I wrote this post a couple of years ago and when I stumbled on it today, it made me smile. All the pictures were taken in the house we sold this fall, but looking around my current office, I see that those storage solutions almost are still in place. That’s a real endorsement!
Tagged with: organizing products, repurposing, worth repeating
I started Peace of Mind Organizing® in July 2005. What I didn’t know then is what a life changing profession it is. On my tenth anniversary, I reflected on ten truths I’ve learned as an organizer. When I review those things after 19 years in business, I realize they’re as true as ever. I thought I’d share them again today.
Tagged with: organizing principles, worth repeating
To the extent possible, I love storing things vertically, rather than horizontally. Think about how files are stored in a file cabinet—it’s much easier to access folders in a file cabinet than in a stack.
Tagged with: organizing, organizing principles, organizing solutions, organizing systems, storage, worth repeating
I keep seeing the same sorts of items in people’s basements, so I decided to a create a quick list of items that I frequently see people unnecessarily hanging onto in basements (and other parts of the house).
Tagged with: basements, clutter, clutter clearing, declutter, donations, worth repeating
The third common excuse we hear for keeping an unloved or unused item is that it was a gift. This is a tough one. People tend to have a difficult time parting with items that were given to them. (As an aside, this has completely changed how I give gifts, knowing that my gift may some day become clutter for the recipient.)
Tagged with: decluttering, worth repeating
The second most common excuse we hear from clients who want to keep something they don’t use of love is that they paid a lot for that item. I get it. It feels terrible to let go of an expensive item that turned out to be a foolhardy purchase. But you know what? Keeping it doesn’t make you feel any better. In fact, when you see the item, it just makes you feel worse.
Tagged with: decluttering, worth repeating
This is the first in a three-part series of posts debunking the three excuses we hear most frequently from clients for wanting to keep items they no longer use or love. The series originally ran in January and February 2017 and I rerun it periodically. Stay tuned for parts 2 & 3 in the coming weeks.
Tagged with: decluttering, worth repeating
We’ve helped hundreds of clients get organized over the years and helped many organizers along the way. If you’ve ever wondered what a PO gets out of her work—which to some people looks decidedly unglamorous—read on.
Tagged with: becoming a po, becoming a professional organizer, commitment, compassion, order catalyst, starting an organizing business, worth repeating
I wrote this post six years ago and I still think it’s sound advice. The more unloved holiday decor we keep, the harder it is to decorate your home. I urge you to build some ease into your holiday season by following this advice!
Tagged with: declutter, decluttering, decor, holidays, worth repeating
I wrote this post nine years ago (and I’m happy to report that I still go to the dentist twice a year). When I re-read it today, it still rung true, so I thought I’d share it with you again. I’ll add one thing: I certainly hope that working with a professional organizer is more pleasant for you than dental work!
Tagged with: decluttering, dentist, organizing, worth repeating
I jumped aboard the adult coloring book craze last June. I loved coloring as a kid and I love it now. It’s so wonderful that so many interesting types of coloring books are available. And the coloring supplies! When I was a kid, I used Crayola crayons. Now, I use pencils, pens, markers…it feels like the sky’s the limit.
Tagged with: coloring, crafts, happiness, organizing products, organizing systems, relaxation, self-care, self care, worth repeating
As you’re thinking about your Christmas or Hanukkah gift list this year do you think you could approach some of the adults on the list and propose that you not exchange gifts at all?
Tagged with: ease, gift giving, gifts, holidays, worth repeating
I decided to knit a felted cat bed for my friend Shannon’s beautiful (and large) young cat, Cleo. I went with the Dotty Cat Bed pattern by Kelly Porpiglia, which I had downloaded from the Ravelry website.
Tagged with: knitting, shannon wilkinson, worth repeating
We renovated our kitchen in 2016. A year later I posted some reflections. Lately, I’ve been talking with friends and clients about kitchen design, so I’ve had a chance to think about how much I love this kitchen. The new kitchen has absolutely been life enhancing and we still love it. We’ve done a little bit of rearranging but the organizational infrastructure I set up seven years ago remains solid. My only regret is that we took 24 years to renovate our old red kitchen!
Tagged with: kitchen, kitchen renovation 2016, worth repeating
Five years ago, I raved about my favorite summer TV show, the reality competition show American Ninja Warrior. I stumbled upon that post today and decided to re-run it because I still love this show for all the same reasons.
Tagged with: american ninja warrior, inspiration, television, worth repeating
18 years ago this month, I started Peace of Mind Organizing®. My team and I have worked with hundreds of clients. And this simple truth continues to be reinforced with each one of them. Less stuff really does equal more freedom.
Tagged with: freedom, worth repeating
Way back in 2011, I wrote a post aimed at helping readers who are interested in working with a professional organizer make the most of the experience. I asked other professional organizers to comment, which made the post even more valuable. I just re-read it and I’m thrilled that a dozen years later it’s still valuable. So I’m running it once again. To get the maximum benefit, I encourage you to go back to the original post and read those comments—my colleagues added some great insight. And please feel free to add to the comments on that original post!
Tagged with: decluttering, professional organizer, worth repeating
It’s moving season again! Moving is one of the more stressful things we do, but careful planning can go a long way toward making it less stressful. I think the tips in this post, which I wrote in 2014, are still helpful, so I’m running it again. If you’re in St. Louis and planning a move, check out Operation: Relocation. We’d love to help!
Tagged with: moving, unpacking, worth repeating
I wrote this post in 2017, after I’d been using the Profit First methodology for 18 months or so. Now, six years later, I’m as enthusiastic as ever about the method.
Tagged with: business, mike michalowicz, money, profit first, worth repeating, ynab
Many of us in helping professions have a tendency to put the needs of those we help before our own. It’s so easy to do.
But, as I’ve discovered recently (yet again), it’s really important to make sure that you are taking care of yourself, so that you can, in fact, take care of others.
Tagged with: self-care, worth repeating
Decluttering should be embraced, not skipped, because when you let go of those items that don’t serve you, it is so much easier to organize what remains.
Tagged with: decluttering, disorder, minimalism, storage, worth repeating
I spent the morning at the monthly meeting of the St. Louis chapter of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals. It was so enjoyable and valuable that I decided to re-run an updated version of this post, which I originally wrote in 2016. If you’re a professional organizer and you don’t already belong to your local NAPO chapter, I encourage you to join!
Tagged with: napo, napo st. louis, professional organizer, worth repeating
I wrote this post four years ago, but I can still feel the thrill of letting go of knitting projects I didn’t want to finish and either reclaiming or giving away the yarn. Have I finished the projects I intended to finish? I don’t know! Time for another WIP decluttering session.
In knitting, WIP stands for Work-In-Progress. In my knitting reality, almost all my WIPS are actually stalled and/or abandoned projects. They languish in (mostly hand knit) bags in my knitting area creating clutter and a little bit of stress. That area was like a graveyard for knitting dreams.
Tagged with: craft rooms, crafts, knitting, worth repeating, yarn
Marie Kondo is back in the news after revealing that she’s less focused on keeping a perfectly tidy home now that she’s the mother of three small kids. I applaud that: our priorities (and organizing systems) change and it’s okay to say so. Since I was thinking about her, I thought I’d dust off this 2015 blog post about the time I tried out her method to declutter my clothes.
Tagged with: books, decluttering, marie kondo, worth repeating
After ten months of a non-empty email inbox, I finally achieved Inbox Zero last week and I’ve managed to clear my inbox every day since. (Because once you get there, it’s easy to clear it, as long as you remain committed.) It seemed like a good day to repeat this blog post I wrote more than five years ago about achieving and maintaining Inbox Zero.
Tagged with: email, habits, worth repeating
I published this five years ago and it’s as true now as ever, so I thought it was worth repeating.
