A Helping Hand - Professional Organizing Service

Pinterest-Crack for Organizers

2012-01-18T20:49:00.001-06:00

O.K., I've just discovered crack for us professional organizers. It's called "Pinterest,"http://pinterest.com and I know I'm coming in a little late to the party, but thankfully I got invited to the Party. Thanks to Angela, thanks Angela!!! I also have to thank Standolyn, thanks Standolyn. But that invite didn't work out, cause I don't know what I did wrong that didn't work that first time I tried to invite myself through Standolyn's iPad. Well, actually Standolyn is who was the first person to share Pinterest with me, and I have her to really thank for this wonderful world of Pinterest.

O.K., since I'm a newbie on Pinterest, and still know nothing and have no time right now to get up to speed on this site, I'll have to wait till the weekend to really check it out and go to "Help" as many times as I need to get this new info into my every weary brain.

So, what is Pinterest? As Pinterest explains, "Pinterest is a virtual pinboard. Pinterest allows you to organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. You can browse pinboards created by other people to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests."

Wow oh wow! If you can dream it, it's probably out there in Pinterest world somewhere. I have hardly tapped into Pinterest world, but can't wait to figure it out and then go searching for all the great organizing stuff I long to see. I know that I'll add some cool stuff too. O.K., just when I thought I had a grasp of my time, there it goes out the Pinterest window!!!

So, the challenge here will be for me to not fall into the Pinterest hole and only allow myself a certain amount of Pinterest time per "who knows what amount of time at this time." I'll commit to good Pinterest behavior after I figure out how to use this most excellent site. Happy Pinteresing!!!

Clients' brilliant dressing table - Made w/IKEA products

2012-01-09T23:19:00.000-06:00

Client's Dressing Table

This is how my client described how their dressing table made it onto ikeahackers.com. I must admit that I'd never heard of this site before. So, I hopped on over to it, and checked out my client's brilliant masterpiece, then started checking out other entries. I was enthralled by what I found. More ingenious people creating all kinds of useful items from different IKEA products. What they've come up with are some great ideas for me to share with my clients and you to share with your universe.

I'm always recommending IKEA, so it's nice to see more than just what the catalogs show you. You're looking at peoples' IKEA projects explained (so you to can create your own masterpiece). In the case of my clients, it was meticulously broken down into the how-to of each step of the project. I also like that at the end, my client added how she and her husband might have done certain things differently if they had to do it all over again. I like that bit of helpful advice. Here's her email to me and the link to their dressing table. Enjoy!

Over the vacation, RL and I built a customized "dressing table" to help make my morning routine smoother. On a whim, I submitted my project to ikeahackers.net and they picked up my project! I'm so excited!

I openly talk about my ADHD and need for 'vertical storage', items having a specific home, and being able to see my things in the article. All advice that you gave me! I am so very glad to have you as a resource!! http://www.ikeahackers.net/2012/01/grundtal-beauty-bar-and-laptop-table.html#more

Graduation Party Challenge

2011-12-07T22:36:00.017-06:00

We hosted a graduation party this past Saturday for my husband George. He graduated with an MBA in marketing. My oldest brother and his new wife Michelle drove in from New Orleans. We celebrated with our wonderful family and friends and it was a blast, but I must admit that I was sweating this party a little bit and heres why.

I invited a large number of people versus the amount of seating space I have available inside my house. Since we have had really mild weather without rain here in Austin (we've been experiencing a severe drought), we were thinking that we'd put tables on our back porch and patio to make up for the seating we don't have in the house. I didn't want to rent out a hall, too impersonal for us. We wanted a house party, so we thought we'd be all set for inside and outside. Well, just when you pray for rain 365 days a year, who would have thought that we'd be lucky enough to have rain on the day of our party. Well, we were more than lucky, cause it rained substantially.

So, the week before when the weather channel said a 70% chance of rain, I believed Mother Nature and headed over to Party City, one of my most frequented shops as of late, and filled up on party deco for our garage. Yes, I said our 2-car garage. Well you might be thinking that as a professional organizer, my garage must be neat and organized. That's very possible, but that wasn't just my doing, you must give a lot of the credit to George Lyman, the other half of the Lyman family. George isn't a professional organizer; he has some organizing challenges, but in our garage and backyard shed he is as organized as anyone can be (short of being a professional at it). That's cause he loves his tools!!! He knows how to fix everything inside and out, and "has the right tool to do the right job!" He also finished the garage floor with a lovely blue epoxy finish this past summer. He is incredible!!!

Anyway, the reason I started this blog was to show you how I decorated the steel Gorilla utility shelf in our garage to make them party ready. I used blue mylar streamers from Party City that were held up by magnets onto the shelf. We also had all kinds of other decorations and had seating in the garage for 20+ people. There's also music in the garage, so everyone was rockin'. Next time I have to entertain there, I'm going to use candles on the tables to make it more of an intimate environment. Happy celebrating!!!

My Challenges

2011-11-15T21:37:00.005-06:00

I've blogged about a lot of professional organizing issues. I'm going to make a change here and talk a bit about my current challenges to hopefully spark a conversation.

This past March and April I had to have four back surgeries, due to complications over an initial surgery for a herniated disk from a car accident. The driver hit me head-on and my car was totaled and I was so lucky to only have minor injuries, instead of ending up flying down the canyon and ending in a fiery blaze.

As a professional organizer, my work is very physical. There was no way in heck I was going to throw in the towel and not be physical anymore. My back surgeries didn't stop me from being physical, and now I have to be so careful to strengthen my back in the healthiest way.

When I first came back home after spending almost a month in ICU, I could hardly walk. I never felt so weak. I had to start by getting my strength back. I started walking and went back to the gym (Anytime Fitness) where I had Carl (owner/trainer) revise my weekly workout to accommodate my new challenges with my lower back. He modified my workout, and I started out slow.

Unfortunately, I also gained some weight from not being able to workout for the past 3+ months. My work was cut-out for me. I had to change the way I eat. Portion control is a huge issue that I deal with. I have to specifically cut down on the amount of food I put on my plate. Also, my husband George has been studying a lot of different health sites, especially those that deal with healthy food combining.

Here's an easy definition: food combining is no singular diet, but a lasting new form of nourishment, with a small but important change of your nutritional habit.

How Food Combining works:
You can eat what you want.
You can eat how much you want.
You can combine food but never protein and carbohydrate.

Currently my challenge is to work-out on a daily basis. Today I wasn't able to go to my gym, so I worked out at home with my big workout ball, doing exercises on my yoga mat, using the ball for doing core exercises. I also took Louie for a walk, with was refreshing after a much needed rain here in Austin. I didn't do so well with the kind of food I ate today, but tomorrow I will strive to eat only healthy things and stick to the food combining rules.

This time of year will be a good challenge to drop weigh. Let's see what I can do in this department. Tomorrow's another day.

Saving Children's Artwork

2011-10-16T21:10:00.008-05:00

What is more precious then your children's artwork? They bring it home for you to admire, and admire you do. I've had many clients that have decision making problems and one problematic area is what to do with all of their children's artwork. What to keep, what to toss? Well, that decision is a pretty personal and difficult thing for some parents.

There has been many a time I suggest that my clients choose a number that they are comfortable with, and keep a certain amount of artwork per month. Let's say you like the number 5. You keep 5 items per month and at the end of the year, you and your children sit down and pick one or two from each month. If you have limited space, you limit the number of artwork keeps to suit your storage needs. Decide what will make the cut and what won't. Will you involve your child in the decision making or make the decisions yourself or on your own?

If you have a problem making a decision about what to keep, think about how helpful it will be if you limit what you choose to display and what you choose to archive. You'll be sending a message to your children that we make choices and don't keep everything. Not everything is worth keeping. When we make choices, we help ourselves and our children to understand that decision making is an important process. We also want to honor the artwork our children have created by making sure that these treasures are preserved and stored safely.

There are some really cute ways of displaying children's artwork. Pottery Barn kids has these cute butterfly clips that work as a way to display and string their artwork on a wall. (http://tinyurl.com/7k52a3h) Works of art can be rotated in and out with this idea. Another cute site is Land of Nod. They also offer these cute art clips in different styles. (http://tinyurl.com/3ucnd6o).

Improvements offers a "Dynamic Artwork Frame' that displays one work of art at a time, but holds 50 works of art. You'll always have a new masterpiece to look at with that frame. (http://www.dynamicframes.com)

One last important place for wonderful archive boxes is Container Store. They have them in all different sizes for your needs. Let's celebrate your budding Monet's with some creative displays and storage.

Psychiatric Issues in Hoarding

2011-10-12T20:25:00.010-05:00

[I'd like to share this article which originally ran in Psychiatric Times, Volume 28, No. 8. This is the full version of the original article with the website reference at the end. Randi Lyman]

Psychiatric Issues in Hoarding

Strategies for Diagnosing and Treating Symptoms of Hoarding

By Suzanne Otte, MBA, MSW and Gail Steketee, PhD | August 19, 2011

Ms Otte is Hoarding Research Project Affiliate at Boston University School of Social Work and Dr Steketee is Dean and Professor at Boston University School of Social Work. The authors report no conflicts of interest concerning the subject matter of this article.

In North America, an estimated 30% of the population maintains a collection of some sort.¹ The practice of collecting, in which individuals maintain collections of objects that are generally considered interesting and valuable is distinctly different from that of hoarding.² Compulsive hoarding is characterized by the following criteria^3,4:

• The acquisition of, and failure to discard, a large number of possessions

• Excessive clutter that precludes activities for which the living space was designed

• Significant distress or impairment in functioning caused by the hoarding

Hoarding has broad-reaching implications, including a substantial public health burden linked to occupational impairment, poor physical health, and demand for social services.⁵ For example, it is not uncommon for community public health departments to become overburdened with property complaints regarding unsanitary conditions and fire hazard risks, and the cost to address a problem (eg, repetitive clean-outs, repeated visits by health inspectors, multiple-agency involvement) is high.⁶ These costs have led to the establishment of community-wide task forces in a number of cities.⁷ However, efforts to reconcile the problem are often diminished by the relative unavailability or ineffectiveness of mental health services.⁸
In addition to the effects of hoarding on the community, family dynamics are often strained.⁹ Substantial distress, frustration, hostility, and rejection of hoarders are not uncommon.³ In a recent online study of hoarding, more than half of the participants were described as having poor or no insight into the severity of their hoarding behaviors, and family members’ attitudes of rejection were correlated with less awareness of illness among those who hoard.¹⁰
For the individual who hoards, outcomes may include substantial work impairment, eviction or threat of eviction, or having a child or elder removed from the home.¹⁰ In general, persons with hoarding problems seek treatment after age 40 years, although hoarding symptoms commonly begin in the early teenage years.¹¹ Those who hoard tend to live alone and may have a family member (parent, sibling, older relative) with the problem.^12-14
The prevalence of clinically significant hoarding in the general population ranges from 2% to 5%, and between 6 million and 15 million persons in the United States are affected, according to recent epidemiological studies.^15-17 Hoarding appears to affect more men than women, although women are more likely to participate in research and seek treatment.¹⁷
Hoarding is a significant psychiatric problem that occurs at twice the rate of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and at almost 4 times the rate of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.¹³ It has been linked with impulse control disorders and appears to have high comorbid rates of major depressive disorder (MDD), social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and personality disorders.^18-26

What is already known about hoarding?

■ Clinically significant hoarding affects between 6 million and 15 million persons in the United States, according to recent epidemiological studies, occurring at twice the rate of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and at 4 times the rate of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. It appears that hoarding is accompanied by high rates of comorbidity. A number of self-report and clinician-administered hoarding-specific measures aid in the assessment of symptoms and severity. Treatment for hoarding is guided by a cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) approach.

What new information does this article provide?

■ Historically, hoarding has been deemed a subtype of OCD, although forthcoming evidence suggests there are more differences than similarities. Hoarding is under consideration for inclusion in DSM-5 as a stand-alone disorder. A set of provisional criteria for hoarding disorder has been proposed and will require further study in the future. A recent study conducted by Frost and colleagues that examined the largest sample of participants to date confirmed that major depressive disorder was the most frequently occurring comorbid condition (more than 50%) and that kleptomania was a factor in 10% of the sample. This article highlights treatment options for hoarding that are available to practitioners, including alternative approaches focusing on self-help, support group, and Web-based delivery models.

What are the implications for psychiatric practice?

■ Individually administered CBT, following the protocol developed by Steketee and Frost, appears to be the most effective treatment, with a 70% to 80% rate of clinical improvement for patients who complete treatment. Given the expense and limited availability of individual treatment, alternatives, including group CBT, Web-based treatment, in-person self-help groups, and in-home coaching assistance, may provide sustainable and affordable approaches to this significant societal problem. Further research to better understand hoarding and to provide additional cost and resource-sensitive solutions is ongoing.

Historically, hoarding has been considered a subtype of OCD, although recent evidence suggests that there are more differences than similarities.13 Studies of patients with OCD have shown an 18% to 40% frequency of hoarding in adults and children and adolescents, although, hoarding is identified as a major or primary symptom in fewer than 5% of cases.19,26-29 Early studies that support this finding were derived from measures that do not adequately assess the presence or severity of hoarding (ie, Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale30).8 Recent studies have incorporated reliable and valid measures (eg, Saving Inventory-Revised [SI-R], Hoarding Rating Scale-Interview [HRS-I], Clutter Image Rating [CIR]) that assess specific symptoms of hoarding as well as changes in symptoms following treatment.8

Comorbidity and implications for diagnosis
The identification of hoarding as a subtype of OCD has influenced scientific understanding of its comorbidity. Progressive research efforts have advanced the definition and measurement of hoarding, providing a more reliable diagnosis and assessment of comorbidity.^12,31,32 A recent study by Frost and colleagues (R. O. Frost, G. Steketee, D. F. Tolin, K. Glossner, unpublished data, 2011) examined 217 hoarding participants, the largest sample to date, who were recruited to meet diagnostic criteria for hoarding disorder (HD) currently under review for DSM-5.¹² The study confirmed that a minority of participants with HD (fewer than 20%) also had OCD diagnoses and that MDD was the most frequent comorbid condition (more than 50%). This was followed by GAD and social phobia in approximately 25% of HD participants.

The rates for posttraumatic stress disorder were relatively low (7%), but the HD sample was more likely than OCD patients to have experienced a traumatic event as an adult or as a child. This finding is consistent with earlier research about the frequency of traumatic events among those who hoard.^17,33,34 Inattentive ADHD was significantly more frequent in hoarding than in OCD (30% vs 3%), which supports the speculation that attention deficits are relatively common among those who hoard, but certainly this is not a universal characteristic.
It is not surprising that compulsive buying and excessive acquiring of free things were common among the hoarding sample (about 60%), and even the prevalence of kleptomania was surprisingly high at 10% of the sample. These findings confirm recent reports that more than 80% of people with self-reported hoarding acquire excessively.³⁵ Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) was the most frequent personality disorder found among hoarding participants, even when hoarding was omitted from the criteria for OCPD.

Status of DSM-5 diagnostic criteria
Today, hoarding is cited in DSM-IV-TR as one of the diagnostic criteria for OCPD and, when hoarding is deemed severe, a symptom of OCD.¹²Hoarding has been a core diagnostic criterion for OCPD only since DSM-III-R and as a possible OCD symptom within the differential diagnosis section OCPD since DSM-IV.^12,36 Given the presumption that hoarding was a symptom of OCD, many studies have evolved from this assumption and have influenced clinical understanding of the disorder.¹³ More recently, however, growing evidence supports the separation of hoarding from OCD.^13,36-38
In the interest of clarifying the clinical phenomenon, increasing public awareness, improving identification of cases, and stimulating further research and development of effective treatments for hoarding, a set of provisional criteria has been proposed (Table).¹² These will require further study in the coming years.

Theoretical model
The manifestations of hoarding (acquisition, difficulty with discarding, clutter), outlined in an emerging cognitive-behavioral model, are hypothesized to evolve from core vulnerabilities based on early life experiences, genetic predisposition, current mood state, and personality traits (Figure).^4,39,40On the basis of this model, cognitive information processing deficits (focusing attention, decision making, organizing, and possibly perception) are thought to be persistent factors in generating hoarding. A combination of early experiences and cognitive challenges result in mistaken beliefs about and attachments to possessions, with resulting negative emotions that lead to avoidance behaviors (saving unneeded items) and clutter. In addition, objects that evoke feelings of positive attachment and experiences of pleasure may result in excessive acquiring and clutter.⁸

CBT methods and outcomes
The elements of mental health treatment for hoarding are based on the theoretical model for this multidimensional problem. The protocol uses a manualized cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) approach that incorporates assessment and goal setting, organizing and problem-solving skills training, exposure practice methods to reduce acquiring and remove clutter, and motivational interviewing to address patient resistance when it arises during treatment.^2,8,41
The tools to measure hoarding symptoms and severity include the SI-R, a 23-item self-report questionnaire that assesses difficulty with discarding, clutter, and excessive acquisition; a score of 41 or higher typically indicates a clinical hoarding problem.³¹ The HRS-I helps clinicians make a diagnostic assessment of the 5 main features of hoarding (clutter, acquisition, difficulty with discarding, distress, impairment), each rated on a 0 to 8 scale; the HRS-I can also be used as a self-report scale.³² The CIR is a pictorial measure of in-home clutter severity intended for use by patients, family members, clinicians, or independent assessors.⁴² The Saving Cognitions Inventory is a 24-item self-report measure of beliefs experienced by patients when they attempt to discard items; subscales of this measure include emotional attachment, concerns about memory, control over possessions, and responsibility toward possessions.⁴⁰

The most effective approach to date appears to be individually administered CBT, following the model and methods of Steketee and Frost.² A recent pilot study of 10 completers and a controlled trial with 37 completers yielded rates of 70% improved or much improved according to the therapists and 80% according to patients. Overall, 60% of patients showed clinically significant improvement following 26 sessions of individual CBT that included monthly in-home visits.¹⁰ Group interventions that included 20 sessions of CBT were only slightly less effective and appear to offer considerable potential for cost-saving solutions.²²

Further research is necessary to examine methods to enhance cognitive function (eg, attention, executive functioning) to improve the effectiveness of CBT.⁴³ Expanding study inclusion criteria to allow men and persons from other cultures, races, and socioeconomic status will help generate more information about outcomes and strategies appropriate for all persons who hoard.

