Working Order

A very special New Year offer: seven swans can stop paddling

2012-01-01T17:52:00.000Z

It's time for the January sales: a traditional month for bargains. It's also the time when we look at all the Christmas gifts we've accumulated in our already-cluttered houses, and think: I really should sort this stuff out.

Is that how you're feeling? Is there a sense of new-year-resolution coupled with new-year-blues going on? Do you feel - like the 'seven swans a-swimming' - that you're trying to maintain a sense of outward calm, whilst all the while paddling like **** underneath?!

Could you use some help?

I'm going to offer seven days' decluttering / organising services to seven people for an extraordinary 50% of my usual rates. Seven hours' work would usually cost you £280 at my normal rates; these seven people will receive seven hours of my time each (enough to do some serious sorting out, believe me) at the very special price of £140.

What sort of thing could I help you with?

Your study; your filing system; your wardrobe; your sitting room - any part of your home or workplace that needs a good sorting-out. It doesn't necessarily mean throwing loads of stuff away, either; as you'll see elsewhere on my blog, decluttering is just one part of the organising process - it's often got just as much to do with where and how you keep the stuff you keep as it does with the stuff you dispose of.

What do other people say?

For testimonials, either see my website or visit my page on thebestofnorwich.

Think what a difference it could make to you.

If you think this would be a great way to kick-start your new year, get in touch with me today. Do it soon; there will only be seven of these special days available (limited to one session per person at this special rate). (Oh, and don't forget to mention that it's the 'seven swans' offer that you're responding to.)

The dates need to be booked for mutually convenient times during January or February, but this offer will only be available until 31st January 2012.
I am normally able to work weekends or evenings if required at no extra charge
Mileage charges will apply in addition to the fees above
All normal terms & conditions will apply

What are you waiting for? Let's get it sorted ready for 2012!

The organiser declutters herself

2011-12-31T17:16:00.000Z

I know, I know: happy new year, make your resolutions. I have plenty of my own - and you may be surprised (or not, depending on how well you know me) to learn that they include some serious decluttering and organising of my own.

In this case, specifically, my wardrobe. As a result of fluctuating constantly across three dress sizes over most of my adult life, I've got three times as many clothes as I could possibly want. Things were crushed together; I was depressed by the presence of so much I couldn't wear; so I have spent a bit of the 'quiet time' between Christmas and New Year (with help from my darling husband) doing some serious weeding.

There is a pile to keep - clothes that I do not fit into at present - but we're not talking a need to lose three stone here, but a matter of a few pounds. There's the stuff for charity shop and for selling - in both cases, these have been a matter of finally accepting that even when I'm closer to the size I want to be, I will never again be the size that I was twenty years ago, and it's foolish to pretend otherwise (it wouldn't suit me, anyway!). And, given the panic that is induced by being dissatisfied with one's shape, there are a fair few items - mostly off bargain rails and charity shops - that come under the heading of "what the **** were you thinking when you bought this?"

The 'wear' pile has gone back in the wardrobes, with more room to hang neatly, and easier to see. The 'keep' pile - those clothes that I know I have a realistic chance of getting into again - are stored away ready for that day (which will come; I've done it before, I can do it again). The 'sell' pile is ready to take to a local 'good-as-new' shop - I haven't the time or energy to ebay them; and the charity shop will be restocked hugely in the new year.

You see, I am great at advising other people about this stuff, what it means, why we accumulate it, how they might be able to change these habits. Am I perfect myself? Far from it, as you can see. But then, you probably wouldn't want a paragon of perfection, never a hair (or a foot) out of place, helping you with your overload of 'stuff', would you? This is all about real life; it happens; and as long as we deal with it before it drowns us, and don't beat ourselves up for it, it's not the end of the world.

As it happens, I truly believe that this has been an educational process for me. One of my recent clients proudly showed me her wardrobe after she'd cleared out (without my help) a huge amount, and I was stunned by how much she'd managed to achieve. (We'd worked together in other areas of the house, other furniture usage and purchase, and from that process she'd 'got it' - and was able to progress further on her own. That's the way it should be.)

The point is, she was an inspiration for me. I looked at her newly cleared wardrobe - with the same delight as I'd surveyed her kitchen after we'd worked together to sort that out - and thought I want that for myself. I spend so much time concentrating on the help that I can give to others - practical, motivational, physical, inspirational - that I myself sometimes get left out of the equation. More than once I've come home having left a very happy client behind, and thought I really could use one of my own organising colleagues to help me...

Be that as it may: it's made a big difference to me. If you feel that you could benefit from a major clear-out - whether it be your wardrobe, desk, kitchen, garden shed, attic or whatever - but simply don't have the strength to do it alone: call me. Not only can I provide an extra pair of hands, ditto pair of eyes, motivation, ideas, suggestions - I've also been there myself. I know how it feels to let go of something to make room in your home, your heart or your head for something else. I know how it feels to look at the problem and feel you don't know where to start. That's why I can help you.

So - if your new year's resolution for 2012 is to 'get it sorted' - call me. And we'll get on that journey together.

Happy New Year!

Scan and save

2011-11-29T19:38:00.001Z

As a keen photographer and confirmed geek, I take great delight in combining the two in various ways to preserve my favourite images. Photobooks, and the various related gifts and products one can create, are a wonderful way to preserve the best of your memories, and I'm very proud of some of the items I've made for theatre groups, friends and relations, clients and more. They make perfect gifts for all occasions - especially appropriate as we dive into our Christmas preparations.

I'm delighted to have had published today an article on this very subject. Please visit the splendid Fab After Fifty for more details... and reclaim your favourite memories!

(Oh, and if you'd like to see some examples of books I've made, you can see a few on my page at blurb.com here.)

Facebook: will you be my friend?

2011-10-31T11:32:00.000Z

I'm seeing quite a few business colleagues who have normal 'personal' profiles being used as business pages. Apart from the fact that you run the risk of Facebook suspending your account if you do this, there are very specific benefits to doing things the 'right way'!

I accept people as 'friends' on my personal account because they are - guess what - friends. I know them personally. They might, indeed, be friends that I have met through my business activities, networking events and so forth, but I know them as individuals, and am happy to share with them the things that are personal to me. I don't expect to be a 'friend' of a business; I don't want a business to see my personal postings, nor to see theirs. I am interested to see what they post as a business. So I'm much happier 'liking' a business page than I am asking them to be my friend, if that's not what I am. (Asking somebody you've never actually met before to 'be my friend' feels too reminiscent of the playground for my taste!)

If you're a business, and feel that you need a Facebook page, but you really don't want to be visible on Facebook to your real-life friends, you can always create a Business profile. You won't use Facebook as a 'friend', but you simply have access to your Business page and all that goes with it.

However, if (like me) you have two faces on Facebook - your personal and your business side - you can simply create a business page and set yourself as the administrator. It gives you a head start on acquiring 'likes' for your page, as it's likely that many of your real 'friends' will support you in your business, or even have been on the receiving end of your services. If it's appropriate, you can post as your business and then share that post to the wider circle of your friends.

So, if you do have a presence on Facebook, but you're actually using it only to promote your business, I'd strongly recommend that you convert your profile. Facebook now has a tool to make this straightforward.

And if you need help, just let me know!

Chinese Whispers on Facebook

2011-09-19T09:31:00.001+01:00

Another hoax springs up this morning, and one that is especially sad.

According to a posting doing the rounds on Facebook:

The Royal British Legion are not selling poppies in certain areas this year. This is because some minorities say that it will upset them. The poppy is a symbol of reverence for our fallen heroes of all the wars the BRITISH military have fought in. BRITAIN STAND UP AND SAY 'WE WANT THE POPPY SOLD EVERYWHERE IN THE UK'. THIS IS OUR RIGHT TO REVERE OUR FALLEN.. Copy and paste this if you think poppies should be sold everywhere... R.I.P fallen soldiers

If it were true, that would indeed be shocking. However, once again, this is a hoax. What's happened here is that one news story about poppy-selling (the problems relate to local council red tape and have nothing whatsoever to do with minorities of any kind) has been picked up and expanded into an excuse for anti-minorities propaganda. The very useful That's Nonsense site gives the story, and includes a link to the original report in The Telegraph.

If you can't be bothered to follow the links and read the full story, the truth is quite simple.

Birmingham City Centre (like most places) limits the number of charities that can collect at any one time.
Two other charities (Shelter and the Anthony Nolan Trust), on this occasion, had got there first.
As a result of the outcry, those two charities have now given up their places to the poppy sellers.

Simple, isn't it? A bit of red tape to disentangle, some commonsense and sensitivity from other charities, and the whole thing is resolved. Not a dickie-bird about 'minorities' being upset. Yet this bit of crap is presently flying all over the social media networks in a frenzy of self-righteous indignation.

It's too easy to believe this sort of thing, and to get very upset about such stories... and the anger and indignation would be reasonable if they were true. The knee-jerk reaction is to repost, to cut-and-paste, to get this shocking message out as soon as possible.

Please don't. Please consider every posting - just for a few seconds - before you throw it into that great melting-pot of speculation, rumour, deliberate falsehood and manipulation of public opinion that is the internet. That is, by the way, the same internet that is also a source of inspiration, valuable information, sharing, generosity and the highlighting of genuine concerns.

It isn't hard to find out which of those categories the latest alarmist posting belongs to. Truly. Try it.

Facebook: whose postings can you see?

2011-09-06T17:11:00.000+01:00

Oh, lovely. Another lot of tosh that's doing the rounds at the moment.

