Summer Reading Challenge

In the mind of many kids...summer time is for fun and relaxing... not for reading!  The problem with taking the summer off from picking up a book is that statistically kids that do not read in the summer lose reading skills that have to be brushed up on when returning to school again in the fall.   

When it comes to organizing your schedule for this summer- be sure to plan some daily time to sit down and read with your children or at least have them spend some quiet time reading on their own.  When you plan this time into your daily routine it makes it much more likely that your children will not be part of the statistics that have teachers all over America having nightmares.  

So to encourage you just a little more to make time for reading this summer, we have teamed up with the MommyPerks Website to offer our:

Here is how it works:  

1. Go to our website and download the Summer Challenge Reading Log. 
2. Then between today (June 14th and July14th keep track of how many sheets your child fills up!
3. Between July 15-16th you can email summerreadingchallenge@gmail.com and enter your child with the following information:  Name, Age, Number of Sheets Read, Mailing Address, 
4. We will be awarding some VERY fun prizes from Ted E Bears Toy Factory for our top three readers this summer!

Are you ready to sign up and participate?  Comment below and let us know that you are participating and then head to our website to download your log and start encouraging your kids to read today!

Something had to give...

We all have those times in our lives when it feels like the weight of the world is resting squarely on our shoulders and our shoulders alone... this last few weeks have been that way for me.  Hence the unexpected and abrupt end to our normally regular SOS Blog posts.  I apologize for our absence... but something had to give and for me the last few weeks that was the blog.

One of the biggest keys to being organized is setting routines and limits for yourself and obeying them... it is an essential key of time management.  With my son's surgery, the end of school, some great new projects going on in our company, and some family obligations... I set myself some limits in order for all of the pieces to stay in place in my household.

Another key to being organized is that when circumstances change... so does your schedule.  My life is now calmer... therefore allowing me to return to blogging.

I am all about practicing what I preach... so take a lesson from me and my family- when you are overwhelmed, find what needs to give and be willing to compromise for a short while.  It will save you a great deal of stress and allow you to focus on what is most important at that time.

So without further ado (starting tomorrow)... "we now return you to your regular scheduled postings... "

Are you Allergic to your Clutter?

Clutter can be much more than just piles of unmade decisions, it can also be a breeding ground for allergy irritants in your home. In fact you might be surprised to find out about all of the unwelcome germs and    irritating guests in each room of your home.  We are going to focus on the two most common today:  Dust Mites and Mold.

Dust Mites:  Dust mites are nasty little bugs that thrive on what else... our dust.  Despite their microscopic size... they can cause big time misery for those that are allergic to them.  Irritating nasal passages and leading to sneezing, runny nose, and constant congestion.  How can you banish them from your home?

1. Dust regularly with an electrostatic duster on all flat surfaces.  (Move the piles and stacks to get under them.... better yet... declutter and remove the piles and stacks for good.)
2. Vacuum on a regular basis! (In our home my oldest son was very allergic to dust mites so we tore old carpet out and put down hardwood floors.)
3. Wrap your mattresses and pillows in a allergy resistant cover that will protect from Dust Mites.  
4. Plan to regularly clean items in kids room like stuffed animals that are a haven for dust mites.  To kill them put all the stuffed animals in a large garbage sack, tie it closed, and then put it in the freezer for a few hours.  
5. We spend 1/3 of our lives in bed... so change sheets regularly. 
6. When organizing be careful of wicker... it can collect hard to clean dust and become a hot spot for dust mites.  Instead use furniture, cabinets, or plastic that closes. 
7. Be aware of hard to clean fabrics that collect dust mites like curtains, blinds, upholstery covers, upholstered head boards, etc... find a way to replace them or clean them regularly. 

Mold: Responses to exposure to mold can mimic hay fever, asthma, and allergy like reactions in your home. Here are some steps to take to rid your home of the mold:

