Certified Professional Organizer for Chronic Disorganization

Chronic Disorganization

Are you wondering if YOU are chronically disorganized?

Here are three criteria:

• Do you have a history of  disorganization?
  
  
• Does your disorganization affect your quality of life and that of those around you?
  
  
• Have self-help methods not proved effective in your case?
   

If you answered yes to one or all of these questions, you may be Chronically Disorganized (CD), and you are not alone.

If you feel you are Chronically Disorganized but have been organized in the past, you may be what Mary calls “situationally disorganized”™. This is when the appearance looks chronically disorganized—everything out of control—but life has layered many situations upon you. As you were taking care of the more important things in life, your clutter became overwhelming.

Regardless of which situation you are in, Mary has worked with numerous clients who are CD and has seen tremendous changes take place and people’s lives open up.

She never judges her clients by their stacks or stashes. No matter where you are, the first step is to stop feeling guilty and to realize help is available.

Chronically Disorganized client writes: “A big burden was lifted. I no longer feel stupid, lazy or incompetent. Those were the voices in my head, but after the first hour with you, Mary, I feel so much better, like things are going to be okay –a tremendous booster! Thank you for making a positive change in my life.” AK

“Thanks so much for helping me with my ‘paper nightmare’! LD

In 2004 Mary was certified by the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD) as a Certified Professional Organizer—Chronic Disorganization (CPO-CD). In 2004 she was a conference presenter on the subject of Chronic Disorganization.

Some of the topics studied for certification were: Assisting Those with CD in the Work Place; Attention Deficit Disorder; Packrats and Hoarders; Heirs of CD; Working with Couples; Working with the Elderly.

• Can Mary help you? Yes, Mary understands and has empathy for persons who are chronically disorganized. She understands your  situation and feelings, and she brings the tools and methods needed  to work effectively with you. Clients have told Mary that her caring,  compassionate attitude made it easy to work with her. Feel free to  contact Mary.

Click here for a fun quiz.
Be sure to check out the before-and-after pictures and read what others have said about working with Mary.

Useful Information

Knoxville News Sentinal March 1, 2010

Professionals distinguish between chronically disorganized and hoarders

Read article about Recent Demographics Show Hoarding Affects 2-5% of Population

The National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization website has helpful facts sheets and a clutter-hoarding scale.  This information is free, and you may find it helpful.

Does Your Office Suffer from Chronic Disorganization?

If the title makes you laugh, and you feel like you have been found out, let me assure you, you are not alone. There is a National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization. How do you know if you are chronically disorganized (CD)? In my experience in this field, I find that two of the three following criteria must be met.

1. Lack of organization affects the quality of your life.
2. Trying to get organized has been a life-long struggle.
3. Self-help methods have not worked.
    

Disorganization costs a person money if he is in business for himself, or promotions if he works for a company. The stress can even affect his health, besides causing strain in relationships.

Sometimes a person who is struggling with this may even have a neat area, but it takes all his time and energy to be organized—time and energy that could be spent on a career or enjoying life is consumed by being organized.

Many of my clients think there is something seriously wrong with them because standard organizing methods don’t work for them. When I work with a client, I always answer that if the world were just made up of organizers it would be a dull place. In fact, I am often envious of the talents and abilities my CD clients have; so life is a trade-off.

As of 2004,I was one of the first professional organizers in the country to earn the status Certified Professional Organizer in Chronic Disorganization(CPO-CD).

Feel free to call me and discuss your situation, and let’s see if I’m a good match to help you become Clutter-free & Organized.
423-581-9460
865-607-9460
Toll-free 888-835-6335

There are many creative ways to organize for the CD. It is important that a customized system be created that matches a person’s “organizing personality,” space, and needs. The first step to conquering the problem is letting go of the guilt! This makes it easier to ask for help from a professional.

My clients agree that working with a compassionate person can start you on the road to freedom. A compassionate person is one who:

• Is not judgmental and
• Realizes how hard it is for you to let go of items and also
• Realizes that you have not let this situation develop by choice.

Click here to learn how Mary’s coaching/follow-up sessions make a permanent difference in your organizing maintenance.

During my 13 years as a professional organizer, I have seen people’s business move forward as the chaos is tamed and they start having systems to follow and become more organized. If you find yourself on total overload, take comfort in knowing that information and help are available.

To learn more about Chronic Disorganization contact www.nsgcd.org.

Organize for more time, space, and freedom! Call Mary today!
423-581-9460 or 865-607-9460 or
Toll-free 888-835-6335

MASTERCARD, VISA, DISCOVER CHEERFULLY ACCEPTED!

Fun Quiz

Are You a De-railed Neatnik?
Several years ago . . .

• Everything had a place.
• You didn’t have piles sitting everywhere.
• You went to the grocery story equipped with a menu and list.
• Everyone talked about how organized you were.
• You didn’t groan when you walked into your office or home.

You were happily organized in the past, but your busy life has de-railed you, and you would like to get back “on track” quickly. Good news: you are the kind of person who will maintain and sustain your re-organization.

Are You a Crisis Organizer?
You are a happy person, and how your house looks doesn’t bother you on most days, but . . .

• It is April 1 and you are in a panic, trying to think up excuses to tell your accountant and the IRS.
• You are having your house appraised, so you take things to your daughter’s house to store.

Yes, you are a Crisis Organizer. Not the organizer of a crisis, like disaster relief—but one whose priority list does not have “being organized” at the top. What? You don’t even have a list? This may be you all right. Your desire to get organized comes and goes and is concurrent with an upcoming event, such as house guests or an IRS audit. Contact Mary today to prevent the next crisis.

Are You a Chronic Packrat?

• You are storing your off-season clothes in the trunk of your car.
• You already have or are considering buying the house next door to  store your stuff in.
• You don’t allow anyone in your house but your sister.
• You break out in hives if someone says they are going to stop by.

You are suffocating in stuff. You’re talented and artistic, but you have a “thing gene.” You can’t help seeing future possibilities for all the items you are keeping, and you plan to use them all someday.

Or, you are a paper-piler. Does your office look like your file cabinet exploded?

Or, you love to shop and shop and shop and shop and . . . Do you need stuff relief?

The good news is that if you want it, there’s help out there to prune your stuff and organize what you want to/need to/must keep.

No matter in what group the under-organized find themselves, they all feel guilty about it. Here is a poem I use when I speak to groups, because if I can help my clients let go of their guilt, it is easier for them to move forward.
 

The No-Guilt Poem
My stacks didn’t grow ‘cause I was lazy;
My stacks came to be
While I was living life fully,
So I’m going to stop feeling guilty.

Organize for more time, space, and freedom! Call Mary today!
423-581-9460 or 865-607-9460 or
Toll-free 888-835-6335