How to Organize a Super Bowl Party

This is a repost from last year, but I thought it is still relevant because of the upcoming Super Bowl. 

I am sad that the Super Bowl is not in Houston this year. It was a ton of fun to have it in town 2 years ago. 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!

Source: skitterphoto.com

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10 Things that Make Me Happy December 2018

December was an insanely busy month, but here are 10 things that made me happy last month.

1. Christmas with family
2. Celebrating my grandpa's surprise 80th birthday party
3. Getting Rolling Stones tickets for Christmas
4. Going ice skating with friends
5. Going to Rivas to see the holiday decorations with my mother in law and brother in law girlfriend
6. Getting a sneak peek of behind the scenes of Beauty and the Beast
7. Attending several fun holiday parties
8. Texans game with Bryan
9. Dropping off donations to MD Anderson for their Children's Cancer Hospital
10. Shopping, wrapping and organizing for so many clients

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5 TIPS FOR MOVING FROM A HOUSTON PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZER

Are you moving anytime this year? Here are some tips to help you with your move. You may also want to consider hiring a professional organizer to help you purge before a move, help you during the move and organize your space after a move. You will save so much time, energy and your sanity. If you are in the Houston area, we would love to help you get organized for your move. 

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Eco Modern Concierge Press in 2018

Here are some mentions that Eco Modern Concierge had in 2018. One of my goals this year to have get published by local and national media more, so hopefully this is the year.

• Press
  Houston Chronicle: http://bit.ly/2NoqsAn June 2018
• 2018 Best Home Organizers in Houston http://bit.ly/2tuEk2O January 2018
  Speaking Engagements
  May 2018: Organizing with Amy: How to Organize & Contain Paper Clutter
  April 2018: Spring Cleaning - De-cluttering and Organization Tips
  Blogs, Interviews, Mentions and Other Musings
  The Fancy Ashley "5 Super Helpful Closet Organization Tips" July 2018 http://bit.ly/2MaQWp6
  NAPO Houston "NAPO 2018 Conference Retreat Recap" May 2018 http://bit.ly/2IJ5hut
  SpareFoot "14 Decluttering, Organizing, and Storage Tips to Make Your Home More Eco-Friendly" April 2018 http://bit.ly/2HGCqne
  Veronika's Blushing "How to De-Clutter Six Areas of Your Home: Tips from a Professional Organizer" March 2018 http://bit.ly/2GzDhYN
  BNB Styling "How to Stay Organized Throughout the Year" January 2018 http://bit.ly/2FFPpV0
  Sunday Beach "Organizing for 2018 with Eco Modern Concierge" January 2018 http://bit.ly/2Dp7dFu
  
  
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10 Things that Make me Happy November 2018

Well I totally forgot to publish this in November, but here are 10 things that made me happy in November 2018

1. Celebrating my 6 year anniversary
2. Going to see Gary Clark Jr. 
3. Feast with the Beasts
4. Hosting our annual Friendsgiving
5. Helping lots of new clients decorate for the holidays
6. Working on a volunteer project for Mission Centers of Houston
7. Spending Thanksgiving with my family
8. Cutting down our Christmas tree
9. Going to the Nutcracker Market with my mom, aunt and friend
10. Testing out my new golf clubs at Top Golf (I'm not a golfer lol)

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5 Tips for Getting Organized in 2019 from Recent Magazine Articles

The beginning of the year is always about fresh starts and many people have desires of getting organized. Here are some organizing tips based on recent January 2019 magazine issues, including, Real Simple, Better Homes & Garden and House Beautiful.

Go vertical. When you are trying to organize small spaces, going vertical is usually a must. Put things up high that don't get used as much

Sort clothes by color. This will help you find things easier, not to mention it is aesthetically pleasing.

Use over the door racks. This is great to hold things like winter gear where you can easily grab and go.

Utilize lazy susans. Great for using in corners of cabinets and on shelves for those hard to reach places.

Label. Label bins and containers so you know where things should go when you finish using them.

What are some tips you have?

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7 Ways to Simplify your Life in the New Year

Are you feeling overwhelmed with so much going on in your life right now? Here are 7 ways you can simplify your life in 2019.

Declutter. Start the new year off by doing a decluttering challenge and keeping only things that matter the most to you. I will make you feel so much better to get rid of things you no longer need. Consider donating items to a local charity.

Meal plan. I have said this before on here, but meal planning can help streamline and simplify your life in so many ways. You waste less food, go out to eat less, eat healthier, etc.

