It's Not The Heat, It's The Humidity

Living in Atlanta for the past nine years, I've heard that phrase a lot. I guess it means you might think it's the summer heat that makes you miserable, when in reality the heat wouldn't be so bad if you could just leave behind the humidity. How does that relate to organizing your life, you might wonder. It doesn't really, in a direct sense, but it got me to thinking that so many people believe that one aspect of disorganization is making them ineffective, unproductive and miserable. Yet it's actually something else.

They think if they just had the right tools, they could be more organized. So they purchase file cabinets, shelves, sorters, containers, boxes, and all sorts of other organizing tools. Yet still they are disorganized.

They think maybe it's their time management that makes them disorganized. So they buy a calendar or they take a seminar. Yet still they are disorganized.

They think if they just had more space, they'd be organized. So they buy a bigger desk, a bigger house or get a bigger office. Yet still they are disorganized.

They think it's their stuff's fault. If they could just declutter, then they'd be organized. They spend long arduous hours decluttering, sorting, culling out, and donating. Yet still they are disorganized.

This is beginning to sound like a children's book isn't it? Well just as children's books always have a lesson to teach, this has a lesson as well. Chaos is like a pie...there are many pieces that all connect. You can address one piece and that often helps the other pieces improve on their own a bit. However, there is no magic quick fix for chaos. It involves evaluating and fixing EACH PIECE to make as much overall improvement as you can.

You must address your time management and priorities, which means evaluating what you're saying yes to. You must address your space and storage potential to maximize what you have. You must address the amount of STUFFFFFFF you have in your life, how it got there, and how you can keep it from accumulating again. You must address your lifestyle and pace and whether it's working for you. And you must address your attitude, habits and behaviors, because until you can change your attitude, you can't change your habits and behaviors that caused the situation in the first place.

Remember that today is the result of your past thoughts, beliefs and actions. If you want to change tomorrow's results you have to change your thoughts, beliefs and actions today.

Episode Four - Reclaiming The Bedroom

TUNE IN TONIGHT! (July 12 at 9:30 pm)

January 2005, I taped my fourth and most recent episode (#702) with homeowners Angela, Nellie and Charles. Angela is a sharp, young, single professional and owner of a beautiful townhome in suburban Atlanta. Three years ago, Angela's parents sold their home in another state and moved south to move in with her. A loving daughter, Angela relinquished much of her home to her parents and ended up spending most of her time in her bedroom. The 13.15 room was absolutely full with almost nowhere to sit or walk. She had crammed all the aspects of her life into this single small space and it just wasn't working. When I first saw the bedroom, it was clear to me that we could make a dramatic difference for her and she really needed it.

We did a total makeover, completely changing the paint colors, adding new lighting, all new furniture, shelving and a brand new closet system. For hours upon hours we sorted, pitched, donated, sold and shredded. It was a lot of hard work, but after it was all over, Angela ended up with a gorgeous new room that is more like a hip NYC studio than a suburban bedroom. It's no longer a crammed little room. Now it's decluttered, fun and a little funky. And with plenty of seating, dining space, an office, and oh yes, two places to sleep, it's a multi-functional and perfect place to hang out with friends. Click the episode number above to see the before and after pictures!

Episode Three - Home Office Cleanup

In September, I did my third episdoe (#609) with homeowners Chris and Renee Conde. These two gorgeous hipsters live in a funky downtown loft space and they definitely needed help. The other rooms in their loft were just dandy, but the largest room had been a disaster. About ten percent of the room was used as a makeshift office (I think any room where a computer lives can technically be called an "office"), and the other 90% was simply a dumping ground for anything and everything they didn't feel like dealing with. Enter the Professional Organizer to save the day! This episode was a ton of fun, and also one of the most difficult because we literally had to outfit the entire room with furniture from top to bottom. (I think we kept the original desk, but nothing else). It ended up being a fantastic transformation and in the end, we had a multi-functional room that acts as an entertainment area for guests, a Zen garden living area for Chris and Renee, an office AND a guest room, thanks to an incredible Murphy Bed by Inova. Check out the before and after pics on the HGTV web site.

A Handy Records Retention Guide from The Good Housekeeping Institute

SAVVY CONSUMER: The paper trap:
What to keep, what to pitch?
Good Housekeeping Institute
Saturday, April 16, 2005

Now that the deadline for filing your income tax returns is past (or you've filed for an extension), it's a great time to take stock of your financial records and clear out the paper clutter in your home.

Here's what you should keep and what you can toss forever, courtesy of the new Good Housekeeping book "The Complete Household Handbook" (Hearst Books, $24.95):

Tax returns: After filing a tax return, keep substantiating records --- tax returns, canceled checks, receipts for deductible expenses --- for at least seven years. The Internal Revenue Service has three years after the year of filing to audit a return; six years if the taxpayer omits more than 25 percent of gross income; and unlimited time if fraud is found.

IRA contributions: You'll want to keep these records permanently. This is especially important for nondeductible IRA contributions since you might need to prove that you already paid tax on the money at the time you withdrew the cash.

401(k) and other retirement-plan statements: Keep your quarterly statements until you get the annual statement. Then you can discard the quarterly statements. Hold on to the annual statements until you retire or close the retirement-plan account.

Bank records: At tax time each year, sort through your checks and keep the ones for deductible personal expenses, home renovations, business expenses and your mortgage. Then toss the rest.

Brokerage and mutual-fund statements: Be sure to hang onto all purchase and sales slips. This way, you can determine your gains and losses for tax purposes. As with retirement plans, keep your quarterly brokerage and mutual-fund statements until your annual statements arrive, and keep end-of-year statements indefinitely.

