No one loves to move. Some surveys say it's the most stressful life event of all. But moving doesn't have to be a dreaded, horrible experience. What you need is a support system and team to help you through. We deal with moves every day, and love helping our clients have a less stressed and more pleasant experience. Read ahead for our five tips to a better move. Tip #1: Embrace a Generous Purge for a Lighter LifestyleBefore moving is the best time to declutter and let go of what no longer serves you. It may seem like there's too much going on, but you'll be so happy you did it before packing up your whole home. You only realize how much stuff you have once you have to put it in a box. When you declutter first, you'll have less stuff to pack, less to pay to move, and less to find a place in your new home. You should start decluttering ideally a few months before the big move day. We recommend that professionals help you declutter to keep you motivated and efficient (read our 3 reasons to hire an organizer to help you declutter here). Think about how good it will feel to move into your new home with only items that you actually use and love. Your team of organizers can quickly unpack and organize your new home for success without having to spend hours decluttering things. You'll have enough to do in your new home without deciding how many pairs of shoes to keep. Tip #2: Prep Thoughtfully to Expedite the Process There are a few things you can do to help us do our job of packing your home more smoothly and quickly.
Tip #3: Prevent Some Packing to Streamline Your LifeFind a spot for a "no pack" zone. This can be a closet, room, bathroom, etc. Label it as such so the movers know, too. They are essentials you'll need until you're settled in your new space. Think of it like packing for a mini vacation that's less fun and has no sightseeing. You'll likely bring these “no pack” items in the car with you. You can also use sticky notes to label items or areas “no pack,” like your toiletries on the bathroom counter. We can also help with this during the packing process if you prefer! Here are some common items you might want in your "no pack zone":
Tip #4: Plan Strategically to Guide Our UnpackingThe more info we get about your new home, the better we can pack and plan the unpacking accordingly. We would like to know what will be changing in your new home so that we can fill boxes for the rooms they'll go in in your new home, not where they are currently. For example, your kids' toys may be currently in their bedrooms (and scattered throughout the house), but there will be a playroom in the new home where you'd like the toys. We would want to label and pack toys as “playroom” so the movers can put them in your new playroom. You don't want boxes of toys in their new bedrooms that don't belong there, and then you're stuck hauling boxes around after the movers leave. Before unpacking, we plan with clients about what space to unpack first. We recommend unpacking the kitchen first so you can return to eating normally as soon as possible. This will make you feel more at home since you eat multiple times daily and need energy to get settled! After that, we usually do bedroom closets and then bathrooms. These are the areas that will make you feel most at home by being able to get dressed and ready in the morning. Then come other areas like playrooms, bedrooms, offices, living rooms, laundry rooms, and garages. We can make a game plan based on your priorities. Tip #5: Pay for Pros to Give You Peace of Mind At Hello Simplified, we make moving easier. We declutter with you before the move, we pack your items with the utmost care and in an organized and planned-out fashion, and we unpack and organize your new home with speed, beauty, and function. Also, you'll still need a way to get your items from Point A to Point B. Please don't just hire the cheapest movers, as tempting as it can be. There can be a huge difference between companies because their staff may not be thoroughly trained, and they pack your items into huge semi-trucks with someone else's home. I've seen horror stories where things take weeks to arrive at the new home or the entire home's contents are lost. You want movers who can move your items the same day, take meticulous care wrapping and handling all furniture and boxes, and know how to set up your furniture accurately. I learned the hard way when I was young and hired cheap movers. I went to lie down on my bed the first night in my new home, and it collapsed under me. The movers had no idea how to put my bed together, and instead of telling me, they just screwed a few things together and placed the mattress on top. Learn from my mistake and give yourself the gift of great movers. A little planning goes a long way in helping your move to be less stressful and happen smoothly and efficiently. Bringing in the pros will take a huge burden off of you. We'd love to help with all your decluttering, packing, and unpacking needs. You don't have to do this alone, and asking for help is ok. You'll feel so relieved once you know we've got your move covered.