This one says:

"Facebook has changed its News Feed AGAIN, so that by default, you can only see updates from people with whom you've recently interacted. To change this, click on 'Account', then 'Edit friends' then at the top left, click "All Friends.""

NO. The Account > Edit Friends setting is simply to display the list of friends you want to see listed at that time. It's a way of conveniently filtering your contacts - helpful if you want to find somebody quickly (e.g. by group, recently added, recently interacted or whatever). It makes no difference to updates you see on your wall. You can prove this by going back to the setting after you have ostensibly changed it (go back to your wall, then back to the Account > Edit Friends setting again); you'll find that it still says the same as it did before.

To change the 'who you see postings from on your wall' setting, you need to click on where it says 'most recent' (as opposed to 'top news') on your front page; choose Edit Options from the drop-down list; and *there* you'll see the choice between 'all friends' and 'those you interact with the most'. That's the setting that will make a difference to what you see on your wall.

PLEASE - check these messages properly before reposting. This one is inaccurate, but I've seen it several times in the last few days.

***

I do get a bit uptight about these postings. It seems to be that they are most prolific when the users can scream 'FACEBOOK HAS DONE IT WRONG AGAIN'. Don't get me wrong - I completely agree that there have been many occasions when the default settings could potentially compromise privacy; when they've made yet another change to the interface without giving suitable guidelines; and much more. However, this sort of run-round-in-circles-screaming nonsense doesn't help anybody - especially when, as in this particular case, it's completely inaccurate and misleading. The funny thing is that the business about 'whose updates you see' is a genuine issue, and was correctly flagged up as such on postings a while back. Why on earth, then, do people feel the need to put up incorrect advice like this?

Like all other 'send this to all your friends' postings, I always beg, plead and request on bended knees: DON'T. At least, not until you've taken the trouble (and it truly doesn't take long) to establish the truth of it. If you're not sure of the verity of a posting - be it a virus warning, a setting on Facebook or whatever - then find somebody who will know. There are plenty of excellent sites - HoaxSlayer, FaceCrooks, Snopes and the rest - who will probably be able to help you out; and most of them have groups or pages on Facebook, so you can easily post a query there, and somebody will be able to help you.

Or find a passing friendly geek-queen. Like me. I don't bite.

Stuff and storage

2011-09-03T11:21:00.005+01:00

One of my clients sent me a link she thought I might be interested in. Published on the BBC website, it expresses the concerns about the 'craze' for self-storage.

People are leaving their possessions in self-storage warehouses for longer than ever. But why are people paying to store stuff they rarely use? It's a monument to our acquisitive society - the brightly lit shed on the edge of town offering "storage solutions".

This rang lots of bells. I've written on this topic in this blog before, last April. Everything I said there still holds true: I still firmly believe that, used appropriately, storage options are a valid way of helping us to deal with 'stuff' - as long as it's with a realistic approach. When either the practical or the emotional considerations mean we need time and space - physical and mental - then this is a sensible option; when we simply don't have the room in our living quarters to accommodate items that we have valid reasons for keeping, renting storage space is no different from renting a garage to keep your car safe.

However, this article flags up very correctly the other side of the story - and the reason for it being an increasing pitfall in modern consumer society. My fellow apdo-uk member, Cory Cook, is quoted in the article:

"More and more stuff comes in and it's not going out. I want to say it's a throwout society, but it's not the case because people are keeping their things around."

Exactly so. We might be living in a recession, but that doesn't mean we are buying less 'stuff'. On the contrary: my observation of the 'stuff' that I help my clients to sort through is that we're more likely to buy more items of a lower value. It can give a lift out of the doldrums induced by dismal economic times, terrible summer weather and back-to-work blues: hey, look, I've got a new toy! And if that 'toy' - whether an electronic gadget, an item of clothing, a kitchen gizmo or a DVD - has been bought at a cheaper price than we might previously have afforded, it's often less likely to last than its slightly pricier alternative.

We all know the scenario in the wardrobe: given the choice, would you spend the same amount of money on one well-made, classy item, or on ten things from the sale rail? And before you ask, I'm as guilty of this sin as the next woman. The obvious result - after the adrenalin rush of I've got a new toy - is that, at a later date, the multiple items are not only more likely to be thrown away (how many of your favourite clothes came from the sale rail?) but there are more of them to be disposed of - when you eventually get round to it.

The matter of whether we store unneeded things or not is a worry; the roots of why this kind of storage is necessary at all is a far greater cause for concern. It's usually because we've bought it in the first place... and we are slaughtered with guilt about how much stuff we have. If we do manage to get rid of it, it feels like a waste. "I couldn't possibly throw that away - it cost me good money." Disposing of the item is like admitting that we got it wrong in the first place.

It's also true to say that there is a lot of association with our identities: we are, often, our stuff. In the same article, this valuable observation is made by Oliver James, author of the superbly-named Affluenza:

Our identity has increasingly become associated with products, and not just the mortgage and the car, but smaller items. "We've confused who we are with what we have," he says. It explains why we're so reluctant to throw things away. "We feel it might come in handy one day. It feels like it's a little part of yourself even though it's just tat. You wouldn't want to throw yourself away, would you?"

This isn't a new scenario. During a recent holiday in France, I visited an eighteenth-century château, complete with the authentic furnishings, décor and bric-a-brac of that era. The Victorians were just as bad: their homes were full of clutter and dust-traps. However, these indulgences were the province of the wealthy. Now, with the help of the high street and the pound-shop, we can all surround ourselves with 'stuff'. And we do.

So: how do we deal with it?

We accept the purchasing mistakes we've made in the past, and put it down to experience
We pass on the stuff we really no longer need (or, in some cases, even like) to benefit somebody else - and refrain from fretting about the money we paid out for it
We use the learning when we next shop for something - and we shop mindfully, not emotionally
We take a long hard look at the space we are paying for - whether it's in the context of the house we're renting or mortgaged for, or external space - and ask ourselves whether it's genuinely worth it

We might not get it right all the time. I certainly don't.

But it's well worth a try.

A secure session on Facebook?

2011-08-18T20:45:00.007+01:00

Here's another Facebook frightener that is doing the rounds again.

"Apparently Facebook has changed and said nothing (again). Take a look at your URL (top box on your screen.) If you see "http" or just "www" instead of "https" you DO NOT have a secure session & can be hacked. Go to Account Settings - Click Security on the left top corner - click Edit, Check box (secure browsing), click Save. FB has automatically set it on the non-secure setting! Do everyone a huge favour, copy & re-post."

Here we go again. For a start, Facebook has not 'changed and said nothing' - the inference here is that it was previously secure and it isn't now. In fact, it's the other way round: Facebook introduced the ability to have a secure connection (https) as an additional feature in early January 2011. Before that time, all Facebook browsing was http (non-secure) and there was no choice in the matter. This useful article on Mashable gives the full story.

NB: If you do choose to use an https setting (as explained in the Facebook help pages here) there are some applications that will not work (for example, I can't play my favourite word game of Lexulous on this setting).

More to the point, do you need the secure browsing setting? It does (as the Mashable article explains) protect you from hacking in an unprotected environment: "Without it you’re exposed to sniffing attacks on the network; for example, if you’re using a public Wi-Fi to access Facebook via plain HTTP, someone using the Firesheep add-on for Firefox can easily retrieve your data. HTTPS makes it a lot harder to do that." However, if you're sitting at home, using your own password-protected wifi network, this is not the case.

I'm not saying that you should be cavalier about your security settings - far from it. There are plenty of hazards lurking on Facebook (and in many other places on the internet) - hoaxes, phishing attacks, malware and much more - and we all need to be clued up about them. However, this means that misleading and sensationalist postings can (in the manner of the 'boy who cried wolf') deflect our attention from the genuinely dangerous stuff. It's much important that you realise what these settings really mean - rather than perpetuating the myth that 'Facebook does everything wrong', 'they never tell us anything' and the rest.

Please, please - before copying and pasting these warning messages, take just a minute or two to have a proper look at the facts. Type the phrase into Google, look in the Facebook Help section, or ask a passing geek. Then make your decisions based on facts, rather than on a game of Chinese Whispers.

It would, by the way, be far more accurate to post:

"Facebook has implemented a new security measure, which you can take advantage of if you want to. Take a look at your URL (top box on your screen.) If you see "http" or just "www" instead of "https" you do not have a secure session, and it's possible that you may be hacked [but only if you are using an unsecured public network; this doesn't apply if you are using a password-protected private network]. Visit the FB help page for more information here: http://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=215897678434749. Please note: FB has automatically set it on the non-secure setting, as many applications do not work on the HTTPS setting, but you can change it if you wish."

You wouldn't try to drive a car without understanding the rules of the road; you wouldn't base your navigation, speed or behaviour on hearsay, rumour, part-truth and guesswork. Why should using your computer be any different?

UPDATE: Here's another useful link with more information on this situation. Of especial interest is the highlighting of the fact that "it is important not to be lulled into a false sense of security under the assumption that you are safe from attacks because you have opted for the HTTPS option, because in reality this option makes no change in the risks involved whilst using the social networking site."

Help for the clergy

2011-06-03T09:06:00.003+01:00

Being married to a parish priest, I have first-hand experience of the daily working lives of the clergy. It's not uncommon to find that the person who has been "trained and ordained" to be a pastoral support, a liturgical leader, a preacher and a carer of souls is also, by default, required to be an accountant, administrator, legal advisor and business manager. If none of those roles has ever featured in their professional lives before, the pressure can be enormous, and the help of an organiser and declutterer can be of great benefit.

