Organizing for the Unexpected

A number of years ago, JoEllen and I compiled a book called “Where Can I Find It“, which is a guide for individuals in the case of emergencies.  Once completed, it is a handy place to find all the phone numbers of service providers, passwords for computers, account numbers for banking and investment accounts, and the location of important papers.  It is available through our website in hard copy or as a download.

Last week a client purchased our book and hired me to spend the morning with her to complete the book.  In a mere 3 hours we gave her peace of mind that her affairs were in order!  She had been inspired to do this before any crisis arose because she had just dealt with the passing of her mother.  While her mother’s files were mostly in order, there was a beneficiary designation that had not been clearly made while she was alive.  It impacted the taxes of two of the three children inheriting the proceeds.  My client did not want this kind of problem with her own accounts, so we double checked designations with insurance companies, checked the wills, power of attorney designations and living wills.  Now she and her husband have a short list of items to follow up on, but the bulk of the work is done.  She was so relieved that she would not leave things in disarray for her sons in the event of an emergency!

Whether or not you use our book or something similar, we encourage all of our friends, relatives and clients to have a comprehensive list of all of this important information.  Make a copy and give it to a trusted friend or relative, and to your insurance agent.  We never know when a natural disaster will strike, or a sudden illness occurs which disrupt our normal schedule.  A small investment of your time before a crisis will be priceless.

Wishing you and your family peace, happiness and organization in 2018.

                                 Muffy 

PS  This post was taken from a recent Monthly Tips Newsletter; follow the link to have them delivered directly to your in-box.

New Season, New Routines

First, we would like to say THANK YOU to all of you for staying with, and supporting us over the years by inviting us into your homes and offices.  Labor Day is the time we celebrate 13 years of helping you live and work in more organized environments.  As we enter the beginning of our 14th year as Professional Organizers, we know that this time of year marks new beginnings for many of you, too.

Every summer seems to be the fastest on record, doesn’t it?  So many fun activities to enjoy on our lists, new places to explore on vacations, and spending time with family and friends.  Although there are still many enjoyable warm weather days to come, Labor Day seems to mark the ‘official’ end of summer.  The kids are back in school, older children are back in college, and we are often working steadily until the upcoming holiday season.  It is only natural that this is a time to start (or restart) some routines.

You have probably heard us say that it only takes two or three weeks to learn a new habit, and NOW is always a good time to start.

If you or your children are embarking on a new year of education, it is never too late to start new habits.  Having all the supplies readily available near a clear work surface is the best place to begin.  Among the supplies should be a calendar where schedules are posted and due dates for upcoming assignments are also clearly identified.  This is a perfect opportunity to teach some time management skills by outlining all the steps needed to complete a project, and establishing due dates along the way.  We have posted links to articles on the subject of getting organized for school on our Facebook page and our Organizing the Student board on Pinterest.

If you have recently moved into a new home, you are in a unique position to begin anew!  All belongings have new homes, and it is time to develop those new habits you have always thought about.  Start by making your bed everyday.  Not only will this look better when you are again ready for bed, it will be the beginning of a daily routine.  Performing specific tasks at similar times of the day will help instill a new habit quickly.

Much of the work that we do is finding homes for belongings.  After all, that’s what most of the
clutter is about; items do not have a home.  When they don’t have a home, they cannot be readily found the next time you need
them.  There are four months left in 2016, and it is not too late to work on your New Year’s Resolution to get more organized.  Devote time on a regular basis to move toward reaching your goal.  Is it organizing those photos? The attic? The craft room?  Set the
timer or pick a small area on which to work.

Remember that 15 minutes a day=over 91 hours a year—–just think of all you could accomplish in that amount of
time!!!

Fall also brings extra activites to fit into your schedule; after-school events, preparing the home for winter, and holiday planning.  Get everything on your calendar, as well as the calendars for other family member who will be involved.  Remember that everyone may not use calendars the same way, so a combination of electronic and a wall calendar may be necessary.

 

We wish you well on establishing some new routines,

JoEllen & Muffy

P.S. Did you notice how developing a new habit is intertwined with time management?  If you want to learn more, we have selected some of our favorite books on Time Management in our Amazon Bookstore.  Pick only one or two if you need additional inspiration.

Some of the products we have suggested contain affiliate links.  We may receive a small compensation if you purchase an item.  Please know that the price is not affected by the inclusion of this link.

This post was taken from a recent Monthly Tips Newsletter; follow the link to have them delivered directly to your in-box.

Resolutions vs Microresolutions

So, how are those New Years Resolutions coming along?  Are you worried that failure is on the horizon? Perhaps it is because the resolution you made was too all encompassing, and therefore a recipe for failure.

