The month of March celebrates the contributions women have made to history (or HERstory!), culture, and society.
In February 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation declaring the week of March 8, 1980 as National Women’s History Week. Presidents after Carter continued to proclaim a National Women’s History Week in March until 1987 when Congress passed Public Law 100-9, designating March as “Women’s History Month.”
Between 1988 and 1994, Congress passed additional resolutions authorizing the President to proclaim March of each year as Women’s History Month. Since 1995, each president has issued an annual proclamation designating the month of March as “Women’s History Month.” President Biden followed suit on February 29th, 2024 and invited citizens to learn more at WomensHistoryMonth.org.
I’m not the President of the United States but I invite you today to learn more about one group of women and two individuals who have made historic and ground-breaking contributions to the professional organizing industry. There are so many women I could have profiled. I chose these three (and a *bonus* fourth) because I felt they were pioneers in the field of organizing. Their work has had a remarkable ‘ripple effect’ on the professional organizing industry and on those who have benefitted from their knowledge and efforts.
Where to begin? At the beginning, of course!
The APO 5: The Founders of NAPO
It all started in 1983, when a small group of women who all offered organizing services gathered in a Los Angeles living room to exchange ideas. As trailblazers in a new and up and coming industry, they recognized the value of sharing their knowledge and becoming a support system to one another. They called themselves APO, Association of Professional Organizers.
Two years later, APO formalized by electing officers, who later that year would be named as the founding members: Beverly Clower, Stephanie Culp, Ann Gambrell, Maxine Ordesky, and Jeanne Shorr. In 1986, APO changed its name to the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO).
What came in the decades afterward is remarkable. Thousands of members. Education and professional credentialing. Publicity initiatives. International relationships with related associations both domestic and international. All stemming from a meeting in one person’s living room.
Below, is a short video created in honor of the 30th anniversary of NAPO. In the few minutes that it plays, I heard three heartwarming quotes that echo the sentiments of why we celebrate Women’s History Month:
“We were all like sisters in this together.”
“We were women helping other women.”
“What made it all work was that five women came together to form a once-in-a-lifetime team.”
Thank you Beverly, Stephanie, Ann, Maxine, and Jeanne for coming together to dream and work together to create an organization that enabled women (predominantly) to start and grow organizing businesses that help bring order, calm, and efficiency to their clients’ lives.
Julie Morgenstern
Julie Morgenstern is an internationally renowned organizing and time management expert, New York Times best-selling author, consultant and speaker.
In October 1998, Julie published her first book, Organizing From the Inside Out. In the book, she writes about how she had lived most of her life in a ‘constant state of disorder.’ That all changed when she had a baby and realized that if she didn’t get organized, her child would never see the outside of their home! Her daughter’s diaper bag was the first thing she successfully organized and she says that “it was truly the beginning of my path to organization.”
Julie began her business, TaskMasters in 1989 and soon thereafter created an organizing philosophy called ‘organizing from the inside out’ that focuses on one’s individual habits, needs, goals, and personality. She also invented an acronym for an organizing system now-famous in the organizing world called the S.P.A.C.E. system (Sort, Purge, Assign a home, Containerize, Equalize). I, as well as many other members of the professional organizing industry use this intuitive five-step system to help our clients get and stay organized.
I had the good fortune to train with and work for Julie at the very beginning of my career as a Professional Organizer back in 2001-2002. I learned many organizing and client management tips and techniques from her that I still use in my business today.
Julie was the recipient of the 2002 NAPO Founder’s Award and has continued to offer her organizing expertise on television, magazines, and in books on the topics of time management, workplace efficiency, and parenting.
Thank you Julie for creating an organizing system that makes the art of getting organized easy to understand and easy to apply to one’s own life. Thank you for trusting me with your clients as a professional organizing newbie and for sharing your knowledge and experience so that I, too could help people live an organized life.
Judith Kolberg
Judith Kolberg started FileHeads, her professional organizing company in 1989 and is credited with launching a field of professional organizing that addresses the needs of those who are chronically disorganized (CD). She founded the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization, which later become the Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD).
She has authored and co-authored books on the topics of ADD, Chronic Disorganization, Emotional Labor, Organizing in the ‘Era of Endless,’ and Disaster Preparedness–all topics related to the professional organizing industry. Even though I do not work with clients with ADD or Chronic Disorganization, I own a copy of one of her earliest publications, Conquering Chronic Disorganization. I was advised to add it to my professional bookshelf because the ideas, techniques, and examples in her book would not only help a chronically disorganized client, but would work for most people wanting to get organized. And those people who advised me–were right! My favorite strategy in the book is called: “Friends, Acquaintances and Strangers” which I have successfully used with my clients for years to help them declutter.
Judith is the recipient of the 1996 NAPO Founder’s Award and continues to be a future-focused trend strategist in the field of organizing.
Thank you Judith for your foresight and on-going dedication to our profession.
Bonus – Joyce Dorney
You may not recognize her name but if you’ve been ‘in the biz’ for a while, you’ll recognize what she created for our industry. Joyce Dorney was the Editor-in-Chief and the woman behind the idea of Organize Magazine.
I recall balancing my not-yet-toddler son on my lap while checking email one day in 2007 and there it was–a short note from a woman named Joyce who was starting a magazine about organizing. She had done a Google search and found me through an article I had written for my website (before I started blogging) on the topic of organizing on a budget. She was looking for someone to author the recurring ‘Organizing on a Shoestring’ section of the magazine and I jumped at the chance. Joyce gave me the opportunity to write for her ‘baby’ and I could not have been more grateful.
