Category Archives: Quick Tips

Usually shorter blog posts that cover a single tip

Complete Pantry Clean Out

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We’re into week 3 of the BWP Holiday Preparation Countdown. With Thanksgiving approaching, its time to clean out the pantry. A clean and organized food storage space not only ensures that you have all the right ingredients on hand for the big day, but it also makes it easier to find and get to everything when you need it. Here is a scalable strategy for cleaning out wherever you store your food, one shelf at a time.

If you want full access to the planning workbook that these tips are based off of, hop on over to my Ko-fi page. Sign up for my one of my monthly subscriptions and for less than the cost of a pizza you can get access to the weekly planning PDFs, detailed exercises, themed checklists, and so much more. 

Not sure that you are ready to commit to the countdown subscription? Subscribe to my monthly newsletter today and I’ll give you the first few intro pages and my monthly layouts for FREE. Subscribe in the pop up or over on my Subscribe page.

Cleaning Considerations

Before you dive in there are a few things to consider.

Where do you keep your food?

If you have a large pantry, this might be easy. Also think if you have food items stored in closets, cupboards, spice racks, freezers, on counters, or even other rooms like a garage. If you keep emergency food supplies, its a good time to check on them as well.

How much time do you have?

If you have no time constraints then you can tackle this all at once as a large project. Otherwise, make things easier by breaking your decluttering into multiple smaller chunks. Do just one shelf or type of food at a time and get easy bits done when you have a few minutes and save other areas for when you have a dedicated hour. If you have 15 minutes, you have enough time to do the cereals, 30 minutes might be enough time to do the baking goods. With this method, you can avoid tackling more than you can handle and skip creating an overwhelming mess that just wastes time and creates stress.

What are your problem areas?

You probably already know which self is a problem. Its crammed with too many things. You cant easily reach the sugar when you need it. You can never find the right seasoning and end up buying duplicates. Whatever you pantry problems are during the rest of the year, they get amplified when trying to cook under pressure for guests. Take some time before you begin to both prioritize where you focus first and decide what needs to change as you go.

thanksgiving table setting
Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.com

Start Your Clean Out

Now that you are prepared, you can start to go through the pantry and remove things that are expired or you won’t use and get rid of them to make room for your holiday menu items. Be sure to monitor your time available. Also balance what you most need decluttered (for the upcoming meals) with what would have the most impact (the messiest/problem areas).

Use this method on each of your food storage areas, breaking them into big or small chunks. After you finish one small chunk, move on to another if you have time and energy or come back later to do more. Repeat this method on each area,.

Strategize

Determine what area/item type you will be focusing on. Take out only what you can handle in the time available. Grab a notepad and a pen, a trash bag or bin, a duster and or rag, and pick somewhere like a table or a box to keep the items corralled as you are cleaning. Think about any “decorative” elements like shelf or drawer liners, labels, storage bins, can organizers that you might want to utilize. You don’t have to use any but they can save space and keep things tidy longer when used effectively.

Toss

Check expiration dates. Keep a note pad handy and immediately add it to your shopping list if it’s something you will need/use. Now’s also the time to be honest with your self. Ask if you will actually use it. It sat there long enough to get old so will you really use it if you replace it? Likewise, just because something isn’t expired and will keep doesn’t mean you will eat it. If you won’t, consider passing it to someone who will or donating it to a food bank if appropriate.

Wipe

While your shelf is clear, dust or white it down. Scrub off any residue, add or replace shelf liners. Look at your items. Do they need dusting or cleaning. Are there any drips that need to be wiped up?

Put Away

Now put pack the things you will be keeping. If you have something that doesn’t belong back on that shelf, but you haven’t cleaned that shelf so its not ready to put back in its new home, you might keep it in a temporary bin. Now is the time to deploy any organizers, make sure things are organized in the way you want them, and assess if you have any improvements to make either now or when you tackle a future shelf. Make a note so you remember for later.

Restock

Once you’ve finished with an area, like say the canned beans, take stock of what you still have on hand and what you’ll need for your upcoming menus. Also consider what you regularly use. Add items to your grocery list so you can restock.

How does your pantry look now? Did you like this method?   Find me on Instagram as @betterwithaplan to share your panty clean out progress.

