 Photos are a precious part of our memorabilia. They tell the story of our lives and help us recall milestones. Since the digital age, many people feel overwhelmed with the volume of photos they have in both digital and print form. Let’s explore how to store and organize your photos.
Digital photos The most important thing to do is verify your digital photos are backed up. Whether you take photos with your phone or a camera, you want to have your photos in three places. Options include: • on the device itself; • a cloud storage option (e.g., iCloud, Google photos, etc.); • a photo printing website (e.g., Shutterfly or Snapfish); • an external hard drive; and • a CD or thumb drive. Choose three of the above storage options. For the cloud, photo printing site, and external hard drive options, be sure your photos sync often (either manually or, if possible, automatically). Don’t stress about deleting digital photos. With cloud storage solutions you can save them all and use the search functions (by date, location, person) when you need to locate a specific photo. Prints Organizing prints can feel overwhelming due to the quantity that most of us have accumulated over time. Start by discarding the following types of prints: • duplicates; • blurry photos; • photos you can’t interpret what you are seeing; and • photos that don’t prompt positive emotions. We usually recommend doing a "gross sort" by era (i.e., childhood photos, school age years, with spouse before kids, with kids, etc.). Use shoe boxes or buy acid-free photo boxes to preserve your prints for long-term keeping. Label your boxes by era and don’t worry about putting them in perfect order. When retrieving a specific photo, identify the era and thumb through that box. The time spent will most likely be enjoyable as you take a trip down memory lane. To preserve your printed photos, have them digitized. Consider having them professionally scanned to save time and get the best quality. After scanning is completed, you are typically given a thumb drive, CD or file with all your images. Save these files to a few different places. Make your photos more tangible by creating photo albums or photo books of the “best of the best” photos. You can use websites like Shutterfly or Snapfish to create photo books from digital prints.
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Learning time management skills is part of growing up. Most kids find it challenging to keep track of time and lean on parental cues to get things done. Teaching our kids to be pro-active rather than reactive is a skill they can use for the rest of their lives.
Timers: One way to keep track of time while you are engaged in an activity is to use a timer. I use timers everyday, both personally and professionally. My main use of timers is to alert me to wrap up my current task so I can honor my next commitment. Timers can be helpful for kids too! Use them to signify transition times like mealtime, bedtime, and when the bus is coming. Calendars: Post your children's schedules in a place they can reference it. This will help them learn accountability around managing their own schedule. Calendars you might post include: lunch menus, sports schedules, and after school activity schedules. Chore tracking: Children thrive on positive reinforcement. If you want them to help out around the house, provide incentive. Give them a tool to track how close they are to earning their reward. Our family has tried fancy charts, marble jars, and a simple piece of paper with hash marks signifying a chore well done. Each of these systems worked for a short time when we (the adults) were consistent with using it. We have found the most success when we switch it up by changing the tracking tool periodically (i.e., every 3-6 months). Just like any other new behavior, give it time and give your child reminders to use these tools.  Something as simple as using matching hangers makes a closet look and feel finished. Check out these nice wooden hangers. They changed the feel of the space entirely.
The key to success is simplicity. Do these 5 steps each week to create a simple and easy meal plan & grocery list:
I have a love/hate relationship with my phone (I have an iphone). It's an amazing organizational tool but sometimes I find myself zoning out on it and losing precious time. One thing I love is using Siri to remind me to do things later. I simply hold the home button and say "remind me at ____ o clock to ____." I use it all the time! It lowers my stress levels to know that I don't have to mentally remember everything I have to do. I ask for reminders daily for taking vitamins and throughout the day for various things...including writing this blog post. If you haven't tried this tool yet, you should check it out!
Organizing
 Excited to share that I have been re-certified! Yay! If you are interested in learning more about Evernote, let me know and we can set up a session to get you oriented and set up!
If you have a busy family the best way to eat well is to meal plan. It doesn't have to be fancy or time consuming. Designate a time each week to select approximately 3-5 meals. Make a grocery list of all the ingredients needed. Shop and follow the plan. It saves unnecessary stress during a busy week.
I'm not sure who coined this definition but it's ingenious. "Clutter is delayed decisions."
TRUE, right? Look around a cluttered room and you will see a bunch of stuff that is not done. Either things just haven't been put away or haven't been sorted, haven't been taken somewhere, or have been there so long, they have been forgotten. Pick up an item. What decision needs to be made about it? After you make the decision, does an action need to occur? If it takes less than 2 minutes, do it now. If not, and you don't have time to do it now, start a list. Continue the list with tasks that need to be done. Now take that list and "calendar out" when you will make time to do each task on the list. Listen to your calendar, do all the things, and voila...done. Try it! Home staging is the process of preparing your home for listing. The goal of any seller is to sell their home quickly and for the highest possible price. A staged home will appeal to many buyers and will therefore lead to a quicker, higher priced sale more often than an un-staged home. Home staging can be as simple as rearranging and refreshing existing furnishings and décor in a way that will highlight your homes best features. Some home staging projects include major home renovations. No matter the extent of the work, or the size of the budget, the intent of home staging is to create a home that most buyers can see themselves living in.
