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Newsletter Archives

June 2010
Expert Organizing Tips

May 2010
Tips from my Clients

April 2010
Tips for Setting Up a Garage Sale

March 2010
Unusual Ways to Organize

February 2010
Staging your Home for Sale

January 2010
Favorite Places to Buy Organizing Products

December 2009
Wrapping It Up

November 2009
Prepare the Pantry

October 2009
Costumes & Decorations

September 2009
Enough

August 2009
Help for the Home Office

July 2009
Getting Crafty

June 2009
A Better Bedroom

May 2009
Eco Organizing

April 2009
Getting Ready to Garden

March 2009
The Path To Clutter

February 2009
Easing Into Downsizing

January 2009
Organizing For Renovation

December 2008
Organizing For Next Year

November 2008
More Of My Favorite Organizing Tools

October 2008
Making Life Easier

September 2008
Clearing The Closet

August 2008
How To Let Go Of Stuff

July 2008
Managing Medical Records

June 2008
Road Trip Organizing

May 2008
Collections Instead of Clutter

April 2008
Getting Ready for Tax Time

March 2008
Where to Begin

February 2008
When You Want to Help

January 2008
Top Ten Causes of Disorganization

December 2007
Organize for Air Travel

November 2007
Organize for Small Spaces

October 2007
When Life Happens, Reorganize

September 2007
Bathroom Organizing

August 2007
Paper Organizing

July 2007
Uncluttered Kids' Rooms

June 2007
Top Ten Organizing Tools

May 2007
Grapple The Garage

April 2007
Managing Your Time

March 2007
Spring Organizing

February 2007
Help for Caregivers of Aging Parents

January 2007
National Get Organized Month

December 2006
Year End Organizing

November 2006
Give Thanks for Being Organized

October 2006
Holiday Kitchen Organization

September 2006
In Case of a Weather Emergency - Organize!

August 2006
Back to School Organizing

July 2006
Declare your Independence from Summer Clutter

ORGANIZING TIPS OF THE MONTH: JANUARY 2008
Top Ten Causes of Disorganization

My past tip sheets have offered ways to get organized. For a change of pace, I now give you a list of organizing pitfalls. If you want to start the New Year by getting help conquering your organizing dilemmas, just contact me at Cheryl@organizeatlanta.com for more information.

1. Letting Mail Pile Up: Paper is a major source of clutter and the mailbox makes a steady deposit six days a week. Adding to the problem, mail does not come to you conveniently presorted into junk and urgent piles.
2. Stash and Dash: You do not have time to clean up before company comes or you are just plain tired of looking at the mess, so you stuff the stuff into drawers, bins, closets, anywhere out of the way. And there it all sits-a hidden mess which may contain things you really do need, but now cannot find.
3. Others: You are organized, but those who share your home are the opposite. Worse yet, they are content to live in and create chaos.
4. Another Purchase and No Place to Go: You see something on the internet or on sale or in a catalog and just cannot resist. Not a problem unless there is no place to put your great find when you get it home. Unopened boxes and bags of new merchandise sitting around? Hmmm.
5. Not Letting Go: You haven’t worn it in 5 years; you haven't used it in 10 years. Yet your closets and cabinets are overflowing with stuff. What is wrong with this picture?
6. Life Changes: Changing careers, aging, downsizing or upsizing, marriage or divorce, new baby or empty nest—life changes, big and small, cause upheavals in your organizing systems. When life happens, a period of disorganization follows.
7. Can’t Say No: Friends and relatives give you castoffs and you do not want to hurt their feelings by refusing. Plus, who knows, you might need it...someday. The result is they get rid of their clutter and you are stuck with it.
8. Too Much Stuff: You have plenty of storage space; things are put away in cabinets, bookshelves, in closets. Then why do you feel overwhelmed when you walk into your house? There is simply too much stuff. You long to simplify and would like to have some empty spaces in your home.
9. Delayed Decisions: You cannot decide whether or not to keep something, so you procrastinate. A string of delayed decisions leads to piles of clutter.
10. Don’t Know Where to Begin, so You Don't: You have had it up to here with clutter and are more than ready to reclaim your home. The problem--there is clutter everywhere and you are overwhelmed by the size of the job. The clutter piles continue to grow.

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