27 January 2012 | Comments [2] »
I love working one-on-one with clients (or supervising a team of organizers to help a client) and we get great results. But sometimes budgetary or geographic constraints make that impossible.
That’s why I’m glad to bring up some opportunities for ways you can tap into my expertise even if you’re on a budget or you don’t live in St. Louis.
Tagged with: allison collinger,
declutter happy hour,
decluttering,
events,
jill farmer,
mail,
organizing products,
organizing resources,
shannon wilkinson
21 October 2011 | Comments [6] »
I’m writing this from my room at a Comfort Suites. It’s not exactly a luxurious room. But as I was sitting here on the little couch that makes this room a “suite” (that and the half wall that separates the couch from the bed), I started thinking about why I love hotel rooms.
Tagged with: decluttering,
order
8 September 2011 | Comments [1] »
I was helping a client clear off the top of the desk in her home office. It was one of those desks where stuff gets added over the years but very little gets subtracted. I love those jobs because it’s kind of a time capsule. And, often, we find fun stuff.
Tagged with: decluttering,
desk
3 August 2011 | Comments [8] »
If you’re reading an organizing blog, chances are pretty good that you fall into one of three camps:
- You’re a professional organizer
- You’d like to work with a professional organizer
- You’re a fairly organized DIYer looking for ideas
Tagged with: decluttering,
professional organizer
11 April 2011 | Comments [2] »
Today at the monthly meeting of the St. Louis chapter of NAPO organizers shared their favorite organizing tools. Those of us who attended the conference shared our favorite conference session. But it got to me thinking what I would have shared, had I not gone to the conference.
Tagged with: decluttering,
organizing resources
9 March 2011 | Comments [1] »
Yesterday, I was discussing a kitchen drawer with a client. Wanting to show her a photo of the Rubbermaid interlocking drawer organizers I pulled out my iPad and showed her a blog post I’d written last year about organizing my kitchen utensil drawer.
Tagged with: decluttering,
organizing products,
rubbermaid
23 February 2011 | Comments [1] »
I’ve been acquainted with Leah Ingram, author of the new book,Toss, Keep, Sell!: The Suddenly Frugal Guide to Cleaning Out the Clutter and Cashing In
, for going on fifteen years. We were members of the same professional association for writers back when I was a freelance writer and both still belong to the online writing community, Freelance Success. Leah’s created a name for herself as an expert in saving money, thanks to her popular Suddenly Frugal blog and her book of the same name. When I became aware of the topic of her newest book. I couldn’t resist asking her to do a Q&A for my blog.
Tagged with: decluttering,
disposal,
leah ingram,
money
28 January 2011 | Comments [2] »
A lot of my clients are perfectionists, and one of the things that keeps them from parting with an item is that they want to identify the perfect person or charity to receive it. They don’t want to clutter the landfill, so they let items clutter their homes instead.
Tagged with: blogs,
decluttering,
disposal,
perfectionism,
recycling,
repurposing,
think outside the bin,
trophies
19 January 2011 | Comments [1] »
I love the blog Unclutterer. It is full of sound advice about getting rid of clutter and living simply, written by and for intelligent people.
Tagged with: blogs,
decluttering,
meal planning,
simplifried,
unclutterer
12 January 2011 | Comments [0] »
One of the things I did during that glorious week between Christmas and New Year’s was clean out my files. My recycling box is full but I also have a large pile on top of my shredder.
Tagged with: decluttering,
identity theft,
napo st. louis,
paper management,
shred and protect,
shredders
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).
Tagged with: aby garvey,
accountability,
decluttering,
email
22 October 2010 | Comments [1] »
Lately, I’ve been taking a moment to unsubscribe from promotional emails I receive on a regular basis that I usually delete. Just a moment ago, I unsubscribed from promo emails from a major electronics retailer. When I thought about the last couple of times I shopped there, it was when I had something specific in mind. It had nothing to do with these promotional emails, which come almost on a daily basis.
