*This contest is closed.

We’ve been getting some very interesting ideas on how we should celebrate our 3rd blogiversary and we’ve got awesome prizes to give away. So, we’ve decided to extend the deadline for entries until Saturday, October 1st! We’ll announce winners on October 14th.

Just a word of advice: Read the rules carefully.

Though we love hearing about the great ways you stay organized, this contest is all about how we should celebrate. And, you get 3 chances to enter. Read more below…

Enter on Our Blog | Enter via Facebook

Rules:

1. Share your idea by October 1st by leaving a comment on this post …OR…

2. Leave a comment on our Facebook page

3. Don’t forget to include your e-mail address

4. Prizes will be given for the most (1) Fabulous, (2) Creative, and (3) Funny ideas *Multiple winners

5. Ideas must be family-friendly to be considered

6. One entry per person per category (that gives you three chances to enter – 1 entry for each category: fabulous, creative, and funny)

7. Prizes will be randomly awarded

8. Winners will be announced on October 14, 2011 *New date

___________________________________________________________

*PRIZES*

• The Clutter Diet: The Skinny on Organizing Your Home and Taking Control of Your Life (paperback) | Value: $17.95

• The Clutter Diet Annual Membership | Value: $143.40

• ListPlanIt.com Personal Download Membership | Value: $30

• 100 Days to Christmas e-book | Value: $4.99  *2 copies will be given away

• Neat Receipts Mobile Scanner | Value: $199.95

• Neat Bobble Head | Value: Priceless!

• The Six O’Clock Scramble 3-Month Subscription | Value: $21

• Evernote Premium | Value: $45

• The Other Side of Organized | Value: $14.95  *2 copies will be given away

• Space Bags Combo Pack | Value: $29.99

• Unclutter Your Life in One Week | Value: $15.00

 Enter on Our Blog | Enter via Facebook

Image Credit: Google Images

*This contest is closed.

*UPDATE: We now have prizes from ClutterDiet, ListPlanit, The Neat Company, The Six O’Clock Scramble, Evernote, Oh, So Organized, Space Bags, & Unclutterer!  Scroll down to see specific prizes and leave a comment. DEADLINE EXTENDED! ~Deb, 9.26.11

It’s been 3 years since we started blogging at OTR! Our first year came and went very quickly, but so did our second. So quick, that we forgot to celebrate all together. We must have been having lots of fun. =)

How should we celebrate this latest milestone? Suggest something fabulous and we might use your idea…and you’ll get a prize. You’ll also get a prize if your idea is super creative. Or funny. So, leave a comment to tell us what you think.

Rules:

1. Share your idea by October 1st by leaving a comment on this post …OR…

2. Leave a comment on our Facebook page

3. Don’t forget to include your e-mail address

4. Prizes will be given for the most (1) Fabulous, (2) Creative, and (3) Funny ideas *Multiple winners

5. Ideas must be family-friendly to be considered

6. One entry per person per category (that gives you three chances to enter – 1 entry for each category: fabulous, creative, and funny)

7. Prizes will be randomly awarded

8. Winners will be announced on October 14, 2011 *New date

..and check out a few random posts from the past year…

2010

• Tech Disaster: What to do When Your Laptop Gives You The Finger [Sept 2010]

• Transformers: The Floor That Turns Into a Table [May 2010]

• Plant a Garden to Get Rid of Clutter [Feb 2010]

• Quick Tip: 3 Things You Can do With Your Half-Done Projects [Oct 2010]

• 3 Essential Rules for Furnishing a Small Space [March 2010]

• An Introduction to Equestrian Organizing [Aug 2010]

• Get Out From Under the Mess of Your Ex [June 2010]

 2011

• How to Organize Your Chickens [Jan 2011]

• Transformers: The Puzzle That Turns Into Table & Chairs [Aug 2011]

• Armadillos Are Dangerous and Ugly, Just Like Clutter [July 2011]

• How Technology in Bathrooms Can Help With Time Management [May 2011]

• Boobs and Productivity [Feb 2011]

• Quick Tip: Put Your Trash in Your Freezer [May 2011]

• Quick Tip: Keep Your Head Up High Even When Life Catches You With Your Pants Down  [March 2011]

___________________________________________________________

*PRIZES*

• The Clutter Diet: The Skinny on Organizing Your Home and Taking Control of Your Life (paperback) | Value: $17.95

• The Clutter Diet Annual Membership | Value: $143.40

• ListPlanIt.com Personal Download Membership | Value: $30

• 100 Days to Christmas e-book | Value: $4.99  *2 copies will be given away

• Neat Receipts Mobile Scanner | Value: $199.95

• Neat Bobble Head | Value: Priceless!

• The Six O’Clock Scramble 3-Month Subscription | Value: $21

• Evernote Premium | Value: $45

• The Other Side of Organized | Value: $14.95  *2 copies will be given away

• Space Bags Combo Pack | Value: $29.99

• Unclutter Your Life in One Week | Value: $15.00

We’re taking a break today…not because it’s a holiday, but because it’s much needed! While we’re off getting revitalized, please enjoy this post from a year ago: Organization as Art: Used Book Sculptures.

