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Home Organizing Consultant Mary Wallace
By The Staging Fashionista January 18, 2010
Mary provides some great tips and ideas on how to get organized and get your home clutter free. Fee yourself from clutter and excess baggage and call Mary to organize your home and lifestyle. ...read more
Home Organizing Consultant Mary Wallace
By SaltAir Creations February 02, 2009
I agree with Kurt. Everyone has clutter... somewhere! What great ideas you have. Love your website! Looking forward to networking with you at MerchantCircle too! ...read more
Home Organizing Consultant Mary Wallace
By Tile and Timber Ltd Co January 10, 2009
Thank you for joining our network. Let me know if can help with any of your upcoming projects and we will be sure to recommend you to our Montana customers. Have a great year and hoping to work with you soon, Kurt @ Tile and Timber ltd co www.tileandtimber.com ...read more
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Should Auld Resolutions be Forgot?
SHOULD AULD RESOLUTIONS BE FORGOT? (as originally published in the January 2010 MONTANA WOMAN magazine) Which are you? The one who makes New Year's Resolutions and ALWAYS keeps them? Or the one who makes resolutions and then falls off the wagon after only a few short weeks?OR have you made so many failed resolutions that you going to resolve to QUIT MAKING RESOLUTIONS? I recently queried a few folks and came up with a list of resolutions people are making this year (in no particular order): 1. Lose Weight – The resolution many make, but fail to keep. Everyone always starts off the year gung-ho to lose weight, but few follow through for the whole year. Hence the renewed resolve each time January 1 rolls around. 2. Become More Fit – A little different resolution than losing weight, people who resolve to get fit probably have a better chance of succeeding because they are most likely making lifestyle changes that become good habits. And fitness is also associated with more health benefits, such as reduced risk of cancer, increased longevity, enhanced mood, lowered blood pressure, and a general sense of better well-being. Ironically, those who resolve for fitness usually lose weight. 3. Spend More Time with Family&Friends – This makes sense, because one of the upsides of this down economy seems to be that people are looking for more meaningful activities that don't cost a lot. Spending time with friends and family can be fun, meaningful and FREE. Create a Family Game Night tradition, or organize a Girls Night Out with a group of friends. 4. Enjoy Life More – Like the guy on the Allstate ad says, when things are tough, people have a couple of choices. They can be miserable, or they can find ways to start enjoying the small things in life. Getting back to basics gives us the ability to recognize and savor the moments that mean the most in the long run. 5. Get Out of Debt – Getting a handle on finances is a promise that will repay itself many times over. It is not easy to do, but freedom from debt can make a huge difference in your sense of well-being. But! HOW to do it? There are really only two ways . . . (1) Cut Back or (2) Make More Money. Lots of folks have had to cut back lately and that is still a good resolution, but there are also some great ways to make more money alongside whatever you are already doing. I have found ways to make more money than I ever expected to (while having more fun than I ever expected to) with my direct sales business. Multiple streams of income are also a good safety net if one of them fails. I highly recommend it! 6. Learn Something New – Eight or eighty, people who are always learning are always growing. What a great sense of accomplishment to try a new thing, learn a new skill, conquer a new frontier, or find some creativity you never knew you had! No wonder so many people choose this resolution. AND it seems to be one of those that is easier to keep. Once you get started, you just want to keep going. 7. Help Others – Not so many choose this for a resolution, but volunteerism is a great way to get outside of yourself and forget about your own problems. And people are always so happy when you reach out to them. Have an interest? There is probably a volunteer opportunity that would fulfill it. Good things happen to good people, so if you are coming up short on New Year's Resolutions, add "Volunteering" to your list. 8. Get Organized – Are you surprised that this was the MOST mentioned New Year's Resolution? I am here to report that organization is a very attainable goal. Reducing clutter and getting organized is actually pretty easy, but STAYING organized is sometimes more of a challenge. It is absolutely KEY to create some systems that work with the way your family works (ordoesn'twork) so that it is easier to maintain. If you'd like some free tips on getting (and staying) organized or if you'd like to attend an organizing workshop, visitwww.athomeinmontana.comand sign up for my monthly newsletter. Whether you keep your resolutions or not, we'll take a cup o'kindness yet! Here's wishing you a Blessed and Happy New Year! ...read more
