Organize 365 Podcast

Organize 365 Podcasts
  • 4.5 (1.3K)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Semiweekly

Lisa Woodruff is a home organization expert, productivity specialist, and author of multiple books including The Paper Solution. Lisa's research-based teaching shines a light on the invisible work being done at home and in the workplace. Lisa's sensible and doable organizing tasks appeal to multiple generations. Her candor and relatable style make you feel she is right there beside you, helping you get organized as you laugh and cry together. Lisa believes organization is not a skill you are born with. It is a skill that is developed over time and changes with each season of life. Lisa has helped thousands of women reclaim their homes and finally get organized with her practical tips, encouragement, and humor through her blog and podcast at Organize365.com.

  1. 714 - 10 Simple Ideas for Self-Care This Summer

    21h ago

    714 - 10 Simple Ideas for Self-Care This Summer

    Pedicures and massages aren't cutting the mustard anymore. Society is crying out for self care. How can we fill our cups to continue supporting our families? In May Planning Day, I thought about what I wanted to do for my own self care. Sometimes it's the smallest things but we don't realize doing that thing would fill your cup. So I am sharing my ideas in this episode.  10 Self Care Ideas  10. Get time outside doing what you enjoy - for me I will be enjoying our deck, our back yard, and sunsets 9.  CEO Days - I will take time, once a month on a Monday, to plan how I will take care of myself, run my home, and have peace of mind because I had focused thinking and planned. 8. Identify and Protect project time - once I realized a 4 hour chunk of time on Saturdays for projects, I have protected it to keep it for myself. 7. Exercise - you get old due to lack of movement. I don't want that. I want a healthy body to support me into my 100's. 6. Have Strategic Time with Humans - those people you want to spend time with. Make calendar dates to keep your marriage strong, see friends, support your children in a way that is gratifying to you, and whoever else you want to catch up with. 5. Learn - I got a book series I loved in the past. I plan to devour it this summer. But think about what you like and get books reserved, podcasts downloaded, order books through amazon, put together your watch list on your preferred streaming service. Like what would you like to learn about? 4. Try New Foods - I have my chicken salad meal but I am thinking about exploring alternatives. But maybe you like to cook? Or maybe you are wanting to eat healthier, what does that look like for you? I will also be setting the habit to meal prep on Sundays.  3. Personal Reset - Go through your personal spaces like your closet, bathroom, or nightstand and decide if the things in there are supporting where you are going and who you are becoming. Discard or donate the rest. 2. Medical Deep Dive - I have a feeling most will skip this one but I am all about my medical binder this summer. I want to see where there are well test gaps and get the screening or baseline numbers from the tests I have avoided. We don't let our kids skip these things so why do we skip them for ourselves?  AND NUMBER ONE: Join Escaping Quicksand Self Care Retreat! You can join in person or virtually. You will get four hours on June 26th, 2026, to think about YOU! Get registered and get ready to escape that quicksand! EPISODE RESOURCES: The Sunday Basket® The Paper Solution® Register for the Escaping Quicksand Self Care Retreat Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter  Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media

