I can help you get organized in areas where you need help!

Almost everyone needs help with organizing some part of their life. I have a gift for helping people create order in their space, thinking,  projects,  diet, time and much more.

The more I help people get organized, the more I yearn to support myself and others to develop skills that help them to live a fuller, more creative, more productive and service-filled life.  With all the challenges we fact, it is imperative that people rise to the occasion and use their gifts to help create a better world.

Being organized does not mean being so rigid that life is no fun.  Rather, it is about creating strong banks so that a beautiful and vibrant river may flow freely. Spontaneity,  freedom, joy, laughter, creativity, and love spring forth when those banks of organization are stable.

This blog will include information that will support you in getting organized whether it be clutter clearing, gardening, communication, family life, involvement in community and much more.

I fervently hope that this information is useful to you, and I welcome your feedback and comments.

Working with mom and kids…cleaning, organizing, and helping the kids get involved.

I have had many experiences with helping mothers clean or organize or move with the children being around. Kids and dogs usually love me, which is reassuring, and I enjoy interacting with these creatures.

Today I helped a nursing mother who practices attachment parenting and also homeschools. These values are near and dear to my heart, and it was a pleasure to interact with the kids and experience children who had been raised in such a nurturing way.

I was pleased that within 4 1/2 hours the house looked beautiful so that people could look at it because they were interested in purchasing the house. I loved that the two year old and five year old were able to help and feel the satisfaction that comes from doing a job well done. I was glad that not only did we get a house cleaned, but I got to have the feeling of satisfaction that comes from encouraging children and a mom who is working so hard to nurture her children. Also, there were some conflicts, and I used some simple techniques to help resolve them. That felt good!

I helped another mom with her moving venture over a two month period. At times her children would get very emotional, especially near the time that the move was going to happen. I was happy to be able to offer the gift of empathic listening. At times I would just be present with the children for short times so mom could continue packing. I became friends with these children, and I value our relationship. I feel happy that I have these jobs where I can get to know people and nurture families.

De-clutter a room in 2-4 hours

Clutter can put you in a bad mood, but an orderly room will make
your energy soar. Often, you feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to start. Here are some tips to help you de-clutter the external part of a room 4 hours with one person.. Having a compassionate friend or a professional organizer can make this job more fun and go a lot faster.

 Select the room or space that you want to de-clutter. Or, you can do a whole floor of a home with this technique as well. You may need to move the boxes, or you can keep in the same place.

Find a space to put about ten boxes. You can drape a sheet over your furniture or bedding, or clear a special space

Choose categories that fit your needs. (See suggested list below)
Get enough boxes to fit all the categories plus extra if you have lots of stuff. You might need more than one box per category. Banana boxes or egg boxes are ideal for flexibility.

Make the labels on half sheets of 11 ½ by 8-inch paper. Write big and clearly!
Tape the labels at the end of the boxes so you can see them easily.
Put the boxes somewhere, ideally in alphabetical order, in a line if you have room. If you are organizing a smaller space, you can put the boxes outside the room if necessary.

Put on some music that inspires you. Slow movements of baroque concertos will help you think more clearly.
Take one item at a time and quickly put in the appropriate box. If you can’t decide, within a few seconds, put in the undecided box. The trick is to keep moving and not get caught up in decision-making. This makes it more fun and the results will be very fast and inspiring.

If you have time and still have energy, keep going so you can get rid of some of the boxes. Or, stack up the boxes in your garage or a cleared away space.
Give away the stuff as soon as possible. Sort out the high priority stuff. Deal with paper work later, using a filing system that works for you. This tickler file is a good start http://beyondclutter.com/articles/TicklerFile.htmFor organizing taxes, check out http://beyondclutter.com/articles/taxpapers.htm
Make a goal of when you want to have all the boxes sorted. Do you best to break down the goal in bite size pieces, for example one box a day. You might want to to sort out the high priority stuff first. Or you might want to set aside a day to sort. Sorting the initial sorted stuff can take a while.

Find a place for everything. If things are in places that you can’t see readily, you might want to create an index. Put like things with like things.
Once you get de-cluttered, make a rule that you will get rid of as much as you put back in. Have self-control, and stay organized and simplified.

A system for organizing that is soooooooo simple!

I was amazed and gratified that I used this system so that in one and a half hour we cleared an amazing amount of clutter. It is so simple, yet effective. You can try it yourself, or get a friend (or me!) support you in this process. It really helps to have someone else around for moral and physical and emotional support–but using this system, you can work by yourself without getting discouraged because you will get a lot done in a short amount of time.

