| |
| What We Do |
| Find An Organizer |
| Join Our Chapter |
| GO Month |
| Articles & Tips |
| News & Events |
| Contact Us |
Archived Articles |
Feng Shui | Preparing for a Yard Sale | Organizing Your Garage | My Mother's Garden | Clutter and Depression | Cash In The Attic | Halloween | Holidays How to Put Joy Back in the Holidays Cara Kinning - Organized for Life Is the holiday season more of a drag for you than it is relaxed, fun, and memorable? I’m not talking about memorable because the turkey burned and started a kitchen fire, either! Every year we tell ourselves, “Next year will be different.” Well, this year is your chance to make that happen! Follow these tips and ideas, and make this holiday season one you’ll remember for great reasons. MAKE IT MEANINGFUL Sit down with your partner or family, and talk about what holiday traditions and activities you’ve really enjoyed in the last couple of years. What was really fun? What brought you together? What reinforced the idea of the holidays as a season of giving to others? To those in need? On the other side of the coin, what was a drag about last year? What stressed you out, caused arguments or bad feelings? What made you resentful instead of joyful?
For most of us, money is a limited resource. What we tend to ignore is that our time and our energy are limited resources, too. In order to live happy, healthy lives, we’ve got to have a healthy money- time-energy balance. Decide as a family what traditions and fun activities you want to devote your time, energy, and money to. Then plan your time and budget accordingly. Schedule blocks of time for fun stuff, meaningful traditions, and memory-making events. PLAN AHEAD Prepare for the holidays early this year. As you make your lists and plans, tuck them into a binder with folders for each holiday category:
Decide if you’ll be traveling, and if so, make your travel plans now. You can usually save money by booking your flight and hotel early. Shop for supplies early, and don’t guess about what supplies you need to shop for! Get out your holiday supplies and decor in early November, and go through them one piece at a time. Make a list of things you need or really want to buy. This list should include:
Shopping early ensures a good selection. If you wait to buy new décor or holiday cards, you’re going to get stuck with whatever’s leftover. Do it now, instead! Start writing your cards early. Make up a card-writing kit by putting cards, address book, pens, return address labels, and stamps in a tote bag, and carry it with you. That way, you can write a few cards whenever you’re waiting for the doctor, for a meeting to start, or to pick up the kids. Update your address book early, too. One of the reasons we put off writing cards is that we don’t have all the addresses handy. To make your address book update easier for next year, make up a folder labeled “Addresses” that you can tuck address info into as you get it. Then you’ll have a handy place to put that scrap of paper you jotted your co-worker’s new address onto, the corner of the envelope from your friend’s new home announcement, and the like. Make up your gift list early. If you don’t follow a budget and you always go overboard with gifts, estimate how much you spent on each person last year, and total it up. You’ll be amazed at how much you spend on gifts! Now, make a conscious decision as to what’s a reasonable amount to spend on each person, and write it on your gift list. If this is the only way you budget your money this season, it will still be a huge help. Commit to sticking to the budget and carry it with you at all times, and you won’t have to worry about those post-holiday credit card bills! Get your party outfits put together early. Get your holiday clothes out of storage and try them all on. Do they fit? Do you still love them? Do you have the shoes and other accessories you need? If you don’t have a few outfits to wear, go shopping in early November before everything’s picked through. Try to purchase items you can mix and match so you’ll have what you need for both casual get-togethers and fancy soirees.
Prepare your guest room early. Clean out the closet and drawers, so your guests have somewhere to put their hanging and folded clothes. At least a few days before they arrive, change the sheets and get out towels and drinking cups for them to use. Consider buying small sized shampoos, conditioners, soaps, and lotions and putting them out in an attractive basket or dish. These touches can really help make your guests feel welcome.
