You may not be a history buff like myself but I think you will find my aha moments interesting that I got when visiting these Presidential homes. We think so much has changed, but has it? Are we using our homes differently? I just think tv gave us this impression of how our homes should be used and look. We know differently at Organize 365®.

Why Adult Fieldtrips

I support my family in all of their passions and this act of self care is a way for me to support my passions and fill my cup. I love to go see presidential homes because of the history of the homes and functionality more than learning about the actual Presidents. These homes are the best representation of what life was like at that time. I like to think about the history of course, but also how the homes were used and the female roles in the homes and as a spouse. I’m always impressed by the vast libraries and proof of how much they valued education. And the finances, who had that much money to afford and run those plantations and who was managing the money? I visited 4 of the first 5 President’s homes in VA.

Women of the Plantation

Jefferson’s daughter, Martha, had her own study right off of the entrance. Martha assumed the responsibilities of the home when her mother passed away. When she moved home, they had to make modifications for her and her husband and their 13 children. Jefferson was constantly modifying Monticello to accommodate their current phase of life. Funny I know someone who constantly gives permission to people to modify your home to your current phase of life. Actually there were so many renovations that in the end it left a heavy financial burden on Martha and the plantation was sold to the DuPont family because they couldn’t afford all of the debt Jefferson had accrued. If only they’d had the financial binder. It’s so important to plan and document your final wishes of your (maybe debt) and assets.

Dolly was Madison’s wife. She was well connected, had money, was social, and came into their marriage with an 18 month old son after yellow fever took her first husband and two other children. She moved from the South to the North to live in VA. There were a lot of life changes for her including the addition of slaves in her life and managing the plantation. She was a pioneer of sorts having dinner parties and courting votes. She too had a study in which I’m sure she was coordinating everything.

These women’s husbands were in office, they were in charge of the finances, domestic staff, paid staff, their families, their spouse, social life, education, and community involvement. If only they’d had the Household Reference and Operations binder. How did they do it all?

The Estates

These estates were fairly close to each other and it reminds me of how arduous travel was in that day. They didn’t have cars. These homes were to house the plantation staff, guests who had traveled, and meetings regarding being in office. But the two families, the Jefferson’s and Madison’s, used their homes differently. And Jefferson had his own quarters if you will like a little condo of his own like the personal spaces I talk about in regards to children’s rooms. These homes fueled all their passions like a love of reading, small businesses, and public service. Isn’t that what we are doing today too? Our homes are the only thing we have control over and they must fit our phase of life because we spend so much time in them, much like they did in the times of these Presidential homes. I can’t wait to tell you about my field trip to Greenfield Village next time!

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

In this episode, I introduce you to Lea N. who is married and has her mother living with them. Lea is a lifelong learner and had been watching some organization shows. Lea came across a few guest spots of mine on those shows. Lea really resonated with what I said and got the Sunday Basket® right away. When she had been listening to those interviews, she found herself thinking “Oh I get it and I get Lisa!” She was always organized but this gave Lea a system.

Lea’s parents are divorced. Her mom moved in and soon after got really sick with Endocarditis, which ended up being a four and a half month stay at the hospital. Lea has a successful restaurant in the L.A. area. As an entrepreneur, you wear a lot of hats. Lea would work and then head to the hospital. She runs her business off the Friday Workbox®, the two and half year planner, and rainbow tear pad. She just makes her “lesson plan” for the week and runs it without really referencing it again.

Right after her mom returned home to finish her recovery, her dad’s girlfriend passed away from the same thing her mom was recovering from. But now, she was helping her dad to sell his girlfriend’s house and get settled into a long term care facility where they could care for him and his dementia. Unfortunately he fell about a year later, broke his hip, and ultimately passed away. That is a lot for one person to manage. That is a lot of emotion for one person to process. She’s thankful she had the podcast in her ear to receive permission to feel how she felt. She was thankful for Michelle, from the Sunday Basket® club, (her other Organize 365® bestie ) for the continued guidance on the systems to maintain her organization. The color coding was a game changer for Lea.