As a Professional Organizer I see this a lot.  January is typically a fairly quiet month as most individuals have resolved to make changes and are all gung-ho to do it on their own.  The calls for help start arriving toward the end of the month when they find the organizing task is just too overwhelming.   But if you are interested in continuing to organize on your own, the best advice I can give is to START SMALL.  This and a couple of other tips are in a previous post, and may help you on your journey to a more organized life.

There are also many books out there to provide you with inspiration, advice for keeping on task, and strategies for every room in the home.  (Some of my favorites can be found in Organizing 4 U’s Amazon Bookstore.)  A winner for this time of year is Small Move, Big Change  Using Microresolutions to Transform Your Life Permanently by Caroline L. Arnold.  It takes the START SMALL step a bit further and may prove to be the best $3.91 you have ever spent.

Ms Arnold, writing from personal experience, provides The Seven Rules of Microresolutions.  She then shows these rules in action in the following areas: sleep, fitness, diet & nutrition, clutter, relationships, spending, punctuality and organization.  WOW, this covers a lot of territory!  The author cautions, however, to take on only two microresolutions at a time.  “A new habit takes hold only through consistent repetition, and that takes concentration and effort.”

Overall, the guidance provided in this book is set up to help you form habits in the areas you wish to improve upon.  “Any system you create for yourself will be only as strong as the habits you build to support it, so start with a simple system and elaborate it as needed over time.”  Great advice!

All the best in 2016!  Let me know how you are succeeding with your MICRORESOLUTIONS.

Thanks for reading,

JoEllen

Professional Organizer Finds Inspiration from Customers

It is so rewarding to Muffy and me to see our customers become inspired!  Of course, we like to take some credit for that, but this week two of our customers were inspired by a popular new book with a different approach to organizing.

Those of you who are familiar with our style of organizing know that we like to empty a space, sort through the contents and then decide what to keep, what belongs elsewhere, and what doesn’t belong at all.  A new book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kono presents a different approach that has transformed the lives of many.

Ms. Kondo suggests that “tidying is just a tool, not the final destination.  The true goal should be to establish the lifestyle you want most once your house has been put in order…. by successfully concluding this once-in-a-lifetime task, you will gain the lifestyle you aspire to and enjoy a clean and orderly space of your choosing.”

By selecting one category at a time she advises to keep only items that fall into one of three categories:

• currently in use
• needed for a limited period of time
• must be kept indefinitely

Having trouble deciding?  Then consider her overall theme:  Does the item bring you joy?  Going through each of the recommended categories may seem somewhat overwhelming, but it will allow you to see what you really own.

The first project is clothes.  Take all the clothes from everywhere in your home and put them into a pile.  This means everything!  Take out all of the clothes in your closets, drawers, hanging on the treadmill, in the mending pile, etc.  Be sure to include all of your coats, hats, gloves, and shoes.  Handle each piece and decide what you want to keep.  Is it currently in use? If so, then it will be kept.  Do you need it for a limited period of time—-for example, is it needed for a different season?  OK to keep.  What about items that must be kept indefinitely—a cocktail dress that you can still fit into?  Also OK to keep.  While going through each item, Kondo suggests keep only those items that will bring you joy.  I may like a particular blouse, but if I try it on and do not feel good (and joyful) wearing it, then it is being donated.

The next category is books.  So many of us like to keep shelves full of books that we have either read or intend to read some day.  The same technique applies:  put all of your books in one place and begin the process again.  And utilize the same criteria.  Are you currently reading the book?  Is it a book that you need while investigating something like your next vacation or gardening plans?  Is it something that you want to keep indefinitely like a photo book you made from a special vacation?  Again the overall theme is:  Does it bring you joy?  I have a lot of art books that I inherited, and like to keep for inspiration in the various creative outlets that I pursue.  However, I find that I dust them more often than I look at them.  Perhaps if there were fewer of them on my shelves, they would actually be viewed, so I will keep only those select few that I really enjoy.

Miscellany seems to cover (almost) everything else in your home: items in the kitchen, bathrooms, craft areas, CDs, etc that do not fit into the previous two categories.  By now you should have the system down pat, and can move forward about deciding on objects that “I might need someday!”  These first three categories are the easiest and you are probably inspired by seeing all of the major changes in your closets, cupboards, drawers and shelves.