Tagged with: decluttering,
email,
mail
14 October 2010 | Comments [2] »
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
7 October 2010 | Comments [1] »
I love to extol the virtues of grabbing pockets of time and creating order on a small scale. This is something I tell my clients and my Declutter Happy Hour participants.
Tagged with: decluttering,
ellen delap,
pockets of time
10 September 2010 | Comments [2] »
I gave a talk this week called Letting Go of the Tough Stuff. One of the points I made in that talk is something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. Many clients don’t like to part with items they don’t use or love because those items cost a lot to buy. Or they feel the item is worth something and they can’t just give it away, but selling it feels too complicated or labor-intenstive, so it gets put off.
Tagged with: clutter,
clutter clearing,
decisions,
decluttering
13 August 2010 | Comments [0] »
I’ll be giving a low-cost class called Letting Go of the Touch Stuff on September 8 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the Thomas Dunn Memorials Adult Education Program in south St. Louis city.
Tagged with: decluttering,
speaking
22 June 2010 | Comments [2] »
Inspired by my friend, Margaret Lukens, I’ve decided to point out some of my favorite from this blog from Junes gone by. June is usually a pretty busy blogging month for me (though not so much this year). I had so many posts to choose from that I’m going to split the recap into two posts.
Tagged with: 15 minutes,
accountability,
clutter clearing,
decluttering,
email
1 June 2010 | Comments [0] »
Last night, after several months of repeats, A&E aired a new episode of its hit documentary TV series, Hoarders.
Tagged with: decluttering,
geralin thomas,
hoarders
17 May 2010 | Comments [2] »
Cleaning out the clothes closet is difficult for many people. Clothes can represent so much — like music, they can do a great job of capturing a feeling about an occasion or part of life. They also can represent hopes. You hope to wear that size again. Or you hope to have an occasion to wear that evening gown.
Tagged with: closets,
decluttering,
geralin thomas,
oprah
5 May 2010 | Comments [0] »
One of the themes of Declutter Happy Hour, the e-course I offer with life coach Shannon Wilkinson, is to capture small blocks of time to work on decluttering.
Tagged with: 15 minutes,
decluttering,
erin doland,
unclutterer
26 April 2010 | Comments [0] »
Having just spent four days with professional organizers, who are among the most supportive and helpful groups of people I can think of, I’m pausing to think about how important support is.
Tagged with: declutter happy hour,
decluttering,
felder rushing,
napo,
professional organizer,
shannon wilkinson,
support
9 April 2010 | Comments [0] »
I gave a decluttering talk the other day and of the audience members asked, “But what if I get comfort from having all my stuff around me?” I told her it’s not a problem to be surrounded by her stuff — unless it is a problem. I asked her whether being surrounded by her stuff was affecting her ability to function. She said yes. So we talked a little about what happens when the cost of keeping stuff is higher than the cost of letting go of it.
Tagged with: clutter,
declutter happy hour,
decluttering,
disorder,
guest post,
quick clutter fix,
rubbermaid,
shannon wilkinson
2 April 2010 | Comments [2] »
Spring has hit St. Louis. It’s been in the 80s this week. The fruit trees and redbuds are starting to flower. Daffodils are out. It’s fabulous.
Tagged with: closets,
declutter happy hour,
decluttering,
order
8 March 2010 | Comments [14] »
In our kitchen we have lots of drawers. One of them is a drawer full of miscellaneous cooking utensils and gadgets that we don’t use much. The things we use with any regularity are usually on top, but that’s the extent of the organization of the drawer. And that’s not really organization at all. That’s just physics.
Tagged with: decluttering,
giveaway,
organizing products,
rubbermaid
26 February 2010 | Comments [0] »
I’ll be giving a free talk called Get Rid of Clutter on April 6 from ten to noon at the Thomas Dunn Memorials Adult Education Program in south St. Louis city.
