Category Archives: Clutter

Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful

If It’s Not Useful Or Beautiful – It’s Clutter

This quote from artist and textile designer William Morris is a pithy prescription for avoiding clutter in your home. Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. To earn its place in your house, office, closet or life, according to Morris, each thing must: Serve […]

Get Organized, Get Happy This Year!

Ready to make the new year happy, organized and clutter-free? Here are some strategies to start the year off well. 3 Powerful Strategies For A Fabulous New Year Although the start of a new year is a fairly arbitrary thing, it offers a priceless psychological gift – motivation! Don’t waste this gift! Take advantage of […]

Declutter-Fest 2011

How To Run Your Own Declutter Project

The following post was an article in a recent issue of the Get Organized newsletter. I received so much great feedback on the article that I thought I would reproduce it here. I hope you find it helpful! There are people who love the process of cleaning, decluttering and organizing. These are the Monica Gellers […]

7 Ways To Clutter-Proof Your Life

Do you feel like clutter is taking over your life, and sapping your once-great determination to get organized and be tidy? It might seem inevitable that clutter should overtake your space over time – but it’s not! There are things you can do – simple, but life-changing things – that can insulate you from clutter […]

Have More Time

Want More Time And Energy? A Surprising Way To Get More Of Both.

It seems everybody wants more time. We read books on getting things done.  We stress ourselves out with multi-tasking. We complain to anyone who’ll listen that we’re so awfully busy. And we wish we had more energy. We load up on caffeine and sugar to get through the day. We don’t let ourselves stop for […]

3 Great Reasons To Start Today

Our grand business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.  ~ Thomas Carlyle Have you been putting something off? At home? At work? In your personal life? It might be tempting to wait until some mythical perfect time. Perhaps when: You have more time […]

Is Clutter Stopping You From Achieving Your Goals?

Clearing Clutter Can Increase Success Jack Canfield points out that a cluttered physical environment can undermine success in several ways: Clutter drains energy Clutter hides problems Clutter blinds us to opportunities and ideas. If you feel held back in your personal goals or career goals, could clutter be part of the cause? Get Rid Of […]

Help Decluttering

Get Organized With This Declutter Mantra

Before you can get organized, you have to get rid of clutter. It’s impossible to have an organized home, productive office, or simple life with too much stuff for the available space. A powerful aid to getting rid of clutter is the mantra we use here at Get Organized Wizard: Move fast. Don’t overthink. Let […]

Get Organized For Guests

Get Organized For House Guests

If you’re part of my Facebook community, you might have seen that I’ve had my (Minnesota-based) sister and her family to stay. I loved spending time with this gorgeous little family, and I must admit I’ve been pretty sad since they left. Having 2 extra adults and 2 small kids in my compact, usually work-friendly […]

Put Your Stuff In A Probation Box: How To Clear Clutter When You’re Scared

Do you have too much stuff, but feel conflicted about letting it go? Part of you feels excited about clearing the clutter and enjoying the space, freedom, and mental clarity of an organized home. But another part of you is nervous about stepping out of your comfort zone, and facing a future without clutter as your […]

Get Organized For 2011

Get Organized Resolutions: 6 Dos And Don’ts For A Calm & Ordered Year

In an issue of the Get Organized newsletter I wrote about the January 1 Effect – how you can get a gift of energy and motivation from the start of the new year. Why not take advantage of this once-a-year psychological boost, and start the year well! Here are 6 dos and don’ts for getting your […]

20 Things To Check Off For A Fresh Start

Whether you’re approaching a new year, season, birthday, anniversary, or any other milestone, it’s a great time to make a fresh start, and to think about what you want to leave behind. I’ve put together 20 ideas for things to do before starting afresh. Some of these will take an instant, some a little longer. Choose the […]

But I Might Need It One Day! [How To Stop Making Excuses & Get Organized, Declutter & Simplify]

Can’t get organized? Can’t get rid of clutter? Is it because you’ve got an excuse you can’t argue yourself out of? Maybe I can help. Post your excuse as a comment and I’ll address it in a later post in this series. Excuse #1: I can’t get rid of my stuff – I might need […]

Get Organized For Thanksgiving

Get Organized For A Happy Thanksgiving (With 2 Thank-You Gifts For You)

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, so it’s a great time for me to say a heartfelt thank you to my customers and readers. I really cherish you guys. And your intelligence and striking good looks are without parallel. Anyway, here are 2 little Thanksgiving-y resources from me, to help you to be: More organized […]

Simplify Your Life: What Not To Buy

So far in this Simplify Your Life series, we’ve found ways to:

Simplify Your Closet (What Not To Wear)
Simplify Your To-Do List (What Not To Do).

Today, let’s consider how to simplify your stuff – at least new stuff that comes into your life – by streamlining the things you buy.
Simplify Your Stuff: What Not To Buy

Are You An Over-Saver?

I used to be someone who saved things up. A new pair of boots, a box of premium tea, a gift of my favorite perfume – new things got put aside until the ideal occasion. There was a certain pleasure in knowing I had something special waiting for me, for one day. But often I’d […]

What Might You Gain if You Let Things Go?

Recently I was looking through the 52 Missions Home Organizer comments. I re-discovered a comment that reminded me afresh of the wonderful, unexpected gifts that can come when you finally release old stuff from your life: 11 full boxes of books are now sitting by the door, waiting to go to the donation bin at […]

Simplify Your Life: New Series Starts Today

Is a sense of overwhelm holding you back from the life you want? If you often feel disorganized, indecisive, or immobilized, it’s worth looking for ways to make your life simpler. Having a sense of what isn’t for you can be a super-smart way to cut down your choices, save yourself mistakes and feel a greater […]

Get Organized in 5 Minutes: Adopt OCI-OGO

Here’s something you can do to get better organized – and it’ll take you just 5 minutes! Adopt OCI-OGO Decide to adopt OCI-OGO in your life. This means One Comes In – One Goes Out: every time something new comes into your home, car, handbag, briefcase, closet or life – something old goes out. If […]