Now it is time for the most difficult category: mementos.  Ms Kondo suggests that “by handling each sentimental item and deciding what to discard, you process your past.  If you just stow these things away in a drawer or cardboard box, before you realize it, your past will become a weight that holds you back and keeps you from living in the here and now.  To put your things in order means to put your past in order, too.  It’s like resetting your life and settling your accounts so that you can take the next step forward.”  I have one closet that holds my memorabilia—I refer to it as “my anxiety closet,”  because each time I open the door I have anxiety——because it is the most disorganized area of my home.  It always seems to be the last thing on my to-do list as I see all the layers of things I need to do, and then just walk away.  I jokingly say that this will be my retirement project.  When I do go through it, I think I will now have a different perspective.  Do the items bring me joy?  Am I holding on to items to give to my daughters someday?  Will they even want these items?  Or will they be stored in a box in their homes and rarely viewed again?

While organizing for others I find many, many organizing books, and I believe that the time spent reading these books (if they were even read at all) would have been better spent doing the actual organizing.  That said, upon reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up I believed the KonMari method could provide that motivation that so many seek.  This past week proved it!   Our customers did not follow the KonMari method to the letter, but kept the mantra of Does the item bring you joy? as they moved through their homes.  But beyond that, seeing the joy on our customers faces has inspired me to face some of the stuff that has been weighing me down.  There is already a large pile for donation…..

I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on this book,

JoEllen

The Simple Guide to a Clutter-Free Home

Here are some tips you can use to help live clutter-free.  To get started, follow tip #1, and believe that it is possible and get started, no matter how small the step.

Written by joshua becker · 115 Comments

“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” – William Morris

I have lived most of my life in a cluttered home. Closets were full, drawers wouldn’t shut, things weren’t put away, and unfinished projects could be found in most rooms. That was, unless somebody was coming over. Then, the entire family would pitch in to make sure the house was presentable. Looking back, the problem with clutter wasn’t that we didn’t notice or care. Instead, the problem was we could never get ahead of the mess or ever seem to develop a system that would keep our home clutter-free.

But that is no longer the case. Today, almost every room in our home rests in a state of order – free from the life-robbing presence of physical clutter. Over the past several years, we have found a system that works very well for our family of four. And I am perfectly confident you can do the same… no matter how far away from clutter-free your home may seem.

Consider implementing the four steps found in this Simple Guide to Keeping Your Home Clutter-Free:

1) Believe it is possible. Most of us know it is entirely possible to live in a clutter-free environment. I imagine that is what attracts you to this guide. You are just looking for some extra help to get there.

But some of you are not so sure. Your house has been cluttered for so long, you have given up all hope of ever living any other way. For you, the first step to living in a clutter-free home is to take heart and believe it is entirely possible. Realize that you will never get there if do not resolve in your mind that you can accomplish it. So find some hope and take one small step. Then, take another… and another… and another…

2) Remove the excess. Our homes are full of things. Clutter begins to appear most prominently when we own too much stuff. Conversely, the fewer items we own, the easier it is to keep clutter at a minimum. The first (and most important) step in keeping your home clutter-free is to remove the excessive possessions that are stealing our lives, time, and energy.

In your process of removing the excess, it can be helpful to find a working definition of clutter to aid you in this step. Early in our journey, we began to define clutter as a) too much stuff in too small a space; b) anything that we no longer used or loved; or c) anything that led to a feeling of disorganization. With that as our guiding filter, we slowly moved from room to room, removing everything that fit the definition above.

In some cases, this step is easy:

• Junk drawers full of unneeded items (rubber bands, old batteries, or old keys).
• Closets full of clothes you no longer wear.
• Decorations that are no longer meaningful and/or outdated.

In other cases, this step will take more time and intentionality:

• Large projects such as the garage, basement, or attic.
• Sentimental items that have collected over the years.
• Books.
• Other family members’ clutter that have begun invading common spaces.

The most important key in completing this step is to start with the small and easy projects first. Begin there. As you do, you’ll build up small victories. Then, after the small victories have been won, you’ll find extra motivation to begin tackling the harder cases of clutter in your home.

If you still do not feel fully capable on removing the excess possessions from your home, find encouragement in an intermediate step. For example, put the items you can’t quite part with in a cardboard box out of sight with a date on it. Getting rid of unnecessary possessions is essential, but it doesn’t have to be a race.

3) Implement habits to manage your clutter. For most of my life, I thought the key to maintaining clutter was found here. Just organize, clean, and organize again. But I was wrong. Because I had not taken the time to remove the excess in full (or in part), I could never get ahead of the clutter in my home. There were just too many things in too small a space – no matter what system we tried to implement. As a result, healthy clutter-clearing habits never had opportunity to emerge. So do not skip the removal step, it is absolutely important. And the more energy you put in removing the excess, the easier it will be to find and develop habits to better manage the things you keep.