Tagged with: decluttering,
speaking
17 February 2010 | Comments [11] »
I really like Peter Walsh. I love that he provides straight-forward, common-sense advice on decluttering and organizing. I also like his innovative storage solutions. You’ve had the opportunity to see him on Clean Sweep, and Oprah. You may have read his books, including It’s All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff
. And now you can watch him demonstrate the principles in that book with this terrific new DVD, It’s All Too Much with Peter Walsh
.
Tagged with: decluttering,
giveaway,
organizing principles,
organizing products,
peter walsh
29 December 2009 | Comments [3] »
I wrote just over 150 blog posts in 2009. Last week, I clicked through them and picked out some of my favorites to share with you in this post. The first go-around, I selected 24. But I figure that’s more than you care to see in one post. So I’ve cut that number in half.
Tagged with: blogging,
declutter happy hour,
decluttering,
emotions,
fear,
hiring a po,
nanowrimo
3 December 2009 | Comments [1] »
This weekend is the Big Ass Indie Art and Craft Show a big craft show in St. Louis being held at Mad Art Gallery on 2727 South 12th Street. It starts Friday evening and runs all day Saturday and ends Sunday at 3 pm. Personally, I love craft shows. I so admire the craftiness, artistry, and enterprise of the people who sell things there.
Tagged with: crafts,
creative people,
decluttering,
donations,
recycling
1 December 2009 | Comments [0] »
I’ve changed the way I offer my pricing for my organizing services and I’m really excited about it. Starting today, I’m offering packages that are geared to different situations and include helpful additional products. In the past, I’ve charged a flat fee for my initial assessment and charged by the hour for everything else.
Tagged with: decluttering,
packages,
pricing,
products,
services
24 November 2009 | Comments [0] »
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m really lucky because we never host Thanksgiving dinner, so Thanksgiving isn’t a holiday I have to get ready for. My husband even does the cooking for our contribution to dinner. But I know I’m unusual. Many people are looking around their houses this week, thinking of what they have to do to whip it into shape for guests.
Tagged with: declutter happy hour,
decluttering,
holidays,
quick clutter fix,
shannon wilkinson
18 November 2009 | Comments [1] »
Erin Doland, the editor-in-chief of the great blog Unclutterer has come out with a new book, Unclutter Your Life in One Week
. I’m a huge fan of Unclutterer and was honored to have a guest post on the blog last summer. So I’m predisposed to like this book.
Tagged with: decluttering,
erin doland,
unclutterer
6 November 2009 | Comments [1] »
…which explains why the blog writing has dropped off a little. I’m very excited that I’ve been able to work on my novel-in-a-month piece of fiction each day since November 1.
Tagged with: deadlines,
declutter happy hour,
decluttering,
goals,
nanowrimo,
shannon wilkinson,
writing
2 November 2009 | Comments [2] »
In my life, books can be a big source of clutter. For a number of years, I was the book review columnist for Dog World magazine, and books would come pouring into my home on a regular basis. I’ve been decluttering my bookshelves for a couple of years now.
Tagged with: books,
decluttering,
powell's books
28 October 2009 | Comments [0] »
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.)
Tagged with: clutter,
company,
declutter happy hour,
decluttering,
holidays,
shannon wilkinson
23 October 2009 | Comments [0] »
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.)
Tagged with: clutter,
company,
declutter happy hour,
decluttering,
quick clutter fix,
shannon wilkinson
24 September 2009 | Comments [0] »
The true secret to getting anything done — particularly something that can feel overwhelming like decluttering — is to break it down into small bites and to keep working on it. When I received this article from performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane in my email yesterday, I knew I had to share it with you. It comes from her newsletter, Live Creative, and I’m reprinting it with permission.
Tagged with: christine kane,
decluttering,
productivity
23 September 2009 | Comments [2] »
There are so many ways to learn. Personally, I’m an auditory learner so I love audio. To me, the perfect info product comes in the form of downloadable calls or teleclasses I can listen to on my iPod Touch.
