Empathic Organizing

Put it down or put it away…it’s your choice

2009-07-23T11:58:00.001-07:00

Those are some very powerful words. When you get milk out of the refrigerator, you put it back, right? Yes, because that’s where it belongs. When you put clean dishes away, you don’t just stack them on the countertops, or do you? So, when you get something out of your closet or a drawer, it follows that you can return it there when you are finished with it. If you just put it down, eventually you’ll have to put it away so why torture yourself with a big pile later and take the 10 seconds now to put it away.

Next time you find yourself vacillating between putting it down or putting it away, time yourself as to how long it really takes to put it away and you will be surprised. Would you rather take a few seconds now or face piles and piles later on when you have to spend a valuable Saturday afternoon cleaning up after yourself? I know this makes you procrastinators cringe, but if you can change your habits in small ways, it can improve your daily life in big ways! Think of it as 10 seconds now or two hours later. It’s your choice!

Jan Davis
ClutterBye
www.ClutterBye.com

I'm Not Perfect

2009-07-14T16:09:00.000-07:00

As a Professional Organizer, people often ask me if my place is perfectly organized. I’m going to publicly out myself and admit that it’s not.

I look at being organized as a way to find things, not a way to hide things inside matching baskets just so they look nice on shelves. When you have 10 matching baskets without labels on them, how can anyone find anything or put something back?

I’m more practical than that and certainly can understand when clients want to just achieve a level of organizing where they can find things and not necessarily make it beautiful. A good example is files. Typed filing labels look the best but if you’re not the type of person to type labels, then why bother? If it’s more work than you’re willing to do, then you’re probably not going to do it so hand write your labels. It’s better to just do it than to avoid doing it for lack of perfection.

I have a very dear client who is afflicted with perfectionism and the poor woman cannot complete many things that she starts because she doesn’t have the time or energy to make them perfect. Just getting something done is more important (in most cases) than getting it perfect.

Organizing is an ongoing, never ending project. You don’t do it then it stays that way forever. Organizing is about having like items together so you can find things and know what you already have so you don’t buy more! It doesn’t have to be about living in a perfectly straightened up environment all the time. That’s called being neat.

Are You Like Angel Hair Pasta?

2009-05-22T22:39:00.000-07:00

Spreading yourself too thin. I see it all the time from the busy, successful people that I work with. You’re smart, talented people with big hearts and you try to do too much! When you do too much, you don’t leave any time for yourself which results in not weeding out your own garden of stuff!

I recently started working with a client who is retired but volunteers for so many activities that she hasn’t had time for herself. She has the potential to be an organized, clutter free person but she’s so involved with helping others, that her personal life has suffered. She has a very active social life, volunteer activities, grandchildren, husband, the whole nine yards but no time for tune ups of her office, den, or other places that she spends her time. Once I identified this for her, she realized it was time to step down from one or two of her major responsibilities, let someone else take it on, and spend more time on herself.

I saw her today for our second appointment and I was pleased and impressed to learn that she had given her “notice” to one volunteer activity and was considering a second. She was relieved and excited at the possibilities that will bring and her new found time. She even wants to pursue a new interest that will involve less time but be more personally fulfilling. She had already cleaned out years of recipe accumulation, books, articles, and things she just didn’t need anymore just since our first appointment and she was energized! Just knowing that she could pass on the accumulation of years on one committee was liberating in itself!

So, before you say yes to that next committee, consider what else you have going on in your life and allow time for some weeding of your own.

Jan Davis
ClutterBye
www.ClutterBye.com

The Drawers of My Dreams

2009-05-22T22:17:00.000-07:00

It’s Memorial Day weekend and I’m taking a whole three days off (WhooHoo) but one of the things on my To Do List is to clean out the drawers in my bedroom. That might take me about an hour so I certainly can take an hour to create the drawers of my dreams! One of the cool things about clearing clutter and getting more organized is that the more you do it, the more you can do! It’s not a one time event but an ongoing process that you get better and better at once you develop the good habits. It’s like cleaning. You can clean but eventually you’ll have to clean again, right?

I love poking through my old stuff every so often and deciding that I don’t need this “thing” anymore. It’s almost like a measuring stick of my life’s progress. I look at it with a fresh eye and suddenly realize that I don’t “need” this thing anymore and I can let go of it. For example, I bought a box of those funny little “40” confetti that you throw in cards or on a table for someone’s 40th birthday. No matter how many 40th birthdays have passed since then, I never remember to use them so this weekend, out they go. It’s a small box but I don’t need it anymore so I can let it go so that something I DO use can take its place.

