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Podcast episodes By Dianne Jimenez

Home organizing, Lead together

#37:  How to Minimize Resistance From Our Partners Before Decluttering

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Today’s podcast episode is another good one because it’s touching on the topic of resistance and what we can do to avoid it or make it less resistant. Now, I’m not talking about the kids because yeah, they too can be resistant to any change or to do extra chores. But what happens if the resistance comes from our partner? More specifically, it’s resistance to any change, like any decluttering or organizing activity that’s about to happen? Just so you know, it’s totally normal that you might come up with a little resistance, or a lot, when it comes to decluttering and organizing.

In this episode we’re going to talk about what to do before decluttering or even organizing to avoid, or reduce, the amount of resistance that could happen with any kind of change happening in the house.
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Whenever we want to do a decluttering or organizing project, my client and I, (or even myself, because this has happened in the past), are usually in the mindset of getting stuff done. Now I understand this completely because we’re so eager to get things going and make changes. But there is something we have to do first and foremost, before we even start taking action to minimize resistance and that is to communicate. And why do I say this?

Minimize Resistance From Our Partners: COMMUNICATE

Because it’s happened where the partner is often a little upset that we’re taking on this project where we’re getting our hands in things that they may not be ready to let go of just yet. Or maybe, they’re not ready to move around and then have to adjust the way they go about in the house such as their habits, where they move things or where they have to find things now. No doubt, it’s a big adjustment for not only them, but for anybody who is suddenly faced with change. And it’s normal.

So there are two main reasons why you need to communicate first before you even start taking action on decluttering or organizing; Especially when it’s a common space or even a space that has mostly their things in it.

Why there’s resistance…

Top view of wooden container to hold and keep office supplies organized
Home organizing

#36: 13 Organizing Solutions to Get Organized Today

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today’s episode is a good one because I will be listing 13 organizing tools that you should use if you want to get organized like yesterday as in asap.

So this list of 13 items is something that I use myself or have used with my clients, and they work wonders. They totally make a difference in your everyday life. So much so that you don’t even realize that you are just getting things done quicker. You are able to retrieve things a lot faster and put things away, not just by you, but everyone. It’s so much simpler. So grab a pen and paper or just take a good listen because I’ll be linking them or referencing them in today’s show notes. Sit back, relax, and let’s get to this.

Organizing solutions for hanging stuff up

Now in no particular order, I’m going to be talking about these next three items because they pretty much come from the same company.  If you haven’t heard it before or haven’t heard me talking about it before, it’s a 3M innovation. This is not a commercial for them. I am not an affiliate. I just love their products because they’re so good. I use them everywhere for hats, school bags, clothes, even my squeegee in the shower. Any guesses what I’m talking about? I’m talking about the organizing solution that you use to hang things that you peel off the back and then stick them to the wall (by Command™)

They last for years as  long as you respect the weight limit of these things. In addition, they come in a variety of packs of sizes and weight capacity as well as the different types of surfaces that you can use them on. So like I said, I have one in my shower where you can hang the squeegee. Therefore, if they can stick onto a wet surface, I’m sold. I don’t know about you, but if I have a little more options, then I’m totally in.

Lead together, Raise Responsible Kids

34: Why’s It So Hard For My Kid To Do Chores

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Where the topic of chores and kids came from

So the question I’d be answering today is, why is it so hard to get my kid to do chores? Now, this podcast episode was inspired by a question that was asked at a local radio station here in Montreal. 

It’s called the Beat 92.5. I decided to call in and answer it because one, I’m a mom and two because I’m a professional organizer and I believe wholeheartedly in chores, in kids helping out and doing chores at home. If you’ve listened to my podcast episodes before, I do mention it, nine Ways to Get Kids to Help Out With Chores. So if you want to pause this episode and take a listen to that one, just head to diannejimenez.com/ 31 Alright, so let’s ask the question, why is it so hard to get my kid to do chores? 

Why’s it so hard for my kid to do chores: #1 Do they understand it (chores)?

Well, first off, and I’m gonna split this into three sections.

