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I've been organizing people for over 10 years, and during that time, I've learned a lot about what works and doesn't work. Blogging give me an even better way to share my ideas about organizing with the masses -- and dadgummit, I intend to do just that! This weekly blog is a compendium of tips, tricks, techniques, and theory about how to organize every area of your life. You will find a little bit of everything -- time management, paper management, space organizing, clutter-clearing, home, work, kids, finances, travel, holidays, you name it. If you're new to us and starting at the very beginning (which Julie Andrews says is a very good place to start) you will find a discussion of my organizing philosophy (so you know where I'm coming from), where our clutter and disorganization come from, and the first steps for organizing any area of your life... Latest Posts:
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 Letting Go Of Your Excuses
At this point, you have probably run
across some belongings that don't exactly serve a practical purpose in
your life. Of course, some items simply cannot be judged according to
their function alone. Certain objects, such as artwork or collectibles,
are kept because they are aesthetically pleasing. Others are treasured
for their sentimental value. What do to? Quit With The Excuses Already!It's
fine to keep things that you don't use everyday -- I don't believe in
the "you haven't touched it in a year, it's out of here" rule. But I
don't want you convincing yourself to keep an item that gives you no
real benefit and is just taking up space! After you've been doing it
for a long time, holding onto clutter becomes a habit -- and habits
(especially bad ones) are hard to break! It's easy to continue
justifying your failure to clean out the excess and unused with a
variety of different excuses. "It was expensive." "It was a gift."
"I've had it since I was a child." "I don't just want to throw it
away." "I might fit into a size 6 again." "But what if it comes back in
style?" Yeah -- right. I'm here to respond to each of these
rationalizations with a bit of cold, hard reason -- hopefully allowing
you to see that you can let at least a few things go and you'll be none
the worse off for it!  ...
Read more...
posted on: 11/19/2009 11:30:00 AM
by Ramona Creel
category: General Organizing Tips
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It's Easy If You Follow The Rules
Childhood is a time of learning new
skills -- you don't know how to do it until someone shows you. And
organizing your home or office is the same thing, except no one teaches
"Organizing 101"at school! So let's pretend that class is in session
and look at some basic organizing principles, through the eyes of a
child… Group Like With LikeTry
singing the Sesame Street song "which of these things is not like the
other?" as you organize your storage spaces. Do you see anything that
is clearly out of place -- a drill in your pantry or shoes in your file
drawer? You might laugh, but I've seen some crazy things in my clients'
homes -- and it it usually due to the fact that they just shoved
something into a storage space to get it out of sight, without any
thought to whether that item actually belonged there or not!...
Read more...
posted on: 11/12/2009 11:30:00 AM
by Ramona Creel
category: General Organizing Tips
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Where Do I Start?
Cleaning out your junk can be incredibly freeing -- but where do you start? There's so much to do!! Before we talk in detail about "de-cluttering," let's take a minute to look at the bigger picture. Here are a few rules of thumb to follow when you begin cleaning out -- either at home or at the office:
Have A Plan Of Attack...
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posted on: 11/5/2009 11:30:00 AM
by Ramona Creel
category: General Organizing Tips
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Why Do We Have So Much Stuff?
Let's face it, we love our stuff! We are a society of consumers. That's one of the benefits of living in a prosperous capitalistic country -- we have a lot of disposable income and a wide variety of ways in which to spend it. Americans, in particular, shell out a tremendous amount of money each year for leisure consumable goods -- purchases above and beyond those required to meet our basic needs for shelter, food, clothing, and transportation.
Why Do You Buy What You Buy?...
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posted on: 10/29/2009 11:30:00 AM
by Ramona Creel
category: General Organizing Tips
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Ten Signs That Your Life Is Too Cluttered
Sometimes, life can creep in on you from all sides -- and before you know it, you're knee-deep in clutter, behind on everything, and feeling so overwhelmed that you don't know what to do! The trick is to recognize the "danger signs" before everything spins completely out of control. So how do you know if you need to clean out? Here's a sure-fire ten-step way to spot (and deal with!) all kinds of clutter in your life.
You Have To Move A Pile Off A Chair So Someone Can Sit Down...
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posted on: 10/22/2009 11:30:00 AM
by Ramona Creel
category: General Organizing Tips
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A Little Bit About My Organizing Philosophy Before We Start
Before I start offering advice about how to organize your life, I thought that you might want to know a little bit about me -- my organizing philosophy, my background, etc. That way, you won't have to say, "Why the hell should I listen to your suggestions?" -- and we can get right down to work helping you create some order.
My Background...
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posted on: 10/15/2009 11:30:00 AM
by Ramona Creel
category: General Organizing Tips
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About Ramona:
I have been a Professional Organizer for more than 10 years, I am a NAPO Golden Circle member, and I was the original founder of OnlineOrganizing. I have worked one-on-one with scores of clients and have trained dozens of newbie organizers as they got started in the industry. I provide both hands-on and virtual coaching to help clients improve their organizing skills and simplify their lives. I invite you to visit my website at http://www.RamonaCreel.com, and I challenge you to find one new idea that you can put into practice in your life, to help you become better organized, starting TODAY! I am passionate about coaching folks toward a more balanced, productive, and enjoyable life -- and I firmly believe that if I can do it, so can you!
You are also welcome to follow me on Twitter, check out my Facebook profile, and subscribe to my feeds. Ramona's Website:
www.RamonaCreel.com
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