Summer is Moving Time

Summer is when many people are moving from one home to the next. Moving is the best time to downsize and remove items of clutter. The idea is that the process of moving puts us in a situation of having to review all of our belongings. It is a wasted effort to just pack up all the disorganization and move it to another location. Use the move as the motivation for choosing which belongings you have stored may be eliminated. Yard sales, Craig's List, E-bay, Consignment Stores or Donation to good causes like thrift outlets are great ways to "make stuff disappear", sometimes also making you a few bucks. Starting ahead of time is one of the key elements for taking advantage of the move. Development of an effective plan and the time frame for implementation of the plan can be frustrating to anyone that does not do it frequently and is often frustrating for those that do it frequently. One function of a professional organizer is to evaluate how much assistance is needed by each person or family moving. Some only need the plan and time frame established. Some need much more. Take advantage of the fantastic opportunity available to you and use the move to it's fullest.

Spring Cleaning

Spring, the season of rejuvenation. Flowers, grass and trees in bloom. Time to clean out the remnants of winter and possibly many winters gone by. One of the tasks for this month is planning for that yard/garage sale or flea market that may have gotten past us in previous years.
One of the keys to success is the creation of a "staging area". This is a location where you can put the collections or excesses temporarily till the day of the event. Collecting the stuff you are interested in selling in one place will make it easy to prepare for the sale. This makes your efforts in cleaning out attics, basements or garages more effective. You are less likely to move things back to the same place when there is another location to put them into temporary storage.
Sometimes there are items that we have stored that are intended to go to another person, organization or place. You can create secondary staging areas for items that are going elsewhere. An example: If you have allot of old or expired paper, files or shred able materials, create a spot to collect just that stuff. You may find there are the same type of things stored in various locations that you are cleaning. One of my first 'rules' to organizing is "like items with like items". Sort out what is to stay and what is to go. Find an appropriate storage mechanism for what is to stay and figure out how to make the remainder go. Some items may be of interest on EBay, Craig list or at a consignment store. Remember that anything that cannot or does not sell somehow will be readily accepted by your locale thrift shop.

HOW TO LOCK YOUR CAR AND WHY!

This was forwarded to me and i thought i would pass it along

I locked my car. As I walked away I heard my car door unlock. I went backand locked my car again three times. Each time, as soon as I started to walk away, I would hear it unlock again!Naturally alarmed, I looked around and there were two guys sitting in a car in the fire lane next to the store. They were obviously watching me intently, and there was no doubt they were somehow involved in this very weird situation. I quickly chucked the errand I was on, jumped in my car and sped away. I went straight to the police station, told them what had happened, and found out I was part of a new, and very successful, scheme being used to gain entry into cars.Two weeks later, my friend's son had a similar happening. While traveling, my friend's son stopped at a roadside rest to use the bathroom. When hecame out to his car less than 4-5 minutes later, someone had gotten intohis car and stolen his cell phone, laptop computer, GPS navigator,briefcase--you name it. He called the police and since there were no signs of his car being broken into, the police told him he had been a victim ofthe latest robbery tactic--there is a device that robbers are using now toclone your security code when you lock your doors on your car using yourkey-chain locking device.They sit a distance away and watch for their next victim. They know you are going inside of the store, restaurant, or bathroom and that they now have a few minutes to steal and run. The police officer said to manually lock your car door by hitting the lock button inside the car--that way if there is someone sitting in a parking lot watching for their next victim,it will not be you! When you hit the lock button on your car upon exiting, it does not send the security code , but if you walk away and use the door lock on your keychain, it sends the code through the airwaves where it can be instantly stolen. This is very real. Be wisely aware of what you just read and please pass this email on. Look how many times we all lock our doors with our remote just to be sure we remembered to lock them-- and bingo, someone has our code and whateverwas in our car!

