One Small Thing at a Time

When people find out that I am a professional organizer/organizing consultant, they often make comments like: "Your home must be perfect" or "You must have everything labeled perfectly". While I would never hesitate to let a surprise visitor inside my home; I am often busy like you and I share my home with a husband, two children and a 70 pound shedding dog. Perfection is not the goal. Having a clean, livable home where we can find stuff is.

The fact of the matter is that maintaining organization takes a little time and a little effort. For the most part, with daily tidying up things stay fairly organized in my home. There are those areas that get messy and need some attention from time to time.

My latest mini-project (that took all of 5 minutes) was the area where I keep shopping bags and grocery bags. Let me preface this by saying that, yes, I do employ reusable bags often, but not always. In our home we reuse a lot of stuff, including shopping bags, grocery bags and plastic bags.

The "bag shelf" had become completely overrun with bags, packing paper and even a few kids' toys shoved in at random. To organize this area, I took everything off the shelf. Note, that I didn't try to organize the whole room, just one shelf. This is important. Then I sorted the bags into two categories: grocery bags and all other bags (i.e. shopping bags and reusable bags). All the rumpled bags were put into recycling and kids' toys returned to their proper home. Here is the result:

This is not fancy or even labeled. It is just a shelf where I can go to when I need a bag.

During this process, I came up with a lot more grocery bags than you see here. If you have an over abundance of grocery bags, like I did, check with your local food pantry to see if they can reuse them. Faith in Action took my extra grocery bags. Here are two volunteers stocking the shelves at the Dexter, Michigan location, which is currently in need of crackers for the food pantry. They also have a facility in Chelsea, Michigan.

In addition to the blog, I also publish a free e-newsletter that is distributed on the 1st of every month. Sign up today to receive the October edition, where I will provide tips on what to do with all those receipts.

Mom 2 Mom Sales in Dexter and Saline

With school in full swing and fall upon us, there is no better time to clean out those closets, get organized and make a little extra cash while doing it. This coming Saturday, September 24, 2011 there are two Mom to Mom sales being held in the Ann Arbor area, specifically Dexter and Saline.

Head out to Dexter's Cornerstone School at 7480 Dan Hoey Road bright and early Saturday morning. The Cornerstone Parent Teacher Group (CPTG) Mom to Mom sale will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The entrance fee for adults is $1 with all proceeds benefiting the CPTG. For those of you with children's items to sell, there are still a few tables available. You can reserve your table by contacting Kathy Fletcher at 734-637-9646 or kathyfletcher@chartermi.net.

From Dexter drive over to Saline's Mom2Mom Consignment sale at Liberty School on Saline-Ann Arbor Rd. This sale will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. This is a consignment Mom2Mom sale--a little different than the "normal" kind. All toys and clothing must be dropped off by Friday, September 23, 2011 with prices marked. The items will then be aggregated by type and size for re-sale. Any unsold items can be picked up at the end of the sale or donated, if you choose. There is a $1.00 admission fee at the door. For more details on selling or shopping, please check out the website at www.mom2momconsignmentsale.com

Monday Musings

Mackinac Island, Michigan---Fall 2010

Despite all of my good intentions, it has been a long time since I have posted to the blog and summer is rapidly slipping out of our hands here in Michigan.

After such a hot summer, I welcome fall, my favorite season of the year. I recently discovered, however, that many busy families dread fall. They are stressed by new schedules, the deluge of papers from the school and the general busyness of it all after the supposed lazy days of summer.

Here are three quick tips to address the stress families feel in fall:

1) New Schedules---Times of transition and change can be difficult for adults and children alike. For many readers this may be the first full week with kids back to school. Remind yourself it might take another week or two to adjust to new schedules. In the meantime, pull out your calendar and put EVERYTHING in it. Your calendar is your time management bible.

2) School Papers---This is where nearly everyone struggles. The problem with paper is that it just keeps coming at you, ready or not. The trick is to have a few simple systems in place and keep ahead of that paper monster. Designate one place for incoming papers and take 5 to 15 minutes daily to file, act upon or toss those items.

