Ellen Hankes

The Secret Lives of Objects

Why do we keep the things we hold onto? Rubber bands, high school graduation programs, rusty pliers, an odd plate? It is fascinating to explore why we keep certain things but don't care too much about other things. 

Keepsakes have special lives, and often sacred, secret lives. Sometimes these keepsakes are kept in boxes or in dark cupboards where they rarely, if ever, see the light of day. While at times the keepsakes may have monetary value, often the items are kept for sentimental reasons.

Artist Corrine Botz is teaming up with the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization to create an art project titled "The Secret Lives of Objects."I am excited to be working with an individual who contributed some items she had kept for a long time. The brief story of the significance of the item in her life is touching, like good stories can be. You can read my client's story and a number of others at the Secret Lives of Objects website. New life is already springing from these once-cherished items.

We look forward to seeing the variety of objects as this project advances. It may be concert tickets, a pair of gloves, a plate, or something else that comes with a story. 

Have you, or someone else, looked at your belongings as art? I would like to hear from you.

Holiday Discussions Turn to Loved One Who Hoards

The holiday meal is enjoyed by several generations from tots to teenagers to seniors. Relatives have a chance to visit and catch up on family news. For some families it is a gathering to share ideas on how to help family members who are hoarders.

It is estimated in the United States that there are as many as three million hoarders. These individuals may look, talk, work and appear like any other person. They also may be individuals who have isolated themselves socially and are at great risk from a health and safety standpoint. Extreme clutter in the living space is likely to be a great concern of family and friends even if the loved one who hoards shows little or no concern.

Families who gather at the holidays may take the opportunity to develop a plan to address the adverse hoarding condition in which their loved one lives. The very first step should be reading Digging Out: Helping Your Loved One Manage Clutter, Hoarding & Compulsive Acquiring. This book will give you insight into the changes family members may need to make as well as provide a greater understanding of what your loved one is experiencing. This is more than a how-to book and contains numerous tips and checklists to find solutions through a harm-reduction approach.

How has your family or friendship circle worked together to help a loved one? We would like to hear from you!

Prevent In-Home Falls with Organization

An octogenarian family member is very good at watching where she walks. Concerned with taking a tumble, she uses handrails and a helping arm as a precautionary measure.

One of every three people 65 years old and older will fall during the next year. The fact that falls among the elderly can limit independent living is a concern to many.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gives some ideas for preventing in-home falls. One of these is to reduce in-home hazards that can cause falls. Some areas that we see with our professional organizing clients that present a trip-and-fall hazard include the following:

• Piles of papers or objects on the floor
• Narrow passageways with clutter on both sides of the aisle
• Nonworking appliances
• Loose or worn rugs
• Electrical cords
• Inadequate lighting
• Clutter
• Crowded garages, basements or attics

Take a good look around your living space as well as that of someone you care about. Are there some changes that can be made to prevent a fall? If you need help or ideas from a professional organizer, consider that option as well.

Are You a Compulsive Shopper?

As a professional organizer, I continue to take classes and learn how to help my clients lead more productive lives through more effective personal and workplace organization. Compulsive buying was a topic of a recent telecourse I took through the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD).

Do you think you could be a compulsive shopper?  Take this brief seven-question quiz  published in the Journal of Consumer Research to help to determine if you are a compulsive shopper.

According to April Lane Benson, Ph.D. the compulsive need to overshop is often triggered by emotional needs that are unmet, It may not be a new shirt that is needed, but rather a relief from boredom or loneliness. It is easy for a person to become overwhelmed with the sheer volume of the results of overshopping. A professional organizer can help address the space issues but it is vital that the cause of the overshopping be addressed as well.

We are surrounded with countless opportunities to shop--malls and shops, glossy catalogs, the internet, shopping channels on television and fund-raising efforts for many organizations. If you suspect you or someone close to you may be a compulsive shopper, take some time to learn more about overshopping and its effects.

Repetition for Success

Repetition is a strategy that successful people use to master many challenging tasks. An artist or composer may use variations of a single theme to please the viewer of the artwork or listener of the music.

Repetition can be boring or interesting depending on the frequency of the repeated theme or statement. Visually, repetition can bring a rhythm that is pleasing to the eye and easy for the mind to process. Frequently shoppers are pulled into the artful retail display of many similar objects and make an impulse purchase. The variations of color within a single theme such as notebooks may cause displeasure with "just one" item and propel the buyer to select one in every color!

As professional organizers, we help people separate the artful repetition from the non-productive repetition in work areas and living spaces. On a personal note, I do not need three calculators, but my five-vase holder is splendid for summer blooms.

What repetition works for you and what repetition gets in the way of a better life for you? I would like to hear your thoughts!

