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An organizing book for everyone by KC Davis. I recommend reading or listening to it, and watching her Ted Talk (link is below) (In a hurry? You can order the book here . I'll get a small commission - thank you!) I have to start by saying... THANK YOU KC DAVIS! This book is amazing! Listening to this book was a fantastic, mind-altering distraction as I prepped my cabinets for my kitchen remodel (and also reignited my tennis elbow). I feel like I've been waiting for her words

How our brains keep us from living the life we want to live. "I feel like I'll be a different person after I declutter, more loving, kinder, gentler." A client said this to me on a virtual organizing call this week. I 100% agree. Getting organized in a way that works for our individual lives is life and mind changing. And I think most people know this deep down, so why does it seem so freaking hard to do?! 5 Ways We Sabotage Our Organizing Efforts We tell ourselves we don't h

If the number of e-mails in your inbox stresses you out, here's what experts from Digital Helpmates, the Harvard Business Review and TidyWild Organizing recommend... This was the number of e-mails in my email inbox while I was taking care of my Mum until she passed away. I would open my e-mail and feel that number like a physical weight. I know I'm not alone - friends and client-friends often mention how frustrating and overwhelming it can be to have so many messages piling u

Advice from someone who's floated in the boat of overflowing photos. I've been a professional organizer for about 8 years and almost every woman I've worked with has a goal of organizing photos so they can be shared. With closets and garages and cupboards and rooms full of "stuff," having space and time for this can seem like a distant dream, but my Mum and I are living proof that photo organizing dreams can come true! Yes, it takes diligence and persistence. Yes, it can take

How to avoid making more clutter every time we walk in the door. There's a seemingly small but very powerful thought shift that can change the future of clutter in our homes and other spaces. How many times do we walk into a room with something in our hand, our minds going in a thousand directions, then set that something down in a random place? Mail, keys, pens, receipts, bags, books, wrappers, notes... "I'll just put this here for now" is often a background thought when we

No room in the closet to hang sweaters? Here are ideas folding for drawers or shelves. A friend asked me recently, "How do I fold my bulky sweaters to fit them in my drawers?" I personally have room in my closet to hang sweaters and prefer to store them this way because it's super easy. But organizing is all about personal preference, space and needs! So here are some ways to fold those sweaters to put in a drawer or on a shelf... Top folding tips: Go for squares and rectangl

Tips for shopping without causing more clutter. We're being marketed to from every direction, while SO MANY of us are surrounded by 'stuff' we don't know what to do with. We live in a consumer culture telling us we need more 'things' to be happy. And many of us live with anxiety amped up by clutter in our homes. So, as we near "Black Friday" and the holidays and marketing reaches it's crescendo,.. I encourage you to take a moment before each purchase to ask your Self some imp

Declutter and organize to save your sanity! This week has been a doozy. From a car that won't start to managing a beloved's memory challenges to wonky hormones... There have been enough stressors that I currently feel like a deflated balloon (and am devouring a bag of barbecue pop chips). But you know what? I can find the lid to my tupperware container when I want it! I can find a screwdriver when I need it. I can find my favorite cozy sweater to curl up in, and my cozy couc

'Tis the season to declutter warm items and share with people in need. As the weather cools, I love to gather warm winter supplies and share them. Coats, blankets, socks, hats, gloves and scarves seem to breed over the summer months, so I go through each category in the fall or winter and make a plan to get them to people who need them. Homelessness is an issue that hurts my heart. I wish I could give every homeless person a hug, a home, a home cooked meal, a hot bath and a

I invite you to join me in clearing space to let your body and mind truly rest. When the leaves start changing color I feel like the volume turns down and a nesting instinct kicks in. A switch is flipped and triggers something similar to the spring cleaning urge. But first comes the fatigue... Our weather in northwest Washington recently changed quickly from summer to autumn. Soon after this, it seemed all around me erupted a chorus of "I'm just so TIRED!" The change in light

