Opportunity Cost

Today is Valentine's Day. As a gift to me I am giving myself some downtime. In that downtime I have decided to write.

This week I have 2 organizing projects going on. Actually most weeks we have 2 projects going on at the same time. This takes some planning, dedication, and organization from my organizers. I have a Project Manager that has been with me for over 3 years. Her name is Patty and she is amazing. What I love most about Patty is her ability to see through all of the chaos and come up with a plan for the client and for her team that is both efficient and easy to implement. I never have to worry when I have Patty running a project. My clients are truly lucky when she steps into their house.

When anyone is doing a project or running a business they have to have things or people in place that give them that sense of peace. Patty lessens my stress at work. The systems I have in place at home lessen my stress there. I have very little down time. I have 2 small children with a full plate of activities, a husband with his own very full career, and a business with many employees to keep organized. Can you imagine on how many levels my organization exists?

I am never perfect. I am always striving to be my best. I know that without being organized I cannot be my best and I cannot give my family what they deserve either. So I have color coded calendars and a pantry that looks better than grocery store shopping, and closets that allow me to dress in style every morning. It's also why it's important to surround myself with positive and capable people.

For a business owner, the right staff, can make or break you. I am looking to hire a new organizer right now. I have a stack of resumes and a very clear opinion of what I am looking for. Anyone who becomes and Amanda becomes family. That is scary and such an important decision.

All of these decisions are mine. I choose to be organized, to hire the right people, and to do what's right. I could at any point, give up, admit defeat, or not do what I need to do.
My clients and each of you have the same choices. Sometimes making those choices means bringing in capable people to help. I can't do it all. If I didn't have Patty, I couldn't grow and develop my business to the same level that she provides me. The same goes for all of the other people who help me. I made the decision a long time ago to hire someone to come in on a weekly basis and clean my house. I made that decision by using opportunity cost. Opportunity cost is the only thing I really took away from my economics class in college!! But it was enough to impact my life.

Opportunity cost is the cost of an alternative that must be forgone in order to pursue a certain action. We use opportunity cost on an almost constant basis without even realizing it. For me the opportunity cost of paying someone to come into my home and clean it far outweighed the cost of having to do it on top of my already crazy schedule. It's important for us to stop sometimes and think about what the opportunity cost is for the decision you are making at that moment. Every decision comes with one.

Oh and by the way I can't stand the show Clean House. I don't agree with their methods and the way they make fun of their clients for ratings. It's not the way I would hope that real organizers go about helping people get organized. It's certainly not how we do it! Can't change the channel fast enough when it comes on! OK. Thanks!

See you later!!

How it's been and how it will be!

I have been bombarded with questions on why I quit blogging. The answer: I haven't had time and like I always say, "sometimes you have to choose and prioritize".

The good news is that we opened our new store: Clutter Prescription by The Amandas.

I completely underestimated how long this project would take and how much money too!! As most of you know we have had a retail store for the past three years. Not that any of us took it too seriously. As we made the decision, my rationale was that it would be an easymove since we had the fixtures and the product and knowledge of how it would all work. Boy was I mistaken!! My office manager of three years moved on to another career and a new office manager came in. As good as Lauren(the new right hand) was, she was still new and needed time to learn and get up and moving. So I did as I always do with new people, I threw her into the deep end, without a lifesaver, and shouted at her to "swim or die!!". Luckily for me Lauren speaks crazy and so she is swimming. Not only is she swimming, she sometimes swims enough for multiple people.

The store is doing GREAT! We love it and the people of Birmingham do as well. We have created new and unique services, support groups, and community programs that are all beginning to bloom. The organizing and in-home services couldn't be better. I dropped to my knees on Monday to thank God for all of the blessings in my life. I am lucky and just saying thanks didn't seem like enough. We have a new project on the horizon and I have promised God as a way to say thank you that I would give 10% of the gross to the church. Now I just hope it all goes through!!

As we moved into the new building, I was dealt a gut wrenching blow. Both of my organizers in New Orleans were leaving. Not only were they leaving but New Orleans had been so neglected from some bad apple employees (not necessarily the ones leaving) that it was in deplorable shape. How could I have looked the other way as people destroyed what took me so long to build? Why did I make the mistake of letting unqualified people in the door in the first place? As my sister always says, "It's never good to make decisions when you are desperate". I look back and see how desperate I was to hold on to New Orleans. It's my home and my heart. The clients I have in New Orleans are family. I sat in my new store surrounded by the best employees you could have and I was filled with sadness over the mistakes that had led me to watching the New Orleans territory fall apart.

