FAQ Festival, Day 3

This week I share the FAQs Creating Order from Chaos hears.

What is AAPO?

AAPO is the Australasian Association of Professional Organisers, the peak industry body in Australia and New Zealand.  AAPO members adhere to a Code of Ethics, designed to protect clients.  As its proud and active President, I strongly believe in its principles.

So much of my home and life is disorganised. Where do I start?

Start with a commitment. Start with the thing that annoys you most. Start with the easiest thing to tackle. Start by getting help. Just start, and the rest will follow.

FAQ Festival, Day 2

The many enquiries we field often have a common thread. This week I’m sharing the FAQs.

How long will it take?

Each Organising job is unique, as is each client. Varying factors such as the size of the space, the amount of clutter and the client’s ability to make quick decisions mean quoting time, or cost for that matter, is impossible.  We can tell you that investing in getting organised gives great returns.

Will you make me throw out my stuff?

What stays and what goes will always be your choice. We simply ask the right questions to help you make the right choices.

FAQ Festival, Day 1

Creating Order from Chaos gets lots of enquiries. This week I’ll be sharing some of the most common questions we get asked, and the answers, of course!

Do you do the actual hands-on work?

Absolutely, we do. We come prepared for anything. We do, however, take into consideration health and safety when working, both yours and ours.

Do you travel to…?

We are Melbourne-based, and will travel anywhere in Melbourne. If you need help outside that area, talk to us about Creating Order Conversations, our phone consultation services. Angela is active in the Professional Organising industry and may be able to recommend someone close to you.

The Precious Gift

There, on the table, sits a gift. It’s beautifully wrapped with glistening paper and curls of ribbon, and it’s waiting for you to open. It’s the gift everyone longs for, but never receives. It’s a gift so prized it could change your life.

You tug on the satin ribbon. It unfurls. A gentle pull on the paper reveals the gift, shining, golden. There. One precious additional hour, each and every day, to use as you please.

Beep. Beep. Beep. The alarm wakes you from your dreams and reality hits you hard in the face. Sorry, there is no such fantasy.

No matter how many times we wish there were just one more hour in the day, it’s just not going to happen. Never will. Each of us received the same gift of only 24 hours in the day.

However all is not lost. We can exert some control over the hours we do have.

Try these time-savers…

•Cut out one commitment. At work, say no to taking on another project. At home, say no to taking on one more responsibility – canteen duty, committee secretary, hosting a formal dinner party.

•Get organised about dinner. Plan your meals, make a shopping list and shop just once a week.

•Save on routine maintenance. Invest in easy care fabrics and surfaces. Save time cleaning by keeping dirt out in the first place. This applies to your inbox as well!

•Cut down on clutter. Extra stuff needs extra maintenance and it’s easy to misplace the stuff the matters when you’re surrounded by stuff that doesn’t.

•Stay out of the car. Reduce trips by banking and shopping online, or by consolidating errands and completing them all on one day.

•Set deadlines and follow through. Make expectations and consequences clear. “I need feedback on the draft by 4pm today, then the final letter goes out at 5pm.” Guaranteed you won’t be waiting days for feedback. At home, invest in a good alarm clock and training to use it. Let everyone know it’s their responsibility to get up on time, not yours to rouse them. I suspect the hardest part is the follow through. Nothing is more effective than setting expectations and consistently following through on consequences. Reminders, nagging and second chances only weaken your position.

So by now you’re probably thinking “Yeah, but…” or “She doesn’t understand, my situation is different.” Before passing judgement, give these tips a go. Ok, some of them will require new thinking, and more importantly, new actions. Things may even get worse before they get better. But they will get better.

And before you know it, you’ll be enjoying the precious gift of time.

The Truth about Storage Solutions

Shh… come closer… I have a little-known organising truth to share.  Just between you and me.

Very often Storage Solutions are not the answer.

Have you ever bought a beautiful box to hold your stuff, only to find your stuff doesn’t all fit inside, or the box doesn’t fit where you wanted to put it? That’s probably because the box came along too early in the organising process. Storage “solutions” should come towards the end.

Or perhaps you bought a beautiful container for something you use all the time, but find putting away in the container just never happens? That’s probably due to the wrong type of container for your needs.

What looks good in the shop or online or in a catalogue may not work in reality for so many reasons. It basically boils down to unsuccessful generic solutions for specific problems.

Very often I’m invited to help a client with their clutter, only to find that “storage solutions” are part of that clutter problem. I wish I could rewind the clock and tell them the truth so they could save their time and money.

So here are some tips to help you save time and money before committing to storage solutions -

•First, declutter and sort as much as possible.

•Look at the whole situation. There may be things you have on hand which could be repurposed, or different ways of using the space.

•Determine your patterns, i.e. are you likely to return things to boxes, or do you prefer to have things on display?

•Measure and research both your spaces and the options.

•Allow “wiggle room”. That is, to avoid outgrowing your new storage applications, allow extra space for future growth.

•It’s worth waiting for the right solution, rather than spending only to regret later.

Storage can be both beautiful and useful when properly designed. And it needn’t cost the earth. But first things first.

And that’s the truth about Storage Solutions.

New Workshops Announced

2 new dates for favourite workshops, Meal Planning Made Easy and Creating Order in the Home, have been announced.  Places fill quickly so be sure to book early.

Meal Planning Made Easy

Learn how to

• save money
• save time
• save your sanity
• and produce meals everyone will enjoy, especially the cook!

When? Wednesday, March 3rd, 7.30pm

Where? Camberwell

Investment? $49

Creating Order in the Home

• Can’t find what you need when you need it?
• Drowning in clutter?
• Learn how to have your home running smoothly so you can put your feet up

When?  Tuesday, March 9th, 7.30pm

Where?  Camberwell

Investment?  $49

Book now by calling Angela on 0403 164 468 or email angela@creatingorder.com.au

Chronicle Ready for You

The Creating Order Chronicle has just gone out to subscribers with news, tips and a project everyone can accomplish.  Want yours?  It’s not too late to subscribe.
Subscribe here.

Bedroom Tranquility Poll

Calm Space article – How to Cherish…

My monthly article for The Calm Space is ready and waiting for your reading and comments.  This month I look at How to Cherish the Memories without Holding onto the Stuff.

Organised can be Beautiful

Organised doesn’t have to mean all square boxes and labels.

Organised can be beautiful.

This collection is contained.  It is accessible.  It is used daily.  It is easy to maintain.  It is beautiful.

It is organised.