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A Virtual Organizing Project – Converting a Bedroom Into a Home Office

Posted on by Dawn Link Posted in Bedroom, Computer, DIY, Filing, Home, Office, Paper Management, Virtual Organizing, Working From Home

A Virtual Organizing Project – Converting a Bedroom Into a Home Office

I just finished working with Susan (name changed to protect her identity), who left her job as a lawyer at a large firm to start her own home-based practice in Connecticut. Her project was to convert a guest bedroom into her home office. Our goals were to tackle the arrangement of the furniture, to set up her files (both computer and paper), and to create systems so that she was able to work efficiently in her home.

Working together virtually, we were able to successfully visualize what the room would look like without the bed in it. Her first task was getting rid of all the excess furniture that would not be appropriate for a home office. She hired a few college students to move the furniture around within her house. She had a lovely antique table brought up to her new office space and had a closet company custom build her bookshelves.

Susan has ADHD and does not like to have anything put in drawers or out of sight, fearing she will forget things. Together we worked on creating a file system that she housed in her bookshelves. In that the home office was not only to be used for her business, but she also needed it set up for her personal files. We very clearly separated the two file systems so that it was easy for her to grab what she needed and more importantly, put it all away when she was done.

Equally crucial to her success, we needed to look at her computer and reorganize her files for business and personal. All her files were loose on her desktop, and we needed to create a better naming convention and a file folder system so that Susan knew exactly where to find what she was looking for. By eliminating all the loose files on the desktop, she instantly felt more relaxed by not having all that visual clutter every time she turned on her computer.

Once the overall structure of her office was established, a file index was generated, so it was easy for her to retrieve and file both her business and personal papers without forgetting where they were or what the file name was. A billing system was also set up, and she then hired a paralegal to help her in her practice.

Photo: Pixabay

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Virtual Organizing vs. Hands On Organizing

Posted on by Dawn Link Posted in DIY, Hands on Organizing, Virtual Organizing

Virtual Organizing vs. Hands On Organizing

What is the difference between Virtual Organizing and hands on organizing?

Well, I offer both kinds of professional organizing. Some people may ask what the heck virtual organizing even is. Indeed, virtual organizing has been around for at least six or seven years, and – as you can imagine – It exploded with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 when clients were uncomfortable having people in their homes. Virtual organizing is the same as in person organizing, except technology is used to enable working together. The appointments tend to be shorter, and I can work with anyone regardless of the geographical location. Some people are also more comfortable not having a stranger enter their homes.

Virtually working with a client is successful if the client is highly motivated, great at doing DIY projects, and comfortable with technology and a reliable Internet. It is equally important that the client be physically able to do the work or have someone helping him/her if unable to work alone. The client needs to be goal driven and needs expert advice and guidance. In that virtual organizing tends to be shorter in session length, time and budget restraints allow clients easier access to working with me virtually. Typically, the project is very well defined and remains the only goal being addressed at a given session.

Hands on professional organizing tends to involve longer sessions. There is often a larger scope of work to be done, and the person tends not to always be a DIY individual. He/she appreciates having the extra set of hands to work side-by-side with and to have the expert on site. Perhaps one distinct advantage here is that immediate results can be noticed: a highly motivating force! What’s more, hands on work allows for more flexible projects as the need arises.

All in all, consider what might work best for you in terms of your personality, work habits, and particular job in mind. If you are puzzled, give me a call, and we will work it out in tandem to focus on your individual organizing needs.

Photo: Pixabay

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How to Start a Book Group

Posted on by Dawn Link Posted in Books

How to Start a Book Group

Would you like to share your love of reading with others? If you say yes, why not start a book group? Not sure how to do so? Well just follow these steps to begin.

Ask your friends what books they read. If you have similar tastes, that is a great start, or maybe their different tastes will introduce you to authors and genres you have never considered.

Choose a theme for your book group. You can base this on types of books (contemporary fiction, nonfiction) or any other criteria. For example, is the book group an excuse for a social gathering and sharing a bottle of wine (no judgment!) or will you delve into literary criticism that will make your college English literature professors proud?

Set up basic ground rules: Where will you meet (private homes, library, restaurants)? How often, on what schedule (third Thursday of the month)? What are the expectations for food and drink: potluck, BYOB, snacks, a full meal (lunch or dinner)? Will the food served be related to the book in some way? Who chooses the book each time? Are any types of books off-limits?

