organizing tips Archives • Page 16 of 25 • Helpful Organizer

A Paper Minimalist – Not

July 15, 2016/0 Comments/in Blog Posts/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

In June 2016 my husband and I played the 30-Day Minimalism Game. We each got rid of 930 things. (See how we did it.) For me, one of the most challenging things was to get rid of paper. We agreed that it wouldn’t be fair to count one sheet of paper as one item. So, we counted 25 sheets of paper as one item. Guess how many sheets of paper I got rid of?

I got rid of 1300 sheets of paper! (In addition to other things!) Shocking. Right? Where did it all come from? I’m an Organizer. I shouldn’t have this much paper. This was important paper that held important knowledge. Wasn’t it?

No, not most of it. Are you wondering how I got rid of all that paper? I did it with a 4 step plan.

Step one of my plan was to carve out some time to get rid of paper. I know from working with my clients that paper always takes the most time to organize. That’s why I dedicated 10 hours to get rid of paper. I gave myself at least one hour a night to work. I picked my starting point, my business files, all my business building suggestions, conference notes, marketing tips, networking strategies, business cards, and organizing statistics. Then got to work.

Step two was to get rid of all my easy-to-toss papers. Papers in this category were the duplicate business cards, the outdated business cards, the multiple copies of business cards, the outdated information, and the information in which I was no longer interested. These papers were easy-to-toss, because letting them go didn’t require a lot of thought or effort. Once all the easy-to-toss papers were out of the way, I could look at the rest.

Step three was to decide what to keep from the papers that remained. This paper held information that was, at one time, important to me. But was it still important? How could I decide? What questions would help me? How could I make myself answer honestly. Would guidelines help? This is what I came up with:

On a scale of 1-10 how important is this information to me, now? Anything below a 7 goes.
Could this information be found more quickly and easily on the internet? If yes, let it go.
On a scale of 1-10 how usable is this information now? Anything below a 7 goes.
How soon will I act upon this information? Action must be taken in the next 3 months, or it goes.
Am I holding this information to pass along to someone else? Pass along in 1 week, or it goes

These questions were very helpful. I was able to let go of a lot of paper that I had previously kept. However, there was still more to do. I wanted to get rid of more paper. It was necessary to carve out more time. Another deadline was in order.

Step four is reading through the remaining papers. It’s still happening. I’m taking two hours each week to read and decide. Some I have kept. Others I have tossed. The questions and guidelines in step three help me. It’s an ongoing process, but organizing always is.

Remove Things to Create a Happy Home

July 1, 2016/0 Comments/in Tip of the Month/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

The way we feel about our homes influences us every day. I think we all want to be happy in our own homes. Here are three removal guidelines that will make our homes happier.

Remove broken things. If you intend to fix the broken items do so right way.
Remove things with a negative association.
Remove static stuff (things that are not used) that may be in the attic, basement, garage, or other storage areas.

How To Get Unstuck When Organizing

May 15, 2016/0 Comments/in Blog Posts/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

Organizing is action. So the best way to get unstuck is to take action.

When I was working with a client who was downsizing, she got stuck when we addressed her books. I found her standing in front of her two bookcases, with a puzzled expression. When I asked her what she was thinking, she said she didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know how to start or what steps to take to reduce the number of books she had. This feeling of not knowing what to do, stopped her from taking ANY action. So, I guided her towards action. I picked up a book and asked her what she wanted to do with it. She could keep it, donate it, recycle it, or, if the book belonged to her husband, she could ask him what he wanted to do with it. We created 4 stacks and sorted all the books from her two bookcases. By providing her with 4 categories and the direction to sort the books into one of those 4 groups, she was able to take action and become unstuck.

A similar situation arose when I was working with a client who was avoiding a room in her home that had become a catch all for stuff that her family didn’t have time to deal with or put away. She dreaded going into this room, and got depressed looking at it. Needless to say, I was surprised and proud of her, when she declared that she was ready to tackle this room. Let me clarify. She was ready to tackle this room with my guidance and help. So, once again, I guided my client towards action. I picked up a basket of things and asked her to tell me who they belonged to. That is all I wanted her to do. We had 5 piles by the time we emptied the first basket, items that belonged to her, items that belonged to her son, items that belonged to her daughter, items that belonged to the house (ie. house hold items), and items that didn’t belong to anyone (ie. give away items). As we made our way through more baskets, she marveled at how easy it was to get unstuck and take action once she realized what action to take.

I understand it is not always easy to get unstuck and figure out how to start an organizing project. So remember a good place to start is to take action, and do that by sorting items into categories.

How to Tackle Clean Out Projects

April 30, 2016/0 Comments/in Newsletter/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

Spring 2016 Newsletter

Side Notes:

*** Clearing the Clutter, and Closet and Wardrobe Organizing are the two classes that I have left in my spring line up. You can obtain more details on my website. If you’d like to attend a class please contact the class location directly. Hope to see you in class.