I’m excited about cleaning out my drawers but then I’m an organizer so that’s what floats my boat!

Jan Davis
ClutterBye
www.ClutterBye.com

Business Cards - They Mate

2009-04-26T19:09:00.000-07:00

I've been suspicious of it for a while now, but I think that business cards mate when you're not keeping up on them. They get bored just laying in a drawer, in a pile, not being used, never referenced. You have to clean them out once in a while or they will overrun your desk!

You have good intentions when you collect them. "Oh, she seems so nice, I love this bakery, he was helpful, I want to try this handyman sometime", you know the reasons. It really gets out of control if you are a networker and go to lots of functions. You honestly believe at the time that you'll get back in touch with the financial advisor you met and liked or that you may want to recommend the closet designer that was there. Like all of us, you have good intentions but they're just pieces of paper unless you actually do something with them.

There are a few ways you can go. Buy a binder and a pack of dividers. Label your dividers with the major categories of cards such as Health, Home Resources, Restaurants, Friends or whatever pertains to your life. Behind each divider, put a few plastic pages of business card holders. You can also get the slim brochure size holders but then there is no categorizing them so I use different holders for different reasons. I have one that is just people that are in my business networking group or people that I have met through it. I have another that is just resources that I use such as handymen, painters, accountants, and other kinds of people that I recommend to my clients. I keep both of those in my car.

Then in my office, I have one that's full of industry specific cards that are only meaningful to me and another of duplicate cards of what I keep in the car. And YES, I clean them all out every few months. It only takes about 30 minutes to clean out all four and it's worth the time. I still have cards from 4 to 5 years also that I've never used but still want. Others I can't remember or don't care so I toss them.

The secret is to write on the front of the card when and how you met this person. "Antique show 2004" is good enough, that way when you're cleaning them out, you'll know why you even have the card.

I see people with hundreds and hundreds of cards in piles with no rhyme or reason to them. Do you think they would ever go through all those looking for someone in particular? What's the point in keeping them if they aren't even useful? Make them useful by tending to them and using them. That's what they're for!

Jan Davis
www.ClutterBye.com

Let’s Lighten Up a Bit

2009-01-28T16:43:00.000-08:00

Whew, all this serious talk about hoarders. Let’s talk about lightening up. If your telephone breaks, do you take it to the telephone repair place? No? Do you buy a new one? Please tell me that you dispose of your broken telephone.

We shall use the telephone as a metaphor for all the things you buy. I can’t tell you how many times I see boxes of old telephones that don’t work any more. Picture this. Your telephone breaks so you go to the box of old telephones to find a replacement. That’s not what you do? What, you go to the store or online and buy a new phone? Why do you do that when you have a whole box of phones in the fill in the blank area? Storage, garage, under your bed, wherever. So, if you’re not using those telephones and wouldn’t consider resurrecting one, why are you keeping them?

Ooooohhh, EBay has taught you to keep everything because it might be worth something someday. Your next door neighbor sold a couple of phones from the 60s for $25 each! Wow, that’s pretty cool. I wonder what it cost him to store those phones and then advertise them just to make $50. He probably paid $25 for them back in the 60s anyway.

Like I said, the telephone is just an example of tons of things that you could be holding on to that just aren’t worth the space. Lighten up and let in things that are truly meaningful and valuable to you at this time unless you have unlimited, free storage space.

Jan Davis
www.Clutterbye.com

Do You Know a Hoarder?

2008-12-22T12:06:00.000-08:00

Most people do. Could be a family member or a friend. Just like an alcoholic, you can’t help them until they’re ready for help. They have to be the one asking for help and it may even be an eviction situation.

Hoarding can be debilitating to the person with the problem but especially to their loved ones. It’s frustrating enough to know a hoarder but to live with one can be devastating. I’ve seen couples break up over it and I’ve seen hoarders that can’t have relationships and friendships due to the insurmountable piles that they can’t control. To put it in a nutshell, a hoarder can’t distinguish trash from treasures. Everything is usable, collectable, and might be used someday. Some people pull things out of the trash, others buy too much without a clue as to how they will use it.

A collection is usually nicely displayed, taken care of, added to thoughtfully, and in an honored place for friends to admire and enjoy. A hoarder’s collection will be so huge and overwhelming that it can’t be displayed, they really don’t even know what they have, and there’s not much joy in it. There’s a difference between collecting and amassing.

We’ll talk more about hoarding later.

For more information on hoarding visit: http://www.ocfoundation.org/1005/index.html

Jan Davis
www.Clutterbye.com

Hoarders

2008-12-22T12:05:00.000-08:00

Most people think of hoarders as people that just collect junk, but that’s not always the case. There are animal hoarders, information hoarders, article hoarders, newspaper, magazine, T-shirt, shoe, and even wrapping paper hoarders.

