How to organize your life?

Hey guys,

It's the start of the new financial year plus it's back to school season...

So why not start fresh with an organized life, new beginning new start, I'll give you my top 5 skills you need to develop in order to organize your life and stay organized throughout the year.

5 Skills you need to learn to organize your life:

1. Time Management Skills:

So Time management is key to an organized life, you only have 24 hours per day, we spend 8 hours sleeping, 8 hours working and we end up with 8 hours to work around to get our life together, so time management is key.

You'll find some tips on How work smarter not harder? here.

Tips to help you manage your time:

1. Make a schedule, Planners are amazing. Use a journal to track what you do        everyday, and how much time you spend on each task. Schedule more time than you think you need for meetings to build in a natural buffer.

             Personal planner.

      

 2. Make weekly goals to keep yourself accountable.

      

 3.Prioritize. Write down 3 - 5 must - do priorities each morning and knock them out early in the day. The task Priority Sheet  is the way to go. Spend more time on your priorities, time is highly elastic and will stretch to accommodate what we choose to put into it.

 4. Don't be a time waster.

5. Take breaks when you start to lose steam.

2. Filling Skills:

Keep all your bills, documents, receipts and other important paper in folders for each month out of the year for easy access just more organization. For expenses you can always divide them into IN and OUT folders.

Free printable are your friend. 

House Cleaning Checklists - Room by Room

Free printable office cleaning checklist.

Grocery and inventory Tracking.

Weekly Meal Planner.

3. Decluttering:

Having a clean space is the number one inspiring method to get things done. When you have less stuff to stumble on when working will make focus more on the job and less on the clutter around you.

You will my tips on Decluttering very helpful, check them out.

4. DIY Skills:

The most affordable way to organize your space is by recycling items you already have to serve a different purpose that what they're meant to.

1.  Use a cloths hanger to organize scarfs.

2. Use a food stand to display your most worn jewelry.

3. Use a mug holder to display your necklaces.

DIY Organization Ideas from Pinterest.

5. Labeling Skills:

Labels are used so we can find stuff more easily, so use plenty of them .

1. Use washi tape to label electric cords.

Roll out washi tape on a hard surface and write the name of each item.

Wrap washi tape around the cords and stick washi tape to washi tape.

Trim out triangle to create a flag shape and place in your power strip.

2. Use nail polish to label your keys.

you can write on them and once the ink is dried seal it with a clear top coat.

3. Label your pantry jars and spices to make it easier to find everything.

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I hope you found these tips useful to have a more organized life free of clutter.

Please comment and share with your friends cause I worked extra hard on this post.

Tips and tricks on How to pack? How to save money and space on traveling?

Hey guys,

It's finally SUMMER, time of traveling and having fun.

Packing and traveling is not easy, and forgetting something behind is a party pooper, so what is the solution to an easy breezy packing experience?

I'll share my packing, traveling and booking airplane tickets top tips and tricks, hacks that were very helpful to me personally when I'm travelling.

The topics I'll be discussing in today's post are as follow:

1. Traveling Tips (What to do before and during your flight?).
2. Airport hacks.
3. What to take with you in your carry on?
4. How to pack?
5. What to pack?
6. Packing hacks.
7. Outfit journal.
8. Outfit ideas.

1. Traveling Tips:

Fact: Airlines make more money by knowing our buying habits.

So when to buy airline tickets? 

• The best time to buy your ticket is 6 weeks out.
• Shop early but don't buy early. Airlines start offering cheaper seats about 4 months before departure, 5 months for international.
• Prices change up to 3 times/day, sign up for email alerts for prices.
• Sunday is the most expensive day to fly- Holiday travel is an exception, buy those tickets as soon as possible.

Things to consider:

• Prices rise quickly the week of the flight. You'll pay about 40% more for ticket the day of.
• Most discounts and sales are offered early in the week.
• Consider nearby airports. Some cities have several airports, and the airfare can vary dramatically between them.

