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Your Monthly
Organizing Tips
from Maryann Murphy, MSW
Your Personal Organizing Expert |
January
2013 |
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Dear , 
The National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) has designated January as "GO (Get Organized) Month"! It makes sense - our New Year's spirit is strong, we're making fresh starts with resolutions and we're stuck inside a lot anyway. All your resolutions will be easier to accomplish when you're more organized in how you approach them - so let's GO!
Take advantage of your New Year's energy to tackle an organizing project, clear out some clothes you don't wear anymore from your closet, and go through that pile of papers, a few inches every day. More tips on how to do it are described below. Won't it be nice to have your projects finished by the time spring arrives?
- Maryann Murphy
Your Personal Organizing Expert
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Recycling Corner:
Re-using Cassette Cases to Store Business Cards
A client of mine (who wishes to remain anonymous) recently came up with a brilliant idea for re-using empty cassette cases while at the same time solving that annoying problem of what to do with all those business cards we like to keep! I liked it and ran with the idea, resulting in a complete portable business card filing system. Here's how to put one together:
1. Sort your business cards into categories (location, type of business, where you met them, what organizations they belong to, etc.) - whatever works for you).
2. Separate the two pieces of a bunch of plastic cassette cases. Keep the inner parts that do NOT have the spokes sticking up in the middle (the clear plastic part in mixed-color cases). Recycle the other portion.
 3. Place up to 25 cards in each container, which now functions as a little stand to hold those cards. If you have more than 25 cards in a category, you can either use an additional case or sub-divide the category into more specific categories.4. Label each stand with the categories you came up with in step 1.
5. Use a cassette case holder (like the one to the right) to organize and h old your individual cassette cases. Place them in alphabetical order by category. The entire box can fit into a drawer or on a shelf and be labeled as well. When you want to look for a particular card, pull out the case with that category, and save time by looking through a much smaller set of cards than that big pile you have right now!
NOTE: There are several free and low-cost electronic ways to avoid having to take or keep business cards at all (Card Munch, Scan Biz Cards, etc.), which allow you to take photos of the business cards of others and enter them directly into your contact list on your phone. Neat Business Cards (TM) also offers a scanner to let you scan the cards into your computer and then recycle them. But for those who want/need/love to keep the hard copies themselves, this system is a great way to re-use materials you already have, and add some organization to an item that we often don't know what to do with. Let me know if you try it, or if YOU have any other organizing/recycling ideas. |
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Don't Be Scared!
I recently had an interior designer come to my house for a consultation (Linda Vantine of Vantine Interior Design on Cape Cod - she was fabulous!). Now, I love my house and we've had some be autiful work done on it over the years, but as soon as I knew Linda was coming, I GOT NERVOUS! Would she like the colors I picked? Would she judge me for not having curtains on my great room windows (I like to let the sun in)? Would she "make me" change something I loved? This had nothing to do with Linda - she never gave any indication of being judgmental! But just the fact that I was inviting her into my home to help me make it better made me feel anxious and inadequate.
I imagine that this is what happens to many of you when you think about working with a professional organizer! You think you should know how to do this yourself, you shouldn't need outside help, or you may be afraid that a "PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZER" [insert trumpet flourish here] might judge you for having too many piles of paper or clothes that you need to get rid of.
Well, I GET IT! But I'm here to tell you that I'm EXTREMEMLY NON-judgmental about your stuff!  And most organizers I know are that way too. Our only goal is to HELP you with whatever is bothering YOU about your stuff! We LOVE getting things organized and getting rid of clutter, so it's FUN for us to help you decide what works for you and what no longer does. We enjoy solving the puzzle of what filing system would work best for you. And we have a lot of EMPATHY for how hard it can be to feel overwhelmed by your things.
I offer a free, 1/2-hour consultation on the phone before I meet with potential clients in their homes or offices. This gives you a chance to feel me out and see if you feel comfortable with me first. It can still be a littly scary to have someone see your stuff, so once I'm at your place, I am very respectful of what you're willing to show me. If you want some areas kept off-limits, that's fine, but most of my clients find that letting me in to help is worth a little anxiety.
By the way, Linda was very positive about what I had already done with my home, and she gave me some very helpful ideas for making it look and function better. I feel a lot more at ease with her now. And I'm glad I risked being anxious in order to get some professional help I couldn't have come up with on my own. How about you? |
Upcoming Classes
(learn with others)
Time Management - Tuesday, January 29, 1:00 - 5:00 pm
EMC, Milford
(EMC employees only)
Paper Management - Wednesday, February 13, 10 am - 12 noon.
St. Mary's Women & Children's Program, Dorchester
(program participants only)
Overcoming Procrastination - Wednesday, February 27 & March 6, 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Sandwich Community Schools (2 sessions so you can practice in between)
Open to all - Sign up to participate!
Call 508 888-5300 or register online at http://www.scslearn.org.
Organizing Your Green Kitchen - Saturday, March 2
"g" Green Design, Mashpee Commons, Mashpee
Open to all - Register by phone at 508 477-7988 or online at www.ggreendesign.com.
A Place for Everything* - 4 Wednesdays: April 24 through May 15, 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Sandwich Community Schools
Call 508 888-5300 or register online at http://www.scslearn.org.
Open to all - Sign up to participate!
* I recently had a request to reprise this class on Wednesday evenings. This class is special because it extends for 4 weeks in order to give students a chance to practice what they learn in class at home or at work, and then get feedback and additional help in class. It has been very successful when we've run it in the past, so sign up if you want a more in-depth class to help you get through those organizing projects you vowed to tackle in 2013! |
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Have a great GO Month!
Sincerely,
Maryann Murphy, MSW
Professional Organizer, Speaker, Trainer
(508) 292-6706
  
Referrals Welcome!
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