Peace of Mind Organizing

The power of Oprah

20 November 2007

Thursday and Friday of last week (November 15 and 16), Oprah had a two-part show on hoarding. It was riveting viewing. I was so pleased that they gave the subject its due, treated the hoarder who was featured (and helped) with respect and brought in experts who were spot-on in their advice and assistance.

For some info about the shows, check out Oprah’s website.

Peter Walsh, the organizer on the TLC show Clean Sweep was the professional organizer who worked with the hoarding couple. He was assisted by (gulp) 100 people and it took them eight weeks to clean out and refurbish this couple’s extremely cluttered home.

David F. Tolin, Ph.D., a leading expert on hoarding, also spoke with the client and, on the show, addressed the need for hoarders to receive psychological help in order to address their behavior. I wish Dr. Tolin had had more air time on the show, since his message is so important, but his resources are available on Oprah’s website, above.

After the shows aired, I immediately felt the impact. My phone started to ring and the emails started coming in. Peter Walsh mentioned NAPO as a place to find organizers, which I think will probably prove to be a boon to the organization and the profession. I only wish he’d mentioned the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization, since a higher proportion of their members are trained to work with these types of clients.

Whether these inquiries will turn into clients remains to be seen. The process of dealing with extreme clutter can be very expensive, both monetarily and emotionally. But for those clients who are ready and who are getting the proper professional assistance, it can be life changing.

Clean desktop challenge results

15 November 2007

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 desktop every day for five days running. You’ll just have to take my word for it.

I could lie, but I won’t. I failed that challenge. I did clear off my desktop, but I didn’t keep it clean. I’m finding that I’m taking 15 minutes to get rid of the major paper clutter, but there’s still a pile at the left edge of my desk. Worse, I’m not dealing with the little stuff—the stray thumbtacks, the “cord organizer” waiting to used to corral my computer cbles, the roll of ribbon and the container of dog treats. Those small things still litter my desk. So even though I’m relieved of the stress of major paper clutter, I don’t get the satisfaction of a truly clear desktop. (And many days last week I didn’t even get rid of the major piles of paper.)

Maybe if I take the time to truly clean off (and maybe even polish) my desk, I’ll have the motivation to keep it clean. That’s my new clean-desk challenge. I wish I had better results to report on last week’s!

A little Internet press

6 November 2007

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.

Gimundo is interesting—it’s a daily newsletter that arrives via email (or you can access it on the web), whose focus is good news. It’s definitely worth checking out, and perhaps subscribing.

I’m also one of the sources for an article on HGTV.com, by Alyson McNutt English, entitled, “Manic Back-to-School Mornings: Solved!” This one was published back in September.

While I’m at it, I’ll mention that an article from St. Louis Magazine’s At Home that quotes me is available online; it was originally published in the January-February 2006 issue

Clutter and stress

5 November 2007

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.

That’s why I named my business Peace of Mind Organizing. Because for me, as I’ve discovered in many of my clients, the absence of clutter (and the presence of organizing systems) reduces stress and promotes peace of mind.

Now here’s my discovery: if I’m not stressed, the clutter doesn’t bother me. Right now, I’m just the right amount of busy. I’m busy with clients but have a couple of “desk days” at home. And I’m plowing through my to-do list, which is the most wonderful feeling. (High on my to-do list was updating my website, which you may have noticed I’ve accomplished, with the help of Nora Brown, web designer extraordinaire.)

But my desk is covered with paper. And, strangely enough, that’s not stressing me out. Maybe it’s because I’m functioning just fine with the clutter. Or maybe it’s because I know that I could declutter my desk in just a few minutes if I took the time to do it.

I don’t know that this is an earth-shattering discovery, but I find it interesting.

I was thinking of instituting a clean-desk challenge to myself today, documented here. My plan was to start off with a “before picture,” then clear off my desk and make sure it was clear at the end of each business day. And I was going to post pictures to prove it.

But my husband is using my camera, so I can’t document it. The challenge stands, it just won’t be documented photographically. 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.

Bragging rights

9 October 2007

I don’t like to brag, truly, but I’m really proud of some credentials I’ve attained recently and I want to share. I’m in the process of updating my website, and the new credentials will be a permanent fixture there, but in the meantime, I’ll post it here.

