5 Tips for Getting Organized in the New Year

If you get a chance head to the Eco Modern Concierge YouTube Channel to see what 5 tips you can do to get organized in the new year.

What are some of your tips?

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Assembled in the USA: Say YES to Cotton

I have seen these wipes recommended from so many different people and articles, so I finally decided to give them a go. I have to say I really like them. I like that they are very basic. They are made/assembled in the USA. 

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Eco Modern Concierge Press in 2017: Get Organized!

Eco Modern Concierge was featured on several different blogs throughout the year. Here are a list of what was happening in 2017. My only hope is that 2018 will be just as amazing or better! 

• Camille Styles "How to Organize Your Holiday Gift Wrap": December 2017 http://bit.ly/2z9vMTV
• NAPO Houston "Pro Organizers' Best Tips for Holiday Happiness": December 2017 http://bit.ly/2ABZGCR
• L. Rose "Kitchen Pantry Organization": December 2017 http://bit.ly/2zaw7pK
• Padron Marketing #StandingOut Podcast "Interview": August 2017 http://bit.ly/2fsdmql
• Voyage Houston "Interview": June 2017 http://bit.ly/2rWJbIt
• Sunday Beach "Life Hacks for Busy Moms": May 2017 http://bit.ly/2rDvMpj
• Sunday Beach "Organizing for the New Year": January 2017 http://bit.ly/2BXnjCu

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How to Organize a Super Bowl Party

I am sad that the Super Bowl is not in Houston this year. It was a ton of fun to have it in town last year. Since we are a concierge company in Houston we were busy and filled with all kinds of fun activities. Plus, my clients had all kinds of personal assistant tasks and professional organizing tasks based all around Super Bowl being in town. If you are hosting a Super Bowl party below are some tips to organize for a Super Bowl party.

• Make a to-do list. Make a list of everything you know you need to do like guest list, food, drinks, etc.
• Clean. Clean a couple of days of ahead of time and prep for your guests.
• Guest list. Make a list of people you want to invite over and send out an evite, text, or email. Send invites 1-2 weeks prior to the Super Bowl.
• Decide what room you will watch the game in. See if you need more seating. If so, bring seating options into the room.
• Decorations. Decide if you want to go simple or use team colors. You can often get items at the Dollar Store in order to save some money.
• Prep food. Prep as much food as you can the night before and consider having a potluck where everyone brings a dish. The Defined Dish has some great Super Bowl Sunday Whole30 recipes and First & Full has some great Super Bowl recipes. 
• Extra Ice. Be sure to have extra ice for all the drinks.
• Coolers. Have coolers stocked with a variety of drinks like water, soda and beer.
• Plates, napkins, serving ware, etc. Have plenty of these items for everyone to use. 
• Remove breakables. Anything precious to you, breakable or valuable remove from the areas you will be in during your Super Bowl party. You never know how rowdy some of your guests will get.
• Have a cleaning kit ready. Be prepared for spills and stains that can happen and take them with ease as they come. Make sure to gather up a small cleaning kit, so you are prepared.
• Document. Take photos and share with friends. Instax cameras are always fun to have around.
• Take notes. After the party is over. Take notes of things you would like to do the next time you host a party.
• Have fun!

Photo by Adrian Curiel on Unsplash

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What I Take When Traveling

When I travel, I try to pack as little as possible, but always end up bringing more than I need. 

Here are some things I try to take with me on my carryon:

• Headphones. So I can watch movies or listen to music.
• Earplugs. In case I want to cancel noise.
• DoTerra mini orange essential oil. I use this as a hand sanitizer.
• DoTerra OnGuard tablets. I take these as a preventive to hopefully not getting sick.
• Aesop hand sanitizer. Keep those germs at bay.
• Kleenex. They are just good for so many different things and I always have them on hand.
• Band-Aids. I never know when I will need one or get a blister.
• Band-Aid Friction Block. I love this stick. I put it on my ankles and all over my feet where blister are prone to be.
• Thieves spray. I like to spray it around to keep germs away, especially on planes.
• Book. I always like to have some kind of reading material.

