More Chaos While Trying to get organized?

I saw a Twitter-tweet recently, “In my attempt to get organized I believe I’ve become more disorganized than before I started.”

It’s quite a strange phenomena indeed, but one that is so common I shouldn’t consider it strange.

See, it often goes like this: When people start to organize an area, it goes from a disorganized mess to what seems like total chaos and then unfolds into an organized area. It’s the cycle of getting organized.

Stopping at the apparent chaos stage is bad. Don’t do that. And, although it’s tempting to run and get away from the scene you created, just keep at it because organization is just around the corner.

I’ve seen this happen time after time, even when I organize someone. Take, for example, a disorganized office. There are piles of paper and miscellaneious stuff all around. You start to sort through the papers and one stack turns into numerous categorized stacks. That can seem like chaos, but it’s really order that looks like a mess.

Eventually, all those now-categorized papers go somewhere (other than staying as piles in view to the world). They go into file folders or filing baskets; they get put into filing cabinets or storage boxes; they are placed into desktop folder holders or action bins.

It’s the putting away so you can find it part that brings total order to disorder. And it’s the last step after all the sorting. So, you’re not far away from a “done” while you’re sorting and creating a bigger mess in the area.

Think of it this way: the mess is just confusion. Confusion is just a bunch of stuff all around and you can’t make heads or tails out of any of it. When you start creating a bigger (but more organized) mess while sorting through the stuff, confusion is just a little more obvious because it’s flying around more (before it was motionless).

That can be overwhelming, so to prevent that, just be sure to focus on what you’re doing, one item at a time. Start with one stack, pick up the first item in that stack, decide what to do with it, and then move on to the next piece.

Pretty soon, whalla! You’ve gone from disorder to order!

Trailer of Get Organized DVD

Get Organized with Cyndi Seidler

Get Organized for an Allergy-free Home

What does clutter have to do with allergies?

Did you know that that surfaces of clutter collect allergy-forming dust mites? There are many things we can do to prevent allergies by just dealing with the things that trigger them. And clutter is one of those things that collect dust.

There are other things about being disorganized that trigger those allergy-forming dust mites…

Tightly crammed clothes in closets don’t allow enough ventilation. And poor ventilation is another thing that will lead to dust mite allergens. Even clothes left out will collect dust, so they should be kept in closed closets and drawers.

Having minimal furniture and items around will help because it provides minimal surfaces on which dust mites can settle. And using sofa and pillow covers are better because they can be washed frequently.

These are just some ways to achieving an allergy-free home. It aligns with being organized and clutter-free, making it an important step to our health, as well as our well-being.

Hoarders Beware

How Hoarding Can Cost You Your Home

I don’t think hoarders read this blog because its focus is about helping people get organized, and most hoarders do not have this goal in mind. But, I thought our readers would find it interesting to see what some new local community forces are doing about excessive hoarders.

It’s in the news all the time, not just this week or today: hoarders getting evicted, found dead, and/or causing fires in the home. Recently, an evicted hoarder decided to file a lawsuit for being locked out of his condo with a sign reading “Unfit for human habitation.” See full article, “Fighting to Remain Engulfed in Junk” about Sam Shipkovitz. Should we feel sorry for him, or rejoyce that some people care about him enough to try and stop him?

I personally am thankful the hoarder task force moved in to do something about it. I do, however, sympathize with his plight — I’m not cold-hearted. On the other hand, other articles about hoarders do not have such positive results (if we believe the result to be positive, that is). Many of them are about fires that wipe out a residence or adjoining apartment units, injuring firemen who have difficulty getting into the place to put out the fire. See ABC’s Good Morning America news article, “Police Crack Down on Hoarders” to learn that 14 firefighters were injured in such an incident. This was also covered in a NY Daily News article, “Pack Rat Neighbors Feared Death Trap.”

There are many programs springing up now to stop hoarders. In my blog entry “Putting a stop to hoarding,” it talks about a Hoarding Convention that is aimed at approaching the problem with hoarders at the prevention level, as well as the intervention level.

In another related blog post about hoarders called “Dangerous Piles” it talks about one tradegy of a hoarder, although this isn’t the only story of its kind either.

So, if we are unable to change the habits and lifestyles of hoarders, than intervention seems to be the only way to guarantee their own safety, as well as the safety of their neighbors. Is eviction then such a drastic measure if it means saving lives?

Comments and stories welcome.

A Good Reason to Get Organized

Can a messy home affect relationships?

I really loved this article, “Why Getting Organized Can Improve Your Love Life.” When some men were asked if they cared about their environment, it became evident that they do.

One married man stated his wife let the house go after a few years of marriage and felt this was the first sign that the marriage was over. Another man, a bachelor, wouldn’t marry a woman who didn’t keep her home tidy, but would date them.

Overall, the men surveyed wanted to be nurtured and creating a nice environment is part of that nurturing.

Related articles:

• Clutter Affects Co-workers, Guests
• New Thinking Patterns Can Help You Change
• It’s Not So Hard Being Ready For Guests

Organize Clutter

Video That Shows an Organizing Spring Clean

A video “Spring Cleaning Tips and How to De-clutter” shows how to tackle your mess.

And, if you really want to see how spring cleaning is really done, click here to watch this video. It will show you that even a child can do it … literally!

Enjoy!

Photo Clutter

A Digital Archive of Memories

If boxes of forgotten photos sit in hidden drawers or closets, scanning your photos may be the way to go to get your photos organized so you can share and appreciate them.

With digitized photos, a trip down memory lane is easy. This type of project can be time-consuming, however. But, worth all the effort.

Gift Wrap Clutter

Wrapping Gifts Made Easy

Wouldn’t it be nice to keep all your holiday wrapping in one place, nicely organized and easy to get to?

Consider using a gift wrap station, like this one that stores all those wrapping products. It sure beats the clutter of gift wrap paraphernalia!

For this item, click here to purchase.

You’ll find this and more items like it in our Product shop!