Home Organizing for Beginners: Organizing solutions for moms that are at the beginning of their home organizing journey‪.‬ Tammy Schmidt

This is the third of a 3 part series on overcoming overwhelm at home. Last week I reviewed how prioritizing the way we’re taught actually makes us feel more overwhelmed and how you can prioritize instead so that you get stuff done.
Today’s microscopic home organizing topic is creating a dependable system that will capture all the thoughts, ideas and to-do’s that cross your mind.
The whole concept of a capture system is what I had been looking for seemingly forever, but until I found it I didn’t know it’s what I needed or that I was even looking for it. Are you like… what was that?! With a capture system I don’t stress or get overwhelmed as often. 
As someone who is or feels like they’re just starting their home organizing journey you want to be set up for lasting home organizing solutions, right?  In order to make that happen you’ll have to do something different than you’ve done before or what society tells us.
Instead of allowing overwhelm to rule your life and make you feel anxious and frustrated, you can create a capture system so that you have something you can depend on to capture all your thoughts, ideas and to-do’s. In this episode I’ll share the components of a capture system, the only tool I use within my capture system and how you can implement the same thing or something similar.
If you want to bounce ideas off of someone to help you develop your own capture system, one that YOU can depend on. I’m happy to help. Go to www.homeorganizingforbeginners.com and click the Ask Me Anything link. Fill out the form and I’ll get back to you. This is a completely free service! My experience and expertise in your inbox! All you have to do is ask.
Your Home Organizing Educator,Tammy

I find that sometimes I don’t want to take the time to do this whole brain dump thing. Then prioritize it? I fool myself into thinking that if I just roll up my sleeves and get started that will be way more effective. 
What happens then? I find myself starting one thing only to notice that another thing needs to be done too. I wind up with several things started and nothing actually completed. In last week’s episode I shared that my husband was in the hospital for a few days. 
He’s fine, but the whole situation set us back in our normal daily tasks. Basic housework things. Once everything settled down I thought well I’ll just dive in. I got started with laundry, then worked on the kitchen and then into cleaning our bathroom. Doesn’t sound so bad. 
Unfortunately I forgot about the laundry and it wound up being in the washer overnight.
As someone who is or feels like they’re just starting their home organizing journey you want to be set up for lasting home organizing solutions, right?  In order to make that happen you’ll have to do something different than you’ve done before or what society tells us.
Instead of allowing overwhelm to rule your life and make you feel anxious and frustrated, you can do a brain dump and prioritize it so that you’re spending your time on the right things. 
In this episode I review how prioritizing the way we’re taught actually makes us feel more overwhelmed and how you can prioritize instead and get stuff done.
STEPS TO PRIORITIZE YOUR BRAIN DUMP and GET IT DONE
Review your brain dump. Do you feel satisfied that you’ve captured the majority of things that have been in your head? If so, move on. Otherwise add to the brain dump until you feel like you’ve captured it all for now.
Select the 3, yes only 3 most pressing items. You must make progress in order to build momentum. When you build momentum you will continue and ultimately get more done in less time. Prioritize the 3 most pressing times.
Do the first item.
Do the second item. Stop yourself from trying to multitask.
Do the 3rd item.
Repeat steps 1-5 until you are done or run out of time.
Remember the goal was to overcome the overwhelm.
Would you like help with your brain dump and prioritizing process? I would love to connect with you. Go to www.homeorganizingforbeginners.com and click the ask me anything link. This allows you to share with me what you sticking point or specific struggle in the process is then I can get back to you with a solution tailored to you.
Join me again next week. I’ll wrap up this series on overcoming overwhelm at home. Thanks so much and have a great day!
Your Home Organizing Educator,Tammy

Today’s microscopic home organizing topic is brain dumping - the best way to get all the things out of your mind so you can get the right things done.
This is the first of a 3 part series on overcoming overwhelm at home.
Do you ever feel overwhelmed? That’s a silly question, right?!
EVERYONE feels overwhelmed at times. While it would be great if we could implement something that completely eliminates overwhelm from ever happening again, I don’t think that’s realistic. Do you? Life throws us curveballs, unexpected things. We can even be overwhelmed with normal daily life of running a household, working, trying to simply do all the things. 
As someone who is or feels like they’re just starting their home organizing journey you want to be set up for lasting home organizing solutions, right?  In order to make that happen you’ll have to do something different than you’ve done before or what society tells us.
Instead of allowing overwhelm to rule your life and make you feel anxious and frustrated, you can start with a brain dump to get yourself moving in the right direction and to squash the overwhelmed feeling. In this episode I’ll share with you what a brain dump is, why it works and how to do one.
HOW TO DO A BRAIN DUMP
Let’s get into the steps you need to take to make it happen.
Decide if you want to use pen and paper or type it up. There’s no wrong method to use.
Start writing. Everything that comes to your mind. Don’t worry about the order. Just write or type. The goal is to get it all out of your head.
Write/type until you can’t think of anything else. 
Keep the list you're making handy so that as you think of more things, because you will, you can add to the list.
 
