OrganizingLA Blog

What Are The 25 Most Organized Cities In America?

2012-04-03T20:49:18-07:00

Los Angeles tied for number 7 in a survey for the most organized cities in America. How did your town rate?

While most of our work is concentrated in Los Angeles, it's really fun to travel and see professional organizing clients outside of the city, or in other states.

Part of the enjoyment of traveling is to hear folks talk about how much they love their city, or the town they grew up in. Until now, we've never heard anyone talk about how organized their city is though.

Doxo, A Seattle-based digital document company just released their list of the Most Organized Cities in America. The doxo Organization Index (dOI) ranks major U.S. cities based on a number of organization factors including:

Recycling rates;
Individual income tax filing timeliness;
Junk mail cancellations;
Concentration of members of the National Association of Professional Organizers
Sock drawer organization;
The greatest number of unique providers and documents uploaded in users doxo accounts.

While Boston hit the number one spot, residents of the Sunshine and Golden States should have a rosy outlook this spring, with three cities in both Florida and California cities making the top 10. Los Angeles tied for 7th place with San Francisco. How did your city rate?

The Organized City List

1        Boston, MA
2        Raleigh, NC
3        Miami, FL
4        Sacramento CA
5        Tampa, FL
6        Orlando, FL
T7      Los Angeles, CA
T7      San Francisco, CA
9        Charlotte, NC
10      Philadelphia, PA
11      New York, NY
12      Pittsburgh, PA
13      Cleveland, OH
14      Denver, CO
15      St. Louis, MO
16      Minneapolis, MN
17      Seattle, WA
18      Phoenix, AZ
19      Chicago, IL
20      Portland, OR
21      Dallas, TX
22      Washington, D.C.
23      Atlanta, GA
24      Detroit, MI
25      Houston, TX

According to doxo CEO Steve Shivers, “We wanted to recognize some of the places where organization is a priority. So, for those of you that can’t even read this because you are buried up to your eyeballs in paper clutter -- April 16th is your chance to make good on that promise to be more organized in the coming year.”

Doxo is an online file-storage company (aka cloud storage) that digitally organizes and stores your bills, banking info and vendor information and helps facilitate easy online payments.

You can read more about the survey results on their press release and more about their services at the doxo website.

What do you think of the results? Did your city make the list?

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Carol Kane Organized To Play Compulsive Hoarder in the Big Screen Comedy 'Clutter'

2012-03-26T05:00:00-07:00

Character Actress Carol Kane is labeled chronically disorganized when she joins the cast of the independent comedy "Clutter" - due to hit theaters in 2013.

This week, The Hollywood Reporter announced the beginning of production of "Clutter," a dark comedy about a family forced to put the home of a compulsive hoarder mother up for sale.

Clutter centers on Linda (played by character actress Carole Kane), as a mother whose grown children step in to help her clean her home before it's taken away from her. Playing Kane's onscreen children are Joshua Leonard, Natasha Lyonne and Halley Feiffer. The film also stars Kathy Najimy.

Here is Clutter's storyline from IMDB:

"Charlie Bradford, an aspiring filmmaker in his 30s, is doing the best he can to distance himself from the chaos of his childhood home. But his eccentric mother Linda, a compulsive hoarder who suffers from depression punctuated by spells of manic consumption, has a tendency to keep the people and things she loves close at hand. Charlie's younger sisters still live at home with Linda: Lisa, the older of the two has a history of petty theft and works as a home healthcare aid, and Penny, who is trying to overcome her agonizing shyness is starting a a new career as a home stager in a beleaguered real estate market. When a water stain on the family's garage door is interpreted as an apparition of the Blessed Virgin, the house attracts the unwanted attention of the neighbors... and the county health department, which gives the Bradfords a week to clean up their act or lose their home..."

Clutter is directed by Diane Crespo and shoots in and around New York City this March and April for a 2012 release. The schedule makes sense because Kane is set to join the upcoming Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of Harvey, with previews opening May 18.

Strangely enough set decorators in Hollywood use clutter to flesh out characters all the time. In 2005, we wrote about Chaos Theory starring Ryan Reynolds and Emily Mortimer. Reynolds played an obsessively organized efficiency expert who's life becomes unraveled.

What are your thoughts about Clutter-- the movie? Do you think it's about time for hoarding to hit the big screen?

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Coastal Living Magazine Features John Trosko's Pretty & Profitable Tag Sale Tips

2012-03-18T11:56:56-07:00

What an absolute thrill it was to get a call from Coastal Living Magazine last August, to provide expertise for (what became) a piece called "A Whale of a Tag Sale!" The piece is now published in the April 2012 issue and available on news stands.

The writer was putting together a story on tag sales. But not just any tag sale-- picture perfect tag sales that bring in neighbors and tourist beach goers, along with styled vignettes, tips on choosing merchandise and spreading the word. All with an easy breezy beach-side casual style. No matter what you call them-- tag sale, yard sale, garage sale, moving or junk sale, beach auction--these sales are a great way to declutter your life, make some cash, and meet your neighbors.