First off, do they understand why this needs to get done? And the reason is this: a lot of times as adults, we get motivated because there’s the why behind it. We’re more inclined to do things when we know the reason. If there’s no reason at all, where our hearts and minds are not really there to do it, then we might do it once or twice.  But the next time after that, if we’re asked to do it, it’s like, ‘well, I don’t really feel like doing it’.
So if we have that in mind, can you imagine what it is for the kids? What’s going on in their minds? You know, so they’re still developing and those, I guess, I don’t know, the science behind it is the reason. There might be a reason why with your brain or something that we don’t get motivated to do things unless there’s a concrete reason why.

Now, for us as adults, obviously, you know, the house needs to be maintained. We don’t wanna be breathing all this dust, we don’t wanna be walking on Legos and hurting our feet or you know, inviting all types of rodents or bugs into the house, even though bugs do crawl in our house all the time. But just the thought of crumbs, a mess and food all over the place, it’s just not healthy and it’s not good, obviously.

Home organizing

#33: How many shopping bags do we really need?

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Thank you so much for being here, and I’m so excited to talk about today’s episode because this is something that I’ve been observing in the last couple of years, working with clients and myself, seeing it personally with friends and family.

And what I’m talking about are bags, but we’re not talking about purses today. No, not this episode because you know, I’m a purse kind of girl myself. I’m talking about the bags that all of us use since many stores are no longer giving out plastic bags. It’s been a while now, but I’m noticing since dealing with clients that it’s still something that is hard, that’s a little challenging, I should say. To wrap our heads around, and why do I say this? Oftentimes, and I’m saying this from experience too, we sometimes forget to bring bags with us to the grocery store or any store for that matter.

Look back in the day, you didn’t have to think about it because the stores provided a plastic bag for you, but obviously for environmental reasons and definitely protecting our planet a lot better. Plastic bags are just a no-go. But from growing up where the stores just automatically gave you a bag every time you left the store, regardless of the size of your item, they gave you a bag. So it was so convenient.

Now we have to think about our own habits and the way we do regular daily stuff, and that is bringing bags with us to the grocery store or any store for that matter. Now, I’ll be the first to admit I keep forgetting to bring my bags. Oftentimes I end up going back to my car and getting my bags or just sucking it up and keeping everything in the cart. Then bagging all my things from the back of my car in the middle of the parking lot when it’s minus whatever outside.

Yeah, it’s not fun.

So that’s kind of a lesson I learned to never forget the bags, but it does happen. And I can imagine now my kids are a lot older, but as a mom of toddlers or babies, it’s a lot to think about. You know, you gotta carry the kid, you gotta carry everything that relates to them, the diaper bag, your own purse if you have one, and now you gotta think about your shopping bags. Ugh, I do not envy the moms right now in that situation because there’s so many things to think about already. It’s really easy to forget about bringing a shopping bag when you go grocery shopping, right?

Home organizing, Interview, Lead together

#32: A Husband and Wife Chat: Parenthood, Home Organization, and Couple Hood with my husband Onnig

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Dianne and Onnig discussed how parenthood can be challenging, but can be made easier with the right structure and organization in place. They discussed the importance of teaching life skills and being on the same page when raising children together. They also reflected on how different their home life was before and after having children, with the abundance of baby items. The speaker shared how they used a Marie Condo “Joy of Tidying” technique to reduce their “stuffed” clothing drawer and make their life easier. Important takeaways from their discussion include understanding that not everything needs to be kept, considering more people to help out, making children do tasks that were primarily done by adults, and sharing the responsibilities to foster an efficient and organized approach. Communication is essential for relationships and parenting and tasks must be completed on time. Jordan Peterson’s philosophy about relationships and parenting have been mentioned; including the importance of having reasonable expectations for children, persisting in moments of difficulty, and anchoring oneself in these moments as a distraction. Effective communication between partners is essential, and taking the time to explain why certain things have their spot encourages respect and trust between partners. Engaging in activities with children and taking note of their small successes is also important for their development.

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