ORGANISED AND OPTIMISED

As the summer holidays come to an end, it’s time to reboot your life.


August is the month for fresh starts here in Bahrain. With the scent of aeroplane fuel fresh in the air and the distant sounds of your summer vacation still echoing, it’s the perfect time to reboot that human laptop you call your brain and start up the internal combustion engine that drives your body. This month’s cover story is dedicated to decluttering and re-organising your life. Whether you’re a home executive, a busy professional on the go, or just someone trying to find a healthy work and home life balance, our aim is to offer a series of interesting and pragmatic ways to live more effectively. In our quest to find simple ways to simplify life, we’ve consulted experts in personal organisation management, chatted to decluttering gurus, discovered great self-help books to read and excellent systems to implement. Turns out that paring down is an uplifting experience. The procrastination factor can be conquered. The need to keep unnecessary stuff can be emancipated. The task of cleaning up, clearing out, and being focused on efficiency, is a hugely liberating process. Our cover story takes you on a journey from more to less. From getting organised for a new job and organising your home spaces to prepping the kids for the new school year, we’re with you on this journey. For now, enough talk. Get the efficiency eye of the tiger, as together we tackle the task of getting organised and optimised. Let’s reboot life.
The Declutter Delegation Home Is Where the Start Is
Decluttering a home can feel, at first, like an overwhelming task but ends up being an intensely rewarding labour of love. Once you’ve completed the exercise, your personal spaces will only contain things that serve you. There are simple rules and logical processes around keeping what you need. We’ve organised our thinking on the subject with a little help from our decluttering guru Bibi Boshoff, who mapped out a basic decluttering delegation of tasks for your home. Having a simple and systematic approach is fundamental. Bibi suggests that the most important foundation for this mission is to get four separate boxes and label them under the following categories: keep, donate, trash and relocate. Designation of these boxes and allotting items to them is key as you move from room to room. Apply logic to the lounge Your lounge or living room takes a beating daily. It’s your high-traffic area and for that reason needs regular attention to decluttering. Book a day to deal with literature and trinkets. Begin with bookcases and side tables. Completely empty them and review the items. Sort out any old mail or papers, and either throw away the junk or file the important paperwork. Dump magazines you don’t need and put the books back on the shelves Don’t entertain chaos. Clear up your entertainment centre by sorting out the devices. Remove everything that is not connected to your home theatre. Store items like chargers, gadgets and gaming equipment close to the source. Toy story can be a cool kids’ movie or an ongoing saga of mess. Among your catalogue of kids’ toys just lying around, take stock of each, and gather up those that have seen better days for donation or recycling. If your kids still play with it, move it into a dedicated toy box space. Batten down the bathroom The bathroom should be a shrine to simplicity. Start by clearing your medicine cabinet, discarding expired skincare products, makeup and medication, and then return all items to be kept back to the cabinet. Place your most used items at eye level. Clean up the kitchen Clutter and the kitchen are often synonymous. The kitchen is a multi-purpose place of activity and for that reason, it often gets filled with unnecessary items. The key to decluttering the kitchen is to select one category of the item at a time. Pick three or four categories in total, like glassware or appliances, and then complete one category before moving on. Have a hard look at appliances. If you have limited space in your kitchen, appliances are more trouble to store than they’re worth. Test key appliances to check whether they still work. Immediately repair any non-working ones you still want, so they’re not just taking up space. Toss anything that you won’t be using anymore. Those items you want that are not in use regularly, must be boxed and placed in a dedicated storage space.
Throw out all your expired pantry items. Anything even a single day past its use-by date goes in the trash. Be ruthless. Decant leftovers and items like rice into labelled food storage containers for quick and easy access. Clean up your kitchen cupboard shelf space by separating and putting the most regularly used condiments and key necessities, such as your everyday spices and oil, for example, in front of less used items. The bedrock for peace of mind Baby steps are best for the bedroom. Begin by making the bed. Psychology dictates that when the bed looks pristine your mind is better equipped to make good decisions. Tackle vanity tables and beside stands next. Clear the drawers and use your four-box system to sort out the items in them. Don’t look and return, delegate to the boxes with clarity and conviction. Lose the useless papers, dry pens, expired bills, and items that really offer no value to you. Make sure you allocate secure dedicated spaces in a single defined drawer space or safe for your critical documents. Passports, divers’ licences, wills and insurance papers must all go into one space that doesn’t change.
When it comes to sorting items, Bibi tells us the rule of thumb here is, if you haven’t used it in a year, get rid of it. Try donating items to charities, it’s an emotional journey and she suggests that it will help by taking photos of sentimental items before you donate them. Bibi Boshoff is the owner of The Fixer – an exclusive turnkey service that helps you organise your home from top to bottom.