If you're overwhelmed with the idea of moving, download our organizing guide to learn more about working with a professional organizer. Warmly, Sandi
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Do you feel like you SHOULD be able to declutter your home by yourself, but the motivation just isn't there? Even if you were to get motivated, who has the time to spend an entire weekend sorting through items? If you do finally get started, you quickly get tired or overwhelmed and can only make a few decisions. It doesn't have to be this hard and cause this much stress! Today we'll be sharing our top 3 reasons to hire an organizer to help you declutter... Reason #1: A Coach is Guaranteed to Help You Purge More Effectively Decluttering on your own is hard. You're easily distracted, and decision fatigue is so real! You second guess yourself and keep wondering if you should keep the item "just in case." When you work with an organizer, we act as your coach and motivator. We keep you focused and are able to ask leading questions such as, "When was the last time you used the item?" "Do you really LOVE this shirt?" "What's the worst thing that will happen if you do end up needing these 5 cake pans you've never used?" "Is letting this go worth having more space and making it easier to find the items you actually do use?" (The answer is yes!) We find that clients are able to declutter exponentially more items they no longer use or need when they work with us. We had a client who said she had already decluttered her primary closet on her own, but we asked if we could go over a few things again with her to be sure. She ended up decluttering TEN more garbage bags of clothes with us. She was thrilled with her newly spacious closet that included the clothes she truly loved. It was no longer stuffed to the brim with clothes she didn't wear. Sometimes, you just need coaching through the process to get the best results. Read more about the importance of decluttering in Uncovering the True Cost of Clutter. Reason #2: An Organizer is Happy to Handle Donations, Shopping, & Returns After making hundreds of decluttering decisions, the last thing you want is to have bags upon bags of donations cluttering up your mudroom or riding around in the trunk of your car for weeks. Plus, if you don't donate right away, you're likely to be tempted to second-guess your decisions and end up keeping items you don't really want or need. When you work with us, we whisk all donations away for you that day and send you the donation slip after. It's as easy as can be! We also do all the organizing, product planning, shopping, and returns for you. You can get that Instagram-worthy look with our expert product recommendations. No worries about buying the wrong-sized baskets or having too few or too many drawer dividers. No pile of Amazon returns that need to be made or never get returned and just sit in your closet as wasted money. We handle it all and make it so easy that you'll be wondering why you didn't just hire us sooner! Reason #3: A Pro Does The Sorting and Organizing For You When decluttering on your own, there's also the time-consuming and tiring work of pulling everything out of the space, sorting it into categories, and then, after you declutter, putting it all back in an organized way, often with organizing products. That can take not just hours but days or even weeks to do on your own. When you work with a professional organizer (or a team of organizers to get things done even faster!), we do all the labor-intensive work for you. We only pull you in to make the decluttering decisions. Then, you can go off and do your own thing again while we organize your space into functional systems. We factor in your unique daily life while also using our expert organizing skills to keep things tidy, beautiful, and maintainable. Have you been putting off decluttering your home? Give yourself some grace, and give us a call. We'll not only motivate you to declutter, but you'll end up decluttering more effectively, providing long-term success.
Learn more about our home organizing services and how we can help you declutter by downloading our organizing guide here. See you soon, Sandi Renovations are stressful! People are all up in your space, and your everyday creature comforts, like a working kitchen or bathroom, may be inaccessible. Once the renovations are complete, you're just exhausted and want to have your home back and ready to use. Planning ahead and organizing BEFORE the renovations begin is essential and will reduce your stress immensely throughout the process. There will be less mess and fewer headaches, making the reno process a little easier to endure! Read ahead for our 3 tips on organizing before your renovation starts... Step #1: Declutter and Decide What Needs to GoInstead of dreading how you're going to fit all your stuff back into your newly organized kitchen or bathroom, think of the renovation as your chance and motivation to declutter! You don't want to move your unused, dusty, unloved items into your new, glistening space. Ick! Think about what you love and what you actually use. Now's the time to let go of all those "just in case" items. If you really end up needing something you decluttered, you can easily run to the store or click "buy now" on Amazon. Think of all the spaciousness and organization you'll have in your improved space. Things will be easy to find and look visually appealing. As you declutter and prepare for the renovation, make a list on your phone of what you might need to buy later. Don't clutter your space now with more items you'll need to store away for the reno. For more decluttering tips, read A Professional Organizer’s Guide to Decluttering. Step #2: Get Organized and Begin Packing Now that you've decluttered, you can more easily decide what stays during the renovation process and what you still want to keep but can be stored away for the time being. Remember to keep out things like medicine and other items that are used daily. Pack items in clearly labeled bins so you can easily find things you need that you packed away and so you can easily unpack when the reno is over. Renovations are dusty, and the last thing you want is a brand-new kitchen with all your plates and glasses covered in dust. Step #3: Move Boxes to Storage and Prep for Your Reno If you're braving it out and living in your home during the renovation, you may want to store items somewhere outside the home, such as a temperature-controlled storage unit or pod. Don't fill your garage with items, and then realize you need to use your garage as a temporary kitchen! Speaking of, start setting up things like temporary kitchens before the renovation begins. You don't want to start this task when you're stressed and hungry and your home is already a construction zone. Plan on giving yourself grace with more ready-made meals, take-out, and non-perishable snacks. Our specialty is helping our clients through moments of change, such as renovations and moving. This is like a mini-move! You have to declutter, pack, and unpack the space you're renovating. Can you say stressful? It's ok to ask for help.
