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Peace of Mind Organizing

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Articles tagged with aby-garvey

Bucket List item: I'm in Real Simple!

9 September 2019 | Comments [2] »

I don’t really have a bucket list, but every now and then I think about making one. If I did make one, I’d probably include: “Be quoted in Real Simple.” And I’d be able to check it off! (Am I the only one who adds items to my task list that I’ve already done, just so I can check it off?)

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Worth repeating: I heart West Elm's dip bowls

23 October 2017 | Comments [0] »

Four years ago, I wrote this post about how much I love the little dip bowls from West Elm. My love for them has not diminished over time. And, amazingly, West Elm is still selling these little beauties, so I thought I’d repeat this post. The one thing I now use them for that I didn’t use to is dip! They really are good for that. But I like them for all sorts of things, including looking pretty.

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The joys of working with an organizer

31 August 2017 | Comments [1] »

For seven years, I’ve periodically swapped organizing services with the amazing Aby Garvey. Aby is not only great at making spaces function really well, she makes them beautiful too. I absolutely love watching Aby fiddle with a collection of something to make it look great in a container. I could do it all day.

This past Saturday, Aby was kind enough to come to home and help me address my the large closet in my home office, where I keep supplies. Three years ago, she helped me tackle the same space and made it really lovely. I blogged about that experience in a post called Lessons learned while decluttering. In the intervening three years the space had become a little unruly. It still functioned well, but it had lost its visual peace.

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Worth repeating: I'm officially hooked on working with POs

18 February 2016 | Comments [0] »

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.

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Welcome back, Itso bin!

13 August 2015 | Comments [12] »

In 2011, I wrote a blog post in praise of Target’s Itso bin. I was inspired to do so because of a great post by my friend and colleague Aby Garvey on the Simplify 101 blog.

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Worth repeating: Inbox Zero is achievable!

27 July 2015 | Comments [0] »

As I wrote two weeks ago, I’ve fallen behind on a number of things, including my Inbox Zero habit. But last Wednesday I got my inbox down to zero messages once again. It felt so great—like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. It’s been a huge boon to my productivity and I’ve emptied each day since. I was going to write a new post about Inbox Zero and then realized that I’d have a hard time improving on the one I wrote this past November. So here it is.

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Worth repeating: Storing the food-storage containers

3 June 2015 | Comments [0] »

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.

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Worth repeating: Lessons learned while decluttering

20 April 2015 | Comments [0] »

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!

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Inbox Zero is achievable!

28 November 2014 | Comments [0] »

Yesterday I had a lovely Thanksgiving. It’s my favorite holiday and I think it’s just wonderful that we take time off as a nation to celebrate gratitude. It got me thinking about how grateful I am for a habit I developed in January of 2011. For almost four years, I’ve been clearing out my email inbox, taking it to zero (or near zero) virtually every weekday.

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Lessons learned while decluttering

28 August 2014 | Comments [2] »

I love it when I find myself in situations that plant me squarely in my clients’ shoes. This past weekend, my friend Aby Garvey, who is an amazing organizer, offered to come to my house to help me organize my office. We swap services occasionally and it’s always fun and rewarding.

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Storing the food-storage containers

11 April 2014 | Comments [1] »

Yesterday I had the opportunity to help a client declutter her somewhat vast and varied supply of food-storage containers. Different shapes, different sizes, different brands. We emptied all the containers and lids out of the cupboards and drawers and put them on the dining-room table. I set about sorting them so I could match up tops and bottoms so she could see what she had. There ended up being some tops without bottoms (and vice versa) and the client ended up letting go of a lot of containers, which was great.

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Springpad launches Notebook Store

17 March 2014 | Comments [0] »

I’ve been using the free website and app Springpad for a few months now and if you’ve been reading my blog you know that I’m quite a fan. It’s helped me eliminate random notes and scraps of paper and, for the first time, I’m using an electronic task list successfully.

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I heart West Elm's dip bowls

26 December 2013 | Comments [2] »

While on a trip, I wandered into a “West Elm”: store and was immediately entranced by these beautiful little Textured Dip Bowls. I don’t serve a lot of dip, but I immediately saw the potential for using them to store little stuff. (My friend Aby Garvey is rubbing off on me after all these years.)

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Worth repeating: Inbox Zero - how I do it

25 September 2013 | Comments [0] »

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.

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Now open for registration: Simplify Your Life with Habits + Routines

21 June 2013 | Comments [1] »

Having great habits and routines is the key to living an easy life. I believe this whole heartedly and I talk to anybody who’ll listen about how important it is to make tasks automatic by creating well-established habits and routines.

In 2011 I created and taught a fun online workshop for Simplify 101 called Simplify Your Life with Habits + Routines. I’m delighted to announce that it’s being offered again, for the fourth time. This session runs from August 15 through September 12. You can sign up now and get early-bird pricing (20 percent off!) through June 26.

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Wrangling business cards

30 April 2013 | Comments [2] »

I wish I had the answer to the age-old question of how to organize business cards. I manage my contacts electronically. I keep my contacts on my Mac in the Address Book program, which syncs to the Contacts app on my iPhone. Yet those little business cards still hang around and make me nuts.