I was thrilled to receive this testimonial from one such client that I worked with some months ago.

I have benefitted greatly from the advice and support you gave during your stay here. Further to the work we did together I have reordered my study by taking out some surplus shelves, moved the desks and created a sitting area which is calm and restful – perfect for seeing people for conversation, saying the Office or reading.

There have been periods when the paperwork has looked menacing, but now I am beginning to learn that if you allow a little time for the new system to do its work, the volume is broken down into manageable chunks. It also reveals when there is simply too much asking to be done – far better to acknowledge this and do what one can than harbour an unrealistic expectation that somehow it can be done.

All of this has happened since you came – change which is both physical and psychological, so thank you.

And better still, a more recent email confirms that things are still on track:

Life is good here – incredibly busy at the moment, but working on helping people share responsibility so it bodes well for the long term.

I was privileged to be given the opportunity to help in this way.

Tax - a nasty surprise?

2011-06-01T12:23:00.006+01:00

I was so sad today to catch up with some local news. Our small sub-post office (tiny area, nine villages, 1,400-population) had been experiencing difficult times; and sadly the postmaster has been jailed for mis-appropriating funds from the business.

One of the personal bills quoted as causing him difficulty was his tax bill. We all know how nasty these can be. When I first worked for myself, 'way back in 1997, I had a highly unpleasant time dealing with my first tax bill: I simply hadn't understood the whole setup and what I would be required to pay (including the need to pay in advance to cover the next bill). Having got through that by the skin of my teeth, I swore never to get caught out like that again - and I haven't.

We all have unexpected bills to deal with. The car breaks down at the most inconvenient time; petrol costs escalate; oil prices go through the roof; the computer dies. None of these can be predicted. However, the tax bill can and should be predictable; and anybody who has income that is not covered by PAYE needs to get that prediction right.

It isn't rocket science. Put simply, any business, small or large, has income. It has expenditure. The first sum minus the second shows the profit (or loss) of that business. You're allowed to earn a certain amount before you are taxed on it. The rest is taxed. That's pretty much it.

After that nasty shock, back in 1997, I set up a spreadsheet for myself. I entered all my client income, all business-specific expenditure (e.g. rail fares), and a pro-rata calculation for expenses that were part personal, part business (e.g. mobile phone). With a couple of automatic sums, I can see at any time how much money I should have stashed away ready for the next tax bill; and for the last few years, I've always been prepared within a few pounds of the actual total.

You might be having kittens at the very thought. If book-keeping isn't your thing, then hire a book-keeper. If you can't bear to touch your accounts at all, you need a fully-fledged accountant. However, if you think you could do it yourself, but don't know how, get me or some other similar business to show you.

But never, never let that 'scary' bill be scary again. Life throws enough unknowns at us; give yourself a better chance of dealing with those by being in control of the known quantities.

Please. Do it for you. And if you need my help, contact me today.

Working Order in the press: Norfolk Voice

2011-05-17T14:54:00.002+01:00

Delighted to have been featured in Norfolk Voice - a local business magazine. To see the full issue (this is on page 44), click here. Many thanks to Jenna at MediaJems for the opportunity!

Click on the image below to view at a readable size.

Summer clothes: the agony and the ecstasy

2011-04-26T20:49:00.004+01:00

I was delighted to be asked by Ceri Wheeldon of the excellent Fab After Fifty website to contribute a blog posting, with the coming summer focusing our attention on the wardrobe. It turned into a rather more personal experience than I was expecting - and proves the point that declutterers don't always practice what we preach!

You'll find the article here. I hope it's a useful insight - and if you haven't come across Fab After Fifty before, make friends with them too!

Thank you, Erma

2011-04-12T13:13:00.005+01:00

I've posted a few times (such as here) about how important it is, in my field of work, to maintain a sense of perspective: the perfect (hard to attain, impossible to maintain) versus the workable.

Having no particular reading matter on the go at present, I picked up one of my favourite browsing books: Frank Muir's fabulous compilation The Oxford Book of Humorous Prose. This morning I revisited an old favourite, and it chimed in perfectly with the above sentiments.

I've never been a mother, but I can so easily understand the pressures to 'get it right' that add immense stress to an already challenging role. Erma Bombeck (1927-1996) was a superb humorist, and it's her wonderful "What sort of mother would... " article that Frank Muir introduced me to. If you've ever been tempted to think that you're not good enough, read it here on the equally encouraging Parenting Reality blog.

Once more, the message is loud and clear: declutter when the changes will help you to live your life with comfort and relaxation. If some simple changes in procedure and environment can lower your blood pressure and give you more opportunity to enjoy your time on this mortal coil, that's when the decluttering profession is here to help you make them. But don't put it off because you feel you're never going to achieve perfection. Do it to make things better for you - and those you love.

Clutter: a relative term

2011-04-09T16:02:00.004+01:00

Our new apdo-uk Facebook page is already proving a valuable source of information. One of our members has today used it to point me towards an article in today's Guardian by Oliver Burkeman.

On the face of it, it would appear to be a somewhat cynical attack on what he describes as "Britain's burgeoning anti-clutter industry". However, a complete read of the article reveals that what he's actually saying makes a great deal of sense: he's urging a rational balance, an appreciation of what constitutes clutter and what is simply a part of the life you lead.

I'm delighted by the rationale in this paragraph: "..."clutter" is inherently subjective, denoting a certain kind of problematic relationship between you and your things, rather than things themselves... Clutter exists only when those things exert a mental drag, or get in the way of living, in line with the old Afrikaans proverb, "Alles wat jy besit vat van jou tyd" — "Everything you own snatches at your time.""

I couldn't agree more. I have worked with many clients over the years, and there's no doubt that one client will start where another left off: in other words, problems with clutter are those of the perception of the individual, and an acceptable state of 'approximate order' to one person might be unacceptably chaotic to the next. [I blogged about exactly this distinction in this entry last year.]

I've walked into houses where my first thought has been "what on earth do you need my help for?", only to find that the cause of the problem is, by my own personal standards (which of course are not relevant in this context), a cupboard in a very mild state of disarray; but if that's causing confusion, inefficiency or distress to the owner, then it must be addressed, and that's when I'll do my best to come up with working solutions for them. Conversely, I have brought clients from a state of complete helplessness - no clues about the location of a single thing in the house - to an improved, more efficient, but certainly far-from-minimialistic state - and that state would probably appear, to the impartial observer, 'worse' than the starting point of the previous scenario.

"Compulsive hoarding is a favoured topic of reality shows and human-interest magazines, but it's easy to imagine the opposite psychological disorder: the compulsive expunging of stuff." Quite. Just as a popular TV show, Supersize vs Superskinny, demonstrates that it's not just the obese that are at danger from ill health but also those whose dysfunctional attitude to food expresses itself in the opposite way, the same can be said of decluttering.

If we are, naturally, of the mindset that allows us to live like Henry David Thoreau, then fine; but most of us, in real life, have 'stuff' that both serves us and, to a certain extent, defines us. To remove the real clutter - the detritus that "snatches at our time" (I love that phrase) - will be liberating, will allow us to concentrate on things that really matter; but to "compulsively expunge" is as likely to leave us bereft and without structure or definition. The key is to find the balance between the two; and this is the sort of assistance that should be provided by the best decluttering consultant. Not judgement, nor imposition, but a set of ideas and possibilities, a toolkit of suggestions and challenges, and the personality to motivate, guide and encourage our clients to reach a state of comfort with their surroundings, allowing them to live, work and play without distress.

To declutter - or to store?

2011-04-08T10:46:00.006+01:00

In the decluttering-and-organising industries, there are many related services that are helpful in our work. At the recent apdo-uk members' seminar in London, we heard from three such businesses: a home stager, an ebay sales company, and a storage-and-removal firm.

This last industry caused some head-shaking and discussion among our membership. The removal element, certainly: we're often asked to help people 'get it sorted' before they move home. But storage? Surely that flies in the face of all that we, in the decluttering world, are trying to help people achieve? If we encourage our clients to use storage facilities, aren't we just opting for the easy get-out to show a visible change without addressing the underlying problems?

So it would appear. And in many circumstances, that's undoubtedly true. It would be so easy to simply ship all extra belongings off-site, leaving a beautifully clear home - but the underlying clutter would remain, un-dealt-with. (It reminds me of a story I heard - and even if it is apocryphal, I'm certain it's founded in truth - of the business that had a 'clear desk policy', which resulted in every employee storing huge piles of untidy paperwork UNDER the desk.)

However... I wonder. I thought back to a period of my own life (nearly twenty years ago) when storage facilities were vital, and I worked my way through the reasons. They fell into two very specific categories: the practical and the emotional.

My first marriage was over. It was nobody's fault; it was simply a marriage that should not have happened in the first place. It was sad, it was painful, but it was inevitable, and in the end, all for the best. However, the practical issues that arose from the split were especially hard. We sold our home; my ex-husband rented a small flat, and took what furniture and belongings he wished to keep; and I moved back to my parents' home for a few months to get my life in order. (I was made redundant at the same time, just to add insult to injury.)

My parents lived in the small maisonette in which I'd grown up. They had no extra storage space for the furniture, white goods and general houseware that I'd accumulated during seven years of co-habiting and marriage. I knew that I would, in the not-too-distant future, be returning to a place of my own - that I'd buy or rent a flat. I had no need of the table & chairs, the cooker, the china, the microwave and the rest while I lived in my childhood home - but I knew I'd need them some day, when I once more had a home of my own. So it was a no-brainer: storage was needed.

