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Saturday, February 23, 2019

Hoarding - A Serious Issue

Hoarding is a very serious and devastating situation. It is emotionally draining. For the Professional Organizers that work with Hoarding clients it is unlike what you see on the T.V. shows. It is much more personal and more devastating.

Sometimes clients come into your life and make an impact that you never expected. One such client of mine was a hoarder.  As with most hoarders Professional Organizers usually know to expect the worst. My client was a wonderful, highly educated woman with a problem. A problem that I always suspected would eventually lead to her death.

But - she was lucky. As I had anticipate, a fire did break out in her home but she was pulled out of her house by some neighbors and she survived. Not without extensive physical damage. But she survived.

The fire did finally force her out of her home and she is now living in a nursing home where she is getting the treatment she deserves.

Not everyone is so lucky.

Hoarding is a serious problem.

Read some of the stories from the past:

Langley Collyer

He lived with his brother, Homer, who was blind and paralyzed, in a three story mansion in New York.

It was filled from floor to ceiling with newspapers, boxes, barrels, crates and 10 grand pianos.

On March 21, 1947, the New York police received a tip that there was a dead body in the house. They broke down the front door but couldn’t get in because of all of the stuff.

They climbed in through a second story window and found Homer, dead. He had died of a heart attack.

The house was a maze of nests & tunnels and was booby trapped. There were trip wires that would bring down debris on any intruders.

Workers cut through the roof and lifted out 136 tons of junk.

After 18 days they found the body of Langley Collyer who had been dead for weeks.

It appeared that he had been crawling through a tunnel to deliver dinner to his brother when he triggered one of his own booby traps and suffocated. Homer had then starved to death.

What was salvageable from the tons of junk that had been collected, sold for less than $ 2,000 at auction. The house, condemned as a health and fire hazard, was razed. Today it is a parking lot.


Grey Gardens

In the early 1970s, two women related to Jackie Onassis were the subjects of the critically acclaimed documentary, Grey Gardens, about eccentric behavior. The women, Edith Bouvier Beale and her mother, Edith Ewing Bouvier, were former New York socialites who spent their days holed up in a decrepit East Hampton mansion.

When the Suffolk County Board of Health raided their house, they found piles upon piles of garbage amid human and animal waste. It was said that only three of the mansion’s 28 rooms were used, while the others were occupied by hundreds of cats, possums and raccoons.

When word of the deplorable conditions got o Jackie-O, she and her then-husband Aristotle Onassis paid $32,000 to clean the house, install a new furnace and plumbing system, and cart away 1,000 bags of garbage.

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There have been a lot of articles on hoarding in the newspapers lately. Read some of them to learn how prevalent hoarding actually is.

Fatal Blaze Complicate by Hoarding

Animal Hoarding - Nevada Bill

Fatal Fire - Leads to Hoarding Death  


Residents Frustrated with Hoarding Neighbor

FDNY Trains to Battle Fires in Apartments with  Hoarding Problems

 

BURIED IN TREASURES WORKSHOP

         A Group to Address Hoarding Behavior
   
        The Buried in Treasures Workshop is about
          more than clutter...
· Overcoming challenges
· Increasing motivation
· Reducing acquiring
· Prioritizing and celebrating choices

Self-Help & Empowerment
For
Finders and Keepers

Is clutter getting in the way of how you want to live your life?
Are you feeling overwhelmed with too many possessions?
Are you embarrassed to have people over?

This program offers a 16-week course that is based on the book ‘Buried In Treasures’​.  Join us for this group created by and for people who are ready to live a less - cluttered life! 

​The Buried in Treasures group is for people who would like to learn tips on how to de-clutter and stop over-acquiring with people who know what it’s like. Each week we will have a discussion around a specific skill, followed by the completion of challenging and rewarding exercises.

Individual progress, challenges, successes, and goals are also monitored throughout the sixteen weeks.

Participants are expected to commit to attending all the sessions as well as to participate actively.

A Buried in Treasures Group is forming at

St. Paul Lutheran Church
202 Brooks St.
Missoula, MT 59801

Sessions start Wednesday, March 20th from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

This group offers a judgment-free environment for people ready to make a change in their life.

Registration required. Call or email for more information.

*** There is a VIRTUAL group also available for people not able to come to Missoula        

                                             (440) 666 – 9326 or  kefconsulting@gmail.com


Less Clutter = Less Stress SM     in your home, your business and your life

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com

Sunday, February 17, 2019

Goals for 2019



A lot of people make New Years Resolutions and never keep them. But few people make goals.

Without goals - where will you end up? By having a roadmap for your life - by being organized and having a plan - you can get to where you want to be.

Being organized takes on a variety of roles.You can be organized with your time, your space and your life.

If you have goals, you need to be organized in how you are going to accomplish them. By having a list of goals, a timeline, a checklist for what needs to be done and how you are going to accomplish each item - you will be successful!

Don't let life's limitations - or your perception of limitations -  stop you from setting goals.

Dream. Dream big!

Only by reaching for the stars can we get off the ground.

Sometimes we need a push to get there. By having an accountability partner to help you navigate the many challenges that life holds you can be one step ahead of the rest.

For more information on how coaching can help you - visit:   North By Northwest

 
Less Clutter = Less Stress SM     in your home, your business and your life

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com

Monday, February 11, 2019

Getting Ready for Taxes - Get Organized!


Most people don't like to think about tax time - but now that January is over and W2's have been sent out - you might want to get a jump start on getting all of your tax information together!

Don't wait until April. That will just cause you a lot of stress!

First - get a folder or envelope so that you can put anything related to your taxes in one spot. Also, by keeping a folder marked "Taxes" - anything that comes in relating to taxes can be put into it throughout the year.

Second - get out your tax checklist and check off the items that you already have. If you don't have checklist - now is the time to make one. This will makes things easier next tax season.

Anything that you need for taxes, W2's, mortgage information, banking information, deduction information - should all be on your checklist. By doing this you won't have to remember everything that you need and you won't forget anything.

Third - make an appointment with your accountant as soon as possible - so that you aren't waiting until the last minute (and getting stressed out)

Fourth - after getting your completed tax forms back from your accountant - sign and send them out immediately

Fifth - be thankful that you are ahead of everyone else


Remember - being organized will save you time and reduce your stress


Less Clutter = Less Stress SM     in your home, your business and your life

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com