How Do You Spot Clues About Disorganization?

     After my recent total hip replacement surgery, I occupied much of my healing time by reading novels such as Louise Penny's book Still Life (first in her series about Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surete du Quebec).

     In one chapter of this book, Inspector Gamache and his team enter a deceased victim's home in search of clues about her. Gamache says, "Homes, [he] knew were a self-portrait. Every touch revealed the individual. God, or the Devil, was in the details. And so was the human. Was it dirty, messy, obsessively clean? Were the decorations chosen to impress, or were they a hodgepodge of personal history? Was the space cluttered or clear?"

     When potential clients call and request my professional organizing services, I ask them to allow me to conduct an initial assessment of their home in its current state. A tour of their home and their comments about it reveal clues about their lives and what areas need attention. 

     Often the reasons for disorganization arise from situations such as: addition of a child; family illness; work and college attendance at the same time; moving to a smaller home without downsizing first; furniture and other items added for various reasons; and too many items for the room size.  

     My observations and the potential client's comments about their space help me figure out workable organizing solutions and devise a maintenance plan.

     If you find yourself in need of organizing assistance, for any reason,  consider consulting a professional organizer. 

Getting Organized: Work on These 7 Projects to Help Reduce Unused Items in Your Life

    

At the beginning of the week, I like to jot down small, medium, and large tasks (with its list of small steps) on a master "to-do" list. Then I choose the one I'm most interested in at the moment to work on. This method motivates me to start and finish a small task and at least get started on a larger project that I can tackle the next day or week. When I write down my goals/tasks I'm inclined to start and finish them, whereas thoughts alone may drift away, be forgotten, and remain unacted on.

Items on a task list may vary between individuals due to varied interests and objectives. A high-ranked task for me may not appear on another person's list; therefore, it's important that each family member prepare their own job list.
 
Examples of different-sized projects family members could work on to meet the goal (albeit mine/yours) of reducing the accumulation of unused items:

• Assess the number of unworn shirts or tops hanging in the closet? Start on one side of the rod and remove one top or shirt, for example, at a time that you: don't like or wear, fits incorrectly, is stained, or needs repair. Remove it and the hanger from the closet and decide which pile it goes into donate or trash. Donate gently worn items so that they will be useful to someone else rather than continue to collect dust.  
• Decrease the number of coffee cups acquired on vacations or jobs (yours or someone else) that take up space in the cupboard, unused, and collect dust. 
• Collect all of the empty shipping boxes you have saved after the warranty expiration from these purchased items: appliances, televisions, electronics, printers, computers, cell phones, golf clubs, and shoes, etc., stored in the attic, basement, and/or garage.  If you make many moves, perhaps keeping the large television and/or computer/printer boxes makes sense; however, boxes for those items can be purchased for a nominal fee. Empty boxes take up a tremendous amount of space and may not ever be needed or used again. 
• Reduce the abundance of hobby items jammed into the garage, acquired over numerous years, and abandoned as new interests emerge. Start on one side of the garage, one item at a time, and determine its usefulness. This one could be a large project and will require more words at a later 

 

• Reduce your paper stacks. Review your papers, one paper at a time. Decide if the document requires action, filing, recycling, shredding, or the  trash receptacle. Paper, if left unchecked, tends to multiple, spread out over the surface it is on and continues to grow.  
• Remove items that have accumulated on surfaces in your home such as the countertop, kitchen table, desktop, furniture, floor, etc. Each family member collects their stuff in some container, such as a laundry basket or paper bag, and returns it to where it belongs and puts it away.
• Purge the "junk" drawer. Some junk drawers, small or large, are so full of stuff that they are hard to open. At least take every item out of the drawer and sort it into categories. Pitch the plastic bits that you have no idea what they belong to or what they were used for. Place divided inserts or repurpose containers that you already have in the drawer to separate the categories. 

