Resources For Aging Well

Have you ever grabbed some cute baskets or some lidded bins while you were shopping at Target or Home Goods and thought, This is it! Now Im going to be organized!? Then in a few weeks (or days), felt disappointed that you werent any more organized than you were before?  I know this cycle well. Before I learned how to organize, I would spot a cool organizing product while I was shopping and buy it, thinking it would solve my problems. Eventually, Id realize it was just creating more clutter in my home. Today, as a professional organizer, many of my clients tell me, I keep buying bins and baskets, but I just cant keep up!  Dont get me wrong, I love bins and baskets. They are useful tools and I recommend them to my clients all the time. But if you dont know how to buy them and use them effectively, they can be a waste of money and space. If those bins and baskets you bought arent working out the way you hoped, here are a few possible reasons why. You didnt declutter firstBefore you can identify the best way to store your belongings, its important to take time to re-evaluate what you have and pare down to what you really want and need. Often when we feel disorganized, we have clutter. Meaning we have more things in our environment than we can manage or enjoy. If you go out and buy containers before youve decluttered, youll only be transferring your clutter into bins and boxes. Sometimes, just putting things in containers can be an effective strategy for people who are struggling with organization or are neurodivergent. But for everyone else, this tends to lead to more clutter and stress, because youre still aware that you have bins of stuff you have to deal with, and youll probably find yourself just buying more bins to contain new things you acquire.If you find decluttering really difficult, working with a professional organizer can help make the process less painful. But dont skip the decluttering step. You bought it before you knew what was going in it   With pretty organizing supplies, its tempting to just buy something and think Ill find a use for this. But then you end up with a bin that snags your sweaters or a basket thats slightly too small for your kids stuffie collection.  Before you buy anything, consider: What kind of things (and how many of them) do I want to store in this container?  Do I want to be able to reach in and grab things quickly, or is it storing things I dont need to access frequently?  Where is the container going to live?   Do I want to be able to see inside it? Thinking through these points can help you pick the products that are going to work best for you. You didnt measureAll of your containers/organizers need to fit in the places where you want them to live, whether thats inside a drawer in your bathroom vanity or on a metal shelving unit in the garage. Make sure you measure the dimensions of the space where you want to use the container, as well as the container itself, before you buy anything. You didnt establish a system Sometimes my clients tell me that they feel like they need to keep buying more bins to keep up with things. Usually, whats happening is someone buys baskets to contain all of the things they currently have to feel organized. But what happens when new items come in? We need more containers. As this cycle repeats, our homes just feel more cluttered. This is why creating a system to manage your belongings is really important. (And no, buying more bins doesnt count as a system.) Maybe you want to create a boundary for a category of items and decide that once your belongings reach that boundary, you dont buy any more, you declutter, or you use the 1-in, 1-out system. So for example, lets say you decide your closet is going to be the boundary for your clothes. If you get to the point where you cant fit any more clothes in your closet comfortably, instead storing your extra clothes in bins in the attic, you could declutter your closet to make space for new things, or discard one old item for every new one you bring in.  This is just one example of a system, and there are many types of systems you could create to stay organized. However, the important point is to create a system that works for you. And if you have trouble with systems, working with a professional organizer can also help you. If youve struggled with buying organizing products that didnt really organize you, Ive been there, too. I hope this gave you some new ways to think about bins and baskets in the future so your next attempt at getting organized can succeed! 

