Plan a No-Stress Passover

Don’t fear that Passover is in 3 weeks. Our weekly tips will guide you toward a calm holiday.

Secure your invites for Seder or make your travel plans now. Extend invitations to the family members and friends with whom you want to share this holiday. If you are hosting, you may want to contact your synagogue or area colleges to offer an extra seat or two at your Seder table.

Stop purchasing leavened products.Your countertops may still be overflowing with hamentashen and other sweets from Purim. Use up what you have in the house and resist the urge to do full shopping runs (especially of leavened products).

Check out our Planning Passover countdown:

Don’t know where to start to de-stress your holiday? Call us. We are experts at hosting, serving, and cleaning-up from big events like Seder. 610-896-6896.

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Homework vs. Fieldwork

In the battle between homework and fieldwork…we’ll always root for fieldwork.

Here’s why:

Homework is punitive.
Homework is externally imposed.
Incomplete homework makes you feel “less-than” and that’s no place to be!

Fieldwork is TEAMWORK where we support you in getting things done.
When we assign fieldwork, you already know we’re going to figure out what worked and what didn’t — without shame or poor grades.
There’s no failing fieldwork; even unfinished tasks help us discover what you need in place to reach success.
Fieldwork ensures you’re on the road to improvement.

Need more clarity? Just call: 610-896-6896
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When You Give, You Get…

As NAPO-GPC’s featured blogger, Kelly share the JOYS of saying goodbye to clutter. Releasing stuff from our past helps to welcome new opportunities into our future. Read Kelly’s article on letting go.

Sign-up to receive NAPO’s weekly organizing advice or Join our Facebook page and check in every Monday for organizing advice.

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Laugh a Little, Love a Lot!

Laugh a Little — Over the years we have shared much laughter with so many clients. We clearly love what we do and never tire of it!
Love a Lot! — It is not an overstatement to say we love our clients…a lot. Our clients are a big part of our lives…not just our livelihood. We are head-over-heels in love with helping each individual reach their organizing goals.

Happy Valentine’s Day

from Joy and Kelly, your loving and local mother-daughter organizing team

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What are YOUR strengths?

We recently acquired three new clients. As part of our walk through we ask questions of our client and they ask questions of us. All three asked the same question: “What are our strengths?”

• We excel at problem solving.

• We offer tailor-made solutions.

• We cut your stress level.

• We help you feel better about yourself — than you’ve felt in years.

We help you decide what you want to invite into your life…so we can ask YOU “what are your strengths?” Together we capitalize on the areas you master, and bolster where you might not be as strong. The bottom line is YOU’RE NOT ALONE.

Call Kelly to schedule your walk-through: 610-896-6896.

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IN-One — Out-One

Confessions of a Professional Organizer

Our fridge died…(not a tragic death) — a slow, pain-in-the-neck, leaking death — which fortunately gave us time to shop for its replacement – shout out to Queens appliance. I love our new fridge…but there was an adjustment period. Welcoming new things into any home can be exciting IF you remember the rule: IN One — OUT One.

Getting rid of our old fridge involved some coordination. We wanted to make sure it was properly re-purposed. Thank you PECO for the $35 rebate!

Adjusting took a week. Even though the new appliance is beautiful — and ridiculously clean in that sparkly, hurt-your-eyes way — all of the dimensions were different. We couldn’t put things away as we had for the last 12 years.

Rethinking how we store left-overs: While there is more room in our new refrigerator, it’s not the same room. No longer could we double-stack our tupperware. Once I recognized the problem, I could focus on a solution and make a healthy switch. Rectangular, lidded, glass storage containers were the answer. I found what I wanted 2 months ago but I hadn’t the time to ‘move them in’ properly.

Out with the old: This winter break our family made the big transition. Our plastic tupperwares found new life inside drawers as dividers and catch-alls for small items.

In with the new: We like storing lids with their bottoms so there’s never a search for a match. The glass containers now live above the sink. Once we assigned ‘homes’ to the new storage containers, we showed the kids where the new items live so they’re able to cook, (reheat safely), pack-up, and clean up on their own.

• Curious why glass is better for reheating?…read Lorraine Thompson’s helpful blog.

