Becoming a WAHM(Work at Home Mom) certainly was not what Linda thought it would be…laundry…cooking… entertaining kids all day and worst of all….looking at the disorganization 24/7. What happened to the dream of making money while the kids were at school and meeting other women over morning coffee? Was it the fact that she could not see the kitchen counter tops or perhaps that she could not get at the computer to update her blog. It seemed that confusion swirled about her all the time.

Mary was lonely, in a way that her stuff could not satisfy anymore. The shopping was not filling the void. Actually the stuff was getting in her way, her cluttered existence was making her feel a bit embarrassed….embarrassed enough that she stopped having friends over. It was as if all her stuff had turned on her instead of making her happy it was holding her back. The comfort of the stuff had become the enemy…an enemy that was now holding her hostage in her own home.

Over the past six years I have had the privilege of helping women just like Linda and Mary women who are fed up and want a change, but aren’t quite sure how to get it or even where to start.  When people hit the wall I get the call, sometimes! I am proud to be in an industry that is in its infancy, with just  under 6000 members  globally, it is a community of experts that empower people like Linda and Mary every day. We are skilled, we  are compassionate, we care about people in a way that makes our hearts ache some day….

Here is the part that bothers me that I have to share… how many of you have hit the wall and can’t afford in-home services but need someone to show you what to do, and not just tell you what to do. Oh, you probably have a few magazines or books and have watched some TV shows where someone will tell you how to get organized by making it pretty …is that real? This is old school… it is a world where people tell other people how to live and what their house should look like. It is old school when you live your life with advice from people who tell you that they know what is best for you.

Want to join a Revolution? An Organizing Revolution?

Over the past two years I have seen the word revolution and not just in the news. In the June 2008 issue of O magazine, Oprah declared we’re starting a beauty revolution. Dove had the shocking youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U evolution which is one R short of a Revolution. I was glad to be able to share that with my teen daughter.

Are you tired of letting people drive the bus in your life? Want back in the driver seat?

Remember organizing is not necessarily how it looks…unless you are PMS-ing and yes the look will bother you in a way that could hurt people….but usually  it is how it feels and functions for you and the people you life with!

The time has come, the evolution of the internet, technology and a couple of  maverick Professional Organizers saw a need and felt compelled to fill it… there is a solution!

For the past five years we have researched and are sharing the solution! How would you like to have someone show you what to do, and not just tell you what to do?..in the privacy of your home, instantly, anytime of the day, when you are ready to take over the driver seat…in a way that is clear and concise…in a way that allows you to create the solution that is best for YOU!

Organizing Connection a company I co-own with Kim Eagles that offers just that solution…a series of instructional home organizing videos that will REVOLUTIONize how you get Home Organizing Help. These online videos will show you how to organize, not just tell you…so…I have to ask…are you ready to join a Revolution????

First Day of School

It is that time of the year again. The time where I have to pull out my organizer hat. With three school supply lists and a pile of supplies leftover from last year I have my work cut out for me. My professional advice to me “How does one eat an elephant?… one bite at a time of course.” This is how I will tackle this elephant.

Step 1 – Gather all of last years supplies into one common spot. We have chosen the air hockey table in the basement.

Step 2 – Eliminate anything that is obviously garbage… yes the fuzzy thing you found in the bookbag is garbage… as a matter of fact the bookbag may be garbage now too! What you are left with now is everything that can be reused.

Step 3 – Take all your lists, in our case we have three, and make a master list of all the individual items and how many of each item you need. Cross off what you already have, and what is remaining is the final shopping list.

Step 4 – With shopping list in hand and a wallet full of cash head out to your local school supply store. Fill your cart, check off list and hand over the dough. I managed to do this in one hour and was surprised with the amount I spent… it was not too bad. *****Advice from a teacher friend… in the younger grades don’t get all fancy with the supplies, it goes in a common pile and the teachers hand out from the pile.

Step 5 – With the shopping finished you can now bag all the supplies to take in on the first day of school.

Now before the bagging commenced my lovely teenager arrived with her friends and was having a look around at the supply table. Dr Jekyll/Ms Hyde (aka 13 year old daughter) was not impressed with the generic school supplies that I purchased. Here is how the conversation went… Mommy they are so ugly I want pretty stuff… wait remember the pretty binders I wanted in that box that came a few weeks ago? The box she is referring to came from Office Max for the webinar I attended on August 6th. It was full of colorful, pretty and cute (Ms Hyde’s exact words) supplies that she was grabbing before I even had them out of the box. Now I am a paper lover myself so we put the box of pretty items away until I was finished with the Back To School Shopping.

Here we are weeks later, I have all the supplies purchased and the pretty stuff is now ready for distribution… one for teenager… one for mommy….I like colorful writing books too. At the end she is happy, I am happy and grateful that Office Max provides some options for a fussy teenager.

I also suggest that if you are looking for some back to school organization tips the webinar that Office Max did was awesome. There were a few great tips that we are going to implement this year… Peter Walsh the organization guru from TLC’s Clean Sweep and Office Max hosted this event that included some real life teachers, a blogger and some students. The video of the webinar has some great tips on getting organized so that your kiddies are better able to be successful at school. With Peter’s basic 3 steps you can do this easily and painlessly.

Enjoy….and a Happy Back to School to you!