downsizing with dignity

Downsizing With Dignity Tips For Caregivers

in

For most seniors, downsizing into either a retirement home or a smaller more manageable space like a condo or apartment is a big adjustment. Downsizing is not only challenging for the senior, but the caregivers or family members as well – especially when the move is forced and needed for safety or health concerns.

When you are a caregiver, your input and support are priceless during this process. First and foremost, try to keep in mind that they are leaving the home they have perhaps lived in for decades and being faced with downsizing their countless belongings is going to prove challenging. Let’s talk about some tips to ensure our seniors are downsizing with dignity.

Downsizing with dignity tip 1: Always Think Before You Speak

The senior in the process of downsizing will most likely have many possessions that will no longer serve them in their new, smaller space. This is going to be an emotional step for them. Parting with possessions that they’ve had and cherished for many years is not going to be easy. Maintain your patience, and think before you speak. Give them the space they need to process their emotions and allow them to part with their belongings with grace.

Downsizing with dignity tip 2: Avoid Getting Overly Sentimental

If you are the one helping your senior through the downsizing process, you might find yourself getting overly sentimental over home items that meant something to you – or even belonged to you at one point. Ask for permission to take these items either to your home or to dispose of them by goodwill or the garbage. But you should ensure that you don’t demonstrate too much emotion here. This will only make the process harder for the senior involved.

 

downsizing with dignity

Downsizing with dignity tip 3: Decisions Are Not Always Black and White

When you are helping the elderly downsize, try not to make hasty decisions on their behalf. They may be unsure of what to do with a home item – give them the space to make this decision. Not all items will be black and white. Toss or keep. Perhaps set up a third bin labeled ‘thinking about’… which will give them some flexibility and may avoid added overwhelm and stress.

Downsizing with dignity tip 4: Emphasize The Positive

It’s normal for the elderly to feel a bit nostalgic during a downsize. They may even show some negativity around the idea. Remind them of the ‘pros’ of moving into a smaller space. Maintaining a positive outlook around your senior is paramount in the downsizing process. If they are moving into a retirement home, remind them of all the new people they will meet, activities to participate in etc. If moving to a smaller home or condo, remind them that their will be less up-keep of the home and smaller bills. If they are moving close to parks or even closer to family members, remind them of these things. The more peace you can present to them – the better they will feel about the move.

Downsizing with dignity tip 5: Safeguard Special Keepsakes

Their will inevitably be items that are precious and invaluable to your senior. Come up with a plan with your senior as to how they will be kept and treasured if they can not be moved along with them. Whether it’s keeping them in your home, or passed on to another friend or family member, ensure the senior feels good about the decision. They will feel better knowing their treasures are in good hands – and being remembered.

 

While downsizing isn’t easy for anyone, it can be a tough process for the elderly. Love and patience are crucial during the entire process. If you find you need a little extra support and guidance with this process from a professional, we’re always here to support you. Simply reach out here and let’s have a chat.

organizing your home office

Organizing Your Home Office for Maximum Efficiency

in

Does this sound like your home office? There are papers all over the place and it’s difficult to walk around without watching your step the entire time. When you are having an issue with a cluttered home office, you are going to need to take action quick. It’s been proven that more clutter makes it harder to think clearly, which can affect your business. Before things get any worse, you need to get to organizing home office supplies and make it a place where you can have a clear head to make that money!

Here are some tips to get you started:

Get Rid of Unnecessary Paper

Papers can easily stack up and become overwhelming in your home office. To keep the paper problem from getting too out of control, use the three-step method whenever you come across a rogue piece of paper: shred or toss it, file it, or take action from it. When you make one of these three choices the moment you have a paper, or several, lying around, you will get rid of the biggest culprit of a cluttered home office.

organizing your home office

Photo by Arnel Hasanovic on Unsplash

Use Storage Containers

Instead of having things out in the open loosely, get a few storage containers to keep things out of sight. This will also make it easy to locate things when you categorize your containers. Stow away all of your office supplies, except the ones that you will be using at any given moment.

Have a Designated Printing Space

Have a special place for all of your printing products and equipment to live in. This will free up space by your desk, as well as make it easy to find things you need when you want something printed.

Have a Designated Mail Center

You will undoubtedly be getting mail for your business. You should create a mail center, where mail coming in gets put until it is opened. Place the mail in a special folder. You can go through it every day or once a week, depending on how busy you are.