Cost-saving, stepped-care strategies for delivering CBT
The delivery of in-person, individual or group therapy for hoarding depends on skilled clinicians trained to treat persons with this problem. Because individual and even group treatment can be expensive and unavailable to many individuals with this highly prevalent condition, alternative approaches have focused on the application of self-help bibliotherapy, online and in-person support groups, coaching, and Web-based CBT.
Muroff and colleagues⁸ describe a 2009 study undertaken by Pekareva-Kochergina and Frost. The researchers examined the benefits of a 13-week intervention during which 2 undergraduate students supervised by a senior clinician facilitated 2 self-help groups. Participants read Buried in Treasures: Help for Compulsive Hoarding,⁴⁴ a book describing hoarding, and were encouraged to practice the strategies proposed. At the close of the group sessions, 41% of participants rated themselves “much improved.” This student-led group yielded a surprisingly positive outcome for group members in a relatively short period.

In 2010, a Web-based self-help group for hoarding, established in 1998, was studied by Muroff and colleagues.⁴⁵ Members participated in online chats, accessed an archive of resources hosted on the Web site, and were required to post action steps and progress reports at least monthly. Both long-term and recent members showed reductions in clutter and hoarding symptoms over a 15-month period. More active participants on the Web site showed statistically lower levels of hoarding. This group represents an intervention model that holds the potential to economically extend treatment to a geographically dispersed group.

The benefit of in-home assistance by clinicians is time-consuming and costly. Muroff and colleagues8 introduced non-clinician, in-home assistants (trained undergraduate student coaches) into a hoarding treatment group to reinforce skills learned in group treatment and boost CBT-based outcomes for participants. Clinicians who led the group communicated with coaches through in-person and telephone group supervision and use of a system to track and docu-ment home visits throughout the 20-week treatment period. One group of participants received 4 home visits from one of the cotherapists, the second group received an additional 4 home visits from the undergraduate coaches. Although reductions in hoarding symptoms were not statistically significant, additional in-home assistance appeared to offer improved (albeit small) outcomes. Additional studies will help further define the effect of this enhancement to group treatment.
A pilot study is under way to test the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of computer- and Webcam-delivered CBT for hoarding symptoms. Preliminary results show potential for a cost-effective, direct service solution to in-home locations where hoarding occurs.⁸ Initial outcomes of this 26-session, weekly home-based CBT treatment delivered via Webcam showed moderate improvement of participant’s hoarding symptoms and was administered over a 30- to 38-week period compared with an average 49 weeks of in-person treatment.
These stepped-care strategies demonstrate potential to assist a broader spectrum of patients using CBT hoarding interventions and offer a sustainable, economic approach to this societal problem. Given the large number of persons who hoard, the debilitating and potentially deadly consequences, and the sometimes limited insight into the severity of their symptoms, it seems essential to learn more about this complicated problem. Current CBT regimens are effective, but they are costly. Accordingly, more research is needed to better understand the disorder and to provide relief from this chronic problem.

References
1. Pearce S. On Collecting: An Investigation Into Collecting in the European Tradition. London: Routledge; 1995.
2. Steketee G, Frost RO. Compulsive Hoarding and Acquiring: A Therapist Guide. New York: Oxford University Press; 2007.
3. Frost RO, Gross RC. The hoarding of possessions. Behav Res Ther. 1993;31:367-381.
4. Frost, RO, Hartl TL. A cognitive-behavioral model of compulsive hoarding. Behav Res Ther. 1996;34:341-350.
5. Tolin DF, Frost RO, Steketee G, et al. The economic and social burden of compulsive hoarding. Psychiatry Res. 2008;160:200-211.
6. Frost RO, Steketee G, Williams L. Hoarding: a community health problem. Health Soc Care Community. 2000;8:229-234.
7. Steketee G, Frost R. Compulsive hoarding: current status of the research. Clin Psychol Rev. 2003;23:905-927.
8. Muroff J, Bratiotis C, Steketee G. Treatment for hoarding behaviors: a review of the evidence. Clin Soc Work J. 2010. doi:10.1007/s10615-010-0311-4. 2010.
9. Tolin DF, Frost RO, Steketee G, Fitch KE. Family burden of compulsive hoarding: results of an internet survey. Behav Res Ther. 2008;46:334-344.
10. Tolin DF, Frost RO, Steketee G. An open trial of cognitive-behavioral therapy for compulsive hoarding. Behav Res Ther. 2007;45:1461-1470.
11. Grisham JR, Frost RO, Steketee G, et al. Age of onset of compulsive hoarding. J Anxiety Disord. 2006;20:675-686.
12. Mataix-Cols D, Frost RO, Pertusa A, et al. Hoarding disorder: a new diagnosis for DSM-V? Depress Anxiety. 2010;27:556-572.
13. Pertusa A, Frost RO, Fullana MA, et al. Refining the diagnostic boundaries of compulsive hoarding: a critical review. Clin Psychol Rev.2010;30:371-386.
14. Saxena S. Recent advances in compulsive hoarding. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2008;10:297-303.
15. Iervolino AC, Perroud N, Fullana MA, et al. Prevalence and heritability of compulsive hoarding: a twin study. Am J Psychiatry. 2009;166:1156-1161.
16. Mueller A, Mitchell JE, Crosby RD, et al. The prevalence of compulsive hoarding and its association with compulsive buying in a German population-based sample. Behav Res Ther. 2009;47:705-709.
17. Samuels JF, Bienvenu OJ, Grados MA, et al. Prevalence and correlates of hoarding behavior in a community-based sample. Behav Res Ther.2008;46:836-844.
18. Frost RO, Steketee G, Williams L. Compulsive buying, compulsive hoarding, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Behav Ther. 2002;33:201-214.
19. Samuels J, Bienvenu OJ 3rd, Riddle MA, et al. Hoarding in obsessive compulsive disorder: results from a case-control study. Behav Res Ther. 2002;40:517-528.
20. Frost RO, Steketee G, Tolin D, Brown T. Co-morbidity and diagnostic issues in compulsive hoarding. Paper presented at: Annual Meeting of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America 2006; Miami.
21. Frost RO, Steketee G, Williams LF, Warren R. Mood, personality disorder symptoms and disability in obsessive compulsive hoarders: a comparison with clinical and nonclinical controls. Behav Res Ther. 2000;38:1071-1081.
22. Muroff J, Steketee G, Rasmussen J, et al. Group cognitive and behavioral treatment for compulsive hoarding: a preliminary trial. Depress Anxiety. 2009;26:634-640.
23. Steketee G, Frost RO, Wincze J, et al. Group and individual treatment for compulsive hoarding: a pilot study. Br Assoc Behav Cognit Psychother. 2000;23:259-268.
24. Hartl TL, Frost RO. Cognitive-behavioral treatment of compulsive hoarding: a multiple baseline experimental case study. Behav Res Ther.1999;37:451-461.
25. Meunier SA, Tolin DF, Frost RO, et al. Prevalence of hoarding symptoms across the anxiety disorders. Paper presented at: Annual Meeting of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America; 2006; Miami.
26. Mataix-Cols D, Rauch SL, Manzo PA, et al. Use of factor-analyzed symptom dimensions to predict outcome with serotonin reuptake inhibitors and placebo in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Am J Psychiatry. 1999;156:1409-1416.
27. Frost RO, Krause MS, Steketee, G. Hoarding and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Behav Modif. 1996;20:116-132.
28. Mataix-Cols D, Nakatani E, Micali N, Heyman I. Structure of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in pediatric OCD. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2008;47:773-778.
29. Rasmussen SA, Eisen J. Clinical features and phenomenology of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Psychiatr Ann. 1989;19:67-73.
30. Goodman WK, Price LH, Rasmussen SA, et al. The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale. I. Development, use, and reliability. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1989;46:1006-1011.
31. Frost RO, Steketee G, Grisham J. Measurement of compulsive hoarding: saving inventory-revised. Behav Res Ther. 2004;42:1163-1182.
32. Tolin DF, Frost RO, Steketee G. A brief interview for assessing compulsive hoarding: the Hoarding Rating Scale-Interview. Psychiatry Res.2010;178:147-152.
33. Wheaton M, Timpano KR, Lasalle-Ricci VH, Murphy D. Characterizing the hoarding phenotype in individuals with OCD: associations with comorbidity, severity and gender. J Anxiety Disord. 2008;22:243-252.
34. Cromer KR, Schmidt NB, Murphy DL. Do traumatic events influence the clinical expression of compulsive hoarding? Behav Res Ther.2007;45:2581-2592.
35. Frost RO, Tolin DF, Steketee G, et al. Excessive acquisition in hoarding. J Anxiety Disord. 2009;23:632-639.
36. Wu KD, Watson D. Hoarding and its relation to obsessive-compulsive disorder. Behav Res Ther. 2005;43:897-921.
37. Abramowitz JD, Wheaton MG, Storch EA. The status of hoarding as a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Behav Res Ther.2008;46:1026-1033.
38. Pertusa A, Fullana MA, Singh S, et al. Compulsive hoarding: OCD symptom, distinct clinical syndrome, or both. Am J Psychiatry.2008;165:1289-1298.
39. Frost RO, Tolin DF. Compulsive hoarding. In: Taylor S, Abramowitz JS, McKay D, eds. Clinical Handbook of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Related Problems. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press; 2008:76-94.
40. Steketee G, Frost RO, Kyrios M. Cognitive aspects of compulsive hoarding. Cognit Ther Res. 2003;27:463-479.
41. Steketee G, Frost RO. Compulsive Hoarding and Acquiring: Workbook. New York: Oxford University Press; 2007.
42. Frost R, Steketee G, Tolin D, Renaud S. Development and validation of the clutter image rating. J Psychopathol Behav Assess. 2008;30:193-203.
43. Tolin DF, Villavicencio A. Inattention, but not OCD, predicts the core features of hoarding disorder. Behav Res Ther. 2011;49:120-125.
44. Tolin DF, Frost RO, Steketee G. Buried in Treasures: Help for Compulsive Hoarding. New York: Oxford University Press; 2007.
45. Muroff J, Steketee G, Himle J, Frost R. Delivery of internet treatment for compulsive hoarding (D.I.T.C.H.). Behav Res Ther. 2010;48:79-85.
46. American Psychiatric Association. DSM-5 development: F 02 hoarding disorder.http://www.dsm5.org/ProposedRevisions/Pages/proposedrevision.aspx?rid=398. Accessed July 6, 2011.

This articles' original website: http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/1932177]

Grown-Up Approach To Our Finances

2011-10-12T19:29:00.003-05:00

Well I did it! I've been thinking about putting together a family budget. Along with talking about this subject a lot with clients, I propelled myself forward & set-up an account on https://www.mint.com/.

It was really easy to do & I feel like a real grown-up and don't ask me why I feel this way.

I've always kept up with my financial information, but with Mint, it's different. Everything we need to know about our true financial picture is available at the touch of our keyboard.

Mint.com is a read-only program, so you don't have to fear that the universe will have access to your financial information. Mint was created by the folks at Intuit who has given us QuickBooks, Quicken, TurboTax & many other smart business & personal financial accounting programs.

One of the many things I really like about mint.com is that all of my financial information is connected to real financial institutions. My financial information is in real time, with real figures. I know my net worth in a blink of an eye. I also know what my budget looks like all the time, so I can adjust it as needed. So, if you want to feel like a financial grown-up too, check out mint.com and discover what it can do for you.

Food Safety - Still Tasty

2011-09-01T15:56:00.003-05:00

Have you ever wondered if that jar of peanut butter in your pantry is still good. You've read the expiration information on the jar and see that it has expired by a few months. Well, here is a very helpful website that will tell you the shelf life information you need to stay safe. It's called "Still Tasty" http://www.stilltasty.com.

You can browse shelf life information by category, which makes searching for the info you need easy. I chose "meats & poultry" and came up with a huge alphabetical list starting with abruzzese sausage, dry - opened package. It gave me information on how long it could be kept in the refrigerator and in the freezer. It also suggested how to package the product for storage. Did you know that you can store homemade beef stew or soup in the refrigerator for 3-4 days and in the freezer for 4-6 months. I'm a virtual food storing genius with this website's knowledge and tips.

You can safely say that I'm in love with this site. It will be a great help to many of my clients that have food issues, where they might fill up their pantry. Then one day they decide to clean out the pantry and uncover many food items that were lost in the back of a shelf or two. With this information, they can easily search and find out whether that boxed pasta that was found in the way back is still good enough to eat, or needs to go into a composting bin.

Happy eating!

Nice people in airports

2011-08-29T23:27:00.008-05:00

O.K. I know that I'm a slacker sometimes when it comes to my blogging. Well, what can I say other than "I'm doing the best I can with the tools I have!"

Just when you think that people are so caught up in themselves, someone comes out of nowhere and does something so incredibly nice.

This is what happened to me as I waited for a storm to blow through the Baltimore airport as I waited to get back home from New Jersey. I was sitting next to this woman who started telling me about her sister that lives in Austin. Her sister is chronically disorganized and I shared that I'm a professional organizer. She made a phone call and told her sister that she found the perfect person to help her.

Well, this isn't the incredibly nice thing, yet. This woman was also from New Jersey and told me that her family was really screwed up, but she still loved them and enjoyed her visits there. She said that she has been living in Oregon for many years and people there usually minded their own business, unless you let them into your life. She had fallen in love with this guy in the 70's and they had a bunch of kids and lived near the coast. They spent a lot of time fishing and hiking.

We talked for a number of hours as we waited for the storm to clear. I told her that my husband George loved to fish. I said that he had one time gone up to Washington State and fished for salmon with his friend Mike. She said that they owned a bed and breakfast on the coast and that I was welcomed to come there with George, so he could fish. She said that it wouldn't cost us any money to stay there. I couldn't believe that she meant this. She didn't know me or anything. She said she was for real and invited me cause she had a feeling that I was a very nice person and she would enjoy my company up there.

Well, one of these days I think I'll take her up on her offer. I have the address and all. All I have to do is call to make plans with her. Well, I'd say that was an incredibly nice thing to do. In the meantime, I'm working with her sister here in Austin, helping her to get organized.

Treating People Who Hoard — What Works for Clients and Families

2011-07-31T11:24:00.004-05:00

I want to share this very interesting and helpful article from Social Work Today. It was written by Jennifer Van Pelt, MA. I'm adding the entire article, but please don't hesitate to go to the site for additional information: http://www.socialworktoday.com/archive/051711p14.shtml

TV reality shows can help and hurt people who hoard. Find out why and know what really works best for clients and the families who care about them.

Popular “intervention” TV shows have begun dramatizing the clutter associated with hoarding: newspapers piled from floor to ceiling, clothes and linens stacked on furniture, stuff everywhere with only a narrow path to walk through a house. Extreme cases—where stray animals are packed into a small apartment or so many items have been accumulated that floors collapse—illustrate the severity of some instances of hoarding.

Approximately 3% to 5% of the U.S. population has a hoarding disorder (Tompkins, 2011), but the disorder affects many more, destroying marriages and home life and alienating family and friends.

“Media attention to hoarding has brought it out of the closet. People are more likely to talk about hoarding now,” says Terrence Daryl Shulman, JD, LMSW, ACSW, CAAC, CPC, founder/director of The Shulman Center for Compulsive Theft & Spending and an addictions counselor who works with hoarding cases as well as compulsive spending and theft.

“TV shows like A&E’s Hoarders have brought attention to a very secretive, shameful disorder and therefore have encouraged people and their families to get help,” says Gretchen H. Placzek, MBA, LCSW, MSW, a psychotherapist at East Bay Family Wellness in California who specializes in treating anxiety and works with individuals and families in cases involving hoarding. The show Hoarders depicts follow-up with solid therapeutic assistance and guidance, she says, adding that media attention has possibly even encouraged professionals to research the disorder and gain expertise to better assist people who hoard and their families.

However, the depiction of hoarding on TV has also contributed to misinformation about the disorder and its treatment.

“The negative aspect is that the shows may be seen as exploitive, and they do not always highlight the intense pain and suffering that goes along with a hoarding disorder,” explains Placzek.

Another downside, according to Shulman, is that hoarders may think “I’m not that bad” when viewing the extreme, shocking cases on TV, causing them to avoid or resist treatment.

