Technological Clutter – What is that Exactly?

Clutter comes in many shapes and sizes but, for now, let’s just talk about technological clutter. You know…all the extra cables, wires, chargers that are in random drawers and boxes around the house. The hard-drive that is buried at the bottom of a closet. Oh, what about the old flip phones that are in a bag in the garage. Yup, that’s all technological clutter.

I can’t tell you how often I come across boxes or bags of old outdated technology in my line of work. Seems like everyone has tons of old technology that they haven’t discarded for one reason or another.

These are the common answers I get when I ask why they’ve kept the old and/or outdated items:
• I may need that cable or wire for something else
• There’s still information on the hard drive that I need
• I don’t know how to purge the information
• I keep just in case I lose mine or mine breaks

This type of clutter is much the same as any other. We keep it “just in case” or, we keep it because we don’t know what to do with it.

Technology changes fast. Things become obsolete quickly. If you have a new cell phone, chances are you will never need the old phone. Even if your phone breaks or is lost, you probably won’t go back to the previous phone because it will be antiquated. So, donate your old cell phone(s). Did you know that you can donate old phones to our troops overseas? Well, you can and they can really use them so hopefully that will motivate you.

Then, there’s the old hard drives. Since we all keep important information stored on the hard drives, it is essential to make sure that they’re wiped clean before discarding them. If you know how to retrieve the information, do it and get rid of the old hard drive. If you aren’t tech savvy, either give it to your IT professional or bring it to the Geek Squad at Best Buy and have them do it for you. They’ll even recycle it for you.

Cables, wires, chargers. Where do I even begin? Once upon a time they obviously belonged to some kind of device but now you have no clue which ones they belong to. So, why keep them? Each new device that you buy will have its’ own cables, wires or cords. As soon as you get your new device, get rid of the old device and all of its cables, wires and cords so they don’t get mixed up. For the most part, they are no longer useful. And, if you do wind up needing a cord or cable that you tossed, you can always get a replacement quickly and at a low cost.

So, in conclusion, if you have a device that you’re currently using, get rid of the older one that you no longer use. You can bring your old technology to the Geek Squad at Best Buy or another place of your choosing where they will wipe out the data and recycle them for you. Some places, like Apple, will allow you to trade in the old technology and give you a credit towards a new device.

Trust me, you’ll feel so much better when you purge these old, outdated and unnecessary items. Just do it!

Organizing When You Live With Other People

Organizing means different things to different people. What one person considers organized may not necessarily mean the same thing to someone else. In fact, it rarely does.

Some people like things put away as they don’t like clutter. Others like things out so that they can see them.

When I lived at home as a child, my Mother’s way of organizing meant being able to access what she needed when she needed it so it didn’t matter if something was in the “right” place. She spent a lot of time in the kitchen and, therefore, a lot of things that didn’t “belong” in a kitchen were there because it was easier for her to not have to go to another room in the house to get them. It worked for her and she knew where everything was. She was organized in her way and it worked for her.

When I started living on my own, I organized so that like items were with like items. Everything had its’ place and there was little, if any, clutter. That is what worked for me and still does.

There really is no ONE right way.

When we live with other people, whether it be a roommate, your children or a significant other, we need to figure out what works for everyone. Here are some suggestions that I believe will help so that everyone living under one roof is on the same page to avoid conflict (and, not necessarily in this order):

Mutual Respect: We all need to respect the people that we live with. We “should” pay attention to their needs and wants and, in turn, we can hope that they will respect ours. Example: If leaving your shoes in the middle of the floor irritates someone in the house and they’ve asked you to put them away or at least out of harms’ way, the respectful thing to do is to put them away or at least out of harm’s way. It doesn’t take long and it’s not a big deal. More importantly, you can avoid an argument or possibly an injury. Sometimes it’s the little things that make a big difference.

Compromise: I think we can all agree that compromising is key. Sometimes we do things that we don’t necessarily want to do BUT it will keep the peace in the house so it’s just easier to do. Example: Men “should” put down the lid to the toilet seat if they’re living with a woman and sharing a bathroom. Yes, it’s an extra step but it’s important. Or, if there’s another bathroom in the house perhaps having different bathrooms might work.

Combined effort: Having a plan in place is a great start. Discuss your wants, needs, expectations and together you can devise a plan that works for everyone. Chores can be divided so that all of the housework doesn’t fall on one person. For example, in my house, the agreement has always been that the common areas of the house (kitchen, living room, den) are always to be left clean and tidy after use. Examples: Dishes go directly into the dishwasher. Beds are always made before leaving the house. Do whatever works for you but, having the conversation/understanding and an effective plan is a great way to avoid conflict.

