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Sherry Borsheim

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Nov 08
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5 Easy Steps to a Holiday-Ready Home

By Blog, Quick Organizing Tips, Time Management No Comments

Is your home ready for the holidays? The time is now upon us – there is absolutely no denying that!

 

You’ve got to finish up all the loose ends before you’re stuck cramming these last-minute tasks into one week. December is already packed tight with to-do’s and errands, so do you and your family a favor by getting them out of the way early.

 

This way you’ll actually have time to be present for that quality time!

 

Here are 5 easy steps to a “Holiday-Ready Home”:

 

 

  1. ✨ Declutter your Guest Areas

    The living room, dining room, kitchen, den, bathrooms, guest bedrooms… every social room in your house needs a thorough going-over. However tempting it may be, don’t stuff things inside cupboards praying it won’t fall out. Your guests might find themselves looking for toilet paper or dish-wares at some point and the last thing you want is a waterfall of clutter falling on them! Be prepared for this instead. Keep it organized and clutter free, period.

  2. ✨ Store Clutter Away

    We often underestimate how our every day clutter (or organized chaos) can seem more like a mess when we have a house full of guests. Why put ourselves through that embarrassment? All the excess clutter that you know you won’t be using during the holidays can be stored away while your guests are present. There has to be some space free in your garage, crawl space, attic etc. to simply set it aside until after the holidays. Who knows, you might like the freed up space anyhow!

  3. ✨ Have it Ready!

    Whether it’s your ingredients for cooking, your games for playing, or your fine dinnerware for serving, it is always wise to get it out and in an easily accessible location before your guests arrive. You’ll spend less time rushing around searching for items you haven’t used in a year and makes entertaining more fun and less stressful. Set yourself up for easy entertaining and more enjoyment this holiday season!

  4. ✨ Make it Sparkle

    Deep cleaning and making your home perfect is best done after the busy holiday season. Make your home sparkle where it counts! Like the powder bath, your kitchen, dining room, family room, and guest room if you have company coming to stay with you. Pick a couple areas and make them areas shine. A sparkly home over the holidays will make everyone’s hearts shine a little more too!

  5. ✨ Give them Luxury

    Those fancy towels you purchased that you’ve been afraid to use, it’s time to get them washed and ready for display! Your guests will absolutely love them and I know it will make you smile when you see them on display. It will be like staying at a spa or fancy hotel while they’re with you, and being pampered will automatically lift everyone’s spirits up!

And voila – you now have a Holiday-Ready Home!

Sometimes, it’s the smallest things that make the biggest impact. Only do what you have time for. And remember, it’s more about the experience and being present in the moment that matters most!

Do you have family coming to stay with you this Christmas? Comment below!

Happy Holidays everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

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Oct 31
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What is the Average Amount of Time We REALLY Spend at Home?

By Blog, Expert Articles, Photos, Time Management No Comments

Fall has sure come fast this year!

 

I swear just yesterday it was shorts season. And now I’m layering up more and more each day! ⛄ Brr!

 

As our last leaves dance their way down, I can’t help but think about when we’ll be seeing the first snowflakes. But don’t get me wrong – I am not looking forward to the piles and piles we’ll be shoveling again!

 

Aside from pushing around all that white stuff, I think I’ll be spending my time mostly indoors. Sure I love a good walk here and there during the winter, visiting friends around the city, and a few weekend getaway trips. However when it’s rainy and chilly outside, even these favourites make me want to stay indoors!

 

I would much rather cuddle up with a good book, a matcha tea latte, and positive energy than brave the chilly weather.

 

Take a moment to think about what you have been trying to do consistently or focus on improving in your life. This is a great way to figure out what your winter project may be and to set some goals in advance!

FREE Download: Fall Cleaning Checklist 🍂

 

Photo projects are a great winter task to tackle. As is pairing down on memorabilia, since they don’t require many supplies other than maybe a photo album if your photos are not digital!

 

I believe in you and I know you can do this! It’s not easy to start, but once you get through decluttering one shelf or check off a few To-Do’s, you get momentum.