But many people are visual learners and seeing what is being taught is very helpful to them. That’s why I’m so excited about the new video learning opportunities being offered by my friends at Organizing Connection.
Tagged with: closets,
decluttering,
organizing connection,
organizing products,
organizing resources
18 September 2009 | Comments [0] »
As Shannon and I discuss in Declutter Happy Hour, sometimes people don’t want to work on clutter because it’s just plain scary.
Tagged with: clutter,
declutter happy hour,
decluttering,
emotions,
empowerment,
fear,
procrastination,
shannon wilkinson
11 August 2009 | Comments [3] »
Recently my husband and I went to a family reunion held at a ski resort in Pennsylvania (it was the end of June and there was no snow). He and I rode a chair lift up to the top of the mountain to enjoy the view. I don’t ski and I’ve only been on a ski lift a handful of times. Neither of us heard the mumbling attendant’s instructions to pull the restraining bar over our heads and lock it in place in front of us. So we were riding up the mountain with nothing preventing us from falling out of the moving chair.
Tagged with: declutter happy hour,
decluttering,
emotions,
fear,
self-care,
shannon wilkinson,
silvercreek glider club
28 July 2009 | Comments [0] »
If the clutter in your home includes scrapbooking albums and other supplies that you no longer love or will use, I have a fabulous way for you to pass them on.
Tagged with: camp sunrise,
creative memories,
decluttering,
donations,
scrapbooking
17 June 2009 | Comments [1] »
I’ve seen a lot of old trophies littering my clients’ basements. When they’re ready to let go of them, it’s hard to figure out what to do with them. It seems such a shame to throw them away.
Tagged with: awardex,
decluttering,
recycling,
trophies
16 June 2009 | Comments [4] »
Okay, “miracle” is completely overstating it. But I was amazed at my office’s transformation the other day when I set my timer and got to work for 30 minutes
Tagged with: declutter happy hour,
decluttering,
productivity
15 June 2009 | Comments [3] »
In my newsletter, which goes out today, I mention the power of focus and how by setting a timer for a short period of time, I can get a lot done. (This is a refrain here on the blog too). I also mentioned that sometimes instead of (or in addition to) a timer, I’ll play a playlist of songs that ends after a set period of time.
Tagged with: 15 minutes,
declutter happy hour,
decluttering,
motivation,
music
12 June 2009 | Comments [1] »
As I blogged about the other day, I hired professional organizer Karel Worley, of Clearing Your Path, to come to my house and help my husband, Barry, and me declutter our basement.
Tagged with: decluttering,
emotions,
encouragement,
karel worley,
professional organizer
5 June 2009 | Comments [2] »
When it comes decluttering, which is usually the the first step of getting organized, getting started is often the hardest part.
Tagged with: chronically disorganized,
decluttering,
emotions,
karel worley,
professional organizer
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.
Tagged with: aby garvey,
accountability,
decluttering,
email
29 May 2009 | Comments [0] »
So much of decluttering is about letting go. Disposing of things. Getting rid of excess.
But when you care about the environment, it can be difficult to let stuff go if it’s going to clutter up the environment. Sure, it’s easy to rent a dumpster and fill it up. Okay, not easy, but easier than caring where the stuff ends up. But if you’re committed to being kind to Mother Earth, then decluttering often involves extra steps.
Tagged with: charles peper,
craigslist,
decluttering,
environment,
gazelle,
recycling,
repurposing,
speaking,
workshops
27 April 2009 | Comments [4] »
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.
Tagged with: 15 minutes,
clutter,
declutter happy hour,
decluttering,
shannon wilkinson
22 April 2009 | Comments [0] »
Over at the wonderful blog, Unclutterer last week, guest blogger Gregory Go offered up a guest post on the Seven Benefits of Decluttering. If you had any doubt of the benefits of lightening the load and letting go of excess (and they include financial benefits!), hurry on over there and check it out.