3) Busy Days---Mahatma Gandhi once said that "There is more to life than increasing its speed." I always joke that my clients have much more interesting lives than myself and there's a lot of truth in that joke. My clients are often the folks that hold up our communities: the go-to people in the schools, churches or synagogues. They are wonderfully kind people, who sometimes take on too much. Remember, to take a step back and slow down life a little if you have inadvertently taken on too much.

I hope these quick tips will help you feel just a little less stressed this fall. For more free tips and a free gift, sign up for my monthly newsletter at Simply Organized Life.

Home Office Organizing Tips

Even if you do not own a business, nearly everyone needs a home office (or kitchen corner).

Last week, I wrote a guest blog for Entrepreneurial America titled "Home Office Organizing Tips for Solopreneurs". If you own a business, these tips will help you be a success in your chosen field. Non-business owners can glean a few tips for the home office as well.

Entrepreneurial America is a blog for those in business and contemplating their own business. It is edited by my good friend and former business school classmate, Amber Clark.

Insurance Paperwork Filing

Getting rid of items that are no longer needed is a key strategy to getting organized. However, sometimes it can be difficult to know what to toss when it comes to paperwork like insurance policies. These are the items that we tend to hang on to, citing "what if" scenarios.

The folks at Freedom Filer, a "self-purging" document storage system, say that it is generally alright to get rid of old insurance policies if you've received a new one, unless one of their following circumstances apply to you:

• If you have a claim pending, hang on to the expired policy and any related paperwork.
• If you think there may be a claim filed in regards to something that happened during the life of your old policy, keep the policy documents.
• For businesses, it doesn't hurt to keep all policy paperwork through the life of your business.

*Remember, always check with your CPA or attorney about what legal paperwork to keep and for how long.

Organizing Resources

In my last Dexter Patch blog post, I wrote about "Being Organized". For my clients and myself the level of organization in our spaces fluctuates with how busy we are, our health and our level of motivation for any given day or week.

Being organized is not about being perfect. To me, being organized is all about taking small, easy steps every day to maintain the level of order we need to thrive. If we skip a day or two (or a week) it is easy to literally pick up where we left off.

If you are struggling with being organized, resources abound! I just found out this morning that this Simply Organized Life Blog was included in a list of "Best 50 Blogs About Reducing Clutter" with the comments "These great little tips will transform your life!" I am honored to be listed among some of the leaders in my industry. I hope each of you reading will find a little gem to use in your daily life.

In addition, on August 26th at 10 a.m. I will be returning to the Dexter District Library to present my seminar titled "Downsizing Your Home: What to Keep -- What to Toss!" This seminar is for anyone who thinks they might have too much stuff in their home. Best of all, it is free.

Please send your comments and questions. I would love to hear about your organizing journey!

Free Downsizing Seminar

So many of us want to simplify our lives, but don't know where to start. You do not have to make a move to downsize your home and simplify your life.

Carolyn Anderson-Fermann, founder of Simply Organized Life and a NAPO Golden Circle Member, will present the following seminar at the Dexter District Library in Dexter, Michigan on Friday, August 26, 2011 from 10 to 11 a.m:

"Downsizing Your Life: What to Keep - What to Toss"
No matter what stage of life you are at, it is difficult to downsize, especially in our "super-sized" culture. Making do with less does not have to be a struggle. In fact, life can be more peaceful without the excess clutter.

In this seminar, Carolyn will provide simple tips to guide participants through the process of downsizing your home. Whatever your age or situation, this workshop will give you some helpful direction to set goals and time-lines when deciding what to keep and what to toss.

There is no charge for this seminar, open to the general public.
Sign up at the Dexter District Library.

Organizational Seminars

This summer, Carolyn will be presenting two great seminars through the Ann Arbor Rec & Ed on organizational strategies. These seminars are excellent opportunities to get organized this summer at a fraction of the cost of one-on-one consulting.

"5 Habits for an Organized Office" will be offered June 28th from 6 to 8 pm, and is perfect for anyone with an office, either home or corporate. This seminar offers advice on how to maximize your efficiency while minimizing office clutter.

"Tame the Paper Monster" will be offered July 15th from 10 am to 12 noon, and is a hands-on seminar that offers guidance in sorting through your own household and personal paperwork, helping you to reduce clutter and manage your documents.

For more information on both of these great opportunities, check out page 24 of the Rec & Ed Summer Catalog and the seminars page of the Simply Organized Life website.