If you take these steps, you will be well on your way to organizing those home office supplies and papers that have come to clutter it. You will think more clearly and your office will feel more inviting! And, as always – let us know if we can help!

decluttering your home

Out With the Old – Declutter Your Home

in

The start of a New Year is often a time of reflection and resolution. One of the best things you can do to start a new year on a positive note is to take some time to declutter your home to give you a sense of accomplishment and to make way for the new things that will be coming to you. A peaceful and calm environment helps in so many ways. If there is order in your home, you will feel more relaxed and at ease.

Thinking about decluttering your home can be overwhelming, where do you start, what do you part with and what do you keep? Breaking down the task room by room helps to avoid the overwhelm. Select one room and gather three boxes.

Label the boxes:

  • Keep
  • Donate
  • Garbage

donate keep or throw away

Do a visual sweep of the room and start removing items that are broken or very worn and get rid of them! The harder part comes next, deciding what to keep and what to donate. Many of us tend to want to keep items even when they do not bring us joy our have fulfilled their purposed and no longer serve us in any way. Of course, you’ll want to keep sentimental items, but this does not mean they need to be on display so for now add them to the “Keep” box.

Ask yourself:

  • Does this item bring me joy?
  • How does this item serve me?
  • Will someone else have more use of this item?

Donate things that you have not used recently. If you haven’t used the item in a year there’s a pretty good chance that you won’t use it again but someone else may have a need of it. When thinking of donating, it can be helpful to remember that your donation is going to someone less fortunate who can make good use of the item. This makes donating our stuff much easier.

donate clothes to declutter

Items to Donate:

  • Clothes that are gently used
  • Décor pieces
  • Books
  • Small appliances
  • Toys

Lastly, revisit the “Keep” box and go through it again. You may discover you’ll want to revisit the items you thought you wanted to keep. Your mindset may have changed and more items will find their way into the donate box.

Set reasonable goals for yourself, be it one room a day or one room a week. You’ll find whatever works best for you then reward yourself after each room is complete. Rewards can be as little as a small bouquet of flowers to add a pop of colour and freshness to the newly decluttered room. Or go bigger and opt to put a fresh coat of paint on the walls and a new rug. A word of caution about the rewards you choose, don’t add more clutter!

If you’d like some extra guidance and support to declutter your home  to start your New Year off fresh, give us a call. We’re happy to help.

planners

How Can Planner Organization Help Me?

in

You’re likely no stranger to just how productive you can be when utilizing a planner in your day-to-day life. Planner organization is a tool used to help increase your time management, focus, tasks, motivation etc. There are countless ways to use personal planning systems and once you master yours, you will become more organized and less stressed! Organization isn’t just about decluttering or managing the home, garage or office – organization is a way of life. If we can help organize any part of your life to make it more efficient and functional, we are happy. Paper planners specifically, allow you to write things down, be creative with colour and add your own personal flare. Research suggests that when we write something down, as far as our brains are concerned, it’s as if we are doing that exact thing. Those of you who write things down, know just how important this activity is – and more importantly, that it works!

Here are some benefits to using a personalized planner for organization.

Increased Productivity

We’ve already mentioned that when we write things down on paper, it’s as if we are doing that very thing in our minds. So – when you write down your tasks, errands, appointments and reminders, we are far less likely to forget about them and much more likely to accomplish everything we write down.

Decreased Stress Levels

Writing things down decreases stress and anxiety levels. If your day ahead feels overwhelming, writing your to do lists down relieves those overwhelming feelings and allows you to focus on one task at a time. Writing things down also provides prospective. Tasks and responsibilities that seem stressful, when written down become manageable and you feel more able to tackle them.

planner organization

Photo by Alexa Williams on Unsplash

Increased Motivation

The beauty of having a paper planner rather than a digital planner is that you can utilize your own creativity when arranging tasks and responsibilities. Write down your favourite motivational quotes to help keep you in good spirits. Use colour and bold letters for those items you really want to remember and highlight. Make it fun! The more visually appealing your notes are, the more fun you will have with it, and the more likely you are to remember what you’ve written.

No Missed Appointments

If you’ve ever missed an appointment simply due to lack of planning, or even better – accidentally double-booked yourself – writing every appointment in your paper calendar will ensure you remember your appointments and keep them. You will feel more focused, organized and in charge of your day, rather than your day running you.

