10 Acts of Organization: Month 1 An Office

Every month from February – November, 2014 we are collecting entries in our 10 Acts of Organization Contest. If you would like to submit an entry to receive two hours of free organizing services, click here.

Our first 10 Acts of Organization winner is “Sally.”

When Sally submitted her photos for her office, she had this to say, “my office is just out of control. sorted it before….but it comes back…..just don’t have system in place and it needs to stop being the catchall room….papers-what to get rid of, what is best way to store stuff not just ‘office’ but also craft supplies, , where to start??? which has also spilled over on to the kitchen desk.”

Before

We worked with Sally to schedule a two hour time slot to work with top organizing professionals, Jane Hall and Karin Walker. Sally describes her experience:

“My goal is to get my house on the market so I can sell it and purchase a smaller house. I have been simplifying and paring down over the past seven years but then the basement flooded and that entailed bring everything from the basement to the upstairs living area. That was the tipping point for me. Up until then I had not been willing to accept any help with downsizing. I read about the contest 10 Acts of Organization and felt I was finally ready to accept help.

When I won, I was excited but then nervous. I didn’t know what to expect. I’ve watched the TV show hoarders. As soon as I met Karin and Jane, my fear started to dissipate and I relaxed a bit. I chose to have them help me organize my office. They got right to work gathering paper, mail, photos and memorabilia. They stacked unopened mail and loose papers, then cleared a shelf to hold them until I have time to go through them. They removed everything from the floor and put things away if they were going to stay in the office. We removed things that were not going to be stored in the office. We collected papers to be recycled or shredded and tossed the trash.

I found it very different working with Karin and Jane than with family members or friends. They understood how I felt. They were not critical or judgemental. They pointed out how much I had already accomplished on my own and praised me for how hard I have been working. I’m very happy to have my desktop and floor clear. It will be much easier for me to process the papers and mail that I have to still go through, now that they are in one place. A weight has been lifted off of me. I will now be able to actually relax and watch a TV show without the office in the back of my mind.”