Once you have cleared the excess, you will be able to better discover which habits keep your living space free of clutter. And once you experience the freedom and stress-free life of living clutter-free, you will find these habits easier to embrace.

Some of these habits will recur daily:

• Cleaning the kitchen after each meal.
• Placing daily-use items (clothes, books, toys) back in their designated homes.
• Fully-completing projects around the house.
• Developing an evening routine.

Some of these habits will center on specific locations that serve as clutter collection sites in your home. For us, our kitchen counter typically collects items (mail, schoolwork) during the day, our living room sees a highly-volume of traffic each day, and one of the bedrooms in our home finds itself a bit messier than the others. Each of these specific locations require extra effort and energy than the others.

Some of these habits will center of seasonal needs:

• The changing of the seasons.
• The need to remove excessive possessions after holidays and/or birthdays.
• Significant life changes (birth of a child, new employment) will also require refocusing and adjustment.

Over the years, we have found clutter attracts clutter. Once it begins to collect, it requires intentional action to clear it away. Develop for your family healthy habits today to manage the daily use of the things in your home. Once identified, you’ll find them much easier to implement.

4) Slow the accumulation of possessions. To live is to consume. It cannot be avoided – especially in our society and culture. But if the influx of possessions into our homes can be slowed, clutter can be managed efficiently.

To slow the accumulation of things in our homes, we need to change our mindset and begin evaluating our purchases differently. Realize that your purchases cost far more than the price on the sticker. Each one will also require time, energy, and effort once they enter your home. Before making a purchase, begin asking yourself these questions:

• Is this item really needed?
• Do I have a place to store this when I get it home?
• How much extra work will this possession add to my life?
• Am I buying it for the right reasons?

This thought-process isn’t designed to keep you from making purchases ever again – at least, it’s not supposed to. Again, to live is to consume. But these questions are designed to bring intentionality into your life. They raise in your mind the awareness that some purchases take more from our life than they offer. They help you know the difference. And slow the accumulation of clutter-causing items into your home and life.

Again, it is completely and entirely possible to live in a clutter-free home. With this simple guide, you’ll be well on your way. From somebody who has lived both, I can quickly attest that once you begin to enjoy the physical and mental freedom that accompanies clutter-free living, you’ll make extra effort to ensure your home does not slip back into the home it used to be.

If you’d like to know more about the most important principles we learned during our journey into living with less, you’ll find great value in our book, Simplify: 7 Guiding Principles to Help Anyone Declutter Their Home and Life.

 

Our thanks to Joshua Becker for a well written approach.

Let us know how this works for you!

JoEllen & Muffy

 

Answers to Questions About Hoarding

Do you have questions about Hoarding?  With all of the shows and articles of late there are often a lot of misconceptions.  Joshua Becker’s interview with Terrence Shulman will answer many of those questions.

For more infomation, or to find  resources or books on the subject, follow this link to a list that we have put together.

JoEllen & Muffy

The L In SIMPLE Organizing Steps

For the last four weeks we have shared with you our organizing tips about sorting, identifying categories, maximizing your use of space, and putting things away in their proper homes.

The logical next step in the process is:

L       Let go

Some people say the hardest part of organizing is letting go of things.  Cable TV shows have families put all of their belongings on the front lawn and return only 1/2 to their homes.  Organizing 4 U  believes you should part with items which are no longer useful to you and no longer bring you joy!

How does one decide?  Try sorting items in each space into 3 piles – trash, keep and donate.  Share items you no longer need with those who do.  Try keeping a donation bag or box handy and add to it on an ongoing basis – the next time a charity calls for a neighborhood pick up, you will be ready!

Feel the relief of lightening your load and “let go” of the excess.  Peter Walsh, author of “It’s All Too Much”, believes our society encourages us to have too much “stuff”.  So join the fun and organize your home or office today.  We guarantee the lighter load will make you feel better right away.  One of our customers said “I feel like I just lost 100 pounds!!!”

Let’s take a look at the candle drawer

Look at all of the items the homeowner let go of!!!!  We see broken and mostly used candles, potpourri, a candle stand, a box, incense, ribbon, etc.  How did they ever find a candle in there!!???

What interesting items have you found when cleaning out a drawer or cupboard?

Thanks for reading,

JoEllen & Muffy

What Is Your Favorite Organizing WORD?

Hard to believe that it is already February!  We hope you are doing well on your New Year’s Resolution to Be More Organized.  Do you find that the hardest part is getting started?  Sometimes having some steps spelled out for your plan can help.  So this month we are offering you some acronyms to help get you started and keep you on task.