Sometimes they’re just as frustrated with it as their loved ones are but they don’t want to do anything about it because it’s a part of them. How would you feel if someone came in and just took your computer away? You’d feel cut off and like you’d lost a friend. That’s why others can’t just come in and remove all their stuff. Every little thing is extremely important and valuable to them. They can’t lose that contact with their stuff without therapy and an accompanying drug regimen. If you clean out a hoarder’s stuff and they’re not getting help for it, it will all come back again.

When I work with hoarders, I help them figure out a system for finding all their stuff. It’s too much stuff to just tuck into closets and cabinets so we contain, label, and inventory everything so they know where it is. I haven’t met one yet that wanted to “just get rid of it all” since it’s all so important to them.

You can’t take a hoarder lightly and just take it all away because for them, it’s like ripping off their skin. Tread carefully and have some respect.

Jan Davis
www.Clutterbye.com

When You Get a Little Behind

2008-12-22T11:57:00.000-08:00

I feel a little naughty writing that title! We all get behind. Life happens. Death and illness happen. Divorce, marriage, whatever happens, it can put you off track. You can spend your whole life being an organized person, then BAM. Your father falls ill, you’re going through a divorce, and your employer has downsized so much that you’re doing the job of 3 people.

Opening mail, filing, processing the mundane things of everyday life have to take a back seat to your sanity! Most of it can pile up as long as you’re paying your bills on time. Late charges can eat into your budget and your credit rating.

I recommend that you set up as many online automatic payments as possible. It’s liberating, allows you to be gone for long periods of time, and takes that weight off your mind. Check with your bank to see just how simple it is. If you need some handholding, I can help with that as we get you set up. I’m happy to provide some referrals from other people I have helped with that. Besides, I’m not smart enough to figure out how to siphon off your money!

Jan Davis
www.Clutterbye.com

The Bain of the Organizer’s Existence

2008-10-09T21:40:00.000-07:00

HGTV. There, I said it. I watch it, I learn from it, but it’s like a sitcom or game show. It’s staged. If someone came to you and said, “We’ll pay for everything you need if you’ll just do what we say”, would you do it? Hell yes! Of course you would.

The reality part of these unrealistic shows is that they make it look like the messy room is transformed in a weekend. First of all, the only day they don’t film or work is Sun. so they’re not really doing it in a weekend. Second, there are hardly any Professional Organizers that organize, paint, design custom furniture, and hang shelves. Wow, they must get paid a lot if they do! What, they don’t get paid?? The people on the show don’t know where all their stuff goes that gets removed from the room? They’re perfectly happy every time with what the organizer presents to them? Hmmm.

I know a few of the organizers that have been on “those shows” and a 20 minute show can take 5 - 6 weeks of filming! Crews of people come in, the organizer does what the producer tells her to do, (for show value), and the people have to stay elsewhere for a while.

If you can afford to move out, agree to all the perfect matching containers and baskets that they purchase, hire a painter, handyman, and don’t care how many people it takes to clear your clutter and maybe never see any of your stuff again, (without your input) then I’ll do it for you but it’s not what I normally do!

Jan Davis

Mice Mice, Baby

2008-10-06T18:28:00.000-07:00

You probably don’t have mice in your house but if you have a storage shed on your property, they’re partying in there right now.

Personally, I’m a rodent lover but that’s just me. I’ve had several hamsters, a couple of mice, and would have a rat if I had time to take care of one. I think they’re cute but two cats are enough to care for!

When they get in your stuff and chew it up and potty all over it, though, that’s not cool. I had a client that had proudly saved her oldest son’s schoolwork in a cardboard box with a drawer for each year. Then she stored it in the shed. I know, but this was pre-Jan.
Not only did it stink, but who would want to pull that out years later when they’re sitting around the fire with their grandchildren looking at what Daddy did when he was young? The whole thing was pretty chewed up.

I’m not an advocate for killing vermin, but we eventually hired a pest control company to eradicate the rodents from the shed. Happy day for the client but sad day for the rodents. She eventually had garage cabinets installed and I moved everything from the shed that wasn’t a tool or metal and containerized everything in good, sturdy plastic containers and put it all in the garage. At least her son is spared the embarrassment of sharing his school work with his children someday!

Jan Davis
www.Clutterbye.com

How to Protect Your Stuff from Critters

2008-09-22T12:48:00.000-07:00

Silverfish love paper. I don’t know why but every time I open an old box containing paper, they scramble away from me. I don’t know if they cause much damage but they’re just kind of gross.

