According to data shared by Upwork over 32 Million Americans will work remotely by 2025. While this is good news for many, working from home can be very challenging when it comes to productivity and organization. Distractions come in all forms – kids, pets, food, televisions, phones and basically anything that moves (squirrel!) are much [Read more…]
Swedish Death Cleaning: What It Is and How to Do It
Like most people, you’ve probably heard of the organizing method called Swedish Death Cleaning. This idea is nothing new, but it was popularized by Margareta Magnusson in her forthright and incidentally hilarious book, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family From a Lifetime of Clutter. Since it’s publication [Read more…]
A Professional Organizer’s Tips for a Stress-Free Move
Spring and summer are the most popular times of year to move (who wants to add ice and winter conditions to the stress of moving? No one, that’s who). Now that moving season is upon us, here are some great blog posts that can help you to help prepare for your move. Get yourself prepared [Read more…]
Defining 5S in The Lean Office
5S is a process of sorting and standardizing virtually any space – whether it is a kitchen pantry or a corporate office. As 5S experts, our team at Big Rocks Organizing is always looking for new ways to integrate 5S and Lean Office into our organizing projects. In this article, we will show you how [Read more…]
Organizing The Household Paper Trail: Tip #2: The Quick Sort File
Once you have your Household Hub established, you will want to set up an easy way to deal with those piles of paper that are sitting out because they require some form of action. Hence, the Quick Sort! Unlike items that go into the Hub and are referred to over and over, items that go into the Quick Sort will be dealt with and then tossed or shredded.
10 Ways to Shop Small This Year
The holidays are here and that means the fun hustle and bustle of shopping for loved ones has begun. With Covid-19 causing hardships to many small businesses, it’s a great year to start thinking about how you can shop with local stores and service providers that could use your support. Here are some ideas to help [Read more…]
3 Essential Steps to Prepare for an Emergency
It’s National Preparedness Month and FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) has a new catchphrase: “Disasters don’t wait. Make your plan today.” If recent events here on the west coast have taught us anything, it’s the truth of these words. In the Pacific Northwest, wildfires are far from foreign. This year was the most destructive [Read more…]
Organizing The Household Paper Trail: Tip #1: The Household Hub
As organizers, we tend to notice similarities and trends in the organizational challenges of our clients. Some are unique to certain people, some to the layout of the home. And other clutter causers are the same in every single household. Perhaps the most notorious of these is….THE PAPER TRAIL (cue imminent shark attack music).
Chaos to Calm: Organizing Systems for Busy Families
Now more than ever, modern families are busy, overwhelmed and challenged by too much stuff. We have an opinion on this common difficulty, known as the cult of busy, which you can read here, but that is a different topic. The truth is this: the single most effective way to get organized is to drastically [Read more…]
Word of the Year Ideas for 2020
There’s something deliciously rewarding about the start of a new year. It’s the figurative act of pulling out a fresh, blank notebook, opening it to the first page, and writing whatever we choose. That said, we’ve always been cautious about New Year’s Resolutions. Here’s Why. It is very common to set goals that are unrealistic [Read more…]
Teaching Kids about Giving: Reverse Advent Calendar
We love this post! We love it so much that we edited and updated the original version, published in November 2016. As you know, I have spoken extensively here on the blog about the need to teach our kids to let go of toys and games that they have lost interest in or outgrown. Here [Read more…]
A Lesson On Organization – From a Three Year old
The other day, I was playing in the park with my three year old son. He had collected what appeared to be some random sticks, and was digging in the dirt with them. When I asked him what he was doing, he turned to me and said, “Mama, I’m catching bugs. What size bug do [Read more…]
Room-By-Room Organizing Challenge | Month 11: Residential Storage Spaces
We are nearing the end of this challenge, and thought we’d save the best (and perhaps most challenging) for last! Just about every home in America has some kind of built in storage space, whether it be a garage, attic, basement or weird hidden nook under the stairs. And just as ubiquitously, nearly every household [Read more…]
Room-By-Room Organizing Challenge | Month 10: The Master Bedroom
The master bedroom is a wonderful space to organize, because the return on your investment can be so life-changing. What do you get from organizing your bedroom properly? Here’s what. Better sleep. More relaxation. Less stress. Better sex (I had to say it, sorry). The #1 question that we ask OVER AND OVER again when [Read more…]
Room-By-Room Organizing Challenge | Month 9: The Master Closet
Imagine this: a master closet full of only items you truly love. Believe it or not, this is a very attainable goal! So this month, we decided to delve into a small but vitally important area of the home: the master closet. Albeit not quite a room, we are counting it as one, since the [Read more…]