The Organized Woman Show

In the podcast, home office organizing, which I recorded today, Laura and I talked you through the important parts of home office organizing. I promised you, our listeners, more detail here than we were able to supply in our audio show. Here are some additional helps for success as you begin your home office organizing project:

First: Divide the office space into 3 areas to ensure that it is productive.

• Home office area #1 - This is the immediate work area. It contains essential items arranged for easy retrieval. A calendar, telephone, pens, notepads, computer & printer are common home office items that are best kept no more than a few feet away from the desk chair. 
• Home office area #2 - Items that get only occasional use could be placed several steps away from the main work area. If space allows, put these items on shelves and in filing cabinets around the exterior areas of the room.
• Home office area #3 -The 3rd area is for nonessential items. This area stores items used less often such as additional office supplies or old tax records. 

Second: An efficiently organized home office should be zoned into ACTIVITY areas. Position your office equipment by frequency of use.  The key is that logic plays into the home office organizing plan.  Most offices include the following:

• Work zone A - Commonly your desk, computer, printer and phone. It can also include a work table. 
• Supplies zone B - Typically shelving or drawers that store office supplies & paper supplies. 
• Reference zone C - often consists of a bookcase, a file cabinet & shelving.

Third: Establish a paper processing area. Include  an action file and a reference file.

Home office organizing is essential to feeling peace and order in your home. Don't give up if you have not yet succeeded! Visit my blog (Vicki's) to see before and after photos of home office spaces I have organized and to get step by step help links for organizing and managing your:

1. desk
2. most important papers
3. file cabinet papers, and
4. daily to-so list

 Please leave a comment and share with us your favorite home office organizing tip!

The kitchen is the most used room in a home. Kitchens are called the heart of the home for a reason. We love to gather there to:

• Enjoy our family’s conversation
• Eat
• Entertain

A messy pantry is a recipe for distress. Clearing out and cleaning up a pantry requires some serious purging, but it also means adding a few things — namely, organizing tools and food storage accessories. Try these tips from Vicki Winterton, a professional organizer and online co-host of the WIN's 'The Organized Woman Show'. 

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As a professional home organizer, I understand that Organizing your kitchen pantry is a necessary job that intimidates many women. Do you find organizing your kitchen pantry overwhelming? Do you hardly know where to begin the process? To simplify the job for you, I suggest you listen to my online show numbered 044 and titled Organizing your Kitchen Pantry then use use the SPARK formula designed by my online show co-host, Laura and myself. That formula includes these basic steps:

1. Remove all the items from your pantry storage shelves and place them on your kitchen counters and kitchen table.  Group likes items together.
2. Clean & disinfect all the pantry shelves.
3. Sort your items into Categories. Remember to keep the categories general rather than specific = Pasta rather than spaghetti.
4. Purge the food items that have expired or that your family does not like.
5. Assign a Home by zoning your pantry shelves based on frequency of use and the space needed for the categories assigned in step # 3.
6. Round up Containers. Use first the containers you already have around your home. IF you need to buy more containers, clear is nice because it allows you to see in. (To view AFTER photos of pantries I have organized and favorite pantry organizing containers, see the link below.)
7. Keep it up by doing three things:

• label your containers and/or the shelf spaces
• inform your family of the effort you put into organizing the space AND
• ask for their help in maintaining the space. (The old, "If you take it out, put it back in the assigned space" is what you want them to understand.)

There you have it. A clean, categorized and organized pantry where daily upkeep takes only moments. This is a great job for you to do with your teenage children. When they are part of the process, they really "buy in" to the keep it up idea!  Organizing your kitchen pantry is a one day project that brings lasting benefits. YOU CAN DO THIS!To listen to The Organized Woman Show podcast dealing with this very topic, click here and look for show number 044. To download my table of condiments AND to view after photos of my client's kitchen pantry areas, including some of my favorite pantry storage containers, click here.

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Vicki Winterton is a professional organizer and an online organizing expert who co-hosts 'The Organized Woman Show'. To listen to her shows and sign up for RSS automatic updates of new shows, visit  www.theorganizedwomanshow.com. Vicki's Utah based professional organizing business, ORGANIZING Mind over Matter, is found at  www.organize-utah.com.

   As trained professional organizers and experienced mothers, Laura and I have come to realize the benefit of organizing your Kid's Bedroom so your child can easily maintain the space. In show number 042 we use our SPARK formula to talk you step by step through the process...start to finish.

Laura is the mother of 5 children and I am the mother of 3. We are firm believers that your job as a mother is to help your children understand you love them always...AND you are NOT their slave. We believe good home organization systems make bedroom maintenance easily do-able for your child.

To view photos of some favorite child's bedroom storage products with buying links included, visit Vicki's business website by clicking here. Vicki also included tips on what to do about your child's toy box.

For most of my life (this is Vicki writing) I felt I should be keeping a diary AND a family history in regard to the life happenings of my children, my husband and myself. However, I was a busy woman and thought it was just too hard to begin and keep up these histories I should be writing. YOU know the thought, "Another thing I should be doing, but didn't have the time to do". I always felt a little guilty about my lack of personal and family history writing. Then I learned a lesson from my oldest daughter, Nikki. She taught me to lower my expectations and simplify the process. For the past 8 years I have been keeping a weekly record of the happenings in my own life that are noteworthy. (This takes me 30 minutes a week. Very DO-ABLE!) For the past 5 years, I have been keeping a 1 page family history including a memorable photo for the year. (This takes me up to 2 hours each January. Again very DO-ABLE!) I no longer feel any guilt and I often enjoy the process of working through these histories on a regular basis. 

Many unanticipated joys and benefits come from keeping a personal or family history. The benefits come not only from completing the records, but also from the process of writing them. For me, journal writing and history keeping have taught me to watch for the little miracles and wonders that happen often. I have become more careful in my everyday observations.

If you have not done so yet, click on our show page and listen to show number 040. While you listen, visit Vicki's business blog by clicking here to download the promised templates for my:

1) Fun Personal History Questions AND

2) One Page Yearly Family History

At The Organized Woman Show we don't just tell you to do something, we talk you through the process. YOU can do this!