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Organize 365 Podcast

Organize 365 Podcast

By: Lisa Woodruff
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 Lisa Woodruff is a home organization expert, productivity specialist, and author of multiple books including The Paper Solution. Lisa’s research-based teaching shines a light on the invisible work being done at home and in the workplace. Lisa’s sensible and doable organizing tasks appeal to multiple generations. Her candor and relatable style make you feel she is right there beside you, helping you get organized as you laugh and cry together. Lisa believes organization is not a skill you are born with. It is a skill that is developed over time and changes with each season of life. Lisa has helped thousands of women reclaim their homes and finally get organized with her practical tips, encouragement, and humor through her blog and podcast at Organize365.com.2025 Economics Leadership Management & Leadership Personal Development Personal Success
Episodes
  • 661 - Audience Q&A 3 - The Sunday Basket (Invisible Work)

    661 - Audience Q&A 3 - The Sunday Basket (Invisible Work)
    Jun 20 2025

    I’m sticking with answering your questions about the invisible work we do. And today is all about the Sunday Basket®. I didn’t yet have a name for it. But I’ll never forget the sense of accomplishment from the first time I tried my idea out that became the Sunday Basket®. In 2012, Joey went down for his normal 20 min nap, and I, Lisa Woodruff, actually got a few calls made and checked a few things off my list. The more I did it the more I realized this was something all household managers needed. And now I had a plan to get control of my to do’s and paper. Organization is a learnable skill.

    Delayed gratification = Productivity

    The Sunday Basket® is a box on your kitchen counter to “collect all”. On Sunday, you make decisions. One person asked “How do you know what to do first?” Reality check: you are not going to get all your to-do’s done. We are all overcommitted. When I go through my Sunday Basket®, it’s really a process of elimination; what is the least I can get away with doing. When you only take care of the things necessary, you free up time for you. And this is why we use note cards! You don’t need to do the busy work of rewriting your to-do list, you just decide if each thing on each note card needs to be done by next Sunday or not and you put it right back in it’s slash pocket if not.

    One person noted they spend all their time going through slash pockets and recreating their to-do list. I remember being worried, “What was I going to do when I completed my Sunday Basket®?” It’s important to know what you are freeing up time to do. How would you feel actually completing one of those tasks each week? Then two each week? Then what’s that big reward? Will you get more time with your family? Continue your education? Plan what you will do with all that extra time.

    Sunday Basket® for now and later

    A Sunday Basket® can be utilized in many ways. I answered one question about using it for finances. You can have a whole Sunday Basket for finances where you track and plan your 401K, Investments, and projects or large ticket items that you are planning to purchase. I use my household manager one for monthly tasks including bills. I have a separate one for larger financial planning.

    Another person inquired about all the tips she’s saved and if putting them in her Sunday Basket® was a good idea. If it’s tips or instructions for something difficult to find each time you need to do it, print it off and place them in your Household Operations Binder. And/Or, you could have a whole Sunday Basket® devoted to projects, book tours, getting your PhD, recipes, and life hacks for “someday.” I recommend pink because that’s the color for you, the future, and dreaming. The Sunday Basket® is a great place to store ideas and you will know where to find them later. Then when you have the time from only doing necessary tasks, you have time for something that doesn’t need to be done but that you have been wanting to do.

    We have the Sunday Basket® for your household manager role. And there is the Friday Workbox for work. They both help in similar manners but the slash pockets have slightly different functions. We offer bundles to help you make the most out of you purchase to maximize your organization and productivity results. If you really don’t know where to start, you won’t break customer service’s heart to call and they’ll shop with you. They love to hear what you are working on and suggest the perfect products for you and the phase of life you are in.

    EPISODE RESOURCES:

    • The Sunday Basket®

    • 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!
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    55 mins
  • Transformation with Carly L.

