Category: Uncategorized

  • The Great Purge of 2011!

    I was talking a friend this morning who is undergoing a whole life makeover.  She is reinventing her business, her home and even has a new hair color.  Since the motivation for change was running rampant, she and her husband decided to go room by room go through everything in their house.  They named this project: The Great Purge of 2011!  They are spending evenings doing small purging projects (like a junk drawer) around the home and one day each weekend on the big stuff (like the master closet).  I love this (of course!)!

    I can’t think of a better time of year to purge.  The holidays are fast approaching and that always means new gifts, clothes and toys coming in via piles of gifts.   It also means house guests who may actually need to put clothes in closets that you have used for storage.   It is always much easier to purge and make space for the new, by clearing out the old, broken, worn out or no-longer-used items, then it is to try to find space for them after the fact.  And, if you have kids, it is a great way to show them the “one in, one out” rule by practicing it yourself and leading by example.

    If you aren’t sure how to start your own Great Purge of 2011, I will make it easy for you.  Give each family member a paper bag or trash bag and tell them to fill it up with toys or clothes that they no longer use, they don’t love or have outgrown.  Set up a central large trash bag for all toys or clothes that are broken, missing pieces or are ripped and cannot be donated and just need to be trashed or recycled.  If you are reading this and saying that there is no way YOUR kids would willingly give away their toys, you are wrong.  Help them understand that their old toys or clothes are going to be donated to poor kids who don’t have any and I can guarantee they will find some to put in their donation bag.  Even my 3 year old filled a bag to give to our friend’s 1 year old, but it really helped her to know WHERE her toys and clothes were going.

    Good luck and happy purging!

    If you liked today’s post, you’re welcome to use it in your own ezine or blog as long as you include the following blurb: Certified Professional Organizer, Tara Donohue Rudo, CPO, helps families, solopreneurs and mompreneurs focus on what is important. Get her FREE weekly tips and advice at www.NoMorePiles.com.<p><a href=”https://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=681″>Image: m_bartosch / FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></p>

     

  • 4 Organizing Documents that will Save Your Life and Your Money

    You always hear lawyers and financial planners talk about your will, power of attorney and advanced directives being the MOST important documents that you can have.  In my 9+ years as a professional organizer, I have worked with LOTS of clients who have had loved ones get sick suddenly or pass away and they are left digging through piles of paperwork to figure out the answers to a doctor’s questions or trying to find these important documents that often control our health care in an emergency or the money of a loved one who has passed.

    I recommend that you take a couple of hours to create the following four documents.  These documents will speed up your care in a health emergency and save your loved ones a series of HUGE headaches in the event of your passing.

    1. Create a Professional Service Provider List of all your major professional services providers that spouse or children may need in case of emergency (Accountant, Attorney, Financial Planner, Insurance Agent).  Also, include other service providers like lawn services, snow plowing, dog walking, etc.
    2. Create an Estate Map to document the location of insurance policies (auto, homeowners, life insurance), stock certificates, savings bonds, titles (home, auto, land), jewelry or other valuables.
    3. Create an Account List of all your investment and bank accounts with account numbers, phone numbers and locations.
    4. Create a Personal Medical Directory containing all the information on your doctors with addresses and contact information, any medications that you take regularly, drug or food allergies and surgeries.  You should attach this to your medical power of attorney and advanced directives.

    Consider giving copies of these documents to your children (if they are old enough) or the person that you have chosen to be your power of attorney or executor.  If you trust them enough to handle your estate or your medical decisions, you should be able to trust them enough with these documents.  Otherwise, give a copy to your attorney to file with your will.  Just make sure your executor, kids, etc know who your attorney is!

  • Are You a Social Driver, Passenger or Bike Rider?

    I have come to the conclusion that there are three types of people when it comes to social lives.  There are drivers,     passengers and bike riders.  I have always been a social driver.  For years, I have been the one with a spreadsheet for my social calendar charting all the Saturdays in the quarter with babysitters and our plans.  I send e-vites for everything and already have my kids birthday party planned and their b-days aren’t until August.  Being this crazy, outgoing, organized person has made me realize that not everyone is built like me.

    There are the passengers.  The people that are still really outgoing and like attending all the social events, but don’t like planning them.  They are always glad that you called to invite them.  They offer to bring food or just show up with a bottle of wine. These people even appear to be drivers during an event.  They will suggest plans for a future date, but often don’t follow through.

