Harmony At Last, LLC

There is a professional organization call the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD for short). The NSGCD annual conference is being held this week and I’m excited to be attending. This provides me with a great opportunity to continue my education and network with colleagues around the country. One of the workshops I’m most interested in is “Buried in Treasures: The Psychology of Compulsive Hoarding.” It’s being presented by David Tolin, Ph.D., one of the authors of the “Buried in Treasures” book.

This book is an excellent resource and I highly recommend it for anyone who is personally experiencing hoarding problems, who knows of a loved one who is dealing with this, or who is a professional working with individuals with hoarding problems. Compulsive hoarding is a psychiatric disorder and can only be diagnosed by a mental health professional. It is characterized by:

* Compulsive acquisition and the inability to discard items that most people would consider of limited or no value.

* Non-functional living spaces due to the clutter inhibiting the use of the spaces in the way they were attended.

* Acquisition, discarding, and clutter causing significant distress.

The book provides information and education on the topic, combined with a workbook-like format for individuals to use in addressing their own situation and developing new skills.

I have seen success in my own work as a professional organizer in working with individuals with hoarding tendencies. The team approach with a therapist, the client, myself, and others (such as family and friends), can form a great foundation from which to assist these individuals in making successful changes. I encourage you to seek out the assistance you need in order to facilitate your success and have faith that with focused effort you truly can do it.

If you are frustrated with the amount of junk mail you receive and the clutter that it adds to your home, there is now a new company that offers an easy, time efficient way to get it to stop. Enter GreenDimes, a business dedicated to stopping junk mail while aiding the environment. From the GreenDimes website, I learned statistics such as:

“* 100 million trees are cut down each year to create the approximately 4.5 million tons of junk mail in the United States

*28 billion gallons of water go into the production of American junk mail annually

*Your name is typically worth 3- 20 cents each time it is sold for a direct mailing”

GreenDimes advertises that you will reduce your junk mail by up to 90% and they’ll plant 10 trees for you too! All this for a one-time $15 fee.

Of course, if you do wish to reduce your junk mail for free, that is possible as well. The question for you to decide is whether it is easier to delegate the task and spend $15 or take the time to do it yourself for free. Either way, both you and the environment benefit. Are you ready to take on the challenge?

For some people, standard green file folders, plain manila folders, and other typical organizing supplies suit them just fine. They don’t need a lot of style and pizazz in their organizing system. For others, the system has to be stylish and colorful or they won’t use it.

There are now so many more options than those offered at Staples, Office Depot, and WalMart. You may already be familiar with some of these stores and others may offer a new treat that you weren’t aware of. Here’s some of our favorites:

See Jane Work

Russell and Hazel

The Organized Parent

Exposures

The Container Store

As with any organizing product, you’ll want to insure that it’s functional too! Take time to determine what type of system you need and then seek out solutions that work for you. If you purchase before you’ve identified your need, you may end up with a bunch of products that look good, don’t suit your need, and add to the clutter.

I was speaking with a women the other day who was struggling to find time for herself as she juggled work and family responsibilities. She was upset her busy household and hectic schedule didn’t allow for down time. I invited her to start taking mini-pauses throughout her day. She must have heard me wrong because she gave me a odd glance and insisted she was too young for that… After clarifying I went on to explain that it only takes a few moments to find our happy place and re-center ourselves. It can be done while taking a few deep breaths.

I have an exercise I do that takes about six minutes. I recall that I read it in one of Tony Robbins’ books some number of years ago. I breath in for 5 seconds, hold for 20, breath out for 10, and repeat for a total of 10 times. The simple act of counting along with my heartbeat and breath help me to re-focus and clear my mind. By the third or fourth cycle I’ve been able to block out what ever was bothering me at the time. Afterwards I feel like a different person and it only took six minutes of my time.

The next time your day has become so hectic and you can’t seem to think straight try asking how can I find the time to take a mini-pause?

A recent CNN article highlights how to keep your home clean through a 19 minute daily ritual. My wife and I manage an active household raising our 2 toddler age boys. I can’t help but wonder if the people who wrote this article had active household like ours in mind? After a day worth of play it can take 19 minutes just to pick up all the toys in the family room, let alone clean a whole house.

It does beg the question though how can you maintain a clean home with an active family? The 19 minute concept does have some merit. Instead of setting the expectation that you’ll clean the whole house in 19 minutes, try targeting a specific room and spend 19 minutes concentrating on just that room. Keep this up for a week or two, working room to room, and your whole house will stay nice and clean.

Dishwashers are a fantastic invention. When I was in college, the apartment I rented with a friend didn’t have one. We made a deal that if one person cooked a meal the other would have to do the dishes. I loved to cook so luckily I didn’t have to do too many dishes. When looking for my next apartment, I insisted on it having a dishwasher. Being single at the time, I had to run it only a few times as week.

Now that I have a family, the dishwasher gets runs every day. Although it’s still useful, it’s become the source for kitchen traffic jams. This occurs when you have a dishwasher full of clean dishes, the drying rack is also filled, and no one has put them away. As dirty dishes accumulate, they pile up in the sink and any open counter space. At the point that you’re trying to cook dinner that evening there is no free space to work in. It can sometimes take us up to a 1/2 hour to clear this all out. I don’t remember Rachel Ray dealing with this as part of her “30 Minute Meals” show!

What can we do differently such that dinner preparation doesn’t require a prologue?

A few simple techniques you may want to try:

* Put away all the clean dishes in the evening such that the kitchen is ready for the next day.

* If you are more of a morning person, put the dishes away while the pot of coffee is still brewing.

* Consider involving your children to help put away the dishes.

* Taking a tip from my college days (and if your negotiation skills are up to par) consider assigning one person to cook and another to clean and put away the dishes afterwards.

* When all else fails use paper plates (biodegradable would be the most environmentally responsible choice here).

I just got back from traveling over the Labor Day weekend. My wife and I had quite the discussion on how much to pack for an overnight trip. I was able to pack for myself and our two (preschool age) boys in one carry-on sized suitcase. My wife packed a similarly sized bag just for herself. How could anyone need that much clothing for just an overnight? We went to the Siz Flags, Great Escape in Lake George, NY and stayed at their new hotel. In the evenings they have story time in the lounge area with Tweety Bird. My wife actually packed an outfit just for story time. Oh well, I can’t argue with that!

Whether or not you pack like my wife or myself I’m sure we’ve all found ourselves in situations where we’ve forgotten to pack something. In this scenario it’s useful to have a checklist of items that you always take on trips. We have a few available on our website as a free download. You might consider printing one out, and putting into your luggage, so that it’s available to you when you start to pack for your next trip. That way Tweety Bird won’t be disappointed with your outfit choice!