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There are a few basic components of your vacation you need to consider before you select certain articles and start to pack. If you are traveling by air, be aware of your carrier’s baggage restrictions. This is the time to be efficient with your space!  Below are my 20 tips to help you pack like a pro:

1. Know the climate, weather and temperatures of the location you will be visiting as this will determine the types of attire and accessories you will need.
2. How long will you be there? This will determine the amount of clothing and accessories you will need.
3. If you are traveling by air you need to decide if you will be using carry-on baggage or if you will be checking bags. Remember this choice may affect your toiletry choices due to various airline restrictions.
4. Now put together daily outfits and undergarments based upon the amount of days you will be gone. Add an extra 2-3 days of additional attire for emergencies. To keep clothes at a minimum consider a wardrobe that is easily coordinated with mix and match items. For example, jeans, black, white and tan separates can make for a variety of different outfits.
5. Begin by appropriately folding these items and stacking them in piles. This will serve two purposes. One is so they are ready to be put into the suitcase, and two is to get a visual of the amount of luggage space and pieces that will be needed.
6. Next, decide if you will need any specialty items; dinner or formal attire, rain gear, sweaters or jackets for potential cooler temperatures, hiking gear, etc. and gather these items. Fold and stack them for packing.
7. Decide what types of shoes you will need. Do you need walking shoes, dress shoes, any specialty shoes such as boots, or flip flops? Do not bring all of your shoes; decide which ones will be the most universal to your needs.
8. Now you can decide if you need accessories such as additional outerwear; hats, scarfs, sunglasses, etc. and put those items with your piles of clothing to be packed.
9. Gather your necessary personal toiletry items with regard to if you are checking bags or using only carry-on and make sure you are following your airline carrier’s guidelines.
10. It’s a good idea to use a small travel or cosmetic bag or clear plastic Ziploc bags for packing toiletries. If the airlines do want to view these items it is easy to see them, and if any would leak or spill, it will help safeguard your clothing.
11. Once you have all of your items stacked in front of you for packing, now you can see what size luggage or how many pieces of luggage you will need for the job.
12. Arrange your shoes in with top sides together but opposite each other front to back; one shoe toe should be facing into the heel of the other shoe for the best fit. Place them in shoe covers if you have them or use white plastic bags to keep the soles of your shoes from touching your clothing and your suitcase lining. Pack shoes in the bottom or sides near the bottom of your suitcase.
13. Next, place your larger items such as jeans, pants, jackets, etc. in the suitcase and take advantage of the length of the suitcase. (some may need to slide under the shoes, you’ll have to see) Know that you may need to double fold some items to fit properly.
14. Rolling your clothing is another option to folding it and often avoids unwanted travel creases.
15. Begin to fill in the suitcase with your pre-folded clothing or rolled clothing, filling the sides with smaller items like undergarments, socks, accessories and even those toiletry bags.
16. The trick to keeping your items neat and orderly is to put them in the suitcase neat and orderly and fill spaces with smaller items so there is less opportunity for shifting.
17. By packing the more delicate items closer to the front of the suitcase, the weight of the other clothing is not on them at least during the period you are in control of your bag.
18. Don’t forget to bring along some laundry bags or mid-size plastic bags to keep your dirty clothes separate in the suitcase as you travel.
19. Do not over stuff your bag! If you can barely get your suitcase closed from the start, it will be even more challenging later. You will either need another bag or you will need to make some strategic elimination choices from your original selection of clothing and accessories.
20. Use the straps within your suitcase to help keep your clothing from shifting. Check and adjust so that everything appears to be evenly packed within the suitcase.

Now zip your suitcase and go! Bon Voyage!

Along with four other Professional Organizers, I had the opportunity to attend a meeting of the Philadelphia Hoarding Task Force and was excited to find out that we are NOT ALONE!

The result of hoarding behaviors touches countless lives. The most obvious is the lives of those with hoarding habits, those who live with them, their children, family members, and close friends. Maybe, less obvious, is the effect of this life style on their surrounding communities.  Often times there have been multiple attempts to deal with and support those with hoarding habits resulting in little change and outcomes that don’t last long. Interventions usually focus on having the person divest themselves of things that clutter their living spaces. Frustration, hard feelings are the typical results as little seems to penetrate the multifaceted web of commingled issues, emotions and unrelenting habits that have, more likely than not, spanned the individual’s life time.