The hard work needed to change hoarding behavior is downplayed by focusing on sensational cases, says Gail Steketee, LCSW, MSW, PhD, a professor and dean at Boston University who has been researching hoarding since the mid-1990s and has coauthored numerous publications with Randy O. Frost, PhD, a psychologist and professor at Smith College, including their most recent book, Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things.

Her colleague, Christiana Bratiotis, PhD, LCSW, a postdoctoral fellow and Compulsive Hoarding Research Project director at Boston University, adds, “Sadly, these programs often portray an unrealistic intervention that minimizes the role of mental health treatment and sets up unrealistic expectations for hoarders and their families.”

Hoarding is a chronic disorder that gradually worsens, often over a period of decades, says Bratiotis. TV shows give the impression that appropriate intervention can occur in several days and without longer-term cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

“Professional organizers and clean-up companies are useful and necessary partners in the work, but they do not begin to be the totality of the intervention, and portraying that as the solution is to diminish the painful and difficult work needed to overcome a hoarding problem,” Bratiotis explains.

Acknowledging the Problem
Hoarding treatment begins with a person acknowledging the underlying problems that fuel hoarding behavior. The reasons for hoarding differ depending on the person, and treatment is challenging because people who hoard often do not realize their behavior is a problem or they are socially isolated and ashamed due to the condition of their home. Sometimes, they resist treatment because they think it will involve simply clearing out the clutter.

“Just cleaning out the stuff does not address the underlying psychological issues,” Shulman says. “It’s not a clutter problem; it’s a perception/thinking problem.” According to Steketee, no single condition causes hoarding. Contributing factors or stressors may include the following:

• being raised in a chaotic home or one with confusing family context, or moving frequently;
• cognitive processing issues that affect decision making and problem solving;
• attention-deficit disorder;
• anxiety and/or depression;
• excessive guilt about waste; and
• genetics and family history because hoarding behavior runs in families.

“Hoarding can also occur in people with dementia, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder [OCD],” says Steketee, “but it is not clear that the features and causes are the same.”

Currently, there is a common misperception that hoarding is caused primarily by OCD or anxiety. But although anxiety or compulsion may contribute to hoarding behavior, researchers now believe hoarding is not a type of OCD, and anxiety is not the primary driving force, Steketee explains.

For example, hoarders may experience anxiety or stress due to obsessive thoughts, such as grief over someone’s death or the loss of important things in their life, or perfectionist thinking. Hoarding helps prevent them from experiencing that anxiety or reduces the severity of it. Accumulating may be calming for the hoarder, Shulman says.

“Focusing on ‘things’ deflects the focus from the thought processes actually causing anxiety,” says Shulman.

“Hoarding may induce feelings of safety and security and/or reinforce identity,” adds Steketee.

The exact causes of hoarding are still uncertain, and research on the physiology and psychology of hoarding is ongoing. Geneticists are working to identify genetic loci related to hoarding behavior, says Steketee. An imaging study found that cerebral blood flow in a patient with OCD and severe hoarding exhibited a certain pattern during the most severe hoarding symptoms, and the pattern changed when the patient’s hoarding behaviors improved (Ohtsuchi, Matsuo, Akimoto, & Watanabe, 2010). A review of epidemiological, neurobiological, and treatment studies concluded that compulsive hoarding may be a discrete disorder with its own diagnostic criteria (Pertusa et al., 2010).

Currently, hoarding is not listed as a separate disorder in the DSM-IV but is mentioned as a symptom/criteria of OCD. However, a revision for the fifth edition, to be released in 2013, proposes that hoarding disorder be listed as a separate disorder under the heading of “OC spectrum disorders.” It is also likely to be removed from the criteria for OCD, says Steketee.

Treating the Behavior
Despite ongoing debate regarding the causes and diagnostic criteria of hoarding, there is no question that therapy is necessary. Hoarding typically leads to social isolation from family members, and involving family in the therapeutic process appears to contribute to improvement of hoarding behavior.

The first and most important component of family therapy is education. “Like any addiction, hoarding is a family disease; everyone is affected and each family member needs to be educated about it,” says Shulman. Families need to understand that hoarding is a disorder, and the treatment process is long.

“Psycho-education is almost always the first step in working with the families of people who hoard,” Placzek says. Family members must be educated about hoarding to have compassion and recognize it as a mental health issue. They need to understand that each accumulated item has meaning and value for the hoarder, she explains.

Addressing support and validation concerning the anger and hurt that many family members feel is another important step. The therapist needs to make sure the family understands that without their support and help, the hoarder is unlikely to get better, only progressively worse, Placzek says.

However, not all hoarders live alone and are socially isolated, and family therapy may be especially helpful when the hoarder lives with the family to deal with daily interactions during these situations. Impatience during the lengthy family therapy process is common, says Shulman. Often, “control drama” will erupt between the person who hoards and other family members, and this needs to be worked out to bridge the communication gap between them.

For married hoarders, additional couples therapy is often required because the hoarder’s partner is often codependent when it comes to the hoarding behavior, says Placzek. Or the partner may be impeding progress for the hoarder undergoing individual therapy, adds Shulman. When the hoarder lives with young children, elders, or people with disabilities, family therapy must address these special family issues, says Bratiotis. “Special protections must be taken to assure that these family members are safe and healthy and that the hoarding is not creating hazards that impact these vulnerable and protected people,” she notes.

Anecdotal reports from practitioners suggest that family therapy can be very successful when addressing hoarding behavior, but currently, no published research exists on the outcomes of family therapy for hoarding. Unpublished research has focused on the value of involving family members to get the loved one who hoards into treatment when that person is reluctant to seek therapy and/or does not recognize the problem, says Steketee.

However, research does support the benefits of cognitive and behavioral methods. Approximately 70% of people who hoard show improvement following 26 treatment sessions, Steketee reports. “Family therapy seems unlikely to be helpful unless the person who hoards also receives CBT to help them learn new skills, modify beliefs, and reduce discomfort that prevents them from discarding hoarded items,” she adds.

Common approaches to individual therapy for hoarders includes motivational interviewing, CBT, and decision-making skill building. “Motivational interviewing is essential since many people do not have good insight into the extent of the problem caused by their clutter and collecting behaviors. We also train skills to address cognitive problems like decision making and organizing as well as problem solving. We help people modify mistaken beliefs about possessions using CBT, and we use behavioral exposures to discarding and to not acquiring to reduce discomfort with these activities,” Steketee explains.

CBT using exposure therapy seems to be the best approach for hoarding treatment, says Placzek. Exposure therapy requires the hoarder to face his or her anxiety by organizing, sorting, and making decisions regarding what should be discarded and what will be kept while at the same time monitoring his or her anxiety level. The hoarder must go through this process to change maladaptive thoughts and, in turn, the hoarding behavior.

Family therapy is adjunctive and supportive for those undergoing CBT for hoarding. “I use CBT to guide the client’s treatment and when I’ve engaged families, it’s been through a family systems perspective. Often family are significantly impacted by the problem of hoarding, especially when living in the home, and are highly invested in the outcome,” says Bratiotis. Family members may be able to serve as behavioral coaches throughout the CBT process, though this may require significant therapeutic work with the family members and the hoarder, she adds.

Recently, researchers and psychologists have suggested using harm-reduction methods in family therapy to address hoarding behavior. Harm-reduction therapy focuses on helping family members develop a management plan for improving the safety and comfort of a hoarder’s home. For example, structural issues from the weight of accumulated items, the potential for fire, mold and dust, and vermin infestation may pose substantial risks to the person who hoards, especially an older adult who lives alone.

According to the researchers who propose this method, harm reduction assumes that it is not necessary to stop all compulsive acquiring or completely clear the hoarder’s home to stop harm. This therapy process involves setting small, achievable goals to reduce the risk of harm in the home (Tompkins). In some cases, enlisting the aid of the local health department may assist the family in communicating the danger of hoarding to their loved one. When a hoarder shares the home with other family members, harm-reduction methods can be used to communicate the potential harm of hoarding behaviors for others in the home.

People who hoard are most likely to improve when family therapy is combined with individual CBT and other interventions, such as medications to treat co-morbid conditions (e.g., depression) or working with a professional organizer in the home. The impact of family cannot be underestimated, though.

“Ultimately, success depends on how supportive, compassionate, and patient the family members are with the hoarder and on the level of motivation and commitment from the hoarder,” Placzek says.

— Jennifer Van Pelt, MA, is a Reading, PA-based freelance writer with 15 years of experience as a writer and research analyst in the healthcare field. She has written on depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia, mental wellness, and aging.

References
Ohtsuchi, H., Matsuo, K., Akimoto, T., & Watanabe, Y. (2010). Fronto-limbic abnormalities in a patient with compulsive hoarding: A 99mmTc-ECD SPECT study. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 64(5), 580-583.

Pertusa, A., Frost, R. O., Fullana, M. A., Samuels, J., Steketee, G., & Tolin, D. (2010). Refining the diagnostic boundaries of compulsive hoarding: A critical review. Clinical Psychology Review, 30(4), 371-386.

Tompkins, M. A. (2011). Working with families of people who hoard: a harm reduction approach. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 67(5), 497-506.

Resources-
Web
• Children of Hoarders: www.childrenofhoarders.com

• East Bay Family Wellness: www.eastbayfamilywellness.com/hoarding-ocd-too-much-stuff

• International OCD Foundation Hoarding Center: www.ocfoundation.org/hoarding

Books
• Buried in Treasures: Help for Compulsive Acquiring, Saving, and Hoarding by David F. Tolin, Randy O. Frost, and Gail Steketee

• Compulsive Hoarding and Acquiring (therapist guide and client workbook) by Gail Steketee and Randy O. Frost

• Digging Out: Helping Your Loved One Manage Clutter, Hoarding, and Compulsive Acquiring by Michael A. Tompkins and Tamara L. Hartl

• Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things by Randy O. Frost and Gail Steketee

5 Tips to Help Overcome Hoarding

2011-07-28T15:48:00.004-05:00

Compulsive hoarding is a regular and potentially disabling problem, characterized by the gathering of excessive litter, to the extent that parts of a person’s home can no longer serve its intended purpose. It is also referred to as the act of saving many items that have been thrown away by general population. Examples of items that a hoarder might gather are broken appliances, newspapers, bags and magazines.

Hoarding can best be classified as a compulsive disorder in which a person has the potent habit of collecting and keeping useless items that have no value or benefit, but fails to discard them.

Approximately two million people in the United States are affected by compulsive hoarding, patients who display signs of hoarding normally suffer from other diseases, such as dementia, schizophrenia, anorexia and Alzheimer's. It's most present in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Doctors aren't sure whether compulsive hoarding is a division of OCD or a different disorder.

This behavior is often hard to overcome because most hoarders do not acknowledge that they have this problem. However, the right treatment can in fact make a world of a difference in their life. Here we will look closely at five tips to help overcome hoarding.

1. Assess Your Needs
Ask yourself, "Do I truly need this item?" You may come up with one hundred different reasons why you need a particular item, but the question that you ought to ask yourself is whether you in fact will use it in the present or future. If you haven’t used it for many years, it is very probable that you will never use it again. The best thing for you to do is to discard these items in the trash can or sell them in a yard sale. You also don’t need to keep extras of anything; if you have one, you don’t need another.

2. Be Prepared to Face Your Fears
Overcoming hoarding is not always a simple task. You have to face your fears and stick to your plan of getting treatment to rid yourself of all useless belongings. During this process you may accidentally sell something that was of some worth or value. Just keep in mind that you can always buy a new and possibly better one. Stop worrying that you may discard something valuable, nothing bad will occur if you get rid of some of your belongings.

3. Stop Allowing Junk to Pile Up
Compulsive hoarding cannot be overcome in a few hours or few days, it is a continuous process. Once you have removed the existing mess in your abode, you also need to enforce measures to prevent the junk from piling up again. Be patient with this dilemma. and don’t allow hoarding to overwhelm you again. Clean and organize your belongings on a consistent basis.

4. Get Help and Get Treatment
It is possible to overcome compulsive hoarding. Remember to be yourself. However, receiving some amount of treatment from a mental health practitioner who specializes in this sort of behavior will help you to reach your goal. A psychotherapist specializing in cognitive behavioral therapy can help you to better understand why you accumulate useless things. After a proper diagnosis they will be able help you get rid of all the clutter in your home, and help you to develop your decision making and relaxation skills. Above all a therapist will be supportive if you encounter any setbacks along the way.

5. Reach Out to Other People
Loneliness is one of the main factors that causes hoarding to occur, that’s why it is never wise to confide yourself to your home. This will not aid you in overcoming hoarding.. If you are not comfortable inviting guests to your house because of the mess, make it a point to visit the homes of your relatives and friends.

These five tips for hoarders will greatly aid you to overcome hoarding, which segregates you from your loved ones. If you are knowledgeable that a loved one is a compulsive hoarder, don’t quarrel with them as this will make them more stubborn in their ways. Instead be equipped to listen to them and converse with them about how this behavior is preventing them from reaching their maximum quality of life.

For further info, check out this website: http://www.curiocabinetspot.com/tips-to-overcome-hoarding

Tomorrow We're Taking Your Leg: Hoarding & Suicide

2011-07-23T15:02:00.007-05:00

I want to share this post by my friend & colleague Debbie Stanley, LLPC, NCC, CPO-CD:

My heart is breaking for Spencer Harris as I imagine what this was like for him.

I have often said that forced hoarding cleanouts are the psychological equivalent of involuntary surgery. Many people who hoard view their belongings as an extension of themselves, as Mr. Harris did. He killed himself on May 17, about a week after a 24-hour eviction notice was enforced on him. He was given a day--one day--to get out.

The eviction notice was issued by an official described as "experienced in handling hoarding situations."

News reports say Mr. Harris was given a temporary storage container in which to sort through his things and decide what to keep. In other words, an operatory in which to cut off his own leg, or arm, whichever he preferred.

They gave him a POD and a deadline. What he needed was a mental health professional and a psychologically realistic timeline. The introduction of a therapist truly "experienced in handling hoarding situations" and using the harm reduction approach would have greatly improved Mr. Harris's chances of developing better insight and integrating needed changes into his life, which by friends' accounts was vibrant and active.

24 hours to get gone. What must those 24 hours have been like for him? 24 hours of knowing that tomorrow, they'll be at the door to separate you from a part of yourself. Facing that sentence, perhaps you would flee and get a few states away before they could do it. But if you hoard, you can't carry all of yourself, all at one time. Paraphrasing Erma Bombeck, when you hoard you let your heart live outside your body, but people don't get that. Erma was talking about children. How can anyone care that much about stuff? It's just stuff.

And as long as the people in charge think it's just stuff, there will be more tragic endings.

HOARDING, COMPULSIVE SHOPPING AND OTHER "INVISIBLE ADDICTIONS"

2011-07-17T16:18:00.008-05:00

HOARDING, COMPULSIVE SHOPPING AND OTHER "INVISIBLE ADDICTIONS"

They live in every community in the nation, and are a part of every extended family. In recent years, they’ve even begun making regular appearances on unscripted television shows such as Clean House, Obsessed, and Animal Rescue.

Sometimes they’re referred to as eccentric, strange or weird:

Your mother’s uncle, whose “collection” of old newspapers and magazines looks more like a fire hazard than a tribute to days gone by.
The friend who can’t seem to stay out of the stores or off the online retail sites, even though her shopping sprees have put her on the brink of financial ruin and her apartment looks more like a warehouse than a living space.
The heartbreaking couple you saw on the news last night – the ones who, the health department discovered, had been keeping dozens of animals in their tiny, filthy house.

Hoarding animals and obsessively accumulating objects of no apparent value are two types of relatively common behavioral compulsions that appear to straddle the line between out-of-the-ordinary activities and mental illness.

In an effort to determine what types of extreme actions constitute a mental health concern, an international group of mental health experts met Oct. 1 and 2 in the Ontario (Canada) Science Center to talk about hoarding and other types of compulsive behaviors – commonly misunderstood obsessions that a Sept. 22 Canwest News Service article termed “invisible addictions.”

Misty Harris, who wrote the Sept. 22 article, reported that October’s “Many Faces of Addiction” conference was designed to bring about “the proposal of clinical criteria defining where normal indulgence ends and disordered behaviour begins.”

The challenge, according to Canadian addictions counsellor Anne McLaughlin, is that unlike chemical dependency, "process addiction" tends to have few detectable symptoms, with the behaviour either taking place in secret or being dismissed by family and friends as normal activity.

"It can be very isolating," says McLaughlin, who treats both sex addicts and their partners. "If someone drinks or takes drugs, at least it's visible."

Hoarding & Obsessive Collecting

The “invisible addiction” label may be valid as a means of identifying behaviors that don’t result in intoxication or other obvious forms of impaired motor functioning. But anyone who spends quality time in the presence of a person who cannot control behavioral urges will soon see that the disorder is far from invisible.

For people who are addicted to gambling, sex or the Internet, for example, their compulsions are made visible by financial problems or the inability to participate in normal healthy relationships.

But when it comes to hoarders or obsessive collectors, the evidence may be even more obvious – and, to many people, much more difficult to understand.

