Professional Organizer » Professional Organizer Marilyn Bohn |Organizing Blog | Professional Organizing Services | - Professional Organizer | Clearing Clutter | Motivational Speaker

Archive for the ‘Professional Organizer’ Category

Clutter Clearing Is My Way Of Life

Tuesday, March 6th, 2012 by admin

Show ‘N Share Tuesday: (Day 1 of 5 showing clutter in my home)

I don’t know if I have shared this or if I just thought it so many times that I think I have shared it. That strikes me as funny but on to the point I am going to make…..

A while back I mentioned I had removed clutter from somewhere in my home and received emails saying they were actually glad to hear that I also have clutter. Granted it doesn’t live long in my home but there are certainly places that I need to do clutter clearing. (Actually on a daily basis so I can keep organized).

I decided right then and there (after reading the emails) to walk around my home and when I saw clutter take a picture of it and share it with you. So, for the next (including this one) 5 Tuesday’s that is what I am doing.

In my living room I have some magazines that always end up on my piano bench or on the fireplace hearth. It looks like to clutter to me and besides they don’t have a home.

I gave it serious consideration since I knew I was doing this blog. I came up with a brilliant solution (why didn’t I see it sooner)? The way to free myself from every needing to do clutter clearing with my magazines again (I didn’t want to put them in a basket or a magazine rack) was to put them in this empty drawer in the armoire in the living room. (And the angels sang Ahhhhh). Did you catch that—the drawer was already empty. It was no extra work to put them there.

Now my magazines have a home and with the limited space does not become cluttered with oodles of magazine. Have I told you before I l-o-v-e clutter clearing—either in my home or organizing as a professional organizer.

Footnote: Before you ask…the rug under the drawer is the last one I finished hooking a few months ago. The would be rug on the piano bench is the first one I ever did (years and years and years ago) and the rug under the piano bench is a woven one my daughter brought me from Turkey.

Posted in Clutter Clearing, Professional Organizer, Show 'N Share | 6 Comments »

Monday Focus–An Embarassing Story

Monday, May 2nd, 2011 by admin

Getting Rid Of Clutter Monday Focus:

Check your planner every day. I know that sounds like a no brainer—at least it does to me. I didn’t do it last week and because of it I wasted 2 hours and a tank of gas.

I was teaching a workshop — getting rid of paper clutter (forever). I showed up one day early. I couldn’t believe that all week I had the wrong day in my mind! I didn’t even enjoy the 50 mile round trip because I was so disgusted with myself. And it’s still not all that pretty as the leaves are struggling to come out and blossoms were few and far between. I did go back the next day and taught the workshop.

The hassle of going twice and wasting time and money would have been avoided if I had only checked my planner the night before. Now, for a professional organizer I was surprised at myself, but I guess I was just excited to teach about getting rid of paper clutter.

Has this ever happened to you?

Posted in Getting Rid of Clutter, Professional Organizer | 5 Comments »

Product Review Friday: 5 Surefire Tips To Organizing Shoes

Friday, April 30th, 2010 by admin

Clutter control with professional organizer Marilyn Bohn When I say Wizard of Oz what comes to your mind? I think of Dorothy’s ruby red shoes. Judy Garland wore 6 different ruby red shoes during the filming and one pair is on display at the Modern History Museum in Washington D.C. I get a little thrill every time I see them.

Clutter Control with professional organizer Marilyn Bohn As a professional organizer women say to me “I wish I loved to organize clutter”. Just like Dorothy who longed for a place where there isn’t any trouble we can have homes where there isn’t clutter. Let’s start with our shoes.

Let’s organize the clutter in our closets by considering these options:

1. In the bottom of your closet if you have floor space a wooden, moveable rack is a great organizer. IKEA has a two shelf rack that is ideal.
2. Hang a multi-pocket shoe organizer over the back of a closet door.
3. If you have room on your closet rod use a vertical shoe organizer. It hooks over the rod, it doesn’t work on the back of a door.
4. When you absolutely have no closet space a rolling under-the-bed organizer could be used. I don’t recommend this as it is cumbersome to get to and the more inconvenient something is to use the more likely it won’t be used and shoes won’t be put away but will be left scattered on the floor.
5. Stacking racks sit on the floor and some hold up to 30 pairs of shoes. Shoes are easy to reach and to put back on the rack.