There are many ways to stay organized using an organizational planner system. Once you discover your best methods, you will find yourself more relaxed – knowing that your general everyday tasks are not forgotten – but in beautiful display. If you’re not accustomed to the benefits of a paper planner, we invite you to give it a try. Buy some pretty new pens or markers along with your planner and have fun with it. Keep it simple. We’d love to hear about your planning systems. Feel free to leave us a comment here or visit us on our Facebook page with pics of your planners!

organizing using calendar

How to Organize Your Professional Life

in ,

Our homes are not the only place where organization can be of value. As workers and professionals, we have deadlines, projects and work during the week. It is challenging to organize your professional life with so many priorities, meetings and commitments. It is a reality that if your professional life is disorganized, it might be suffering. We’d like to introduce you to various tools that can put the spark back in your professional work life. These are some useful tools that have helped us to stay organized both in personal and professional life.

 

Evernote

This program allows you to keep track of one to one notes and to keep ideas you want to research and pursue. The best part, is the ability to search the topics and the keywords in the notes. The search function in this application alone sets a standard of the organization tool. Another feature of importance is the ability to organize the notes and tag them with useful keywords for search reference.

 

ColorNote

We have enjoyed making to-do-lists to satisfy our tasks. With the use of smartphones on the increase, we use the ColorNote app to organize our notes and create perfect to-do-lists on the go. With the app, it is easy to set up alerts, and reminders for each task – otherwise we may forget.

organizing using calendar

Calendar

You may use Gmail or outlook for your calendar needs. Digital calendars are great ways to help you stay organized. The time blocking tool on the schedule is a valuable tool to perform specific tasks. Research has shown that your are more likely to complete a task when it has been scheduled on your calendar.

 

Unrol.me

If you’re like me, you have an enormous email inbox full of subscriptions. It’s super stressful to open up your computer each morning to find an overwhelming amount of emails to tend to – most of which are not important. Unrol.me scans your inbox to provide a list of all your subscriptions. From this list you can then decide which to unsubscribe from and which to keep.

 

LastPass

Gone are the days of needing to create and remember all your passwords. Who uses the same password for everything? To give yourself more password variation with added security consider using a password manager such as Lastpass. Now you can relax in the knowing that the app is remembering all your passwords.

professional life organizational apps

Exercise + Self Care

This may seem like an odd item to list – but exercise is a great way to clear your mind and get focused. Step away from your desk and go for a quick walk – grab a glass of water while you’re at it. Taking a few minutes away from the task can prepare you mentally and physically to come back more energized and overall more organized. You will be refreshed, renewed and ready to get on top of the to-do-lists.

 

In our professional lives we are painfully aware that time is of the essence. Unfortunately, we cannot add hours to our days but by implementing some tools and applications today, we can become more organized and save ourselves time tomorrow. Give us a call if you need some extra support or advice on how to stay more organized in your professional life!

 

professional organizer help with moving

Reasons to Hire a Professional Organizer When Moving

in ,

The average person will likely move up to 10 times in their lifetime. Shocking – I know! The mindset of a move creates an enormous amount of stress – even if the move is a positive one. Planning and organizing a move requires extra energy and time that we may not have in our already busy lives. Searching for our new home, arranging movers, turning services on or off, packing and unpacking. These become extra projects to manage during our non-working hours. A professional organizer can offer support from logistics to action-plans.  There are many reasons to hire a professional organizer prior to moving but we will share just a few with you here.

Organization

Professional Organizers often get called upon to assist with the task of getting organized prior to and during a move. They can assist with tasks such as providing a packing strategy, helping you decide which items to take and which to donate or toss. Juggling a variety of moving tasks isn’t easy. However, with the right organizational ‘know-how’, it can be done.

help with moving

Unpacking

Let’s not underestimate how expensive a move can become. There’s time taken off work, money spent on moving trucks or support, not to mention eating out costs because your kitchen is in disarray! If you hire a professional organizer for just one thing – let them help you unpack and organize your kitchen in your new home. If you’ve ever moved before, you know all too well how much time it takes just to un-pack and organize this one highly-valued room! Let the professionals tackle the load of unpacking while you get some work done, go grocery shopping, or better yet – take a nap!

Downsize, Donate or Ditch

Professional Organizers can help you decide what to do with all of your belongings prior to the move. There will be items you want to move and items you’re unsure what to do with. An organizer will help you decide whether or not to donate items and will even have suggestions on where to donate your items. They can advise you to throw out items with no value and they’ll help you decide which items to take and help you sort, pack and label by room to make for an easy transition when unpacking.

