January 2017 • Helpful Organizer

Organizing in the New Year

January 26, 2017/0 Comments/in Newsletter/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

Content

January 2017

Newsletter

Side Notes:

*** Did you know that January is Get Organized Month? What will you organize this month? Please share with me.

*** February is the start of my spring class schedule. You can obtain more details on my website. Hope to see you in class.

*** Question: What is the toughest thing for you to get rid of? Books? Clothes? Shoes? Please share your answer.

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Hi ,

Happy New Year! It’s hard to believe that it is the end of January already, but I hope 2017 has gotten off to a GREAT start for you. Someone shared this nice idea with me, and I want to share it with you. It suggests you write down good things that happen throughout the year, and put them in a jar. At the end of the year, read and remember all the awesome things that happened in 2017. I think this is a wonderful idea, but I’d like to recommend a twist. Write down organizing projects you tackle this year, and see how accomplished you are at the end of the year. A second twist is to write down all the items you donate and give away. At the end of the year you can reward yourself for giving to those in need. Whatever 2017 holds for you, , I hope your jar is stuffed with wonderful memories, meaningful accomplishments, and good deeds.

Do you make new year’s resolutions?

I do, and I’d like to share one of my 2017 resolutions with you. It is to clean up my Email files. Here is how I’m going to tackle this:

Schedule 20 minutes a week to work on this project.
Clean up one Email folder at a time, and leave my inbox folder for last. I have several Email folders based on the topic of the Email; for example, one for the National Association of Professional Organizers, one for classes I teach, one for bills I pay on line, and other categories like that.
Be ruthless about purging Emails, and only save what I’ll refer to again.
On my scheduled Email-clean-up-day, set a timer and work without interruption until my time is up.
Keep track of what I’ve done; so I can make efficient progress.
Reward myself with 10 minutes of computer-play-time at the end of each work session.

FYI: The above 6 step process can be used to tackle other organizing projects as well. Give it a try and see how it works for you.

Recycle Resource

Finding new ways to recycle, for myself and my clients, makes me happy. Everyone is more motivated to get rid of something when they know it is going to someone who will really use it.

This is why I was happy to find Bay State Textiles. They work with schools through their School Box Program. They share information on economic and environmental aspects of textile reuse, and then place a donation box outside the school. The box is serviced weekly, and a rebate check is given to the school, based on the weight of donations. They accept any type of textile, even stuffed animals and stained items, as long as they are clean and dry. How convenient is that? Please donate. You’ll be helping your local school and a worthwhile organization.

From,

Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®
(508)-699-6652
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If you’ve worked with me in any capacity, I’d be grateful for a review. Simply click on this link and answer 3 questions. Thank you and happy organizing!

Why I love being a Professional Organizer

January 15, 2017/0 Comments/in Blog Posts/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

Part of growing up is figuring out what we’re good at. We use our acquired skills and talents to find our place in the world. After being told by several people that I was good at organizing, I was able to admit that to myself. However, it took a while longer to realize that I could make a career out of my organizing skills. I’m happy that I did, because I love being a Professional Organizer.

Working individually with my clients and helping them solve their organizing issues and challenges is very rewarding to me. I like that each situation is unique and requires problem-solving collaboration between me and my client. Together we find workable organizing solutions. Those solutions don’t have to be huge. They have to be DOABLE. However, finding doable solutions is only part of the reason I love being a Professional Organizer. The other part is the gratitude that gets bestowed on me from my clients. Sometimes it is the littlest changes that make the biggest impact. I love when I’m thanked for those small but influential changes. For example:

I suggested placing a tray under the toaster so the crumbs wouldn’t get all over the cupboard each time it was taken out and put away. My client called me a genius.
I suggested removing closet doors that never stayed shut. My client called me brilliant.
After sitting with my client for support, while she made a few difficult phone calls, she called me her earth angel.
I suggested changing the orientation of the dish drying rack for easier fit and use. My client called me amazing.
I was told I had MAD skills when I kept track of details and sent reminders.

I love being a Professional Organizer, and I’m grateful for my clients. They make me feel so appreciated, gifted, smart, and blessed.

Do you love what you do? Please share with me.

Prevent Clutter

January 1, 2017/0 Comments/in Tip of the Month/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

A great way to prevent clutter is to stop it from coming in the door in the first place. Put a trash can, recycle bin, and shred container in the garage, and use them to clean out the clutter from the car, your purse, your work bag, and school backpacks. Also use them to toss or shred as much mail as possible before bringing it into the house.

ORGANIZING

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