I recommend this system because what it does is help you organize a large cluttered space in a short amount of time and make it so that you can continue the sorting process while being able to have at least one area–even one room– feel really clear and uncluttered.

Step one: Collect lots of boxes–preferably banana or other large boxes which can be easily stacked. Also, if you get a variety of sized of boxes, then you can be more flexible.

Step two: Put the boxes in one section out of the way–even put them on a couch or furniture so that you can easily see them.

Step three: Label the boxes clearly. One way is to cut white paper in half and use a magic marker with large letters.

Here are some suggested categories:

Give away

Keep: find places for

Keep: Put in their place

Papers: high priority (small box)

Papers: low priority-(probably throw away

Papers: medium priority (sort later for filing or throw away)

High priority items (deal with immediately)

Undecided items–probably give away)

Books

Recycle

Storage (in a storage place or bins or shed or closet)

Give to specific people or places (like library)

Create boxes for specific needs you might have–like memories, store, etc.

Step four:

Go through every cluttered space in the room. Put items in the correct boxes.

Step five: if you are worn out, stack the boxes in another room or in the same room or

If you have a particularly small space, you might want to purchase large plastic bins so you can store some things outside to be sorted later when you have time, or to store permanently. If you get the right bins, and keep an eye on them, they will remain waterproof for years.

Ideally you will allow time to put away the high priority papers and items, and the item that have homes and need to be put away. Put the stuff to give away, put in storage unit and deliver to people in your car.

Stack the bins or boxes somewhere out of the way where you can sort, making a goal of finishing most of it within the week. Paper work takes the longest, so I advise that you make that the lowest priority.

I will be sharing a system of dealing with paper work at another time.

Working with my siblings on my Mom’s estate

In May 2006 my mom passed away. I flew out to San Diego, California to attend the memorial service and help my siblings clean up and organize my mom’s belongings. I am so glad that she did not suffer very much, and that she was able to live in her own home up until the three weeks before, when she went to the hospital. I feel so grateful that my mom got to live a full life, serving people with love almost until the day she died. I bet even when she was in the hospital she was nurturing the staff!

 

There was a lot to do. Mom collected a lot of things because (like me) she thought they might be useful to someone, or she might be able to sell it at the flea market. (I was so glad she saved a bunch of stuff I was glad to have–like letters from when I traveled in Asia)

So there was about 40 years of accumulated stuff to sort through and decide what to do with it all. I felt so grateful that I could join my brother and two sisters, and their spouses and friends, to work together on a huge job. I let my older sister take the lead and supported her in mainly getting rid of the stuff that needed to go in the dumpsters (We used 3 of the largest dumpsters they had to drop off–they were huge!) That is what I call picking the lowest hanging fruit first–it was easy to decide what the trash was because things were obviously mildewed or wet or damaged.

 

I was happy that my organizational skills were utilized during that time because I could clearly see the order which needed to happen. I saw that things were going to be bottle necked if I didn’t intervene, and fortunately I did so with enough tact that all went smoothly. After all, I wasn’t the professional organizing consultant–I was part of the family. But even if I was being paid to do the work, I still honor a client’s needs. Even if what they want does not seem efficient or logical, I will only gently make suggestions, and then let them go.

In a sensitive time like helping someone order a relative’s possessions–someone who has died or will be going to a nursing home–I am happy that I have my nineteen years experience of practicing non-violent communication. I have learned the profound impact that empathic listening has on people. Tears and grief will come up during this sorting process-and this certainly happened with my family. Anger came up, too. I feel grateful that my practice in Non-violent Communicationcame in handy for conflict resolution as well as grieving. I had a lot of unresolved issues with my siblings, and we had reconciliation that was very beautiful.

After three days of both clearing the house of trash (at times there were ten people working!), plus getting ready for the memorial service–most of the trash was cleared out. Also, my older sister decided what were the things that needed to be given away or saved. So after the memorial service, my siblings left for their distant homes (except for one who lived near by), and I was left alone for 6 days to get it ready for an estate sale. Here I was, all by my lonesome, in a five bedroom, three bathroom, living room, dining room and family room withthousands of knick-knacks and decorations. In addition there was box upon box of stuff which filled closets and rooms..

