Many of us entertain family or friends at this time of year. And of course we want to make a good impression on everyone so how can we make our kitchen look perfect when company arrives? Here are a few tips to organize your kitchen to impress your guests.
Clean and Declutter
A good cleaning can make your kitchen sparkle. Clean the outside of cabinets, the outside of the refrigerator, light fixtures, counters, the table, chairs, sinks, and floors. Take the time to thoroughly clean any surface that the guests will see and be sure to get of any stains. Take the time to clean any clutter off of counters. Papers should be put away and appliances should either be covered or cleaned and tucked into a discrete corner. If your refrigerator is currently decorated with kid’s artwork, you might want to take it down or at least minimize it so it does not cover the entire refrigerator. You may want to temporarily move some items to make your counters look less cluttered. Survey your kitchen critically and remove anything that is distracting.
Touches of the Season
A nice cloth tablecloth and modest centerpiece help spruce up your table. The centerpiece shouldn’t overpower the table since you want your guests to be able to see each other over it easily. A few seasonal decorations like candles or small knick knacks in the corners of your counters adds a nice touch.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Tips for Holiday Organization
With Thanksgiving tomorrow and the start of the holiday shopping season, Black Friday, the day after, we could all use a little holiday organization to help keep us on track. My own list is filled with things to bake and items to buy for family and friends. And since Christmas always arrives sooner than I think it will, I am resolved to do a better job of planning this year.
Making a List (and checking it twice)
I am big on making lists and do them for just about every aspect of my life. It helps keep me organized, focused, and on track. The holidays are no exception. I make a list of all of the baking I need to do and all of the people I need to buy presents for. If there is a party or other event, that goes on the list too just so I don’t loose track of it. If I need to make something for the party, that gets included as well.
Scheduling Time
This is the area that often is a problem for me. I never seem to realize how little time I have to actually get everything done in. This year I am scheduling my baking and Christmas shopping. I will bake two to three things every weekend until Christmas and I will schedule my shopping so I get it done before the last minute. Any parties will be on my schedule as well along with what I need to make for it, if needed. I have a planner that I look at every day so all of this will go in the planner just to make sure I don’t loose track of anything.
Wishing you a happy holiday season!
Making a List (and checking it twice)
I am big on making lists and do them for just about every aspect of my life. It helps keep me organized, focused, and on track. The holidays are no exception. I make a list of all of the baking I need to do and all of the people I need to buy presents for. If there is a party or other event, that goes on the list too just so I don’t loose track of it. If I need to make something for the party, that gets included as well.
Scheduling Time
This is the area that often is a problem for me. I never seem to realize how little time I have to actually get everything done in. This year I am scheduling my baking and Christmas shopping. I will bake two to three things every weekend until Christmas and I will schedule my shopping so I get it done before the last minute. Any parties will be on my schedule as well along with what I need to make for it, if needed. I have a planner that I look at every day so all of this will go in the planner just to make sure I don’t loose track of anything.
Wishing you a happy holiday season!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Help for Home Office Organization Challenges
If you work from home, your home office serves at least two different roles. One as a space for your work and as where you conduct business for your home affairs. This dual purpose can make it home office organization challenging and difficult. Here are some tips that can help.
Separate Your Files
You have work files and home files on your computer and probably for your paper files as well. Separating these files into different folder can help you more easily find what you are looking for when you need it. On your computer, create folders for work-related and home-related business. If you have a lot of folders, it may help to put a W at the beginning of the folder name for those folders that are work-related and an H at the beginning of the folder name for those folder that are home-related. This way you can easily tell folders apart from each other and your work and home related folders should all show up together. For your paper files, have separate drawers for work and home files. Labeling the drawers as work or home can help too.
Separate Your Workspace
It can be difficult to try to keep your home paperwork off of your desk because it needs somewhere to go. Try reserving a specific area of your desk for home-related paperwork and the rest of your desk for work-related paperwork. If that does not work, try getting a small box or crate for home-related paperwork and leave it near the desk. This way it is easily accessible but it is not distracting you from your work during your working hours.