Realistic Expectations. Like I mentioned above, everyone has their own way of organizing and their own level of organizational skills. You can’t expect everyone, or anyone for that matter, to do things exactly like you do or when. Come up with ways to divvy up the tasks so that they are commensurate with skills/likes of those in the house. Setting a schedule is also helpful so that everyone knows when they need to get their chores done.

If you find that you need assistance with Organizing, Downsizing, De-Cluttering or Relocating please give us a call. We’d LOVE to be of service!

Organizing Is A Necessary Evil

When it comes to organizing, most of us will hit a brick wall at some point with something that needs to be organized. For whatever reason, that particular organizing chore is just too daunting and, therefore, probably won’t get done. For some people it’s the paperwork, for others it’s the random files on their desk. For some it’s the garage and for others it’s the craft room or mudroom.

Of course, there’s also countless reasons as to why that particular organizing chore isn’t getting done. Maybe it’s lack of time or maybe it’s lack of skill. However, when the clutter or disorganization gets out of hand, most people will feel overwhelmed and may be unsure as to how to get it together or, back together as the case may be.

In the world of Professional Organizers, January is “Go” month. It’s the beginning of a new year and it’s a great time to get organized to start the new year on the right foot. In fact, it’s one of the top ten New Years’ resolutions year after year after year. So, obviously, organizing is a constant and very necessary part of our lives.

That said, you can’t just get organized at the beginning of the year and expect things to stay that way. Organizing is something you need to do all year round. Maintenance is sooo important to keep things from spiraling out-of-control. If it looks good and feels good, you’ll be more inclined to keep it that way. All it takes is a few minutes a day!

Why wait for things to spiral out-of-control? Start organizing an area that’s making you crazy. Start small! Tackle one drawer, one closet or one cupboard at a time. It’s better to organize one small area at a time so you can concentrate and finish the task. I suggest staying in the same room until you’ve finished all areas in that room. Then, move on to the next area when you’re ready.

Although there may not be a deadline, it’s easy to get side-tracked so make sure you put time on the calendar each day for a few minutes to organize. That’s right…make an appointment with yourself to set aside time to get whatever organizing task you want to get done.

There’s always something to organize. We organize all the time, every day, without even thinking about it. Putting the dishes away, filing a document into a folder, folding the clean laundry to put it away. It’s part of our everyday life or, at least it should be.

Think about it, people vow to get “better” organized in January to start the new year off on the right foot. In February we start getting our papers organized to prepare our taxes or get them ready for our accountant. At the end of March, we begin the Spring-cleaning craze. Then, April starts moving season, which goes on through to mid-summer. Those people that are moving will probably want to downsize and get rid of the excess so that they are organized and ready for their upcoming move. Mid-Summer parents are getting things ready for their children to start school or planning a vacation. Then Fall starts off the holiday season which has its own organizing challenges, i.e. hosting guests or planning events, purging to make room for all the Christmas décor, gifts and company.

All of this requires some degree of organizing!

So, what’s it gonna be? Are you going to start the year off on the right foot? Will you implement a badly needed filing system? Purge old papers? Get the boxes of photos in the garage scanned or made into a beautiful album so that you can get rid of all those boxes from too many generations? Purge the garage so you can park you car in there? Go thru the bins and bins of your grown children’s memorabilia to determine what they actually want or need? Organize your closet and get rid of the clothes that no longer fit or suit your current lifestyle?

Whatever you decide to do, I can guarantee that if you’re organized or even better organized than you are right now, you’ll be more productive and efficient. Inevitably you’ll wind up having more time and, you know what “they” say…Time is money!

GO FORTH AND CONQUER! If you need help, give us a call. We’re ready when you are.

Help! I Need a Professional Organizer

I have been sending out this newsletter now for over 5 years. For those of you who open it and read it, I hope you have gotten a sense of who I am, what I do and why.

For those of you who are new and have just recently signed up or, for whatever reason, decided to start reading, the readers digest version is: I am a Professional Organizer and one of my specialties is residential organizing. That covers everything from linen closets to bedrooms to playrooms to the garage. There isn’t a place in a home that I can’t improve upon. I help people get organized or “better” organized as the case may be.

One of the reasons I started Organizing Concepts and Designs (aka OCD) is because organizing comes naturally to me. It’s just something I’ve always done for myself and for others. I can walk into a room full of clutter or boxes and make sense of it all. I can make that space more efficient.

