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12 Days ’till Christmas

Ditch the pressure and embrace the Christmas spirit 12 Days 'till Christmas

The beginning of December brings much excitement and joy about the fast approaching holidays. You can finally indulge all those crafty whims you’ve saved up for this time of year. Then suddenly you’re knee deep in Christmas cards, homemade ornaments, baking all those yummy traditional foods, shopping for presents (online because it saves more time of course). All the effort and planning we put into making sure everyone has the most amazing holiday is….. EXHAUSTING!

A recent poll from Today Show suggests that women dedicate an average of 83 hours preparing for the festive season. That’s an entire 2 weeks dedicated to all things jolly, on top of everything else we have going on!   How do you prepare for and more importantly, get into the spirit of Christmas?

Wouldn’t it be easier if you had a system for streamlined and stress-free holiday success? Your time and energy would be saved for the moments that count the most. Well you’re in luck! Did You Remember the Milk has the best Christmas Planning Resources at the click of a mouse! I love helping our members to ease that load.   Isn’t it too late to download a Christmas planner now?? It’s never too late. While you’re going through the motions right now in the countdown to Christmas day, start building on your plan for next year. With our Ultimate Christmas Planner, you will be organized in no time.   Each year in November, I open my Ultimate Christmas binder and my whole festive season is planned out for me. There is my gift list from last year, cool gift wrapping ideas, last year’s Christmas card list for updating, favourite online stores, home-made gifts planner, playlists, favourite recipes for ham glaze, Cumberland sauce, turkey stuffing, spiced nuts and all the other divine recipes that only come out once a year. Then there are the favourite charities and their instructions for how to give. I also have the same project file set up on my computer.   Other things you might add to your file:

  • Inspiration for getting into the spirit
  • Your Christmas budget
  • Gift Lists
  • Organise and make invitations and cards
  • Timelines and sequences of when to decorate and make certain purchases
  • Baking strategies
  • Christmas Dinner lists and preparation
  • New Years party planning
  • Sound tracks

That’s only a fraction of what we have in store for you. Enjoy the parties and bubbles and smile to yourself knowing you’ve done it in half the time it took last year.   Download our Ultimate Xmas Planner HERE!

 

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Give yourself a year

An organised life allows you to have more time, less stress, more money and the ability to achieve any goal you desire. But if you’re starting at zero, I mean with nothing, then it is going to take a bit of time and some planning. Rather than getting overwhelmed, it’s important to tackle your organising process step by step. We have made the journey as painless as possible with our step by step systems so you don’t have to think about the process while you’re sorting out your stuff.

It’s important to highlight the importance of commitment when you’re on the road to getting organised. Without commitment, all the experts in the world will be of no avail. You can very easily undo many hours, weeks or months of hard work without systems to maintain your order.

We get disorganised because of one thing: our thought processes. The way we’re showing up today is a result of the way we have approached our life over the past weeks / months / years. Disorganisation is a result of being overloaded, distracted, multi-tasked and overwhelmed.

It has a negative compounding effect in that it becomes even harder and harder to think clearly, to relax and to be present when we’re surrounded by chaos and clutter. So the spiral continues downward.

Even when we know enough’s enough, and we really want to get organised, fear stops us. And when we’re stuck in fear, half our brain shuts down, leaving all our organising skills out the window. To add insult to injury, we look around at our mess and start to feel guilty, ashamed and helpless. Not a very empowering state.

As we grow older, the problems multiply. “Now is not a good time to get organised. I need to…plan my presentation for next week, I need to get the kids’ dinner, I have laundry to finish, I’m busy planning our holiday….” the list goes on.

I believe that we each have a unique calling and that everyone benefits from a calmer, more organised you. Your light shines brighter when you’ve cleared away the clutter. We arrive at ‘disorganisation’ through an unconscious process. It’s the default scenario. So to get back to our best selves, we need to become conscious of the process for a while, until we become unconsciously competent at it. You’re tired of the state of affairs your in, and that affects every aspect of your life.
So the minute you decide to get organised and make a commitment, then everything starts to change.

Give yourself one year, and you can gradually and easily learn the very best organising skills and achieve your goals. And as your physical spaces become streamlined and organised, the rest of your life starts to fall in line. You will notice a shift in your energy, your mood, your time and your money. Imagine how powerful you can be when you’re organised. How would you show up in the world if you didn’t have to worry about all the stuff that’s weighing you down?

Let’s find out….

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Is being organised overrated?

Brigitte, Kelly Higgins-Devine and GraceThis week I spoke live on 612ABC radio with the lovely Kelly Higgins-Devine. She asked me if ‘being organised’ was worth the effort.  This is a great interview for anyone who wants to make some positive changes in their life but needs to know where start.  There’s a lot of laughing, but there are some very practical and motivating messages.  If you listen to the end, there’s a bit in there for the fellas too!

 

Continue reading “Is being organised overrated?”

