What’s YOUR Revelation?
One of our greatest obstacles is overcoming the suspicion that Professional Organizers are shysters who have figured out a way to get paid from making you throw out all your stuff. Not true. Our focus is not on throwing everything out. The fact is, our focus is on what you are KEEPING and how much, and why, and where it's all going to go. How do we get the best results? It does NOT come from us telling you what you MUST do, but from creating an environment, where you make your OWN revelations. We do this every day, but in this post, I want to share one of our most beautiful examples.
Book Review: Organizing From The Inside Out
Ten years ago I didn't even know there was such a thing as a PROFESSIONAL Organizer. The first one I knew of was Peter Walsh from TLC's Clean Sweep. Not knowing where else to turn, I emailed Mr. Walsh, who started me out with two excellent pieces of advice: join NAPO and read Julie Morgenstern's Organizing From The Inside out.
Are Vampires Lurking in Your Closet?
Last week a woman was giving me a tour of all the organizing challenges in her home and when we came to a closet upstairs, I asked her, “can I see what’s in here?” She said “Oh, I don’t want to show you that. It’s a DISASTER!” After explaining to her that I was in the disaster business, she let me have a look.
Product Review: Rubbermaid All Access Organizers
This storage container has it all. It’s sturdy, stackable, visible, and accessible. I was an instant fan!
Book Review: A Mom’s Guide to Home Organization
If you find that your biggest organizing challenges come from the trials of being a mother, A Mom’s Guide to Home Organization is a great resource. It’s written by Debbie Lillard, a mother of three children and a professional organizer since 2003.
Quantity Dictates Systems
One of the questions I get asked most frequently, before starting an organizing project is “What should I buy?” I have a very simple answer: nothing. This is especially true for the big projects we tend to get this time of year, like garages, basements, attics. The reason comes down to this very simple organizing rule: "quantity dictates systems."
Product Review: mobile clean & go
Once again, another rave review for a very simple product that just works very well. Mobile clean and go is a spray for mobile devices that is packaged in a very neat rectangular container that you can fit in any pocket. As the name suggests, it is designed to go.
Product Review: Lawn Bag Holder
More than any other product, our clients want to know about our lawn bag holder. We set it up with a big contractor bag right after we set up our “decision table.” The big open bag shows, we mean business.
Product Review: The Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500
Our clients often ask, “Shouldn’t I just scan everything and go paperless?” My first thought is that there is probably a lot of paper that should be purged first. My second thought is that, for what’s left, your standard flatbed scanner is not going to cut it. The Fujutsu Scan Snap iX500, however, will.
Do You Have “Dishes in the Sink”?
As I’ve so often stated, my central organizing philosophy is circulation prevents accumulation, but what exactly do I mean by this? Effective organizing solutions must be built on movement. There must be a reliable advancement from one manageable stage to the next. If this circulation is blocked by an unmanageable stage, the whole process starts to fall apart and an accumulation of clutter is inevitable.
Organizing Your Home for the Market
The real estate market seems to be picking up again and it is keeping us busy with organizing homes for the market. If you are ready to sell, it pays to be organized. Here are some examples.
When is it OK NOT to be Organized?
The other day a friend asked, when is it OK NOT to be organized. I was stumped by the question, but I've been giving the matter a lot of thought, ever since.
Product Review: The Time Timer
I don’t like most organizing gadgets and for one simple reason. They aren’t simple. The Time Timer, however, succeeds in simplifying your life because it is actually simple. Very simple.
My Email Confession
I have a confession to make. I had let my email inbox accumulate to over 5,000 emails. That can be really bad news for one's computer’s performance. What's my excuse for all this digital clutter? Digital clutter is simply less compelling to me because it does not crowd my physical space. I don't see it. Not much of an excuse, but I know I'm not alone.
“Papers? I’ve Gotta Go Through Those MYSELF.”
Sometimes when we are sorting and purging our client’s stuff, we come across some bags of papers and the client will tell us “I’ve gotta go through those myself.” I’ve challenged this argument so many times, I thought I’d blog about it. What follows are the reasons for their argument and why they don’t hold water.