Plan dinner early. Who will be attending? What parts(s) of the meal are you responsible for? Make up your menus and shopping lists while you can think about it without feeling that “Oh my gosh, it’s right around the corner!” pressure. MAKE IT EASIER A great way to make things easier for you and more manageable for the recipient is to buy clutter-free gifts. Here are some great ways to give charitably, creatively, or just plain easily:
It’s up to you to make the holidays a time of peace, harmony, and celebration. But good intentions aren’t enough. Follow these tips, and I guarantee you’ll enjoy the season much more than you did last year! BOO! Are you TOO SCARED TO GET ORGANIZED? Kathy Jenkins - Come to Order For me Halloween has always marked the beginning of the "big" holiday season. Once October hits I know I had better start organizing for the numerous celebrations that are to follow or I will be in big trouble. After all, each holiday is no more than 30 days apart from Oct through January. Let's see there is...Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanza, and New Years Day. And for me I get to throw in my birthday (Nov), my wedding anniversary (Dec) and my husband's birthday (Jan). So I decided this month to share with you some tips on how to get organized for All Hallows Eve and perhaps it will serve as good practice for organizing the rest of the holidays to come. Start Early! It is so easy to look at a calendar and think "Oh, I have 4 weeks before Halloween, I have plenty of time". The problem with that approach is that time marches on faster than you think and before you know it, it is the week before Halloween and you don't have costumes or candy. And it is at that point that you find yourself trying to convince your 10 year old to be Barney since that is the only costume left on the store rack and that sugar-free Brachs candy is the new "in candy". Start thinking about where you will get your pumpkins - are you up for the hay ride and the hunt through the pumpkin patch for just the right one or do you prefer to get one from the grocery store. Either way, resist the urge to carve too soon. Depending on the weather conditions, an un-treated, carved pumpkin can have a life span any were of from a week to only a day. Fear not, there are a couple of ways to slow down the deterioration of your pumpkin. One is to coat the cut surfaces and inside with petroleum jelly. A little messy, but it works. It also helps to store them in the fridge at night. Finally, there is Pumpkin dip, now available at most grocery stores, but note that you have to dip them every night. If you are planning a party, then begin making your lists now. Decide when it will be, where it will be, who is coming, how they are being invited (invitation, e-mail, phone call or in person), what food will you serve or what you will ask your guests to bring, and what will serve as entertainment. It doesn't have to be complicated, but it does have to be written down so that you can easily track what you have completed and what is left to do. Put a start and end date on each list so that you are sure to stay on schedule. Decorate Light! This advise actually comes from a client of mine and I wholeheartedly agree. Decorating for Halloween has become grossly excessive, much like all of our holidays. Don't get me wrong, I think it is great to put up decorations to get into the spirit, but remember that every thing you use to decorate not only takes time to put out, but then you have to put it away and store it come November 1st. So as you stroll through the isles at Target, getting tempted by the $250 motion detector Frankenstein that will scare the begeezies out of all of the neighborhood kids, be mindful of the fact that you will have to keep him someplace in your home come November. Go Easy on the Candy! Have an agreed upon plan for the candy before the kids ever leave the house. This should include going through the treats immediately upon return from "tricking" the neighborhood and tossing away all the things that nobody likes. For the things that are left, have a place to store the candy and make a commitment to keep it only a certain period of time (1-2 months). While it may seem like a good conservation move to recycle the candy come Easter, I can tell you that it will not be appreciated. Clean up Quickly! As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, the holidays are not far apart this time of year, so make a commitment to put away your Halloween things by Nov 2nd - that includes tossing the pumpkins! After all you don't want your Thanksgiving guests to be greeted by Frankenstein with a rotting pumpkin at his feet. Happy Halloween! Mindy Godding- Space Matters During this time of growing economic stresses, the modern American family faces the most severe financial belt-tightening in decades. Along with many of my colleagues, I’ve been fielding a lot of questions lately from curious friends about expenses and costs related to organizing services. Has the economy impacted your bottom line? Are people still willing to pay for your services? They are a bit surprised when I tell them that our existing clients remain loyal to the organizing process and we continue to hear from new and prospective clients every day. I believe these economic times are impacting more than our wallets-- they are hitting us squarely in the value system. Maybe we’ve just all come to our senses. I’m hearing from people who are tired of frivolous spending and indulgent living. In other words, economic changes are encouraging a lot of people to follow the advice that organizers have been trying to pass along for years—make wise decisions, reduce waste, reuse/repurpose, and GET RID OF EXCESS!
A client complaining of storage space five years ago would have called our company for moving and staging, as they promptly put their home on the market in search of bigger, and therefore, better. Today, a client with the same complaints is calling us to help them reassess systems and eliminate waste, in their existing home. The American family is finally gaining an understanding of the important distinction between spaciousness and size, that organization, and not square footage, is the key to efficiency. How many of us have unused items accumulating throughout our houses that might be worth something to someone else? In fact, these items might be more likely to sell now than ever before because many people are looking to avoid retail pricing. Goodwill Industries and consignment business sales are skyrocketing! Organizers are on the front lines of the re-selling and re-purposing movement. We are walking databases for consignment stores, recycling resources, and local charities. As an organizer, I constantly challenge my clients to ‘use a critical eye’ when examining those things that seem stagnant. Items that are clutter in your space could be found treasure for someone else out there. I feel it is my responsibility to help facilitate the process of getting those things out of your space and into the community. Organizers have been paving the way of simplified living for decades. Now, due to shifting financial concerns, many people are finally ready to follow. Breaking the Cycle of Clutter and Depression Cara Kinning - Organized For Life
When you’re depressed, you feel like there’s a darkness in your mind that you can’t get rid of. It affects everything you do, and every relationship you have. You may feel hopeless, have very little energy, and feel fatigued. You may even feel as though you wake up in the morning more tired than you were when you went to bed. Depression can take over your life, if you let it.