She was proud of herself when she brought one of the binders to a Lawyer and he complimented how helpful and thorough it was. Lea credits getting those binders done to the professional paper organizers from Organize 365® because she’s an “obliger” and doesn’t want to let others down. She sees the “trickle down,” that this will happen to her boys as well and she wants to be organized for them, when the time comes. We talk about child care. We talk about self care. But we don’t talk about menopause or the period of life when you get the responsibility of your parents - eldercare. It takes a lot of time, money, and responsibility. She states it’s not easy to get organized but once you do at least you aren’t looking for “that paper.”

She feels great about all of the organizing she has done and with all of the unexpected life events that have come her way, she doesn’t know how she could have made it through without them. She’s anticipating a time when she can focus on their home with The Productive Home Solution™ program. Lea was in the middle of a home renovation and opening a second restaurant when her husband lost his job. And speaking of more unexpected life events she joked about the toll of menopause.

We talked about her desires to be even more profitable and productive with the coming of her second restaurant. And we discussed that for “busy bees”, we don’t want a vacation on the beach, we wanna be producing! I explained Dan Sullivan’s idea of “free days” where you are still productive. She’s empowered to do more because she knows she’ll never be “done”. She has peace of mind that all responsibilities are taken care of. And she’s constantly evolving.

Lea’s advice is, “Just get the Sunday Basket®. It just gets you on the right path.”

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• The Friday Workbox®

• The Productive Home Solution™

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter

On the Wednesday podcast, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365­® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps and triumphs along their organizing journey. I am grateful that you are reaching out to share with me and with this community. You can see and hear transformation in action. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

In this episode, I introduce you to Mercedes who is married with two young children and a one eyed siamese cat. When she was expecting her first baby, she knew she needed to get some systems in place to get organized and stay organized once she had the baby. Her husband listened to a lot of podcasts at the time so she decided to find one about organizing. Two popped up but she ultimately chose Organize 365® because Abby had just found out she was pregnant with Grayson so she related the episodes.

Mercedes started with the overflow boxes for the clothes for the baby. Then she did her personal spaces, because that’s what was taught to do first. Mercedes saw that it worked so she fully trusted the systems and implemented as instructed. Full trust. But it was great that she did her personal spaces because then we talked about how moms don’t get on the to do list. We do the children’s clothes and personal spaces but when does mom’s get done. Do your personal spaces first women! Then all you have to do is maintain like Mercedes explained.

In 2023, Mercedes got one of the Teacher workboxes to teach home school. She has two neurodivergent children and wants to support them the best she can. Throughout the interview we discussed the life of being a stay at home mom. And what it is like to have children with disabilities. It’s very isolating because social media has a narrative of what it should be like to be a stay at home mom but they leave out the part about if have disabled children. Mercedes wishes she’d realized earlier that her life didn’t have to meet the social media narrative.

Mercedes had tried tips and tricks from books and social media but they were one off suggestions. They were like a one time task. What we identified about what makes Organize 365® so much more beneficial is that it’s a whole system. Mercedes loves the way the podcast and system makes her think about the functionality of the organizing she’s doing. It’s about applying the learned information from the programs. She first realized she was an organized person when her friends hadn’t planned anything for summer coming up and she already had the water table and sand box at her house ready to put together when it got warm enough. She attributes Organize 365® to her parenting journey being “easy.”

Mercedes was always a somewhat organized person. But what Organize 365® did for her was to organize her mindset to match her actions. She got the Sunday Basket® in December of 2024 and the Friday Workbox® in February of 2025. She uses them in combination with an app Finch for self care. It reminds her of her cleaning tasks so she can focus on all the crafts. Mercedes has her days planned out so she can get 2 creativity hours in. Mercedes values her new found clarity of what is going on in her life, the capacity she’s gained to do more, and time for creativity. She wrote a novel and that’s what spurred on the Friday Workbox® purchase so she could organize self publishing. She’s started novel number two…watch out world this organized mama is on a roll.