According to the website Understanding Hoarding, the following three primary attributes of compulsive hoarding were established in a 1996 article by R.O. Frost and T.L. Hartl, both of whom were then affiliated with the Smith College Department of Psychiatry:

The acquisition of, and failure to discard, a large number of possessions that appear to be of useless or of limited value
Living spaces sufficiently cluttered so as to preclude activities for which those spaces were designed
Significant distress or impairment in functioning caused by the hoarding

In addition to these three diagnostic criteria, Understanding Hoarding also noted that most compulsive hoarders also possess four common personality traits:

Indecisiveness
Perfectionism
Procrastination
Avoidance

“Severe cases of hoarding may truly devastate a person's life if no help is sought,” the website reported. “[Hoarders] feel shame and this shame will gradually evolve into isolation.”

What Compulsive Hoarding Looks Like

In an article on the website of the Obsessive Compulsive Foundation (OCF), Karron Maidment, Program Coordinator/Behavior Therapist of the UCLA OCD Intensive Treatment Program, describes the experiences of the estimated 700,000 to 1.4 million Americans who are afflicted with compulsive hoarding disorder:

Hoarding is defined as the acquisition of, and inability to discard worthless items even though they appear (to others) to have no value. Hoarding behaviors can occur in a variety of psychiatric disorders and in the normal population, but are most commonly found in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). …

Compulsive hoarding is not just an enthusiast's passion for collecting stamps, dolls, or baseball cards. … People with compulsive hoarding syndrome may have immense difficulty throwing anything away, from the oldest paper clip, to a used food container, to an out-of-date newspaper, for fear that they might need those items in the future.

Their homes are often full of stuff that the rest of us would call "junk." The most commonly saved items include newspapers, magazines, old clothing, bags, books, mail, notes, and lists.

Though most hoarders amass apparently useless objects, some people who have the disorder become obsessed with animals, bringing dozens – or in some cases more than 100 – dogs, cats or other creatures into their house. Overwhelmed by the logistical challenges of caring for so many animals in a space that was not designed for such a large-scale operation, animal hoarders put their own health and the health of the animals they have “rescued” at risk.

Defining the Problem, Addressing the Disorder

Though Frost and Hartl’s standards have achieved widespread acceptance, hoarding (like sex addiction, chronic shopping compulsions, Internet addiction and several other obsessive behaviors) has not yet been recognized by the “bible” of the mental health community, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).

However, that may soon change.

One of the reasons for the October conference in Ontario was to discuss the possible inclusion of disorders such as these in the next DSM edition, which is scheduled to be released in 2012.

"Pathological gambling is in the DSM … and it really sets up a precedent for these other behavioral addictions," Toronto psychotherapist Edith Townsend told Canwest News.

Even without DSM recognition, compulsive hoarding has been treated via a variety of techniques, including medically assisted therapy (often involving selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as Prozac or Paxil) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

CBT appears to be the most effective approach, though treatment for compulsive hoarding is a notoriously slow process.

This featured article was written by Huge C. McBride, and published on Life Healing Center's site, a Recovery Center located in Sante Fe, New Mexico. For additional information and articles please view their website: http://www.life-healing.com

The Psychology of Hoarding

2011-06-17T08:34:00.009-05:00

This morning I'm sharing information about an informative graphic that explains "The Psychology of Hoarding." This information includes the characteristics of hoarders, stats such as 75% of hoarders engage in excessive buying. As a professional organizer with many years of having the privilege of working with hoarders and their families, I've seen the challenges created by the financial and psychological ramifications of excessive shopping and acquiring. There is also the excessive acquiring of free items that this information notes as happening 50% of the time. We also explore the causes of hoarding and the anatomy of a hoarding house.

A very telling statistic states that by age 6, nearly 70% of children collect or store things. It's when the collecting turns to hoarding that the psychological issues of that persons life have changed, whether it's from a situational issue, genetic predisposition and/or a learned behavior. Collecting and hoarding are two very different reactions and behaviors in a persons' life. A collection can be collected over time, proudly cared for and can be on display. This is not the case when someone is hoarding items. There is a collection of seemingly useless items of limited or no value.

There is also statistical data on animal hoarding, where the person/s might not even be aware that they are harming the animals they hoard.

Some of the common personality traits of a hoarder are: neuroticism, anxiety, depression, self-consciousness, indecisiveness, perfectionism, vulnerability and impulsiveness. The treatments suggested are cognitive behavioral therapy with a 70% responsiveness, anti-depressants with mixed results and exposure and response prevention (ERP) with poor results.

At the end of this graphic, there are resources included. One of my favorite resource sites for hoarding and OCD information is the OCD Foundation.

Please check out this link for full information: http://images.psychologydegree.net.s3.amazonaws.com/hoarding.jpg

(This information was provided by http://www.pscyhologydegree.net/"> Psychology Degree)

When is a hoarder ready for prime-time? (Part 2)

2011-05-31T21:40:00.004-05:00

Well, here's what happened. As I previously wrote, I have a hoarding client that can't afford to pay for my services. She was convinced that the only way she could have her hoard cleaned up was to get on one of the hoarding reality T.V. shows. She desperately wanted to take this route.

I was able to assess her living condition and advised her strongly against choosing the reality T.V. route. This lovely gal has many mental health conditions that would be exacerbated by making such a choice. She already suffers from an anxiety disorder, by being on T.V. she might end up in a psychotic state.

I spoke to my client's therapist today before having a conversation with my client. I shared my concerns for our client if she were chosen for a reality show. The therapist was able to speak at length to our client and then I connected with the client today too.

We had a really nice conversation about the realities of reality T.V. She didn't think of the fact that the show would broadcast all over the world. It would be searchable by millions and be out there forever. Her fear and shame for the condition of her home would be exposed to the universe. How would the T.V. show benefit her. I had her write a list of the benefits and drawbacks, and as she did this I asked her to say them to me over the phone. The benefits list was really small and the drawback list was really long. After this exercise, she said that she no longer thought that it was a good idea to take part in a reality show. Instead, she was going to ask her family if they could financially help her out, so she could pay for my services. She felt good about that decision.

Reality T.V. might work for some, but not for those that have complex mental health issues. Such mental health issues could dangerously escalate under such conditions. I'm about minimizing my clients' anxieties, stress and trauma. If you are interested in finding out more about hoarding, please check out the International Obsessive Compulsive Foundation: http://www.ocfoundation.org. Please send me any comments you might have about this issue. Thanks!

When is a hoarder ready for prime-time?

2011-05-29T21:19:00.004-05:00

I recently received a call from a woman looking for a professional organizing to help her best friend who is a hoarder. The hoarder has lived in her home for 10 years. The caller wanted to hire me to work with her best friend, if the best friend would agree. The caller also wanted an idea of how much it would cost to de-clutter her friends home, once I conducted an assessment. She explained that her hasn't been in this home for many years, but a mutual friend had and was allowed to take pictures, which were then sent to her. Based on these pictures, she was able to give me a good idea of the condition of her best friend's home. She felt an urgency to reach out to me, once she saw the condition of the home, and also shared that the mental health of her best friend is deteriorating from her feelings of hopelessness and depression. The hoarder feels that she's mentally and physically drowning in her garbage and anxiety.

The hoarder has had two other people help her with the de-cluttering process, but both interventions have not produced successful results.

The hoarder has been extremely frustrated with her lack of progress, as well as her lack of financial resources. She is on disability and could never afford a professional organizer on her own. Her benefactor was also not fiscally able to afford my services after an initial visit, but our plan was for her to contact everyone that is close to the hoarder, and ask if they would chip in for a certain number of hours to help us get a good start at de-cluttering and clearing the hoard.

In the meantime, the hoarder is working with a therapist colleague of mine, which is really great news. I won't work with a hoarder that is not working with a psychiatrist and/or therapist for their hoarding behavior. Anyway, the sad news is that the hoarder is sinking deeper into depression and the best friend has not contacted me again. But maybe she's working on getting financial backers to help with the project (that's my dream scenario for this hoarding client).

While I was working with the hoarder during my initial visit, she mentioned that she would like to be on one of the television shows about hoarders, so that she could have a crew come and clear her house, since she can't afford the help herself. I'm always being contacted by television shows looking to cast hoarders, and I don't have hoarding clients that are mentally healthy enough to be on T.V., for all the world to see their life and have cast and crew touching their possessions, etc. They also don't like the idea that the world would see the condition of their home. Their shame is too great and their mental state of mind too fragile. There are plenty of people that do want the cameras into their lives and I respect them greatly for that.

I've heard all kinds of stories from my colleagues that have participated in these shows, and they have had many mixed experiences.

Often, we've come to know that hoarders return to their disorganized, acquiring without discarding ways if left to fend for themselves. Aftercare is necessary. They have to feel confident and comfortable with new clutter management techniques. And this is something that is a learned behavior over time, with the help of a collaborative team of many including but not limited to a therapist, psychiatrist, family and/or friends, professional organizer, social worker, local agency (if applicable), etc. Not just a hoarder trying to figure it out on their own after the cameras and crew are gone. The ironic thing is that after I spoke to the hoarders' therapist a few days ago, the producer of TLC's "Buried Alive" contacted me looking for a hoarder to cast. I don't think this hoarder's mental health issues are up to having a T.V. crew in her home, but you never know. I will let her therapist know about this opportunity, since she is very keen on having an intervention of this sort. Tune in for further details on this situation. Your comments are welcome.

Soles 4 Souls

2011-05-19T12:58:00.003-05:00

I want to share information on this fabulous organization called "Soles 4 Souls." From their website, their mission is:

Soles4Souls collects new shoes to give relief to the victims of abject suffering and collects used shoes to support micro-business efforts to eradicate poverty. Soles4Souls’ other two divisions, Clothes4Souls and Hope4Souls, which provides the same relief and support through clothing and other necessities.

Their History: Soles4Souls has a simple concept: we procure shoes and get them to those in need.

In the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami that hit Southeast Asia, Wayne Elsey, the Founder and CEO of Soles4Souls® Inc., felt compelled to do something. Like many of us, he did not know what to do. He was at home one night, watching TV and he saw a picture of a single shoe washing up on the beach. That triggered a few calls to some other executives in the footwear industry and the subsequent donation of a quarter of a million shoes to victims in the devastated countries.

A year later when Katrina hit, Wayne called the same group of friends, and they sent over a million pairs of shoes down to the gulf coast communities affected by the hurricane. In all honesty, he admits that he did not expect such an immediate and successful turnout. This left him wondering, why not start a non-profit and do this all the time? One year later, Soles4Souls was formally created.

It has been that simple: changing the world one pair at a time.

Soles4Souls receives large donations from footwear companies, retailers, churches, nonprofit ministries, civic groups, schools, and individuals and saw that this could become a full time organization. That's why Soles4Souls was created – to facilitate the donations from these groups to the people who desperately need footwear.

So, as your cleaning out your closet or your family's closet, think about who could benefit from your discarded footwear. You can also start your own shoe drive. Find out how on the Soles4Souls website: http://www.soles4souls.org

Stop Fixing People

2011-03-15T17:14:00.003-05:00

I'm adding this link to a very interesting & informative article from Psychology Today. It's called "Stop Fixing People," What to do when your brilliant ideas aren't helping.

This link was shared by my brilliant colleague Deb Stanley. It is well worth your time to read. Please let me what you think of this article & if it's helped you or not.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wander-woman/201103/stop-fixing-people

Pain Management & Managing Expectations

2011-03-13T19:15:00.006-05:00

O.K. As I have said in the past, I haven't kept up with blogging, but my intention is to be more diligent about writing concise, important blogs that either inspire, share important info to help all that read this blog & for me to gain a sense of accomplishment, which I don't feel currently. The feeling of accomplishment will happen when I put in the time & research needed to create a successful blog, which is my intention.

The point I want to make here about pain management is as follows. In the past month, I've had back surgery two times. The first time was to fix a herniated disk at L5, S1 on March 1st. This disk herniated due to a car accident that I was in at the beginning of November.

We had rain that morning, so the roads were wet. I was driving home from my afternoon client & a car hydroplaned in front of me & I had to hit him head on. What saved my life was my seat belt, the airbag & the guardrail that stopped my car from falling into the canyon, since I was driving on a canyon road. I hit the other car two times & then slammed into the eastbound guardrail. The driver's side window imploded onto me with a million pieces of glass hitting any part of my left side that wasn't covered by clothing. The car was totaled, especially the left side of my car which was smashed in & my left foot, ankle & leg were crushed. The EMT had to cut me out of the car. I had experienced internal damage due to the seat belt & the force of hitting the airbag at a very high speed. And I was incredibly fortunate to not have way more severe injuries. I sustained soft tissue damage to my foot, ankle & leg. I knew that my back was injured, but it wasn't till the beginning of January that my back herniated. The neuro surgeon explained that this wasn't uncommon for a car accident victim; the delay of injury & the inevitable health issues that followed.

The neuro surgeon performed a diskecomy on the 1st of March, which was a Tuesday. By Thursday, my head was hurting so bad that I couldn't stand up for longer than 15 minutes at a time. I called the doctor & they wanted me to go back to the hospital last Friday. They performed a blood patch to stop the flow of spinal fluids from leaking out. What they didn't know at the time, even with an MRI & CT scan was that there was a tear in my spinal columns covering. This wasn't discovered until this past Friday. So they had to repair the tear & sew me up again. Consequently, I had to stay in the hospital again for the weekend. The nurses & techs were surprised to see me again & gave me the excellent care that I received at St. David's hospital in downtown Austin last weekend.

So where does the pain management & expectations come into play? After having another surgery & being setback another week made me feel like that time was taken from me & my clients. I'm so committed to my clients that there are times that I have to remind myself that I come first, then George my husband, Louie (our new puppy) & family & friends come after that. But also there are times that I've put my clients before myself & that is never a smart thing to do, no matter how committed I am. With that kind of thinking, I would have to question my reasons for putting others before myself. I'm not a martyr, foolish with my emotions & I have a strong sense of appropriate boundaries, so I had to re-evaluate my actions & nothing puts more clarity & understanding in the forefront like excruciating pain & the possibility of continued pain if I didn't put myself first, especially in this situation.

What I also realize is to be realistic with my expectations of how long it might take to heal & the critical choices I have to make to protect my back & not re-injuring myself. This lesson of letting go & letting others care for me is a very important lesson. I've learned over time that myself & some of my professional organizing colleagues & friends have a difficult time asking for help or letting others help. We have to unlearn certain things like accepting help graciously from others. Also, managing expectations is critical to a healthful, happy existence. It's something I share all the time with my clients & realize how important this advice is for me too. Please share your views. They're greatly appreciated.

Don't lose your cool on Valentine's Day weekend!

2011-02-12T14:47:00.005-06:00

O.K. I haven't become a restaurant critic, lord help me I'd weigh a million pounds if I was lucky enough to have that job! But, one thing I can say about living in Austin is that we have awesome restaurants in and around the city and they keep on growing. Especially in the area that I live in. Lots of new construction, wide open spaces (that are shrinking) and plenty of new joints opening up all over. But, buyer beware! The restaurant boom is great for us consumers, but not so great for the existing restaurant owners. They are having to come up with either better food, better prices, some kind of gimmick or unfortunately, they're closing up shop.

O.K. what does this have to do with the Valentine's Day weekend? Well everything. You want a great place to eat for the V-Day weekend, if you're going out.

What it you've made no plans for Valentine's Day? Well it's not too late. Call up a friend or friends, pick up the phone and make a reservation (NOW). I almost totally messed up on our party of four by thinking we could eat anywhere tonight. But alas, I lucked out and made reservations at a really great place that's been around for the past year or so. That might seem like a short amount of time for a restaurant, but not in this growing area. As already stated above "look out mediocre restaurants, there are many new sheriffs in town who want your job."

You could say that about some professional organizers, but that's for another blog day. This conversation is about having a good time on Valentine's Day whether you have a date or not.

So, make that call, get out some nice clothes and have a blast. Those of you with no date tonight, don't be discouraged, go out on your own. Be sure to bring some mace (you never know what maniac is out this weekend). My safety suggestion is that you go to a local place where you know or feel comfortable with the crowd and have a drink and a bite to eat. If any creeps give you a hard time gals, remember the mace;)

Happy pre-Valentine's Day!

Getting Started w/MacBook Pro

2011-02-09T23:30:00.005-06:00

I've been waiting awhile to purchase a new MacBook Pro laptop. The time & opportunity presented themselves a few weeks ago. Since I've recently had a serious auto accident a few months ago, I've had to scale back just a bit on client work, to give my injuries time to heal. Now that I have additional injuries, I even have more time to devote to learning all about my new laptop.

Purchasing a new computer means that I had to update all software on my Mac OS X, desktop computer. This was a good & easy thing to do. I upgraded from Tiger 10.4.11 to Leopard 10.5.8. This is the highest upgrade for my G5, pre-Intel processor. Now I also have to change a number of my Word docs in my G5 to be compatible with my new laptops' Microsoft Office 2011. It's really cool to have updated into the new decade with a more powerful laptop. This laptop was a long time coming, but as I keep saying, I'm glad that I took my time with this important purchase.

My next mission is to create some new and very interesting PowerPoint presentations on working with hoarders & how the collaborative process works for long term clutter management.

Again, as I recover from my injuries, it's great to use this time to revitalize my research. I comfortably come back to knowing that I experience so much joy in the work I do with my clients. I'll incorporate my new laptop into all this joy! My next mission is to determine the most appropriate, ergonomically correct laptop stand. I'll check out http://www.laptopstand.org first to see what products make sense & go from there. http://www.amazon.com has some really cool computer laptop stands also. The research will continue tomorrow.

