declutter

June challenge accountability time!

Leave a Comment / AlignMe TV, Free challenges /

The end of the month means it’s June Challenge accountability time…

June Challenge accountability time is here!

Did you take the challenge?

(If you missed it, you can catch-up here. Otherwise, read on or tune in above and let’s wrap it up!)

The challenge was simple: to declutter one area of your home.

June challenge accountability time! photo of folded towels and baskets on a shelf

So, did you declutter some part of your home? Because if you did, I’d love to know and see your After photos. Tell me about it below, post your pics to my Facebook Page or send them to me via sms or Direct Message if you’d prefer. Let me know how you went!

I got into a few different areas of my house:

  • I decluttered my youngest daughter’s bedroom with her
  • Cleaned out my office, including emptying old paperwork from inside folders, cleaning out the drawers and rearranged the furniture a bit
  • I filed my son’s schoolwork that had been coming home in prolific amounts and was gathered in a little pile waiting for me to set-up a new folder
  • Sorted out the cleaning cupboard in my kitchen
  • Rearranged some storage in our garage

It sounds like a lot but really, besides the office that took a bit of time because I was going through paperwork, the rest of the areas were just little 5 or 10 minute jobs here and there. And I’m feeling like the house is much lighter because of it.

So, I’d love to know how you went with your challenge this month. Did you declutter any part of your home?

I know people were doing wardrobes and bedrooms and moving house and garages and all sorts of areas.

So make sure you show me or tell me about it… I’d love to know!

And if you’re having fun playing along at home with my tiny challenges, make sure you come back tomorrow because I’ll have a new one for July.

It’s going to be fun and easy!

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Decluttering Challenge: Top Tips

Leave a Comment / AlignMe TV /

Decluttering Challenge: Top Tips

How’s your progress going on this month’s Declutter challenge?

If things haven’t gone to plan, all is not lost. Read on for my decluttering challenge top tips that will have you back on track faster than you can find a donation bag.

You see, I was talking to someone yesterday and they were feeling really discouraged.

They’d decided to declutter their wardrobe as part of this month’s declutter challenge but their month just hadn’t gone to plan.

So I gave her some of my decluttering challenge top tips and I thought I’d share them here too. Because there could be a lot of us who are feeling the same way after the month we’ve just had!

Here in Victoria, we’ve just had another lockdown (#4!) and I think some people equate lockdowns with having all this extra time on your hands. But really, what many of us have is extra time with the children, extra responsibilities (part-time teacher anyone?) and a lot of shuffling around of our calendars, priorities and responsibilities.

So if things haven’t quite gone to plan, whether it’s because you’ve gone into a lockdown, been unwell or perhaps life’s just got busy, I want to encourage you.

It’s not too late to start your decluttering challenge.

My decluttering challenge top tips

“Just start. Start with one drawer in your wardrobe. Or one shelf.”

Declutter Challenge Top Tips showing photo of various shelves in a wardrobe with caption that reads: Rather than your whole wardrobe, pick one drawer or one shelf to declutter.
Rather than your whole wardrobe, pick one drawer or one shelf to declutter.

Perhaps you had an idea that you were going to declutter a whole room or a large area. And now you’re feeling the pressure of time running out.

How could you pare that goal down and just pick one little place to start?

Another tip is to grab your phone and set a timer.

Set it for eight minutes. Or seven. Or ten. However long you want.

Or, why not put a playlist on Spotify that runs for 20 minutes, if you want.

Listen to some tunes, get yourself in the space and work on one drawer, one area, or set yourself a do-able limit and see how you go. Because even if you just get the shoes organised, at least you’ve got organised shoes!

And you might find that once you start, you’ve got the stamina to do a bit more. And if you don’t, that’s totally fine. At least you’ve done some decluttering this month.

So if you haven’t started your decluttering challenge yet, it’s not too late. You can still organise plenty of things in the little snippets of time you have left before month’s end.

So today, I’m encouraging you. If you did have plans to do some decluttering and it’s gone a bit off track, all is not lost. Jump back in and think about how you can move the goal posts a little so you’re in a winning position, and then go for it.

You can do this. I know you can!

And don’t forget to send me your after photos. I’m loving them!

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June Challenge Check-in

Leave a Comment / AlignMe TV /

It’s June Challenge Check-in time! So, how are you going with this month’s declutter challenge?

I know some of you have been doing it because I’ve been getting photos via DMs which I’ve been loving.

I’ve seen beautifully organised offices, people are clearing out their wardrobe and sending bags of clothes off to charity. Others are decluttering their garages and one person is decluttering and packing up to move house!