Tagged with: declutter happy hour,
decluttering,
shannon wilkinson,
unclutterer,
zen habits
8 April 2009 | Comments [2] »
Gretchen Rubin who writes the blog (and upcoming book) The Happiness Project also blogs for Real Simple (and for Slate).
Tagged with: declutter happy hour,
decluttering,
gretchen rubin,
happiness
30 March 2009 | Comments [0] »
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.
Tagged with: clutter,
declutter happy hour,
decluttering,
emotions,
empowerment,
encouragement,
shannon wilkinson
27 March 2009 | Comments [2] »
What’s that old saying? One person’s trash is another person’s treasure? That’s how those of us who are decluttering our lives can actually make some money. Your old digital camera may not be valuable to you after you upgrade to a snazzier one, but someone else may find it perfect.
Tagged with: decluttering,
gazelle,
websites
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.
Tagged with: aby garvey,
decluttering,
email
20 March 2009 | Comments [0] »
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.
Tagged with: 15 minutes,
clutter,
declutter happy hour,
decluttering,
flylady,
shannon wilkinson,
time timer
18 March 2009 | Comments [0] »
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.
Tagged with: clutter,
declutter happy hour,
decluttering,
emotions,
empowerment,
shannon wilkinson,
telephone coaching
16 March 2009 | Comments [0] »
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.
Tagged with: chronic disorganization,
clutter,
decluttering,
emotions,
fear,
obstacles
13 March 2009 | Comments [5] »
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).
Tagged with: chronic disorganization,
clutter,
decluttering,
emotions,
fear,
obstacles
11 March 2009 | Comments [2] »
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.
Tagged with: chronic disorganization,
clutter,
david tolin,
decluttering,
disorganization resources,
hoarders,
hoarding,
obstacles,
perfectionism
6 March 2009 | Comments [1] »
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.
Tagged with: clutter,
computer,
decluttering,
disorder,
gazelle
2 February 2009 | Comments [0] »
A study from Ohio State University suggests that the longer people touch something they’re considering purchasing, the more money they’re willing to spend on it. Researchers asked study participants to hold an ordinary coffee mug for either 10 or 30 seconds. Then the participants were allowed to bid on the mug in either an open or closed auction. The folks who had held the mug for 30 seconds bid more for it. Four out of seven even bid more than the retail value (which they were aware of).
Tagged with: chronically disorganized,
decluttering,
shopping,
speaking
16 January 2009 | Comments [0] »
I’ll be giving a workshop here in St. Louis on decluttering. It’s free and open to the public. If you’re in St. Louis, I’d love to see you there!
Tagged with: decluttering,
speaking,
workshops
17 December 2008 | Comments [4] »
As I mentioned on Friday, I eagerly anticipated the Extra Special Holiday Spa Day at Inspired Home Office, which I participated in on Saturday. I thought I’d report on this very cool experience.
Tagged with: decluttering,
havi brooks,
jennifer hofmann,
motivation,
spa day
12 December 2008 | Comments [0] »
Tomorrow, I’m participating in an intriguing activity. I’ve signed up for the Extra Special Holiday Spa Day offered through Inspired Home Office.
Tagged with: decluttering,
havi brooks,
jennifer hofmann,
spa day
13 November 2008 | Comments [2] »
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.
Tagged with: clutter,
container store,
decluttering,
oprah,
order,
peter walsh,
snapfish
12 November 2008 | Comments [0] »
This morning I received the e-newsletter of Christine Kane, the blogger, musician, and creativity consultant whose blog was my Blog of the Week a few months ago.
Tagged with: christine kane,
decluttering,
encouragement,
gratitude,
self-care,
workspace
30 October 2008 | Comments [0] »
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).
