Entries by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

Organizing in Small Steps

Getting organized is a common New Year’s resolution. Is it one of yours? If so, start small. Make a list of what you want to organize and then ask yourself what first step can I take that will be easy for me to accomplish? Remember sometimes the smallest changes have the biggest impact.

Reaching the Finish Line

During my class on Conquering Clutter With Confidence we discuss reaching the finish line. In order to do this, we first discuss what it means to reach the finish line. It means doing things from start to finish, and knowing when that finish line has been crossed. For example, in my house, the finish line […]

Organizer Friendly Gifts

In a gift giving situation, I do my best to give a gift that will not add to someone’s clutter. I call these gifts, organizer friendly gifts. I give intangible things, like tickets to events, memberships to museums, gift certificates to restaurants, and gifts of time. Another option is to give things that get used […]

Where Does Clutter Come From?

What does clutter look like to you? Is it piles of mail on the counter? Maybe it’s stacks of papers on the desk? Could it be that every drawer is a junk drawer? Perhaps it’s the layers of stuff that are hiding the dinning room table? Or maybe, it’s the garage that cars can’t fit […]

Successful Organizing

Value the organizing process more than the organizing products. We’ve all purchased a container, that we thought would really help us get organized, only to find out that it didn’t work? That’s because successful organizing comes from routines, habits, systems, and practice.