Category: Professional-Organizer

Categories
Professional-Organizer

When is it Junk?

If you’re reading this it’s likely you are considering whether something you own is junk or worth keeping. Here’s an opportunity to figure it out:

When is it Junk?

When is it JUNK?

It’s JUNK if:

  • It’s moldy, mildew, stinky and growing spores
  • It’s broken or obsolete (and fixing it doesn’t make sense or is too costly)
  • You’ve outgrown it (physically or emotionally)
  • You’ve always hated it anyway
  • It’s the wrong color, wrong size, wrong style
  • Using it takes more time than its worth
  • You won’t really care if you ever see it again
  • It generates anger, bad memories or bad feelings
  • You have to clean it, store it, and insure it (but you don’t use it)
  • Storing it somewhere else would cost more than its worth
  • It will horrify, bore or burden your kids or the generation to come

If you can truthfully agree to one or more of these, it’s most likely junk. Do yourself, the people you live with, friends who visit and posterity a favor…get rid of it! It’s robbing you (and probably several other people) of space and mental clarity.

It’s not JUNK if:

  • It helps you make a living
  • It will do something you need done
  • It generates happiness, good memories and good feelings
  • It has high or significant cash value
  • It gives you more than it takes
  • It will enrich or delight your kids or the coming generation

If you can agree to several of the above without hesitation, it’s most likely good stuff. Enjoy, appreciate, take care of, and be sure to use it. You don’t need to re-assess its JUNKi-ness until next year.

Resources for consigning, selling, trading, donating and recycling your unwanted furniture, clothing, housewares and more can be found HERE.

____

Isabella Guajardo, a.k.a. Girl With A Truck™, is a professional home organizer and a member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Profressionals (NAPO). She travels in her truck to work with clients throughout the greater San Francisco Bay Area while sharing simple and creative ways to stay organized while reducing, recycling and re-purposing. 

Call (510) 229-7321 to schedule a complimentary telephone assessment.

Categories
Professional-Organizer

Apple Galette Recipe

Apple Galette

ɡəˈlet/
noun  – a flat round cake of pastry or bread.

ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 2 tablespoons ice water (or more as needed)
  • 1 1/2 pounds Granny Smith, McIntosh, Macoun, or Empire apples
  • 4 tablespoons granulated or raw demerara sugar
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
  • 1/4 cup apricot preserves
  • 1 egg or  3 tablespoons whole milk

preparation

Pie crust: You can use a food processor, or make it by hand; I make pie crust using a KitchenAid mixer on the lowest setting. Below is the recipe for using a food processor.

Blend flour and salt in processor. Add butter and blend, using on/off turns, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 2 tablespoons ice water and blend just until dough begins to clump together, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gently gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill 1 hour. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep dough chilled (I’m told the secret to great pie crust is keeping the ingredients cold.) Soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.

Roll out dough between sheets of parchment paper to 1/8-inch-thick round, 14 inches in diameter (it doesn’t have to look perfectly round.) Remove top sheet of parchment. Using bottom sheet as aid, transfer dough on parchment to large unrimmed baking sheet. Chill 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450°F. Combine apple slices, 2 tablespoons sugar, and lemon peel in medium bowl; toss to blend. Spread preserves over crust, leaving 1 1/2-inch plain border. Arrange apple slices in concentric circles atop preserves, overlapping slightly. Using parchment as aid, fold plain crust border up over apples, pinching any cracks in crust. Brush crust with lightly beated egg or milk. Sprinkle crust edges and apples with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.

Bake galette 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F and continue baking until crust is golden, about 30 minutes longer. Keep an eye on the crust. If at any time it starts to darken too much, simply place a sheet of foil over the entire pie in the oven. When baking time is complete, remove pie from oven. Slide long thin knife between parchment and galette. Let stand at least 10 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

 

Isabella Guajardo, also known as Girl With A Truck™, is a professional home organizer and a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO). She travels between the San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley, and Monterey Peninsula to get people organized… including kitchens and pantries! Join Bella Organizing on Facebook. Gift certificates are available.

Categories
Professional-Organizer

How To Develop A Family Technology Policy At Home

This weekend I attended the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) conference for our San Francisco Bay Area Chapter. The Annual NAPO-SFBA regional conference is an opportunity for members and those interested in becoming a professional organizer to network, learn innovative ways to organize, and discover new products and services to help our clients and their families stay clutter-free and productive.

Keynote speaker Judith Kolberg, a world-renown productivity specialist, had lots of tips and information. The following is a sample list of family technology policies for the home she shared with us to share with you:

 

Family Technology Policies:

  • No devices at the dinner table or church
  • No texting in front of grandma
  • Lights out means no devices
  • No devices within 10 feet of water (bathtub, swimming pool, a drink on a table, etc.)
  • No tech zone in the house should be observed

What family technology policies would you implement at your home? What would be your rewards for compliance or consequences for non-compliance?