It’s not unusual for a new client to ask me what she should do before I arrive at her home for the first time. (Most, but not all, of my clients are women.) Most assume they need to clean up the house.
Tagged with: organizing, organizing questions, worth repeating
I originally wrote this post in 2019 and I’m still embracing vertical storage. So I thought I’d share this simple principle again.
To the extent possible, I love storing things vertically, rather than horizontally. Think about how files are stored in a file cabinet—it’s much easier to access them than a stack of file folders.
Tagged with: organizing, organizing principles, organizing solutions, organizing systems, storage, worth repeating
My work life has been dominated in recent weeks by a helping a lovely family move from a large home to multiple destinations. It got me thinking about the tips I wrote eight years ago in this post that I think are still spot on. Check out Operation: Relocation page if you’re in St. Louis and planning a move. We’d love to help!
Tagged with: moving, unpacking, worth repeating
It’s so easy to let fear get in the way of doing things we know will benefit us, like going to the dentist or planning for retirement. I hope this post might help you take action on something you’ve been putting off.
Tagged with: fear, procrastination, worth repeating
When I re-ran my No Excuses series last week, I had a comment about the difficulty of letting go of sentimental items. I thought I’d repeat a blog post from April 19, 2021 (almost exactly a year ago!) that addresses this challenge.
Tagged with: clutter, declutter, worth repeating
The third common excuse I hear for keeping an unloved or unused item is that it was a gift. This is a tough one. People tend to have a difficult time parting with items that were given to them. (As an aside, this has completely changed how I give gifts, knowing that my gift may some day become clutter for the recipient.)
Tagged with: decluttering, worth repeating
The second most common excuse I hear from clients who want to keep something they don’t use of love is that they paid a lot for that item. I get it. It feels terrible to let go of an expensive item that turned out to be a foolhardy purchase. But you know what? Keeping it doesn’t make you feel any better. In fact, when you see the item, it just makes you feel worse.
Tagged with: decluttering, worth repeating
This is the first in a three-part series of posts debunking the three excuses I hear most frequently from clients for wanting to keep items they no longer use or love. The series originally ran in January and February 2017 and I decided it was worth running again. Stay tuned for parts 2 & 3 in the coming days.
Tagged with: decluttering, worth repeating
I originally wrote this post several years ago and when I came across it today, I smiled at the advice. Do yourself a favor and create a kudos file you can look at it when you need a pick me up!
What do you do with nice little notes you receive from people?
Tagged with: self-care, self care, worth repeating
I wrote this post almost four years ago. “I might need it some day” remains one of the most often-heard reasons clients have for hanging on to items they no longer use or love. I thought it was time to repeat this message.
Tagged with: decluttering, worth repeating
In organizing, we call this anchoring. If you put a tray or basket under a more-or-less random pile of stuff, it feels orderly. Think salt-and-pepper shakers and other tabletop paraphernalia. They can feel scattered if unanchored but if a tray is placed underneath, it feels organized.
Tagged with: clean desk, desk, worth repeating
I wrote this blog post a couple of years ago and when I read it again today, I was pleased to see that literally nothing has changed. Minted has made holiday cards so easy for me that I did exactly the same thing this year as I did last year and the year before that. Since it’s working so well for me, I thought I’d share again. The picture is the one we used for this year’s personal postcard.
Tagged with: cards, ease, holidays, worth repeating
Back in 2011, I wrote a blog post aimed at helping readers who are interested in working with a professional organizer make the most of the experience. I asked other professional organizers to comment, which made the post even more valuable. I just re-read it and I’m thrilled that 10 years later it’s still valuable, so I decided to run it once again. To get the maximum benefit, I encourage you to go back to the original post and read those comments. And please feel free to add to the comments on that original post!
Tagged with: decluttering, professional organizer, worth repeating
We renovated our kitchen five years ago, in 2016. A year later I posted some reflections. The new kitchen has been life enhancing and we still absolutely love it. We’ve done a little bit of rearranging but the organizational infrastructure I set up five years ago remains solid. My only regret is that we took 24 years to renovate our old red kitchen!
Tagged with: kitchen, kitchen renovation 2016, worth repeating
Peace of Mind Organizing® has helped hundreds of clients over the years and helped many organizers along the way. I feel so good about that. If you’ve ever wondered what a PO gets out of her work—which to some people looks decidedly unglamorous—read on.
Tagged with: becoming a po, becoming a professional organizer, commitment, compassion, order catalyst, starting an organizing business, worth repeating
I wrote this post in 2018. Back then I was glad I’d purchased Apple AirPods and since then I’ve purchased the second generation, which has more features. And I’ve purchased the wireless charging case. So you might say I’m convinced they’re worth the money. Here’s why:
Tagged with: airpods, apple, iphone, productivity technology, worth repeating
I’ve been doing yoga every day for over a year. I went from April 1, 2020 to May 12, 2021 without missing a single day. Then travel disrupted my routine and I broke the chain. But yoga is so beneficial that I got right back into it and I can count the number of days I’ve missed on one hand. I wrote this post about a year ago. Since then, my love for Yoga with Adriene has only grown.
Tagged with: adriene mishler, exercise, habits, routines, worth repeating, yoga, yoga with adriene
Four years ago, I had the pleasure of going to New York City to help a dear friend organize her new apartment. I wrote this post then about how some key products really helped organize her items in her small kitchen.
Tagged with: kitchen, organizing products, worth repeating
I came across this post today and decided to repeat it. It’s got some solid information about flying with a puppy that some might find helpful now that we’re starting to fly more again.
Tagged with: dogs, pets, travel, worth repeating
I wrote this post four years ago, and Bix’s love for BarkBox has only grown. It’s caused quite a toy clutter problem, one that I worked on a couple of months ago. Later this week, I’ll write a post on how I decluttered Bix’s toys but today you can read about his beloved BarkBox, the reason his toys turned into an organizational challenge.
Tagged with: barkbox, dogs, dog toys, worth repeating
Do you hang on to the paper bills that your creditors send you after you pay them? Here’s a simple way to file them.
Tagged with: filing systems, freedom filer, paid bills, worth repeating
Back in 2017 I bought myself a new vehicle. (I’m still driving it!) For someone like me who is easily overwhelmed by choices, buying a car is never easy. But this time I feel I made it as easy as possible on myself and I wrote this post at the time to share how I did it. If you’re in the market for a car, I hope this will be helpful!
Tagged with: car, decisions, shopping, worth repeating
In December 2014, I didn’t let a broken wrist stop me from supervising a move for a favorite client couple. I must live a charmed life, because the husband in this couple is a hand surgeon. My finger was swelling around my my precious heirloom wedding band and he took took the time to remove it so that I didn’t have to have it cut off. Here’s how he did it.
Tagged with: gratitude, worth repeating
Tagged with: disorder, kitchen, order, worth repeating
In May 2017, I blogged about my Loopy iPhone case, which I still adore. I’ve edited the post slightly and reprint it here. I’ve used the heck out of that loop for three years and it started to tear, so a month or two ago I ordered a replacement loop. I inquired about shipping and in the course of my conversation with customer service they offered to refund what I’d paid for the replacement loop, because Loopy has a lifetime warranty! I was very impressed. It makes me love them even more.
Tagged with: apple, ergonomics, geralin thomas, iphone, technology, worth repeating
I wrote this post a few years ago and when I stumbled across it today, I decided to share it again. I have a different car now and can no longer use my knitted trash can, alas. But I got another hand-made trash receptacle for my car, which I love. If you, like me, are spending less time in your car these days, now might be a good time to organize it. You’ll have a fighting chance of keeping it organized!
Tagged with: car, knitting, organizing solutions, worth repeating
Here in the United States, it’s Independence Day. That got me thinking about what independence means to me.