    Then there is the third category, the bike riders.  They are the ones who are perfectly content to stay home.  They are often uncomfortable in social situations and having to host an event would cause them lots of anxiety.  They may not understand the social ‘rules’ that the rest of us are following.

    Whatever category you fall into, it is important to understand the other people in your life and work with them or help them break out of their comfort zones.  For us drivers, we can sometimes feel unappreciated since we go through a lot of effort.  For the bike riders, they can feel left out.  The passengers and bike riders can end up losing friendships or being resented for not doing their ‘fair share’.

    Here are a few social rules that I think everyone should follow:

    1. Always RSVP to an invitation.  Even if you have to tell them that you are a last minute decision because of Jimmy’s baseball schedule or a work trip, please just let the host/hostess know where you stand.  Many are planning a menu or trying to get a head count for the venue or caterer.

    2.  If this is a dinner party or family event, call (or email) the host/hostess and ask what you can bring.  Many times they will say that you don’t need to bring anything, but it is nice to offer.

    3. If you are asked to bring something, please LISTEN to what the host/hostess tells you.  They may have 50 people coming to the event, but that doesn’t meant that you need to bring enough brownies for 50 people.  The host probably has 5 people bringing dessert and no one wants to throw food away. Along these same lines, if you volunteer to bring chardonnay to a party, don’t bring shiraz at the last minute because you forgot.  The host may be counting on a certain number of people bringing white wine and you could throw things off.

    4. Always thank the host/hostess as you leave.  If it is a large party and you can’t do that, then send them an email, leave a voicemail or write them a handwritten note thanking them and telling them what a wonderful time you had.  EVERY host or hostess wants you to have a good time at their event.

    5. If there are people that you LOVE to be around, invite them over or at least initiate plans to go out to dinner every now and again.  It doesn’t have to be an elaborate dinner party.  Most people would be happy if you invited them over for a glass of wine and take out chinese.  (Personally, I am totally happy if I don’t have to cook or clean up)

    Good luck and happy partying!

    If you liked today’s post, you’re welcome to use it in your own ezine or blog as long as you include the following blurb: Certified Professional Organizer, Tara Donohue Rudo, CPO, helps families, solopreneurs and mompreneurs focus on what is important. Get her FREE weekly tips and advice at www.NoMorePiles.com.

    Photo courtesy of www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=681″>Image: m_bartosch

  • Oops…I Forgot My Underwear

    You know how it happens. As mothers, we are in charge of packing everything for a vacation. We pack for our kids. We make sure that the clothes are all cleaned before we leave. We pack the food and entertainment for the trip. We make sure that the mail gets collected, the plants get watered, etc. AND….we have to pack for ourselves. Years ago I made a packing list for a basic trip. Unfortunately, time has passed and I am married with two kids and I have never sat down and updated my list. I made a new list for the kids and their stuff, but I never updated my own list. So, as I unpacked the suitcase of my stuff and the kids stuff when we arrived at Great Wolf lodge last week, I was shocked to find out that I didn’t pack a single pair of underwear for myself (LOL, right?).

    What makes this even funnier is that I never put underwear on my list. I never put it on the list the same way I never put ‘contact lenses’ on my list….they were a no brainer! What I have learned in this adventure (had to find a mall and buy some new underwear, pronto), is that with my mommy-brain in full swing there is no such thing as a no-brainer. Here is the valuable nugget that I want to pass along to all of you: Don’t depend on your brain!

    Lists exist so that you can idiot proof the packing process. They exist to take the stress out of remembering what you need to do. Here is a great basic site that you plug in a little information and it will give you a packing list: https://upl.codeq.info/. My recommendation to you is that you take this basic list and add or subtract anything that you notice is missing as you pack. Save that list and then you will have a template for your next trip. This will help you avoid the embarrassment of forgetting your underwear!

    If you liked today’s post, you’re welcome to use it in your own ezine or blog as long as you include the following blurb: Certified Professional Organizer, Tara Donohue Rudo, CPO, helps families, solopreneurs and mompreneurs focus on what is important. Get her FREE weekly tips and advice at www.NoMorePiles.com.

