My best strategy for cleaning up the disorganized messes is to have company over. For me, that means company that either rarely comes over or hasn't ever been over. Magazines or reading material need a place because I only take time to read them on long car trips when my huband drives. I will find a place, maybe one of those magazine holders that can be hung on a wall. I can put it in the laundry room by the back door. containerstore.com is where I'm going after this! I try to leave some in the car for waiting in the parking lot for the kids at school or to read while waiting for lessons to be finished. Does anyone here go to flylady.com? One of her tips is to set the timer for 15 minutes and pick a spot that your going to work on for that time. I'm a big timer person, and I think I can handle 15 minutes of anything. I really need to follow that advice. I've also heard of the power hour. 15 minutes of one thing, then 15 of another and two more times. Every day. Maybe Sunday's can be the day of rest, but I find that's a day of adding to messes. Don't be too hard on yourselves. Don't stop trying to organize, but don't beat yourselves up.

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visit www.flylady.com

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Don't waste another minute feeling guilty/helpless about not being organized and everything being a mess. This is another plug for the Flylady at this address: www.flylady.net When you get there, take the time to really look at the MANY wonderful resources for those of us with various challenges to staying focused, making decisions (the way our clutter builds up), understanding ourselves, etc. It will really open your eyes as to WHY we are challenged and WHAT TO DO about it! Why FLYlady? FLY = Finally Loving Yourself. I joined the email list, and I get reminders all day long to help me stay focused plus testimonials from folks like me about how they are working through their challenges. Don't let the website overwhelm you because it is so FULL of information - just use it as a tool to change your thinking about yourself as a failure, a slob, or a hopeless mess! You'll find you are none of the above AND you have lots of loving support from many thousands of others with similar situations!!!!!

Blessings to you all.

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I'm a neatness freak. My house is so organized that it doesn't really even look lived in. Makes my husband nuts that I'm so focused on it, but I can't think straight when it is not. On the occasions when the house becomes messy it tends to shut me down. And there are certain cleaning/organizing projects (like the basement) where I just don't know where to begin. Here's what I do when that happens. I came up with this idea for big projects after we did a big remodeling project and had to move almost everything we owned into our basement while the floors were being redone.

Empty the room. Period. Take EVERYTHING out. Clean it. Sweep and mop the floors, dust places you couldn't get to before, wipe down or paint walls that need it, etc. Then only put back in what you need or want. Anything outside the room that doesn't go back in either gets stored in the basement or attic or garage if it's necessary to keep it, or it's given away to a charity, or tossed.

Once you've done this once (and it's a big job), you can maintain it much more easily. I file papers once a week. I follow the whole "touch it once" theory. I open mail every day and immediately toss junk mail. Magazines, etc. get read or recycled immediately. Bills, etc. go in my desk and get paid once a week. Paper gets looked at once, and then I either toss it or file it. I'm ruthless. I toss birthday cards, you name it. It may sound a little cold, but being surrounded by clutter is not good for us. It tends to overwhelm us.

Just a thought. Starting from a clean, empty slate is easier than trying to organize an existing arrangement. This is how I clean the refrigerator, for example, or a closet, etc.

HFQ

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What is a professinal organizer? How do you find one? I have 2 children left at home, we are all artists and musicians and have jillions of projects everywhere. I have no garage, and we have many bicycles, canoes, kayaks and motorcycles. Most of the outdoor stuff becomes part of the eclectic decor, but now I've recently moved my mom into assisted living, and filled my remaining discretionary space with a 10 ft. truck's worth of antiques and memorabilia from her house. I will now have a few weekends free and am completely intimidated. I like trashbag methods, but this is going to take faith...and I'd really like help planning. How do I seek professional help? How much does it usually cost?

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I think I am finally getting it done. Somehow I created a new mess when I pulled the file cabinet apart just so I could throw out the nonessential papers that I don't need. This time it taking me over 48 hours to get it half done. Luckily I have a few days off before going back to work and I won't go back to my schooling until May so I have no papers to write.I really hate being this messy; I don't strive for perfection like so many ADDers . I am realistic to know that just isn't me. Frankly if I need a clean pair of pants and I didn't wash my clothes. I will go out and buy a pair. The rest of the house isn't as messy as this room. THANK GOD for my husband who really helps to keep the house neat. I think it is because he is a virgo :) Anyway I tend to surround myself with people who can help me with my short comings and give them the benfits of my Gifts such as creativeness, playfulness and many other fun filled things.

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How did you go about finding somemone to IM for organizing support? I am new to this forum but not new to disorganization and clutter. Quote:

Persistent said: I have lots of friends but none that are good for helping with my ever-present messes. One thing that has helped is finding someone who needs to clean up as much as I do, and who can do it at the same time I can (or vice versa). So much of my problem these days is not not knowing how to do it, or any of the other things that used to hold me back. Now it's that I have built up such a defeatist and lonely attitude toward the most serious things that need clearing and cleaning. It's the attitude. So when I can I set a time with someone and we each play music and work wherever we are in the world, but we IM back and forth. You have to find someone who has your same level of commitment to either clearing or talking, whatever that is and whichever you are most committed to. Otherwise you get frustrated by the talker if you're cleaning, or the cleaner who won't talk to you when you're freaking out.

However, it can work great for people on the same wavelength. You can even make a date with 3 or 4 people, so nobody carries all the burden of keeping the hour or day on track.

It makes all the difference in the world not to be alone. After all, we're not bad, or lazy, or evil, or crazy, or whatever we've been labeled in the past. We just are gifted in some areas and not in others, like everybody else in the world.

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