A good number of members for a book group is 10-12. This allows for a good mix of opinions and participation. Larger groups are more cumbersome to organize, with discussions possibly leaving out some people. Smaller groups are move vulnerable to falling apart, as peoples’ schedules and lives intervene. For example, my friend’s book group has lost 3 members due to out-of-state moves in the past few years, but they invited new members to fill out the group.

Invite your friends and get the ball rolling! You can work out details as you go along. And be sure to have fun!

Photo: Pixabay

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Insanely Creative Bookshelves

Posted on by Dawn Link Posted in Books

Insanely Creative Bookshelves

Tired of looking at the same old options for bookshelves? Check out these amazing bookshelves. If you are handy with tools, you can even make some of these yourself!

Interior Design Paradise

Buzzfeed

Bookbub

HomeDCorHub

Have you seen, considered, or even boast a unique bookshelf? Maybe your creative juices will flow after viewing a few of the above examples so that you can now create or design a bookshelf that is not only is functional but also a piece of art.

Photo: Pixabay

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5 Tips for Organizing Your Bookshelves

Posted on by Dawn Link Posted in Books

5 Tips for Organizing Your Bookshelves

October is National Book Month, so our blogs this month will be about (you guessed it!) books.

Below are five tips for organizing your bookshelves so that you can quickly get your hands on any title you own.

  1. First empty your shelves and declutter. Do you have books you will never read again or refer to? Donate them to your local library or other nonprofit organizations that can resell them.
  2. Separate fiction from nonfiction.
  3. Organize fiction alphabetically by author.
  4. Organize nonfiction by category.
  5. Replace books, starting with the bottom shelf, which should be used for heavier, over-sized books.

To keep your bookshelves organized and uncrowded, weed out your collection as you add a new book. Use the “one in, one out” rule to ensure that you are limiting the number of books you are keeping.

Photo: Pixabay

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The Three Most Important Guidelines for Backing Up Your Computer

Posted on by Dawn Link Posted in Backup, Computer, Electronics

The Three Most Important Guidelines for Backing Up Your Computer

If you are like me, your computer holds so much diverse information: client records, home repair notes, favorite recipes, eyeglass prescription, photos, email, and the list of movies I want to see. This pretty much accounts for much of the “stuff “from every aspect of life. What would happen if that data were lost, deleted by accident, corrupted by disk error, attacked by a virus or other malicious software, including held hostage by ransomware? Yes, life would be complicated, that is for sure!

A client had a recent scare when several dozen files got corrupted by a disk issue. What could have been a disaster turned into only a mild inconvenience because all her data were backed up.

Do YOU have a backup plan for your data? Find below three guidelines for setting up such a vital plan.

  1. Backup on a consistent schedule. Can you really afford to lose a day’s worth of data? If not, backup daily or more frequently. MAC users can set up automatic backups using the Time Machine app. If you do not have a consistent schedule, you will go too long between backup or forget altogether.
  2. Backup to multiple devices. What happens if your backup drive is corrupted? Backup frequently to another external hard drive. Time Machine backs up my computer to my main backup drive (a 4T external drive) multiple times a day. Once a week, on a set schedule so I do not forget, I plug in a different external drive and let Time Machine back up to it.
  3. Keep backups in multiple locations. Worst case scenarios: a burglar steals your computer and all your electronics, including your external hard drives. Heaven forbids house damage (fire, roof leak, tornado) affects your computer and backup drives. While it is true that you would have bigger problems than a loss of data, this is one headache that you can prevent. Store a backup at your office (if it’s in a different location than your home), at a trusted friend’s house, or in a safe deposit box. This backup can be updated at greater intervals. I personally do this every three month, because that is the most data loss, I am willing to risk. What is more, I rotate the offsite disk with my secondary backup disk. That is, I backup to my secondary disk and take that to the bank where my safe deposit box is. Then I take the external hard drive out of my safe deposit box and use that as my secondary backup disk for the next three months. Rinse and repeat…

It really is a gamble if you are not backing up your computer. One other precaution is to back up to the cloud. Now you have both a physical backup on your external drive and a cloud-based solution.

Photo: Pixabay

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Will You Be Humiliated If You Wear White After Labor Day?

Posted on by Dawn Link Posted in Clothes, Holidays, Labor Day, Uncategorized

Will You Be Humiliated If You Wear White After Labor Day?

How many of you were raised being told you were not allowed to wear white after Labor Day? Is it still a thing or a question one thinks about? I was brought up to believe in this ‘rule’ that no one ever questioned.