Clutter and depression often go hand in hand. More clutter begets more depression, and more depression begets more clutter. As your home starts to feel more and more out of control, you feel less able to tackle cleaning it up, and it can make you feel bad about yourself. Feeling bad about yourself makes you more depressed.
In my organizing business, I've seen that making positive changes in your environment can have a major impact on your state of mind. De-cluttering and organizing your home makes you feel like you’re taking control of things, rather than your things controlling you. Even small changes can really make a difference! Read through the following suggestions for conquering depression, then pick one or two to start with. Once you’ve established a couple of small improvements in your routines, you’ll start to feel better. Then you can choose one or two more things to change.
GET HELP In order to conquer depression, it’s vital that you get help. Your family doctor should be your first resource. Your doctor can evaluate the severity of the depression and make recommendations accordingly. He or she should recommend that you talk with a counselor, and may even start you on medication.
TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF Another part of treatment for depression has to do with your physical well-being. When your body is not getting proper nutrition and exercise, it can’t operate efficiently, which can lead to poor health. And how we feel physically can be closely linked to how we feel mentally and emotionally. Poor health and depression are a vicious cycle, just like clutter and depression. It's very important that you get enough sleep, but not too much. Eat several small meals a day instead of snacking frequently, and include lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Make exercise part of your weekly routine, even if it's just taking ten-minute walk each evening, gardening for half an hour, or dancing in your own living room.
ESTABLISH ROUTINES Daily routines can give your days structure, which can be very comforting when you're feeling blue. Make yourself get up at the same time every day, and shower and get dressed all the way down to your shoes, even if you don't feel like it (in fact, especially when you don't feel like it). Have your meals at regular times, and schedule two or three things each week to get you out of the house and around other people. Make a date with a friend to have dinner together once a week, or establish a weekly bowling or movie night. Go to bed at the same time each night, and create a routine for winding down. Get in your pajamas and ready for bed an hour before bedtime. Use this time to write in a journal each night, recording your thoughts from the day. Getting your feelings out of your head and onto paper can help you to relax, forget your worries, and sleep well. If you find that journaling causes you to continue thinking things through and worrying, then read or watch TV (something positive, not depressing or worrisome!) until it's time to sleep.
BE KIND TO YOURSELF Women are usually much harder on themselves than they are on other people, and harder than other people are on them. Men are this way sometimes, too. Be aware of this, and be kind to yourself! Let’s say you’re trying to curb your shopping so you don’t keep adding to the clutter, but you bought three outfits you don't really need “because they were on sale”. You may think to yourself, “You have absolutely no self-discipline. You're worthless”. Negative thoughts like this will only sink you more deeply into depression! Instead, ask yourself why you bought them. Did it made you feel better about yourself or give you a sense of control? Did you do it to fill a void in your heart or mind? What do you really need to do to take control, or to fill that void? Truly think about this. Then return the clothes, forgive yourself, resolve to be more disciplined next time, and move on. DE-CLUTTERING: START SMALL Each time you make a decision to do something productive, it’s an opportunity to accomplish something, which can reduce depression. Make sure that your de-cluttering goals are reachable, taking into account that depression saps you of energy and motivation.
Choose small goals, like cleaning out one drawer instead of de-cluttering the whole bedroom; or like tossing or donating 20 items instead of trying to tackle the whole attic. Then reward yourself for reaching that goal with a bubble bath, a fancy coffee, a piece of chocolate, or some other treat. Allow yourself to feel good about having accomplished what you set out to do! The clutter didn’t happen overnight, so give yourself plenty of time and encouragement to get it cleaned up.
Depression can be very mild, or it can be very serious. If you’re struggling with depression, please get help! And if a friend or loved one is depressed, help them to get help. Depression will occasionally dissipate on its own over time, but counseling and/or medication can speed things up, and are necessary to recover from certain types of depression. I hope this article is helpful to you or someone you love.