All of the tasks noted above require many decisions that could make the processing an overwhelming one. Working through it, one step, one item, one decision at a time brings you success and goal achievement through patience with yourself if you keep at it however long it takes. Once items are reduced, keeping only what we need makes it easier to get and stay organized. Rewards of fewer things: more space, more calmness, more free time, simpler life, less stress, less anxiety. 

Decisions: Health Matters

       I now have health issues that will take me through the end of July to work through. What does that have to do with organizing, you might ask? I help clients sort, reduce, and then figure out how and where to store remaining items.
       I also work for Carolyn Rowe's company The Move Maker--packing and unpacking for her clients who are often older and have health issues. Frequently, the state of their health necessitates that a caretaker or family member makes decisions about what to keep and what to move to their next and much smaller home...usually on short notice.
       Every time I work in a home filled with years worth of memorabilia, artwork, books, papers, photos, collectibles, and clothes, etc., it reminds me to take a look at my own home and reduce my belongings to only those items that I truly need, use, and value...while I'm healthy and able to make those decisions.

Unwanted Gifts: How to Let Them Go

Do you find it hard to part with gifts, especially when received for one of these reasons?

• Anniversary
• Birth of a child
• Birthday
• Death of family member
• Graduation
• Holiday
• Illness
• Wedding

Do you hold onto the gift(s) for any of these reasons?

• You might use it in the future.
• It’s hard for you to part with any of your belongings.
• The gift-giver was your favorite family member or friend.
• Your memory of the deceased person will fade without the physical reminder.
• You’re afraid the gift-giver will notice the gift is not displayed in your home.
• You feel guilty because thought, time, and money was invested in the gift buying.
• The gift was expensive.
• It reminds you of a special achievement, event, or occasion (you or your family).

Is it okay to let gifts go? Yes!  My thoughts and those of some clients about this topic:

• The received gift is yours now; you can use, re-gift, donate, or give it away.
• It doesn’t fit; it’s not your style or color.
• You don’t like, want, or need the item.
• It served its useful purpose.
• The used gift has been collecting dust for years.
• Someone else may enjoy and use it.
• You’re downsizing.
• You’ll remember the person without the physical object—trust your memory.
• It will free up physical space and help clear mental clutter.

I’d like to hear your thoughts about letting go of gifts, once they’ve served their useful purpose,..is it  easy for you, or a challenge?

"...The Path of Our Life

Minimalist Joshua Becker said in his e-book, Simplify: “Our actions will always follow the true desire of our heart.  What our heart believes and loves always determines the path of our life.  We can mask our true wants for only a short while.  Without a true heart change, we always return to our heart’s first love. This truth applies to all areas of life: our energy, our time, our relationships, our spirituality, our money and our possessions.”

Organizing possessions, especially mine and those of my clients—warms my heart and is the focus of much of my time and energy.

What warms your heart and where do you channel your time and energy?

Adversity and Opportunity: Action Required!

My daughter-in-law Amy and I purchased coffee from a Honolulu coffee shop during our vacation there in May, 2014.  She noticed that their sugar packets had quotes on the back of them, so we stood there and read them while waiting on my coffee.  Three of my favorite sugar packet quotes are: 

                “Strength is not the absence of weakness but how we wrestle with our weaknesses.”

                “Success is when we turn our stumbling blocks into building blocks.”

                “Time is an orchard; every moment is ripe with opportunity.” 

Inspiring thoughts from Noah benShea for rough patches and opportunities most all of us surely experience on our journey through life.

Scattered Possessions: Piles

I belong to a Mastermind group, and one member said she thought of me when she read this tagline on the side of a ScanMyFiles truck while sitting in traffic: reducing piles, producing smiles.

I love this tagline!  It totally fits my company, Scattered Possessions (Professional Organizer) too, because we help individuals and families decrease and organize piles of:  clothing, collectables, cookware, and more.  Outcome?  Both clients and organizers are happy as well.