Moving is considered one of the five most stressful events in life. We at ClutterBGone’s don’t want you to go it alone. Our Professional Organizing team specializes in making all aspects of your move as stress-free as possible. Call us today for a free consultation.

elderly parents moving

How to Talk to Your Elderly Parents About Downsizing

in ,

Talking to your elderly parents about downsizing is one of the most challenging things. For the talk to yield positive fruits, you have to be cautious and steer the conversation in a subtle manner. The move might seem practical for the senior, but the thought of moving can provoke strong emotions. As the responsible party, you have to make the senior understand why this is in their best interest and why it has to be done which is challenging but not impossible.

Start the discussion as early as possible

How do your parents or the seniors in your life imagine their future? Before the move is immediately necessary, begin talking to them about other options to make the transition easier. Make sure you discuss the topic multiple times and show them the pros and not the cons of moving. This way, arriving at a decision you are both comfortable with is easier. Bring up a neighbour or an old friend who has downsized and talk to the senior about the advantages of the move.

Let the senior stay in control

Before you can figure out what to tell your elderly parents, listen to them first. Downsizing is emotional as it makes the seniors feel like they are losing control over their lives. State one fact before anything else that the decision to downsize is ultimately theirs and you are here to provide support and make suggestions. Never impose but instead, ask gentle questions about the current living situation and let them know how downsizing can help them improve and live a happier life.

elderly parents moving

Air your concerns

Most seniors respond best if you are open and honest. Instead of imposing, making choices, or controlling them, share your worries about their living conditions. Most of our elderly parents don’t like it when their children worry so much about them. For this reason, they won’t be defensive or feel upset if you express your fears and the desire for them to be safe and happy.

Downsizing is a sensitive topic for the elderly and it needs a subtle approach. Make plans with your parents if you want a smooth transition and figure out their idea of downsizing. Get to understand what is sensitive about it and how to best approach that. Elderly parents feel attached to their homes and that bond can be hard to break. Do it bit by bit and in a considerate manner and let the elderly parent feel in control at all times. Let them feel their decision is respected and appreciated.

If at any time you need a little extra help and support, we are just a call away to help with all your downsizing needs!

5 Questions to Ask Professional Organizer

5 Questions To Ask Any Professional Organizer

in

We always learn so much from attending Professional Organizing conferences! With a growing number of dual-income families these days, there seems to be more money to spend on things you don’t want or like to do yourself. Thus, saving you time to do the things you really want to do. Also, many families are now downsizing to smaller homes as they get ready to retire and don’t have the knowledge or ability to downsize themselves, and don’t want to take things with them that they know they will not need. Lastly, many seniors are transitioning from their own homes to seniors’ residences or living with family and again need help with the move. As this business grows so do the companies and individuals that provide the service. It’s best that clients are informed, so we put together this list of questions that you should ask any Professional Organizer that you are thinking of hiring.

What are your qualifications?

Here in Canada there is a professional organization for professional organizers called the POC – Professional Organizers of Canada members are bound by their code of ethics to ensure that you receive trusted, confidential and committed service. We are trained and certified in organizing and downsizing techniques and have access to the latest trends and organizing items.

5 Questions To Ask Any Professional Organizer

Do you have insurance?

Much like movers, Professional Organizers should carry their own liability insurance to cover accidents or damage however caused. Of course we are all careful in our work but you never know when an accident can happen and if it does you want to ensure that you and the organizer are covered. After all, it is your home we are coming into.

Pricing

Make sure you have a complete understanding of what you are being charged and for what services. An hourly or  job rate can vary but the least expensive quote may not be the best. How many people are working on the project? How many hours are estimated to complete the project? What is your protection if the estimate far exceeds the projected time or cost? An experienced Professional Organizer can be fairly accurate in their estimate and will keep you updated on any changes.

How long have you been doing this?

We recently spoke to someone whose main occupation was that of a cleaning lady and she came upon an opportunity to help a client downsize. She called looking for tips on how to help someone downsize (we did not give her any!). It was obvious she had never done this before and after we got off the phone I remember thinking how this potential client may be feeling after the job is done. Like any other business it is difficult to get started and to get some experience under your belt, but if you have a big job that needs to be done, ensure that whoever does it is experienced.

Do you have references?

You would be amazed at the number of people that are embarrassed to ask for references. Get three and call one or two. Be sure to ask them at the end if they would hire them again if required and if not, why not?

