Clutter-Free Christmas
Thanksgiving has passed and if you’re like me you love Black Friday not for the sales and endless shopping, but because it marks the beginning of everything Christmas until December 25th. I LOOOVE Christmas!! I love that Christmas is a time to celebrate our Savior that came to save us and continues to love us no matter what. I also love that I get to love my people… showering them with gifts, baking yummy food for them, spending time creating traditions and making memories. However, as an organizer I have a love/hate relationship with Black Friday. While I’m all for a good sale, I also know it encourages us to buy things we don’t need or wouldn’t otherwise buy if they weren’t “so cheap”. This creates excess in our homes and in the homes of those we love. But we want to buy gifts, right? But why, because we love our family and friends, right? I would encourage you to evaluate two things when shopping this year. First, why are you buying the gift? Is it because you want to...
Hot Mess or Control Freak
“Isn’t it frustrating that we can’t be God? … Sometimes I wish I could just be good enough and do enough to make it all better, to never make mistakes, and to heal all the hurts that stretch so wide and deep in the world. But alas I cannot. I never could.” ~Gwen...
Strategies for Maintenance
Clients frequently ask me for strategies to maintain order in their home, especially this time of the year. We are all trying to regain order for the new year, and our families are inside more than ever with frigid temperatures. It is one thing to set up systems...
Organizing for the New Year
Fun fact... If you Google "organizing new year" you will get over 2.4 billion articles. Wow! I'm not sure how valuable all of those articles are, but that one little statistic tells us everything we need to know. Millions of people want to be organized, millions...
I Kinda Miss Paper Clutter
Our family drove home from our summer vacation in Colorado on Monday. I am always sad to leave my home state of Colorado with its beautiful mountains and crisp cool air, but this week's humidity and heat has me ready to boycott Iowa in August! On a more relevant...
Summer Focus: Kids!
Have you ever heard me say, "cleaning the house in the summer is like brushing your teeth while eating Oreos?" I heard that saying a few years ago and it stuck with me! I know many moms get really overwhelmed by trying to keep up with everything around the house in...
Summer Travels
Are you planning to take a fun trip or two this summer? I am super excited to spend some time in the Colorado mountains in August. Growing up there, I never feel quite at home like I do sitting outside on a crisp, cool morning in the mountains. I thought this would...
Everything but the Kitchen Sink
Since most of us are interested in eliminating germs and bacteria these days I wanted to discuss another cleaning topic that makes me cringe even when we aren't in flu and cold season... the kitchen sink. We all wash our dishes before we reuse them. Ok, I have been...
Disinfecting our Laundry
We are all a lot more consicous of germs these days, but I've been a little wary of them my whole life. I know some of you can relate! I always have antibacterial wipes in my purse, before I ask my kids if they had a good day at school I ask if they washed their...
The Nine Lives of a Housewife
Sometimes I find myself having the same conversation with multiple people in a very short period of time. Even though these people may have no known connection to one another, I see the connection of common struggles and frustrations. When these reoccurring...