“I’m just no good at organizing,” my client said as we worked together to organize her tiny home office. At that moment I bit my tongue, but I wanted to say, “If you keep saying that and believing that, you will continue to be no good at organizing!” What you say and what you believe have an incredible effect on what becomes reality.

In the case of this client, she prefers creative and intellectual pursuits, right brain activities, to left brain activities like achieving and maintaining order. Even so, her house is reasonably organized, especially given that she has three children under the age of twelve. Her perception of her organizing ability did not match the reality I saw in her home.

And, after thirteen years and working with hundreds of clients, I know that almost everyone can learn to be better organized if they commit themselves to the process. A former client, Michele, proved that to me. On our first appointment she actually vomited following an asthma attack caused by anxiety over parting with papers. She was chronically organized and had ADD. Her house was a wreck every time I worked with her.

One day after about a year of working together twice a month she greeted me with, “I had unexpected guests. The house was a wreck and you weren’t coming so I just thought about what you and I do every week and I was able to clean the place up by myself!” She was so excited about her victory! Michele went on to learn how to live with much less stuff, keep her home organized and become a professional organizer! If Michele could do it, anyone who really wants to can learn to get and stay organized!

Clearing clutter takes time. Excavating a neglected space can take an incredible amount of time. I remember spending two hours sorting the contents of three drawers for a client. Areas that melt down over time and become disorganized masses of stuff truly take more time to confront and resolve than most people have day-to-day and week-to-week. On the other hand, putting items back where they belong on a daily basis usually takes just a minute or two. Yes, you have to do it over and over again, day in and day out. But, doing that ensures that you don’t end up with a nightmare of your own making.

We all have avoided doing an unpleasant task because we thought it would take forever to do and we just couldn’t face it. When we finally made ourselves tackle the chore, we found that it took much less time than we expected.

I remember helping Elsa clear out a bathroom that she had neglected for months. It was loaded with a huge tumble of dirty clothes, cosmetics, toiletries and cleaning products on the floor and on every flat surface. It was also filthy. Dust and soap scum combined to form a grime everywhere that was truly off-putting. It was very difficult to face. It looked like a job that would take days to do.

Focusing on the big items first, the clothing and towels, we saw immediate progress. The task Elsa had avoided dealing with for a month was put in order in 45 minutes.
That kind of progress would not have been possible had Elsa been working alone. It did require a professional who knew where to start and how to make things happen quickly. But, this story clearly demonstrates that the timeline in your head, the one you form when you look at the mess before you and imagine the work that must be done, may not be accurate. If you use an effective process for clearing clutter, it can happen more quickly than you expect.

This past weekend I was reminded that while good lighting is essential for peak performance, anything taken to an extreme can have negative effects. Mark LeBlanc*, my coach and friend came to Richmond, Virginia, to present his weekend program, Achiever’s Circle. He and I had to make a decision about the best location for him to speak in a meeting room with less than ideal lighting. At one end was a bright fluorescent fixture that gave off very bright light. At the other end were two incandescent table lamps on end tables.

The first day Mark spoke under the bright light. The following two days he spoke at the other end of the room in dimmer light. When I asked Mark about what he noticed about both locations he told me that the bright fluorescent light was just too bright. At the end of his three hour session he was exhausted. He didn’t experience the same exhaustion when speaking at the other end of the room.

This is such a good example of how the kind of light and its qualities can affect performance. Usually I opt for plenty of light for any activity that requires concentration and focus. But, taken to an extreme, lighting, like anything else, can be detrimental. The fact that the lighting was fluorescent probably contributed to Mark’s fatigue. Fluorescent lighting, which buzzes and pops and is not full spectrum, is very difficult on the nervous system.

Feeling exhausted? Be conscious of how much time you spend under bright fluorescent lighting. It could be sucking the energy out of you!

*Mark runs Small Business Success out of Minnesota. He is a small business coach, professional speaker, and author of Growing Your Business and Never be the Same. He can be contacted at www.MarkLeBlanc.com.

“I want you to write a book in 90 days.”

Those were the words of my coach, Mark LeBlanc of Small Business Success in May 2009. I took a deep breath and said, “OK, how do I do that?” I wanted to write a book. In fact, it had been a goal of mine for years. I even had some pieces of it written. I just had no clue about how take that enormous task and break it down so I could keep from running away from it. And, as a small business owner and the CEO of my home, how was I going to make time to write?