I wish I could sit here, even now, and tell you how I had a miraculous moment and figured out how to save it all. I haven't. I do still have great clients there. The ones who's trust I lost with bad apples, I am gaining back. The competition who pounced on my weakness, well there day will come. As for New Orleans; I may not live there but my heart is still there and I will rebuild what others took for granted and let fall apart.

I do not place all of the blame on them. How could I? It's my business. I chose to leave them in charge, I chose to hire them. They did what they could and more often, what they wanted.
Along the way I had some incredible employees there who just got caught in the middle of bad management. I hate that happened.

I have taken the bull by the horns and decided what the people of New Orleans need from my company is ME! That's who they feel comfortable with and it's what is best for growth. So, I am back to one week a month in New Orleans. As it grows back I have knowledge of how to better set it up for success and I will.

And . . . now that things have calmed down I will blog again. We will discuss organizing as it pertains to real life and not some fairytale rambling about how easy it is to get organized! It's not easy but it's doable and it's worth it!!

Have a little Faith

I surrender all! Now what? Isn't that what really bothers us? The unknown. I know as a faithful Christian I am suppose to take all of my problems, all my fears, all the stress and turn it over to God. It's after that. What do we do after that?
Obviously the answer is to wait and listen to the answers. My friends often laugh at me because I ask God for billboards. The way I see it, I'm not very good with the subtle and soft spoken hints from God. I need Him to shout it from the mountain top!

I am waiting for a billboard as we speak. During that time I struggle with my own fears and insecurities that can keep me almost paralyzed.

Although I don't suffer from the disorganization that so many of my clients suffer from, I can understand how they feel.

They feel overwhelmed, confused on what to do, lost in their own home. I feel the same way sometimes.

I started out as a Professional Organizer because I wanted to be my own boss and do something I enjoyed. Well, when you own your own business, everyone is your boss!! I do enjoy what I do, I love it actually. Being in the home of a client and seeing the difference we can make in someones life is very rewarding. I am thankful each day that I have the opportunity to share this gift with someone else.

I don't want anyone to feel helpless about their disorganization. Most people I work with can and do go on to be better organized. The problem people face, the biggest challenge, is backlog. How can you put your life on hold to catch up with all the things you didn't (or maybe don't) have time to take care of? That's the major challenge I see people face.

One of the obstacles that individuals with a back log face is understanding that they can't and shouldn't focus on the big end goal. What??? Are you shocked?? Clearly I must be crazy! Well, that's another story!

Let me put it another way. Don't look at a messy closet and think about it as one big task with one end result. Focus on the smaller details that will get you there. What about having all of your clothes off the floor? What about having all of the clothes you no longer need or wear out and sent to donation?

Each one of those steps will help get you where you want to be. Each step is a step to celebrate.

Don't get overwhelmed. Don't get paralyzed. Turn it over to God and then move forward and take the first step in FAITH.

A friend once told me that she raises her foot in faith that God will place a step under it when He is ready for her to take the next step. I love this! The point is; you have to raise your foot.

Get going. Get up and get organized.

Taming Time

I had no idea that when I made that post yesterday on our facebook page that so many of you would respond. It seems that time and kids keepsakes are hot topics with people.

You 're all correct to be concerned about how to manage your time. Without proper time management nothing else will be easy to accomplish. What's important for you to know is that there is no blanket solution that will cure your time management problems. If so I would be filthy rich!! There are things we can discuss that will help you understand more about your needs and how to address the problem.

The first step in taming time is to make the decision that you are going to do it! You will not succeed if you cannot commit to the process. For some, this means getting family involved. Tell your spouse or a friend that you are going to tackle this project and would like their help. I have always felt that motivation and accountability add tremendously to success.

There is so much to say on this topic it overwhelms me!!

I highly recommend that you invest in a planner. Take the time to sit down and figure out what works for you. Why do you show up to certain things on time? How do you find the time to get on facebook? If we are honest with ourselves we always find the time to do what we really want to do. How bad do you want to get all of the things on your to-do list done? For me it's not nearly enough!!