By Home Organizing Consultant Mary Wallace January 18, 2010
MAKING ROUTINES WORK FOR YOU
As originally published in MONTANA WOMAN Magazine By Mary Wallace January 2009 rou⋅tine–noun 1. a customary or regular course of procedure. 2. commonplace tasks, chores, or duties done regularly or at specified intervals; typical or everyday activity. 3. regular, unvarying, habitual, unimaginative, or rote procedure. Routines are mostly a good thing. Routines are a way to know what will happen when and who will do it in your daily life. Routines are a good way to maintain good health (taking medications with meals, going to bed at a certain time, brushing teeth, etc). And kids (well, most anybody actually) needs routines to function effectively in the day-to- day world. The nice thing about routines is that you can choose your own – choose what works best for you or your family. If you’ve been searching for some ways to make things work better in your home, here are a few routine ideas to choose from. Clutter Control/Cleaning: If you are spending too much time trying to control the chaos in your house, establish a routine for cleaning. There are three that seem to work for most people – Option #1: De-Clutter for 15 minutes every day – get a basket and a garbage bag. Every morning or every evening, go from room to room picking up things that belong in another room and putting them in the basket and emptying the wastebasket in each room into the garbage bag. As you move from room to room, put the things that you have in the basket away in the room which they belong. Option #2: Pick one room to focus on each day – work in the kitchen on Sunday, the bedroom on Monday, the bathroom on Tuesday, the dining room on Wednesday, the living room on Thursday, the family room on Friday, and the kid’s rooms on Saturday (so they can help). Option #3: Pick one day per week to do a complete cleaning of your whole house. If your schedule doesn’t allow any daily routine, this may be your only option. However, this one probably ends up being a little more labor intensive. Financial Routine: With the recent economic worries , having a routine to manage finances is all the more important. One effective way is to pay your bills on time because it will save on late fees. Whether you are paid weekly, twice a month or once per month, stagger the due dates to correspond with your paydays and then pay all your bills by the day after payday so you know it’s done and you won’t forget to pay one. Take it a step further and either set up automatic monthly payments and/or pay as many as you can online. Fast, easy, DONE! Personal Health Routine: Ever wonder when was the last time you had a physical? If you are lucky enough to enjoy reasonably good health, you want to keep it that way, but it’s hard to remember the last time you had a doctor visit. Schedule all your yearly checkups (medical, dental, vision) in January, OR during your birthday month – whichever works best for you. Workout Routine: Oh I know, I know . . . how many of us have made a resolution to get in shape and lose the holiday weight gain? A routine is key to keeping this promise to yourself. Whether you work out at home, go to the gym, or choose walking as your exercise of choice, make sure you set aside the time to do this for yourself. Recent reports have shown that exercising even 10-15 minutes per day is beneficial! And if you really can’t seem to find time to fit it in, here’s a site that has great tips for working out at work (no kidding!) : http://officeworkout.msn.com/ AIAO: If there’s one thing I have learned about routines, it’s that as soon as you get one established, inevitably, something is going to come along to upset it. Unexpected travel, job lay-offs, car repairs, sick kids, holidays, a freak snowstorm – all of these things can throw everything off course. The U. S. Marines has to be one of the most regimented institutions ever, but even they have an unofficial mantra to live by: AIAO - Adapt, Improvise, and Overcome. Tap into your own creativity using “AIAO” to create a ‘work-around’ when something happens to disrupt your routine. You never know . . . a new, better routine may be the result. Lastly, while routines are mostly a good thing, never get so stuck in a routine that you can’t be spontaneous once in a while. Every now & then, you just have to mix things up to keep from becoming the very “definition #3” in the first paragraph of this story. (Ha! Just checking to see if you are paying attention!) Got any great organizing questions or ideas? Send them to me atmarywallace57@bresnan.netand earn free organizing products from the fantastic new 2009 Home Idea Catalog which can be viewed atwww.signaturehomestyles.biz/mw9182! ...read more
