There’s only one thing more frustrating than not being able to clear your own clutter—and that is coming home at the end of a stressful day and being confronted with your kid’s mess. It feels like facing your own failure as a parent. You want to teach them a life skill that you know will make their life easier and lead to more success... But how can you teach something you yourself don’t even know how to do?
You know that feeling when tasks have been sitting on your to-do list so long, that you deflate just thinking about them? One of the worst effects of procrastination is the energy drain; we spend too much time beating ourselves up for not accomplishing what we need to.
If you are like most parents I know, the end of summer brings about dual emotions: relief, that the kids are finally going back school; and angst, that life is about to kick back into high gear.
Q: I always have trouble getting out the door in the morning. There’s never enough time and someone always ends up forgetting something! How can I get out of the house without missing a beat?
A: Getting out the door in the morning can be hectic and stressful for anybody! Morning madness beleaguers even the most organized households; coordinating bathroom, eating, and exit schedules is no small feat.
Garage sales can be an amazing way to shed items that you no longer need while bringing some monetary value back to you. First you need to start with de-cluttering your home, to create your inventory of valuable items that are in good condition and should not be recycled/trashed. Once you've decided what you're selling, you can dive in with my tips (and supply list!) to make your garage sale smooth and a success!
Most people who desperately want to get organized are held back by hidden obstacles they don’t understand. Too often, people are convinced that their clutter is the result of their own sloppiness, laziness, or incompetence. Not true! Thinking that way inaccurately puts the blame and shame on you- and prevents you from finding the right solution...
Last week, I arrived at a small midtown cafe for a breakfast meeting with a prospective client. As I walked through the door, the host enthusiastically greeted me by name, (though I had never been there before), confirmed who I was there to meet (also by name), and escorted me with authentic familiarity to the table. His warm and engaging style made my prospect and I feel like old friends, and set the tone for an incredibly productive meeting...
I’ve been a small business owner for 26 years, and when I first started my company, you can bet that I was wearing almost all the hats. I juggled marketing, sales, administration and service-- all of which generated SO much information and material, that I quickly realized that without an impeccably organized system, I would lose time, clients and ideas.
In my early days as a professional organizer, my company was called Task Masters — with the tag line “we do life’s drudgery for you.” One year in mid-December, I got a call from a new prospect who wanted help preparing for the holidays. There were 2 weeks until Christmas, and she hadn’t had time to decorate her house, shop for gifts, wrap, send cards or prepare for Christmas dinner. We worked non-stop 8 hours per day for 8 days, and by December 24th everything was flawless and ready for its closeup
I am about to move, and it’s been an emotional journey. I love the apartment I am leaving. It’s the first place I ever bought. I purchased it when I became an empty-nester, as a platform for the next chapter of my life. My goal was to expand my social life, enrich my work-life balance, and give more space to romance than I had as a single parent.
As an organizer, I’m in the business of helping people organize their spaces and lives, which often get filled with things they don't use. Because of that, I am particularly aware of excess and clever marketing traps. Some might even say that I am on a constant plight to ensure there is no unnecessary clutter in my life, nor anybody else's.
Garages are notorious dumping grounds for things you used to use, thought you might use, or didn’t know where to put. It's an everyday eyesore, the door you slide past while giving friends the grand tour of your home: “Ohhh, that’s just the garage.” The financial implications of the wasted space and money spent on dormant objects, amount to a crying shame.
When it comes to making time to get organized, let’s face it, it can be hard to get motivated. As much as we crave order, there always seem to be much more valuable uses of our time. Digging through piles, closets and shelves filled with old stuff you haven’t looked at (or used) in years takes time, energy and focus.
Many moons ago, I loved to cook. It was fun to experiment in the kitchen—to have a vision for something exotic (baklava) or even ordinary, like minestrone, and make it happen. But somewhere along the way, after having a child, and launching my business, cooking and all the prep involved with it became an exhausting chore.
Being all about efficiency--wouldn't it be nice to know that just ONE resolution can help you achieve all of your goals for the year? Below we'll explore the 6 most common resolutions and the science behind how getting organized can help you improve on each one!
My philosophy about time management is that every system must be designed from the inside out—based on the unique way you think, your natural habits and goals.
When we do studies of how people spend their time, we find, on average… a backlog of 32.4 hours of tasks. That means, on any given day, people feel like they’re drowning in work, like they’re never done, like they can’t ever relax.
Organizing is not just about getting rid of clutter and making the space look “neat”. It’s about designing spaces that reflect who you are and what’s important to you...
New Year’s is a classic time for a fresh start. And the act of decluttering your space and schedule can help you make room for change. It clears space to think, energy to explore, and insight as to where to go from here. Yet, we all know how hard it is to get rid of things…