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Eco Product: Natural Way of Growing Eyelashes

My eyelashes just aren't that long, so I have seen castor oil recommended for years. I bought this one last year and yes it is more pricy than if you were to get a larger bottle of castor oil, but I like that it came with the lash wands. Yes, I know I can buy those separately, but I ended up trying this one and really like it. Have you tried castor oil to help your eyelashes grow? Any other eco ways you suggest to help eyelashes grow?

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Organizing Book: Remodelista The Organized Home

I recently read this book and loved it. It tells you how to organize by room and gives various organizing tips. Some of the tips are ones that you do not see time and time again. At the back of the book it gives you a list of product resources. Do you have a favorite organizing book?

Made in Houston + Eco Product: Magpies and Peacocks Upcycled Goods

I first heard of Magpies and Peacocks several years ago from my hair stylist because she was involved with the organization. They are located right here in Houston. They make all kinds of up-cycled goods from jewelry to dog collars. I  got this travel bag last year. It is made of Super Bowl signage from when the Super Bowl was in Houston last year. Since I was part of the supplier diversity program I thought it was fitting to get a unique Super Bowl memento and this is awesome. I highly recommend you check them out!

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Organizing + Eco Product: An Organizer's Essential - The Apron

When I am organizing I use an apron to hold sharpies, post-its, box cutters, etc. this helps me keep track of everything and not set something down and then not be able to find it. I have been using this apron for sometime now and love it. Plus, it is an eco product and upcycled from post consumer materials. 

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How to Organize Koozies

Anyone else have a crap ton of koozies that you have gotten from events, people have given you, etc?  When organizing clients homes I find all kinds of koozies everywhere. They are usually not all in one exact place and there is no organization system in place for them. In Houston I think just about every event has some type of koozie. Clients always wonder the best way to organize them. So they hire me, a professional organizer, to help them get organized and it often includes the koozies.

In this particular project I used a clear utensil drawer organizer similar to this one. Here are some steps to organizing koozies.

1. Get rid of the ones that you don't use, like, or need any longer. 
2. Decide where you want them stored. In a drawer, bag, etc. 
3. Contain them in some way whether with a container, bag, clips, rubber band, etc.
4. Organize by color.
5. Put them in the right place.
6. Bask in organized koozie bliss. 

There are various other ways to organize koozies as well like:

• Just keeping them in a designated bag. Many of my clients like this option because it is easy to throw a koozie in a bag and call it a day. As long as they know where that bag is they are good to go. 
• Store in a drawer.
• Place in a basket or bowl.
• Hang them with clips on a wall. 
• Here are some ideas on Pinterest.

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10 Things that Currently Make Me Happy

• Spending time with Bryan. This is truly the best. 
• George Strait tickets for Christmas!
• Getting to spend the holidays with family and going out with my cousins, which never happens.
• Running in the cold. I hate to run, but find it bearable in cold weather. 
• Acupuncture. I started acupuncture several months ago and it feels so relaxing.
• MoviePass. We got this for Christmas and have seen so many movies with it.
• Slow mornings. Lately I have really been valuing my sleep and taking my mornings slow. It feels really great.
• Decluttering our house. Gosh it feels SO good!
• Listening to music more than usual at home and loving it. I love music, but for some reason, don't always put it on at home like I used to.
• Cooking more at home. December was fast and furious and I am so happy to be back on a regular routine.

What are some things that are currently loving?

This photo is a live action shot non-edited from my reaction that my husband got me George Strait tickets for Christmas. My whole family (and it feels like everyone for that matter) has seen George Strait 5 million times, but I have never seen him live, so I am SUPER EXCITED!!!

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January is Get Organized Month

January is get organized month. The beginning of the year is always a great time to hit the reset button and declutter / organize. I personally have been doing a lot of that this last month. Here is a look back at a post I wrote last year are on the Eco Modern Concierge blog. I get calls from all over Houston from clients needing professional organizing help whether that it checking things off of their to-do list or organizing a closet. 