Tagged with: cindy glovinsky,
clutter,
decluttering,
disorder,
motivation
9 September 2008 | Comments [0] »
The current issue of Arthritis Today, the consumer health publication (available on newsstands) that’s published by the Arthritis Foundation, includes an article by Sharon Ann Waldrop, on six tips to control clutter. In addition to two from me, it features tips by several professional organizers, including Jill Graham of Operation Organize! in Arizona and Rosemary Chieppo of Born to Organize in Connecticut.
Tagged with: arthritis today,
decluttering,
press
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
Tagged with: aby garvey,
books,
decluttering,
julie morgenstern,
unclutterer
31 July 2008 | Comments [2] »
Last night, as I worked on the Estonian Garden Wrap, a seemingly complicated and sort of overwhelming (for this novice lace knitter) knitting pattern, I realized that broken down to its simplest elements, it’s really pretty easy. And that’s not unlike any overwhelming project, like getting organized. Let me explain.
Tagged with: decluttering,
empowerment,
knitting,
lace,
motivation,
perfectionism,
productivity
30 July 2008 | Comments [2] »
This week’s Blog of the Week is an oldie but goodie. I first became aware of Flylady back in the late nineties, before I ever dreamt of becoming a professional organizer. Technically, it’s not a blog. (It predates blogs.) But it’s frequently updated and full of treasures.
Tagged with: 15 minutes,
blog of the week,
decluttering,
flylady,
routines
24 July 2008 | Comments [1] »
I have to admit that my car usually looks pretty messy. That’s not surprising, since I’m a messy person, in general. But I did clean it out prior to my big trip to IKEA and it was very nice to have the clutter removed. Unfortunately, it’s encroaching again.
Tagged with: car,
decluttering,
unclutterer
23 July 2008 | Comments [2] »
One of my favorite knitting blogs, Crazy Aunt Purl, justified its permanent status on the Links section of this organizing blog (where it’s been since Day One), with yesterday’s post.
Tagged with: blog of the week,
blogs,
crazy aunt purl,
decluttering,
knitting,
laurie perry
15 July 2008 | Comments [1] »
I’m always struck how clutter gets in the way of life. I have many clients who constantly feel an obligation to deal with their clutter. They plan to devote a weekend to decluttering, then they start to feel overwhelmed, so they don’t actually deal with it. (Until they call me.)
Tagged with: 15 minutes,
decluttering,
empowerment,
self-care,
shannon wilkinson
30 June 2008 | Comments [2] »
Whenever I start working with a client, we talk about the vision they have for the space. I’m not talking about specifics like furniture placement. I want to know what the client is hoping to experience in the room, the feeling that she wants to get from the space. I ask the client to close her eyes and really feel it.
Tagged with: decluttering,
focus,
motivation,
productivity
21 June 2008 | Comments [0] »
Many of my clients have a difficult time making decisions. That’s not too surprising, since most of my clients are dealing with clutter issues and clutter is all about delayed decisions.
Tagged with: decisions,
decluttering,
ikea,
sally brown
16 June 2008 | Comments [1] »
...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!
Tagged with: clutter,
decluttering,
productivity
2 June 2008 | Comments [0] »
On Friday I blogged about how I hoped to focus on decluttering in the coming weekend and that I was experiencing the rare and delightful confluence of having time for this kind of work and feeling motivated to do it.
I have to say, it went well. In Friday’s post, I listed the projects I hoped to accomplish:
Tagged with: accountability,
decluttering,
disorder,
storage
30 May 2008 | Comments [1] »
If you’ve ever worked with a professional organizer, you know that one of the things we bring to the table is focus. When you make the financial and time commitment to have a professional help you get organized, you tend to stay focused on the job during your session. And if your attention strays, the organizer draws it back to the project at hand.
Tagged with: accountability,
decluttering,
disorder,
storage
9 May 2008 | Comments [0] »
Last night on the St. Louis NBC affiliate’s news broadcast there was a “cover story” called Decluttering Your Surroundings Could Help You Live a Better Life.
