To be fair, there are many elements that contribute to organizing success. In fact, I write about some of them in my article Top 10 Organizing Success Secrets. However, there is one aspect that is essential to the organizing process. Without it, there is no moving forward. With so many engaged members of this community that are professional organizers or pursuers of organization, I bet you’re guessing and wondering which “key” I’m thinking about. The most important action that contributes to your organizing success is letting go. Without the willingness, strategies, and ability to do that, it’s going to be pretty near impossible to experience the organizing success you’re looking for. 

Why is that? Organizing isn’t just about setting up systems, putting things in containers, and making things more accessible. It’s not just about re-arranging what you already have. Organizing is about assessing and creating an environment that supports who you are, how you live, and what you do. That happens only when you’re willing to let go of the things, ideas, habits, and behaviors that don’t support your goals and values.

Letting go is essential.

Just because it’s essential, doesn’t mean it’s easy to do. I know this from personal experience.

This past year I spent a lot of time letting go as I cleared out and prepared my parent’s home of 57 years for sale. It wasn’t easy sorting through all of the memories or letting go of the stuff. But in order to organize what remained, get the home ready for a new family, and move on, letting go had to happen. In the process, I learned a few things that I shared along the way on my blog. In addition, I had the opportunity to talk with my buddy, John Hunt from Smead about these ideas for the Keeping You Organized podcast.

In this 2-part series, we talked about the . . .

Ten Ways That I Learned to Let Go.

 Ten Ways That I Learned to Let Go: Part 1 - Linda Samuels

Ten Ways That I Learned to Let Go: Part 2 - Linda Samuels

What do you think is the most important key to your organizing success? Is letting go at the top of your list, or is there something else? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation!

While fall won’t officially arrive for another few weeks, all signs point heavily to its unofficial start. School buses are once again visible, parents are adjusting to new schedules, and kids are toting new supplies and backpacks. The last few summer gatherings and BBQs have been enjoyed. For the northeasterners, some leaf color changes are beginning to appear. We’re in the midst of transition, which for most of us can feel uncomfortable.  We finally adjusted to summer and now everything is changing, yet again. This is the perfect time to do a success check-in. You might be wondering what is that? I’m glad you asked.

A success check-in is a way of revisiting past successes, appreciating and learning from any failures, and building upon those discoveries to reset for the next phase. You’ve heard this before that success breeds more success. Drawing on your positive experiences will be the fuel needed to help you navigate transitions more easily. 

The Success Check-in

Here ‘s the good news. The success review doesn’t have to be time consuming or formal. It can be fun! All that’s needed is your willingness to do a bit of thinking. Consider this like taking a walk down memory lane. I like to write thoughts down, but that’s not essential. Just thinking is valuable too. Another thing that might help jog your memory is to look at any photos you took over the summer. That helped me and had the added bonus of getting to relive some of those happy experiences again. Do what works for you. There are no rules here, but if it helps, here are a few questions you can use to get things going.

Think about  . . .

What did you do this summer?
What projects did you start?
What projects did you complete?
Where did you travel?
What new learning did you have?
Did you spend time with family or friends?
Did you have time for yourself?
What kind of self-care did you engage in?
What was your favorite day?
What made it significant?
Was there anything you noticed?
What failures did you have? 
What did you learn from them?

What Made Summer a Success?

I’ll admit that I loved this summer and that I’m not quite ready to say my goodbyes. After having an intense year, I appreciated the ease of this season.  For me, summer had a great mix of experiences. Some were solitary and others were spent enjoying and helping people.  I had time with family and friends, traveled, explored new places, hiked up a mountain, had a tag sale, spent time at the beach, dipped my toes in the Croton River, digitized our home movies, started some house projects, helped clients with their organizing projects and goals (virtually and in-person), completed a new webinar about change for the ICD (Institute for Challenging Disorganization) that I’ll be presenting in a few weeks. I ran out of time to kayak on the Hudson River, visit Playland, take more walks, and complete some home projects. The good news is that I get to reset my goals and plan for the fall.

Creating a new webinar about change for ICD's virtual conference was one of my summer projects. To learn more about it, check out this interview . . .

Exploring new places like Monhegan Island in Maine was one of the summer highlights

One of my favorite days was exploring Monhegan Island with my husband. I loved the beautiful landscapes and quiet, since there are no cars allowed on the island. It was such a peaceful place. When my mind gets busy, I think back to sitting on top of the cliffs overlooking the sea with only the sounds of the waves crashing, the gentle breeze blowing, and the seagulls squawking. 

With thoughts of summer successes on my mind, I’m ready now to embrace the new season of learning and adventure. I encourage you to do your success check-in. What was your favorite summer experience or moment? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation!

As a professional that’s been helping people get organized for over 25 years, I’ve learned a few things about working with clients. My goal has always been to provide the best, most personalized service possible so that my clients receive the quality organizing help they deserve. While there are several factors that go into delivering this type of service, the overarching theme is communication.

As an organizing professional that specializes in working with many chronically disorganized clients that are challenged by the organizing piece in their lives, my client/organizer relationships tend to extend over a long period of time. Being able to maintain an open dialogue is essential.

5 Tips for Ensuring the Best Organizing Help

1. Use Two-Way Street

The best relationships are truly based on a two-way street. While I believe in the “client is always right” maxim, there still needs to be open, honest dialogue. It’s important to be able to discuss expectations and boundaries of both the client and organizer. The client/organizer relationship is collaborative in nature, so being clear about needs and expectations will result in better service and organizing help.