For more about Judith Kolberg and putting together a Family Technology Policy, visit http://fileheads.net/2013/09/how-to-develop-a-family-technology-policy/

For more about the National Association of Professional Organizers – San Francisco Bay Area Chapter (NAPO-SFBA) and the conference, visit: https://naposfbac.memberclicks.net/regional-conference – Hope to see you at our 2015 conference! (Location TBA)

Judith Kolberg founded FileHeads Professional Organizers in 1989, the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization, and the Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD). She is credited with launching a field of professional organizing dedicated to helping individuals challenged by chronic disorganization. Judith is the author of several books including Conquering Chronic Disorganization, which are required reading for industry certification programs (over a quarter million copies sold). She is a popular speaker and a featured organizer on the “Buried Alive” hoarding series. A native of New York, Judith lives in Atlanta, GA where she takes care of her mom, sees clients, writes, and publishes.

Categories
Professional-Organizer

How Do You Celebrate the Undead?

In our house, October means bringing out the sugar skull decor, devil masks, and musical instruments. We celebrate Dia de Los Muertos.

What is Dia de Los Muertos?

Dia de Los Muertos means “Day of the Dead,” a traditionally Mexican holiday observed throughout Mexico and around the world in other cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for, remember, and celebrate the lives of friends and family members who have died. The celebrations include food, drink, dancing, and fun activities. Dia de los Muertos recognizes death as a natural part of the human experience. On this day, the dead are part of the community, awakened from eternal sleep to share celebrations with loved ones.

A popular symbol of Dia de los Muertos is the calacas and calaveras (skulls and skeletons). They are displayed in candy, pan dulce (sweet bread,) as masks, and dolls. Calacas and calaveras are usually portrayed wearing fancy clothes, dancing, and enjoying life.

Dia de Los Muertos is celebrated on November 1 & 2, just after Halloween.

 

holiday-organizing-devil-5x4
Bone-chilling skeletons and paper mache devil masks

Experience Dia de Los Muertos this year at one of the many family-friendly celebrations going on throughout the San Francisco Bay to Monterey.  Sugar skull making, food, art, music, fire dancing, and more.

East Bay

Berkeley: http://www.anotherbullwinkelshow.com/day-of-dead/

Oakland: http://museumca.org/exhibit/songs-and-sorrows

Richmond: http://richmondartcenter.org/events/skeletonfest/

San Leandro: http://www.balletfolkloricomexicano.org/dia-de-los-muertos-2014.html

 

 

holiday-organizing-candles-5x4
Dia de Los Muertos candles

 

San Francisco

http://www.dayofthedeadsf.org/

http://www.somarts.org/exhibitions/day-of-the-dead/

https://deyoung.famsf.org/calendar/friday-nights-de-young-dia-de-los-muertos-presented-partnership-mexican-museum

http://www.missionculturalcenter.org/

http://www.sfsymphony.org/Buy-Tickets/2014-2015/Dia-de-los-Muertos-Community-Concert.aspx

 

 

 

holiday-organizing-coasters-45
Coasters for Dia de Los Muertos cocktails

 

North Bay

Petaluma: https://petalumaartscenter.org/el-dia-de-los-muertos-petaluma-2014/

San Rafael: http://www.dayofthedeadsr.org/

 

South Bay

San Jose: http://sjmusart.org/event/community-day-el-dia-de-los-muertos-2

5th Annual Día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) Celebration

Santa Cruz: http://www.santacruzmah.org/event/dia-de-los-muertos-community-festival-2/

 

 

 

 

holiday-organizing-maracas-4x5
Musical instruments – Skull maracas ready and waiting to be shaken

 

San Juan Bautista

http://www.elteatrocampesino.com/Season/muertos.html

Monterey

November’s Indy Marketplace Celebrates Día de los Muertos with Fire Dancers and Hula Hoops

holiday-organizing-cat-4x5
My cat Peaches. She’s fierce upon wakening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isabella Guajardo, also known as Girl With A Truck™, is a San Francisco Bay Area professional home organizer and member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO). She shares simple and creative ways to stay organized and stylish while reducing, recycling and re-purposing. Join Bella Organizing on Facebook.

READ MORE BELLA ORGANIZING BLOG ARTICLES HERE.

Categories
Professional-Organizer

Organic Rhubarb Pie Recipe – Quick & Easy

I enjoy baking homemade pie with organic rhubarb from my garden. Try my quick & easy recipe and share with friends. So GOOD!

Rhubarb Pie Recipe

5-6 cups chopped red or green rhubarb stalk (3/4″ crossway cut – from your garden or grocery store)
1 cup sugar*
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie**
 
* I use organic turbinado raw cane because it’s vegan, but plain sugar will do
** It should make enough for a bottom and top crust. Many recipes are available online or buy pre-made from a store – Trader Joe’s carries them.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
Combine sugar and flour. Sprinkle 1/4 of it over pastry in pie plate. Heap rhubarb over this mixture. Sprinkle with remaining sugar and flour. Cover with top crust.

Place pie on lowest rack in oven. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and continue baking 40-45 minutes until golden brown. Cover crust with foil if it starts to get too brown while baking. Serve warm or cold.

raw-pit green-pie chopped-pie rhubarb

Isabella Guajardo, also known as Girl With A Truck™, is a San Francisco Bay Area professional home organizer and member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO). She shares simple and creative ways to stay organized while reducing, recycling and re-purposing. Join Bella Organizing on Facebook.