Get Organized This Year!

About the Book

Are you tired of wasting time looking for items? Do you suspect that a more organized home or workspace could increase the amount of time you have for fun activities? Do you get frustrated when you buy items only to find that you already had them? You will decrease stress, increase productivity, reduce frustration, and enhance your life balance if you organize your home, work, and time. The intention of this workbook is to help you bring order to your clutter without compounding any feelings of “overwhelm” that you may be experiencing. Although I will mention specific spaces such as your office, kitchen, and bedroom, most of the organizing principles in this workbook apply to any space and any desired level of organization. If you apply the principles outlined here and complete the monthly checklists, you will find yourself much more organized at the end of the year than you were at the beginning. And won’t that be a great feeling? Here are a few of the checklist items you will find in this book: * Have your name removed from the databases of businesses that sell marketing lists. One organization to contact is the Direct Marketing Association (www.dmaconsumers.org/consumerassistance.html). Fill out one form for each variation of your name. * Establish a new habit: Each week, dispose of one unit of clutter (a unit can be a bag, box, drawer, container, file, etc.) in your most disorganized room. * Recycle three empty boxes (I know that you have them!) that are simply taking up space. * Remove a minimum of one book from one bookshelf and donate it to your local library or prison.

About the Author

Janice Russell, CPO-CD, is the Overseer of Order at Minding Your Matters® Organizing Consultants, honed her superb organizing and training skills during thirteen years both in education and the corporate world. Janice acquired her organizing expertise in the real world and she now shares these talents with individuals and groups. Janice operates according to a simple philosophy -- to provide organizing methods and tools which complement the personality and the needs of each client. Whether working with individual clients or in a seminar setting, Janice empowers people to mind their matters in a variety of areas including document management, time optimization, problem solving, and space maximization. She uses a combination of practical techniques, humor, sensitivity, and firmness to help people develop a flexible structure which will enable them to organize for lasting results. The gains made through increased efficiency can be invested in pursuits which will improve quality of life. Janice’s passion for helping people get organized extends beyond her clients. She uses the written word to share organizing principles and tools with as many people as possible. In addition to her monthly electronic newsletter, Janice is a regular contributor to the North Carolina Journal for Women and Carolina Newswire. Her articles have also been published in Solo-E, The Organizing Network, and Natural Awakenings. Membership in the National Association of Professional Organizers and earning her Certified Professional Organizer in Chronic Disorganization designation from the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization complement Janice’s Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Duke University and Master of Education from Vanderbilt University. From this foundation, Janice is able to recognize the underlying causes of a client's disorganization, develop a solution that will tackle the problem rather than the symptom, and teach her clients to maintain the systems she sets up over the long term.