So I know many of you will be on track as we touch base for our June Challenge Check-in. But I just wanted to encourage those of you that haven’t started yet because we’re over the halfway point of the month, so time’s ticking!

Pick one area of your home to declutter and tell me below which area it’s going to be so I can help hold you accountable. Then, go for it!

Not sure where to start? Here are some ideas for you, especially if you’re short on time:

  • Clear out your medicine cabinet. In Australia, old medications (i.e. expired or not required) can be taken to any pharmacy for proper, safe disposal
  • Go through your underwear drawer and banish any uncomfortable, holey and worn out items. H&M have boxes in store to recycle clothing & fabric to keep them out of landfill
  • Tame your reusable shopping bags. Decide how many you actually need and pop them in the boot of your car or near your door ready for the next shopping trip. Excess “green” bags (woven polypropylene bags) can be recycled via any Woolworths or Coles store through the REDcycle program

You can check out my previous episode of AlignMe TV below for tips on how you can go about the declutter, if you need some help. I also have some useful resources for getting rid of your decluttered items in the Free Resources section of my website.

And I would love to see your After photos when you get it done! You can post them on my Facebook Page or send them to me via DM if you prefer.

I can’t wait to hear all about your decluttering and organising! Good luck and have fun!

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Hellooo Melbourne… Yes, I’ve re-opened and I can’t wait to see you again soon!

Leave a Comment / Offers, Services /

Book now for in-home organising appointments and get yourself, your home and your business back on track.

The wait is over! In-home decluttering and home organising services resume in Melbourne, Mornington Peninsula and West Gippsland. Book today.

In-home decluttering and home organising services resume in Melbourne.

If you’ve been waiting for in-home decluttering and home organising services to resume in Melbourne, the Mornington Peninsula, or West Gippsland, the wait is over!

Victoria, we did it… we defeated the second wave! I for one am loving my new COVID-normal life and I trust you are too.

I really missed the sand between my toes, precious time with friends and family and of course, helping my amazing clients get more organised. So, it’s with great excitement that this week I re-open for hands-on in-home organising help and decluttering appointments in Melbourne.

And of course, I’ve created a COVIDSafe Plan, completed COVID infection training, and introduced new policies and procedures to help keep us COVID-safe when working together as required by the DHHS.

My first priority is to rebook existing clients from my wait-list (I’ve missed you!). I’m also taking enquiries and bookings for in-home appointments for NEW clients for later this month and into December. For more details, be sure to check-out my new and simplified service & pricing information on the website.

The new half-day service is a perfect way to ease back into in-home organising.

At this stage, I am not taking on any new plan-managed NDIS clients but watch this space for a new and exciting direction for little miss sorted in 2021!

Find out if little miss sorted is the right organiser for you. Send me (Sophie) a message or call 0402 678 675 today. I offer a 30 minute phone consultation that’s all about helping you find the right way forward. It’s no cost and no pressure. Get to know me and start getting helpful ideas right away. And if i’m not the organiser for you, no problem. I can point you towards some other great Organisers who might be.

Hellooo Melbourne… Yes, I’ve re-opened and I can’t wait to see you again soon! Read More »

Do you suffer from this common organisational problem?

Leave a Comment / kitchen, recipes /

5 simple tips to tame your random piles of recipes

Practically every kitchen I ever organise suffers from the same problem: piles of foodie magazines and torn-out recipes stashed everywhere that someone has collected to cook. One day. Or for the more tech-minded, it’s magnitudes of screen shots and photos of recipes clogging up their camera roll.

Problem is, they’re collected faster than they’re cooked and end up creating little piles of potentially delicious foodie experiences that almost never see the light of day.

Sound familiar? Try this!

  1. Gather all your magazines & ripped out recipes into one spot. I prefer to tear out the couple of recipes I like from a magazine rather than keep the whole magazine (I’ll never bother to go through a whole magazine again trying to remember why I kept it!)
  2. Have a quick flick through the pile/camera roll and discard/delete any that you can’t even work out why you kept in the first place
  3. Cull the ones that are too complicated or have an unrealistically exotic ingredients list for your comparative cooking care-factor
  4. Choose 1 small plastic folder, slip or pocket to keep the ones that sound tasty and label it clearly as “Recipes to Try”. For digital recipes, create an album so you can gather them into one spot. Or try one of the many apps out there to create some order. Note I said “small” folder. A shoe box or bigger is simply too overwhelming for most home cooks so keep it realistic
  5. All future recipes go into this one place. Once you’ve tested the recipe, either file it into a more permanent recipe folder or chuck it depending on whether you would make it again or not

“If you read a recipe torn from a magazine then flip the page over to look for and read the recipe on the reverse, only to flip it over again… chuck it! If you can’t even tell which recipe you wanted to try, I guarantee it’ll never make it to the top of your ‘must try next’ pile”.

little miss sorted

Don’t ever get around to trying the recipes you collect? You have two options really. Start testing them or stop collecting them.

