The transformation of my brother’s home is amazing. I am so impressed with how amazingly and sensitively you handled my brother’s reorganization. He certainly will begin the New Year with a much lighter, happier heart. Thank you so much for all that you did for him.
From a new client’s sister, PhiladelphiaHappy New Year
As we dip apples in honey for a sweet Rosh HaShanah,
we wish you a very happy and healthy coming year.
It is our privilege and pleasure to work with you on your life
and space goals.
and space goals.
L’Shana Tovah – Joy and Kelly
Our Clients Ask the BEST Questions!
What’s irritating you?
Jocelyn (not her real name) worked with us for months to get her home office in shape and was feeling good but still had some hot spots to handle. Unfortunately, every area seemed a priority. While we decided which problem to solve, Jocelyn had an ‘aha’ moment that birthed one of our favorite prompts:
“You know what’s really irritating me?” she asked aloud: “My pantry”
And so began one of our favorite kitchen reorganization projects of 2013. Our excitement wasn’t just the thrill of tossing expired food, gathering grab-and-go energy snacks for her children and labeling them in handy tupperware tubs. Our shared joy was how we were solving a real IRRITANT in Jocelyn’s life. She was using our time to more than improve the function and look of a room; she was tackling an itch — a pain that was a daily irritant to her family life. The pantry revamp was a huge success; meal time prep, picnic pack outs, and heading out the door stocked with snacks became a cinch.
And a trend was born: “What’s irritating you?”
Check out our range of services: www.joyinyourspace.com
Call to take care of what ever is irritating you: 610-896-6896
August News: Decisions Decisions
“What should we work on today?”
If you are like 80% of our clients you are overwhelmed: overwhelmed by your schedule and your stuff. The volume of paper, emails, to-do tasks and STUFF that come into your life is beyond what you can handle. Welcome Joy and Kelly to the rescue. Many of our clients hire us on an ongoing basis. At our initial walk-through, we create a list of areas to de-clutter, storage issues to solve, and rooms to re-envision according to their needs. We meet to tackle the household hot spots and a few larger projects or rooms. The work starts with definite goals…but “life” happens and sometimes a hot project takes precedent — which is why we always ask “what should we work on today?”
Typical hot spots:
• kitchen counters
• hall closets
• any kind of desk or work area
• tops of surfaces: dressers, night stands, low bookcases
Rooms most frequently in need of a serious de-clutter:
• kitchens
• bedrooms
• family rooms or play rooms
Client Trends: Maintaining “Sacred Space”
Though we keep details and client specifics confidential, the KIND of work we do is always worth sharing.
“Sacred Space” is how one client described her urge to maintain the clear we’d created. Once the tops of her washer and dryer were clutter-free she declared “This spot is sacred — and no one can touch it!” This attitude is contagious and we’re seeing more and more “sacred spaces.” Here are three areas where dramatic progress is being maintained:
• Mud room: counters and appliance tops were magnets for STUFF and a regular dumping-ground for the family. Mudrooms are entry ways and when cluttered they lead to grumpy people in constant search of a missing shoe or car keys.
• Desk: a kitchen desk and reading nook had been neglected for years due to busy lives and illness. Meant as a productive and quiet retreat, the kitchen desk became a black hole. Once we cleared ancient papers, recycled manuals for obsolete appliances, and rearranged cookbooks according to frequency and themed food prep, the area welcomed attention. Now that it functions with a spot for outgoing letters, a drawer designed for mailing materials, and a bulletin board displaying loved ones and CURRENT events — it is sacred!
• Bathroom: a bunch of our clients are so busy taking care of everyone else’s needs — their own are last on the list. One client’s bathroom was an unmanageable forest of make-up, skin-care products, first-aid supplies, and hair accessories. Though there is still potential to return to the old way of putting herself last, the positive experience of a clean and clear bathroom is a start toward putting herself FIRST.
“Sacred Space” is how one client described her urge to maintain the clear we’d created. Once the tops of her washer and dryer were clutter-free she declared “This spot is sacred — and no one can touch it!” This attitude is contagious and we’re seeing more and more “sacred spaces.” Here are three areas where dramatic progress is being maintained:
• Mud room: counters and appliance tops were magnets for STUFF and a regular dumping-ground for the family. Mudrooms are entry ways and when cluttered they lead to grumpy people in constant search of a missing shoe or car keys.
• Desk: a kitchen desk and reading nook had been neglected for years due to busy lives and illness. Meant as a productive and quiet retreat, the kitchen desk became a black hole. Once we cleared ancient papers, recycled manuals for obsolete appliances, and rearranged cookbooks according to frequency and themed food prep, the area welcomed attention. Now that it functions with a spot for outgoing letters, a drawer designed for mailing materials, and a bulletin board displaying loved ones and CURRENT events — it is sacred!
