Here I go, telling the world my deepest darkest secret. Well it’s not that deep and dark. I want to write a book. It’s actually not so much that I want to write one, I just feel one in me. I feel I have so much to share and say. I feel others can benefit from my perception in some strange and twisted way. The biggest problem is I cannot decide what to write about. There are so many topic choices. Here are some I have thought of already:

Clutter Addiction - Addiction and the role it plays in your cluttered home

The Clutter Myth - The REAL truth about clutter

Co-Dependence Equals a Cluttered Life - How your inability to care for yourself is cluttering your life

Through the eyes of a Professional Organizer - What one PO learns through her experiences with her clients

So does anyone out there have an opinion? I need guidance and would love to know what intrigues you the most. Maybe it will help me get started.

I found an organizer with a great idea to jump start the year in celebration of Get Organized Month. Take a look at her Go Project 365.

So, it’s a new year. Happy New Year to all of you. I won’t go on about New Years Resolutions. I am sure you have heard it all already. I am however, going to start the New Year with new phrase.

I learned this phrase watching The Suze Orman Show. As dramatic and humorous as she is, she does have a great way of telling it like it is. Not only is her financial advice helpful, there are so many ways you can easily translate her advice into other areas of life. I have quoted her before when she said “Say NO out of love, instead of YES out of fear.” Applying this concept with my clients when we work together is extremely helpful. Well now Suze Orman has provided me with another one. “Face it to erase it.”

It’s not as easy as it may seem. In fact, as I sit here now watching the show, Suze is hounding a guest on her current debt of 230,000, her mortgage of 900,000, her monthly expenses of 15,000 and her income of 9000 per month. From the outside looking in it seems crazy right?! Well Susie never got through to her guest. She was advised by Suze and others to sell her home, sell her cars and start over by renting a two bedroom apartment. Of course, this was not acceptable and the guest admitted bluntly that she would never take such steps to be financially free. In other words, she wasn’t facing it to erase it.

What will it take for you to see you have a serious problem with your finances or even your clutter? Because, as you know, you can’t erase it until you face it. So before you make those New Year Resolutions, think about it in depth. Are you truly willing to CHANGE?

If you’re a book junkie or a tech guru you may have heard of the new Kindle. A device that holds up to 250 titles that you can read in digital format. I have been asking around about this device because it sounds so intriguing. So I thought I would pass along what I have learned.

At the present time it is somewhat unclear how well the Kindle is selling. However, amazon is sold out of them until February. So that has to mean something. The price is pretty high, roughly about $350.00. From what I have read it doesn’t seem this device will take over the real deal. People still love to hold, smell and read their books and flip the pages. But the Kindle has advantages. You can carry so many titles with you that you can seriously avoid book clutter. So many clients I have worked with just cannot bare to get rid of their books. This could be a means to reducing some of that clutter. The Kindle also allows you to take notes on what you’re reading, you can look up the definitions of words you don’t know and you can download titles directly from the device. I also learned from friends who have one that the screen is not like a monitor. It’s not back lit so you won’t get a headache reading in this new format.

I don’t see the Kindle taking over printed novels. However, I can see a whole new use for it. It is a great item to bring with you when you travel. How great would it be to have a Kindle when you’re in Italy, for example. You can read from a book that teaches Italian. Also, if you have a long commute on a train the Kindle can really keep you occupied. It can also save you a few bucks because you can avoid spending full price on a book you end up hating. You can read the book on Kindle and buy the real book if you love it and keep only the books you love. The Kindle can also be very useful for college students. Often they have research papers due for several classes. They can carry all the material they need in one device. They can compare books and write their papers using a quick resource. It can also be helpful so they don’t have to carry so many books to their classes.

The Kindle has already got me thinking outside the box. Does anyone have anything bad to say about it? I would love to know. 

If you don’t maybe you should start. According to the following article it can help you prevent procrastination.

You know the drill… that negative self-talk we all end up saying in our heads. Well, it’s keeping you from moving forward. In fact I recently did a podcast interview with Linda Sapadin. She wrote the book “It’s About Time! The Six Styles of Procrastination and How to Overcome Them.” Our chat about negative self-talk backs up this article. Have a listen.

I’ll be honest, I am no expert on lighting. But I do know how important lighting is in a room. Lighting creates mood, and of course is important for several functions. Lighting can even help you stay focused or even give you headaches if it’s not appropriate for the space. Since I am not a designer, I am always looking for resources on lighting so I can learn a few tips here and there. This evening, I found tons of information in the New York Times. Check it out. It’s fabulous!

According to an article in The New York Times, Obama is glued to his BlackBerry. But it may not be long before he is forced to stop cyber-communications all together… or not. Could you imagine? 

Think you have ADHD? It isn’t just for young boys. Women struggle all the time with the disorder and have a difficult time managing simple daily tasks. Read on and learn how ADHD may be effecting you.

Many of my clients have expressed a concern about tracking their expenses. They admit that it’s a task that rarely gets done and they end up scrambling at the end of the month to get their paperwork in order. We all know that the sooner we get our money back the better our cash flow will be. In this economy, we can’t be foolin around!

So try getmyexpense.com. It’s web based and the cost is minimal. You can create reports, upload your accounts from Quickbooks and print it all for your records. Since it’s web based you can enter expenses from anywhere, anytime. I am told by many that they forget to include an expense and have to remember to include it when they arrive back to the office. Web based means you can make updates as you think of them and save time and brain power. You can categorize your expenses by project or client and you can also have your assistant print reports if you are out of the office and expenses are due. You can even have your assistant enter them for you. This works great for Attorneys, Sales Associates, Small Businesses etc.

