I Want To See Your Office!

When I meet people and I tell them that I am a professional organizer, they chuckle (sometimes groan) and often say,”Oh, now, you don’t want to see my office. It’s beyond help.” And my response to them is, “Yes, I DO want to see your office!” I am passionate about helping people experience the joys of working in a well-organized office environment. Many people—even those who ooze self-confidence in most other situations—are sheepish, apologetic even, when it comes to revealing the disorganized state of their office space. I can understand this—your office is your personal space and is a reflection of you.

Being disorganized does not mean you are a bad person…most people live in some state of disorganization, and that’s normal. The goal is to minimize the degree of disorganization so you’re not battling continual chaos, but don’t pressure yourself to be perfect. Making the firm commitment to yourself to become better organized is the first step in the process. Start small. If you find that you still struggle with taking the steps necessary to improve your organization, consider hiring a professional. It’s well worth the time and money you will spend, especially if you take into account how much time and money you waste living a disorganized life. A professional organizer can at least get you started, will provide an action plan, focus and motivation along the way. Become better organized—you’ll have more time to spend doing things you love with the people you love!

Junk Drawer

It’s ok to have a “junk drawer”! We are human, for heaven’s sake, and especially if you have children, there can be an almost continual influx of small items they’ve received from birthday parties, school celebrations, Happy Meal toys, grandma…and they don’t want to part with them just yet. In my house a lot of these items accumulate in the kitchen and they wind up in the junk drawer. At any given time it contains magnets for my fridge that are not currently being used, a baggie with apple and orange seeds that my daughter wants to plant (she actually grew an apple tree from one of these seeds last year!), soda can tops my daughter is saving for a future craft project, a few cards my son made at school, wine bottle corks, half-burned birthday candles…stuff like that.

It’s ok to have a “junk drawer”, but limit yourself to only one, and commit to cleaning it out periodically. Anything really important and worth saving should have a permanent home elsewhere, not in the junk drawer. Sort through it while you’re waiting for the water to boil for the pasta one evening—it really won’t take long, and you may as well squeeze in a little productive time while you can!