This particular and persistent practice of collecting is the manifestation of a complex network of interpretations for the person who engages in hoarding behaviors. For many who are observing these hoarding tendencies, it is virtually impossible to understand, decipher, and make sense of the complexities involved in the condition. Working side by side with clients who engage in hoarding behaviors, I have heard very elaborate and creative explanations for their holding on to what looks like, to anyone else, seemingly useless items. Their ‘need’ to save things is logical in their view, however, the result of their logic is counterproductive to their desire to alleviate their situation that impacts themselves, their loved ones, and in some cases, their community.

Because the result of hoarding behaviors looks like disorganization and clutter, at first glance, it would seem like working with hoarding situations is perfectly suited for the organizing profession. Initially, that was the thinking of the pioneers of our profession until they began to notice that successful organizing methodologies, principles, and products did not seem to work with certain clients. During those early years, organizers tried to impact situations where shower rods became alternate hanging spaces for clothes, dining room tables became storage for piles of papers often flowing over to the accompanying chairs, and beds housed everything else leaving little to no room for the owner. The result, a sub group of NAPO was birthed. Back then it was called NSGCD (The National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization). Today, it is its own independent organization called The Institute for Challenging Disorganization (www.ChallengingDisorganization.org). Their mission is to provide education, research, and strategies to benefit people challenged by chronic disorganization.

Working with these situations for the past 11 years as well as being a member of NAPO and ICD, I have learned that simply talking about the ‘stuff’ with clients is limiting and often times futile. Getting to the reasons and explanations for their need to hold on to items helps to unlock the interpretation that justifies their hoarding behaviors and often times can loosen the grip of their ‘need’ to hold on to things. However, delving into the root cause of these tendencies is outside an organizer’s skill set and training. Teaming up with other professionals such as social workers and therapists, offers more hope for longer-lasting results.

Finding these opportunities to team up with other professionals working with people challenged with chronic disorganization has not been easy until recently when the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of NAPO (NAPO-GPC) was contacted and invited to participate on the Philadelphia Hoarding Task Force. An impressive list of local organizers accepted the invitation, and it was love at first meeting! Finally, we are NOT ALONE in our work with these clients!

Still in its infancy, the mission of the Philadelphia Hoarding Task Force, co-chaired by David Wengert from the Community Legal Services and Katherine Martin, Deputy Policy Director from the Mayor’s office, is to “ensure positive outcomes for those individuals who are impacted by hoarding.” Although the Task Force does not provide direct services, its role is to ensure access to resources, training for provider organizations, and education about hoarding in Greater Philadelphia”. The meeting that I attended with four of my collogues was comprised of representatives from the Philadelphia Police and Fire Department, Licenses & Inspections, Philadelphia Corporation for Aging, and Clutterers Anonymous, to name a few. Each of the representatives brought their unique perspective to the meeting. The shared conclusions was that the work of the Task Force should focus on the individual, not the problem, i.e. the ‘stuff’ and that this perspective should permeate all efforts made by the Task Force, especially in the educational trainings it provides.

A shared understanding of the complexity that leads to hoarding behaviors among the organizations that confront these circumstances, along with sharing resources, expertise, accountabilities, and services, was music to all of our ears!

Finally, we as organizers, can say, we are NOT ALONE in our work with clients who are struggling with habits of hoarding! Collaborating with other professionals helps us offer those challenged by hoarding habits a more holistic service approach, and a hopeful future.

Suggested Resources:

• Digging Out (Tompkins & Hartl)
• The Hoarding Handbook (Bratiotis, Schmalisch & Steketee)
• Compulsive Hoarding and Acquiring Workbook (Steketee & Frost)
• Stuff (Steketee & Frost)
• Buried in Treasures (Steketee, Tolin & Frost)
• The Secret Lives of Hoarders (Max Paxton)
• Conquering Chronic Disorganization (Judith Kolberg)
• Institute on Compulsive Hoarding & Cluttering
  www.mentalhealthsf.org/programs/ichc
• International OCD Foundation
  www.ocfoundation.org/hoarding

• Children of Hoarders
  www.childrenofhoarders.com

• The Institute for Challenging Disorder
  www.ChallengingDisorganization.org

• Philadelphia Hoarding Task Force
  Valerie King-Smith, PCA –
  David Wengert, CLS –

Tulips, lawnmowers, graduations, home sales… these are all signs that spring is here and, with it, new beginnings.