Tagged with: freedom, worth repeating
Paper is one of the toughest things for people to make decisions about. I wrote this post eight years ago to help you figure out whether you need to keep a piece of paper. These five questions are still valid today.
Tagged with: fear, paper management, paper piles, worth repeating
I originally published this post just seven months ago, but since so many people are doing jigsaw puzzles these days, I think it’s worth repeating. I’ve had several people say to me that if they start a puzzle, they can’t pull away from it and will stay up all night until it’s completed. And therefore they don’t do puzzles! Perhaps I’m just wired differently, but I love my five-piece-at-a-time method because I can sneak in small, enjoyable snippets of puzzle-solving without it taking over my day. And this method allows me to extend my enjoyment and savor the puzzle! The picture is of the puzzle I’m currently working on, Washington, DC from White Mountain Puzzles. I’m thoroughly enjoying it. (It makes me want to visit Washington, DC, where I lived for five years after college!)
Tagged with: productivity, puzzles, worth repeating
My husband and I own a house that’s larger than we need. It was built in 1908 as a two-family house and when we bought it, we lived in the upstairs apartment and rented out the downstairs apartment. The upstairs apartment, which has two bedrooms and is 1600 square feet, was plenty big for the two of us. But we rather hated being landlords, despite the fact we had good renters. (Truth be told, we’re born renters.)
Tagged with: clutter, minimalism, worth repeating
I wrote this blog post in 2015, after a delightful visit from my friend Geralin Thomas. I’ve updated it a little, including adding that Geralin is now selling an inexpensive Wardrobe Wisdom Workbook and adding my new favorite resale shop now that the Scholarshop is closed. Geralin is my secret weapon when it comes to looking good. I’m so lucky (and grateful)!
Tagged with: closets, geralin thomas, mindful shopping, minimalism, shopping, wardrobe, worth repeating
I spent the day yesterday working with a client on years of accumulated paper so this post, in which I discussed liberating myself of excess paper, resonated with me today. I wrote this post in October 2015 and have not missed a single piece of paper I let go of during that purge four and a half years ago!
Tagged with: decluttering, paper management, worth repeating
I wrote this post 5.5 years ago when I was dealing with some health challenges for family members. It came to mind recently, because my oldest brother has taken ill and has been hospitalized in southeastern Washington state for the past three weeks. I was trying to maintain my work schedule in St. Louis while checking in on him but decided about two weeks into his illness that I needed to travel to Washington to be there for him and be his advocate. In rereading the post, I felt like it had a great message. Scott is recovering from his bouts with severe pneumonia and I know I’ll keep these strategies in mind as I go back home to St. Louis and try to support him from afar.
Tagged with: kirby, self care, stress, task management, time management, worth repeating
I first published this post in 2014. Back then I belonged to a gym. Nowadays, most of my exercise (aside from walking my dog and working with my clients) involves doing at-home yoga. And the similarities still resonate with me!
Tagged with: decluttering, exercise, habits, take action, worth repeating
I almost always suggest that the client not clean up her home before she meets with me. Piles and messy spots can be revealing.
Tagged with: organizing, organizing questions, worth repeating
Marie Kondo is back in the news, having launched a store on her website that sells her favorite things. I don’t want to go into the seeming incongruity of that. But it seems like a good time to re-run my 2015 review of the book that launched her success. You might also be interested in this post, where I describe trying out her system and this review of her Netflix show, which I did enjoy.
Tagged with: books, decluttering, marie kondo, worth repeating
Decluttering should be embraced, not skipped, because when you let go of those items that don’t serve you, it is so much easier to organize what remains.
Tagged with: decluttering, disorder, minimalism, storage, worth repeating
I first wrote this post on October 29, 2009, when I was about to embark on my second attempt to write a novel in a month as part of National Novel Writing Month. I repeated it on October 31, 2014, when I wrote a third novel. It’s clearly a pattern that every five years I write a novel (none of which have barely been re-read, let alone published), so I’m gearing up for my fourth attempt, starting next week.
Tagged with: deadlines, goals, nanowrimo, worth repeating, writing
I originally wrote this post back in 2010 and repeated it in 2013. When I read it again today, I decided to run it again because the message rings so true. Often, little bits of friction are enough to keep us from moving forward with our goals. I had taken a bit of a hiatus from my knitting but became rejuvenated when I decluttered my knitting projects last summer. (I’ll post about that soon!) So this post resonated with me today. I hope you enjoy it.
Tagged with: knitpicks, knitting, knitting needles, productivity, worth repeating
I wrote this post three years ago, in the midst of our kitchen renovation. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve implemented this since then. Five minutes on a timer and enough order can be created to restore sanity. I encourage you to give it a try!
Tagged with: decluttering, order, productivity, timer, worth repeating
I’m passionate about asking people to be kind to themselves and not let guilt about clutter (or anything else) get in the way of living their lives. I wrote this post more than ten years ago and its message remains just as strong today. It’s one of my very favorite posts, so I thought I’d share it again today.
Tagged with: 15 minutes, decluttering, empowerment, self-care, shannon wilkinson, worth repeating
I originally ran this post in 2016, but I wanted to run it again because just yesterday on our podcast my co-host Shannon Wilkinson and I were talking about setting yourself for success. That’s what this three-year-old blog post is all about! If you’re interested in hearing us talk about that topic, the episode will drop on Thursday, August 15. Go to the Getting to Good Enough website (or wherever you get your podcasts) that day or after to give it a listen.
Tagged with: getting to good enough, productivity, time management, worth repeating
When I wrote this post five years ago, I was a little bold in declaring that I’d solved a problem once and for all. But you know what? It’s true. I now enter the info of anyone I want to keep track into my Contacts database and toss the card. I ended up getting rid of the little file box and the very few cards I keep I put in a little container on a shelf in my office supply closet. Simple and sustainable!
Tagged with: business cards, worth repeating
On Monday, I reposted a 2009 post about the patchwork quilt I started knitting ten years ago. It took me two years to finish knitting the 63 squares. A year later, with the help of friends, I figured out a pretty layout for the squares and seamed them together. I started a knitting a binding around the edge. And that’s where the project stalled.
Tagged with: city sewing room, goals, help, knitting, learn to knit afghan, worth repeating
I wrote this post in 2013 and am still enjoying the painting my relative passed on to me. In fact, a couple of years later, another cousin of my mother’s gave me a painting by my grandmother that she had been given and I hung it up with pride. I so enjoy living with these two paintings. If you have unloved items in your home that you can regift to someone who will appreciate them, I urge you to let them go and make someone happy.
I know from working with clients that people have a very difficult time parting with items that were a gift.
Tagged with: decluttering, disposal, gifts, organize your family history, worth repeating
I’m flying to the Pacific Northwest on Saturday, so this is a timely article for me. I originally wrote it five years ago (almost to the day!) and I still have the same quandary. Re-reading this post makes me want to take enjoy leisure while I fly this trip.
Tagged with: productivity, travel, worth repeating
I love doing whole-house transformations. That’s when my team and I come in and create order in every room of a client’s home. We’re working side by side with the client, decluttering and organizing in ways that work for them.
Tagged with: decluttering, order, team organizing, worth repeating
Nearly five years ago, I posted about my clever clients system for handling socks that have lost their mates. I still love the simplicity and visibility of this system!
Tagged with: laundry, organizing solutions, socks, worth repeating
I wrote this post in October 2015 and reading it today made me appreciate the big task I accomplished in getting rid of all those papers and memories. Here’s the good news: In the three and a half years since I let that stuff ago, I haven’t missed on thing. Not one. Letting go is liberating!
Over the weekend, I faced down the challenging of decluttering a file cabinet full of old papers and memories. I love having these experiences that put me in my clients’ shoes and help me better understand what they’re going through.
