Author Archives: Michele | Get Organized Gal

My Partner is a Hoarder. Help!

There are a several ways to approach this, both for you and your partner.

Start by making peace with the fact that you can’t change someone else. In fact, if you push too hard your partner may become defensive, making the situation worse.

Instead, focus on getting what you need (perhaps a clutter-free space of your own?), modeling the benefits of hoarding-free behavior in your own life, and reinforcing positive change in your partner. The first post, below, is about working with a disorganized colleague, but the three tips are equally applicable to living with a stuff-loving partner.

Create Your ‘Organized Life Morning Routine’ [Mission #21]

Last week we created your personal Organized Life Bedtime Routine. This week we’ll create one for the morning.

Having an Organized Life Morning Routine will help you face each day – and the world – with a sense of confidence, order, and motivation.

Remember: you only need 30 minutes for the basic mission. Extended Options are below.

Announcing The Design Your Life Logo & Winners

Thank you so much for your wonderful, inspiring and thought-provoking comments on our Design Your Life logo survey.

We spent ages reading over and considering the excellent ideas you raised. Every comment gave us food for thought.
The Winners

Because there were so many good ideas and perspectives shared, we decided to choose 2 winners. Congratulations to:

Personal Organization Web Watch [11 October]

Here are some cool articles on aspects of happiness, productivity and personal organization that I’ve found around the web in the past couple of weeks. I hope you find something helpful here. 🙂
Business & Career

* When a Colleague’s Mistakes Affect You | Harvard Business
* How are you going to Crush It in 2010? | Escape From Cubicle Nation
* Focus on Strengths, Not Correcting Weaknesses | Dumb Little Man
* 101 Small Business Mistakes (and What You Can Learn From Them) | Wise Bread

Hoarding: 7 Lies That Keep You Caught In Clutter

Hoarders on Oprah

Oprah has yet another show about hoarders this week. It got me thinking about the lies we tell ourselves to avoid letting go of the stuff that fills up our homes and lives.

Of course extreme hoarding can be associated with psychiatric disorders. More commonly, though, we justify mounting mounds of matter with the little lies we tell ourselves.

Here are 7 of the most common self-delusions I hear, along with a decent dose of reality.

Organize Your Audio For Learning & Pleasure [With Free iPod Worksheet]

Your iPod, CD player or car stereo is a veritable vault of education, motivation, fun, and relaxation.

All it takes is a little organization to liberate the goodies. You’ll upgrade your knowledge, make better use of your time and improve your mood.

Here’s how…
Organize Your Music

They say that music is food for the soul. Well, how about a little lyrical nourishment?

Decide on the kind of music you want to listen to. Choices could include:

Introducing the 52 Organizing Missions ‘Hall of Fame’ Gallery [With Prize]

Share your success! Take a look at the comments on the 52 Organizing Missions posts, or the 52 Organizing Missions success stories, and you’ll get a sense of the wonderful strides these Mission-mates are making in their personal organization. In the spirit of acknowledging our successes and celebrating our strengths, I’m starting a Hall of […]

Create Your ‘Organized Life Bedtime Routine’ [Mission #20]

One of the best things you can do to feel organized throughout your day is to prepare well the night before. So in this mission we’ll create your personal Organized Life Bedtime Routine.

You’ll absolutely love the difference completing this mission will make to your daily stress management, time management, and home organization.

Remember: you only need 30 minutes for the basic mission. Extended Options are below.

What Do Your Tools Say About Your Goal Commitment?

This week in The Age, Valerie Khoo discusses what your business tools reveal about your commitment:

The tools you use are an indication of how serious you are about your business. Do you have a dedicated website or are your using a free blogging platform like Blogger… Does your email address feature your own domain name or that of your internet service provider.

Valerie’s test of commitment can apply to many life areas:

Declutter Your Life – Get More Energy

‘Decluttering is a way to identify what’s obsolete in your life,’ says Julie Morgenstern in the Woman’s Day article 12 Reasons to Unclutter Your Space. ‘Getting rid of stuff creates a sense of energy, giving you room to think, which frees you to do more with your life.’ Julie’s so right. People constantly tell me […]

Hear Me Talking About Productivity and Piles of Paper on Sydney Radio

This week I had the pleasure of being interviewed about organizing your office on the Small Business with Prue MacSween show on Sydney’s Radio 2GB 873AM. We chatted about: How to avoid piles of paper and inbox overflow. Solution: make quick decisions. How to organize your desk for better productivity. Solution: use my ‘real estate’ […]

Organize Your Office [Mission #19]

Welcome to Mission #19 of our 52 Get Organized Missions. If you want to increase productivity, motivation and mental clarity, one of the best things you can do is to create an effective workspace. So in this mission, we’ll follow 3 steps to transform your work zone into an organized office. If you’ve completed the […]

5 Home Organization Strategies for Busy People

I was recently asked this question on my Facebook Professional Page: Q: I don’t have a lot of energy to organize my house. I need quick tips that will help me get going. A: Here are 5 house-organizing strategies, from previous posts, that don’t need a big effort or a lot of time. But these […]

The One Thing You Must Do If You Want To Get Organized

Just as My Very Best Life-Changing Tip For A Clutter-Free Home will put you on the path to neatness nirvana, this one idea will transform your approach to personal organization. Seriously – if you apply this strategy, you’ll find it far easier to get organized and stay organized. Getting Organized: One Thing You Must Do […]

Life & Goal Organizer – Now With Dudes! [Product Upgrade]

Thanks to, shall we say, ‘encouragement’ from our wonderful male customers, we’ve updated the images in Life & Goal Organizer. The content is the same, but the images now reflect our male customers as well as the females. If you’ve purchased Life & Goal Organizer – or any of the Packs in which it’s included […]

Good News: 12 Months’ of Free Upgrades for Get Organized Wizard Customers

Our Customer Love Policy You may know of our ♥ Customer Love Policy ♥. In short, we strive to keep improving everything we offer, in a way that constantly rewards existing customers. As part of that policy, we now include 12 months’ of free upgrades with every product or pack you buy – regardless of any […]

Personal Organization Web Watch | Technology & Social Media Resources | September 09

Every day I post useful links from top sources for happiness, productivity and personal organization to my Facebook Page. Here’s a round-up of recent links on Technology & Social Media: Top 10 Tricks for Making Your Playlists Rock Source: www.lifehacker.com “If music is part of your everyday work routine, workout, or commute, stuffing your player […]

Organize Your Computer in 7 Simple Steps [Mission #18]

Welcome to Mission #18 of our 52 Get Organized Missions. Living an organized life is a lot easier when you have systems and tools that are themselves well ordered. If you’ve completed the previous mission (Get Organized  Mission #17: Create Your Bedroom Sanctuary) I hope you’re enjoying your new retreat. So in this Get Organized Mission […]

Simplify Your Life Quick Fix: Limit Your Hangers

Want to simplify your life? Try this Quick Fix: Simplify Your Life Fix #3: Limit Your Hangers Keep just enough hangers for your current closet of clothes. This works best if you’ve already completed: Get Organized Mission #10: Clear Out Your Closet and Get Organized Mission #11: Create Your Wardrobe Wishlist. Now, whenever you buy […]

NEW ‘Design Your Life’ Logo Survey: I’d love your feedback! [There’s a fab prize…]

UPDATE: The competition is now closed. Check out the Design Your Life logo and winners here! You may know that we’re releasing the 12-month Design Your Life Program very soon. This will be our most comprehensive program so far. It’s based on the popular Life & Goal Organizer DIY system, but I’ve chunked it down […]