1. Remember that bleach is your friend!  Use a chlorine bleach solution that is 1 oz of bleach per 1 qt of water to clean bathroom surfaces each week.  Make sure to clean mold prone areas like:  bathtub corners, shower curtains, and baseboards.
2. Remove carpeting from your bathrooms... even rugs are a BREEDING ground for mold.  Replace flooring with tile, laminate, or similar products.  Decorative rugs should be replaced with washable bathmats... that are washed ONCE a week.
3. Repair water leaks in your home ASAP.  Dripping water and leaking faucets can lead to mold and mildew quickly. 
4. Wallpaper can hold moisture in the bathroom... consider removing it and going with a mold resistant paint instead. 
5. Leave your shower curtain open or your shower door open after you shower to allow that area to dry out quicker. 
6. Houseplants can be a fertile ground for mold... take plants outside.
7. Make sure that you are wiping kitchen counters down OFTEN with a strong disinfectant that is designed to get rid of mildew.
8. Get Rid of the Kitchen sponge!  It is a BREEDING ground for Mold... instead use paper towels or wash clothes that are washed daily. 
9. The drip pan under your fridge can breed mold... clean it out often.  
10. Be sure that damp basements are well ventilated.  If you use a space like this to store things, be sure the items are not in cardboard!  Use plastic containers that seal shut and resist mold and mildew. 

Some of these things may seem simple enough... but if these tasks are complicated by clutter being in the way... it allows these allergy irritants to build up in your home and make you and your family sick.   So ask yourself... are you allergic to your clutter or is your clutter covering up unwanted guests in your home???  If so... it is time to make a change!

National Women's Check Up Day

Today is May 10th, 2010- National Women's Check Up Day. 

A great reminder to all of us to stop and think about our health and well being for a day.  

Living a more organized lifestyle also allows you to live a healthier lifestyle.  We had a great post recently that listed out how getting more organized can help you be healthier, read it by clicking here. 

The Mayo Clinic Says, "It's important to understand common women's health risks, but don't feel intimidated. Instead, do whatever you can to lead a healthy lifestyle — including eating healthy foods, staying physically active, getting regular checkups and paying attention to your environment. Preventive measures can go a long way toward reducing your health risks." In their recent post about the most common risks to Women's Health.  

We have some products that can help you organize your health related information in preparation for your next check up. 

1.  Our Medical Information Sheet Download (99 cents) 

This download will help you keep track of your medical history, prescriptions, family history, etc... Keeping this sheet current will allow you to save time filling out forms at the doctors office many times. 

2.  Fitness Tracker (99 Cents)

This sheet will help you get healthier by keeping track of your calories, water, and workouts each day.  Studies show that writing this information down can make your weight loss more effective. 

3.  Our Meal Planning Resources to help you and your family eat healthier (varied)

Planning ahead will allow you and your family to eat healthier which can lower your risks of numerous health conditions that often effect women in high numbers. 

I hope that today you will take advantage of National Women's Check Up Day by doing two things:

1- Call and make an appointment at your Doctor's office

and 

2- Visit our website at www.simpleorganizedsanity.com and see how we can help you reduce your stress (and improve your health) by helping you get more organized. 

Five Lessons I from my Organized Mom

It is Mother's Day this weekend, which had me thinking about my own mother.

This beautiful, smiling woman is Martha.  She is an amazing woman who is not only my mom but also one of my best friends! 

I am so thankful that growing up I had a mom that was organized and a good manager of time to give me a healthy role model to follow after. 

My mom retired from teaching after thirty years and as we spoke to many of her fellow teachers one of the most consistent comments about her was that she was always so organized and prepared.  She was able to do this while raising three of us, always being at our events, and keeping up a clean home with healthy meals. 

I speak to clients everyday and often times I hear this statement... "My mother was never organized and I did not have a good model or idea what to do to manage a home."  Every time I hear that statement I silently thank the Lord for my mom and the gift and example that she gave me. 

If you are one of these women who would agree with my clients statement then I want to share this list with you today and encourage you to break the pattern so you can give this same gift to your children someday.

Five lessons that I learned from my Organized Mom:

1.  I learned the importance of always being on time. 

2.  I learned the importance of a clean house and giving everything a place.

3.  I learned to make the most of each purchase and stretch each dollar as far as it would go.

4.  I learned that you can set aside time for family meals that were healthy no matter how busy you are.

5.  I learned that planning ahead often saved me frantic nights full of stress... so I learned to not procrastinate on a project.

I encourage you today to take a moment before Mother's Day begins officially this weekend and ask yourself are you setting the kind of example that you want to for your children?

If not, I encourage you to take advantage of our Mother's Day Special... any purchase this weekend is 25% off at http://www.simpleorgaizedsanity.com/ with the code MOMSDAY.

I would like to wish each of you a VERY HAPPY Mother's Day!!!  I hope it is filled with hugs, kisses, and great memories!

Our 100th Post

Today is our 100th Blog Post and I thought it would be fun to use it to take a look back at some of my favorite posts.  If you are new to our blog this list will be a great way for you to catch up on what you have been missing out on!

Here are my favorite ten posts of our last year, click on them to read the posts.