• Bathroom: a bunch of our clients are so busy taking care of everyone else’s needs — their own are last on the list. One client’s bathroom was an unmanageable forest of make-up, skin-care products, first-aid supplies, and hair accessories. Though there is still potential to return to the old way of putting herself last, the positive experience of a clean and clear bathroom is a start toward putting herself FIRST.
Decisions, Decisions
Last month we shared: Clutter is postponed decision® coined by our colleague Barbara Hemphill. This month’s clutter issue is: Too many things in too small a space. How many times have you shoved an item into a drawer, promising to get to it soon. Then you try to open the drawer but you can’t because something is stuck. Make yourself a schedule so that once a month you go through the crammed spaces in your home. Say good-bye to stuff that is weighing you down. Remember our three questions to ask: Do I love it? Do I use it? Does it lift my energy?
Our recent distinction as a NAPO Golden Circle member — in honor of reaching 5 years in business — is cause for celebration. Share Kudos here on our blog.
Our recent distinction as a NAPO Golden Circle member — in honor of reaching 5 years in business — is cause for celebration. Share Kudos here on our blog.
Go Ahead: Ask!
There’s no shame in asking for help.
“I surrender! I am admitting defeat and I need your help.” “I am waving my white flag.” These are quotes from new clients. It wasn’t just their playroom and newly remodeled kitchen crying out for our help; their low confidence was pleading for a boost. Getting organized is hurdle enough — so feeling hopeless about your clutter can knock the wind out of anyone’s sail. You don’t need to hit rock bottom before asking for help. Seeking expert advice is a GOOD THING! If your appendix burst, you wouldn’t think to fix it on your own…so why would you suddenly be able to solve your filing system that hasn’t worked for 10 years? We can’t do HALF of the incredible things our clients can do, but we can help you feel less overwhelmed in your office, bedroom, closet, and kitchen…you just have to ask.
Hiring us to help you organize your life, de-clutter a room, or teach you how to follow through on paper tasks is NOT a sign of weakness…it is a bold strategic move in the right direction — toward clearer spaces and a free-er mind.
Go Ahead: Ask! is our 6th organizing post of 2013.
July News
Guard Against Over-Buying
Our 5 prompts will help you steer clear of over-spending
Ask yourself the following 5 questions to improve your immunity to over-buying and over-spending.
1. This was NOT an impulse purchase; Your purchase item has been on your list or you’ve researched how to obtain it…NOT because you have another one “just like this at home” that you can’t find.
2. You can afford to pay for this with cash; Credit is a wonderfully convenient method of payment IF you have the money in the bank and you always pay your bills on time.
3. This purchase fulfills a real want OR need in your life; Too often our purchases are motivated by someone else’s vision of who we should be…or an old vision of who we are. Don’t succumb to peer-pressure.
4. Your newest acquisition will get used in the next week; Guard against stock-piling and bulky extras. If you’ve found an INCREDIBLE sale or opportunity…first: RESIST! Then truly decide if you need it and will use it in the next 6 months.
5. You know where this — skirt, 6 pack of Vitamin water, or juicer — will live; Buying something to sit on the floor — tag still on — until you make room in your closet, pantry, or on your counter-top is the fastest way to invite piles and unwanted clutter clogging your home.
Maintaining progress and then some…
“Come see what I did!” is the newest growing client trend to make us smile.
Though we keep details and client specifics confidential, the KIND of work we do is always worth sharing. Organizers call it transfer of skills: it’s really teaching clients how to organize for themselves. 
• “Come see what I did!” A new client invited us in to reorganize her closet. We emptied the closet, helped her decide what fit, is flattering, and deserved to stay. We put her belongings back according to categories (day-to-day wear, summer shoes, pocketbooks, formal-wear). She got motivated and was inspired to tackle her front hall closet on her own. She couldn’t wait to show us when we arrived for our next appointment. 
• “Ta-da! Look what I fixed.” A steady client brought us in to help with her storage room and home office…which led to kids’ rooms and her dining-room (to prep for a party). Now she routinely invites us to remedy the hot spots in her household: most recently the mudroom. At our last appointment, she invited me into her kitchen for the big reveal; she had turned her own organizing eyes on a kitchen corner that has been bottling up for months.
Beyond transferring skills, we build our clients’ sense of self. This new CONFIDENCE is the fuel they need to tackle cluttered areas on their own. We arm our clients with organizing tools and strategies that help them decide the best step toward solving their clutter issues.
Beyond transferring skills, we build our clients’ sense of self. This new CONFIDENCE is the fuel they need to tackle cluttered areas on their own. We arm our clients with organizing tools and strategies that help them decide the best step toward solving their clutter issues.
