Clutter Give Aways

How many times have you received a free gift with purchase? There is a bit of a high we feel when we are given things for free! Almost like we are beating the system, whatever that system may be. Whether it is at the department store makeup counter, Costco, a trade show or a store coupon – we take anything that is given away. Never do we think “do I need this”, we just take it!

I have found many “freebies” when working with my organizing clients. Free hotel shampoos/soaps/lotions, t-shirts, makeup bags, duffel bags, coffee cups, pens, pads of paper – these items are stowed in drawers, closets and cabinets. They think they may use these some day, or maybe will give the items away to people they know. But still, they sit and are not touched for months and years. What is the cost of “free clutter”?

You have the ability to say no to your free gifts with purchase. Unless you know you will use these items in the next 3 months, you have someone you will give it to immediately, or you will donate it to a charity, just say no! Resist the urge to receive more clutter in your life!

You homework today is to go on a scavenger hunt to see how many freebie items you have tucked away and don’t use. Let’s see who has the most! Leave your results in the comments!

Resources

These companies have been a blessing to my company and I want to share them with you!

A Red Bench

Are you interested in taking your organizing career to the next level? Check this team of dynamo’s out – your business will grow exponentially.
http://www.aredbench.com/

Bliss

Looking for a great web-based home & life information management system. This covers you from your calendar to your recipes, and everything in between. (And it looks great, too!)
http://www.myblis.com/


Clearly Noted

Are you a professional organizer looking for inspirational cards to send your clients? You will be amazed at these cards and they can customized them to your logo/branding. A must have for your business.
http://www.clearlynoted.com/


The Container Store

Looking for organization products to put the finishing touches on your projects? This is the mother load of organization products!
http://www.thecontainerstore.com/

Collectify

Have you created a Home Inventory? Are you protected? Collectify will help get your Home Inventory completed in no time!
http://www.collectify.com/

Eight Crazy Design

Eight Crazy Design strives to create blog and twitter template designs that tell the world who your are and what you want to say. Blog fashion for everyone!
www.eightcrazydesign.com

Inner Peace

Women all over the world are raving about the Inner Peace for your Inner Purse™ purse organizer! Why carry an unattractive organizer purse when you can carry any purse and be fabulously organized! Organize your purse the way YOU want with this Modular Purse Organizer System. Don’t settle for a pre-arranged purse organizer insert when you can beautifully customize your own Inner Purse!
http://www.innerpurse.com/cmd.php?af=981631

Natalie Moser Photography

Natalie has a flair for photography. She will make you feel comfortable and relaxed to capture your most natural look. Not just photographs, but true art. You will fall in love with her work!
http://www.nataliemoserphotography.com/

Organized A to Z

Another fabulous resource for organizing products! Look for their sales – they have great products for great prices.
http://www.organizedatoz.com/

Scan Digital

Are you buried in photos, you know the ones stored in every top shelf of your closet? Send them to be scanned and organized in no time at all!
http://www.scandigital.com/

Self Growth

Looking for articles and advice on self improvement? Self Growth is the encyclopedia on self improvement with information from experts in numerous fields, including Health, Psychology and Organizing!
http://www.selfgrowth.com/

About Me

I created A Fresh Start Professional Organizing to bring quality professional organizing services to individuals and businesses. I am known for listening to my clients with an empathetic ear in a non-judgemental manner. I enjoy finding creative, practical and effective solutions to my clients needs in every price range. Being a Professional Organizer allows me to work on a personal level with people. I enjoy empowering individuals to live their lives the way they want to and not be defined by their clutter or poor time management.

I am living my dream! I come from a background of administrative management and commercial real estate property management. I established efficient billing and filing systems, as well as scheduled tenant moves, repairs and renovations. I provided immediate solutions to clients needs to keep their businesses running efficiently. I am a mother of two young boys with busy schedules and I know that my ability to stay organized has made my life and my family’s lives much more enjoyable and rewarding.

In 2007 I joined the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), in order to further my knowledge in the organizational field. NAPO is well known for being “The Organizing Authority” and provides educational courses to help its members grow in their abilities to help their clients. Passing my knowledge onto my clients is rewarding. Seeing the smiles on my clients’ faces and the relief in their eyes is my most rewarding experience.

Looking for More Together Time With Organization

What image comes to mind when you think of spending time with family?  Is it interaction and conversation?  Is it fun activities or relaxing vacations?  What we think of and what actually takes place can be so very different.  We are so busy with technology, work, school and activities that we actually could be in the same house, yet we don’t spend any time together.  No wonder families feel so disconnected!