Just Take a Bite

There is one question that I almost always ask myself when starting a project for a new client. Where, oh where, do you start? I frequently remember the lesson of the mouse and the cheese. A small mouse cannot eat a 5 lb block of cheese at one time. The mouse can eat his or her little bit, then sleep, go on the treadmill and then back to the cheese. One little piece at a time. Eventually, the 5 lb block of cheese is finished. This applies to the world of organizing. In the beginning most are overwhelmed by the immensity of the project which is why my clients call me in the first place. This is like the mouse looking at the block of cheese the first time. After some planning of the scope of any project, the secret is to just take a bite. The mouse didn’t care where or what bite, just take a bite. There may not be a correct first step to starting. We may pick a specific room or office. But to start the details sometimes we have to just pick up an item or open a box and start. Not starting is the indecision that created the disorganization in the first place so, remember one small piece at a time will eventually conquer the project. Just take a bite.

Clutter can be an Insurance Liability

Bucks County Courier Times (Levittown, PA)
April 2, 2010
Section: LOCAL - Page: 9
Columns of clutter hamper firefighters' effort
PLUMSTEAD The home on Split Log drive was gutted in the afternoon blaze. One firefighter was slightly injured.
By BILL DEVLIN - STAFF WRITER
Smoke and flames weren't the only things that Plumsteadville Fire Co. crews had to battle Thursday afternoon in fighting a fire that gutted a Plumstead home.
Fire Chief Brian DuBree said firefighters had to contend with clutter that "filled rooms from floor to ceiling" in the two-story Colonial on Split Log Drive.
"It is a very nice house from the outside, but the homeowner was a hoarder and the amount of stuff inside the house made it difficult for my firefighters," said DuBree.
He pointed to a large pile of clothing and boxes on the front lawn of the home.
"That's just 1/16th of what we found in each room of the house," said the chief.
DuBree said the fire started shortly after 2:30 p.m. in a bedroom on the second floor. The homeowner and her dog were out of the home when firefighters arrived.
He said that crews tried to enter the house through the front door but couldn't get it to open because of the number of items piled behind it.
"We actually had to remove the door," said DuBree.
Because of the clutter, firefighters could not get around and DuBree ordered them out of the structure.
"It became a safety issue for my crews," he said.
One Plumsteadville firefighter was cut by flying glass. DuBree said he was treated for a head wound at the scene and went back to battle the blaze.
The chief called in neighboring companies to help fight the fire from the outside.
Asked if he had encountered a problem with hoarding before, DuBree said "nothing this bad."
"It didn't allow us do our job," said the chief.
The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Bucks County Fire Marshal's Office.
Among the companies that assisted Plumsteadville were Hilltown, Point Pleasant, Midway, Doylestown, Dublin and Chalfont. ........

Thanks to my Loyal Clients

It is really frustrating when a client books a session and then notifies you just prior to the appointment that they cannot keep the schedule. On the other hand the quality clients that are really interested in organizing services are in essence penalized by this discourtesy. While they could not get the services they need due to scheduling other clients that cancelled just seems unfair and unjustified. Please when working with any small independant professional be consious of not just their time but the needs of others in need.

Yard Sale Season coming up soon

Most people have a lot of money sitting in their attics, garages and basements in the form of unused, disorganized junk and clutter. This is the time of the year to prepare for doing a yard or garage sale.

Gotta Get Organized llc specializes in organizing clean outs and yard/garage sales. We have the capability to research, photograph and post items on Ebay and Criag’s List. Additionally, we can use our web site to create a virtual yard sale to advertise your items and sell them as profitably as possible for you. Go to the following link to our web site to see the format used on just one of the sales GGO did last year: (http://www.gottagetorganized.org/On_site_sales.htm)

If you are considering a profitable event this spring please call us at 214 396-2589.

It may take a week or two

Due to the increased number of inquiries and free estimates most start dates for projects are now about one to two weeks from the first point of contact

Got Issues

This blog is where you can post questions about how to organize space or stuff. I will usually be able to respond to your questions within a day, as long as there is no research required.

Common Issues

The clients of the residential division of Gotta Get Organized llc all seem to have many common threads. Many of the clients beleive that they are inherentley organized people but things just got away from them and now they are overwhelmed in trying to re-establish some degree of organization to their home. The biggest step any client has to take is calling and have to say that they need help. Some are embarrased by their clutter or mess and do not ask for help. This results in becoming more disorganized and more overwhelmed. My point is that the sooner you call for help the easier and less costly the project.