Here in our NAPO-Greater Philadelphia Chapter, we are also looking at new beginnings. May is the month that NAPO starts its new board term. Volunteers who have served the chapter over the past year have either chosen to remain in their positions, continuing to pursue their goals and enhance their knowledge of and through this incredible organization, or to move on to other equally challenging and rewarding positions.

You see, NAPO-GPC is a professional organization comprised of solo entrepreneurs who come together to serve in volunteer positions and create something akin to a very highly efficient corporation. We serve on boards and organize recycling events, we post weekly blogs and maintain a group website, we host quality educational programs and mentor new organizers, we provide speakers for area home shows and volunteers for local charities. We create annual strategic plans and work all year to actually achieve them – and we do! And we do this all for free.

Crazy right? We can’t really have sustainable businesses and still do all of this – can we? Yes, we can. And we do.

Don’t get me wrong; we’re not a bunch of martyrs. There is a method to our madness! “Volunteering” is another way of getting what we want. And, as business-owners, what do we want? – We want to learn new skills specific to our profession. We want to find out about business development techniques & technologies that can help us grow our businesses. We want the time to volunteer in our communities and make a difference. We want networking opportunities that will benefit our careers.

In our businesses, the approximate 80 professional organizers and corporate associate members that make up NAPO-GPC are out there every day in the communities of Greater Philadelphia organizing offices and homes, helping hoarders and families and business men and women to create greater order, peace and prosperity in their lives.

I am very fortunate to be a part of all of this and, as NAPO-GPC President starting my second term, I would like to thank all of the volunteers that make this organization the shining success that it is (from the blog editor who is posting this letter for me to all the members who choose to serve on the Membership, Technology, Marketing or Professional Development teams). Specifically I thank the outgoing board members who have done so much to serve this chapter: Ellen Tozzi, Jackie Mangasarian, Dan Loya, Barbara Siegel and Carla Shipman.

Next, I would like to acknowledge the new Board of Directors that will serve with me and who are already up and running: Vice President, Debbie Lillard; Past-President, Kathy Luskus; Secretary, Naomi Cook; Treasurer, Emily Anderson; Communications & Technology Director, Gabrielle Watters-Smith; Marketing Director, Darla Pompilio; Membership Director, Annie Amoon Richard; and Professional Development Director, Rachel Gambone.

Finally, I am going to take a brazen and shameless moment to claim bragging rights as one of our NAPO-GPC members becomes President-Elect of the National Association of Professional Organizers. Congratulations to our very own Ellen Faye!

I look forward to another year of education, community, achievement and fun with this amazing group of professionals!

The weather is finally starting to cooperate, and I am in my ‘container garden’ mode- of- thinking. This is the perfect time to talk about outdoor organizing, as I am in the process of gathering all of my gardening essentials (potting soil, pots, gardening gloves, watering can, etc) to plant my flowers.
Whether you live in an apartment, condo, or single family home, you should organize your outdoor items such as your gardening tools, lawn equipment, and/or outside furniture. Sorting like items together allows you to know what you have, which in turn will help you to know what you may need to purchase, as well as to help you find things more easily.
Below are my three Outdoor Organizing Tips:

• Gardening Tools – Place all your gardening tools in one area. Set up some kind of potting station or shelving unit, so you’ll have all your pots, watering cans, potting soil, etc in one place.
• Lawn Equipment – Make sure your lawn mower, edger, hoses, sprinklers, etc are all in one place (e.g., garage, shed).
• Outside Furniture – Store in one area (e.g., garage, shed, basement) so it is easy to get to when you want to set it up and easy to have a place for when it is ready to be stored.

Take advantage of this glorious weather to plant. Then, all you’ll need to do is to sit back, relax, and enjoy the longer days of summer. Some of the best parts are being able to barbecue and to watch your flowers and plants grow.