The New York TImes put out an article recently about how people are now glued to the TV because of this economic crisis. If you’re like me your watching the news now more than ever and your productivity has greatly decreased. Read this article and see how others are dealing with it.

A lot of my friends and family are asking me if my business is feeling the effects of the economy. What’s strange is, the answer is no. You would think there would be some slow down in request for getting organized, since most think of it as a luxury. The truth is if you think about it, it makes a lot of sense why business hasn’t slowed down.

As a nation I think we are beginning to slowly understand that we need to downsize everything in our lives. Bigger is no longer better. We are beginning to accept and be happy with what we already have. The extras are no longer as necessary as they used to be. Therefore, I am getting calls from people who want to optimize their lives. They want to learn to live with even less. Who better to help than a Professional Organizer.

I have said in the past, “the economic disaster we are in is somewhat of a blessing.” Not because people are losing their jobs and homes of course, but because we are forced to reevaluate our living conditions. We are seeing more clearly what is truly important and removing anything from our lives that is complicated. We are simplifying and we are actually happier.

Not only has my business not been effected, but I have to admit… it seems restaurants are bustling. My friends even agree, Friday nights we are still waiting for a table for an hour. I went to dinner at a very popular restaurant on a Monday evening and the place was booked. To me this coincides with exactly what I am saying. We are realizing what is truly important so we are spending more time with friends and family. Meeting out for dinner and enjoying their company.

So I wouldn’t necessarily consider this an economic disaster. I would call it… an economic enhancement.

This morning on the Today Show they talked about people who have downsized. Not because they are empty nesters but because they want to simplify. One woman moved from a 1500 square foot home into an 84 square foot home. She tossed a lot of what she had. She lived with one burner on the stove, no microwave, minimal clothing and was very happy.

I share this woman’s happiness. Recently my husband and I decided to simplify as well. We got rid of cable, sold a car, sold a motorcycle and exchanged it for a less expensive one, we’re selling/donating items we no longer need and we stopped shopping needlessly. We’re also doing what we can to pay off debt so we have less bills to pay. I have to say, it feels pretty good. We have less to worry about, less to clean, less to pay for. It gives you a new sense of freedom and control.

While meeting with a new client yesterday, she mentioned there was something so comforting about the thought of moving into her camper. I have no doubts she could be very happy there. She would have more time with her children, husband and family because she would spend less time managing her home, small business and the mountains of laundry her family has. Downsizing has it’s benefits for sure.

David Allen said it well when he said “If you have the executive discipline to know how to deal with input, technology is a huge boon.” In addition, I would say if you have patience for learning, technology can be your best friend. I like David Allen’s use of the word “input.” When my husband and I walk our dog we always laugh at our dogs excitement and jokingly say “iiiiinnnnnpuuut.” Our dog is so stimulated he can’t focus on any one thing. The same goes for us on a daily basis. So does technology save time? Read this article in Forbes and find out. I’ll bet the article doesn’t surprise you. 

I find excuses very common when I meet with a client for the first time. They immediately worry that I may judge them and they want to justify their behavior. What these individuals don’t understand is I am the last person who will judge them. I know far more than they want me to know before I even walk through the door. I make every attempt to clarify that there is no room for blame and no reason to be defensive. The fact is, it is what it is.

All too often excuses are made that inflict blame on others in the home. Without fail it seems important for my clients to tell me how others have contributed to the clutter in their home. Rarely do they accept their role in it. They also tend to avoid their true problems because the excuses make it easier to mask them. Now, don’t get me wrong, this behavior is completely understandable. The embarrassment and shame that go along with a cluttered home are huge contributors to this behavior. I have been known to make these excuses myself. We have all done it at one time or another.

In order to help my clients move forward and break their bad habits I have created a new set of rules to use while working with them. I feel it will help a lot of you not only with a cluttered home but in all areas of your life. These rules were developed as a means to keep my clients focused on what is REAL and TRUE. They put a stop to the smoke and mirror routines we all play in our lives.

Rule #1
We do not talk about HOW the home got cluttered.

Not talking about how the home got in the condition it is in allows us to work with what we have and what is REAL. It forces us to see things as they are and to stop making attempts to blame others and to justify the bad behavior.

Rule #2
We only work on finding solutions to our problems.

Staying focused on solutions gives us the opportunity to think positively. It gives us permission to move forward and makes change easier to bare. Seeing the solution we can envision what is missing and fill the void.

Rule #3
We only look at how we can change our own behavior.

If our homes are full of clutter, we have played some sort of a role in making it that way. There are no if, ands or buts about it. Therefore, we need to identify our own unhealthy behavior and identify how we can do better. We will only spin our wheels trying to get others to see the error of their ways. So instead set an example for others and create a chain reaction. Everyone stops the defensive behavior and works productively to develop solutions.

It’s official, I finally hired an independent contractor. It’s part of the reason I haven’t blogged in a while. Business is doing well and I needed a hand.

Candice is her name. She had her first session a couple of weeks ago and my client couldn’t be happier. I chose Candice because she was very secure about her own needs, she was honest, direct and had a deep seeded desire to help others. I instantly could tell she was able to set boundaries, communicate well and could empathize. These are the kinds of traits you need to have to be a professional organizer. She’s a natural. In addition, she has family members with physical/mental handicaps and is a mom and wife. This means she brings a whole new skill set to the table here at NEAT. Her niche is not yet determined, but she enjoys working with children and those with handicaps.

Oh and I saved the best part for last… she is working at a discounted rate while she is training. This is a great time for anyone who wants to save money to have a professionals help for a LOW LOW price. So please spread the word. If you know someone who has complained about being disorganized or if you have been interested in getting some help, but your budget has been tight, give us a call. Candice is ready and willing to help. She works weekends and weeknights.