All I am askin’ for is a little RESPECT!

In the September issue of O magazine Suze Orman talks about money and personal power. Her last point is about how you respect your possessions says a lot of how you respect yourself.

She talks about when she was wealthy she would throw her clothes into a pile each day because she was too lazy to hang them up and thus spent a ton on dry cleaning.

She felt it showed that she didn’t respect the money she worked so hard to earn. Now, he closets are “temples of organization.”

Sometimes a room becomes so overwhelming you don’t know where to start. That is where an organizer can come in and help you get started. They can help get the room organized while working with your natural habits. Once a room has been organized to fit your needs, then daily maintenance should be no more than 5 minutes daily.

Are you showing respect to those items you worked so hard to earn?

Get a New Look by Organizing!

I organized a playroom this week (photos coming shortly) and was amazed at how different the room looked when I was finished. It was like it was a brand new room simply by de-cluttering and getting everything organized.

I also rearranged furniture and the owner was going to add some more furniture from other areas of the home. If you want a new look, organizing can be a cheap alternative to hiring a designer or going out and buying new furniture. Give new energy to the room by getting rid of what you aren’t using, get it organized and “shop” in your home for items that can give the room a new look!

Happy organizing!

Office Organizing Tools

While there are many items you can repurpose to help you get organized, Peter Walsh has a new line of office products that work well:

http://www.inplaceproducts.com/#

Organizing to Create a Space You Love

I went to do a consultation the other day. A woman was clearly embarrassed by her clutter. “Your place must be PERFECT!” I laughed and assured her it wasn’t.

To me, being organized isn’t about being perfect (impossible!) or having an environment so sparse and neat that people have to ask if they are allowed to sit on the couch. It is about creating a peaceful environment that you love and that honors the possessions you have. When I come home, I feel happy and relaxed. I also know if I need to find an important piece of paper I can do so quickly.

Like everyone else, I have to re-evaluate what I have set up, purge my closets, etc. There are days when I can’t tidy up every day and that is okay; I know I will be able to sooner rather than later.

So, remember, do not strive for perfection and beat yourself up. Strive to create an environment that you love and that makes you happy.

There’s no place like a home, there’s no place like a home

Not quite the exact quote from Dorothy in Wizard of Oz. The Wizard of Oz is one of my all time favorite movies and I watch in annually. Whenever the mood strikes and I want to watch it I know exactly where to find it because the movie has a home.

My niece Clare, 4, and Max, 3 next week, already understand this concept. When they go to visit Big J and Jen Jen the first thing they do is put their backpacks in a chair in the living room. They know this is their backpack’s “home” and where it goes every time they visit. When they are leaving the next day for school, the backpacks are in their home and there is no time wasted running around looking for them.

So, a huge part of organizing is finding a place for your belongings! Remember, the goal is not perfection, it is about finding anything you need in five minutes or less!

Organizing Babies

No, I am not going to recommend how to organize your baby to fit your schedule, although I did have a friend who once asked a doctor if she could regulate her baby’s nap schedule!

In honor of my new niece Emma Bailey Seibert, I wanted to write this blog about babies. Because babies can teach us something when it comes to organizing. Babies intuitively know how to breastfeed and they know the sent of their mother. Something that might be soothing for one baby could upset another.

When you organize you want to follow your intuition and set things up that flow naturally for you. For instance,maybe you read at night and there are a pile of books right by the bed.  Why not put a nightstand with storage there? Or a small bookcase? Don’t try to retrain yourself; work with your habits.

I have several books on organizing and I keep them underneath my hall table. I do this because I like to read in the evening and if I need to consult during the day I know exactly where I need to go. Someone else might want the books right by their desk; do what works for you!

Remember, getting organized is about being able to find what you need quickly as well as creating a peaceful environment.

Happy Monday!

Helping Children De Clutter

Part of organizing your home includes your children’s rooms! Even if the rest of the house is organized, it might drive you nuts that you cannot get your kids on board.

If your children are having trouble letting go of things, take them to visit some charities and let them see firsthand where their toy or stuffed animal would go. Once they see it would have a good home and that there is someone who might need it more than they would, they will hopefully be able to let some of their belongings go.

Also, it is an ideal time to purge right after birthdays and the holidays.

Happy Monday!