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Design Your Summer

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The halfway mark of the year is always hectic in our home. We have a month long celebration of birthdays, the end of another school year and the pressure to wrap-up work projects before we can take our much-deserved vacation time. While it may be difficult to reduce all the to-dos, it would be a shame to sweep over these milestones in the mad dash to start the summer. Fortunately, a bit of pre-planning and organization can get us over this hurdle with less stress and keep us in the moment.

That’s not to say I haven’t been thinking about our summer plans, in fact, fantasizing and compiling a thing’s to do, eat and see this summer. In fact, a study in the Netherlands shows that just anticipating a vacation or trip can increase our happiness levels. So while preparing for your trip may be stressful – from suitcase packing to planning, to shutting down at work – you can counteract this stress with daydreaming about what you plan on doing.

You can take this one step further and “Design Your Summer.” In Gretchen Rubin’s podcast Happier (episode 67) she shares listener’s ideas of making their summer more memorable. One listener has decided to eat lunch at a particular spot every Friday. For a period of eight weeks, she will invite all her friends to join her, no RSVP necessary, there is a book in her bag in case no one shows, but by planning this way she can anticipate meeting up with those she doesn’t often see or having some well-deserved solo quality time.

My “Design My Summer” plan is including a special day out individually with each of my daughters. The entire school year we spend as a trio, we are long overdue for some one-on-one time. I’ll suggest a few options, including lunch, and they can design the day they want to have with me. I’m still working on some ideas for quality time for myself, which includes Beach/Pool reads and a new Summer only exercise regime.

How will you “Design Your Summer”? Share them with me by email or on Facebook.

Learn more about how a professional organizer can help you find more space, focus and time for a richer quality of life. Contact sorted.by Melissa.

My Summer (Travel) Capsule Wardrobe

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The rain jackets and scarves might not be saying summer near my home, but my summer destination is forecasted to be hot, hot, hot. This is the perfect opportunity for me to try out a Summer Travel Capsule Wardrobe.

My plan is to only take what is absolutely necessary on my vacation. I often over-pack options (shoes, pants, and jackets) when in reality we’ll live in flip-flops and sundresses. I’ll be limiting my color pallet and bringing along versatile items – mix and match with layering options.

When traveling, moving or enjoying the weather of a particular season it is important to consider what activities you’ll be participating in, what the climate will be, whether or not you’ll have access to laundry facilities and how long you’ll be away.

The basic principle of a Capsule Wardrobe is to select a fixed number of items (clothes, shoes & accessories) to wear and re-wear within a fixed period of time. The result is less stress over what to wear, fewer items to wash, and less weight to carry around in your suitcase.

If you are not familiar with the concept of capsule wardrobes I suggest you check out Courtney Carver’s Project 333. Guest vlogger for Project 333, Erin Verena, shares her best tips for a Travel Capsule Wardrobe.

If you find yourself overwhelmed or struggling with the challenge to let go and organize your wardrobe contact sorted.by Melissa. 

I want to help you live a more organized life. Let’s get you sorted.

Professional Organizers Are Just Like You & Me

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For the last year the corner on an upper-floor of our home has become a dumping ground. Before it was a usable space; my personal work and storage space, a desk with paperwork, my husband’s record collection, house administration and mementos. Last October when we re-configured and upgraded an area of our living room to include a new work space for myself, storage units and an entertainment system, the renovation resulted in moving “temporarily” all audio and video equipment, CDs and videos upstairs.  Our intention was to re-home it all after the renovation.

Well, a year on and that hasn’t happened. We were conscious of what we added to the new storage units, what I moved into my downstairs work space. We didn’t want to clutter the space we just spent months designing. So there stood everything upstairs, collecting dust, being neglected. And as the months rolled by items that had no home or were part of another project began to pile up. I walked by this space every time I went upstairs. It irritated me that the rest of our home was neat and tidy, yet if I wanted to use the printer it required careful footing and a balancing act ensuring the piles didn’t tumble. It was a growing irritation that appeared to only affect me, my husband appeared to be clutter-blind to the situation.

It has been a year since the renovation and I’ve had enough. To me, this is a useless, waste of space, cluttered with useless, outdated items. I had to take action.