    20 min
  2. 713 - How to Use and End Planned Neglect

    Jun 5

    713 - How to Use and End Planned Neglect

    Have you ever heard "planned neglect" anywhere else but Organize 365? Probably not because it's a term I coined to describe what I do to more effectively manage my responsibilities and time. One can't do everything so you must determine what is the highest value you provide to your work, community, or family and implement planned neglect for a certain amount of time to manage it all. I Must Have Mentioned "Planned Neglect" Before I was fairly shocked when I asked AI to give me some feedback based on a few episodes I shared. It explained the "framework" I have put in place. Ha! Much to my surprise because I hadn't realized I offered a framework. I must have talked about it a few times on the podcast. But it wasn't wrong. You need to identify the timeline when you will be using this planned neglect.  Then you should tell your family so they know what's happening when you start to cut corners to free up time for you to better utilize your highest value in this phase of life. Then you need to extend a lot of grace to yourself. It's ok that you have lowered your standards. It doesn't have to be forever just while something else needs more of you.  Then you need to implement these temporary habits.  And understand that this particular shortcut you have used in the past may not help you the same as it has in the past. You may need to figure out a different way to make life easier for a certain amount of time.  So back in the day when the dinosaurs were still roaming around, I identified planned neglect.  I needed a little more time to work on my direct sales business. I thought about what could I neglect to give my attention to focus on my business? So I started with a nanny for 10 hours one day a week.  Once my business grew even more I hired an assistant to help just 5 hours a week.  Then there was the time I realized I was driving 25 hours a week. It was time to outsource laundry. It was beautiful for a while when I would drop off my laundry and pick it up folded and hung. And I have shared a few phases of life when paper plates became the china of choice in the Woodruff household.  Coming Out of "Planned Neglect" Now that the PhD is coming to an end I have really wrestled with what I want to do with that time.  I acknowledge that I will go back to cleaning my house and maintaining my own window boxes. I have really been thinking about the planned neglect I have practiced and it's time to reverse some of those habits. It dawned on me that while I am back to using real plates for lunch and dinner, I will continue to use paper plates and bowls of different sizes for breakfast. Also, I hadn't realized pursuing the PhD meant my health and body would suffer. I hadn't put any thought into my nutrition and I certainly wasn't moving as much as a person should. So now that I am coming out of planned neglect I have started to use some of that time to go to the gym. And I have decided I no longer want to spend that money on the Tovala meals. It was worth the money when I didn't have time to grocery shop or meal prep. But now, I have time to focus on my nutrition so I am not ordering Tovala meals. Who knows, I may utilize them again in a season I need to.  As I come out of planned neglect I am going to take back my body and health. I will also be giving time back to working on Organize 365®. You have already seen a little bit of this as I have eliminated the work products. I am launching my new book "Escaping Quicksand" and will likely write more books. And I am getting ready to focus on The Productive Home CEO and new terminology to go with it being the Household CEO. I also want to explore how to use this new authority in academia to benefit household managers and their systems.  And at home I will be filling in all the blanks in my information management binders from The Paper Solution® and taking one day a month to focus on my CEO position in the Woodruff house.  Planned neglect is simply looking at your tasks, deciding how you can lower your standards of that task and then implementing a new habit for a certain amount of time. Mine was the PhD recently, what is yours? EPISODE RESOURCES: The Sunday Basket® The Paper Solution® Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter

    39 min
  3. 712 - Vacation Days, Sick Time, PTO and Trips, Let's Get Into It

    May 29

    712 - Vacation Days, Sick Time, PTO and Trips, Let's Get Into It

    Hope you are mentally hungry, because I'm unloading a lot of food for thought. Greg and I were in the car discussing the perception of a vacation vs. a trip. And that of course led to the time you take off for said vacation/trip. And that got me thinking overall about how transformational this summer is going to be for me. Good news! You have a front seat to all of it!  Vacation vs. a Trip Ok, so we're in the car talking about vacations vs. trips. And Greg joked "You never take vacations." And he's kind of right because in my life I guess I couldn't really take a vacation. When I was a stay at home mom, we just went to FL. I didn't have to submit vacation time. As a teacher, I just always worked and thought of summer as my vacation time. If you are a teacher you know it's quite the contrary!!  And when we do go to FL I do more work than at home. I turn into a 1950's wife so Greg can fully enjoy his vacation. And I love doing that for him and the kids. Greg thinks it's a vacation because he's with his family, gets to go fishing, and go to the beach. I will say London felt like a vacation to me. We had no expectations, I didn't do any laundry or cooking, and we had fun.  When my parents took us to Disney, we attended an art class. Yep, went to Disney to attend school. But we took a lot of trips in my childhood where we learned about thing and places and now that's what I enjoy too. My trips feel like vacation more to me but again Greg jokes they are trips. But I do think in reflection of this summer being so transformational with the PhD coming to an end and Greg thinking about retirement, I'd like to go on more vacations.  PTO, Sick Days, Retirement This led us to talking about PTO, sick days and Greg wanting to retire. His mom fell a little while back and he was the closest primary care giver. It was funny to watch him go through it. When you take someone else to the Dr. you should just take a half day and use your sick time. Greg was like "But I wasn't sick." Right but it was a medical appointment. I always took the kids to the dr. so Greg never had to think about that. Then he asked what exactly was PTO. So we talked about how many hours he has accrued and how neither of us take sick time or PTO. We are hearty and we work. But what about when Greg doesn't work and I still want to? Will I take advantage of some PTO? I don't know but these are questions I want to start asking myself as the household CEO.   Welcome To My Transformational Summer I took advantage of a lot of planned neglect and worked a lot of hours pursuing my PhD. Now that it's done, I want to decide what things I will let back in or not. There will be a lot of open time now and I want to think about how I will use that time. I decided on one thing and that was my Paper Solution™ Binders.  I feel like I neglected them a little so I'd like to really spend time getting them up to par. I never did the workbooks so I am doing them now. Before the PhD Abby was pregnant, now she has two children. Greg wants to retire. All of this has financial implications on our budget. I feel like I need some CEO time. So I decided in the middle of the month I will set aside two hours to just think about our household financial goals and I came up with seven questions which will help me decide if I am taking care of me in a way that fills my cup so I can continue to take care of my house and family too. Yes, I am going to offer this "co-working" time once a month. You too deserve time to think without your family around. And you too deserve time to take care of things for your household manager responsibilities that need to be done Monday- Friday, 9am -5pm. I want this household CEO time, to be a time for you to be able to really think through your household management, through a leadership lens, to make sure that you are stewarding all of the resources you have, well. And that you are taking care of yourself so you can be of service to all of those around you, for as long as possible, and in the best health as possible.  I hope you'll join me June 15th from 9am - 11am.  EPISODE RESOURCES: The Sunday Basket® The Paper Solution® Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter  Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media

    42 min
  4. 711 - Emergencies Eliminate YOUR Goals, Not Others

    May 22

    711 - Emergencies Eliminate YOUR Goals, Not Others

    Who is the first one to get cut from the priority list when a loved one has an unexpected event? You! We innately want to care for others in their times of need. And that means giving up gym time, your nutrition goals may go out the window for a time, and whatever else you enjoy and do for yourself.  See, What Had Happened Was… Recently, I ran planning prep day and planning day and boy were my ducks in a row. By Sunday I had meal prepped, mapped out my week, and I was on fire to crush my goals. However Monday morning my sweet daughter called to say she was sick and asked if I could take Grayson to school. As moms do, I said yes. Which meant my time to go to the gym would now be spent with Grayson.   Then she called later in the day to say she was too sick to take care of Noah too.  So once again rearranged my day and rushed off to pick up Grayson so I could get home to take care of Noah too.  Thank God I remembered some food I had prepped to keep me on track and Grayson from getting hungry. Because Grayson had a Dr. appointment too and I had planned a snack ahead of time. Then I had this great idea to see if Greg, my husband, wanted to have lunch. Although I took the last bite of chicken salad as we hung up the phone. I was clearly off my game. And the next day, I skipped attending a talk by an economist so I could catch up on the work I hadn't been able to finish the day before. But my planning did come into play. I had healthy food around me to support my nutrition focus of the week. But my self care was sacrificed in caring for my grandchildren to support Abby who was sick.  And that's what we do for our family members. I wasn't about to say, "No Abby, I have to go to the gym this morning."  No, I chose to serve and support my daughter.  Mindset Shift We need to have a mindset shift to know something is going to get sacrificed that we wanted to do in place of caring for our loved one. How do we have good systems in place and ways to continually be upleveling our own care, knowledge, and who we are, so that we are able to care for others in times of crisis? That's the whole premise of my book "Escaping Quicksand". Unexpected events happen to everyone. But do you have a system in place to keep you on track in those moments? And are you equipped with the mindset to combat those situations? Webinar Alert: On June 12th @ 11:30 EST, in the Paper Solution Group, I plan to go through the medical binder. I know I want to insert some labs and DNA results and a few other things. Plus, I want to update the kids' medical information with me as power of attorney. I'm sure you have papers like that too that you need to file away for safe keeping. I like to focus on information management (paper) in the Summer so each month I'm taking you through me updating my binders and this month is the medical binder. I'd love for you to join me!   EPISODE RESOURCES: Preorder Your Hard Copy of Escaping Quicksand The Sunday Basket® The Paper Solution® The Productive Home Solution Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter  Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media.

