This is Why I'm a Professional Organizer

I LOVE being a Professional Organizer! Whether in a home or office setting, there's nothing more rewarding for me than working one-on-one with my clients, sharing my passion for organizing, and helping them transform their lives for the better.

For today's blog post, I would just like to share a testimonial I received from one of my clients with whom I've been meeting weekly for the past 6 weeks. The whole thing was too long to post in its entirety on my Testimonials page (what a wonderful problem to have) so I am sharing it here.

"As a new mom who recently went back to work, I quickly found myself struggling and frankly drowning in all of my responsibilities. I felt like I was trapped in a movie reel that just kept playing the same scenes over and over and over again. I was barely keeping it together and by "it" I mean it was all I could do to get up each morning, make sure my baby boy got his bottle and got to daycare with all his food and maybe I got to take a shower. My work at work was not being done and my work at home was, well, being ignored completely. Our condo that everyone says is "so big and spacious" was literally swallowing my husband and me whole. I hated the fact that my son was already growing up in an unorganized, chaotic mess and I had no idea how to fix it. I tried to put things away only to find that they didn't have places and never stayed where I wanted them to. I tried to file paper and sort mail. I bought containers and "system" things but nothing worked. I refused to let anyone who offered help me. I was embarrassed that I couldn't do it all on my own, but I knew I needed help, it just couldn't be from my husband, my mother in law or my own mother.  For some reason, they were too close and only made me feel worse about the state that I had let our home get to.

"That's when I found Tidy Life. I initially was researching life coaches online and then it occurred to me that I didn't need a life coach, I need a personal and professional person to come in and help me sort through my life and my STUFF! Tidy Life was literally the first stop on my search and it was the only stop I needed to make. The website was friendly, peppy and gave me just the right amount of information. It was not overwhelming nor did it make me feel like I was failing as a mother and wife just because I couldn't keep my STUFF straight. I read through all the information several times simply because it was giving me the glimmer of hope that I desperately needed. I immediately sent an inquiry to Emily and checked my email every couple of minutes to see if she had responded. I was so eager and so thrilled to have come across someone who could actually help! Emily responded in a timely manner and we set up our initial phone consultation. Not a week later we had our first visit in my condo and we've been on fire ever since!

 

"Our first session was spent in my kitchen. Before we started there was barely any counter space available. There was mail and papers and baby bottles and formula and candy and STUFF everywhere. By the time our three hours were up, everything had a new home and we had set up systems for organization where there had been pure chaos beforehand. I was so amazed at what we had accomplished in such a short amount of time. It was refreshing and literally made me feel lighter than I had in months, probably even years. I went to work that day feeling more energetic and positive about everything. I was more productive and probably a nicer person in general. I wanted to hurry home at the end of the day just to sit in my new kitchen!

 

"Since our first session we have done the living room, created a play area for my son, have started the sunroom/office and are working our way through the closets. On the docket are the pantry, office completion and picture hanging!

 

"Emily and Tidy Life have changed my family's life for the better. I know that I am a better wife and mommy and I am learning to be a better me to me! I have been able to maintain what Emily and I have accomplished and I look forward to our Wednesday mornings together. Thank you Emily, you have a wonderful gift and I'm so glad that I found you!"

- Bekah in Baltimore, MD

This Thanksgiving, I want to say thanks to all my amazing clients. Thank you for letting me into your lives and homes, for working so hard toward your organizing goals, and for sharing your success stories. You are the reason why I do what I do, and you make it all worthwhile!

Exercise Before You Organize

I ran the Baltimore Half Marathon 10 days ago. Yep, that's a full 13.1 miles, including a grueling 5-mile uphill stretch in the middle. And I kept running the entire way. I'm a little proud of myself right now.

The achievement feels good, but I ran this race for my sanity. The longer distance pretty much guaranteed I would have to train, and when I have a regular exercise routine I am a MUCH more happy, less anxious person. Just ask my husband.

