DOING LESS

Hi ladies! Today I want to talk about an article that I recently came across about saving time and doing less (you can read the full article here).

If you are starting a business, working as a freelance designer, building a brand, etc. you know that it can be completely overwhelming sometimes. I know that, personally, I struggle with answering emails and messages, and there are days when I feel simultaneously exhausted and like I didn't accomplish anything at the same time (not a good feeling!).

That feeling is usually caused by participating in too many time-wasting tasks, like:

- answering every single email and message, even if it's irrelevant
- running every single aspect of your business and being afraid to outsource
- overbooking yourself with meetings and appointments
- not prioritizing your to-do list

I think it's really important to remember, especially when you're first getting started, that you don't have to say yes to every opportunity and collaboration that comes your way (in fact, you shouldn't!). You also don't have to do everything yourself (see my vlog on outsourcing production here).

Your time is so valuable, and it's really important to be intentional about what is necessary, and to be continuously editing your weekday so that your time isn't being wasted.

Check out this article by we work for more detailed tips on doing less (in a good way), and let me know in the comments what time-wasters you will cut out to make your day more efficient.

PS - We Work seems like a genius idea for those of you who are starting a business - they're not in Nashville yet so I can't participate, but check out the website to see if they are in your location!

BUSY, BUSY

Whew! It's been crazy around here lately, you guys.

About a month ago, the online daily discount site, Zulily, reached out to me about featuring me in three different collections, including an entire Charm & Gumption collection (which will be happening next week)! I mean...whhaaaaa???

This is one of the biggest things to ever happen for me with Charm & Gumption and I have been just so honored and thrilled to be a part of this big name site.

So, my days have been spent literally just keeping up with orders. Lately, I have been feeling like I really need to figure out some way to get my time freed up a little bit. I need to have enough time to grow the business not just keep my head above water. I'm still working on that.

In the evenings, I have been on a serious cleaning and organizing rampage. I don't know what's up with that, but I do get in those moods from time to time. A couple of nights ago I got up out of bed at 11 pm and started cleaning out my closet until 3am. Seriously...who does that?

from my personal instagram

(ps. cut up a pool noodle and put it in your boots to keep them standing up! thanks Pinterest!)

If you have the same organization-freak tendencies, might I suggest this youtube channel, made by a girl who is the real life Monica Geller. Every single square inch of her home is perfectly organized and labeled. She's my hero. She opens her filing cabinet, and I swear the angels sing. Warning: it fuels the fire. I find myself thinking things like "I really need to organize my coffee and tea packets". Not normal!

Anyway, I thought I would check in and give you a little update! I should have a new video and post up on Friday. xo!

CHEAP & EASY BATHROOM ORGANIZATION

A few days ago, I got in one of those moods where something that had been bothering me every single day finally made me hit my breaking point, and that thing was our master bathroom. It was unorganized and completely undecorated, so I went to Target (of course) and just got a few things to freshen it up in there.

I picked up mostly white and aqua colored items (tip: check the dining / entertaining section for pretty bowls and plates you can use as trays for cheap!), and I used some other containers I had around the house to organize things nicely. That container that you see holding the q-tips used to be a candle. I also saw something on Pinterest once where someone got a pretty glass container to put their mouthwash in, so I copied that idea. It looks so much nicer than the regular mouthwash container, right? It's the little things!

The ceramic containers that you see holding my makeup brushes and lip pencils are from Paper & Clay.

Do you have any inexpensive or DIY ideas for organizing? Let me know in the comments! 

shop the post:

FREE PRINTABLES - CLEANING & WORKOUT SCHEDULES

I'm trying to be more organized in the new year - something about a fresh new year just makes me want to de-clutter everything, including my mind, you know what I mean? I'm a big planner person but I also wanted to come up with more consistent weekly schedules of things that need done every week.

Before this, I was cleaning the house a little each day but I didn't really have a plan or a consistent way to do it so I'm sure there were some things that I was forgetting. And likewise with working out - I was working out almost every day but it was kind of random and I didn't feel like it was having much of an impact. So to help with these two areas, I made print outs of my weekly workout and cleaning schedules.

