, why it will work and how to implement it.
www.homeorganizingforbeginners.com
 

How to tidy up your home with this 2 minute rule

Today’s microscopic home organizing topic is Tidying Up.
Do you have little piles of stuff scattered here and there around your home? Maybe a bit of clean clothes sitting on a chair because you’ve just not had time to put them away. Or the mail from yesterday is sitting on the counter because you just haven’t gotten to it yet. The dirty dishes are sitting in the sink or on the counter. Kids dirty socks laying on the floor in the living room. Used tissues sitting on the coffee table. An empty Gatorade bottle on the fireplace mantle. Ugh. Right? Time to carve out an hour or two to get it all cleaned up. Or is there another solution?
As someone who is or feels like they’re just starting their home organizing journey you want to be set up for lasting home organizing solutions, right?  In order to make that happen you’ll have to do something different than you’ve done before or what society tells us.
Instead of making time to clean everything up all at once you can utilize the 2 minute rule throughout the day. In this episode I’ll share with you what the 2 minute rule is, why it works and how to implement it today, right this minute… or 2 minutes!
www.homeorganizingforbeginners.com
 

How to do laundry in an organized way

Today’s microscopic home organizing topic is LAUNDRY.
I have these unwritten rules in my head about laundry. Do you too? Sort them by color. Wash darks on cold, whites on hot, use bleach, wash towels together, wash jeans together. ugh! Do I really need to do all these things? I mean, before kids it was easier because all the dirty clothes were just mine or mine and my husbands. After kids the whole laundry task changed. As they got bigger it changed more, right. Definitely more loads to get done today than there was 10 years ago!
As someone who is or feels like they’re just starting their home organizing journey you want to be set up for lasting home organizing solutions, right?  In order to make that happen you’ll have to do something different than you’ve done before or what society tells us. Instead of feeling like laundry is a dreadful never ending chore, you can take a step back and put measures in place to effectively get it done so that you truly feel that you have it under control going forward. 
That’s what you want, right? I know you’re smart enough to realize that the task of doing laundry won’t ever just disappear. It’s like dishes, as long as everyone in the house is eating there will inevitably be dishes to wash. As long as everyone in the house doesn’t run around naked there will be clothes to wash!
But it doesn’t have to be something you dread. It can just be a chore that happens as needed for your current season of life or current level of chaos in your home. In this episode I’ll share the best 2 options you have, why these options will work for you and how to get started this week.
www.homeorganizingforbeginners.com
 

Spring Cleaning - How to Get Started

As someone who is or feels like they’re just starting their home organizing journey you want to be set up for lasting home organizing solutions, right?  In order to make that happen you’ll have to do something different than you’ve done before or what society tells us.
Instead of allowing spring cleaning to seem like a black mark on a great time of year, you can find a new way to get started. In this episode I’ll share with you what areas you should start with, why it’s important to do spring cleaning and how to get started today.
Free Spring Cleaning Checklist.