Important Organizing Concepts
Click here to read two excerpts from my book "Get Organized, Stay Organized" on two important organizing concepts: Energy Begets Energy and Economy of Movement.

Set Realistic Goals
You can't organize an entire room or your entire house in one day. Keep in mind, it took longer than a day for it to get that way!

Use Grandma's Rule
How many times did you hear Grandma or your parents admonish you to eat your vegetables so that you could get dessert? Well, it's the same with organizing. Instead of putting off your organizing until after you have watched that movie--reverse it and promise yourself a nice reward once you have accomplished a goal. Such as, "I will go have dinner out after I have finished organizing this dresser!"

In The Kitchen
Keep a roll of masking tape and a black permanent marker in your kitchen. When you put leftovers away in a container, put a piece of tape on the lid and write the day and date on the tape. The tape can be removed easily for cleanup.

If the leftovers go in a plastic bag, write right on the bag. Also date and divide anything that goes in the freezer, such as meat you might buy in bulk.

Stop Beating Yourself Up!
I run into it a lot when I meet a client--they look embarrassed, almost ashamed of letting me in the front door, as if they are almost holding their breath and waiting for me to say, "How can you live like this?"

But of course I don't. For me, and for the rest of my staff, there is no judgment here. We are in the business of helping others. If you didn't need help, you wouldn't have called and we wouldn't be in business. My job is to HELP you, not tear you down.

But I was thinking about it the other day and I realized that in many ways, the embarrassment or self-deprecation is far more hurtful than having a disorganized life. It also hinders you, saps your energy, and slows down the process of change and growth.

When you make a call to us for a consultation, keep this in mind:

You CALLED, that is a big step!
You have admitted you need help.

That old saying, "You can't see the forest for the trees," is an accurate one. Sometimes all it takes is another person's perspective, and a few hours of their time to help you pull back and realize that the situation isn't as insurmountable as it first appeared.

So, stop beating yourself up and conserve your energy. Save that energy for sorting those possessions into their respective categories and preparing to have a new and organized life. And remember, we all need help in some aspect of our lives.

Set Goals for Rooms
Make a room-by-room list of what you want to accomplish in the next eight weeks. A list for your family room, for example, could include alphabetizing video tapes, corralling magazines and designating a space for the remote. By jotting down goals for each room, you'll alleviate some of the pressure of accomplishing the tasks all at once. Plus, you'll have the satisfaction of checking off tasks as you complete them, a great motivator to keep going.

Start Small
I mentioned the old saying, "you can't see the forest for the trees," above, and it holds true for tackling any organizational project. If your counters in your kitchen are filled with clutter, turn to your cabinets or drawers first. Open one drawer and begin sorting. Start small and work yourself up to the big stuff.

• You can't organize the whole space at once
• You have to have room to put things away in
• Starting small allows you to really take pride in your work.

Even professional organizers sometimes find themselves disorganized. A few months ago I went through the cabinets and drawers underneath my master bathroom sink. I first sorted all of the items into categories: skin care, cold/flu meds, first aid, pain relief, etc. I then combined any multiple open bottles I had (Excedrin with other Excedrin - never mix different drugs with each other!) and threw away any expired products. After that I really took a good hard look at what I used and what I didn't use and removed items I hadn't used in over a year.

In the end I was so proud of how everything was organized. Now when we have a cut that needs a bandage, or one of us has a cold, I know just which container under the sink to look in! It made me so excited that I organized our master bedroom closet the next weekend!

Uncover Your Fridge
Do you really need 15 magnets, or will five suffice?

Unless your refrigerator is a design statement, it usually becomes a catch-all for mismatched magnets, emergency phone numbers and take-out menus. Clear everything off your fridge's façade and organize it by stacking ads, coupons and scraps of related papers in piles. If you keep phone numbers on your fridge, type or neatly print them on a single sheet. Things like doctor's appointment reminders should go in your planner, while coupons can be stored in a coupon book.