Want to know how this fits into the bigger prep plan to get your whole house decluttered, decorated, and clean for the Holidays? Sign up for a Ko-fi subscription to get the full 8 week planning workbook with all the exercises, checklists, and week-by-week plan to getting stuff done and stressing less this holiday season.

How to Get Ready For Company Fast

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Welcome back to Week 2 of the BWP Holiday Preparation Countdown. This week we focus on getting ready for family gatherings.

In an ideal world, your house would always be freshly cleaned and clutter-free. Your guests would always give plenty of notice before visiting. And even when they pop by unexpectedly, you’d be ready to host.

But here in the real world, you need a plan for that last minute cleaning and you need it fast. In my countdown planning workbook I share this method for getting your home as guest-ready as possible in a short time.

If you want full access to the planning workbook that these tips are based off of, hop on over to my Ko-fi page. Sign up for my one of my monthly subscriptions and for less than the cost of a pizza you can get access to the weekly planning PDFs, detailed exercises, themed checklists, and so much more.

Not sure that you are ready to commit to the countdown subscription? Subscribe to my monthly newsletter today and I’ll give you the first few intro pages and my monthly layouts for FREE. Subscribe in the pop up or over on my Subscribe page.

For a limited time only, subscribe to the newsletter or donate any amount to my Ko-fi page and I’ll also toss in the full first week—5 more content-filled pages—so that you can see for yourselves just how valuable this countdown will be.

Company’s Coming

First, don’t panic.

It’s ok if you’ve skipped regular cleaning, have extra clutter, and don’t know where to start. If your guests are on the way and you only have a little time, you can still do some speed cleaning to make things a little better.

Before I tell you how, there is one thing I want you to remember: your guests are your friends and family. People who love you and want to spend time with you, not judge your cleaning prowess. Give yourself some grace and accept that it doesn’t have to be perfect.

Now grab a laundry basket, a damp rag, a dry rag or towel, a trash bag and some room freshener spray and/or scented candles and lets get started.

Speed Clean Room-by-Room

With this method you are going to go room-by-room to very quickly give your house a once-over before your guests arrive.

This is not a deep clean but a rescue operation. Focus first on the rooms where your guests will be walking through, and spend the most time in the places where they will be most.

Are they coming for coffee? Start by the front door and do the most in the living room. Coming for drinks and dinner? Put your focus on the dining room and kitchen.

When you enter a room do these 5 steps:

  • Trash: Gather any obvious trash/recyclables and bag them. Empty any trash bins.
  • Smells: Spray room freshener or light scented candles. Turn on bathroom and ceiling fans to get air circulating, if the weather is nice, open some windows.
  • Surfaces: Take your rage and quickly wipe down any countertops, put things that belong in other rooms into the laundry basket. Don’t wast time putting them away in another room. Straighten and tidy the surfaces as you go.
  • Clear the floor: Start at the center and pick up anything that is on the floor. If you can put it away easily, do so. Otherwise, fold, pile, or arrange neatly and move on.
  • Put stuff away: if you’ve got items in your basket that belong in this room, drop them off before you move on. Gather your cleaning supplies and head to the next room.

Finishing Touches

After you’ve gone through each room quickly, finish putting away any leftover items in your basket. Blow out any candles. Turn off the fans and close the windows. Then go back to your bathrooms.

  • Do a quick clean: wipe down toilet, faucet, mirror and door handle.
  • Tidy up: put out fresh towels, close shower curtains, and put down toilet seats.

If you have time left here are a few other things you can do:

  • Vacuum the center of the floors
  • Wash, or put in dishwasher, any dishes that are not he counter
  • Walk the entry round to look for thing that are out of place
  • Keep using the 5 steps on other rooms
  • Pick up some flowers and make some quick arrangements

Don’t forget to put your basket and cleaning supplies away but if you are short on time, just toss the whole basket into the laundry area and deal with it later. ☺️

Now stop stressing about what your house looks like and enjoy visiting with your guests.

Did you like this method? Want to know how this fits into the plan to get your whole house decluttered, decorated, and clean for the Holidays? Sign up for a Ko-fi subscription to get the full 8 week planning workbook with all the exercises, checklists, and week-by-week plan to getting stuff done and stressing less this holiday season.