Although the magazine stopped publication a few years later, Joyce was a pioneer. She saw a need in the market and had a vision for filling it. She was quoted as saying,
“I looked and I looked and I looked and I looked, and it [a magazine dedicated to organizing] just wasn’t there,” Dorny said. “And kind of in this moment probably of insanity, a lot of people would say, I thought, well I could start an organizing magazine.”
It’s in that moment of ‘insanity’ when ideas are born and turned into reality. Thank you Joyce for your vision, your passion, and for bringing a magazine all about organizing to those of us in the professional organizing industry and to the general public.
Over the course of their careers, the NAPO 5, Julie Morgenstern, and Judith Kolberg have all won the NAPO Founder’s Award. The NAPO Founders’ Award “is presented to a NAPO member, or a group of NAPO members acting in concert, for outstanding innovation, inspiration, and creativity both within, and outside of, the field of professional organizing and productivity consulting.”
The achievements and contributions of these women will be felt for decades as the professional organizing industry continues to grow and flourish. Thank you NAPO 5, Julie Morgenstern, and Judith Kolberg, and Joyce Dorney for making organizing (HER)story.
It was a typical trip to Costco for me–five bags of Tostitos Scoops, tissue boxes, the famous ‘Costco Rotisserie Chicken,’ and a few items that I never knew I needed…
If I’m short on time, I don’t usually explore the aisles with the car/outdoor/electronics because it’s rare that I ‘find’ anything I need in there. But, this time I turned the corner from the produce section, passing electronics on my way to the register, and found this:
Today’s ‘Cool Product:’ The Battery Daddy
(And a whole lot of them!)
It was on sale for $9.99–how could I resist? Organizing my home’s battery collection was not exactly my top priority but when I saw the Battery Daddy (and the great price) I had to bring it home with me.
The sale price enticed me to buy it but what was really my reasoning?
This was my household battery storage system…
Yes–all the batteries are in one spot so I do get points for organization and grouping ‘like with like’ but it wasn’t always easy to find what I needed. The poor AAs and AAAs were always cowering under the weight of the Cs and Ds. And when we bought extra batteries in the event of a storm, the packaging stuck out of the top and we couldn’t use the lid of the container. I don’t need to have my batteries stored in rainbow order but I wanted to step it up a bit from the open bin on the shelf of our garage.
I showed the Battery Daddy to my husband when I got home (I did put the chicken away first…).
“Look, Honey!” I said to him. “Look what organizing product I found at Costco today!”
He knows that I usually come home with the Tostitos Scoops, tissues, and ‘the chicken’ but I think I surprised him with this one.
“Great!” he said.
“It was only $10 on sale!” I replied gleefully.
“Have fun filling it!” he yelled gleefully because he was thankful he didn’t have to be the one to fill it.
Speaking of filling it, this complete battery storage system holds 180 batteries. It weighs 2.2 lbs. empty and weighs 13 lbs. when it’s full. It has the capacity to hold:
• 72 AAAs
• 76 AAs
• 8 9 Volts
• 10 Cs
• 8 Ds
• 12 Button cells
There are even two ‘surprise’ slots for storing batteries in the handle!
AND–it’s comes with a BATTERY TESTER! That was what sealed the deal for me. My days of not knowing whether a battery still had a charge or not were about to be over. I have faint memories of my father owning a battery tester (probably from the now-defunct Radio Shack) and having me test batteries at our kitchen table. It was fun to do back then–I plan to pass the love of battery testing on to my kids all thanks to the Battery Daddy.
Features:
• Double sided design – the other side is just for AA battery storage
• See-through lid (on both sides)
• Bright red–easy to spot on a shelf
• Sturdy handle with finger grooves (useful when heavy!)
• Did I mention it came with a battery tester?
Here’s what our container of batteries looked like…
Here’s what they looked while I sorted, battery-tested, and purged some…
Here’s what they look like after transferring them from the plastic bin to the Battery Daddy…
Love it! 😍
Some Battery Daddy Tips:
• If you fill it to capacity, it weighs 13 lbs. Please make sure you store it on a sturdy lower shelf, cabinet, or standing upright on the floor. You don’t want this case to crack or break the bottom of a drawer (or your foot).
• Store a set of regular-sized and/or mini screwdrivers near the Battery Daddy. Where there’s a need for batteries, there’s often a need for a screwdriver!
• Along with some packages of AAAs, AAs, Cs and Ds, it’s the perfect gift for a new dad or mom–they just don’t know it yet (wink wink). If you have kids, you know that while kids don’t run on batteries (they run on chicken nuggets…), much of what they own does require batteries from baby swings to remote control cars to Xbox controllers. Makes a useful housewarming gift as well.
One might ask–Do I really need 180 batteries or an organizing tool that is able to hold 180 batteries? If you don’t, here are a few battery organizers that might work better for your needs…
Even though our household does not need storage for 180 batteries, I feel the Battery Daddy is totally worth the price. It’s going to make finding the batteries my family I need when we need them practically effortless.
No more sifting through cluttered junk drawers or plastic baggies searching for batteries! No more wondering whether your batteries still have ‘juice’ left in them. The Battery Daddy–it’s my latest ‘Cool Product’ pick.
It’s my 14th anniversary of being a blogger! Happy Blog-i-versary to me!
As I set out to write this annual post, I had to pause for a moment. Fourteen years of blogging? How did THAT happen?
