Organizing Inspiration

Yesterday afternoon I stopped by a client's house and she brought me to her kitchen to show me a quote she had on her refrigerator. I don't remember it verbatum or who it was by but the message is a great one.

Man's wealth is not determined by how much he has but what with dignity he can do without.

Wow! Just stop for a moment and think about this. If this is the first time to read my blog you are seeing this theme for the first time, if you've been following along (and yesterday the yellowpage sales guy called to say he reads!)this theme is coming up again and again.

As some of you know I lost my home and all of my possessions in Katrina. Everything. I started over on August 29th 2008 with a 8 week old, a 2 yaer old, 2 dogs, 2 suitcases and 1 husband. My business dangled in the unknown.

The point is I lost everything and had the opportunity to look at all of the possessions I had and decide what of that was really important. And when March of 2006 came and I moved into my new house, I put in it just what I needed and nothing more. I realized how much of what I had before wasn't necessary. I realized what was important and that was living not things!

Look around your house today and pick out 10 things you can with dignity do without. Bring them to a donation place. Knowing what you need and what you don't is an important step in getting organized!

successful organizng comes over time

I here clients say all the time that they used to be organized, or that they have tried and it lasted a little while but then things went back to being disorganized. They feel like they have failed or in some way they don't deserve to be organized.

Everyone can be organized and everyone deserves to reach those goals.

Its just that we need to be realistic about what level of organization that is right for us. My OCD style of organizing my home is not for everyone. Believe me! You need to find a style that is right for you and take baby steps.

Don't make broad unrealistic statements like; I'm going to get my house organized this weekend. I have spent 8 weeks with 5 organizers in some homes and still have things to work on.

Take it slow and if you fall off the organization wagon, pick your self up and try again.

Confucius once wrote, "our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising evey time we fall."

So today; RISE!

You are worth living an organized life!!

In the fall of 2005 Oprah wrote an editorial piece in O At Home about being organized. I, as you would imagine hold on to very little, but this piece I kept. In it she refers to Thelma Gordon, director of New York's Studio Museum in Harlem. Oprah writes about how impressed she was with this woman's ability to have such an organized home considering how small her New York apartment is and how busy her life is. Oprah writes, ". . .a woman with high regard for both her daily work and her ambitions sees to it that her environment lines up with that self-respect." Oprah goes on to write "Maintaining a gorgeous house or apartment is about respecting the very important person who lives in it. You."

You can see why I've held on to this. It's inspiring. It's the message I try to relay to my clients everyday. Choose to live better, choose to spend wiser, choose to love yourself. Ultimately getting organized and getting rid of the clutter is more about how we feel about ourselves and what we want for our life than just getting rid of some of our stuff.

More and more people are seeing the value of getting organized and learning to live with less. They are starting to realize that the only "Jones" are the ones in their head. As you make that choice it's also o.k. to get professional help. Hire an organizer if you need to or enlist the help of a friend.

It's not only o.k., it's becoming the new "IT" thing to do!

A little more Organized every day!!

I am happy that today after months of thinking about it; we have added the blog to our site!!! Now you really can read along with me and hopefully your comments and questions will help guide the direction we go in. I look forward to hearing from you!

As for today I can only say it has been a rough one. So there, you see? Even the organizer has a disorganized and rough day! I love my clients, but let's be real we are all human so nothing is going to be perfect all the time. Today I have a client that is late in paying her bill. Apparently I haven't organized that aspect of her life yet. She is now hiding out from us. What do they call that?

DISORGANIZED

This is a woman who is as sweet as they come. We had a wonderful time in her home and had become friends but now over 2 months later she is hurtig this relationship because she is disorganized in her spending or in her bill paying. That breaks my heart. And my pocket book! But that's a sad song for another day.

We all know money is tight for everyone right now, but if you have a bill to pay; take care of it or at least let the person know you are having financial difficulty. I would be happier to have the relationship than the money but it looks like for now, I've lost both.

The moral of this story. Disorganization is not just a messy closet it can also be a messy pocket book. And the effects can stretch further than you think. There is no greater disorganization than financial disorganization. So today if you owe someone money and just can't pay it, pick up the phone and let them know. You might be surprised how they respond and you will feel so much better!

what's going on in the organizing world today

Every day I organize for people. I help them figure out what is causing the their disorganization and how to work with their natural habits to create systems that work for them and allow them to keep the organization I help set in place. And that's a good day. That's why I do this day in and day out. I want to help people reclaim their life and get back to what's important. And whats imporatnt is not stuff in your home! Every now and then i.e. right now I get frustrated with the lack of living I see going on in people's homes. Everyone is incorrectly focused on what they have and how to get more. And they wonder why they are in the stressed out state that they and their kids live in. You can't have it all! You can't. And why would you want it anyway. The more you have the more things get complicated. And I'm not talking about just the big things, it's even the small things. Today I'm asking you to get rid of the excess and start living. Get help and get organized.

My thoughts on organizing today

In the shower this afternoon I reflected on organizing and the content of the book I am trying to write. Getting organized is not as easy as it sounds. For most people it's almost impossible to do on their own. Book after book tells us how easy it is but do you ever wonder why all they offer is vague information and pie in the sky ideas but never give you the step by step this is how you do it guide? As a professional organizer I have read just about every book ever written on organizing and most are so general you get to the end just to find yourself still waiting for the goden secret to get yourself out from under the clutter in your life. That aggravates the crap out of me. You wanna know the golden secret? Getting organized is hard for most people. It requires us to look at ourselves and admit the ugly truth; it would be nice to be organized but we don't really want to do what it takes to get there or have the self discipline to stay organzied after you achieve your goals. This doesn't mean you are stupid or that you don't have what it takes, it just means you're not getting the right help and you have probably read a crappy book with general ideas and no hard core facts and steps. My book will be different. And at the end of my book there will be a way to contact me in case you need more help or you need further explanation of any of the steps.
But for now I'm readig a vague and general book on how to write a book and I haven't the self discipline to finish!

I promise to be better organized!

I should be blogging everyday, but due to my lack of being as organized as I should be I haven't. Or maybe I could put a positive spin on it and say that because I am so organized I have had to prioritize and the blog didn't make the top 100! In any case I feel that the craziness which is my life should be logged in some way.

Just in case you are wondering and before I continue; we are the best organizers in the U.S. and I expect perfection from all of my employees! That being said, last Thursday we unknowingly drilled a hole in a client's waste pipe and yesterday found out that it slowly flooded her laundry room. Like I said; perfection! Then my Birmingham project manager let me know that we would be replacing a printer for a client and not just because we are generous people! Ah, the perfection just fills the air.

Stay tuned as I travel to New Orleans with 3 employees to manage 3 projects at the same time, film a morning show segment, and interview 20 people all in one week.