Too Organized to Hire a Professional?
Introducing one of new guest bloggers, name here! She is going to explain why professional organizers are must-haves for all your organizing needs!
Introducing one of new guest bloggers, Amber Windham! Like us, and probably most of you, she has a passion for all things organization but she also needs help sometimes! She is going to explain why professional organizers are must-haves for all your organizing needs!
There was a time when it was hard to see as an organized person how I would ever need to spend money on a professional organizer. Majority of shows, blogs, and Instagram posts are aimed at helping people who feel overwhelmed with being unorganized. I am sure that is the first thing that comes to the minds of writers and television producers but the funny thing is, I imagine the majority of the people who follow these posts are people who love everything about organization and are actually quite good at doing it. In fact, they likely believe hiring a professional organizer to help them is unnecessary. Many people believe they should just be able to “get a handle on things”.
Since they know what to do, why is their situation so overwhelming?
Perhaps we should think of a professional organizer like a personal trainer. Most of us know what we need to do to get into shape or to lose weight. So why are we still paying for these services if we know what to do? The answer is quite simple. Sometimes even knowing what to do isn’t the key to being able to do it.
Over the next few weeks we will discuss how you can benefit from the help of a professional organizer, even if you consider yourself to be an organized person.
* * *
Let’s say you love all things to do with organizing. Perhaps no one in the world loves a good before and after more than you do. You read blogs, posts, and watch shows having to do with organizing. You insist your family vacations at Disney World because it is the vacation that requires the most organization. You are the person whose friends give you the massive eye roll when you tell them you have some unorganized room or area to tackle.
Organization is a fabulous skill and if you are organized you are viewed as having it all together. However, the truth is no one has it all together all the time.
Life happens.
Unfortunately, we feel a real sense of failure when we can’t get certain aspects of our lives organized and this can cause anxiety. I understand these feelings. I grew up in a house where the spices were in alphabetical order and everything had a place. In fact, my own home is run precisely the same way.
Shamefully I admit, to this day when I visit my parent’s home, I get a bit excited if I notice a dust bunny or a spice turned backwards because it validates that even my mother, my organization, cleaning idol, doesn’t have it together 100% percent of the time. In fact, I know of two areas where my Mom could really use some help…if only she would allow it.
You see, it doesn’t matter if you are a person who feels like you have life organized 90% of the time or the person that feels that way 5% of the time. Everyone can benefit from the help of a professional organizer at certain times.
We are going to tackle a few of these times and hotspot areas where you may find yourself situationally unorganized.
Stay tuned over the next few weeks as we go through many different organization techniques!
Do you already know that you need a professional organizer in Baton Rouge? If so, drop us a line!
Spring Newsletter
Happy 6th birthday to Chaos Organizing! Read our Spring Newsletter for the latest and greatest from Chaos Organizing.
Spring Newsletter
Have you Spring cleaned your pantry and other areas in your home?
Make sure to check out our Spring cleaning guide.
What Our Customers are Saying
"The team made the process fun, fast and easy --not the way I'd describe organizing on my own."
"This is worth EVERY PENNY!!!Not only is my house organized but I had a BLAST doing it because of their GREAT personalities!!! They couldn't be more professional and they never waste a second! They even take everything AWAY for you. I never wanted our time to be over, I was even sad because we were done. My husband thinks they have a true gift!! He was thrilled with what they did with our mess! My life so much lighter and happier! Now I WANT friends to open my closets and drawers! In fact I show them because I am so proud. Call Chaos...you will be sooooo happy you did!"
Give your mom a treat she will truly appreciate!
Chaos Organizing
Baton Rouge
Happy 6th birthday to Chaos Organizing!
In April, The Baton Rouge Chaos Organizing team celebrated with a luncheon and team training along with champagne and Sweet Carib cupcakes for dessert! We discussed The Chaos Method of organizing and reviewed all the fine details that make us Baton Rouge's premier professional home organizers.
I'm incredibly proud of the integrity of our team and the quality of our work. Try us, we won't disappoint!
Are y'all loving this Spring weather We have been busy with lots of Spring cleaning projects which means A LOT of donations! If you are also Spring cleaning right now and want to help our community, see the following list of just a few places that will take your donations. I hope you find this list helpful.
Electronics:
CACRC: http://www.cacrc.com
Housewares and Furniture:
The Purple Cow: http://thepurplecow.net
The ReStore of Greater Baton Rouge-Habitat for Humanity: https://habitatbrla.org
Inner Wheel Club of Baton Rouge-Attic Trash and Treasure Sale:
Email: caitlyn@habitatbrla.org
Society of St. Vincent de Paul Baton Rouge: https://svdpbr.org
Medicine:
https://www.endtheepidemicla.org
Hazardous Materials
https://www.brla.gov/893/Household-Hazardous-Materials
Car seat trade-in event
Target stores from 4/22-5/4
Thank you for being part of our organizing adventure.