That’s it! This is the first step to overcoming the overwhelm at home. In next week’s episode I’ll share what the next step is, prioritizing. I’ll share the best way to prioritize and what to consider when you’re doing so. But if you’re feeling like you need extra help right now. It’s an urgent situation. Please go to www.homeorganizingforbeginners.com and click the ask me anything link. This allows you to ask me any question you have about home organizing, including overcoming overwhelm. I’ll get back to you with a solution that you can utilize right away.
Join me again next week to continue learning how to overcome overwhelm at home.
Thanks so much and have a great day!
Your Home Organizing Educator,Tammy

Today’s microscopic home organizing topic is Kids Clothes that Don’t Fit.
When my kids - all 3 of them - were born they fit into 9 month size baby clothes. The biggest at 10 pounds and the smallest at 9 pounds 8 ounces, the clothes we got at the baby shower were simply too small. Nobody was predicting that our babies would be so big! Not even my doctor. Even the diapers we had initially were too small for their baby bottoms. I do miss the days of having babies, being able to hold them in my arms and snuggle. Now they’re all too big to fit on my lap and they don’t even want to!
Anyhow. What to do with all the baby clothes, toddler clothes, kids size clothes as they grow. Because they grow out of these things so fast, right! They wear these things once or twice then they’re too small!
As someone who is or feels like they’re just starting their home organizing journey you want to be set up for lasting home organizing solutions, right?  In order to make that happen you’ll have to do something different than you’ve done before or what society tells us.
Instead of letting kids' clothes spill out of their closet and dressers because most of them are too small, you can implement a simple process that will help you move these items out of the house for good. In this episode I’ll share with you what the process will do for you, why it will work and how to implement it.
www.homeorganizingforbeginners.com
 

Today’s microscopic home organizing topic is Tidying Up.
Do you have little piles of stuff scattered here and there around your home? Maybe a bit of clean clothes sitting on a chair because you’ve just not had time to put them away. Or the mail from yesterday is sitting on the counter because you just haven’t gotten to it yet. The dirty dishes are sitting in the sink or on the counter. Kids dirty socks laying on the floor in the living room. Used tissues sitting on the coffee table. An empty Gatorade bottle on the fireplace mantle. Ugh. Right? Time to carve out an hour or two to get it all cleaned up. Or is there another solution?
As someone who is or feels like they’re just starting their home organizing journey you want to be set up for lasting home organizing solutions, right?  In order to make that happen you’ll have to do something different than you’ve done before or what society tells us.
Instead of making time to clean everything up all at once you can utilize the 2 minute rule throughout the day. In this episode I’ll share with you what the 2 minute rule is, why it works and how to implement it today, right this minute… or 2 minutes!
www.homeorganizingforbeginners.com
 

Today’s microscopic home organizing topic is LAUNDRY.
I have these unwritten rules in my head about laundry. Do you too? Sort them by color. Wash darks on cold, whites on hot, use bleach, wash towels together, wash jeans together. ugh! Do I really need to do all these things? I mean, before kids it was easier because all the dirty clothes were just mine or mine and my husbands. After kids the whole laundry task changed. As they got bigger it changed more, right. Definitely more loads to get done today than there was 10 years ago!
As someone who is or feels like they’re just starting their home organizing journey you want to be set up for lasting home organizing solutions, right?  In order to make that happen you’ll have to do something different than you’ve done before or what society tells us. Instead of feeling like laundry is a dreadful never ending chore, you can take a step back and put measures in place to effectively get it done so that you truly feel that you have it under control going forward. 
That’s what you want, right? I know you’re smart enough to realize that the task of doing laundry won’t ever just disappear. It’s like dishes, as long as everyone in the house is eating there will inevitably be dishes to wash. As long as everyone in the house doesn’t run around naked there will be clothes to wash!
But it doesn’t have to be something you dread. It can just be a chore that happens as needed for your current season of life or current level of chaos in your home. In this episode I’ll share the best 2 options you have, why these options will work for you and how to get started this week.
www.homeorganizingforbeginners.com