Imagine trying to prepare an eight-course meal by yourself, all day, every day.  You have several pots going at once, each at different stages of completion, each with different cooking instructions scribbled on notes scattered about the kitchen.  You have to remain hyper-aware of every detail; otherwise, you’ll be stirring one pot too long and realize too late that you’ve forgotten another.  If only you had a way to automate the process, or at least a protocol in place to streamline it. If you’re an estate manager, this scenario may have a ring of familiarity. Your “pots” include managing a multitude of daily activities (i.e. manage house staff, preparing invoices, and delivery schedules) and the budget; overseeing seasonal maintenance (i.e., winterizing the property) and renovations; and organizing social events from kids’ birthdays to charity balls. Then you have things…

Once upon a time (before 2020), the “home office” was, for most people, a glorified storage locker for personal paperwork and probably a whole of stuff that they just didn’t want lying around the rest of the house.  Now, with WFH here to stay in one form or another, it has likely become the space where you spend the bulk of your time, so clutter will have much more of an impact on your mood and productivity.  Here are some ways whenorganizing your home office in which you can turn chaos into calm.   Channel Your Inner Marie Kondo.  The organizational guru is best known for using the question, “Does it spark joy?” as a barometer for whether to keep something or toss it. This doesn’t just apply to that unfortunate clothing purchase, but furniture and knickknacks as well. Has…

Hiring a housekeeper can be a big decision, especially if you grew up with the mindset that you bear the sole responsibility of caring for your own home. You might also have reservations about someone being in your home for eight hours a day or even around the clock. However, as life has gotten more hectic with kids, a business that took off, or perhaps a return to graduate school, you’ve reached a tipping point, where you just know you cannot take on one more thing.  If you’re still on the fence, know that the benefits of having a full-time housekeeper go far beyond sparkling floors and a stocked fridge. It’s about creating an uncluttered space, not only physically but mentally and even energetically.  Decide on Tasks. We’ve all heard the saying, “I don’t do windows” – it dates…