Organize 365 Podcast

Happy New Year! Which resolution did you choose; to lose weight, get outta debt, or get organized? Those are the three most common resolutions. But with any good goal you must have a way to execute an action plan otherwise you will have the same environment just different desires.  Tame the Toddler  Sometimes it feels like there is a toddler running around in our brain, right? It is constantly reminding us of future things you need to do. You are just trying to do a task like write an email but your brain is constantly bombarded with things you want to do as you look around your office or wherever you are. I got so tired of that, that I started to write everything down. Your Sunday Basket® comes with index cards for this purpose. I quiet my brain so I can be productive. As long as I follow through on Sundays, my brain will trust me that it's written down and it will get addressed. If not, it throws a tantrum and says "Since you lied, and didn't do it when you said you would, I'm going to bug you more often so you don't forget." Don't let that toddler control the narrative in your brain as you try to work through and complete tasks - just write it down.  Write It Down  I was talking to someone about mindfulness. To be clear I asked him how he defined mindfulness. It's basically being present with a person or activity. I thought, well I'm like 100% mindful. I know it sounds unrealistic but the theory goes that a person has a task thought and then makes a decision about it. But I have a thought, write it down, and carry on with what I was doing. When I get free time throughout the day, I decide if it can wait till Sunday. If it can wait it goes in the Basket for review on Sunday. And if not I place it in front of the Sunday Basket to address when I have time that day. This is where time and capacity come from! I offload my thoughts into my environment. Study after study confirms this is the most effective strategy to remember what you want to remember to do in the future - prospective memory.  If your goal is to change up the spaces in your home, you need a Sunday Basket® to hold all of the ideas you have for that project. How you intend to use the drawers, cabinets, or spaces. It's 10x's harder to try to complete that task on memory alone because your brain is trying to remember all the normal stuff and all the ideas you have for that space. I don't know about you but my brain is the worst note taker! The Sunday Basket® is a great keeper of the notes about the things I want to do, have, and be! The Sunday Basket® is Spanx for Your Kitchen Counter Clutter Let's talk about all the boxes or catch all containers you have in your house. At some point you got a call that company was coming to your house. In one swoop, you gathered everything from your kitchen counter, but did you go through it after your company left? This is why the Sunday Basket® is the solution for normal people trying to do #allthethings.  If your goal this year is to get organized, get out of debt, or lose weight, the system, the essential "office supply" you need is the Sunday Basket®. You shove all your kitchen counter clutter in it, you feel more organized already(get your environment to match your intention), and it looks good on your kitchen counter just like Spanx for our bodies. The Sunday Basket® is an organized way and holding all of your ideas on how you want to accomplish getting organized, getting out of debt, losing weight, or any other resolution you set for yourself this year. EPISODE RESOURCES: The Sunday Basket® Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter  Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media.  

You made it! All the holiday stuff is done. It's the day after Christmas and you are finally coming up for air. You finally have a minute to think about what you need on this bonus day as your family is entertained with their new stuff.  Well I have a couple of treats for you.  I know on Black Friday, you were shopping for others. But now, now that you can think about what you'd like…You'd like to upgrade your DIY Sunday Basket®. You are in luck because when you get the Sunday Basket®, now till the end of the year, you will also get a portable Sunday Basket®! That's a $75 value just for getting a system that will keep your actionable papers safe. We are in this never ending rat race and now that we made it through the holidays, it's almost the new year and another thing after that.  You need a system to keep everything straight and in a place you can find them.  And if you already have the Sunday Basket® and value the system, you may be ready to commit to implementing a system in your house to optimize the people in it and the phase of life you are in. And right now, you'll get Planning Day added on for free.  You won't get the workbook in time but good news…the replay is available for 6 weeks. You may be on the fence about joining because of the price or the time commitment. But think about if your spouse wanted to get in shape. Would you find room in your budget to pay for a gym membership or improve their work out clothes? If they wanted to further their education would you find funds to pay for it and allow them time for their studies? You would do it fo them, now it's time to do it for you! I know sometimes we feel like we should inherently know how to organize a home but we just don't.   The course will support you in learning this system and you will be even more supported by the community inside the app.  I know, you just want your home to run effortlessly. You just want to know where the stuff is when you need it. Join the Productive Home Solution and set your intention for 2026. And then I want to invite you to join me on Monday December 29th for a webinar where I will be sharing the science behind why the Sunday Basket® and The Productive Home Solution works. What is going on in our brains as we get organized? Tune in as I explain the science! Option 1: Free Portable Sunday Basket® when you purchase the Complete Sunday Basket® Option 2: Free Planning Day when you join The Productive Home Solution Option 3:  Treat yourself to both foundational systems! EPISODE RESOURCES: [email protected] New Year New You Enrollment Guide Join the Webinar: 3 science packed habits for effortless self-control and goal attainment in 2026 Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media.

