Hoarding Articles and new "Buried in Treasures" group forming

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 Thursday, May 25^th from 3:00 pm – 5:00 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.

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

Being ORGANIZED looks like.... feels like.....

What does being ORGANIZED look like and feel like?

It looks like:

• a cleared off  kitchen counter
• a cleared off dining room table
• an entry way where you aren't tripping over shoes or bags
• a closet where you can find the shirt you want to wear
• a drawer where you can find the scissors
• a pantry where you can find the jar of pasta sauce you know is in there
• a bedroom where you can find your bed

It feels like:

• you belong there
• you are comfortable there
• you want to be there
• you take pride in your home
• you aren't embarrassed to have your friends over
• you are calm
• you are stress free

Being organized is about more than just an uncluttered home or office. It's also about having an uncluttered life. It's about clearing the stress.

Being organized helps you with your physical, paper, digital, time, brain, relationship, emotional, mental and spiritual clutter.

Being organized brings about a sense of calm.

What do you want your organized home or life to feel like?


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

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com/

Merging Families - Organization Needed

When people blend their families together they not only create a new family unit - but they usually also create a lot of excess. As in - extra stuff!

Instead of having one toaster - they now have two. And two sets of living room furniture. And two sets of .... everything!

Merging families - and their "stuff" - takes planning, patience and a willingness to let go. It's now "ours" - instead of "mine".

But where do you start?

It all depends. Are you moving into a new home or will one of you be moving into the other persons home?

If you are moving into a new home then you will need to decide what furniture will fit into the new space. Whose is in better condition? Whose makes more sense? If there are kids involved you will need to be realistic and practical. Fancy furniture and kids usually don't mix. Save yourself some tears and be practical.

If you are moving into the other persons home - well - that's a tough one. You need to start with  honesty and decide what each of you is willing to give up and what each of you needs to feel comfortable.

If you have a favorite chair or a special piece of furniture - let the other person know how you feel. But - make sure that it will actually fit into your new home.

Take a look at all of the duplicates - especially in the kitchen - and decide whose is in better shape. If your toaster is brand new and his is 10 years old - it's a no brainer. But then again - nothing is ever that easy.

If you have older kids - maybe they will want some of the furniture and things for their apartment. If not - you can sell, give away or donate the duplicates.

After you have gotten rid of all of the duplicates - think about your paperwork next - and merging files.

Merging families and households can be stressful. Think about hiring a Professional Organizer to help you with the process. An outsiders' opinion is much easier to accept than that of a family member!


Take our Personal Organizational Assessment to see how organized you really are.


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

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com/

Tax Preparedness: Gathering Essential Documents

It happens every year. Taxes are due. People everywhere are eagerly awaiting their W2's so they can file their tax returns. Right?

Maybe not - there are a lot of people that put off getting all of the needed paperwork together until the very last minute. Why?  Because they aren't organized. They can't find the information they need. It's not in a convenient location or in a convenient format.

Receipts have been misplaced or are non-existent. Stress builds up and all thoughts of taxes are pushed out of their thoughts. Until April. And then the panic sets in. Again.

This happens every year. So why not break the cycle?

Put together a list of all of the things that are needed to file your taxes. Then make folders and as these things come into your home - put them in the appropriate folder.

Make sure that you have a "donation" folder - for all of your donation receipts.

Have a folder for your investment information. A folder for your medical bills. A folder for children's expenses. A folder for major purchases.

The system has to work for you. Each person is different and has different information that they need to capture.

Use this year - as you get ready to prepare for your taxes - as a learning tool for what kind of information you will need to capture for next year.

By being organized - by having all of the needed information in one place - your life will be much less stressed.

Tax time is not a fun time for anyone - except tax accountants.  So take the stress out of the equation by being more organized.

Keeping good records throughout the year will make year end and tax time a breeze.

So take a deep breath and get your paperwork in order and resolve to make next year a better one.

Read an article from the IRS about some of the documents that you should keep:  Tax Preparedness: Gathering Essential Documents



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

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com/

Spreadsheets for Organizing Your Life

Being “Organized” takes on many meanings. By documenting information that you use over and over again it makes your life easier.  I have created numerous forms and spreadsheets that will help keep you organized and keep important information together at your fingertips. Each grouping comes with an instruction sheet.