The take away:

  • It takes a vision/purpose to motivate for the what the space should be used for. Just tidying alone will not keep it tidy. If it is considered a dumping ground then it will remain a dumping ground, no matter how tidy the piles are. So I re-imagined the space as a music corner for my husband. He has a large record collection and a stereo system silently collecting dust. He also has no individual space for himself in the home.
  • It takes time. Over two afternoons I moved and rearranged furniture, configured the new music station, sorted through piles of paperwork (so much went into the recycling bin), and re-homed several items. In total, I spent more than six hours re-organizing. Limit the time you commit to your organizing project to save energy and avoid decision fatigue. Start with 30-minute intervals and build from there.
  • You will have to make lots of decisions rapidly. And it will be exhausting, that is decision fatigue. It hasn’t been used in a year, should I keep it? Will we use this? Do we love it? How many art projects of my children should I keep? Do I like all these photographs?
  • You will get distracted. As you sort you will discover a myriad of projects to complete. I found piles of photographs and albums, my children’s art projects, computer cables and accessories, furniture parts and manuals.  Don’t fall into the trap and be distracted by completing these projects, no matter how small or how quick you might think they will take to complete.
  • You can’t throw away possessions that aren’t yours. We own a large CD collection, on top of the records, and I wanted to downsize the storage. We’ve gone digital, but we are not yet ready to let go of our collection. Despite saving the CD along with the inner sleeve my husband was rather disappointed when I trashed the jewel cases of his CDs. I saw less storage space; he saw a less valuable collection for his rarer CDs.
  • You will find outdated appliances or materials. I found a Walkman CD player and a tape collection. My smartphone plays my digital music and tapes went out of vogue in the 1990s. Technology changes rapidly, but our willingness to let go over our investments is much harder. What is the current value of holding on to these items?
  • There will be a (large) pile that needs to go to the charity shop and recycling center. Schedule this in your agenda and action it ASAP. The point of the organization project was to get rid of the piles. Leaving this too long will lead to the broken window syndrome, the piles will attract new piles. You will end up back to where you started, losing the time and space you gained.
  • Everything needs to find a home. Re-home every item in the current space you are re-organizing or somewhere else in your home. If it you can’t, then most likely it needs to leave the home.

When you look around your home do you see unfinished projects?  What you need is the help of a professional organizer, a person who can:

  • help you see the big picture
  • clear your space of clutter and unnecessary distractions
  • focus on the right priorities for your family and home
  • find more effective organizing solutions

If you are struggling to decide where to start, sorted.by Melissa, a professional organizer, can help. Whether it be addressing clutter, storage inefficiencies or preparing for a move or renovation, sorted.by Melissa will work with you to find the solutions that work best for you and your home so that you can move forward.

5 Reasons to Hire a Professional Organizer

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Professional Organizing services have been around for decades, but with help from current trends like minimalism and Marie Kondo, the profession is garnering more media attention. A business service that was once considered for cases of extreme disorder or those with deep pockets to afford the myriad of storage elements, there is a case for nearly every home, in every economic bracket, to benefit from the advice and assistance of a professional organizer. Depending on the time you are willing to invest and the scale of your project, there is an organizing service to fit your budget. Here are just five ways in which an organizer can help you live a more organized life.

Moving: The average American will move up to 12 times in their lifetime, a German perhaps 3-4 and the Brits about six times before the age of 45. The upheaval of a move creates an enormous amount of stress for anyone. Planning and organizing a move requires extra energy and time we may not have in our already busy lives. From searching for our new home, arranging movers, turning on and off services and packing/unpacking, this becomes an extra project to manage during our non-working hours. A professional organizer can assist with anything and everything from logistics to action-plans. Ask yourself the following questions: Where do I begin with packing? Do I have space in my new place for all our stuff? Is it more affordable to move this item or sell it and replace it in my new home? If you answered “I don’t know” then you could use the services of a Professional Organizer. 

Hobbies: From sewing and painting to reading and cycling, nearly everyone has stuff related to their hobby. Depending on our available time and dedication to our hobby we may acquire items faster than we can manage how to properly store them. Or perhaps your lifestyle keeps changing and hobbies that were once important have been replaced by newer hobbies. What happens with what you’ve collected but no longer use? Are you giving your collection pride of place in your home? Do you have the space to keep your hobby items accessible? Or do you wish you had more time to invest in your hobby but space is limited? A professional organizer can assess your needs and advise on space and storage to maximize your hobby.  

