Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Kay's Organizational Tips and Tricks!


One of the things I get asked a lot is how I "do it all". I think that's a common question posed to 
women who not only work, but are mothers and are expected to run a household, cook dinner, and have any sort of social obligations.

There's an old adage, "If you want something done, get a busy person to do it."
Generally people that are used to getting a lot done on any given day can easily throw in an extra task or two.

One of the "secrets" I have for getting everything done is to be very organized. I have organizational systems at work and at my house and although it may not seem like a few organizational tricks might make a difference, they are a game changer for me.

But before we get into my organizational tips and tricks---remember how I talked about the splurge of getting a great haircut? I did just that this morning. I color my own hair and have always done so, so I left the house this morning with wet hair (which never happens unless I'm getting it cut that day) and emerged from Lux Machine (my favorite local salon---conveniently located right next to my office!) looking refreshed.


One of the biggest organizational tools I use at home happens almost all year long.
I have so many people who I buy Christmas gifts for---Family, Friends and Clients.
If I had to start thinking about what I was gifting all these people in the fall, I would go absolutely bonkers.

Instead, I buy presents throughout the year. In the early winter, after Christmas is over I shop the 
sales at various places and start my "hunt"for the next Christmas season. All year, I pick up things while antique shopping or in little boutiques, keeping a mental list in my head of the people I need to buy for.
I store all of my finds in plastic bins under my bed until Christmas nears and I need to start wrapping. I keep a pad of paper in the bin with a list of who I have already bought gifts for and what they are and of who I am still lacking gifts for. (I turned over the pad in the picture below---no peeking people!)

Once Christmastime rolls around I spend a few Saturdays wrapping and I am DONE.
Life made easy.


Another thing I do, which I've mentioned before, is separate my big meat buys at Costco into exactly what I'll need to cook dinner for my family. Every morning I take a protein out of the freezer for dinner and it is thawed and ready to cook by the time I return home.


At the office I have a few different organizational systems.
One of the main systems are my shopping bags. Every project has a shopping bag. Everything having to do with that project--- fabrics, invoices, purchase orders, finish samples, etc. goes in the bag is is divided by room into folders within the bags. When I go to a client's house, I am sure to bring their bag---that way I know I am prepared with any information that they may need.


Some projects that are very large have multiple bags and clients who I have done several different projects for have different bags for each project.

I use the shopping bags that I recycle from the showrooms and tag them each with a blue luggage tag showing the client/project name, secured with an orange ribbon.

My most current clients are housed on this beautiful French bookcase.


Client projects that are not currently active I transfer to cloth boxes that are labeled with the project name. I really do go back and look at past records and fabrics even years later, so it is important to me that they are easily accessible.


These bags and boxes on a back shelf in my storeroom are projects that are completed or 
currently inactive.


Since we are in Fort Worth and the design center is in Dallas, I use lots of fabric, wallpaper and trim books for my business. While I'm sure that designers in further reaches like West Texas would not empathize with my "plight" that Dallas is 35 miles away---it's not as easy as hoping over to the design center every time I have a need. We use all these books to supplement our weekly Dallas trips and I love how they have worked for me over the past 13 years.



Here is a scheme we're currently working on for a client's master bedroom.


This Aretha Franklin song has me grooving today!



Last night I made grilled salmon and a kale salad.

Riley came home late last night and I pulled out a leftover lamb rack for her along with some pasta and kale salad.





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