    Transformation with Carly L.
    Jun 16 2025
    In this episode, I introduce you to Carly L. is married with two children. Carly was looking for paper organization solutions and came across the book “The Paper Solution.” Paper has always been Carly’s nemesis but it was to a point where she couldn’t locate important papers. Her daughter would be starting Kindergarten soon and she knew she had to do something with all of her disorganization. Carly joked she was so disorganized that she missed the Black Friday sale to purchase the Sunday Basket®. Carly grew up in an organized home, but hers wasn’t. She described it as feeling a low level of constant anxiety humming. There was constant chaos of not knowing where things were. She thought other books and checklists were going to help her. But, in fact, Carly has gained so much empowerment from the books and the Organize 365® systems. She passionately explained how we are building lives here. She values how Organize 365® teaches people how to think about organizing. The skills you learn can evolve with the phase of life you are in . It’s not the picture perfect containers that will help get you organized. “Lisa did it and I can too.” If your kitchen cabinet isn’t working where it is and you want it in the laundry room, you just get out your tools and make it happen. That’s what Carly did because she remembered the story I shared of me doing the same thing. You have to make your house work for the phase of life your family is in. Carly said things don’t get organized, you do and systems do. Carly claims you can’t have the Sunday Basket® and not be productive. Carly uses her Sunday Basket® and she ordered the Holiday bundle that came with a Sunday Basket® for Christmas and one for taxes. Carly also takes care of her mother-in-law, and has a Sunday Basket® for her as well as a Medical Binder. When her father-in-law passed, her MIL didn’t know anything a household manager would know. She has poor English and it was difficult to navigate. Now, with the help of the Sunday Basket®, Carly can stay organized with all things concerning her MIL. Then Carly said, I’d like to request a Sunday Basket® for the military. I was excited to spill the beans early to her (in December when this was recorded) about the PCS box we recently unveiled. We talked a lot about the relocation process and all of the paperwork. We talked about the marital roles the military expects. Carly talked about how the Sunday Basket® helps a person to compartmentalize tasks. It’s like a personal assistant reminding you of the things you need to do and will be very helpful for PCS’ing. And she claims a Sunday Basket® will help your marriage. She found she was purchasing duplicate items and couldn’t locate important things. Their home environment is much more calm and she can be the partner she wants to be because she knows where things are. She doesn’t feel like she’s constantly playing whack a mole anymore. It’s functional organization, that you get from the Organize 365® systems, that serves us. She pointed out that even if you are tired, you can do a 15 minute organization task. Carly appreciates that you can jump back into the system anytime. She feels the planning days are magical. Her family is thriving because of routines she has in place. She warned planning is one part but then you just gotta do it! She has gained so much self esteem from everything she has implemented. Carly’s advice is, “Don’t give up on yourself. And if you fail,it’s just like a child, you’re gonna crawl, then you’re gonna walk, and the your gonna be running!” EPISODE RESOURCES: The Sunday Basket® The Paper Solution® 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!
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    50 mins
  • Audience Q&A 2 - Decluttering and How to Get Started (Visible Work)

    Audience Q&A 2 - Decluttering and How to Get Started (Visible Work)
    Jun 13 2025
    Ok, this is so much fun answering all of the questions that have come in. I decided to organize the questions in the same order in which you would experience in The Productive Home Solution®. In the next 10 episodes, we are going to look at all of the visible work we all do. When it comes to getting organized we want to eliminate the overwhelm and disorganization and get to being productive and organized so you can do what you are uniquely created to do. Decluttering comes first and it is getting rid of what you no longer need. Decluttering is like vacuuming, it’s got to be done over and over. Do not confuse it for getting organized. I’ve seen people over-declutter, then have regrets, and then not like being “organized”. Someone asked “How do you know when you are done?” I say when you have made enough space to start moving things around in the space you are organizing, that’s good enough. You will find in that process that you find more things you want to declutter. Getting organized is totally different; it’s getting your home to a functional state for the phase of life your family is in. Organizing your life is opening up more time to do what you want to do and being more productive. I’d like you to have realistic expectations and just know this will take you roughly three years to get fully organized. The more you do it the more you build those muscles. After we all do our closets and kitchens, which seem to have some universal set up, we don’t know what to do. There are so many variables like our age, the phase our family is in, and where we live that can demand we use our houses in different ways, maybe untraditional ways. A question came in regarding items she’d decluttered. She wanted to get rid of some items but was struggling because they have financial value. You have to decide to donate, have a garage sale/selling online, or toss the items. I explained how I needed money so I held a garage sale and sold things online. There is a whole video about having a garage sale in The Productive Home Solution®. I advised her to start collecting these items somewhere near the garage. This makes it easier if you are going to hold a garage sale or if you will need to put these items in your car for donation drop off. I also talked about claiming your donations on your taxes. And I discussed the mental hurdles of getting rid of items. I know for me it was difficult to admit I was not going back to the classroom, I was not going to be pregnant, and I didn’t want some handed down items. We have to admit that that chapter of our life is finished. I found holding onto those items made me reflective of the past and I really want to be future oriented. By getting rid of those items the negative emotions left and opened up space literally and figuratively for the future. Organization is future oriented. And another person wrote in with questions about combining households and how much she was overwhelmed with all of the boxes in all the rooms, not to mention their storage unit and her mother-in-law’s things, who has passed away. I suggested a few boxes a day. See if there are duplicates and decide which one to keep and which one will be donated or whatever. And never make someone get rid of things of a loved one until the person is ready. It usually takes 5 years for the attachment of the item to the passed person to become less or be gone. And then I addressed cleaning and organizing. It’s really hard to clean a cluttered home. You can lower your standards of what clean means. You need to declutter. And then you can consider a cleaning person if you want so you have more time to organize. Or you can take advantage of the free Household Manager 21 day bootcamp! It was created so you could get a taste of getting organized. You start by printing out the calendar, pick your three weeks, and big black trash bag energy. This is to teach you how to declutter and organize a space. Give it a try and tell me about your transformation! EPISODE RESOURCES: The Sunday Basket® The Productive Home Solution® ^ Garage Sale Episode - Inside The Productive Home Solution® ^ Household Manager 21 Day Bootcamp 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!
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    48 mins

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