Separate Your Files
You have work files and home files on your computer and probably for your paper files as well. Separating these files into different folder can help you more easily find what you are looking for when you need it. On your computer, create folders for work-related and home-related business. If you have a lot of folders, it may help to put a W at the beginning of the folder name for those folders that are work-related and an H at the beginning of the folder name for those folder that are home-related. This way you can easily tell folders apart from each other and your work and home related folders should all show up together. For your paper files, have separate drawers for work and home files. Labeling the drawers as work or home can help too.
Separate Your Workspace
It can be difficult to try to keep your home paperwork off of your desk because it needs somewhere to go. Try reserving a specific area of your desk for home-related paperwork and the rest of your desk for work-related paperwork. If that does not work, try getting a small box or crate for home-related paperwork and leave it near the desk. This way it is easily accessible but it is not distracting you from your work during your working hours.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Simple and Cheap Garage Storage Ideas
With the economy still struggling, we're all looking for ways to cut costs where we can. Luckily, there are garage storage ideas that you can implement in your garage cheaply and easily.
Open Shelving
Whether you chose to buy or make your own open shelving, this is one of the cheapest and easiest garage storage solutions out there. If you buy, these are typically easy to setup and install. The bonus of these is that they are easily mobile and can be moved from one part of the garage to the other when they are empty. Check to see how much weight they can hold before putting items on them. If you like to easily see what is in your garage, this is a good option.
Old Cupboards
Check online classified sties like Craigslist or Freecycle.org for people getting rid of old kitchen cupboards or old cabinets. You should be able to get these for very cheaply, even free. These can easily be converted to garage storage. You may need to install a thin board on the back of them so they can be used in the garage. You may also need to add blocks of wood to the bottom to stabilize cabinets for the garage floor.
Open Shelving
Whether you chose to buy or make your own open shelving, this is one of the cheapest and easiest garage storage solutions out there. If you buy, these are typically easy to setup and install. The bonus of these is that they are easily mobile and can be moved from one part of the garage to the other when they are empty. Check to see how much weight they can hold before putting items on them. If you like to easily see what is in your garage, this is a good option.
Old Cupboards
Check online classified sties like Craigslist or Freecycle.org for people getting rid of old kitchen cupboards or old cabinets. You should be able to get these for very cheaply, even free. These can easily be converted to garage storage. You may need to install a thin board on the back of them so they can be used in the garage. You may also need to add blocks of wood to the bottom to stabilize cabinets for the garage floor.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Tips for Getting Organized at Home
You can find a ton of tips for getting organized at home all over the internet. These are some that I have found to be the most useful in my professional and personal life.
Dedicate Time to It Daily
Getting organized requires that you develop new habits. The best way to do this is to incorporate organizing into your daily routine. It takes, on average, about a month to develop a new habit so commit to spending at least some time every day organizing something in your home. It doesn’t have to be something huge. Maybe it is that you commit to opening the mail and filing it appropriately every day rather than throwing it on the kitchen counter. Maybe you devote 15 minutes every day to starting to organize a room in your home. Whatever you decide, make it a daily commitment so that you don’t get tempted to “take time off.”
Clean Out Junk
There is a difference between saving something for a rainy day and simply having too many things. Most of us collect too much stuff. It may be because of a hobby, gifts you receive, or a simple reluctance to throw anything away. While it is true that saving some things for “just in case” is valuable, saving a lot of these type of items is not. Take the time to go through all of the boxes hanging out in storage and ask yourself if you really need the items and plan on using them or if they are simply taking up space.
Dedicate Time to It Daily
Getting organized requires that you develop new habits. The best way to do this is to incorporate organizing into your daily routine. It takes, on average, about a month to develop a new habit so commit to spending at least some time every day organizing something in your home. It doesn’t have to be something huge. Maybe it is that you commit to opening the mail and filing it appropriately every day rather than throwing it on the kitchen counter. Maybe you devote 15 minutes every day to starting to organize a room in your home. Whatever you decide, make it a daily commitment so that you don’t get tempted to “take time off.”
Clean Out Junk
There is a difference between saving something for a rainy day and simply having too many things. Most of us collect too much stuff. It may be because of a hobby, gifts you receive, or a simple reluctance to throw anything away. While it is true that saving some things for “just in case” is valuable, saving a lot of these type of items is not. Take the time to go through all of the boxes hanging out in storage and ask yourself if you really need the items and plan on using them or if they are simply taking up space.
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