June 2016 Volume 83

Lorraine Brock, President

Fans and Followers, a word from our President:

Get Organized! continues to grow with the hiring of another part-time office staff member and two organizers in the Fort Worth area. With more hiring to come, we are learning how to stay organized with a larger staff and territory.

As a speaker, my presentations slow down during the summer, however if you have a group or organization that is planning to hire a speaker for the 2016-2017 season, it is never to early to get on our calendar. I am excited to announce a new topic on our list for the fall. It is called Organizing Your Cluttered Inbox, and offers solutions for email file structure and methods for processing the clutter.

As a reminder, our GO Team will be at IKEA roaming the store on June 6, 2016 from 9:30 am - 1:00 pm. If you see us (we will be in our GO t-shirts) at IKEA, stop us and ask for an IKEA gift card. We will be giving away 8 IKEA gift cards ranging from $5-$25.

Over Memorial Day weekend I decided to get unorganized. Yes, I said it, unorganized. My husband, our youngest, and myself hopped in the car and drove north with nowhere to go. It was an adventure...no hotel, no destination, and only a few items packed. We started by buying some cheap tennis shoes for me for some unexpected hiking (saw buffalo roaming), toured an air force base (my son is military), drove almost two hours to eat at an old diner on Route 66, and just had a completely unplanned two days. It felt so adventurous to not have a planned route or schedule. We have

decided next year to rent an RV and do this again. Pictured at left is me with my husband after hiking up to a cliff overlooking a lake.

Some other exciting news is the soon to be arrival of grandbaby number 3 for my oldest son and his wife. Recently I took a moment to capture a wonderful memory with my two grandkids. Oh how I love playing with them.

I hope each of you find some time this summer to just let go of your To Do list. Look for adventure, try new things, and plan fun outings that take you away from the ruts we often find ourselves in. I work hard but I also play hard...and those are the memories that I want to leave my family.

Enjoy!

Upcoming Events

June 7- 12:00-1:30 p.m. Senior Downsizing Lorraine will present helpful ways to handle the transition into a smaller senior residence. Atria Willow Park in Tyler. Lunch provided; free but reservations are required.

June 21- 7:30-8:30 p.m. Lorraine will speak to Lake Cities Moms of Multiples at their regular meeting.

July 12- 6 p.m. From Stressed to Blessed Lorraine will present her popular talk to Marvin United Methodist Church at Willow Brook Country Club in Tyler, Texas.

Organized Downsizing

Moving out of the home you have lived in for many years and into a senior living residence is often an emotional time. It involves making choices to reduce the volume of belongings collected over the years and de-cluttering. But there are some steps you can take to make the process easier:

Plan ahead. Know the dimensions of each room in your new home. Using a provided floorplan if possible, make a quick sketch of where you envision your main furniture pieces going. Be sure to measure your furniture to determine if it will fit in the new space. You will quickly see how much downsizing you will have to do.
Prioritize what you want to do in your new home. If entertaining is important to you, you may want to keep your dining table, but if you will be traveling more often, a smaller table for meals will suit your needs. Knowing how you will spend your time will clarify what you no longer need, making the process of paring down less challenging.
Get rid of the easy things first to help you ease into the process of downsizing. Items such as lawn tools or duplicate kitchen gadgets are not needed, so clearing them out helps you get used to letting go.
Keep things that you love and enjoy or will still be useful, but let someone else use the rest. Knowing that you have a finite space for holding things can help you pare down. For example, keep only books that fit on the bookshelf, or only the clothes that fit in the new closet. Any that will not fit in that space will have to go and this premise helps you decide which items you really want.
There are several ways to clear out the items you are not moving: offer them to your relatives, schedule a charity truck to pick up (make a list for income tax purposes), hold an estate sale, or simply put them out by the curb for others to take if your city allows. If you are paring down high-end items, you may want to contact an antiques dealer. If you are offering to relatives, you can make it a fun event. One woman set out her jewelry and then invited her daughters and granddaughters to choose the pieces they wanted. She enjoyed seeing the choices they made, they enjoyed having a keepsake from her, and everyone enjoyed visiting and hearing the woman's stories associated with the jewelry pieces.
De-clutter paperwork. Be very choosy about papers you keep. Shred any that will be irrelevant or unnecessary (or recycle if they do not have personal information), scan any that you may need to store in an electronic file, and use a small file cabinet or box for those that you must still keep. This can be a time-consuming chore, but it is important so you will not move boxes of unneeded papers into your new home.
Ask for help in packing. Your adult children or a good friend can speed up the process. Label each box clearly so it can be moved into the appropriate room of your new residence. Be sure to get help unpacking and setting up in your new place.

If the whole process of downsizing is just too overwhelming or you need help with a plan, call Get Organized! to book our specially-trained organizers to make this transition as gentle as possible. We can help with downsizing, planning, packing, unpacking, and setting up your new home.

An Organized Caregiver

If you are the main caregiver for your spouse or an aging parent, then you know how exhausting it can be. It is important to lighten your load by keeping your loved one's information organized for easy reference and retrieval. Make copies and keep them organized in a three-ring binder with color-coded top-loading sleeves or a portable file with hanging files and file folders. Here are some of the items you will want to gather:

Financial records: birth certificate, mortgage or rental documents, bills that come regularly, bank records, passwords for online accounts, and financial adviser information

Legal papers: will, financial power of attorney, living will

Medical papers: see below for a list of medical information you will want to have readily accessible. For aging parents, you will want to add information on long-term-care insurance, if applicable.