Tagged with: decluttering, paper management, worth repeating
I can across this post I wrote in August 2017 and thought I’d share it because I found inspirational! It’s amazing the decluttering and organizing you can get done in short, five-minute bursts of time. I’m going to try this again tomorrow!
I’m a big believer in using a timer to motivate me to work quickly and get stuff done. I have a seriously full calendar but a relatively free morning today so I thought I’d see if I could some clutter spots and other small tasks taken care of.
Tagged with: declutter, decluttering, timer, worth repeating
I haven’t taken a proper, responsibility-free vacation in a very long time. I re-read this post this morning, written after a wonderful trip to Barbados, and was so glad to be reminded of the importance of a vacation. I thought I’d share it in the hopes that it might inspire you to take a vacation! I’m going to try to get one in next year!
Tagged with: friendship, mount holyoke, relaxation, self-care, vacation, worth repeating
I wrote this blog post five years ago. But it still resonates with me. It speaks so clearly to my mantra, “Let it be easy.” Incidentally, my extra buttons remain in their little Mason jar and I’m pretty sure I haven’t accessed them since I wrote this post in 2013. I could just toss them, but they kind of make me happy.
While I was perusing Facebook this morning, I stumbled onto a link to a post on organizing extra buttons on the Organize and Decorate Everything blog.
Tagged with: buttons, organizing systems, simplicity, worth repeating
I wrote this post in 2014, but it’s as true today as it was then. The items on my desk have changed, but the need to focus on clearing it for just a few minutes hasn’t. It’s amazing the results that ten minutes of focused tidying can produce!
Yesterday afternoon, I sat down at my cleared-off desk (I’d cleared it because the housecleaner was coming that morning), and proceeded to trash it. I don’t know what happened—I think I was looking for something I’d written down but couldn’t find. Plus I’d probably dumped some stuff on the desk when I came home. (Yikes.)
Tagged with: 15 minutes, clean desk, decluttering, worth repeating
Tagged with: deadlines, goals, nanowrimo, productivity, worth repeating, writing
In 2013, I wrote a post that explained why I became a professional organizer. I’m celebrating the tenth anniversary of Peace of Mind Organizing, and the works continues to pay off. I feel so fortunate to still enjoy my work after ten years in business. If you’ve ever wondered what a PO gets out of her work—which to some people looks decidedly unglamorous—read on.
Tagged with: becoming a po, becoming a professional organizer, commitment, compassion, order catalyst, starting an organizing business, worth repeating
Tagged with: decluttering, professional organizer, worth repeating
Three years ago, shortly after my mother passed away on June 17, 2015, I wrote a post about helpful it was that we had talked about what kind of arrangements she and my father would like after their deaths. The workbook we’d filled out was invaluable and since then my father and I have gone through it again to make sure it’s up to date. The issue is so important, I thought I’d share the post again today.
Tagged with: estate organizing, family, planning, worth repeating
Here in the United States, it’s Independence Day. That got me thinking about what independence means to me.
Tagged with: freedom, worth repeating
I’m leaving for a weekend trip to attend a family wedding. As I think about packing, I thought I’d share my method for ensuring I don’t overpack. I’ve been doing this for years — decades, really. I think I invented this system. And I’m happy to share it.
Tagged with: packing, travel, worth repeating
Moving is stressful. There’s pretty much no way around it. Even if an employer is paying for the move and you have the movers pack you, there are a lot of details with which to contend and it’s a hassle. Working with a professional organizer can help, but even so, the process is stressful.
Tagged with: moving, unpacking, worth repeating
This is the third in a three-part series of posts debunking the three excuses I hear most frequently from clients for wanting to keep items they no longer use or love. The series originally ran in January and February 2017. Click here to see the other articles in the series.
The third common excuse I hear for keeping an unloved or unused item is that it was a gift. This is a tough one. People tend to have a difficult time parting with items that were given to them. (As an aside, this has completely changed how I give gifts, knowing that my gift may some day become clutter for the recipient.)
Tagged with: decluttering, worth repeating
This is the second in a three-part series of posts debunking the three excuses I hear most frequently from clients for wanting to keep items they no longer use or love. Click here to see the other articles in the series, which originally ran in January and February 2017.
The second most common excuse I hear from clients who want to keep something they don’t use of love is that they paid a lot for that item. I get it. It feels terrible to let go of an expensive item that turned out to be a foolhardy purchase. But you know what? Keeping it doesn’t make you feel any better. In fact, when you see the item, it just makes you feel worse.
Tagged with: decluttering, worth repeating
This is the first in a three-part series of posts debunking the three excuses I hear most frequently from clients for wanting to keep items they no longer use or love.
When I work with clients on decluttering, we discuss their goals and motivations for letting go of excess. They understand that it makes most sense to hang on to meaningful items, not those that are sitting idle. Yet it’s not unusual for a client to want to keep an unused item that’s perfectly good because “I might need it some day.”
Tagged with: decluttering, worth repeating
I had a lovely time creating a capsule wardrobe with my friend and wardrobe advisor, Geralin Thomas. Geralin has been helping me with my clothing since for eight years and I am so grateful for her expert advice.
Tagged with: geralin thomas, mindful shopping, shopping, wardrobe, worth repeating
The popularity of Marie Kondo and her best-selling book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” has not waned since I reviewed her book back in 2015. In fact, Marie Kondo has scored a reality show on Netflix and there were reports of a sitcom based on her. Wow! So I thought it might be interesting to repeat my 2015 post on my impressions of her method when I tried it out on my clothing.
Tagged with: books, decluttering, marie kondo, worth repeating
We’ve all been reading recently about the health dangers of sitting all day. This is really bad news for people like computer programmers and writers who sit for hours at a stretch, in flow, while time zips by.
Tagged with: furniture, health, ikea hacker, margaret lukens, repurposing, worth repeating
Just over three years ago, my misfortune at having fallen and broken my wrist was turned into good fortune when I found myself working at the home of a hand surgeon. That wonderful doctor took the time to remove my precious heirloom wedding band so that I didn’t have to have it cut off. Here’s how he did it.
Tagged with: gratitude, worth repeating
A year ago, I wrote about what a great bargain (and clutter-free gift) Amazon Prime is. For $99 a year, I get not only free two-day shipping, but access to TV shows, movies, digital books, audio books, music, magazines, games and photo storage. I decided to run the post again this year, because I’m still thrilled by Amazon Prime. The benefits from last year remain. In checking it out again this year, I saw that I could borrow a Kindle book and synced audiobook free of charge. I love it! By the way, while I’m working on this blog post, I’m listening, free of charge, to the Hamilton Mixtape on Prime Music.
Tagged with: amazon, gift giving, holidays, worth repeating
I wrote this post two years ago. Today I will finish addressing my business’s holiday cards and I used exactly the same method, though I shortened the window by writing in 20 cards per day, rather than 10. I have 70 personal cards to send out—but I have in hand—so I’ll get those done in the next week (or less). I love Minted and particularly appreciate their beautiful (and convenient) envelope addressing! It really helps make the process effortless!
Tagged with: cards, ease, holidays, worth repeating
I almost never give an item I’ve knitted as a gift. And that’s because I’ve seen among my clients a real difficulty in giving up an item that was a gift. And it’s even harder to give up hand-made gifts, even if they’ve never been used or loved. Sometimes the gift recipient just doesn’t share the taste of the giver.
