Christa Wagner

You can prepare this one day in advance, as this dish is best when prepared ahead of time.

• Bag of carrots
• 3 tablespoons butter
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons bourbon whisky – Jim Beam, Jack Daniels or Wild Turkey recommended

1. Peel and cut carrots diagonally.
2. Melt butter and brown sugar on low heat in a saucepan.
3. Add carrots, cook on low for 10 minutes or 12-15 minutes if cooking the day of.
4. Refrigerate until one hour before dinner.
5. Re-heat for 5 minutes or until carrots are tender on medium.

We recommend using our Meal Planning Made Easy System in conjunction with our Guide To A Relaxing And Organized Thanksgiving. This will make the entire week’s meal planning and grocery shopping easier.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. I have so many positive memories from Thanksgiving in my life and now John and I are starting our own traditions. I love relaxing at home with family, eating pumpkin pie, playing games, telling stories and laughing for hours. This year my inlaws are coming and I can’t wait to see them.

Of course, with Thanksgiving comes a lot of work and preparation. I’m not going to say its easy, because I actually remember starting to cry when I finally got my first Thanksgiving dinner on the table, but it doesn’t have to be difficult. It should be fun and relaxing.

Over the next couple of weeks we will share our Guide To A Relaxing and Organized Thanksgiving to help you prepare for the biggest meal of the year.

Before we get started, here are few tips:

• Stick to what you know. This is not the time to whip up a special souffle you’ve never tried before. That is only going to stress you out. We recommend using our Meal Planning Made Easy system to make meal planning and shopping easier.

• Do as much as you can in advance. We will walk you through the steps and heed our advice. If you plan and prepare in advance there’s no reason you can’t be in the living room with everyone else.

• Let guests pitch in. Who said you had to do it all? Let your guests help out. Let them bring the sides, desserts or appetizers. Having just one less thing on your plate can make a huge difference.

• Cut corners where possible. I’m not suggesting to skimp on taste, but do you really have to make homemade bread when we have fresh bread on every corner.

• Delegate to the family. There is so much to do. Cooking, cleaning, setting the table, doing this dishes, chopping, shopping, taking out the garbage, etc. Thanksiginv day is like any other day; get the family involved. Delegate to your family and ask for everyone to contribute to a more organized day.

Over the next three weeks, we will share with you our Guide To A Relaxing And Organized Thanksgiving. Check back soon for The Three Weeks Ahead Plan.

For help getting organized this holiday season, contact us at 778.839.5792. Christa Wagner is a professional organizer based in Vancouver, BC.

It goes without saying time passes by so quickly.  I feel as if I use my time wisely and the days still blaze by.  As a business owner and professional organizer I do my best to manage my time to avoid burnout.  Here are a few tips to take back your time this season. 

• Make yourself a priority often.  This means all of you and the Moms too.  Schedule time in your calendar for just you.  Whether it is a pedicure, a run, a glass of wine and a magazine, making time will you will make you happier in the long run.
• “If I could only get one thing accomplished today, what would it be?”  Ask yourself this question every day and do that task first – always.
• Say no instead of yes. The next time someone asks you to do something, simply say no.  It’s just that easy.  You have a choice, say no to anything that does not make you happy or benefit you and your family.

There are only 24 hours in each day.  Make sure you are using them wisely.  Let us know if we can help at 778.839.5792.

Christa Wagner is a Professional Organizer located in Vancouver, BC.

Last Friday was one of the most fun days I’ve had in a while.  Earlier in the week Blink Media called me and wanted to do an organizing segment for their Get Connected Show during Small Business Week (the week of October 19).  I was thrilled.  How much fun would this be and a chance to get to help a family in need.

We shot last Friday and our client was fantastic.  Like many of my clients they had a home office space that had too many purpose, little storage space and just too much stuff.  We were able to help by letting go of some unneeded items, we created a home for things using some great office products, and since it was a Get Connected Segment, we incorporated some pretty cool and very functional computer tools.  The client was thrilled and overall it was a super day. 

I wanted to thank Get Connected for selecting me as their Professional Organizer as well as the Gibson Family for letting us in their home.  The show is expected to air on Thursday, October 22nd on BNN at 5:00 PM PST, and on City TV on Saturday October 24th at 9:30 AM PST.   I will keep you posted on final air dates. 

