“I get overwhelmed with the size of a project and that makes me paralyzed to start.”

Like a good Aussie, Peter Walsh tells it like it is. I always appreciate his no-BS organizing and downsizing advice. Last year, Walsh wrote a book after losing his mum and organizing her estate, “Let it go”. I highly recommend reading this book if you’re trying to downsize for any reason. It’s also a helpful [...]

I’m so sorry you’ve lost your mom. This is some general advice and a basic game plan for going through your mom’s belongings.

With all the time you’re spending in your home these days, you’ve likely noticed that there are plenty of items lying around you hardly use, or food that’s gone bad but is still in the back of your fridge.

When I first came over to help Sarah organize in her home she was anxious about it. She didn’t know what to expect hiring a professional organizer.

Organizing the living room is an important part of feeling relaxed at home. Yes, there are rooms you probably spend more time in than your living room. But in most homes, the main activity in the living room is relaxing.

You can’t be good at everything. Most people know that about life (most people). And yet many do not know when they are not good at something. So they keep doing it and doing it poorly.

Before you style and organize your bedroom you must get rid of everything you don’t love or need in the room. This is the essential first step

Happy new year, girlfriend! This is a special year for me because get organized already! has been (officially) in business for ten years now. Wow.

Eleven months ago: I love putting my used containers in the recycle bin thinking, isn’t this great? These aren’t going into a landfill! They will get recycled

Your boss needs a home organizer. Their house, or home office is not in order and you have been asked to remedy the situation. Lucky you! One of our specialties is working with high-level people at home 

Let’s talk about the landing pad / launch pad near the door. It gets disorganized so easily! Even organized people ask me about this space. What do you do with all of the different bags and totes for different purposes? How do you keep the kids from dumping their backpacks and sports stuff here?

How many times have you forgotten about school picture day? Me too, girlfriend. Me, too. Watch this 2 minute video to hear about it. And to get some ideas about being prepared this year.

(Much Ado About Nothing 5.4.126) My husband is out of town. And while I do miss him, what I really want is a wife.

After asking lots of women just like you, I found 5 reasons they hadn’t hired a professional organizer yet. Which is your reason?

Today I worked with a lady to organize aaaalllll the mail which had accumulated throughout her house. Here’s what she had to say about sorting paperwork, We’ve went on vacation for ten days and I came home to a tornado of paper! Right before we left I had to pull out the kids’ immunization records. […]

If your house is like mine, toys are everywhere — even the bathroom. They multiply like rabbits! Do you find yourself wondering (or yelling) why don’t my kids pick up their toys?! I have a few ideas why…

Losing clutter is analogous to losing weight. Being organized is a lot like being in shape. And though everyone is unique, most people tend to fit in to one of these three clutter comfort levels. Which of the following weight loss analogies best describes your clutter?

Toby was a kindergartener with a very messy room. He was so excited after his room re-do he started labeling the bins himself the next day! Scroll down to see an old video from 2010 of Nonnahs working in Toby’s room with his parents while he was at school one day.

Every bedroom has this pile. Our bedroom pile is on a bench. Lots of times you find it on a chair. Some people call it the chair-drobe. A chair-drobe is one of those piles that just never seems to go away.

Did you notice this recurring segment on “Tidying up with Marie Kondo”:

Newsweek magazine* estimates that 15 to 20 percent of couples are in a sexless relationship. Say WHAT? Researching statistics for this article was pretty depressing. Americans today are having less [sex] than Americans a decade ago. (Archives of sexual behavior) Why would this be? 

Marie Kondo is a professional organizer. She gets paid to help people throw away their excess clutter and organize what they keep in their homes. Before January 1st when her Netflix show “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo” dropped, many people didn’t know this was a profession. I’m so grateful to the show for exposing you […]

I heard someone on the radio saying they hesitate to decorate their home for Christmas because it feels like adding a bunch of clutter to an already crowded room.

Everyone knows my husband is a great guy. My parents know it. Our friends know it. The teachers at school know it. I’m a lucky lady for sure. BUT! There is one draw-back to having a great husband…

The best thing I ever delegated to my kids was their own laundry. Never have I ever been reading a book or laughing at instagram videos and thought. “Shucks! I wish I could do the kids’ laundry for them again! This free-time I have now is really a drag.” Never.

Ever since people started inviting me into their homes to organize their messy drawers and garages, their crazy piles of paper and dirty clothes, I’ve realized something: If all of y’all could see what is in your neighbors homes, you wouldn’t be so hard on yourselves!