Back-To-School Blueprint
August is always a second chance to begin the year. You come back fresh after the holidays looking forward to a clean-slated start to another year. To map out an holistic approach to beating back-to-school blues and organising your kid’s routine, FACT met with Elmira Kahrobaie, a full-time mum and influencer. Being the best parent you can be, begins with being your ultimate you Everything starts with you and, once you start practising and learning how to organise yourself, you can implement that in every aspect of your life, leading and motivating your kids by your good example. Most of us struggle with not having enough time. Elmira’s biggest advice is always to “wake-up early and go to bed early”. This not only increases the quality of your wellbeing but also gives you the opportunity to start your day a little more slowly and with more focus. Giving yourself the chance to wake-up before your kids allows you time to enjoy the few minutes of peace before the mayhem commences. It is particularly important to find some time during the busy week for yourself. Self-care will enable you to recharge and ensure that you are pouring from a full cup. Pick a day and a time and indulge in a little self-pampering, whether it’s a game of squash, face mask or just unplugging and reading a book.
Schooling yourself on home economics If you’re a home executive, Elmira is a firm believer that you are not meant to do everything every day. When it comes to cleaning, remember that each day is not a spring-cleaning mission. Try to organise and do one of the main chores daily. For example, laundry is one of those duties that you may need two days to complete, so try to plan it for the end of the week, so on the weekend (when you have more time) you will be able to fold, iron and pack away. There are certain tasks that will need daily effort, like mopping or vacuuming. Make these daily tasks short and simple. Elmira’s favourite tip is to always do the dishes at the end of the night, to avoid waking up to the task. Organising your ‘mini me’ When it comes to organising children, there are some common challenges with re-establishing routine after a year of the pandemic. A go-to method of following up on things with your child is to use a checklist. Your personal expectations and school expectations must be marked clearly on this checklist. This helps a lot with instilling responsibility and will encourage your children to become organised. Elmira’s top tip here is to let your child choose a day where they can enjoy rewards. Set a budget for them so that they can buy anything the money will afford. This way they learn about effort and reward as well as how to budget their finances. It is very important to highlight your expectations and goals in the upcoming academic year. Start by motivating your child to focus on the areas that need to improve. Make it fun by putting those tasks as priority and rewarding their progress. Remember you are not a teacher. Separate this role from yourself as much as possible. Try to keep the relationship as it is. As a mum or dad, you are always there to support and remind your children of their goals and assist them by being present.
Balancing learning at home, remote schooling and classroom attendance is easiest when you set the easier tasks for home learning and the more challenging ones for the classroom. The key is to keep your child motivated with praise, often reminding them that these COVID-related interruptions are temporary. Children and adults perform best in any task for about 20 minutes. When home learning is in progress, use a visible clock to keep track of time. When the task is completed well, you can reward them with an extra five minutes of video games or whatever it is that they enjoy doing. Ask for feedback from the teacher as often as you can, to help to set boundaries for your kids. During summer vacations keep reminding them of what they did well in the previous academic year. Appreciating and expressing how proud you are of them is a great platform to then address the topics that require improvement and how they need to keep practising. There are many great applications that motivate and help children to play and learn. GO: FOR MORE PEARLS OF WISDOM AND MOTIVATION FOLLOW ELMIRA ON INSTAGRAM @ELMIRASWORLD

Be a Wardrobe Warrior
Wardrobe clutter can overwhelm you. Sometimes your clothing range needs a dressing down, and not just with words but actions. FACT sat with personal stylist and image consultant Juliana Heide for some professional wardrobe organisation hacks. Ever feel that you have a tonne of clothing and nothing to wear? Feeling bogged down because most of your clothes don’t fit right, don’t match or are so last season? When it comes to clothes, we tend to think that the more we hold, the more choices we have, but in fact, the opposite is true. Too many clothes become overwhelming and can make getting dressed a chore. The trick to a stress-free wardrobe clean is breaking down the process and focusing on the main actions. Here are some easy steps to help you sort everything, figure out what you really need, and keep the pieces you truly appreciate. Define your style Purging without a plan is just going to lead to poor decisions, or you’ll purge and organise only to end up cluttered and disorganised in a couple of months. The first step is to start thinking about what your style is and keep this vision in mind when paring down. Ask yourself these three questions. What type of clothing you always feel comfortable in? What pieces do you wear on repeat all of the time, and why? What type of clothing suits your lifestyle? Word of caution: we can often get caught up in defining our style for our fantasy life and not our real life. Consider clothing that matches your personal style and lifestyle. Try sorting clothing into five main categories: (1) active – working out and going to the gym clothes, (2) daily – running errands and day-to-day clothes, (3) work – office attire, for meetings or if you have a corporate job, (4) going out – entertainment-style clothing, to go to the movies, girls’ night out, date nights, special events, and (5) lounge wear – clothes you wear around the house. Once categorised, ask yourself how you usually spend the day. Which two are your primary ones? Those need to represent the majority of your wardrobe and occupy the biggest space. Categories help you put your wardrobe into perspective. When you realise you spend 10% or less of your days in going-out attire, it won’t make sense to have more than that portion of your wardrobe dedicated to them. Purge your clothes Grab five boxes and divide your clothing into: keep, toss, sell, donate and customise piles. Interrogate your wardrobe piece by piece and ask yourself a couple of questions about each item such as ‘Have I worn this in the last year?’ The majority of cluttered closets are the ‘just in case’ pieces, which we convince ourselves we might need for some upcoming event, or just a personal attachment to what we wore once, or even because it was an expensive item.
Once a year goes by without wearing any of those items and they are still there sitting untouched or with intact tags on, its time lose them. Your style changes. It’s not an easy task but ask yourself the following questions: Does it fit, and do I like the way that it looks on me? If you haven’t worn it in a year, you won’t next year. If I saw this in a store now, would I want to buy it? If you had an event right now on your calendar, would this piece be the one that you would wear? Get your wardrobe waxed Once all your clothing is purged it’s time to put it back in your wardrobe and organise your pieces. Before you do so, it’s important to deal with those items you purged and prevent them from taking up space and potentially making their way back into your closet. Put the trash bag in your bin right away, get the charity bag to the donation point and get to work on the items that need to be cleaned or restored. Once ready to put everything from the ‘keep pile’ back in your wardrobe, organise them by use. Each piece serves a different purpose and provides a distinct use. Organising by type makes the most sense. Consider an ‘off-season wardrobe’ while you are delegating, but in the same spot. Designate wardrobe space to store clothes that you won’t be wearing in the next six months. When you are done, you’ll feel how freeing it is to have a neat and organised wardrobe filled only with pieces you absolutely love. GO: CONTACT JULIANA HEIDE ON INSTAGRAM @JUHEIDE FOR A ONE-ON-ONE CONSULTATION.