I started my blog (originally on the Blogger platform) when my son was three years old. He’s now seventeen and heading to college in the Fall! We’ve both come a long way…
Every year in my anniversary post, I talk about the goals I had set for the blog the previous year and I create new ones for the next twelve months. When I opened WordPress to start this blog post, I took a look at how many posts I had written from November 2022-October 2023. I was surprised to see that it was only three.
Three blog posts? That’s it? Really? I could swear I had written more than that this past year.
Sheesh.
To be honest, I did have a lot going on personally this past year–major life cycle events for both of my kids that I had to put my time and energy into but, really–only three blog posts? *Sigh*
My blog goals for 2022-2023 were:
• Create a second Ted Talk blog post
• Continue to create downloadable printables for my popular blog posts
• Only have two goals for my blog this year.
Yes, that third goal was an actual goal. In the past, I have created too many goals for my blog to keep up with so I made a goal to have fewer goals. #thatsagoodthing
Here’s the one goal I WAS able to accomplish…
A few years ago, I started creating downloadable printables to compliment some of my blog posts. The first one I designed was for a post called, Organizing Quick Tip: Make a Decision. The printable is a one-page sheet with the words ‘Keep,’ Toss,’ and ‘Donate’ on it. Each word can be cut out, attached to a bin/wall/chair, and used during the decluttering process to define a space for a category of items.
This year, I decided to embark on a printable project of a larger scale. This newest one is eight pages long! It is a printable to support my book, The Organized Bride’s Thank You Note Handbook. In the back of my book, I provide the reader with lined pages to write and track their gift-giver’s names, addresses, and gifts given. Although it’s a handy place to keep all that information, I thought that some readers might not find it easy to use and would benefit from a larger space to write.
In reviewing past Anniversary posts, I discovered that I have repeatedly set a goal to create a “Ted Talk Two” blog post–more times than I’d like to admit. And, it didn’t happen. Again.
Why?
I got quiet with myself and thought about it. My first Ted Talk blog post was very popular–especially on Pinterest. Why couldn’t I get my act together to create a second one?
After giving it some thought, I had to laugh. I discovered that much of the issue had to do with my treadmill.
My treadmill?
From 2016-2019, I had an exercise habit of walking on my treadmill a few mornings a week. I found that Ted Talks were the perfect compliment to my treadmill use. Each video was approximately eighteen minutes long and my workout was about twenty minutes. A perfect match!
Then came the pandemic in March of 2020. By then, our treadmill was fourteen years old and had barely survived our home renovation five years previous. Now, it wasn’t just me walking on it–it was my husband and two sons using it as well. Due to old age, the treadmill could not withstand the extra weight and usage and was pronounced dead at the end of April. I started walking outside and listening to podcasts (which I am now totally hooked on) or exercising to YouTube videos when the weather was inclement. There went most of my Ted Talk watching time.
But, I did not give up hope on writing “Ted Talk Two.”
I created a home (a ‘new note’ in Evernote) for all Ted Talks that I wanted to review for the blog post. If I saw a Ted Talk video in my Facebook newsfeed, in a Google search, or recommended by a colleague and I thought it might be appropriate for “Ted Talk Two,” I copied and pasted its URL into that note in Evernote.
I did this for a few months and one day, I set aside time in my calendar to view the videos. After watching five or six, I decided that none of them were as “Ted Talk Two-worthy” as the ones I had chosen for my first Ted Talk post. I also think that perhaps due to the pandemic, not as many Ted Talks were filmed. It was a challenge to find many new ones on the topic of organizing produced in the past few years.
Then I got busy again. Listened to more podcasts. I can’t remember the last time I watched a whole Ted Talk.
My blog goals for 2023-2024:
I’ve got a good feeling about that “Ted Talk Two” video. You see, my husband and I are considering replacing our treadmill. We’ve started doing research and we’re looking to buy one this winter. Once I’m back on a treadmill, I’ll be back to watching Ted Talks with more regularity. And, when that happens, I’ll be keeping my eyes open for Ted Talks that would be perfect for the blog post I’ve been thinking about writing for years.
I’m calling it right now: Ted Talk Two in 2024. That’s my ONE goal for the next twelve months. And who knows, I just may trim my waistline in the process!
Welcome to the first in a series of home organizer case studies I’ll be profiling on my blog!
I’ve been working with clients for over twenty years and have helped each of them find solutions to a variety of their organizing challenges. In this series, I’ll be highlighting some of the more common organizing problems my clients have come to me with and show you what we did to solve them.
Maybe you’ll see yourself in one of these case studies? Perhaps the process will motivate you to take action to achieve a similar goal? I hope you find them helpful as you navigate your own organizing journey.
Case Study: An Overstuffed Clothing Closet
Client Profile:
Mrs. B. called me to inquire about my services and how I could help her organize her overstuffed clothing closet. She informed me upfront that her budget covered three hours of my services. I went to her home for a short Needs Assessment and saw that the closet, although small, was stuffed from top to bottom.
As an experienced home organizer, I knew that we’d be ‘cutting it close’ on completing the task in three hours but if she was able to make decisions quickly, we’d be able to complete her closet organizing project in time. She was very motivated and I had a good feeling she was up for the time-crunched task.
What prompted client to reach out to Organized Artistry?
Mrs. B. was tired of being unable to find the clothes she wanted to wear on a daily basis. She was also planning a future vacation and the thought of looking for the clothes she wanted to wear on her trip was causing her stress.
Goals:
• To organize the overstuffed clothing closet so Client could find the clothes she loved, clothes that fit, and reflected her current lifestyle. • For Client to have the ability to locate clothes to wear on an upcoming warm weather vacation.