Oprah (yes again, an Oprah topic) recently had on families who were taking part in a “What Can You Live Without” Experiment, Part II.  She profiled two families and followed up one single mother from Part I.  All families were living with excess, both physical items and activities.  One family spent time together in the home by adjourning to their prospective space (bedroom, recliner, office) where they would thrive on technology.  The computer, video games, cell phones and TV were high priorities to the family.   They were so “busy”  with their gadgets they didn’t have time to spend together.  They would text each other in the house to talk, instead of walking to the other room to talk.   Technology can be a helpful tool and entertaining, but it can also suck up your valuable time like a Dyson vacuum. 

The other family showcased wasn’t spending quality time together either.  The biggest complaint was that mom was busy working and would come home late from work.  As the episode went on, you could see home much this hurt the children.  They lost themselves in iPods and video games, and ignored the underlining problems.  They also bought in excess and never really thought twice about it.  To show a portion of their excess, they pared down their pantry.  The excess food was purged and brought to a food bank.  The family had an eye opening experience of what it would be like to not have food in their home.  The family was changed for the good.   Possibly the problem was the parents were working so hard to give their children so much, but never realized what the children really needed – more together time!

What is getting in the way of your family spending time together?  Are you really achieving your goals or are you chasing your tail?  Is what you do in your daily life bringing you closer to your goals, in balance with your values?  Are you living in excess?  If reading these questions make you stop and think that there needs to be some change in your life, relax and know it can be done.

Through organizing you can clear the excess and clutter in your home.  The organizing process helps you to realize what you actually need in your home and what is truly excess.  This doesn’t mean you get rid of everything and live in a tent.  This means you live with what you need and use to function in your life.  Now, that isn’t permission to keep everything.  Really decide what you use and need.  All the “stuff” can occupy your time; having to maintain, clean and care for it all. 

In order to organize clearly, you need to prioritize.  What  are your goals?  What is important to you?  Where is your time wasted?  Are you busy checking email and not checking in on your children’s life?  We all think we are using our time wisely, but we tend to waste our time on matters that don’t line up with our priorities.  Really look at your schedule and see what is unnecessary.  Also, look to see what you can delegate and purge in order to realign your time with what is important to you.

Are you getting Together Time?  How do you spend quality time with your family?   Where can you improve?  Let us know and get the support from those who know what you are going through.  We would love to be on your journey with you.

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5 Lazy Ways to Organize

How many times do you think about organizing a drawer or even a room and give up because it is too overwhelming?  Well, I hate to break it to you - organizing is work, but organizing doesn’t have to be a nightmare!  Like weight-loss, most people are looking for a quick fix to organizing.  And as we have learned, quick weight-loss doesn’t work and you return to the habits which got you to where you were in the first place.  The same rings true with organizing.  Creating new habits will make organizing a breeze as time goes on.

Lazy is defined as slow moving or sluggish.  Organizing the “lazy way” will still take time (I didn’t call it 5 Fast Ways to Organize now, did I?).  Going in with a lazy mindset will help you slowly and steadily gain control over the disorganized clutter monster that looms over your head!  Patience is a virtue!  The old adage, “How do you eat and elephant? One bite at a time” should be playing in your head as you tackle your clutter and disorganization. 

1.  Get over perfection!  Most people feel organizing is about living Martha Stewart Perfect.  Not the case!  It is really as simple as finding what you need when you need it and keeping what you need, use and love.   Finding a good home for what you have is essential.  Keep those things you use often close to you, not as frequently a little further, and those you don’t use often furthest away. 

2.  Get over guilt!  If you are holding onto things because you’d feel guilty getting rid of it  DON”T!   (Like your friend who gave you a shirt that just doesn’t look good on you, but you feel she will get her feelings hurt if you give it away).  You will be able to shed yourself of so much clutter when you purge the guilt first!  Those who love you should understand your needs are, and guilt isn’t one of those needs!

3.  Stick to one area at a time!  If you want to organize the whole house, trying to organize it all at once will take longer.  You will become the Tasmanian Devil, spinning on a path of destruction.  Choose one area to organize at a time.  Slow and steady wins this race!  Seeing one project through to the end will give you the motivation to continue on to the rest of the house. 

