Organize Archives

Minimalist Madness-who says you should be one!?

June 8, 2015 by Heather Filed Under: Organize, Wellness & Mindset Leave a Comment

I’m seriously sad to read the article, Let’s Celebrate the Art of Clutter in the NY Times. Here’s a case for Minimalist Madness, lets talk about it and what it means to be a professional organizer…

Where did this author (who I admire for her blogging over at SlowLoveLife) get the impression that the professional organizing industry is there to make clients feel guilty about their stuff? We have an incredible trade organization, NAPO, that works diligently to teach organizers (those who choose to invest in their career by joining) skills and mindset to help clients without any judgement and how to know when to walk away or suggest other professional’s involvement (such as Hoarding situations). Generally I try to alleviate any sense of guilt, it’s does no good for anyone and is not the motivating factor I every try to work with.

Each client and person is different and those of us who are passionate about helping people organize are usually trying to help those who WANT to be helped. Most of us follow ethics that very much frown upon someone else hiring us to work with a family member or friend (best of intentions can lead to much psychological damage), I would never do it! I find the topics of organizing and stuff both very subjective. I agree that minimalism is being “oversold” in some ways but I’ve walked into many a clients homes who are frustrated and overwhelmed about all the stuff they do not cherish, but don’t know what to do with. As long as you are not a slave to “Stuff” that you do not love, want etc then why keep it? I hope Dominique Browning is leaving a sizable inheritance to her children to maintain her warehouse of stuff indefinitely, better yet she should donate it to the Smithsonian archive…I’m sure they would love that!

We all live within a spectrum of chaos and order, collecting and being minimalist…one is not right, the other is not wrong.

Saying that the entire organizing industry is built on trying to make people believe they should live a certain way is uninformed and irresponsible. What is your personal legacy? Do you want to be known for your stuff?

Recognizing Patterns in Organizing

May 19, 2015 by Heather Filed Under: Art & Design, Organize

I recently decided to submit an entry for a public art installation piece (I’ll share more about this soon!) and while writing the proposal I stumbled upon a wonderful “ah-ha” about recognizing patterns in the work and art of my life. This is what I realized.

In my former career as a textile designer my eye was keenly trained to notice and create patterns. I see the beauty in repeating forms everywhere I look and the ability to see a pattern emerge is a gift that serves me today in a completely different way as a Professional Organizer.

In my current work I spend a great deal of time helping clients to simplify, de-clutter, streamline their lives and find order where there has been chaos. When we begin together we often set an intention (or goal) to help define boundaries of the order they would like to see emerge. With that in mind I look around their personal universe for patterns and clues, noticing areas of chaos and order. I use the information that I gather in their universe to help them re-define a new sense of order in their space and life.

Above: Obscurely Relevant by Jane Allen Nodine. As objects are grouped into collections order emerges from chaos.

Helping clients free themselves of baggage, past burdens, excess and the cathartic process of releasing things is essential to the work we do together. Have you ever had a realization that helped you understand your gifts in a different way? A shift in perspective can be such a fun experience of self realization if we are open to it!

Clutter::magically transformed by some arcane formula

March 27, 2015 by Heather Filed Under: Organize

Guest post from the desk of Celeste B.

Math Number and Symbols

Wallace says tax season is not so bad but then he is treasurer of a multinational corporation and has a staff of over 100 accountants. He also likes to begin our tax returns January 1 with the close of the year. He has a shoebox of sorts into which all sorts of bits and bobs are tossed during the year and which become magically transformed by some arcane formula involving geometric progressions and quantum mechanics, of which I have no familiarity, into a sensible spreadsheet of numbers. My bookkeeping system is similar except that I hand over my shoebox to him, with helpful annotations on lined paper or stationery from fine hotels.

Since this is National Recognize Clutter Week it might be good to stress some practices for yourself to use in pursuit of orderliness. I can recognize clutter as well as the next person when it begins to slide like a glacier into the hallway or down the steps but perhaps the idea is to pause and to use one’s eyes before things reach that stage. This tactic will help avoid well-meaning interventions by family members. If psychiatric professionals enter the picture you may as well admit defeat. Until then you might start by stepping back from that kitchen drawer of plastic lids and containers and examine what is really going on there. This is one example of personal chaos that many people endure.

Tell yourself that every sturdy Chinese dinner container, yogurt tub and olive selection container does not have to be given a second chance. Recycle it, for Pete’s sake! It will have another life as an LL Bean jacket or something equally as useful so you need not feel like a wastrel for having pitched it. Unless you are packaging leftovers for a family of 10, you might want to save the space and time spent matching odd lids to odd shapes by limiting to 4 each of the basic shapes and lids. I suggest soup, personal portion size, two person portion size and flatter baked goods caddies as the ideal start. This also helps control bacterial contamination which may lurk in difficult to clean lid crevices.

