Clutter's a slippery concept, because there's no generic checklist, no boxes to tick. You can't print out a list of things to declutter and know if you get rid of them, your home will be clutter free. You and you…
Category: motivation
‘I always ask, What hurts most?’
Filled Up and Overflowing - what to do when life events, chronic disorganization, or hoarding go overboard, is a compassionate, practical read that I wish had been available when I was starting out as an organizer. I'm thrilled we have…
Accountability That Works
If your Facebook or Twitter feed is anything like mine, you're currently being deluged with offers for productivity coaches, apps and courses. Many of them might be helpful but is this really the first time you've tried to get organized…
Paperwork Challenge Q & As
Last week's paperwork challenge gave me the opportunity to hear what troubles you most about paperwork - here are my answers to the top three most popular questions I've received. Shouldn't I Be Scanning All This Paperwork? Only if you…
Paperwork Challenge Day 9
You made it! I'm so grateful for your time and energy during this paperwork challenge. As promised, I'm wrapping this challenge up with a list of five file folder categories that'll make organizing your paperwork in 2021 and beyond so…
Paperwork Challenge Day 8
So good to see you! I'm posting these daily so you have the sequence of steps but please know that I'm not expecting, or even encouraging you to take just one day for each step. Take it steady, go at…
Paperwork Challenge Day 7
Thanks for coming back, I'm excited to show you how to move your paperwork from broad categories (see posts 1 - 6) into the next level of organization without having you break out into a sweat! To review, you've taken…
Paperwork Challenge Day 6
Keep sorting papers, twenty minutes at a time, until you have all the papers distributed into bankers boxes. Could take a while or it could take twenty minutes, depending on how much paperwork you're sorting. This could be the end…
Paperwork Challenge Day 5
Alright, you're ready - let's start sorting! Set your timer for 20 minutes and let's do this. Take a handful of papers and look at the first one. What is it? Without spending ten minutes reading it through and worrying…
Paperwork Challenge Day 4
Nearly there! Today's step is to gather a large recycling can and a large garbage can, empty them both and then set them in the room with the piles of paper, the flat surface to work on and the assembled,…
Paperwork Challenge Day 3
Today's the day to open the bankers box pack and assemble a few of them. If you've done this before, it'll take you less than 30 seconds per box but if you've never put together a bankers box before, you…
Paperwork Challenge Day 2
Welcome back! I hope Day 1 wasn't too arduous and you were able to gather all your piles of paper together and find a flat surface to sort them on. Day 2's step is to head for Walmart, Target or…
Paperwork Challenge Day 1
Even if you usually run a pretty tight ship, paperwork probably makes you groan. Sorting through it seems so daunting, so time consuming, so incredibly boring. To celebrate the end of 2020, I've got you covered with a New Year's…
Holiday Clutter Challenge part 2
How did you get on with last week's Send it away Saturday challenge? I enjoyed seeing your pictures and hearing about your Holiday discards! This week, the challenge gets a little more specific but it's still within the general umbrella…
Holiday Clutter Challenge
Mid-November through Mid-January is tough and expensive. It's cold, often overcast and there are all those Holidays. There's desire and pressure to buy gifts for anyone you can think of whether or not they want or need what you get…
Showing Up Even When You’re Not Feeling It
I could try to put this in my own words for you...or you could just enjoy this beautiful post from the creator of Zen Habits while I work through the sleep restriction phase of CBTI. Back to regularly scheduled programming…
The Simplest Clutter Challenge You’ll Find
As this pandemic drags on, I'm sure your inbox is as full as mine is with all sorts of improving suggestions about how to make the best use of our COVID time. If organization doesn't come naturally to you, these…
How Will I Know When I’m Organized?
If clutter has been a long-standing problem for you, it can be tough to figure out when you're done. How will you know when you're Organized with a capital O? Organized You're Organized when you can use each room for…
How Long Will It Take to Get Organized?
When you hire an organizer after decades of accumulating clutter, it's reasonable to ask how long it'll take to sort it all out. You want to put a budget together, you want to set aside enough time to work with…
Keep Going!
It's mid January and those resolutions are starting to falter. Fear not, here's fresh inspiration to keep you going. Show Someone They're Wrong Don't underestimate the value of spite. We'll call it competitive spirit. They say you can't do it?…
New Decade, New You
Tired of making the same old New Year's Resolutions about decluttering and getting organized? Let's make 2020 the year you start making your entertainment clutter earn its keep. What's entertainment clutter? The books we're going to read, the movies we're…
Decluttering With A Goal in Mind
If decluttering your whole house seems way too overwhelming, consider trying to declutter your way towards something you want to access. It would take days to deal with everything that's in the room right now, but you really want to…
How to Get Motivated to Declutter
Everyone knows they should declutter, but it can be so hard to find the motivation to get started. Take heart, I've boiled it down to two highly effective strategies. Strategy #1: Scare Yourself The crucial piece of this strategy is…
Clutter Speaks Out
Hello? It's me, your clutter. Listen, we need to talk. It's not like we really do much together anymore. I've been hanging out in the guest bedroom, and you haven't been in there for ages. To be honest, I've been…
Clutter Math
Clutter isn't always sentimental stuff you're holding onto from the past. Sometimes it's perfectly useful everyday items you unwittingly have way too many of. Like eager Eagle Scouts, many of us are trying to win the world badge for preparedness.…
Decluttering is Not a Competitive Sport
Forget all the breathless posts on Facebook and Instagram. "Just dropped off 144 bags at my favorite charity on the way to volunteer at the soup kitchen. #blessed!!! [15 emojis]" Throwing yourself in a mad frenzy of decluttering feels productive…
You vs. Stuff: Who Wins?
You are as important as your stuff. It sounds obvious, but few of us live that way. When you look around, does it look like you live there or does it look like you happen to share space with a…