Christa Wagner is a Professional Organizer located in Vancouver, BC.

A memory that stands out for me as a child was the first day of school each year.  Not because I loved school so much, but because my Mom did an awesome job of making my first day so special.  Every year on the first day, we each got to choose our very favorite dinner and that’s what we all ate on that day.  It was my special day and I just remember feeling so proud and loving my day.  Wanna know what my choice was for years?  Beans and weenies.  That makes me laugh – very fancy!

Our Meal Planning Made Easy System Helps You Get Dinner On The Table Every Night

Now years later I love to cook and make dinner nearly every night.  Cooking is my release; it’s my meditation and I just love to try and taste new dishes.  I thank my Mom for being such an amazing cook and for showing me the way, but also making dinner time such a special time in our house every single day.  When I go home to visit my family we cook, we eat, we drink wine, we laugh, tell stories, sing sometimes and it’s all centered around the food.  Hey I’m Italian – what can I say?

Many of you have children heading back to school.  Let your kids select their favorite meal for the first day of school and who knows, they may even take an interest in helping you with dinner a little more often.   

For more help use our Meal Planning Made Easy system with step-by-step reminders to make meal planning and shopping easier for busy people.  For less than the price of take out, you can get dinner on the table every night.

As Vancouver Professional Organizers, we bring the plan, the products and the know-how to get organized and stay organized. We help you decide what’s important and make sure you have the right tools at your finger tips.  Contact us at 778.839.5792. 

You only have the space you have so you better use it wisely.  One of the biggest organizing and storage mistakes I see is when people don’t use their space vertically.  What I mean is they don’t take advantage of an entire shelf or space available from top to bottom.

Think about a closet with one rod across the top. If you hang shirts, they only hang about half way to the floor and you lose all the space below.  Another example is in the kitchen when glassware only takes up half the vertical shelf leaving you with a lot of unused space in your cabinets. 

Here are two organizing tips of how you can enhance and make the most of your kitchen space.   These are photographs from my own kitchen cabinets where I used shelf helpersin the cabinets to provide extra vertical space.  My problem was that I have more kitchen stuff than I do cabinet space.  Sound familiar.  I use on a daily basis so I wanted everything to be  visable and easy to access.  The tools I’ve used are corner shelf helpers and plate size helpers available at Storables and The Container Store.  As you can see they give me a great deal more space that I originally had. 

Here is a photo of my glassware cabinet.  As you can see in this photo, by using the shelf helper for my wine and juice glasses, as well as my coffee mugs, I take advantage of the entire space from top to bottom. 

I also use shelf helpers in my bathroom under the sink to provide more storage. 

At Savvy Solutions organizing is what we do; we bring the system, the products and the know-how to get organized and deal with your clutter.  Christa Wagner, Vancouver based Professional Organizer and owner of Savvy Solutions is a motivational speaker, expert organizer, creator of organizing products and writer.

Our Meal Planning Made Easy System Helps You Get Dinner On The Table Every Night

You’ve heard me talk about my Mom in the kitchen before.  She is amazing.  My Mom can look into a the emptiest of fridges and make a masterpiece. I wish I had that skill as I am more of a cookbook cook, but I have learned a few of her shortcuts from the pro along the way.