Quilter's Fabric Stash Solutions

While I haven't earned the title of Quilter, I do admire the creative, historic and artistic value of quilts and quilt making. As we toured the International Quilt Study Museum yesterday I thought about how many active or wanna-be quilters have large quantities of fabrics. These fabric stashes are neatly arranged in closets or tote boxes, stuffed in inaccessible places, or hidden under beds.

When it is time to have some fun with that fabric, here are a couple of ideas to help others and share your love of fabric.

Project Linus. Sew a child's blanket or small quilt and donate it to ill or traumatized children through Project Linus. If there is not a chapter in your area, organize one.

Conker Cancer. Imagine walking into a hospital room with a brightly colored pillowcase. Take a few minutes to sew pillowcases out of your cotton fabrics. No time to sew? You can provide fabric for others to sew the pillowcases. Your efforts will bring smiles to hospitalized children and their families. You will find the specifications and directions at the Conker Cancer website.

How is your fabric stash serving you or others?

The 40-70 Rule

Conversation between multiple generations can be challenging. A survey, conducted by Home Instead Senior Care, provides some insight on how Baby Boomers and their parents are communicating on issues that affect both the adult child and the older parent.

The Home Instead survey reported that 22% of the adult children found their parents are too independent. The 40-70 Rule was suggested to help address some of the age-related issues. Conversations about independence issues such as home help and driving should begin when the adult child is 40 or the parent is 70 years of age.

These discussions should also address the minimalization of clutter for health and safety reasons as well as the disposition of family heirlooms and special mementos. Decision-making can become overwhelming and is often coupled with periods of other stress. Sibliling relationships come into play as well.

A professional organizer is a neutral individual who can work with adult children and their parents to systematically review how household items and keepsakes will serve family members or others.

How might a professional organizer help resolve your inter-generational family challenges?

Hanging on to Yesterday?

Moving forward can be exhilarating for many, but it can also be a scary time. Some people thrive on dealing with new and uncharted territory and for others it can be a painful time.

Sometimes people keep many mementos of relatives long gone, souvenirs of memorable times, and reminders of happier days. Just having these things helps individuals hang on when change surrounds them.

Each person determines what works best for them in terms of space and maintenance of the reminders of times long past. However, for some the past gets the way of the present and future. Space is devoted to things that have lost their significance. Items are kept out of guilt or misguided responsibility. Somewhere in the turning of the calendar pages yesterday becomes today.

Kara L. Swanson tells the story of change so well in Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie and Chevrolet. Kara's life changed dramatically during her journey with a traumatic brain injury. Here is what Kara L. Swanson says about change

"If tomorrow is simply another  yesterday, they wouldn’t call it tomorrow.  If tomorrow were only yesterday, we’d be going backwards.  But we’re not. 

We’re going forwards."

Are you hanging onto yesterday in a way that keeps your todays and tomorrows from being what they could be?

Shopping Outcomes Different for Collectors, Compulisve Shoppers and Hoarders

Two shopping bags full of new-found treasures can result in uniquely different outcomes for Collectors, Compulsive Shoppers and Hoarders. Lynne Gilberg, CPO-CD, a Los Angeles, CA, professional organizer suggests how these three kinds of individuals respond to shopping and acquiring in a National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization subscriber publication.

Collectors purchase items with the intention of adding them to an existing group of similar items. The collection is often displayed in the collector's home and space is usually available for additional pieces as purchased.

Compulsive Shoppers intend to integrate newly purchased items into their closets, kitchens or workbenches. However, the new item may languish in a bag in the car or somewhere on the floor. A compulsive shopper may intend to return an item but lacks the receipt, the time, the energy, or the interest to make the return happen.

Hoarders may acquire items without realistic expectations of using or storing the material. An individual with hoarding tendencies may find it difficult to decide where the item belongs in their living space. Consequently, a large mass of material can compromise the individual's health and safety.

Today many Americans are reviewing their shopping habits with budget counselors and financial planners. Professional organizers can be part of the team that helps individuals plan and assimilate purchases in a way that supports their goals and dreams for the future.

Have Fun for Better Work

May is such a busy month with many special occasions including Mother's Day and graduations. A special wedding trip is added to our family's month as well.

This is a good time to be planning how you will have some fun this summer. Whether you have a get-away vacation or a stay-at-home vacation, plan special activities or at least a change of scenery. When you return to work you will be energized and better able to focus on your priorities.

Don't forget to have fun! Even though this picture was taken years ago on a family vacation, I still remember the photographer telling the guys to look very stern while the girls were to smile. It's a great reminder of the fun we had that day in borrowed attire.

How does fun help you be more productive? I would like to hear from you.