326 Shares As Professional Organizers, we don’t just get clients organized, we also teach them how to stay organized. Here are some empowering home organizing concepts that we teach people every day. Be decisive! Everything that is on your countertop or desk right now most likely represents decisions that have not been made. Clutter results from putting off these decisions for later. Your ability to get and stay organized is directly related to your ability to make decisions! Give everything a parking spot. Quick—can you tell me where your underwear is? I bet you... More »
As Professional Organizers, we talk often with our clients about how getting organized is a lot like losing weight, since they both require a program of prevention, reduction, and maintenance. Preventing clutter from being created is the first step toward reducing your organizational “weight gain.” Here are a few tips to help you cut those clutter calories: Control your “clutter cravings.” People often seem to have an appetite for purchasing certain things, but just like food cravings, you really can overcome your urge to collect. Get comfortable with the concept of “enough.”... More »
51 Shares As Professional Organizers helping people organize their home offices and workspaces, here are the 7 biggest information-organizing mistakes we see in our work with clients– are you making these mistakes too? 1. Not knowing the difference between “Action” & “Reference” This concept is very important for beginning to get through your piles. You need to separate out paper and information that requires action from information that simply needs to be kept for possible future needs. 2. Not having a standard contact management system Do you have a combination of scraps of paper,... More »
27 Shares As a Professional Organizer and speaker, I am always joking around with audiences that I am an organized person because I am lazy. I don’t want to do things over again, waste time looking for things, or go out when I don’t need to leave my chair. Upon analyzing this “laziness,” I have realized there are four main questions organized people are always asking themselves. Here are a few tips that will clarify and reinforce each of these concepts so you can start thinking like an organized person in your daily life.... More »
It’s Valentines Day this week… did you send cards to the people you care about? Hopefully you’re not trying to get comfortable in the doghouse. Wouldn’t it be great to get permanently organized to send cards? If this is something you’d like to improve upon, I have several suggestions that include some great Outlook tips! There are many options out there for getting reminders one-at-a-time, and you can certainly write birthdays into your calendar. However, for many people this still doesn’t seem to work for getting cards out in the mail on... More »
15 Shares When we work with clients in person to sort out their papers and create systems for them, we always run into the issue of keeping receipts. For purposes of this article, we’re speaking about personal receipts for managing your household. Businesses should keep all receipts and should definitely use financial management software like QuickBooks or Peachtree to track and report on the information. Most personal expenses, however, are routine and irrelevant, and keeping all receipts would be a waste of time and energy. Do you really need a receipt to prove that... More »
92 Shares Being resourceful means knowing how to get the information and results you want. Being organized and having trusted systems are big pieces of the productivity puzzle, but sometimes “Getting Things Done” means being a creative problem-solver. Being MacGyver Many of you will recall the television show MacGyver, about a guy whom I consider The Poster Boy of Resourcefulness. Read a great list of MacGyver’s feats per episode. He routinely disarmed bombs with paperclips and used gum wrappers to fix fuses. How can we bring MacGyver’s ingenuity to our daily lives and work?... More »