*Photo from the Ann Arbor Rec & Ed website: http://reced.aaps.k12.mi.us/reced.home

Other Container Options

The sistema container sets mentioned in April's post are a great way to containerize and manage food storage. While the system mentioned can be found at Sur la Table, Macy's also carries a similar line of storage containers by Martha Stewart that are a great way to organize your kitchen and pantry. Additionally, don't overlook Gladware containers for reusable food storage!

You can use any of these options to containerize - that is, to stick to a few stackable sizes of storage containers. Pick a couple sizes that you'll get the most use out of; ones that can fit a variety of sandwiches or leftovers. Stack lids and containers together, and you'll have a clutter-free way to store and save a wide variety of foods.

When searching storage options online, don't forget that customer reviews can be especially helpful in finding the right type of containers for you!

New Blog

I am pleased to announce that I am now also blogging for Dexter Patch. Click on the Dexter Patch link to read my introductory blog on Being Organized. This is another outlet for tips and tricks from a professional organizer. I will continue to contribute to this blog, the Simply Organized Life Facebook page and my monthly newsletter Your Simply Organized Life.

Organizing Medicine

Here's a great little tip for organizing medicine. I came up with this while packing for our March trip to Atlanta and ever since have been asking myself why I didn't think of this sooner.

My favorite organizing product, has to be zipper bags like the quart size one shown at right. I only buy two sizes: quart and gallon, thus eliminating baggie clutter.

The bag in the photo was put together as a travel kit and went in our carry on. I have since kept it together at home. This basic kit of pain/fever reducers contains:

• A note card with my children's names, weight and dosage on each side.



• Ibuprofen and acetaminophen for my children.



• Marked syringes to measure and administer the children's medicine.



• An ear thermometer.



• Ibuprofen for myself and my husband.

The note card has been really helpful in not confusing the kids' dosages in a moment of worry over a sick child. In addition, I have everything I need in one place when I need it.

For more organizing tips, sign up for my monthly e-newsletter "Your Simply Organized Life" and "Like" Simply Organized Life on Facebook.

Food Storage

February and March 2011 were busy months for Simply Organized Life. I have been helping lots of clients get organized in their kitchens, home offices, kids' rooms and storage areas.

In March I got away with the family for a few days, joining my husband on a business trip to Atlanta and staying with family in the area. We visited Stone Mountain, the Georgia Aquarium, and one of the area's many malls where I discovered these sistema containers (photo at left) in Sur La Table.

While I do not need any new food storage containers, the sistema containers are BPA free and the lids snap on tight. Currently I use Glad containers with interlocking lids for food storage and Japanese bento boxes for my kids' lunches. The bento boxes have two tiers and a locking lid similar to the sistema containers.

Saline Mom to Mom Sale

As a parent of young children, I occasionally enjoy the Mom to Mom sale format that is popular here in Southeast Michigan. Recently I have noticed a new concept in Mom to Mom sales that can benefit both sellers and buyers. The consignment or department store format allows sellers to drop off items beforehand for resale and buyers have the benefit of presorted items.

Theresa Ferenczy sent me this listing for an upcoming consignment sale in Saline, Michigan:

"Mark you calendar for Saline's first Mom2Mom Consignment Sale on March 12, 2011 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. It will be held at Liberty School in Saline (7265 N. Ann Arbor Saline Road). This is a great way for parents to clear out closets and make some extra cash. No more sitting at a table all day and selling---you price your items, drop them off on Friday, March 11, 2011 and we sell them for you on Saturday, March 12, 2011. For shoppers everything is in one room and sorted by gender and size. There is a $1 admission fee."

Filing Car Paperwork

When it comes to paperwork, knowing what to keep can be tricky. When it comes to vehicle documents, knowing where to keep it throws an additional wrench into even the most well-organized plans. FreedomFiler, a document-organizing system, offers these tips as to how to save and file* vehicle documents:

• Your current proof of registration, proof of auto insurance, and any emergency contact information belongs in the car (the glove compartment is a great place for this!)
• Paid registration renewal notices can be organized with your other tax documents.
• The title for your vehicle should be kept in a safe spot, and organized in a file with other long-term documents.

*Always check with your CPA or attorney for advice on what paperwork to keep and for how long.