10.  Taming the Clothes Monster

9. Five Ways to Display Kids Artwork

8.  How to set up an Organized Home School Classroom

7.  Organizing your Job Hunt

6.  Add time to your Life

5.  The Lightbulb File

4.  Checklist for an Organized Garage Sale

3.  Health Benefits to getting more organized

2.  5 of the best clean up songs for kids

1.  Staring at Mommy's Shoes 

Do you have another one of our posts that you enjoyed that did not make the list?  I would love to hear your thoughts and comments including what you would like to see more of in the next 100 posts. 

Celebrate Earth Day by Reducing Junk Mail

Tomorrow is Earth Day and if you are looking for a way to celebrate the day and make a positive impact on our planet, allow me to suggest an easy task for you to complete.

Many aspects of getting organized can help you be more environmentaly friendly but this one is something that you can complete today and make a big difference for the earth and your home.

The task is to Stop your Junk Mail!

Did you Know??? 

• • 62 Billion pieces of junk mail are created and sent out each year.

  
  

  • Each year more than 100 million trees are destroyed to create all of the junk mail that clutters countertops all across the world.

  
  

  • 44% of all junk mail goes into the landfills of the world without ever being opened or read.

  
  

  • To transport and deliver junk mail each year costs an average of $550 million and sends massive amounts of auto emissions into the atmosphere.

  
  

  • The average American spends more than 70 hours a year... just dealing with the 41 pounds of Junk Mail they recieve each year on average!!!

  
  

  • To produce the amount of junk mail in this world requires the use of more than 28 billion gallons of water annually.

  
  

  
  

  You can use a free site like Direct Mail to remove yourself off of thousands of lists that clutter your mailbox or a membership site like 41pounds.org that will reduce your junk mail while donating part of your membership to charity.  Another great site with tips on decreasing your junk mail is The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse

I challenge you to pick an option today and take the steps to reduce your junk mail and your impact on the enviornment so you can celebrate tomorrow knowing you have made a difference!

Gaining Perspective on the Couch

This weekend was not the weekend that I had planned to have. Friday morning I had noticed a small red circle on my leg as I was getting dressed, I did not really give it much thought. However, as the day went by I began to really not feel well. By mid-afternoon I was running a fever and my leg was throbbing... when I checked the small red circle had grown to the size of a golf ball. A spider bite was diagnosed at the doctor's office and bed rest was ordered for the weekend... something that I do not do well.
I have told you before that I don't have an off button... I have two speeds that I move through my life at: fast and faster. I am always on the move trying to get projects done and kids were they need to be so being forced to sit and rest was not appreciated.

Determined to be productive despite the doctor's orders I remembered the advice that I have given to countless clients that have struggled through illness and injury. Find the items on your to do list that you can still check off that do not require a great deal of energy or effort. I pulled out my personal to do tracker and my business to do tracker. and began reviewing the items that I could still accomplish without the ability to walk around.

In total during three days of "couch time" I was able to check off 15 items from my to do trackers. Most of these were simple projects that I simply had not taken the time to do earlier, a few were larger projects that required some focus and attention that I was able to give without many interruptions. One of the projects I was able to check off of my list was listing a new product called Special Needs to do tracker which breaks your to do list up between "Good Days" and "Not so Good Days". You can download this list for only 99 cents and save it to your computer and print copies off as you need them.


You cannot plan for everything... life is going to throw you curve balls. Yours may not be a spider bite and bed rest or a chronic illness, but it may be something that for a short time throws you off of your game. Part of being organized is being prepared and being flexible. Whichever to do tracker that you choose to use they are a great way to remain flexible no matter what and more importantly you will still be able to be productive.

The Knots tell a Story

Recently I treated myself to a VERY rare treat... I had a one hour massage and it was heavenly! I have been working hard to conquer my weight goals this year and this was my reward to myself for my first ten pounds that I had worked off the old fashioned way.

I often joke with my husband that God left something out when he made me... an off switch for my brain. I can be in the most relaxing of situations (case in point this amazing massage) and while my body may be relaxed... my brain is still flying at 100 MPH. I was laying there thinking about clients, and speaking appearances I needed to prep for- along with fifty other random thoughts. Until my mind settled on this thought I wanted to share with you...

As I lay there and this woman was trying to work out the numerous knots that I had amassed in my shoulders from working out on top of my "not so stressful" daily life it was a little painful. There were moments of genuine pain that made me question for a moment if this treat was really a treat at all or a torture session disguised with scented candles, soft music, and warm sheets. As I lay there biting my tongue in pain I could not help but think of how this experience for me is like the experience that so many of my clients have with their clutter. ( I know I can make an organizing analogy out of anything.)