Chaos Organizing
Houston
Chaos Organizing of Texas is proud to be a new part of the Chaos Organizing family as well as the Houston community. Houstonians truly believe charity starts at home. The sheer number of organizations set up throughout our city serve as evidence of Houstonians history of philanthropy.
At Chaos Organizing, we encourage our clients to use the de-clutter and downsizing process as an opportunity to make donations to the charity that speaks to them. Houston has no shortage of organizations collecting items to help those in need. Below are just a few of the charities available to receive donations within our community. Most of these charities offer multiple drop off locations.
Goodwill – www.goodwillhouston.org
Star of Hope – www. sohmission.org
Salvation Army – www.salvationarmyhouston.org
Charities of Houston – www.thecharitiesofhouston.org
Helping Hands Charity Inc. - www.houstonhelpinghands.com
Baker Ripley – www.bakerripley.org
Car seat trade-in event- Target stores from 4/22-5/4
For those that need a little extra help or feel overwhelmed with getting organized, give us a call.
Thank you for trusting us with your home organizing projects.
As part of our services, our Chaos Organizers will take your donated items off site to the selected donation venue and give you a donation receipt for tax purposes. Chaos Organizing is focused on providing high-quality service and customer satisfaction. We strive to do everything we can to exceed your expectations. With a variety of organizing sessions and services to choose from we’re sure you will be happy working with us.
www.chaosorganizing.com
Check Out Our Latest Project
Spring signifies fresh, new things so why not give your closet a a good spring cleaning? That's just what we did for this lucky client!
It may look AWESOME now, but it wasn't always that way.
Most people think their closet won’t ever be this organized. Look at the before pictures and you be the judge!
Chaos Kids
Summer is coming!
Make a summer bucket list with your children.
Don't forget to plan Dr. and dentist appointments
Plan summer camps
Plan sports camps
Buy summer reading books
Plan vacations or staycations
Plan quality time
Refer a Friend, Get a Discount!
Like us? Don't be stingy! Share us with a friend. When they book their organizing session, you get $50 off of yours!
Easy Ways to KEEP Your House Organized
“How do you stay organized?”
The key word here is stay not get organized. As professional organizers, we help lots of people get organized but the main question we get asked is how do we stay organized. Well for me, I guess you could place me in a category called “chronic tidiers”.
“Dear Ms. Chaos,
How do you stay organized?
Disorganized and frustrated,
Evelyn”
Dear Evelyn,
The key word here is stay not get organized. As professional organizers, we help lots of people get organized but the main question we get asked is how do we stay organized. Well for me, I guess you could place me in a category called “chronic tidiers”. I recently read a blog that ended up being an advertisement, as many are, but there were some good nuggets of information in that blog. Primarily that most organized people are chronic tidiers. What I’m saying is that they constantly put things away and tidy up their spaces. The number one bit of advice I will give you is to constantly tidy up your home. This is obviously easier to do when everything in your home has a spot. My favorite personal quote is ”In order to have a spotless home everything must have a spot”. Now, that doesn’t mean you will have a clean home. That’s a whole other category for another day! But if you just can’t wait, check out some of our other blogs. ;)
Back when I was working in a traditional office, I was introduced to a concept called never touch a paper more than once. And it really works. If you pick up a paper, take an action. Read it, file it, throw it away - you get the picture. I adopt this same principle to everything in my home. Start paying attention to your habits. Become your own social experiment. If you find yourself complaining about having a messy home you most likely pick up items and set them down because you don’t know what to do with said items. The first step to achieving a tidy home is finding a place for all the things in your home. Then you can simply return your items to those places. Professional organizers like the Chaos Organizing teams can help you establish places for the things you love.
If you touch a piece of paper, do something with it!
Chronic organizers also constantly edit their possessions. When you pick something up, evaluate it. Do you need to keep it? If yes, where does it go? Put it back immediately. If you don’t need it then put it into a donation box or into the trash.
Houses get messy when we don’t know what to do with our stuff. We start saying “I’ll deal with that later”, which is a slippery slope people! “Later” becomes a massive, overwhelming job requiring a holiday to tackle when had you just found a logical place, a donation box, or the trash can you would already be done.
Keep reading for more ideas on finding a place for things!
A place for everything, and everything in its place.
--Samual Smiles
Pro Tips: Put your items away immediately. If an something doesn’t have a place, create one or get rid of it. Constantly edit your life. Give us a call if you need help getting started.
If you’re a chronic organizer and have some helpful hints to share, please let us know in the comments! We love seeing what people can create!
Introducing the CHAOS Method™ of Organization
…I quarantined myself to my house and began my recovery. Can you say cabin fever? Holy cow!! This is why I could never live up north. This southern gal needs her sun, fresh air, AND warm temperatures.
While I was cooped up inside, I decided to see what all the fuss was surrounding Marie Kondo’s new Netflix series, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. I am very familiar with the Marie Kondo method, and I am certainly on board with many of her ideas.