Are you one of the (scientifically identified) 6 million people who avoids shredding your sensitive documents because of your home shredder. 5.9 million of that number have actually burned up at least one home shredder at some point. 5.8 million have burned up more than one. (I might have made those numbers up.) It might be twice that high. Most families should own a cross-cut personal shredder. They are actually very easy to keep in good shape.
Here’s help on how to use your home paper shredder.

• Buy the best home shredder you can afford, without breaking the bank. You can find many options under $50. If you work at home or like to shred a lot, you might need a higher capacity machine costing between $50 and $200.
• Know your sheet capacity. If the shredder says, “Max. 8 Sheets,” like mine does, it really means 4-6 sheets of regular copy paper at a time. It does not allow for heavier paper, plastic, brochures, or folded items.
• Don’t try to shred everything. Don’t just shred everything because it has your name or address on it. Information anyone can get from a quick Google search or from the phone book doesn’t need to be shredded. However, anything with financial account numbers on them (like your bank statements and brokerage accounts) should be shredded. Your grocery store junk mail, just because you may have a frequent shopper club number there, is not sensitive information. Really, it’s not. Nor are most of your utility bills, believe it or not. Don’t make your little household shredder work harder than it needs to. Use it only for what needs to be shredded.
• If the shredder is usually unplugged for safety or other reasons, then you’ll probably be batch shredding. Your machine will only shred for 15-20 minutes before it overheats. Just give it a rest, and finish your batch another day, or after the machine has had a chance to cool down. Better yet, stop when you hear the motor or the blades laboring. That “rrr…rrr…rrr” sound means you are either feeding it too much paper, or the machine needs a break.
• Occasionally, give your shredder a little treat and lubricate the cutting blades. You can purchase special feeder sheets or shredder oil for this purpose. I’ve used my sewing machine oil with good results. You only need to do this a few times a year.
• Don’t keep shredding if the bin is full. The already shredded paper will jam up against the rotating blades, over-heating the shredder faster than needed. Empty the bin often.
• Unless your shredder specifically allows for it, don’t feed plastics through the machine. They tend to gunk up the blades. I’ve had to surgically remove hunks of melted plastic from household shredders. If your shredder is equipped to shred credit cards and/or computer disks, empty the basket of paper before shredding these items. The paper is recyclable with household recycles in most places. The disks probably aren’t. Throw plastic bits out in the trash separately from the paper.

If you follow these guidelines, your home shredder should do the job for many years. However, if you regularly have more than 2 shopping bags full of material to shred, you can search for free or low-cost community shredding events in your area. Just Google “shred events” and your city, zip code, or region. You can find a current list of shredding events in the greater Philadelphia region

Here is a list of breitling replica shredding events in the Delaware Valley. If you are planning to attend an event, it’s wise to check the website or to call or e-mail to make sure the event isn’t canceled due to weather or other circumstances.

If you can’t wait for an event, try drop-off shredding services from Staples, Office Depot, Wiggins, or Mail Source (Springfield) for about $1 per pound.

Happy shredding!

Saturday, May 31  10 am – 12 pm  Philadelphia
Passyunk Square Civic Association (PSCA)
1400 East Passyunk Avenue & Reed  Philadelphia, PA 19147

Events

Friday, June 6  3 pm – 5:30 pm  West Chester
West Chester Wiggins Auto Tags
1301 West Chester Pike  West Chester, PA 19380
2 paper grocery bags are $10.00
http://www.wigginsshredding.com/residential/tear-fests.php

Saturday, June 21  9 am – 12 pm  Glenside Residents Only
Copper Beach Elementary School
825 North Easton Road  Glenside, PA 19038
http://www.montcopa.org/DocumentCenter/View/6715
http://www.shredone.com/community-shredding-events

Saturday, June 21  10 am – 12 pm  West Chester
West Chester Wiggins Auto Tags
1301 West Chester Pike  West Chester, PA 19380
2 paper grocery bags are $10.00
http://www.wigginsshredding.com/residential/tear-fests.php

Saturday, June 28  9 am – 12 pm  Doylestown
Doylestown EAC Central Park
Wells Road  Doylestown, PA 18901
http://www.titanshredding.com/Community-Shredding-Services.aspx#calendar

Saturday, July 12  9 am – 12 pm Abington Residents only
Abington Township Public Works
2201 Florey Lane  Abington, PA 19001
http://www.shredone.com/community-shredding-events