    Image: Suat Eman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  • Great Article on Mompreneurs

    I am excited to announce that there is a great article about me and some fellow mompreneurs in this week’s Jewish Times. The issue will be on newsstands tomorrow, but if you want a sneak peak….https://tinyurl.com/4k8kwss

  • I Can’t Do It All By Myself!

    My husband regularly makes fun of me for always having my ‘team’ of people that I need to run my life. My ‘team’ consists of quite a few people in various categories and I feel that their contributions make me a much happier and successful businesswoman, mother and human being. I have a chiropractor, acupuncturist, house cleaning duo, several babysitters, a virtual assistant, Terri (my right hand organizer), massage therapist (a.k.a. my mother), marketing guru, my group fitness instructors at the gym and probably a few others that I can’t remember off the top of my head. As far as I am concerned, my husband can make fun of me all he wants because I LOVE my team!

    In today’s hectic society, with two working parents who also want to have a life outside of their home, I feel that having a team is a necessity. I can’t do it ALL by myself! I have learned and embraced the Law of Delegation. I am not sure where I learned this and have searched to find out whom I should credit but have had no luck. So, here it is:

    The Law of Delegation: If someone else can do the task 75% as well as you could do it yourself, delegate it.
    The way I see it, there are two ways to delegate. You can delegate up. For example, hire a marketing guru, chiropractor, acupuncturist who is an expert in something you CAN’T do for yourself to tell you or teach you how to achieve your goals in the most effective and efficient way. Or, you can delegate down. For example, hiring a babysitter, house cleaning duo or virtual assistant to do something that you COULD do for yourself, but you choose to pay them to do it so you can spend your time and efforts elsewhere.

    You can’t expect perfection or to have something done EXACTLY the way you would do it, but it will be done and that is more important than perfect. I think that learning to delegate is a difficult skill for both business people and parents alike. You know that some things won’t get done well the first time. Accept that there will be a learning curve as you teach someone else to do these tasks. But, if you are a little lucky and thoughtful as to which tasks you delegate and which people you bring on your team, you can achieve amazing things. You can gain TIME. You can gain better health. You can gain a stronger marriage. You can earn more money.

    If you are a parent and choose to delegate to your children, you may gain some extra headaches in the short term while you teach and train them to take over tasks. But, in the long run, you will gain the knowledge and pride that comes from knowing that you are raising your child to be a self sufficient and responsible human. This is a slow process that starts with toddlers helping clean the playroom, sort socks and set the dinner table.

    My advice: Delegate early and often. The GAINS are worth it!

    If you liked today’s post, you’re welcome to use it in your own ezine or blog as long as you include the following blurb: Certified Professional Organizer, Tara Donohue Rudo, CPO, helps families, solopreneurs and mompreneurs focus on what is important. Get her FREE weekly tips and advice at www.NoMorePiles.com . Photo is courtesy of www.freedigitalphotos.net

  • Perfectionism

    As I was working with several clients this past week, all busy moms, there seemed to be a common theme. PERFECTIONISM. It seems like a nice word. Even seems like something you want to strive for. But what I was finding amongst these busy women was that perfectionism equaled procrastination. Since it had happened to me also this week, I could completely identify with them. We want to do our best for our families and our business and our expectations of what ‘our best’ means may have just been out of line with the amount of time we could devote to these tasks this week. We wanted to:

    • Write hand written thank you notes to a few business colleagues who referred clients to us
    • Pick out the perfect thoughtful gift for a niece’s new baby
    • Go sale shopping at Toys R Us to stock up on toys for upcoming birthday parties

    But sometimes, in the interest of saving our sanity and staying on schedule, we need to understand that “imperfect is still…done”. I can’t take the credit for this quote. My client is the one who said it or something similar when we started talking about the issue that we were facing. Imperfect is still…done. I wouldn’t say that this can apply to everything in life. I certainly wouldn’t want the air traffic controllers to adopt this as a mantra. But, sometimes in life, with non-essential tasks, we need to give ourselves permission to:

    • Send a thank you email instead of a hand written note
    • Send a gift certificate to your niece so SHE can buy something nice for her new baby
    • Buy a stack of Toys R Us or Target gift cards in $15-20 values so you always have a ‘present’ on hand for those kids’ birthday parties

    I think that it is far more important to do these things in a timely manner then to do them ‘perfectly’. I would much rather receive a baby gift while I still have a baby then to receive the perfect baby blanket when my kid starts kindergarten. I would much rather receive a thank you note soon after an event or situation then to receive one and have to sit and think about why this person is sending me a thank you note.