I’ve been a professional organizer for many years. Often people who are naturally organized ask me incredulously, “What do you do for people? Why can’t they throw away their own trash?” When you are born with the desire and ability to keep things in order, it’s easy to see other people’s disorder as a character […]

My father was in the US Air Force for 20 years! That’s a long time. During his career our family moved every 3 years or more. We are all good at moving now, that’s for sure! In some ways a military move is easier than a civilian move. But in most ways, it’s exactly the […]

Drop your belief that other people care if your house is clean. They don’t care.

I wish someone had told me when I was a kid that being an adult would involve fighting with Tupperware. I wouldn’t have been so anxious to grow up! I could’ve propped my feet up and enjoyed those afternoons at the pool even more if I only knew what I was putting off by staying […]

This parable about a raft can show us a lot about why we hold on to clutter. “A person traveling along a path came to a great expanse of water. As she stood on the shore, she realized there were dangers and discomforts all about. But the other shore appeared safe and inviting. The person […]

This week I found this letter which I wrote to myself when my children were 4 and 5 years old (they are 15 months apart). Those were hard times, friend. And here’s my proof.

I could watch Fixer-Upper on HGTV aaaalll day. I mean all day! Couldn’t you? It’s so fun to see a space go from neglected to stunning, especially when you don’t have to do the heavy lifting yourself!

I may be a professional organizer, but most of the time my backyard looks like “Sanford and Son”. Everyone has a room–a catch-all, an embarrassment. For me it’s our lack of garage and resulting junk-heaps of old lumber, paint cans, and debris in the backyard.

A clothing swap is an awesome way to clean your closet, party with friends, and get free clothes!

Organizing medical paperwork is no fun, I know! I will walk you through my process in this video.

There’s nothing more helpful than organizing your desk to make you feel more productive and creative. But sometimes just organizing your desk (the top of it) still doesn’t make your office feel tidy enough to focus and concentrate.

Because they are small containers of different shapes, spices can get to be a big mess in a hurry. If you are suffering from spice avalanche when you try to find the dried mustard powder, never fear! This video has some good ideas to stop that madness and help you organize your spices.

First of all. HOLY COW! Get Organized Already is mentioned in the January 2018 issue of REAL SIMPLE magazine.

Did you make any resolutions this year? I did not. I hate making resolutions because the process of choosing them stresses me out. How about you? Do you think of something you don’t like about your life and change it? To me THAT is a lot of pressure.

If the thought of planning a big shindig this holiday season is making you itchy and you’d prefer to just hang out and not cook…let’s talk about a potluck brunch.

If you get more excited to cook than to clean and organize your kitchen, you are not alone! Are you itching to make some pumpkin spiced goodness ASAP? Do you get so happy thinking about decorating Christmas cookies that your sleigh bells start jingling?

Like any other topic, there are two sides to the story of decluttering. Some people can’t get enough while some people can’t be bothered.

Why is it so so much easier for me to throw things away when you are here? I hear that a lot! And so do the other organizers on our team. There are a few reasons people may be more likely to let go of clutter when a professional organizer is around. Which do you […]

Watch this 3-minute video where I share four ways you can act like a professional organizer to step up your de-cluttering efforts.

People often fall into two categories when they hear the term professional organizer: OMG I need one of those right now! or Who would pay someone to organize for them? That is ridiculous.

Last week I talked about Doing it all. Since we can’t actually do everything, how can you figure out what things are most important for you. There is no cookie-cutter model for balancing work, family, and self. I think that’s because people have really different priorities. For some people, an organized house is not nearly […]

So much has been said and written about life-work-family balance, it seems like we’d be done talking by now. Still, there are houses to run, careers to have, and children to feed. In that respect we will always be talking about doing it all — about life balance, also known by it’s not-so-loaded name: time […]

When someone first asked me, in a serious tone, how do you recommend I organize under the kitchen sink? I thought to myself, When did my life get so glamorous? I mean really! Next I’ll find myself at a party discussing mildew stain removal. But, then I thought, “WWMD?” (What would Martha do?)

After years of helping make our clients’ moves easier, this summer I got to provide this service to my very own family. And, as they say, what didn’t kill me made me stronger. Don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t mean I didn’t want to die after about 50 trips up the stairs carrying boxes!

The most fun organizing job we had this week was setting up a nursery for first time parents. We snuck a little nursery area into their office/storage room so now it’s an office/nursery.