Seasonal stuff: Camping gear, holiday decorations, off-season clothing and sports gear, just to name a few of the items you could be storing. Is your shed, storage unit, attic or basement bursting at the seams? Do you waste hours hunting through stacks of boxes for a specific item? Do you have to nearly empty the space in order to access the one box you need? Would you rather spend money on buying a new item rather than diving into your storage? A professional organizer can help you sort, store, and maintain an efficient storage space for your seasonal items. 

Selling a Home: A potential buyer’s first impression of your home is critical; they need to picture themselves living in your home. Buyers are looking for open, clean spaces and (the potential for) good storage. How you present your home will also affect the potential asking and/or selling price. A cluttered home leaves the potential buyer to wonder how well the home has been maintained. Too many personal items distract the buyer from seeing themselves moving in. De-cluttering and pre-packing give you a head-start on your move after your home is sold. A professional organizer can help de-clutter and style your home for potential buyers.   

Household administration: Documents, bills, pay stubs, tax forms; we all have stacks of papers or digital documents we need to manage. Living half-way between a paper and paperless environment raises questions about what financial and other personal documentation still need to be kept, and for how long. Every day new documents are created and sent to us to action, read or file. Finding a system that works for you is essential for keeping the paper and digital clutter at bay. A professional organizer can help you find a solution and system that works for you. 

If you are ready to explore the benefits of working with a professional organizer to find more space, focus and time contact sorted.by Melissa. I want to help you live a more organized life. Let’s get you sorted.

Keep Your Balance

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Recently I shared with a friend that my karma seemed to be out of sorts. I had suffered several mishaps over the last few weeks and I was wondering when an end would come. After patiently listening to my list of mishaps: broken mobile screen, miss booked tour, over-charge from a defective parking app and two “lost” public transport passes, my friend reassured me it wasn’t my karma — I was out of balance. All these mishaps were occurring because I was neglecting to take care of myself properly.

Her assessment was spot-on.

I’m an organized person with my to-do lists, events properly scheduled with all the details in my agenda and a handful of apps at my disposal to short-cut tasks. But I had (inadvertently) over-scheduled myself with too many responsibilities that I was opening myself up for mishaps to occur.

My schedule was lacking space between the events and commitments to recover and prepare accordingly. In the rush to grab & go, a mobile not securely tucked away will fall in transit and break. Neglecting to return items to their proper home results in a frantic search, lost time and lateness. In haste, entrusting responsibility in an app without double checking leaves you with a heavy parking fee.

Organizing systems will only work well when we also create healthy habits around our systems. It was a lesson hard learned, but in the end worth it. The moment I stood still and reflected upon my situation mishaps stopped occurring. I’ve gone back to scheduling days off or catch-up days and reducing the number of appointments one could squeeze into a day. I’m finding my balance again.

If you find yourself out of balance, an over-scheduled agenda or never-ending to-do list contact sorted.by Melissa. I can help you find more space, focus and time. 

I want to help you live a more organized life. Let’s get you sorted.

Tiny Houses

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Tiny Houses

On one recent evening, the NPO’s “TV Show” and “Kruispunt” both featured the Tiny House trend’s appearance in the Netherlands. In case you hadn’t heard, Tiny House is a social movement in which people choose to significantly downsize their home, often to a dwelling that is only a fraction of the size of what they had before. The initial benefit, of course, is a significant saving in the cost of rent/mortgage and household utilities, but many adherents of the movement cite environmental concerns or the wish to spend more time in quality pursuits and less time maintaining a home. I have been following the Tiny House trend in the States as an offshoot of my own interest in Minimalism, or rather, in living a more conscious minimalist lifestyle.  But the Netherlands, after all, is a small and compact country, and especially in and around the big cities such as Amsterdam, space is at a premium. Can we really live tinier here? Do we want to?