2. Accommodate Environmental Preferences

Many of my clients are sensitive to their environments. Sound, light, scent, movement, and temperature can enhance or detract from a productive organizing session.  I’m always watching out for these types of issues, but it’s wonderful when a client lets me know about their preferences. This way I can be more aware of their needs so that they will have a positive organizing experience. Some of the preferences and requests I’ve encountered have included:

• Wearing solid, dark colored clothes instead of patterns and bright colors to accommodate visual processing sensitivity

• Being quiet, not talkative, while working to accommodate attention and focus challenges

• Playing upbeat music to create a happier mood while organizing

• Not wearing scented products due to aroma sensitivities

• Being less active with my body language (as in don't move hands wildly while talking) due to visual processing sensitivity

• Talking more slowly and loudly due to auditory impairment

• Adjusting the room temperatures frequently (windows opened or closed, air conditioner on or off, heat up or down) to accommodate body temperature fluctuations

3. Clarify Goals

The more the client invests in communicating and clarifying their organizing goals, the better help they’ll receive. Flexibility is an essential aspect to any project, especially when the projects are multi-faceted. Yet even so, giving some pre-thought to each organizing visit helps to get things moving in a good direction. There are times when my clients get overwhelmed and aren’t sure what they want to focus on. It’s useful to take some time at the beginning of the organizing visit to discuss possibilities and to figure out some options together. The clearer clients are about what they want, the better organizing help they’ll receive.

4. Practice Self-Care

I love organizing and particularly helping others to organize. However, not all of my clients approach organizing with the same love and zest. They have the desire for the results, but they don’t necessarily enjoy doing the work to get there. So even though I work to keep the atmosphere fun and upbeat, all of the decision-making can be fatiguing for my clients. To get the most out of their sessions, it’s beneficial when they practice pre-session self-care. This includes showing up well-rested, minimizing distractions(as in kids, email, phones, and pets,) or being properly fed and hydrated. Then during the sessions, knowing when a water, bathroom or snack break is needed is also important. I watch out for the signs, but it’s great when my clients self-advocate. Then I can better support them.

5. Do Check-Ins

One of the keys for getting the best help possible is to do periodic check-ins with your clients. These can be done before, during, after or in between organizing sessions. A simple, “How are you doing?” can yield a lot of important feedback. Some clients will readily express what they’re feeling and experiencing, while others need to be drawn out. It’s useful to do a check-in at the start of a session to set the intentions (goals and timing) for that day. Checking in several times while organizing is important too. Doing a wrap-up, check-in is also helpful. Touching base between sessions can also be valuable. A check-in provides info-gathering moments that make time for sharing feedback and incorporating needed adjustments. 

Do any of these tips resonate with you? Do you have any you’d like to add to the list? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation!

When I was growing up, my parents used to have conversations with us about our future goals and desires. Their philosophy, which they practiced in addition to preaching, was to follow your passion and do work that you loved. If you did that, it wouldn’t feel like work. I watched both of my parents create successful careers in music and computer graphics that they were passionate about.

As a young adult with my parents’ sage advice deeply instilled, in 1993, launched my organizing services company, Oh, So Organized! The concept was simple. Combine my love of helping people with my organizing abilities to help those that were overwhelmed and challenged by the disorganization in their lives. While I identified organizing as a skill that I was born with, I also recognized that it was teachable skill. For the past 25 years, I’ve had the privilege of working in a field that I’m passionate about.

In the book Wait, What? James Ryan writes . . .

“Luckily for all of us, many people are interested in helping others; some devote their careers and lives to it. Not everyone is so inclined, of course, and most people are self-interested at least some of the time. An evolutionary biologist or psychologist might say that we are always self-interested, and that our effort to help others is simply our attempt to feel good about ourselves.”

I understand Ryan’s perspective, but I view helping others as a win-win scenario. The person needing help receives that help. It’s a win for them. As a result the helper feels good too. A personal win. It’s a positive scenario. The key is giving help that the receiver wants in a compassionate, non-judgmental way. It’s essential to focus on the receiver’s needs and not what we think they need. Being respectful and listening is essential.

“Helping others to get organized isn’t just about organizing life’s stuff.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVPO™

Helping others to get organized isn’t just about organizing life’s stuff. It includes clarifying goals, editing the unessential, honing decision-making skills, letting go of the things that no longer support you, changing habits, and setting up viable, organizing systems. The process requires time and patience. It can be messy and emotional. I have such admiration for the way my clients face overwhelm and organizing challenges. They have such determination and never give up. They inspire me every day. I love being part of their journey and feel honored to have their trust. We’ve created a unique reward program for our clients. Click on the link to learn more about our Client Loyalty Program.

If you’re struggling with the disorganization in your life or know someone that is, please reach out for help. You don’t have to go it alone. While I’d love to be that person for you, finding the right fit is important. This is a personal services business. There are several factors to consider. To gain understanding about finding the best person, which include a series of questions to guide you, read 6 Tips for Hiring a Professional Organizer. The article is an excellent starting point to help you determine your organizing needs and the type of help you want.

Have you enlisted help from an organizer? Are you an organizer that offers help? I’d love to hear more about your experiences. What are your thoughts? Come join the conversation!