For more than 13 years I have helped clients figure out how to get overwhelming tasks done. I was supposed to know how to do that. But, I too am human and subject to shutting down, especially when it involves my work. Fortunately I wanted to write the book badly enough that when Mark made his suggestion, I was actually intrigued that he thought it was possible for me to write a book in such a short time. I put aside my pride and insecurities and asked him to help me figure out how to make it happen.

“Write 50 minutes a day, five days a week, “ he said.

I could do that! Claiming the first 50 minutes of each day was entirely possible. That formula worked! I set a goal to write at least a paragraph every week day and was off and running. Once I got over the logistical barrier of how to make time and got started, my writing took off. By the end of August the cover was done and the manuscript was being edited. Rock Scissors Paper: Understanding How Environment Affects Your Behavior on a Daily Basis was available for sale in December.

It was miraculous how I got just the help I needed when I needed it. With Mark’s support and belief in me and my commitment to the project, all I had to do was start and be disciplined about working at it every week day with the end in mind–creating a book that puts words to the information and processes I use to help clients move forward with their lives, making it possible for many more people to empower themselves by deliberately making positive changes to their home and office environments.

Is there something you really want to do, but keep running from? What is blocking you? If you too are feeling overwhelmed and stymied by the enormity of the challenge, find a way to move beyond your mental obstacles. You may be surprised at how much help you get once you really commit yourself to your goal and are open to getting help to make it happen!

Want to motivate yourself to transform your office from a space that is cluttered, filled with an assortment of annoying piles of paper, office supplies and equipment and baskets of unfinished projects? Create a high energy, highly visible catalyst, one area that is clutter-free, completely decorative, a collection of things that lift your spirits when you look at it. The positive energy of that one part of your office will initiate a shift in all the energies of the space, making it more difficult for you to ignore the other areas that need attention.

“Debbie, I want you to see what I’ve done in my office!” said Mary Ann, a client of mine. As I rounded the corner into her office I immediately noticed a small bookshelf she had moved from the floor onto a large table that she uses as an extension of her desk. On it she had placed luscious green plants that immediately drew my eye away from the busyness of other areas of her desk. Not only was it eye-catching, but it was the first step in a major clearing of baskets and boxes and other forms of clutter that had hung out in Mary Ann’s office for months.

Mary Ann had been saying she wanted to clear off the piles that had occupied every flat surface in the room, including the floor, but had been unsuccessful until she created her plant monument. Once it was in place she was inspired to purchase two sets of plastic drawers that she placed under her table/desk to hold major chunks of paper that had been floating on its surface. She also processed several baskets of very old papers. And, she made her trash, shredding and recycling area less visible and annoying.

The positive energy of Mary Ann’s plant monument seemed to set a high energy standard that she wanted to achieve in the rest of her office. The contrast between the positive energy of the plants and the negative energy of numerous piles of papers was the energetic kick in the butt she needed to get moving to create a new look and a new way of working in her office.

Create a high energy monument that will launch you into reclaiming your office!

It’s long been a source of conversation that men hate to ask for directions. We joke about it, but it’s really true! The bigger truth is that men hate to ask for help. I think they are programed that way from childhood. They are taught not to cry, not to be a wimp, not to need any help.

When men are married to women who need some help because they have more on their plate than they can sanely manage, the male mantra of “I’m not paying to have someone do something we can do ourselves!” can become a relationship issue.

The reality is that women are typically the CEOs of their homes. They make sure that there is food in the house, meals are prepared, laundry is done, the house is clean, the interior and exterior of the home are organized and maintained, social events are planned, not to mention that they coordinate the hundreds of activities that are involved with child rearing. In many cases women are doing all that AND working a full time job.

Is it any wonder that sometimes they have difficulty keeping their house organized and clutter free? And, there are women who on top of all those responsibilities have the added challenge of a condition like ADD or depression, neurological problems that make getting and staying organized extremely difficult. In our increasingly complex world there are very legitimate reasons that women need to hire outside help to get and stay organized.