Happy Boxing Day! Let's talk about transitions and what you need to declutter or add to resemble where you are going. We are all transitioning into the new year. I'm sharing the smallest shift you can make to be more intentional with what you want to get out of 2026. How are you planning with that anticipatory energy of things to come when the ball drops at midnight on New Years Eve? Transition So yes, we are all transitioning into a new year. We have this anticipatory energy as to what could happen for us in 2026.  For me personally I'm thinking about a "new me" too. I know this is common for this time of year but if you have been listening to the podcast you know this has been on my radar in 2025. I have adjusted and transitioned into a person who works out. I shared some habits I've made with my workout schedule, water consumption, increasing my movement, and changes in my eating habits this past year.  Increasing my workout frequency, it dawned on me that I may need to buy more clothes for pilates. I've transitioned into a person that works out. But my workout clothes did not reflect that. I started in gardening shorts and Organize 365® v-necks. Time to make my clothes reflect my intentions.  You see, I find it beneficial to set my environment to match the intention of the transformation I'm working towards. It's a small shift that has had a big impact. So I will be getting a few new items for working out. Because I am now a person who works out.  When you consider transitions you have made this year it may require changes in wardrobe, equipment, and maybe your office, to do, be, and have what you want in 2026. You kids too will transition. Maybe they need new age appropriate toys, better fitting clothes, or even a uniform for a new club they joined. Transformation How can you signify to yourself that you have changed? The smallest yet effective thing I have done in my transformation processes is to make my environment match how I identify with myself. I needed new clothes that a person who works out wears. I needed a new water bottle once I realized the office has reverse osmosis and the waste I was creating with my bottled water; because I'm a person who drinks water.  I want you to carefully consider what did you learn in 2025 and what new habits will be going into 2026 with you as a result of who you transformed into.   Transition – > Transformation Put it all together? Planning Day is the perfect time to really reflect on all these ideas. How do you use your time now? What habits did you change? Are you choosing a word of the year? It's the time to decide what habits are going with you into the new year,  set some intentions, and make your environment match those intentions. We'll take six combined hours between Prep Planning Day(2 hours on 12/29) and Planning Day (6 hours on 12/31) to look at your time to see where you can pop in new things to try out that will support your intentions. And if a large project like sprucing up a room or getting a PhD is part of the transformation you can get to planning what that will look like with your real life, your real family, and your real goals.  EPISODE RESOURCES: The Sunday Basket® Planning Day Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter  Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media

