Your Life. Organized.

Cheryl's Success Story

This is Cheryl. She and I have worked together several times, and she called me recently in a tizzy about her life being out of control. Here is her success story!

These kind of stories is one of the reasons I love this business, even after twelve years! Thank you Cheryl for sharing YOUR success story!

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Quote of the Week: Traitors

"Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt."

William Shakespeare
1564-1616, Poet, Playwright, Actor

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The 30,000 Foot View

I'm writing this from a plane on my way to Columbus Ohio for the 2010 NAPO Conference. I'm noticing as I look out the window that everything looks so orderly and planned from 30,000 feet! Because of the shift in your perspective, and your physical distance from Earth, you can really see the big picture easily. It's so peaceful to look out a plane window because you're looking AT the picture, and you're not IN the picture. Things are always clearer when you can step away.

But when you land, your perspective shifts and you're once again IN the picture instead of looking at it from above. You have schedules to keep, obligations to meet, tasks and priorities to juggle, and things can seem large, complex, and overwhelming. The next time you're feeling that way, take a break and mentally zoom back out to 30,000 feet to get a new perspective. Calming down and mentally viewing a situation, project, or your life from a "big picture" perspective to get clarity on what steps you need to do next. This simple technique will help you regroup and stay focused and in control.

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Quote of the Week: Right or Wrong?

"When you focus on what's wrong, you get more of what's wrong. Conversely, when you focus on what's right, you get more of what's right."

Gina Mollicone-Long
Author of the book Think Or Sink

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Quote of the Week: Belief In Yourself

"To be a champ, you have to believe in yourself when nobody else will."

"Sugar" Ray Robinson
1921-1989
American Boxing Champion

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Join Me In Maryland OR New Jersey This Weekend!

Join me for TWO Beazer Homes Declutter & Downsize Days events this weekend! Enjoy free brunch, declutter your home, and learn how to live large in a smaller space, all at the same time!

We'll be in Odenton, Maryland on Saturday 4/17 and in Cape May, New Jersey on Sunday 4/18. The Vietnam Veterans of America truck will be at both events accepting your donations of clothing and household items, so get those closets, kitchens and basements cleaned out and bring it all with you!

As a bonus,  ALL-SHRED will have their mobile shredding truck on site at the Odenton event (just outside of Baltimore) and you can shred up to three bankers' boxes of paper for only $10! 

Both events will not only feature a delicious free brunch and great door prizes, but in honor of baseball season being officially underway, I'll also be doing a free double-header workshop! In one hour, you'll learn how to make your home sell faster, PLUS how to live large in a smaller space!

Details on each event below:

Saturday April 17th
Accepting donations of clothing & household items for the Vietnam Veterans of America. Also, shred up to three bankers boxes of paper for only $10!
9:00 a.m. to Noon
The Gatherings at Forest Glen
8603 Wintergreen Court
Odenton, MD 21113
Driving directions
410-695-2015 to RSVP today!

Sunday, April 18th
Accepting donations of clothing and household items for the Vietnam Veterans of America
Noon to 3:00 p.m.
The Gatherings at Cape May
3 Lochalsh
Rio Grande, NJ 08242
Driving directions
800-924-6985 to RSVP today!

I can't wait to meet you this weekend in the great northeast!

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Can Too Much Storage Space Be Bad?

My friends Eric and Leslie recently renovated their kitchen and asked for my input on the pantry design. During the process Eric asked me, "Is there such a thing as having TOO MUCH storage space?" Interesting question. Typically organizing challenges result from a combination of factors including inadequate, under-utilized, or poorly configured storage space.

However, sometimes having too much storage space can present an organizing issue because of a little thing called Parkinson's Law, which states that work expands to fill the time available. As work e-x-p-a-n-d-s to fill the time available, STUFF also spreads and expands when there is space for it. I have many clients who honestly think if they just had "more space" their clutter problems would be over. The truth is that UNLESS you're in the habit of living consciously, and deliberately monitoring your habits, more space IS actually a bad thing.

For example:

Do you make decisions quickly about the paper and things that enter your life, or do you put off decision-making and end up overwhelmed later?

Do you shop carefully and thoughtfully, only buying what you really need, or do you "bargain hunt" for things you don't need, or impulse buy anything you want?

Do you accept unwanted "guilt-donations" from friends and family or do you tactfully decline?

These are just a few of the habits that will determine whether your house is cluttered or comfortable long term.

In my house, I have an attic -- two of 'em actually. Yet NOTHING is up there. Why? Because I'm conscious of the fact that I don't want to fill every nook and cranny of my life, simply because I have the space to do so. The same holds true with Eric and Leslie's gorgeous new kitchen.

If they're careful, and they teach their kids well, they'll stay organized and happy even with lots of tempting empty space available. But if they're not diligent and conscious, that "extra" storage space will quickly become an excuse to keep everything and anything and it will be full in short order. The bad thing about creating MORE space than you had before is that once it's full, it's just a BIGGER mess to sort through than you used to have.

Empty space is sometimes difficult for people to live with, but the more comfortable you can be with it, the less likely you are to fill it up with things that aren't important to you.

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Quote of the Week: Let Go

"We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us."

E.M. Forster
English novelist
1879-1970

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Bionic At The Airport

In the airport recently, after a long and tiring weekend of travel, I stepped onto the moving walkway. Oooh I love how they feel! You're walking the same speed as you always do, but you're moving so much faster than those walking on the floor beside you. It's like you're escaping the force of friction or something!

So anyway, as I was SPEEDING along toward baggage claim on the moving walkway, it reminded me of how much easier life is when you take the time and effort to put simple organizing systems and processes into place. Easy things such as creating a "pending action" box for paper you need to act upon, or putting a manila folder in a kitchen drawer to corral all your take-out menus. Or maybe it's just attaching a hook next to the door for your car keys. All these super-fast, simple changes can really add up.

You'll still do all the same routine tasks you used to do, but because of your new and crazy-easy solutions, you'll do them faster and with less effort. Just like Jaime Sommers or Steve Austin, (he was so dreamy!) you become bionic! Make your office bionic too using simple systems to keep you organized and on-track every day! 

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Life Lessons From Laundry

Life is full of lessons, especially when you're a kid. Or at least it should be. I see too many kids who are deprived of crucial life lessons by the most important teachers they have -- their parents. Let's talk about the small irritation called laundry. Love it or hate it, laundry is here to stay, and it's my humble opinion that if your kids aren't doing their own laundry by the time they're ten,  you're missing an opportunity big-time.

What? Think laundry is work better left to adults? Think again. Laundry is just one of the myriad household duties that teach kids an important skill and more importantly, life lessons. Here's why...