How do you get ready for guests in a hurry? Leave a comment below.

Do One Thing Now to Make Holiday Preparations a Breeze

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I’m back again with another tip for our first week of the BWP Plan More, Stress Less Holiday Preparation Countdown.

Week 1 Holiday Preparation Countdown image

Think back on holidays past. How easy was it to make the celebrations you envisioned come to life, to meet everyones expectations, host gatherings, and prepare for all the events? Did you feel pressure to get it right, to go above and beyond? I don’t know about you, but I generally feel rushed, stretched too thin and a little more frazzled during the holiday season.

Its no wonder that the American Psychological Association reports 38% of people surveyed experienced increased stress during the holidays. This year, instead of stressing about the holidays, wouldn’t you rather take steps now to be prepared?

Imagine being able to create the atmosphere and environment you want for precious holiday memories. Spending quality time with friends and family. Knowing what you need to do and when you need to do it. Having a mechanism to deal with feeling, both positive and negative. Steadily making progress to tackle problem areas. And feeling ready to welcome guests and visitors without stressing about how things look.

Seems too good to be true? Its not as far fetched as it sounds.

And maybe surprisingly, it all starts with creating the space to plan. Do this one thing now and you’ll be on the right track to make Holiday preparations a breeze.

Why You Need a Planning Spot

brown trench coat on wooden rack
Photo by Hristo Sahatchiev on Pexels.com

It might sound a little mystical but I have found again and again that something good happens when you intentionally designate a place with a purpose. It can be somewhere permanent like a home office desk. Or it can be somewhere more temporary like the kitchen table or a particular spot on the couch.

Set your intention to make that be your planning spot, and equip it with the tools you need for various tasks, Once you have a place for planning, you’ll be far more likely go there and actually spend time making plans.

Make a place where you keep your pens, paper, planners and calendars. With everything you need within reach, its easier to sit down and get to planning.

It’s a key component of habit building. Come back to the same spot on a regular basis you start to build routines. Sit there to make your grocery lists, write in your journal, and review your calendar. The more you reinforce the practice, the easier it will be to maintain. Consistency is key so set reminders if you need them.

Making Space to Plan

funny labrador in eyeglasses resting on bed with book
Photo by Samson Katt on Pexels.com

Choose somewhere you feel comfortable sitting for a bit. You’ll also want a steady surface to write on and work from as well. Find a place where you can easily sit, read, write, ponder, and plan.

You’ll also need a space to store your planner, access your calendar, interact with the internet, and manage paper. Choose your desk and you may already have this set up. If you are creating a new space be sure to factor in where you will keep things when you are not using them. If you can’t have a dedicated planning spot, make sure you keep your stuff near by. File boxes, drawers, or totes keep things handy but make it easy to put away.

Other Considerations for Your Space

In addition to a place to sit, and your obvious planning stuff, there are a few other things you will wan’t to think about.

  • Lighting – You don’t want to be straining your eyesight so consider if your spot has more mood lighting than functional lighting. Battery operated portable task lighting can be a reasonably priced solution and can be moved to where you need it most.
  • Privacy – It might not be possible to totally escape but if you have the choice, pick somewhere that lets you avoid being interrupted constantly. If thats not possible in your house, choose somewhere where you can safely leave your plans and come back to them. A space with a door or a higher counter is better than the coffee table for protecting things from little hands or curious critters.
  • Electronics – Will you use a computer, laptop or phone for planning? Make sure its somewhere with a convenient surge protector and extra charging cables.
  • Music – Do you like mood music? Will you be able to play your tunes?I love a good playlist to get me in the grove and use both my phone and some portable bluetooth speakers.

Whichever space you choose, make sure its a place you want to spend some time. Outfit it with everything you need. Then start using it to make it a habit.

Did you like this tip? In the comments, tell me where you do your planning, what you consider, and how you make it yours.

Want to know how this fits into the plan to get your whole house decluttered, decorated, and clean for the Holidays? Sign up for a Ko-fi subscription to get the full 8 week planning workbook with all the exercises, checklists, and week-by-week plan to getting stuff done and stressing less this holiday season.