4.  Stop making to-do lists!  If you skip this step and put your tasks directly into your to-do lists, then you will actually have the time to get things done!  If you need to purge your brain to get it out of your head, create different lists.  You need one for long term goals, short term goals and one for everyday tasks.  Work those lists into your calendar to see what you can accomplish daily, monthly and yearly.  Remember to leave room in your schedule for fun!

5.  Get help!  Any way you look at it, help is the best way to change your habits.  You will have someone to hold you accountable.  Don’t you have enough on your plate?  Adding self accountability (is that a phrase or did I just make it up?) is just one more thing to worry about.  Pass that responsibility on!

You can actually waste time by being “hyper” organized (as I like to call it).   You can procrastinate on projects by organizing as a distraction.  You can lead an unbalanced life if you are so focused on perfection.  Organizing should bring you more time to do what you love and want to do.  So get lazy and organize your home one space at a time!

Visit my website for more tips on organizing.

 

 

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Decorative Swapping

The other day I was watching Oprah and she had the adorable Nate Berkus and the clutter cutter Peter Walsh on.  They were showing neighbors swapping furniture in order to recreate new looks in their homes.  The point behind the show was to open our eyes to how, in hard times with limited budgets, we can be creative in our design to get the best out of our space.  Now of course having a fabulous designer makes a huge difference when you are decoratively challenged (I think I just created a new word), but the point was easy to get.  The “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” was spoken loud and clear here. 

Anything unused or unloved is clutter!  Clear your clutter by having a swap party!  Have you thought about other ways to swap?  It doesn’t have to be just furniture!   How about:

• Kitchen Gadgets
• Video Games
• Women’s Clothing
• Children’s Clothing
• Accessories (belts, scarves, jewelry)
• Children’s Toys
• Books
• Magazines

The list is endless.  You can save so much money by trading what you don’t want, need, or have grown tired of with someone else!  The only thing you must remember in a swap is that this is not a garage sale!!!  These items are good quality and something someone would really WANT in their home  (or closet) to update their look.  Your tattered couch that the dog has called home for 15 years may not qualify! 

Let us know if you have had an opportunity to swap with friends, neighbors and/or family to get the best results for your homes!  What was your experience?  What worked?  What didn’t? 

Visit my website for more tips on organizing.

 

 

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Why Hiring a Professional Organizer is a Necessity Rather Than a Luxury?

Last week I attended the annual conference of the National Association of Professional Organizers!  If you can imagine a conference that is run more smoothly and organized, let me know!!!  We had a blast in Orlando discovering new products, new services, new books, new ideas (yes, I am rambling) and rekindling friendships from all over the world.  Who knew there is a need for organizing in areas like Bermuda, Japan, New Zealand and France?  It just goes to show how everyone is looking for a little more order in their lives, no matter where they live.

You may think as we all meet that we are learning new ways to put items in a pretty container, but it was so much more.  As organizers, our goal is to help you discover why you are disorganized and ways to help you create new habits to overcome disorganization.  The classes we take go deep into the needs of our clients.   But the biggest part of the conference is to help our profession gain exposure.  Not many people know what we do and why they should spend their hard earned dollars on our services!  They all think they could do it themselves, why should they pay someone to help.

I thought I may help educate the rest of the world who aren’t sure what we can do for you and can’t figure out why they should spend the money on it!  Here are a few reasons why:

Why Hiring a Professional Organizer is a Necessity Rather Than a Luxury?

1. Professional Organizers help cut expenses by weeding out processes, activities, or tools that are no longer serving their purpose.
2. You will have more time to touch base with clients, networking contacts and other potential clients.
3. Professional Organizers help you find and use what you have, such as, pantry items, office supplies, gift items, etc., so you avoid re-buying things you already own.
4. Professional Organizers help you pay your bills on time and control your finances.
5. You will know where everything is!
6. Professional Organizers help you keep appointments, avoiding no-show fees.
7. Professional Organizers help prevent missed opportunities and events.
8. Professional Organizers help eliminate the costs of extra storage space.
9. Professional Organizers help you uncover what is important to you and helps preserve those items.
10. Professional Organizers help maintain your valuables, including your home and car.

A professional organizer is a confidant, a friend, a specialist, a coach, a financial assistant, and so much more.  We have different niches that we focus on to be the best service provider for our clients.  No matter what your level of disorganization is, a professional organizer will bring more time, joy and freedom into your life!

Visit my website for more tips on organizing.

 

 

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Also, you can subscribe to my monthly e-newsletter “Fresh Ideas for A Fresh Start” . Subscribe Now