Author: amylkuhn

These are new terms I’ve learned already this year thanks again to a New York Times article.  The information in this article that resonated with me most is that depression rooms and doom piles are not the result of hoarding or laziness.   I wanted that in bold to help ease the conscience of anyone reading this.

Organized surroundings and mental health are very much connected.  When feeling tired because “life happens” it is not uncommon to let the dishes pile up, not open the mail, have mountains of laundry and leave things out of place.  Before you know it you have a depression room and doom piles, with even less energy to deal with what now feels even more overwhelming.

There are some helpful tips for getting and keeping your home in order on your own in the article.  Also remember asking for help when you need it is a sign of strength.

Happy New Year!

Yet another article about the benefits of organizing has crossed my path, this one from Yelp. Key take aways are: organizing your home cuts down on house work, improves mental and therefor physical health, and saves you time and money. Hooray! https://www.yelp.com/article/5-reasons-to-hire-a-professional-home-organizer

How does spending money to hire an organizer save you money? An organized kitchen invites home cooking, an organized closet showcases a wardrobe for “shopping” at home, and an organized home cuts down on stress related medical issues that add to financial expenditures – plus cuts down on the cost of replacing “lost” items. I once did a presentation on how organizing is cheaper than therapy.

An excerpt from the article explains how an organizer functions:

That’s because professional home organizers have clutter-free vision: They can see past the “stuff” that blinds homeowners and help them let go of things that no longer hold meaning. Most pros follow a simple 3-step approach:

• Get rid of things that aren’t wanted or needed
• Find appropriate places for things that remain
• Set up sustainable systems to ensure ongoing organization after the organizer leaves

I go one step further offering a home reset. Life happens, even the best organizational system can be hard to maintain when it does. I love the relationships my clients and I cultivate and that I am able to continue helping with the maintenance of their homes after the initial work is complete. Adding a few Sisyphean tasks like laundry and dishes to the mix if desired.

Oh and about the first photo in the article…your closet will only look like that if you live out of a suitcase and unpack it into a new empty closet. It does look nice but seriously, in my 11 years of working as a professional organizer no one has gone that minimal, and no one has to for the benefits of organizing.

Every organizer will tell you that they love organizing and I’m no different.

A few things that make my work stand out have to do with my ability to dive right into a project.

I came across this article in the New York Times about happiness. https://www.nytimes.com/guides/well/how-to-be-happy

Two parts of the article relate directly to what Brilliant Living can help with and I love the reinforced knowledge that through my work I am helping people with their overall happiness (and my own), especial in times like these.

The first part is: Declutter (But Save What Makes You Happy)

This allows you to be literally and figuratively less weighed down by your surroundings. Much of the article has self-help tips, which are wonderful but if you find yourself unable to get started or keep up with the tasks that create a tidy home, I can help.

The second part of the article pertaining to my work is, Buying Time Promotes Happiness

Harvard researchers did a study that shows spending money on time saving conveniences lowers stress and increases happiness. The article suggests that even if you feel guilty about spending money on these conveniences, if you can afford it do it anyway.

 

I help cull items that are no longer useful to your physical or mental well-being. I find functional and beautiful ways to store your remaining items, typically without extra purchases of organizational tools. And I help with the Sisyphean tasks like dishes and laundry while tending to the rest of the home.

I’m very grateful for my work and happy to help.

An excerpt from the article How Clutter Affects Our Brain (and What You Can Do About It)

While clutter has been shown to negatively effect your performance, it is your perception of clutter that matters, not someone else’s.

If having a notebook, pen, or a photo of your significant other on your desk, doesn’t feel like clutter to you, then it’s not.

You should seek to create spaces that make you feel at ease.

I whole heartedly agree with this excerpt!  Often times a new client has the very uncomfortable feeling that I will come into their home and advise them to get rid of “everything”.  Really what I want is to help them create a space that works for them and makes them feel at ease.

How much does buying in bulk really save?  I ran across this great article, When Buying in Bulk Is a Mistake.  It is an entertaining read with honesty and some good advice.

Not having the space to put away bulk purchases becomes a problem in more ways than one.  Either they stay out cluttering up your home or they get tucked away in places that get forgotten until, before you know, it you are overrun with a lifetime supply.  For fresh items, how much of it ends up going bad before it gets used?

If you know your household consumes something quickly and you have a large pantry or space to store the items, bulk buying is fantastic and can save a lot of time and money but otherwise can be wasteful, even stressful.

I love helping to create space in peoples homes to make bulk buying more efficient or assist in reclaiming a space you may already have that has been overrun.  Contact me if that sounds beneficial.

A few tips for bulk buying:

Know Before You Go: Keep a running list of things you are almost out of on your phone and try to avoid impulse shopping.

Consider the Quantity: How much ketchup really gets used?  My last Costco ketchup bottle turned a very dark brown in the fridge, I think from age.  I now buy smaller bottles at the grocery store.

Unpack and Repackage: Unpack the groceries completely when you get home from shopping, take them out of the outer bulk packaging and repackage items into usable sizes to ensure freshness.

