This week I’m wrapping up my series on habits. So far we’ve covered daily habits, weekly habits, monthly habits, and seasonal habits. Today we finish out with some simple annual habits to get and stay organized. These may take a bit more time, but they are game changers when it comes to feeling in control of our time, space, and belongings. Annual Habit #1 – Declutter Personal Products *Annual Habit #2 – Clear Out Your Files *Annual Habit #3 – Plan Out Big Events on Your Calendar *Annual Habit #4 – Sweep Out Storage Areas *Annual Habit #5 – Dispose of Hazardous Household Waste *Annual H ..read more

* Do you have habits? In the past few weeks, I’ve been running a series about habits to put in place on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis to make life easier. This week I’m sharing simple seasonal habits to get and stay organized. I live in New England, so the seasonal shifts are noticeable, providing helpful reminders for periodic tasks. However, if you happen to live in a location where the weather doesn’t change, think of these as quarterly habits. The benefit of developing these habits is that they add routine and predictability to the care of spaces and belongings. When you are just get ..read more

I’m a huge fan of habits. When we form a habit, we lighten the pressure of having to repeatedly consider, choose, and decide both how and when to act. The past couple of weeks I’ve been discussing habits, talking about helpful behaviors to do daily and weekly. This week, I’m shifting my focus to simple monthly habits to get and stay organized. Since it is easy to lose track of monthly habits, I suggest you set aside a specific day to do them each month, such as the first/last day of the month, the second Saturday each month, etc. Whenever you are trying to build a new habit, take advantage o ..read more

Habits are really the “secret sauce” to making lasting change in your life. Last week I began my new series of posts on organizing habits with ideas for things to do on a daily basis. This week, I’m continuing the series by sharing some simple weekly habits to get and stay organized. The day of the week doesn’t matter. The key is to be faithful in following through with these habits on a weekly basis. I think it works best to do each task on a predetermined day of the week (e.g., every Monday, every Friday afternoon, etc.). So here we go, four weekly habits to change your life! Weekly Organi ..read more

* Have you seen a show or video about someone getting organized? Such videos are often dramatic and exciting. I love a good “before” and “after” as much as the next person. At the same time, while a major overhaul is invigorating and fun, the true secret to living an organized life is more about habits than it is about grand gestures. What we do regularly, and especially daily, eventually defines our lives. To help you experience the freedom that comes through organization, I’m beginning a series of posts on organizing habits. I’ll begin this week with simple daily habits to get and stay organ ..read more

Image by Katherine Gomez from Pixabay “Don’t put that away!” I often hear this from clients who don’t want me to put something inside a drawer, file, or cabinet. “I need to have it out where I can see it,” they tell me. I understand their thinking. Some people are what I call “everything out” people, meaning individuals who simply prefer to have their belongings out in plain sight. In other cases, they are people who believe that leaving an item “out” will help them remember to take care of a task. Given that as much as 65% of the population are visual learners, this seems to be a wise approac ..read more

. Last December, I had the privilege of attending the Broadway show “I Need That” in New York City. The Connecticut chapter of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing, along with a friend from the New York Chapter, took a field trip to get Broadway’s take on organizing, decluttering, and what we really “need.” As a group of professional organizers, we were very eager to see how the issues of hoarding behavior, clutter, and organizing would be portrayed. Here’s what we found. The cast and their characters were believable. Professional organizing is a “people” business. We work ..read more

This past week I was happy to participate in another session of Minimal Quest. If you’ve never heard of it, the third Tuesday of each month two other professional organizers and I host this free, virtual meet-up to talk about various aspects of pursuing minimalism and getting organized. Last night our topic was, “What Your Professional Organizer Wants You to Know.” We had a lot of fun with this topic, and each of us shared five things we want you to know. Since there was so much helpful information shared, I thought I would pass along the highlights here. I hope you enjoy them! From Susan Lov ..read more

Image by Mircea Iancu from Pixabay We’ve moved into the second month of the new year. For many, resolutions have fallen by the wayside. You may be critical of yourself if you haven’t stuck with your goal, but this may be a mistake. Not all reasons for ceasing effort are the same. Have you fallen short or simply made a wise decision about where and how to spend your time? Let’s dig into the truth about taking a break, quitting, and walking away to find some answers. I often say that life is both hard and twisty. Many of us tend to move through it “aspirationally,” meaning we focus on what we wi ..read more

Building or renovating a home is a large undertaking. The excitement of having something new and improved is often tempered by the pressure of having to make a lot of decisions. Professionals often can offer valuable information. Realtors know what sells, architects know what flows, and designers know what appeals. From years working with clients, I’ve learned a few things about what functions. Therefore, in no particular order, I’m sharing a professional organizer’s new construction recommendations. Closet Organizing Systems Yes, these are expensive, and when you are in the middle of a renov ..read more