The easiest way to make testing new recipes a habit is to pick a specific night of the week to religiously try a new recipe. “Try It Tuesday” has a nice ring to it but it’s more important to choose a night when you’re normally home and not rushing around to lots of activities. Pick a night that works for you.

And it really is that simple. Each week when you do a meal plan, select one Recipe to Try from your folder, include any missing ingredients on your shopping list and get your cook on.

Bon apetite!

Do you suffer from this common organisational problem? Read More »

Day 3 of the 7 Day Organising Challenge = DECLUTTER

Leave a Comment / Events, National Organising Week /

NOW image 2019

Woot!! You’ve made it to the fun part… Day 3 is Decluttering Day.

If you’re just joining us, here’s a summary of where we are up to so far:

Day 1 – Choose one area to declutter & organise over the next 7 days

Day 2 – Create a vision for how you want that space to be

If you’re in catch-up mode… Welcome! It’s never too late to start decluttering. You can read the previous days’ posts in full below. Just keep scrollin’ or use the links above.

For the rest of us, it’s time to roll up our sleeves and get stuck into today’s step.

Step 3.

Declutter. It’s important to declutter before you organise so you know the volume and type of items you’ll be needing to find homes for. Make sure you have some tubs or baskets at hand to help contain each item as you determine its new destination.

TOP TIP: It’s best to plant yourself in the room and focus just on the task of deciding about each item, rather than wandering from room to room putting things away as you go.

Pick up one item at a time, decide whether to “Keep”, “Donate” or “Discard” it and pop it in the designated container. Or if you’re an overachiever like me, you may like a few more categories to reduce having to re-sort items later on, such as:

  • “Move” (i.e. it needs to stay but not in this space)
  • “Sell” (but be very picky and realistic about what goes in here)
  • “Recycle” (kerbside)
  • “Redcycle” (soft plastics)
  • “Shred”
  • “Landfill”

You may also have a variety of destinations in mind for your donatable items in which case it’s good to separate them into their own boxes or bags as you go for easy distribution later on. If you need some help on where you can take the various items you’ve decided to pass on, check out the Resources Page on my blog.

You may notice I don’t have an “I’m not sure/maybe/let me think about it pile”.

That is deliberate.

They are illegal.

You’ll thank me later.

In all seriousness though, if you’re debating over whether an item should stay or go, this is the time to revisit the answers to your questions from Day 2. If the item in your hand adds to the Vision you have for the space, it can stay. If it detracts from the Vision, move it on.

Keep going with your sorting & decluttering until either:

  • You’ve finished
  • Your “Move” container is full
  • You’ve been going for a while and would benefit from a short break

Grab your “Move” container and drop off the items requiring re-homing to their proper rooms before returning to restart the sorting & decluttering process with an empty container.

Repeat this process until the job’s done, then:

  • Give the area a good clean
  • Bag up the items leaving your home and wherever possible load them straight into your car so they’re one step closer to gone
  • Choose a reasonable deadline for completing any selling activities and dropping off donations and add it to your diary or calendar to help keep you accountable
  • Stand back and admire your work!

That completes Day 3 of the 7 Day Organising Challenge. Well done you! Now, go and put your feet up because tomorrow, we Organise!

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Ready? It’s Day 2 of my 7 Day Organising Challenge

1 Comment / Events, National Organising Week, Uncategorized /

NOW image 2019

Welcome to Day 2 of my 7 day Organising Challenge. If you missed Day 1, don’t worry. It’s definitely not too late to join the party. It will only take you about 2 minutes to catch up here.

If you’re up to date, well done! You’ll be happy to hear Day 2 is another pretty quick and easy step but one that is very often overlooked. You may want to grab a pen & paper for this one…

Step 2.

Create a vision for the space. Now that you’ve chosen the area you’ll declutter & organise this week, it’s time to paint a picture of how you’d ideally like the space to look and function. This may be a quick and easy process if it’s just a drawer (e.g. neat, opens and closes easily and quick to find what I need) or a bit more challenging if it’s a whole room with multiple zones to consider. Either way, the questions below may help you to clarify what your organising objective is.

If a question isn’t relevant for your zone, just skip it.

