Organized Haven Blog - Organized Haven

Clearing the House Mr. C and his Late Wife Built

8/4/2019

We stood in silence as the furniture was loaded into the back of a hatchback belonging to a young family. As they admired their new end tables, Mr. C and I watched out the window. Tears welled up in my eyes as I imagined the thoughts going through his mind. 51 years in the house he and his wife built. 45 years of marriage before he lost his wife tragically. Quilts, dishes, and furniture that won’t fit into his new home. He said quietly, “I wish I could have taken those tables with me but I don’t have the space.” My response was “I bet it is hard seeing it all go but that young family can now use them in their home. It looks like they are going to enjoy them.” A smile came over his face as he thought about it. We looked at each other and I could tell it was hard but it was getting easier.

Clearing Your Clutter, Calming Your Anxiety

6/28/2019

Clearing Your Clutter, Calming Your Anxiety

After a long day, everyone deserves a space to unwind. Clutter is one of many things that can rob you of your peace and take you outside of your house of zen. Return home to a space that is both tranquil and calm with these tips to help you declutter your space and in turn, your mind.

5 Simple Ways to Refresh Your Old Office

12/18/2018

Offices aren't necessarily known to be the epicenters of creativity, and the image of beige cubicles feels claustrophobic at best. Your workspace options may be pretty limited depending on where you work; however, here are five simple ways you can liven up your workspace.

1. Don't Mess
Take inventory of what you have an be utilitarian: keep only what you need. That includes pictures, ornaments, or memorabilia that bring you joy. Everything else should go! Sell valuable items, donate anything that's been gently used, and recycle what you can.

Try to limit what you put in the landfill but don't be afraid to get rid of things that you never use. Afterward, stay on top of it! If you struggle to keep things tidy, try giving yourself a single designated clutter area, like a drawer or a basket to keep things small.

If you need help assessing what can stay and what can go, let us help you organize your office.

10 Tips for Tackling Garage Clutter

8/6/2018

If you’re the type of person who maintains an “out of sight, out of mind” mentality, you likely have hidden corners of your home that are begging to be cleansed of belongings you no longer use. It’s all too common for drawers to become unruly, storage rooms to start bursting at the seams, and for garages to be more occupied by junk than cars.

If you’re guilty of letting your less frequently used space accumulate unwanted items, it’s time to start sorting and purging. Sometimes getting started is the hardest part so keep reading for tips on how to manage a cluttered garage.

100 Can Challenge - Food Drive Benefiting Heart for Winter Haven

5/4/2018

Reduce food waste and fight hunger with Move for Hunger and Heart for Winter Haven! Pick a day to organize your pantry and donate non-perishable food items to fight senior hunger in Winter Haven.

If there is a need for food to be picked up, let us know. Otherwise, it can be dropped off at our office - call first to be sure someone will be there.

Please help us reach our goal - 100 cans for Move for Hunger's "100 Can Challenge"!

Nicole Ramer, SMM~C
Owner, Professional Organizer, and Certified Senior Move Manager®
Organized Haven

635 1st Street S. Ste# 4 | Winter Haven, FL 33880
863.268.4041

UPDATE:
Organized Haven was honored to collect 150 non-perishable food items to help fight #SeniorHunger with Heart for Winter Haven in Winter Haven, Florida and Move For Hunger!
Thank you to our clients, team members, and community for your generous donations and support! We look forward to joining the #100CanChallenge again in 2019!

Organizing Tips that Will Make Moving an Easier Process

4/13/2018

Moving, regardless of the distance you’re traveling, can be a stressful ordeal. One of the biggest instigators behind moving stress isn’t the fact that you’ll be in an entirely new space, but rather the amount of planning that needs to go into the act to make sure that everything makes it from point A to point B without breaking. Being organized is something we all know is necessary for moving, but it isn’t something we know how to do effectively. Luckily, I have a few tips for organizing before a move that will help the process go as smoothly as possible.