Safety Risks of Hoarding

2011-01-30T21:34:00.002-06:00

have worked with hoarders for over 10 years now and have come to understand some of the intricacies of hoarding behavior. I wanted to share some of the health & safety issues associated with the accumulation of extreme amounts of random items such as rotting food, trash, papers, household items, furniture, books, etc.

Hoarders are generally unaware of the fact that their lifestyle is a problem or causing a safety hazard to themselves, family and their animals (if applicable). Low self-awareness is one of the many psychological impairments a hoarder is challenged with. This lack of insight into their living conditions and lack of desire to change contributes to the health and safety concerns that arise from living in a filthy, possible insect & rodent infested environment.

The questions that have to be answered upon inspection of such an environment are:

Is there an immediate health & safety threat to the person/s that living in such an environment?

What kind of structural damage is there?

Are exits blocked creating fire & safety hazards for the occupants of the home & the accessibility by emergency services?

Is there adequate housekeeping?

Are the accumulated items posing a risk for slipping or falling injuries?

Are there rodents or is there insect infestation in the home?

Is there an odor problem due to urine or feces, live garbage & a lack of housekeeping?

Are these odors wafting over to the neighbors houses?

Are the adult/s in the home caring for themselves adequately?

If there are children and/or animals in the house, are they being cared for properly?

The hard road ahead is having the person living in these conditions realize the many health & safety risks this lifestyle poses for them and be willing to make a lifestyle change. Where does that motivation to make changes for their health & wellness come from? with limited insight, it can take a life threatening incident for the hoarder to reach out for help.

All to often the hoarder is living in isolation. Because of the many mental health issues the hoarder faces, without the proper intervention of mental health workers and related professionals, the hoarder faces a future of continued acquiring and larger health & safety risks.

Hoarding behavior is a mental health issue and a public health problem. Usually, the behavior has been occurring for a long time and requires patience and understanding. Frequently, it requires the help of other people and agencies. Neglect or abuse issues associated with elders, children, or animals may require emergency interventions. Code violations resulting from neglect or collection of materials may require emergency actions.

After meeting with a lot of caring families and friends that want to help, I always suggest to them that they do not touch the hoarders possessions without full consent of the hoarder. As a professional organizer, I'm one of the team players on the related professions collaborative team. I team up with mental health provides, local agencies, social workers and of course the family.

There are state & local agencies that can help hoarders in need. So states have hoarding task forces setup that are extremely useful resources. Here is a site that offers additional resources for hoarders & their families: http://www.ocfoundation.org

The Science of Happiness

2011-01-23T22:41:00.005-06:00

There are many researchers that are studying the new science of happiness. This is part of the fascinating science of "Positive Psychology." I want to share two people that share their insights and research into happiness.

The first one is cognitive researcher Nancy Etcoff, who looks at happiness and the ways we try to achieve and increase it. "The way it's untethered to our real circumstances, and its surprising effect on our bodies."

Here is the link to her presentation on TED: http://www.ted.com/talks/nancy_etcoff_on_happiness_and_why_we_want_it.html

The second presentation on the science of happiness comes from Shawn Achor, who’s’ presentation is called "The Science of Happiness and Potential." Shawn Achor is the winner of over a dozen distinguished teaching awards at Harvard University, where he delivered lectures on positive psychology in the most popular class at Harvard.

Shawn's presentation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8DngXKtvEQ

At the last NSGCD conference in Austin, September 2010, we had a presenter by the name of Dr. Wanda L. Bethea. She gave a presentation called "Positive Psychology and Client Success." This presentation helped me to gain an understanding and working knowledge of the Positive Psychology theory.

A number of important points I learned from Dr. Bethea's presentation were:

Positive Psychology is the scientific study of: • What makes life worth living • What is right about/with people/organizations • People at their best • People living an engaged, meaningful and pleasant life • Positive experiences/emotions, positive traits/strengths and positive institutions

Positive Psychology is NOT: • A self-help movement • A re-packaging of "the power of positive thinking • "happy-ology" • A passing fad*

*(Robert Biswas Diener)

Holiday Grand Plan

2010-12-20T21:39:00.002-06:00

You've decided: this is the year you'll celebrate the holiday season from a home that is clean, organized and ready for Christmas. You dream of holiday parties, overnight house guests, Christmas cookies, a decorated home and a calm and stress-free holiday season.

There's only one problem: right now, you're living in domestic chaos. Looking around your home, you don't know where to begin.

Cluttered counters, crammed closets and out-of-place possessions pile up everywhere. Dust bunnies and ceiling cobwebs announce that deep-cleaning is long over-due, and the guest room? Forget about it! It's home to moving boxes, unfinished crafts and last winter's stained jackets and unmatched mittens.

To have the holiday of your dreams, you need more than just a gift list and good intentions: you need the Holiday Grand Plan, a tried and tested roadmap to Christmas in a clean and organized home.

Written by Katie Leckey with contributions from the Prodigy Homelife Get O group in 1992-1993, the Holiday Grand Plan is the Web's oldest Christmas organizing plan.

By breaking down all the tasks needed to clean and organize the house and prepare for the holidays, and dividing them into weekly assignments, the Holiday Grand Plan will help you reach the season calm, centered and ready to celebrate from a clean and organized home.

Holiday Grand Plan 2010 begins on Sunday, August 29, and continues throughout the holiday season. Based on Katie's companion Spring Cleaning Grand Plan, the Holiday Grand Plan combines holiday prep, home organizing and cleaning components.

Digging Out: Helping Your Loved One Manage Clutter, Hoarding and Compulsive Acquiring

2010-12-08T23:13:00.006-06:00

Your parents or your child or your sister or your brother or your best friend has a home that is stuffed to the gills with stuff. The dining room table is covered in piles, the kitchen is full of dirty dishes and garbage, even the sofa is piled so high with junk that nobody can sit. Perhaps some of the exits are blocked, and if there are stairs, chances are that there are even little piles of junk there. Maybe the paths through these rooms are narrowed down to "goat trails." Perhaps the furnace is broken or the plumbing is leaking or the appliances need servicing because nobody can come do the necessary work because of the clutter.

You worry about what will happen if someone gets sick or injured in the hoard, or BECAUSE OF THE HOARD. How will the paramedics get in? What if there is a fire, how would people escape when

the junk goes up like a tinderbox? Maybe there are kids who are forced to live in the mess and you need to figure out how to help them.

You want to do something to help, but what do you do?

The sad fact of hoarding is that so many people who hoard are extremely resistant to help and change. We, the family and friends, are either shut out from helping entirely or we jump into the EXHAUSTING process of dehoarding a house, only to watch the situation return to the way it was and even get worse, in

what seems like the blink of an eye.

We feel impossibly torn – we hold ourselves responsible for our loved one's wellbeing and safety and yet it seems like we are powerless to change the problem.

To make matters worse, until recently, there wasn't a lot of guidance on how to help someone with a serious hoarding problem.

But now, there's a book that speaks directly to us, the family and friends of people with SERIOUS hoarding problems:

Digging Out: Helping Your Loved One Manage Clutter, Hoarding and Compulsive Acquiring, Book Link: http://amzn.to/gFA9PI

In the words of the publisher "Many people who hoard understand the extent of their problem and are open to help. This book is not for them. Digging Out is for the concerned and frustrated friends and family members of people who do not fully accept the magnitude of their hoarding problem and refuse help from others. If you have a friend or loved one with a hoarding problem and are seeking a way to guide him or her to a healthier, safer way of life, this book is for you."

Digging Out gives specific harm reduction strategies to help anyone with a hoarding problem to live safely and comfortably in their home or apartment. This is not a book that promises to magically make the hoarding go away. Instead, it offers direct, specific strategies to:

• Manage health and safety hazards

• Avoid eviction

• Manage child protection issues

• Motivate your friend or relative to make longer-term lifestyle

changes

Learn how to:

• Handle a spouse or roommate with a hoarding problem

• Work through special problems faced by frail and elderly hoarders

• Heal strained relationships between people who hoard and their friends and family

If I could recommend just one resource for people who are living with the anxiety, shame and frustration of their loved one's hoarding issue, it would be Digging Out.

You can purchase Digging Out from Amazon: http://amzn.to/gFA9PI

Discomfort With Silence

2010-11-30T12:30:00.004-06:00

We as a human race are very uncomfortable with silence. Just check it out for yourself.   Sit in a quiet room, with a clock or watch that has a second hand. Of course the clock must be clearly in view, with no distractions.   Don’t say anything for thirty seconds. Just listen and be present with the silence permeating your presence. Notice how long that small duration of time feels when there is total silence.

How did it make you feel? What did you notice? Where did your mind and thoughts go?

What would happen if you extended it to one minute of silence? People who regularly meditate often do it for thirty minutes to one hour a day. They claim it clears the fog in their mind and creates renewed energy. After doing this exercise, I think it will be come increasingly clear to you that it takes discipline to sit still in silence. I think the benefits to people with ADHD can be significant but learning to sit still with a physically and/or cognitively hyperactive mind is quite challenging. You might want to start with learning to feel comfortable with silence.

Click here to watch this video. Afterwards, ask yourself the following question? How will I begin to integrate silence into my life?

(Written by David Giwerc, ADDCA)

It's New Calendar Time!

2010-11-28T12:05:00.014-06:00

This is the time of year when those of us who rely on paper planners need to think about purchasing our new planners for the New Year.

Purchase your calendar based on your personal needs. Do you need a one day at a time format or week at a glance? Do you need a specific size, to fit into your backpack or purse? I personally like a loose-leaf format, so you can easily add accessories, such as address/phone book section, planner guide tabs and pages, etc.

A favorite of mine is Frank Covey: http://store.franklinplanner.com. There are so many different styles, formats and options to choose from, you're assured a planner for your specific needs. Another favorite of mine is Day Timer: http://www.daytimer.com. I used Day Timer as my time management system, before the invention of PDA's. Now my iPhone is my time management choice. Whichever calendaring system you use, be sure that you use it consistently. Otherwise, it is useless.

My blog & I

2010-10-11T21:25:00.003-05:00

If you've come to my blog to get the latest information about the work I do, the clients I serve or the hottest topic of the day, week or month, well it might not be posted on here at this time.

The reason is that I'm very fortunate to have a very busy professional organizing business. And rather than hiring someone else to write my blog, which might never happen in my lifetime (never say never), I decided that I need a bit of a hiatus from this wonderful blog to continue to serve my clients needs to my fullest capacity & mine (to get a good night sleep).

If something inspires me to write, well write I will. Until then, if your checking my website out & seeing if I'm the kind of organizer that will suit your specific needs and you wind up at my blog, understand that there are only so many hours in a day & what kind of organizer would I be if I spent all my time blogging & not serving my clients needs???

You can now safely go back to my website, check out my contacts page & go from there. If you have a specific question about my services, I'll look forward to receiving an email from you.

Until then, happy blogging...

Hoarding in Manhattan

2010-09-11T18:10:00.004-05:00

This wonderful New York Times article mentions my dear friend & colleague Kristin Bergfeld's business (Bergfeld's Estate) and the fantastic work she does in New York. Here is her information and the link to the New York Times article:

"To mark our 24^th year of successful business, we have established a new program, “BERGFELD’s Partnerships for the Elderly™”. Our purpose is to serve elders who choose to “age in place” but whose home is at risk because of hoarding. We coordinate with social service organizations that identify qualifying elders from among their clients. We then collaborate with them, their elder client and related professionals who contribute at no cost all products and services necessary to clear, repair and reconfigure the qualifying elder’s home.

Our very first “Partnerships” project is the subject of an extensive article in The New York Times, 26 August, 2010."

Is anybody out there?

2010-08-07T16:10:00.003-05:00

Do you ever wonder if anyone is really out there reading these blogs. I do. I know that I haven't been a great blogger over the last few months, but what I have learned is that there is so much to write about that might or might not be important to the reader. What I have found out is that my clients are brilliant and creative and I honor each and every one of them.

How lucky to be welcomed in to so many homes, helping my clients realize their goals and dreams. My dream is to be able to do the work I do for a long time to come. That will mean that I can never stop working out, to keep my aching back strong. Tomorrow is another day to find out if there is anyone out there, who really cares about what is being said here.

I will work on blogging more often. How about you?

Best Buy Recycles

2010-06-30T21:36:00.002-05:00

I'm a devoted Best Buy shopper and love hearing that they have included other customer services. Here's some good news to all of us that have anything electronic, including TVs, DVD players, cell phones, audio and video cables, computer monitors and more. No matter where you bought it, what brand, or how old it is, bring it to Best Buy for recycling. They will make sure it's properly and safely recycled. It's all part of their Greener Together™ program.

Most things are recycled absolutely free, with a few restrictions. Each state has their own restrictions, so look-up your states info before you visit a store. In Texas, you can bring three items per household per day to recycle. If you are recycling a computer, the hard drive must be removed before you recycle it. Best Buy charges a fee of $9.99 for the Geek Squad to remove your hard drive. Best Buy charges $10 to recycle televisions and monitors, but you receive a $10 Best Buy gift card good toward a future purchase. Check out their website for additional info: http://www.bestbuy.com

Warning Signs of Tech Overload

2010-06-24T22:22:00.003-05:00

From a very interesting NY Times article, here are "The Seven Signs of Tech Overload:"
Sign 1- Do you always check your e-mail before doing other things?
Sign 2- Do you frequently find yourself anticipating the next time you'll be online?
Sign 3- When you're online and someone needs you, do you usually say "just a few more minutes" before stopping?
Sign 4- Have you ever lied about or tried to hide how long you've been online?
Sign 5- Have you ever chosen to spend time online rather than going out with others?
Sign 6- Does going online lift you from a depressed or nervous mood?
Sign 7- Do others in your life often complain about the amount of time you spend using technology?

This doesn't sound like me. Does this sound like you?

To read this article, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/technology/07brain.html?pagewanted=1

WatchMinder2 for ADHD Time Management

2010-06-22T10:08:00.001-05:00

I have suggested using the WatchMinder2 (www.watchminder.com) to a number of my clients with ADD and have challenges from ABI's (Acquired Brain Injury) & TBI's (Traumatic Brain Injury) to name a few of their time management and life management issues. For more info on ABI's or TBI's check out: http://www.biatx.org. More to be written about ABI's & TBI's in future blogs.

One client in particular has a number of cognitive challenges from an illness that left her with short term memory loss. She wants to use the WatchMinder for herself before she buys additional ones for family members that have ADD. She is trying to figure out whether the WatchMinder would be more helpful on her wrist or hanging around her neck. Around the wrist might be uncomfortable for her. I look forward to finding out how this tool will work best for her and why. I'll be sure to add her input into this blog.

If you are currently using a helpful tool like the WatchMinder or any other device to help you with focus, attention, positive reinforcement or anything else, I'd appreciate it if you would share that info with me. Thanks.

iPad & Beyond

2010-06-21T21:50:00.003-05:00

So, I didn't end up buying an iPad for my brother for his birthday. He would have gotten the iPad way after his birthday, which wouldn't have worked at all. But what I did find out was the usefulness of the iPad for one of my clients. This client has cognitive and memory issues. So, how does the iPad help her.

Well, she wanted to use the iPad like she used her iPhone, with the all important alarms that are built into the iPhone. She came to find out that the iPad didn't have alarms as part of the operating system. Instead, she had to find an app of an alarm, which didn't work for her. The app alarm wouldn't always work. So, she had to contact the programmer that designed the alarm to find out if the alarm could work independently, when the phone was on or off. This didn't work, so she now has to program the app to make sure it is on all the time. She is talking to the designer of the app to find out if there is a way that the app could work better for her needs. She is also contacting Apple to request that the alarm/timer app be included as a part of the operating system of the iPad, to make the alarm useability seamless.

Besides that, she loves the iPad for all the wonderful things that it can do for her. Have you had any experiences with the iPad that you would like to share. Thanks!!!

An iPad as a gift.

2010-05-12T23:12:00.003-05:00

I've been a Mac user since the 80's, so I have been sold on Apple products for a very long time. As a rule, I'm not a person that purchases the latest tech product. I have to research it, review how it does in the marketplace, understand the advantages or disadvantages of a product. Essentially, I take my time before making such a purchase.

This is not the case with the iPad, since I'm purchasing one as a gift for a family member. Apple calls it "A magical & revolutionary product" & I can understand why after visiting the Apple Store. It's personal & business functions are exceptional. Very impressed by it's ease & comfort of use, especially the touch screen functionality. I'd recommend this product to high & low-tech users.

http://www.apple.com/ipad

WatchMinder2 for ADHD Time Management

2010-05-09T18:12:00.005-05:00

I am always checking out different types of gadgets & this one looks like a winner. It is called the WatchMinder2. It is an easy way to help you to set and use alarms as a tool to work for you to track and manage your time.

Here is the information from their website: The WatchMinder2 is a programmable vibrating reminder watch that looks like a standard sports wristwatch - the watch vibrates and a reminder message discreetly appears!

• The WatchMinder2 was invented by a licensed Child Psychologist with over 30 years experience working with children, teens, and adults with ADD and AD/HD...

• The WatchMinder2 can be programmed to discreetly cue or remind yourself to do various things throughout the day...

• Preprogrammed messages include PAY ATTN, MEDS, BE POS, and RELAX or program your own unique messages. For more information go to http://www.watchminder.com.

