Interview with “I’m An Organizing Junkie”

I am currently on a mission to purge and organize all the hidden spots of my home.  {I’m sure no one else has them….  the closets that are stuffed with junk long forgotten, the drawers that haven’t seen the light of day in years.  But my home has a few.}  We moved here a few years ago and I’m realizing that these hidden spots are filled with stuff I didn’t know what to do with or didn’t have a better place to put.  And guess what?  My motto this week is if we haven’t touched it or needed it for this long, it’s probably time for it to go.  As I go through this process as a step toward holiday preparedness, I’m finding joy in the results.

So in the spirit of purging and organizing, I’m thrilled to introduce you to Laura from I’m An Organizing Junkie.

Hi Laura!  Welcome and thanks so much for visiting with us today.   Laura, for those who have not yet discovered your great site, “I’m an Organizing Junkie” or yet read your book, Clutter Rehab, would you tell us about yourself and your work?

Sure.  My blog started many years ago in 2006 as a way to stay connected to adults while home on maternity leave with my youngest son (he turns 6 this month!).  It then soon turned into an opportunity to stay home with him while earning enough money to pay my weekly grocery bill which I’m so grateful for!  Organizing is something I’m crazy about so that’s the topic I focus on.  I’m basically blogging about anything and everything related to organizing and my obsession with it.  I live in Alberta, Canada with my husband and three kids.

As I’m sure a lot of folks can relate to, my home is not at it’s best right now.  School got started, fall activities came in and life got going at warp speed.  Add to this the fact that the holiday season is now almost upon us and suddenly the blood pressure starts to spike.  For those of us who feel a bit overwhelmed with the idea of attacking the closets, basements, etc. that are now piled high and disorganized, what advice do you have to get started?

Well that’s the thing about life isn’t it, it just keeps going which is why I always say organizing is a journey not a destination.  I’m not sure anyone out there could say they have “arrived” because life continues to happen and we need to learn not only to go with the flow but to put into place some strategies to minimize the impact on our sanity.  These are the strategies I talk about in my book and the strategies I personally use to help me stay clutter and chaos free most of the time.  Not all the time (I have three kids after all) but most of the time.  Things like breaking down tasks into bit size chunks and doing a 10-15 minute tidy before bed to prepare you for the next day.  I think as a society we are also trying to take on too much…we’ve got a whole culture of woman trying to be superwoman and that can only be maintained for so long.  I think we need to stop letting our neighbors and friends dictate what we’ll buy or how we’ll spend our time and instead concentrate on what’s best for our family even if it goes against the norm.  Easier said than done I know. Now as for those closets, we always think it’s going to take way longer than it does so our tendency is to put it off until we have more time.  More time rarely comes however you’d be surprised how quickly things go once you just get started.  The faster you can make a decision about your stuff, the faster you can get on to doing other things.  The more you get rid of the less you need to find a home for.  Remember small tackles lead to big results.

I totally agree….  More time will never magically come to you.  It’s simply a matter of making the effort to start somewhere.  Do you think a daily or weekly routine is important for individuals, couples and families to achieve getting and staying organized around the house?  Do you have any words of wisdom in this area for those who may just be getting started as it relates to Holiday Preparedness?

Yes routines are essential for staying on top of the chaos.  I have three kids in three different schools so you can imagine the paper load that comes into my house on a daily basis.  Every night before bed my routine is to go through all the paper from the day including school papers and mail.  I toss whatever I can right away, I mark important dates on the calendar, I sign permission forms, etc.  I know from experience that if I didn’t take the 10 minutes each day to stay on top of it I would quickly become buried in it.  In order to avoid setting yourself up for failure, set regular routines (habits) for the things that consistently stress you out and success will follow.

Now as for preparing for the holidays, definitely some advance preparation will help you immensely.  I have many free printable lists in my Pinterest account that can help you with this.  Print yourself off a monthly calendar page and start penciling in the things that need to be done.  But here is the thing, be reasonable with how much extra time you can allot each day to holiday preparation.  If that’s only a half hour, schedule activities in manageable chunks that fit that time frame.  Again don’t set yourself up for failure.  It will quickly become apparent as you run out of days whether or not you need to start simplifying your expectations and commitments.

I really loved your 52 Weeks Project.  Will you be running it again in 2012?

52 Weeks is a challenge I started at the beginning of 2011 where I asked readers to write down 52 tasks they wanted to complete this year.  I asked them to develop this list based on 52 tasks that were reasonable to manage in a weekly time period.  Having a plan is a great first step!  Then each Friday they come back to my blog to report their progress and share with each other how they are doing.  It’s been very inspiring to see so many getting things done and as a result motivating others to do the same.  I haven’t quite yet decided whether or not I’ll continue to do it in 2012.  I like to keep changing things up.  If anyone has any ideas for me, I’d love to hear them!

You host one of the best Memes there is:  ”Menu Plan Monday” where hundreds of bloggers link their week’s menus.  When it comes to menu planning, it’s easy to be reactive instead of proactive.  If it’s 5 o’clock and you have no plan, chances are good that you may resort to a restaurant and/or poor food choices.  Having a weekly Menu Plan and having those groceries on~hand is critical.  If someone has never taken the time to make a Menu Plan {and grocery list}, how do you suggest they get started?

It can definitely seem overwhelming at first if you’ve never done it before so I always suggest starting out by planning one or two nights at first.  I don’t think it’ll take you long to see the difference between the nights you’ve planned a menu and the nights you haven’t.  That 4:00 “witching” hour, as I like to call it, when everyone is tired and cranky is not the time to try and figure out what you’ll be eating for dinner that night.  It’s too much and that’s what often leads to eating out.  Even planning simple meals like sandwiches and soup is better than not planning anything at all.

Do you follow any particular routine with your weekly Menu Plan {ie: Meatless Monday, etc.} or do you vary it every week?

I create my weekly menu plan based on meat type.  For instance each week I will always serve one chicken dish, one pork dish, one beef dish, one meatless meal, one pizza night, one leftover night and one “YOYO” night where you’re on your own.  I schedule recipes according to the busyness of the day.  Slow cooker meals are almost always incorporated on the nights I know I’ll be too tired to cook come dinner time.  This is what works the best for my family however I do know many people that have great success with planning theme nights like Mexican Tuesday or Pasta Thursday for example.

I’ve recently tried to get onboard with becoming a coupon clipper.  I’m a total amateur and still struggle to make the time to get this task complete.  Are you a coupon clipper?  If so, any tips to get going?  Does couponing play into your Menu Plan?

I am a coupon clipper but not in an extreme way.  I have a few online websites I gather coupons from and that’s about it.  I almost always plan my weekly menu by what’s on special at the grocery store that week and as well what coupons I have on hand.  Every little bit helps!

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

Thanks for letting me come hang out here for awhile, it’s been fun!  Please also feel free to come by my Facebook page to say hi as well.

Thanks so much Laura!  You’ve given us so many great tips to put into practice just in time to get on~top of things before the holidays arrive.