Bills: The only ones you really need to keep are for large purchases such as home computers, jewelry, cars and antiques.

They'll come in handy if you need to prove the value of your belongings for insurance purposes.

Credit-card receipts and statements: You should keep the receipts until you get your monthly statement. Then you can discard the receipts, if everything matches up. Hold on to your credit-card statements for seven years for tax purposes if they have business expenses on them.

Paycheck stubs: You really need to keep these for only a year.

Home-related documents: Indefinitely keep records showing the purchase price, the cost of home improvements and expenses for buying or selling the home. These will be useful for tax purposes when you sell. Keep these records even after selling your house.

Insurance policies: Hold on to these as long as the policies are still in force.


To Shred or Not To Shred?

Although you might be tempted to shred everything --- or nothing --- here are the top five items you should shred in order to protect your financial information:

• Anything you don't need that lists your Social Security number.
• Unsolicited credit-card offers.
• Credit-card statements and checks you no longer need.
• Bank, brokerage and mutual-fund statements you no longer need.
• Insurance claim forms you no longer need.

Where To Keep Important Papers

It's important to organize your financial and personal records well. Use these guidelines to help determine where to keep your valuable files.

Where: Carry with you
What to keep there: Personal ID, auto-insurance card (keep in your car), credit cards, debit cards, ATM cards, driver's license, car registration, health-insurance card, medical information, physician's ID card

Where: Home files
What to keep there: Checking and savings account info, credit records, employment records, estate-planning info, health info, household furnishings/appliance records, housing records, income-tax records, insurance records, investment records, privacy statements from financial institutions, vehicle info

Where: Safe-deposit box
What to keep there: Appraisals, photos, receipts of valuables, inventory of household goods, cemetery-plot papers, contracts/leases/notes, jewelry, list of insurance policies and agents, military-service records, mortgage documents/title and deeds, motor-vehicle titles/purchase receipts, personal records for all household members, Social Security card, stock/bond/mutual-fund certificates and purchase/sales receipts, tax assessments and records of home capital improvements, wills.

Episode Number Two - Multipurpose Activity Room

In August I taped my second episode of Mission:Organization (#513) with homeowners Kim and Bruce Banta. Kim is one of the most creative people I've ever met. When I met Kim, her spacious craft room looked like a Michael's Outlet had exploded. Whoa! She was so much fun and so motivated that I knew she was the homeowner for this episode! This woman sews, does photography and makes every craft known to mankind. It's really incredible. We took her once cluttered and barely functional project room and gave it not only a facelift so it's beautiful, but it actually has three distinctly different zones to work, with mega-storage built in. There's a sewing area, a paper crafts and office area and a lounge-around-and-watch-tv area. It just rocks, if I do say so myself. Again, more long hours and hard work, a whole LOT of giggling during the late night work sessions, and a lot of fun. Check out the episode on the HGTV web site for before and after pics.

Honoring America

I'm an American. I was fortunate enough to be born here and I'm thankful every day for that. The risks our forefathers took to birth this great nation were tremendous and many died in the process. They gave their lives in the pursuit of liberty, and we should never forget it. Liberty is the reason we have become the greatest nation on Earth. Here we enjoy the freedom to create, freedom to speak and write, freedom to defend yourself and family against predators, freedom to assemble peaceably on the street corner and freedom to pursue happiness as you define it.

We can start businesses from nothing and grow them into empires, we can come up with a better idea, we can invent a service and market it to others, we have the freedom to enjoy FREE ENTERPRISE which is an incredibly powerful thing. A person filled with the desire to have a better life is incredibly productive, very industrious, and amazingly inspiring.

It's human nature to strive for more, to want to achieve, excel, and win. It's natural to want a better life for yourself and family, and thankfully in America, you can do that, if you seize the opportunities that exist here. We've all heard the phrase, "When opportunity knocks", but I don't believe that opportunity comes knocking on your door. You make your own opportunity. You ask for what you want. You choose your attitude, you choose your path. You sit down and figure out your priorities and your goals, then you do what it takes to meet people who can help you get there. You have a contribution to make to this world and in this country, you are free to make it through the capitalist, free enterprise system.

Sometimes things do go your way; sometimes there are "lucky breaks", but success certainly doesn't depend on luck or circumstance. Success depends on attitude and action. Repeated, habitual, focused action, day after day, week after week to create a critical mass of positive results.

So on this Fourth of July, I'm thankful that I live in the greatest country in the world, where a woman is free to own her own business and create the success and life she desires.

Shameless Bragging (or Mission: Organization My First Episode...)

With the topic of organizing in the media forefront the past few years, the public has gotten increasingly more interested in getting organized. This, in my opinion, is a wonderful thing. Not only because that's what I do for a living, either, although hey, who's complaining? :)

I have been blessed with the gift of gab and as such, have fallen in love with radio and television. From the time I was fifteen and had my own radio show in my hometown of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania I have loved it. You can imagine my glee when February of 2004, I was contacted to be the featured expert organizer on HGTV's Mission: Organization. Not for eternity or anything, just for a few episodes.

In March and April, I taped my first episode (#503) with homeowners Christie and Curtis Crowder. We transformed their home office from a crazy hot mess into a beautiful, functional place where Christie can run her business and Curtis can work from home when he needs to. Christie and her best friend (coincidentally also named Monica) were both seven months pregnant at the time, but MAN they were both just bundles of energy! One night around 11:00 Christie, Monica and I were still putting together furniture for the next day's taping. Of course, I was wiped out but these two women, great with child and cheery, forged ahead. Truly amazing. This episode was full of very long hours, lots of hard work, but was definintely fun and interesting. And I'm still waiting for "One-Take Curtis" to break into the movies... check out the episode for before and after photos.