Organizing shoe clutter is almost as easy as it was for Dorothy who clicked the heels of her ruby red shoes to make her wish come true. If your wish is to organize clutter in your closet as a professional organizer I recommend starting with the floor first where your shoes rest at the end of the day.

What’s your favorite way to organize clutter in your shoe closet? I have used both of the organizers show here and they both work great! they are sturdy and fit the space just right.

Organize Clutter with professional organizer Marilyn Bohn

Posted in Closets, Clutter, Professional Organizer | 4 Comments »

3 Versatile Tips to Corral Cords

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010 by admin

Clearing clutter with professional organizer Marilyn Bohn My friend and I were chatting and she said she just had to share this nifty tip for clutter control. You know all of those cords that need to be corralled? There are extension cords, phone cords, computer cords, and many others I haven’t mentioned.

Anyway she used mini (about 4 to 6 inches long) bungee cords and they worked wonderfully well. As a professional organizer when I am clearing clutter with people I often use hair elastics as they are stronger than regular elastic bands and they are readily available if you have girls in your home.

Another way to corral cords is with strips that come with Velcro on the ends to keep them snug as a bug in a rug. When storing cords, a plain ole plastic bag works great. Be sure to label it so you’ll know what the cord is to be used for at a later date.

What nifty tip do you have for clutter control of those necessary but pesky cords?

Clearing clutter with professional organizer Marilyn Bohn

Posted in Clutter Control, Professional Organizer | 1 Comment »

Show 'N Share Clutter Free Drawer

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010 by admin

Getting rid of clutter with professional organizer Marilyn Bohn A neighbor friend asked me this last week if I had any clutter in my home. He laughed as he knows I am a professional organizer so he imagines that my home is completely clutter free. And pretty much it is. But as you know, life happens and sometimes we can close a drawer and just ignore the clutter living there. I doubt you ever do that but I do sometimes.

I have had a drawer like that for several years— actually too many to remember. But last Saturday I decided to organize it and get rid of clutter so I would have something to show for Show ‘N Share Tuesday. Which actually is Wednesday this week because I had to announce (I mean I got to announce) the free give away of the Purse Pleaser. We love this organizer.

Getting rid of clutter with professional organizer Marilyn Bohn So, here are the before (top of page) and after photos of that little drawer. I cleared clutter by giving the Thangles I no longer use away to quilting friends. I folded in a tidy stack the cloth bags that I will someday put things in and give away. I like going back and just peeking in the drawer it looks so organized now.

P.S. do you have a drawer that you mean to get to someday and get rid of the clutter—we’d love to hear about it.

P.S. S. Remember to sign up for the giveaway that will help you with clutter control if you want a chance to win the purse organizer. Ask an organizing question in the comments.

Getting rid of clutter with professional organizer Marilyn Bohn

Posted in Clearing Clutter, Clutter, Professional Organizer | 4 Comments »

2 Winning Ways To Shred Documents and Clear Clutter

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 by admin

Clear clutter with professional organizer Marilyn Bohn I work with people all the time as a professional organizer setting up their offices and creating a filing system that works for them. As we clear clutter from drawers and other places we always create piles of documents that need shredding.

Shredding is easy to do if it is done a little at a time. As a professional organizer I recommend opening mail next to a shredder so it can be done sooner rather than later. If that doesn’t work keep piles to shred to a minimum so it is doable. When we put it off and think we will get to it later it becomes more than our small shredders can handle.

Here are two options for shredding:

•Call your bank or credit union and see if they have a shred day. In our community several do offer this service quarterly for free. Or if you are a member, some institutions allow people to bring papers in to be shredded any time.
•Office Max has partnered with Shred-it and you can take your documents to an OfficeMax retail location. They charge by the pound.

When you take your documents to be shredded there is no need to separate papers or remove paper clips, binder clips or staples. It is secure and once they have been shredded into confetti-sized pieces they are recycled for uses such as household paper products.

Do you have a favorite way to shred at your home to clear clutter?

