Mind Over Matter Featured In West Suburban Living

And just when you thought Halloween was over.....

Mind Over Matter Organizing leads its largest team of Professional Organizers for our 3rd episode of A&E Hoarders in Milwaukee. Watch the "Judy Episode" and catch a glimpse of us in full regalia (Haz-Mat suits and filtered masks) in one of the "scariest" hoards we've seen. Monday's A&E Channel 8pm Central

January 2011 is the 7th Annual NAPO Get Organized (GO) Month

Need more hours in the day? Find them by getting more organized. 

January 2011 is the 7th Annual Get Organized (GO) MonthSM 

The National Association of Professional Organizers, NAPO, 

wants to spread the word about the benefits of improved 

organization and its impact on productivity! 

The New Year is the perfect time to change habits that will improve your life.  Becoming 

more organized can save you time and money.  A recent NAPO survey showed that 65% 

of respondents consider their home at least moderately disorganized.  96% of those 

respondents felt they would save time by being more organized.  Price Waterhouse 

Cooper estimates that workers spend nearly 50% of their time looking for information 

because it isn’t organized properly. 

This is why seven years ago the National Association of Professional Organizers 

(NAPO) declared January as Get Organized (GO) Month.  Make 2011 the year you 

begin saving time by getting your home or office more organized. 

Mind Over Matter on A&E Hoarders!

Mind Over Matter Organizing was asked to lead a team of local organizers to help a family in crisis on A&E Hoarders.  The filming took place in a small town just outside of Joliet, IL in early September.  The episode "Shania" aired on Monday, December 13 at 9pm Central and can be watched in full on the A&E website.  Look for me behind the scenes, and for a "micro-second" on the credits!  Mind Over Matter was also awarded the "after-care budget" from A&E, to continue purging the client's home after filming. 

If Andy Warhol's prediction was right..."in the future, every person will be famous for 15 minutes", I would have never imagined that my 15 minutes would be on Hoarders.  

My Incredible Team

A&E Hoarders

I have a client from Hammond, Indiana who was featured on an episode of A&E Hoarders this past fall.  His name is Alan.  I was not part of the filming for this episode; A&E awarded Mind Over Matter Organizing with the post-filming budget for organizing support. I worked with Al and the Lake County Health Department for several days over the past two weeks with little to no success.  Al's case is tragic and most likely irreparable.

Whether you watch the show or not, whether you like the show or not, Hoarders has brought tremendous public awareness to a very serious and prevalent disorder.  It has also helped people to question why they hold onto the "stuff" they have.  But I have to admit that I'm not a regular watcher.  I rarely feel like coming home from work and watching what I've been doing all day.  Tonight I will watch because of my experience with Al.  

People often ask me WHY I do what I do, or HOW I can do this type of work at all.  It's a complex answer, and most often I find myself referencing the 2008 movie Sunshine Cleaning.  Screenwriter Megan Holley, shared her insight about the research on bio-hazard clean-up that she did for the film...

"What strikes people on an immediate surface level is just the grossness of it: cleaning up gore.  But what I found in doing my research was this idea of service: reverence and respect for the family members and what they're going through.  Part of the ritual of cleaning up is emotional care of the people that are left behind.  What often seems like a burden has its own rewards."  

I couldn't have said it better myself.

National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO)

Carolyn Miller of Mind Over Matter Organizing attends NAWBO (National Asscociation of Women Business Owners) as a guest of Diamond Corporate Sponsor, OfficeMax. She is seen here with celebrity organizer Peter Walsh.

As the keynote speaker for the conference, Peter Walsh focused on the NAWBO theme "Power Your Dream". Peter was very funny and personable but also profound and full of wonderful advice. He started with two intriguing questions:

- What is the vision you have for your life?

- Do you ask what you need from your business, or what you want from your business?

My favorite quote from his speech... "Without a dream, all you have is spectacle."

As an organizer, Peter talked about the clutter that gets between you and the life you want to be living; not only physical clutter but also mental clutter. He suggested that, "truly cleaning, clearing and organizing one's space, such as the top of a desk, can give so much clarity, and also get the ball rolling on more decluttering activities." He stated... "Small steps consistently applied, create great change."

Not surprisingly, OfficeMax was named 2009 Corporate Partner of the Year by NAWBO.

[In] Place System

Mind Over Matter Organizing attends the Annual NAPO Conference in Orlando, Florida where OfficeMax's [In] Place System by Peter Walsh earns the Best Business Product Award from the National Association of Professional Organizers.

Focusing on real-world work environments and common work habits, the [In] Place System by Peter Walsh provides real solutions that boost workspace organization, efficiency and productivity.