A WELL ORDERED LIFE

Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.  A.A. Milne Flowers from Pinterest   There are a lot of organizing blogs and web sites out there but I decided to start this one to help me get MYSELF back on the organizing track as well as share some things that have helped me be more organized over the years. I've kind of yo-yo'd back and forth like a diet with being organized. I was the MOST organized when my kids were growing up because I felt I HAD to be to maintain my sanity with all the busyness of an active household!  But if I go back even further I was a very orderly little girl. My room was ALWAYS neat and organized. I made my bed before I  even got out of it! I had a happy, secure childhood and I think that my desire to keep things in my personal little world happy and ordered reflected that.  My disorganized years were:  when the kids had moved out and I was working full time ( more abou...

From Martha Stewart.com I'm a Gramma now  but I'm still always looking for great organizational ideas for kids rooms. Since I have the reputation for being the "Organizing Gramma" my granddaughters like to have me over from time to time to help them organize their rooms. I think they just want to get some extra help in  cleaning their rooms but I love to do it. So I'm always on the lookout for great ideas. They both have a lot of books so this project from Martha Stewart caught my eye. This one shows items for a little boy  but I think this still would work for older granddaughters as they can put magazines in them as well as books and cute treasures that are important to them. It also looks "doable" for a Dad and Grampa who are "not-so-handy-handymen". My husband would LOVE to be handy but alas,  he does not have the natural talents that his "oh-so-handy" Father had.  Once he was trying to fix our bathtub faucet and he felt ve...

SIGNS OF SPRING: CROCUS AND CLEANING LIVE SIMPLY THAT OTHERS MAY SIMPLY LIVE... ELIZABETH SETON   We live in a consumer oriented culture. Everywhere we turn we're bombarded with messages that tell us we need the latest gadget, trendiest new fashions, updated furniture,  and on and on... It's hard to resist! But the end result can be a cluttered home, overspending, and too much time spent just taking care of all of our "stuff". So spring is a good time to de-clutter, simplify, prioritize, and  re-organize our lives. So today I'm focusing on DE-CLUTTERING...everything but clothing...that's for  another time. Here are three steps to DE-CLUTTER: 1) Find three large boxes and label them: DONATE, THROW, SELL 2) In deciding which box each item should go in, ask the following three questions:      a)  Do I need this? ( ie Have I used this in the last year? )      b)  Is it useful?      c)  Does it ad...

FLOWER PHOTO FROM PINTEREST It's that time of year again! Time to let in the FRESH AIR OF SPRING! Spring Cleaning may not be the first thing you look forward to with the coming of SPRING  but I'm hoping that with a little "creative coaching" you can put some SPRING LOVE into your SPRING CLEANING! First of all you need some... INSPIRATION: 1) FLOWERS  Decide you will reward yourself with a small bouquet of fresh flowers when you're all done. SMILE! 2) FRESH COLOR   Visualize how you might bring in some fresh pastel colors into your living space to brighten things up for spring. Maybe it's as simple  as moving some pillows into the living room from another room. Get ideas from magazines or the internet. DREAM! 3) FRESH AIR   Open a window and let the fresh air of spring inspire you!  INHALE! 4) VISUALIZE  NEW SPACES  Sit down in your favorite spot with your favorite spring beverage and visualize your home as being FRESH AS SPRI...

You've probably heard that having an organized and  well ordered home brings a sense of calm and serenity into your life. That is SO TRUE!  But we who love to organize can lean a bit toward perfectionism at times. And perfectionism can lead to stress!  OK I was speaking for myself there. I know that I can easily tend toward being a bit perfectionistic at times! But even if that's not YOU, we ALL can experience stress in this fast paced world and I like to address that when helping women get their lives in order. Ordering your life is more than organizing the spaces in your home. So what we need, in order to have a well ordered life is to include in our lives WAYS TO REDUCE STRESS! It is so important to allow time in your life for those things that can help you slow down, be present and IN the moment, and relaaaax. My friend, Sherrie, and I have just released an e-book for women entitled, "30 Ways To Reduce Stress". In it we share 30 SIMPLE TIPS to help you do just...