Tagged with: gift giving, gifts, holidays, martha stewart, worth repeating
I discovered Bookbub, the site that notifies me of bargains on digital books, four years ago. I blogged about it then and I want to post it again because I love it even more now than I did then. I have many books on my Kindle and between Bookbub and my library, I’ve paid very little for books in the almost five years I’ve had my Kindle. When my list of bargain books come in every day from Bookbub, I almost always ignore the ones that aren’t free, to narrow down the choices. I keep track of my Kindle library in Evernote and between Bookbub and my Evernote list, I feel such abundance (and no overwhelm) when it comes to reading material. If you like to read books on an e-reader, I encourage you to check out Bookbub!
Tagged with: bookbub, e-reader, kindle, technology, worth repeating
I’m a morning person. I know that I’m most productive in the morning. Especially first thing in the morning. My brain is turned on and I can be pretty focused when everyone else in the house is asleep. (And by everyone else, I mean my husband and dog.)
Tagged with: productivity, time management, worth repeating
I wrote this post in 2013 and came across it again today. I think the advice is still good. Even if you’re working with digital, not printed, photos, creating good labels (in the metadata) is a good practice. It makes the photos much more valuable for generations to come.
I blogged over at Organize Your Family History about the importance of labeling photos while the information is fresh in your mind. It’s also important to make the labels meaningful.
Tagged with: labels, organize your family history, photographs, worth repeating
Last week, I took an ICD tele class on Personal Kanban for people with ADHD. I was familiar with personal kanban, having tried it out myself a few times over the last seven years. I was happy to hear Jim Benson, who gave the talk, state that while there are plenty of platforms in which to do kanban digitally, he recommends that people start out with Post-It® Notes and a whiteboard, like I’ve always done.
Tagged with: personal kanban, productivity, time management, worth repeating
I wrote this post in 2014 and I’m happy to report that I’ve managed to make doing genealogy research part of my morning routine so I’ve succeeded in finding time to feed my soul. If there’s something beneficial you’d like to start doing regularly, this post might help you find a way to find time.
I love doing genealogy research. It’s a fairly big part of my life—I blog twice weekly (most weeks) at my genealogy blog, Organize Your Family History, so I actually think about my family research quite a lot.
But I don’t actually research as often as I’d like. And that’s a shame, because researching my family history feeds my soul.
Tagged with: empowerment, genealogy, relaxation, self-care, self care, time management, worth repeating
I had one of those “Why didn’t I think of that before?” strokes of brilliance that illustrates how sometimes we overlook the most simple solutions.
Tagged with: decor, problem solving, simplicity, worth repeating
This Sunday is Father’s Day and it’s also the second anniversary of the day my other passed away. When I was on the airplane on my way to my mother’s bedside the day she died two years ago, I wrote a post about giving our parents our time, not stuff. Here’s that post. I truly believe that we benefit, as do our parents, when we make an effort to spend time with them, especially on holidays. It’s a much better gift than a tie or after shave!
Father’s Day is Sunday and that always makes me want to encourage you not to give gifts that will become clutter. I think this is particularly true of gifts to parents, who may have an especially hard time letting go of items you give them.
Tagged with: father's day, gift giving, gifts, worth repeating
Today I’m taking some inspiration from a blog post I wrote almost three years ago. I wish I could tell you that my bureau has only three things on it today, but the truth is there’s a little bit of clutter. This weekend I’m going to clear it off and get it back to the state that is pictured! Then I’m sure it will be easier for me to keep it clear.
Tagged with: clean bureau, clean desk, decluttering, goals, habits, routines, worth repeating
I started leading organizing teams in 2008, but it was a relatively rare occurrence. By 2013, I’d renamed my team organizing service OPERATION: PEACE OF MIND and more than half my client appointments were teams. Now, I work almost exclusively by leading organizing teams. (And occasionally I send out teams that are led by experienced team members.) I find that the synergy of the team makes a team organizing session more than the sum of its parts. For those clients who can handle the fast pace, team organizing allows for swift and dramatic change. It’s rewarding for the client and for the organizers. I love it!
Tagged with: decluttering, professional organizer, team organizing, worth repeating
In 2014, I made a huge improvement in how I store my jewelry and I blogged about it, complete with before and after pictures. I’m still using this system, though I have a very limited selection of jewelry, now that I’m doing “Project 333”: . Unlike my clothes, I have not packed away my jewelry. So I still select my earrings (from the few pairs in the collection) from that jewelry box and pluck the one necklace I wear from the rack. I wanted to share this post again, because this system has worked well for me and stood the test of time!
Tagged with: clean bureau, jewelry, organizing products, worth repeating
I wrote this post in October 2014 and I think it’s worth posting again. Over the couple of years, I’ve really noticed that what I decide to do first in the morning is the thing that actually gets done. I’ll blog, if blogging is a priority. Sometimes I make sure to do family history research first (because sometimes that’s a priority). I’m happy to be posting this at 8 am, so I can move on to a great day!
I don’t know about you, but if my mornings don’t go well, the rest of the day usually follows suit. I’m a morning person and I typically can get a lot done in the morning. But if I don’t, it’s hard to reboot the day and make up for it in the afternoon.
Tagged with: blogging, habits, routines, time management, worth repeating
I travel every month or two and over the years I’ve managed to make packing fairly stress free. There are five practices that I’ve adopted that have helped make packing a piece of cake.
Tagged with: packing, planning, travel, worth repeating
I’m in the midst of my annual December trip to visit family in Washington state. I wrote this post in January 2016, after circumstances required me to travel light on this trip two years ago. I realized in looking at it this morning that I didn’t think twice about packing just a carry-on-sized bag for my nine-day trip. Since I’m in the midst of Project 333 and have only about 33 items of clothing from which to choose, it was a no brainer. Traveling is a great time to experiment with getting by with fewer clothes.
Tagged with: simplicity, travel, worth repeating
This post was originally published on July 9, 2009. It came to mind because this weekend, when the afghan in question was actually finished. That’s right, seven years later. Check back on Thursday for a post about that, complete with photos of the finished blanket. And don’t let the seven year delay detract from the message of this post!
It’s the rare knitter who enjoys the finishing aspects of their knitting projects. That’s the weaving in of ends, the blocking (soaking or steaming the knit fabric to size), the seaming.
Tagged with: goals, knitting, knitting olympics, learn to knit afghan, worth repeating
I’m thinking about holiday cards for my clients and colleagues and I’m whispering to myself, “Let it be easy.” In the past, I’ve tended to make holiday cards way more complicated than they need to be.
Tagged with: cards, ease, holidays, worth repeating
I wrote this post three years ago and I still talk about this kitty who so enjoyed his decluttered space. It came up last month, in fact. Making your animal’s life easier is another great reason to clear out a cluttered space.
Many of my clients are animal lovers. I’m an animal lover too. I even made my living as a pet writer before becoming an organizer. Perhaps I attract animal lovers.
Tagged with: animals, clutter, decluttering, worth repeating
Effective task management is a moving target for me. I’ve come to accept that I need to switch things up in order to keep myself engaged and get stuff done. So I vary my systems according to my need and mood. This post, originally published May 22, 2013, describes a sort of emergency intervention I use when I just can’t get myself to get anything done.
Tagged with: 15 minutes, productivity, rewards, time management, worth repeating
Four years ago I wrote this blog post about storing the cards I acquire to send to others. I still use this method and find it so helpful when I need a card on the fly.
Tagged with: cards, storage, worth repeating
Tomorrow morning I fly to Atlanta for the annual meeting of the National Association of Professional Organizers. (Woo hoo!) So it seemed like an appropriate time to repeat this post, written a couple of years ago, about using a checklist to make packing easier. I still use that checklist each time I travel and it’s worked out well for me.
Tagged with: packing, planning, travel, worth repeating
Many of us in helping professions have a tendency to put the needs of those we help before our own. It’s so easy to do.
But, as I’ve discovered recently (yet again), it’s really important to make sure that you are taking care of yourself, so that you can, in fact, take care of others.
