Are You Chronically Disorganized??

Check out this questionnaire...

Answer the following questions yes or no-jot down your answers for each number.

1. Has disorganization been a factor in your life for many years?
2. Does your level of disorganization interfere with the quality of your
daily life or negatively affect your relations with others?
3. Has disorganization persisted despite self-help attempts to get organized?
4. Do you own at least one organizing book?
5. Are you an “info maniac” (saving many articles, newspapers or books you’ve
read)?
6. Do you suffer from “fear of filing”?
7. Do you feel every paper must be kept in sight or you’ll never find it again?
8. Do you lose or misplace papers and items despite keeping them out?
9. Does your filing system cause difficulty in retrieval?
10. Does it take you more than 3 minutes to find most papers in your office?
11. Do you like to collect things?
12. Are you a shopaholic?
13. Do you accumulate possessions beyond apparent usefulness or pleasure?
14. Does your disorganization cause you embarrassment or humiliation?
15. Are your desk, floor and/or countertops covered in papers?
16. Did you feel deprived as a child, either emotionally or materially?
17. Is it difficult for you to part with things even though they have outlived their
usefulness?
18. Do you consider yourself a packrat?
19. Do you have a wide range of interests and several uncompleted tasks and
projects?
20. Do you find it difficult to stay focused or are you easily distracted?
21. Do you tend to lose track of time?

If you answered “yes” to numbers 1, 2 & 3, and some of the other questions, you could be chronically disorganized. Chronic disorganization is found at the extreme end of the continuum, differing from severely disorganized. CD is marked by its longevity, interference with quality of life and resistance to self-help efforts.

If you answered “yes” to several other questions, don’t panic. We have solutions. There are many types and levels of disorganization relating to the areas of paper, time and clutter management. Anyone can be taught to increase his/her level of organization. It is never hopeless. Professional organizers can help you succeed where self-help falls short, while saving you countless hours of effort trying to discover the most effective solutions for yourself.

NSGCD Fact Sheet — 001
By Diane Hatcher © 2003 NSGCD

Hoarding, Clutter & Obesity

You may wonder why I'm talking about obesity on an organizing blog, but there's an intense link between being morbidly overweight and having an extreme amount of material things in one's home. The emotional attachment we have to our possessions can become so magnified it becomes impossible to even throw away items most people consider trash. It can get to the point of not allowing visitors into the home, of not being able to open doors into rooms and having piles of things that create pathways through the home. If this short description rings true for you or someone you know. I can help. I feel really passionately about healthy eating as well as organizing, and I have some background as a life coach so it's the perfect match of experiences to help you overcome the challenges in your life that keep you from living life to it's fullest.

Here's a beautiful story of a woman who was able to overcome the chaos in her home as well as drop serious weight. It's an ongoing challenge, as it is for any major life change, but it's so worth it!

Please don't let it come to this...

Here's a 10 question quiz, not necessarily a good assessment tool, but it had interesting info.

Compulsive Hoarding Study by UCLA

Great Reasons To GET ORGANIZED!

In no particular order here they are (if you have one to add, send me a comment):

1)    Save money-you won’t over buy things you already have like that spare bottle of shampoo, or the hammer lost in the garage. How 'bout late fees for bills unpaid cuz they're in a pile of papers, somewhere... or fines for overdue library books...

2)  Spend more time doing what you really want, and less time looking for lost items. Isn't it frustrating when you're trying to get out the door to go do something fun, but can't find your keys, wallet, sunglasses, cell phone...?

3)  Be more creative! A clean and organized space allows our creative juices to flow!! Dealing with clutter, unsorted piles and general disarray eats up a lot of energy that could be more useful channeled into jobs at work or projects at home.

4)  Attain Your Ideal Body Weight-our emotional attachments to STUFF weighs on us in more ways than one. Listen to this great interview with Peter Walsh, One of my favorite Celeb Organizers, and Oprah!

More to come! 

Short video on how to overcome chronic disorganization