When Spring Cleaning is Spring CLEARING
Let’s face it, spring cleaning usually has a lot to do with spring cleaRing. Some annual rituals are obvious-- store the boots and bring out the sandals, bring the lawn furniture out of storage, put the holiday decorations away-- but there are some additional practices that will make it easier to stay organized, year-round.
It’s OK Not to Throw Away
What!? In case you’re wondering if I have changed my ways on how to deal with clutter, I have not. My company’s approach to getting organized has never been to focus on tossing, but rather to focus on keeping. Really! We focus on how much you are keeping, where you are keeping, and, most importantly, why you are keeping.
Are You Allowing Your Clutter to Take Up Residence?
You may hate the way the clutter accumulates in your home or office, but it’s possible you may be making some simple structural choices that cause it. A truly effective organizing system is built on movement. Some choices prevent movement and allow clutter to take up residence.
March 2013, The Hersam Acorn Magazine
“People shouldn’t feel bad if they’re having trouble getting organized. Today we have so many new sources of clutter and it’s harder to stay organized than ever before."
Strawberry, Chocolate, or Manila?
Today I want to boldly confront one of the most controversial issues of our time: file folder color choice. I know there is a school of thought, that says if your file folders are a variety of stimulating colors, they will encourage more use, but I want to make a case for the classic manila folder. There are reasons why it works.
Inbox or Invitation to Disaster?
Beware the inbox. On the face of it, an inbox makes sense. It provides a single collection place for your unsorted items. The problem is that you gain a false sense of organization, because while there is an easy plan for entrance, there is no easy plan for exit. The best solution may be no inbox at all.
The Secret to Why You Still Can’t Stay Organized
Being organized requires a balance of three limited resources. The first two are time and space. Much has been written about how to work within the limits of time and space, but there is a third resource that attracts less attention. That resource is energy. It is possible to clear your space, organize your time, and establish sensible systems for both and still not be able to stay organized, because you lack the energy to maintain those systems.
February 2013, Darien News
If one of your new year's resolutions for 2013 is to get organized, the following tips from Stamford professional organizer Matt Baier can help get you started.
Gray Away
So what does hair coloring and organizing have to do with each other? Organizing is never as simple as black or white, keep or toss. There is a lot of gray that must stay, but must be stored away. We’ve all been there. We can’t take that cluttered room anymore, so we go in with a trash bag and start tossing the old periodicals, the empty component boxes, but then we get stuck on a half finished craft project, the old documents, the expensive gift we never liked,
Action Feeds on Clarity
Just as a doctor asks several key questions before making a diagnosis, so does a professional organizer. In a home office, one of those questions is “where is your trash?” If the client proudly points to a decorative little bin that is overflowing with paper, then I know we are looking at some easy structural solutions and some larger conceptual challenges.
At the Moment of Need
If you find yourself not having the right item for the right need at the most critical times. Here are my top three recommendations: 1. Edit 2. Edit 3. Edit If everything is important than nothing is important. The less you have to remember, the more likely you are to remember it.
The Absolute Worst Way to Get Organized
There must be thousands of resources out there offering the “easiest way to get organized,” (including mine) so I thought I would offer up some advice on the absolute worst ways to get organized. Here are seven surefire tips!
Getting Organized for the New Year
If one of your New Year’s resolutions for 2013 is to get more organized, but you don’t know how to get started, here are ten key tips to get organized and stay organized, all year long.
Donation Depot
In 2013 every household should have a donation depot. The global economy and online shopping has made it cheaper and easier than ever to buy goods. We need a system to make it as easy as possible to purge excess items as fast as they accumulate. This requires an adequate dedicated zone, so that it is almost as easy to donate clothes and other unwanted items as it is to recycle.
How to STAY Organized
Last Saturday I awoke at 5:30 to organize my garage. Oh, I hit the snooze button a few times, but I still did get up pretty early to make time for a task that just never seems to rise to the top of my priority list. Why, you may ask, would a professional organizer need to organize his garage? Shouldn’t it already be organized by now? It’s a fair question. The answer has to do with an organizing process