Caregiving plan: a list of everyone who provides support to the loved one, the kind of support they provide and how frequently, and their contact information. Communication among those who share caregiving can go a long way toward preventing burnout of any one person.

Pull together this information so you will reduce some of the everyday stress of caregiving and be able to find what you need when you need it.

Ready for Medical Emergencies

If you have a medical emergency, will you be ready? Often in an unexpected crisis, it is difficult to think clearly. It is a good idea to have already prepared a file of your medical information. Then when an emergency occurs, you can grab your medical file on your way to the emergency room and be able to answer health questions with confidence. Compile the following for each family member:

Medical history, including surgeries, major illnesses, or ongoing health concerns
Doctors and their contact information
Allergies
Medicines taken regularly, including strength and dosage information
Health insurance policy information
List of immunizations
Copy of Advance Medical Directive or Power of Attorney, if you have one

You may choose to keep this as a digital file, but it is important to have a paper copy so someone you trust can locate it in the event you are away from home or unable to retrieve the file.

Father's Day Ideas

Help your children honor their father this month. Here are a few ideas:

Start a Father Appreciation Journal. Take a blank book and have each child write or draw something to Dad on a page, such as why they love him or what they appreciate about him. Have everyone read their entry aloud to him as you celebrate his special day. Take a photo of him with the children, paste it in the book, and add the date including the year. Plan to add to the journal each year. This is a low-clutter but meaningful way to celebrate Dad.
Take Dad on a mystery outing. Buy tickets to his favorite sporting event, tell him what to wear, including a new team hat or t-shirt you have given him, and keep the destination a secret until you arrive at the game. The family will be just as excited to keep him guessing as he will be to figure out where he is being taken.
Do his chores for the weekend or longer. This time-honored gift is much appreciated when it is done with a willing spirit. Wash and wax his car, mow and edge the lawn, or clean up the garage while he takes a nap.
Take him to do something unusual, such as a Segway tour to explore the city or a hot-air balloon ride, or go along with him on something he loves to do, such as fishing, golf, or sailing.

School is Out

When school is out, a family's routine often changes. If you are not already teaching your children to do regular chores, this is a good time to begin. Lorraine Brock, owner and founder of Get Organized!, has a list of age-appropriate chores that will get you started. Show your child how to do a task properly and then let him try it on his own. Gently correct him when his methods need improvement, but recognize the limits of his age. When a job is done well, be sure to reward him with something he will enjoy, such as playing a game with you or earning stickers toward a fun outing.

Also with the new summer routine, you can teach your child to make healthy snacks. Here is good source for fruit and vegetable-filled snack recipes designed to be kid-friendly that they can make themselves. You can search for recipes by ingredients that you have on hand.

Meet Toni

Toni Grochowski is one of our Tyler, Texas organizers. She has a degree in interior design which she puts to use in space planning, design, and adding beauty and function to a room.

Growing up as a coach's kid and living a decade as a Navy wife, Toni has firsthand experience in packing and unpacking, setting up a new house, staging a home to sell, and controlling clutter. She thrives on creative solutions and can see options outside of the traditional and ordinary.

Toni enjoys shopping for organizing products that help our clients. She loves IKEA and is willing to travel to research current trends. She is not afraid of building furniture or painting and repurposing old furniture. Toni enjoys finding solutions for families with young children and downsizing seniors. If you are in the Tyler area, contact us to see what Toni or our other Tyler organizers can do for you.

Savvy Ways to Save

Save money when you go to the movies by taking advantage of good deals. Cinemark has Reel Family Time on Mondays at select locations, allowing your group of 3 or more to get tickets for $1.15 per person.

Studio Movie Grill offers several inexpensive options: $1 Children's Summer Series on summer weekdays and $3 movies on Wednesdays with movies specially selected for date nights, girls' nights out, and retro film fans.

Moving Soon?

NDMS coordinates moves within DFW, nationwide, and internationally.

This is the official moving company of the Dallas Stars with an A+ rating at the Better Business Bureau.

Need a Realtor?

Mary Pat Elledge is our recommended realtor for all our GO Clients.

Serving the Dallas area.

Need Childcare?

Families turn to Mom's Best Friend to find the best nannies and babysitters in Dallas and Fort Worth. Providing senior

care too.

Central Bark

Luxury Apartment Living in Frisco

Downsizing in the Dallas area? Check out Origin at Frisco Bridges. These apartments are walking distance to world class shopping and dining plus all the attractions of Frisco and North Dallas just minutes away. Origin amenities include a dog park and wash station, leisure pool and lap pool, multi-level parking garage, unique technology features, and EXTRA storage. Visit us at Origin at Frisco Bridges to see our floor plans.

Get Organized! services the DFW and Tyler, Texas area: Getting organized is a decision that will change your home, work, your family, and ultimately your life. It is more than a pretty closet or a clean counter top. It is about changing your lifestyle by turning chaos into calm.

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