Peace of Mind Organizing

Seize the (extra) day

29 February 2012

There’s something special about February 29, isn’t there?

I like to think of it as a bonus day. Depending on what’s going on with my life, I might take the day off or I might spend the day getting extra stuff done.

I wish I could take the day off. (I am treating myself to lunch with a friend.) But my plan is to spend this Leap Day at my desk, tackling a couple of those important-but-not-urgent business-related tasks that I haven’t been able to get to in the last couple of weeks. That pleases me to no end.

Here’s today’s Google Doodle (the graphic on their search home page) in honor of Leap Day. It’s in honor of the Italian composer Gioachino Rossini, who was born on February 29, 1792:

How about you? What are you doing on this very special day?

Handy tool for organizing your taxes

22 February 2012

The good folks at Smead sent me their Tax Organizer a six-pock letter’-sized file that helps you assemble your tax information.

I didn’t have a use for it myself, since I use Freedom Filer odd year/even year tax files to gather my taxes year-round and then I do my own taxes with Turbo Tax.

But yesterday I helped a client assemble her tax documentation for her accountant. I’d set her up with a Freedom Filer system, so her documents were all in one place (hooray!), but I brought along Smead’s Tax Organizer in case it might be helpful.

As we went through the workbook her accountant provided and gathered documents into the categories he designated, we used the Tax Organizer to hold everything. It comes with pre-printed labels (which I supplemented with hand-written removable labels as necessary) and we were able to compile a very organized, portable packet of information.

My client was pleased and she’s sure her tax preparer will be pleased as well. When she gets the organizer back, she’ll store it for the same use next year (because the Freedom Filer hanging file folders are working so well for her for year-round filing of tax documents and receipts).

If your taxes are simple, you could use the Tax Organizer go gather your documents as they come in throughout the year. Even if they’re more complex the Tax Organizer might help you, like it helped my client and me, in terms of creating portable document storage to hand off to your accountant.

Getting places on time

20 February 2012

I’m punctuality challenged. I admit it. But I’m working on it. For me, the big shift is in reframing my thinking, moving away from having a fear of being late toward considering being early a gift I can give myself.

I recently wrote a guest blog post for Gimundo on Five secrets to getting places on time. It appeared on January 23.

Then, today, I appeared on Great Day St. Louis, a morning program on local television in St. Louis, focusing on the very same topic.

Here’s the video. This is my fourth appearance on Great Day and, once again, I had a great time (they’re awfully nice down at KMOV).

(My part starts about two minutes into the clip.)

If you’re punctuality challenged like me, I hope you find this information useful!

Working with an organizing team

14 February 2012

When I started my organizing business in 2005, I exclusively worked one-on-one with clients. It’s intimate, fulfilling, valuable work. But it can be really slow. And that means progress is harder to see and it can become discouraging for the client.

A few years ago, I started to be approached by clients who had very large, whole-house decluttering jobs. I realized that bringing in more help was in order. And so every now and then I would put together an organizing team to effect quick change on giant projects.

In the last year or so I realized that it wasn’t just huge or overwhelming projects that could benefit from a team approach. As the long as the client can handle the hubbub and the faster pace of a team, there are many benefits, not the least of which is the visible results we see after a single session.

I don’t have employees. When I put together an organizing team, I use independent contractors, members of the St. Louis chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers. I call on organizers I know personally, thanks to NAPO St. Louis. I’m always on site supervising them and coordinating the efforts. I’m also typically the one working with the clients to guide decisions.

Here are some of the advantages I have found to team organizing:

• We get a whole lot done. If I’m working one-on-one with a client, I not only guide the decisions, but implement them. When I’m working with a team, there’s someone to do the leg work and everything happens a whole lot faster. Also, the team members pre-sort items for the client before the keep/donate/toss decisions are made (in a decluttering situation), which makes the decision-making much easier. As a result, the client sees visible progress, which isn’t always the case after a one-on-one session.

• It’s economical. I charge less for the time of organizing team members than I charge for my own time. So bringing in a team is not only faster than working with me one-on-one, it’s less expensive.