Back in February 2010, I discovered the art of Michael Johansson.  He was quite clever with how he organized every day things.

My most recent find (thanks to Alltop) is the work of Jacqueline Rush Lee who makes sculptures from used books. Some of you may cringe at that thought, but it sounds like a better option than having books packed away in a box, never to be seen again.

 Read the Entire Article

Our Thursday article is usually reserved for a guest blogger, and today we’re sharing a post from OTR friend, Cori Padgett, from a year ago. Enjoy!

Let’s just say that organized and productive are pretty relative terms when it comes to what I do and how I do it!  While I have all the theory and know how to stay on top of things and keep my business running smoothly… implementing that theory and know how is another story altogether.  Sometimes things simply do NOT go according to plan!

However, there are a few things that I find help me to keep things efficient, which is what I’ll share with you now.

Create a Schedule for Yourself

I know, sounds a bit dumb… after all, you go into work for yourself to work how you want, when you want.

Right?

Except when you operate from that mindset, what happens is that the things that should be done end up falling by the wayside, because you wind up not managing your time appropriately.  So… set a schedule for yourself, even if it’s a somewhat loose one.

Figure out what are your most productive times of the day, and make it a point to reserve those hours specifically for high priority projects whenever possible.  For me, that is usually from 8am to 2 or 3pm, which are the hours that my kids are in school.  After 3pm, any additional work I get done is just gravy!

Create Timed Priorities

I’m a ghostwriter, so the bulk of my high value activities involve writing consistently.  I’ve found the best way for me to do this is to do it in blocks, or chunks of time.  So invest in…

Read the Entire Article

About the Author

Cori is a wildly hire-able freelance ‘ghost’ as well as the creative brains and dubious brawn behind her blog Big Girl Branding. If you’d like to harness her creative brains and dubious brawn and put it to work for you, just stalk her on Twitter and ask her. I’m “almost” sure she doesn’t bite. Well… like 95% sure.

Connect With Cori: Web | Blog | Twitter

What a busy weekend we had at the Food, Libations, and Luxury Home Show at the Gaylord National Hotel! We met lots of new people, a few “old” friends stopped by our booth, and we ate waaay too much. =)  We’re still unpacking and hope you’ll enjoy an oldie but goodie from last year – our interview with Geralin Thomas from the A&E show, Hoarders.

Here’s an excerpt from that interview…

1.  What is your area of expertise and how long have you been a professional organizer?  Doyou work only with hoarders?

My area of expertise is residential organizing. I particularly enjoy helping clients who are chronically disorganized or clients with mental health challenges, including hoarders.

2.  You are one of the organizers featured on the A&E show, Hoarders. What is that experience like?

It’s interesting (in a good way). Before the show, a lot of people weren’t even aware of the term, “hoarding,” let alone recognizing it as a disorder. Bringing this disorder out into the open has ignited a lot of conversations about the impact on families, communities, landlords and, of course, the health of the hoarder.  It has been a very rewarding experience.

3.  Do you continue working with the people profiled on Hoarders after filming ends?

No, so far, I haven’t worked with anyone located in my home state of NC.  I refer my TV clients to a qualified professional organizer who lives near them whenever possible.  I do, however, stay in touch with many of the clients via phone and email.  I even talk to some of their family members too, with their permission, of course.

 

Click Here to Read More

The celebration of one year of blogging on OTR continues!  Here’s a quick flashback of a few of our blog posts over the last year.  Enjoy!

September 2008

• Are Your Books Out of Control? Bumping into your books all the time? Check out these 5 tips on how to get a handle on them.

• Ever Get a Flat Tire? 3 things that should live in every car, ’cause you never know when you might need them.

October 2008

• Want Throw a Plate at a Wall? Having a bad day?  Feeling stressed?  Here’s a look at one way to manage stress.

• Rubbermaid Q&A With Professional Organizer, Deb Lee Check out my interview with Rubbermaid’s Jim Deitzel.

November 2008

• Where Do You Keep Your Children’s Masterpieces? 3 tips on what to do with your children’s art work.

• How Did That Wrench Get in Here? Have you ever had a plan to do something and then other things come up and kinda throw a wrench in your original plan?

December 2008

• Deb’s Favorite Things – Home Edition Here are my favorite things that help keep me organized at home.

• Before & After:  Garage Need a little inspiration for your own garage?  Check out this before and after shots.

January 2009

• Free Organizing Tips From the Experts Who doesn’t like free?  Check out these tips from organizing pros.

• Are Your Holiday Decorations Still Up? So, when are you really supposed to pack everything away?

February 2009

• It’s Party Time Have an event coming up soon?  Check out these tips on how to get organized for your next party.

• O Myth Live:  “Get Organized Month” Organizer Panel Listen to me and some organizer friends debunk some organizing myths.

March 2009

• Jaime’s Jems:  One True Media If you have a lot of photographs, this “jem” is for you.

