What’s Your Reason?

As a Professional Organizer, I hear a lot of frustration from people who are trying to organize their spaces. I’ve heard it all! Here is my top ten countdown of reasons why people think they can’t get organized.

10. “If I get rid of something, I may need it later.”
You may, but if you forgot you had it and haven’t used it in several years, you probably won’t need it. Plus, you probably will be able to buy a similar thing if you need it later.

9. “I’m so busy, I don’t have time to organize.”
Organizing an hour a week will give you several more hours in your schedule.

8. “All of this stuff may be worth something.”
If you are serious about making money, research your items’ worth, and be willing to sell. Call an appraiser if necessary. Your space is valuable too, and you need your space now.

7. “I’m saving this to give to my kids.”
Do your kids really want it? Ask them, and don’t be afraid to get your feelings hurt.

6. “All of this stuff has memories.”
It is difficult deciding which sentimental items to keep, but you know you need the space. Keep the memories, part with the stuff. And clear your house for new memories.

5. “Those clothes are three sizes too small, but I’m on a diet.”
If you have items of clothing that haven’t been worn in a year, take time to sit down and be honest with yourself. It adds stress to have a closetful of tiny dresses staring at you as you are dieting. Keep clothes one or two sizes too small at most, not all of your clothes from high school.

4. “This is all other people’s stuff.”
The kids leave stuff, your spouse dumps stuff, your room is full of junk! Start by dividing what belongs to whom. Find places in the house to be “homes” for their stuff. If it has no home and hasn’t been used in over a year, consider donating it. Then lay down the law: you deserve a clutter-free space for yourself!

3. “I’m just a messy person.”
Messy and disorganized are two different things. Some messy people can find what they need in two seconds, while some neat people don’t know where anything is. Organization is about retrieval. It’s still possible to be organized if you like your space full of things.

2. “It’s so bad, I don’t know where to start.”
There is no “perfect” place to begin. Start somewhere, anywhere. Start with a small project, and make a list of other small projects you can do a few hours at a time over several weeks or months.

And finally, drum roll please...

1. “I can’t do it alone!”
Maybe it’s time to call a Professional Organizer. Visit www.saralong.com to read about what a Professional Organizer can do for you.

Article in Delaware Moms Magazine

I'm proud to say that I was featured along with Professional Organizers Rhonda Sinor, Dawn George and Catherine Dombroski in the July 2010 issue of Delaware Moms magazine. Denise Morrison Yearian wrote the article entitled "Everything in its Place" on page 25. Pick up this free parenting magazine in book stores and other locations in the Wilmington area.

Planning a Successful Yard Sale

If you’re looking to get rid of clutter and earn some cash, a yard sale or garage sale may be the answer. If you already have boxes of unwanted items and are willing to spend the time sorting, pricing, and organizing a yard sale, here are some tips to make your yard sale as successful as possible.

Advertise. List your yard sale in your local newspapers and online. List in the “garage & moving sales” section of CraigsList.com, and conduct an Internet search for “yard sales” to see which other websites let you list your yard sale online for free. Also use email, Facebook, and Twitter to share your yard sale date with friends and family.

Create consistent signage. The best yard sale signs include at least the following information: the words “yard sale,” the date, times, location and an arrow. Use large, legible lettering. Print all of your signs on the same color paper, so drivers can follow the signs from a distance. Place signage at major intersections a few days before the sale, and remember to take them down after the sale ends.

Balance between pricing to haggle and pricing to move. Most people planning yard sales want both to get rid of old stuff and to earn money. Overall, it’s better to sell an item for a small amount of money than to have to give it away for free later. Use a simple pricing structure, with room for buyers to bid lower. Consider labeling everything in dollar amounts and not charging below one dollar for anything. This way you only have to stock up on dollar bills, not lots of coins. Combine little items into plastic bags and charge a dollar for the whole bag. Try using brown paper lunch bags to create one-dollar “mystery bags” full of small items to sell to kids. Also think about having a five-dollar shopping bag sale for the last hour of your yard sale.

Consider selling refreshments. A good way to earn some extra cash at a yard sale is to sell yummy treats and cold drinks. They’re hard to resist for people who’ve spent all morning yard-saling.

Determine what you will do with the remaining items. Too often, boxes of old yard sale items are lugged back into the house. Once you determine you don’t want an item, let it go. If it doesn’t sell at the yard sale, donate it to a thrift shop or other organization. Don’t bring that clutter back in!

Eye Contact in the Modern World

Think back. Way back. To your high school dances. Have you ever been dancing with someone and they are looking around the room? Possibly they're looking to see who's watching them and what they are thinking, or possibly they're looking at (or for) more attractive dance partners. Either way, it doesn't feel good.

That's how it feels when someone is constantly looking at their phone when I'm out with them.

Now, I'm fortunate enough to have a group of friends who are techno-savvy as well as polite enough to make me feel like they really want to be there with me, not whoever may call or text in the next five minutes. But I know I'm one of the lucky ones.

It's the elephant in the room that makes us feel like "old fogies" when we bring it up. I didn't include it in my last article, but it deserves some discussion. It's not just etiquette, it's a lack of appreciation for a person you may really care about. It poisons the intimate, face-to-face connection that all of us crave and that all of these technologies were created to foster, not destroy. It's behavior that says "I'm not that into you," even when you may be.

As cell phone technology has advanced, users have been more and more trained to look for that "greener grass." This habit robs them of the enjoyment of the moment, time spent with the people who like them enough to make time to be with them in person. Being an adult is about making sacrifices and taking the chance on committing to something to reap deeper rewards. Only kids float from place to place, always searching, always proving and impressing, and never stopping to revel in the intrinsic satisfaction of the current experience. Having a short attention span and taking people for granted are immature traits.

So take a chance on the person in front of you, and let the rest of the world find someone else to dance with for an hour.

Communication Clutter

Do you ever feel like you’re juggling all of the people who seem to need your full attention immediately? Many of the gadgets released over the past 20 years seem to have made conquering your communication clutter harder, rather than easier. Use these tips to prioritize your communications, give you focus, and make you feel less frazzled.

1. It’s an old sales trick: the person in front of you is more important than the person on the phone. Good customer service reps will serve the person at the counter, and put the incoming phone call on hold. Try the same thing in your life. The person in front of you gets priority over anyone who calls or texts you on your cell phone. You can always check your voicemail and text messages in an hour, and the person that found time to sit down for a meal with you will appreciate your full attention. Of course, there are exceptions. If you are expecting an important call or get an emergency call, take it, but excuse yourself politely and make it brief.

2. Set boundaries with kids, and yourself. Inevitably, your kids will start talking to you as soon as you pick up the phone to call someone. Reiterate that it’s not polite to ask questions while someone is on the phone, and teach them what counts as an emergency. But hold up your end of the deal as well. Don’t spend all of your time on the phone or cell phone, especially when you’re with your children.

3. Make email lowest priority. It’s easy to get tied up reading and sending emails. If you have trouble finding time in your schedule, try checking email only a few times a day. Notify people that you are not constantly connected, so they know they need to call you if there is an emergency.

4. What’s an emergency? People will call you with urgency in their voice all of the time. But is there problem really an emergency? Remember the old saying: “lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.” Emergencies are events that require immediate action. If it can wait three or four hours, it’s not an emergency. Allow yourself not to be everyone’s keeper. (This change will make a lot of things in your life easier!)