Weekly Clean Out the Fridge Meal: Everyone might get something a little different but everything that could spoil gets used up and added to the phone list if more is needed.

When I get home from the grocery store I unpack the groceries right away.  It is important so the ice cream doesn’t melt, meat doesn’t spoil and vegetables stay fresh.  If I don’t do it, it’s an obvious waste of time and money, not to mention the lack of good food to eat.  I’ve learned to add the time it takes to unpack the groceries into planning how long the shopping trip will take.

Applying the concept of “unpacking the groceries” to every time I come home from any event helps to keep my house tidy and my stress level low.  Coming home from work: jacket gets hung, keys go in their bowl, purse set in it’s spot emptied of anything extra that was added in the day, lunch box is emptied, mail gets opened and sorted…  Then I can switch gears to the evening, if I’m lucky even relax a bit.  This “unpacking” usually takes less than 10 minutes, making my home less chaotic plus so much easier to find things and leave the house next time.

I don’t put everything all the way away every time.  There is a bin by the back door with stuff for the garage; I have a detached garage.  The action item mail, like bills, get put in the to do slot and the “to be filed” goes in the box on the shelf.  Things are in there place even if it’s only temporary.

Mealtime, playtime, even work time include “unpacking the groceries” in the form of dishes, clean up, and checking that you have the important bases covered.  Add that time into your planning…  A work meeting may only be 30 minutes but reserve at least 45 in your calendar giving yourself 15 extra to let the info soak in a bit, get rolling on tasks appointed, share info with appropriate people and/or add future reminders to your calendar.

A small investment of time can improve your quality of life in big ways.

 

 

 

Thank you Marie Kondo!

I love what she is doing for people and the Kon Mari method of organizing.  Out of professional curiosity I have been applying the Kon Mari technique in my home.  Being orderly by nature I was surprised to discover that I could still purge items that were not “sparking joy”.

The most significant thing I discovered about the Kon Mari method is that it is seriously time consuming and requires diligence.  The people on the Tidying Up television show have a camera crew coming regularly to keep them accountable to the process and the few shows I’ve watched do not show families where everyone works full time.  With Brilliant Living I offer organizing services that do not require a time commitment, other than the initial scheduling.

With a weekly Home Re-set, you can be at work while I order your home tackling the obvious problem areas first, making the home more functional and visually pleasing.  As the weeks progress I refine and create systems that are fairly easy to maintain but life happens and I will sort it out on my next visit if needed, hence the name Home Re-set.  If I see an excess of something I make donation recommendations.  Any purged items will go into a box or bag that you can look through, if you would like, before my next visit when I take them away for donation.  This approach can apply to the entire kitchen, bathrooms, toys, clothing and more.  Plus I will do the laundry while re-setting your home.

I love to work with clients too, if they have the time.  I may not be a camera crew but I can assist in accountability and have years of organizing experience.

There are so many articles on how clutter negatively impacts your life, this is one of my favorites.

https://www.mother.ly/life/its-science-clutter-can-actually-give-you-anxiety

It sums up much of the science around what happens in our bodies when faced with clutter and gives clarification to why purging can be so difficult.

Scheduling a session with Brilliant Living can get the organizational ball rolling in several ways.   Sessions keep you accountable to the project.  You will know that on this day Amy is coming for 6 hours to declutter the kitchen, office, or garage.  It can be helpful to have a non-judgmental buddy to sort through your belongings.  At the end of a session most of what has been deemed donations gets taken away so they don’t find a way back into your life.

If carving out some time to organize is not feasible, I can organize independently, creating suggested donations, that you look through before being donated.  Sometimes it works great to put these suggested donations in a taped up box with a future date.  If nothing in the box has been missed by that date the box gets donated, without opening it up.

The beginning of the linked article states, “It seems that as soon as we take a carload of bags to the donation center, whatever space or order we have been able to forge is almost immediately replaced with more stuff.”  I understand that life is busy which is why I offer a regular Home Re-set service.

I love to help people declutter and also helping people maintain the order that our brains crave and our bodies thrive from.

 

 

 

I came across this article in the New York Times and want to share it.  What Professional Organizers Really Do and How They Can Help You.

The only thing in the article that I  do differently concerns the following statement: But don’t expect them to come in to organize while you’re out running errands, playing golf or enjoying a night out with friends — you will be an active participant in the process.

I can and do work while you are away.  Here’s how…

When I organize a room, closet, kitchen, etc.  I organize things in a way that are user friendly and visually pleasing.  This may require purging of excess items.  I do not know the stories or attachments to any of the items so I make a bag, box or area of suggested donations.  When you return from being out you are able to look through the items before donating them yourself or having me do so on my next visit.

You can not look through the suggested donations, utilizing the newly organized space as is, to see if you feel like anything is missing.  If no items seem missed the suggested donations can be donated, maybe sight unseen, to be free and clear of attachments.

I am licensed, insured and bonded which helps some clients feel better about having me in their home if they are not also home.  I love what I do and want to help as much as possible.