Before your flight:

1. Stick to a routine: Choose a flight that fits your sleeping schedule, if not stick to your bedtime routine before the flight, to fall asleep easier on the plane.
2. Dress for success: Wear sweatpants or workout cloths will keep you comfortable. Don't forget the thick socks to keep your feet warm.
3. Choose your side: Book your seat according to the side you sleep on if possible.
4. Tire yourself: The night before the flight, try to get a little less sleep.
5. Limber up: Stretch your body or do some yoga before your flight.

During your flight:

1. Flip your neck pillow: When you doze off, your head will be supported.
2. Use a foot rest: Use your carry on luggage as a foot rest.
3. Stay away from the light: Block out light, close the blinds, if you're setting next to a window, if not wear an eye mask.
4. Listen to white noise: Drown out any distracting sounds.
5. Avoid the snack trolley: Avoid drinks that are full of sugar and caffeine and alcohol, try to have carb-rich snacks like cereal one hour before dozing off.

Choose your sleeping position:

1. The window-gazer: Using a pillow prop your head against the window.
2. The headbanger: Pull down your seat tray and lean on top of it.
3. The lovebirds: Rest your head on the shoulder of the person next to you.
4. The crab: Ideal for isle seats, bring your legs to your hips and over the armrest (Watch out for the trolley).
5. The traditionalist: Push your seat back and enjoy the extra space.
6. The VIP: What are the odds? Just like sleeping in your bed, when you're alone in the raw, you can sprawl across the seats with a blanket and a pillow.

2. Airport Hacks:

• Check in online.
• Stay close to the business boarding, They occasionally show mercy and take people in from the queue.
• If you get thirsty, bring an empty water bottle through security,then fill it later.
• Know the rules, no sharp objects, liquids in sealed bags.
• Empty your pocket before you go through security.
• Offline survival, download your online boarding, Maps and passes, in case the unthinkable happens.
• Instead of storming the gate, wait out the rush and get some work done, the plane won't take off before 40 minutes.
• Use headphone for noise cancellation, not music, this way you won't miss any important announcements.
• Expect the unexpected, your luggage may be lost,so keep on an extra outfit and the essentials in your carry on.
• Board last for a free upgrade. If the plane is not full, you'll get to pick your seat, maybe even in first class.

What to take on your carry on?

1. Super important:

• Passport/ID.
• Copies of flight itinerary and address of where you're staying.
• Boarding pass.
• Proof of payment of any visas, hotels, flights. etc.

2. Entertainment:

• Tablet.
• Chargers.
• Headphones, Noise cancellation headphones.
• Knitting supplies. Knitting needles are allowed on the plane.

3. Snacks:

• Almonds.
• Beef jerky.
• Empty water bottle, you can fill it in the airplane.
• Granola.
• Apple pie, feel free to bring that pie yo baked last night.

4.Hygiene:

• One quart - size bag of liquids per flyer - that's it. Liquids must be 3.4 Oz or less deppending on the airlines.

3.4 Oz hand sanitizer.

3.4 Oz lotion.

Eye contact solution + Glasses

5. Just in case:

• Change of underwear.
• Pillow case.
• Anti wrinkle shirt.
• Pliers. 7 inches tools or less are allowed on the plane.
• Expensive electronics.
• Sleeping mask.
• Blanket or a big scarf.
• travel pillow.
• Anything you hate to lose like Jewelry, be careful if the ring resemble a brass rings it may get taken away. 

4. How to pack?

1. Know your destination, check the temperature, the climate, the culture, etc...
2. Trip duration, how many days, you can make your suitcase as light or as heavy as it needs to be. If your traveling just for the weekend it's better to pack your stuff in your carry on.
3. Make a check list to prevent forgetting anything. A complete checklists will be provided. Beach Packing List, Makeup and Toiletries Packing List, Vacation Packing List. 
4. Choose a color pallet. It's best to choose all nature colors with a few pieces of colored items like accessories or shoes.
5. Weigh your luggage at home so that you don't have to go through trouble at the airport, taking out your items from the suitcase in case of an over weight.

5. What to pack for a 5 day get away:

So Packing is not an easy task, but if you followed the 5 steps of how to pack it'll be so much easier.