Unfortunately not all women who want to get the help of a professional organizer get the blessing of their husband. I know this happens because I get inquiries from overwhelmed women wanting to know about my services and what I charge. When we end a phone conversation with, “I’ll have to talk to my husband about this,” I rarely hear from them again. In some cases I actually get hired and while we work a woman will tell me, “My husband just doesn’t understand why I need to hire someone to do this. He thinks I should be able to do this myself.” How sad! One client with seven children was so desperate to get help to make her house presentable for a graduation celebration that she hired me, swore her children to secrecy and never told her husband she’d hired me.

When women get the help they need they are less stressed, happier and make better wives and mothers. Why would any man not want that for his wife? My wish is that every man would take a look at his mental programming, those myths that he carries about how needing help from others makes him less of a man, and transform his belief into, “Everyone needs help sometimes. Getting help actually will make all our lives better.”

“I never spend time at home.” Those were the words of a woman who recently heard me speak about clearing clutter to get more of what you really want.

When I hear those words they usually mean one of two things:

1. Her house has some serious clutter challenges because she doesn’t have enough time at home to do what it takes to maintain a clutter-free home.

2. Her home is so uncomfortable because of clutter that she’d rather be anywhere else.

People who are never home often develop the dangerous habit of “drop and plop.” When they do get home they are usually so tired that they drop their mail, their bags, their clothes, etc., and plop on the sofa or into bed from exhaustion. Consequently, the all important habits of regularly putting things away, throwing things away, and cleaning up take a back seat to the more pressing need to get rest from the exhaustion of doing too much.

If you suffer from “drop and plop” or if you are over-committed to the point where you have no time or energy to make maintaining a clutter-free home a priority, evaluate your commitments and let go of at least one.

Think of it this way. You are making space for your needs and your well being. Your ability to help others will only increase and deepen when you first MAKE TIME to take care of yourself!

Commit yourself to the path of a clutter-free human “being” by ceasing to be a human “doing!”

Let go and GO HOME!

This blog entry is offered with permission of the author to help you get organized for good health and a healthy weight. Enjoy!

By Charles Stuart Platkin

While there haven’t been any studies I know of linking clutter to obesity, I do know that being disorganized doesn’t help. Think about the factors that facilitate weight loss: increased physical activity, eating healthier foods, good sleeping habits and a balanced emotional life — all related to an organized, clutter-free life.

The fact is that most failed dieters complain that maintaining a diet is just too much work. The amount of information and control required can be extremely difficult to sustain. This becomes especially important when your control systems are weakened — like when you’re disorganized or stressed. When distractions compete for your attention, the mental workload can be overwhelming. That alone could be the reason you fall off your diet. Therefore, you need to arrange your personal environment to maximize your chances of controlling your weight and minimize your chances of slipping up.

One of the leading barriers to increasing your physical activity is time. If your home and office are disorganized and filled with clutter, you’re probably spending a lot of time simply looking for things you need. When you get rid of the clutter, you can make room for a small exercise area and have easy access to your gym clothing so you can get to the gym. Think about it: If you spend 10 fewer minutes a day looking for things, you can spend 10 more minutes exercising.

Keep in mind, while you’re cleaning and organizing you’re also burning 210 calories per hour – not bad. Here are a few key strategies to help you get organized and declutter:

Organize Your Pantry and Have Healthy Spices Available and Easy to Use

If you believe you can easily prepare healthy foods with a disorganized pantry, you’re mistaken.
· Take everything off the shelves.
· Get rid of expired items and foods that have unhealthy ingredients (e.g., partially hydrogenated oils, high-fructose corn syrup). “Trigger foods” also must go. These are your go-to foods that can lead to binges.
· Clean the shelves and, if possible, paint your pantry white, or some bright color so you can see the foods you have.
· When restocking the shelves, group like foods together and try to make healthy foods easily accessible so that you reach for them first. Several companies make storage containers and tools to help you get organized. ( www.spacesavers.com, www.containerstore.com/shop/kitchen)
· Create an easy-to-use spice section. Spices make bland foods taste great, and should be used as part of your cooking process.

· Make sure you have the following:

o Fat-free cooking sprays.
o Fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth.
o Rice vinegar, apple cider vinegar and balsamic vinegar to add a lot of zing.
o Canned beans.
o Whole-wheat bread crumbs and flour.
o Soups and other healthy canned foods: It is not cheating to open a can of low-calorie soup or tuna for a fast dinner. Stock up on these foods — they’re filling, inexpensive and right there when you don’t feel like making a big deal out of dinner.