Besides the obvious fitness benefits, exercise releases endorphins; brain chemicals that create a sense of well-being and make you feel like everything is going to be okay. Focusing on my breathing as opposed to piping in music through headphones turns a workout into a meditative routine and really un-clouds my mind, as if that physical energy is being directly converted into mental focus. Hammering out a long run or simply getting out there for a quick jog injects a sense of achievement into my mornings, the effects of which last throughout the day resulting in increased productivity. I've known all these things for a while.

While training for and running the half marathon, however, I learned something new. In pushing myself to attempt longer and more difficult workouts I gained a tremendous sense of perspective. The world didn't end when I stepped outside my comfort zone. When I ran through the foot pain and leg cramps, I discovered that I am capable of running 10 miles without being out of breath. That I am capable of running for 2.5 straight hours. Had I given up, I never would have seen that light at the other end of the tunnel! It's amazing what the human body can do if you just ask it nicely.

De-cluttering is a similarly difficult mental and emotional exercise. You may find yourself face-to-face with some deep-seated fears (e.g. the fear of letting go) or facing decisions that you've been avoiding for a long time. Ask yourself, will I be okay if I push myself outside of my comfort zone? Ask yourself, what is the worst thing that can happen? More importantly, ask yourself, what is the BEST thing that can happen? Chances are you will feel a little discomfort temporarily and then once it's over, a sense of achievement and clarity. It's amazing what the human mind can do if you just ask it nicely. 

My Finisher's MedalMaintaining organization, like maintaining physical fitness, requires constant effort. You can put the perfect organizing systems in place but if you don't stick with them you'll fall back out of shape. This requires facing your fear of making mistakes every day. Over time you can build your organizing muscles so the maintenance becomes almost painless. Your organized environment will nurture you back, because simplicity and order are fitness for your mind and soul.

During the months I was training for the race I had some amazing breakthroughs on how to re-organize my own office and business operations for the better. I truly believe that the exercise is to thank for that mental acuity. As the weather turns chilly, I can't wait to move my workouts indoors to the yoga studio and build on that momentum.

Before your next power organizing session, squeeze in a power workout. It'll put you in the right frame of mind to take courageous, mindful and decisive steps toward your organizing goals.

Is GET ORGANIZED a good New Year's Resolution?

Last night I wrote down my New Year's Resolutions for 2011.

• drink 8 glasses of water per day
• actually sleep between the hours of 11p-7a
• 3 hour-plus aerobic or strength workouts per week
• plan meals and buy groceries based on the food pyramid
• take my vitamins and calcium supplements every day
• 10 minutes quiet reflection every day

Perhaps 6 resolutions seems like a lot, but these are 6 specific actions that support 1 goal: GET HEALTHIER. If I'd simply written, "My New Year's Resolution is to Get Healthier," what do you think my chances of succeeding would be? I would have a vague, overwhelming goal looming over my head instead of a handful of do-able actions. Most likely sometime around March I would start kicking myself for not making any changes yet.

Did you notice the list contains only Do's, and no Don'ts? I figure by drinking 8 glasses of water per day, my intake of caffeine and alcohol will automatically go down (or my eyeballs will be swimming). And I figure by bringing tons of healthy, whole foods into the house, the amount of sugary and salty snacks I consume will decrease (the grocery budget is finite after all). No fads around here, just the common sense stuff we learned in kindergarten.

This New Year's, don't resolve to just GET ORGANIZED. Instead, resolve to take specific actions like:

• this evening, put a basket on the counter to hold incoming mail
• spend 10 minutes tidying up before bed every night
• by the end of January, clean out the junk drawer
• by the end of February, donate clothes you didn't wear in 2010
• keep your keys on a hook by the front door
• practice Mindful Handling of your possessions

Remember to K.I.S.S. Keep it Simple, Sweetheart. You don't really GET ORGANIZED, same as you don't really GET HEALTHY. It's a journey rather than a destination. Let's learn to BE organized and BE healthy, even if we only create 1 new good habit every 21 days. You know how to eat an elephant, right? One bite at a time. Here's to baby steps we can actually accomplish in 2011!