The second part of the equation was the emotional side. Yes, before I left the marital home we'd had a good de-junk. It was easy to deal with old catalogues and newspapers, garden rubbish and broken kitchen equipment - that was fine. But what about the other stuff? The letters, written in better times? The photos - oh, goodness, the photos? The wedding album? The marriage was over; but I didn't want to erase that whole period from my life. Including our time at college, it covered a whole decade - not to be dismissed lightly. Should I throw out everything relating to that period?*

The fact remains that I wasn't ready to deal with that stuff, and I knew it. There was no way that, in that emotionally raw and fragile period of the few months (or even, as it turned out, years) after the breakup, that I was ready for that sort of decision-making. I wasn't working in the decluttering industry then, but my personality was geared up for efficiency and organisation - and even I couldn't manage that.

So in came the storage. In my case, I was fortunate enough not to have to find the money for it: my belongings were boxed up, labelled, and deposited in the attics and garages of three or four kind and understanding friends around south London. But paid or unpaid, that storage was vital. It meant that I could concentrate on reordering my life, finding my emotional stability again, the practical elements of finding a new home.

I left my childhood home after a six-month breathing space, and rented a tiny (and I mean tiny) part-furnished studio flat for the next year. At this point, I cleared some of my belongings; but many of them remained in those garages and attics until, finally, I bought my own one-bedroomed flat. Eighteen months after the marriage breakup, I reclaimed everything from my kind friends, and got my life back on track again. I was ready to refit, restart, and declutter.

My point in telling this story is that there are two major reasons for a legitimate use of storage facilities in the decluttering process. On the practical side, your life might take you anywhere. A business posting overseas; a member of the family travels on a gap year; university; relationship breakdown; the death of a parent.

On the emotional side, one needs to be ready for decluttering. There are some decisions that can't, and sometimes shouldn't, be made instantly. If storage helps you to achieve clarity in your living space, allowing you then to gradually filter the more difficult belongings back in (or out), then there is nothing wrong with that.

One of my clients had a major storage area in the house. It related to an incredibly difficult, painful and public divorce. That one room was used to hide the past until she was ready to face it. And face it we did: we worked together, for (if I remember rightly) two long, solid days, sorting into charity-keep-sell-recycle-dump. There were times that my client was distressed by what we found (we had a nickname for these items: UXBs, or UneXploded Bombs, that might jump up and explode in her face at any time). This was several years after the event, and it was hard for her then. Imagine how much harder it would have been when she was still punch-drunk and raw from the break.

The rest of her house was immaculate. I mean, immaculate. Beautiful, decorated with exquisite taste, planned with intelligence and creativity. She had her haven, and the past was in storage - albeit in the same house. Only when she was ready, and she needed that extra room for other purposes, did she turn to getting professional help; and the process was, in turn, made much easier by the fact that the rest of the house was under such excellent control.

There is one other excellent reason for hiring storage space: you need an extra room for one specific purpose, and it's a more cost-effective solution than moving home. I have heard of people who have extraordinary collections of items, which are precious, valuable and interesting to them, which simply won't fit in their home. The rental of a storage space - especially if it's one of those that is easily accessible on demand - keeps the home as a home, the collection safe and sound, and the financial outlay for such storage keeps in mind the value of such a collection. Let's face it, it's no different from renting a garage to keep one's car in (my father rented a garage for years in the basement of a nearby block of flats when he wasn't happy leaving a motor at the mercy of on-street parking in East London).

My decluttering colleagues can stop panicking. I'm not recommending that clients should push things out of sight - into a room at home, or one that is rented (which is effectively what storage hire is). Many people are ready to dive right in, get it sorted, save space and save money. What I am saying is that storage facilities are not the work of the devil, or the antithesis of our work to help people to achieve calm and ordered living spaces: they can be, for practical and/or emotional reasons, a necessitous breathing-space, an opportunity to think and make decisions, and a vital aid in seeing the wood for the trees.

*If anyone is interested, yes, I do have just a small amount of items relating to that decade. There are photographs - and yes, I still have my original wedding albums; there are a couple of diaries; there is a little envelope full of rather clever cartoons that my ex-husband, a talented humorist, used to leave on domestic notes, which even today make me smile. These are recollections of good times in a ten-year period that was still an important and valued part of my life.

Tidying the children

2011-04-04T15:25:00.008+01:00

A 'mention' on Twitter just now got me thinking:

Perhaps @workingorder has tips for tidying up children as well as homes & offices.

First reaction: good grief, no. How on earth does one do that?

Second reaction: how would I know? As a non-parent, I've never been there, so how would I dare to comment?

Third reaction: well, actually...

It's been clear to me, throughout my experience of 'stuff management', that young folk are often very receptive to a structure for organisation. And before you fall about laughing, I don't mean that they have a natural dispensation to the minimalistic. What I mean is that they like life made as easy for them as possible (and I can empathise with that sentiment, believe you me).

One household of my acquaintance had an adorable toddler: a little lass of about two years old. Part of our work was to create a special area for her in the side area of the kitchen - a sort of breakfast area, half-divided off from the kitchen proper but visible to mum. As a result of our work, a sideboard was relocated in there (from the dining room, where it had taken up too much room so the doors were unopenable, and the stuff stored inside inaccessible as a result).

At the perfect height for Small Person, we stocked it with little plastic baskets: one for Lego, one for dollies' clothes, one for Precious Things... you get the idea. On the top surface stood larger toys: the doll's house, the toy train. The point is, Small Person loved this. Putting the right stuff in the right box became as much of a game as working through a jigsaw, and built into the bedtime routine it gave her a natural sense of order.

Ah, you say, but what about teenagers? Here we can appeal to their sense of values. I was thrilled on a revisit to a family to learn that the young teenager had (with no help from me, but with inspiration from what I'd done for mum) set up her own eBay and PayPal account (with parental help & permission, of course). The deal was that, if she sold an item on eBay, the money went into her personal PayPal account... and when there was enough money in there, she was free to spend it on whatever she wanted - usually once again on eBay. Desperate for some reasonably expensive item - an upmarket item of clothing, a game for the Wii, whatever it was - she sold everything that stood still long enough. Result? The item that she really wanted was hers, and an unnaturally tidy bedroom to boot.

The key to all this, however, is always simplicity. There's no point in micro-organising (as I've said in other posts); children or adults, few of us (myself included) have patience for keeping things in a perfect and rigid order. I have no time for filing CDs by composer; if I want to find my recording of Kander & Ebb's Chicago, I know it will be somewhere along the two shelves that contain (loosely speaking) songs-from-the-shows. If I make my life easier in this way, the organising is far more likely to get done than if perfection is insisted upon.

Let kids put books on an easily-accessible set of shelves, but with no more ordering than that, and it's far more likely to happen. Have the laundry basket in the place it's most likely to be used, rather than through a door and into another room. If they won't put shoes tidily on a rack, have them chuck 'em in a box the minute they get through the door.

One final example. One of my favourite clients was a delightful chap who has ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and his wonderful wife. He taught me just as much as I was able to help him: the simpler the system, the easier it is to do, the more likely he is to do it. If I'd said "put your bank statements in chronological order", it would never have happened; but saying "just put them in that drop-file with the other statements from the same bank" still narrowed down where he'd find them, and the process was far more likely to happen. "Putting his books away" meant "sling them all in that space of two shelves", not "put them in order". Bite-sized chunks - very large ones - were the order (pardon the pun) of the day.

So yes: there are ways to get some buy-in from the younger members of the family. And, who knows? Some of these ways might just apply to the bigger people in your life as well.

Applause for inspiration

2011-03-27T13:52:00.006+01:00

I am presently collapsed in a little heap at the end of a madly busy but hugely enjoyable and inspiring month - which in its turn followed an equally enjoyable and creative time directing a show! A cold seems to have come and got me as soon as I paused for breath, but that's par for the course.

This period of insane activity was concluded in huge style by my attendance at The Big Jelly - a one-day seminar across in Telford, Shropshire: "A chance to meet other business owners, freelancers and home workers to learn, work, chat and collaborate". The speakers were superb, and I was privileged to facilitate one of the six lunchtime 'breakout' sessions.

This splendid photo was taken by the lovely Phil Barrett of PB Artworks - a sensationally talented photographer whose work I have admired ever since I bumped into him on Twitter, and I'm chuffed to bits to have such a great image and his permission to use it.

The photo is taken as I'm applauding the inspiring talk given by Daniel Priestley. Together with the other speakers, he's overcrowded my brain with great ideas and motivation to make much better use of my skills and abilities, my blog and my website, and much more. By the end of my 'breakout' session I realised that I had so much more that I hadn't had time to share: this blog will become the platform for sharing all the stuff I'm so passionate about.

Watch this space over the next few weeks as I start to put these ideas into practice, and to share valuable ideas and inspiration with you.

Unnatural disasters

2011-03-13T10:07:00.003Z

The events of the last few days in Japan prey upon all our minds, and so they should. Human suffering and the fury of nature to such devastating effect must take us out of our 'normal' lives (as a friend on Twitter put it this morning, "Someone irritated you? Broken hoover/washing machine? Cat sick on carpet? So what - you could be in Japan.")

I am sitting here on a Sunday morning (unusually for me - I'd normally be up and about by now) but as I'm in London, in between two events - social and business - I'm staying with a colleague. I am comfortable, unhurried, in a warm bed with a cup of tea, my laptop, and the prospect of a lazy day. I enjoyed a reunion with colleagues of two decades back on Friday, and laughed much and hugged greatly. I ate well, drank wine and slept well; spoke to my husband back in Norfolk and know that I am loved much. I am, in short, very, very lucky indeed.

