Being There For Each Other - Or What I Learned from Last Night's Hoarders

Last night was the season premiere of Hoarders on A&E. I was so excited to watch because several of the “helper” organizers were organizer friends of mine from NAPO Georgia. If you watched the episode, they worked on the doll lady’s home and were the ones in the pink shirts. Under the guidance of master organizer Geralin Thomas they did a wonderful job helping Phyllis with her overrunning collection of dolls and toys. If you missed the episode, you can watch it here.


The story that struck the greatest chord with me was Janet, the older woman who was living in squalor that extreme cleaner Cory Chalmers described as worse than some homeless people. What really bothered me was the fact that this woman had 9 children and yet she lived like this. If you watched the show you know there is some serious family dysfunction there and I am sure there is a pretty major back story that we aren’t privy too.

What this situation called to mind is having a support system. Do you have a support system? - Family or friends that would come looking for you if you didn’t show up for an event, people who could lend a hand in a tight situation. The situation doesn’t need to be as extreme as Janet’s but even having someone who supports you while you meet your goals.

And of course, having someone who is a support person for the elderly is exceptionally important. Janet was living without heat and running water. In the South today the temperature is supposed to reach over 100 degrees! How many of our elderly don’t have air conditioning?

So the moral of this blog is let’s all watch out for each other in situations big and small. We can only be better for it.

Donate Your Shoes, Please

I am very happy to announce that along with my colleagues at NAPO Georgia I am participating in the NAPO Challenge with Soles4Souls, a nonprofit organization that accepts donated shoes in any condition and then uses them to help people all over the world.

Why are shoes important? Having footwear is a first step in helping people in impoverished areas to live healthy, productive lives. Footwear can help eliminate the spreading of diseases through the foot as well as help children obtain an education, as many schools have footwear requirements to attend. For more info on the specifics of how Soles4Souls works, see their FAQs.

So over the next 6 months I will be collecting new and used shoes as part of this drive. I’ll have more information soon, but for right now, if you have shoes in your house that you don’t use, can’t use or don’t like, will you please set them aside for me? The feet of the world will thank you!

Why Get Organized? It’s All in the Numbers.

Sure, it would be nice to organized, right? But who has the time or energy to actually accomplish it. Consider these statistics and then decide.



• We only use 20% of our belongings 80% of the time! This includes clothes, household items and paper we’ve filed. That means most of the stuff in our homes goes unused consistently. (Source: NAPO.net)

• Getting rid of excess clutter can eliminate 40% of housework in the average home. Who wouldn’t like to have less housework? (Source: National Soap and Detergent Association)

• The average American burns 55 minutes a day looking for things they know they own but cannot find. That’s over 6 hours a week, 28 hours a month or 341 hours a year! Sounds like a problem to me! (Source: Boston Marketing Firm)

• 25% of people with two-car garages don’t park any cars in there and 32% parked only one. Your car is probably your biggest investment outside of your house and instead of putting it the garage you are storing “stuff” in there. (Source: US Department of Energy)

• 23% of adults say they pay bills late (& thus incur fees) because they lose them. Can you afford to throw that money away? (Source: Harris Interactive)

• 80% of household clutter is the result of disorganization, not lack of space. Decluttering and organizing will give you a better living space and a better life.(Source: National Soap and Detergent Association)


Small changes can lead to big results when it comes to organizing your home, your office and your life. Why not try one today?