 Imagine entering the holiday week with excitement and a sense of calm. The house is beautifully decorated, the meals are planned and prepped, the gifts are wrapped, and the guest rooms are tidy. You feel ready to host AND enjoy yourself too. You're pretty much superwoman and will accept that cape any day now. Does this sound like a pipe dream? Well it's possible my friend! Come along for the sleigh ride while I share my tips to reverse engineer the holidays so you can relax, feel organized, and be at peace from now through the New Year. Tip #1: Embrace the End GoalPlanning the holiday of your dreams starts with pausing and thinking about what you actually want. Sounds simple right? But we don't often stop to think about our desires and just chug along in autopilot mode. What's your holiday end goal? Maybe you don't need all the items I listed above, like the house perfectly decorated. Perhaps you'd just be happy with a tree up, decorated as a family with your kids' adorable ornaments. It's about what's most important to you. Do you want to do a simple meal you can prep in advance so you can be fully present with your kids or guests? Do you want to have all gifts purchased and wrapped the week prior? Decide on one or two items that would make you the most cheerful and least stressed this year. For me, it's decorating early so I can enjoy the decorations longer and choosing food I can prep as much in advance so I'm not cooking with guests there (bake sweet breads the day before, prep a breakfast casserole I can just pop in the oven, make cookies the week before and freeze them, etc.).  Tip #2: Forget the FrustrationsIf it's too tricky to decide what would give you the most holiday cheer, how about reminiscing on what gave you the most stress last year? When did you lose your cool and snap at your spouse, or when did those feelings of never being good enough creep in (they happen to all of us!)? OK, let's be real - some of that can be solved by being kind to ourselves and lowering our expectations. But we can also be friendly to our future self by taking action now. I've learned over the years what stresses me out most and what I can tweak to feel more chill. Especially with small children, the holidays can be a lot. Not gonna lie that I used to get très anxious this time of year. Now I can happily say that I'm enjoying the holidays much more. One example is that I take photos each year of how I decorated the house, then I reference it the next year and pretty much replicate it (and make small tweaks when I purchase any new decorations). Part of why I love organizing is doing the hard work once and then the system is set up and easy to maintain. Same thing with decorating: I don't want to reinvent the wheel every time. I make a big effort once to decide the perfect placement, then I document it and reference it each year. Another example for easier planning is that I keep an ongoing gift ideas list on my phone. When my kids ask for something randomly, my spouse mentions something he loves, or I come across an item I'd like but don't want to buy for myself, I add the idea and/or link to my gift ideas list. Then when the holidays roll around and family is asking for present ideas, you can easily whip up a list to share with them. (This is an amazing habit to get into with families: Your kids get gifts we actually like/need and it's super easy for loved ones to shop for us.)  Tip #3: Schedule the SeasonDon't let the next couple of months whiz by in a blur. If you do that, before you know it the holidays will be here and you'll be scrambling and kicking yourself for it. Work back from the event date now and start putting tasks on your calendar and reminders in your phone! Your digital calendar and reminders app can act like your personal assistant and external brain during these busy times. They can also help you be less anxious to make a plan. Then you can stop thinking about all these little tasks in the back of your mind. When you set a reminder or calendar event your brain can say, OK, I can let that go because I know when it needs to get done and I don't need to worry about it until then. You can set reminders or calendar events for things like ordering gifts, deciding on holiday meals in time to grocery shop (that holiday ham sells out fast!), and ordering holiday outfits. Then do my favorite tip of all and make the reminders recurring for once a year so you don't have to reinvent the wheel next year and that holiday will be even smoother! Read more about my gifts note, digital calendars, and reminders app here (my 3 favorite apps to stay organized)!  Tip #4: Phone the ProfessionalsWow, that was a lot. You may be feeling a little overwhelmed by all those tips. That's OK and totally normal. It took me years to fine tune my process and figure out what I need to do to enjoy the holidays more. You have to start somewhere! And maybe that somewhere is reaching out for support. You don't have to do this alone - and you work so darn hard. You deserve to enjoy the holidays too. We have a plethora of ways our friendly organizing team can help make your holidays easier: 🎁 Decorate your home and tree. 🎁 Declutter and systematize your decorations. 🎁 Purge your kids' toys to get ready for all the new ones. 🎁 Prepare guest rooms and bathrooms. 🎁 Tidy up your mudroom and entryways. 🎁 Organize your kitchen so you can host with style and peace. 🎁 General decluttering and organizing so you can breathe again! Our schedules are filling up quickly through the end of the year; contact us today to reserve your spot! You'll be so relieved you did!  Whether you're giving us a call or tackling the holiday to-dos on your own, you've got this! Take a deep breath, sip that peppermint mocha, and know that some holiday cheer is heading your way.
If you'd like to learn more about working with an organizer before hitting our glittery holiday easy button, check out our free organizing guide! Happy Holidays, Sandi
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 You know the saying: Work smarter, not harder. Life moves fast these days and our brains can only hold so much. We need tools that can help us remember and make sense of all the things so that we're not (as much of) a frazzled mess at all times! Today I'm sharing my absolute 3 favorite apps that are simple, easy to use, and essential for getting organized. They may be on your phone, but they'll help keep your family and home organized IRL too.
 A child's bedroom isn't just for sleeping. It's where children start and end their day. Where they find their sense of style. It's a space that's their own, where they can let their identity shine. It's often where they play, read bedtime stories snuggled up with a parent, and where they feel a sense of safety and control. Your kid may try to convince you that they love a messy bedroom where you can't walk without stepping on a toy, but the truth is that kids thrive on routine, structure, and an organized environment. Today we're sharing how we organize kids' bedrooms and how to keep them tidy after we leave! Step #1: Assess the SpaceThe first step is taking a step back and assessing the space. As parents it's hectic - and we don't stop and think how a space could be tweaked to function better, but it's so important to! Are you utilizing the vertical space for storage with something like a shelf or cube storage system? Could you adjust closet rods so your daughter's dresses aren't dragging on the bottom? Is there excess furniture like a second dresser or rocking chair from infant days that is just taking up space and could be taken out of the room? Functionality is important, especially when it comes to teaching kids independence, which helps build self-confidence. Are clothes low enough that your child can reach and help pick out their outfits? Can they pick out their underwear and socks on their own? Are they able to locate their hairbrush? Children can start dressing themselves and picking out clothes surprisingly early (starting around age 2 with help). Set them up for success by building the room around their abilities.  Step #2: Sort the RoomLooking at a floor covered with who knows what can be overwhelming. Our trick is to sort like with like. It helps to start with trash: snack wrappers, all the pieces of colored-on scrap paper, broken toys, and any other unusable items. The next sweep is for items that don't belong in that room. Blankets and pillows dragged from the living room? Toys from the playroom? Take it out. (Learn how to organize their playroom next, now that all their toys are back there and out of their bedrooms!) Anything that's left in the room, sort into broad categories: clothes, shoes, toys, books, misc. Make a donate pile for unwanted items and outgrown clothes. Find homes for the remaining items. Utilize labeled bins or baskets to help you and your child keep tidy. Kids who can't read yet can learn to remember where items go without labels or you can consider labels with photos of the item/category. Remember to keep child-accessibility in mind. Ideally we want to teach our kids to tidy on their own without our help, so our pro organizers keep things in reach and systems simple.  Step #3: Create the RoutineNow that the space is organized, sometimes the harder part is to keep it that way. When our team organizes, we keep systems super simple, such as large baskets for toys and books. At a minimum, a great time to make a tidy-up routine is before house cleaners come or before guests or friends come over. Emphasize that we want our space to be tidy and welcoming for guests. It's OK for a few items to be left out, but a daily tidy routine is even more ideal. If it's daily, it will literally take seconds to complete because you never let it get too disheveled. You can make it part of the bedtime routine to do a quick tidy up. When kids are younger you can tidy with them. Ask your kiddo to pick a category to pick up ("Do you want books or toys?") so they have a choice. Picking up by category is much easier for a child to understand than just "clean up your mess!" If they need extra buy-in, you can put on a fun song and say "Let's see how much we can tidy up before the song is over!" A visual bedtime routine list can help younger kids too. You can get free clipart online and add it to a Google doc to print for things like brushing teeth, going potty, bathing, getting into PJs, tidying up the room, bedtime stories, song, then bed. A visual map can help so much to combat bedtime resistance.  Step #4: Set the ExampleKids are little sponges who somehow are always listening and observing us. They learn how to live by how we live. I hated cleaning the house by myself when I was growing up, but I loved doing it when my dad did it with me. I didn't feel alone and like it was a punishment. Instead, it was a time to bond with him. If your kids see you tidying up, they'll learn by example and want to tidy too. After tidying their bedrooms with my kids, I like to say something like "Wow, this looks amazing and feels so calm now! Don't you think?" Pointing out the benefits of a tidy space can help them see and appreciate it too. The more you tidy, the quicker it is and less of a huge deal too. There might be pushback at first, but the more you do it, it will be seen as a simple and quick everyday task. No more drama and big emotions (usually!)  You've got this! It doesn't have to be a painful experience! I see some organized bedrooms in your future, kept tidy by responsible little ones who love their calm haven. Once their rooms are organized and systems are in place, it will be so much easier to keep tidy.
