Office Revamp

Traveling a lot, not having systems in place that work, waiting until clutter builds up and being overwhelmed with where to start can turn your home office into a place you would rather not go! That is how my client felt and that is why she asked for help. Following the basic organizing steps we transformed her home office into a place where she can get projects completed and even enjoy spending time there! Have fun looking at these before and after photos!

Organizing Girl's Hair Pretties

One of my friends calls hair accessories "hair pretties" so that is how I titled the post!

A recent client has three daughters. They have LOTS of hair pretties. They had tried to find a way to organize the cabinet where they kept these things but nothing ever worked and the cabinet would always end up a mess with all the hair pretties piled in!


Here is what we did with just two three drawer organizers that you can find at Target for $9.99 each and some Velcro and ribbon! Her daughters LOVE it and they LOVE to keep it CLEAN!

We sorted through all the hair things which was probably the most time consuming. Then we labeled the drawers for each type: ponies, head bands, ponies with decorations, clipies, etc. We attached ribbon to a piece of Velcro at the top and bottom and then attached it to the inside of the cabinet door. The Velcro has adhesive on both sides so we didn't even need glue. Then we clipped all the bows to the ribbon.

Simple. Cute. Organized.

My New Favorite Motivational Quote

I was listening to Dave Ramsey for about 3 minutes in the car today and the one thing I heard him say was,

"Adults devise a plan and follow it. Children do what feels good."

I love that. You could apply that to work, your eating/working out goals, your spiritual life, your home, raising children, your marriage, etc. I even think it should be,

"Mature people devises a plan and follow it. Immature people just do what feels good at the moment."

That is so true. I ask myself, "Tracy, do you want to be mature or immature? Do you want to stay in bed and listen to your feelings or get up and work out? Do you want to stay connected with the Lord? So, follow your plan and meet with Him. Don't let your child (immature) self take over and get what it wants. Do I want my room to be a mess or should I follow the plan like a mature adult and hang up the clothes I decided not to wear? Should I eat the rest of the bag of M&M's or say I am done with my sweets for the day? Should I spend money that I don't have? Do I want a great marriage?" Oh, the list could go on!!

FOLLOWING THE PLAN TAKES WORK!!

Maturity takes work. Immaturity is the easy was out. What will you do today to choose maturity? To follow your plan?

Project Garage

Across America there is a common phenomena...Garage Overload! Maybe you can relate to that overwhelming feeling you get when you open the door to your garage. "How can I ever fix this??" you ask. So, what happens? You close the door and go on with life leaving 'project garage' for another time. The weight of knowing something needs to be done is heavy on your brain now causing emotional clutter as well as physical clutter!

Here are some pictures from the real life garage of the Russell family. They are an active family that enjoy camping, hunting, fishing, BBQing and boating plus they have all the supplies to go with their hobbies. They also have grown children and are storing some of their transitional things temporarily. After 30 years in the same house the garage had become...full, to say the least.

Here are the before, middle and after pictures of their 'project garage'. Along with one other hard-working, family friend with lots of muscles, Maggie Russell and I tackled the project!! Her brother Jim helped whenever he could, too. We worked almost six hours one day and only two and a half hours the next and after 30 years Maggie can now open the garage door with pride AND park there, too!!!

Three before pictures:

This was in the middle of the project. We had taken everything out of the garage. As we did we sorted it all into categories. Can you tell?

Can you believe this is the same garage? They remembered it looking like this 30 years ago when they moved in.

These are the finished photos! There is still one group of transitional tubs and a few pieces of furniture that they need to go through and move to a permanent location. All the gardening, automotive and paint supplies are on these shelves, in tubs and labeled: All camping, fishing, boating and hunting supplies are on these shelves:Be inspired!

Inspiring Quote

"Believe, when you are most unhappy, that there is something for you to do in the world. So long as you sweeten another's pain, life is not in vain."

~ Helen Keller

This quote got me thinking! Life is always better when we focus on being a blessing to others. It is all in the perspective! Lets ask ourself, "Who's life can I sweeten today?"

FAQ: What Happens When You Contact Simply Squared Away?

When you contact Simply Squared Away by phone, email or the contact form on our website there will be one thing that happens: We will respond and answer your questions! There is no pressure or sales tactics used to make you take the next step. We love answering your questions and will try to be as thorough as possible. If we miss answering something just keep asking until you know what you need.

The next step is to set up an assessment. An assessment is where we come to you. We tour your space(s) and ask a lot of questions in order to learn about you and your situation...your frustrations, what is working, your dreams and goals, etc. The assessment usually takes 30 - 90 minutes. At the end of the assessment we give you an estimate of the number of hours we think it will take to complete the project.

If you are ready to get started we schedule our first "hands-on" organizing session. This is where we come in and get the work done! Scheduling and completing these sessions are the stepping stones you need in order to reach the goals and life changes that you desire!

There are unique situations and this process will vary slightly depending on those situations. But, remember, if you have questions please contact us so we can get the answers to you!

The Cycle Problem

Do you ever wonder how your space becomes a mess? Peter Walsh explains that it is a cycle problem.

We are all familiar with laundry...after it is worn it gets put into the hamper (hopefully!), from your hamper it gets put into the washer, once clean you transfer it to the dryer, when dry it is folded or hung up and finally it gets put away. The worst thing you could do would be to stop this cycle by leaving a load in the washer after it has been washed. What would you get? A mound of smelly laundry. Why? You didn't complete the cycle!

Papers that come into our homes have a cycle (process) that needs to be completed, too. Paper comes into our homes from the mailbox or our kid's backpacks, we look through it and make decisions: act on it, file it or throw it away...a cycle completed. If we don't complete the cycle it becomes a pile of stinky paper cluttering up our surfaces.

If you want a glass of milk and then stop the cycle half way through by not putting the carton back in the refrigerator you have sour milk. If you change your clothes three times in the morning but don't hang them back up you have broken a cycle and end up with a messy bedroom.

Walsh says, "We have a choice: to be mindful and complete the cycle, or to end up with a stinky load of washing in the metaphorical machine. Inside we're all 8-year-olds expecting someone to pick up after us. Those days are gone."

Make a plan, a cycle, for those frustrating areas where things seem to accumulate and then choose to finish the "cycle."

Read more of Peter Walsh's interview in the March 2009 issue of O Magazine by clicking here.