So many people spend great lengths of time accumulating things and turning a blind eye to things that it becomes a glaring blind spot in their life. Just like the knots in my shoulders... I knew they were there but I had gotten used to living with them so on a daily basis it did not bother me too much. It was not until that woman began pressing on my blind spots that I noticed them and had to face them. With many people who struggle with chronic disorganization there comes a point where someone or something begins to apply pressure to that blind spot, making the person realize it is finally time to deal with the issue.

Facing clutter and making choices to change your habits is not easy, in some cases it can be painful. As I lay on that table in pain while my knots were being worked out it would have been easy to say stop or don't do it so hard... but then I would not have gotten to experience the most amazing, relaxing feeling I have had in a long time... the fact that when she was done I felt like a new woman. I felt lighter and my body (including my shoulders) felt like I could run for days!

Such is the reward of finally tackling your blind spots in your home and your life... it may be a painful process that hurts to go through - but the rewards are great and the feeling when you are done is amazing!!! It is well worth applying the pressure now to get rid of the knots in your life so you can experience knot free living at it's finest... a home and a life that you can relax and enjoy.

Are you a packrat?

A person who likes to accumulate material items and has a very hard time parting with things is often labeled as a "packrat" in our society.

Out of curiosity I was doing some reading about the rodent the packrat on Wikipedia found a few the terms to be more accurate than I would have previously thought.

• The packrat is active nocturnally. Like many people whose disorganization causes stress which can lead to sleep problems like insomnia developing. I often hear clients complain of trouble sleeping due to the guilt of not staying up to deal with their clutter.

• Packrats will often trade one item they have for something more interesting. Animal experts have observed a packrat carrying one treasure and dropping it to pick up another item that is more interesting to them. Hmmm... I think I have seen this at yard sales by people who are in search of the best treasure for a quarter.

• Packrats will store their treasures inside their vast nests. The treasures have no purpose for the rodent other than to take up space or in some instances to support a part of the nest. How many treasures do you own that have no real purpose except to take up space? I have seen homes where it seems that those "treasures" are helping to support the ceiling of the home.

• Packrats continue to expand their nest to make more room all the time. Hmmm... how many of us look for bigger houses, rent storage units, expand our home, or bring sheds into the backyard, all because we need more room for our stuff. I once spoke to a family that was looking to sell their home for the sole reason that they wanted to have a bigger junk room.

• The rodent is said to be very vocal with fighting between other rodents. Clutter is the cause of MANY fights and rifts in families. I see clients all the time that are desperate to ease conflicts with spouses, friends, and family members by heeding their requests for the person to get more organized.


So the next time that you are called a packrat or you use the term to label someone else... stop and think a moment if you really want to be compared to a rodent who spends their life in a state of high stress, with little rest, always in search of the next big treasure to add to their stash. Do you really want to keep running the same "rat “race or are you ready to make a change in your life? A change that can decrease your stress, improve your sleep, improve your relationships, and allow you to enjoy your life more... a change to get more organized.

Calories Burned While Organizing

This is clutter awareness week, a time to focus on clearing out the clutter in your home and life. 

Clutter can be found in many forms, professionals define it as “anything that takes up space in your home, office, or life without serving a purpose. “ It can be as severe as a basement full of outgrown clothing, old toys, unneeded papers, and outdated furniture or as simple as a stack of outdated magazines and unread junk mail.

We have talked about how organizing has many benefits in our home and life, and today I want to share with you an often overlooked benefit of getting organized... all the calories that you can burn! 

Here are 10 common calorie burning tasks that you may be doing when organizing:

Filing (Office Work) burns 151 calories an hour.

Packing and Unpacking Boxes burns 238 calories per hour.

Carrying boxes upstairs burns 510 calories per hour.

General Cleaning House burns 204 calories per hour

Taking out the trash and Dusting burns 170 calories per hour

Walking to put away household items and laundry burns 204 calories per hour.

Moving Furniture or Carrying boxes burns 408 calories per hour

Sweeping burns 272 calories per hour

Standing to sort a drawer out burns 136 calories per hour.

Doing Laundry burns 139 calories per hour.

Exact Calorie totals would be based upon your own height and weight. These numbers are based on an average 145 pound person.

To figure your exact calorie totals visit http://www.livestrong.com/ and sign up for a free account.