1. Check the climate and culture.
2. Gather the basics.
3. Add key color pallet items.
4. Rationalize shoes, A pair of nude wedges to go with everything, flip flops, sneakers and heels for romantic dinners.
5. Complete with accessories, a cross body bag, a tote that can be used as a beach bag too, a clutch, belts and statement necklaces.

Pack light with the 5, 4, 3, 2 ,1 Rule:

5 Tops        4 Bottoms        3 Pairs of shoes       2 bags      1 Swimsuit

Black high neck (B.H.N)    Black Mesh (B.M)    White (W)     Mint  (M)      Kemono (K)

Black Pants (B)        Jeans (J)         Coral jeans (C)      Shorts (Sh)

White Wedges (W.W)    Sneakers (S)   Flipflops (F)

Black crossbody bag (Cross)      Nine west bag (Nine  L(long strap) / Sh (short strap))

For example: B.H.N + B + W.W + Nine Sh

                      W + K + J + W.W + Nine L

 

6. Packing Hacks:

• Put necklaces through straws.
• Put earrings through buttons holes.
• Put plastic wrap to close the bottles of toiletries (double wrap).
• Put cotton balls in compact powders to save them from breaking.
• Use cloths pins to make you toothbrush stand up right on the sink's top.
• put your money, credit cards and important papers in a maxi pad wrap, no one will ever touch it.

Cloths packing and organization tips:

• Roll clothes to fit the uneven bottom of a suitcase.
• Add pants and trousers.
• Roll clothes again.
• Put outerwear.
• Wrap pants and trousers.
• Insert accessories / shoe to corners (put socks inside shoes before hand).

Folding tips: 

Jeans:

Anti-wrinkle t-shirts:

7. Outfit Journal:

Keep a journal to document every outfit idea you get, do it on Microsoft Excel, or on physical paper, whatever suits you so you don't forget.

Take photos with your phone and keep them in a separate folder for easy access.

I do it on Excel sheets, its easier for me to find it on my laptop, plus I upload it on dropbox for the convince of finding it on my phone.

Here you'll find a free printable of my outfit journal, plus a Microsoft Excel version so you can customize it to your needs.

The photo above is an example of my journal for reference.

8. Outfit ideas:

Finally I hope you liked this blog post, I've spend a massive effort on covering so many aspects of travelling, please share it with your friends and family, and leave me a comment telling me about your secret traveling hack.

Grocery and inventory Tracking

Hey guys,

Keeping track of what you have in your kitchen is key to saving money when grocery shopping and meal planning.

I've been cooking in my own kitchen for quite sometime, since 2005 when I was living alone in collage, while I don’t consider myself old, thank you very much, I guess I’ve spent a good amount of time in the kitchen.

Even before I moved away from home, the kitchen was one of my favorite places. Whether I was baking with my grandmother or helping my mom prep dinner for our large family, the kitchen was my happy place. And over time, my freezer has become one of my most beloved possessions.

The Freezer:

The home freezer, that miraculous invention of the 1940s, it’s been a tool to help me save time, money, and to have a bit more peace of mind. Over the years my home freezer has served me well. Here’s why.

1. I save time.

Through freezer cooking, I can stash a variety of home cooked meals and meal components to enjoy at a later date. Currently I have batches of taco meat, bags of cooked chicken, and bags of marinated chicken. These will make some great, quick meals in the month to come, saving me a ton of time, shopping and cooking.

2. I save money.

Buying and cooking in bulk can save me a bundle, in part thanks to lower per unit costs on bulk items, but also because we don’t eat out when we have meals ready to go. Freezer cooking helps our family eat well – at home — and spend less. In addition to my homemade meals, I use the freezer to help me stockpile good deals that I see, that might be a great sale on chicken breast. My freezer helps me load up on the items we know we’ll use but don’t want to pay full pop for later on when we have a craving for grilled chicken.

3. I have more peace of mind.

I do feel better when I know we’ve got food in the house. My freezer is my faithful friend in the kitchen. It helps me feed my family well on a budget and pinch hits on dinner whenever I need it to.

How to make it work?

Whether you have an itty-bitty fridge freezer or a large deep freeze, it doesn’t help you a whole lot if you don’t know what you have. Often we forget about something so long that we end up chucking it.

