RECLAIM MY SPACE: A Journey to Clarity #3

A Written Journey from one of OuttaSpace Clients:  Entry #3

After a few rounds of working with Cristina on recharging my home’s energy and reclaiming my living space (post breakup), I can happily say: SUCCESS!

Before: I put no love into my space and surroundings. The decor was nonexistent and drab. I’d feel uneasy being at my flat for prolonged periods of time. I’d avoid hosting get-togethers at my place out of a subtle sense of embarrassment. I was going through a rough and trying time – getting over my breakup and learning how to be on my own and “single” was a challenge for me. It’s definitely true that our outer environment is nothing more than a reflection of what’s going on within us. My mind and energy was in total chaos, and my home mirrored it. I’d spend hours tidying up only for it to return to the same messy state is had been in a week earlier.

After: As I started to really shift my thoughts and mindset regarding myself and my life, it “mysteriously” became easier and automatic to take proactive steps towards making my home my sanctuary. Little by little I worked with Cristina to strategically revamp and make the most out of each room. Before I knew it my apartment exuded peace, tranquility and sensuality. It felt delicious to spend alone time. I thoroughly enjoyed having friends over on a regular basis…

Another big part of my work with Cristina entailed separating my workspace. This was one of the hugest perks! The energy in that space is now open and conducive to actually getting work done! It’s fun to work from home and I look forward to it. Thank you a thousand times Cristina for helping me reclaim my space… Both within and without!

Osmara Vindel
The Solopreneur Strategist
http://www.osmaravindel.com

Here are the photos of the third consultation after making her second trip to Ikea.

 

“A Home For Everything You Own” ®
The OuttaSpace Team

Visit our website at http://www.OuttaSpaceOnline.com

The One In, One Out Rule

OuttaSpace Newsletter~ ISSUE 31

During the Holidays, starting with your next purchase, donate or recycle an item you no longer use or like.  This works great with office gadgets and clothing! You will have to find one thing to let go of for every new item brought in.  You will then begin to evaluate the necessity of each purchase.  Practicing this rule will help you declutter your office and home and reduce the amount of stuff in your life!

Product of the Week

The Bin Warehouse 18 File Box Storage System is the perfect way to store and organize your file boxes or our 9 Gallon Fold-A-Totes

“A Home For Everything You Own” ®
The OuttaSpace Team

Visit our website at http://www.OuttaSpaceOnline.com

THREE STEPS TO ORGANIZING YOUR MUSIC LIBRARY

“THREE STEPS TO ORGANIZING YOUR MUSIC LIBRARY”
Article written by DJ Cab (John Cabarga)

Like most DJ’s today, I manage my entire music library from my laptop. Rather than bring a few hundred records with me to a party, I can choose from 30,000 songs at any given moment.  The key for me is to stay organized and keep my library in tact. But you don’t have to be a DJ to keep your music organized. Here are some tips to help you get your digital music library in tiptop shape.

1. Tag Tracks. This is the first and most important step to organizing your digital library. The four must have areas to tag are: Name, Artist, Album, and Genre. If you want to get crazy, there are all sorts of other information you can edit such as the year the track was released, composer, comments, etc. The more in-depth you want to go the better, but be careful not to over-extend yourself. The key to this, as with all organization, is consistency. If you’re comfortable with adding years to your tracks, do it. But remember, you will be doing it for every track.

2. Use Ratings. Ratings provide you with a way to prioritize your tracks.  It’s simple, the more stars you give a track, the more you like it. The Spaghetti Incident is probably the worst Guns N’ Roses album ever released, but there is at least one song in there I like. Rating tracks individually will help me differentiate between the tracks I like from the ones I don’t. It’s also important for the next step.

4. Create Playlists. Here’s where all your efforts get put to real use. iTunes provides you with the ability to drag and drop tracks to a list and separate them so you can play these tracks later on (hence, a Playlist). Great feature, but the real meat and potatoes is in the Smart Playlist feature. Here, songs can be automatically added to a list based on certain criteria you set. For example, let’s say you want to create a smart playlist that contains all your favorite tracks in your library. Simply create a Smart Playlist with the criteria of “Rating Equals 5 Stars.” Now, every track rated with 5 stars is added to this list. What’s more, is that every new track you assign a 5 star rating to in the future will be automatically added to the list as well. You can create as many playlists as you like. The key of course is having your tracks properly tagged.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It might take you some time and a little patience to set things up properly, but in the end, you’ll have an organized library and a better way to find the songs you love.     DJ Cab ~~  http://www.djcab.com/blog

“A Home For Everything You Own”®
“The OuttaSpace Team”

Visit our website at http://www.OuttaSpaceOnline.com

Shoeboxed.com~ Transforms receipts, business cards and documents into searchable data

