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…]
How to Create a Professional Organizer Toolkit
Professional Organizers often get asked about our professional tips and techniques when it comes to how we approach organizing. I’ve had several clients ask me recently about my organizing toolkit. What are the items we use most on the job? What can’t we live without? So in the spirit of providing organizing solutions and answers, [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…]
Small Space Organizing: Creating your own Tiny Home Office!
This upcoming Fall season will bring some big changes to my home along with the cooler weather – the arrival of our first child. Along with the usual activities inerrant in this new chapter (baby shower, birthing classes, trying not to panic, etc.) comes another, more elusive action item on my list: downsizing our stuff to make room for baby.
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.
Room-by-Room Organizing Challenge | Month 6: The Home Office
This month we are excited to work in a room that is near and dear to our hearts: the home office! We use a process called 5S when we work in any office. 5S is an organizing method that allows you to maintain order and eliminate waste in the workplace by reviewing office items and [Read more…]
How to Know What to Sell When Decluttering
As professional organizers, we know that the process of decluttering a home or work space can feel extremely daunting. That’s generally because people think of organizing as one single activity. But once you understand that the work must be broken down into bite-sized tasks, it becomes much more manageable! One of those tasks is selling [Read more…]
Clutter-Free Gift Ideas for Your Partner (Based on Their Love Language)
Dr. Gary Chapman is a New York Times best-selling author who is well known for his book, “The Five Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts.” He explains that the best way to support those we love is by understanding the ways they are there for us. Dr. Chapman believes that every person has [Read more…]
Pandemic-Proof New Year’s Resolutions
As we all know, 2020 was anything but predictable. Many of our plans were changed, moved, moved again, and then canceled. None of this has magically altered today, but there is still a way to carve out our own success for the year 2021. Yup, it’s time for New Years Resolutions. Whether you mark 2021 [Read more…]
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…]
8 Gift Ideas that Don’t Cause Clutter
This post was originally released in 2013 and has been updated for 2020. As we approach holiday gift-buying at the end of this challenging year, many people are making an effort to support small, local businesses. Staying home all year has also made folks more aware of how much they own, and encouraged them to [Read more…]
Self-Care is an Essential Service
The holiday season has officially arrived! 2020 has already brought many challenges (#understatementoftheyear), and the holidays usually bring even more stress along with them. In preparation, I’m here on my little organizer soapbox to talk about self-care for a hot minute. Stay with me please. It’s a common belief that self-care is expensive. And sure, [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…]