The Career Without The Chaos
After holidays, fresh opportunities often arise. As Bahrain’s borders open, travel increases and trade picks up, there is an increased scope for career development. If you’re about to begin a new job, this is a chance to make a fresh start for yourself and a strong first impression on your new employer and colleagues. That means being well prepared and fully organised. We’ve identified four key organisational tips for starting your new job the right way.
Maximise your transition time If you have the luxury of a week’s break between positions it’s the ideal opportunity to rejuvenate, re-energise and, of course, reorganise your battle approach. Consider taking a few days to get closer to nature, enjoy a camping trip or have an indulgent spa break. The getaway will do wonders for your spirit on day one of the new job. If there are any outstanding errands to complete, smash them all before you start the new position. You don’t want to be burdened by any personal tasks in your first month, so do a big grocery run, pay your accounts – whatever it takes to clear your calendar – for that all important first day. If you’re working from home in these pandemic times, make the effort to create a dedicated home office space, as noise and distraction free as possible, with an efficient fully equipped workstation, replete with a supportive and comfortable chair, a neutral backdrop for video calls, notepad and pen, desktop and spare screen, good headphones, and some snack treats.
Forewarned is forearmed Do your homework. Check out your colleagues’ LinkedIn profiles to gain insight into the corporate culture. Request or try to obtain a copy of the employee handbook before your first day so you can review it and know in advance what questions to ask. Consider researching your new company’s competitors, or testing out software you’ll be using on the job. Scrutinise social media. Review your new employer’s social media policy. Some organisations don’t care about employees posting on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or other social media sites during working hours. Others have policies that prohibit it. Scrutinise what seems to be acceptable before you start posting and vet your own social pages. Colleagues or the new boss might send you a friend request, so ensure what they can view is fit for public consumption. Check your privacy settings and be careful about who gets to see what. Left to your own devices? Enquire in advance if, on your first day, you’re expected to use your own laptop, or have the option to use it. Some employers have Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) or BYOC (Bring Your Own Computer) policies. The employee’s new clothes Whether you’re heading into the office or working remotely, clothes make more of a difference than you might imagine. First things first. When working the old-school way at the office, it’s important to go in armed with the appropriate attire information. If your new employer hasn’t advised you of a dress code you can enquire in advance what is ideal for your workplace or visit your organisation’s website page that talks about people and management to observe what the key players are wearing in the photos and gauge the style and level of formality, or check out their Social Media spaces. Suit yourself. Nothing makes you feel ready for success more than a good business outfit. Spoil yourself in a professional way by suiting up with some new office threads. Whether it’s a formal or informal environment, the act of purchasing a dedicated outfit for the workplace will empower you. A crisp, well-tailored, highquality ensemble lets others know you mean business and contributes to your own commitment to the new position. The buck-naked stops here. Even if you’re working entirely from home, apply the principles listed above and get into a routine of wearing office-appropriate attire every workday. Like a Samurai warrior preparing armour for battle, the ritual act of putting on an outfit every morning before work will adjust your mindset to work mode, and help differentiate home time from office hours Read all about it Making the best possible start at a new job is about evolving your personal brand. By expanding your vision and enhancing your knowledge base you’ll attain the ideal kick-starter for your orientation phase. To feel stronger, smarter and more motivated take a look at these five books in preparation for the new position. The Case of the Bonsai Manager by Ramamoorthy Gopalakrishnan. Simple Ways to Fight the New Job Jitters by Sarah McCord. The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies For New Leaders at All Levels by Michael Watkins. Ultimate New Job: The Definitive Guide to Surviving and Thriving As A New Starter by James Innes Caught in an Elevator With A CEO? 3 Conversation Starters by Nicole Varvitsiotes.