Here are some additional tips to think about:

• Getting organized this year? Here are some challenges that are currently going on right now: January Cure, Simplicity Challenge, 31 Days to Get Organized and Home Organization Challenge. 
• Purge unnecessary holiday items. 
• Create a daily to-do list.
• Make a list of yearly goals and check in each month.
• Go through mail when it comes in.
• Put those returns in your car and head to the store after work or during a lunch break.
• Hire a professional organizer / productivity consultant whether it is Eco Modern Concierge or other professional organizers. 

Happy Organizing this year! Feel free to call or email Eco Modern Concierge to get started on your organization journey. info@ecomodernconcierge.com / 281.961.1914

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2018 Goals

Man what a crazy year. There were lots of ups and downs and I got to do and be a part of many cool things. So far, 2018 is looking great! I have so many personal and professional goals I want to accomplish this year. Running a concierge company that provides professional organizing and personal assistant services in Houston can be lot of work and I really want to focus on some goals this year. Here is a look back at past goals 2014, 2015, 2016 & 2017.

Now lets recap last years goals. I did an update in July and thought I would post it here. I did add a few things.

2017 Personal Goals Recap

Read more. I have been doing SO much more reading so I am happy to say yes! this is working and I still plan to read lots more this year.
Learn to play the freaking piano. STILL have NOT done this. I NEED TO DO THIS!
Be present. Yes, I have been better about this, but still have not given my full attention. I am still sloooowwwwly getting better at this. 
Make healthier choices. My husband and I have made a ton more healthier choices this year, but STILL needs lots of improvement.
Listen better. I feel that I have done a lot better job at listening this year, but there is always room to grow as well too. 
Get rid of toxicity. This year has been pretty cleansing, but there are still a few things I want to say buh bye to. There are some big changes in 2018. 

2018 Personal Goals


Self care. At the end of 2017 I really got into more self care practices and think it is SO important. I want to make it a goal of mine to do more self care, more often.

More  yoga. Since I had wrist surgery in June 2017, I finally started getting my strength back in November. During June - November I got out of the yoga practice for a good chunk of time and long to get my strength and flexibility back.

Document more. I have a bad habit of not documenting things like I used to by writing them down and taking pictures. I want to do more of that this year.

Explore Houston. The last several years I have really gotten away from exploring Houston like I used to and feel so out of the loop sometimes, so I want to spend more time exploring.

Get rid of toxicity. I am going to put this on here again this year because IT NEEDS TO HAPPEN. I have some very toxic things in my life and am already making steps to change them. It can just really drag you down. I  know this in turn will make me much happier and be a better wife.

2017 Business Goals Recap

Up My Promotional Material Game. Yes! I got lots of new promotional material and love it.
Streamline the Accounting. I did streamline the accounting, but still have some work to do on it as well.
Improve SEO. I have taken some steps on the backend of things to help improve SEO, which I feel that it has, but I still want to improve it more.
Gain new clients. Surprisingly and thankfully, when I raised my rates after the NAPO conference I got several new clients. Of course, I ALWAYS want more new clients, and am extremely thankful for my current and new clients.


2018 Business Goals

Learn new things. Many years ago I put this on my list and had so much fun learning new things each month. I want to do this for business and personal. 

Join different business networking groups. There are so many fun networking groups out there and although, I don't always want to network, I do want to meet new people and hear about different businesses in Houston. 

Take more online courses. I want to take more classes online and really expand on learning new things.

Collaborate more with colleagues. This year I got to know so many new, wonderful colleagues in the professional organizing and concierge fields and want to collaborate more with them and get to know them more. 

More videos. I want to create more videos for work and play around with things to see if I can perfect them a little more.

Give back more. I have always given back, but this past year I made it a point to put out there I want to give back to one organization a month by providing a free organizing session. When the hurricane came things got halted mixed with organizations not getting back to me. This is the year I will put more of an effort into it. 

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Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

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Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash