Organize + Energize: 6 Reasons You Should Hire a Pro to Help With Your Disorganization

Tuesday, June 07, 2016

Kristin MacRae, GoLocalPDX Organizing Expert

Have you hit your breaking point? You’re stressed, stuck, overwhelmed and exhausted due to your disorganization. You’re embarrassed to have people over and you’re living a chaotic life and just want some peace. It’s ok to ask for help. We all do it in different areas in our lives. If you want to lose weight, you hire a personal trainer or nutritionist. If you’re having issues in other areas of your life, you seek a therapist for help. Why not call an organizer to help you with your disorganization?

Here are 6 reasons you should hire a professional:

You’re overwhelmed. You have so many projects you need to tackle, but every time you make an attempt you shut down and nothing gets done. Just the thought of starting the project makes you anxious and you’d rather be doing anything that tackling the project at hand.

You’ve been procrastinating for years. Every year you state you’re going to get organized and it just doesn’t happen. You’re using the excuse that you’re too busy. Are you just avoiding the project? It’s not going to take as long as you think to accomplish it.

You’re emotionally in a rut. You’re emotionally and physically drained due to your disorganization. You’re depressed, sad, and your energy is running on empty. You’re not motivated and your home is just making you feel sick.

You’ve attempted to get organized in the past but it just doesn’t stick. There are many steps in the organizing process and many people fall off during certain steps. Where do you get stuck? Is it getting started, decluttering, creating systems or do you lose focus and get distracted easily?

You’re lacking the organizational skill set. You want to get organized, but you don’t know where to begin. You just can’t figure out how to create working organized systems. You may have grown up in a home with disorganized parents and the skill set was never transferred to you. On the other hand, your parents were organized and did everything for you so you never had the opportunity to learn the skill set. It’s never too late to learn this skill set.

You’ve experienced a life changing event. You wake up one day and find yourself surrounded by clutter and disorganization. How did it get to this point? Your organized systems have now fallen apart and you haven’t been able to maintain the systems you initially developed. You may have recently moved and don’t feel settled in your new space. There may have been a death in the family, or you may have gone through a divorce. Having a professional to motivate and energize you may be the answer to help you get back on your feet.

If you can relate to any of the above, it’s time to get help and make a change. You don’t have to live like this. There is help available to get you back on track. You’ll feel like a new, energized person once you get organized. It’s time to get over the embarrassment and shame and get your life back.

Kristin Carcieri-MacRae, is an organizing & efficiency expert

Related Slideshow: 7 Things the Mayor Could Do by Reorganizing City Hall

Here are some things a reshuffle might do for Portland Mayor Charlie Hales.

Prev Next

7. Shake up the Bureau Directors

While commissioners come and go, the directors are in charge of their bureaus in the long term. Bringing all the bureaus under his control during the budgeting process would force the directors to answer to the Mayor, if only for a short time. This move would send a strong message to the bureaucracy that the Mayor, in fact, is in charge.

Prev Next

6. Change the Staffing

In the past, some Mayors took over the bureaus and reshuffled their staff, most notably, the directors. Mayor Tom Potter and others have used bureau reshuffles to oust directors and other staff.

Prev Next

5. Realign Bureaus with Commissioners' Interests

Each Commissioner has his or her own strengths and interests. Amanda Fritz has always been passionate about neighborhoods, while Nick Fish is equally focused on housing. Giving the Office of Neighborhood Involvement back to Fritz and the Housing Bureau back to Fish might build political capital.

Prev Next

4. Reset Relationships

It would take significant negotiating with commissioners to execute a reshuffle smoothly. The Mayor would have an opportunity to rebuild alliances or work to align commissioners with his vision of a city council that functions more like a board of directors than a gang of mini-mayors.

Prev Next

3. Take Over The Bureau of Transportation

Hales' boldest play would be to take the Bureau of Transportation for himself. While it lays the responsibility of the Portland Street Fee squarely on his shoulders, if he is successful, Hales could claim victory over an issue that has vexed him since he was on City Council more than a decade ago.

Prev Next

2. Look Like A Strong Mayor

While most Portlanders don’t pay much attention to City Hall intrigue, if the Mayor appears to be cleaning house, it’s bound to earn points with some voters.

Prev Next

1. Get into Position for Year Three

If the Mayor successfully pulls off a reshuffle, he could end up in a stronger political position. If he decides to run for re-election, the move would come just in time for this year’s critical window for political fundraising.