My Mother's Garden , July 2008Sara Bereika - NEAT (excerpted from website blog) Recently I joined a small group of Professional Organizers to attend a screening of a documentary called “My Mother’s Garden.” It’s an amazing story about a woman with a hoarding disorder and how her family comes to terms with her mental illness. On the road trip up to Maryland to see the film, we talked very little about the film. You see, as Professional Organizers we hear stories all the time about hoarders who can no longer sleep in their beds because the bed is covered with stuff. We hear stories about finding dead animals under piles of clothing and rotten food in refrigerators. We expected the film to give us a full view of the life of a hoarder. Not just some quick snippets of their story and some instant before and after photos. We went to see this film because deep down, I think, we wanted something more than Oprah and Clean Sweep. Ohhh and we got more! Not only did this film give us a full view of the life of a hoarder, it gave us a full view of the hoarders family and their struggles with the disorder. On the ride back to Richmond we were dumbfounded by the extent of the pain, frustration, anger, resentment, sadness and instability that was brought on this family due to a hoarding disorder. Coming from a family of alcoholics I can very easily relate to the issues this family was having. Then to pick up a camera and document it all, amazed me. How strong this family must be to air their dirty laundry. How selfless they were to let us in on their misery. All so they can teach us what really goes on in the mind of a hoarder and how the mental illness effects the entire family. After seeing the film the group of us were so motivated and enlightened. I think we were charged by the fact that we know we have a responsibility here. As Professional Organizers we are the ones who should be creating awareness of this disorder in our community. We need to collaborate with medical professionals and city ordinances to create a task force to educate our community. We know this is a HUGE undertaking. We see the amount of work this would take and the number of people we would need to make such an accomplishment occur. But after seeing this film, we just aren’t able to help ourselves. It’s just so fascinating! I have blogged about this topic before. I have preached about the importance and severity of this issue. But this movie explains it all. I couldn’t ever put it into such context. Go to http://www.mymothersgardenmovie.com and find out where this movie is showing or buy the DVD. See it as soon as you can. Just about everyone I know has a family member suffering from this mental illness. Learn how this family was able to establish “some” peace. Notice I didn’t say “complete” peace. You’ll see how this disorder is way to massive for one family to handle. Not to mention, the disorder is still so new to us. We have a lot to learn and a documentary like this is a very good starting point.
Make over your Garage, June 2008 Space Matters as seen on Virginia This Morning The purpose of a garage is to store your vehicle, seasonal storage, or create a work space, not for items that do not fit in your house. Organization is the key to a functional garage. However, before you begin organizing, you must clean and sort through everything.
Cleaning and organizing the garage can be an enormous project that could take weeks to complete if you tackle it alone and requires a lot of lifting and climbing. Therefore, get your whole family or a professional organizer involved.
i.e. gardening tools, recreation, automotive supplies, and long-term storage which are seasonal items such as patio furniture.
Now that your garage is clean, it’s time to begin ORGANIZING!
After following these guidelines, be sure to maintain a clean and organized garage by sweeping and rearranging it seasonally and thoroughly cleaning it out once a year. With our society becoming more complex every day, it is that more important to stay organized. These helpful tips to organize your garage are a step to a less stressful lifestyle and more time for family and friends.
Hold a Successful Yardsale, April 2008 Space Matters as seen on Virginia This Morning Spring is a great time to freshen up your space while making extra money. Keep in mind that getting rid of the old makes room for the new. With proper planning, yard sales can be easy, fun, and profitable. Remember-- an Organizer can help you identify items to sell and reduce stress and overwhelm while you prepare for the big day! Here are some tips from the experts at Space Matters.
1 MONTH BEFORE
1 WEEK BEFORE
1 DAY BEFORE
THE DAY OF
Now that you have the knowledge for a successful yard sale, you can confidently hold your own and perform a little spring cleaning. Remember that as you move out old, unused possessions, you make space in your life for opportunity and clarity. Let these items back out into the world to enrich someone else’s life!
Feng Shui and Health, February 2008 Debbie Bowie- Simply Organized
Did you know that water drips and leaks are a drain on energy and can lead to fatigue and other water related illnesses such as sinus problems, diarrhea and urinary tract infections? Electrical problems can manifest in nervous system problems such as depression, anxiety related disorders, hormonal imbalances and nervous or emotional breakdowns. Perhaps the most challenging of home issues is the accumulation of clutter. Clutter, which often consists of things that are not used or even valued any more, blocks the flow of life enhancing natural energies in spaces. The energy stagnation can result in various health issues specific to the location of the clutter. Clutter in the attic, for example, is often associated w ith headaches because the attic is the “head” of the home. Clutter in hallways, foyers, stairways, and entrance ways, the veins and arteries that run through the home, can result in illnesses of the circulatory system such as high blood pressure, heart disease and strokes. What does it take to have good health? In addition to good diet, exercise and adequate rest, add good feng shui. The first steps to good feng shui and good health include clearing clutter, getting organized and repairing anything that is broken. Add regular cleaning and you will be headed in the right direction. You will need further study to identify the many other factors that can affect health.
|