Clutter Control

The Pendulum Swings

As someone who makes his living out of helping folks declutter their crippling excess of stuff, I know full well that quite often the pendulum swings too far in the other direction. I remember once cautioning a woman from throwing out too many of her keepsakes and she responded by saying “Well isn’t that what I’m SUPPOSED to be doing?” No.

2023-10-21T02:34:20-04:00April 27th, 2012|Clutter Control|

What A Waste?

That’s an image of a Starbucks coupon entitling me to a free drink. You will see that it expired yesterday. Here I am at Starbucks today, writing this blog and paying full price for my coffee. What a waste. Or is it? One of the reasons I became a professional organizer is that I hate waste. Whether it’s waste of time, waste of money, waste of resources, waste of energy, waste of food, waste of stress, or waste

2024-09-18T12:55:46-04:00December 12th, 2011|Clutter Control|

The Right Sort

When speaking of people, “the right sort” tends to have a very nasty usage, but when speaking of excess stuff, “the right sort” is the best way to get some really good organizing started. Typically, when one resolves to organize a cluttered basement or home office, there is a tendency to throw out not enough of what needs to go, too much of what shouldn’t go, and put the keepers into systems that won’t last. All of this can be solved by good sorting practices.

2024-09-18T12:35:42-04:00October 31st, 2011|Clutter Control|

Distraction Gear

I don’t know when the modern tradition of bringing out championship caps and shirts during the celebration of sports victories began, but as an organizer I really hate it. Before I start my rant—er, blog, I want to congratulate the St. Louis Cardinals on winning a very exciting World Series. I read online this morning that in late August, St. Louis stood a .02% of making the playoffs.

2024-09-11T14:28:59-04:00October 29th, 2011|Clutter Control|

Categories For A Power Sorting

My wonderful clients know I have one simple rule at the Decision Table: “Nothing stays on the table.” When sorting a large quantity of stuff, it is important to recognize that EVERYTHING has a category and, therefore, a plan forward. Some categories, like “toss” and “donate” are obvious, but to keep the momentum going, you need more options. Here are a few.

2024-09-03T02:13:30-04:00July 4th, 2011|Clutter Control|

The To-Do Box Promise

There is a time to sort-and-purge clutter and a time to act on your to-do’s. It’s counter-productive to mix the sorting with the acting. To truly understand why these two things are incompatible, it is first important to recognize the difference between getting organized and staying organized. It’s not unlike the difference between cooking a meal and eating it. It just works better to eat a meal after it is fully cooked

2024-09-18T12:51:54-04:00June 13th, 2011|Clutter Control, Paper Management|
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