By
Eva Wallace
I was born to a ‘hoarder’. My mom still saves stuff from when I was one year old - and earlier!
I married a ‘hoarder’ - though a constant struggle is ‘reforming’ her a bit! (don’t tell her I said it, though)
I gave birth to a ‘hoarder’. Age for age, her collection of ‘valuables’ would rival my mom’s - and even make her acknowledge her match!
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By
Eva Wallace
Paper is one of the biggest issues for most people. We all have far too much of it and it is easy to get yourself buried in it, often causing you to feel like you are literally drowning.
Marlo Nikkila has posted a great piece on her blog, DotComPreneuer, which addresses exactly this. She has spelled out her P.E.A.C.E. plan to cope with the overwhelming paper clutter once and for all:
P = Permission to let go.
E = Evaluate the papers you have.
A = Act on it.
C = Contain & Categorize your papers.
E = Electronic solutions.
If you want all the details, you'll have to check it out – she has some great advice!
By
Karen Henke
My Food Diary.com offered a great motivational tip for losing weight. If you want to lose 20 pounds, place a 20 pound weight where you'll see it. Put it on the dining room table or on the sofa. This will remind you of how much extra weight you are carrying around. The article went on to say, “ We tend to not notice the drag–especially since the weight tends to come on slowly.”
The same could be said of clutter. It creeps up slowly, until one day it’s completely out of control. This reminds me of a clever decluttering book by Don Aslett, Lose 200 lbs. this weekend. People are often surprised by the amount of excess they have tucked away. How many excess pounds of clutter are you storing? Is it weighing you down? Maybe it’s time to lose it.
By
Marcia Francois
If you have a passion for organising and you'd like to turn that into a professional organising business, then I'd love to help you!
As you know, I'm a professional organiser AND a coach so you get the best of both worlds - someone cheering you on and guiding you to get your own business up and running in record time.
My 6-week, how to become a professional organiser group coaching programme started on Thursday 20th March but it's not too late to join in. You'll get instant access to the downloads and you get all the valuable bonuses too!
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By
Eva Wallace
The headlines are alarming. February job losses are up, the dollar is weak, and oil prices are above $100 a barrel. Many economists are warning that the U.S. is headed for a recession – or may already be in one. So what should the average American do? The Debt Diva, Clarky Davis of CareOne Credit Counseling, says you can’t control the economy, but there are steps you can take to recession-proof your life.
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By
Eva Wallace
I would be lost without lists.
I keep a running grocery list on the fridge. I keep a general to-do list on the first page of my planner and my daily to-do list is on a sticky note on the front cover. I keep a prioritized list of long term to-do’s (pet vaccinations, auto servicing, etc.) in the “notes” section of my planner, and then I write all my appointments in the monthly calendar section (I prefer monthly to weekly so I can plan ahead better).
But every once in a while I find myself somewhere without my purse and no pen and paper handy, and something mildly important that I need to remember – ack!
That’s when I use the power of association.
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By
Eva Wallace
It happens without warning. One day you notice your home has turned into a collage of papers, junk, and stuff – everywhere. You’re not alone. Today more than ever it seems that the flotsam and jetsam of living, like the waves of an ocean, continually beat at our doors, flooding our houses with all manner of stuff until our homes are bulging at the seams. A typical home is now cluttered and dirty to the point of exhaustion. All this accumulation also makes going home or being at home, a cause for dread because we’re overwhelmed by the sheer volume of things surrounding us. Can you relate?
Kathryn Weber has written an incredibly helpful article on Bellaonline.com called 8 Signs Your Home is Out of Control — and What to Do About It.
The eight signs are:
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By
BL Ochman
Visual clutter - the kind that makes it hard to find anything in the picture - can waste time, or even create dangerous situations. So MIT engineers have designed a visual clutter detector to identify when bad design hampers a person’s ability to understand information, causes confusion, or interrupts concentration.
The scientists say the impetus was that "we lack a clear understanding of what clutter is, what features, attributes and factors are relevant, why it presents a problem and how to identify it."
A clutter measuring device may sound funny, but it's actually "a breakthrough that could help everyone from fighter pilots to Web site designers."
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