1. Fast and Curios BBQ Kielbasi:  Now I know this sounds strange, but I can personally guarantee there will be no leftovers with this appy.  Slice store bought kielbasi and boil for 20 minutes in water.  Drain.  Take equal parts grape jelly and nothing fancy yellow mustard and bring to a simmer.  Add cooked kielbasi and simmer for 15 more minutes to marinade.  Serve with toothpicks.  Could also be a dinner at brat size. 
2. Alfredo Sauce in Minutes:  Warm butter in the microwave, add fat free half and half, bring to a simmer and then add Parmesan cheese.  Pour over your favorite pasta.  Mangia!
3. Take Advantage of Packets:  Like Taco seasoning, Fajita seasoning and Italian dressing seasoning.  All can make a fast and yummy dinner. 
4. Zucchini Parmesan:  Slice zucchiniand simmer in olive oil and garlic stovetop.  Add stewed tomatoes until soft.  Serve with Parmesan cheese. 
5. Roasted Potatoes:  I am proud to say these are actually my shortcut potatoes and they are so good I made them for Thanksgiving last year.  I made them according to recipe and then thru them into the turkey juices for the last 20 minutes.  Outstanding!  Lay two sheets of foil on top of each other, spray with cooking spray.  Cut as many potatoes as you need and quarter them.  Add olive oil, fresh garlic and rosemary (of whatever herb you have).  Top with foil and crimp.  Grill on medium heat for 30 minutes, rotating. 
6. Grilling:  5 Minutes on each side.   My Mom’s (actually my Dad’s) solutions for just about everything on the grill is 5 minutes on each side.  Chicken is the exception which is 20 minutes total at 5, 5, 5 and 5 flipping.  So add some terriaki sauce, BBQ sauce, Italian dressing, pesto or just about any marinade to meat or fish and grill it on medium for 5 minutes on each side. 
7. Blueberry Ice Cream:  Water and a packet of sugar, simmer on the stove for a five minutes.  Cool and serve over vanilla ice cream.  Fantastic and decadent. 
   

   Mom and Me In the Kitchen

8. Diet Fruit Dip:  Vanilla yogurt, lite cool whip, 1/2 packet sugar free Kool Aid or 1/2 small tub of Crystal Light (flavor is your choice(.  Mix and chill.  Serve with favorite fruit.   1/4 cup is 1 point on Weight Watchers.

I could go on and on.  The one thing my Mom has always taught me was to have fun in the kitchen and to keep short cut tools on hand.  Have fun with cooking and come up with your own shortcuts. 

For more help use our Meal Planning Made Easy system with step-by-step reminders to make meal planning and shopping easier for busy people.  For less than the price of take out, you can get dinner on the table every night.

By the way, my Mom also happens to be a great travel agent.  Her business is Personalized Travel and she can help you plan your next fabulous vacation at gigi.patchen@aol.com. 

Christa Wagner is a Vancouver Professional Organizer and founder of Savvy Solutions.  As a professional organizer, We bring the plan, the products and the know-how to get organized and stay organized. We help you decide what’s important and make sure you have the right tools at your finger tips.

Attention Busy Moms and Families:   If Household Clutter is Driving You Crazy, Take Our Summer Organizing Challenge. 

Imagine a clutter free kitchen

Summer Organizing Challenges:  Share Your Success Week #1
 
We are week one into our Summer Organizing Challenge and we want to hear how things are going?    Your homework was to walk around your home or office and identify areas you want to organize or clutter clear  Then create a list and a timeline to complete the project(s).  How did you do? 

This can be a tough step for a lot of people as they want to dive right in, but taking a few minutes to assess and plan your project can greatly increase your success.  This is why when working with a client the first step is always a consultation to plan and prioritize. 

This Week’s Tip:  Assess your situation; plan and prioritize.  Walk around your entire home and evaluate.  Imagine you are a guest walking into your own home.  How does it make you feel?  Are you proud of your home?  Do you want to live there?  Ask yourself these questions: (more…)

In a recent blog post called 10 Worst Work Habits, we learned one of the top ten worst work habits is procrastination.  As a follow-up, it seems important to share what I have learned about how to avoid procrastination and get things done. 

A basic definition of procrastination is putting off the things that you should be doing now.  Sometimes we do this because the task is something we really don’t want to do or perhaps the projects is too large and we are overwhelmed by it.  Other times, it cab be as simple as we are waiting for the “right time” of the “right mood”.

According to Time-Management-Guide, from an organizing perspective here are some reasons for procrastination: 

• Lack of clear goals
• Underestimating the difficulty of the tasks
• Underestimating the time required to complete the tasks
• Unclear standards for the task outcomes
• Feeling as the tasks are imposed on you from outside
• Too ambiguous tasks

So what can you do? 

1. Just get started!  The most challenging part of any task is getting started. Once you begin, the task is often easier than you expected.
2. Break the project down.  Chunk it down into smaller, more manageable parts. 
3. Schedule time on your calendar to complete each portion.
4. Set the timer and don’t allow distractions.
5. Avoid perfectionism.

If you still want to procrastinate, consider whether you should be doing the task at all or if you can hire someone to do it for you.  Stop procrastating and start doing – you will feel accomplished, successful, less stressed and enjoy more.