Endless to do lists that exhaust and overwhelm you, and keep you away from friends and family should be considered chaotic clutter.

A lot of us keep to do lists. One that seems to grow longer, rather than shorter day by day. A list that never seems to give you the satisfaction of being finished. It can seem exhausting, frustrating and only those who live and die by to do lists will ever truly thrive. The rest of us just try to do our best and ignore the feelings of hopelessness slowly seeping into our lives. Sounds depressing, right? Luckily, there is an easier way...

1. Write a list of your priorities.

What is really, truly important to you? Your health? Your children? Your spouse? Your career? What are the things on your list that make you feel happy, energetic, productive or have real consequences (like not picking up medication on time)? Once you know what's important to you, it's a lot easier to identify what needs to be accomplished immediately and what can wait.

2. What can you outsource or delegate?

Many tasks can often be done by someone else. Whether that means telling your kid that he's now responsible for weeding the garden, asking your spouse or roommate to do their share of the housework or hiring a cleaning company - often we're taking on too many to do's at once. If you don't like the activity, don't have time or simply aren't good at the task, it's always smarter and easier for you to outsource or delegate it to someone else. Asking for help doesn't mean you're weak or helpless. No one is superhuman and we all need help. The most successful, happiest people simply surround themselves with a support team that helps them accomplish their goals...sometimes that's just by taking a task away from them so they have more time to focus.

3. What can you postpone or simply throw out altogether?

Many things don't necessarily need to be done immediately. If there is food on the table, a place for you to sleep and clothes on your back, usually that means you're doing well. However, if you wait an extra day to do your laundry, sew on a button or mow the lawn, probably nothing catastrophic will occur. Let it go for now and do it when you have the time and/or energy.

Ditching projects or objects that you don't like/love/enjoy can help you increase your productivity and happiness levels!

In fact, sometimes you can completely let go of a project altogether. Are you really going to fix that broken table leg or would just buying a new table be an easier solution? What about that shirt with the stain on it that's been sitting in your closet for a month? By now the stain has set really well and you're probably better off buying a new one. Sometimes you just have to be honest with yourself that a to do seemed doable at the time but is either no longer feasible or a priority any longer. Let it go. You'll feel better.

4. Pick your battles.

This is your life, your time and the decisions you make is going to affect what happens next so make good decisions. Sometimes it's smarter and easier to make choices to take on less in our lives so we can have more of what we want..health, happiness and a productive life and maybe even some time for a little fun!

Not all of us are natural organizers. If you know you'd benefit from learning some new skills that can transform your life or think you may need the guidance and support of a decluttering expert helping and encouraging you along on your new life path then visit: http://www.ackorganizing.com/transorm to help you get....

Alison Kero

April 20, 2016

Organizing

Why Perfectionism is the Enemy of Organzing

Alison Kero

April 20, 2016

Organizing

When you imagine an organized home do you picture it where everything is pristine, in its place and there's not even a speck of dust or an out-of-place pencil in the place?

When you think of a professional organizer, do you have a picture of a person who always does everything right and lives in a space even Martha Stewart would be jealous of?

Does this make you feel like you don't even have a prayer to get organized and you've tried before and it failed so why bother even trying?

Do you know why your previous efforts have failed? Simply because perfectionism and organizing don't mix. Perfectionism is just a great way to sabotage your own efforts and give up. What I love about organizing is that it's about finding out who you are right now underneath all the clutter. It's about finding your voice and your true and being yourself and each person has their own version of what that is. It's also about making your life easier, not more complicated. With these thoughts in mind, I wanted to share with you some thoughts that I think end up convincing people to never start organizing but if you knew the truth, you just might think you can:

1. I know where everything is and can find it within a minute or two.

This is mostly true- the reason I do this is because I don't like wasting time searching for my stuff but that doesn't mean I know exactly where everything is to the point of military precision. I know the general area because I put similar items together so if it's something I rarely use, it will take me a moment or two to find it. That's okay. It's when it takes you 10 or more minutes that you're wasting time and energy. I just don't like feeling frustrated when I can't find something so I choose to create systems that help me find what I need easily. You can too and it won't be hard.

2. There is zero clutter in my home.

Ha! Once again, ha! As I write this, there is clutter on my coffee table that will probably stay there for another few days. Why? Because I'm still using all of the items and because I don't care. It doesn't look horrible, it doesn't stress me out and I'm not expecting visitors. Organizing is about finding a comfort level for ME and those I live with, not for someone else who doesn't live with me to put their judgments on what I choose to surround myself with and how much of it I choose to keep. I choose to organize because at the bottom of it, I find the best of me and that is something I can easily live with and feel happy about.

3. There is only one way to organize.

No, absolutely not and if that were true, I'd never have become an organizer because I'd be bored out of my mind with the lack of creativity. Learning the tools of organizing means you find ways to look for systems to set up so that you can make life easier for yourself and you don't have to repeat the same process over and over. It also means that you learn to become more in tune with your priorities and you choose what matters most to you and leave the rest without feeling guilty. At the end of the day, you find the true you at the bottom of your clutter and you keep what matters to you and learn how to safely, happily and without guilt, let the rest go.