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Be A Basket Case

contemporary-storage-boxesThanks to bright colours and funky designs, baskets are no longer something Grandma used to store her knitting in. These days they come in a wide range of styles, shapes, colours and materials, that they are not just a great organising tool, but compliment any room in your house. Being both functional and fashionable you can use them for anything from storing clothes and books, to children’s toys or to storing the dirty laundry until wash day. With so much variety you can colour co-ordinate with your room or decor and choose the style, shape or strength you need. Strong baskets are best for heavy items such as books while less sturdy baskets are fine for clothing or children’s soft toys.

Fashionable baskets can enhance any room. In a bathroom you can use them to store towels, soaps, or bath products. A range of smaller baskets inside a drawer can make your make up easier to find and keep it tidy and all together. Matched properly to your interior decor, baskets are stylish solutions for any organising dilemmas from the pantry to the bedroom.

You can colour code baskets for specific uses or each person in your family. Assign a set colour for each child to use for their school items, clothing, toys and shoes. After all starting children off early with strategies to keep their things organised will make them a tidy and organised adult.

If you are looking for an innovative and fresh way to keep your home tidy and keep the clutter away, baskets are a great way to organise your family and your home. Another good thing about baskets is you can spend as much or as little as you want. You’re spoilt for choice so shop around; there is a basket out there that’s perfect for you.

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So, what have you been doing all day?

Do any of you feel slightly explosive when asked the question ‘what have you been doing all day?’ and realising that despite your best efforts, there’s not much to show for it? Seriously, if ever a question invited domestic violence, that one would surely top the list. You know you’re ready for an overhaul if any of these apply to you:

  • You’re sick of doing laundry at 10pm
  • You procrastinate by absorbing yourself in social media, housework and emails
  • You procrastinate by over-doing the housework when a big project looms
  • You’ve overloaded your kids with extra-curricular commitments so none of you have time to stop and breathe
  • You started your business so you could have a better lifestyle…but the business has taken over your life
  • You’re tired of missing out on school sports day or other kids’ activities because you had to play catch up and didn’t plan ahead
  • You’re sick of your messy house and office and want it sorted out FOREVER
  • You do WAY too much housework…and for what purpose?
  • You’re drowning in email and paperwork
  • You were put on this earth to be so much more, but you’re trapped in ‘busy’
  • You want to reduce the stress and enjoy your weekends instead of playing catch up
  • You feel like you’re always behind and miss out on things, which costs more money and even more time
  • You want to free up more time to spend with family and friends

Thank you to all those who honestly answered the question – ‘What is your biggest time thief?” We had a huge number of responses. Eight categories stood out as the main time thieves. The chart below shows your answers. Take a look at the results and see which ones you want to knock for a six: biggest time thief chart

Here are all the activities you call ‘time thieves’. Some are obviously not ‘thieves’ but a normal part of getting through every day. But the point is that it’s about perception. If you called it a ‘thief’ it’s because you feel you’re spending too much time in that particular area. Administration, helping others, housework, email & social media, kids activities, failing to plan / procrastination, travel and work. The biggest thieves of all are the internet (which includes social media) and failing to plan. (Note – I would argue that kids activities are never a waste of time, unless they’re disorganised).

Good news – those are precisely the issues we will help you nail in our member program. Join now and we’ll get you started immediately. Failing to plan as you know, is planning to fail.

I’m very excited about the transformations that are happening every day in our member community. The 7 ‘secrets’ that make up the member program were taught to me by some of the most influential and successful game changers on the planet. These 7 steps are the ones that bring about the most profound results with our clients. If your children get to experience you mastering even a few of these steps through you’re modelling them at home then they’ll become masters too.

So next time someone (hopefully in full body armour) asks you ‘What have you been doing all day?’ You can say “I’ve been Milking It, by working the plan.” Isn’t that what life’s all about?

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There are only three ways to store your belongings

When it comes to storage, there are three main ways of organising your belongings:

  1. Fitted or built-in storage
  2. Storage furniture or containers
  3. Or out on view – a method that shades into ‘display’.

Whether it’s 1, 2 or 3, there’s no limit to the style you can adopt, from a sleek contemporary look to a rustic or retro approach. In the following blog posts, I’m going to explore many different types of storage ideas.

Let your individual taste dictate your choice of storage. And if you need a bigger reason to get sorted, my real estate friend tells me that organised homes fetch a higher sales price. So there’s a great incentive for anyone wishing to sell! Share your thoughts and opinions here – I’d love to know your reaction.

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The Seven Must Have Features of ANY Storage Solution

Whether you’re shopping at Howards Storage World, The Container Store or the $2 shop, making the right choice in storage makes your life easier and makes your spaces work hard for you.

So you’re all inspired to get organised, you’ve got a 45 minute window and you’re chomping at the bit to buy something! The tendency can be to jump at the gorgeous container on the shelf in front of you but then find it doesn’t work when you get home.