I read a time management book by David Allen called Getting Things Done. He wrote about something in this book that has changed my to-do list forever. He said to have a notebook or place for a master list of to-dos. From that master list you should only add things to your daily calendar that you are completing. At first I though this was ridiculous. Add another step?? Was he crazy? I am reading this book because I have too much to do!!

But I thought, "Heck I'll try. What's the worst thing that could happen?".

Well, I tried it and it was amazing. I realized why this was so important. He was building my decision making ability. I had a list, and I had time. Now I had to learn what to choose from the list and place it in my planner as I was getting it done. This added to my self-confidence when at the end of the day I would look at the page in my planner and rejoice in what I HAD accomplished, instead of looking at a page full of things I didn't get to.

Do you see? This practice has made even me a better manager of my time. I use the same principal with my clients when we purge. I make them decide on each thing we are going through and after so many hours they begin to break down and realize that they can get rid of excess and that they don't want to be in this situation again.

Another tip is to be very careful what you have on your list. I have talked about learning to say no. It is so hard for some people to say no. I spoke with a dear friend today who told me she was back on anti-depressants because she was so worried about other people and their problems that she was anxiety ridden. Can you believe this? I bet you can. I bet you may even do the same thing. So many women take on more than is necessary. I know that as a working mother I want to show the world that I can do it all!. I don't want anyone to think that my children may suffer because I choose to work or that I can't get it all done because I have too much on my plate.

Why do we care? Do you know what the sad truth is? We are all having the same feelings and so worried about what others think. So if we are all doing that, then how could any of us have time to judge us the way we fear? The answer is, they can't, they are too busy worrying about who is judging them!

Be realistic about how much you can get done. Too many times we overestimate or underestimate the time it will take to do something depending on if we want to get it done. Break projects down in to smaller more realistic portions and you can control the time you spend on them better.

Decide what time of day and how you work best and play on those strengths. I am a morning person. I do most of my daily planning before the kids get up and when I am at my sharpest. I also know that I am motivated by the buzzer. On the days I do a thorough house cleaning I use the kitchen timer. I set it for 30 minutes and suddenly I am energized and in a race to see if I can finish before the buzzer goes off. It must be the competitor in me. You have to start figuring out who you are and what motivates you.

Be honest with yourself. I always know as soon as I say, "I'm going to take care of that after the kids go to bed" that means I'm not going to do it. Once I wind down and tuck the kids in, I am pretty much good for nothing. Don't commit yourself to things you know you can't or won't do. All that you accomplish is creating negative feeling about yourself and your lack of follow through.

I could go on and on but this blog would turn into a book. I promise that if you send me a question I will answer it. You can manage your time and I will assist in making that a reality any way I can. I do coaching over the phone through The Clutter Prescription if any of you feel like that would be a good option for you. You can talk to me once a week for a check-up for only $29/mo. Go to www.theclutterprescription.com for more details.

What you should also know about me is that I am diagnosed ADD and manage without medication. I have also been organizing for over 10 years for people and during my 6 years of owning a Professional Organizing Firm I have been asked to speak on this topic more than any other! That means you are not alone!

May you believe in all your potential and keep it organized!

If you like my blof please click to follow and be alerted when I make a new post!

Amanda M. LeBlanc, CPO
The Amandas of Organized Affairs, LLC
www.theamandas.com
www.theclutterprescription.com

Organize to make room for what's important

Things are busy and I am grateful! I battle maintaining my personal organizing daily. The house runs well, but the "to do" list is forever growing. This week my computer crashed! I went from a working computer to a black screen with a blinking cursor. I am a PC but I don't know how much longer I will be able to say that. I have resisted the change to MAC but this week Dell has really encouraged me to make the change.
On Monday morning I called Dell for the 300th time in a month and again I spoke with someone who I could barely understand. He spoke to me as if I was the idiot and 5 hours later I had nothing!! There seems to be no recourse either. I called Dell and tried to find a complaint department. I don't believe one exists. They said they were sending a box and that it would be here on Tuesday. Still no box and it is Saturday!! I am running a business people!!!! I can't even explain the issues this has caused. They have made me so mad. After I get this BOX, I will send off my computer and have it back in 7-10 business days??!!! Right. And who can go without a computer for that long? So you see the struggle this week has been great!
Dell could send me a new computer faster than this! I don't like companies who aren't "man enough" to have a complaint department and take care of their clients.
On Thursday I had a much needed break and went out to dinner with one of my clients and several of my employees. I can't tell you how much we love our clients. Once we enter someones house to help them get organized they become family. I can't explain it. I guess because what we do is so intimate or maybe because we're just so damn adorable!
Dinner was so much fun. Roxanne (my client and friend) has been such a great friend and is a lot of fun to be around. Patty, Cassie and Anne went too. We sat around the table telling stories and laughing hysterically. Everyone needs that kind of night. We are so busy running in the rat race that until something like this comes along and you are forced to stop for a second, you don't even realize what you are missing.