Here’s the problem…my house is under construction, and it looks like a tornado hit it. There’s stuff everywhere. Much as I tried to contain it prior to and during the construction, it was just impossible. After living this way for a few weeks, I am now completely overwhelmed. I don’t know where to start to put “humpty dumpty back together again”. Why is it that I can do this for everyone else but I’m having trouble figuring this out for myself? The answer is simple. It’s never easy when it’s your stuff.

So, even though I know exactly what to do I am going to hire a Professional Organizer to help me. Here’s the questions and thoughts I had that led me to the decision to hire another P.O.:

1. Why should I do it myself?

2. Even if I can do it myself, it’s always better and quicker to have another set of hands.

3. Maybe another P.O. will have some insight into organizing products that I haven’t thought of before.

4. Perhaps I can organize things differently which might even be better than it was.

5. It would be great to have another perspective.

Bottom line is I’m going to give it a try. I’ll let you know next time how that worked out. All I know is I can’t wait to get some order back in my life.

If you are asking yourself the same questions about your closet, a place in your house or your paperwork, give us a call. WE CAN HELP!

What Being Organized Means To Me

What does that even mean? I think we all have a different idea of what organizing means.

As a Professional Organizer, this is what being organized means to me:

1. Being able to easily find things when I want or need them. When I say “easily” it means that I don’t have to spend more than a few seconds/minutes to get my hands on the item that I want. I know where it is!

2. Being able to access things when I want or need them. This means that I don’t have to move around several other items to get to the item that I want.
** The caveat is that sometimes we store things in the garage or in the attic which makes it more difficult to get to or reach. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not organized. If for example, you have some memorabilia stored in a bin that’s properly labeled but happens to be located in the rafters in the garage, IMO, that’s still organized.

3. Being safe in my surroundings. Being able to navigate my way around without having to step over something and/or without having to move something out of the way. Not being afraid that if I reach to get something that other items might fall on top of me.

4. Time management is key! If you’re organized you will have more time to get things done and ultimately more time to yourself. My favorite time management tool is my calendar and I use it every day, all day. It includes all of my appointments, all calls that I have to make and all things that I have to do. It keeps me on track. Of course there’s always those things that don’t get done. When then happens I just carry it over to the next day or the next week to make sure that whatever it is still gets done. I just prioritize whenever possible.

5. Finally, being organized means that my house and office have to be presentable at all times. It doesn’t mean it has to be perfect or look like a picture from a magazine. For me it’s just easier to stay on top of things and do a little every day to make sure that my surroundings are presentable.

Self-Improvement month: Make an organized change in your life

An organized life starts with an organized home. Taking the time to reduce clutter, organize, and get some cleaning done can increase your productivity in unimaginable ways. Therefore, we encourage you to dedicate this month to becoming more organized and see what an impact this change has on your overall lifestyle.

Making organized changes can ultimately help in every area of your life. Inside the office and out, organization needs to be prioritized. Even the simplest of changes can make a huge impact and thus, it’s important to start small and work your way up. Whether it’s letting go of items you’re emotionally attached to or organizing your planner, these small changes can really simplify your life.

Stay current and experience growth with everyday changes. Once you have things in order and proper storage systems in place, it’s important that you don’t allow things to get back to how they once were. You’ll want to stay on top of the clutter and actively carry out effective organizational strategies to maintain your organization. To help ensure that things don’t get out of hand, schedule decluttering sessions and don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Change can benefit you personally and professionally. Not only will becoming more organized increase your productivity at work, but your personal life will also reap the benefits. Through making the right changes, and employing operative time management techniques, you’ll experience less stress and have more time for friends, family, and fun.

I can help you make changes to be better organized in your life. Knowing how to get organized can be more difficult than anticipated and having that extra support can really help individuals get started on this lifestyle change. If you find that you’re having a hard time getting organized, don’t hesitate to seek assistance from a professional organizer. I’ve helped many people get their lives in order in a short period of time. No matter how much clutter your home has, or how disorganized your office is, know that organization is just one small step away.

I can help organize any area of your home or office for better efficiency and productivity. Rest assured in knowing that I can help you get the job done, no matter what room in your home needs a bit of sprucing up and/or organizing. Through effective organizing systems and strategies, you can increase your productivity in all areas of your life.

Call us today at (310) 560-5060 to help you make an organized change in your home and your life. Like us on Facebook!