Tagged with: decluttering,
napo st. louis,
peter walsh,
press
7 May 2008 | Comments [4] »
I’m going through one of those periods again where I completely empathize with my clients. I had a very busy March and April (I was out of town half the month of April) and now that I have a little time to breathe, I look around my house and think, “I need a professional organizer!” There are no shortage of wonderful organizers here in St. Louis I could hire for help, but I’m going to try to economize and do the work myself.
Tagged with: 15 minutes,
accountability,
backsliding,
decluttering,
productivity,
time management
29 April 2008 | Comments [0] »
I mentioned last week that I was leaving for Hawaii to help a client get settled in there. We’re working hard, having some fun, and accomplishing a lot.
I’ve been working with this client since September 2006 and she serves as a fabulous example of the benefits of getting organized.
Tagged with: balance,
decluttering,
empowerment,
order,
organized,
priorities
21 April 2008 | Comments [0] »
Just a few days ago, I wrote a blog post about taming my email box. I vowed to use the trusted-three method, which I read about on Lifehacker, to empty my email inbox. I said I’d try it out and report back.
Tagged with: decluttering,
email
17 April 2008 | Comments [2] »
I have to admit that I’m a bit of an email packrat. It seems fairly harmless to me, as long as my hard drive is large enough, and somehow having the history of many of my email interactions gives me comfort.
Tagged with: decluttering,
email
28 March 2008 | Comments [0] »
Chances are you’re familiar with Flylady. Flylady, who’s real name is Marla Cilley, has a wildly popular website which helps readers dig out from clutter, establish routines, and stay organized.
Tagged with: 15 minutes,
decluttering,
flylady,
habits,
routines
18 February 2008 | Comments [0] »
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.
Tagged with: clutter,
control,
decluttering,
kitchen,
trust
29 January 2008 | Comments [1] »
I’ve somehow ended up with some yarn that I can’t imagine I’ll ever knit with. Some acrylic, some fun fur, some other novelty yarns. On a larger scale, I ended up with an embarrassingly large collection of straight and circular needles I’ll never use. Those were purchased on ebay and didn’t turn out to be to my liking.
Tagged with: decluttering,
donations,
stash
13 January 2008 | Comments [0] »
The habit I’ve been trying to instill with the Don’t Break the Chain method that I wrote about in a recent post is clearing my desktop at the end of the workday.
Tagged with: accountability,
clean desk,
decluttering,
desk,
don't break the chain,
goals,
habits,
motivation,
productivity,
time management,
workspace
3 January 2008 | Comments [0] »
I was interviewed recently for an article at AuditNet, a website for auditors, about clearing your workspace and keeping it in order. Check out my tips at the Q&A here: Taming Office Clutter
Tagged with: decluttering,
desk,
press,
workspace
1 January 2008 | Comments [0] »
But here it is the first day of the year and I find myself wanting to write down goals, figure out systems for making life easier, and (still) cleaning out/cleaning up.
Tagged with: balance,
decluttering,
new year,
ravelry,
time management
15 November 2007 | Comments [0] »
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.
Tagged with: clutter,
decluttering,
desk
6 November 2007 | Comments [2] »
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.
Tagged with: clutter,
decluttering,
press
5 November 2007 | Comments [0] »
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.
Tagged with: clutter,
decluttering,
desk,
stress
13 September 2007 | Comments [0] »
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.
Tagged with: clutter,
decluttering,
empowerment,
feng shui,
focus,
priorities,
procrastination,
productivity
16 July 2007 | Comments [4] »
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!
Tagged with: clutter,
coaching,
decluttering,
hoarding,
synergy
1 December 2006 | Comments [0] »
A winter storm hit St. Louis yesterday. It wasn’t as big as the media hype warned us it would be, naturally. There’s maybe an inch or two of snow at my house. But under that snow is freezing rain and beneath that is sleet. So it’s slick. And pretty:
Tagged with: decluttering,
nesting,
weather