FOR YOUR HOME 

·         House Expense List - an Excel spreadsheet to track monthly / yearly expenses  

·         Donation List - tracks donations for the year

·         Grocery List - Alphabetic Food & Household Items to make grocery shopping easier - 2 pages

·         Automobile Service Record - lists basic services for your car

FOR YOUR KIDS & YOU

·         Babysitter Information Sheet - important information needed in case of emergency

·         Children’s Chore List - basic list of chores for kids –  track your kids progress weekly

·         Vacation List – What to Pack – never forget an item again - (Beach & Snow)

FOR HEALTHCARE 

·         Medical Information – List of Providers (basic form to list your doctors)

·         Medical Information – List of Doctors / Providers (different format – more space)

·         Medication List – keeps track of all medications

·         Medication / Allergies / Health Problems – keeps tracks of important info

FOR COLLEGE KIDS 

·         What to Pack & Buy for living at College – (6 pages) – Use this list year after year so that your child doesn’t forget anything.

*  Clothes                      Personal Care          Dorm

*  School Supplies          Medications              Miscellaneous Items

                                                                                         

FOR YOUR HOME INVENTORY

·         Home Inventory List – (24 pages) – broken down by rooms. Enough pages for a 6 bedroom / 4 bathroom home.  Tracks everything in your home so that you have an accurate list of everything that you own in case of a disaster.  Don’t be caught by surprise when your homeowners’ insurance doesn’t cover something. 

 
                              Spreadsheets for Organizing Your Life




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

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com/





 

Spring Break - Keeping Your Sanity When Your Kids Are Home

It's that time of the year!  Spring Break!  The kids love it - an entire week off of school and parents are pulling their hair out!

By stepping back and planning out the week you can get through it in one piece and with some sanity left!

First, take a look at some of the events and things that are available in your area. Depending on the age of your kids and what they can do with or without supervision - there should be a lot of things that can take up their time - and leave you with time for yourself.

Start by looking at all of the free things - like hiking and checking out some of the museums in your area that you never have time to go to. There are probably some programs at the YMCA or at the University that would be of interest to the kids.

Find another parent that you can swap with to take your kids for the day (or 1/2 day) - to give you time to yourself - for running your errands, shopping, or just having the day to yourself. Then it's her turn.

Ask the kids what types of things they want to do. Make them responsible for their own fun.

Plan out the week - like you would a job.  Morning for reading. Afternoon for a movie. Game day. Craft day. Hiking by the river. A family bike ride.

Look at your calendar - and write it all out. That way it's planned and the kids have something to look forward to.

Don't worry - the week will eventually end and your kids will return to their normal schedule. Not soon enough for most parents!

Have a great spring break!



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

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com/

Organize Your Office Day

Tuesday, March 14th is "Organize Your Office Day".  Yes, there really is such a day!

So how do you start?

First, clear everything off of your desk. Either put it all into a box or find an area where you can set everything into a pile. Have a garbage can or bag handy.

Second, clean off your desk. You probably haven't done this in a while. Depending on what your desk surface is made of - either use some furniture polish or wipe it down with soap and water. You know this will be one of the few times this actually happens.

Next, you go through everything that you put into your box or pile. If it's garbage - throw it out.

Make four (4) piles:
             * action (something needs to be done with it - you need to make a decision, send an answer...)
             * pending (you are waiting on something or someone else before you can deal with it, or it is  due later)
             * file (put it into an appropriately labeled file)
             * read (articles or things that you need to read)


Next, you through your drawers (where you probably have a lot of "junk") and sort everything into categories. Throw out the garbage and things you don't need or use (you all know you have it). Get some drawer dividers and put in only the things that you really, really need. The dividers can be as simple as using checkbook boxes or other small boxes. Anything that will divide the drawer into smaller compartments. You don't need to buy fancy or expensive things.

If you have files in your desk - go through all of those and make sure that only things that you still actually need/use are in the files. Get rid of (or store if you are required to keep them for tax purposes) things that you are not currently using. Be sure to shred things that have your personal or identifying information on it.

After everything has been gone through, sorted and gotten rid of - it's time to start putting things back. But - only put back what you really need. Don't clutter your desk with a lot of useless stuff - or things that take up too much room. You need room to work.

An uncluttered desk gives you room to work and presents a more professional image.



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

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com/