4. I'll have to give up what I love.

Here's what you actually have to give up: patterns and habits that sabotage you from achieving success, the stress and frustration of not finding something, losing time and money because you couldn't find that thing you wanted, feeling stressed and overwhelmed in your own home, and looking at things you really dislike but keep for some reason. My method is about keeping what you love, while letting go of whatever isn't serving you because it leads to happiness, increased energy and a way less stressful, difficult life. That's why I stick with it because I don't like complicating my life anymore than it already is. It's that simple.

While the thought of clearing out clutter may be daunting to many of you, it's really a matter of knowing some basic first steps towards creating a brand new life. It's about deciding once and for all that you're more important than your stuff and it's about reclaiming your time, money and choosing you. Let me ask you this: would you rather be on a tropical island right now enjoying yourself or back at home trying to locate your passport? If you need more help, more information or just like visiting websites: http://www.ackorganizing.com.

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Alison Kero

January 3, 2016

Organizing

3 Reasons Why Hiring an Organizer is Ineffective

Alison Kero

January 3, 2016

Organizing

In most cases, hiring an organizer can be life changing. However, there are some common misconceptions about what an organizer can and can't accomplish that I wanted to address to help some people save time and money.

An Organizer Can Do It All For You So I Don't Even Need to Be Home!

Nope. At least not with this organizer. Why? Because this is YOUR stuff! Over the years you've chosen to bring all that stuff into your home and you've chosen to keep that stuff there for all this time so this is about YOU. It's also about why you've chosen to keep stuff in your life that you don't like, want or need. There is clearly an underlying issue going on. I'm not saying there's something wrong with you or that you're bad or messy or screwed up (you're not!), but I am saying it's about time you open up to taking a look at what and why you have stuff and being open to letting go of what no longer serves you. This is like going to a nutritionist for a cleansing. If you spend the whole time eating McDonald's, you won't lose the weight or feel better and it's not like the nutritionist can do the cleanse for you. Change comes from within and shows up on the outside, whether it's about losing weight or losing clutter.

Organizing is about YOU taking the time to take stock and become aware of what you are keeping in your home and why. You need to make that choice so that you claim responsibility for what you keep in your home. I want this experience for you because it can be life changing. Suddenly, if you make decisions in your life based on what YOU truly want, love and need, life becomes much better and easier for you. When you start with the items in your home, you have a tangible way to learn an amazingly beneficial life skill that will literally make life better for you. If, however, you choose to hire someone to do it all for you then you run the risk of having important items thrown out or donated, not being able to find anything because you don't know where they put it or, because you haven't addressed what caused the clutter in the first place, you'll wind up with the exact same amount of clutter (or worse!) in a short amount of time with you scratching your head wondering why it didn't work. If you're really serious about getting organized and STAYING organized, this has to be about you and you need to be ready to take a look at your stuff and make the decisions. An organizer should be hired to be your guide and your coach – not your Mommy.

Does coming home and seeing this every night make you feel relaxed? Is clutter in your castle bringing you down?

2. It's just Clutter...what's the Big Deal?

It's never just clutter. This is about you not making decisions that directly affect your life and the effects it's now having on you. Time lost, money lost, confusion, exhaustion, frustration and overwhelm. Do you enjoy those feelings? Or could taking a few hours to start to just take stock in what you own and making the simple decisions of: “do I like this, need this or use this” change your life for the positive? That exhausted feeling you have when you think of starting to get organized? That's a direct response to what you have sitting around in your home. Your stuff is literally exhausting you so wouldn't spending a few hours to purge that exhaustion from your home be worth it to you?

3. I Can't Deal With Your Stuff So I'm Hiring Someone to Deal with It Instead:

Sorry couples! Many of you have spoken to me about how you'd love to hire me and make your partner completely change how they live while you either hide out somewhere or do the work for them but that's not how it works (at least not with any degree of success). In my experience, your spouse or partner will feel like you've hired someone to gang up on them and they will feel judged. They are also being forced to confront their “stuff” both literally and figuratively without being given room to accept the possibility of change. Imagine if you took them to a therapist without consulting them first. How would they feel when they found out? Probably like a dog does when you take them to the vet- they just want to get the heck out of there ASAP. They are also going to feel embarrassed and angry and will push back, run away or some really interesting passive/aggressive behavior will show up. They most likely will become unwilling and unable to get the help they may need because of the judgmental or pushy way the change been thrust upon them. If you're looking for help to create positive change in your partner, try to introduce the idea of hiring an organizer to them in a calm, loving manner and allowing them time to make their own decisions. It's like if your partner had a drug problem and you put them into rehab without their consent. Would you really surprised when they relapsed?

Just like you living with them every day hasn't helped them conquer their issues, my consulting with them or going into their home or office to work with them won't help make much changes either....unless they themselves are open to working with me. Their being "willing" doesn't mean you've badgered them into booking a session with me because you feel you know what's best or because you're tired of looking at (and living with) their mess, this means they themselves are willing to show up and work with me. I can't promise miracles, especially if I meet with resistance but the more willingly they show up, the more able I am to effect change into their (and your) lives. I also will flatly turn down working with any unwilling client so trying to slide one past me doesn't work. Try hiring someone else but as I've seen unwilling clients literally walk away from me and out of their own offices, don't be surprised if it doesn't work.

Organizing can be fun and life changing but as with everything, it's about being willing to make some changes in your life. If you're not ready for change, that's okay. If you are willing to create some changes, start by just allowing yourself to imagine a home where you can find everything easily and there's no clutter. Allowing just that space into your life can be an important first step.