Posts by Denise Lee
24 Hours: Organize Your Thoughts and Plans
If you had 24-hour notice of an impending disaster, what would you try to save in your home? In an emergency, there is no time to hem and haw. Priorities have to be established and decisions made quickly. Organizers use this question sometimes to help clients determine what is valuable to them – it can…
Read MoreGetting Yourself Organized For Nasty Weather
Truth be told, I’m a bit of a weather fanatic. When the weather turns ugly, I can often be found checking weather apps and watching the local weather reports. Part of my keen interest is due to scientific curiosity. The other part is due to a healthy concern for safety. As interesting as weather is,…
Read MoreLet’s Stop Blaming Mom
Occasionally I work with someone who tells me that they are disorganized because their mom was disorganized. Occasionally I work with someone who tells me that they are disorganized because their mom was so organized it was frightening. Let’s stop blaming mom. Let’s focus on what you can do. It’s your choices and your action…
Read MoreOld School Versus New School Organizing: Some Things Never Change
Before smart phones, I used to carry a tiny notebook and small calendar in my purse. Everything I wanted to remember went into the notebook while every appointment and event went into the calendar. These two little things helped me remember things that would have been easily forgotten. When friends recommended books to read, I…
Read MoreTrash Talk And Decluttering
Our last chapter meeting of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals featured the perfect educational program for Earth Day: members of the Waste Diversion program from St. Louis County Department of Health spoke about trash and recycling. And it was fascinating! I thought I’d share some nuggets of information with you. Let’s talk…
Read MoreWhat Do I Do? My Parents Are Hoarding
It‘s painful to see people you care about put themselves in a precarious situation. Our natural inclination is to jump in and fix the problem so we can make the situation better. Here’s the rub, our efforts to help can actually worsen the situation. Typically, I get a phone call or two each week from…
Read MoreDecluttering Cookbooks When You Love Them
We were working in my client’s newly renovated kitchen finding new homes for its contents when we opened up box one of several boxes of cookbooks. “The cookbooks! Where do they go!?” exclaimed Angela (not her real name, of course). Angela loves her cookbooks. Prior to the renovation, the cookbooks resided in a bookshelf that…
Read MoreThe Importance of Self Care
Denise’s note: I emphasis the importance of self-care with my clients. It is practically impossible to manage one’s life if mental and physical health are constantly sabotaged due to poor self-care. Speaking to this point is guest writer Amy Lee who is currently studying at Kansas University as a dietitian intern. And yes, Amy is…
Read MoreThe Perfect Planner’s To Do Section – How To Use It To Be Effective
A feature that is common with almost every planner is the notes or task list section. Marrying the task list with the calendar is an important time management feature of planners – it’s what separates planners from plain calendars. Seeing what needs to be done next to the calendar makes time management a bit more…
Read MoreCalendars, Mistakes and the Power of Grace
As a Boy Scout leader, I volunteer for a variety of events. My schedule as a volunteer is rather heavy, and I am careful to note obligations on my calendar. Having everything on my calendar helps me plan all the details of each event from the timeline to the checklists. Proactively planning helps me keep…
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