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I'm (finally) on the Pinterest bandwagon

20 February 2013 | Comments [0] »

I have to admit, I’ve been a little slow to the game with Pinterest, the online pinboard social media site that’s swept the nation. Lots of my friends have been loving it for years, but in the past, I’d go to the site and scratch my head trying to figure out how it could be useful to me.

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Developing a gratitude habit

16 January 2013 | Comments [0] »

I’m a glass-half-full person. I tend to see the bright side of things. That sunny point of view has been enhanced and amplified by a gratitude habit I’ve had the privilege of developing over the past two years.

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Great (knitting) discoveries while decluttering

3 October 2012 | Comments [1] »

One of the most fun parts of helping clients declutter is finding great stuff. My favorite thing to hear is, “I’ve been looking for that!” I also love finding money, which happens with surprising frequency.

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How working with an organizer jump starts things

1 October 2012 | Comments [2] »

As I’ve written here before, I love swapping services with professional organizers. In theory, I shouldn’t need organizing help in my home, since I know what I’m doing. But in fact, bringing in a PO yields amazing results. And it’s loads of fun!

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Two ways to learn from me about habits and routines

5 July 2012 | Comments [0] »

I think creating great habits and routines is the key to the good life. I tell clients that I can help them declutter, but unless they change their behavior—and that typically encompasses establishing new habits and routines—disorder will once again reign.

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Another chance to Simplify Your Life with Habits + Routines

18 June 2012 | Comments [2] »

In 2011 I created and taught a fun online workshop for Simplify 101 called Simplify Your Life with Habits + Routines. I’m delighted that it’s being offered again, for the third time. This session runs from July July 19 through August 16. You can sign up now and get early-bird pricing (20 percent off!) through June 26.

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Simplify Your Life with Habits + Routines workshop now open

19 January 2012 | Comments [0] »

Last fall I developed and taught a fun online workshop for Simplify 101 called Simplify Your Life with Habits + Routines. I’m delighted that it’s being offered again, February 21 through March 20. You can sign up now and get early-bird pricing (20 percent off!) through January 27.

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Inbox Zero - how I do it

6 January 2012 | Comments [3] »

It’s been over a year since I started my Inbox Zero habit. On January 2, 2011 I cleared out my email inbox. And, for the most part, it’s been empty at the end of each workday since.

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Goals, not resolutions

30 December 2011 | Comments [0] »

I’m not so keen on New Year’s Resolutions. I think we tend to make them when we get caught up in the hopeful feelings that a fresh, new year brings. But I think they’re frequently not realistic. And we don’t give them enough time. And when one goes by the wayside, we give up hope on all of them.

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The holiday season is almost upon us!

31 October 2011 | Comments [0] »

If you’re on the east coast, it probably felt more like Christmas than Halloween with the blanket of snow that fell.

The holidays are just around the corner. I urge you to do as much, but no more, than you want to do in terms of holiday prep and decorating. If you do like to decorate, give gifts and entertain at holiday time, now’s the time to start getting ready.

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Thumbs up to the Itso bin from Target

12 October 2011 | Comments [1] »

My friend Aby Garvey of Simplify 101 is such a smart organizer. Not only does she organize well and come up with innovative solutions, she also makes things beautiful. She helped me organize my pantry two years ago and I’m still in love with it.

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Letting routines help me get my mojo back

26 September 2011 | Comments [2] »

I’m a huge believer in the value of routines. They keep my life running smoothly. But right now, my routines are all messed up. I was away for a week, attending the ICD conference. Then I was home for four days and too busy to focus on my surroundings. Then I left home for a lovely, relaxing weekend in Nashville with friends.

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Free taste of a Simplify 101 workshop!

12 September 2011 | Comments [0] »

As I announced a couple of weeks ago, I’m going to be teaching an online workshop for Simplify 101 called Simplify Your Life with Habits + Routines. It’s going to be a terrific workshop that will help you learn how to create great habits and routines so that you can live the life you want to lead.

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Very excited: My new habits + routines workshop for Simplify 101

31 August 2011 | Comments [0] »

I can barely contain my excitement: I can finally announce that I’ll be teaching a fun online workshop for Simplify 101 called Simplify Your Life with Habits + Routines! The workshop will be offered October 4 through November 1. You can sign up now and get early-bird pricing through September 8.

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Great ideas for organizing kids' artwork

29 June 2011 | Comments [0] »

I occasionally am asked by clients for ideas on what to do with their kids’ copious artistic masterpieces. I don’t have kids myself, so I typically answer pretty generally and without a whole lot of insight.

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Inbox zero: My email sanity saver

20 May 2011 | Comments [0] »

On January 2, I cleared my inbox down to zero email messages. And since then i’ve done it every work day except two, when I was out of town without my computer. That’s nearly five months of inbox zero at least five days a week. (I usually do it on the weekends as well.)

