Tag Archives: assistant

Partner

The Why & How of Spring Cleaning

I have a confession. I’m one of those maniacally organized people who, in spite of a demanding job and two little ones, cannot sleep when the house hasn’t been returned to order. My house is organized. There. I admit it. My containers match, I fastidiously use a label maker and you know  what, I love a good surface wipe. But, even though my house is pretty organized most of the  time, I still get that urge to turn the place upside down and go all Container Store on it every April. Why?! Trust me, I do not need another single thing to do. And, every year when I’m knee  deep in a pile of stuff while both of my kids nap (I know what’s WRONG with me) I think –  WHY?! Why do I feel compelled, driven even, to participate in full blown spring cleaning  whenever the tulips pop?

Turns out there are strong cultural roots pulling us towards trashing our homes only to immediately set them right again when the sun starts shining. This practice is shared around the world, supported by biology and part of deep rooted American traditions. In the Jewish faith the  house is rigorously cleaned in anticipation of Passover and Christian faiths suggest various cleaning rituals starting on lent and throughout the days leading up to Easter. Iranian New Year, Nowruz, falls on the first day of spring and dictates a thorough house cleaning too. For the agnostic among us, longer, sunnier days mean less melatonin fogging our brains, and less  melatonin means more available energy. And for the history buffs, during the long winter frontier families’ homes would become covered with soot from the fires used for cooking and heat.

When the weather was finally warm enough to open the windows these homes got a through scrub down to remove that soot layer.

Now that I’m convinced spring cleaning isn’t just me killing time I don’t have, I’m going to break down how you can make it happen this spring in spite of all of the other things demanding your time and attention (because you know you want to…).

Set Your Goals
Pick one or two priority areas that need your attention the most and define your goals for the space. For example, if you chose your entryway, your goal might be getting out the door in the morning faster. If you’ve chosen your kids toy room, maybe your goal is to bring older toys to light again. By defining your goal you will automatically align your actions with your desired end result.

Out, Sort, Distribute – Repeat
Pull everything out of the space you’ve chosen and set it out so you can see as much of it as possible. Sort your belongings into 3 piles, Keep, Donate, Lives Elsewhere. Organize the Keep pile in a way that supports your goal. Ferry the Lives Elsewhere stuff to its rightful home and  drop those donations off early in the season so those who need them most can take advantage  of your generosity.

Keep It Simple
If you have a bunch of time on your hands, sure, go full on Marie Kondo, but if you have limited  time and competing priorities what sparks joy for you might be getting that one cabinet in order so you don’t have sippy cups raining down upon you every time you open it. And you know  what? That totally counts. Keep it simple and do what works for you.

Our team of expert, skilled and savvy GYST Assistants had a few things to say on the topic too. GYST Assistants are excellent spring cleaning partners and even better than doing it yourself is  delegating to an expert. GYST Assistants will help you set up organizational systems that are  efficient, effective and easy to maintain and Bell Family Company families enjoy exclusive access to GYST Assistants on a project basis. Give us a call at (917) 912-9206 or say [email protected] to learn more. Our goal is to set our clients free to focus on what matters  most.

About GYST
GYST sources, selects, educates and retains top personal and executive assistants and offers clients a flexible, high level assistant experience in a program optimized for long term success. Learn more at www.gystplease.com.

A special thanks to Brooke Stone, Founder and CEO of GYST, who shared her exploration of spring cleaning, organization tips and advice from GYST Assistants.

Uncategorized

Have Your Own Mommy Assistant and Helper

Giving birth is intense! The recovery should not be.

We have a dedicated trope of professionals who specialize in post-partum care, as well as general assistant duties.

The role includes:
1. Meal prep (light to medium level)
2. Help with laundry
3. Help with keeping the house tidy (empty dishwasher, wipe down tables, sweeping)
4. Make beds
5. Ordering groceries
6. Assist in scheduling (doctor visits, ordering food, cars, scheduling appointments)
7. Help with errands (post office, drug store, grocery store)
8. Assist with baby (bottle prep, diaper changing, swaddling, holding or soothing, bathing)
9. General comfort of having a professional there to help talk through questions, get opinions, etc.
10. Companion as you recover (help walking, getting up)

We have developed a training program for our sitters and nannies to make them the best New Mommy Assistants and helpers in the business.

New Mommy Assistants are typically hired for 30 days of service as live-in, but can also be live-out, and either full- or part-time. E-mail us today if you are interested in hiring a New Mommy Assistant!

Assistant

Written by our Founder & CEO, Lindsay Bell

Uncategorized

Gyst Please! What They Can Do for You!

Greetings, all!

We’re bringing you a special blog post today featuring our friends from GYST, a company whose mission is to simplify the lives and increase the capacity of their clients by providing excellent assistant support in a maximally flexible model. GYST is transforming the personal support industry through absolute dedication, allowing their clients to consistently achieve and exceed personal and professional goals.

We had the opportunity to talk with Founder and CEO, Brooke Stone, to get the inside scoop on what GYST is all about. Read below for our Q&A!

Q: At what time in your life did you recognize that a place like GYST would be in such demand?

A: I had the great privilege to work as a personal assistant beside incredibly dynamic artists and executives for many years, and many of my clients generously referred me to their associates. At some point I ran out of hours in the day and was unable to take on additional clients myself, so I began looking for a service that provided assistants with the same commitment to excellence I had myself. After looking for this type of service in New York, I couldn’t believe there wasn’t a single one to be found! I felt compelled to start GYST to fill this huge hole, and to give our city’s movers and shakers the personal support they needed to keep moving and shaking.

Q: For all those moms out there needing an extra hand, why should they turn to GYST? 

A: In addition to mom-ing and wife-ing, moms are almost always the defacto family administrator. With precious little available time, moms are expected to plan family vacations, stay on top of weekly errands, manage household staff members, pay bills, prep paperwork for taxes, complete school forms, research and enroll kids in camps and after school programs…and on and on the list goes. At GYST we understand you would always rather spend that time doing something fun with your family (or getting a manicure!), and we can make that happen for you. We also know how important it is that anyone working in your home and with private details about your family needs to be trustworthy, discreet and kind. Our assistants are fully vetted, insured and bonded and we are known for quietly knitting ourselves into our client’s lives in a way that feels very organic and unobtrusive.

Q: You’re more than just a personal assistant company. What are some of the unique services you offer your customers?

A: We sure are! Our assistants come to GYST with at least three years of experience working with a celebrity or C level executive, and then complete our training program before working with GYST clients. This combination of experience and training gives our assistants the tools they need to functionally manage tasks ranging from scheduling and travel booking all the way up to event and property management, and everything in between. Our clients value the proactive, anticipatory nature of our assistants, and the city savvy efficiency our team brings to the table.

Q: If someone wants to get on board with all that GYST has to offer, how do they go about getting started?

A: Give us a call at (917) 912-9206, or e-mail us at [email protected]. You can check out our on demand service, GYSTNow, by downloading for iOS in the App Store. We are really excited to have GYST assistants available in the Hamptons this summer too, but their availability out East is filling up fast – so definitely reach out to us now for Hamptons support!  

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Written by our Marketing & Social Media Coordinator, Taylor Bell!