I posted a picture on Instagram and a lot of people were interested in downloading these and printing them out themselves, so here you go! You can either download my exact schedules, or I also have included blank ones if you would rather fill in your own tasks.

Cleaning Schedule
(size 8.5 x 11 - standard printer paper)

Download my schedule (below) here

or

Download a blank schedule here

The way that I laid out this schedule is great for procrastinators (like me) because it's just a little bit (usually one room) each day. Even though some days look like they are a lot of work, each day is only about a half an hour of cleaning which doesn't seem like so much and keeps me from putting it off, whereas cleaning the entire house on the weekends or whenever just seems so overwhelming and I won't want to do it at all. I also like it because it keeps the house pretty clean all week long. If someone comes over on any day of the week, I know that the house is fairly clean as opposed to doing all of the cleaning on the weekend and then if someone comes over on a Friday, the place is a mess because I haven't cleaned in a week - know what I mean?

Workout Schedule
(size 8.5 x 4 - top of a piece of standard paper)

Download my schedule (below) here

or

Download a blank schedule here

My thinking behind the workout schedule is that, in the past, I have worked out super hard for a few weeks and then done nothing for a week - I've just been too extreme with it. This schedule will keep me from getting burned out I think because every other day is a short workout (30 mins) and I also threw a fitness class in the middle of the week for something different. I left the schedule pretty vague and open so that I don't have to do the same thing every day (ex: I wrote "cardio" instead of "running" or specifying which type of cardio so that I can do whatever I'm feeling like that day).

I hope you enjoy these printables! How do you like to organize your weekly tasks?

NEW OFFICE ORGANIZATION

I can't even tell you guys how much my life has improved since getting my own office in the new house! Just having a place to keep everything for the shop out and organized makes my day so much more efficient (I used to work in a corner of the living room in our old apartment).

Yesterday, the mister and I put together this new Ikea Expedit Workstation (which consists of this shelf and this table). It is perfect for containing all of my shipping supplies and prints, and the attached table is the perfect shipping work area. I already had the smaller Expedit on the left, so I put it next to the larger one and made a giant shelf wall for all of the boutique items. I highly recommend the workstation for any other shop owners out there - it is the best solution I have found.

I want to get about 8 more of these under shelf baskets as well because they double the storage space:

I also hung this pretty garland up on the opposite wall, which makes the room a little sparklier. I can't wait to hang more art up in the house! I've been waiting until other priorities are done, like painting, but hanging art always makes a house feel more homey.

The second I got the camera out, Chester posed for me, so I had to take his picture too of course (such a little diva, this dog). :)

I hope you guys have a great week! xo

GETTING CONSISTENTLY ORGANIZED

Oh, hi there. It's me...Holly...remember me? If not, it's okay. I haven't blogged in like a trillion years. 

Things with Charm & Gumption have been going really well lately. And when business stuff goes well it means that things are also really busy. So, on my list of things to do, writing a blog post always falls to the end of the list. But I'm going to get better! I promise (I know, I've said that before). 

How you ask? By dealing with my busy-ness the only way I know how: making lots and lots of lists. What I realized my schedule needs is more consistency. Any of you who work from home will know that having a consistent schedule is one of the hardest but most necessary parts of it. And lately, I just haven't been very consistent. 

So yesterday I made a list of all of the things I need to get done each week by category: blogging, order filling, emailing (you'd be shocked at how much time per day I spend sending/reading emails), as well as housework type stuff, like getting the groceries and doing the laundry. I realized that I could work a lot smarter (and not so hard) by spreading out all of these chores and things throughout the week rather than being a sporadic mess who's always running around like a chicken with her head cut off (duh). 

I got out my handy keyboard memo pad and wrote color coded to-do's for each category on each day and just doing that made me feel, like, ten times better. Cause I'm a weirdo like that.

How do you maintain a consistent schedule (or do you)? Any tips?

aristotle quote via Pinterest | keyboard memo pad