Clear clutter with professional organizer Marilyn Bohn

Posted in Clear Clutter, Office/Paper Work, Professional Organizer | No Comments »

5 Surefire Places To Begin To Get Rid Of Clutter

Thursday, February 25th, 2010 by admin

Getting rid of clutter with professional organizer Marilyn Bohn Tuesday I was privileged to be on KLGB radio in Long Beach California. My friend and professional organizer Ann Negendank of Sensible Space invited me to talk about the most Frequently Asked Questions we are asked as professional organizers.

We agree that the #1 question we are asked is, “Where do I start?” We know that everyone wants to get rid of clutter but they just don’t know where to begin; either because they don’t know how to get rid of clutter or they think it is an impossible task and feel overwhelmed.

Here are 5 surefire answers:

•It really doesn’t matter where you start; the important thing is to just start. (I personally think this is too general of an answer).
•I recommend either the bedroom or (see below the other place I suggest starting). The master bedroom is a great place to start because we all need a room we can go to and feel it is our sanctuary. A place we can go to, feel peace and shut out the outside world.
•The front entry way where we first enter our home and visitors get their first impression of our home.
•Start in a place that bothers you the most because there is so much clutter.
•Start where there is the least amount of clutter and build your momentum towards doing larger areas where you need to get rid of clutter.

Where is your favorite place to start when you want to get rid of clutter?

Getting rid of clutter with professional organizerr Marilyn Bohn

Posted in Get Rid Of Clutter, Professional Organizer | 2 Comments »

Show 'N Share Tuesday…Take Charge

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 by admin

Getting rid of clutter with professional organizer Marilyn Bohn I love getting thank you notes. I like reading what my friends have to say about the gift or service I have done for them. I like the beauty of the cards and I love getting “good” mail. The fact that my friends took the time to write me a note makes me feel important.

I foolishly started saving thank you cards about 10 years ago. (I am aghast it has been that long). As a professional organizer I am always giving ideas and organizing tips to people when I speak and also in my book about what to do with paper that comes into our homes.

I had taken the time to fill up an entire book with cards and I placed it in a basket. Then I just piled the rest of the notes I received around it. About 4 or 5 years ago I actually looked at all of the cards and read some of the sentiments. (I haven’t looked at it since). It dawned on me that keeping these cards was taking up space and they were a dust collector—one that never got dusted.

I took a deep breath and went to work. I read some of the cards that particularly caught my attention and ooed and awed and then I put all but 5 cards in the recycle bin. It was a tad hard but I kept my goal in mind which was to get rid of clutter. The five cards I kept I put in my folder in my filing drawer labeled “cards I like”.
Getting rid of clutter with professional organizer Marilyn Bohn
I’m now using this basket to contain my small hand work project I am currently working on. It feels so good to get rid of clutter! Since I hadn’t looked at them in years what was the point of hanging on to them?

Getting rid of clutter with professional organizer Marilyn Bohn

Posted in Get Rid Of Clutter, Office/Paper Work, Organizing Clutter, Professional Organizer | 4 Comments »

No Fear: Get Relief From Clutter

Monday, February 22nd, 2010 by admin

Clutter control with professional organizer Marilyn Bohn We have been watching the Olympics in Vancouver. Canadians can be proud of the fantastic Olympics they are hosting.

We were watching an interview of a skier who had flown down the hill at speeds higher than I drive my car. The reporter asked what was going through her mind as she was tearing around the curves. (Don’t cha just love some of the questions they come up with?) I know I would be thinking, “please let me live and I promise I’ll never do this again”.

The skier basically said they have no fear. This is what makes them champions. Being the professional organizer that I am; I know some people are afraid when it comes to getting rid of clutter.

They say:

•But what if I need this in 6 1/6 years or longer?
•But I paid good money for it—even though I don’t like it and I never use it.
•I Might miss it. (Might? Might?)
•But it was a gift.
•I’ll make the decision later.

Do you have a fear of getting rid of clutter for any of the reasons above? It is healthy and it will make you happy to let go of clutter rather than living in the future or in the past. Have no fear and get rid of clutter today!

Getting rid of clutter with professional organizer Marilyn Bohn

Posted in Get Rid Of Clutter, Getting Rid of Clutter, Professional Organizer | 4 Comments »