If you're ready to hand off your pre-renovation organizing to an expert, we've got your back! Download our organizing guide to see how we can help! See you soon, Sandi Toys somehow keep sneaking into your home. The piles keep growing and growing with each passing holiday and birthday party goodie bag! Sometimes, the toys strut right in and demand to live rent-free in your precious little storage space. Your playroom is bursting with toys, yet your kids look disengaged and bored. How is that even possible? Tip #1: Keep Toys That Spark Creativity Did you know that studies show that too many toys can make kids feel overwhelmed and bored? Fewer toys actually mean more creativity and play. "Enough is enough," you think! But where would you even start creating a simplified and organized playroom? Read ahead for our expert tips on organizing your playroom to enhance fun and creativity. The most important step we take as professional organizers in organizing playrooms is decluttering! We work with clients to let go of toys that are broken, outgrown, or that aren't favorites or played with often. You’ll end up with the highest quality toys and items that can spark creativity. Remember, too many toys can be overwhelming. Many toys "entertain" kids with flashing lights and music. While having a couple of these can be useful, they don't allow kids to be independently imaginative. Items like books, art supplies, and toys that enable them to create the narrative are best. A dancing scarf can become a dragon flying through the sky or a blanket to swaddle a baby doll. When decluttering toys, parents often worry their kids will get upset and want something back. A good safety net for this can be to keep items in the garage in bags for a month before donating (without your kids knowing they're there!). That way, if your child gets upset that something is missing, you can get it back from the garage. Although we don't usually encourage holding onto donations (we typically take them to donate for you on the day of your session), we like to make this exception with toys. Tip #2: Let Your Kids View Their Options We want to keep similar items together when sorting items in a playroom. For example, all stuffed animals, art supplies, puzzles, kitchen play food, and legos are together. Then, keep them visible by storing them in clear bins, open baskets, or displayed on shelves. Seeing items encourages kids to play with the toys, and since we've already decluttered and sorted like items together, there will be minimal toys out to create visual clutter. We love using baskets to store books since they're easier to sort through. You can choose a book, put it away, and grab one book without the whole bookshelf falling off or over. Tip #3: Rotate Toys to Keep Things Exciting Along with decluttering, consider rotating toys to limit what your kids can access at once. This can be helpful if you have too many favorite toys but don't want them all out simultaneously. Involve your kids when it's time to rotate by letting them know you will have some "new" toys to play with from storage. For example, tell them they can pick out five new toys to play with this week, and the other current toys can have a rest. Store unused toys in the rotation in bins somewhere, like a closet or attic. Set a reminder on your phone to rotate new toys after a couple of weeks so you remember. An even easier solution than having a rotation system: storing toys you don't care to be played with often in cube shelf bins or other closed storage will naturally encourage less play. Then, you can pull out the bins when you'd like them to be played with. This is an easy way to "rotate" toys without much added effort of remembering to actually rotate! Tip #4: Encourage Your Littles to Get Involved & Help Clean Up Broad categories with large baskets or toy chests allow quick and easy clean-up. For example, you can use a large toy chest for stuffed animals, a few book baskets, and a smaller basket for all those small toys. This corrals the mess and reduces visual clutter. It also makes it super easy for kids to help clean up. Getting the kids involved can help maintain the organization. Do they have a special spot they want to line up their stuffed animals? Pretend the playroom is a neighborhood, and each toy needs its own special "home" to live in and go back to at the end of each day. Making a little "parking garage" on the floor with painter's tape can be fun so your children can park their mini cars and ride horsies. Increase their motivation by making it a competition with siblings to see who can put their toys away the fastest. Making the process fun will increase the likelihood you're not the only one stuck keeping things in order. Organizing your playroom and dealing with the constant barrage of toys can be overwhelming. We get it! No playroom is going to be perfect. If anything, take this as permission to let go of many of their toys. Remember, it will help their creativity to have less, not hurt it. A simple, easy-to-maintain system will encourage order, creative play, and learning all at once! Your kids can get messy and have a blast and then be able to get things quickly back to square one. We've got your back if you're ready for an expert to create playroom organization systems that simplify your life! Download our organizing guide to see how we can help. See you soon, Sandi Do you find yourself buying items at the grocery store just to come home and be frustrated when you realize you have one, two, or multiple of the same item already shoved in your kitchen pantry? Food is getting PRICEY as it is, so it's annoying to make this common mistake. Pantries can be black holes of duplicate items and items that are expired. When your pantry is organized and labeled, it's much easier to see what you already have. We're sharing 4 tips we use in our clients' homes as professional organizers to help you