Tagged with: self-care, worth repeating
Five-and-a-half years ago, professional organizer Aby Garvey rocked my world by helping me reorganize (and rethink) my pantry. This weekend my plan is to declutter and fine tune my pantry, which has gotten out of control (as pantries have a tendency to do). I’m taking inspiration from this post I wrote after that initial session. If you have a pantry (or other space) to organize this weekend, maybe you’ll find it inspiring, too!
Last month I blogged about working with professional organizer Karel Worley in my basement. With my husband’s help, we tackled a dirty decluttering job in only four hours. It was one that I’d been dreading for months. It was amazing how much we got done and how painless it was.
Tagged with: aby garvey, kitchen, professional organizer, worth repeating
My desk needs some serious help at the moment, probably because I’m spending too little time in my office these days. This weekend, I plan to focus on creating more visual peace in my office. I’m taking inspiration from this blog post, which I first posted on February 18, 2013. I’m so glad I signed up for Jen’s program and I wish she were still offering it!
Tagged with: clean desk, clutter clearing, declutter, decluttering, desk, home office, jennifer hofmann, worth repeating
My team and I helped a client declutter and organize her entire home last week and we were able to make a huge impact—because the client parted with so much. She was so ready to let go of the excess that was weighing her down and she made amazing decisions. As we took out bag after bag of denotable items, the rooms seemed to get lighter.
Tagged with: clutter, clutter clearing, declutter, team organizing, worth repeating
In 2013, I wrote a post that explained why I became a professional organizer. I’m celebrating the tenth anniversary of Peace of Mind Organizing, and the works continues to pay off. I feel so fortunate to still enjoy my work after ten years in business. If you’ve ever wondered what a PO gets out of her work—which to some people looks decidedly unglamorous—read on.
Tagged with: becoming a po, becoming a professional organizer, commitment, compassion, order catalyst, starting an organizing business, worth repeating
Nearly three years ago, I moved my desk 90 degrees. The impact was immediate and amazing! I’m still loving the placement of my desk, so I thought I’d repeat the post I wrote about it in 2013.
Tagged with: clean desk, clutter clearing, declutter, decluttering, desk, furniture, home office, jennifer hofmann, worth repeating
Moving is stressful. There’s pretty much no way around it. Even if an employer is paying for the move and you have the movers pack you, there are a lot of details with which to contend and it’s a hassle. Working with a professional organizer can help, but even so, the process is stressful.
Tagged with: moving, unpacking, worth repeating
Paper is one of the toughest things for people to make decisions about. Three years ago, I wrote this post to guide you on letting go of paper. It’s still relevant today.
Sometimes when I work with clients, I realize that they’ve hung onto a lot of paper out of fear. They’re afraid that they’ll toss or shred a piece of paper and find out later that they need it.
Tagged with: fear, paper management, paper piles, worth repeating
It’s Independence Day here in the United States and that got me thinking about what independence means to me.
Tagged with: freedom, worth repeating
I wrote this post a couple of years ago, but I really needed it today. I’m once again a bit behind on my Quickbooks data entry and have entered a recurring daily task in my task-manager app to spend 15 minutes working on the backlog. This post is strengthening my resolve to get caught up a little at a time.
Sometimes projects, big or small, feel too overwhelming to even start. Sometimes tasks are ongoing or recurring and we have a tendency to let them build up before starting to tackle them.
Tagged with: 15 minutes, habits, productivity, time management, worth repeating
I’m a huge believer in storing food-storage containers with the lids on them. I resisted it at first, but now I love it and I encourage all my clients to consider it. A year ago, I wrote (another) post about it, that I think bears repeating.
Tagged with: aby garvey, kitchen, rubbermaid, worth repeating
I am so proud of this innovation, which transformed an ugly sight into a beautiful one in my rearranged office a couple of years ago. I’m still enjoying it on a daily basis. If you have an eyesore in your space, see what you can do to change it up.
Tagged with: home office, sally brown, worth repeating
Even professional organizers benefit from the help of professional organizers. After I worked with my friend and colleague Aby Garvey last summer, I wrote this post, which summarizes the insights I gained from our time together. Aby and I have swapped services for years, and I never tire of it!
Tagged with: aby garvey, decluttering, home office, professional organizer, worth repeating
I originally wrote and published this post in February 2011. I’m happy to say that my internal barriers to doing Quickbooks have pretty much vanished, though I still have some trouble making it a priority. (But at least I don’t dread it.) Perhaps you have some internal barriers that are getting in your way. If so, I hope you’ll find this helpful.
Tagged with: change agent, emotions, empowerment, habits, products, shannon wilkinson, worth repeating
I’m leaving early tomorrow morning for a week-long trip and need to plan and execute my packing today. Happily, I have a system that makes it easy for me. This post, which I originally wrote last year, is a handy reminder, so I thought I’d share it again.
Tagged with: packing, planning, travel, worth repeating
Back in 2011, I created a Bingo board to hep me get non-urgent tasks done on a regular basis. I blogged about it four or five times and today have selected one of the most useful of those posts to repeat to spread the word about the value of building fun into your task list.
Tagged with: bingo, jacquelyn kittredge, motivation, productivity, task management, worth repeating
I originally wrote this post in 2013. In my life anyway, it’s more true now than ever. Yesterday I hired someone to shovel our walks and alley after about four inches of snow fell. What a relief that was! There is so much help offered out there. We can all benefit by accepting it.
Sometimes I wonder why it is so hard for most of us to accept help. By the time I’m called into a client’s home, she (or, sometimes, he) typically has contemplated hiring me for weeks, months, or years. And typically that time is filled with guilt, self-recrimination and stress.
Tagged with: ease, friendship, help, worth repeating
I’m in Salt Lake City attending a genealogy conference. Last night I had dinner in the hotel and struck up a conversation with a woman sitting near me at the bar. Naturally, we started talking about organizing (as one does at bars) and she confessed that her biggest challenge was staying on top of the filing. I suggested that she file her paid bills by month and she found that suggestion revelatory! This morning, I thought I’d blog about it, because it had such an impact on her. A quick search revealed I’d done just that on October 24, 2011. So rather than reinvent the wheel, I decided to repeat that post. Here it is, as relevant as ever.
Tagged with: filing systems, freedom filer, paid bills, worth repeating
I wrote the post below in June 2013. Reading that yearbook inscription still cracks me up. And makes me proud that I’ve learned to be organized.
Some people are born organized. I know a lot of folks like that, since I hang around with professional organizers. Other people weren’t born organized, but they’ve learned to be organized.
Tagged with: decluttering, get organized, organized, organizing systems, persistence, worth repeating
I wrote this post a year ago, but the scenario has been repeated here many times. Taking just ten minutes to put stuff away and tidy up can have powerful results!
Yesterday afternoon, I sat down at my cleared-off desk (I’d cleared it because the housecleaner was coming that morning), and proceeded to trash it. I don’t know what happened—I think I was looking for something I’d written down but couldn’t find. Plus I’d probably dumped some stuff on the desk when I came home. (Yikes.)
Tagged with: 15 minutes, clean desk, decluttering, worth repeating
And now for my annual plea not to give gifts that will clutter the recipient’s home. A nice bonus of most of these gifts is they don’t require leaving the house to purchase, so they’re great for Christmas procrastinators. I wrote this post two years ago and I stand by it today.
Tagged with: gift giving, great day st. louis, holidays, worth repeating
A winter storm has hit both coasts of the US, bringing rain, snow, and generally unpleasant weather to much of the nation. If you find yourself trapped inside by the weather, here are some organizing tasks you can accomplish. (I published a similar list in a February 2010 post called snowed in?.)
