Part 1: Routines and Boundaries Starting to accept the possibility that working from home may go on for months, if not indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic? As short-term work from home set-ups evolve into long-term arrangements, it’s time to consider how a Professional Organizer can help you stay focused and be more productive. Yes! I can help with more than just organizing your stuff. I can help with organizing your days, which can ultimately improve your mental and physical health ­– things that are more important than ever.   Stick To A Routine: Establishing an at-home workday ro ..read more

How to make the most of your “Quarantime”: One of the primary goals when I work with clients, whether they live in a house or a condo, is to transform their disorganized home into a place where they can relax and unwind, especially after a stressful day at work or school. For anyone self-isolating because of Coronavirus, having your home feel like a calming escape from the rest of the world is more important than ever. There’s no denying that everyone is feeling the effects of the COVID-19 and having to drastically alter how they go about their daily lives. Even as a Professional Organizer, I ..read more

After my last post about re-organizing all the food in your kitchen, I imagined people tossing out massive amounts of food, including wilting produce, stale bread and anything past its best-before date. The sad truth is that, in Canada, the average household throws out or composts $1,100 of food each year. That’s both a lot of food and money going to waste! Being disorganized can be costly.   As a professional organizer, I can help you reduce your household food waste – and ultimately, save you lot of money. I can introduce you to: easy-to-adopt habits for food storage easy-to-break habi ..read more

Have you been spending time lately going through your “stuff and things” trying to decide what to give to or leave behind for your loved ones? Well, this may sound cold and heartless, but the fact is that, with rare exceptions, your kids don’t want your stuff. As a Professional Organizer who often is brought in to clear an estate, I assist clients  grieving a loved one’s death while overwhelmed by what’s been left behind in the home, cottage, storage unit and even the car. In most cases, people don’t want any more stuff to take back to their own already over-stuffed home.   Whether ..read more

So what do you think hoarding is about? Hoarding is a very misunderstood condition. The word commonly conjures up giant piles of clutter, garbage, filth, pests, and at least 12 cats roaming around. People who hoard are thought of as lazy, dirty, elderly, poor, uneducated or even crazy. Some even think that hoarding is caused by trauma such as The Great Depression, war, traumatic loss or other painful events. Most of what you just read are myths. I hope to help dispel some of these hoarding stereotypes and break down the misconceptions around this important mental health issue. But first, let's ..read more

Spring Into Action! Put the Clean and Organize into your COVID plan! Feeling uninspired to tackle top-to-bottom spring cleaning of your home? Even while self-isolating due to COVID-19, it’s still easy to come up with countless reasons (translation: excuses) for avoiding even everyday housework. So whether you’re feeling anxious or unmotivated, I’ve come up with this handy list to tackle one task at a time.   CLUTTERFLY TIP: Especially if you’re not accustomed to working all day at home, make a daily or weekly schedule that incorporates essential housework. Especially if you loathe domest ..read more

Days keep getting shorter and especially with the recent switch to daylight savings, it’s all too easy to go into hibernation mode. Unfortunately, doing so can affect individuals in many ways – from not getting enough exposure to sunlight to suffering from seasonal affective disorder to simply wasting the day away or even depression. Simply put: You're feeling stuck. But what do to when you’re not feeling motivated?   Get out of bed The only thing worse than feeling unmotivated in the morning are feelings of remorse and regret at the end of the day for not having gotten anything accomplis ..read more

Summer is winding down and, if you’re like most people, you’ve been enjoying the fabulous weather and spending as much time as possible outdoors. Even if you didn’t venture much farther than your own backyard, chances are the inside of your home has been left at least somewhat neglected over the past few months. But don’t feel ashamed: I myself must admit, when I’m not working as a professional organizer, if it’s warm and sunny, I’d much rather be out on the deck sharing good food and a drink with a friend, rather than tidying up my house.   When it comes to catching up on chores and gett ..read more

I was recently speaking with a friend about her parents, just after she’d spent Father’s Day weekend with them. While this retired couple does not need my help at this time (unless I help them with their next downsizing move), as a Professional Organizer, I commend – and highly recommend – their healthy, practical and selfless approach to aging, accepting the inevitability of death and dealing with their lifetime of possessions.     While they are both busy and healthy seniors, neither are in denial that they’ve reached the age where their friends, neighbours and siblings are dying ..read more