So those are the must ask questions when you are looking for a Professional Organizer to help with your project. Just like ClutterBGone, ensure they are certified, insured and experienced and have references to back it up. Contact us when you are ready to begin your project in the GTA. We are ready for your questions!

Overwhelmed? Declutter to Reduce Stress

in

Do you find yourself feeling overwhelmed in your home; has your safe and peaceful place become your private hell? Do you find yourself easily distracted and unable to focus or is restful sleep eluding you? As humans, we accumulate things, many things, too many things over time and these very same items that may have once brought joy into your life are now causing distress. It’s time to get serious about decluttering. Parting with once prized possessions can be very stressful for some people but once they understand that clutter is a cause of stress and can negatively impact mental health it does become easier to take steps to eliminate the clutter.

Decluttering: Plan

Think about what will work best for you. For some people a weekend focused entirely on decluttering is a challenge they’ll happily rise to, for others 4 hours a day for a month could be a better option, keep in mind this method will take more time to get it all done but you will eventually get there. If you don’t have the time and want it done ASAP consider contacting a professional who can make this process a joyful breeze. Are you really going to be able to conquer the clutter in an entire house? A room-by-room strategy we find works best. In Decluttering to Reduce Stressfact, it’s best to plan to spend a few hours at a time organizing and decluttering this way you don’t burnout and your motivation will remain charged. Be honest with yourself and set achievable and realistic goals.

Decluttering: Pitfall Warning

It’s all too easy and enticing to head out and buy lots of containers and storage bins thinking that they will motivate you to get down to the business of decluttering – DON’T DO IT! Pick up free boxes to use while you sort but save the bin shopping until you know exactly what you need otherwise you may be stuck with bins that don’t work in your space and add to the clutter. A helpful tip, stay away from coloured bins, use clear bin where possible.

Decluttering: Complete the Task at Hand

Once you have created a plan and have your goals fresh in mind, dive into the clutter and begin sorting. Complete one task before moving onto another. For instance, start by grabbing a garbage bag and take out all the obvious garbage in the room you are starting with, remove all garbage before starting to organize remaining items. Completing one task before you start another will help you to feel like you are making progress and will keep you on track.

If you find yourself overwhelmed with the clutter – feel free to reach out to us for a consultation. We specialize in giving you back your peace of mind!

Your Step by Step DeCluttering Guide

in

Living in a cluttered environment can prove to be very stressful and pave the way to a whole host of other issues as well. Chaotic working and living environments have often been linked with anxiety, stress, depression, and other mental health problems. In addition to that, a space that is not clean and tidy could undermine productivity and prevent you from performing at your best.

Here we will provide some tips on how you can prevent the aforementioned issues, as well as keeping your home or workspace decluttered and inviting, with this step by step decluttering guide!

Cleaning and Rearranging

People often think that their spaces are cluttered because they have too many things. At times, however, this Your Step by Step Decluttering Guideisn’t the case. In most cases, a cluttered space is that way only because you might not have found the right way to flatter your area with the way it’s set up and organized. Some organization experts have saved people thousands of dollars, and even saved them from having to get rid of some of their stuff, by simply helping them rearrange their spaces in a more suitable way. Sometimes, keeping a space clutter-free could really be all about redefining its layout and organization.

Removing Unwanted or Unnecessary Items

If all else fails, and you find it hard to organize your space due to the sheer amount of the things that you own, you should consider getting rid of some of your belongings (downsizing or decluttering). This could be quite a complex task for some people. Many of us struggle to see things we care about gone. Others always think that they might need something later on in life, so they don’t want to get rid of those things, just in case they might end up finding a use for them later on. Whatever the reason that keeps you from getting rid of your stuff, you should take a deeper look at yourself, and your things. Although you might feel like you’re giving up on something by throwing things out, you might stand to gain much more than you could possibly imagine, particularly in terms of peace of Your Step by Step Decluttering Guidemind.

Adopting healthier habits

Getting your space clean and organized is only half the battle. The other half? Keeping it that way! It’s quite easy to slip into your old habits if you are not careful. In order to prevent such issues, be sure to embrace a steady routine, and be mindful about keeping your space clean and organized on a regular basis. This way, daily maintenance will only take a few minutes of your time every day, and you won’t run into the same debilitating space issues again. 

Decluttering your space doesn’t have to feel stressful. If at anytime you’re in the midst of your decluttering process and need a little more guidance and support, we’re here for you! We here at ClutterBGone love supporting others in this journey!