Organizing Challenges:
• Overstuffed closet • Client can’t find the clothes she needs when she needs them • Variety of sizes and seasons in one closet • Client is frustrated • Client buys more of what she is unable to find • Only three hours to complete the job
Organizing Process:
You may think that three hours is plenty of time to organize a closet–even a full one. But, in my experience, I have found it can take many more hours than that. Besides the quantity of clothes to process, the speed of that process has to do with how quickly the client can make decisions as to what to keep and what to let go of. With only three hours to accomplish our goal, we said a quick hello to each other, walked upstairs, and got down to work.
My client’s closet was in her bedroom. We used her bed as a large surface to sort and purge on (Tip: If using a bed to sort and purge items, lay a flat sheet on top of the bed first so dust from closet shelves and dirt from shoes doesn’t land where you sleep).
We started pulling clothes out of her closet by category (pants, then dresses, then skirts, etc.) and sorted them on the bed by season. I split the surface of the bed into two sides–one was for Fall/Winter clothes and the other side was for Spring/Summer clothes.
Mrs. B. and I sorted through her clothes piece by piece to determine whether they would ‘stay’ or ‘go.’ She made most decisions quickly. Any item that required extra thought went into a pile that we made decisions on together towards the end of our session.
Discoveries:
You never know what you’ll find when working in a client’s closet. Once, I unearthed a rubber chicken! This time, no chicken–but instead, I discovered that my client had amassed an extensive collection of black pants. Twenty-four pair of black pants to be exact!
To be fair, in the Northeast, the temperature can go from below zero all the way to one hundred degrees in the span of a year. Black pants of different fabric weights and lengths are a wardrobe necessity for most women.
How did I discover my client had twenty four pair of black pants?
While we were removing items from her closet and sorting them on her bed, out of the corner of my eye, I watched Mrs. B. group all of her ‘like’ clothes together by type. The pants pile on each side of her bed resembled a mountain–a dark one. She kept pulling black pants out of her closet and putting them on top of each pile.
I asked for her permission to dig into her pile of pants to start counting them and she gave me the go ahead. In counting black pants on both side of the bed, I added them up and got to twenty-four pair. I told my client the number and she couldn’t believe it. She confessed to me that there had been times when she couldn’t find the black pants she needed so she’d go to the store and buy another pair. I let her know that it was a common occurrence for people with overstuffed closets and that after we organized her closet, she wouldn’t need to do that anymore.
The Result:
After working together for three hours, Mrs. B. and I:
• Purged twelve pair of black pants. Client kept twelve. • Filled three bags of clothes for donation. • Relocated summer clothes to under the bed storage bins that client had purchased but had not yet used. • Placed the remaining clothes back in her closet by category (grouping ‘like with like’). • Separated out the summer clothes she wanted to pack for her upcoming vacation and placed them in a storage bag at the bottom of her closet.
I removed a garbage bag filled with wire hangers that Mrs. B said I could bring to my dry cleaner. Boy, was he happy to see me later that day!
Mrs. B. was exhausted and thrilled at the end of our three-hour organizing session. Her overstuffed clothing closet had been purged and re-organized, she put aside the clothes she wanted to bring with her on her vacation, and she now knew where all of her clothes could be found–including her twelve pair of pants.
“We spend the first two thirds of our life acquiring things and the last third of our life trying to get rid of it all.”
Did you chuckle when you read that or did it on some level, resonate with you? Or both?
Take a look around your home. How many items do you think you own? And how long have many of those items been in your home?
If you have kids, if you like to collect memorabilia, if you’ve inherited items from deceased loved ones, if you love to shop–then you have stuff in your home–and lots of it. Even if you don’t own anything that fits in those categories–you still probably have a good amount of items in your living space.
In the end and at the end–you can’t take it all with you. So, the question is: “How do I manage all of my ‘stuff?'”
The answer: Consistently declutter your belongings over time. One shelf at a time. One drawer at a time. One decision at a time.
Decision. That’s a word that has more to do with decluttering and organizing than most people think. Nothing happens without making a decision. Papers don’t make it into a file cabinet or recycle bin, clothing that doesn’t fit stays in the closet, ‘aspirational’ craft supplies remain in the shopping bag they came in. You can’t declutter, organize, and move forward in your life without making a decision.
Maybe you’ve always been an indecisive person. Maybe you have trouble parting with sentimental items. Or, maybe your stuff brings you comfort.
Decision-making is hard. But, it’s worth it.
You may not realize it but when it comes to your ‘stuff,’ the decisions you’ll be making (or NOT making) don’t just affect you. They also affect your family, friends, and the legacy you will someday leave behind.
How do I know this?
In my twenty years as a Professional Organizer, I have worked with families of those who have passed away or entered nursing homes and I have assisted them in the painstaking process of going through their loved one’s belongings. It is heartbreaking to watch people sort through their loved one’s closets, drawers, papers, and photos with no knowledge of what to do with it all. Sometimes, they even discover objects they never knew existed and are now unable to ask their family member about them.
You don’t have to (and you really shouldn’t) wait until the last third of your life to declutter your home.
Need some guidance? I highly recommend reading the book: The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family From a Lifetime of Clutter
Swedish Death Cleaning? Don’t get nervous–the book is not about cleaning dead people with IKEA products…
The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning discusses the importance of taking responsibility for the things you’ve accumulated throughout your lifetime and taking care of it all before you leave the planet–not to leave it to your loved ones to deal with when you’re gone. In Swedish, it’s called ‘Dostaadning’ (do’-sted-ning). ‘Do’ meaning death and ‘staadning’ meaning cleaning.
