Organize Your World: 5 Tips for Going from Clutter to Clarity

At HandyPro, we make it our business to help you make home the best place for you to be. With that it mind, we sat down with home organization experts Muffy Kaesberg and JoEllen Salkin of Organizing 4 U to learn more about how they support people in eliminating clutter and establishing healthy patterns of organized living. Here are some of their top tips for organizing your world.

1. Start Small: “Starting small really works,” Muffy said. “A simple desk drawer, for example, is something you can do in a very short period of time. Making time for that comes back to being able to manage your time—a problem that is universal in our society today.” To overcome the timing challenge, the team suggests blocking off time in your calendar to dedicate to a small, easily accomplished task.

2. A Home for Everything: “The key to being organized is being able to find something when you need it,” said Muffy. “If you don’t have proper, defined homes for things… you’re not going to be well-organized.” Once you establish where you want your things to “live,” the Organizing 4 U team will teach you how to maintain that system. “This process is very personal,” Muffy went on. “You get to choose what makes the most sense for you.”

3. Get a Handle on Paper: JoEllen and Muffy often encounter people who are overwhelmed with the volume of paper in their lives. “It’s not paperless out there,” JoEllen observed. “People are curious about how much they need to keep, and they’re looking for processes on how to get rid of paper quicker. We also help them create a customized system for keeping what they do need to keep.”

4. Establish New Habits: This is a big one, and it can seem daunting as a blanket statement, but Muffy and JoEllen are practiced in the art of helping people to find what works for them. “Some habits certainly are difficult to break,” JoEllen said. “We ask a lot of questions [to help people find a feasible solution], such as, ‘What has worked for you in the past, and what hasn’t worked for you?’” From there, the organizational duo helps the client to focus on the successful habits, including suggesting new habits that may best support their organizational efforts.

5. Know When to Ask for Help: From cramped closets to messy desk drawers, most of us could use some extra organization in our lives, but it’s often situational circumstances—such as a death in the family and accompanying “stuff” inheritance, a new baby, or a move—that take us from a small mess to an overwhelming one. “100% of our clients are overwhelmed,” said Muffy. That’s where the Organizing 4 U team—both members of the National Association of Professional Organizers—can step in to offer guidance, education, support, and solutions. 

For more information on how HandyPro partners with companies like Organizing 4 U, to help connect you with a full slate of Aging In Place services, please contact me (Brian Pritchard) at 216-212-7531 or visit us at www.StayAtHomeModificationsInc.com today!

To reach Muffy and JoEllen directly, for help with your organization needs, you can check out their website (www.organizing4u.com) or call 216-321-6126. 


Feel free to enjoy the full audio of our conversation below...