Serving Eastern Pennsylvania, Central and Southern New Jersey, and Delaware
Serving Eastern Pennsylvania, Central and Southern New Jersey, and Delaware
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:
Here is an excerpt from an unknown author I find inspirational:
Life is like a camera…
Focus on what’s important,
Capture the good times,
Develop from the negatives,
And if things don’t work out,
Take another shot.
We can apply this concept to clutter and our homes, as well as to life:
Your home is like a camera…
It contains the “film” on which your lifestyle is imprinted.
Focus on what’s important,
Design your environment to align with your goals and inspirations.
Capture the good times,
Keep only the treasures and let go of what you don’t use or love.
Develop from the negatives,
Develop systems and habits to keep up with daily goals.
And if things don’t work out, take another shot.
Backsliding happens…just restart using those systems and habits!
I hope you find inspiration in these ideas; and remember to:
• Carve out time to go through your items and let go of the excess.
• Put similar items together where they are used when arranging what you keep.
• Develop systems to process mail, clean up, and manage your tasks.
• Don’t forget to smile and say “Cheese”… I mean “Ease.”
Let’s face it we all have the same 24 hour day, so it’s not really time we need to manage, it’s ourselves we need to manage. According to experts, during the last 25 years, our leisure time has declined by 37% while our work week has increased by a full day.
Make Time for Yourself
This means we need to be sure to make time for ourselves first. If we don’t take care of ourselves — in the long run — we will not be able to take care of anyone else. That includes eating well, exercising, meditating a few minutes a day, and spending time with family and friends.
Set Daily Priorities
The best way to do this is to set daily priorities and intentions. Setting daily priorities creates a space for achieving your goals. It gives you a clear focus so the mind can hone in the day’s activities. Spending 10 to 15 minutes every morning mapping out your day can save up to 6 hours a week.
Scheduling
Now that you have your list of priorities it’s time to put them on the calendar. Schedule appointments with yourself to complete priority work. This will block out the space you need to get your tasks completed in a timely manner. Be sure to schedule the most important tasks at a time of day that you are most productive. If you are a morning person, then do your most important task first thing in the morning.
Put your personal & business schedules into one calendar so you have a snapshot of all your commitments at a glance. If you need several calendars for work, home and kids, then consider something like Google calendars that allows you to create a separate calendar for everyone in the family that can be snapped together as one calendar and separated on an as needed basis.
Go over your schedule each evening for the next day. This will help you sleep at night by preventing some of the list making that goes on in our heads when we wake up in the middle of the night.
Tasks
Try not to plan too much in one day. Too many items on a to-do list can create paralysis instead of action. Adding fewer more important tasks forces you to focus on what is really essential in your day.
• Prioritize your list so that you get the most important items completed first
• Break projects down into actionable steps
• Add any info you need to complete the task—phone #, links, addresses, etc
• Separate work and personal tasks
• Group tasks together like all phone calls, all errands, similar writing projects
• Avoid multitasking. It takes the brain four times longer to recognize and process each time you change gears to a new task. If you switch back and forth constantly you are wasting valuable time.
• Consider timing your tasks to give you a more accurate idea of how long certain activities take each day. This will help you to better plan your time.
Parting thoughts:
Most people are dis-organized because their organizing systems don’t match their current lives. If your system is the same you used in college or when you first started working, it may be time for a change. Using a new organizing system takes time and practice. There is no one-size-fits-all. If you have been doing the same thing for 20 years and you implement a new system — give it a little time.
©amasterpics123/www.123RF.com
Eliminating all email isn’t really an option for most of us, but if it feels like you are drowning in your inbox, there are a few very simple ways to overcome email overload.
The first step is to control what’s coming in and where it goes. No matter what email system you use, whether it is through your company, Yahoo, Gmail, Verizon, Comcast, or some other platform, you have these tools available.
1. Unsubscribe from almost everything. The best, easiest, and quickest way to do this is clicking the “unsubscribe” button on the bottom of any newsletters or form letters you receive. These are legitimate automated unsubscribe functions, and you should use them liberally. (Do not click on any attachment with a .zip ending, since these are usually viruses.) Unsubscribe on a month’s worth of old emails all at one time, or do it on new emails you receive each day for the next month. (But stay subscribed to this one!)
2. Filter email into folders. Filters may work a little differently on each email service, but they are all roughly the same. You set up a “rule” that causes incoming email to automagically get sent to one of your email folders instead of your inbox. This is great for newsletters that you want to receive, but you can’t typically read during your regular day. They get batched together into a folder, and you can visit that folder when you have the time. Almost every email system has folders, rules, and filters. If you aren’t familiar with how to use them, click on your email’s help button and search for “how to use filters.”
