Challenging Disorganization and Hoarding Expert Ellen Hankes

Organized & Entertaining--Part I

Summer is great time to entertain! We're dedicating the next few posts to having fun.

We'll give you hints and tips for planning and hosting get-togethers that will be fun for you and your guests.

Part I of our Organized & Entertaining series will help you get started with planning and list-making. You will need several pieces of paper and I recommend a small notebook. A folder with pockets also works well to hold your lists and other information such as recipes.

If you have several months to plan the event, you will have lots of time to plan and prepare. Or you might have ample time to procrastinate or lose interest. At a minimum, you will need 3 to 4 days to plan even a spur-of-the-moment party.

Here is a Party Planning Checklist:

The Dibs and Dabs Challenge

There is less than half a squeeze of toothpaste left in the travel sized tube of toothpaste. The lipstick was empty. The anti-bacterial cream tube is outdated and squeezed dry.

Why do these lifeless Dibs and Dabs still float around in the bathroom drawers? They are no longer useful and take up valuable space.

Take the Dibs and Dabs Challenge. It is as easy as 1-2-3!

1. Get a waste basket or other handy container to put your useless Dibs and Dabs.
2. Open a drawer and see how many Dibs and Dabs can go into the waste basket. Don't overlook outdated items.
3. Admire your new found space!

The Dibs and Dabs Challenge can be done by yourself or with others. Keep a running count of the number of items you discard.

How many items did you remove? Let me know the results of your Dibs and Dabs Challenge!

4 Hot Tips for Organizing Cool Vacation Photos

When we get back from vacation there are piles of laundry, unread emails and dozens of photos we took along the way. The clothes get washed and most of the emails get answered, all in good time. What happens to those memories called photographs?

Digital cameras are wonderful but it takes some work, not to mention discipline, to download pictures and organize them in some sort of usable format. Here are my 4 Hot Tips to help you make the most of your Cool Vacation Photos:

• Download photos to one location on your computer. It is easy to keep a file for every month of the year for each year. The pictures I took last week were downloaded into the June 2008 folder.
• Label each photo. Many programs will let you enter a name such as "Jones Family Reunion" and sequential numbers will automatically follow. The key is to avoid spending a great deal of time in the labeling process, but at the same time assign labels that will assist in future retrieval of photos.
• Back up. Back up. Back up! If you do nothing else, back up those photos. Use an external drive or an on-line system to duplicate the files. You may want to systematically copy photo files to CDs and store them someplace other than your residence. Just remember to update formats with each new operating system or software system that you use in the future.
• Share your photos. Send photos by email or by print to others. I use SendOutCards.com to make real send-in-the-mail cards with my digital photos.

How do you organize your vacation photos? We would like to hear about your experiences!

Take a Look at Hooks

  If your coat doesn't make it to a hanger in the closet, think about using a series of hooks close to the door. In fact, hooks are useful for many areas of the house.

Towels are easy to hang on a hook. The towel dries just as well on a hook as it does carefully arranged on a towel bar. A hook in the bedroom closet holds nightclothes or to-be-worn-again clothes. Kids find it easier to hang apparel on hooks than to put clothing on hangers. Backpacks can go on hooks.

At the office, a well placed hook can hold a bag and coat. Keys that hang on well-placed hooks are easy to find when needed.

Hooks come in a myriad of designs from the basic metal two-prong hook to high fashion hooks that complement any decor.You can buy hooks one at a time or in multiples mounted on a panel. There are hooks to use with office cubicles and magnetic hooks in various sizes.

Are you a fan of hooks? We would like to hear about your experience.

Move the Trash Basket Where You Need It

Is your waste basket or trash receptacle where it fits or where you need it? The place to put it is close to where the trash originates. That may be where the mail is sorted, where food is prepared or just about any area where stuff is designated as trash.

Do a trash basket audit in your area. If your trash baskets are working for you, that's great. If there is a better place for a trash basket, try it out for a while to see if it works. Keep your systems flexible and make them work for you.

