Upcoming Class

Start fall off on the right foot.  Join me for "Get Organized Once and For All."  Monday, Sept. 24 from 6:30 - 8:30 at Park Place Middle School, Monroe.  To register, call 360-804-2571.  See you there!

As my regular readers know, I am coming up on my 2nd year in remission. I am alive today because of early detection of cancer. Please read my story at the link below and help me win this contest. You can vote once per day for the next week. Thank you for your support!

Keeping your health organized.

As I look upon my second year of remission, I think about all the doctor appointments I have to keep up with. Keeping track of those appointments and when to make them can be cumbersome. A quick tip for remembering to schedule those appointments is to utilize your calendar reminders. For example, you should see your internist or family doctor once a year for a physical. Set up a re-occuring yearly reminder for that appointment in your calendar. Do the same for all your doctor and dental visits and you won't forget. Your body will thank you!

Clearing the Clutter is Earth Friendly

Everyone is talking about being Green or eco-friendly these days. Getting organized is actually very beneficial to the environment. Here are some thoughts on how organizing your life is earth friendly: • When you organize, you get rid of that which you no longer need. If you sell it or donate it, you are recycling. Get rid of what you don’t use and recycle it to someone who can use it. Some great sites for recycling are Craig’s List/free or www.freecycle.com. • If you know what you already have, you will consume less. People tend to overbuy because they don’t remember already having plenty. Save money and earth’s resources by knowing your inventory and only buying what you truly need. • Many garages are breeding grounds for pollutants which are not only earth un-friendly, but also kid and pet un-friendly. By organizing your space, you can make sure you don’t have anything hazardous laying around. Check with your local government agency to find the nearest hazardous waste disposal site. • Save a tree – recycle that paper. Most people save/file/pile up way paper that they absolutely do not need. Having organized paperwork will save you stress and most likely a tree or two. Meagan Farrell, professional organizer, is the owner of Clear the Clutter organizing services. She can be reached at (360) 631-7268 or at clear_theclutter@yahoo.com. Check out her blog at http://cleartheclutterprofessionalorganizing.blogspot.com/

Time for Spring Organizing!

Spring is here which may put you in the mood for some spring cleaning and organizing. In order to keep the enthusiasm up and not overwhelm yourself, remember this: you don’t have to completely organize your life or even your garage in one day.

Think about it this way – on those organizing shows where they completely overhaul someone’s home, they take a full weekend with a full crew of professionals doing all the heavy lifting. Most of us don’t have a full crew to do that for us. And organizing gets tiring if you try to do it for hours on end. So make it easy on yourself by breaking it down and making your goal achievable. After all, what is more inspiring then achieving your goals?

Set aside a small amount of time that is realistic to dedicate to organizing (this means don’t answer the phone, don’t get sidetracked by children, don’t answer email). Whether it is 15 minutes or two hours, make sure that it is dedicated time where you won’t be distracted. Start with a small section at a time. Pick a closet, a cupboard, a drawer or a corner of the garage. Focusing on a smaller area is less overwhelming and more realistic. Take everything out of that space and divide it into three piles: keep, throw away, or donate/sell. After everything is sorted, put the “keep” pile away in an organized manner. Immediately discard the “throw away” pile, and then either drop off donations or start the selling process of the remaining items. Don’t be tempted to put things away in the middle of this process. That can be done later, after your time is done.

Chip away at the big project. Make your goals small and realistic goals so when you achieve them, you are inspired and motivated to continue on. Congratulate yourself on a job well done! Lastly, make another appointment with yourself to do more organizing. Give yourself the gift of that dedicated time to make your life run more smoothly and be less overwhelming. Being organized is a huge stress reliever and will save you time in the long run. Go for it!



Meagan Farrell, professional organizer, is the owner of Clear the Clutter organizing services. She can be reached at (360) 631-7268 or at clear_theclutter@yahoo.com. Check out her blog at http://cleartheclutterprofessionalorganizing.blogspot.com/

Your unwanted clutter could help save a life.

The icing on the cake with organizing is being able to find a really good *new* home for items that someone is getting rid of. I have the pleasure of knowing the owner of Heaps of Handbags, Carrie Gendron. Heaps of Handbags takes donated hang bags and cleans them up to re-sell. The proceeds of the sales go to fight human trafficking. Not only are you clearing your cluttered closet by getting rid of the handbags you don’t really use, but by donating them to Heaps of Handbags, you are reusing items and helping to stop this heinous act of cruelty. To learn more about Carrie’s business or to donate bags, check out her website at www.heapsofhandbags.vpweb.com.

Meagan Farrell, professional organizer, is the owner of Clear the Clutter organizing services. She can be reached at (360) 631-7268 or at clear_theclutter@yahoo.com. Check out her blog at http://cleartheclutterprofessionalorganizing.blogspot.com/

Free Shredding!

Staples is offering free shredding this month only! You can just drop off up to 5lbs. of documents at any Staples and they will have your items shredded by Iron Mountain.