News Flash!!! You are missing the best part!

I was reminded this week by my sister and a friend, who both have children that will soon leave the nest, how quickly time goes by. Both of these women have spent a great deal of time with their children. But is there ever enough time?
I admit my business takes more time from my family than I would like. I am a perfectionist and I want everything I do to be the best. There is nothing like trying to be a mom and a business owner at the same time to bring you to your knees with the realization that YOU CANNOT be perfect. I cannot give my business and my kids all of what I would like to. I often feel that to please one is to make the other sacrifice. So the daily battle continues.
What I do know is that if I were not organized I would miss out on even more. many of my clients tell stories of how much they have missed out on due to their disorganization. It can be such a prison. Gosh!! Don't you see why I love my job. I'm not just out there clearing clutter; I am helping people change their lives!!
I must admit that my passion turned business was in the beginning just that, but now it's my life's mission to help people. I have sat across the table from moms who cry telling us how we have helped them to mend relationships, given them more time with their kids and changed their life. How could you ever walk away from that?? I am so honored to have been given this opportunity. My life is enriched in ways that words cannot express. So you see these families become my family. They are my friends and I love them. And my children . . . they are the reason I breathe.
If you are missing out on life due to disorganization, stop the cycle today. Make a commitment to change. We are here to answer any of your questions. Ask away!

Organizing, work and tithing - a great weekend!

This weekend I "tweaked" my house or at least some of it. I needed to and it's very therapeutic for me. I recommend this to all of my clients. You have to stay on top of your organizing systems for them to work as best as possible. It was fun for me! Yes I know this makes me a little crazy!!

I am still on my journey and I want to keep you in the loop of course. I have stopped my acid reflux medication! I'm feeling o.k. Actually I am feeling better than I did on the medication. Which is just messed up! I still have some symptoms. I can't help but wonder if the medication has been suppressing my bodies natural production of stomach acid and now my stomach is just trying to figure out what to do. Tomorrow I go to the hospital for a barium swallow. Mmm... that's gonna be tasty! I just hope after all of this, I get some long overdue answers.

I can't tell you how great it was to hear from so many of you about your medical mysteries. I can't make any of you post comment on my blog but your stories could help so many and I encourage you to do so. Until then please keep emailing me! I love to hear from you. Really, it's the best part of this blog. Listening to people share their stories is amazing!

O.K. so I've covered the latest in my crazy medical story now we can talk business. Wow, did I get some great responses to the vendor who is rude! We are pursuing other options for this product and so far it's looking promising. I will let you know how it works!

We are making some big decisions on the business this week. I had an interesting meeting this past Friday with a very talented lady. She is working on a BIG project and wants to use The Amandas as experts. It is for a national company and we wish her the best of luck! Obviously!!

Also tomorrow we are going to see a man about a horse!! Not really.

I have a new employee that started today in New Orleans. Her name is Bridgette & we are thrilled to have her with us! She said during the interview process that if money were no object she would organize homes and lives for FREE! That's definitely my kinda girl! Some of the exciting things going on with The Amandas are happening in New Orleans.I get a little nervous about saying too much in the blog. You just never know who's reading this thing. Geez, I didn't know anyone read it!!

On the home front the kids and hubby are fine. Dan, my husband has taken a more active role in my company and I am so excited. O.K. I'm a little nervous. He says I'm the creative and he is the level headed voice of reason. What the heck? Was that suppose to be a compliment?

Speaking of creative me; the family went to church yesterday in a torrential down pour. Just when we got inside and settled, my voice reason, Dan, says that he left the tithe check in the car! What???

You don't understand how I feel about tithing. It is a necessity. It is the one thing in the Bible God says you can test Him on. In my life it is spot on. When I tithe and give freely, I get back. I feel deep in my heart I am blessed in some part because I tithe. You should tithe!!