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Inbox Zero update

9 February 2011 | Comments [0] »

I am bursting my buttons with pride, as I report that I have achieved Inbox Zero each and every day since January 2. That’s 38 days in a row that I’ve handled each message that’s come into my email inbox.

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Starting the year with a clean inbox

3 January 2011 | Comments [0] »

Last night, I reached the elusive Inbox Zero. That’s right, I emptied my email inbox. This isn’t to say I don’t have any email messages. It’s just that they’re filed away in folders (or “mailboxes” in Mac Mail parlance).

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I love my timer

3 September 2010 | Comments [2] »

I’ve been keeping sort of a crazy schedule for the last week. Lots of work outside the home, lots of phone time at home, quite a bit of fatigue. The result is that my email inbox, which I usually try very hard to keep under control, has grown and grown.

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Follow up Friday

5 February 2010 | Comments [0] »

I wanted to update you on a few recent blog posts:

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Great Christmas recycling tip

23 December 2009 | Comments [1] »

I subscribe to the Weekly Quick Tip that organizer Aby Garvey sends out every week. Yesterday’s was fantastic. She said it came to her from a participant in one of her online workshops.

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One year at a time

21 December 2009 | Comments [2] »

I’ve written here before about the importance of habits and routines to make your life easier. I call it automating your life. Over the past couple of years, I’ve created some habits which have helped me maintain order around my home and office. (This is huge, because I’m a naturally messy person.)

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It's like the Oscars for organizers

5 November 2009 | Comments [0] »

The Los Angeles chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers has established the Los Angeles Organizing Awards—our industry’s equivalent of the Oscars. If I’m not mistaken this year is fifth year for the awards, a gala event held in January. They seem to gain in prestige every year.

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Organizing food-storage containers

7 July 2009 | Comments [27] »

In yesterday’s blog post I chronicled the great fun of working with professional organizer Aby Garvey on my pantry. I hinted that organizing the food-storage containers was a bit of a challenge. I’ll tell you the saga now. Don’t worry: it has a happy ending.

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I'm officially hooked on working with POs

6 July 2009 | Comments [6] »

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.

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Email liberation

2 June 2009 | Comments [5] »

Two months and a week ago, I blogged about how I was experimenting with inbox zero, that is keeping my email inbox pared down to just a few messages that required action. This represented a major changing in thinking for me. For more than a decade I typically had thousands of uncategorized emails in my inbox (and many more thousand filed in folders). I never found that to be a problem.

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Facing down my email inbox

23 March 2009 | Comments [0] »

I freely admit that I’m an email packrat. Since my hard drive is large, I have no problem hanging on to emails I think might come in handy some day. This is a habit I’ve had since I started with email in the 90s. And I don’t intend to change.

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At last, an organized and attractive bag

6 February 2009 | Comments [11] »

I love having an organized purse. For some time I used the Baggallini City Bag, which I liked because it held what I needed and I could find things fairly easily. But it was a little more casual than I wanted when I was dressed to impress.

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A fun and low-cost way to get organized for the holidays

7 November 2008 | Comments [0] »

If you want to avoid being stressed out by the holidays, now is the time to start planning for them. (Okay, planning for them before now would have been even more helpful, but let’s work with what we have.) As I posted yesterday I encourage you to simplify as much as possible. Streamline the holidays and make it easy on yourself.

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Great advice in tense times

16 October 2008 | Comments [0] »

I’m still playing catch up and haven’t been coming up with inspiring ideas for blog posts. So instead of coming up with my own thoughts on the role of organizing in these worrisome times (though I did write a little about that in the latest issue of my newsletter, which went out yesterday), I want to share with you a fabulous blog post from my friend and fellow organizer, Aby Garvey, of simplify 101 and the Creative Organizing blog. Here’s the post, entitled, Empowered by Organizing.

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Shopping nirvana

25 September 2008 | Comments [2] »

I had a day yesterday that was absolute heaven. My friend, Geralin Thomas, who among other things does wardrobe consulting, is in town for the annual conference of the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization. She came in a day early, arriving at 8 a.m. yesterday morning, to see me and to do some wardrobe organizing and enhancing.

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A must-listen interview with Julie Morgenstern

3 September 2008 | Comments [1] »

Organizing guru Julie Morgenstern is all over the place promoting her new book When Organizing Isn’t Enough: SHED Your Stuff, Change Your Life . I haven’t read it yet, though I’ve read some interviews, including one here at Unclutterer . After I read the Unclutterer interview, I went to my library’s website and asked for the book to be sent to my branch when it’s available, so I can check it out

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Organize in Style: Blog of the Week

27 August 2008 | Comments [1] »

This week’s blog of the week belongs to Krista Colvin, an organizer in the Portland, Oregon, area, whose blog helps those of us who like to add a little style to our organizing efforts. Organize in Style presents cool products and cool ideas with a great injection of fun.

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Creative Organizing: My first Blog of the Week

28 May 2008 | Comments [4] »

So let’s get started. My very first Blog of the Week is (drumrolll, please)....Creative Organizing the wonderfully creative and personal blog from my friend, Aby Garvey the high priestess of organizing scrapbookers.

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