I stayed up one night sorting boxes.I made a box for each of my siblings, plus other boxes for things like correspondence, photos, business, high priority, and low priority. I sat in the living room surrounded by these boxes, and I went through the history of my family and my life. I was so glad to have this job. Many would be overwhelmed, but for some reason it is my nature to be able to have huge seemingly impossible jobs, and feel excited and stimulated.

I just could not stop sorting, seeing box after box of stuff emptied and put into places where they could be useful. Of course since this was my own history, I stopped and read stuff–but if I were doing someone else’s sorting, it would take less time. But the process would be the same. I would prioritize and categorize so the people can then more easily sortthe papers and objects themselves. I don’t throw away anything–I even put advertisement and seeming junk mail into a low priority category. (Unless someone wants me to throw away stuff and tells me specifically what to throw away.)

My siblings came back on Friday, and I was so thrilled to show them the results of my work. I even took a video of their reaction. At first my brother was disappointed–there was a bunch of trash out in the driveway–I had actually uncovered a whole dumpster load of more obvious trash. (He had seen the driveway be all clear and clean when he left). But walking through the door, his mouth dropped open and he was so happy to see that the whole place was ready for an estate sale and it was even cleaned. My sisters were excited and pleased as well!

And that night, after a nice dinner together–the first we had shared all together in about 25 years–I sat them down with their boxes. It was like Christmas. They looked through and found letters and cards from them and to them, special photos, report cards, child hood art, and more. I had left out the most special and precious things, and we all looked at them together. I felt so close to them, and they felt so thankful for my hard and caring work.

Then together we cleaned out my mom’s room, which my sister wanted to save for us all to work on. I let her be in charge, but offered gentle suggestions, and it all went well. A lot of tears were shed, and we grieved her passing as we had done throughout the whole time we had been working together. And we also celebrated that she was free from all this stuff, and the pain she had felt in her last days.

I feel so deeply fulfilled and joyful that I had these skills to offer to my siblings, and to my mom. She saved those things, hoping that they would be useful, and they were. Sadly, some were spoiled because of the water damage–but so many precious things were there–like my master tapes for my music tapes. And thank you, dear reader, for letting me share this very meaningful time. Perhaps you know someone who might need help like this–I would be honored to offer this service to someone in need.

Organizing for Jack Canfield author of CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL series

“Patricia Mikkelson worked for me in the company called Live Love Laugh. She was always a dynamic and energetic presence in making things happen, coming up with creative new ideas, coordinating many volunteers, organizing events, workshops and publicity– just to name a few of her many contributions to the success of Live Love Laugh. During that time she also helped organize and produce various Self Esteem workshops led by the now famous Jack Canfield, co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. Patricia is a forward thinker and seems to always press for things that make it a better world for everyone.”

Cliff Durfee

Clearing clutter for a friend

It seemed like a miracle! In a mere 4 hours of working together with Dorothy (name changed–I keep my clients confidential for their privacy unless I get permission), we transformed a cluttered back room into a completely cleared area that is ready to be a craft room and more organized storage area. This was really important to her because of several reasons. First, she was tired of having all the clutter draining her life energy and the dust was affecting her negatively, too. She could hardly even go into the room without having an allergic reaction.

Second, she really needed this area cleared because she had a lot of stuff that was sitting in storage needing a place to stay so they didn’t have to pay rent on a storage unit. This space, and a space we ended up clearing out in the storage shed, will be big enough to put all the stuff. Plus we put a table in the room for crafts.

It was really great to see the transformation. Within four hours, the space was clear. We worked together to sort things into the great category system I have discovered. By prioritizing things into boxes, some of which could go out immediately, we were able to make the job more manageable. Although all the boxes did not get sorted that day, it was easier for her to tackle to job by dealing with boxes which had been presorted.

One of my strengths is being able to take things off people’s hands. My husband and I have a homestead in the country (an eco-village in the making) and we can use a lot of stuff in our resource yard, and our building projects. So I was happy to take a lot of stuff off of her hands, at no charge! A win-win situation.

I always feel a sense of satisfaction when I complete a job as well a sense of amazement at how space can be transformed with this simple system of prioritizing and sorting. I celebrate with my client the great feeling that comes from having clutter cleared, and space available for good things to happen!

Free workshop: Get organized for tax season

 I have confidence that these presenters are going to do a good job, so  I am planning on attending.  I  want to be of better service to my clients. Maybe I will see you there!

Info in a nutshell:
Organized Taxes
Saturday 2/25/12
3:30-4:15 pm

Have you done your taxes yet?  Are you procrastinating because it takes you so long to get everything together?  Not even sure what you should be saving, for how long, and how?