    38 min
  5. 710 - Maycember - What Is It and How Do We Survive It

    May 15

    710 - Maycember - What Is It and How Do We Survive It

    Does everything feel a little chaotic kinda like it feels around the holidays? That's because it's Maycember!  It's that time of year when there is a lot to do and no days off to do it!  I've got some hacks to productively get through it! Why does it happen? Here we just thought we were heading into summer. Nope, first, you gotta get your lawn in order. And you probably notice you are back to mowing the lawn more frequently. Oh the joys of home ownership! Did you document all the things last year you did during Maycember? Like how much mulch you needed and other supplies to get your house summer ready?  Don't forget all of the graduations, weddings, and end of the school year events there are. As the school year wraps up and the weather changes to warm summer days there are more things than ever vying for your attention. The biggest difference is, no days off for the holidays but we're trying to get just as much stuff accomplished as we do during the holidays. 7 Hacks to Combat Maycember Ok, so now you know we call this Maycember. What can you do about it?  Recognize the phenomenon and do not add anything to May.  Use all the pent up spring energy. Get out of the house, say hi to your neighbors, see people again!  Also if you are feeling the nudge to organize, do it, use that spring energy Be choosy on what you commit to and defer the rest. Just like planned neglect, some things will take care of themselves and others can be taken care of in July. Plan what you are comfortable neglecting for a period of time. Use a new rule or change a habit like using paper plates, utilizing a laundry service, or deciding on the 5 meals you will rotate all month, so you can spend more time outside. Plan, use the tools you already have from Organize 365®.  Make a weekly plan with your weekly tear sheets that you do at the end of your Sunday Basket® time. Use those slash pockets in your Sunday Basket®. Maybe you have one for teacher gifts, fieldtrips, destinations for summer, and probably more! AND if you are having that organizing energy decide what lessons you'll attack and when on the weekly planner. You have the Binders? Document. Your future self will thank you next Maycember. Write down all the annual house related maintenance you do each year in your Home Reference Binder. That way next year, you'll know when to order the mulch and how much.  Pack your car closet. You know, where you have a few snacks, change of clothes because you never know where the spontaneous summer energy will take you, and a back up battery to charge your phone is a great idea too. Nothing is worse than rushing between events and realizing your phone is about to die and you have no way to charge it. We can control some stressors.  Block off time to organize. When our homes are a mess it creates mental stress. When you look ahead on your calendar, if you see a block of time, mark it off. This time is for you to reset the house. Get your laundry done, really go through your Sunday Basket® & plan (you need time to plan to think things through), clean a little, or organize a space. I tend to focus on paper during the summer.  And speaking of The Paper Solution and the binders, I have a webinar in the app coming up. It will be on May 29th @ 1:30 EST and I will show you how I go through and update my Home Reference Binder. EPISODE RESOURCES: The Sunday Basket® The Paper Solution® The Productive Home Solution Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter  Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media