Step back and examine your laundry area. Do you have multiple half-used products? It is fine to have backup supplies but don’t go overboard. The store is not far away and they will probably have what you need in stock. Check your drawers. Utensil drawers, that is. Use drawer dividers to sort every day and specialized tools. Inventory those and find homes for tools you never use, whether they were given to you by your mother or not. Put those in a wall display if you want. Eliminating clutter is about practical space saving and convenience for you in the long run. These are some of the wicked places where clutter congregates and which deserve a fresh spring appraisal. Redd up, as they say in Pennsylvania!
Kisses,
Celeste

Thank you Celeste! Your practical tips and lighthearted attitude will help us all laugh at our clutter conundrums no doubt!

*If you would like to hear more from Celeste please contact me. I’m sure she would be delighted to learn of your enthusiasm and I’m happy to pass your message along as well as ask her to join us again with more fun and lighthearted posts!

My Big Inspiration Wall

March 9, 2015 by Heather Filed Under: Art & Design, Home, In the Studio, Inspiration & Education, Organize, Organizing Projects, Systems & Techniques

I am blessed with a spectacular studio that overlooks the marsh with windows on 3 sides…lots of natural light, palm trees, Spanish moss and resurrection ferns dripping and hanging from live oak branches.

I’m not short on inspiration but what I am short on is wall space (because of said windows). This has been a challenge for me since we moved in and the one wall I do have is brick which is difficult to attach anything to. After researching several options, I finally made a request of my handy husband to help me solve this challenge.

Design wall’s that quilters use involve a lot of fleece and I’m not a quilter (although I dabble in quilting techniques) so I felt the expense and effort of all that were un-necessary. I also considered cork, again, a resource I didn’t want to waste especially since I planned to paint the wall to blend in…Finally I settled on inexpensive Fiberboard after realizing this is what is used in many schools (my studio at SCAD included) and it would be just the thing to help me go vertical…Here my handyman Mr. B puts the finishing touches on the painted fiberboard before handing it over for me to “play” with.

This piece of fiber board is 4′ x 6′ (cut down from 4′ x 8′) and was only $9. It sucks up paint like crazy so you might want to use a primer-sealer (like Kilz) so you don’t have to apply a million coats). We attached it to the wall with Washers (painted) and screws (into the morter-this brick was so hard it destroyed 2 of my husbands masonry bits).

What a delight it is to have a space to hang both design pieces I’m working on and inspiration for future work! Above and below are details of what’s now currently hanging on my wall. I’ve got quilt blocks I’m kind of stuck on (not knowing what to use them for or if I need to make more), indigo shibori, yarns, mixed media, photography and other bits of inspiration and work in various stages of finished/unfinished.

I’m by no means a minimalist but I don’t love it when my space is too visually cluttered. With this new wall hung I can corrall all sorts of things that have been floating around my studio into one space to feed my inspiration and allow me to step back and see the pieces that I’m stuck on from a different perspective. Do you have the luxury of a inspiration or design wall in your art or office space?

Trend Tuesday::Organizing the closets

February 17, 2015 by Heather Filed Under: Closets, Home, Inspiration & Education, Organize

Lately, I’ve noticed a few closet organizing trends for design and organization that are fun, functional, and stylish. For some they may be a little over the top but for fun let’s take a peek into some of these closets. A few are more like Boudoirs of the old days than any closet I have encountered! Below are a few trends and the takeaways I think are helpful from each of these examples.

Monochromatic; using colors that are “signature” such as this palette of purple, grey and neutral. This makes the whole look less distracting and easier on the eye. It’s a great way to incorporating clothing into an “open closet” wall of a room.

Above and below; jewelry displayed in the closet. Whether it’s in the closet or on a wall in your room this trend is a lovely way to better see what you have and decorate empty wall space!

Above (Lonny Closets) and below; fun, funky and stylish furniture in the closet. I love how both of these pieces are being used for functional storage but also bring a sense of style and sophistication to these spaces. The closet becomes stylistically a part of the larger spaces.

Below; most of us probably don’t have this many jeans and yes this photo was probably taken from a shop display but I using S-Hooks in all sort of unconventional ways is a brilliant idea for the closet and lots of other spaces!

Give some of these fun closet organizing trends a try in your own space and let me know if you find any other fun ideas! If you want to see more Inspiring Organization check out my Pinterest Board here where you will also find links to all the photo’s above (hover over images for credits). For more closet inspration, check out this post.

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