13 ways to stay sane and overcome sleep challenges Nearly every woman I talk over age 35 has sleep frustrations. I've had sleep challenges since I was about 35 - I often wake up 1-2 times a night. This used to make me freak out in all kinds of ways - some nights I'd have intense anxiety, some nights I'd be angry, some nights I cried with frustration. No longer! I tried just about everything to sleep through the night - here's what I found helps me. If you struggle with sleep

If your counters and closets are full of clutter, it's time to weed! On a recent call with a dear client-friend, we likened picking up clutter to weeding. We both love gardening and the feeling of a newly weeded patch, so we decided to think about clearing clutter as indoor gardening...suddenly picking up around the house became more fun! As the outdoor gardening season winds down, we may have more time, focus and energy for indoor gardening. Something to remember for maximum

Decluttering and organizing don't have to be hard! "Simple and easy, simple and easy..." These words have been my guides for the last few months and have run through my head countless times. I don't know about you, but I have a tendency to overcomplicate things and be a perfectionist... I realized these are procrastination techniques my brain sneaks in. The more complicated it is, the longer I tend to put it off. So when my brain doesn't want to do something (pretty much anyt

How to inhabit our own minds as a tool for decluttering. When I was a teenager and in my twenties, I was a relentless abuser of my body - crashing down ski slopes, smashing my head on ice while teaching myself to snowboard, drinking and smoking (the heavy stuff and unfiltered), and shunning all veggies except iceberg lettuce and potatoes. And that's just a bit of it. Occasionally I'd joke to friends, "this is going to hurt when I'm 40," but that was sooo far away, you know? W

When the world around us seems to get more out of control, it's more important than ever to take care of ourselves and find peace where we can. If I could wave a magic wand and give the world anything right now, it would be a deep sense of peace and calm. Since I don't have a magic wand, only my words, my deepest wish is that everyone these words touch feels the peace emanating from my home to yours, from my heart to yours. There is hope. There is peace. There is joy. Sometim

A decluttering practice that helped change my life... Will you join me in OHIO? So much of our clutter is delayed decisions. One piece of mail here, one item of clothing there, one unloved impulse buy over there... Over days, weeks, months, years all those one things add up...and WOW do they add up, right?! We have the choice every time something comes into our hands to add to the piles or not, to vote for a more cluttered future or a less cluttered one. As we move through li

How to finish decluttering projects you start... After experiencing a fast and seriously gratifying entryway clearing with a client, I reflected on what helped us finish so quickly. Here's what I do for my own clearing and organizing and what I teach all my clients... 1 CHOOSE A DOABLE TASK Feelings of overwhelm often come from looking at a room or area and thinking, "This is too much, I can't do this!" Instead of looking at the whole room, choose ONE small task to do. Those

Once we organize a space, how do we keep it from getting cluttered again? 1 Stop buying unnecessary things It's not cheaper if it costs us our peace of mind. It's not a good deal if it adds clutter and stress. When shopping we can take an extra moment to think about our future selves and ask, "Do I really need this? Do I have a place for this? Does this serve the life I want to be living?" If this sounds overwhelming, doesn't all that stuff add up to be overwhelming later?

Create "zones" to make getting and staying organized easier If you look at your garage and feel like barfing because of all the clutter, you're not alone! Let me be a beacon of hope: I once felt overwhelmed by all the clutter in our garage and couldn't find a hammer to save my life. Now my hubby and I BOTH park in the garage, can find everything we need when we need it, and, most miraculously... We're both inspired to put everything away and keep it organized! Whaaat? Yes, it

Using vertical space for storage opens up a new world of possibilities! This is my garage...my hubby and I are proud! (this definitely didn't happen overnight!) A huge part of making space in the garage, or anywhere else, is using vertical space for storage - it can be a complete game changer all over the house, but especially in garages. If you're one of the millions of people with a messy garage, know that you CAN fit a ton of things into your garage, we just need to be cre