Don’t store paper in a cardboard box. That’s like coating ice cream in chocolate! Mice will chew thru it, spiders will set up shop, and silverfish will have a daily cocktail party for their friends!

Plastic containers with snapping lids will deter them. I’ve never found mouse poop in one and even though silverfish are slim, I’ve never seen one in a plastic container with a good snap down lid. The ones with lids that fold down like wings don’t deter them and a loose lid bulging from too much stuff will allow them in, too.

If you really want to protect your stuff, not only use a good plastic container with a tight lid, throw in a lavender or cedar sachet. That’s like a stink bomb to them. They’ll move on to the next place that has nice, juicy cardboard boxes!

Jan Davis
www.Clutterbye.com

Perfectly Organized?

2008-09-10T09:54:00.001-07:00

Some people think that an organizer will come in and make everything look perfect. All lined up, matching baskets and containers, everything labeled and looking all nice and neat.

What we really do is make it look the way you’re comfortable with and within your budget. I like to reuse what you already have so you don’t have to go buy a bunch of new things. It probably won’t look perfect and match, but it will save you money and not be as intimidating once I’m gone. Most people prefer good enough to perfect. They’re just happy to be de-cluttered and can find things and don’t care about the matching baskets like you see in ads.

Buying a bunch of those can be expensive and they’re difficult to label so you have no idea what’s in them. Then add other household members to the fray and things get all mixed up. Is this the battery basket or the basket of unknown wires?

I’m not a big fan of baskets since you can’t see in them. I love clear or tinted plastic containers and drawers. The Container Store at www.Containerstore.com has tons to choose from at reasonable prices. If you live near one, go in and browse around. It’s like heaven on earth! In all of San Diego county, the only one we have is in Mission Valley but it’s worth the drive!

Jan Davis
www.Clutterbye.com

Are You Being Served?

2008-09-04T18:52:00.001-07:00

Does your stuff serve you or are you just paying rent for your stuff? What is it worth? If you pay for a storage unit, then there better be some damn good stuff in there to make it worthwhile. Storage units aren’t cheap but have you noticed how many of them are now?

Write in and tell me why you think there are so many storage places now. Is it because:

▫ We like to get in our cars to go visit our stuff?
▫ People are living in storage units because it’s cheaper than rent?
▫ We may need it someday?

Evaluate just how much you love your stuff as opposed to your day to day living. Do you love it so much that you’re willing to do without $100-$150 a month worth of gas, food, clothes, or whatever is truly important? Go in that storage unit and take a look around with a new eye. Do you really need it?

Jan Davis
www.ClutterBye.com

A Picture’s Worth… well, 1000 Pictures

2008-09-04T18:44:00.001-07:00

Ok, so back to “One In, One Out”. Whew. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest about yucky stuff.

This rule works well for everything in your house. Not just clothes. The rule’s partner rule is “Do I Really Need This and Where Will It Go?”

You’re in Chinatown and you see this adorable Foo Dog. Ooooh, it’s soooo cute! STOP! Where will you put it? Is it four inches big or FOUR FEET big? Will the cats easily knock it over? Will your 5 year old want to play with it? Picture where it will go.

If you’re on a budget, (and who isn’t these days?) is it worth that amount? If it’s a four dollar 4 inch Foo dog, that’s a little different from a $400 FOUR FOOT Foo dog. Use your Foolish head! Picture where you will put or use anything before you buy it! I’ll be sitting on your shoulder. I’m watching!

Jan Davis
www.ClutterBye.com

The Clothes Challenge Part II

2008-08-27T20:20:00.000-07:00

I live in a condo so I don’t have an expandable closet. I envy the people I work with that seem to believe their closet will expand as they add more clothes to it. Mine unfortunately stays the same size. Since it’s not made of rubber or whatever my clients’ closets are made of, I like to practice the rule of “One In, One Out”. If I bring an article of clothing into my non-expanding closet, then something else has to be donated to some poor woman that is dying for a 4 year old piece of clothing.

Ok, now this is going to turn into a rant and I’ll have to finish this original train of thought later.

The Rant: If it’s so ugly, stained, torn, or otherwise gross, why even bother to donate it? Poor people have their pride, too. Many of the articles of clothing I see clients donate are mildewed, stained, and just otherwise gross. It’s OK to throw away clothes! If you watch TV and see people in poor parts of Africa, they’re wearing the clothes that are donated in the US but they’re not wearing the mildewed ones! Give yourself permission to just throw away some things. Clothes, tablecloths, whatever doesn’t make a good rag!