When was the last time you forgot something important? And not just your wallet, I’m talking about forgetting your responsibilities or forgetting an idea. All of those brilliant ideas you have exploding in your brain. You think, “Oh, that is good. I’m going to do that as soon as…”

Most women I know don’t give themselves enough credit. In fact, ladies seem to play Deflect the Compliment better than we play Candy Crush Saga! I’m so proud of my company and the ladies who make it great. We are a team; it’s true. Still, I have put the team together and pushed the team […]

For about what you spend on a week’s worth of groceries for your family, you can have a regular, monthly appointment with a professional organizer.

  Public Service Announcement: This video is for people whose organizing skills are intermediate to advanced. If you hate folding clothes and putting things away in general, don’t watch this video! Click on Closet organizing ideas instead. If you look forward to tidying up; and if you like to organize clothes, keep reading. This article is […]

When the Get Organized Already team is out working around Glendale and Pasadena we often learn organizing tips from our clients. Not everyone who calls us for help is completely disorganized. In fact I think everyone is organized in some way.

Whenever I give a seminar on home organizing someone inevitably asks the question, How do you deal with a husband (or child) who seems to be incapable of staying organized?   If your standards of cleanliness and organization are higher than those of the people you live with, I feel your pain.   Having obsessive [...]

My house has a teeny, tiny bathroom with no storage. The bathroom in this video is like a fancy hotel with heated towel racks. But just because you don’t have gold inlay tiles and a bidet, that doesn’t mean you can’t use my bathroom organization tips.

Nearly every time our team arrives to organize someone’s home, we find a how-to organizing book. Surprise! Humans are a little obsessed with putting things in order–even if that order is a sort of organized chaos.

My mom is the best! Last year when Jeff and I went away for a few days she came and watched my 2 kids and 2 new kittens who may or may not have been totally litter-trained at that point. This is not why she’s the best, though. (I mean who doesn’t love grandkids and […]

How many times to you come into the kitchen to cook and it is overrun with dirty dishes because the dishwasher is full and no one has unloaded it? Maybe it’s not that your housemates are stubborn, lazy pigs who don’t care about your feelings. Maybe they didn’t have time in the middle of their […]

You are thinking, Why would I hire someone to organize my garage?

KonMari Proposition I am writing an article for Paste Magazine’s food section on KonMari-ing kitchens. (I have done my own) …and I wanted to get a quote from a KonMari expert /an organizing expert for my story… If you wanted to, you could even assess my kitchen as part of the story and point out […]

Time, like money, is exactly what you make of it. If I remain oblivious to how long things actually take and let my days pound me like waves while I paddle to stay above water, it will never feel like I have any power over my time.

Think back on this year that’s ending. What if your next 5 years play out pretty much the same way–your job, your free time, your relationships? Does that projection make you feel glad or sad? Excited or scared?

The end of a calendar year brings the concept of time to the front of our consciousness as we count even the seconds until the entire set of numbers governing our modern lives turns over to give us a fresh start.

There are generally three reasons your home organization attempts fail. Number 1: You have low-priority items in prime real-estate spots. Number 2: Your system is over-complicated. Number 3: You are lazy.

Objectives: *better organize the Team Room to include a study area, private changing area, and more cubbies *more cubbies will allow our Vernon Lee gymnastics team to grow *(secret objective - to make the room pretty and sparkly) before and after Process: We removed the cubbies all together and purchased used lockers which were then sprayed with silver [...]

Your husband is not weird, at least not when it comes to t-shirts. I have seen the drawers and the closets of the people of Pasadena and I can tell you one thing fo sho-- Men have even more t-shirts than women have yoga pants! Most have enough to wear a different t-shirt every day [...]

It’s true, you have too many yoga pants. But, so does every other woman in America. I’ve been in a lot of closets and I know. What do you find too many of in every house?

Even the beloved Ellen Degeneres is talking about Marie Kondo’s book “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up“. As Ellen points out in the video above, Kondo, or KonMari as she calls herself and her organizing method, does say some things in her book that make you giggle or at least roll your eyes and […]

So the other day I got a request from a NKH, a Japanese TV station, to let them tag along with me to a client’s house for an organizing session. When you put your work on the internet weird things like that happen sometimes!

I’ve finished my workday, picked up the chickens from school and now I’ve got to take my daughter to gymnastics. I have tennis practice while she’s at the gym. My husband is just going to get home from work in time to be hungry. What’s for dinner? they ask. How about a martini? I answer […]

My son just turned ten and for his birthday he got a lot of gifts from relatives in the mail. Now, we have been through many occasions together, my son and I — enough for me to know that him writing thank-you notes is not going to happen.

My favorite part of grocery shopping is putting it all away. I know, I’m crazy. But, it’s an organized kind of crazy!

There’s been so much hubbub about this book! Have you read it? Do you want to?