Prayers are being sent out for those who are affected, and so they should be. I'm not about to get into a discussion about the efficacy of prayer here: all I will say is that my prayers are never for divine intervention, but for the strength, opportunity and inspiration to do the work ourselves.

However, when the appeals go out on Facebook, whether it's for awareness of cancer, Alzheimers, mental health or anything else, I am always inclined to add the website links for the charities supporting those people; if the readers make donations, that will be wonderful; if they simply read and understand better, excellent.

In this case, my mind wanders as I consider the 'charity' route. I have just read a painful comment on a query about charitable giving to help those in Japan: "Forget about your own sick and homeless people - help other countries first." It's a fair point: it's Red Nose Day next Friday, and I cannot help wondering whether this regular and spectacular event will lose support as our focus is elsewhere.

But it shouldn't stop us at least considering how we help, and who, and where. If disasters of these proportions - Christchurch being just a short time ago - bring into sharper focus the need to think outside our own comfort zone, and then to choose wisely the way we use our own resources, that must be good.

I am a regular supporter of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People; it's my 'favourite charity' if I'm asked. When I was involved in the arrangements for the 'reunion' mentioned above, I suggested to the group that any unused funds from the payments we made for food and drink for the event go to charity, and they kindly allowed me to make the choice. In the event, I will split that surplus between my original promise to Hearing Dogs, and to ShelterBox (see below).

So, if you've stayed with me through this rambling Sunday morning thought, here are a few ideas for ways to help that seem appropriate now. I've linked to all their websites. They're all on Facebook and Twitter. Follow. Read. Link. And, where you can, give.

ShelterBox provides "emergency shelter and lifesaving supplies for families around the world who are affected by disasters". ShelterBox was 'on the ground' in Japan within 24 hours of the disaster.
The British Red Cross "a volunteer-led humanitarian organisation that helps people in crisis, whoever and wherever they are". This well-known and long-established and trusted charity has launched a special appeal for the victims of the Japanese tsunami.
Comic Relief helps "poor, vulnerable and disadvantaged people across the UK and Africa". Its unique combination of celebrity and anonymous help, of supporting those at home and those abroad, has been educating us in 'fun ways to give' since 1985. Long may it continue.

Our own economy is in poor shape. As a sole trader, these are not easy times for me. But any concerns I have about my own money, time or lifestyle are as NOTHING to what happens in the rest of the world, and around us here in our own country.

If you are saying prayers for Japan, include prayers for us all to look around us, both further afield and closer to home, at all times - not just in times of newsworthy disaster.

Decluttering: for life, not just for Christmas?

2010-12-06T18:22:00.004Z

Christmas is a great time for promoting your goods or services. "The perfect gift" will help out many folks desperate to find something more interesting than socks - or whatever your usual standby is for somebody special.

If you're selling 'things', you'll know your market. Whether it's clothes, jewellery, personalised gifts, wine, chocolate or whatever, you can target the necessary audience to attract the people you want as purchasers. Advertisements in local publications, special offers on your website, announcements on Facebook or Twitter.

Services are a little different. We might all benefit from services, but do we want to admit to that need - or do we all enjoy them? A voucher from a beauty therapist can be a lovely idea - but what if your mum (like mine) only ventures to the hairdresser because she has to, and really rather dislikes that kind of attention? No good giving theatre tickets for the panto if the recipient can't imagine anything worse than a chorus of "He's behind you". And we might all say from time to time "I'd love somebody to come and clean my house", but would the response be "are you saying my house is dirty"?

And that's my problem when it comes to my decluttering services. It sounds wonderful: give a decluttering day for a Christmas gift. But I wonder. In my experience, decluttering sessions are at their most successful when the person suffering from the clutter has made that decision for themselves. The daughter that says "My mum needs your help", the friend who says "My friend's house is a tip", and asks me to help out, might be acting with the best of intentions; but the mum, or the friend, are more likely to feel (a) threatened, (b) insulted or (c) terrified - or some combination of the three.

When my clients have reached the decision to get professional help with their clutter - whether it's an office, a wardrobe or a house - it's not (I'm told) any of these things. Liberating, enjoyable, fun, inspiring - all these things have been said about the process of Getting It Sorted.

However, these have all been people who have come to me of their own accord. They've reached a point where they feel that the help of an outsider will be of benefit to them; a fresh pair of eyes, some ideas on storage and the use of space, and (dare I say it) a bit of gentle nagging; inspiration, motivation, support and sympathy. But none of this can happen until they've come to that conclusion for themselves.

It's the old joke: How many counsellors does it take to change a lightbulb? One - but the lightbulb has to want to change.

So that's why I don't promote decluttering sessions as a gift. If somebody has discussed it with a loved one and between them, they've decided that that's the gift that is wanted, and one pays for the other, that's absolutely fine; but like the panto-hater getting the ticket for Jack & the Beanstalk, if it's not what they want, it will be a wasted gesture - no matter how much you may think they need it.

Decluttering is a gift: but it's one you're more likely to need to give to yourself.

Phone numbers on Facebook

2010-10-06T11:14:00.002+01:00

Here we go again. I've seen this one doing the rounds before, but it's just come back...

YOUR PHONE NUMBER IS NOW ON FACEBOOK!! NO JOKE... Go to the top right of your screen, click Account then Edit Friends. Go to the left side of your screen and click Phonebook. Everyone's phone numbers are now being published.

Well, for a start, this is nothing new. Here's a revelation: If you put something on your Facebook profile, and allow your details to be viewed by your friends - guess what? They'll be able to see it. Amazing. (That's a bit like being surprised if people read your profile updates.)

If you visit a friend's profile, click on the Info tab and scroll down to Contact Information, you'll be able to see their phone number, email, website address etc. - if they have chosen to post it in the first place. This has been the case for simply ages. The Facebook 'phone book' is no more than a compilation of information that you already have.

Check your profile settings. (They default to Friends Only, as a rule.) Click Account>Privacy Settings. Have a look at Contact Information in that list. If (as seems reasonable) you want your Friends to be able to see this, but not Friends of Friends or the whole world, make sure that's the setting.

If you don't want anybody to see your phone number, not even a friend (in which case, what are they doing on your Friends list in the first place?) then take it off your Facebook profile entirely. (I'm assuming you don't need it there to remind yourself what it is.)

And please don't just repost these warnings without thinking about it. By and large, they are calculated to frighten and panic people. If they were calculated to inform, they'd be written in a far less inflammatory fashion. Next time you see something like this, please take a few minutes to check it out; find out the real story; and if you think there is something still in there that is worth knowing, edit it before you post it.

Oh, and this post - both on Facebook and here on my blog - is made available to Everyone. In case you were wondering.

A challenge for my techie friends

2010-09-03T18:21:00.003+01:00

OK, guys. My head is spinning on this one, and I would value a bit of input from any of my other geek-colleagues.

This is all about my contacts and my emails. Across the years I've come to a few conclusions:

I like to have my emails on a local machine-based client (e.g. Outlook Express, Thunderbird or whatever). I check my mails using MailWasher before I start and then bring them in; if I'm away from home, I use webmail to look at the inbox and delete rubbish, but leave it on the server until I get home and it can all go in one place.
I enjoy Microsoft Outlook for two reasons only: its ability to act as a source for a mailmerge (vital for Christmas card labels) and the silly, tiny convenience of being able to pick up an address from the relevant button in Microsoft Word when creating a letter or invoice. I haven't used it for email since I stopped working in an office, five years back.
I keep a separate Googlemail account for convenience, for an alternative, and for giving out to shops that need it. But when it comes to contact details...
...since getting an iPhone, I adore the ease with which my online address book on GoogleMail synchs with the phone - also, therefore, ensuring I have the whole shooting match in at least two places in case one goes belly-up.

One thing I'm always trying to drum into my IT and decluttering clients is the wisdom of keeping single-source data. You can see from the above description that I'm not following my own dictum here. I've been existing on a complex combination of merges and imports for some while now, and it offends my sense of efficiency.

I want to keep my contacts on GoogleMail for keeping in synch with iPhone, but I don't like the GoogleMail interface for emails (yes, I know I can set up POP3 accounts on it, but I don't want to do that).
This means that I have to put email addresses into both Thunderbird and GoogleMail when I get them.
I like using Outlook for the minor tasks described above.

Now, the challenge:

I discovered Soocial the other day. A very neat system (chargeable, but not excessively) it nearly takes care of this problem - but not quite.

GoogleMail and the iPhone are synching with each other already, so I only need one of those sources to store on Soocial. No problems there.
Outlook won't synch to Soocial, because it only supports 2003 and 2007, and I'm still using 2002 (Outlook XP) - and I really don't have any other reason to upgrade the damn thing at extortionate cost.
Thunderbird seemed to synch to it at first, using a rather complicated plug-in called Funambol. I got the initial set of contacts from there into Soocial, no problem. However, since then it's refused to update again - and when I looked at updating Thunderbird from version 2 to 3, discovered that the Funambol plugin isn't available for that version.

So am I looking for the Holy Grail?

Would it work if I replaced Thunderbird with Windows Live Mail - as that's one of the connections advertised as working on Soocial? Any opinions on that one? I only ditched Outlook Express in favour of Thunderbird, some years back, as I was having an anti-Bill Gates strop at the time.
Would GoogleMail synch contacts direct with WLM - in which case I wouldn't need to use Soocial as part of the process at all?
And do I ditch Outlook completely, and accept that I need to export contacts to CSV at Christmastime to make them the source of a mailmerge?

