A satisfying apology
Several years ago, a book called A Perfect Mess was published. I mentioned it on my blog right before it was published. In a nutshell, the book’s premise is that mess is good and that an obsession for order can be detrimental.
Filed under: Organizing Ranting-and-Raving || Tagged with: anti anticlutter, clutter, napo
The disruptive nature of disorder
I’ve always been open on this blog about how things can get out of control in my house. Even though I have homes for almost all of my things (which isn’t to say there aren’t storage areas that need to be weeded out…I’ll be blogging more about that in coming weeks), I have a hard time putting stuff away. And when things get busy? Forget about it.
Filed under: Organizing Living || Tagged with: clutter, disorder, time management
Declutter Happy Hour Thanksgiving special!
I can’t believe Thanksgiving is just around the corner. I love Thanksgiving. And I’m really lucky because Thanksgiving doesn’t mean work for me. We’ve had turkey on the fourth Thursday of November every year since 1988 at the home of dear friends. My husband cooks our contribution. All I have to do is show up and eat. (And contribute to conversation.)
Filed under: Organizing || Tagged with: clutter, company, declutter happy hour, decluttering, holidays, shannon wilkinson
Stop the stashing
If clutter is an issue in your life, the prospect of having a dinner guest or houseguest can be panic-inducing. (Flylady calls it living in CHAOS, or Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome.)
Filed under: Organizing Resources || Tagged with: clutter, company, declutter happy hour, decluttering, quick clutter fix, shannon wilkinson
Standards of clutter
Since I specialize in working with chronically disorganized people, I’ve seen a lot of clutter. I’ve worked in homes so full of stuff they were inhabitable (literally).
But I’ve also been hired to do consultations for people for whom there was no visible clutter, at least at first glance. Yet those folks made the effort to schedule an appointment and paid me to advise them on how to deal with stuff that was bothering them. To my eye, it was small, easily addressable stuff. But to them it was a problem. (I always have to remind myself never to trivialize someone’s problem.)
Filed under: Organizing Living || Tagged with: chronic disorganization, clutter, disorder, napo st. louis, order, perfectionism, unclutterer
Facing down the fears lurking in the clutter
As Shannon and I discuss in Declutter Happy Hour, sometimes people don’t want to work on clutter because it’s just plain scary.
Filed under: Organizing Sharing || Tagged with: clutter, declutter happy hour, decluttering, emotions, empowerment, fear, procrastination, shannon wilkinson
Have a Declutter Happy Hour any time you want
At the end of March, life coach Shannon Wilkinson and I started offering a four-week telecourse called Declutter Happy Hour.
Filed under: Organizing Ranting-and-Raving || Tagged with: clutter, declutter happy hour, decluttering, emotions, empowerment, encouragement, shannon wilkinson, telephone coaching
It's amazing what you can do in a half hour (or less)
As part of the preparations for Declutter Happy Hour, the four-week teleclass I started offering with Shannon Wilkinson last month, I’ve been doing a lot of small decluttering projects around the house.
Filed under: Organizing Sharing || Tagged with: 15 minutes, clutter, declutter happy hour, decluttering, shannon wilkinson
Scrambling
It’s so interesting to me how in control I feel when I have (and take) the time to keep my systems going, and to maintain order. And it’s also interesting how quickly those systems can break down.
Filed under: Organizing Living || Tagged with: autofocus, backsliding, balance, clutter, control, disorder, exercise, time management
Declutter Happy Hour starts tomorrow!
Our first “Declutter Happy Hour” session begins tomorrow, March 31, at 2 p.m. central. If you haven’t signed up yet but are intrigued, head on over to the Declutter Happy Hour website and check it out.
Filed under: Organizing Ranting-and-Raving || Tagged with: clutter, declutter happy hour, decluttering, emotions, empowerment, encouragement, shannon wilkinson
The power of 15 minutes
A decade ago, Flylady told me to set my timer for 15 minutes and declutter. She told all of her followers, “You can do anything for 15 minutes.” I’ve put that into use over and over again through the years. And I blog about it a lot because it’s so true.
Filed under: Organizing Ranting-and-Raving || Tagged with: 15 minutes, clutter, declutter happy hour, decluttering, flylady, shannon wilkinson, time timer
Announcing Declutter Happy Hour!
Recently, I’ve been blogging quite a bit about how hard it can be to get rid of clutter, not just because it’s hard work that’s difficult to find the time to do, but because of emotional barriers to the work, or unhelpful beliefs that get in the way.
Filed under: Organizing Ranting-and-Raving || Tagged with: clutter, declutter happy hour, decluttering, emotions, empowerment, shannon wilkinson, telephone coaching
Take the poll: Emotional barriers to decluttering
On Friday, I posted about emotional barriers to getting organized. Jim Dietzel from Rubbermaid’s blog suggested in a comment that I do a poll on the various emotional blocks folks have when it comes to decluttering.