While I may view my current home as “tiny”, it wasn’t long ago that my husband and I shared an actual tiny home right here in Holland. Our first home together was a houseboat on a lake a stone’s throw from Schiphol Airport. We lived there quite contentedly for four and a half years before moving into a home nearly five times its size. Those 33 square meters housed some of the most enjoyable moments in my life and afforded us, a young couple starting out in the world together, the opportunity to invest in ourselves and our relationship, not in the things we could acquire.

  • We owned very few possessions. In fact, when we moved into our new home we moved with only a bed, a washing machine, and a couch. We didn’t spend our free time shopping for stuff to fill up our space—since space was at a premium, we were conscious of each purchase.
  • We were also saving money by living in such a small space, a significant amount each month. Eventually, we were able to pay for a new home, a wedding and a honeymoon all in one go.
  • We had lots of free time to ourselves and with each other. In less than an hour we could clean and tidy our tiny home for the week and, as renters, we had no major maintenance responsibilities.
  • All our needs were met. The kitchen and bathroom were small but extremely functional. The living space included seating for up to four guests. A large garden meant we spent a lot of time outside, but we would have done so anyway—a tiny dwelling forces you to get outside and into nature.

Leaving our Tiny House was not a simple decision, but we were ready to have a family and there was no room to grow. We also wanted to own our own property as security for the future. So we left our Tiny House behind with some sadness, but what came along with us in the move were the living principles and lifestyle we cultivated during our time there.

  • Even with more space, we strive to be conscious of the items we purchase. Is it necessary? Does it have a place? When its usefulness has expired, it exits our home, even if storage space is available.
  • We stay aware of our monthly housing costs and work to keep these as low as possible.
  • We spend lots of q uality time outside.
  • By owning less, we spend less time cleaning and tidying and more time doing the activities we love as individuals and as a family.

If you are ready to explore the benefits of living tiny, or embracing, a minimalist approach to life, or if you find yourself in a tiny space that can’t contain your older, bigger lifestyle, contact sorted.by Melissa. I can help you apply the principles of Tiny Houses and minimalist living to you home to find more space, focus and time.

I want to help you live a more organized life. Let’s get you sorted.

the sorted. wardrobe

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the-sorted-wardrobe

Autumn is officially here!  You can feel the crispness in the morning air, watch the leaves falling from the trees, notice the sun set a little earlier each evening. With apple and pumpkin picking season upon us, it’s time to put away the strappy sandals and summer dresses and pull out the comfy cardigans and cozy scarves.

Transitioning between seasons is the ideal time to sort out your wardrobe with sorted. With my help, we will inspect your entire wardrobe: big or small, old or new, messy or tidy. We will look at each piece and decide first, what should stay, what needs to go and what needs to be mended or professionally cleaned. Next, I will help you organize your closet for maximum storage and ease of access to your clothing, shoes, and accessories. I will recommend storage changes and coach you on how to implement these and maintain your wardrobe going forward into the next season, and the next.

In the sorted. wardrobe organizing session we will focus on:

  • your emotional attachment to clothes you love but never wear.
  • figuring out which clothes best represent you right now.
  • what to do with all those shoes.
  • when to hang and when to fold.
  • how to store your accessories.
  • donating clothes and sending items to the cleaners or for repair.

the sorted. Wardrobe Summer/Winter Packages

Option 1

Three sessions, 6 hours of organizing services for €275

Session 1 includes a 3.5-hour session booked in October or November where we will whip your wardrobe and closet into shape.

Session 2 A 30-minute check-in session via Skype to discuss your progress, follow-up on completed “homework”, and fine-tune any issues.

Session 3 includes a 2-hour follow-up session in the Spring (April/May/June) when it’s time to transition again. We will assess what went well in your organizing system, what can be tweaked and revisit decisions for items you held on to but didn’t wear.

Option 2

One powerful 3-hour organizing session for €150 booked in October or November where we bring blissful order to your wardrobe and closet.

Still struggling with the challenge to let go and organize your wardrobe? Contact sorted.by Melissa.

All session fees include VAT and exclude travel and/or parking fees.

Hello Me. Nice to Meet You.I’m no stranger to the emotional attachment we have to our clothing. My friend Allison Hamilton-Rohe over at www.dailyoutfit.com featured me as a guest blogger. As a stylist she wants her clients to be empowered by their wardrobe. Hello Me. Nice to Meet You. is my story; my hope is that it will help others shed clothing that no longer represents the woman they are now.