• More minds are better than one. I populate my teams with smart and talented organizers. I’d be crazy not to tap into their considerable skills and knowledge on the job. While I’m working with the client, I frequently consult team members on the best way to approach or organize a space. So the client benefits from the cumulative knowledge of the group.

• It’s fun! All the organizers I use love working on teams. Doing work we love (sorting and organizing) alongside our colleagues practically makes us giddy. And that’s contagious. While it’s tiring for the client to make a lot of decisions in a short period of time, most confess to having fun while doing it during our team jobs. Time flies.

Here’s a before and after combo from a team job at the end of 2010. Two of the organizing team members worked in this kitchen while the client worked with me and other team members in another part of the house. The client gave basic parameters and was brought in to answer questions periodically. She was thrilled at the end of the day.

A cluttered kitchen before a team arrived to help.

Two organizers created this transformation as part of a team project.

This year, my goal is to help more clients this way. I’m hooked on the fun of the team approach and the quick results. If you have a big project that seems overwhelming, maybe I could bring in an organizing team to help you. Take a look at my Team Organizing page to read a few more details. Then feel free to give me a call or shoot me an email to discuss how a team might help you!

Store things near where you use them

8 February 2012

One thing I always tell my clients—and I mention it when I give talks—is that it makes life a lot easier if you store items near where you use them. If you select a distant place to store stuff, it gets that much more difficult to put things away when you’re through with them.

Here’s the example I use in talks to illustrate this important principle.

My husband I are dog lovers, accustomed to having a pair of standard poodles (though right now we have just one). Our poodles have a complete wardrobe of leashes and collars, passed down through the years and supplemented by absolutely gorgeous ones from my friends at Paw Paws.

When we first moved back into our house in 2001, I decided we should store our leashes and collars in a hanging shoe organizer in the coat closet. Because our house is old and odd, however, the coat closet is probably 25 feet away from the front door we use. Right next to that front door is a table.

So I bet you can guess what happened: Rather than walk 25 feet to put away the leashes and collars after a walk (our dogs go naked in the house), we had a natural tendency to put the collars and leashes down on the table just inside the door. For a little while, I tried to put them away properly and I tried to get my husband to do the same, but it really made a lot more sense to just put them down right next to wear we use them.

So I stopped getting frustrated and instead got a basket. I put it right under the pile of leashes and now they’re contained. The messy pile is gone and a basket is in its place. And heaven knows how many minutes have been saved over the last ten years!

A great take on hiring a professional organizer

3 February 2012

I think one of the biggest barriers organizers face when it comes to getting clients is that getting organized, or being organized, is something that people think they should be able to do on their own. They don’t acknowledge that it’s naturally easier for some people to be organized than others. And that you can save a lot of money and time in the long run when you hire a professional organizer.

I gave a talk yesterday with life coach Jill Farmer for the Academic Women’s Network at Washington University School of Medicine. During that talk, Jill made an absolutely genius analogy.

She shared this dialogue, which took place when she suggested that a coaching client hire a professional organizer.

Client: Oh no, I can get organized myself.
Jill: Can you walk?
Client: Yes…
Jill: Then why do drive to work if you can walk?
Client: A car makes it easier and more efficient to get to work.
Jill: A professional organizer makes it easier and more efficient to get organized.

I love it!

Bingo works for me!

1 February 2012

I wouldn’t be writing this (or any) blog post today if it weren’t for To-Do List Bingo. At the end of the day today, I took a look at my bingo board and covered the tasks that I had already done.

I discovered that I can get a double bingo (!) today if I write a blog post. So that’s what I’m doing. I am now experiencing the thrill of a bingo.

As you can see, To-Do List Bingo is very motivating for me. It gets me to do important-but-not-urgent things that I wouldn’t otherwise do. For me, getting a bingo is a great reward.

If you’re intrigued by the notion of what might seem like a childish game making you more productive, you might want to check out my Organizing Guide, Making Tasks Fun with To-Do List Bingo. (All my concise organizing guides—downloadable pdfs—are $9 each but right now I’m offering a buy one, get one free deal with the coupon code GUIDEME.)

Special thanks to Jacquelyn Kittredge of e-bakery social media for inspiring me to create my first bingo board!