· Go through your utensils do you really need everything you have? Put things you don’t often use on a top shelf where they won’t get in your way.

· Things you do need:
o Several small plastic cutting boards or mats that fit into your dishwasher.
o Very sharp knives, along with a knife sharpener.
o A food processor or blender to slice, grind, dice, chop and shred.
o A microwave: Great for defrosting meat and reheating leftovers. It also cooks a potato in about seven minutes.

o Pots and pans, readily available and in good working order.

· Make sure your countertops are clean and free of unopened mail, old newspapers and magazines; they’re supposed to be for food prep.

Refrigerator Makeover

Take the Fridge Quiz at www.dietdetective.com/column/refrigerator-quiz.aspx. Would you shop in a dirty, poorly laid out grocery store? Keep your fridge clean and organized into sections, just like a supermarket. Soda and juice are high in calories; try to keep water or unsweetened iced tea in the front so you grab them first. Better yet, toss the cola.

Fruits and veggies should be front and center and at eye level so you see them. Keep all the high-cal foods in the fruit and veggie drawer or in the back.

Be Fitness Prepared

Have a gym bag packed and ready to go. Buy a crate to store all your fitness items, including sneakers, bands, pedometer, gym clothes, fitness DVDs, jump-rope, etc. Make everything easily accessible and ready to use.

Organize Your Closets and Garage
Get all the areas of your life organized, including your closets and garage. Using storage bins is great, as long as they don’t serve as another place to hide stuff you don’t need. If you haven’t used something in the last two years, chances are you will not use it at all. If you do end up storing things, make sure to label and make detailed lists of what’s in each container.

You’ve tried before and it didn’t work? Check out a few of these Web sites:
Real Simple: http://tiny.cc/eQYSZ
Good Housekeeping: www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/getting-organized
Oprah magazine: www.oprah.com/home/Clean-Your-Messy-House-in-6-Months
Unclutter Blog: http://unclutterer.com/
Clutter Diet Blog: http://www.clutterdietblog.com/

And if you can’t do it yourself, find someone to do it for you. The National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) has about 4,200 members — visit their Web site at www.napo.net. You can also take a “help wanted” ad for an organizer on Craigslist.org, or have an organizing party with your friends. (There are always a few friends who would love to get their hands on organizing your house.)
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CHARLES STUART PLATKIN, Ph.D., M.P.H. is a nutrition and public health advocate and founder of DietDetective.com. Copyright 2010 by Charles Stuart Platkin. All rights reserved. Sign up for the free Diet Detective newsletter at www.DietDetective.com

Last Friday I visited a BNI (Business Network International) meeting with the intention of promoting my upcoming seminar, Organizing for Productivity and Success, and asking for contacts with church community outreach programs. Being a card carrying introvert, it has been years since I walked into an unfamiliar BNI group. When I entered the dimly lit meeting room, I thought I was walking into a men’s club. The room was filled with middle aged men. At one point in my life that sight would have sent me running. To be alone in a room full of men would have scared me to death!

I was surprised to discover that my experience today was completely different. Though I had a moment of thinking, “Hmmm. . . what have I gotten myself into?”, I quickly recovered and thought, “I can do this. This is going to be an adventure!” Looking back, I realize that I grounded myself by setting my intention–to have an adventure.

I also intuitively chose a seat where I knew I would feel comfortable and empowered, with my back to a solid wall and a full view of the door, near a man who was kind and welcoming. He was the president of the group. As if he knew exactly what I needed, he told me about the group members and their professions. By the time the meeting started I was feeling peaceful and curious about all those men.

During the meeting I realized that I was seated across the table from a man with whom I’d gone to high school. Even though I hadn’t known him well, since he too was an introvert, that familiar face was comforting. Another blessing of this adventure!

I promoted my seminar. I told the group who I am and how they could help me with my business. But, the biggest gift of the meeting was my being able to see how far I have come in my own journey of healing, growth and becoming a competent self-employed professional. No longer plagued with anxiety and free floating fears, I was able to be fully present and empowered. What a great way to end a busy week!