Budget. With the conveniences of everyday life these days it is easier to spend more money than we should. Budget for what you NEED and what matters most to you.

Make a list of goals. Make a list of goals, establish a plan to make them happen and execute what you need to do in order to make them happen. You will feel accomplished and bring more meaning to your life hopefully.

Establish routines. Establish attainable routines in your everyday life. By having a routine, it gives you something to look forward to and helps you simplify your everyday life.

Self care. Make self care a priority. If you don't you can easily burnout. Trust me, I know. This is something I need to work more on this year as well.

Outsource. Outsource things that can make your life a lot easier. This is something I am working on doing more of this year because it can save me so much time and money. This is exactly why people hire me too, because I can save them time and money.

Photo: Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels

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Eco Modern Concierge on Dumpsters.com 30 Day Decluttering Challenge

Since it is the new year there are so many decluttering challenges going on right now. At the end of last year Dumpsters.com asked me to contribute some tips to their 30 day Decluttering Challenge, which you can find on their website here. What are you hoping to get organized in the new year?

Photo from: Dumpsters.com

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January is Get Organized & Be Productive Month

I decided to repost content from last year because it is pretty much the same thing I would say for this year. Happy Get Organized and Be Productive 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 in 2017 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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2019 Goals

Wow what a wonderful year 2018 was. I accomplished so much professionally and personally. Can't wait to see what 2019 has in store for this little business. I couldn't remember all of my goals from 2018 and when I was writing down things for this year, I noticed I had some of the exact same goals What are some of your goals this year?

Here is an update from last year:

2018 Personal Goals

Self care. Well I still need to work on this, but I have made attempts.

More  yoga. Unfortunately, this has not happened. It is on my list again this year. 

Document more. Semi happened. I can still work on it. 

Explore Houston. I want to continue exploring and have been to several new places. 

Get rid of toxicity. I DID THIS!!! I no longer work for a very toxic client and my energy has shifted and my business has flourished. I still have nightmares about them sometime, but thankfully overall I feel SO MUCH BETTER!!!

2018 Business Goals

Learn new things. I have learned some new things, but not like I wanted to do.

Join different business networking groups. I am happy to be a part of so many new groups! I love the people I have met. Maybe I will continue this year.

Take more online courses. I have taken many new online courses and even earned my Life Transitions certificate from NAPO.

Collaborate more with colleagues. Lots of collaboration happened last year with colleagues. 

More videos. I made several videos last year and then just stopped because life got hectic. I really need to pick that back up when I have a slow day. 

Give back more. This is a passion of mine and continue to do it. I have been trying to give back at least once a month for organizing services and also, all my other volunteering stuff that I LOVE!

2019 Business Goals

Update website. It's been several years since it had a refresh and desperately needs one. I update it myself, but need new graphics, more streamlined, etc. I made the first step and reached out to a company to help with this. Let's see if they get back to me and where it goes.

Upload receipts. I have all my receipts for my business, but want to upload and attach them to the proper transaction in my Quickbooks. That way I am making it way more efficient for myself and for tax time.

Do more speaking engagements. I love speaking and do get slightly nervous, but would really like to do even more speaking engagements. I have 2 booked in January so far.

Work more in suburban areas like The Woodlands and Clear Lake. 95% of my business is near or inside the loop of Houston and I definitely don't want to move too far away from that, but would really like business in The Woodlands or Clear Lake / Galveston area (where a good chunk of my family is). So please let me know if you have any referrals in those areas.

Get published more. I don't know how this will happen, but I would like to get published more locally and nationally. If you have any connections or know any publications looking for content for organizing or concierge services I would really like to be considered.

Document more. This was on my personal goals last year, but this year I want to document more projects, funny stories, fun things we do, etc. in my concierge business. Everyday is different and I love it and want to remember it.

Streamline. Get more things on automation. I use my physical calendar religiously and want to also use my electronic calendar religiously, I want to deal with accounting stuff asap, etc.

2019 Personal Goals

Read more. I don't think I read one book in its entirety the whole year last year. I started a TON, but never finished one. I will read more books this year.

More yoga. I failed so much on the yoga journey last year. This is my year for more stretch and to get back into it. I truly love yoga and am mad at myself for not doing it more.

Cook one recipe from a different cookbook at least 4 times a month. I love cooking and have a ton of cookbooks that rarely get used, so this is the year to use them more!

Open the damn InstantPot box and actually use it. We have had the InstantPot since July and STILL have not opened the box. This has to change because everyone raves about it.

Photo: Photo by Alizee Marchand from Pexels

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Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! What are you doing to start of 2019?

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