transform your pantry from a chaotic, cluttered stressor to pristine and clean, and how to keep it that way with maintainable systems. Tip #1: Remove All Items & Review Expiration Dates The first step we take is to empty out your entire pantry. Yes, all of it. We create a staging zone on your dining room table and kitchen counters to lay everything out. Once it's all removed, we give the shelves a good wipe down and vacuum the floor, if necessary, to have a fresh start. We then look at all the expiration and best-by dates and toss what's past its prime. You'd be surprised how many items have gone bad; we've found items that are even 10+ years expired. Like we said, pantries can be a black hole! We'll also check with you and toss anything stale, like chip bags left open by the kiddos or items you bought but aren't ever going to use (if you prefer, you can always donate unexpired items to a food pantry or post them on a buy nothing group on Facebook). Tip #2: Create Categories & Keep Like Items TogetherNow that we've widdled it down to fresh items you want to keep, we'll sort everything into broad categories that are easy to maintain. We don't need to get super specific and create categories for every little thing. A bin for kids' snacks will be much easier to maintain than separate bins for goldfish, gummies, or crackers. You don't always buy the same items and we want your pantry to stay flexible for your ever-changing family. We'll cater the categories to what works best for you and your family. Some common categories we use are snacks, kids' snacks, pasta, grains, nuts & seeds, baking supplies, breakfast, canned foods, and sauces. Commit to keeping like items together and your pantry is on its way to staying organized long-term. Tip #3: Select Storage Solutions & Get Ready to Problem Solve We love large bins or baskets that can fit many items for our broad categories. We then label them with either chalkboard sticker labels for plastic bins or bin clips for hyacinth-type baskets. Large turntables work best for items such as sauces and oils and work especially well for pantry corners. Tiered expandable canned shelves are our go-to for canned goods. Using a door rack can create and utilize all space for smaller pantries. We love decanting baking supplies such as flour and sugar into clear containers. These containers can also work for clients who want a more uniform look and are willing to do the upkeep involved. We always like to discuss the decanted option with clients that ask about it since even though it looks great, it does take extra work to maintain and empty food into the containers after a grocery trip. This can be a beautiful option if you purchase similar foods consistently and are willing to put in a little more maintenance (or have us help!). When purchasing supplies, we always buy a good amount more than we will likely need since we do a lot of problem-solving in the moment. We could take exact measurements and make an elaborate plan of exactly what bins will go where, but it would be a waste of time and would end up changing a lot. You just don't know what will work until you're in the space. We overbuy, see what works best once items are decluttered and in the space, then return what we don't use. Tip #4: Make a Plan to Maintain the Space & Get Your Family InvolvedGrouping and storing like items together makes it easy to put items away after grocery shopping, so the whole family can find what they need quickly and help put food back after they're done. It doesn't have to all land on you to maintain! Kids can get excited about the new system by having snacks where they can reach them. They love to be in control and big helpers. Make a game of helping you put groceries away after you shop and give them a choice from their bin at snack time. Let your spouse know how putting items back in the correctly labeled bin helps you save money by not buying duplicates and helps you know when snacks are getting low so your family always has their favorites on hand. Now that everything is labeled and grouped together, it's much easier to maintain order in your pantry. Keeping it tidy is key. Make sure to take the extra few seconds to put items in the correct spot. It also helps immensely to glance into your pantry when making the grocery list and before shopping to see what you already have. We encourage clients to have a shared groceries note on their phone where each spouse (and older kids) can add something to the list when it's getting low or is out. If you don't want to maintain it yourself or it's just gotten too out of hand, we offer maintenance sessions to bring your pantry back to square one. Our lives can feel like they revolve around food. We have to eat! With an organized pantry that's easy to maintain, you can take some of that daily stress, buying duplicates, and searching for items away.
Dinners can be made faster, favorite snacks grabbed easier, and grocery lists made in a breeze. Our clients even love to show off their pantries to visitors! It will feel good to have a pantry you're proud of. If you dream of an organized pantry but all of this sounds daunting to do alone, get our organizing guide to see what it's like working with a professional organizer. We're here, so you don't have to spend an entire weekend looking at expiration dates. No one has time for that (except us, we live for this)! Did you know we also set up pantries with organizing products from day 1 with our unpacking services? Start your new life in your new home with a gorgeous, eye-candy yet functional pantry. Cheers, Sandi |
About UsAt Hello Simplified, we specialize in organizing, decluttering, packing and unpacking services. Read through for tips on how we help our clients feel less overwhelmed and more in control of their busy lives and homes during major life changes. Archives
April 2024
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