Organizing is a process. You’re going to have to change things as life changes, but sometimes the old habits can be molded for good, rather than for evil.

Time Monsters. We all have them. They are those annoying little things that seem to steal away minutes, even hours, from our days and weeks.

But by being more aware of the way that you feel in your home and how the items you are surrounded by make you feel, you can overpower the overwhelming feelings that often accompany excess clutter and too much to do.

Getting organized can be both exciting and overwhelming. Keeping yourself motivated is crucial if you want to see your project through to completion.

Although perfectionists often come across to others as overly confident and even cocky, many actually suffer from low self-esteem. They have the admiration and awe of those around them for all of the perfect things they regularly do. Still, a true perfectionist is never satisfied with her own performance or abilities. Laura’s story is one real-life example of the connection between perfectionism and low self-esteem.

How long is your to-do list? Three-, five-, ten-items long? If you’re like most women, it’s never-ending. No sooner do you cross off one item and three more things get added. Why do we take on so much? Why does it never end? One reason I’ve come across, both in my own life and in the lives of many of my clients, is perfectionism.

Wouldn’t it be great if I could just spew a few organizing rules, you implement them, and from here until eternity your home is “perfectly” organized?
That’s the frustrating thing about organizing, though. It is NOT an exact science.
The other day, I was helping a client organize her kitchen cabinets. Our goals were to increase work flow, maximize cabinet space, and purge or relocate all the unnecessary or unrelated items we discovered. Things were going well until it came to the putting-it-all-back stage.
“Where does this need to go,” she kept asking …

Well, here we go again . . . yet ANOTHER look for Virtually Organized by Debbie!  What do you think?
If you’ve been following me, you know Virtually Organized has been going through some twists and turns and mini-evolutions. My most recent blog host, however, had some MAJOR software issues. (If you tried to leave a comment in the past few weeks and were scolded for leaving spam, I sincerely apologize! That was the software/host, NOT me!!)
Being the recovering perfectionist that I am, I tried to work through these issues and …

How many times have you been down to the wire with the holidays and found yourself scrambling to find last minute presents? It happens. Some people are just difficult to shop for. Others don’t seem to want for anything specific.  And still others are, quite frankly, not very high on your priority list (they may have even been forgotten until now!)
These are usually the presents you’d rather not admit that you actually bought for someone (Chia Pets and processed cheese wheels come to mind). They are also the presents your recipients would …

“I’ve been told that one of the first steps in the organizing process is to get rid of anything you no longer want . . . or anything your organizer can convince you that no longer wants you!”
 
Recently,I worked with a wonderful older couple to help them downsize from their three-bedroom house to a much “cozier” 2-bedroom apartment. Part of my job was to help these empty nesters let go of things they had been accumulating for over 5 decades. Even though they were motivated, some things, regardless of their usefulness, were very …