Organize 365 Podcast

In her latest book, Lisa Woodruff explores the executive functions of the mind that directly affect your ability to organize your home: flexible thinking, working memory, self-monitoring, task initiation, planning, and organization. Along the way, she provides tips and strategies for overcoming obstacles—tools you can use to get the organized house you've been dreaming of. Now available as an Audible Book. How ADHD Affects Home Organization

This week's podcast is about the times when you find yourself in a tough phase of life. It's about the times when you literally have no time to get organized no matter how much you want to. It may be that you're SO busy you struggle to find even 15 minutes a day to get your home organized. Or you have the time, but what you want/need to do requires money and you literally don't have a spare $15 right now. It may be both, you don't have a spare 15 minutes AND a spare $15! They're not phases that we want to find ourselves in, but nonetheless, it can happen to us all and probably will at least once in our life. I can easily draw upon my own personal experience with this topic. I'd LOVE to say that I was stuck in this phase of life for a week or a month, but it was more like 6 years! In the episode, I touch on how to get organized if you have a chronic condition (like fibromyalgia or a physical ailment). I'm afraid I have no magic answer ,but my main advice is to get someone to help you, either paid (if you can afford it) or unpaid (friends and family). When you have help in place, you then need to think about how you can incorporate help with home organization as well as physical care. People want to help you, and so, broaden your thinking on how you can use that help. If you're a parent, a lot can depend upon the age of your children and what I like to call the "stage of parenting" that you find yourself in. I recorded a whole podcast episode on this very topic: #130 - The Three Stages of Parenting. Age 0-6 is when you're doing EVERYTHING for your kids. You're at home a lot. It can be exhausting. And there's SO much to organize because the rate of change when it comes to clothes, toys, etc. is mind boggling! Age 6-12 is when you do things with your kids. You teach them how to start looking after themselves. 13+ is when they're becoming a young adult. Then, it's more about coaching and mentoring. So what do you do when you're in the middle of a phase and you don't have time or money to get your house organized? My answer is to work on changing your mindset. A lot goes on in your head before you see it in physical reality. I notice this with my business, my finances, my relationships… the world is more mental than it is physical. Positivity feeds and attracts more positivity, and negativity feeds and attracts more negativity. I reference in the podcast a documentary series on inventions that I watched and loved. If you'd like to check it out, it's by National Geographic called American Genius. If you're in a hard place and you feel stuck in a tough phase of life, this doesn't mean that you should give up the desire to have an organized home in the future. If you think about having an organized home and you want it enough, you will manifest it. Having a Sunday Basket™ will really help you too. The Sunday Basket™ helps bring order, it develops the right skills, and brings about the discipline required for an organized house. Of course, please continue to listen to my podcast and other podcasts on home organization, too! Continue working on your mindset, even if you're somewhat limited in the action that you can take right now. You will be amazed at the power of a mindset shift! View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/176

This week's podcast episode is a special one for me as it's all about my new book, How ADHD Affects Home Organization, which launched June 1! In this week's podcast episode, I share a lot about why I decided to write the book, what my goals are, and how I truly believe that this book is REALLY going to help people with ADHD feel empowered and able to take control of their home organization! If you'd told me years ago that I'd one day be the author of a book called How ADHD Affects Home Organization, I'd have found it hard to believe... I don't have a degree or PhD in the subject! However, it's a topic that I've specialized in for almost 20 years in order to help my children. I've worked hard on overcoming every challenge that my children have faced, no matter how many attempts it took. We've tried a 100% natural approach with no medication at all, and we've tried various medications and alternative therapies, too. I've read medical journals, researched like crazy, and over the years I've developed an obsession with understanding how the mind works and how we can improve it. I've parented, taught, and professionally organized people who struggle with ADHD. I've helped people from all around the world get their homes organized and stay organized. My podcast series on ADHD last spring was very popular. SO many people got in touch to say how much it had helped them and how I was able to explain things in a way that no one else had ever managed to before. Through all of the above, I came to accept that I am an expert and I can and should use my expertise to really help others. It seemed about time to write a book and so I did... and that's why I'm launching How ADHD Affects Home Organization. This book is for people who find themselves overwhelmed, even paralyzed, with home organization. Where you put effort in and don't make progress, and you spend money on organizing solutions that just don't work! My book is for people who know what to do, but just can't get started! Organization is not easy. And if you have ADHD, it's a lot harder, but it's not impossible! It's all about understanding how your brain works, then working with your brain and not against it. It's about recognizing your strengths and weaknesses, using them to your advantage, and finding strategies that work for you. How ADHD Affects Home Organization explores the executive functions of the mind and how they affect your ability to organize your home. In particular, I take 6 executive functions (flexible thinking, working memory, self-monitoring, task initiation, planning, and organization) and explain for each one what it is, why it's important when organizing your house, and I share solutions to problems that you may face. The kindle book is free from June 1st - 3rd. Then from June 4th, it'll be 99 cents for the rest of the month. If you buy the Kindle version, you'll also receive a discount when downloading the audio version from Audible. Please get a copy of the book and please, please review it, too. It really helps more people receive the message that they too can get organized! This book will help the loved ones of those who have ADHD, too. Once you understand how the brain of a loved one with ADHD works, you understand them as a person a little bit more than you did before. I truly believe it's going to be a game changer and really help a lot of people. I'm so EXCITED! I want to remove the cloud over people who have ADHD and offer them hope, solutions, and empowerment. To get your copy, please click here!