*** Are you curious about the Minimalist Movement? Join me at the movies for the Minimalist film on Tuesday, May 31st at 7:30PM. Details here.

*** The National
Association of Professional Organizers annual conference is in May in Atlanta, GA, and I’m going. Can’t wait!

*** Question: What is your favorite room in your home, and why? Please share your answer.

Quick Links

Website
Email
NAPO-NE

Hi ,

I look forward to spring every year. It makes me smile to see tiny new buds on the trees, pretty spring flowers in bloom, and hear the songbirds chirping. It also makes me smile when spring motivates people to tackle organizing and clean out projects.

How to Tackle a Clean Out Project

Do you have a clean out project that you want to tackle? To me, clean out projects are different than organizing projects, because the goal is to get rid of all the stuff that has been collecting in a storage area. It can be an attic that is overstuffed, a basement that you want to make into a usable space, or a shed that you can’t fit one more thing into?

Are you procrastinating? Are you feeling overwhelmed by the project? Are you not sure where or how to begin? I’d like to help you by sharing some tips on how to tackle a clean out project.

Clean Out Tips:

1. Make plans to set time aside to tackle your project. Recruit helpers. Think about how you want the space to look at the end of the project.

2. Schedule 3 hours of your time and treat it like a doctor’s appointment that can’t be rescheduled without a large fee. Stay focused and avoid distractions during your scheduled work time. If you need several, 3 hour time slots, plan ahead so you don’t get stuck with an unfinished project.

3. Start by sorting items into six different piles; keep, donate, recycle, sell, give/return, and trash. Use bins, bags, or sections of the space to sort items into. Label each pile clearly.

4. Once everything is sorted tackle the keep pile. Organized what you are keeping by designating a specific home for all the items going back into the space.
5. Address all the other piles and schedule time to donate, recycle, sell, give/return, and trash the remaining items.
6. Compliment yourself on a job well done. Thank your helpers.
7. Schedule a follow up in this same space; 6 months is a good time frame.
8. Schedule your next clean out project.Share your clean out project results with me.

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 is truly in need.

Another incentive is when you know that you are helping local organizations in your own community. I visited

The Hometown Saver Store in North Attleboro for the first time this week. They are a new thrift store with an interesting twist. They give back a portion of their sales to 5 local organizations, North Attleboro Animal Shelter, Veterans of North Attleboro, Lenore’s Food Pantry, Council on Aging, and North Attleboro Schools. What an interesting concept.

They accept clothing, house hold items, books, electronics, toys, jewelry, furniture, and more. For more details visit their website. It’s a great time to do some spring cleaning, and support local organizations.

From,

Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®
(508)-699-6652

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!

10 Points on Which I Agree With Marie Kondo

March 15, 2016/0 Comments/in Blog Posts/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

The popular book by Marie Kondo, “The Life-Changing Magic of Tiding Up” has been a topic of many discussions between my Professional Organizer colleagues and myself. I found that I agree with many of Marie Kondo’s points, as long as you substitute the word organizing in place of the word tidying. Here is a list of 10 points on which I agree:

In most societies tidying (i.e. organizing) is the job that keeps the home livable, but is not taught because of the misconception that the ability to tidy (i.e. organizing) is acquired through experience and doesn’t require training. I agree with this point, because organizing is a skill that needs to be taught, learned, and, most of all, practiced.
Effective tidying (i.e. organizing) is discarding and deciding where to store things. I agree with this point, because organizing is action. It’s discarding, in a timely manner, what is no longer wanted, needed, or used. It’s also deciding where to put things, and returning those things to the same spot every time they are used.
Tidying (i.e. organizing) is a dialogue with one’s self. I agree with this point, because when we perform the actions of organizing, discarding and deciding, we have internal dialogues with ourselves.
Focus more on what you want to keep in your life and space than on what you want to get rid of. I agree with this point, because it’s easier to make decisions when we focus on what’s important to us and worth keeping in our lives and spaces.
It’s easy to part with things where there is an obvious reason for doing so, but it’s much more difficult when there is no compelling reason. I agree with this point, because we often hold onto things out of indecision or obligation.
Sometimes never comes. I agree with this point, because when we use the word “sometimes” it is most likely an excuse. The phrases, “I might need that sometime.” or “I might use that sometime.”, are excuses to keep an item, instead of accepting that we don’t need it, and that it is time to let it go.
If you have lived in Japan or USA all your life, you have almost certainly been surrounded by more than you need. I agree with this point, because it’s estimated that the amount of unopened merchandise in an average American home is $7,00.00.
Clutter is cause by a failure to return things to where they belong. Therefore storage should reduce the effort needed to put things away, not the effort to get them out. I agree with this point, because more people have trouble putting things away than they do in getting them out.
Discarding hones one’s decision-making skills. I agree with this point, because practice improves the skill of organizing.
Tidying (i.e. organizing) ought to be the act of restoring balance among people, their possessions, and the house they live in. I agree with this point, because it has been proven that organized people are less stressed.

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