Please reach out if you need that initial help to put you and your kiddos on the right path. And if you're curious about our organizing services, download our organizing guide to learn more! See you soon, Sandi  Do you dream of spending your summer nights walking in the sand and then coming home to your stunning beachfront home? So do we! Our organizers got to experience a little taste of paradise recently. Take a peek at this jaw-dropping beach home we transformed for our lovely clients. Our Professional, Perfected ProcessAfter we organized their primary residence in Cary, NC, the clients asked us to travel to their beach home to get organized there too! They spent summers at the beach when the kids were off school - and it was difficult for them to get organized while moving from one home to the other. They would leave items behind at one home, buy duplicates for the pantry, and not remember what was where. Although the beach home was very large, at 18,000 square feet, it didn't have as much storage as their primary residence. They needed our organizing expertise to make the most of the storage space they had. Because the home is right on the beach, they asked that we use plastic organizing products (such as pantry bins and closet baskets) since anything woven or metal could easily rust or get mildewy. We had so much fun making the LARGE product list. It was the biggest order we have ever placed, coming in at about $8,000. As a reminder, we purchase all products in advance, handle any returns, and then only bill clients for what we end up implementing. Our organizing team came in with grit and gusto! Team members organized for 8-10 hours per day because they had traveled to the site and wanted to accomplish as much as possible per day. The project took 4-5 organizers 3 days total (about 120 organizer hours). What a transformation!  Our Custom, Completed CreationOur favorite areas to organize were the kitchen/pantry and primary closet. There was a gorgeous gray wet bar where we organized all the stemware and drinking accoutrements. Our clients are ready to host! All the kitchen drawers were carefully curated with bamboo drawer organizers. The pantry got many plastic bins, turntables, can shelves, and chalkboard labels. Because it is all plastic, our clients won't have to worry about moisture sticking around from the sea breeze. And because everything is labeled, beach house guests can easily find and put back what they use too. This keeps the organization more maintainable long-term.  The primary closet had a stellar shoe and purse collection. The husband has a large shoe collection at home as well, so it was important for him to be able to see all his shoes and easily decide which ones to take with him. See his primary residence closet and impressive shoe collection here.  We used plastic bins in the closet as well to contain all of his toiletries. It's so much more visually appealing and he can easily see how much he has of each item. No more buying items for the beach house to find out you already have 10 of them!  Our Happy HomeownersOur clients were very happy with the finished results. They couldn't believe how much we got done in that time and loved that we were in and out quickly so they could get back to having guests and enjoying the beach. They originally thought we would need to come back another weekend, but our organizers powered through and completed the project ahead of schedule. Our clients were able to see what they had easily, and their large family and guests can find and put items back easily because everything is labeled. The transition between their Cary home and beach home was way less stressful. No more missing shoes or swimsuits!  I love that our organizing business is so versatile. One day we're helping someone declutter before transitioning into assisted living and the next we're organizing a beach home that belongs on HGTV. The best part of our job is connecting with our clients and making their busy lives a little less stressful.
