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.
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.
Last week I attended NAPO-CT’s Vendor Fair and one of the companies represented was Thirty One. It so happened that I won one of their products, The Fold n’ File, in a raffle, so I thought I would review it.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
Professional Organizer Matt Baier and his team declutter and organize homes and offices in Stamford, New Canaan, Greenwich, Westport, Darien, Norwalk, Fairfield, Westchester County, and New York City.
Matt Baier Organizing, LLC
Professional organizer • Stamford, Connecticut
14 Forest Lawn Ave. #B6, Stamford, CT 06905
Phone: (203) 253-8414 • Email: matt@mattbaier.com
Home Organizing Greenwich CT, Darien CT, New Canaan CT, Stamford CT & Westchester County NY
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