My brain hurts, and I'm sure yours does now. But if any of those friendly geeks out there can come up with a really good solution, I'd be eternally grateful.

Don't panic!

2010-09-03T16:07:00.003+01:00

As we know, Facebook often introduces new 'features', ideas, rules and all the rest. Some are positively beneficial, some less so. However, I'm a bit worried by the amount of warnings that fly around the place about these things which are, in themselves, inaccurate. So this is a quick plea to check it out before you go striking fear into the hearts of all your friends!

The latest culprit is the 'Places' Feature. Put simply, this enables you to post your location to Facebook - if you want to. If you 'check in to a place' using this feature, your location will be displayed. (For anybody who uses FourSquare, it has roughly the same effect - it's your way of saying 'this is where I am right now'.) It doesn't happen automatically "when you are logged in", as this posting puts it:

IMMEDIATELY!!!! Facebook launched Facebook Places yesterday. Anyone can find out where you are when you are logged in. It gives the actual address & map location ofwhere you are as you use Facebook. Make sure your kids know. TO UNDO: Go to "Account","Account Settings", ......"Notifications", then scroll ......down... to "Places" and UNCHECK the 2 boxes. Make sure to SAVE changes and re-post this message!!

This isn't accurate. The only way people find out where you are is if you actively use the Places feature to tag yourself in a place - not whenever you log in to Facebook. And, like all other features, you can choose whether to publish this (if and when you use it) to everybody, friends of friends, just friends or a selected list.

Not only that, but Places isn't yet available outside the USA anyway!! So those of us in the UK can't use this feature yet even if you wanted it.

And finally, following the instructions above wouldn't help in any case, as they would only stop you being notified of other friends tagging your location... it wouldn't stop the tag from happening. If anything, stopping the tagging is more of a security problem, as it stops you being alerted when somebody else has tagged you. [NB: you can also change your settings so that other people can't tag your location. See the link below for this explanation, too.]

For the real story (rather than the run-round-in-circles-panic-knee-jerk version) have a look at this very simple explanation on the Facebook help page.

And next time you read anything like this - before you repost it - please take thirty seconds to do a bit of research. You could save us all a lot of raised blood pressure!

PS: How do you spot something that's likely to be a hoax / inaccurate / deliberately designed to cause panic? In my experience, the more inflammatory the language and the higher the usage of exclamation marks, the less likely it is to be worth taking seriously...

To Do

2010-08-23T13:43:00.006+01:00

I love 'to-do' lists. Sad, but true. I always have, right from the days of organising homework. [Oh, don't stop reading now. I really do have a life these days, honest.]

They are useful things - providing that you keep just one, all in one place - multiple lists are the best way to challenge your sanity. [Unless, of course, you count the Shopping List as a To-Do List, in which case I'd prefer to keep buy onions separate from phone mum or do invoicing.]

They are ways of indulging a certain amount of the anally retentive: if you put something on your List that you've already done, you have the satisfaction of Ticking It Immediately. [Come on, own up - haven't you ever done that?]

Being not only a sad List person, but also a Very Sad Computer Geek, I've been exploring the world of Computerised To-Do lists. Getting an iPhone made the obsession even worse, as there is always an App For That. I thought you might enjoy the three I've found: they are all vastly sensible, useful and usable, but will work for different people. All three have online accounts and synchronise with the iPhone (hooray!).

The simplest

TeuxDeux: It couldn't be easier. A To-Do list where tasks are put either in a Day, or on the Someday list. If you click to strike it through, it stays on that day (so you can look back and see what you've achieved); if you don't, it automatically moves on to the next day. Drag and drop items between Days or the Someday list. That's it. Elegant, simple and beautiful.

The biggest

Evernote: Huge capacity. Upload scans, photos from computer or phone, handwritten notes, screenshots, web pages, voice memos; the possibilities seem limitless. Geek heaven.

I have tried both these, and loved them for different reasons; but eventually, I decided that neither of them was for me.

I needed just a bit more flexibility to sort, filter and categorise than TeuxDeux offered; my tasks definitely come under separate headings, different priorities, different timescales, and the beautiful simplicity of TeuxDeux was being messed up by my attempts at coping with these requirements.

The geek in me adored Evernote, with the ability to capture just about anything, any media, any place, any time; but eventually I had to admit that I just don't need that capacity. My life can be complicated, but not that complicated. I am quite capable of finding distractions in the normal course of events, without trying to find things to upload just to make Evernote look pretty.

I was therefore hugely relieved to find the middle ground. (Spoken like a good Anglican.)

Toodledo: has much of the simplicity of TeuxDeux, but with the options to categorise, prioritise, date and star. It's nowhere near as aesthetically pleasing as TeuxDeux nor does it have the multimedia capacities of Evernote, but I love it.

I'm delighted to have pleased fellow Twitterer @jimdrew1968 with this recommendation: "Thank you @workingorder for recommending www.toodledo.com, I now feel in control again. Love ability to forward emails at it. Great tool."

Oh, and one more thing: anyone who loves to-do lists needs to read the wonderful, biographical book by the gorgeous Mike Gayle. And yes, it's called The To-Do List, and I recognise myself in there. Do you?

Packing SOS

2010-07-17T11:17:00.003+01:00

A cry went out on Twitter just now: "@workingorder Please Cassie do you have any helpful tips for @DirtyEnid who is packing for house move? #packing #fail #SOS"

Thinks rapidly. Quick Google. Few ideas. Hope helpful.

Label, label, label. An extra few seconds after sealing box up will save untold anxiety at the other end.
Don't overfill boxes with heavy stuff. You'll break your back trying to move them. More small boxes much better than fewer large ones.
If it's not already too late, be ruthless about chucking out stuff that you really don't need (my usual guideline being "if you lost it by mistake, would you [a la Katherine Tate] be bovvered?"). Or, in this case, "if you left it behind by mistake..." Charity shop / skip may be a better place for it than the removal van.
Group, group, group. Don't mix rooms. If you know that everything from one box will go in kitchen, saves a lot of wandering around.
Keep the kettle, milk, coffee, teabags (or whatever is vital to you) easily accessible. Do not lose sight of main items key to survival. Also include things like loo paper, headache pills, mobile phone.
If you have to dismantle flat-pack furniture, put screws/bolts etc. in plastic bag stuck firmly to part of construction ready for re-assembly.
Don't panic. Be systematic. Yes, I know it's easier said than done, but deep breath and count to ten may save some vital item from breakage.
Need help? If you could use some professional input, see if a local member of apdo-uk is available to help you - at one end of the process or the other. A professional declutterer / organiser can not only be an excellent extra pair of hands, but will be able to stop the red mist from descending when it all gets too much.
Found this item by thinking in advance? Check out HelpIAmMoving for a wealth of tips & advice.

If there's even one bright idea that has helped @DirtyEnid today, my work is done.

What could make decluttering easier?

2010-07-02T17:54:00.004+01:00

This is not my list. While these are policies and suggestions I use all the time, brevity is not one of my skills; this is an excellent little summary which turned up in one of the updates I get in my inbox from the wise and wonderful Nina Grunfeld of Life Clubs, and I thought it was well worth passing on.

Find a timer and set it for 5 minutes of decluttering only. You’ve always got the option of ignoring it when it goes.
Get help. Other people can be ruthless with your things.
Don’t beat yourself up that you never went to that play or cooked that recipe. You did something else instead.
Trust your intuition – you’ll know if you want to keep something. Any wavering, bin it.
If you’re only keeping something to be tactful, get rid of it.

Any questions?

A new home for your clutter - on stage!

2010-06-30T13:51:00.004+01:00

This is an appeal for help, but it does belong happily in a blog about decluttering.

My lovely friend Lou, who I'm privileged to have shared a stage with, is involved with the splendid (and wonderfully named) Hocus Pocus Theatre Company. They are putting out a call for various props needed for their next production; so if you've anything on this list that's getting in your way, you could do a big favour all round!

If you can help, visit their contact page for details and get in touch with Hocus Pocus direct.

Norwich based Theatre Company looking for props and set for forthcoming work - CAN YOU HELP?

Below is a list of items and descriptions that we are currently attempting to source for a project we are putting together over the summer. Maybe you have a garage or loft full of things you no longer have the need for, perhaps you don't have the time to sift through them or arrange for them to be taken to charity... most of the items we are looking for are general household things. Condition is not necessarily the most important thing, for some items the older and more well loved the better! Help us turn your unwanted items into something magical!

The items are as follows:

Wooden hat/coat stand
Old fabric Union Jack flag (the tattier the better!)
Pre-1950s double door wooden wardrobe
Wooden cabinets/bookshelves/cupboards
Kitchen utensils - especially enamel and copper (any condition)
Cutlery - old battered silver preferably (really don't have to be in good condition as will not be used to eat with)
Wooden washboard (any condition)
Tin Bath (any size, any condition)
Jug and Bowl set (preferably enamel, if such a thing even exists!)
Patchwork quilts/blankets
Gramophone Horn
Persian style Rugs - as battered and threadbare as possible if not we have ways of aging them.
Kitchen/dining chairs - old/wooden/battered/pre 1970s if possible
Children's furniture - esp wooden chairs/writing desk/school desk
Wooden Dressing table - pre 1960s (any condition)
Trunks/Old suitcases - pre 1960s (any condition - don't even need to be opened)
Old Bikes/bike wheels
Pre 1950s china - any condition
Grandfather clock parts - esp face and pendulum
Junk brass/metal pipes/engineering parts/temp gauges etc
Rope - thick, any condition

Phew! If anyone can help us out or knows of anyone else who might be able to then please get in contact or indeed pass our contact details on. We will be performing this piece from September, details as yet to be announced but in the meantime please feel free to browse our website and see what we're all about!