The author, Margareta Magnusson, who (in her own words) tells the reader she is somewhere between eighty and one hundred, sees it as her responsibility to share her experiences because she believes “this philosophy of death cleaning is important for all of us to know.” She says that Swedish Death Cleaning isn’t just for retirees. It’s for everyone. In fact, she advises to start earlier than your retirement years because as we get older, we may not be as physically and mentally able to make decisions and move our belongings.
The book is a quick, easy read that is humourous in spots as well as thought-provoking. The author shares anecdotes and wisdom from her long life that we can all learn from.
Here are a few quotes from the book that resonated with me the most:
“Swedish Death Cleaning is as much for you as it is for the people who come after you.”
No one wants to think about their own death. But, in reality, after you’re gone, someone or a team of people will need to make decisions about your furniture, clothes, knick-knacks, and important papers. Take the time now, when you have the energy, to sort though your belongings, walk down memory lane, and start making decisions about what to keep. Don’t leave the overwhelming, physical, and emotional task to someone else.
“Ask yourself: Will anyone be happier if I save this?”
Look around your home and ask yourself the above question. Do you think your children/friends/neighbors will want your porcelain swan collection? Your bookcases filled with books? Old furniture? This is the time to ask heirs (if you have them) what they will want and not want in the future. You may be surprised at their answers.
“A loved one wishes to inherit nice things from you. Not ALL things from you.”
After a loved one has passed, it’s comforting to have a few physical items to remind you of their life–not their entire household. Have a discussion with family and friends. Ask them what of yours they might like to own when you’re no longer on this earth. That way, in the end, there’s no confusion, no arguing, and no moving truck dumping the contents of a loved one’s home in your driveway–only loving memories.
“Regardless of how much they love you, don’t leave this burden to them. It will disturb their good memories of you.”
I’ve heard a couple of my clients say, “Oh, I’ll just leave it to my son/daughter/best friend/spouse to deal with.” But, as the author reminds us in the book, that decision to burden another person or persons with a home full of belongings will affect your legacy. What you leave behind will be some of your loved ones last memories of you. Do you want to be remembered for the wonderful person you were or for the clutter you left behind?
I’ll end with this one–the author writes in the book’s foreward:
“Let me help make your loved ones’ memories of you nice–instead of awful.”
That just about sums it up. Leave behind your legacy, not your mess. Read the book. Learn from her experiences. Let Margareta Magnusson assist you on your decision-making and decluttering journey.
Meet the author and hear her talking a bit about the concept of Swedish Death Cleaning…
Regardless of your age and regardless of the stage you’re at in life, consider adding Swedish Death Cleaning to your to-do list. Your family and friends will thank you.
It takes time as well as brain power to consider options, weigh pros and cons, and collect information. Decision-making can be stressful–you’re responsible for the outcome and your decision often affects more than just you.
It’s easier to not make a decision. But that doesn’t work in real life–especially when it comes to getting organized. If you want your home to be an organized space, it’s vital to start exercising your decision-making muscles!
Barbara Hemphill, a pioneer in the field of Professional Organizing says…
“Clutter is nothing more than postponed decisions.”
If you take a moment to think about that statement, it makes total sense.
Picture your kitchen countertops, your dining room table, your clothing closet and other areas of your home that may be cluttered. Bills, kid toys, old socks–have you been making decisions on those items or avoiding them in the hope that you’ll wake up one morning and the necessary decisions will have been made for you?
Maybe you’re putting off making decisions on items in your home because…
– you need more information or guidance before deciding.
– you need to ask another person for permission first.
– your decision may hurt someone’s feelings.
– you’re busy, you don’t have time, or it’s too emotionally taxing to think about it clearly.
By not making decisions, your belongings stay where you’ve placed them and will become clutter. They’ll keep your home cluttered and keep you stuck. Making a decision will ‘unstick’ you and move you forward.
The easiest way make a decision about physical items that are cluttering up your home is to make those decisions as easy as possible to make. Keep it simple–especially in the beginning.
How to start simply and easily? Use three words: Keep, Toss, Donate. Pick a category–shoes, books, toiletries, donation requests (or whatever is causing clutter in your home) and apply those three words to making decisions on items in that category.
Don’t think about decluttering a category or a space in your home any more deeply than that at this moment. Don’t think about where an item will live or where it should be donated to. Don’t think about how you’ll get it to the thrift shop or whether or not it will fit in your cabinet, drawer, or closet. Just look at the item you need to make a decision on and ask Keep? Toss? or Donate? Start there.
That’s your first decision–Keep, Toss, or Donate. Making that basic decision is the first step to clearing your clutter and moving you and your home in a less cluttered and more positive direction.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your clutter, take a deep breath and repeat out loud, “Keep, Toss, or Donate.” That’s the only decision you have to make right now–Keep, Toss, or Donate. If it helps, make it your organizing mantra! Write it on a post-it. Make it your laptop’s screen saver–whatever works for you.
To help you visualize those decisions while decluttering and keep your decluttering process organized, I’ve created a free downloadable ‘Keep-Toss-Donate’ printable for you to use. Designate three spaces (or bins/bags/boxes) in the area you’re working in–one will be for the ‘Keep’ items, one for the ‘Donate’ items and one for the ‘Toss’ items. Use the printable ‘Keep’ ‘Toss’ and ‘Donate’ tags to clearly designate your spaces and decisions. You don’t want to accidentally donate your trash or trash your donations!