So, even if your desk looks like this, we think one of these acronyms will be a perfect fit for you!

 

SIMPLE is our personal favorite because it was created by the Organizing 4 U team and works perfectly with our tag line ….making life simple.

These SIMPLE steps will help you organize your closet, your papers and even your time!

• S —  Start Small                  Set a timer, or select a small space
• I —  Identify categories      Group like things together
• M — Manage your space     Think of homes for items near where you will use them
• P — Put it away                   In its home
• L — Let go                           Of items you no longer need or want
• E — Enjoy                            Your uncluttered space and adjust as necessary

We admit that we were inspired to create our SIMPLE steps by Professional Organizer Julie Morgenstern, author of Organizing from the Inside Out.

We started our business utilizing her SPACE acronym:

• S — Sort                              Items into categories
• P — Purge                           Get rid of what you no longer want or need
• A — Assign a Home             Think about where you will look for an item next time
• C — Containerize                 Place in a container if necessary
• E — Equalize                       Take time to keep up the system you have created

 From the book Organizing for Dummies by Eileen Roth and Elizabeth Miles we found PLACE:

• P — Purge                            Donate or toss
• L — Like with like                 Group similar items together
• A — Access                          Create a spot that is easy to get to your things the next time
• C — Contain                         Use containers to create space and keep things together
• E — Evaluate                        Use the system to see if it works for you

 We will close with a couple of fun ones specifically for managing paper

FAT and OHIO:

• F — File                                Put it into a folder
• A — Act                                Take action with a phone call, email or RSVP
• T — Toss                              Get rid of what you do not need, or know you will be able to find again

 and

• O — Only
• H — Handle
•  I — It
• O — Once

Whatever acronym you prefer, our best advice is to just pick your favorite and start with a small project.

Let us know which acronym is your favorite, or if you have one of your own,

JoEllen

Financial Awareness Day

Today is National Financial Awareness Day!

Are all of your financials in order? Do you know which documents to keep and which ones to toss? Would your loved ones know whom to contact in case of an emergency? Our book, Where Can I Find It?  helps you organize all that important information and more.

Early in our career as Professional Organizers we worked with a woman whose mother had died suddenly.  The daughter was from out of town, and had a new baby.  Her brother was stationed overseas.  There was no living spouse.  The large house was full of stuff, including a lot of papers and a home based business.

The will was never found.  This was even more shocking because the woman who died had been an estate attorney.

No one ever talks about these things because we think we all have time.  But, of course, we never know.  After this work experience, we decided to help others prepare for those personal emergencies.  It does not have to mean death….it could be an illness, and someone else needs to take over the running of the household for a few days.  Where are the bills kept?  What financial and/or medical advisers need to be contacted?  Where does the dog go to the kennel?

Not only will the information contained in this book help others in the event of an emergency, it will be a useful tool for organizing the information that you do have.  And it will help you see if there are any gaps.

Not bad for less than $20…..or less than $5 to download.

Follow the link and see what others have to say.

Thanks,

JoEllen

Hoarders or Slobs?

Are they hoarders or slobs….or neither……?  They could be chronically disorganized; compulsive shoppers; they could be overwhelmed with other things going on in their lives and everything got out of control; they could be depressed and lack the energy for getting much of anything done.  This list could go on and on.

Television shows like Hoarders on A & E, and Hoarding: Buried Alive on TLC have given many of us a glimpse into a condition that affects as many as four to six million people. While those cases are extreme, they do exist.

Here in the Cleveland area, we are members of a local task force on hoarding.  The Hoarding Connection of Cuyahoga County has a mission “to provide support and advice, educate, develop best practices, and assist in identifying needed resources for individuals who hoard and those that work with individuals who hoard.”   This group is actively reaching out to community agencies to educate those who may encounter a hoarding situation.  We want to educate others that hoarders are not slobs, and they are not lazy, and cleaning out the home does not happen in a weekend.  Individuals who are hoarders find value in items that most of us do not. Any changes in behavior and the living conditions  involves a variety of resources, and will take time.

For more information on hoarding, there are many books on the subject.  A couple of recommendations are Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things, Overcoming Compulsive Hoarding,  and Digging Out: Helping your Loved One Manage Clutter, Hoarding & Compulsive Acquiring.

If you, or someone you know, wants some assistance contact The National Association of Professional Organizers, the Institute for Challenging Disorganization, or The National Association of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists.  These are all good places to start and will direct you to more local resources.

JoEllen