Jan Davis
www.ClutterBye.com

The Clothes Challenge Part I

2008-08-26T18:41:00.000-07:00

Oh, have I seen tons of clothes as a Professional Organizer! I’ve seen big shouldered jackets still hanging in closets with 20 years of dust on them, I’ve seen men’s rayon shirts from the disco era, and a 50 year old woman with her prom dress still hanging in her closet. Why? Because all fashion eventually comes around and they spent so much on these clothes, they must be worth something!

Let’s talk about fashion. Yes, fashion constantly resurrects itself but when it comes back around after 20 years, it’s in a little bit different format than before. And you know what else? Twenty years later your body is probably just a wee bit different. Ok, so maybe you can sell it. Is it worth the closet space to be able to sell a $60 pair of pants for maybe $15? Didn’t you get your money’s worth out of it 20 years ago? If it was that fabulous, don’t you have photos of you in it?

If you don’t and you still have the piece of clothing, lay it out, take a picture, and donate it so someone else can have a great Halloween costume!

Jan Davis
www.ClutterBye.com

Up a Lazy River with Me

2008-08-18T17:50:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, laziness. Sloth. It’s soooo easy and an easy trap to fall in to. You set something down, followed by something else, followed by paper, followed by important things, and before you know it…. PILES. Piles that become so overwhelming that after a while become insurmountable. Where to begin? “I can’t deal with all of this so I won’t deal with it at all. I’m depressed. I can’t act.”

There’s a big difference between being lazy and truly having an inability to comprehend getting organized or just getting behind in your organizing that you used to do. I once had a client that said she had a problem with her laundry. “What’s the problem?” She responded that once she washed the clothes she didn’t like to put them away.

I’m giving you space to reflect on that. Am I a bad organizer because I responded, “Then you just have to put the clothes away.”? Do you have an idea for how else the laundry would get put away? I suggested a housekeeper but that wasn’t in her budget. Please, help me on this one. She lived alone by the way. Suggestions welcome!

Jan Davis
www.Clutterbye.com

No More Piling, No More Piling

2008-08-16T12:09:00.000-07:00

Repeat that mantra. It’s tough to break the habit of just setting down a piece of paper. It’s so easy to do. But you make the choice whether you put it down or put it away.

Mull that over. Put it down or put it away. That works with not only paper, but anything you have in your hand.

It would be so nice to just literally drop whatever you are doing and someone would put it away for you. Will that happen in your house without someone else getting really ticked off? I doubt it. That’s the height of laziness. If you live alone and you think, why bother, think again. Have some respect for your living environment and the way it affects you. Can you imagine never hanging an item of clothing? I see it all the time. That’s not disorganization…that’s laziness.

Jan Davis
www.Clutterbye.com

I Can See for Piles and Piles

2008-08-14T18:54:00.000-07:00

I Can See for Piles and Piles and Piles

Everyone piles. Even we Professional Organizers pile sometimes. You’re in a hurry, short on time, you pile. Yes, even if you’re organized you pile occasionally. The difference between being organized and piling and just piling without a plan is that when you’re organized, you can quickly file and dispatch the piles. When you just pile, you just keep piling until:
▫ You can’t take it anymore once you’ve lost something truly valuable
▫ Your Significant Other threatens to leave you
▫ Your boss threatens to fire you
▫ Your children threaten to report you to Oprah!

You don’t want to go on Oprah do you? With a proper filing system that suits the way you think, it should be easy, enjoyable, and a no-brainer to file away all those papers that you’ll probably never even look at again!

Jan Davis
www.ClutterBye.com

You Can't Freak Me out!

2008-08-14T14:49:00.000-07:00

You’re So Vain, You Probably Think This Article’s About You

Sorry Carly Simon. Most of my clients think they must be the worst I’ve ever seen. Au contraire! I’m going to share with you the worst I’ve ever seen so you know you won’t shock or surprise me. Picture this:

▫ Spiders and webs in all the kitchen cabinets because they haven’t been used in years.
▫ Cockroaches nesting in the coffee maker and in every cabinet happily co-existing with the spiders.
▫ Mice feces all over the bedroom floor under the papers, food, plates, and clothes.
▫ The only bathub/shower being inaccessible to anyone, much less the woman in a wheelchair.
▫ Medication all over the bedroom floor accessible to the many small dogs that “lived” there.
▫ Collecting 17 large yard bags of trash from the living room and dining room.
▫ Finding mouse bones in the bedroom closet that hadn’t been opened in years due to the pile of clothes in front of it.

Get the picture? Now you know that your stacks of paper in your home office can’t freak me out!

Jan Davis
www.ClutterBye.com