Many thanks,

Hocus Pocus Theatre x

Jelly ... and ice cream

2010-06-25T10:56:00.007+01:00

We're having something like summer at the moment, so this seems like an appropriate item to have on the menu.

My very first introduction to Twitter, and all its great business, networking, friendship and support opportunities, came from the lovely Judy Heminsley: writer of the excellent Work from Home, champion of five-to-niners, and (nicked from her Twitter bio) "happy to chat about procrastination, productivity, isolation etc. Loves cats, chocolate, colour, clarity & clutter clearing". Needless to say, it was the last one that drew me to her!

Anyway, I digress. One of Judy's great enthusiasms is for Jelly - no, not the kind that goes with ice cream, but a great idea for home workers to get out, meet others and share ideas. It's not another networking group - it's co-working, not networking - and requires a public venue with wi-fi, space, plug points and coffee. It's clearly great for the venue, too!

Judy's a writer (and I ain't) so she puts it better than me:

Jelly is a casual coworking event, where freelancers, home workers and people running small businesses meet up in order to get out of their normal space, meet some new people and work together in a social environment. Jelly is a mixture of work, chat, comparing of ideas, passing on tips and help and maybe sometimes collaboration on the birth of a new project.

I spotted one of her Jelly comments on Twitter this morning, and rather foolishly enquired whether there was such a thing in Norfolk. I should have known. Back came the reply with blistering speed:

Haven't heard of one yet. Why don't you start one? Loads of info in my Jelly guide & it's great fun :-)

So down goes the gauntlet. I love this idea. Any of my within-reach-of-Norwich colleagues want to join in? Leave a comment on this post so we can see how much support there is, let me know if you have any suggestions for venues (needs: powerpoints, wifi and coffee!) and we'll see what we can do!

You're more than just a number...

2010-06-23T15:27:00.005+01:00

I've just seen another heartfelt cri de coeur on Facebook: "please everybody contact me with your mobile numbers, I've lost my phone!" I see it so frequently, and every time I think: save yourself worry, trouble and time: back it up!

It isn't always easy with a mobile, though. I'm not going to start chatting about backups for your computer data here - that's for another posting; but mobile phones are so small, and vulnerable, and easily lost or broken.

So how to do it? Well, there are various ways, depending on the sort of arrangement that you have with your mobile phone company: do you use the internet on your mobile phone?

Internet

If you're one of the increasing number that use your mobile for internet browsing and viewing your emails, it's actually very easy to use an OTA (Over The Air) backup service. Here are a few suggestions.

GoogleMail: not only your phone numbers, but your whole address book. This is my solution of choice: I keep my master address book on GoogleMail, set it to synchronise automatically with my iPhone, and the whole lot are then available in both places.

Mobyko: will back up not only addresses and the rest from your mobile, but also videos, photos and text. A simple interface allows you to edit on your computer and then sync from computer to phone. Please note that this is not a free service: it's presently £24.99 per year. However, £2 per month isn't a lot to pay for peace of mind.

O2 Bluebook: if you're on the O2 network, try this free service. Other mobile network providers may do the same: ask yours.

MobileMe: for iPhone users, this service provides a fairly sophisticated assortment of services for backup, synch and sharing. It comes at a rather heftier price tag, though of $99 per year (about £66 at present rates).

No internet

You're probably a PAYG user; you wouldn't dream of using your mobile to pick up emails; you need the phone to make and receive calls, and nothing else. Online backup, therefore, isn't for you.

If you're a Nokia user, they have their own software (Nokia PC Suite) that allows you to synchronise your phone with a variety of PC software, including Microsoft Outlook. Until I started using mobile internet, I used this for many years and it worked like a dream. I kept my address file up to date on the PC, and periodically connected the phone to the PC for synchronisation - all done.

NB: This technique also has the advantage that you can use the PC-based address book for many other purposes (labels for Christmas cards, anyone? Mailmerge? Inserting addresses straight into Word documents?). It might be a big investment of time to get it set up, but believe me, it pays for itself - time after time. [I haven't used any mobiles myself other than Nokia and the iPhone, but a quick Google shows me that Samsung - for example - have an equivalent PC Studio Suite; it's worth checking whether your phone is able to use something similar.]

Finally, if you can't face the thought of a complete computer-based address book but still need those mobile numbers backed up, there are still a few SIM card readers on the market - little gizmos that will accept your SIM, plug into the PC via a USB port, and allow you to copy over the data. It will often come as part of a device that can read other sorts of data cards, too - such as the SD cards used in digital cameras, for example - and they tend to be fairly cost-efficient. Check out IWOOT, Amazon or Maplin.

***

Does this sound like a good idea - but you find the technology a bit scary, or the time short, or your keyboard skills need a bit of help? Contact me today and we'll get it sorted - and you'll never lose another phone number ever again!

What do I do?

2010-04-26T10:55:00.004+01:00

Decluttering. It's a funny word, and one that is actually a bit misleading. If somebody asks what I do for a living, it's the best word I've been able to come up with - and it's generally used by folks who share my industry.

At a ladies' networking group last week (the splendid Coffee at Caistor, welcoming women in businesses from the Norwich area), I mentioned this problem. When I asked "If I say 'decluttering', do you immediately think 'throwing things into a large skip'?" The answer was a resounding yes.

An extra few words made it clearer: people think "decluttering" is all about what you throw away but it's more about managing what you keep!

I've worked with many clients who have needed a skip - or at least, several trips to the dump and/or charity shop. However, it's equally common for the amount of "chuck-out" to be minimal, because what we've done is to deal with finding the right places for the things they are keeping, and to help with processes that get things done.

So I'm looking at how I describe my profession. It's a noun that's needed. If you're a hairdresser, people immediately know what you do: you cut and colour hair. If you're a plumber, you install and repair plumbing. If you're a vicar, you take church services and provide pastoral care. (Obviously there's a lot more to all these job descriptions, but you know what I mean.)

What's my badge, then? I'm going to be looking for input on this before I settle on something, but at the moment I very much like the suggestion that came from a couple of my colleagues: "stuff management". Your stuff may be important or unimportant, it may be beautiful or unattractive, it may be kept or thrown away - but it's all your stuff. The help I can give you doesn't anticipate what, if anything, you might dispose of; it just helps you to manage your stuff.

What do you think? I'd love to know!

It's not about perfect

2010-02-19T15:33:00.005Z

I picked up a novel today that I've had around for a while. It's a while since I read a novel by Kate Atkinson, but I remember enjoying previous encounters with her work, and When Will There Be Good News seems to be following that trend.

A short way into the book, I found a paragraph that sums up beautifully what I try to help my clients to achieve. The young girl, Reggie, acts as a 'mother's help' in the household of Mr & Dr Hunter, and in her observation of their domestic situation, Reggie comments that "they weren't housework Nazis or anything, but they knew the difference between comfort and chaos..."

That's exactly my aim. I'm frequently asked "will you make me throw everything away?", and that is so not the point. The purpose of my work is to help you move from chaos to comfort: from feeling negative emotions when you walk into your place of work or your home (anything from a mild dissatisfaction to downright panic) to a point where you can truly enjoy your surroundings - which, incidentally, includes being relaxed about imperfection.

The aim is not to start panicking about whether the CDs are in alphabetical order, or whether you'd measure up to the standards demanded by Anthea Turner's white gloves (and I'll tell you right now: I would, personally, fail in spectacular fashion on either of those). However, what we will do is to look at disposing of items that are not helping you - either practically or emotionally - leaving room for the things that you need or love to be found more easily - and then to help you find the best ways of storing the things that you choose to keep.

Yes, there have been clients who have, as a result of work we've done together, taken loads of things to the dump, the charity shop or the auction room; but there have been just as many who have thrown away very little, achieving just as much by re-thinking the storage options. It's all about making your life easier - not enforcing a minimalist regime.

And it's definitely not about becoming a housework Nazi.

Memorabilia: Keep or junk?

2010-01-09T10:17:00.004Z

I've been reading a very interesting article on the Mail Online, which I was directed to by my fellow declutterer, Beverly Wade from Cluttergone, via her link on Twitter.

The question I'm probably most often asked before starting a decluttering job is "Will you make me throw everything away?" The answer is a categorical no. As Bev rightly says, "Decluttering is about discarding the stuff you don't want, need or use. Ray, keep your precious memorabilia." The most successful jobs I've undertaken have been those where, far from forcing a client to part with items which are genuinely precious to them, I've been able to help them make decisions about exactly what is precious - and what isn't.

I clearly remember one lady whose study contained several boxes of random "stuff", left over from a long-ago house move, and she had no idea what was in them. About 75% of the contents were real junk - old newspapers, travel brochures, advertisements and the like - which were doing nothing for her, either for today's life or yesterday's memories. What we did find, when all that stuff was cleared, were a couple of books, a few CDs, and best of all, a small ornament that she pounced on with cries of glee: "I'd wondered what had happened to that! I really loved that ornament..." The china item was placed proudly on her (newly decluttered) shelf, which had previously contained real junk, and she got huge pleasure from that tiny, rediscovered item.

