by Natalie Morey | Sep 24, 2012 | Declutter tips, Home Organisation, Tips
Organizing Your Recipes Could Not Be Easier
I love these organising tips from an old Notebook magazine that I was flicking through. There are some great tips on how to organise your recipe collection. I thought that they might be useful for you too. Use lever arch folders and divide up with tabs for different sections i.e. Meat, seafood, dessert.
You might also want to make a section and file your weekly meal planners, that I mentioned in a previous blog too.
Organise, cull and sort your recipes
Until next time, happy organising.
Natalie Morey, Professional Organiser
by Natalie Morey | Sep 23, 2012 | Declutter tips, Home Organisation, Tips
Be organised and spring clean the environmentally friendly way
As I get older, I have become more concerned with what we are spraying around our house and environments and more importantly what we are breathing in.
So, I have started to use an oldie by a good option – bicarb soda and vinegar. You can clean just about anything with it. Sprinkle a little on your bench tops, then put some vinegar onto your dishcloth and wipe over the bench. The vinegar will start to bubble when it comes in contact with the bicarb soda. You know that it is doing the cleaning for you and that most importantly you are not breathing in any dangerous chemicals. It does a great job.
You can use bicarb soda on other things like:
- Sprinkle it in your shoes to keep them fresh.
- Put a little bowl in your fridge to remove any odors
You should also check out the book: Bicarbonate of Soda, Expert Advise by Diane Sutherland, Jon Sutherland, Liz Keevill and Keith Eyers. It is a great little book and has tips on cleaning practically anything in your house in an environmentally friendly way using Bicarb.
Until next time, Happy Organising.
Natalie Morey, Professional Organiser
by Natalie Morey | Sep 22, 2012 | Declutter tips, Home Organisation
Save Time and Get Organised With a Weekly Menu Planner
If you are struggling to plan weekly meals then this menu planner is perfect for you. This menu planner is a great resource and will save you lots of time and help you get organised for the week. It will free up your time to do the things you love.
7 Day Meal Planner
The 7 day Meal Planner has room for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Use it as a family meal planner, plan for healthy meals, specific allergies and more. The planner will save you lots of stress. Once you’ve planned the meals for the week you can use the “Shopping List” to list down the groceries to buy and head to the shops. For more information on the Otto menu planners click on this link:
Remember, to keep the weekly menu planners after the week has finished. They can be re-used every couple of weeks, which saves you even more time. If your kids think they are mini master chefs, then get them to do a day or two of the menu planning. They could also help with the shopping or preparation of the food. If it’s their great idea, they are more likely to eat the food.
As professional organisers, we love anything that saves us time and stress. We hope that you find this handy meal planner useful.
Until next time, happy organising.
Natalie Morey, Professional Organiser
by Natalie Morey | Sep 21, 2012 | Declutter tips, Office Organising, Tips
Stylish Home Office Filing Ideas
Now that your paper work is all organised and sorted, it is time to file it.
As professional organisers we love things to look organised and stylish too. I am always search for organising tips and ideas. I come across a great way to create stylish looking lever arch folders in the October 2012 edition of Better Homes and Gardens. I hope you like it too.
Take an A4 photocopy of your favourite photo, or perhaps some beautiful coloured stationery paper and cut stripes wide enough to cover the spine of your folders. Then, use double sided tape to fix the paper to your folder. It only takes minutes to have custom made, stylish folders. Don’t forget to label your folders too.
Organise, sort and declutter your home office paperwork
Hopefully this decorative filing system will even encourage you to do your filing as well! Talking of filing, if you need some help organizing, sorting and filing that pile of papers, then I have listed below some filing tips for you.
CREATING FILE CATEGORIES
Firstly, look at your current filing system (or that pile of paper on the floor or desk that you’ve been meaning to file for months) and start sorting your documents into broad categories. “Finances” might be one; “house stuff” could be another. At this point, we’re not focusing on the detail of your filing system, it is just the broad categories. At this stage it doesn’t matter if it’s a credit card bill or a bank statement right now. We can sort out the distinctions later on.
SUBCATEGORIZING
It is in this stage, that we start sorting into sub categories. Start with one of your “major category/ piles” and sort through it again. This time, you can put your papers into smaller subcategories. For example, your “finances” pile could be divided into:
- savings account – ANZ
- savings account – ING Direct
- check account
- Visa credit card account
- AMEX credit card account
It is important to be specific. Don’t just say that they are “bank statements”. Determine which account they belong to and break each out into a separate pile. It makes it easier to find if they are in specific groups.
Until next time, happy organising
Natalie Morey, Professional Organiser
by Natalie Morey | Sep 20, 2012 | Declutter tips, Home Organisation, Tips
It’s Time to Clear The Clutter and Organise
The infamous second draw (or the utensils draw) often causes havoc in most clients’ homes. It is always jam packed, cluttered and you can never find what you are looking for.
Firstly, you need to decide if you really need to keep every utensil.
Tip 1: For the next month when you use an item from the utensils draw, place it in a separate draw, or a canister on your kitchen bench. You will be surprised at just how few items you actually use. Then:
i. Decide if you really need to keep the other utensils.
ii. Research the right storage product for the space.
iii. Declutter and organise the space
iv. This is how it should look once you have finished your decluttering.
Organise your kitchen, pantry and cupboards
Until next time, happy organising.
Natalie Morey, Professional Organiser