Anyway, I told Dan he had to go back and get the check and to be quick, before collection. Just as he walked out of church the sky opened and it rained harder than I imagined it could. Dan ran through the parking lot to the truck and got the check. By the time he made it back into the church he was soaked to the bone and the collection basket had passed. As he sat down looking wet and defeated, I told him to get up and find an usher and see who he could give his donation to. The look on his face said it all. He went to communion and then began the search for someone to give the check to. He found the basket and saved the day!! See I'm OCD about everything not just organizing! Dan did wonder after church how God felt about him worrying so much about giving his tithe that he missed the entire sermon! Oh well, I heard it! It was about believing and I believe Dan did what I told him to!

The girls are doing well. My oldest is in dance camp this week while the younger stays home with our nanny. The baby, who really isn't a baby anymore, is being treated for kidney reflux. She's on an antibiotic for a year and we are going to see a Pediatric Urologist for testing next week. She has no idea of course. Not going to be a great day for her.

All in all it was a great weekend and today has turned out to be pretty interesting.

Talk to you soon!!

Saturday I wrote and told you that I had begun my own organizing journey and I would keep you in the loop. I am trying hard to keep my promise. Of course now that I look back on Saturday's post I can see where I thought the next day was Monday! That should be an indicator of my stress. Everyday is like a Monday right now.

I said I had 2 important meetings on Monday and I did. The first was for me. I have been suffering with severe acid reflux for 3 years now and no one seems to know why. I am 5'4" and 120lbs so the weight is not a factor. I don't drink or smoke so those were ruled out as well. On Monday I had an ultrasound on my gallbladder performed. Not the first time but a necessary repeat. I didn't write the blog that day because the technician performing the test let me know through her actions that she found something. Of course she gave me some song and dance about how she couldn't give out results but I wanted to tell her "oh, but you can do everything else to let me know you found something." Needless to say I didn't feel much like writing that night.

Yesterday the Dr's nurse called to say that they found fatty deposits on my liver. Another indication that I am an overweight alcoholic! I am neither one of those things!! The nurse was surprised when she found out that I was not overweight and couldn't drink due to GI issues. We are now awaiting a series of other tests to be performed. I will keep you updated. For now I am praying for God to send some Dr an answer or diagnosis or something. Three years is a long time to be sick. OOH but I am still organized!!! That's right. Do you know why? The same reason I have told you over and over. . . simple systems integrated with my habits and lifestyle. That means you can be too!

On to the next meeting.

Strategy meeting with "the powers that be". You don't know them and they will just remain "the powers that be" until later. Basically they are helping me with my goals and plans for my company. They are very good and we meet often. This meeting was to talk about the things we accomplished over the last month and look at the upcoming opportunities for The Amandas and The Clutter Prescription. It was a very exciting meeting. There are some great things coming along. We are revamping our segment on Fox 8 in New Orleans and there may be another TV opportunity in Alabama. During the meeting I was told that there are businesses buying time on news programs. I was asked if I wanted to do this. Ummm. . .no! I have not done that and I hope we don't have to (knock on wood). I left the meeting feeling good about where we are and where we are headed. I also left feeling very grateful for the opportunities that have been given to me.

So the day was mixed. A little good and a little bad. Then I was faced with a challenge. I have been ordering product from my vendors for a while now. I have a great relationship with most. I have been loyal to those that have been good to me and then replaced others that have not really cared if we gave them business or not. But there are a few that have a product I cannot get elsewhere and I am forced to stick with them. This bothers me. One of the foundations of my business is customer service above and beyond what the client expects. Customer Service is dying these days and I know how much I miss it. I also know how much it means when I receive it. I appreciate it and want to give my support to whoever is providing it. It's one of the reasons I love American Express. They have unbelievable customer service!! There is one vendor that I am really having trouble with. They have never shown ANY appreciation for our business and have been on occasion rude and abrasive. This day was one of those occasions. Now I have to decide if this product is worth the trouble. Isn't that sad? All because of a little customer service. Don't they know the importance? It just doesn't make sense. I am even nice to customers who aren't so nice. Why? Because they are customers! Without them I would not have the business I have today. Who doesn't get that?? Well I can think of one. Whether I make a penny from the client or $10, 000, I treat them all the same. That's a good lesson for everyone.

So you see it's been a very busy couple of days. Today I got a call about the possibility of a national opportunity for me and then a nurse called to schedule a PH study. Look that up if you don't know what it is, then write and tell me how sorry you feel for me!

Until tomorrow. . .keep it organized!