“The shoes! They end up on the floor and spilling out into the room and that makes it impossible to get into the closet to my clothes.”

We all do what we can to be more eco-friendly. Whether it’s using our our own mug at the local coffee shop, bringing canvas bags to the grocery store or making a conscious effort to only buy local foods. Unfortunately, the earth-conscious option doesn’t always seem to be the most affordable. Take heart! We’ve found a […]

I warned you in the beginning of this series on chores: all kids are different and you will have to do some finagling to find the right system for your child. And that right system may change in a year. Still, it’s important to remember to stick to it. Remember when your baby was really […]

After a couple of weeks of a new chore regimen, expect some push back from everyone. Left to its own devices, the tendency of any system is to descend into chaos.

Looking around the kitchen I see a big, fat mess! And it’s my turn to clean it up tonight. I don’t even know where to start. There’s a sink full of dirty dishes, splattered oil all over the stove, crumbs on the floor. The dishwasher hasn’t been emptied because of a schedule mix-up.

How can I have chores for my kids when they go back and forth to my ex’s house all the time?

Spring is on it’s way and change is in the air. What better way to spice things up at home than to add some chores to your children’s days? This 5-part blog series will help you start assigning chores for kids if you haven’t already and help you up your chore game if you have.

Ever since I saw the movie “Elf” I’ve been wanting to make a million paper chains to decorate the house like Buddy did (haven’t you?). And every year I don’t get around to it. The holidays are like that: plans of perfection and the desire for dreaminess; lots of hopes and visions of a movie-worthy […]

Some children love organizing. They’ll color code their homework and put their books in alphabetical order. Other children, well, not so much. They’re more likely to think their room is clean if the mess is contained by the walls of their room instead of strewn all over the house. Still, the more you show your […]

A few years ago I sat down with my kids to go through our bookshelf and decide which of their books they’d like to pass down to their younger cousins. We didn’t need to get rid of any so I gave them complete authority over which books could be given away.

Thanksgiving dinner can be a wonderful time to celebrate with friends and family, but being the one to host it all can be incredibly stressful. From planning the meal, to cooking the big bird, to storing dozens of different side dishes in your space-challenged refrigerator, there’s a lot to keep in mind.

Teaching your kids the importance of household work and how they can contribute to the family through chores is an important part of parenting.

Just as we wrap up back-to-school shopping, the seasons change again. But shopping for winter clothes for your kids doesn’t have to break the bank. This year, skip shopping altogether and organize a kids’ clothing swap with friends, neighbors and the parents of your children’s classmates.

How many times have you said these words: I can’t get out of Target without spending a hundred dollars. I just can’t! You’re not alone. I’ve heard many people say those words. If dropping a couple hundred bucks on Made-in-China household-goods-you-may-already-have-at-home troubles you, read on. There is hope!

A few years ago I started thinking, I can’t wait to retire so I can have time to read a book! And then I realized how ridiculous that sounded. Why am I waiting? Reading makes me happy, so why not make it a priority now?

Want to scare up some fun this October? Halloween crafts are a wonderful way to include kids of all ages and have a little family fun.

You don’t have to be an extreme clutterer to benefit from professional organizing. Even relatively organized people need help organizing sometimes.

Every school day brings the same scenario: the kids come home with a stack of school paperwork: notifications, permission slips, awards, art projects — the pile just keeps on growing. So what’s a mom to do? Here are some tips to help you manage and organize your kids’ school paperwork.

Every summer my parents take my family on a trip during which time my kids get to watch annoying kids’ shows on TV and we all get to eat junk food way more than we usually do. We swim all day and play tennis and badminton in the evening before settling in to our ice […]

You’ve finished your garage organization. Now what do you do with the paint, paint cans, and old tools? Nonnahs, owner of get organized already! inc, shares expert tips and some favorite resources in Pasadena.

“My garage has become a dumping ground and now I can’t find the things I really need.” “The garage feels overwhelming to me at this point.”

Working on an unpacking job yesterday I was reminded of two very helpful things to remember when you are opening ALL THOSE boxes after a move.

When it comes to organizing in the kitchen –or in any space the biggest problem is having too much of one thing or another. This is especially a problem when organizing in the kitchen. Here are 3 easy ways to set limits for yourself in the kitchen, so you don’t get carried away keeping more […]

Sometimes it feels like everyone I talk to is competing for World’s Busiest Person! And I admit, some days I feel like I’ve been thrown into the ring myself. Don’t get me wrong, I love a title, especially if it comes with a crown! But, being too busy isn’t really winning.

