.ORGANIZE YOUR LIFE

A bag of bags. A box of boxes.

By Hazel Thornton | July 13, 2015 |

            . I never met a client who didn’t have a stash of plastic bags. Or paper grocery sacks. Or empty boxes. Or all three. Heck, I have them too! These are some of the easiest things to accumulate in one’s home to the point of ridiculousness. Organizing isn’t just…

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Don’t Let Your Containers Overflow!

By Hazel Thornton | July 13, 2015 |

Containerizing is the art and science of deciding which container will be a good home for your stuff. (Perfectionists take note: I said “good”, not “the very best imaginable”.) A container can be a box, bin, jar, or basket. But it can also be a shelf, closet or room. Containers provide structure for your things…

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Are you taking it too far? (recycling/donating/selling/repurposing)

By Hazel Thornton | July 5, 2015 |

Decluttering and letting go of unwanted items is good for the soul. One man’s trash can indeed be another man’s treasure! Repurposing can be a creative and satisfying endeavor. And recycling is good for the planet. But… there’s a limit to what one person can do. You can’t save the planet single-handedly. Don’t forget to…

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“But I paid good money for that!” (The Sunk Cost of Clutter – part 1)

By Hazel Thornton | May 21, 2015 |

When I help a client sort through their things, there are any number of reasons why they have difficulty letting them go. This, despite the fact that they don’t love or use them. “But it was a gift! But I might need it someday! But I paid good money for that!” Wait! WHAT? (Cue screeching…

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Better Than Before

By Hazel Thornton | March 27, 2015 |

I have been a fan of Gretchen Rubin ever since her bestseller The Happiness Project. One of the things we have in common is that clearing clutter and organizing makes us both happy! I listened to her new audiobook — Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives — as soon as humanly possible…

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Are You Situationally Disorganized?

By Hazel Thornton | March 11, 2015 |

Would it surprise you to learn that many of my clients are actually quite organized? They must be. They successfully run businesses and manage families and households. They earn academic degrees and professional awards. They make jewelry and quilts, and they write books. And they’ve done it all without my help because they’re organized in…

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Don’t Stack Your Boxes, Use Shelving!

By Hazel Thornton | March 8, 2015 |

Everybody has stuff. Some stuff you use every day and you keep it handy — in cupboards, in drawers, or on small decorative shelves. Other stuff you use less often, or never — camping equipment, holiday decorations, emergency supplies, keepsakes, etc. — and you store it in boxes in less accessible places. No matter where…

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Does Your System Need Tweaking Like Mine Did?

By Hazel Thornton | January 21, 2015 |

In Six Organizing Systems Everyone Needs I asked questions designed to help you create the RIGHT systems that will work for YOU. I also stated that every system needs to be re-evaluated periodically, and adjusted as necessary. Because things change. Here is an example of a system that worked for me for many years…until it…

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Decisions, Decisions….

By Hazel Thornton | January 10, 2015 |

Do you have trouble making decisions? I think we all do on occasion, but this difficulty often plagues my disorganized clients. Consider the gazillions of decisions we are all faced with on a daily basis — what to wear? eat? do? say? buy? In the case of clutter we wonder: How did this pile get…

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8 Motivational Quotes for an Auspicious New Year

By Hazel Thornton | January 1, 2015 |

Rather than telling you what I hope…I mean, resolve…to accomplish in the New Year, I want to tell you how I plan to keep myself motivated. It’s easy for me to set goals, even S.M.A.R.T. Goals, and then forget later why they were so important. (It is just me?) I even have an entire New…

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Hazel's Books

Book cover: What's a Photo Without the Story? How to Create Your Family Legacy

What’s a Photo Without the Story? How to Create Your Family Legacy

Cover of "Go With the Flow! (The Clutter Flow Chart Workbook)"

Go With the Flow! (The Clutter Flow Chart Workbook)

Cover of "Hung Jury: The Diary of a Menendez Juror"

Hung Jury: The Diary of a Menendez Juror

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