Do just a little bit.

2010-05-03T21:39:00.005-05:00

This afternoon, I received a call from a potential client that had physical and cognitive challenges from a brain injury. She said she was really overwhelmed with paperwork. She explained that she didn't think that she had the funds to afford my services, even after I offered to give her a reduced rate to assess her needs and get her started with some simple strategies.

I was driving when she called, so I pulled over and proceeded to have an in-depth conversation with her. I was able to ascertain that she was auto-paying many of her bills, which was really helping her manage some of her mail. But she still received a large amount of mail that was really causing her anxiety. She loved her catalogs, but she hated the management of all that paper.

I suggested that instead of looking at all of the piles of paperwork strewn around her apartment, how about if she just focused on a small area of the dining room table, just a 1' x 1' space. What if she just concentrated on attacking that small space, and processing the papers just in that area. She loved that idea. She said that it made her feel more in control of just that small doable space. She could work on that space and then have a feeling of accomplishment for taking care of one area at a time.

She had mentioned in our conversation that music helped her stay on task as she was working. So, I suggested that she put on her favorite music, which could help her to stay on task and motivated to complete the area she agreed to work on. I also asked her to email me after she accomplished her task and let me know how it went. What worked and what didn't.

A few hours later she emailed me that she was able to clear off an even larger area then we agreed upon. She was really elated and said that she was looking forward to working some more on the dining room table tomorrow. She would use the same technique of just doing a little bit at a time. Slow and steady won the race, just as the tortoise.

Me & Cherry Vanilla Blue Bell Ice Cream

2010-04-09T01:26:00.004-05:00

At the beginning of the year, my husband George found out that he had Type 2 diabetes. This turned his world upside down, as it would anyone. He was very mad at himself for letting himself get out of shape and not take better care of his health by eating all kinds of stuff on the road, etc. He travels a lot for business. I respected and felt his pain, but I kept saying that he did not give himself diabetes, he was predisposed to it genetically. Does someone give themselves diabetes? I don't think so, but if you are diagnosed with Type 2, you need to take that diagnosis seriously, cause your life and health are really at stake.

My mom was a Type 1 diabetic since her late 20's early 30's. Even though she took her insulin as needed, she fought that disease tooth and nail. She did not eat healthily, didn't exercise, smoked till her final days and lived her life by her rules. Because of this, her diabetes took her at 68 years old. She had to have her legs amputated, quadruple bypass, congestive heart disease, and that is what finally took her down, her heart and all of the other organs that just couldn't take it anymore. My mom was an incredible fighter and one of the bravest people I know. She went down kicking. There is not a day that doesn't go by that I don't miss her. Life without her is different, a little less colorful in many ways. But the good news is that there is still a huge rainbow of colors that follow me around on a daily basis.

What does this have to do with Cherry Vanilla Bluebell ice cream? Well, since George was diagnosed with Type 2, I quit my Curves membership, cause it was really not a workout, and we both joined Anytime Fitness (http://www.anytimefitness.com). This is a place where I get a really good workout. I have been going religiously (like I can't believe). I am feeling so strong and feeling in pain from the workouts, but it is good pain, not my back aching like hell. So, the thing that is bumming me out is that I have to cut down on the amount of food I eat each day. That is the hardest part of all of this. I have to get myself to really be better about what I am eating, so that I can start to lose weight, not just tone-up. Let's see how this goes. I have got to get serious, and maybe by writing it here in this blog, it will be a good kick in the ass for me to be serious. It's not that I eat ice cream all the time, but whenever I do, I feel really crappy about it, not ever good. The ends doesn't justify the means. Well I have gotten this message loud & clear. See Blue Bell Ice Cream, do not buy it, do not be tempted by it and that goes for Cheetos too! I can sign off now.

Disconnect Between Brain Regions in ADHD

2010-02-10T11:23:00.002-06:00

Here is an interesting research article about two regions of the brain that fail to connect when children with ADHD attempt a task that measures attention, according to researchers at the UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain at the M.I.N.D. Institute.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100111155116.htm

Here is some of the information from this very interesting article.

"This is the first time that we have direct evidence that this connectivity is missing in ADHD," said Ali Mazaheri, postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Mind and Brain. Mazaheri and his colleagues made the discovery by analyzing the brain activity in children with ADHD.

The researchers measured electrical rhythms from the brains of volunteers, especially the alpha rhythm. When part of the brain is emitting alpha rhythms, it shows that it is disengaged from the rest of the brain and not receiving or processing information optimally, Mazaheri said. "The brains of the children with ADHD apparently prepare to attend to upcoming stimuli differently than do typically developing children," he said.

Children with ADHD did improve their reaction times when properly cued, but they don't seem to allocate resources as efficiently, Mazaheri said.

This is the first evidence from brain electrical patterns for a functional disconnection in cortical attention systems in ADHD, he said. Current definitions of ADHD are based only on behavior.

Check out the rest of this article at your convenience. Happy reading!

Reducing Your Stress - Part 2

2010-02-09T21:15:00.003-06:00

Here are additional ways to decrease your stress:

Music. Playing music is good for the soul. Play something upbeat and fun to dance to when you’re cleaning house or need to work on a project. Check out Lady Gaga’s The Game, a dance record that gets you moving. There are times when you have to dance. If you need to relax, put on something dreamy and relax.

Find Your Funny Bone. One way to reduce stress is to stop reading newspapers and watching TV news. This is really true. Escaping the news headlines and heading for pure fun and escapism is a great way to reduce stress. Also, do not watch the news before going to sleep. This will cause you stress. Turn off the T.V. and turn on the calming music with chimes in the background.

Laughter is definitely the best medicine, and it’s okay to laugh even in bad times. Humor is a good thing, and find your humor wherever you can find it. Here are a few suggestions:

For political types, check out http://www.cagle.com/. They feature the best political cartoons from around the world.
TV is a nice short-lived escape. You don’t have to think about anything. Just let those TV rays wash over you. Watching old T.V. series that I grew up with in the 60's & 70's is a real way to escape anything bad. "I Love Lucy" reruns are always good for a laugh.
Watch your favorite new or old shows on Hulu.com, a FREE website. Check out The Simpsons or the latest Saturday Night Live clips. Need a blast from days when life seemed simpler and less chaotic? Check out The A-Team, The Facts of Life, and Miami Vice. The website adds new series and movies all the time.
For jokes, check out www.ahajokes.com. Under the one liners category, the site even features gems from Jack Handey’s Deep Thoughts.
The Fruitcake Lady was a frequent, straight-talking guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Search for her clips on YouTube.com, but a warning – the lady is very, very frank and swears a lot so check this out at home without the kids.

Reduce Clutter. Truthfully, reducing clutter and getting more organized does reduce stress. Being able to find things (and not buy a replacement), getting what you want to get done, and having a clean, organized space all makes you feel better about life. By ridding yourself of old things that drag down your energy and spark bad emotions, you are preparing yourself for a brighter future.

Find Some Friends. Spending time with friends is a great way to brighten up your day. We all need time with friends and family, and having face time is much better than bent over your computer screen, scrolling through Facebook every night. Stop hiding out, and get out. Each city has free activities, such as free nights at local museums. The important thing is to spend time together.

I hope that these ideas help you in some way. Any comments?

Reducing Your Stress - Part 1

2010-02-03T23:22:00.005-06:00

I received a brochure in the mail the other day, tauting the virtues of taking care yourself. In addition to getting regular check-ups, the brochure advised that one way you can take care of yourself in these challenging times is to “reduce your stress.” I turned the brochure over. Nothing else was written there. That was their advice. Just "reduce your stress."

In fact, where ever you turn these days you hear how we need to reduce our collective national stress. Well, okay. How do you do that when you’re lying awake at 3 a.m., worrying about your job, your home, your bills, your future, and your world in general?

Research shows companies undergoing layoffs and other financial problems have a dip in productivity. You think it would be the opposite with people trying to act the model employee, but the stress, uncertainty, and depression take its toll, turning people into anxiety-ridden zombies for a while. Everyone walks around with a shocked expression, waiting for the axe to fall and for small signs of hope.

People under stress react in different ways, including anger, insomnia, eating more, fatigue, and moodiness – just to name a few. Stress can cause you to blow up at the smallest thing and later wonder why you were so angry. Was it really about the issue or was it the stress talking? But you’re supposed to reduce your stress, remember? So how do you do that? Here are some solutions for you.

Exercise and Eat Right. Exercise is a great stress reliever and helps you sleep better. By eating better, you can save money by bringing your own lunch and snacks, making your own coffee, and making better choices at the grocery stores. Don’t forget to treat yourself once in a while. You don’t have to adopt a healthier lifestyle by yourself. Sparkpeople.com and Livestrong.com (Lance Armstrong’s organization) are two sites offering FREE help with creating new habits, such as losing weight, eating more fruits and vegetables, and exercising more.

Get Enough Sleep. In my ADHD coaching class we were given an assignment to get eight hours of sleep every night. I didn’t realize how hard it would be to actually get eight hours of sleep but I found that it made a real difference in my life. Try it. You might really like it.

Just Breathe. Meditation and breathing deeply can help relax your body and lower your heart rate. There are wonderful CDs and books out there on meditation and yoga classes focus on breathing. If you get worked up about something, step away from the situation and just take a few deep breaths and you will find that it might help settle your state of mind. Changing your focus is usually helpful.

Try these simple suggestions and let me know what worked and what didn't.

Are You as a Professional Organizer Working with the Right Client?

2010-01-27T22:22:00.016-06:00

Please do not kick me off my own blog for blogging so infrequently in 2010. My excuse is that I have entered this New Year with a booming business. My business has fortunately grown steadily over the past 9+ years, and I have counted myself very fortunate that all of my hard work with and for my clients continues to keep my business "rockin & rollin." With the fact that our country is still experiencing such difficult economic times, some of my colleagues have had to change professions and get out of the organizing business.

That has been an unfortunate loss for our industry in some cases. Some of those P.O.'s were really talented, but came into the business at such a difficult time.
Anyone that knows the type of organizing I do, knows that my wonderful, challenged clients have more issues than simple space management problems, or what kind of container to purchase to match their family room furnishings. Their organizing issues are sometimes life threatening. Do not interpret my last comment to mean anything negative against the many different types of client needs and our diverse organizing profession. The beauty of our organizing industry is that there are countless client needs and really well-trained organizers to fill those needs. Those P.O.'s, like me are well-trained by our professional associations such as NAPO (Nat'l Assoc. of Professional Organizers, napo.net) and NSGCD (Nat'l Study Group on Chronic Disorganization, nsgcd.org)

It's when professional organizers step out of their field of knowledge and think that because they watched a program or two about hoarding, that they too can get in on working with hoarders. It has all of a sudden become "vogue" to work with hoarders, as if this is a new phenomenon.
That is a dangerous way to think. Do you, the person that has never done any study or research on hoarding have the knowledge base to work with this very wonderful and challenging population? We as organizers that abide by the code of ethic of our industry know that we do not want to cause our clients any type of harm for any reason. I have heard too many horror stories from my hoarding clients that worked with a professional organizer that had no specialized training, or a clue as to how to work with them. The organizer was hell bent on purging the clients possessions with the zeal of a 19th Century missionary, with no regard for the long-term detrimental effects that this action would have on their hoarding client.

Let's work with the clients that are best suited for our skill set. We as professional organizers have a huge responsibility to all of our clients to protect their best interests above all else.

Four Gadgets for Keeping Track of Things

2010-01-14T22:10:00.003-06:00

Here are four new gadgets to help ADD'er (and anyone else) keep track of their stuff. Which one will work for you?

The Find One, Find All

($24.95; FindOneFindAll.com)
This Finding Essential is a battery-powered, radio-controlled homing device that you attach to the two items you never want to lose — your keys and wallet.

Put the fob on your keys and the credit-card-sized device in your wallet. When you press a button on the locator, the devices ring like a cell phone (as long as they’re within a 10-foot radius).

The EZ-Find! 25 Item Wireless Locator

($66.50; at amazon.com)
Have lots of items you tend to misplace? This consists of 25 colored fobs and a remote. Hook the fobs to things you need to take with you — or have trouble finding around the house (you can even hook up your pets or a small child).

The Dane Elec 4 GB Capless USB Drive

($19.99; at buy.com and target.com)
Want to keep track of valuable computer data? This allows you to keep your files with you at all times, and the sliding-top design means there’s never a cap to lose.

No larger than a fingernail clipper, the flash-memory device can carry up to four gigabytes of data/files, and it comes in a variety of colors, for those who like to make a fashion statement. Bonus: It doubles as a key chain.

Remote Play’s TagAlert 200

($59.95; remoteplay.com)
If you lose things outside your house, you may be the answer. Attach the "monitor" fob to your belt loop or key ring (or keep it tucked into your pocket) and attach the "alert" tags to two valuables (such as your wallet and cell phone)

Happy New Year!

2010-01-04T15:57:00.002-06:00

I can hardly believe that another year has flown by. On this New Year, I had the pleasure of celebrating with my darling husband and my two brothers here in New Jersey. We enjoyed a fabulous party at my youngest brother Peter's really good friend Brian's gala New Years Eve party.

I am not a believer in New Year resolutions. I am more comfortable making resolutions throughout the year that are more realistic ones that I will stick to. So far, I have not made any new resolutions to date. One that I feel compelled to write about now is that I will write more blogs in 2010 that will be useful to my readers.

I look forward to working with many of my regular clients and working with new clients and their organizing challenges. This year will hold many new and exciting challenges for all of us.

If there is an organizing challenge that you have, please post it here and we will discuss it. If it is private, please email me at: rlyman@ahelpinghandforyou.com.

ADD Holiday Survival Guide

2009-12-07T18:50:00.017-06:00

With the holidays fast approaching, I want to share some useful information to help you through the holiday season.

To budget for all the wonderful gifts you plan to buy this holiday, here is a well known website where you can order your credit report. Log on to annualcreditreport.com. You’re entitled, by law, to a free credit report once a year from each of the major credit-reporting bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.

Another useful bit of information is a wonderful survival guide offered by ADDITUDE magazine. Here are the first three tips. I will send out subsequent tips in the next few days.

1 REPLAY YOUR GREATEST HITS

Make a list of all the activities your family did last year—everything from attending a religious service to seeing local light displays. Have each family member rate them on a scale from 1 (very important) to 3 (unimportant). Do your best to fit in the 1s and some 2s, and forget about the 3s.

2 SAVE THE EARTH—AND YOUR WALLET

Set a date on your calendar to send out cards, and make the job fun and easy by using your computer to send cute, interactive e-mail cards.

3 STREAMLINE GIFT-GIVING

Keep shopping simple by buying everyone varieties of the same thing, such as books, gift certificates, or clothing from the same catalog or website. Stock up on decorative candles or bottles of wine to give out as hostess gifts, too.

These simple tips might save you some time and stress. Happy Holidays!

Power of Positive Thinking

2009-12-04T21:51:00.005-06:00

Therapists and ADHD coaches tell ADDers to practice “self-talk.” There is great value in talking to ourselves, assuming that we speak as we would want others to speak to us. Unfortunately, that’s not what typically happens. In revisiting the various events of our lives, it is the 20 percent we did wrong -- not the 80 percent we did right -- that we remember and castigate ourselves about.

No Use Being Negative

The negative words we reserve only for ourselves are counterproductive. Did you know that the unconscious mind does not compute negation in language? That’s right -- the deepest recesses of the mind don’t process the word “no.” Therefore, when we say, “I will not fritter my time away on the computer today,” the words are read as, “I will fritter my time away on the computer.”

And we wonder how we manage to find ourselves, once more, firmly stuck in those black holes. We talk ourselves into them! No amount of “but I said...” changes the fact that we have commanded ourselves to do the very things we want to avoid. And we beat ourselves up over our transgression. What is this telling us about the path we must choose for our positive growth? we must head towards the positive.

The bottom line to all of this is that we are our thoughts. If we think negatively, we will be in a negative state. If we think positive and speak positive, we will be and do the positive. Our intentions are within our powers. Speak the positive and see what happens.

As an ADHD coach, I steer my clients to the positive. If you are interested in ADHD coaching, please contact me at www.ahelpinghandforyou.com.

(Portions of this wonderful article are excerpts from ADDITUDE magazine, Peggy Ramundo, Kate Kelly, Winter 2009.)

Thanksgiving In New Orleans

2009-11-27T19:50:00.009-06:00

I am so glad to be spending a week in New Orleans with my husband, brother, brother's girlfriend, my niece and nephew. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving withg everyone. The other great thing is to be taking some time off from organizing. As much as I love my business and my clients, I really needed some time off. Fortunately, I have been very busy and working like a maniac. So, it is really good to be taking some time off and visiting the Cresent City.

We were supposed to go on a walking tour of the Garden District this morning. It was cancelled, so we will be taking that tour tomorrow morning. This morning, George and I took our dog Sammy for a walk in the French Quarter. We took a carriage ride and the carriage driver conducted a tour, which was quite good. I also love walking down Royal Street, checking out the wonderful antique shops, not that I want to buy anything. I love the crystal chandeliers and beautiful jewelry in the shops.

This afternoon we went to Cooter Browns (cooterbrowns.com) for oysters on the half shell. Boy were those oysters good. Cooters has at least four hundred different beers. George enjoys drinking Dixie Blackened Voodoo and Abita Turbo Dog.