Mercedes’s advice is, “Do things as you need to. It’s your journey. You’re the one in charge of it. Don’t listen to social media. Listen to Lisa, she knows what she is talking about.”

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Teacher Friday Workbox®

• Friday Workbox®

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter

On the Wednesday podcast, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365­® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps and triumphs along their organizing journey. I am grateful that you are reaching out to share with me and with this community. You can see and hear transformation in action. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

I am so excited to introduce AJ Vaden the New York Times Best Selling author of the book Wealthy and Well Known (co-written with her husband Rory Vaden.) AJ lived, slept, and breathed her work. Until she didn’t. This sudden change forced AJ to dig deep and identify her personal brand. She and Rory had a unique opportunity extended to them, with divine timing, that became their signature program - Brand Builders. I have been a big fan of AJ and Rory since I completed their program Brand Builders in 2021.

Personal Brand

AJ and Rory were working at the same business when one of her superiors came to her and notified her that her services were no longer needed; effective immediately. Those next days were tough as AJ did a lot of self reflection. Out of the blue a long time friend reached out to Rory and AJ for consultation on how to improve their brand and business. That business owner was so impressed they said “This is it! THIS is what you are meant to do!” They could have said no. They could have come up with every excuse in the book to pass on the idea. Instead Rory put in his notice to quit his job and AJ and Rory joined forces to build Brand Builders Group.

Brand Builders

Brand Builders is a program that guides and teaches members to identify their personal brands. They help people to identify their why which is really their who. I completed this program in 2021. I wanted to complete this program to see if there were any gaps in my business knowledge. Remember I have a teaching degree not a Masters in Business Administration! I will always be a life long learner. AJ pointed out that we are no longer paying for information, we are paying for application of that information. And through the 4 stages that they teach that’s what the business owner learns. They value the community feedback, much like Organize 365®, and continue to iterate and provide results.

I am planning on attending one of their upcoming masterminds. The reason I am so ecstatic? I have found it difficult to find other women business owners who have shared their path to success. Women are running their homes (business #1), then their businesses (business #2), and lastly possibly business #3 if they are in active parenting. I can find all kinds of advice on growing a business from men. But what I see with Brand Builders Group is a more equal divide of men and women who participate. The mastermind will be led of course by AJ and Rory. It’s such a great example for my women running businesses and myself. A woman who understands the unique struggles of being a mom, wife, and household manager.

Wealthy and Well Known

This book was written to help the people AJ and Rory used to be. AJ reiterated many times that for $27 you too can learn everything I learned in 2021! Nothing is held back. Their desire is to change reader’s lives with the transformation of their business and mindset and hopes that readers will share the book with others. The other driver behind the book is to find business owners that need additional help and guidance. They want to come alongside business owners and help to succeed. I believe in this book so much that I purchased 150 copies to give to my team, mastermind attendees, certified organizers, and all female business owners that I have relationships. I hope you will consider purchasing the book or download the free audio book so you too can identify your personal brand and apply the information that you learn.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Free Audio Download of Wealthy and Well Known

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

In this episode, I introduce you to Leslie P. who lives with her two dogs and has always been a renter. Leslie was searching for podcasts about organization. It caught Leslie’s attention when she heard one of the Monday Connections podcasts when we were talking about subjects related to those things she loves like demographics, sociology, and anthropology.

