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| Services & Tips > How to Get Organized |
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Kitchen efficiency
Is there so much junk on your counters that you've forgotten what color they are? Are your cabinets and cupboards bulging at the seams? Is your kitchen table a clutter magnet instead of a place to eat?
Helen will help you sort through the muddle and organize your kitchen in an efficient, maintainable way.
Tip: Store items that you use occasionally in your highest cabinets or in the back of your deepest cabinets. And store what you use frequently, close to where you need them. Pot holders, pans, cooking utensils, and seasonings go near the stove. |
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Room-by-room streamlining
Do you ever look at the disorganization of your whole house and want to run away? The problem is, you're overwhelmed by the big picture.
"One step at a time." That's what Helen says. And because every space has its own set of problems, she focuses on one area at a time and helps you find solutions for that space, alone.
Tip: Choose one room in your home, and then in that room, choose one spot. It can be a table, an armchair....Pick up the clutter, one piece at a time, and decide to do something with it without putting it down again. "Just as you climb a mountain, one step at a time," says Helen, "you clear away a mountain of clutter one piece at a time." |
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Finding things
You're just about to hang up a new picture. Yup. If you only could find the hammer. And after twenty minutes looking for the hammer, you can't find the nails...
Would you like to be homeless? Well, your things don't want to be homeless either. To achieve: A place for everything, and everything in its place, Helen uses little colored dots to help you know where to return an item and decipher which items have lost their way home.
Tip: Here's a great home for nails. Take an empty vitamin or prescription bottle and fill the bottle with nails. Then, using heavy-duty clear mailing tape, tape one nail to the front of the bottle so you'll always know exactly which type of nail is inside. |
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Paper management
Messages, stacks of loose notes, junk mail....How can you fight against it?
After sorting, Helen will teach you how to make a decision about every piece of paper that crosses your path without putting it down in a pile again.
Tip: To put a dent in junk mail, you can remove your name from direct-mail lists by writing to: Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, P.O. Box 9008, Farmingdale, N.Y, 11735. If you use a post office box as well as a street address, ask to be removed from both. And also include everyone in your household who receives mail, requesting that their names be removed, too. |
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Hard-filing systems
Wouldn't it be great to have the information you need right at your fingertips?
That's what Helen can help you do. And while she's at it, she'll remind you that 80% of what is filed is never used. She'll teach you how to do on-going purging so that you can curb the monthly or yearly marathon to pare down your files. And instead of fancy-shmancy, the system is simple and user-friendly.
Tip: If you already have a system in place, make a file and title it: "Gift Certificates." When you receive a gift certificate to a store or restaurant, mark the date it expires on the front of the envelope along with the name of store, restaurant, etc. Also, on your calendar, make a notation a week or so before the expiration date of your certificate, so you won't forget to use it. Then pop the gift certificates in your file, and arrange them by date of expiration. |
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Keeping track of dates
Oh, that yearly transfer. It takes forever, making all those birthday and anniversary notations on your new calendar.
Not anymore. Helen's developed an easier way, using an index box along with your calendar. It will also track yearly holiday gifts and card lists, etc. When you hire Helen, for a two-hour "tracking dates" session, she provides the 3x5 index box, index cards, tab dividers, two pens, a marker and ruler, free of charge. (An eight-dollar value)
Tip: When you mark someone's birthday on your calendar, not only enter the date of the person's birthday, make another notation on your calendar a week or two before the actual birthday, reminding you to buy a gift or send a card. |
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Custom magazine management
There they sit. Stacks of magazines you're going to read...someday! And how long would it take to find what you want to read?
Helen has devised a system that she uses herself, where the information is clipped, bound, highlighted, labeled, indexed, and at your fingertips. When you hire Helen for a two-hour "Custom magazine management" session, you receive an 1 ½ inch thick, 8 ½ x 11 loose-leaf binder, a set of index tab dividers, labels, marker, three-hole punch, one-hole punch, a pencil case, and a set of highlighters, free of charge. (A twenty-two dollar value.)
Tip: Decide not to renew the magazines you read the least, and only buy individual issues that really interest you. If you're already lamenting that you'll pay a higher price at newsstands, remember that having a slew of magazine subscriptions doesn't save you much money if you never get to read them. |
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Getting kids organized
Do you feel as if there's no hope when it comes to getting little ones organized? It's not as hopeless as you think. According to their age, Helen engages them in games and makes up silly poems and songs to pique their attention.
When children think something is fun, they forget it's a chore. And getting kids organized while they are young helps develop organizational skills that will serve them all through life.
Tip: A closet rod, at a child's eye level, makes it easier for them to hang up their clothes. If they're really young, you can teach them how to use a checklist by using a dry erase board. Instead of using words, tape a picture of a comb (to comb their hair), a picture of a toothbrush (to brush their teeth) and so on. Place a beside each picture so that they can check off each task they complete. |
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Do-it-yourself consultations
What if you need Helen's help, but you can't afford lengthy sessions?
During a two-hour session (or more if you wish), Helen walks through your space with you, giving concrete solutions of how to get organized. She uses a microcassette recorder during the consultation and leaves the tape with you. You'll have the information you need to make positive changes.
Tip: Don't forget about your local library as a free source for finding books about organizing, and of course, you can count on the Born Organized® Website for great information, too. |
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Desk clearing
Would you like to have your desk cleared in one swoop?
That's just what Helen does. She removes all the junk and papers from your desk and drawers, places them into cardboard boxes and begins sorting, purging, and incorporating what you need. You start with a fresh slate, and it feels good.
Tip: You don't need twenty-five pens and ten rulers. Weed out the excess supplies on your desk and in your drawers, archive them in labeled containers, and keep them in another part of your office. P.S. As soon as a pen or marker is out of ink, toss it. |
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Hard-filing systems
Here's the bad news. With all the electronic devices we have, many organizational experts, including Helen, believe that over 90% of all information is still paper-based. That's why a hard-filing system is still necessary for every home office and business.
Helen helps you focus on how to find your papers and documents, rather than where to put them. She also determines what you can archive and keeps your system simple and user-friendly.
Tip: Every time you open a file to retrieve or return a paper, scan the file and purge anything that's obsolete. If you have many files, jot the date on the file folder when you last purged. |
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Paper flow
Reports, messages, memos, faxes, e-mail, bills, newsletters, photocopies...printouts from your computer and the Web...
You need to be decisive about paper and know what to do with it as soon as it crosses your desk. Does it belong in a file? Does it belong in a project book? Do you make a notation on your calendar and toss the paper? Helen can help you stop shuffling and keep those papers moving.
Tip: Set a block of time, daily, for addressing paperwork. Put it on your calendar, and give it the same importance as an appointment. Be vigilant. Otherwise, those paper piles will keep on growing. |
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Hours, Rates & Service Areas:
Services to individuals and businesses are provided on-site in the southern seacoast area of Maine, seacoast area of New Hampshire, and northeastern Massachusetts from Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Rates are determined by the hours required, on a sliding scale. Services are provided in smoke-free environments only, please. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Helen. |
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How to:
get organized
strategize your time
communicate effectively
reach your goals |
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