Full STEAM Ahead
Full STEAM Ahead
How to use your Space, Time, Energy And Money to create a
simpler, smarter life
Hi. Its a pleasure to be here this morning.I am from right over
in Souderton, and I have been a member of the National Association
of Professional Organizers since 2006. I WASNT BORN ORGANIZED! Put
myself through college, lived and taught adults in Switzerland,
worked in pharmaceutical industry in quality department. As owner
of An Extra Hand Organizing, I am called by frantic, frustrated
people who feel stuck. They are late for work because they cant
find keys or cell phone, they misplace things, miss deadlines, cant
cant cant. Cant eat on the dining table, cant have guests in the
guest room, and cant park the car in the garage. They usually
realize they need help managing their space, and while that is
true, I also see problems with managing their time, and their
energy, and they are not paying enough attention to how they use
their money. Which prompted me to write a book that emphasizes
paying attention to all four resources.
So what can I do to help them? I start by using some very basic
organizing skills.1
Organizing is Not Rocket Science
What I do for my clients is to create a user-friendly
environment that is uniquely adapted to their needs. Got six
children? Home office? Six cats and a parakeet? Is the person left
handed or right handed? Food allergies? All of these will play a
part in the final product. But the goal is to have a simple, smart
environment that supports their needs. Some basics apply to
allHeres an exercise we can do to demonstrate one. Its visual
observation, so I will ask everyone to raise a hand.2
I havent got a thing to wear!
This is a typical closet. How would you describe it? Jumble?
Messy? Hard to see whats going on. A lot of this is here by
default.3
Create a closet budgetHow many of each type do you need?Decide
quantities before you start.Keep only your favorites!
HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE A CLOSET THAT SEEMS CROWDED? Before you
tackle your closet, decide which type of clothing you wear most
(Pants and tops? Suits? Dresses?) and know your best colors!4
Prepare a workspace
This includes setting aside enough time and energy to work on
it. It ALWAYS saves time and energy if you take a couple of minutes
to get set up. And always leave clean up time at the end!5
Collect your tools
Once you get started, you want to stay focused, so have
everything you need right there before you begin. What are these
things for? SET YOUR TIMER! DONT LEAVE THE ROOM TILL ITS ALL
DONE!6
Pull everything off the shelf
To do a good purge, you need to be able to see each garment.
Same for cleaning out your handbag you need to dump it out to get
the objectivity you need to really sort it out. 7
SortTry on what youre not sure ofDonate what you dont
wear/loveMove items that dont belong herePut off-season in storage
bags or binsMake neat stacks by type of garment When will you
repair it? Will you really?No more than 3 items on probation
Take the time to go step by step.8
Sort your hanging clothes
Use the same sorting technique.9
Evaluate everything!
Is it you? Do you love it? Does it fit? Do you have something to
wear with it?
If you love it, but it doesnt match anything, wear it shopping
so you can match the color. BE REALISTIC!10
Whats changed?
The clothes can breathe, you can see whats there. Look at pant
lengths. Hang Bermuda's or capris straight down, long pants folded
once. Makes it easier to get dressed!11
Pull, sort, arrange shoes
Put your common ones on the top row! If you have lots of shoes
you dont only wear for special occasions, consider getting a shoe
organizer you can slide under your bed. 12
Before and After
Before and after pictures are a great way to motivate and remind
yourself of your progress! THIS IS A USER FRIENDLY CLOSET.13
Rachel Rays Month of Fashion