Tagged with: cats, clutter clearing, disorder, dogs, snow, weather, worth repeating
This blog post from last year is one of my favorites. It speaks so clearly to my mantra, “Why is it so hard to let it be easy?” Incidentally, my extra buttons remain in their little Mason jar and I’m pretty sure I haven’t accessed them since I wrote this post.
While I was perusing Facebook this morning, I stumbled onto a link to a post on organizing extra buttons on the Organize and Decorate Everything blog.
Tagged with: buttons, organizing systems, simplicity, worth repeating
I published the post below on October 29, 2009, when I was about to start my second novel as part of National Novel Writing Month. I did complete that novel in a month (and have yet to read it again). I also wrote one in 2004. Since my first two were five years apart, and five years has elapsed since the second one, I decided to go for it again. I have my spreadsheet ready and I’ve been thinking about plot points. On Saturday, November 1, I’ll write my first 1667 words (or more).
Tagged with: deadlines, goals, nanowrimo, worth repeating, writing
I know from working with clients that people have a very difficult time parting with items that were a gift.
When this comes up with clients, I always urge them to ask themselves whether the gift giver would want them to keep an item that they don’t use or love. (Usually the answer is no.) Then I encourage them to give the item to someone else. That someone else could be a stranger (via a charity) or someone they know.
Tagged with: decluttering, disposal, gifts, organize your family history, worth repeating
I love this trick from Mark Forster about tricking your reactive mind into doing things that you have trouble starting. I shared it first in 2008 (!) and thought it was worth repeating today.
Do you ever have items on your to-do list that just loom there? You know you need to do them, you think about doing them, but you just can’t get going on them?
Tagged with: 15 minutes, mark forster, procrastination, productivity, time management, worth repeating
I published this post nearly two years ago. I’m still struck by the power a person can play in helping move forward by sitting in virtual silence.
One of the roles I frequently fill for my clients is what I like to call an “order catalyst.” They often find that they simply can’t do organizing tasks on their own. But when I’m there, sitting quietly, they can go about getting their organizing work accomplished, be it decluttering, sorting, or going through their task list.
Tagged with: body doubling, focus, order catalyst, social organizing, worth repeating
About ten months ago, I decluttered the copious keys in our house and posted a step-by-step explanation of the process. I’m happy to report that the key bin has not attracted more clutter and we’ve found having labeled keys for our friends’ and neighbors’ homes to be really useful! Here’s that post.
Tagged with: clutter, clutter clearing, declutter, decluttering, keys, worth repeating
I wrote this post five years ago, but it still rings true. Recently, I purchased a greeting card whose front bears this quotation from George Addair: “Everything you want is on the other side of fear.” Distinguishing between when your fear is protecting you and when it’s limiting you can be a tricky thing._
Tagged with: declutter happy hour, decluttering, emotions, fear, self-care, shannon wilkinson, silvercreek glider club, worth repeating
I originally posted the blog post I’m reprinting below on September 8, 2011—with the title _When worlds collide (in a good way). I stumbled on it in my archives today and I thought I’d share it again. Incidentally, the client gave me that slip of paper and it’s been posted on my bulletin board ever since. It always makes me smile._
Tagged with: decluttering, desk, worth repeating
Mother’s Day is in a week (and my mother’s birthday is today!), so I’ve been thinking about gift giving again. If you give your mom an experience, service or something consumable, you don’t have to worry about cluttering up her home. Here’s a post from a couple of years ago that I think is worth repeating. (I’ve updated it a little.)
Tagged with: gift giving, gifts, mothers day, newsletter, worth repeating
I wrote this post in July of 2012 and it still rings true. When the fun or rewarding parts of life become just aspirations, rather than reality, we miss out. The special project that I referred to at the end of this post was my blog, Organize Your Family History that I debuted that summer. It has provided lots of motivation for me to pursue my genealogy research!
For more than ten years, I’ve been interested in doing family history research. I would dip my toe in the water every now and then, but would get overwhelmed and withdraw it. Mostly, I just didn’t feel I had the time to do it properly. So I didn’t do it at all.
Tagged with: 15 minutes, family history research, organize your family history, time management, worth repeating
Having too many choices can be paralyzing, as I reflected in this post written two years ago, just before I bought my iPhone 4S.
I’m buying an iPhone this week. Yay! I’m a fan of Apple products and love my iPod Touch (which is a now a senior citizen) almost as much as I love my iPad. I adore my MacBook. And I hate my cheap little Android phone. So this week I’m going to invest in an iPhone and I’m really excited about it.
Tagged with: computer, decisions, emotions, new york times, worth repeating
I just re-read this post, which I wrote almost exactly a year ago. I think it does a great job of explaining why I became a professional organizer. If you’ve ever wondered what a PO gets out of our work—which to some people looks decidedly unglamorous—read on.
Often when I meet folks who learn what I do for a living, they’re keen on learning how I became a professional organizer. I explain the training I took and how I went about starting my business. (That’s all detailed in my blog post, Are you interested in becoming a professional organizer?.)
Tagged with: becoming a po, becoming a professional organizer, commitment, compassion, order catalyst, starting an organizing business, worth repeating
I wrote this blog post in 2011 and when I re-read it today, I really liked the message, so thought I’d share it again. The bag is finished (that’s a picture of it), but I’ve experienced the same thing (inside and outside of knitting) on more than one occasion since!
Sometimes the tiniest things keep us from doing things we want to do or think we should be doing. If we can identify those things and modify them, we can get more done.
Tagged with: knitpicks, knitting, knitting needles, productivity, worth repeating
I flew home from visiting to my parents on Southwest Airlines on Saturday and had a great experience, as usual. It brought to mind this post I wrote a year ago, when I was also flying from Spokane to St. Louis. I still think there’s a lot to be learned from this great airline.
Tagged with: customer service, southwest airlines, travel, worth repeating
I’ve been away from home about a week visiting family in Washington state. After a couple of half-days of travel, I’ll be home on Saturday. This blog post, which I wrote a couple of years ago at the end of the trip, reflects how I still feel about getting back into the swing of things. I’m happy to say that I didn’t leave my office in such disarray this time, but I am coming to a full week of client appointments. My routines will keep me sane!
Tagged with: 15 minutes, habits, routines, travel, worth repeating
This week marks the 7th anniversary of my blog. I posted my very first post on November 10, 2006. Since then, I’ve posted 906 more. I thought it would be fun to re-post that first post. I’m happy to note that the first post isn’t an embarrassment and that I would write the same thing (perhaps phrased differently) today. Enjoy!
Tagged with: control, organized, perfectionism, type a, worth repeating
I wrote the blog post below on May 9, 2012. That’s when we started making jerky treats for our dog, Kirby, after I learned that dogs were getting sick from eating jerky treats imported from China. Eighteen months later, the problem persists. According to an article in yesterday’s New York Times as of last month there have been 3,600 reports of illnesses related to the treats, and 580 deaths, almost all of them dogs.
Tagged with: diy, dogs, ease, empowerment, kirby, worth repeating
I wrote this blog post two years ago after hearing Harold Taylor speak about perfectionism. I loved his take on it and was happy when I re-read this post yesterday. In case you didn’t catch it the first time around, this is definitely one worth repeating.
Tagged with: harold taylor, maryann devine, perfectionism, worth repeating
I’ll be celebrating three years of routinely clearing out my email inbox come January. I wrote this nuts-and-bolts post about how I do it in January 2012, after I’d been practicing this habit for a year. Now, more than a year and a half later, nothing’s changed. I use the same procedures and I’m still in love with this habit, which make my life unequivocally better.
Tagged with: aby garvey, accountability, email, habits, productivity, worth repeating
Almost two years ago, I wrote this post about giving up cable TV. I’ve since written two updates: Update on the cable-free life and A year without cable TV, but I think this post was the most informative of them. I’m an avid TV watcher and don’t miss cable a bit. Between the shows I can watch on my Roku, the Tivo I ended up buying which records broadcast shows for me, and shows I can catch online, I have more than enough to watch. And I’m so delighted not to pay for cable TV!