We are in it! There's no time left to plan anything so how can you still be proactive and ahead of things? I'm sharing my sanity saving tips to meet you and your family's needs and still show up as your best self in these last couple of weeks in December. We are in those flexible strange last weeks of the year so what can you do to save your sanity?  Event Go Bags If you only have time to implement one thing - this is it! Event go bags are like the go back you should have packed to grab at a moment's notice so you have the things you need while you are away from home for an unknown amount of time. In this instance, you will look at the calendar and place a bag, in an out of the way area, for each event. Then you're going to put some kind of clip on it to attach any notes you make to yourself about the event like grab the appetizer from the refrigerator or return the book to Aunt Betty that you want to remember as you go out the door for the event. As the date approaches, you can add items to the bag too that you want to remember to bring…maybe Aunt Betty's book.  And I strongly recommend a donation area. I know I talked about it recently that you may be getting the bug to declutter. We have January energy creeping up on us and we want things to be clean before company comes. A great free activity is decluttering with your kids. Because they are home and they are bored! But you definitely don't have time to pack everything up and head to a donation center.  No problem. Create a designated area for items you may want to donate. And while decluttering you may find Aunt Betty's book which then you can place in that bag which is likely near the donation area. See how that just works out? This is the beauty of the Sunday Basket® that we all appreciate. It's one designated place for safe keeping actionable items until the time we intend to address them. I know these two spaces may create a little clutter but let's be honest most of our homes look like it's the day before laundry day right now anyway!  Let's stay sane. Two Week Big Haul I realize this next suggestion you may have to play with your paycheck schedule now but utilize it this year and plan for it next year in your operations binder.  I want you to make a grocery haul for the next two weeks. We talked about a version of this before Thanksgiving. You need snacks, meals, and more snacks. The kids are off school and people are snacking like it's their job. Think about all the appetizers or items you need to bring to any parties. Consider paper plates this year in between the meals or even for the meals too depending on your phase of life. Just decide what is right for your family.  Then do it. Consider your finances and then decide what all you can do and get it done to save your sanity! You don't have time for multiple trips to the store in addition to everything else. Final Suggestions Gas up the car so you can get to where you need to go without having to make yourself late stopping to get gas. Make sure you have enough stamps for thank you letters or Christmas cards.  And if you are stuck in the stone age with me using cash, get some cash. You never know when you'll need to pay someone back for your half of the meal or something they picked up for you.  Or you could just send it on Zelle or Venmo like the cool kids. Take advantage of these tips because these last few weeks are going to be amazing! EPISODE RESOURCES: The Sunday Basket® Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter  Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media.

Are you ready to hear all about Sarah Hart Unger's new book, "Best Laid Plans"? I learned new things from reading it and in this podcast I hope you too learn new ways to make yourself more efficient. Then grab your copy of her book.  There are few people who love to plan as much as me and Sarah is one of them. Sarah shared all about planning with school aged children, how she's overcoming distractions and how to still dream. Closed Systems Input She had me by page 14! She was talking about all the input from closed systems that we are all overwhelmed with between an organization's app, Whatsapp, school apps, etc. It'd be nice if they all talked to each other…or would it be? I was so excited Grayson's school was able to populate my google calendar till I realized it was all events for the school. I guess I liked it better with manual entry but then we discussed there has to be a cadence to checking all the closed systems and knowing where to put it in your trusted system so you will see it when you need to. We also talked about the cognitive load and admin time it takes to collect all of the information that needs to be on the calendar. And for the love, people, plan your planning time; don't just try to work it into the nooks and cranny of your day. Long Range Planning Sarah offered such a powerful way to think of long range planning. Start with thinking of how old your children will be, you will be, and how you want life to look by that time. It's effective to zoom out to a bird's eye view to get a different perspective of time passing. I really loved that way of planning for the future and planning the next 5 years. She suggested thinking of milestones or big birthdays and how do you want to celebrate them? She envisioned a celebration which included travel for her 20th anniversary and now they are headed to HI next year to do just that. What you think about you bring about. Sarah did hers for travel but you could do it for your career, a PhD, your family, living location, type of house, or anything else.  Time Blocking We learned something interesting here, I retroactively fill in how I spent my time if there's a blank space as a reminder to myself and my family that I did act as the wife, mother, and grandmother while I pursue my career and passions. And Sarah retroactively fills in her media use to hold herself accountable even podcasts she may have listened to. She got a gold star for having documented listening to the Organize 365® Podcast. Time Sucks Sarah shared that she doesn't have social media because she cannot trust herself on it. Some people can't have a little bit of chocolate and she cannot have a little bit of social media. Although we both laughed how we somehow got sucked into Reddit!  I shared how I will be filling my old PhD time slot with the gym. Sarah said yes, to replace a time suck with something that you want to start to do or something more productive like audio books. We all have to fill our cups and you could be filling your cup instead of wasting time. Planner Privilege So imagine (these are general observations) the wife says "Let's plan next weekend." Husband replies he doesn't want to and "It always works out!" Sarah and I laughed because for the most part everything fun you have ever done was planned. It always "works out" for the other spouse because it was planned by the opposite spouse.  We talked pros and cons of the white board and digital solutions. Then we talked about how you get your family involved with the system you've chosen and how to communicate the schedule. It was all so good! Listen then grab her book, "Best Laid Plans" EPISODE RESOURCES: The Sunday Basket® Best Laid Plans by Sarah Hart Unger Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter  Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!