Over the years, I’ve learned how to keep a freezer inventory that works for me. It’s pretty simple and involves zero technology. Sure, there are a few apps out there that will help you keep a kitchen inventory, but I find the pen easier than the keypad.

All you need is a piece of paper, a pen, and a few minutes of your time.

1. List everything you have in the freezer.

Sometimes it helps to pull things out. Organize while you’re in there, stacking like with like, if you can.

2. Count how many you have of each item and tick ins and outs of the freezer. 

These ticks represent each individual item.You’re basically communicating to yourself and the other cooks in the household the identity and size of every inhabitant in your freezer. So you know what's left in your freezer stockpile.

3. Each time you take something out of the freezer, mark it.

Make sure to ask/insist that the other cooks do the same.

4. Consult your inventory.

Check in when you do your meal plan for the week and definitely before you go shopping.

 Check the free printable of the freezer inventory

The Pantry:

A pantry is a room where beverages, food, and sometimes dishes, household cleaning chemicals, linens, or provisions are stored.

What you need to start your pantry:

It's all up to you and your preference, although there are a few essentials for any pantry, I provided you with the common Pantry Foods and their shelf life, check them out.

Check the free printable categorized grocery shopping list.

Why Pantries are so important in every house?

Keeping extra food in the house is important to me for many reasons:

1. My family feels secure knowing there is always food in the house.
2. I can stock up on key ingredients when food is on sale. Real food on a budget.
3. I have plenty of food around to create last-minute meals, which cuts down on fast food runs. A weekly meal planning is preferable.
4. In case of emergency (natural disaster, illness, job loss, etc.) we would have food on hand.
5. I hardly ever have to make a spur-of-the-moment store run, because I have plenty of food on hand and I can make substitutions to use what I have.

Check the free printable of the pantry inventory.

The Fridge:

To refrigerate or not to refrigerate, that is the question.

Okay, so maybe Hamlet didn't say those exact words, but it's certainly a topic many have pondered.

The FDA recommends refrigerating or freezing perishable foods right away. Meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, and certain kinds of produce should never be kept at room temperature for more than two hours, or not more than one hour if the temperature is above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. But what about other foods?

Eggs - Yes: You should always refrigerate eggs to prevent the risk of infection from salmonella bacteria.

Butter - Optional : It's recommended to refrigerate butter, and freezing butter if you're not going to use it within one to two days. But many people keep butter in a covered dish outside the fridge. Since it's made from pasteurized milk, it's less likely to grow bacteria.

Tomatoes - No: If tomatoes are kept in the fridge, they lose their flavor. That's because the cold air stops them from ripening and breaks down their cell membranes, giving the fruit that characteristic mealy taste.

Cheese - Yes: Some kinds of cheese, especially soft cheeses such as brie or ricotta, should always be refrigerated. Others, such as pasteurized or aged cheeses like Parmesan, may not need to be refrigerated (but consult package instructions).

The shelf life of refrigerated and freezed of other foods will be found in this list.

Check the free printable of the fridge inventory.


I hope you liked this post. Please give me feedback and share with me your tips on inventory tracking.
 

Office Cleaning

Hey guys,

A clean office makes for a clear head, but who has time to organize with your workload? Setting up systems and sticking to them allows you to work smarter while you work harder. It also gives the impression that you're on top of things. Who wants to leave them standing there while you shuffle through mounds of paperwork to find the one file folder they need?

Here are my five steps to organize your office.

1. Make a Plan.

As with any large project, making a plan is essential to achieving success when it comes to office cleaning. For best results, business men and women should start by identifying what items need to be cleaned, how often they should be cleaned, and where everything should go?

Try to write it down so you don't forget, or at least have headnotes just in case the ideas got lost in your head.


2.  Declutter and separate.

• Get Rid of Old Papers.

        Chances are many of those papers piled high on your desk aren’t of any value to you. As you begin to sort through your stack of papers, begin asking yourself: Do I need this? Why? Where will I look for it when I need it? Then, create a filing system that best fits your needs, and make a point to file future printouts as they are created to keep the problem from reoccurring.