Clutter is…
Our favorite umbrella term for clutter is: Clutter is postponed decisions® Our colleague Barbara Hemphill coined this phrase and it can apply to EVERYTHING. But sometimes a more literal formula is helpful:
• Do I love it?
• Do I use it?
• Does it lift my energy?
So many of us surround ourselves with things that: we don’t love, don’t lift our energy, and we no longer use. If you are willing to cut clutter from your life this July, you must be able to answer “yes” to 2 out of the 3 questions for an object to earn its place in your home.
• Do I love it?
• Do I use it?
• Does it lift my energy?
So many of us surround ourselves with things that: we don’t love, don’t lift our energy, and we no longer use. If you are willing to cut clutter from your life this July, you must be able to answer “yes” to 2 out of the 3 questions for an object to earn its place in your home.
June News
Curious Accountability: Our Newest Motivation Technique
We brought this new technique home from our NAPO conference and it has already proven invaluable. Kelly tried it out first with a client who routinely has trouble keeping herself motivated between sessions. Now they have re-framed tasks done outside of appointments as “Fieldwork” rather than “Homework.” The difference is more than semantic — Homework implies you do it on your own, without the teacher (or in our case, organizer). Fieldwork, on the other hand, implies you are trying something out with an expectation of discovery as a team. That something can vary widely from accomplishing tasks to noticing things that get in the way of your productivity.
Kelly’s Curious Accountability Case Study
When my client and I first tried this, we didn’t know what to expect. How could one word change her pattern dramatically? Classifying tasks as “Fieldwork” and agreeing that the assignment was something that we would proceed with together did two things:
• It made us more aware — and appreciative! — of her successes.
• It invited us to discover, through our curious inspection, what was getting in the way of her realizing her goals.
This led us to identify what she needed to make herself successful:
• a quiet household
• enough sleep to keep her focused
• a concrete, specific game plan or outline before our appointment ended
With these new and improved questions, we’re finding better ways to draw on your ability to follow through.
Client Trends: This month’s theme is Generosity
Though we keep details and client specifics confidential, the KIND of work we do is always worth sharing. This year, in particular, we’ve seen a host of very generous relationships:
• Friends helping friends move: More than just physically schlepping boxes, friends have been gifting our de-cluttering and moving services. Everyone should have a friendship this close!
• Mothers paying to move their daughters: We help young adults learn to live independently, known as “launching.”
• A daughter-in-law treating a mother-in-law: We helped mom de-clutter before her downsizing move; their close relationship was beautiful to witness. For many families, moving a parent closer is a great idea, but a very stressful endeavor. We provide relief for both parents AND children.
• A brother showing love and care for his sister: He paid for all of her moving expenses from an apartment building to a senior living community, participated in the process, and made sure his sister was comfortable in her new place — complete with artwork hung and furniture arranged just so (Joy’s specialty!).
• Friends helping friends move: More than just physically schlepping boxes, friends have been gifting our de-cluttering and moving services. Everyone should have a friendship this close!
• Mothers paying to move their daughters: We help young adults learn to live independently, known as “launching.”
• A daughter-in-law treating a mother-in-law: We helped mom de-clutter before her downsizing move; their close relationship was beautiful to witness. For many families, moving a parent closer is a great idea, but a very stressful endeavor. We provide relief for both parents AND children.
• A brother showing love and care for his sister: He paid for all of her moving expenses from an apartment building to a senior living community, participated in the process, and made sure his sister was comfortable in her new place — complete with artwork hung and furniture arranged just so (Joy’s specialty!).
Three Generations of Organizing Expertise
OUR NEWEST HELPER: Kelly’s college-aged daughter is joining the family business this summer as an additional pair of hands. Think of her for any of the following projects or dream up your own:
• Packing kids for camp
(especially if you have more than one to handle!)
• Unpacking your family from a summer vacation
• Revamping your own dresser or closets
• Summer freshening of linen closets —she is a master folder!
Confessions from a “naked” organizer
How I walked into my client’s house naked.
Not literally naked — just exposed and vulnerable.
This client is trying to learn ways to keep track of all of her tasks, appointments, and projects. I’m trying to teach her the value of saying “NO!” We needed a way for her to SEE the amount of to-do’s in her life: a system that would guard her tongue against an ill-considered “YES” to yet another project. She’s been reading David Allen’s Getting Things Done. I’ve been encouraging her to try his Project Binder. “What does it look like? How does it work?” she asked.
I offered to show her my project binder at our next appointment. I didn’t think much of our upcoming show-and-tell lesson until the morning of our appointment. Why was I so nervous? I realized the source of my fear: JUDGMENT! In a panic, I wondered: should I rewrite the pages? type up my lists? Luckily, sanity kicked in. I won’t change anything about how I’ve been using this system…IT WORKS FOR ME. (I did add a disclaimer Post-It note to the first page.)