Sometimes my organizing clients are less-than-thrilled when they realize that they are going to need to invest some money to get organized. Often, they have the double-whammy of realizing that 1) theyve already spent a lot of money on things they dont want or need and 2) they need to spend more money on services like professional organizing and junk hauling to get their place organized. I feel their pain. When I got organized myself about 10 years ago, it hurt when I thought about how much money I had spent on clothes that were headed to Goodwill. I called 1-800-GOT-JUNK to clear out my garage, and I couldnt believe that my bill was over $1,000. Who knew trash hauling was so expensive? You know the saying no pain, no gain? When it comes to organizing, I believe a little bit of pain is actually a good thing, because it motivates us to create lasting changes. My own painful experience with decluttering has helped me stay organized for years, and inspired me to become a professional organizer. Although there are some upfront costs to organizing, getting organized can be a money-saver over the long term. So if you are thinking about getting organized, its actually a long-term investment that is going to save you money over time. Heres how:  Eliminate expensive storage unitsThere has been a boom in self-storage units in recent years. Storage units can be helpful resources if you have a short gap between moving out of your old place and into your new one. But if you are using a storage unit to store extra stuff for more than a few months, the cost can really add up (this article estimates that it costs an average of $2,000 a year to keep your stuff in a small storage unit). Ive helped clients clear out their storage units, which immediately starts saving them hundreds of dollars a month.     Stop buying things you already have Have you ever run out and bought a roll of masking tape, then later found six more rolls stuffed in a drawer somewhere? Weve all been there. Americans collectively spend an estimated $2.7 billion a year replacing lost items. Organizing makes it easier to find and use what you already have, so you dont have to waste your time or money buying duplicates of things you already have.Cut down on fees and convenience costsSomething that surprised me about getting organized was how much time it saved me. Once I could easily find the things I needed to get out the door in the morning or whip up a quick dinner, I was less rushed. And having a little more slack in my schedule meant that I could take public transit instead of an Uber, or make dinner at home instead of ordering takeout, which ended up saving me money. If you struggle with paying late fees because you cant find your bills or remember when they need to be paid, getting organized can help you eliminate those  unnecessary fees.Change your shopping habits for goodAfter going through my own painful decluttering experience, I realized that the way I was shopping led me to over-buying, which was not only cluttering my house, but wasting money. (I wrote a whole blog post about how I started shopping differently after getting organized, if you want to learn more about how organizing can change your shopping habits.) Since then, Im much more critical about what I decide to buy because I dont want to have to do a massive decluttering again. Resell unused itemsWhile decluttering, a lot of my clients come across unwanted items they can resell. While its not exactly a way to make money (because items sold secondhand usually sell for much less than their original price), reselling can help you recoup some of your original expenditure. I even had one client who offset most of her organizing costs by having me sell things she didnt want anymore. If youre not sure where to start when it comes to reselling, I can help you. If organizing feels daunting or too expensive, remember that clutter has a cost, too. In the long run, decluttering and creating systems that work for you will save you time, money, and your mental health. If youre ready to get organized, book a free consultation with me. 

Hey there! Do you already have your holiday decorations put away, or will your Christmas tree be up until February? To be honest, I can be either person, depending on the year. This year, Ive been a little slow to pack up my garlands and lights, but thats ok. Organization doesnt mean being perfect all the time.The holiday season can bring fun and joy, but it can also bring chaos to the systems in your home. Theres a proliferation of stuff -- cards, packages, gifts of all kinds, decorations, wrapping paper, social engagements, emotions. After all the partying is over, we can be left with a feeling of overwhelm. As a professional organizer, here are my tips for how to handle all of the stuff that came into your house over the holidays and bring (a little more) peace to your home and heart:  Decide what to keepThis is really the first (and most critical) thing to do as soon as youre ready to move on from the holidays. Take a look at everything that came into your house during the season and keep only what you truly want to have. I dont recommend keeping anything you dont love, need, or want, even if it was a gift (more on that below). If you shove that ugly sweater in a closet, forget about it, and discover it two years later, youll still have to make the same decisions about what to do with it. Decide what to do as soon as you can.  Find a home for everything youre keeping (and put it there right away). If you are keeping a newer/different version of something you already own (for example, you got a nicer coffee maker for Christmas), consider donating or discarding your old item. In other words, follow the one-in, one-out rule if its appropriate.Let go of unwanted gifts   Something I hear all of the time from clients is I dont really like this, but it was a gift and I feel guilty about giving it away.I know that gifts can be tricky. I think honoring the intention of the gift given to us is actually more important than holding onto the actual physical object. Usually, someone gives you a gift to show you that they care about you or because they hope youll enjoy it, not because they expect you to become the permanent caretaker of that object. (And if someone gives you a gift receipt, they dont mind if you return it dont feel guilty!)So how do I handle gifts I dont love? I go out of my way to thank the giver in a way thats sincere. I dont tell someone I loved a particular gift if I didnt, but I do thank them for thinking of me and for their generosity. If I dont want or cant use a gift, I pass it on to someone who can enjoy it more than me. That may mean donating it to a charity, giving it away through my local Buy Nothing group, or regifting to someone who I know would appreciate it.  