A 2-minute video testimonial from Marge about working with a professional organizer from Get Organized Already–the fabulous Michelle! We help nice people get organized.

If you are reading this, I’m guessing you would like to be more organized this year. Here is a pro tip for a jump start on all of your organizing projects:

In this very informative video, Nonnahs interviews Cari Dawson of Cari’s Custom Organizing about organizing digital and paper photos. Cari is a certified photo organizer. Wow! So helpful. How do you stay on top of your photos to keep them organized?

I’d love to hear from you about your organizing needs. 323.230.0297 Nonnahs (and the Get Organized Already team)

Cash for gold? Are you kidding? Do I look that broke to you?

Rare is the home without this first-world problem: What do we do with all of these projects, artwork, and other creations our kids are making at school/camp/daycare?

Do you have some fancy pants china in your kitchen cabinets? Does anyone in your family know it’s there? In other words, do you ever use it?

Video for people who go to the same rental, condo, or timeshare each year. Organizing tips for your vacation from Los Angeles area professional organizer, Nonnahs Driskill of Get Organized Already.

Advanced organizing project for people with very little closets.

Today I was a terrible business owner. But, I was a great wife. Sometimes the life work balance needs a shake down!

Professional Organizer and baby kisser, Nonnahs Driskill, gives a few organizing tips for keeping all of those little onesies organized. Her littlest friend, Elliott, makes his first organizing video appearance.

Summer is moving season and my phone is ringing off the hook! Get Organized AlreadyTM specializes in making this stressful time a little less harried and maybe even fun. We love helping people move. So bringing that positive energy into your house has got to be good for something! Right?

Staying on top of the trash situation in your living area is the first, most important step to getting organized. Don’t believe it is that easy? Well think about the organized homes you’ve seen. Do they have trash laying around? Have you ever seen an over-stuffed trash bin in “Martha Stewart Living”? So, see. I […]

Organizing underwear today I had this conversation1. Me: “So, how many bras do you think a woman needs?” Beautiful, Curvy Client: “A normal woman, or me?” Me: “Good point… You.”

Is there such thing as life-work balance when you are a mom? Lots of people have been asking this question.

A 2 minute video including before and after photos from organizing toys in La Canada-Flintridge. 2 organizers. 3 hours. 1 happy mom and 1 happy kid!

“Oh forget about it! They’re over!” I was fed up with stupid contractions. Jeff was trying to count them and time them and figure out when this baby was going to relieve us both of the agony that is the 9th month of pregnancy. I had been having contractions for a whole week—Monday to Monday […]

A video peak into my organized Tupperware cabinet

I’m blaming it all on Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. With their song “Thrift Shop” playing on every station every five minutes for the past few months, my heretofore ignorant-of-bad-words children have turned into little cuss monitors.

Claiming my blog with Bloglovin Basically I’m writing about this garage because the before and after photo is so amazing. (At least I’m honest.)

Just wanted to say I love my neighborhood!

The blog party weekend corresponds with the season premiere of Mad Men on AMC. Coincidence?!  I THINK NOT. And I can’t wait for either one.

My husband has given up on recycling. He loves the idea as much as anyone. Alas living with me has forced him to quit trying. It’s hard to be married to an organizer.

For most people, just getting the pictures, letters, an other memorabilia into a container in the garage is organized enough. For anyone interested in a way to further sort your memories for easier future access–writing a memoir anyone?–listen up. Take out the various and sundry items you have kept for sentimental reasons.

I think I’ll always remember 2013 as the year of the great-garage-organizing-push. Holy moly! My team and I have done 14 this year and it’s just now February! I’ll bet you are thinking to yourself, Good gravy, Nonnahs! I don’t even want to organize one garage. Why would you do 14 in a month? To which […]

There really is. There’s a mattress in my living room, propped up against the couch. There’s a filing cabinet out on my front porch and a rug rolled up against the wall of my bedroom. It’s all-out-MAYHEM! And it is making me mental.

The holidays are here and your To Do list just got an augmentation to make Dolly Parton proud! So, since we are all adding stuff to our days I have one question: What are you subtracting from your list to make room for the Christmas chores?

The mind reels when you start to imagine what a couple hundred organizers would talk about when they all got together. Doesn’t it? Post-it notes! Folding fitted sheets! Labelling spices! Stop it. I’m getting dizzy with excitement!

Thanks to Don Andrues, a realtor here in Pasadena, for having me as an expert on his “Instant Home Tips” series. This short little video contains three of my top suggestions for conquering clutter.

South Pasadena: Mt. Washington A good professional organizer has the skills and knowledge to help you with: