Tips & Tricks, January 2014
Quote of the Month
“The best things in life aren’t things.”
Author unknown
Fun at IKEA during G.O. Month
(G.O. stands for Get Organized)
Quite the media darling this month (hope you know I’m kidding). This past Saturday, I joined my fellow NAPO members for the annual G.O. Event at IKEA. Looks as though the closet organizing presentation had more interest than the office presentation…
In other exciting news,
Aim 4 Order was featured in the “Ask the Expert” Column of the January 2014 issue of Baltimore Magazine. Read all about it here.
Let My Clutter Go!
Even professional organizers have clutter to deal with – yes, really.
Many of you are familiar with the expression “Shoemaker’s children” and I’m afraid we have some of that going on in my house. I share a desk with my son, which is something I always advise my clients NOT to do….but I like having him nearby and I like being in the hub-bub of activity in the house (and the desk is big enough for us to fit 2 chairs).
Clutter happens but I had reached my limit. If I don’t have some semblance of order in my desk area, it’s hard for me to think and be productive (sound familiar?). After putting it off for weeks, I decided on Sunday that it was time to deal with it. No, I couldn’t deal with the whole house on Sunday. No, I couldn’t deal with the whole basement on Sunday. But I could deal with my desk area. I was running out of room (sound familiar?). So I looked at the books that had nothing to do with my two priorities – organizing and knitting – and everything else is now located downstairs on bookshelves. And a nice big pile of books from both places is sitting in a duffel bag waiting for National Children’s Center to come on Wednesday. With the new space on my bookshelf, I am now able to fit some very important binders and spiral notebooks where my most active notes are recorded…within arm’s length. Hmmm – what a concept!
I also had to remove MANY files from my file drawer – files that I needed to hold on to (yes, hope springs eternal that my former clients will one day want me to come back to tweak/repair re-cluttered spaces or may want to downsize for a move). Yes, I can hold on to them, but they don’t need to be in my BEST space. They were moved to a stored away file cabinet that I can access when I need to. I was then able to fit the files and papers in my desk area into the drawer. WOW. My area is back in order and I am able to work on my January issue of Tips and Tricks with a much clearer head. This stuff works!
Seven Reasons to Get Rid of Your Own Stuff
I am finishing up an excellent book called, The Boomer Burden. Author, Julie Hall, includes this list of seven reasons that I wanted to share with you. Here goes:
1. You will experience less anxiety and worry about all the stuff you seldom use.
2. You will spend less time looking for things.
3. You will be helping people in need.
4. You will have more time to do what you really want to do.
5. You will find things you forgot you owned.
6. You will revitalize your routine with a new adventure.
7. You will protect your kids from ever having to do what you had to do with your parents’ home.
After reading this list, I realize that I have an almost identical list that I’ve used for years in my presentations on downsizing and decluttering!
“Helping Baby Boomers and their Parents Lighten their Loads.”
If you are feeling overwhelmed by the amount of stuff in your home, contact me. Together, we can transform your home into a happy, tidy place where you can feel at peace. We can also get you ready for your next move more enjoyably, faster and easier!
Cindy Bernstein, Owner and Professional Organizer
cindy@aim4order.com
410-484-8328
www.aim4order.com
Dear Cindy: As you have helped me organize/declutter for a few years now, I look back and see how I am learning as we do things I thought I could not do. Your talent to do what you do is exceptional. You have the skill to show me how to learn what you do, when you are doing it for me. It’s like a well thought out lesson plan. So, the stuff I couldn’t deal with is getting done with joy and ease, and I am observing and being active at the same time. This is how my learning is taking place.
Because I was cluttered and not organized for my life prior to these past few years, I still have a lot to learn, and I still need your help, by showing me, with my things, in my own space, that the miracle happens. My life is getting easier by seeing there is a solution to any of the problems I encounter.
The shelves we went through, book by book, garment by garment, is a joy for me to use now. What needed to go, went, and what stayed is orderly, and fun to look and so simple to use. It is a purposeful space now and every bit of it usable.
Thanks. Love and hugs. Mimi