Come up with a written plan
Whether you’re computer savvy and can make a chart on Excel that keeps tabs on what you need to pack or you’re old-school and like to keep things written down in your notebook, it’s very important that you keep a physical copy of your moving checklist at hand. Trust me, even if you have a great memory, a hardcopy of what you need to do before you move will save you a huge headache. Make a list of what you need to pack, who you need to contact (i.e. the post office), what needs to be cleaned, and whatever else needs to happen before you begin moving. As soon as you complete something, check it off the list immediately.

Labels are your friends
Labeling boxes and bags that contain all of your personal belongings during a move can remove a ton of stress from each stage of the process. Put a descriptive—or even not so descriptive—note on every storage container. More importantly, don’t put an item into a container that is not within its respective category. While moving, if you need to find something, you won’t have to worry about tearing through all of your already packed boxes and bags.

Note: this tip is especially important with any paper documents you plan on taking to the new home. Organize them by their purpose and don’t mix them in with other papers or you could find yourself in a nightmare of a situation.

Toss what you no longer need
One thing that almost anyone who moves realizes is that they have so much stuff. Ask yourself if you really need everything in your home. Throwing out, giving away, or selling the things you don’t need is one of the best ways to get organized. The less you own, the easier it is to store things and keep your new space uncluttered.

Don’t be afraid to hire help
Aside from the necessary top real estate agent to help you sell your house, or the professional movers to transfer heavy furniture, don’t be afraid to hire someone to help you organize your space pre-move. Most people have busy lives outside of moving, making the process a huge burden - not to mention the physical and emotional aspects, especially for older adults downsizing. Organized Haven was started for this very purpose and we’d be more than happy to help you get organized before you move. Get in touch with us today if you’re in the Central Florida area!

Nicole Ramer, SMM~C
Owner, Professional Organizer, and Certified Senior Move Manager®
Organized Haven

635 1st Street S. Ste# 4 | Winter Haven, FL 33880
863.268.4041

Getting Organized in 2018

1/31/2018

Getting organized in 2018 means more than just having your clothes ready and day planned the night before a workday. It means more than having your house in order, important papers locate-able, and bills paid on time. It means finding ways to be more productive. Since 2005, The National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals (NAPO) has celebrated the month of January as Get Organized (GO) month. January is simply the best time of the year to review your accomplishments from the year prior and consider changes you might make to be even more productive the next. For this reason, NAPO is promoting how getting organized will help make you more productive!

Looking back on 2017, and having had set the stage in this first month for what I want 2018 to look like, I've discovered ways in which I can be more productive. When I think about the opportunities I missed and struggles I faced in getting things done, I relate these issues to three areas of my daily life:

How to Help Hurricane Irma Victims

9/13/2017

Downed power lines, traffic lights out, homes and businesses destroyed, people displaced. That is the situation here in Florida after Hurricane Irma crawled up our state and into Georgia and the Carolinas. I am in Winter Haven - Polk County. The eye went directly over our county. Somehow, I slept right through it. Our power went out at 9:25 PM and with nothing to do, my son was asleep in our middle-of-the-house closet, and my husband oversaw things while I closed my eyes for what I thought would be short while. When I woke up at 4:45 AM, it seemed the storm had come and gone. Although I'm still not comfortable in my home (TECO has my power being restored on Saturday 9/16), I still have my house, my family, and my business.

Others across our state were not so lucky and are in desperate need of help. Here is a list of local and national organizations who are setting funds aside to help the victims of Hurricane Irma. As a member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals (NAPO) and the National Association of Senior Move Managers (NASMM), I learned from my colleagues in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in Texas that the best thing to donate is money. Their needs simply go beyond clothing, furniture, and household goods... especially those without homes to store these items. Here are four organizations that are collecting funds that will 100% go to supporting those affected by Hurricane Irma:

New Organized by Nicole Location!

7/31/2017

After four years of working out of my home office, I have opened a new, real business location!!!