Want to know more about Allison?

portraitAllison Hamilton-Rohe is a Personal Style Coach from New York, currently living in Leiden.  She created a unique formula to help you discover your personal style.  Through her company, DailyOutfit, she coaches  you to define your true beauty and translate it into a personal style you can inhabit with ease.  She believes everyone can feel beautiful & confident every day.  To learn more about her, check out her site www.dailyoutfit.com or follow her on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.  Want your FREE Personal Style Starter Series? Click here to receive it!

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

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It’s officially autumn and summer is now as far away as it will ever be. What’s left are the memories of those sunny days embodied in hundreds, if not thousands of digital snapshots. As time marches quickly forward, how often will you sit down to look at these memories of summers past, of smiling faces, ice creams, and sandy beaches? We all have great intentions for our summer snaps, but as the concerns of work and school routines take over it’s all too easy to allow them to collect digital dust, while still taking up valuable space on our mobiles or computers.

Before you do anything with your digital photos I recommend performing a back-up:

  1. Copy photo files from your mobile or digital camera and store them in the cloud and on an external hard-drive.
  2. Consider paying for a small yearly fee for a service such as SmugMug, which offers privacy, “Fort Knox-level” security and back-up (and a host of other services).
  3. Remove photos from your mobile to create more storage space.
  4. Delete duplicates and unflattering photos; be critical and spend a few minutes reducing the selection to favorites worthy of long-term storage.

Here are a few options to highlight your favorite snapshots, whether you have two minutes or two hours:

    • Select your favorite summer photo and set this as your mobile home screen or desktop screen image.
    • Place all your summer photos in a folder on your computer. Set this as a rolling photo album on your screen saver.
    • Do you have one photo that captures the entire summer? Print your photo and buy a frame related to your holiday to honor your favorite holiday moment.
    • Create wall art by selecting one or many of your favorites. Upload them to IXXIDesign. Within days you will receive a kit of your printed photos with adhesive strips to affix to your walls.
    • Have magnets made of your favorite summer photos. Hema offers a service to print nine or 12 photos on magnets for an extremely affordable price. Every time you open the refrigerator you can fondly reflect on your summer.
    • Create a birthday or 2017 calendar. Select 12 of the best photos to upload and have printed by Pixum.
    • Print a photo book from Facebook or Instagram. Use My Social Book to connect to your Facebook or Instagram account and with a few clicks, you have ordered your favorite shared photos to be printed in a keepsake book.
    • Make a keepsake box. Go old school and purchase a decorative box; print your favorite photos and add mementos from your summer holiday to the box. You can relive the summer when you rifle through your keepsake box.

Drowning in a sea of disorganized digital files?  Contact me and together we can get you sorted.

Vacation Rules!

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Vacation Rules!

My sister has a quirky set of vacation rules. Consume pork products, take a daily nap, go braless (preferably wear a bikini) and eat ice cream every day. This is a reminder to herself that she can step away from the usual routine of schedules, deadlines, and healthy habits because vacation is about letting go, living in the moment and recharging.

To prepare to go on vacation is, of course, an entirely different beast. On top of the daily routine and wrap-up of work projects, we need to find time to organize, plan and pack for our vacation adventure. We can become so stressed and cranky from the preparations it detracts from the excitement of going on vacation altogether.

So how do you avoid pre-vacation stress? K.I.S.S. Keep it simple silly and follow these guidelines.

TODO

  • Prepare a to-do list with the estimated time needed to complete each task.
  • Do not leave everything to do the day before you depart. Stress alert!!!
  • Break tasks into smaller parts. Add these to your agenda. Can you complete a task at work, during your lunch hour or in the evening?
  • Delegate tasks to family members. Your children and partner are capable of helping, even the youngest. Does it really matter if they do it their way and not your way?
  • Communicate needs and expectations, don’t get lost in lists. What realistically can get done or needs to be done?
  • Have you always stressed before you’ve gone on vacation? Use your past experience to determine how much preparation time you might need.

