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Dec 2020

2020 Holiday Gift Guide: Unique and Clutter Free

By Dawn George|December 1st, 2020|Blog|6 Comments

Year after year, you accumulate tons of new stuff over the holidays that you don’t have room for. Maybe some of it you don’t even want! It collects fast and can overwhelm you and your home. In our house, we celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas and we also have two December birthdays (mine and my youngest son’s). So as you can imagine, we often end up with a heap of stuff that we don’t need.

If your goal is a holiday that’s more about experiences and creating memories with family than adding more clutter, then my 2020 Holiday Gift Guide will be perfect for you. It’s a combination of unique and clutter free items that won’t take up a ton of space in your home.

Unique Group Experiences

Planning a group experience can be such a blast, and my favorite type of gift to receive is one that allows me and my […]

Nov 2020

How To Use Evernote To Save Gift Ideas

By Dawn George|November 3rd, 2020|Blog|0 Comments

You all know how much I love Evernote. It’s so versatile and can be used in so many ways! Since the holiday season is coming up fast, I wanted to share with you how I use Evernote to save gift ideas to make shopping easier at this time of year — and all throughout the year.

If you’re not already familiar with Evernote, it’s a note-taking and digital filing cabinet app. Their basic plan is free and has a ton of great features. If you’re looking for a way to save your gift ideas and shopping list, now is the time to check it out! There is an app for iOS and Android, a desktop app, and a web version so you can access Evernote anywhere.

Keep in mind that there are many different ways that you can organize your information in Evernote. Here’s the system I use to help keep […]

Oct 2020

6 Things I Learned After Losing My Dad

By Dawn George|October 7th, 2020|Blog|0 Comments

This is going to be a very different blog post than the ones I usually write. I’m going to get personal and I hope that’s okay with you. I’m going to share what I’ve learned and how my perspective has changed since my father’s recent and unexpected death.

So let me fill you in if you haven’t already heard. My father, Gary Garcia, had a massive stroke on Monday, August 10th. After being airlifted to a hospital in Baltimore, MD, he was in the ICU for a week. He was unconscious and minimally responsive the entire time with a breathing and feeding tube in. On Sunday, August 16th, just after the breathing and feeding tubes were removed, my father passed away while my sister and I held his hands. My father was only 72 years old and in relatively good health before the stroke. As I’m sure you can imagine, my […]

Aug 2020

11 Of The Best Kitchen And Pantry Organization Products

By Dawn George|August 11th, 2020|Blog|1 Comment

After organizing countless homes for 16 years, I have tried out so many different organizing products for the kitchen and pantry. The kitchen is often the most used room in a home, and because of that, it’s so important to keep it organized. This curated list of kitchen and pantry organization products is the best of the best and I’m excited to share it with you.

Before purchasing any kitchen organizing products be sure to measure your space carefully. Check the depth, width, and height of shelves, drawers, and cabinets to ensure that your organizing solution best fits your area. The last thing you need during a home organization project is to realize your recently purchased products from The Container Store don’t fit your space!

OK, so here we go, get ready for my top 11 favorite organizing products. Do you think I missed something? Let me know in the comments below.

Jul 2020

How To Make Going Paperless Easy

By Dawn George|July 7th, 2020|Blog|0 Comments

In my 16 years as a professional organizer, the most common complaint I hear is about paper clutter. Most people have a hard time keeping up with the credit card statements, bills, receipts, and various other papers they receive on a daily basis. Paper has a weird way of multiplying overnight, kind of like Gremlins. When you feel overwhelmed it’s hard to catch up. The great news is that going paperless is a fantastic solution to managing paper clutter. It’s not that hard to do once you know how to go about it. With some planning and scanning, you can reclaim storage space and have everything you need right at your fingertips.

Benefits of going paperless

You’ve heard some of the most obvious reasons for going paperless for years. It’s better for the environment and also saves money by not having to print and mail statements or other documents. The benefits don’t […]

Jun 2020

11 Must Have Apps for your Phone or Tablet

By Dawn George|June 8th, 2020|Blog|1 Comment

I have a confession to make. I’m kind of obsessed with knowing what apps people have downloaded on their mobile devices. Whenever I happen to see someone’s home screen, I tend to glance a bit longer than I should trying to figure out if they have some new app I’m not yet aware of. There are over 2.56 million apps in the Google Play store and over 2.2 million in the Apple App Store all vying for our attention, yet it’s impossible to know about all of them. I’ve researched and tried out tons of apps over the years to help myself and my clients improve productivity, communicate more efficiently, and solve nagging problems. We’re all familiar with popular apps like Google Maps, Facebook, and Instagram but there are tons of lesser-known apps that you should know about. I’ve compiled a list of 11 must-have apps below with the hopes […]

May 2020

How to Get Motivated During Stressful Times

By Dawn George|May 5th, 2020|Blog|0 Comments

You may have read a short article recently that has gone viral comparing the current COVID-19 pandemic to a storm. In the article it states, ” We are all on different ships during this storm experiencing a very different journey.” I thought that comparison was profound and one that rings true. Although we are “in this together” it is hard to truly understand what our friends, neighbors, co-workers, or acquaintances are going through during this unprecedented time. One thing I believe to be true is that we all are feeling an increased level of stress, and in turn, we are likely feeling less motivated to accomplish our goals.

Motivation is defined as the general desire or willingness of someone to do something. In some cases, stress can actually motivate you to get something done. For example, if you are feeling stressed due to an important presentation at work you will likely […]

Mar 2020

Mini Organizing Tasks To Make The Most Out Of Your Forced Time At Home

By Dawn George|March 31st, 2020|Blog|0 Comments

OK, so I know I don’t need to tell you how much the world has changed over the last few weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic. Your day to day life has likely changed dramatically as has mine. My day job has changed from being a Professional Organizer and Productivity Consultant to being an unpaid, inexperienced elementary school teacher who is also training to become a LEGO Master Builder. My kid’s school is closed and I’ve had to stop working on site with my clients. My husband is also home so now we are all here 24/7. Our county along with many others in my area is under a stay at home order. These changes have likely brought about a bit of anxiety and stress in your life as it has for me and my family.

Organizing calms me and it makes me feel like I have control of my world […]

Mar 2020

4 Easy Steps to Declutter Your Electronics

By Dawn George|March 4th, 2020|Blog|0 Comments

You likely have a few electronics laying around the house, and you’re not alone. When new phones come out or when an updated gaming console is available, we tend to want the latest and greatest. Many clients that I work with have kept old devices after purchasing an upgraded one. Some people aren’t sure what to do with the old device. Others will hang on to it because they have important information they need to download and save before getting rid of it. It’s common for the old model to be put aside or shoved in a drawer. Pretty soon you have more electronics than you need or even use.

If you have electronics scattered throughout your house that are gathering dust, I have some tips to help you declutter your electronics once and for all.

Step 1: Gather all your electronics.

The first step to sorting through all […]

Feb 2020

7 Steps to Organizing Your Papers Like a Pro

By Dawn George|February 5th, 2020|Blog|3 Comments

One of the most common organizing struggles I hear from people is how to handle the overwhelming amount of paper in their homes or offices. Some clients are interested in going paperless (which I love and will write about in a future blog post), but oftentimes the first step for most people is just making sense of the papers that are currently cluttering their homes. Usually, once I start working with a client on organizing papers, I either find file drawers overstuffed with old outdated papers or I find that no filing system has ever been established. If you fall into one of these categories or somewhere in between, I can provide some guidance on how to get things organized once and for all.

Step 1: Determine Where Your Papers Should be Stored

The first step of the organizing paper process is to determine where the best place to store all of […]