This evening, we are going to the Mid-City Rock & Bowl (rockandbowl.com) to bowl and hear some really great Zydeco music. We will be rockin' at Mid-City. It's good to be on vacation...

When Hoarders Make Life Miserable

2009-11-23T21:14:00.005-06:00

I read a Wall Street Journal article that was good on one hand and slammed professional organizers and the therapeutic community on the other hand. From the point of view of a child of a hoarder, they are tired of having the hoarder get all of the consideration while the children are ignored. This might be a common scenario for the child of a hoarder. They might have been ignored by the hoarding parent or parents and are still being ignored by their parent/s. That article can be found at: file:///Users/admin/Desktop/When%20Hoarders%20Make%20Life%20Miserable%20for%20Others%20-%20WSJ.com.webarchive

The person that made many good comments was Elizabeth Nelson, who is the spokesperson for the website "Children of Hoarders" http://www.childrenofhoarders.com.

She makes the point that the hoarder is portrayed as the victim in most situations, and all those involved in the life of the hoarder tiptoe around the hoarder. She advocates action against the worse cases of hoarding to protect the hoarder. There has to be a middle ground, and that is what I am exploring. Please weigh in on this issue.

Life of your dreams

2009-11-16T22:19:00.005-06:00

"The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams." This was a quote from Oprah Winfrey. What is the life of your dreams? It is a fascinating question and one that I would like to spend a day or a week or a year going around and asking all that I meet "What would it mean to you to live the life of your dreams?"

For me, I've always dreamed of traveling around the world. Having the time and money to do such a thing is a dream of mine, as far off as it might seem. I can't imagine having the freedom and/or the money to just take off with George and travel the world. Where would I want to start that journey? Maybe I'd start with Australia, or maybe Italy, since I have not been to either of these locations.

I can imagine traveling to many exotic locations. I would have a wonderful time sightseeing and trying to discover the out of the way places that would give me a true sense of what it was like to live in the location I was visiting. I do look forward to a time when I can afford to do that kind of traveling. Right now, it seems like a very far off dream.

I think of this traveling around the world as living a dream, but in my current reality, I am too busy running my business and learning new ways of helping my clients live a simpler, less chaotic life, filled with joy. I live a joyous life and I get great pleasure in doing meaningful work with my wonderful clients. That to me right now is living my dream. I can wait for the traveling at a later time.

If you are interested in world travel, there are some really good travel sites such as: http://www.iexplore.com Check it out.

Can I get kicked off my own blog page?

2009-11-14T22:16:00.004-06:00

O.K., the last time I posted it was in October. I know that I might need to blog more for this blog to have any meaning other then my own blog diary. I also need to read and respond to others blogs. I hardly do that, therefore, no other bloggers know that this site exists, with the exception of a few wonderful people that check this out from my website. Thank you to them!

Here is the million dollar question "Where do I get the free time to do this?" I am a professional organizer and there is a myth that professional organizers are "Super Heros." Please share where that myth came from and I will "kill the messenger" of that myth. We humans have to understand where our priorities lie, and mine have not been blogging, obviously. If anyone is reading this blog, feel free to respond to the questions posed within this text.

On to a bit of information for all those that find hoarding information very important, interesting and useful. Check out 65 Ways To Start the Conversation About Hoarding by Catherine MacDonald @ HowToHelpAHoarder.com

That is all the time I have for this blog. Good night.

2009-10-29T19:21:00.008-05:00

We have come to know that parents who are involved in their children's education, play a huge role in their child's success at school and throughout their child's lifetime of successes. If you receive a request or a recommendation that your child might benefit from an ADHD assessment, this can be treated like any other recommendation - ask a lot of questions until you are satisfied that this path suits your child.

Keep in mind that although there are still mistakes or abuses in the labeling of ADHD kids, the more important problem is under-diagnosing. A child with undiagnosed ADHD faces a lifetime of challenges that can be mitigated by their parents early intervention. For the latest research, go to www.chadd.org, Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. The CHADD site is a superior resource for parents and children with ADHD.

In addition to CHADD, the National Association of Professional Organizers' (NAPO) New York chapter is hosting Sari Solden, who is an ADD psychotherapist and a pioneer on ADD and women. Join Sari Solden on November 7th as she presents "Understanding the Secret World of Women with AD/HD. For more information visit NAPO-NY's site at www.napo-ny.net.

Holiday Giving

2009-10-28T19:22:00.005-05:00

I can not believe that it is almost the end of October? Where the heck did the time go? It will be Halloween in a few days and then we’ll start thinking about Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year’s and so forth. It’s all coming at us so very fast and furious. The recession may have changed the way we will be buying this holiday season.

There are many people that don’t have jobs right now and they may be our friends, our neighbors or former colleagues. Those that do have jobs , many of them have had to take pay cuts to keep their jobs. You can bet there are changes that we are all making in our personal lives that will impact how we celebrate the upcoming holidays.

For way too long, the holidays have been about stuff–the stuff we get and the food we stuff down our throats. The upcoming holidays are supposed to be about family and friends, thanksgiving and compassion, redemption and forgiveness, new beginnings and old traditions, love and sacred beliefs. Too often, the focus shifts to finding batteries for the barrage of toys to come, wrapping paper, and shopping deals. Take a moment or two this year to think about those who are still struggling. Have your children (nieces and nephews) buy a few gifts for those children that will not have anything this holiday season. Think about giving money or food to your local food banks for those who are hungry. You can send a box to a U.S. soldier through www.AnySoldier.com for those brave men and women that will not be with their family for the holidays.

Please think about giving of yourself and/or your time and helping those who could use your help this holiday season. You will feel better for helping another less fortunate than you. Pass on that lesson to your children, who will also feel better about the simple and selfless act of giving. God bless you and your family this holiday season!

Doing It With Intent-Where are my credit cards???

2009-10-20T20:59:00.005-05:00

Well, I have been thinking a lot about the advice I gave my client today regarding "doing things with intent." I know I have discussed intent before, but this time I just want to brush up against the idea of doing something with intent. This will definitely not be the last time I talk about intent either, so get over that!

I go to the store, buy items, get to the cash register and pull out my wallet to pay for the items I just bought. There are a couple of things that could happen here. I could get distracted, drop my wallet, everything spills out, the line gets long, I start worrying about whether I picked up all of my credit cards, money and rolling coins or worry about what all these strangers on this line think of me.

Rule #1, who cares what strangers think? I don't. Rule #2, stop, see where all my money, credit cards and coins just went and retrieve them. Solicit the help of kind strangers to help pick up the rolling coins, #Rule #3, thank everyone for their help, pay bill, leave store with all items safely tucked in wallet and complete and total dignity intact.

Who cares what strangers think, we care about what we think. What does this have to do with intent you ask? Good question. The point is knowing what is in my hand when I whip out the wallet, making sure that I do not rush myself and therefore not pick up my money, etc., not care about the good opinions of others and stop, take a breath, pay my bill, place the wallet and all contents back inside, not rushing and losing more stuff, not caring that the check-out line has to wait an extra minute or two for me to compose myself, stash the cash and happily take my purchase out with me.

Knowing what I have in my hand at all times is about intent. It's about not just moving through life without being plugged into that life. It is about living in the now, really. It's about enjoying the heck out of this NOW!!! It is also being in control of what is in my hand and taking responsibility for where that item goes next.

Good Colleagues

2009-10-15T21:39:00.007-05:00

This entry is about my two friends and colleagues that are very special to me. They are Heidi Schulz who resides in Santa Barbara, CA., and Kristin Bergfeld, who resides in NYC. Like me, they work with folks with special needs. Also like me, they work very hard to understand and assist their clients with compassion and respect. All three of us have the opportunity to help people realize that there is hope for them when they feel hopeless.

We are very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with our clients that have tremendous challenges such as hoarding. We work with these truly wonderful clients to help them achieve something that they once thought was only a distant dream, long-term clutter management. You might be asking yourself how this is managed. Well, it is a long road of continual work built around our client's motivation, desire and need for change.

There are others' that play a key role in the work that we do with our clients. These key players are psychiatrists, therapists, social workers, family members and any other support person that wants to be a part of the organizing process (at our client's request). Our hoarding clients can't do the work alone. They need a collaborative team to help and support them throughout their lives, especially when working on long-term clutter management.

I respect and honor these two women for the fine work that they do. I am fortunate to have them in my life! We are cut from the same cloth and are truly digging what we do for a living! How many people can say that they are living their passion? I know that I can!!!

To find out more about the work these two women do, please check out http://www.heidischulz.com and http://www.bergfelds.com

Amazing Grace

2009-10-12T20:55:00.004-05:00

I know this has nothing to do with nothing, but I found this video very beautiful. Once in a while, it is nice to just enjoy and really dig "beautiful." http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1785324681?bclid=1338935106&bctid=1913313052

Check it out and I hope you enjoy it too!

NSGCD Conference

2009-10-08T23:00:00.003-05:00

I really enjoyed the five days that I spent in Los Angeles, CA. I didn't see much of the city, but had a great time in the Omni Hotel on Olive St. ) (http://www.omnihotels.com).

My great friend Heidi Schulz (http://www.heidischulz.com) and I did get to eat our 1st pre-conference dinner at a great Mexican restaurant on the Omni's property. The food was Mexican topas. It was so good that we could have stayed there eating our way into oblivion all evening, but we did have restraint and I am proud of that.

I experienced a real treat at this conference, and that was getting a chance to spend some time with my dear sweet colleague Terry Prince (http://www.terryprince.com). I hope she has a great time on her dad's 85th birthday cruise. It was a great conference.

NSGCD Conference

2009-09-30T07:54:00.004-05:00

The National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization is holding their annual conference from Oct. 1-3 in Los Angeles. I am flying out there this morning. I am a board member, Publications Director, so I need to get there a little earlier. This year's theme is Transitions, Changes in the way we live, work and think.

Our featured speaker is Dr. Daniel G. Amen, an award winning physician, psychiatrist, best-selling author, international speaker, and brain enhancement expert. He is the author of 23 books, including the New York Times best-seller, “Change Your Brain, Change Your Life”. He is at the forefront of applying brain science to improve everyday life.

This years conference will be another wonderful learning opportunity, listening and learning from presenters that work in a number of mental health and related fields, that directly impact the challenges of my chronically disorganized client base.

Sharing time with my colleagues from all over the nation and world is the best part of conference. More on this later.

The Power of a Mom's Love

2009-09-15T23:11:00.003-05:00

Michael Phelps was recently in the news again breaking another swimming world record, in the butterfly.

His story has a powerful message that all parents who have children with ADHD need to take wind of and integrate into their families. It is the power of love and belief in others. It is the power of one person, his Mom, to see only the good in her son. When everyone else saw problems, it was the power of one mother to see possibilities. This was the result of a parent's belief, love and confidence her son could do something well, even when other people in the academic world were telling him what he didn't do well.

It was the power of one Mom persevering relentlessly and always saying to her child: "You can and you will if you want to. Don't let what you can't do get in the way of what you already, brilliantly can. Just because you struggled in school does not make you a loser. Just because the teachers didn't understand how you are wired does not make you stupid. I know how you are wired and your brain has trillions of different ways of processing the world around you. If you can find something you love then I will also love it. I will always let you know about your love for swimming as long as it ignites both your head and your heart."

Michael Phelps has a mom who has always believed in his ability to do something well; not everything, but at least one thing. She never gave up letting him know that he won't get satisfaction from trying to making his academic weaknesses stronger. Michael's mom knew you make the most out of life by doing what you love, especially when you already do it well. Think of all the swimmers, musicians, artists, writers, web designers, who may have ADHD and do something well but are directed to spend their focus, time & energy on tasks that play to their weaknesses. Their brains are not getting the nourishment they need. When you have ADHD, you don't gain any kind of momentum, or positive self-esteem by focusing, on what you don't do well. You get ahead in life by focusing on what you already do well and fin ding ways to do it better.

Through the power of his Mom's love and Michael's unrelenting, hyper focus and determination, he transformed his natural swimming talents, into super-human strengths. We were all given the gift of witnessing the greatest swimmer in Olympic history. Thanks Mom!!!!!
(Written by David Giwerc, MCC, ADDCA Founder)

Me & the Flu

2009-09-10T13:18:00.010-05:00

My last blog was about the H1N1 flu epidemic. I gave important and helpful information, which I took off of the CDC's website. The main reason I am so buggy about the flu is simple. A number of years ago I had the flu and I unfortunately ended up with viral encephalitis from that flu virus. The virus went to my brain and caused me to go into a coma and end up in intensive care at the hospital.

The long term effects of viral encephalitis on my life was a brain injury and long-term damage. I was very fortunate and a lot of the damage has since been reversed, but there is still some lifetime damage and long-term memory loss that is gone forever. This kind of a brain injury is called an ABI (Acquired Brain Injury).

There is wonderful information out there about brain injuries and the effects of different kinds of brain injuries on people and their families, which can be found on the website for the Brain Injury Association of Texas at: http://www.biatx.org. If you are interested in information on brain injuries, current research and help of any kind, check out this wonderful site.

Since I am in the population of those with compromised systems, I get a flu shot as soon as they are available. So, my main message here is to be careful, wash your hands frequently, sneeze into your clothing and not in the air, and try to avoid touching your face, mouth or eyes after you have touched something, until you can wash your hands. You will spread the germ fast and furiously if you do not take precautions. Teach your children (young & old) these healthy habits too.

To find out where flu shots are available in your town, check out: http://www.healthline.com. Stay healthy this year for yourself and for your loved ones!

H1N1 Update from the CDC

2009-09-05T17:06:00.001-05:00

Prevention & Treatment

What can I do to protect myself from getting sick?
There is no vaccine available right now to protect against 2009 H1N1 virus. However, a 2009 H1N1 vaccine is currently in production and may be ready for the public in the fall. As always, a vaccine will be available to protect againstseasonal influenza
There are everyday actions that can help prevent the spread of germs that cause respiratory illnesses like influenza.

Take these everyday steps to protect your health:

Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners*are also effective.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
If you are sick with flu-like illness, CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.) Keep away from others as much as possible to keep from making others sick.

Other important actions that you can take are:

Follow public health advice regarding school closures, avoiding crowds and other social distancing measures.
Be prepared in case you get sick and need to stay home for a week or so; a supply of over-the-counter medicines,alcohol-based hand rubs,* tissues and other related items might could be useful and help avoid the need to make trips out in public while you are sick and contagious

What is the best way to keep from spreading the virus through coughing or sneezing?
If you are sick with flu-like illness, CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.)
Keep away from others as much as possible. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. Put your used tissue in the waste basket. Then, clean your hands, and do so every time you cough or sneeze.

Hoarding on A & E / My Collaborative Team

2009-09-03T21:06:00.002-05:00

There is a new show on A & E called "Hoarding." It is a reality show that shows the challenging side of hoarding. There have been three episodes so far, and the first one where there was an intervention by a professional organizer and a therapist, alongside the hoarder made the most sense for the helpfulness of the process, when it comes to working in a collaborative setting. '

Many of my hoarding clients are calling me up with excitement about the "Hoarders" show. They are so happy to see other people on T.V. that are also going through similar struggles. They seem to think this series is not as sensational as others they have seen on T.V.

With the experience that I have had as a professional organizer working with hoarders, I prefer to work collaboratively with as many people on my clients team as we can get. Currently, I am working with a hoarding client that lives alone in a four bedroom home that is almost filled to capacity. This client suffers from bipolar disorder, ADD, depression and COPD. She doesn't have family that lives close by, but does have a neighbor that checks in on her often. The woman's therapist contacted me. I went and assessed the client's situation while the therapist was there, and decided with the client where we would start the process . We agreed that we would all work collaboratively, the therapist, the client and a social worker that is also involved in this case. The woman's daughter is also involved in the process from a distance.

I feel good about our working arrangement of having a team to discuss the work with. They are here to offer my client and I support for the work that we'll be doing in the house. I will be reporting the process and progress in the house to the mental health team. The mental health team will also be working with the hoarder in their offices, continuing to discuss and support the on going therapy that is in place, along with conversations about strategies and systems that my client and I will be creating in the home. My client is excited about the process and looking forward to moving ahead. I am excited by her motivation and drive.

Here is the link to check out the new show on A & E: http://www.aetv.com

Happy Marriage

2009-08-29T22:02:00.005-05:00

I'm celebrating my 17th wedding anniversary today with my darling husband George. He is one of the dearest men I have ever known. He is the kind of man that one feels really safe with and loved by. He has never been fake, he is a truly "real" person.

He travels a lot for business, and when he is gone, I miss him dearly. I am very proud of all of his accomplishments, as he is proud of all of mine. He is the kind of person that you can truly be yourself around. I am blessed to be taking this life's journey with him. We are walking hand-in-hand down the road of life, one step at a time. This is a great moment in my life and I will always remember its specialness.

Trusting and Strengthening Your Intuition

2009-08-21T15:41:00.007-05:00

Whether you call your intuition a hunch, sense, notion or instinct, do you trust it? When you are in a situation where you must either listen to your intuition or not, which choice do you make? How did you know what choice to make? Here are some simple ideas to help you strengthen your intuitive mind.

We all have an intuitive mind and a logical mind. We more often use our logical mind without taking advantage of our intuitive abilities. One of the reasons might be that our hectic, cluttered or overwhelming life stops us from our ability to connect with our intuitive mind. Trusting and strengthening your intuition starts by trusting yourself and taking the time to listen to your inner wisdom.