IN ADVANCE

  • Arrange travel documents, insurance, vaccines, at the time of booking. Put essential documents in a folder with your suitcase prior to packing.
  • Get pedicures, haircuts and beauty treatments a few days before you leave. Mentally your vacation has begun; you should be beginning to relax.
  • Who will take care of the pets, water the plants? Leave a reserve key by a friend or neighbors for emergencies.
  • Going by car? Ensure it’s had a check-up.

PACKING

  • Begin pre-packing several evenings before by laying out what you wish to take. Ask your children to do the same. It gets them involved and ensures that their favorite t-shirt or toy isn’t left behind.
  • Does anything need to be washed? Get caught up on laundry or wash only what you plan on packing.
  • The night before review what you have pre-packed, now reduce it by half. Don’t over pack, we often take far more than we need and use only a small percentage. Don’t take things for “just in case”, or a pair of shoes for every outfit. Mix and match clothing components to reduce the number of items you pack.

FOR WHEN YOU RETURN

  • Who wants to cook the night before everyone returns to school or work? Make a large meal one evening for dinner and freeze half of it for your return.
  • Shower the night before and put clean sheets on the bed. When vacation is over you’ll return to a fresh bed for a restful night sleep.
  • Avoid coming home to pungent smells. Before you walk out the door empty the fridge and take out the garbage.

Now repeat after me, “Forget perfect, good is enough”. This should be your mantra while prepping for vacation. Will the world fall apart while you are away? No, and you will quickly forget about dirty socks and unanswered emails once you’ve arrived at your destination because vacation rules!

Paperwork Getting You Down?

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Deciding what to keep, what to toss, and how to digitize.

I recently spent an entire afternoon organizing and filing paperwork. Those are lost hours I will never get back! Once the job was done I committed myself again to keeping up to date with my filing, and put in place a number of systems that should make it easier for me to keep my commitment. Years ago we were promised that the world would become paperless. More than a decade on, many companies are beginning to see the financial benefits of going digital with their communication, invoicing and reporting.  So much so that many (though not all) of the services I use now provide me with a login to access my digital paperwork on the company’s system.

But living half-way between a paper and paperless environment raises questions about what financial and other personal documentation still needs to be kept, and for how long.  Below I have outlined the recommendations for retention of various documents (according to Dutch regulations) along with some strategies to manage the “paperwork”, whether it arrives in your real-life or digital mailbox.

What to Keep

Last Statements

  • Monthly utility statements for Gas, Water, Electricity.
  • Monthly statements for TV, Internet, Phone, Mobile.

One Year

  • Salary statements, until you have your annual statement, then dispose of the monthly specifications.
  • Yearly statements for Gas, Water, Electricity.

Two Years

  • Rental contracts.
  • Mobile phone contracts.
  • Health insurance policy (renewed yearly) and related reimbursement declarations.
  • Local tax authority charges and statements.

Five Years

  • Annual salary statement.
  • Bank statements.
  • Tax submissions.

Indefinitely, upon renewal or termination

  • Pension statements.
  • Mortgage documents .
  • Title to your automobile.
  • Notarial documents (marriage or divorce contracts, birth records, wills, etc.).
  • Passports, visas and travel or residency permits/documentation.
  • Employment contract/s.   
  • Insurance Policies (exclusive health insurance)

What Can Go

  • If it doesn’t meet the criteria above, it’s time for it to go!
  • De-clutter as you file. Recycle envelopes, fliers, and manuals (anything void of personal information) and toss or shred/recycle paid invoices.

Go Digital

  • Check with all your service providers, local council and bank to determine if you can receive invoices, statements and/or communication via email. You will be provided with a personal login to access your documents.
  • Set up automatic payments via your bank or service providers. This will reduce those monthly reminders via post.
  • Scan your documents and save in an “Important Documents” Folder in the cloud. Vital documents such as passports are convenient to have scanned and saved, both for security in case of loss or theft, and to save time when you need to provide them for a new job, mortgage, etc. Bank or salary statements can be saved digitally and the paper versions recycled.
    • As an alternative to Dropbox or Google docs try the Docady app, a secure and safe application to store and organize your important documents.
  • If you live in the Netherlands sign-up with Mijn Overheid, a nationwide digital messaging service used by nearly all townships and government institutions. It will notify you when your driver’s license expires, when the tax office has made a new childcare supplement calculation, or your township has determined your latest home-tax valuation. You will be required to login with a DigiD.