Get Organized for the Holidays

December 12, 2000

Professional organizer LaNita Filer-Jones shares her expertise to help you get and stay organized for the holidays!

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The Chronicle: The information discussed today is provided for information purposes only. If professional services or other expert assistance is required, the services of professional organizer should be sought. Welcome to Get Organized. HoustonChronicle.com is proud to present a discussion with Professional Personal Organizer LaNita Filer-Jones.

LaNita Filer: Thank you for having me! Happy Holidays to everyone!

Meghan: What do you start with first when tackling the holiday chores?

LaNita Filer: The first step is to have a plan of how you want to prepare for the holidays. A good idea is to use a tabbed notebook where you can set up the tabs according to your holiday planning. For example, one tab could be "Christmas card lists," another tab could be "events," and a third tab could be "gifts." For each section, you go in and make a to-do list. Include target dates so that you can focus on completing each task. Transfer the date to your planner or calendar so that you know exactly when to do what.

GG: Do you find that shopping online helps in the organization method?

LaNita Filer: Shopping online is terrific! There are so many web sites with great gift ideas for your shopping convenience. Another good idea is if you really don't want to do it yourself, hire a personal shopper to do it for you.

Ruby Tuesday: I'm such a packrat. How can I learn to just toss the junk I haven't used in years when cleaning, and just keep the good things I 'will' use? Is there a fix for this?

LaNita Filer: A good suggestion is to have a box close by when you are cleaning, and to put the things that you haven't used in years into the box. Tape up the box and label it with the date, and then set it out in your garage. Mark 30 days from that date on your calendar, and decide at that time what you will actually keep and what you will get rid of. Nine times out of ten, you won't even remember what is in the box.

Beffie: What are some things you do to help reduce yourself of the stress of trying to get everything ready in time for the holidays?

LaNita Filer: I would say to enjoy the holidays. Having a plan is the very first step. Have fun break times planned with your family. For instance, you can set up an assembly line for your home for gift-wrapping, and have your family participate. When finished, make everyone a cup of hot chocolate, and sit down and listen to Christmas music, or pop in a holiday video. Savor the moments, and try not to be controlled or over whelmed by the hurried aspect of the season.

Fairy: Hi there I live in a very small home with little storage space. Do you have any ideas for optimizing what little space I have?

LaNita Filer: My suggestion is to use the plastic organizers on wheels--portable roll carts, storage boxes--that you can stack that can eliminate the horizontal space. You can also take a look at your home and divide it into areas. Keep all the items for one area in that specific area. For example, the ironing area--you would place your ironing board, iron, and spray starch all in this place. You can also use plastic baskets with handles for toting things around from your bathroom, to your kitchen, etc.

Dairy: Hi. I work from home, and my office is in the middle of the family room. Though I try my hardest to keep it organized, at times, it is difficult, since I really don't have anywhere to put anything. Any ideas to make this mess look more professional would be wonderful!

LaNita Filer: If you can move your office to a corner section of the family room, which may prove to be ideal. You can section it off with a screen divider, or go to used office furniture store, and purchase the cubical wall dividers to section it off. This will establish boundaries and give you a private work area.

Mooberry: My office is always cluttered with paperwork in progress. I can straighten things up in the morning, and by the time I am ready to go home, it is a mess again. Help!

LaNita Filer: A wonderful book that I would like to suggest is called, "The Personal Efficiency Program" by Kerry Gleeson. It is an excellent resource for showing you how to set up an organizational system in your office. It talks about using work planning, work systems, and work habits.

Neat Freak: Is neatness also organized?

LaNita Filer: No, not necessarily. You can have neat piles of paper, but they are still piles. The key is to develop a system that works for you no matter where you are. Organization is not perfection. It is an ongoing process, but without it, you often spend countless hours looking for things, misplacing paper, and wasting time. So to invest the time to work on developing your own system is well worth it in the long run. Without a system in place, you have mad chaos!

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