My favorite Ben Franklin quote, “Done is better than perfect,” says it all, especially to us perfectionists. Get it done…don’t stress over how it looks. Franklin’s wise words also remind us:
1. Don’t judge a system by how it looks.
Even your organizer makes hurried and cryptic notes to herself.
2. Don’t get caught up in making things look pretty.
Pretty won’t get projects, errands, or phone calls completed.
Confessions from a “naked” organizer is our 5th organizing post of 2013. www.JoyInYourSpace.com
In honor of Mother’s Day, our favorite before and after shots
The years have flown by. In the ‘before’ photo (1978) we are strictly mother and daughter. In the ‘after’ (2012), we have maintained that loving fun relationship but we’ve added the dimension of business partners. How lucky can 2 gals get! Maybe at some point in the future we will add a third generation to our business photo album. Since Kelly has three children, the odds are in our favor. Happy Mother’s Day to you. From our hearts to yours: may your day be full of fond memories of mom, the ability to create new memories with the caring women in your life, and time to celebrate the lively children in your life — no matter their age.
Client Trends: The benefits of saying “No”
Though our client work is confidential and private the KIND of work we do
is worth sharing:
is worth sharing:
- Our clients are highly, productive individuals both in and out of the house…which leads many to take on more work or volunteer jobs than humanly possible!
— we teach that every time you say “yes” you are saying “no” to some thing or some one else! - Some of our newest clients struggle with chronic illnesses. We are especially gratified when we help them say NO to their old way of living and YES to healthier lifestyles and environments.
— this includes setting up clearly defined, labeled prescription centers and streamlining snacks so kids can be more independent now that Mom’s energy is limited - We have a few over-buyers as clients. On-line purchasing may claim to be hassle-free but from our perspective it the easiest way to get into trouble
— we coach clients to NOT ‘click here to confirm your order.’ Instead, we go shopping in their own closets; it’s more fun, more creative, and space saving!
Lessons Learned
at Conference
It was especially rewarding to be at Conference with Kelly since we could brainstorm all the different ideas and concepts we learned and also have quality free time in New Orleans. Some of the highlights, for me, were the panel discussions where organizers ask a select group of veteran organizers questions ranging from marketing to hands-on situations. The other highlight was a session called Customer Service by Peter Shankman. I second his belief that the best form of advertising is referrals. We are so grateful for the recent surge in new clients. We never tire of saying thank you and always appreciate you sharing w
ith friends, family, and colleagues how our work impacts your life! Peter’s parting words during his Keynote address were “fun is contagious and so is smiling” — I’ve taken his advice to heart — not hard when I love my work!
ith friends, family, and colleagues how our work impacts your life! Peter’s parting words during his Keynote address were “fun is contagious and so is smiling” — I’ve taken his advice to heart — not hard when I love my work!
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Improve Your Vision with a Professional Organizer
Professional organizers help you bridge your old lifestyle with your new lifestyle — working with you to change habits and forge successful ones. Sometimes you need just a gentle nudge to shift from the same old ways of doing things (or not doing them at all!) to new ways. This includes seeing through refreshed eyes — seeing your space, seeing yourself, and seeing the way you use your time.
Do you feel mired? As if you can’t quite get any traction? Organizers help break the patterns and free you to start moving again. We help you handle papers differently, approach your closet from a new perspective , and work through your projects — to completion!
Professional organizers’ eyes are judgment free. We don’t look at spaces and draw down a curtain of shame; we look to help clients understand: how did things get piled on the floor? Or why are duplicates taking up prime real estate in your home or office? Our goal is to teach new ways of handling your stuff to clear your spaces, work surfaces, and floors from clutter. And ultimately, this will help free your mind to be even more productive.
ORGANIZERS HELP CLIENTS CREATE:
• a new vision of themselves (you really can become an on-time person)
• a different script for their future life (you will finish this project)
• new habits to maintain order and calm (the pile on the kitchen counter isn’t a permanent fixture)
Break the hold old patterns have on your life by hiring an organizer. Organizers help you update your old operating system. We listen to what’s getting in your way and help you problem-solve HOW to do things — step by step — so you don’t get overwhelmed. We are cheerleaders for your successes no matter how incremental. We are confidants to your pitfalls as you learn to surmount them.
Clutter is more than a physical burden; it has an emotional claim. If you can admit that you are overwhelmed and you are open to receiving help, you have taken the first step to inviting an organizer into your life. Any space that overwhelms you probably has an organizer suited to improving the function of that area.
This article was written for Kelly’s NAPO Greater Philadelphia Chapter blog.