This custom of not wearing white after Labor Day originated in the 19th century as a way for the upper class to differentiate themselves from the working class and to spot the nouveau riche who were not privy to the elite secret. It is a totally fabricated fashion ‘rule’ that is well past its prime.

Bottom line, yes, you can wear white year-round. If you still want more information, here are some links to read more about this.

Yahoo!

The US Sun

Newsweek

Better Homes & Gardens

Photo: Pixabay

 

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Travel Tip – Pack These Items Just in Case

Posted on by Dawn Link Posted in Packing, Travel

Travel Tip – Pack These Items Just in Case

I recently traveled out of state to Oregon to attend my niece’s wedding. I stayed in a hotel with my sister, and we both realized items that the other included in her luggage that really came in handy. Pack these items just in case you, yourself, should need them in your travels.

  1. Sealed Plastic Bags – Grab a few snack, sandwich, quart, and gallon size bags. You never know when you will need them, and they take up little space. My smart sister had these with her, and we used them to keep snacks away from pesky ants in our room, to create a makeshift ice wrap, and to prevent any spills in our sightseeing bag when we brought yogurt to have as a snack.
  2. Mesh Laundry Bag – We were gone for seven nights and knew we were going to do laundry at least once while away. I find it easier to throw my dirty clothes in a laundry bag, so it is easier to grab to do laundry. What’s more, separating them from my clean clothes when packing up my suitcase at the end of a trip allows for merely emptying the laundry bag contents into my hamper upon returning home.
  3. Soap – I attended my annual organizing conference in April and was shocked that the hotel had run out of soap! I used to travel with a small bar of soap and a small bottle of body wash but stopped doing so years ago when I never used it. Now those two items are back in my toiletry bag because it was so annoying, and I felt so yucky when I could not use soap. I ended up using shampoo until the hotel received their shipment.
  4. White Noise App – When traveling, one never knows what noises will be bothersome and what may affect one’s sleep. Whether it be a snoring person, a barking dog, garbage truck pickup, traffic, people talking outside your door or window, or the on and off noise from the air conditioner or heater, how pleasant it is to have consistent background noise to neutralize other obnoxious sounds when trying to fall asleep or to stay asleep.
  5. Insulated Water Bottle – I love cold water and my 12-hour insulated water bottle. I have started packing one that has a wide enough opening to fit ice cubes in case I don’t have access to a refrigerator’s cold water. Staying hydrated is so important when traveling. We often forget to drink water as we are so busy exploring and visiting with one another.

I am sure you have a few items you could add to my list. If you do, please leave them in the comments section. I love learning from all of you. Happy trails!

Photo: Pixabay

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Tips and Tools for Keeping Your Children Safe and Healthy in School

Posted on by Dawn Link Posted in Back to School, Children, COVID-19, Fall, Parenting

Tips and Tools for Keeping Your Children Safe and Healthy in School

In some areas of the United States children have already begun their new school year. Other areas will be returning soon. Regardless of timing, here are some tips and tools for keeping your children safe and healthy for the coming academic year.

I could reiterate what is already out there, but I found a great website, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). It provides a wealth of resources for parents and educators about health conditions and safety for children of all ages, starting with mom’s pregnancy going through age 19. Topics include preparing for back-to-school, safety in the home, information on the ever-changing COVID-19 guidelines, bullying, and so much more. There are also articles about specific conditions, such as ADHD and ASD. The information is presented as podcasts and articles.

Heading back to school is an exciting and sometimes scary time for children. Preparing them and you, as parents, will send them off to, hopefully, have their best school year ever.

Photo: CDC.gov

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Cool Summer Drinks

Posted on by Dawn Link Posted in Food, Recipe, Summer

Cool Summer Drinks

Nothing is more refreshing on a hot summer day than lingering over any liquid served to you over ice. When organizing backyard gatherings, though, how often are drinks the last item to spark your creativity? Rather than the standard iced tea and lemonade, let us put on our thinking caps and explore cool summer drinks.

I have a friend who will seek out a new concoction every year to be her signature drink for the summer. I think that is such a “cool” and brilliant idea! Come on folks, we can do that, right?

To get some inspiration you may want to explore the following websites to see what fun non-alcoholic drink might become your go-to summer beverage

Woman’s Day

The Spruce Eats

Our Food and Home

Taste of Home

Southern Living

Delish

Now after investigating these sites, what have you selected as your signature 2022 cool non-alcoholic summer drink?

Photo: Pixabay

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