Welcome to the final episode of my three-part series all about the different phases of life and how specific life experiences can cause them to overlap. In this week's episode, I talk about what happens when we lose a loved one. Specifically, I focus on losing a parent. It's rather poignant for me that when I recorded the episode, it was 8 years to the day that my father had passed away. Losing a loved one moves you into three phases of life Survival When your parent passes away, immediately you're thrust into the survival phase. You have a lot to do. You have to plan the funeral, speak to other family members, help organize the estate, and many other things at an incredibly stressful and emotional time of your life. You're in the survival phase. Accumulation You will accumulate a lot of belongings from your parents. At such an emotional time, you don't want to let go of things in haste. So I recommend finding an off-site storage unit for a certain period of time just so you can take time to decide what to keep and what to let go of. If you're anything like me, you may find yourself trading-up many items that are actually nicer than those you already have! Downsizing & Legacy After about a year, you enter the downsizing and legacy phase. The legacy phase comes first and it lasts for about 3-4 years. You start to think about what you'll keep longer term that once belonged to your parents. What do you want to be a part of their legacy? It's all about how you're going to take the essence of the person who passed away and put it to use in a meaningful way. I really recommend finding interesting and creative ways to keep the items that carry sentimental value to you. For example, I have a shadow box and every time I find little things that remind me of my Dad, I put them in the shadow box in the basement. About year 5, you're going to find yourself focusing more on downsizing. At this time, not only will you be thinking about what you want to keep that once belonged to your parents, but you start to think about yourself, too. You start to look at YOUR belongings and think about what will be YOUR legacy. You realize that someone has to get rid of it all someday! I could record podcasts for weeks about how different life events, in addition to our chronological age, impact what organizational phase of life we feel like we are most in at any one moment. My goal in recording these podcasts was not for you to be able to better categorize your phase of life, but to recognize that we are all floating between the phases at any one time and can learn and grow at our own pace and stage of life. A special thank you to this week's podcast sponsor, the National Association of Senior Move Managers!

Last week, I introduced you to the 4 phases of life and how when you have your babies can impact upon your phase of life. This week, I explore this topic even further and share with you how caregiving for family members can also affect your organizational phase of life. Having a baby, the topic of last week's podcast, is a welcome and joyous life event. When you have a baby, you're thrust into the accumulation phase. All of those toys...food...clothes...furniture...! This week's focus is on when you become a caretaker for a family member. Unfortunately, when you become a caretaker of a family member, that's not such a joyous life event. Sometimes we'll see it coming and have a gradual lead in, other times it rocks our world in an instant! Often this will be due to medical emergencies, like when a loved one falls and breaks their hip...which I've found in recent years is a real thing and it happens A LOT! I can share from first-hand experience that being a caretaker is EXTREMELY time consuming. You have an immediate prioritization shift in your life. You're thrust into having responsibility over two sets of everything...two households, two sets of bills, etc. Whatever stage of life you were previously in, when you become a caretaker, you're also now in the survival phase, too. In this podcast episode, I share with you some really useful ideas on how to cope if this happens to you. I also have two super useful products that are designed to help you keep track of, and ultimately share when needed, important personal information. One focuses on medical information (i.e., insurance, current and past prescriptions, medical history, etc.). The other focuses on financial information, mainly for spouses to keep a joint record (i.e., bank details, etc.). They are editable so you can fill one in for yourself, another for your parents, and I even fill the medical record out for my children. It's just so useful to keep all the information that you have in one simple record. Next week, I look at how losing a close family member can affect your phase of life. I'm sure you can guess what phase you find yourself in when that happens! Full blog post can be viewed at organize365.com/170 A special thank you to this week's podcast sponsor, the National Association of Senior Move Managers!