By Home Organizing Consultant Mary Wallace January 09, 2009
60 Second Clutter Fixes
Originally published inMONTANA WOMAN – July 2007 by Mary Wallace, Home Organizing Consultant Chaos getting you down? No time to clear the clutter? Here are some quick easy tricks that will make a difference, along with some longer term ideas that will make you feel like you are at least halfway to the Zen garden . . . If you find yourself cringing when you walk in the door, start by straightening up the first room you see when you come in the house. Just a quick tidying up before you leave for the day (hang coats on hooks, line shoes up along one wall, put the mail all in one stack) will give you a brief moment of peace when you walk in at the end of the day. Since the mere presence of plants tends to reduce anxiety, add some fresh or silk flowers to brighten up the entryway; feel the welcome in your own house! When you have a little more time and money, find a pretty basket to catch the incoming and outgoing mail, invest in a lidded bench so you have a place to sit and remove your shoes, as well as a place to store all the things that tend to accumulate near the front door (hats, gloves, umbrellas, schoolwork, sports equipment). Hang a mirror that has hooks to hold your keys so they will be easy to find. Nightime clutter may not be visible, but is sure is risky! If you’ve ever stepped on Lego blocks in the dark, you know the wisdom of a bedtime pickup session! What we used to do was shout out to the kids, “The BLITZ!” and set the timer for 60 seconds. Everyone would run around like crazy trying to put away as many things as they could before going to bed. Sometimes we had a prize for the one who picked up the most things, sometimes not. At least this usually resulted in a clear path from everyone’s bedroom to the bathroom. When you have a little more time, sort the toys in the toybox. Purge any with broken or missing pieces and store like items in tubs or baskets (all the doll clothes in one, all the Hot Wheels cars in another). Make separate storage for art, craft, and homework supplies. Encourage family members to use these new storage systems during the “blitz” rather than tossing everything willy-nilly into the toy box. One day every week, take a minute to purge the leftovers and nearly empty mustard bottles from your fridge. This will keep most of the surprise science projects at bay, and makes finding that delicious container of lasagna you saved for your lunch so much easier while trying to get out the door the next morning. When you have a little more time, get some of the new semi-disposable food containers that have the lids that snap together. No more lost lids! They also stack very easily in the cupboard and the fridge, and since they are see-through, you can find just what you are looking for. They are pretty affordable, so you can use them a few times, and then just toss them out. If you find that you have stacks and stacks of papers, mail, and magazines lying around, get one basket to corral it all. The nice thing about using only one basket for all the paper, is that it makes it so much easier to look for that missing insurance card or phone bill. Somehow, I ended up using the basket that was supposed to hold a 9x13 cake pan for my In/Out basket. Because it is only about 3 ½” high, it forces me to clear it out when the paper gets stacked too high. Because everyone always seems to put all the mail and notes on the kitchen table, that is where the basket resides most of the time (easier to go with the flow on this one, rather than try to train everyone to put the mail somewhere else). When we get ready to eat dinner, we just move the whole basket and then put it back again when we are done. When you have a little more time, clear out the basket. Throw away all the junk mail, put the bills to pay in a safe place until payday, file any documents that you must keep, and take the magazines and catalogs to share with co-workers, rather than just tossing them out. Now that you’ve made all this headway, take a 60 second vacation! Treat yourself to an in-home spa activity (facial mask, mini pedicure, etc), play a song on the piano, sip a cup of tea, hug your child, call a friend, make a wish list, write a love note. These things are just as important (if not more important) than having an immaculate home. You deserve it! I always get great organizing ideas from my readers and customers! If you have a clutter problem or organizing tip, please email it tomarywallace57@bresnan.net. If used in a future column, you will receive a certificate for free home organizing products! ...read more
By Home Organizing Consultant Mary Wallace November 04, 2008