Donate in Dexter

Looking for another reason to let go of some clutter? The Dexter, Michigan Knights of Columbus will be accepting donations for their annual rummage sale on the following dates and times:
Thursday, January 27, 2011, 1~6 p.m.
Friday, January 28, 2011, 1~6 p.m.
Saturday, January 29, 2011, 10:30 a.m.~4 p.m.
Sunday, January 30, 2011, 10:30 a.m.~4 p.m.
The Knights of Columbus will not accept furniture, computers or large exercise equipment.

Labels for Kids

After scoffing at the need for professional labels for my kids' belonging, I broke down this morning and purchased a "Party Pack" of Name Bubbles for each of my kids. Hopefully, these labels will live up to my expectations, as they are quite expensive.

Up until now, a Sharpie Laundry Pen or my Brother P-touch labels have been sufficient. However, labeling shoes and clothes without tags gets tricky. I also hate to deface items that can be passed on. I am hoping these labels, particularly the laundry labels, will stay put for my kids and be able to be removed when the time comes for the items to leave our home. Besides, they are a lot more stylish than my handwriting or a P-touch label.

New Year's Resolutions

Whether your New Year's resolution is to visit the gym more often, or perhaps to organize your home, now is the time of year to start thinking about it. The Wall Street Journal recently had an article about keeping resolutions, which you can find here. The article emphasizes the fact the willpower alone is not enough to accomplish resolutions; you must reshape your daily habits.

Additionally, it helps to take many small steps toward your goal, as opposed to larger, more difficult leaps, and to visualize your desired end result. That way, you can be well on your way to a more productive, and hopefully, organized, New Year!

What are your New Year's Resolutions?

Ann Arbor Seminars

For several years now, I have been conducting seminars with Ann Arbor Rec & Ed. It is a wonderful way to meet members of the community and share organizing tips with a wider clientele.

Beginning with the Winter 2011 catalog, Ann Arbor Rec & Ed will no longer be charging a higher fee for nonresidents registering for classes. At the same time, the Rec & Ed catalog will be distributed to more surrounding communities.

Look for my new class on Coping with Electronic Clutter in the Winter 2011 catalog. Looking forward to meeting you in Ann Arbor!

Donate Gently Used Coats

Thanks to the generosity of our community, Reinhart Realtors in Ann Arbor, Michigan has provided thousands of winter coats to local agencies. Please join Reinhart in this effort through your donation of a coat in good repair. Through the month of November, please bring your coats to any Reinhart sales office or Reinhart Sunday Open House. All coats will be professionally cleaned and distributed locally.

Press Release

Press Release
For Immediate Release


Saturday, October 30, 2010

January is Get Organized Month:
Simply Organized Life to Provide Two Free Seminars on January 21, 2011

January 2011 will mark the National Association of Professional Organizers’ (NAPO) 7th annual Get Organized Month (http://www.napo.net/news/go_month.aspx).

Getting organized is consistently one of the top 10 New Year’s resolutions and household paperwork is where many struggle the most. Carolyn Anderson-Fermann, founder of Simply Organized Life and a NAPO Golden Circle Member, will present the following free seminars in Dexter, Michigan on Friday, January 21, 2011.

“Tame the Paper Monster”, Dexter District Library, January 21, 2011, 10 to 11 a.m.
Do you have stacks of household paperwork lying around your home? Are you overwhelmed by the thought of sorting through these papers, but know there are important documents buried in the piles? In this seminar, Carolyn will provide simple tips to guide participants through the process of sorting, decision-making and purging the backlog of household paperwork.
There is no charge for this seminar, open to the general public.
Sign up at the Dexter District Library. For more information about the Dexter District Library go to: http://www.dexter.lib.mi.us/

“Drowning in Paper?”, Dexter Senior Center, January 21, 2011, 1 to 2 p.m.
If you do not know where to begin looking for important papers in your home, this seminar is for you. With the average American consuming about 24 reams of paper per year, it can be a struggle to keep up with household paperwork. In this workshop, Carolyn will provide easy steps to gain control of and maintain paper organization.
This free seminar is open to all ages.
Sign up at the Dexter Senior Center. For more information about the Dexter Senior Center go to: http://www.hvcn.org/info/dexterseniors/