National Organization Month

Staged Homes, LLC is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO). And January is National Organization Month. If a new year is an opportunity to start fresh then a new decade makes it a requirement.

Yes, we all procrastinate organizing our closets or garages or anywhere else in our home that we cram stuff in to. But think about why you are cramming things in. 2009 gave us all pause to think about what we were buying, and we have started to buy less. Out of necessity or responsibility. But now we need to do something with that stuff we have already bought.

A client once said she can't throw anything out. When we finished talking we decided that it wasn't because she needed the stuff, rather she felt guilty throwing the stuff out. If she bought it then it must have been important. Well, we all buy things that we think we need, but when it ends up in the closet, garage, etc. we need to admit we didn't. So let's get out of our own guilt and open the closet and pull things out. Let's all come out of the closet, so to speak.

The first thing is to have two boxes, or bags. One is for the dumps and the other for donation. And if need be, one for things that we just can't get rid of but have no where else to put it. You can only have one bag for that. Then, just start. Don't think. If you haven't used it in a year then get rid of it. There are so many people who can use it. Either Goodwill, Salvation Army, or your local church. There are also places that help those less fortunate like The Ritter House in San Rafael. And, when you bring your items to these places then just tell yourself that you bought it for them.

Give. it feels good. And, when we give things that we don't need it helps organize our own lives. A win-win.

--may God bless all those in Haiti.