If you work in the business world, you surely have receipts, business cards, bills, and other paper documents floating around your office and car, or tucked inside your wallet. All these pesky pieces of paper are critical for tax preparation, surviving IRS audits, and sales or networking, but they are a huge pain to organize and are always easy to lose. Pushing these receipts or contracts through an expensive scanner or manually entering information into spreadsheets is tedious and time-consuming, as is hiring an assistant. And according to PriceWaterhouseCoopers, businesses spend $20 in labor to file a paper document and $120 to find a misfiled document.
Enter Shoeboxed.com, a company that transforms receipts, business cards and other paper documents into searchable, organized and useful data. With Shoeboxed, you’ll never waste another minute on scanning and data entry, or lose an important paper document again.
Shoeboxed is a robust paper clutter solution that comes with mobile, email and mail-in options to submit documents for processing. After users send documents to Shoeboxed, everything is scanned, data entered and human-verified. The extracted information is then organized and uploaded to the Shoeboxed web application, a secure site  where users can access their individual accounts online from any computer. In the account, users can print copies of documents, generate expense reports and export data to QuickBooks, Quicken, Excel, PDF, Outright.com, FreshBooks, Outlook, Address Book, Salesforce and more. Since Shoeboxed is an IRS-accepted electronic storage system, receipts are always tax and audit-ready, and the hard copies can be discarded after processing.
Shoeboxed Mobile is great for travelers or any smartphone user. You simply snap a photo of a receipt or a business card on the spot, and forward the image to your unique Mobile email address. The image will be data entered, organized and categorized in your account. For iPhone users an application is available in the iTune store for submitting receipts.
Shoeboxed offers a 30 day free trial, so click here to check it out!

Shoeboxed.com

“A Home For Everything You Own”®

The OuttaSpace Team

Visit our website at http://www.OuttaSpaceOnline.com

RECLAIM MY SPACE: A journey to clarity #1

A Written Journey from one of OuttaSpace Clients:  Entry #1

Space matters. Really, it does. I didn’t fully believe this until recently, when I had the pleasure of connecting with Space Master, Cristina Maria. She said something to me that really hit home: “Your environment is an outer reflection of your mind” (or something along those lines…)
“Sh*t,” I thought, “That doesn’t reflect a pretty picture of me!” I’ve been in transition this year, and reclaiming my space has been that breath of fresh air I have so desperately needed. I’ve never really been one to put much attention on “making my house a home”, but now that my space was to be SOLELY mine, I wanted it to be a sanctuary for me. As I looked around at my apartment I scanned the energy – dead. The walls were barren, there was no warmth, major clutter , clashing furniture… it was cold and definitely NOT the reflection of me I wanted to see.  My space was not conducive to productivity (I wasted SO much time EVERYDAY looking frantically for anything and everything), clarity, creativity, inspiration, you name it. Basically my space was not workflow conscious… And considering I run my business from home that was no good… any (savvy) solopreneur knows that their space MUST be workflow conscious… which opens way to inspired BIG ideas and constant effectiveness.
My initial consultation with Cristina was beyond powerful. She immediately got to the core of why I had been unknowingly resisting putting some “lovin” into my place… She went through every room and area and we assessed what I was envisioning, what was most practical, and how I could maximize my space whilst reusing items I already had. The session ended with a strategic plan beautifully intermixed with frugal shopping, relocating current furniture, recycling furniture by repainting, and more. We focused mostly on the living room, work area, foyer, bedroom and balcony. I was inspired and excited to see the changes that would be transpiring during the coming months… I was excited to finally be taking steps to make my home my sanctuary…
I made a trip to Ikea  a few days later with a clear idea about what I needed to get.  A few hours later, my apartment was completely transformed into my vision! What was most striking was the shift in energy – you could definitely feel the difference… the air felt light and more clear… I am so grateful to have the chance to work with Cristina, she’s so passionately determined to help people realize the oh-so-frequently overlooked connection between the quality of your mind and the inherent energy that lies in all of the objects we own.  Do yourself a favor today and scan your home. Ask yourself – Does my home reflect a side of me I want to see?

Osmara Vindel
The Solopreneur Strategist
http://www.osmaravindel.com

Here are the photos of the initial consultation prior to procuring anything from Ikea.  Stay Tuned for my next Journey Entry #2!

“A Home For Everything You Own”®

The OuttaSpace Team

Visit our website at http://www.OuttaSpaceOnline.com

“Reclaim Your Space”

Check out my interview with Osmara Vindel, Solopreneur Strategist and creator of the “Fearlessly Fabulous” program for women entrepreneurs. Her free e-zine  is full of great resources such as articles, books, interviews and much more to help you re-boot your brain, get out of your own way and create a successful business for yourself. Click here: http://www.osmaravindel.com.

LISTEN TO:  Reclaim Your Space

“A Home For Everything You Own”®

The OuttaSpace Team

Visit our website at http://www.OuttaSpaceOnline.com

Is Your Office OuttaSpace?