Filed under: Organizing Living || Tagged with: chronic disorganization, clutter, decluttering, emotions, fear, obstacles
Emotional barriers to getting organized
Earlier this week, I wrote about unhelpful beliefs that can stop you from being able to let go of stuff. Today I want to talk about emotional barriers that can come up when you’re trying to get organized (or even just thinking about it).
Filed under: Organizing Living || Tagged with: chronic disorganization, clutter, decluttering, emotions, fear, obstacles
Question your beliefs
Most of the people I work with are dealing with clutter. As we work through the stuff and I help the client make decisions about whether to keep items, I’m often amazed at the different ways people feel about letting stuff go.
Filed under: Organizing Resources || Tagged with: chronic disorganization, clutter, david tolin, decluttering, disorganization resources, hoarders, hoarding, obstacles, perfectionism
Hello, computer-related clutter!
The other day I decided to sell my Palm T|X handheld on Gazelle. It’s a website that buys used electronics. (I’ll write a post after the transaction is complete to let you know how the experience is.) I’d replaced the Palm with my beloved iPod Touch, so thought I’d divest myself of it.
Filed under: Organizing Living || Tagged with: clutter, computer, decluttering, disorder, gazelle
Decisions and clutter
When I talk with clients or give talks, I’ll often make this statement:
Clutter is nothing but delayed decisions.
And then I’ll urge folks to make decisions, rather than delaying them.
Filed under: Organizing || Tagged with: clutter, decisions, emotions, scientific american
The weekend work/rest balance
On Friday I wrote that I was overwhelmed with tasks and clutter and that I really wanted to put my feet up this weekend, but had so much to do that I feared that wouldn’t be prudent. So I decided to create short task lists for each weekend day and relax only after I’d completed all the tasks on them.
Filed under: Organizing Living || Tagged with: clutter, empowerment, priorities, productivity, relaxation, self-care, time management
Feeling overwhelmed
So far this year, things have been running really smoothly. I’ve been gliding through the days, getting lots done, meeting some terrific people, making some money. Kind of idyllic, in fact.
Filed under: Organizing Living || Tagged with: clutter, empowerment, priorities, relaxation, self-care, time management
The tragedy of stuff
This weekend, the National Public Radio program Weekend Edition aired a thoughtful essay called The Tragedy of Stuff, The essay was written by Cathy Duchamp, whose ex-husband, Maury, died suddenly, leaving behind an apartment full of stuff. Cathy and her friends were left with the task of clearing it out.
Filed under: Ranting-and-Raving || Tagged with: clutter, hoarding, npr, nsgcd
Keeping the clutter out of holiday gift giving
If you haven’t already purchased your holidays gifts this year, I encourage you to consider giving gifts that won’t contribute any clutter to the recipient’s home. I wrote about this in the November 2007 issue of my newsletter. My readership was smaller then, so I’m going to repost it here for those who may not have seen it. (If you like it and would like to subscribe to my free monthly newsletter, which comes out on the 15th of every month, please subscribe.)
Filed under: Organizing Living || Tagged with: clutter, gift giving, gifts, online shopping
Oprah to the rescue
In case you missed it, yesterday’s Oprah show was the debut of Oprah’s Clean Up Your Messy House Tour. Oprah is sending organizer Peter Walsh, of whom I’m an unabashed fan, around the country with a “clutter crew” of helpers (in VW Bugs) to help people get rid of clutter. (In this first episode, they were in New York City, knocking on doors of unsuspecting people.) Designer Candice Olson of Divine Design is also on hand to help with beautiful storage and design solutions.
Filed under: Organizing Ranting-and-Raving || Tagged with: clutter, container store, decluttering, oprah, order, peter walsh, snapfish
A pocket of order
This week, as part of my Level III certification program through the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization, I analyzed the book Making Peace with the Things in Your Life, by Cindy Glovinsky (link at right).
Filed under: Organizing Ranting-and-Raving || Tagged with: cindy glovinsky, clutter, decluttering, disorder, motivation
Regaining control
I wrote on Friday about how my house had become cluttered and messy over the past couple of weeks of whirlwind activity and how I had feet of lead when I thought about doing anything about it. I ended that post with “I hope to report on Monday that my life and business are back in order and that I’m feeling clutter-free and empowered!”
Filed under: Living Organizing || Tagged with: clutter, disorder, empowerment, gwa, mark forster, productivity
The power of clutter
As I posted on Monday I had a crazy-busy week last week, leading a team of five other organizers to help a client get his house cleared out. This week, I’ve been doing follow up on that job. There’s been a certain amount of paperwork associated with it. And I had a NAPO St. Louis chapter meeting this week, which always generates paper.