Come to the Organized For Taxes workshop on Saturday, February 25 and we’ll help you plan for next year!  Diane Hagerty, a local certified Tax Accountant, will share her expertise with us.  Her tips will be beneficial for all but if you or someone you know also runs a small business this workshop is not to be missed!  While Diane helps us with the nuts and bolts of taxes (she has been doing small business bookkeeping, management, and tax work in NWA independently for about 10 years now, Simply Organized will show you a few types of systems that will help tax season be more bearable.

Janet Filbeck of Simply Organized has been self-employed for over 10 years.  Her system is simple and efficient.  Since not everyone is wired the same, we’ll share more than one type of organizing system.  Holly of Simply Organized and Clever Container will also offer a tax organization kit of Clever Container products that you can buy at 10% off.

Already an Organized Freelancer?  Pass on this workshop information to everyone you know who isn’t.  Do you know someone in Direct Sales (31 Bags, Tupperware, Pampered Chef, Premier Jewelry…etc.), share this invitation for them to join us!  It will be worth the 45 minutes on your Saturday afternoon!

Location: 

Vintage Fellowship

3416 N. College Ave. Suite 2, Fayetteville, AR 72702

Please register by emailing: SimplyOrganizedNWA@gmail.com. Just email that you plan to come. Please share and spread the word!

Organizing in my sleep

I do a regular organizing job for a client who is constantly tweaking her home business. She needs help in all areas–computer, papers, space and more. I always find working for her a delightful challenge because I never know what she is going to need next. Yet I always seem to come up with an idea that really works for her. 

One day I was listening to her as she was telling me the current problem. I had not gotten much sleep the night before, and I was a bit sleepy. I actually felt myself dozing off, but caught myself just in time. Fortunately, she did not seem to notice. 

After she explained the challenge, I wondered, “How am I possibly going to figure this one out–I am barely awake.”  But then I just started writing some things down for her and the ideas just flowed. I was rather surprised at this because I was sure I needed to be more alert to find solutions. 

Normally I am wide awake and energized during my consultations, but I am happy to say that even though I was tired, I still offered her a solution that she loved! Now that is satisfying. 

Organizing so the grandfather can keep his grand kids

I am recalling a very difficult situation where a grandfather who had custody of his grand kids was about to lose them because of the terribly dirty condition of his home. Since his wife had died eleven years previously, he had not cleaned the house. Some members of our church decided that instead of having a Sunday morning service, we would go and help this needy individual.

Since this was about nine years ago, I had much less organizing experience under my belt. But people still tell me what a great job I did in helping people get focused on the jobs at hand. I suppose I do have a knack for delegating jobs and seeing that everything gets done in an orderly manner. I was very grateful that people were so willing to take orders as well. 

I still remember how there was a crew outside which filled many dumpsters full of trash. This place was a mess! Inside, I was told that some people had already worked for hours in the bathroom which was in a very sad state. 

I still remember how I kept up a cheerful countenance even though the place was thoroughly disgusting. I did not want to hurt the client’s feelings at all. I encouraged others to do the same. It was smelly, dirty, and seemed to be impossible to get clean enough. But with many hands scrubbing, carrying out trash and sorting through stuff, the place was transformed. 

I was very glad to be part of this effort which was more cleaning than organizing–yet it was the same kind of end finish–a transformed environment. 

Organizing for service

After church about thirty people descended upon a family’s home to help clean and organize because they had come to a place that they really needed outside help. What I loved about this experience was that about half of the volunteers were cheerful young people, including my fifteen year old daughter and twenty two year old son. 

I was really glad to have both organizing skills and ability to help the volunteers get focused. I started helping with organizing a shed with my daughter and one friend. Soon a few more of her friends came along and I was no longer needed. I was delightfully surprised at the suggestions that they all made which helped consolidate the stuff so that more stuff could be put inside the shed. I left them to their own devices and they did a great job. 

I got to help organize the home school materials, putting the various items into categories into the nice shelves that were available. Then I looked around and did my best to keep asking the client what I could do to help. I would enlist others help as much as possible because people were standing around looking for something to do. Maximizing on the time that volunteers were present was important to me for two reasons. One, they would not be here indefinitely so I wanted to get as much work done as possible. Two, they would feel more useful and fulfilled if they had a sense of accomplishment. 

After about three hours the job was done for the most part. It was an amazing amount of fun and the time flew by since we all worked together. The client and her family were very happy and so was the whole crew. Huray for synergy!