    29 min
  6. 709 - Move From Reactive to Proactive with This Daily 15-Minute Hack

    May 8

    709 - Move From Reactive to Proactive with This Daily 15-Minute Hack

    If anyone listened to episode 704 about the 10 filters I use to plan my week but you are currently in Quicksand, I'm sorry. I decided to dial it back to this 15 minute hack to help you win the day. Just one day at a time. Print the Worksheet (Knives Not Included) Download and print this worksheet. There are two worksheets per sheet of paper. I want you to have a daily action plan because a week at a time may be too much. I know when I was in the pits of despair, I would have thought "Yeah someday!" I'll learn how to time stack and take advantage of pockets of time, that mind you I didn't even know I had because I was in such a reactive state of mind. Do the Planning Each night take just 15 minutes to do these 10 things: Transfer items from your planner and calendar to this worksheet. These are appointments or events you have committed to. Proactively think about tomorrow in regards to weather, what you want to wear, and what you want to do with your hair based on weather and activities you'll attend. Go pick out the clothes you will wear tomorrow. Place items you will need for the activities for tomorrow or the people you will see, in your car. Maybe you need to hand in a form, return a shirt to someone, or have work out clothes. Plan your meals and snacks. Replenish your "adult diaper bag" if need be and think through what you will be eating and when due to lunch dates or anything else. Fill in drive time to all your events. And block off time for both driving and then the actual event.  Look for pockets of time and plan to check things off you to do list during that time. The reality is that for most of us Mon- Fri time is spoken for. If you have a couple of things that have to get done during the week THIS is your opportune time to do them.  Plug in your housework and routines on this worksheet.  Highlight your top 1 to three things you have to get done tomorrow. If your day falls apart what do you have to accomplish to feel like you won the day?  Now cut that sheet in half and carry it around with you all day tomorrow. Because on the back is where you can write down all those things your brain is reminding you to do. At the end of the day look at it. Things that cannot wait till Sunday get planned for in the week. The rest of the list, the whole list, just goes in the Sunday Basket. No need to transfer to individual cards. Make life easy on yourself and just toss it in your Sunday Basket®. You must win the day, so you can win the week, in order to win the war! EPISODE RESOURCES: The Sunday Basket® Download Daily Worksheet Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter  Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media

    26 min
  7. 708 - How to Get Completely Organized in 14 Months

    May 1

    708 - How to Get Completely Organized in 14 Months

    Here's the truth coated in encouragement…Organization takes time but with intentionality you can cut the time to 14 months. No one goes from being in debt to out of debt in weeks. Stop it! Yes, it's going to take time. Things that are worthwhile take time. Getting out of your car and into a train is worth it for your mental health and productivity of your home so that you have more capacity and time to wrestle with what you are uniquely created to do.  Your Engine The Sunday Basket® represents the engine to your train. Weekly you are chugging along and making sure your priorities are taken care of while still safely gathering information to address on Sunday. Once you get this system in place you will protect your plan - this is how productive people act. You have a system in place and your brain trusts that things will not fall through the cracks because of this system. It lightens your cognitive load so you can focus on your plan and priorities. Planning Day, you took the time to identify what you would focus on  and the routines you want for the next 120 days. I gave an example of getting the mail and how you process it. If you process it daily, you take your eyes off the goal and distract yourself. If you process it on Sundays, you stay focused on your plan. Listen to this episode for the full explanation. The Sunday Basket® puts you in the drivers seat. Let the Sunday Basket® transform you to become where the flow comes from, you are the driver, the leader. Train Cars What is a train without cars on it? The four main cars are your green car that is your Paper Solution program, personal organization car, family/communal organization car, and your storage car.  The Complete Home Organization Bundle supplies you with everything you will need for that first round of getting your cars organized. From there each time you round the tracks you are iterating and personalizing the system for you and your current phase of life. The train stops you from being reactive. A train can't make a u turn to go home to grab your purse.  A train can't stop on a dime to answer an email quickly. You'll find when you don't stop to do all the little 5 or 10 minute tasks, it'll add up to about 5 extra hours a week to run your plan. Plus you won't be up against the time it takes to switch tasks back and forth. The train is your system to get planned, purposeful, and proactive.  Train Tracks Every train needs tracks and The Productive Home Solution provides those tracks. It's a 365 day plan that helps you to maintain your train engine, cars, and calculate the speed you want to operate at. You pull into the train station three times a year for maintenance, called Planning Day. You take a pit stop at the retreat station to work on personal development known as Embrace or this year the Self Care Retreat. But you must invest the time to get the tracks in place and your train running smoothly.  And when you understand how to do this for your household, you can plug and play for any family member you need to step in and help. Then if the situation arises, you can take their binders to the right people to more easily settle their estate. THIS, this well maintained train and well oiled track, is the biggest and best gift you can give your future self. EPISODE RESOURCES: 570 - Creating a HOME Organizing Train The Sunday Basket® The Paper Solution® The Productive Home Solution The Complete Home Organization Bundle Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter  Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media