Groceries Delivered To Your Door: Hallelujah!

Today is December 14th, which means you have approximately 0.38 nanoseconds of free time to read this blog post and your To-Do list contains close to 6,954 tasks. Therefore, I will keep this short, sweet, and time-saving.

I can sum it up in a nutshell (hopefully some of you can appreciate my shorthand):
The Mall : Amazon.com :: The Grocery Store : Safeway.com | Peapod.com

In other words, you can order your groceries online and have them delivered to your house. It's second nature to avoid the shopping malls at all costs in December, but your local grocery store also turns into bumper carts this time of year. Don't you need to spend your precious time cooking, not shopping?

Some of the many reasons why these services are awesome:

• You don't have to lug shopping bags across a 23-degree, sleet-covered parking lot
• For new customers, delivery is free
• The website is organized in "aisles" so it's an intuitive shopping experience
• You can perform a quick search for products as opposed to trudging the aisles
• Safeway.com remembers everything you've ever bought in-store with your Club Card
• You automatically get Club Card discounts on everything you buy
• The big one: you can sort by price

Insider hints:

• Safeway truck drivers do not expect tips. Peapod truck drivers may.
• Try RetailMeNot for Safeway coupons and Peapod coupons to save even more

If I've learned anything as a Professional Organizer, it's this: done is better than perfect. Heck, if my groceries show up at my front door, even if I didn't get the exact brand I originally wanted that's still darn close to perfect.

Happy cooking, baking, eating, and staying indoors in your pajamas with a glass of wine!

5 Steps to an Organized Office

Sometimes we feel guilty organizing our offices because that’s time we could be spending on “actual work,” right?  Take this tip from a Professional Organizer: investing the time to organize your office will pay you back many times over in increased productivity and decreased stress levels. If that sounds good to you, try these 5 tips for coming to grips with common office demons:

1. Tasks & To-Do Lists – Responsibility means that nothing falls through the cracks. A reliable task management system is crucial! Try the task features built into your e-mail program or your smart phone, or use a paper planner if that’s more comfortable. What’s important is to choose a system and stick to it. Record every task there, and in turn you will be able to trust & lean on your system. Refer to it daily; prioritize and re-prioritize.

2. Calendar – Whether you use a paper or electronic calendar, it should have multiple views, such as daily, weekly, and monthly.  Most importantly, your calendar must be portable!  If you rely on a calendar that is embedded in your email, it’s important to have a mobile version so you can view, add, edit & remove events on the go.  This is a major benefit of having a smart phone.

3. Email – Create a series of sub-folders either by project, by sender, or whatever makes sense to you.  Delete junk email right away, and if a message can be processed in 2 minutes or less, do so immediately.  Create rules to filter messages into folders that can be reviewed later, such as “Newsletters,” or “Coupons.” Aim to clean out your inbox once a day.  If an email requires a time commitment, put that task on your To-Do list and file the email for later.

4. Computer Desktop and Electronic Files – De-clutter your computer desktop by deleting shortcuts for programs you rarely use (this does not delete the actual program). Drag and drop shortcuts to frequently-used programs onto your bottom Windows taskbar where they take up less space and are always accessible.  Quickly consolidate files on your desktop into a “Favorites” folder that you create; then categorize & file them as time allows.

5. Desktop and Paper Clutter – A file sorter and a few manila folders get active papers up and off the desk, yet still within reach. Always keep your planner or to-do list handy and near the phone, on the right if you’re right-handed or vice versa. Stacks of papers from past projects should be filed or archived. Taking 10 minutes to tidy up your desk before leaving the office each day can really kick-start your motivation the next morning!

This article was also featured in the Ft. McHenry Business Association's Winter 2010 Newsletter.