To do this, its most helpful to find a quiet place where you can relax, control your breathing and slowly clear your mind of thought. Once you are in a state of peacefulness, as yourself any question that you have been struggling with in your logical mind. Stay quiet and let the answer to the question come to you instinctively, from within. Trust that intuitive voice by taking action. Once you've taken action, you can start an "intuition log" to monitor the outcome, to see how your intuition served you.

Another way to strengthen your intuition is to tune into your internal energy and the energy that surrounds you. Are you a positive or negative person? The power of positive thinking creates positive energy. This energy helps you to feel strong, loving and encouraging. Negative energy depletes your spirit and can make you mean. Your intuition can only blossom and grow around your positive energy. Are the people in your life positive or negative? Don't you feel so much better when you surround yourself with positive, happy people who honor your relationship and add to your happy spirit? I bet you said "yes" to this question. Let your intuition be your guide to help you weed through and decide who adds to your positive energy and who doesn't.

These two suggestions are beginning ideas to strengthen your intuition. What suggestions do you have for trusting and strengthening your intuition? How has your intuition helped you?

Keeping the Faith

2009-08-16T12:45:00.002-05:00

When we get on a plane we have the FAITH that it is going to fly!  When we go to bed we have FAITH that we will awake in the morning. When we leave our house we have FAITH that it will be there when we return.

The majority of our daily activities are solely based on our faith and belief. If we had no faith, we wouldn't even be able to get out of bed in the morning.

Faith fuels our very being. Our faith is tested when things get hard, when we are afraid, and when our perfectly laid plans aren't so perfect. True faith is continued belief in the face of adversity. True faith is when you have every single reason in the world to have NO faith.

So, here is how you hold on and keep your faith:

1. Be clear about what you want. Faith wavers when it is uncertain what to claim. Claim what you want.

2. Stop looking for the results. This is not your job. Your job is to keep the faith, keep the action going and keep repeating these steps.

3. Know that our faith will be constantly tested. You pass the test when you continue to believe.

No meaningful life was ever built on uncertainty and no leader appeared out of doubt. Believe in yourself, your faith and your abilities. Good will come from this.

Your Buried Treasure

2009-08-10T21:25:00.004-05:00

You have experienced successful, fulfilling events in your life that brought you great joy and strengthened your self-confidence. You know these experiences exist, but you have not visited them for a long time. Unfortunately, they are buried in the depths of your subconscious memory.

Unbeknownst to you, these buried knowings are your personal treasure. They can provide you with a powerful reference, knowledge and experience you can recreate. Knowing that there is a source of success, available to you, will provide you with a stronger sense of confidence and encourage you to take action when entering unknown territory.

Once you have discovered your successful knowings and can excavate them out of the depths of your subconscious, you will find an empowering resource that reveals your strengths, successful systems and strategies that can be incorporated in your life. Your knowings also include the values that motivated you to pursue important objectives. How many experiences do you know of that can give you the confidence to take action and ignite the special sparks in your heart? Discovering and revisiting your buried treasure will empower you to act on important goals that will reveal precious clues aligned with your passion.

Your knowings remind you past success can be recreated; maybe even with better results. What good will your buried knowings do if they remain hidden and concealed?

The following questions can support you in the process of discovering your buried treasure of "knowings":

What experiences in your personal, academic, family, professional or business life have:

• Made you feel good;

• Given you a strong sense of accomplishment;

• Been fulfilling;

• Brought you instant joy

What is the first step you can take to look for your buried treasure?

When is the last time you paid attention to these knowings?

What would happen if you paid more attention to your knowings of success?

Once you discover your inner knowings, you need to identify reminders you can use: a visual, a quote, a word, a song, to remember to focus on your own treasure of knowings.

If you don't pay attention to your buried treasure, it will remain concealed and become your biggest barrier to success. Don't deny yourself your own inner treasure! You have the antidote to stagnation and procrastination, sitting in your mind waiting to be rediscovered and set free!

Managing Emails

2009-08-05T21:17:00.002-05:00

My clients are always asking me for strategies on managing emails. This info is from a new article in ADDITUDE magazine and is a simple guideline:

Limit Messages

The fewer email messages that come in, the fewer you have to deal with.

Set e-mail software filters for messages you want to receive, but don’t need to read right away. They will automatically be archived or moved to a folder you designate. To set up a filter in Outlook, choose “Rules and Alerts” from the Tools menu; in Gmail, click “settings” (at the upper right of your screen), then the “filters” tab.

Mark unwanted e-mails as spam. Future messages from the sender will go to your junk-mail folder.

Use an e-mail-filtering program to limit access to your inbox. These programs, such as ChoiceMail, automatically approve e-mails from only the senders you know and trust. Unapproved senders will be blocked.

Manage The Messages You Receive

Resist opening e-mails first thing in the morning.

Don’t allow others to set your agenda. Set a schedule to attend to e-mail -- a half-hour before lunch and a half-hour before you leave for the day.

Turn off the e-mail notification function. Having attention called to each new message is a distraction that ADD adults don’t need.

Limit follow-up e-mails. Create a subject line that lets the recipient know exactly what your message is about.

Respond to any e-mail that requires a brief response as soon as you open it. Don't put it off to re-read later.

Mark e-mails that require an action. You’ll be able to quickly find the action items later on.

Empty your inbox every day. Old e-mails that require no immediate action distract you from more important e-mails that require your attention.

A Clock That Sticks Anywhere–To Keep You on Track

2009-07-30T22:31:00.010-05:00

This is a helpful idea–a clock with a suction cup that you can stick anywhere a suction cup sticks to, especially on your shower door. The Bath Clock is one way to improve your morning routine by supporting your need to keep track of time.

Once you add a new item like a clock to your environment, it's important to create the habit of looking at that clock to help you gauge how long each segment of a task is taking you.

Regularly checking your time as you work through your morning routine will help you manage your time more effectively. It is important to know how much time is needed for each task you do before walking out the door. Let's look at how your morning routine breaks down into measurable segments:

A. What time do you wake up? B. How long to shower and fix your hair? C. How long to get dressed? D. If you are a woman, how long does it take to apply your makeup? E. How long does it take for you to eat breakfast? F. Are there any other people in the house that you are responsible for getting up and out the door in the morning? If so, how long does that process take? Break those steps down too and add up the needed time.

What often gets us off track is our inability to manage our time better–5 minutes in the shower can often turn into 15 minutes or more. With the Bath Clock stuck to your shower wall, you'll stay on track so that you no longer get stuck in the shower, lost in your own thoughts. Here is where you can buy it: http://www.stacksandstacks.com/bath-clock-suction

ADHD Sleep: Sweet Dreams or a Nightmare?

2009-07-25T18:14:00.007-05:00

Liz can't sleep at night. She tosses and turns and she isn't alone in her battle to sleep. For many ADHD adults, sleep is a battleground between your overactive mind and your exhausted body. Research shows that people who sleep fewer than seven-and-a-half hours a night are at greater risk for diabetes, obesity and heart disease, and lack of sleep can mimic ADHD symptoms, doubling the ADHD effect for people.

ADHD treatment can cause insomnia. Stimulant medications make you alert during the day but keep you awake at bedtime. Doctors often suggest avoiding stimulants late in the day to reduce residual effects, although some doctors prescribe an additional dose of stimulant medication before bedtime to help your ADHD brain focus on the immediate goal: falling asleep.

So how can you consistently achieve that "good night's sleep?" An evening ritual can help you transition between activity and rest. Take a warm bath, read a few pages of a boring novel or enjoy some herbal tea.

Your sleep environment must be inviting. If a lumpy 20-year-old mattress is keeping you from going to bed, quality bedding will be an investment in better sleep and better health.

When your ADHD brain won't shut down, try a "brain dump." Quickly write down all the ideas and worries that are spinning in your head - write fast and furiously for five minutes only. Capturing the ideas on paper frees your mind so you can drift off. Keep the pencil and paper beside your bed to dump any middle-of-the-night brainstorms.

If you fall asleep only to wake up an hour or two later, try calm, deep breaths, focusing on the exchange of air, similar to meditation. If you're still awake after 20 minutes, stop the torture. Get out of bed! Listen to soothing music, have a glass of cocoa (warm milk really does help!) or read a magazine until you are drowsy again.

Do NOT watch TV or surf the Internet! These electronic devices emit light your brain interprets as "dawn's early light," which signals you to wake up. If you must work on the computer or watch TV in the evening, try blue light blocker screen filters, which cast a warmish, sunset kind of light over the screen.

Despite the obstacles, ADHD adults can achieve a good night's sleep. Talk to your doctor to ensure your sleep issues aren't the byproduct of a physical ailment such as sleep apnea. Then try some of the ADHD-friendly suggestions in this article. I hope you can enjoy a good nights sleep!

Make the Wrong Stimuli Less Sticky

2009-07-20T20:52:00.006-05:00

In this day of stimulation overload, all of us need to work harder to stay on track. Therefore, those of us who have a harder time filtering out tempting stimuli will stand out from the crowd. Those with ADHD will run into more trouble than most. Their distractibility, disorganization, forgetfulness and impulsivity will be more obvious since their the demands are so much greater.

So how do you get yourself unstuck from all those "wrong" stimuli? There are two basic ways:

Make the Wrong Stimuli Less Sticky

It's easier to be less distracted if there is less distracting you. So get rid of those distractions before they get you. Here are some examples:

Turn off your phone and email alert when you really need to focus in and get some stuff done.
Get rid of the clutter where you tend to lose more important things.
When you have limited time, don't even start those activities that you tend to get lost in.
Unsubscribe from those email alerts and newsletters that waste your time.

Make the Right Stimuli More Sticky

You're more likely to notice the right thing at the right time if you can make it stand out more. For example:

Set an alarm to remind you of upcoming appointments or when it's time to start getting ready.
Use bright colors to draw your eye to the things that you're supposed to pay attention to.
Put important things in designated places (like right next to the door) to make it easier to see them and more likely that you will bring them with you.

Try to keep these two simple concepts in mind as you go through your day. We're not looking for perfection, just for a way to change the odds to make you more likely to do the right thing at the right time. When you find that you wandered off, take a second to reflect back on what happened. What can you learn from that experience? Is there anything you can do differently next time? Look for those lessons from past failures in order to create more successes in the future!

Creating Your Family Launch Pad

2009-07-19T23:24:00.005-05:00

Create a "launch pad" in your home. This is the place (hook, cubby hole, container or decorative basket on top of a piece of furniture) by the door that holds our important out-the-door items. This area is maintained on a daily basis; not a drop zone for just anything coming in the door. This area is for items that must be staged for leaving with us each morning or put away as we walk in the door each evening. This is not a drop zone, but an active area.

If you need additional visual support; directions about what to take out the door or bring in with you upon entering, use a 4 x 6 brightly colored Post-It^® to list the five or six important items going out each morning and coming in each evening. You can also list where your put away items need to be stored until you have successfully created your put-away habit.

All family members are responsible for keeping their "launch pad" area organized and ready for use. Smaller children always need their parents help with this process. But by creating this out-the-door routine, family members can be assured that they will walk out the door with what they need and not have to run all over the house collecting items that need to leave with them each morning.

You Create Your Own Internal Weather

2009-07-03T13:51:00.010-05:00

The following article was written by David Giwerc, founder of ADD Coach Academy:

Now that summer time is here, I really appreciate every sunny day we experience.It's so great being able to put on a pair of shorts, a t-shirt and walk barefoot in the backyard. I soak it all in. I know that as the seasons change, we have no control over the drop in temperature, as we get closer to the end of the year.

Living in the Northeast, in January and February can be a very cold, dark time of year. The snow turns to ice or melts into mush and there are fewer hours of available sun.

When you wake up in the morning, and when you return from school or work, the physical darkness permeates everything, everywhere. Is it the physical darkness that causes darkness inside of each one of you? Or can you create a new source of internal sunlight that can dominate the physical darkness outside?

I know lots of people who live in beautiful parts of the country, like California and Florida, where the physical sun is outside every day but they are still dark inside. They don't see both kinds of internal and external beauty.

It certainly does help to live where the weather is nice. It is not the only thing that will keep you feeling good. You are the major source of your own light, not the weather. Some of the best times in my life occurred on dreary, cold days and nights by spending times with good friends or even a good book.

It's really a perception and a focus. No matter where you are, no matter what the weather conditions, you still have the power to create your own internal weather conditions. When you choose good friends and fun, fulfilling things to do, it doesn't matter what the weather is like outside. The weather outside of you is out of your control. Even though it may be very dark or cold outside, there is always the possibility of creating internal light on the inside.

How you perceive the weather outside of you has a big effect on the weather conditions inside of you. Even if the darkness outside is foreboding, you still have the ability to shine.

Loving Ourselves

2009-06-30T19:39:00.005-05:00

I have just a few thoughts this evening to share about loving ourselves. We get so busy with our work whether that is organizing, coaching, or whatever we do for a living that we forget what is most important to our lives and our businesses. That most important thing is LOVE. Loving ourselves, our work and those that we serve. So, I want to share some life and business reminders for all of us:

• Don't let anyone feel alone.

• When you are feeling negative - distract yourself!

•Listen to what is NOT being said.

• Recognize your value.

• Recognize the value of others.

• You learn the most from those you least expect to learn from.

•Give your clients what they want - not what they need.

• Tap into your inner child.

•Nothing works when it is out of integrity.

•Remember to love yourself each and every minute of the day.

•Spread that love around.

• Be sure to tell those most important to you how much they mean to you as often as possible.

Benefits of Our Morning Routine

2009-06-27T17:05:00.002-05:00

Creating and establishing routines affect people's lives in positive ways. Routines help improve efficiency on one's life and aids in our daily functioning. They help us to know what to do and what to expect. Life is not just one big surprise after another. With a predictable schedule, we offer our kids structure that helps them feel safe and secure.

By building routines we are saying to our family "this is how we do things around here." Routines help to make our daily activities more controlled. This also allows us the time to focus on one task at a time, making activities more manageable.

The family experiences a decrease in stress when everyone knows what is expected of them. Let's take getting up each morning. The way to create an organized process for this is to write out a list of the step-by-step things that one must do to get ready for school or work. Your child can follow this list to understand what has to be done and in what order. Getting up to an alarm the same time each morning, which means going to bed the same time each night is a critical part of this healthy routine.

Post a "wash up" list on the bathroom mirror next to where they get ready. Some of the items on the list will be: Take shower, dry, comb and style hair, get dressed. Have clothes picked out the night before, to make dressing in the morning easier.

Have a set time for eating breakfast and offer healthy choices that you know your kids really like. After breakfast, brush teeth, get backpack that is by the door (with all necessary paperwork already placed inside the day before). To have a place by the door where packed backpacks are stored and coats and other necessary out-the-door items are kept, so that everyone can take what they need from this area and easily leave the house without forgetting important items.

What are some of the routines you've created for yourself and your family?

First Steps To Create Routines For Your Kids

2009-06-20T14:28:00.006-05:00

Routines are important for us to have and to create for our kids. If kids have no structure and no routines that they can count on, then chaos will rein supreme in their lives and their homes. When kids with ADHD have no routines, then chaos will surely rein supreme at home and everywhere else.

Kids and adults need structure. They need something they can count on to provide stability in their lives. To create structure in your home, you first need to have the belief that you can commit to creating, supporting and sustaining routines for yourself and your family.

Let's first talk about a morning routine for getting out the door. The first step is to implement a daily family meeting. At this meeting family members discuss what steps need to be taken to gather all necessary items and get out the door each morning. Different tasks are discussed and each family member becomes responsible for their individual tasks. A family calendar/schedule will be created and implemented. Tasks will be written onto the calendar/schedule for each day, along with the name of the person responsible for carrying out the task.

These tasks can be written out step-by-step and the family calendar/schedule will be clearly visible in a central location, like a prominent kitchen wall. If kids are very young, you can add illustrations or photos of the tasks they are responsible for.

Tasks and their steps can be written on brightly colored Post-it® notes and placed on bathroom mirrors, next to light switches, on the inside of the front door, or anywhere you or your child can visibly see the note as a reminder before leaving the house. These notes will serve as visual cues as well as road maps to assist all of you in creating new habits.

Many well-intentioned parents start to establish the structure their kids need. Many may quit after a few weeks or even a few days because the routines are not working. They complain that their child just won't listen. He doesn't want to go along with the new routine. Each day may becomes a struggle. Everyone gets tired of fighting and the parents want to give up.

Usually, routines don't work because parents give up too soon. To make structure really work, routines need to be seen and implemented not just as simple behavioral strategies, but as a way of life.

What have your experiences been when trying to create routines and structure in your life?

Neat Desk

2009-05-27T21:53:00.003-05:00

The folks at Neat who brought you Neat Receipts now has Neat Desk. Obviously this one is a little bigger than Neat Receipts, but it can scan up to 10 business cards, 10 receipts and 10 sheets of paper at one time, or even a single, 50-page document. NeatDesk is a high-speed, duplex desktop scanner and digital filing system. The software (NeatWorks 4.0) creates a digital filing cabinet for you and transforms the information into PDF files. The data can be exported to Excel, Outlook, Quicken, QuickBooks, and TurboTax. For us Mac users there is a Mac version of this product.

http://neatco.com