9 Box Grids & 3 Common Ways To Use Them

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The 9 Box Grid is a powerful visual tool that has application in business and in social media. This post will show you 3 ways it is commonly used and how you can adapt this concept to help you achieve your goals.

What is a 9 Box Grid?

Image of 9 boxes arranged in a 3x3 grid

As the name implies, it refers to 9 boxes, arranged in a 3×3 grid. With this one simple tool you can better plan anything from your week to your year, and everything in between.

Let’s dive deeper into three ways that you may already be familiar with this concept and how to adapt them for your planning.

The Grid is a Classic Talent Management Tool

Image of the 9 box grid showing how it is used as a performance management tool

In business management and Human Resources, the grid is a simple and easy to use talent management tool.

Managers will label the horizontal axis (the bottom) with a scale of current performance and the verticals axis (the left) with a scale of future potential. This creates a matrix of 9 boxes where the two factors overlap.

They will then rate their employees from low to high in each area. Where they fall on the grid will indicate the different roles they plan on your team and suggests different support, development, encouragement, and intervention actions may be needed.

There are some concerns that this model is too simplistic and gets easily misused. Despite that, the basic premise of arranging ideas along a 2-axis chart is solid. Take the below example. Same grid, different labels and now you have hacked this tool to help you reach your goals.

Image of 9 box grid hack to use it as a workout planner

Let’s say your goal is to add healthy movement to your day. Easier said than done when you lead a busy life. However, I’m betting you have a least a few minutes to spare.

Here I have hacked the same grid you saw above to create a workout planning tool. To do this I made one axis the time you have available and the other your level of motivation.

You can customize it with your own favorite activities of varying durations (15-30-45 minutes) for days when you have more or less energy and motivation. Now, no matter how you feel or how much time you have, you can quickly eliminate excuses and make healthy choices.

It is a Visual Strategic Planning Tool

Image showing the 9 box grid as strategic visual planner

You probably noticed the grid is also a common format in photo-based social media applications. Feeds, such as my Instagram, use grids to display posts in rows of three-across.

The grid can help you strategically plan your overall layout. With this birds-eye view of your content, you can quickly assess style, color, theme and consistency.

Brand influencers often use this tool to strategically plan the types or categories of content they are working to build. And you can use it to quickly decide if the overall effect is the one you want. Think about what your audience to see when they first browse to your profile. Decide if it will convey the look you want.

Moreover, you can use this beyond your social media feed. Other applications that lean on visual style can make use of the grid to ensure key elements flow together. This includes photography, wardrobe planning (especially capsules wardrobes), quilting, interior design, art, etc.

To use this technique yourself, lay out samples, descriptions, labels, or photos of your project. Check that the colors, materials, textures, and other design elements are cohesive and give the desired impression.

I have been known to apply 9 Box Grids to mood boards and presentations. I’ve even made one out of paint swatches to be sure I like the overall impression before I commit to it.

The Grid is a Retrospective Reflection Tool

Image of 9 box grid used to assess a social media feed with notes critiquing the results around the margins.

You’ve also likely seen 9 Box Grids make an appearance across social media at the end of the year. These “Top 9” or “Best 9” posts are where people share their 9 most popular and liked posts formatted as a Grid.

I used to think posting a Top or Best 9 grid at the end of the year was bit gimmicky. I also didn’t like the bragging and unhealthy comparisons. But once I started thinking about it I found they had benefits too. Most importantly, this technique is both a creative way to celebrate your successes for the year and reflect on your value to you audience.

To get the best values out of this trend, take time to think about why those posts ranked in your top 9. Ask yourself what you see reflected in those posts. Are they a reflection of your core brand? So they align with your own perceptions on what should have ranked in the top 9? If not, what else is it that your audience sees and likes in your feed.

This introspection can help you derive insights to guide future posts even as you reminisce about where the past year. Or why wait until the end of the year and make this retrospective a quarterly exercise.

As you can see, the 9 Box Grid is a powerful tool for visually planning that can be adapted in many ways. Why not try one out and let me know what you think by tagging @BetterWithaPlan on social media or in the comments below.

If you liked these techniques, you’ll want to check out my next post to discover even more ways to make a 9 Box Grid work for you.

And if you want to see even more planning techniques and tips in action follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, or Facebook as @BetterWithaPlan