You don't have to have a celebrity-level home to work with us. We just love to help clients get organized. If you'd like to learn more about our organizing process and what it's like to work with us, download our organizing guide here. Until next time, Sandi  Whether due to positive or negative reasons, change is hard. Change can bring stress and a sense of disarray to your life. Whether you're moving to a new home, welcoming a baby, caring for growing children, becoming empty nesters, retiring, or transitioning to senior living, these major life changes can throw you for a loop. Our team of professional organizers specializes in helping clients going through these life transitions. We take away the overwhelm so you can focus on what makes you happy. Why Get Organized When Life Feels So Overwhelming?When you're preparing to move, you may feel so overwhelmed that you just want to pack everything up quickly and deal with it at the new home. But then at the new home you're still overwhelmed. You want to put items into cabinets and deal with organizing everything later - but later doesn't usually come. Or maybe you've just received a houseful of items from a passed loved one and your first instinct is to put it all into storage to deal with later. It's human nature to push off difficult decisions until the future, but the weight of those decisions still weighs on you. You know you have to deal with it eventually and it's on your mind much more than you'd like! Deciding to deal with it now and get organized is proactive and will make the transition much smoother. With an organizer there to guide you, you can make the tough decisions, release the past, and prepare for life going forward. We will ask the tricky questions about if items serve you and if they're something you want to bring into the next chapter. Emotions will be felt and that's OK. Processing them now will help you feel better and create more mental and physical space for the future.  Change of Any Kind Calls for ReorganizationYou're so excited to welcome your baby soon, but there are gift bags, baby paraphernalia, and itty bitty cute clothes everywhere. Nothing is set up for the baby's room and your energy left the chat weeks ago. This is definitely not a workout/guest room anymore - it needs to transform into a nursery stat! Hiring a professional organizer can give you peace of mind when the idea of getting organized alone just feels like too much. We're here to put order back in your home and make you feel like someone is on your side and looking out for you. We can organize nurseries with new baskets, hangers, dividers, and systems. We can declutter as baby grows out of clothes (or store them in labeled bins if there will be more future kiddos!). We're here with you along the way to keep things organized and tidy.  When You're Feeling Stressed, Start with Systems You KnowInstead of letting the stress take over and focusing on all the things that don't work in your life and home, focus on the systems and habits that do work. We can build on those! For example, if we're unpacking your new home and it worked in your old home to take your shoes off in the mudroom, we can add a shoe rack there instead of in your coat closet. If you like clear bins because you can see what's inside, we won't bring deep wicker baskets, we'll bring clear! We like to hear from clients what already works for them, so we can integrate those systems into our new organization (and recommend our own best practices too, of course!). During life changes, it can help to mentally grab on to those little pieces of confidence. There are plenty of things you're already doing right!  Release Yourself from Expectations; Be OK with Just EnoughChange will happen. We can't plan and prepare for everything. Sometimes it's best to let go of previous expectations and be OK with "organized enough." The last thing you need when unpacking your home is to feel like everything must be perfect and set up like a magazine. If you know things will be a little chaotic for a while and can lean into that discomfort, you'll be able to get to the other side of the change less frazzled. Relieve the pressure valve just a little bit so that you don't pop! When you hire our team to help, we'll bring a sense of order to your home and life that you desperately need. It will allow you to relax even more and trust that things will get done. You have enough other things to worry about! We're not perfect either of course (no one is), but organizing is our passion and you're going to love your (nearly perfect) organized home.  Sorting, Purging, and Decluttering As Self-CareYou've worked hard your entire life. Now it's time to retire and transition into senior living. You're ready to make friends, take morning walks, and read a good book (book club anyone?) There's just one problem: You have thousands of memories in your home and have accumulated more than you'd like to admit over the years. Please be kind to yourself. Decluttering and preparing to downsize can be a long and arduous process. Start small and give yourself plenty of time. This is the perfect time to work with an organizer (retirement gift to yourself?). We'll do all the hard physical labor and will only pull you in for the decisions. We can work in shorter sessions so it's not too overwhelming. We even take donations away for you and bring you the donations receipt after. Think of it as some long-deserved self-care by working side by side with an organizer and not doing this alone. The task won't feel insurmountable when you have a smiling face there to motivate you along the way. And when it's time to move, we'll pack your boxes with care and unpack and set up your new home too. Learn more about why to hire a pro organizer for unpacking after a move here.  At Hello Simplified, we know that major life changes can be stressful and overwhelming. We get it and we've been there too. That's why we've made it our mission to help clients experiencing these life transitions. We want to bring you peace and help your change be as smooth and organized as possible.
Please reach out if you're feeling like the change you're going through is too much. We're here to help. Download our organizing guide to see what it's like to work with us. Warmly, Sandi |