Here’s my take away…
I have started 2019 off with a bang.
Well, not really.
I have been sick for two weeks…not a lot of fun. However, I did manage to host a breakfast and do a presentation for 50 realtors at their office on January 8th , which was very enjoyable. I’m just praying I did not pass on any sickness to them, as it turns out I had strep throat. I would have thought it was some version of the flu but certainly not strep as my throat was not hurting, and I did not run a high fever. Anyways, the test came back positive for strep so I quarantined myself to my house and began my recovery. Can you say cabin fever? Holy cow!! This is why I could never live up north. This southern gal needs her sun, fresh air, AND warm temperatures.
While I was cooped up inside, I decided to see what all the fuss was surrounding Marie Kondo’s new Netflix series, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. I am very familiar with the Marie Kondo method, and I am certainly on board with many of her ideas.
Here’s my take away…
Marie Kondo’s method of dumping everything belonging to a category accomplishes a few things.
1. It makes you realize, truly realize, what you own. This may sound like a silly question but you might be surprised at just how many white shirts you own, or how many koozies are scattered around your home. Do you know what you actually own? This can be a wow moment for a lot of people!
Below are the five categories the Marie Kondo Method uses:
Clothing
Books
Papers
Komono (miscellaneous items)
Mementos (items with sentimental value)
2. It forces you to do something with all of your things. When you dump all of your belongings by category onto your bed or the middle of your living room, you are FORCED to address the pile because it cannot stay there for long. Eventually you will need to go to bed or you will have company over and you just cannot leave it in the middle of your living space. It’s important to note, even the neatest person can probably benefit from doing this once in their life. After all, I have seen many posts on Instagram from professional organizers’ work and read the comments of readers that the newly organized space simply looks like organized hoarding - and I have to admit that sometimes it is. Just because you have the space to keep that much stuff, should you??
In our Daily Challenges on social media, we are working on closets these two weeks. This is the perfect time to think about truly analyzing your belongings.
3. Organizing is a family affair. It doesn’t work if only one person in the family is doing it. However, we must make it easy for the members of our household to stay organized. It is always best to set your family and yourself up for success.
We use the CHAOS Method™ to organize.
C – Categorize
H – Is it helpful or hurtful
A – Take Action
O – Organize
S – Simplify
C - Categorize
As you are going through your belongings, it is important to put them into categories. Like items with like items. You will get a better idea about whether or not you need to hold onto four can openers, for instance.
H - Hurtful or helpful
As you go through your belongings ask yourself, is this item helpful or hurtful? Are you asking yourself how a tank top can be either helpful or hurtful? Well, what emotion does it elicit? This follows what Marie Kondo talks about and she has a valid point. What emotion do you feel? Go with your gut. If the emotion is not positive, that probably means you should eliminate it from your life.
A - Action
Take action once you have decided how you feel about a possession. Discard, donate, or keep.
O - Organize
Get containers to store your items.
S - Simplify
Label everything to set your family and yourself up for success in maintaining your organization systems.
Now enjoy the fruits of your efforts, sit back, and relax! If you have any questions about our method or would like our help with getting organized, give us a call.
XOXO,
Lisa
Chaos Organizing Hits Texas!
Here it is! The big thing that is actually happening! Chaos Organizing of Texas is born! Read more to hear our story.
Today is National “Talk like a Pirate Day!”
What’s a Pirates favorite letter? R you say? Nope, SEA!!!!
Ok, There’s my attempt at humor. A funny passed along by my teenage son. lol
Did you know my sorority, Tri-Sigma, was a pirate sorority? Ha! It’s really not, but I actually had someone ask me that. The reason? We have a skull and cross bones on our badge and a sailboat is our symbol. While we certainly aren’t a sorority of pirates (which actually sounds fun to me) sisterhood and sorority life is still impacting my present life in such a positive way!
Thanks to our daughters being summer roommates and Tri-Sigma sisters as well, Lisa Clement and I rediscovered our 30 year old college friendship. Like many of my friends, she has followed my journey with Chaos Organizing for the last 5 plus years and had a million questions about what I do and how I do it. We spent a lot of time talking about our kids, husbands, passion for organizing, decorating and helping others, and as true southern ladies, our love for wearing pearls. Seriously! It’s a thing!
We had so much in common. We even own the exact same bed and marble top tables. It was crazy! Lisa lives in Houston, which is a big bummer for me. 5 hours apart from my old/new friend. But she had a brilliant idea that would change everything….You know that gut feeling that something big is happening but you just can’t put your finger on it? Well, I had that feeling and so did Lisa.
Here it is! The big thing that is actually happening! Chaos Organizing of Texas is born! Lisa is not a pirate, loves her family and her pearls and will be a great partner on this next adventure! Please send her a message welcoming her to the team. I know she’d love to hear from you.