Great example of  a Family Communication Station In a previous post I mentioned " FAMILY COMMUNICATION STATION". Guess I better explain what I mean by that. We all know how busy life can get with everybody running in different directions. Therefore, we need some place where we can leave messages, post appointments and events, and generally stay connected with what is happening in the lives of family members. This is not to take the place of ACTUALLY TALKING to each other, however. But it's nice to have one area where everyone can find out "what's on the agenda" and I call this area, THE FAMILY COMMUNICATION STATION. Here are 6 items needed for the... FAMILY COMMUNICATION STATION 1) Desk or large area where you can put all items that will help keep your family organized 2) Calendar where all family appointments, special events, and holidays can be written down 3) Bulletin Board to post reminders, notes,school lunch menus, chores list, etc. 4) Groc...

You've probably all heard that it takes 28 days to create a new habit. With this bit of information you can develop 6 EASY habits that you can do in under a minute and find yourself living in a tidy home! Tidy room taken from PINTEREST. 1) Make Your Bed    As soon as you get up in the morning, make your bed.  1 minute 2) Hang Up Clothes    As soon as you change clothes, put them in laundry bag, hang them up, or put in a drawer.      1 minute 3) Put Stuff Back    Always put everything in its place after using it.   1 minute 4) Wash Dishes    Whenever you use any dishes, rinse and put in dishwasher or wash and put away.  1 minute 5) Sort paper   Sort any mail or paper as soon as it comes into the house.   1 minute 6) Wipe Spills   Whenever you spill something, clean up right away.  1  minute Do this for 28 days and they will be...

Here are a few more ideas for your laundry room. First up a couple more laundry baskets that I really loved!  Aren't they cute? Go to askannalblogspot.com Next up is a great tip about how to clean your washing machine. With Spring Cleaning coming up this is a good time to include that in your list of "to do's". The results are amazing! How often have you said that you think your washing machine is eating the socks? Well, here are three  cute solutions for that...  little signs and places to hang those missing their "significant other".    And how about trying a unique idea for drying racks. Here are a couple of options for that. This ladder hanging with hooks is a cute idea!  This next idea is easy to make, a great DIY project! Another idea is to use a vintage crib siderail for this type of rack. And there's always THIS  old favorite option. Hanging your clothes outside...a refreshing and sweet smelling way to dry! Add ...

I would LOVE a laundry room that looks like either of these shown here!  How about you?  As you're dreaming about what YOUR new laundry room might look like, I'm going to share with you here a SYSTEM for assuring that your laundry routine will be smooth and effortless. You see it's not just about having nice organized spaces... as nice as that would be!  You also need an organized  plan or SYSTEM for  assuring that your laundry routine is SMOOTH AND EFFORTLESS! So here are FOUR STEPS TO... AN EASY LAUNDRY SYSTEM  1)  Make sure there is a laundry basket in each bedroom, preferably hidden in the closet. Each person is responsible for putting his/her own laundry in his/her own basket. If you have younger children you might want to find a kid's laundry basket like the one shown here. These cute decorative baskets can be set out in their rooms as decor. You can purchase this one and others through Amazon.com by clicking on the Amazon button on ...

     THIS BOOK SHARES HOW CHANGING YOUR BRAIN CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE Are you disorganized, a "messy", or just wanting to finally get things in order in your life? The place to begin is in your thoughts and mind. YUP! You need to ORDER your mind  and thoughts before you do anything else! Sure you can get a drawer organized and even your whole house in order, but if your mind is cluttered, eventually things will move themselves back into the same old mess! Everything begins in the mind...even ordering your life! So here are 4 steps to begin "decluttering"  and "reordering" your mind and thoughts: 1) Make an INTENTIONAL DECISION to have a WELL ORDERED LIFE!      You must decide, once and for all, that you want order in your life and you are ready to take the steps necessary to make it happen. You know you'll enjoy the "FEEL" of finding more time to do the things you like to do with a well ordered life. You know the peace and serenity...