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January is GO Month

GO: Get Organized. It’s the start of a new year…and the natural time to look at our surroundings and make some changes. The Philadelphia Home Show is an incredible resource for everything HOME related. Whether it’s upgrades to bathrooms, outdoor landscaping projects, or kitchen facelifts — the Home Show has become a standard event during January, in celebration of GO month…Get Organized. And JIYS is offering FREE passes on a first contact-first serve basis.

Our Commitment to local donation drives

We‘re collecting for “Teens for Jeans“ aiding homeless teens in the Philly N J area. And, we’ve planned a family evening of volunteering to sort and package for Cradles to Crayons. Hands-on volunteering — in addition to clothing — is in serious demand. If you want to join the Galfand-Effron family on Feb. 25 at the Conshohocken Giving Factory OR contribute children’s clothing donations call us: 610-896-6896.

Confessions of a P.O.

Even organizers have organizing projects. As a family (and individually) we tweaked some of the systems within our home to function and flow better while everyone enjoyed a break from hectic schedules and school. Most projects focused on getting rid of a few things, but more had to do with fine tuning where and how we store things that we use on a regular basis. I’m sharing a few of our winter break household projects:
• bathroom under the counter storage (20 minutes) My favorite improvements are storing my hand towels and washcloths together and repurposing the cylindrical packaging from my shower puffs to hold the trash liners that fit our small can.
• kitchen cabinet for everyday dishes (35 minutes) By rearranging the shelf heights, I was able to shift where we store our go-to serving bowls and pitchers so I can reach them (without a taller person’s helping hand!)
• crowded cabinets (1 hour on task + time to load the car and deliver donations) We knew that we had far too many pots, pans, and serving pieces crowding our cabinets. Putting things away was becoming a chore. Seems our pyrex had multiplied like rabbits! To ease the chaos, we emptied our cabinets and started fresh. We kept only those items that we use regularly; everything else was donated to The Junior League Thrift Shop since it was still usable and in good condition…just not necessary for our household.
If you want to hear more “Confessions of a P.O.” please leave a comment.

Joy In Your Space Referral Program

Referrals earn you a half hour free organizing. Our gift to you! Earn a 1/2 hour of organizing help for each new client you recommend. Any free time is gift-able to another in your life who may need us more than you.

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I just needed permission…

If 2014 has anything to do with shedding old ideas…open your eyes to this new response:

“You’re not going to make me get rid of everything, are you?”

That’s not how we operate. We don’t “MAKE” anyone get rid of anything! That said, if you want to reduce clutter in your home, or say goodbye to certain things in your life, we’re resourceful and find suitable homes for the objects, supplies, and clothes that don’t fit your life anymore. We’ve heard it more times than we can count “I just needed permission to let this go.”

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Client Trend: Unpacking…finally

With the unusually high volume of calls that start out: “I need your help unpacking” we’ve discovered a strength we have for these delayed unpacks.

Even though you KNOW you’ve lived without it for a year – you’re not positive what’s in those boxes and you haven’t had the time or the energy to explore them on your own. Here’s where we come in to help transform your ‘new’ (or new-ish) space into a comfortable living environment:

The remaining boxes usually contain artwork, lots of books, and extra housewares — purchased AND inherited.

• Regarding artwork — now that you’re comfortable in your new surroundings, you want to transform your house or apartments into a HOME. You are ready to take the time to reframe it and decide where to hang it. We often help with these aesthetic decisions from unpack to artwork hung.

• Regarding books — you might enjoy having access to them but you recognize you’ve got limited shelf space. These books aren’t reference or relevant to your current profession but they have been a part of your life for decades. We have tried and true tactics to help you pare down your collection to the essentials.

• Regarding sentimental inherits —NOW that you have room it’s time to decide which piece best represents that cherished relative. We help you find homes for the keepers. Our commitment to being green organizers means we avoid adding to landfills. We sensitively take care of your discards for donation to local charities and find homes for the things that you are ready to let go. More on this next week!

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3 Easy Steps to a Packed-Up Holiday

When the party’s over and there’s no more holiday celebrating to do, it’s time to deal with holiday accessories and decorations.

1 Celebrate Go ahead and make a mess!

2 Clean ‘n Polish Take care to remove dripped wax and shine tarnished silver.

3 Protect and Pack Don’t let items you use only once a year claim prime real estate; pack them away in a dust-free zone.

If you can’t easily reach your holiday storage space or you want to re-envision how you pack away Hanukkah or Christmas decorations, call us to help you get in shape for next year’s holiday celebrations. 610-896-6896.