At home with Collectively Organised

In today's at home series I'm excited to explore the topic of  organisation with the talented and renowned home organisation guru , Jessica Schultz from @collectively_organised. A master of her craft, Jessica has transformed the art of tidying up into a mesmerizing experience, combining elegance with efficiency to create spaces that exude both harmony and functionality. With an innate eye for design and an unwavering passion for organisation, Jessica has earned a reputation as the go-to expert for those seeking to revitalize their living spaces, declutter their minds, and embrace a more streamlined and beautiful way of living. We asked Jessica for her best organisation tips for the home, a little bit of life and of course a little bit of bloom, see what she had to say below! 



1. We've loved watching your organisation journey and having experienced it myself I can really see the value in what you do! What are some key benefits you've experienced from staying organised, both in terms of productivity and overall well-being?

Staying organised in my home has benefited me in multiple ways over the years and those benefits drive me as a Home Organiser every day. Firstly, financially; being organised means you are more mindful of what you own so therefore a more mindful and intentional consumer which can assist in curbing frivolous spending helping you to reach your financial goals quicker (and halting / reducing unnecessary clutter from entering your home!) 

I also am passionate that when you are a mindful shopper you naturally reduce your environmental footprint as you simply aren’t buying as much as you are getting better use from what you own and aware of where it is located in the home to be used or enjoyed more regularly (without frantically stressing on where it is)

These benefits have improved my overall well-being by reducing stress which has sparked my creativity, motivation and productivity especially in recent years as a mum and small business owner. Organised and tidy spaces contribute greatly to reducing the mental load day to day making way for bigger and better priorities with ease and clarity. 

2.You've purchased a few of our albums and most recently our school album, organising your photos can feel very overwhelming especially with how many photos people carry on their phones these days, How do you approach organizing your photo albums, and what factors do you consider when deciding on a particular organisational structure or theme?

I love photos in chronological order telling a story. However, I learnt very quickly when I returned to full time work once my son started school that as much as a month by month album is amazing, sometimes it's being realistic that key photos or key moments in the journey printed and documented is better than leaving it for years with nothing printed hoping for some magical vacant time window where you can deal with 15 000 photos at once. It ain't happening. 

As for themes; outside of my albums that are simply chronological as a running timeline of our life I have stand-alone albums for our overseas holidays and some key events of our lives such as our wedding. 

 

3.What strategies or techniques do you use to efficiently sort and categorize your photos, ensuring that they are easily accessible and well-organized?

I scroll my camera roll and take a few notes on some key events from the period of time I'm documenting and pluck my favourites. I also look at the archive of my social media profiles and what I posted for any captions that accompanied key photos I loved to help put that detail into my physical albums. 

Something I've also done in the past 12 months is to have my husband, son and I all on Google Photos together. When we returned from our 5 week White Christmas Holiday in the USA this year all 3 of us had so many photos and video footage on our devices but we were able to all upload and contribute to this file for our holiday which I created sub-folders for each city and that has helped for each of our favourite photos to then be shortlisted for our physical albums. 

 

I love keeping albums accessible to be enjoyed socially such as when family or friends come over. I keep some on my floating shelves in my main living areas and the rest in my TV cabinet. 

 5. Lastly, How do you strike a balance between maintaining an organized environment and allowing for creativity or spontaneity in your daily life?

Although I don't consider myself a minimalist I do often challenge myself around living with less volume versus the space and size of my home on a regular basis. It means I can live and enjoy my home daily but if it does get untidy it can be reset often as quickly as a 15 minute focus timer set on my phone as everything has a clear place to be returned to. 

 

That's it for todays at home blog, we hope you're feeling inspired to get organised and finish those beautiful photo albums! If you'd like to learn more about Jess or follow her socials for great tips on  organisation then check out her Instagram Collectively Organised  here, or if you are a Brisbane/Gold Coast local you can even book Jess for her services!