• Separate Business and Pleasure

 Regardless of where you do the bulk of your work, it’s important to keep distractions at bay. Keep a home office free of distraction by having a designated mail location away from your office space, and encouraging family members to keep the area free of toys, tech gadgets, and anything else that might invite lost time and inefficiency to sneak into your day.

• Keep Supplies and Often-Used Items Separate

 Daily-use items that you’ll likely need throughout the course of a day, like your laptop, pens, planner, and Post-It Notes, all deserve a spot on your desk. Other items, such as tape, stapler, paper clips, and envelopes, should be neatly stored inside your desk. This keeps less-frequently-used items from taking up valuable desk real estate, but ensures that they are easily accessible.

• Organize Your Computer

 When your favorite desktop background starts getting obscured with icons, it’s time to de-clutter your virtual desktop. File away documents that you’ll need again, and send everything else off to the virtual recycle bin. Not only will you have a much more attractive looking desktop screen, but you will save countless hours searching for your important documents.

• Slow Down

 One of the biggest pitfalls to organization is finding the time. Invest the time to properly organize your space, so files, supplies, and other items are in an intuitive, easy-to-find place. Once you’ve established a system that works for you, stick to it! Spending a few seconds to return items to a designated spot will help you save lots of time in the long run.

3. Clean.

A clean office is vital to the running of a business. It improves productivity, because all items are organized and in their rightful place. It improves creativity and focus.

• Keep a closet or basket fully stocked with all of your office cleaning essentials (glass cleaner, dusting spray, microfiber wipes, rubbing alcohol, paper towels, etc).

• Give every item in your office a place and keep it there. If you have trouble remembering where things are, label the storage locations.

• Clean your office phone frequently by spraying cleaner onto a cloth and wiping that on your phone. Dip a cotton ball in rubbing alcohol to wipe down the dial pad.

• Take out the trash frequently and vacuum frequently in areas that people eat. This will help keep the bugs at bay.

• Remember to clean behind your furniture as well. That strip of dust and dirt behind your desk betrays an otherwise clean and tidy office.

Please check this free printable office cleaning checklist to help you figure out what you want to clean.

4. Organize.

There are many ways and tools to help you organize you office space, here are a few that are essential and affordable:

Binders: If you have piles of papers everywhere, it's probably best to use binder organizers to keep papers from stacking everywhere.

Keyboard organizers:  If you don't have a convenient storage space at your disk this keyboard organizer will help you keep your desk clean and tidy.

Card organizers: If you're like me and have a ton of business cards laying around the office then you need a good card holder or go the extra mile and invest in a good rotary business card organizer.

Desk organizer: You need a place to sort your mail, pending documents, etc. 

Files organizer: Stash your files and bills in a cute file tote.

Drawer organizer: Use drawer trays to organize Utensils, Tools, Crafting supplies or Vanity stuff.

5. Keep it organized.

• File As You Go

One of the biggest office offenders is piles of paper -- on your desk, on your shelves, and eventually on your floor. It's easy to get busy and start stacking papers to file for later, but before you know it, you have a task that's too big to tackle. The key is to process papers as you go. Set up a system of trays or file folders that are clearly labeled and make it a habit to use them. The same goes for your computer desktop.

• Create two zones

Not all work is created equal. You should approach office organization with this two-zone perspective.

Zone 1: Computer work. This is your traditional desktop. You spend most of your time here, knocking stuff out and getting things done.

Zone 2: Non-computer work. This is where you go to do non-computer stuff. It could be the same desk, but simply another area that is cleared of monitors, cords, and chargers. This is where you go when you thumb through documents, use your iPad, sign papers, scan documents, or stamp envelopes.

• Reboot Your Office Every Evening.

No matter how clean you keep your workspace, it's going to get messy during the day. That's okay, that means you're working! It's when you keep it messy that things start to become a problem. To make sure this doesn't happen, clean off your desk every evening. All it takes is 5 or 10 minutes to straighten things up, and you'll come to a clean desk every morning, ready to work.

Finally I hope you found this post helpful, it took me a long time to write and search for links that might be helpful for you.

Tell me your favorite strategy to clean and organize your office, and don't forget to spread the word with your friends and family. Thanks.