  • What are your biggest frustrations about the area? Why did you choose it for this challenge?
  • What works well about the current set up?
  • What, if anything, have you already tried in terms of organising it? Why do you think it didn’t work/last?
  • Does the area have a clear purpose?
  • How would you ideally like the area to feel when you first see it and work when you’re using it?
  • Does the area have any safety considerations you need to consider?
  • Does anything need fixing or altering to make the space more user friendly?
  • Who needs to access items here and possibly help maintain it moving forward?
  • Are you trying to store more stuff here than you have space for?

Once you’ve answered these questions, you should have a clearer picture of what the space needs to be able to do for you once it’s properly organised and where the best place to start might be, particularly if you’ve chosen a large room with various zones.

You should also have a better idea of how long it might take you to whip it back into shape, so the final step for today is to block out some time in your diary over the next two days for the fun stuff… decluttering & organising it! The next two days are probably where you’ll need the most time for our week-long challenge. Oh and don’t lose your answers to the questions you’ve answered today as we’ll refer back to them over the coming days.

If you’re having trouble with this step, feel free to message me for some advice or post your question on my Facebook Page and I’ll be happy to help you out.

Tomorrow, we declutter. Make sure you have some basic organising tools handy to deal with sorting, temporarily storing, donating and disposing of items, such as tubs, containers, garbage bags, boxes or anything else you’ll require for the particular zone you’re working on. Please don’t go out and buy anything at this stage… you should be able to use whatever you already have around the house for now. Think washing baskets, hampers, buckets, baskets, old cardboard boxes, reusable shopping bags and the like.

Well done on completing Day 2. See you tomorrow!

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Join my 7 day organising challenge and transform one area of your home this week (even if you have little or no time)

2 Comments / Events, National Organising Week, Uncategorized /

NOW image 2019

Happy National Organising Week!

This week I’m going to help you organise one trouble spot in your home, even if you have very little time.

Each day for the next 7 days, I’ll walk you through one step of the process. I promise, that if you play along, you’ll be enjoying a more organised space by the end of the week.

STEP 1

Pick a zone. Take a look around your home and choose one area, zone, drawer, shelf, corner or room that needs decluttering and organising and commit to work in that one area only.

Be realistic with your time. Take a quick look at your diary or calendar for the week and make sure you are being realistic with your time. Can you complete an area that size given your other commitments this week or should you hone in on a smaller area? You may not be able to transform your whole kitchen this week, but perhaps your can make improvements in one cupboard or the pantry.

Take a “before” photo. Once you’ve decided which area you’ll focus on, take a few photos without tidying up at all. Capture the space in its natural state. You don’t have to show anyone but I promise you’ll love seeing the transformation at the end of the week.

That’s it for Day 1!

So… are you in? If so, I’d love to hear what area you chose.

Chat tomorrow!

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Join my 7 day organising challenge and transform one area of your home this week (even if you have little or no time) Read More »

Where to get rid of your joyless stuff

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dog blanketAre you, like everyone else in my news feed, doing the Marie Kondo? If so, what are you planning to do with all the items you have that no longer spark joy? Hopefully you’re utilising landfill only as an absolute last resort. But where else can you send your unwanted stuff?

Check out the Resources Page on the little miss sorted website for lots of ideas on how to declutter with a conscience. We are adding to it all the time, like today, with this great find:

ANIMAL SHELTERS

aaps logo

Each one will vary so check before you attend, however we do love this list taken from a local animal protection society website that demonstrates the wide range of items they are looking for including:

  • pet food and feeding items
  • newspapers
  • empty egg cartons
  • outdoor mats (for cats to scratch)
  • rubber outdoor mats (with holes in them to make snuffle mats)
  • new fleece fabric off cuts
  • blankets
  • towels
  • muffin trays
  • balls
  • pipe cleaners
  • chicken/beef stock or stock cubes
  • ice cube trays
  • bubble blowers

I’m wondering what they do with the stock… Do you know? Or do you have another nifty resource that we’ve missed in our library? Please tell us!

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Community Announcement

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msfin

MSFIn-standards

little miss sorted aims to provide a decluttering service that is as environmentally sustainable as possible, supports our local community and provides a high level of service to our valued customers.

As part of our desire to continuously improve in these areas, we have recently reviewed our clutter disposal policy and are pleased to announce that going forward we will be a mobile collection point for items that you wish to donate to Mums Supporting Families in Need. What this means is we will happily deliver to the MSFIN warehouse on behalf of our clients, any items earmarked as suitable for donation. We are also willing to collect donations from our followers and supporters when we are next in your area. Simply email sophie@littlemisssorted.com to arrange a pick-up or check the Service page on our website for further details.

We hope this changes makes you feel better about letting go of quality items that no longer serve you, knowing they will live on in the hands of someone in need whilst giving you the space you crave.

Community Announcement Read More »