Trash baskets are very often placed in spaces where the container fit--such as under a desk. It may not be the right place for the user. There are a multitude of waste receptacle designs--tall, skinny, flip top, and many more. Find the configuration that works for you.

Moving a trash basket? Just remember to notify all who need to know. Who wants a banana peel in the place where the trash can used to be?

So where is your trash basket? Does that work for you? We would like to know.

Where Do You Keep Your Feet?

Getting-Ready-For-Summer weekend chores included putting new feet on the wrought iron patio furniture. The furniture was purchased over the years and occasionally needs a bit of freshening up. A coat of green spray paint and replacing those white glide-across-the-deck feet make the weary furniture come to life for another summer of enjoyment.

The issue seemed to be that no one at the store could locate the feet. Sometimes it is easier and faster to think like the object you are looking for. This can work when you are looking for a file at work or an object in a huge home improvement store. There are so many items that we need to consider what like items with which it might associate.

Indeed the round leg inserts for wrought iron furniture were found in the aisle with the other products that go on the bottom of furniture legs--gliders, sliders and castors.

This is an example of the classic organizing principle of Like Goes With Like. When we identify a single attribute that numerous items possess, we can put them in one category. It becomes easier to find when we need it at work, home or when we are simply doing weekend chores.

Do you have a challenge finding things? We would like to hear about it.

"But I Might Need That Someday"

Do you have Keepers in your corners? Keepers may be important items like tax documents and favorite books.

One of the most heard refrains from our organizing clients is "But I might need that someday!" When we look at the items in question, we find another type of Keeper.

Keepers also can be the things that fall into one of these categories:

• Don't fit
• Don't work
• Don't fit in our current decor
• Don't make sense in our lifestyle

When we consider moving these things out of our lives, our internal response is, "Hey, I might need that someday!" These Keepers, also known as The Don'ts can be a ball and chain in our lives by weighing us down with stuff that will never again work for us.

Give Dad the Organizing Gift

If you are searching for the perfect gift for dad, think Organization! You can help Dad organize at work, home or play. Here are three tips to get you started:

• Take digital photos of family members. Print them on your computer printer or use a one-hour photo printer. Put the photos in a small album for Dad to enjoy. Create personal messages to intersperse with the photos to remind Dad how special he is to you.
• Learn more about Dad's favorite childhood foods by asking relatives and friends who knew him when he was young. Collect recipes for those foods, or similar ones, and organize them into a small booklet or card file.
• Collect all those dull pencils in your household. Sharpen the pencils and put them in the places Dad will need them. Discard the stubby pencils that no one likes to use.

Talk to Dad about where he might like some organizing help. If you are able to help him, that would make a great gift. If it is a larger project, think about who else might be able to help.

What are your ideas for helping Dad organize special memories or everyday life?

Quantity or Quality?

Does Quantity or Quality describe your belongings? Here's a hint. Does your desk drawer contain dozens of writing utensils or a few select favorite pens and pencils?

People with Quantity may have duplicates of items, variations of things or numerous collections. Space may be an issue because there are so many things. Broken or unserviceable items may be waiting a turn to be fixed. For some people, having lots of things is important and may be a measure of success. Maintaining space to accommodate numerous things may become overwhelming.

If Quality describes a person's things, we picture quality items being chosen with care. These items may have a longer service life, and may or may not fall out of style. Having high quality items can also represent success to some individuals.

With regard to your personal belongings, which is more important to you--Quantity or Quality?

Are You Ready for Change?

It is tough to make changes in our lives. Some changes are forced by external events such as the loss of a family member or a new job.

Other changes are self-initiated. It may take months, or even years, to make positive changes related to our way of organizing our workplaces and homes.

Read about Readiness of Change at the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization website. You'll learn more about the pathways of change and better understand where you are in the process in this well presented Fact Sheet.

I would like to hear what led you to some phase or step in becoming more organized. What were the results?