    51 min
  8. 707 - Goals for Summer 2026 Planning Day

    Apr 24

    707 - Goals for Summer 2026 Planning Day

    It's not normal to plan in your home the way we do in business. But if you are part of the Organize 365® community, we do!  So as the natural energy of summer ushers in another planning time, I wanted to give you food for thought so you can decide a few things before planning day.  Summer Energy There are certain energies for different times of the year. Three that specifically encourage planning and that's when Organize 365® offers Planning Days. In America, you know you all feel it after you open presents and take part in all the festivities you wanna organize and plan the next year. But that's where I'll stop you. At Organize 35® we plan in trimesters. A lot can happen in 120 days. So we plan 120 days at a time and reevaluate what worked and what we want to tweak. Right now we are all anticipating summer. So we plan from May to August. Then in August we anticipate the kids going back to school and we get the urge to plan for September through December. Regardless if you have kids or not, the sales we see, traffic, travel, a lot of the things around us end up following the school year.  We are facing uncertain times right now so you may be distracted about what you would like to focus on this summer. I have found that when the world seems uncertain I know I am for the most part in control of my house and my self care. If you feel like you are in quicksand, I want you to think about how you could best support yourself in the next 120 days. I offer two options because I find when I focus on one goal, I can set a bigger goal and I usually accomplish it.  So the top two things I want to encourage you to consider for your focus this summer are your paper and self care. Paper  Paper seems so easy to suggest this time of year. You can load up a couple of folders or a banker's box and sort it at the pool or during your child's sports practice like I used to do. I had a great friend that would meet me at the pool and we'd sort while the kids swam. And you will see in The Productive Home Solution this is the time of year we encourage you to focus on your information management, like taking important papers from the Sunday Basket® that are no longer actionable and placing them in your binders.  Self Care This is not a bubble bath or getting your nails done. This is caring for your whole self. This time of year I tend to focus on professional development. Is there a class you have wanted to take, wanna become a worker outer, or something else to support your faith, mental health, education, physical health, personal organization or passions? Or have you stopped dreaming and you don't even know what your passions are anymore? There are two ways you can dig deeper into those aspects. One is Embrace which I like to revisit every year because it's a lifetime purchase. Discover what you were uniquely created to do. And two, you can attend our first Self Care Retreat in Nashville in person or online. In this episode I broke down what to expect from the retreat and I can't wait to see you on June 26th to focus on you this summer. EPISODE RESOURCES: The Sunday Basket® The Productive Home Solution Sign Up for Planning Day Sign Up for Self Care Retreat Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter  Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media

    49 min
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About

Lisa Woodruff is a home organization expert, productivity specialist, and author of multiple books including The Paper Solution. Lisa's research-based teaching shines a light on the invisible work being done at home and in the workplace. Lisa's sensible and doable organizing tasks appeal to multiple generations. Her candor and relatable style make you feel she is right there beside you, helping you get organized as you laugh and cry together. Lisa believes organization is not a skill you are born with. It is a skill that is developed over time and changes with each season of life. Lisa has helped thousands of women reclaim their homes and finally get organized with her practical tips, encouragement, and humor through her blog and podcast at Organize365.com.

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