So if you were looking for yet another reason to get motivated to get organized I hope that knowing the calorie burning benefits may encourage you to start to tackle your clutter during this National Clutter Awareness week and get more organized and healthier at the same time! 

Health Advantages of Getting Organized

I hear many reasons from clients telling me what motivates them to get organized. I hear how it will improve their life, their family, their homes... but not often do I hear them say because it will improve their health. However, there are numerous health advantages that you and your family can reap through organization!

Here are 10 Ways that Getting Organized can Help you Live a Healthier Lifestyle:

1. The act of decluttering and purging can be great exercise! You are working muscles and getting your heart rate going by moving boxes, sorting belongings and cleaning.

2. Once you clear out a room, you may unearth the treadmill and use it for it's intended purpose and not a clothes rack anymore. You could come across old workout videos in boxes and pop them into give them a try.

3. You may discover a pair of skinny jeans that suddenly make you see how "unhealthy" life has become. Realizations like this can be very motivating and eye opening for anyone.


4. As you learn to manage your time better you are able to make exercise a priority and give it a place in your schedule.


5. Organizing your menu planning and your kitchen can lead to healthier eating habits for you and the entire family!


6. If you can clear the clutter on your kitchen table and use it for eating instead of setting things on then your kids will benefit the most. Studies have shown that kids who eat at the table with their family tend to eat more fruits and vegetables, are more open to new foods, learn to respect portions better!

7. Getting more organized is going decrease your stress level. With more than 75% of all doctor visits in the United States being attributed to stress related injury or illness... it is safe to say that decreasing our stress would be good for us all.

8. The National Safety Council says the top reason for injury related health problems and death are due to falls. When you organize your home/office you are giving everything a place thus reducing the number of potential falling hazards in your home.

9. Clutter can make it hard to clean your home properly, which can allow allergens like dust, mold, dander, and other unwelcome guest to not only clutter your home... but your sinus cavities as well.

10. Once you have cleared the clutter you can establish a system to manage your personal health information and medications. Staying on top of our health is our responsibility and being organized about your health history as well as past and current medications can save you time, energy, money, and possibly your life.


So if you have been looking for yet another reason to conquer your clutter I just provided you another motivation that is hard to overlook... it can make you a healthier, better version of you!

Moms Don't get a sick day

There are no schedules, time cards, uniforms, or paychecks... but it is not understatement when I say that when moms wake up every morning, they are immediately "on duty".

Rare are the days when I am awaken by an aptly set alarm clock versus a child's bad dream, a husband's request to know where his belt is, or a son's early morning request to watch his favorite video.

On the mornings when you open your eyes to a spinning bedroom, pounding head, or aching stomach... do you pick up the phone and call in sick that day? Nope, not moms. We stand up, take the medication that we always dispense as the official nursemaid of the household- and we do our "best" to have a "normal" day.

Today is one such morning at my house. My family was invaded by an unwanted cold germ several weeks ago and to my chagrin- I had been the only one to avoid it's dreaded stuffiness, sneezes, and restlessness. That is until I tried to get going this morning.

Even as I sit here and type this, my head pounds.... and what all of this fever induced rambling is trying to get to is this very important point: Sick Mom Days Demand Organization!

I have been able to tell my children to get clothing, backpacks, folders, lunchboxes, etc... to help my fuzzy head and slow moving body and not surprisingly to me they have been able to retrieve each item without a single cry for help. Why is this possible? Because at our house we have a place for everything... instead of just allowing the kids to strew belongings all over the house haphazardly- WE put them where the go.

On this "sick day" it meant that I was still able to get my kids out the door and to school on time... even though I was moving at a much slower speed... now I just want to know... "Why can't they do this without prompting on a regular day?"

Finding Peace between Organized and Disorganized Partners

They often say opposites attract, but when it comes to organizational opposites the differences often lead to stress and conflict. The stress can effect a wide variety of relationships but tend to be the hardest on relationships that require people to be in close quarters, sharing space like:

Spouses and Romantic Partners
Roommates
Parents and Children
Co-Workers
Business Partners

Today I want to focus on Spouses and Romantic Partners, because often in the beginning of a romantic relationship, you are not focused on the details of the other person like how they deal with clutter. If you do notice the clutter-you are able to overlook it because of the excitement of a new relationship. It is when the organized person and the clutter bug try to join households and habits under one roof that problems tend to begin.

Anger, and frustration, and resentment in the relationship can pile up as clutter does around the new home with the organized person often feeling that the disorganized person does not value the relationship as much. Over time as this problem continues; hopes, dreams, and plans for a life of love together can often also get swallowed up in the mess.