I was reaching the end of a day with another client, sorting out the desk in her office. We'd done well, and had got rid of a lot of redundant items that were simply getting in the way, when I looked at a small decorative box on the desk. "Shall we go through that?" "Oh, don't bother - there's nothing important in there" she replied. "Well, let's finish off," I said. "It won't take long."

As she suspected, most of the contents were standard desk stuff - erasers, paperclips, pens, notepaper - but from the bottom of the box I produced... her passport. She went rather quiet, said "I was about to accuse my ex-husband of maliciously hiding that, and was going to have to order - and pay for - a new one..."

So remember - decluttering is NOT, repeat, NOT, all about throwing away your memories. It is all about getting rid of real junk - the stuff that is, to coin the favourite phrase of every declutterer, neither useful nor beautiful. If it is useful or beautiful, getting rid of the other stuff gives you a chance to find it, use it and appreciate it. The writer of the Daily Mail article might appear a bit paranoid about the positive side to decluttering, but he does in fact get it exactly right: ... the more we searched for objects to throw away, the more we rediscovered delights we hadn't seen for years, mementos newly treasured and therefore kept - often now in a newly vacated pride of place. Exactly so. If you hadn't searched, you wouldn't have found the precious stuff.

Oh, and one more thing: if you cherish your memories, how much respect and love does it show them if they are buried in dusty piles or boxes; and how can you wallow in your memories when you can't even find them?

Big Piles of Paper

2009-10-28T14:26:00.007Z

Paper is one of the most difficult things to keep organised. I've done two major decluttering jobs in recent months that dealt with this issue; here are some of the processes and ideas arising from them.

After some of those difficult times that many of us go through (you know, that thing called life), paperwork is often the first thing to go out of control. It's small and fiddly, it needs thinking about, and it takes a long while to see any appreciable difference. So it's not surprising that this is the biggest nightmare for many, and neither of these clients was an exception. Despairing of the way that their full and busy lives generated huge amounts of wood-pulp, both found it hard to believe that we would be able to clear the backlog. In both cases, we did it.

First: separate. We pulled all the offending paperwork into one place - away from the bookshelves, away from clothes, away from the rest of the household. In one case, the results filled a small conservatory floor; in the other, it covered a long kitchen worksurface, around twenty feet in length. Now we were ready to divide.

First, we got out the stationary (since when did a box of CDs or a ream of photocopy paper belong in your "things to do" pile?) and relegated it all to a cupboard close to the main working area. Similarly, we found a large amount of reference (no, a map of the local area is not work, and nor is the menu for the curry house; you need to find it only when you refer to it, like a dictionary or the Yellow Pages). Oh, and whilst we were at it, removing letters from the envelopes they came in reduced the size of those piles by at least 50%...

Once these two categories were defined and dealt with, we were left with Keep (action, file, archive) and Throw (we all like that bit!).

How do you decide when to junk? Quite simply ask yourself: if you lost it, or it was destroyed, by mistake - would you care (or, to quote Katherine Tate, "are you bovvered")? Would it cause you either substantial inconvenience or emotional distress? If the answer's a resounding No, then you know how to treat it. Moreover, if the offending paperwork in question hasn't been seen for several years until you began this procedure, it's a pretty safe bet you can cope without it now. In both cases, as we worked through, the Junk pile exceeded the size of the Keep pile by at least double the amount, and sometimes more.

Now it's on to the Keeping pile, and the first of those is archive. This is the stuff that you absolutely don't need every day, nor even every week or month, but perhaps might need to refer to a couple of times a year. This category will include memorabilia (old theatre programmes, sentimental greetings cards) and boring-but-necessary (business records for the last seven years, tax returns). In this case, you need to be able to get at them easily if they are needed - no good just shoving them into an attic space is so full that you haven't a hope of getting at them - but out of the way of your everyday life. In one case, the client was lucky enough to have a basement room with enough space for simple shelving, and in the other, a filing cabinet in the garage; other possibilities might be an under-eaves space, or an [accessible] attic-space.

Well, we separated, junked and archived for all we were worth; and as we went along, we found and isolated our final two piles: Action and Filing.

The Filing, of course, is what most people dread; but once the Junk is out of the way, it's surprising how much sense the Filing started to make. There will be stuff relating to the house ; to the computer; to leisure activities; to bank and finance, pets, children - all depending on the shape of your own life. Separate, Separate, Separate. Put into ring binders or lever arch files (this works best for items with a chronological order, such as bank statements) or drop files (best for small collections that don't need an order, such as paperwork relating to the pets).

The Action pile was (and usually is, in my experience) remarkably small, compared with what we'd gone through: it fitted into two small piles (housed in magazine files, or you could use normal in-trays): Do It Now and Do It Later. (The Do It Later file, by the way, should never become a dumping ground; it needs to be gone through at least once or twice a week and reallocated a place. If it's still there a month later, question whether it will ever need doing at all!)

Both these jobs were hard work, and I won't pretend otherwise. In each case, they took round about three days' concentrated effort - and they weren't short days, either. However, we were dealing in both cases with the accumulated paper that had built up over very nearly a decade, so the fact that we managed to deal with it at a rate of roughly 3 hours per year of paperwork wasn't bad. It's like weight gain: if you've been putting it on for the last year, you're not going to lose it all in a week. (I speak from experience.)

Both clients were thrilled with the results; one has since been in touch, first to ask me if I could remember where we had filed her recent bank statements - and then, a few minutes later, to say that of course I wouldn't know, as the statements she wanted had been issued since my visit! - and it was only the establishment of the filing system that meant she knew they were missing at all...

Approach to learning

2009-10-28T12:55:00.001Z

My resolution is not to moan I don't understand something, or passively wonder what it's all about, but to find an expert and get informed.

We could all learn from this! Thanks to Judy Heminsley.

One room - dual purpose

2009-10-28T11:52:00.003Z

A delightful farmhouse in rural Norfolk. A lovely family - mum, dad and young daughter.

Mum & dad (she works for herself, he is a farmer) attempting to share a study space next to the kitchen. Let's just say that neither is naturally the tidiest person in the world, and as the room is internal (no natural light), it was a depressing place to spend time in, to say the least.

We needed a separate space for mum. (Dad can keep the downstairs room, and ask me if he needs help with it!) Two guest bedrooms dedicated to that purpose. One is frequently used; the other only occasionally for "big events" (Christmas etc.). For the rest of the year, it was a double bed, other abandoned furniture, and a dumping-ground. Not a large room, but big enough; lots of natural light, and beautiful views over the fields.

So the bed found a home with a friend. The rest of the furniture was used elsewhere in the house. The clutter (of which there wasn't actually very much) was cleared to more appropriate places. Empty space and off we go.

Two very nice bookshelves were already available in the downstairs study, so these were purloined for mum's new room. The same range was happily still available from John Lewis, so the new desk, over-desk shelving and filing unit were purchased to match. We spent a happy session assembling it all - with the help of one of the family Norfolk terriers, who decided that the new filing drawer was clearly provided for him to sleep in - and, hey presto: a beautiful study.

Those extra guests were accommodated with a futon, which for most of the year is folded up as a settee, for reading or gazing at the lovely view.

Finally, we extracted every item from downstairs that belonged to mum, and carefully created the filing system in the new office. De-junking as we went, we ended up with files labelled in a way that made sense to the user - so much so that I received a joyful phone call when dad needed the car registration document, and was totally dumbfounded when mum was, over the phone, able to direct him immediately to its precise location. Result!

NB: All this happened in 2006. Three years down the line, it's still a working haven, and the filing still gets done!

One bookshelf = three clear rooms

2009-10-28T11:32:00.003Z

A lovely family home in South London. Victorian era, meaning high ceilings. Three rooms: living room, dining room and kitchen, connecting one into the next. A brand new kitchen, with a half-wall dividing the cooking part from a separate space.

The new kitchen looked fantastic, and also provided a bar-stool-eating-space. The separate space, however, looked wasted, with a small dining table and scattered toys belonging to the toddler of the house.

The dining room simply wasn't used. Too much furniture, including a large sideboard, took up so much space that it wasn't possible to sit and eat in comfort. So the table had become a dumping ground for "I-don't-know-what-to-do-with-that". And that sideboard was full of CDs, DVDs, videos - which of course, were never used, as the equipment they were played on was in the sitting room.

The sitting room had two recesses, one each side of the fireplace. One was used, logically, for the tv, audio equipment and the like; but the other contained a table. Just one surface. No shelves, no drawers. And masses of wasted space above and below that one shelf.

So we started with a bookshelf. Good old IKEA (so easily accessible during my days in London, less so in Norfolk!) and a sturdy, flexible, nice-looking dark brown Billy bookcase. OK, so we bought one more item: the matching CD tower, which fitted perfectly in the last few inches of width in that wasted recess.

The scattered books went in there. The ornaments and picture frames went in there. More importantly, the contents of the sideboard went in there. Which meant two things: (a) the media was more likely to be used, and (b) the sideboard was empty.

So we cleared away the breakfast table in the kitchen (no longer needed, as the family would be able to eat in the dining room or at the breakfast bar); and moved the sideboard in. Toddler toys went in and on said sideboard, which was an ideal height for a small person to reach. Little plastic baskets within divided up dolly's clothes from Lego from jigsaws (small people, in my experience, love tidy places to put things).

And once the sideboard was out of the dining room - guess what? It was suddenly possible to move in there; to walk around the table without squeezing; to turn it into a proper, beautiful eating space.

One bookshelf (plus CD tower). Three rooms. Job done.