On behalf of the professional organizers at Wellrich Organizers, I would like to wish you all a very peaceful and joyful Christmas. We wish you a day full of cheer and hope.
Carolyn, Chris and Jennie
Archive for December 2010
Here Comes Winter!
Is it snowing in your part of the world like it is here in Toronto? If you haven’t done so yet, now is a great time to clear the garage and make room for the car – so it can overnight out of the snow. Some quick tips:
- Check that the sports gear still fits e.g. no point in storing a bicycle that will be too small next spring;
- Put away the garden spades/shovels and put snow shovels close to where you will need them i.e. the side door to the pathway or the front door to the driveway;
- Hang up on hooks as many tools and toys as possible;
- Change to the snow tires and put away the all season tires;
- Make sure you have a snow brush, extra anti-freeze and a winter kit in your car for winter driving. That kit could include a candle, matches, blanket, hazard sign and first aid kit.
Before working as a professional organizer, I spent several decades in a corporate environment. Those of us who have ever worked for someone are familiar with the annual review process. But have you ever considered applying this concept to the organization of your office? If you were giving your office an annual review, how would it fare?
- Are the position description and expectations clear and understood?
- Are there annual goals and objectives that are in line with the company’s (yours) strategic objectives for the year?
- Do the annual goals and objectives meet the SMART criteria (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time limited)?
- Did your office meet all its performance targets for the year?
- Did you office meet all its goals and objectives for the year?
- What recommendations do you have to offer?
Try this out on your office space whether your run a home office or a corporate environment. And remember – there should be no surprises at performance review time. Regular feedback on adjustment to performance of your office will ensure that those goals are met by the end of the year.
Organizing is about balance: enough stuff – not too little, not too much; enough stuff in your time available – not too little, not too much. Its also about having the right stuff at the right time in balance with the priorities of your life. As many of you know, I work with a significant number of hoarding clients. Much of our work together involves helping them balance the stuff in their lives with other priorities.
So when one of my clients called to cancel our session this week in favour of supporting his family through his newborn grandson’s critical state following a difficult delivery, I knew his priorities were in the right order.
The pictures we see of perfect, beautiful, organized rooms in magazines are exactly that: beautiful rooms designed to stimulate your creativity to apply colours, furniture, materials, tools and strategies in your own home. As a professional organizer, I encourage my clients to see those pictures as inspiration – not a target. We strive for good enough, not perfect.
The difference between perfect magazine pictures and a well organized home, are the wonderful priorities like new grandchildren that are so much more important than the stuff that can overwhelm our homes. By getting a grip on the stuff, we make room for our other priorities; the grandchildren, the children, the friends.
I will keep my client’s grandson and family in my prayers – his stuff can wait but will soon have to make room for that grandson to visit.
Today, the beginning of Chanukkah, we would like to wish all our Jewish readers a Happy Hanukkah.