Start with the easy stuff–junk mail, pens that may/may not work, old clothes and shoes. As you practice using your decision-making muscles, move onto magazines, sheets and towels, and seasonal clothes. Use “Keep, Toss, or Donate” as the first step toward making space in your home for items that you want, use, and love.
It’s summer! The sun, the water, the shade of a leafy tree and the smell of a BBQ–it’s all calling your name.
But, wait…
You say you need to get organized. Your kitchen, your closet, your papers from the last three months–all need organizing.
It’s a dilemma. Spending time outside means you’re not organizing inside.
I’m a Professional Organizer and even I don’t want to spend much time organizing when it’s 85 degrees and sunny!
The solution for the summer (as well as the other three seasons)?
Get organized in 5 minutes.
No, I’m not crazy. It IS possible to get organized in 5 minutes. You’re not going to organize your entire closet or kitchen in 5 minutes but there are teeny-tiny tasks that you can complete that will move you one step forward towards your organizing goals. And, I’ve said it a bunch of times–it’s those baby steps that will motivate you and keep your eye on the organizing prize.
Here are 10 ways you can get organized in 5 minutes:
Declutter your wallet
A bulging wallet isn’t always a sign of wealth–it can sometimes be a sign of a wallet in need of decluttering! Cash, receipts, business cards, and random scraps of paper multiply like bunnies in between clean-outs. Take 5 minutes to make space in your wallet for money to flow into it!
Create a home for an item that doesn’t have one
We’re always bringing new items into our homes whether it’s children’s artwork, a plant, a picture frame, or a new piece of technology. If the item will be sticking around for a while (or permanently), it’s going to need a place to ‘live.’ Spend 5 minutes thinking of the best ‘home’ for the item and place it in that spot.
Create a file for a new document
Papers also need ‘homes!’ Perhaps you opened a new bank account or you just received your child’s school directory. Those papers need to live somewhere (not your dining room table!). Take 5 minutes to label a file folder, place the papers inside, and store it in a spot that guarantees you’ll always be able to find it.
Delete blurry or duplicate photos from your phone
I was telling my kids the other day about how cameras used to use something called film and you could only take either 24 or 36 shots at a time. And then we had to pay to develop the whole roll regardless of what the pictures could potentially look like. And you had to carry an extra roll of film in case you ran out of shots (and flash cubes, but that’s a whole other story…).
It’s so easy to take multiple pictures of the same thing on our phones. But, that takes up precious space on our little hand-held computers. Ever spend time waiting in a line for 5 minutes? Waiting for the water on the stove to boil? Waiting for the laundry to stop spinning? All of these scenarios and many other 5-minute pockets of time are perfect for deleting blurry and duplicate photos on your phone.
Plan one meal
Does this scenario resonate with you? You come home from work or school or from taking your kids to activities and discover you have nothing in your pantry that comes close to resembling a meal. Taking 5 minutes to plan one meal in advance will save you hours in the supermarket and at the stove, put money back in your wallet, and time back in your day. You won’t feel ‘hangry’ and it may even help trim your waistline, too…
Toss expired food from your fridge, cabinets, or pantry
While you’re planning that one meal, take another 5 minutes to dispose of food that has expired or that resembles a science experiment. Sort through and purge one shelf at a time. Check expiration dates and if you’re brave enough, give leftovers the ‘sniff test.’ By doing this for 5 minutes at a time, you’ll stay on top of your food inventory and keep your refrigerator fresh and clean. Best time to do this? The night before your garbage collection.
Unsubscribe to emails from businesses/organizations you no longer make purchases from/donations to
Imagine if all of those unsolicited emails you receive daily were actual physical pieces of mail. You would have one clogged up mailbox and a whole lot of recycling to do! Get organized in 5 minutes by unsubscribing from unwanted email solicitations. It may take a few days for the ‘unsubscribe’ to take effect but those 5 minutes will have been worth it when you’re no longer using your time to sort through so many ‘junk’ emails.
Test pens and markers
Is your junk drawer overflowing with pens, highlighters, and markers? If so, spend 5 minutes finding out if they still work. This is an ideal job for kids! Give them a pad of paper and a bunch of pens and markers and have them scribble and sort–anything that still works stays and anything that is out of ink or isn’t writing as well as it should gets thrown out or recycled.
Create your to-do list for the next day
Take 5 minutes to write out your next day ‘to-do’ list before you turn in for the night. This technique has multiple benefits. It will help you sleep well–you’ll wake up knowing exactly what needs to be done. It gives your brain an opportunity to think about what needs to be accomplished and places that information elsewhere when you write it down (using paper or tech). Now you can use those morning hours to plan and prioritize your tasks instead of spending time wondering what you should be doing next.
Make your bed
It’s one of the first chores of the day and the first accomplishment of the day. It starts your morning off in a calm and organized fashion. No need to make your bed look picture perfect. Cover the bed with your blanket/comforter, smooth it out, and tidy up your pillows. Unless you sleep restlessly it should take you less than 5 minutes to make your bed. If you have a partner, split the task with them–it will take even less time!
5 minutes making your bed = Time.Well.Spent.
You CAN get organized in 5 minutes!
What 5 minute organizing task will you accomplish today?
As a Professional Organizer in business almost nineteen years (!) I have heard the above declarations more times than I can count. I’ve recently coined a phrase I offer to my clients when they feel like it’s all too much:
Starting ‘small’ is the solution to dealing with clutter. De-cluttering a whole room is overwhelming. Starting small by focusing on one teeny-tiny part of that room is more manageable.
Starting ‘easy’ helps us to build our de-cluttering ‘muscles.’ ‘Easy’ items are usually ones with little-to-no sentimental or monetary value. The decision making process takes barely any brain power when we start with the ‘easy’ stuff. Once we’ve trained our decision-making muscles on the easy items, we’re better equipped to make the tougher decisions later on.
Are you familiar with the phrase, ‘The shoemaker’s son has no shoes?’ Well, sometimes I’m so focused on organizing spaces for others that I don’t focus on organizing my own! Case in point–my kid’s linen closet. OK, really it was one shelf in the linen closet…
I have two kids and they share a linen closet where I store their sheets, towels, extra blankets, and any medicine/first aid items they may need or require. When I only had one child, the shelves in this linen closet weren’t as full. Now that there are two of them, there’s A LOT more stuff.
The sheets, towels, and blanket shelves were under control but what was not was the shelf I had dedicated to my kid’s medicine and first aid items. For the first few years, I had a couple of tubes, bottles, and boxes of things that I could find easily. Then after kid number two arrived, the shelf started filling up. I could still find what I was looking for but I would sometimes accidentally knock things over and cause an unwanted ‘domino effect’ resulting in a disorganized mess.
Full disclosure–this is what it looked like:
Forget about the fact that it looked cluttered when I opened the door to this closet. Visually, it was unappealing (and appalling!) to me. I needed to block off time in my calendar to organize this spot. I knew decluttering a linen closet shelf wouldn’t take me long–I just had to create a plan and stick to it.
It was time to take my own advice to start small, start easy–just start. And get the job done…
I followed the 5 steps to getting any space in the home organized–created by Professional Organizer Julie Morgenstern in her book, Organizing from the Inside Out. This is the 5 step method I use with my clients when organizing any space in their homes. It works every time!
Step 1: The Sort
I took all items off the shelf and placed them on a nearby staircase. I sorted them by type and for the most part found that they fell into four categories: First Aid, Medicine, Nose, and Teeth. I also created a category of ‘Expired’ and ‘No Longer Used.’ to be dealt with during the next step.
Step 2: The Purge
Once I sorted all the items, it was easy to see what could be purged. Expired medicine was dealt with in an ecologically-friendly manner and boxes were flattened and added to our recycle bin. Papers were filed, garbage was collected and added to our household trash. I was left with only the things my kids presently use or would need in the future.
Step 3: Assign a Home
This step asks the question, ‘Where are the post-purge items all going to live?’ I knew they were going to live on this shelf in the linen closet so this step was pretty easy to breeze through. After the purge, I placed each grouping of the remaining items back onto the shelf by category until I could complete Step 4.
Step 4: Containerize
I was certain I wanted to use some kind of drawer system to store the medical/first aid items. Quick and easy access to meds and first aid supplies is key when your child is wheezing, sneezing, or bleeding! I measured the height, width, and depth of the shelf and took to the internet to locate a product that would work.
A brief search led me to the Small Tint Stackable Storage Drawers from The Container Store. They were colorful and just the right size to fit two-stacked one on top of another on the linen closet shelf. Lucky for me, I live in driving distance of their location in Paramus, NJ so I hopped in my car and set out to get one step closer to completing my small and easy organizing project. I chose blue and orange because my boys like the NY Knicks and tolerate the Mets because their dad is a life-long fan.
I brought the drawers home, filled each drawer by category, and placed them on the shelf. Organizing success!
Step 5: Equalize
(also known as Maintain)
This is the step that comes after the organizing is done and systems are in place. Every so often, depending upon the how often you use the items, it is necessary to do what’s called ‘maintenance.’
In this case, every few weeks, I peek in the drawers and take inventory on meds, flossers, band-aids, and lip balm. I straighten up other items on the shelf such as shampoo bottles and hand sanitizer and make room for anything new that my kids have started using (deodorant–yikes!). Decluttering a linen closet shelf or any space in your home won’t take long if you keep up with maintaining it!
You may notice that I did not add any labels to the outside of the bins. I tossed the idea around but since the drawers are translucent, it’s fairly easy to see their contents without opening the drawer. As my kids become more independent and access the items on their own, I may choose to add labels. But, for now I like how seamless and colorful it looks when I open the linen closet door.
Not every organizing project has to be on a grand scale for it to make a positive impact on your life. Some are as small as a drawer, a shelf, or a corner of your desk. Even organizing your wallet, your car’s glove compartment, or a bucket full of batteries can save you time, money, and space. Regardless of the size of the project, block off time on your calendar, follow the five steps, and start. Start small. Start easy. Just start.
What small and easy organizing project will you start this week?
Some people blog about their small business, some blog about personal challenges and accomplishments, and some even blog about blogging!
Whatever you choose to blog about, it’s important for you to organize your blog. Why does your blog need to be organized?
• An organized blog is an easy blog to read
• An organized blog is a blog readers want to come back to (and isn’t that what we want our readers to do?)
• An organized blog represents YOU. You don’t want to look disorganized to your readers!
Whether you’re thinking about starting a blog or wish to tweak an existing one, here are a few tips based on basic organizing philosophies that will keep you on track and help you organize your blog:
Schedule It
We make appointments for the doctor, an oil-change, and the cable guy, Why not make an appointment for yourself to blog? Blocking out the time on your calendar gets you one step closer to accomplishing the task. Figure out how many times a week or month you are able to post and stick to that schedule. But, be realistic. Brainstorming, writing, taking photos/video and commenting takes more time than you think it does.