3. Ruthlessly delete. Do you recognize this scenario? When you receive an incoming email that you aren’t sure if you need to keep, you just leave it in your inbox, just in case. But it’s just as easy to start defaulting to hit the delete button, and fish things out of the Trash folder if needed. Just be sure that your Trash folder doesn’t empty immediately. Set it to empty for somewhere between a day and a month, whatever you are comfortable with. You can usually change this setting.
If you do these three things, what’s left in your actual inbox will be much more manageable. Start today to reduce email overload. This is the first set of steps to take to eliminating unwanted email so you can focus on the email you do want.
Do you struggle trying to accomplish everything you want to get done in a week? Are you always asking yourself “where does the time go?” Are you always running late for appointments? Instead of trying to keep it all organized in your head, start a time management system for yourself by using a calendar (digital or paper, whatever your preference), a Day-Timer, or even an excel spreadsheet will work.
Remember school schedules? The week is scheduled by the day, classes with start and end times are filled in first and the remaining time is what you have left for the week. Start with your non-flexible commitments, such as; work, and then plan the other activities or tasks by the days and times available in the space you have left. Block out the amount of time each commitment, task, or activity will take and include travel time if necessary. This will visually put your time available to accomplish your tasks for the week “at a glance” and into perspective. This is imperative for getting a handle on your time management schedule. If there are overlapping commitments and a shortage of time available to get everything accomplished, you know it’s time to reorganize your week.
Keep in mind, you do need to sleep, so only schedule your time during your realistic waking hours. Each day follow your day’s schedule of events to know where you have to be and when. Then when emergencies crop up and they will, you will have a much better handle on where to reschedule the lessor priorities.
Don’t overbook yourself. Be realistic, allow for travel time and most importantly don’t forget to allow for “down-time”!
September is National Preparedness Month. While most people think of natural disasters, I think you’ll agree that losing your device would qualify as a disaster! You may not be able to prevent losing your device but you can protect your data. Did you know that your personal login information could easily be found in your computer?
See for yourself:
• Open your browser (I use Mozilla’s Firefox so adapt the instructions for other browsers),
• Click on Preferences, then Security.
— If Remember Passwords is checked, click on Saved Passwords next to it.
A list of Web sites you’ve visited along with your username appears.
• Click on Show Passwords and your complete login info is listed!
In Google’s Chrome:
• Click on Preferences, Settings, Show Advanced Settings, and Passwords and Forms.
— If Offer To Save Passwords is checked, click on Manage Passwords and there they are.
In Apple’s Safari it’s even easier!
• Click on Preferences, then Passwords.
— A list of the Web sites you’ve visited, along with your username, comes up.
• Click on Show Passwords on the bottom and your complete login appears. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is better at security with some default settings that protect your data.
• In the Tools menu, see InPrivate Browsing and Internet Options settings.
Are you shocked to learn this? I sure was! But before you panic, I have some tips to help protect your data. (I use a Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone and MacBook Pro computer so tweak as necessary.)
For your computer:
• Password-protect it at startup by disabling Automatic Login (System Preferences, Security and Privacy, General) Password-protect it when awakening from sleep and screensaver modes (System Preferences, Security and Privacy, General, and check Require Password For Sleep & Screen Saver).
• Back up your data to the cloud using iCloud (Mac or PC, iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch—and it also can find your missing device), Dropbox, Carbonite or Mozy.
For your smartphone:
• Enable Screen Lock secured with a PIN (Settings, Personal, Lock Screen) so your phone can be used only after entering your PIN.
• Enable Lock Automatically (same as above) to lock the screen after turning it off.
• Enable Lock Instantly With Power Key (same as above).
• Enable SIM Card Lock with a PIN (Settings, Personal, Security).
• Enable Owner Information (Settings, Personal, Lock Screen) to add your name and phone number (other than your cell number) so someone can call you if your device is found.
• Enable Location Services (Settings, Personal).
• Disable Make Passwords Visible so people nearby can’t see what you’re typing (Settings, Personal, Security).
• Enable or install Find My Mobile (Samsung) or Find My iPhone (Apple) to locate your missing device and, if necessary, remotely lock and/or erase it.
General:
For your browser, be sure Remember Passwords For Sites is unchecked (Preferences, Security) and delete any saved passwords.
• Use a cloud-based password manager such as 1Password, LastPass or SplashID rather than storing passwords in your device. You will need to remember just one login password. Password-protect individual documents with extra-sensitive data. Password-protect external drives too.
Decide what, if any, security changes are right for you. If you’re unsure, seek technical help. To use your devices, you will need to do a bit more manually but the tradeoff is increased security and peace of mind. I think that’s worth a little extra effort!