These seven tips will help you choose the best storage solution for your organising challenge and I hope they save you loads of time, energy and money, like they have for me:

  1. Size really matters: Grab that tape measure and always measure your items and the space where the container will need to fit before buying any storage container. (Tip: keep a tape measure in your shopping bag ).
  2. The style factor: Will your containers be on display? If so, what decor do they need to compliment? Consider colour, texture and material (like rattan or metal). If they’re not going to be on display, you’ll have more options of type and price.
  3. Visibility of contents: Consider whether you want to be able to see the contents through a clear container, or prefer them to be concealed. I love clear containers for behind cupboard doors (e.g. in my pantry and ensuite) because I know at a glance what’s in the container. For containers on display, labelling and indexing becomes even more important.
  4. Space saving: Square or rectangular containers use space much more efficiently than rounded containers. I got rid of my round canisters in the pantry years ago for that reason. Also remember the stack-ability of a container and whether you can stack multiples on top where necessary.
  5. Ease of access: Think about how you’ll use the container and make it as easy as possible for yourself. If you don’t need a lid on your container, you’ll have less moves to make to retrieve your items in a hurry. So think about whether you really need the lid. Also, could other features like wheels or handles make the container more portable?
  6. Always remember the UFF (User-friendliness factor): containers get messy and dusty over time, so think about the shape and how easy it will be to clean. It might be pretty but if it has lots of grooves and hard to reach bits, it might be tricky to clean. And if it’s fabric, make sure it can be washed.
  7. Divide and conquer. You might want to separate items in, for example, a drawer, or a vanity cupboard, or a pantry. So consider whether you need divisions within the container for sub-grouping items. The golden rule of keeping ‘like with like’ saves a ton of space and makes things easier to find. If a container you like doesn’t have ‘dividers’ then think about how you can work around that with drawer dividers or other small boxes placed inside, or plastic bags.

Mention: The gorgeous basket above is from www.crateandbarrel.com who now ship to Australia. This image is on my Storage board on Pinterest. Follow it here.

Please feel free to share these tips with anyone you know who’s on an organising spree! I’d love to hear your tips and favourite storage solutions.

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Containers To Tame Your Space

craft room storageIn any room of your home or office, keeping things neat, tidy and organised is key to saving space and managing your time and stress levels. Container storage is one of the many ways we have to tame our mess. To keep your home or work space efficient, it needs to be neat and you need to be able to find what you need, when you need it. The golden rule is to keep like with like and give everything a home. Your daily tools; pens, pencils, scissors, labeller etc can be kept together in it’s own box that you can take with you wherever you sit to do attend to your paperwork.

Magazines, recipe books, diaries, note books look great in magazine storage containers – we love the range at Kikki-K. In the kitchen all your cooking magazines or cook books can be stored in magazine boxes, keeping them together and easy to access. Thanks to the many styles, colours and shapes you can colour co-ordinate your room or colour code your books and magazines, all baking magazines in one, all pasta books in another. You need everything at your finger tips especially when time is of the essence.

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Rise and Shine – How to get out the Door with 3 kids, ready for work and full of energy!

There is always a noticeable reduction in the amount of yelling I have to do to heard everyone out the door on time in the mornings whenever I use this very simple tool.

It’s such an incredible feeling getting out the door with:

  • My hair done & dressed for work
  • My morning’s workout done
  • A nutritious breakfast served
  • The kitchen tidy
  • Forms filled out
  • Homework completed
  • School bags all packed with lunches, etc
  • Happy, calm kids sunscreened, teeth brushed, neat uniforms, hair done
  • Files and notes for my day’s appointments packed in my bag  
  • Time to chat calmly with each of my kids

You feel like anything is possible. You have a head start on the day.  You laugh with your kids and have time to play before school.  There’s time spare for any mishaps or minor events.

It’s such a good feeling that if ‘Getting Out The Door Calmly’ was a bottled product, it would be bought by millions of mums all around the world and I would retire as a legend.  But you can just get it here for free, cause we’re just so nice like that! 

Mornings are stressful if they’re not planned the night before.   To turn yours around, please make use of this free template – getting out the door on time.  

Getting Out the Door on Time

You’ll find that when you use it, all your mornings will smooth themselves out like a freshly ironed shirt.

Think of it as your tonight self giving your ‘morning self’ a big head start.

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Catching Balls at 6am

By far the hardest things to keep track of in my day are my own thoughts and inspiration. Most mornings I get home from the gym, greet my children and then head straight into the kitchen to help with breakfast and lunches and getting everyone ready to go off to school. Whilst cutting carrot sticks and plating up pancakes, I invariably have a stream of thoughts racing randomly through my mind about the things I need to remember to do that day.

I really don’t want to forget these important thoughts and they are usually the most important things that really need to be addressed. While my hands are busy with food and helping, I can’t stop to write it all down, so here’s a quick and easy tool I use to capture those ‘to dos’ before they are forgotten.

I just open the ‘voice memo’ app on my iPhone and literally talk to myself! Here’s an example from today: “Morning B, today you need to remember to…go through Grace’s presentation with her again, make a hair appointment for sat night, send welcome packs to two new clients, go to the ATM to get money for the ironing, pick up the new glasses from OPSM, send the birth certificate to the rugby club for James and help Lachy with his reading.” That’s it.

Then once I’ve dropped the kids off at school, I jump back in the car, play the memo back and write them down. Then looking at the list, it’s a case of the four D’s – what do I DO, what do I DUMP, what do I DELEGATE and what do I DELAY?

See, juggling is simple! xx