I'm super excited to share with you my next series of 3 podcasts which are all about the different phases of life and how they overlap. Most people are living in overlapping phases of life. I really want to address this topic and explore what it means for you. This is something of a storytelling podcast - there's not a lot of direct action for you to take, but lots of learning! I've actually been wanting to record this podcast series for about 9 months, but it's a topic that is best approached when the timing is just right! January is all about organizational projects, March is about decluttering... May is the perfect time to reflect! It's all centered around what I consider to be the 4 phases of a woman's life. The Childhood Phase (birth to around 18 years old) - Limited organizational requirements and heavily influenced by parents. The Accumulation Phase (around 18-39 years old) - A period of learning and accumulating. You accumulate more and more belongings! Usually in this phase, you accumulate a spouse and family, too! The Survival Phase (around 40-54 years old) - A mindset shift takes place at this stage. Most people are working during this phase and, in addition to that, they're looking after their family and running the household. And if you're anything like me, you're in your car all the time! The Downsizing & Legacy Phase (age 55+) - The big clear out! Kids are moving out and you naturally start to reduce the amount of items in your house. You also begin to consider your legacy - what will you save and why? There are three big life events that affect these phases of life - having children, becoming a caretaker for someone, and when someone close to you passes away. This week's focus is on having children. When we have kids, we go into full blown accumulation mode. Even the most minimalist of people can't resist accumulation when it comes to babies! As more and more millennials are tending towards having children in their early 40's, what does this mean in terms of the stages in life? Having a baby in your 40's = an overlap of the accumulation and the survival stage. Next week, I look at how becoming a caretaker for someone can affect your phase of life. Have a great week!

This week on the podcast, I'm talking to you about all the different kinds of bags you have in your house. From backpacks to purses, I'm going through the different kinds of bags and how many we should have of each. And I am super excited about the next three podcasts. I'm creating a series of podcasts about what to do when the phases of life overlap. Thank you so much for being part of the Organize 365 community. My hope each day is that I can provide you with one new nugget of information that will help you make your home organization easier. Have a great week!

The book The Power of When will help you understand your body's natural chronotype and how to use that information to achieve your personal goals in organizing your home and living a more productive life. I used the information in this book to understand how and why the members of our family choose to do daily routine tasks at different times of day and how to best support my kids as they become adults. The Power of When

Clean out and back up the cars - because we are going to FILL them! Designate one car for donations and one for items that need to be delivered, returned or consigned. Next decide how long you have to work on this project at ONE time. If you have 2 hours or more - EMPTY the garage. You know it's true. Once the items are OUT of the garage it is as easy to donate them as it is to put them back in the garage. The garage houses all of the future projects we "think" we are going to do. The biggest work you are going to do is DECIDE if you really are going to do those ideas and projects. In the podcast I talk about how I no longer have flower gardens, why I easily donate items we have purchased and never used and how we need better tools. It's a funny listen. And will keep you going while you declutter guilt and expectations in the form of flower pots and old sporting equipment. Check your storage solutions. Now is the time to invest in a few plastic shelving units to organize what you have left and buy organizers specific to what YOU have in your garage. Keep going! You can do this! Keep decluttering all the way until March 31!! I want you to focus on decluttering and your Sunday Basket this month so… The 100 Day Home Organization Challenge registration is closed. Join the wait list here and you will be the first to be notified when it reopens.

No one wants to go down here. I know. If you haven't listened to the "How to Sort a Box" podcast. It is podcast #150 and goes along with today's podcast #159 Ok. The basement. In this space you need a leader who will direct the family. - Usually mom. The leader goes down and starts sorting boxes and items into family members' piles. And then each family member (one at a time) will come down, make decisions and carry the donations up. -HINT- Preparation is KEY here! The more the leader prepares, the quicker the decisions go and the more gets donated. There is no denying that basements, attics and storage rooms ZAP energy and are the HARDEST areas to organize! Everything is down there because you don't know what to do with it. ;) So pace yourself. Each bag and box donated is a HUGE win! Keep going. You can do this! Don't forget to download the family and individual brackets to play along. View the get started post for "rules". :) This is the LAST day to register for the Sunday Basket workshops. Start tackling that storage room… one box at a time. For the full show notes go to organize365.com/159