Tagged with: money, savings, television, worth repeating
Back in 2009, as a requirement for the CPO-CD® program, I hired a professional organizer to help me in my home. It was a great experience and I blogged about it at the time. The post is still true (and, I think, interesting). I really loved being in the client’s shoes, and, four years later, I still reflect on that experience when I’m working with clients.
Tagged with: decluttering, emotions, encouragement, karel worley, professional organizer, worth repeating
I wrote this blog post in February 2012, and it’s more true now than ever. I’ve renamed my team organizing OPERATION: PEACE OF MIND and these days I’m doing more team organizing than one-on-one organizing. The results are amazing!
Tagged with: decluttering, professional organizer, team organizing, worth repeating
If you have trouble parting with clothes, you’re not alone. Even Oprah Winfrey has a tough time, as I explained in this 2010 blog post. Incidentally, I still adore the fact that the clothes in my closet are organized by color!
Tagged with: closets, decluttering, geralin thomas, oprah, worth repeating
I’m always amazed at what a big difference a little focused effort at decluttering, tidying, and organizing can make. I blogged about that last October.
Over the past week, I let my office get a little out of control. Getting ready to travel for a long weekend, I had stopped clearing my desk off each night. My early-morning pre-flight preparations made things worse. And when I got home from the trip on Monday afternoon, I worried about catching up with email, not cleaning things up.
Tagged with: 15 minutes, clean desk, disorder, order, worth repeating
I first published this post in September of 2009, and I stand behind my contention that functional trumps beautiful!
I live near a heavily trafficked thoroughfare in St. Louis that has a big median down the middle. A couple of years ago, volunteers from the neighborhood decided to beautify the street by planting large decorative plants in the median. It looks lovely.
Unfortunately, it’s unsafe. I regularly turn left from that street onto another. When I’m waiting to make that turn, the large plants on the median block my view of oncoming traffic. It’s dangerous. Really dangerous. I curse it on a regular basis.
Tagged with: beauty, function, organizing principles, organizing systems, worth repeating
On Wednesdays this summer, I’m dipping into my archives to highlight articles written in the past with messages that bear repeating. Here’s the latest, originally posted on October 14, 2010.
The other day I cleaned out my t-shirt drawer. One of the benefits of having a friend who runs a t-shirt company and creates fabulous new t-shirts designs on a regular basis is that I’m frequently given new t-shirts. I don’t want to say no to them, because they’re wonderful. But I wasn’t employing any kind of “one in/one out” policy.
Tagged with: decluttering, ease, knitting, perfectionism, sally brown, worth repeating
I see so many clients get caught up in finding the perfect places to donate their items. I think this post, which I originally published in April 2012, bears repeating.
Tagged with: decluttering, disposal, donations, perfectionism, worth repeating
Thanks to my well-organized and well-stocked stash of yarn, I spend very little money on yarn and knitting supplies. Three years ago, I wrote about Ravelry, my secret weapon for saving money on what can be a very expensive hobby. This post is as true today as the day I wrote it, with one exception. There are now 3 million members of Ravelry!
Tagged with: knitting, ravelry, social networking, worth repeating, yarn
While I did finally join a gym, the message of this two-year-old blog post is still worth repeating. Whether it’s exercise, filing, or processing email, doing something is always better than doing nothing.
Some effort is better than no effort. That’s the philosophy I’m embracing at the moment when it comes to exercise. For some reason, I’ve fallen off the exercise bandwagon, despite the fact that I’ve put on a few pounds and so am reminded of the need to exercise on a very regular basis.
Tagged with: exercise, habits, routines, worth repeating
On Wednesdays this summer, I’ll be re-running blog posts from the past. Each week, I’ll pick one that still rings true to me. Here’s this week’s selection.
I’m a messy person. And (clearly) I’m not ashamed of it. You might find it surprising that a professional organizer is messy. But that might be because you think that messy and disorganized are synonymous. Trust me, they’re not.
Tagged with: disorder, habits, order, organized, worth repeating
Father’s Day is on Sunday and it brought to mind my message about avoiding gifts that create clutter. I’ve been writing about that for years in terms of Mother’s Day gifts, but it’s just as true for Father’s Day. Your dad (or husband) probably doesn’t need another tie or bottle of after shave. I thought I’d repeat a post I created last year for Mother’s Day, which actually reprints a newsletter article I wrote in 2007. I’ll share a little secret (because my father doesn’t read my blog): I’ll be giving him cut flowers, like I have been for some years. They brighten his day and and he doesn’t have to find a permanent home for them.
Tagged with: fathers day, gift giving, gifts, newsletter, worth repeating
I have a little mantra I’ve mentioned here before.
I think it speaks for itself.
Tagged with: ease, wisdom, worth repeating
Almost a year ago, I wrote this post on the importance of labels. I just read it again and think it’s a message worth repeating. Plus, the photo always makes me smile!
Labels are really important. When I work with clients to set up organizing systems, I suggest labeling as much as humanly possible. This helps the client—and the client’s family—not only find things, but them away in the proper place. That really helps in forming the habit of putting things away in a new place.
Tagged with: labels, organizing systems, worth repeating
I’m passionate about asking people to be kind to themselves and not let guilt about clutter (or anything else) get in the way of living their lives. It’s been almost six years since I wrote this posted, called Self-Care, but it remains one of my very favorite posts. I thought I’d share it again today.
Tagged with: 15 minutes, decluttering, empowerment, self-care, shannon wilkinson, worth repeating
Just over a year ago, I wrote a blog post about one of the most important (and common sensical) organizing axioms: store items near where you use them. I think it’s such an important message, I’m posting it here again.
Tagged with: organizing principles, pets, storage, worth repeating
I originally posted this endorsement of Smead’s Tax Organizer almost a year ago. I was back helping the same client with her taxes this week, and we used the tax organizer again. We actually bought a new one and she stored her supporting documents in the old one. Consulting last year’s organizer made this year’s taxes even easier. If you’re compiling documents for your tax preparer, you might find this product handy.
Tagged with: organzing products, smead, taxes, worth repeating
Two years ago, I created a life-enhancing habit. At the time, I wrote a blog post about how I went about doing it. I’m happy to say that my poop-scooping routine is going strong, so I thought at this time of year, it was worth repeating that post. The magic of linking new routines to old works on any habit, not just poop scooping. I invite you to give a thought to how you might apply it in your life!
Tagged with: habit, pets, routines, worth repeating
I’m leaving tomorrow for another trip to see my parents in Walla Walla. On July 25, 2011, just after I’d returned from a trip to Walla Walla, I blogged about the swell travel organizer I use to keep track of my paperwork while I travel. I’ve used it for every trip I’ve taken since (which must be at least a dozen) and the durable organizer continues to work well. I so I figured it was worth re-running my review, originally published July 25, 2011.
Tagged with: paper management, smead, travel, worth repeating
A year ago (almost to the day), I posted a blog post aimed at helping those of you interested in working with a professional organizer make the most out of the experience. I asked other professional organizers to comment, which made the post even more valuable. I wanted to make sure those who might benefit from it will see it, so I’m posting it again. To get the maximum benefit, go back to the original post and read those comments.
Tagged with: decluttering, professional organizer, worth repeating
I just came across this blog post, which I originally wrote in August of 2009, and it tickled me. I think it’s as true today as it was then, so I offer it up again today for those of you who haven’t read it.
I adore my orange tabby cat, Joe, of course. But he does a great job of annoying me on a regular basis. But when I pause to reflect on it, he’s also teaching me stuff.
Tagged with: cats, joe, persistence, productivity, worth repeating