40 Weeks - Week 9: The Front Hall Closet

This week, we are going to look at the front hall closet organization. Now is the time to assess your kids’ winter coat situation and prepare for holiday winter coats in your closet.

Now, when you are thinking about your front hall closet, I want you to really DREAM. What would you LOVE to have in a front hall closet?

I LOVE to take a closet and create a unique space. On the podcast, I talk about a mini coat closet, an art closet and the best ways to store hats & gloves.

This week, your challenge is to clean out your front hall or coat closet.

Visit http://organize365.com/front-hall-closet-organization for the full blog post.

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Basements and storage areas are the easiest places to hide treasures we aren't sure if we still want and items we don't know how to properly get rid of.

Today, I am revisiting this space with more ideas to help you tackle your storage monster.

And with the winter holidays just around the corner, I have a challenge for you and some tips on scaling back and organizing your holiday decorations.

You can find more storage organizing posts and podcasts here: https://organize365.com/home-storage-and-organization-ideas/

40 Weeks - Week 8: Master Closet Organization

Do you LOVE your wardrobe? This podcast will help you make those tough purging decisions in your master closet…like when I finally realized that even if I DO ever need panty hose, I won’t fit in the ones I have!

This week, your challenge is to EMPTY the WHOLE closet OUT, try it ALL on and put away what you love.

Visit http://organize365.com/master-closet-organization-2 for the full blog post.

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40 Weeks - Week 7: Organizing Kids’ Clothes

Organizing kids’ clothes can be a challenge. So much of that challenge is for our own thoughts on clothing. What kind of clothing do your kids NEED? What do you LIKE? How often do you do laundry? All these answers will help you develop a clothing system that will work… for you AND your kids.

This week, your challenge is to clean out and organize your kids’ closets.

Visit http://organize365.com/organizing-kids-clothes for the full blog post.

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This summer, I took the 10 Weeks To An Organized Move blog series and organized it into a free eBook resource. This is now located in the Productive Home Solution

40 Weeks - Week 6: Kids' Bathroom Makeover

Before we tackle cleaning and organizing the kid’s bathroom, let’s see what we can eliminate. In our house, you only GO to the bathroom or shower in there.

All of my daughter’s make up, hair accessories and other girly items are now in a vanity in her bedroom. When organizing kids, less is more!

This week, your challenge is to clean and organize the kid’s bathroom.

Visit http://organize365.com/kids-bathroom-makeover for the full blog post.

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Once you have your tasks divided out by type, then it's time to find new pockets of time to accomplish your to-do list!

Here are 10 ways I have been able to find more time in the last 10 years:

1. Watch less TV.
2. Limit my time on social media.
3. Turn off my phone notifications.
4. Shorten the amount of time I spend straightening up in the morning.
5. Smoosh household tasks together.
6. Skip household tasks all together on one day each week.
7. Get up early or stay up late.
8. Hire help and use that time on your focused work.
9. Trade a day with a friend or use dates to knock out to-do's.
10. Work faster and accept that done is better than perfect.

Listen to this week's podcast to hear how I did – or didn't - use each of these strategies in different phases of my life.

For all links to all the posts in the productivity series go here:

40 Weeks - Week 5: Laundry Room Organization

I LOVE my laundry room. And I do SO much in there: store light bulbs, batteries, cleaners, snacks, art supplies, electronics and donations, wrap gifts, house items to be fixed and, of course, do laundry.

The first thing I did in my laundry room was to add more cabinets and a counter top. Take a look at your laundry area and see what you can do to maximize that mighty space.

This week, your challenge is to deep clean and organize your laundry room.

Visit http://organize365.com/deep-cleaning-the-laundry-room for the full blog post.

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Once you have streamlined and moved most of your household tasks to large chunks of time in your calendar, you can now start to use 5 minute snippets of time to knock off some of the repetitive routine tasks on your list. This opens up more valuable chunks of time to get done bigger - and more valuable - projects.

• Start a load of laundry
• Empty the dishwasher
• Fold a load of laundry
• Clean off the kitchen counter
• Do the dishes
• Clean out a shelf in the pantry
• Empty all the trash cans
• Pick up toys in the family room
• Collect all the towels and start the laundry
• Vacuum a room
• Delete email and voicemail from your phone
• Change your furnace filter
• Take items up or downstairs
• Go through your mail and open it all
• Write a thank you note
• Book a doctor appointment
• Refill soap dispensers
• Clean out 1 drawer
• Shred paper
• Put 10 things away

40 Weeks - Week 4: Donation & Sales Staging Areas

Before we start organizing the WHOLE house, we need to decide what you will do with the items you no longer want. Will you sell them, donate them or recycle them?

This podcast will give you reasons to do all three and solutions for where to hold your items while you are getting them to their new homes.

This week, your challenge is to create a donation station.

Visit http://organize365.com/donation-staging-area for the full blog post.

Find all the blog posts, podcasts and more right at your fingertips!
Get the APP: http://organize365.com/app/

If you are old school like me, or use your email inbox as your to-do list, you might want the challenge delivered to your inbox instead.

Sign up for emails here: http://organize365.com/40-weeks-email/