Working out of my home has proven to be many things, but here are a few:

easy to head to the office when something needs to get done (no matter the time, day or night)
difficult to "get away" from work (anytime I thought of a task while at home, I could quickly get to the office)
nearly impossible to have real business hours (especially since I had no door to limit visits from little Danny)
convenient for my clients to contact me at any hour (my personal cell phone is plastered all over everything!)

Although it was a hard decision, and I think I had a few panic attacks while "moving", I'm so beyond excited about this new venture! As I sit here in my new "space", with all the resources I need at my disposal, I have less distractions, more space, a legitimate location where my assistant Dee can help me get stuff done, and so much more!

With space planning being such a big part of what I do, of course I planned this move in great detail. Want to check out the process? Click "read more" to see pictures!

Should I Choose an Organizer with Credentials or Without?

6/30/2017

The world of professional organizing is still fairly new to most people. Shows like "Hoarding: Buried Alive" are the source of confusion with what this industry is actually all about. It isn't only hoarding for why organizers exist. I'd like to say that I have had an impact on the view my industry has here in Polk County and around Central Florida. Organizers are popping up all over the world, and we all have our own personal niches. You know, what we are great at! Even more than that, it's who we are serving and why.

If you are reading this because you are searching for help from a Professional Organizer, you may need to determine what you are actually looking for help with, what your budget is, and whether or not you truly need professional help. When I embarked on this career in 2013, I was entry-level in terms of experience in the field. Sure - I was an organized person, but could I help others become organized? Could I successfully market this as a business? What specifically did I want to organize? Was there the market for this business locally? So many questions and not enough answers. Many trials and bumps in the road and no process was quick! Four years later, I now have the experience, capability, and credentials to really help my clients - at a much greater level than I could when I first started. Read on to consider whether or not you would like to hire someone not only experienced, but credentialed for your organizing project OR someone just starting out...

Nicole Ramer

Hi there! Welcome to my blog and thank you for stopping by!

I am a Professional Organizer and Certified Senior Move Manager® in Central Florida. I have a HUGE passion for organizing and finding the best, most efficient way of doing things!

My goal with this blog is to use it to teach my readers methods of organizing and as a way to communicate with the members of my community.

Please feel free to chime in and leave comments with your opinions or ideas. I'd love to hear from you!

Enjoy and happy organizing!

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Below are links to products and resources that I believe in, and/or use and love. Purchasing by way of these links will help support my business and my family, as to no additional charge to you, they pay me a percentage of the sale... thank you!!

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What Our Clients are Saying:

"My mother had lived in her home for over 65 years when she passed, so the house was filled to the brim. Nicole and her team were outstanding. They came to the house, presented a plan to remove all of the items through an online auction. They inventoried all items, separated the items into individual lots and managed the auction, down to the last item being paid for, picked up and removed from the house! The payment for their services and transfer of the proceeds was seamless. I was left with an empty house that I could then get ready for sale. Perfect! Couldn't have asked for a better solution to an overwhelming situation!"

Brenda C. Winter Haven

Central Florida Organizing, Downsizing, and Senior Move Management:

Auburndale, Lakeland, Winter Haven, Lake Alfred, Dundee, Fort Meade, Bartow, Lake Wales, Highland Park, Polk City, Eagle Lake, Lake Hamilton, Gibsonia, Frostproof, Alturas, Haines City, Davenport, Wauchula, Bowling Green, Zolfo Springs, Sebring, Avon Park, Lake Placid, Kissimmee, St. Cloud, Clermont, Zephyrhills, Plant City. Central Florida counties served: Polk, Hardee, Pasco, Highlands and parts of Osceola, Hillsborough and Lake. Under special circumstances, we will travel outside of these areas, but will otherwise refer you to one of our esteemed colleagues.

Contact Us:

Nicole Ramer, SMM~C
635 1st Street S Ste 4
Winter Haven, FL 33880
Office: 863.268.4041
Help@OrganizedHaven.com

Website designed and maintained in house by Nicole Ramer, Professional Organizer & Certified Senior Move Manager®.