Filed under: Living Speaking || Tagged with: clutter, disorder, gwa, nsgcd
Get organized. Lose weight.
Organizer Peter Walsh received a lot of press earlier this year upon the release of his book, Does this Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat? that explored the connection between getting organized and losing weight.
Filed under: Organizing Ranting-and-Raving || Tagged with: clutter, geralin thomas, lifetime tv, peter walsh, weight loss
The Clutter Diet Blog: Blog of the Week
This week’s BOTW is Lorie Marrero’s The Clutter Diet Blog.
Filed under: Organizing Ranting-and-Raving || Tagged with: blog of the week, blogs, clutter, clutter diet, decluttering, lori marrero
The tyranny of the heirloom
There was a fascinating article in the New York Times last week about how difficult it is for people to part with furniture (or art or other artifacts) that had belonged to relatives. Even if the furniture did not fit in their home, physically, or clashed with their other furnishings, the people interviewed for the article still hung on to it.
Filed under: Organizing Sharing || Tagged with: antiques, clutter, family, heirlooms
You know it's time to focus on organizing...
...when you can’t find stuff. The universe is putting me squarely in the shoes of my clients today. I’ve spend much of the day trying to find things. And so far, I’m having no luck!
Filed under: Living Organizing || Tagged with: clutter, decluttering, productivity
I'm a member of the Peter Walsh fan club
Peter Walsh, organizer on TLC’s show Clean Sweep, as well as Oprah’s go-to guy for hoarders, gave the keynote address at this year’s annual conference of the National Association of Professional Organizers.
Filed under: Ranting-and-Raving Organizing || Tagged with: clutter, napo, oprah, organizing playground, peter walsh
Historical clutter
When I was cleaning out my email inbox, I came across a link to a New York Times article called The Ghosts of Clinton Street. My husband had sent it to me last fall. I don’t know why I didn’t click on the link back then, but I’m glad I did last week.
Filed under: Organizing Sharing || Tagged with: clutter, new york times
A peek inside the client's mind
When I visit the home of a client for the first time, I’m often struck by the trust that’s been placed in me. For some of my clients, I’m the first visitor they’ve welcomed into their homes in some time.
Filed under: Sharing Organizing || Tagged with: clutter, control, decluttering, kitchen, trust
That craving for order
Before I sat down to write in my journal on January 1, 2008, I decided to read the entry I wrote on January 1, 1998
Filed under: Living Organizing || Tagged with: clutter, journal writing, new year, order
Clean desktop challenge results
Ten days and two posts ago (on a Monday), I wrote this: I hope and trust that on Friday I’ll post that I had a clean desk-top every day for five days running. You’ll just have to take my word for it.
Filed under: || Tagged with: clutter, decluttering, desk
A little Internet press
I’m quoted in a couple of articles published on the Internet recently.
Today’s edition of Gimundo.com has an article by Kathy Hawkins entitled, “How to Kick the Clutter Habit.” I’m the main source for the article.
Filed under: Sharing Organizing || Tagged with: clutter, decluttering, press
Clutter and stress
I just discovered something about myself. I’ve always known that, for me, clutter causes stress. And stress tends to cause clutter. Typically, my stress starts because I’m too busy. When I’m busy I have no time to put anything away. The clutter grows and grows and looking at it stresses me out. It’s a vicious cycle.
Filed under: Organizing Living || Tagged with: clutter, decluttering, desk, stress
Clutter can be such a barrier
It’s amazing to me what a barrier to productivity, to progress, to peace of mind clutter can be. I see it in my clients all the time. And I know from personal experience.
Filed under: Organizing Living || Tagged with: clutter, decluttering, empowerment, feng shui, focus, priorities, procrastination, productivity
For me, this is what it is all about
I just got back from an intense five days working with a client in another state. I know from her feedback and from what we accomplished that I really made a difference in her life. That’s what I love about this work!
Filed under: Organizing Sharing || Tagged with: clutter, coaching, decluttering, hoarding, synergy
I can see clearly now
So I paid almost $30 to have my car washed inside and out. I expected to enjoy having a nice clean car. I didn’t expect to have an epiphany.
Filed under: Organizing Sharing || Tagged with: big picture, car, clutter, focus
The cobbler’s children…
I’ve been spending my days helping my clients create order, which I love doing. Meanwhile, my own house seems to be devolving into chaos. Between the rapidly piling up mail (I can’t seem to get caught up), and the laundry that’s not getting done, my home looks like it could use the help of a professional organizer.
Filed under: Organizing Living || Tagged with: clutter, coaching, perfectionism, time management