Cristina Maria Lloyd is “Cris-Crossing” the Country kicking mess and taking names! She arrives on the scene of anyone, anywhere who’s being controlled by clutter. Her guests come from all walks of life but with one thing in common; they’re OuttaSpace! In this video she works with a Miami entrepreneur to straighten up his desk in order to clear the way to success.

CHECK OUT THE VIDEO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1u9BdADzt0

“A Home For Everything You Own”®

The OuttaSpace Team

Visit our website at http://www.OuttaSpaceOnline.com

Spring Cleaning Isn’t Just for Spring Anymore!

I came across this Fabulous Article that sums up why is vital for us to take time out of our day and straighten out our home, office and any space we occupy.

Just look at the title of the article…

Spring Cleaning Isn’t Just for Spring Anymore! | ModernMom.com.

“A Home For Everything You Own”®

The OuttaSpace Team

Visit our website at http://www.OuttaSpaceOnline.com

Tidy Up Your Finances

Have You ever asked yourself what does a PILE of bills and statements paid or not paid mean?
It all relative to someone being clueless of what is happening with their finances, whether it is to their detriment or not.

Check out this amazing article in Oprah.com magazine with Suze Orman

http://www.oprah.com/money/Suze-Ormans-Spring-Cleaning-Overhaul-Your-Files-and-Finances_1

 

 

“A Home For Everything You Own”®

The OuttaSpace Team

Visit our website at http://www.OuttaSpaceOnline.com

The 10 Habits of Highly Organized People ~ Great Article from Oprah.com

You know those folks who seem to have it all together? They’re not perfectionists (far from it). Instead, experts say, they follow a few simple rules.

1. Walk away from bargains
Just because you can buy a cashmere sweater for $20 or three bottles of ketchup for the price of one doesn’t mean you should. “Ask, ‘Do I have something similar?’ and ‘Where am I going to store it?’ before making a purchase,” advises New York City professional organizer Julie Morgenstern, author of Shed Your Stuff, Change Your Life.

2. Make peace with imperfection
Efficient people give “A-level effort” to the most important projects (say, work assignments or a kitchen redesign), and for the rest they do just enough to get the job done, says Renae Reinardy, PsyD, a psychologist who specializes in hoarding disorders. Maybe you give yourself permission to bring store-bought cookies to a school bake sale or donate a bag of stuff—unsorted!—to Goodwill. “Trying to do every task perfectly is the easiest way to get bogged down,” says Reinardy.

3. Never label anything “miscellaneous”
You put a bunch of things into a file or box and write this catchall across the front. “But within a week you’ve forgotten what’s in there,” says Morgenstern. Instead, sort items into specific groups—”electric bills,” “lightbulbs,” and so on.

4. Schedule regular decluttering sessions
Rather than wait until an industrious mood strikes (we all know where that leads), have a decluttering routine in place—whether it’s spending 15 minutes sorting mail after work or tackling a new project every Sunday afternoon.

5. Stick with what works
“I have clients who will try every line of makeup, every cell phone—it’s exhausting,” says Dorothy Breininger, president of the Delphi Center for Organization. Don’t waste time (and money) obsessively seeking out the best thing.
6. Create a dump zone
Find a space to corral all the stuff that you don’t have time to put away the moment you step in the door, says Breininger. Once you’re ready to get organized, you won’t have to hunt all over the house for the dry cleaning or your child’s field trip permission slip.

7. Ask for help
“The organized person is willing to expose herself to short-term embarrassment and call for backup,” says Breininger. Which is to say, that elaborate four-course dinner you planned? Change it to a potluck.

8. Separate emotions from possessions
It’s healthy to be attached to certain items—a vase you picked up in Paris, your grandmother’s pearls. But holey concert tees or cheap, scuffed earrings your husband gave you years ago? Just let them go.

9. Foresee (and avoid) problems

You wouldn’t leave the house on a gray day without an umbrella, right? People who appear to sail through life unruffled apply this thinking to                                  every scenario, says Breininger. Have a cabinet packed with leaning towers of Tupperware? Organized folks will take a few minutes to short-circuit   an avalanche before it happens. (In  other                                                                                                                                                             words, rearranging that cupboard now is easier than chasing after wayward lids as they scatter  underneath the fridge.)

10. Know where to donate
It’s easier to part with belongings if they’re going to a good home. Identify a neighbor’s son who fits into your child’s outgrown clothes, or choose a favorite charity. “It will save you from searching for the perfect recipient every time you need to unload something,” says Morgenstern.

http://www.oprah.com/home/The-10-Habits-of-Highly-Organized-People_1/2

“A Home For Everything You Own”®

The OuttaSpace Team

Visit our website at http://www.OuttaSpaceOnline.com