Our Expert Stager, Michele Ketcham, has compiled a list of DIY staging tips. Here are 10 tips to get you started. Do-It-Yourself Staging Tips 1. Declutter, declutter, declutter: Let’s face it, we all have too much stuff. Decluttering, downsizing, and organizing each room in your home, including closets and storage spaces, is always the first step in preparing a home for listing. Make a plan, tackling one room at a time. Decide what items you will take with you to your new home. Designate a staging area for unwanted items to be donated, sold, or discarded. Remember, the more stuff you move, the more costly your move will be. 2. Sell the storage space: Efficient and well-planned storage space is at a premium when it comes to prospective buyers. Removing excess from storage spaces will make those spaces appear more spacious and appealing. Pack and store out-of-season clothing. Clean out what you don’t need from under sinks. Go through your kitchen pantry and toss expired food. Donate kitchen gadgets and items that you never use. The added space from all this decluttering will show off the ample storage space and make your home more desirable. 3. Good old-fashioned elbow grease: That’s right. It may not be glamorous, but good old-fashioned elbow grease goes a long way in selling a home. From the buyer’s perspective, a clean home is also a home that was cared for and well-maintained. Every window, floor, baseboard, countertop, appliance, fixture…the list goes on and on…needs to sparkle! If you have the time and energy, go for it! Otherwise, it may be worth every penny to hire a professional cleaning service to do the deep cleaning for you. 4. Lighten and brighten: Exterior and interior lighting are equally important when staging your home. Exterior fixtures should provide adequate lighting in regard to safety. Make sure all sidewalks, pathways and entryways are well-lit in the event of evening showings. Additional exterior lighting is a great way to add curb appeal to a front porch, tree or architectural feature. Interior lighting should make a home feel warm and welcoming. Ambient, task and accent lighting all add to the appeal and mood of a room. Turn on interior lights to cast a warm glow for those evening showings! 5. Furniture and accessories: Most homes have too much furniture, which makes a room look smaller and more cluttered. When staging your home, you want to create the illusion of spaciousness, no matter the size of the room. You may need to remove about half of the existing furnishings and rearrange the remaining furniture so it highlights the desired focal point. Decide whether you want to move the extra furniture to your new home. If so, store it in an off-site storage unit. Donate or sell extra furniture you decide you don’t need. Less is more when accessorizing a staged home. Opt for a couple large items of impact per room versus many smaller grouped knickknacks. The same goes for accessorizing walls. One large print will make a room appear bigger than several smaller prints grouped together. 6. Depersonalize: An important concept to remember when staging a home with existing furnishings is the concept of depersonalization. The intent of home staging is to make the home appeal to as many prospective buyers as possible. To do that, we suggest depersonalizing. We recommend removing personal taste from your décor so buyers can envision their belongings and themselves in your home. This can be especially difficult for a seller still living in the listed home. Some items you will want to pack and store are:
7. Kitchens and bathrooms: Prospective buyers love updated kitchens and bathrooms. The kitchen is still the heart of the home and command central for many buyers. Additionally, many buyers look for multiple bathrooms that are well maintained. Sellers could potentially spend a lot of money renovating these spaces to entice buyers. However, decluttering, organizing, cleaning and a gallon of paint (or two) can go a long way in the kitchen and bath if budget is a concern. In most cases, you will get back any money you put into improving the functionality of your kitchen and bathrooms so plan wisely. 8. Stage a home office: Given the times, we would be remiss if we didn’t include staging a home office. Many prospective buyers have recently been forced to work from home indefinitely. If your listed home does not include a dedicated office or work space, now is the time to be creative and turn a cozy corner into a work space. Find a quiet area with appropriate outlets/phone/computer access. Stage the area with a table or desk, comfy chair, shelves or small bookcase, desk or floor lamp, and laptop. A folding screen could lend visual privacy if needed. Be creative and have fun! 9. Curb appeal: Curb appeal is the first impression a prospective buyer has of your home so make it a good one! Curb appeal includes the home exterior, the landscape, the front and side yards, the driveway and walkway leading to your front door. The house exterior needs to be welcoming and appealing so buyers want to come inside. Here are a few items you can do to increase your home’s curb appeal:
10. Not everyone loves your pet: Not all buyers have pets, and some are allergic to them. Prior to a showing, remove all indications of your pet. Store food dishes, leashes, pet toys and pet beds in a bin stored out of the way. Vacuum areas where pet hair has accumulated. Clean and sanitize any areas where accidents occurred. Use air freshener where needed. Clean up after your pet outside since may prospective buyers like to walk the property. Bring your pet with you, or have a friend or relative pet sit during the showing. And lastly, give your pet lots of hugs and treats once you are all back together! You want your home to look its best before listing and presenting it to prospective buyers. These Do-It-Yourself staging tips represent a small portion of what goes into preparing and staging a home for sale. The intent is to give you a few ideas to get you started on your way to selling your home. Remember, hard work pays off! We wish you all the best!! -Michele Ketcham, Home Stager & Redesign Consultant |
Author Liz Bremer, CPO
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