Sort It Out
Compile a list of topics you’ll want to discuss on your blog. Look at a calendar–are any of your topics seasonal? Plug them into the months they belong in. For instance, as a Professional Organizer, I would start blogging about Spring Cleaning in March. A chef might blog about the best foods to barbecue in May. Other topics may revolve around holidays, trade shows, milestones, or history.
Break It Down
Take your topics and create sub-topics for them. So, if the chef were to blog about Barbecuing in May and has decided to schedule one blogging ‘appointment’ per week, he or she might blog about the benefits to cooking on a clean barbecue the first week, do a hot dog review the second week, offer grilling tips the third week, and list his or her top ten recipes for summer grilling during the fourth week.
Delegate
Sometimes we need to take a break from blogging. Find other blogs of similar topic/interest and link to their information for your readers. Check out blogs that are pertinent to yours and invite their authors to be guest bloggers on your site. You get a break from writing while your guest blogger gets a whole new set of readers (and possibly followers). It’s a win-win!
Get Rid of the Clutter
Too many pictures, videos, or advertisements detract from what you’ve written. Keep the look of your blog simple and streamlined. You have to grab the reader’s attention within the first five seconds of their arrival at your blog. If they have to spend those five seconds looking for your latest blog post, they may not return out of frustration. (Nooooo!)
Maintain It
Stay on track with posting to your blog. If you know you’ll be on vacation or going through a life-changing event, write posts in advance or have a guest blogger fill in for you. Keep all photos and videos for your blog in one place on your computer. Once a month, review your topics and subtopics and make any necessary tweaks or changes.
After applying the above principles, your newly organized blog will be low-maintenance, a pleasure to post to, and a joy to read.
Which organizing philosophy would help you organize your blog the most?
I’m excited to announce–Organized Artistry has a YouTube channel!
It’s something I’ve been considering adding to my business model for a while. YouTube is a great vehicle for reaching those in need of organizing assistance outside of my Northern New Jersey area. I thought it would be a creative marketing tool for my residential and virtual organizing services as well as for my book and any books I write in the future.
Slowly in 2018, I created the channel, added a banner, uploaded a few FaceTime videos but I wasn’t putting a ton of time and effort into it. Why? What held me back? A few things…
Time
As a business owner, parent of two, and volunteer for business and religious organizations, did I really have time to pursue something new?
Knowledge
My son told me it was easy to make a YouTube video. He said to me, “My friend from middle school and my camp counselor have YouTube channels. How hard could it be, Mom?” I tried to convince him that Mommy’s YouTube channel had to be a bit more professional than teens playing Xbox together and videotaping it. I’m still not sure I’ve convinced him…In order to have a professional-looking channel I was going to have to figure out the ‘How-To’ part.
Doubt
Was anyone going to watch? Could I fit creating, optimizing, and uploading videos into my already tight schedule?
Bad Hair Days
Yes, if I’m being honest, bad hair days kept me from making videos. I don’t have the most predictable hair and it doesn’t always look as professional as I’d like it to look. Kinda silly, but true. #honesty
What I know about owning a business is that it has to always be moving forward and keep up with the ‘times’ in order to survive. Many articles I read this past year pointed to video marketing as a game changer for 2019. I decided if I really wanted to make it happen, I had to schedule it, learn what I could, deal with doubt, and my hair. Here’s what I did…
Time
I decided to block out time in my day to brainstorm ideas, write scripts, and film the video (when I’m not working with clients). Mornings after I drop my son at school until noon are my ‘Power Hours’–the time of day when I’m most alert and motivated. This time management technique worked for me when I was writing and self-publishing my book, too.
Knowledge
Do you know the best place to learn about starting a YouTube channel? It’s YouTube! I started watching ‘how-to’ videos while on the treadmill, while getting dressed/putting on makeup, and when I was cooking dinner (it’s the perfect accompaniment to chopping vegetables). I took notes on the videos and created a section in Evernote for them. I also purchased an online course to speed up the process–it’s proving to be a good investment so far.
Doubt
I still have my doubts but I moved forward anyway. I’ve been in this place before as a business owner and realize that anything new is going to stir up feelings of doubt. I decided I wouldn’t let it stop me.
Bad Hair Days
Almost a year ago, I started following the ‘Curly Girl‘ method of caring for my hair. My hair is healthier, looks better and is now (in my eyes) more ‘video-worthy.’ And I bought some products to cover my ‘roots’ so I can film my videos and camouflage some gray hair and hairline without having to run to the salon as often.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been working diligently on the ‘Channel Trailer’ for my channel–it’s the first video people will see when they come to my channel if they’re not subscribers. Want to check it out? There may be a few pics of me as a little kid in the video if that piques your interest…You can watch it here or click the video below. Feel free to leave a comment, hit the ‘Subscribe’ button, and remember to click the little bell next to it to get notified when I post a new video!
If there’s an organizing challenge you’d like me to make a video about, let me know at .
Keep an eye out on the Organized Artistry YouTube channel for organizing tips, organizing hacks, and decluttering know-how. My videos will help you to get organized and gain more space in your home, more time in your day, more money in your wallet, and less stress in your life.
A blog by Professional Organizer Stacey Agin Murray bursting with cool products, 'gotta-tell-a-friend' ideas, and a whole lotta organizing know-how. Learn more...
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About Stacey
When you grow up in a 5’x12′ bedroom, you learn to organize pretty quickly! I chose to take that knowledge and turn it into a business helping people find what they need when they need it. I’m also the author of The Organized Bride’s Thank You Note Handbook–a book that offers wedding thank you note-related organizing tips and how-to’s plus 101 unique sample thank you notes (what bride can’t use that?).
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