My mother called me the other day to tell me that she had 750 Q-tips and was hoping I would agree to take some of them off her hands. Here’s how it happened. My mother noticed that the package of 300 Q-tips that she purchased at Walgreen’s quite a number of years ago was almost empty. However, she was determined to buy a smaller package, since she and my dad use them up so slowly, and, like most of us…
Read more →Do you have a problem with paper? Does it seem to multiply overnight? Do you get your desk cleaned off, only to find an intimidating pile there again just a few days later? You are not alone. Most of my clients struggle with managing paper, and I myself wage a weekly battle with the top of my desk.
Read more →As a Professional Organizer, I live the advice that I give my clients. I regularly donate unworn clothes and unused items; I efficiently process incoming e-mail and paper; I manage my time using an effective to-do list. But even I’m not perfect. That’s why I found it so satisfying last week to tackle something that had been nagging at me for a while — something that was violating TWO of my six basic organizing principles.
Read more →Clients ask me this all the time, and are quite surprised when I tell them 3 years. Yes, the government only has three years to audit you. (I don’t know where the 7-year rule came from, or why it is so widely propagated.)
Read more →Time and again, clients call me to organize their overstuffed closets and dresser drawers. Most of the time, they swear to me before we start that they really do wear all of those clothes. Once we get started, however, I hear the usual comments: “That hasn’t fit me in years.” “I never felt comfortable in that.” “That has a huge stain on it.” And my favorite: “Oh, I’d forgotten I had that!”
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