I recently attended the fall conference of the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization and had a fabulous time learning a great deal and interacting with wonderful, gifted organizers. While there, I took the exam required for the group’s Level II ADD Specialist Certificate and I passed! I’ve just completed the paperwork for the application (in addition to passing the exam, I had to complete other requirements, including six more Attention Deficit Disorder-related classes) and will look forward to receiving the certificate in the mail.

I’ve already earned the NSGCD’s other Level II certificate, the Chronic Disorganization Specialist certificate. In addition, I’ve earned seven of their nine Level I certificates of study. Two are already mentioned on my website (Chronic Disorganization and Basic ADD Issues with the Chronically Disorganized Client) and the other five are in process—I submitted the applications last month and am waiting for the certificates. Those are certicates of study in:

• Basic Hoarding Issues with the CD Client
• Basic Mental Health Conditions
• Basic Physicial Conditions Affecting the CD Client
• CD Client Administration
• Understanding the Needs of the Elderly Client

I have only two more Level I certificates of study to earn (Learning Styles and Modalities and Understanding the Needs of the Student CD Client).

This fall I’m going to enter the NSGCD’s rigorous 18-month Certified Professional Organizer program. When I graduate, I’ll have earned the title Certified Professional Organizer in Chronic Disorganization (CPO-CD).

I’m very grateful for the learning and certification opportunities that the NSGCD offers professional organizers. Organizing is a field where it’s hard to get formal education, but the NSGCD offers strong training and education to those of us who are interested in working with the CD community.

My first socks!

17 September 2007

Knitters know what a rite of passage knitting a first pair of socks is. It may not seem like such a big deal to non-knitters, but when you pause and look at a sock, you can see there’s a great deal of shaping involved. There are certain intricacies that involve techniques (like “turning the heel”) that you just don’t do on other types of knitting.

So I’m proud to say I’ve completed my first pair of socks. They were knit with sock yarn that’s like magic. The pattern’s dyed in. So the socks might look a little more impressive than they are. Please don’t look very closely, because they’re far from perfect.

Here they are, off the foot:

My first socks, in repose.

And on my feet:

I actually like the fact they don't exactly match

Notice how the stripes match up but don’t match in color? That’s because I somehow started them at different spots on the ball of yarn (despite the fact I started a fresh ball with the second sock). But I really do kind of like that aspect of them. They’re non-comformist socks.

I have two more types of sock yarn to knit up and I’m hoping that I’ll get better at this as I go along. I haven’t actually worn my new hand-knit socks yet (it’s not yet Fair-Isle-sock-wearing weather), but I’m told that once you start wearing hand-knit socks, you don’t want to wear (or perhaps knit) anything else. We’ll see.

Clutter can be such a barrier

13 September 2007

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.

A confluence of events created a mini-hurricane in my office this summer. For the month of August, my office looked just awful. The desk was piled high, stuff littered the floor. I had purchased a new computer (I just adore my new MacBook!), which was terribly disruptive and created all sorts of trash, I was busy with clients and I was travelling, which always creates disorder for me. This actually isn’t that big a deal for me, usually, because at least I have a place for everything. Messy person that I am, I was being lazy about putting things away.

The emotional toll was huge, though. I felt like I couldn’t do anything else until I cleaned up my office. But when I’d try do to it, I’d very limited time, I’d work in fits and starts—never really completing anything—and it seemed like I was just making things worse. I’d spend hours helping clients create order and just not want to come home and do it for myself. It was nutty, because it really made me feel bad.

I was getting other things done, but really I was just putting out fires. Only the most pressing things were getting accomplished. I felt like doing any planning had to wait until my office was under control.

So finally, on a Saturday, I just told myself that all I had to do that day was clean up my office. I’d work on it until I was done. My approach was to start at the door and tackle each pile and mess until it was gone. You know what? It took me at most two and half hours. Which is nothing.

And what a difference it made! Once the floor and desk were clear, my head was clear. I was empowered. I could actually race through my to-do list, checking things off. And, of course, my feng shui is much improved. I have no doubt that the clutter was blocking the flow energy.

I’ve always had plenty of empathy for my clients. But this experience gave me new insights. And it also proved the value of setting aside time for decluttering and staying focused on it until the project is completed. That’s certainly what I help my clients do—it was time I treated myself with that same regard.