    OK, so here is the new mantra: When it comes to non-essential tasks, imperfect is still….done! Take a look at your to-do lists this week and see where you have been striving for perfectionism and instead procrastinating and try out our new mantra.

  • Spring Clean Your Pantry

    The weather is getting warmer, finally! For me, that means that I can stop cooking soups and stews and all the comfort foods that I make all winter. But, that also means stocking my pantry and freezer in a different way and with different items. It is time for a pantry and freezer clean out! Here are four quick tips for clearing out and organizing your pantry and freezer:

    • Check Expiration Dates – trash all items that are past their expiration dates or use them quickly if their expiration is fast approaching.
    • Determine Your Seasonal Cooking Staples – (i.e. Beans, Oatmeal & Soups in the Winter; Cereal, Meats & Condiments for BBQs in the Summer)
    • Never Impulse Buy. Always Shop From a List. – This will prevent you from having items that you will never use and save you money!
    • Sort and Store Food by Category – Keep all the items for a specific category together (i.e. Italian, Mexican, Breakfast, Snacks). Keep bins with your kids lunch snack items for easy grab and go lunch packing.

    Hope your spring gets off to a wonderful start! Stay tuned for tips on Spring Cleaning your closet and garage!!

  • Emergency Preparedness

    So, the obsessive nesting phase that I went through while pregnant with my daughter (now 19 mos old) finally paid off. My husband thought that I was insane at the time (probably a fair assessment of someone 8 mos prego in July) for making an emergency kit in our basement complete with radio, batteries, flashlights, canned food and 15 gallon jugs of water. He has since come to appreciate me since last week we had a major water main break and 40,000 homes in our area went about 5 days without water.

    Luckily, I had my aforementioned 15 gallon jugs of drinking water in my basement and we used every last drop over those 5 days. Mother nature did her part in having provided us with several mounds of snow that had not yet melted so we could use that to fill our toilets. I had plenty of hand sanitizer and baby wipes for hand washing and ‘bathing’.

    We were caught up on laundry when it happened and I had plenty of food, paper plates and disposable silverware. So, even though it was a frustrating few days, we survived rather easily.

    So, even if you aren’t preparing for world war III, it really does make sense to put together an emergency kit for your family. It could be a water main break or power outage that last for a few days or something much more serious, but having a kit together will make your life much easier during an annoyance or possibly save it during a true disaster. Here is a link to an emergency preparedness checklist: https://www.ready.gov/america/getakit/. Also consider the things that YOUR family may need like: hand sanitizer, baby wipes, formula, paper plates & bowls, etc.

    So go out and make your family an emergency kit and NEVER again make fun of any pregnant women who are nesting! One of them could be your neighbor and you may need to borrow a jug of water some day.

  • Expectations

    There is a quote that I love that says, “Frustration is mismanaged expectations” and I couldn’t agree more. There are some many things in life that cause us frustration OR maybe we are causing others to be frustrated because we are setting their expectations too high. Have you ever:

    • told a friend that you would meet them at a restaurant at 7 p.m., only to show up at 7:15 p.m.
    • told your kids that dinner was going to be ready ‘in a minute’, only what you REALLY meant was 30 minutes
    • told a client that a project was only going to take 3 hours, only to have it take 6

    If you are guilty of any of the above, you have caused others in your world frustration. Expectations are a tricky thing because you don’t want to set them too low (especially in your career) because it could translate to less money, fewer promotions or maybe even fewer clients. But on the other hand, if you set the expectations too high and fail to deliver, you will really frustrate and anger coworkers and/or clients and probably lose work and clients.

    Managing expectations requires you to KNOW how long it takes you to do things. Which means, you need to have good time management. So, over the course of the next week take a look at your calendar and see how many times you were ‘on time’ for appointments or deadlines. Also, take a look at how many times the other people in your world were ‘on time’. Maybe there are places where you need to be more honest with yourself about the time it takes you to accomplish a task or arrive at a destination. Maybe you need to give yourself a few extra minutes to get out the door in the morning. Or maybe, you need to let your kids watch an episode of Backyardigans when you pick them up for daycare so that you can have an uninterrupted and stress-free 30 minutes to get dinner on the table!