As a professional organizer, I have seen first hand the stress that this type of situation places on a once loving relationship. I have seen couples brought to ugly words over a pile of stuff. I have heard ultimatums laid down like, "If you can't get this clutter under control... we are done. I can't live like this anymore." I have functioned as organizer, motivator, mediator, and marriage counselor on more than one occasion.

I have also delt with this problem first hand, let me share with you my own experience of living with a disorganized person.

My Story
I remarried a little over a year ago, to a wonderful man who adores me and my children. I felt lucky and blessed to have been given a second chance at love. The happiness was clouded quickly when I realized that my new husband was a MESS. Literally a mess... he too is a business owner- but unlike me, his papers, tools, and appointments were not in any kind of a system! Papers would get piled, tools would get tossed on the floor of the garage, and appointments were never written down.

As a professional organizer I was sure I could handle this problem and teach him new organization methods as I would with one of my clients... the only problem was- he was not one of my clients. He did not seem to mind the mess, he did not ask for my help- so when I surprised him one weekend with a complete garage makeover he was not excited. It only took him a matter of day to resume his "unorganized ways" and have the garage floor covered again.
The battle lines were drawn... and the war went on for several months with us fighting constantly about the mess, the piles, the state of the garage, the state of his truck, and the fact he never wrote down an appointment. Until one day, I realized that this war had consumed our marriage and was suffocating my enjoyment of spending time with him.

So I called a peace conference, we sat and calmly talked about the problem. This is the first key of dealing with clutter in relationships: Find a way to talk without anger or accusations. Once we stopped yelling we were able to actually hear where each of us were coming from. I understood that he did not feel that he had time to maintain a complex system because he was always rushing between appointments and needed his tools at hand all the time. He could see that he was actually wasting time digging through a pile on the floor when if everything had a place he would probably find it faster. I also realized something very important... you can't force someone to change who is not ready to change. So the question was where do we go from here?

Second Key to dealing with clutter in relationships: Find a compromise on clutter. The fact is, you will not solve this problem overnight... but you can solve the constant fighting in your relationship by finding a compromise. In our case the compromise was this: We would work on organizing the garage together for one weekend so that I could help him create a system that works for him. We also agreed that the garage was going to be his zone and the clutter in that zone was his mess and I was choosing to turn a blind eye to it when it got cluttered- in exchange he agreed to work harder to keep the clutter under control in the rest of the house.

In your home and relationship you can do the same thing: Give your clutter bug a space because it will do two things: One, it will prevent them from feeling like you are forcing them to part with things that they are emotionally attached to. It also keeps them from developing feelings of resentment towards the partner pressuring them to purge. The second thing it does is limit the amount of clutter that your clutter bug keeps. Once they are overflowing their space they will need to be willing to sort and purge so they can keep the most important and part with the clutter that is taking up their space.

Third Key to dealing with clutter in relationships: Take joy in small victories
I am happy to report that after almost a year... this compromise still holds our truce together. Yes, there are days that I catch a glimpse of the garage and cringe but I bite my tongue, because I have not had to ask or nag about clutter piling anywhere else in my home. He has done a wonderful job of being able to keep his system in place by setting aside time each week to straighten up the truck and garage so he can find tools faster and easier. It may not be a perfect solution but it is a victory!

I am finding that as disorganized partners, slowly begin to see a new way of living and organizing they may be willing to push further away from their deeply ingrained clutter bug habits. Be careful to always take the lead from your clutter bug so that you do not reignite the initial war - but if your partner shows interest in learning more about how to manage their area even better you can be supportive by finding a professional organizer in your area at http://www.napo.net/ who is experienced in dealing with people that are dealing with long standing habits of disorganization.

Fourth Key to dealing with clutter in relationships: Focus on what drew you to your partner to begin with. When clutter is taking over your life and your relationship, it is crucial that you find ways to reconnect with your partner to remind you that your love is built on much more than how you deal with clutter. My husband and I tried to take date nights... out of the house and away from the clutter that triggered arguments. I always suggest this to my clients as well... get out of the house and talk about life but discussion about your clutter is off limits for the night.


Remember that your partner could be hanging onto clutter for a wide variety of emotional reasons and those reasons are things that could take a long time to deal with together, but in order to be able to face the "why" your partner needs to feel that you are their partner in this battle and not their enemy. Implementing these four keys can bring the peace and be the first step to helping your partner win the battle of clutter.