Sort the trash and recyclingYou probably ended up with lots of boxes after Black Friday. Go through any extra packaging and recycle, throw away, or give away what you cant use immediately. My clients often have a ton of empty boxes they are saving for someday, but those boxes can take up a lot of space (and its likely that more will come into your home soon). Getting them out is one of the easiest ways you can make your home feel less cluttered immediately. If you have boxes in good condition, you can post them on your local Buy Nothing or neighborhood social media group for someone who is moving. Take another look at your holiday cardsBefore you shove them into a box, look at each card individually. Is this specific card something that will be meaningful to you in a year? 10 years? If its not, appreciate the person who sent it to you and recycle the card. If it truly is a keepsake, save it in an album or memory box.  Evaluate your holiday decorMany of my clients struggle with accumulating and storing holiday decor. I recommend thinking about any decor you didnt put out this year will you put it out next year, or are you over it? Do you have more than you can use? Set aside anything you no longer love or want to donate next fall before the holidays (generally, thrift shops do not have space to store out-of-season items for long periods of time). And make sure to carefully store the items you do love and so you can enjoy them next year 

Im not a fan of the word decluttering, although it comes up a lot in my work as a professional organizer. The reason I dont like that term is because clutter has such a negative connotation, and sometimes when people hear the word decluttering, it makes them feel guilty that they have clutter in the first place. Is this clutter? is a question that my clients ask me a lot. I think there are a lot of myths and misunderstandings about what counts as clutter. Often, people are afraid that I will tell them that something important to them is clutter, or they need to get rid of something that is sentimental but doesnt seem to have practical value. But Im happy to say that this isnt the case! When I work with my clients, I take a different approach to decluttering than they might have seen on a TV show or read about in a book. Heres what I think is important for you to know about clutter and decluttering: There is no single item that is always clutter. Have you ever heard the expression, whether something is a weed or a flower depends on your perspective? Well, I think the same is true about clutter. Something that seems useless to one person could be extremely important to another. I think of clutter as anything in your space that doesnt provide you value (whether that value may be practical use, sentimental or financial value, or pleasure). Something that you dont have the time, energy, or space to properly take care of, no matter how much you want to, can also become clutter. Thats why its so important to evaluate what you think is important before you begin to address clutter in your home. Only you can decide what is clutter in your own space. Sentimental and decorative items arent necessarily clutter.Many of my clients struggle with decisions about whether to keep sentimental items. Sometimes we keep them out of feelings of guilt or obligation, and sometimes we feel guilty for holding onto items that we love but have no practical purpose.I personally love sentimental items, and as you can see on my bookshelf, I love to display them through my home. Seeing my favorite books, photos of loved ones, and little pieces of my history on a regular basis make me happy. I encourage my clients to keep, display, and properly preserve sentimental items that bring them joy, and let go of the ones that bring feelings of guilt or burden. The key to not allowing sentimental items to become clutter is to be selective about which items you keep, and to store or display them in a way that allows you to enjoy them. Things that are useful can still be clutter. But that could be useful! is one of the most common protests I hear when I encourage clients to let go of something theyre not using. And I understand that it can feel wasteful to let go of something that could be possibly used in the future. However, many of us hold onto potentially useful itemsthat we never actually use! And that ultimately leads to clutter in your home. If youre not going to use something, its ok to pass it along to someone who will. Clutter isnt always an eyesore, or even visible. Just because a home doesnt look messy doesnt mean it isnt cluttered. Going back to the definition of clutter, if something in your space isnt providing you value, no matter how neat or organized it looks, it is still clutter. Also, clutter sometimes isnt visible at all. Maybe you have commitments on your calendar that are sucking up time but dont provide you with value, or you have tons of files and photos on your photo that are just taking up space. Clutter can come in many forms, not just physical. Once you start thinking critically about the things you are giving time, space, and energy, you will be able to apply a decluttering mindset to all aspects of your life.  Dont start by decluttering, start by assessing. Instead of decluttering, I prefer to begin the organizing process by assessing. I help my clients take a look at their items in a non-judgemental way are these items helping them to achieve their goals, or are they just taking up space without providing enough value? If theyre happy with everything, we figure out how to make all of their items work in their space. But more often than not, clients realize they do have things in their space they want to let go of. If you need help thinking through the items you have in your space and deciding what to keep or let go of, Im here for you. Set up a time to chat with me so I can give you some guidance.