Leslie was always an organized person but once her mom had passed and she was in the role of executor, she just couldn’t get out from under all the paper! She needed help and was looking for organizational solutions. The year after her mom passed Leslie referred to as the “Year of quiet living.” She stayed in her mom’s 55+ community and took time to figure out her next steps as she faced hurdles in NYC. She’d decided to go out on her own and no longer be a W2 employee. When Leslie decided to move down to Florida and stay with her mom to take care of her, who had cancer, she grabbed most of her stuff and just left. Well all that stuff was up there still waiting for Leslie to deal with. When Leslie finally located some important paperwork under the couch pillows that she’d been looking for, she decided she had to get a system in place.

In the midst of the mess, she created a priority list like Maslow's hierarchy of needs. What was the most important first step. She then started to feel permission to put things in logical places like her socks by the front door. She started to task stack while her dogs were eating so she could do other things in her kitchen. And she now gives herself permission to honor the phase of life she is in which may mean the fact that she’ll buy new tools, get rid of things, make mistakes, and allow new permissions. Like keeping two sets of china and hosting the holidays her way. She’s also given herself permission to have a personal life outside of working and taking care of her dogs because she also had more free time now. And with systems in place she no longer has a need for a to do list AND she’s not forgetting to do things.

Leslie opened the conversation saying she was not the Organize 365® typical demographic. I wanted to dig into that a little. Leslie uncovered how renting an apartment is kinda like PCS’ing. You move more frequently and need to start all over again. What does a day look like again? How is the drive to work? Can you keep the same medical providers? How does errand running look? Coffee shops? And we talked about things about renting like owning a car and having outdoor space. We also talked about cost opportunities and what that means for the quiet middle of society from each person’s point of view. We both pointed out things the other had not considered.

Leslie also attended a Planning Day. Leslie had attended plenty of corporate organization/productivity events and they all paled in comparison. She was so impressed with how comprehensive and effective Planning Day was. It’s frustrating for Leslie because she wishes she’d known sooner that a lof of people struggle with organization and for a long time she thought it was just her. Now she has less anxiety, perceived anxiety, as well as sleeping better, and has a healthier outlook.

Leslie’s advice is, “Listen to Lisa because she is smart.” But all joking aside she added “Give yourself permission. You are the subject matter expert of your family, your life, home, of your goals, and your priorities. You get to decide. Trust yourself.”

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Planning Day

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter

On the Wednesday podcast, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365­® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps and triumphs along their organizing journey. I am grateful that you are reaching out to share with me and with this community. You can see and hear transformation in action. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

It’s another Q&A episode and we’re diving into Sunday Baskets® and Friday Workboxes® and how to make it all flow together because it was asked in many different ways. The Sunday Basket® and Friday Workbox® can support a lot of operations, this episode was so great for exploring multiple ways to run your home or business.

As a Household Manager

As a household manager it is easy to get multiple Sunday Baskets® going. Multiple people asked how to manage them all and make them work together. Honestly once Planning Day focuses on both home and work at the same time this will be more seamless. You need to take roughly 90 min to three hours to fully process your Sunday Basket®, ideally on Sunday afternoon. This opens the opportunity to go through other Sunday Baskets®. I have some that I process monthly and there maybe some actionable papers that move to my weekly Sunday Basket®. I have active papers in Sunday Baskets® for trips I’m planning, Abby’s wedding, and whatever else. The final thing that pulls all the Sunday Baskets® and Friday Workboxes® is the weekly tear sheet where it all comes together, it’s one plan for the week, including home, work, and sometimes homeschooling priorities.

There was also a nurse who wrote in about how to best utilize the Friday Workbox for a service line she’s in charge of. She’s a blue slashpocket person; a worker. She doesn’t own the business but there’s still a lot of responsibility. I offered ideas on how to involve the rest of her team, establish checklists to keep them on track and understand the time it takes for that checklist. I offered color coding ideas to best communicate with her team and have information at her team’s fingertips. I offered similar ideas to a mama who homeschools.

