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!
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.
It’s supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, but it also tends to be the most stressful. Here are some simple organizing tips to reduce some of that holiday stress. Clear your closet That’s right. According to one recent survey, 31% of those polled claim they feel more satisfied after reorganizing their closet than after having sex. Clearing your closet feels great and can actually be fun. It’s a great time of year to donate clothes and other items to
After I have finished a consultation with a new client and we are ready to start working together, I am often asked, “what should I start working on before your team arrives?” I know this comes from wanting to use our time to her maximum benefit, so I will advise, “It’s not necessary to do anything, but if you must, don’t open what you’re not prepared to close.”
We hear it a lot and it’s usually from the husband, who still doesn’t quite understand what the heck we are doing in his home. “Hey, don’t throw that out!” The point of a good professional organizer is not to make you throw stuff out. Our focus isn’t on tossing, it’s on keeping. It’s about what you are keeping, why you are keeping, how much you are keeping, and where are you keeping.
Let’s face it. Pets are messy! As with all organizing solutions, the answer is establishing dedicated zones. If you have a small dog or a cat, like Daniel here, just store him on a shelf. Look how thrilled he is! OK, so I’m kidding, but the real point here is not to be uncomfortable with leaving open spaces. We had recently cleared this shelf, but instead of filling it up, just for the sake of filling it, we left it open.
Ever notice how the relaxing effects of a vacation often go sour on the trip home? While I may not have advice for the stressful return flight or traffic, I can offer some tips for streamlining the unpacking process. Let’s face it, you may feel compelled to attend to your pet, quench your thirst, filter through the mail, or just take a nap, but no one wants to dive in to unpacking, when you first return home. However,
If you find yourself struggling with HOW to get organized, it might make all the difference in the world to step back and ask, WHY get organized? You will find it easier to stay organized, if the reason why has more to do with savoring than with saving. When you’re saving, it’s either stuff that ties you the past or prepares you for the future. Some of both is necessary, but too much can compromise your enjoyment of the present. ...
Kid Clutter Welcome to the fourth conversation in the Beyond the Car Seat interview series. A house with even one kid can be a hectic chaotic mess and no where does the chaos reign supreme then in the toy department. Professional Organizer Matt Baier offers some solutions to dealing the kid clutter from the bedroom to the playroom. What are the challenges you see with kids rooms?
To understand what it takes to stay organized, it might be helpful to change the spelling of the word itself. The word “go” needs to be at the heart “organized.” To be truly organized, you need to be or-GO-nized. I know the definition of organizing, but I haven’t found a satisfying word origin. 1375-1425, late Middle English from the Medieval Latin organizare- to contrive, arrange— is not doing it for me.
Do you tend to put things where they belong or where they fit? If you put them where they belong, then you are using dedicated zones, even if that’s not what you call them. If you just put things where they fit, it can be very difficult to stay organized. Seven words I dread hearing from a client, upon gaining a clear drawer or shelf, are “what can we put in here now?” It means I haven’t done my job of explaining how being organized works.
I have a simple little theory that explains why it is so hard to stay organized. While I have never tested it scientifically, I have observed it throughout my life and in almost every home I have organized. I call it the One, Two, Four-get it! theory. It begins with two other organizing beliefs of mine. First, I believe that a clear work surface is your number one organizing tool. Second, I believe that limitations breed freedom. For example, if you limit the