• Fact Friday: Clothing Wanna take a guess on how often you wear your clothes?

April 2009

• Evernote Sings a Nice Tune  Need a way to stop the paper piles from, well, piling up? Evernote may be just what you’re looking for.

• Fact Friday: New Habits Want to find a way to keep a good habit going?  You’ll need to do this.

May 2009

• Interview With Monica Ricci, Atlanta’s Organizing Expert Monica sits down with me and tells all about how she stays organized. You’ll be surprised by what she says…

• Fun Fact Friday: Magic 8-Ball Have you ever used a Magic 8-Ball? It might be more accurate than you think.

June 2009

• Jaime’s Jem: ICE Great tip on how to manage emergency contact information.

• Fact Friday Revisited:  Productivity & Multitasking The odd connection between productivity and multitaksing.

July 2009

• Interview With Angie Goff, WUSA9 Traffic Anchor  Can you imagine what it would be like to get up at 2:30 am every morning to get to work at 4:30 am? …and to split your time between two states? …because your spouse doesn’t live in your state?

• Do You Pixily? If paper’s your problem, Pixily can come to the rescue!  …and Pixily is friends with Evernote.  What a great combo!

August 2009

• A&E Explores the Lives of Hoarders The new A&E program, “Hoarders,” profiles people who struggle with letting go of their belongings, sometimes to their detriment.

• Before & After:  Home Office If you’re home office needs a little TLC, get a bit of motivation from these before and after photos.

September 2009

• Great Advice From the Organizing Pros! More great tips from fabulous organizers. =)

• The Entrepreneur’s Toolbox If you’re a small biz owner, this one’s for you.

Photo Credit:  Google Images

To kick off the celebration of an entire year of blog posts, I’m sharing a few snippets of my very first post, “Top Five Organizing Tips.” Though it’s been a year, the tips still ring true. Here are the first two:

1. Set Organizing Goals - Figure out what you want to accomplish and put those items in order of priority.

2. Figure Out Your Peak Performance Time - Do you know when you are most productive?

The basic idea is that if you’re organized, you’re likely to be less stressed and more productive. Check out the original post for the other 3 tips. I hope you they motivate you on this second go round. Btw, do you have a tip?  Please share. =)

Related Articles 

• Five Ways to Prevent Procrastination from Zapping Your Energy and Productivity (1-2-3getorganized.blogspot.com)
• Organizing, 1 day down many more to go! (multitaskingmoms.com)
• How to Unclutter with Evernote and Rubbermaid in 4 Steps (evernote.com)

I can hardly believe it!  It’s been a year (almost) since my first blog post. Wow. Would you believe that I didn’t really have any interest in blogging a few years ago? 

I thought it was pointless. And ruthless. I remember hearing about bloggers who would trash the people and subjects they talked about. I didn’t want to be “one of them.”  How things have changed. There’s so much helpful, funny, interesting, and weird stuff that bloggers share. And, lots of us do it in a nice way, too. =)

Wanna know what my first post was?  On September 2, 2008, I published “Top Five Organizing Tips.” I didn’t even include a picture! Wow. Now, I’m uploading videos to You Tube. Hmmm…not sure that I had any ads back then…

I’m tickled pink that I’m still blogging and still have lots to talk about. So, stick around throughout the month of September. I’ll have giveaways to celebrate and may even update an old post or two.  There will also be a few guest bloggers sharing their two cents.

A whole year. Wow.

Photo Credit:  Google Images

Deb with Chaya Wolvovsky, Chabad Program Director. For more information about  Chabad of Silver Spring, visit their website.

What a busy weekend!  I helped a client in Accokeek, MD redesign her dining and living rooms on Saturday and manned a booth at the “Celebrating the Jewish Woman” event  at the Hilton in Silver Spring, MD today.  This was a small event hosted by Chabad of Silver Spring with a handful vendors (well, maybe a handful and a half), including an acupuncturist who offered mini sessions.   There was also someone there “plucking” the women’s eyebrows with thread!  I, of course, doled out tips on how to organize various areas of their homes and cars, and the Arbonne (skin care) representative turned out to be a former professional organizer.  Small world, huh?

The entire event culminated in a very tasty lunch and a keynote entitled “From Showbiz to Shabbat” by former NBC producer, Molly Resnick, who had us all in stitches.  This was really a celebration of Jewish women and their heritage, and it seemed that everyone had a good time.  When you think about it, any woman would enjoy an event focused completely on her well being and that provided great food, no?  It’s definitely a great concept.  So, if there’s anyone out there who wants me to help them organize an “I’m Every Woman” event, call me! =)

Now, this far surpasses the way I started my weekend.  I saw Watchmen, a very strange movie where the super heroes are, well, strange.  One might argue that these types of characters are odd by nature but this was a little too odd for me, especially the blue guy who walked around sans clothing for 90% of the movie. =/   What happened to the days of  “regular” super heroes like  Superwoman?  …thought I was gonna say SuperMAN, didn’t ya? =)

Anyway, I hope you all had a fantastic weekend!

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