 

With all of this extra time spent inside, it becomes so important that we love our spaces 🤍 I, for one, would not like to be cramped up in a cluttered home with little to no opportunity of regular daily escapes. I love having a vibrant, comfortable home to welcome me during the colder months.

 

Which is why I spend much of my leisure time improving systems around my home and doing regular clutter checks in hot spot areas I know can accumulate clutter easily.

 

For those of us who work from home, keeping up with clutter is vital. We normally spend (aside from the time spent sleeping) 62% of our time at home. That equals almost 10 hours each day! This leads me to believe that we need to curate our homes to maintain a healthy, productive atmosphere for ourselves, but more importantly, for our families.

In this time period we are also seeing more of what is called the “Indoor Generation.” This title refers to the growing number of people who are spending the vast majority of their time indoors.

 

From one study, Canadians estimated we spent 68% of our time indoors*… but in reality, it is actually 90% spent indoors – often without enough daylight or fresh air.

*Indoors referring not only to the home. This includes other buildings, enclosed methods of transportation, etc.

 

If that isn’t a scary enough statistic for you, listen to this: Children who spend this much time indoors will be more susceptible to asthma, allergies, and other breathing issues over time. A whopping 40% more likely than their outdoorsy counterparts.

 

 

This is exactly why it is of utter importance to be on top of cleaning and decluttering regularly 👍🏼 This doesn’t mean we need to be doing chores in every moment of free time, but rather choosing joy in the process of decluttering and organizing to make it enjoyable! Without this self-discipline we would actually be putting our health at a big risk. Since we are blessed to live somewhere in this world where we are able to keep our homes safe and clean, why would we neglect to do so?

 

Now that you know we will be spending much more time inside… would you like to know exactly how much more? 🤔 Here is the breakdown of the differences in activities for the winter months:

 

 

❄️ November

This first real month of winter (for most of us) is where we begin to see an increase for time spent inside. November coaxes us to watch TV and Netflix 6% more than the preceding 8 months. Our socializing is also down -2% as we adjust to spending more time indoors.

 

🤍 December

Did you know December is the runner-up to July for spending the most time with family and friends? This makes sense with the various holidays landing in these 31 days… but would you have guessed it’s up by 15%?? It also takes the number one spot as the month we spend the most time cooking; an additional 8%!

 

📺 January

January takes the prize for the most time we spend watching TV and Netflix – with a shocking 13% increase. This is made possible because we cut down on social interactions by about -12%. And as the holiday buzz simmers down, our patience for cooking does as well. This drops to only a 1% step above the majority of a year’s months.

I hope these statistics shocked you into wanting to be organized and highly productive as they did for me!

Which stat wow-ed you the most? And what goals will you set for this winter season?? Comment below!

 

 

 

 

 

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Oct 24
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8 Ways to Declutter on a Busy Schedule: Get Organized In One Hour Or Less

By Blog, Inspiration, Quick Organizing Tips, Simple Living No Comments

Do you ever get that bored, restless feeling in your body but you aren’t sure what to do to remedy it?

Or is something weighing heavy on your mind and you can’t relax without constantly thinking about it?

Too busy to organize a whole room, but want to get something productive done?

 

It happens to the best of us!

 

What I often find myself doing in times like those is decluttering! And I know, it sounds like a lot of work when you just want to calm down or relax, but trust me – it helps.

 

FREE Download: Fall Cleaning Checklist 🍂

 

Having a somewhat mindless task to focus on is a great distraction for your body, and while you’re digging deep into organizing something you’ll likely find you’ve forgotten why you were feeling uneasy in the first place!

 

Getting elbow-deep into a big project may not be what you’re willing to take on in the moment either, so these smaller ideas are a great start. Save your entire garage for another day, and get started with our “How-to’s” for a smaller project like your jewelry collection or sock drawer!

 

 

Did you edit your home according to each section? If you scatter these little decluttering to-do’s throughout your week, it would take you less than 8 hours to complete them all!

 

Start jotting them into your schedule and comment below when you’ve finished!

 

 

 

 

 

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