As a “CEO” role

There was a minister and a direct sales audience member that asked about how to best use the Friday Workboxes® because they don’t see themselves as running a business or a CEO. If you are in direct sales or in charge of an organization, it’s like you are the CEO. As a CEO you need lead generation that produces purple work with deadlines and such. Once you complete those deadlines, you get paid which is your admin/green work. And in that mix is the people who make it happen wish is your blue slash pocket work. There are all kinds of practical applications for whatever line of work you do! This episode was chalked full!!

For the minister we talked about two Friday Workboxes®. Once for her and one for the church. For the church workbox, pink can be upcoming projects in the works like a new addition to the building that hasn’t been finalized or ideas for outreach during Christmas or Easter. The purple work is the projects that are set in motion and repeat events like how Organize 365® does the planning days routinely. And then of course staff is blue and a church is a business so green is admin, payroll, and any other financial responsibilities. Her personal workbox could have pink work that is all about her sermons or pink work could be future plans she’s exploring, and purple work can be things she’s personally responsible for, blue the people or organizations she’ll need to accomplish the project or idea, and of course green for money. You get the idea.

The Entrepreneurship Journey

Got junk? We had a great conversation about the mindset of the guys who opened 1-800-GOT-JUNK. And I was able to offer some advice to someone looking to open a special needs daycare. We talked about a few books and what I learned from them as far as my skill sets, who I should hire, and how a visionary and implementor work together to run a company. Organize 365® is what it is today because of what I’ve learned along the way…I want to always be learning.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• The Friday Workbox®

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

In this episode, I introduce you to Verna R. and her husband are empty nesters. You may remember Verna and her daughters coming on the podcast in 2020. It was the first timeI got to talk to a whole family who was using the Organize 36® systems. And the second time just Verna and I talked about her organization journey.

Verna was referred to Organize 365® by her daughters to get organized since it didn’t come naturally to her. Her mother and mother in law were natural organizers so Verna appreciated systems and organization but none of the systems she tried stuck until she tried Organize 365®. In 2002-2004, Verna had cancer. Once she finished treatment she decided it was time to hire an organizer because she needed help due to low energy from recovery. Yes, I pointed out that the organizer can help with all the visible work.

And the second thing I pointed out was that over the span of you get a home, then probably add a spouse, maybe some kids. As we get older, the complexities of daily life build on each other and there is no break time to reset for middle school years, Sports years, or heaven forbid a time with an illness. Everything still had to get done. But Verna had been sick. A professional organizer help in the short term but Verna desired a system for a lifetime.

The last point I made was that the organizer cannot deal with the invisible work. Verna agreed with me and we talked about offloading to the external brain, the Sunday Basket®. I added that as our executive functions decline, starting as early as your 30’s or 40’s, the calendar with the external brain and planning helped to prolong the speed of decline. How can we do that? Have a system like the Productive Home Solution™ that provides training!! And we all want to be independent as long as we can!

Verna shared her three purple slash pockets are for making gifts, her house, and volunteer work. She uses planning day to process those activities. She also credited her husband, Bruce, to being a good partner and sharing the daily tasks. We had a little side discussion about retirement and how much work the wife gains once her husband retires. I’m making Greg think about what he’s gonna do with all his time once he retires. Bruce kept himself busy for a couple more years after he retired. Now they are teaching together in Nepal from time to time and even have started to bring their grandchildren.

Verna has more calmness and purpose. She took the time to really observe herself. She paid attention to what she was saying yes to and directly then what that meant she was saying no to. She extends herself a lof grace knowing she can’t change the past and really loves who she is today. She’s looking forward to setting a S.M.A.R.T.I.E. goal for her storage and getting her grown kids stuff out of her storage. That will free up some of her cognitive load to think about what their future living situation may look like.

Verna’s advice is, “Notice what you do. Pay attention. It will show you what you value and what you prioritize.”

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• The Productive Home Solution®

• Home Planning Day

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter

On the Wednesday podcast, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365­® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps and triumphs along their organizing journey. I am grateful that you are reaching out to share with me and with this community. You can see and hear transformation in action. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!