The two page coastal style and life article also features Frank Isganitis, co-owner of the LimeRock Inn in Rockland, Maine and Jonathan Papsin, co-founder and CEO of Tag Sell It, a national virtual tag sale service. While you're looking at our piece, check out the other articles with great stories from Santa Monica-based Interior Designer Tim Clarke, TV-chef Giada De Laurentis' beach bag and coastal homes pictorials in Stinson Beach (California), Sag Harbor (New York) and Amagansett (Long Island).

About Coastal Living:

Coastal Living Magazine is for people who love the Atlantic coast, Pacific, and Gulf shores. Featuring stories on home design and architecture, travel, food and entertaining, gardening, coastal towns and communities, and the environment, sister publications include Southern Living, Cooking Light, Sunset, and Health.

"A Whale of a Tag Sale" Coastal Living April 2012 article featuring Los Angeles Organizing Expert John Trosko is available at news stands everywhere.

Do you read Coastal Living? What are your favorite articles? Have any tips for tag sales at the beach? Have you snagged any tag sale bargains?

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Reader Question: I Need Organizing Encouragement

2012-03-09T08:49:12-08:00

From time-to-time we feature reader questions. Here is one which is particularly compelling. Have a question? Subscribe and talk to us.

Dear John and OrganizingLA,

"I have chosen the daunting task of getting my house and my life in order. I feel paralyzed and I don't know where to start. I start and stop and feel frustrated at lack of results. I know to my friends I make life look easy, and I am a fairly successful person in real life. But this is tough! Can you give me some pro-encouragement?"

Patricia from Providence

Dear Patricia,

Here are a few guidelines we suggest to our Los Angeles professional organizing firm clients who are stuck and need some encouragement. This list comes from our 7-8 years in business. Each client is different. We would be doing a disservice to clients if we thought they were one way, or another. Everyone is different.

Encourage yourself:

I understand that holding onto things is just part of life.
I will stop being so hard on myself.
I need to get away from self-management, organizing, color-coding and decorating-- which takes an enormous amount of time. I instead, will be grateful for what I have and relax about it all.
I will be savvy and consider the costs of keeping items versus the ease of just getting rid of it entirely and replacing it when I need it.
It's natural to accumulate, to hold onto things that represent a moment that I enjoyed, or a place I miss. But I need to move on sometimes.
The stuff I have acquired does not define me.
I am a successful person outside of this mess.
I can stop feeling powerless, I can apply decisiveness (like I do in my business) to the way I run my home and home office.
I will stop contributing to the problem-- I will limit or halt what I bring into the house during the decluttering process.
I will let go of perfection. I cannot "interior design" my entire life.
I know my family, friends, and my contributions to the world matter most. Things and possessions should only support my contributions and love.
Although it is tempting, I understand that throwing everything away will only strip myself of who I am.
I will celebrate who I am through the process, keep the things that serve me and my goals.
I will not open a storage unit and waste $$$ time and energy storing things I will never see again.
I can do this-- I can work a little each day, learn the smart behaviors of an organized person. I can enlist an organizing buddy or (if budget permits) hire a professional organizer once a month to manage the process.
I will reward myself for this hard work!
I will appreciate my family members and friends who help me through the process.

Need more inspiration? Check out:

10 Commandments of Clutter - if you're more spirtual, with an edge.

The 80/20 Pereto Principal - scientific usage guidelines we wrote about for Perez Hilton's Perezitos.

What encouragement would you have for Patricia?

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Seriously, WHO defines Too-Much or Too-Little?

2012-03-05T09:45:21-08:00

Some people are surrounded by too much.

Some people are surrounded by too little.

While we are all entitled to an opinion, everyone seems to have commentary when it comes to what makes a life and a beautiful home. If you have too many "collections" or too many clothes, you are a hoarder. If you don't have a lot, you are a mad minimalist, picky and deemed obsessive compulsive. Seems like you can't win.

But seriously, who is to say which one is right?

Case in point: CNN Anchor Anderson Cooper has put his (pictured below) renovated Midtown Manhattan co-op condo on the market (he's moving into a firehouse!) Online comments are calling his now-on-the-market streamlined modern home "stiff," "cool," "persnickety," "too orderly," "will never be a hoarder" and "obsessively anal" -- all because he has decided to surround himself with simple functional design?

Cooper may be an example of someone who operates best with fewer visual distractions. And he's taken his minimalist interest to heart and already featured Justin Klosky (a Los Angeles and New York City-based professional organizer and owner of the "O.C.D Experience") on his show. But who is to decide how we are all supposed to live? It's an individual decision. It's about what works for you. And if it doesn't break zoning laws or interfere with others rights, who cares?

image courtesy Salon.com

What do you think? What makes too much stuff? What makes too little? If you are not a collector, does that make you a stiff and boring person?

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7 High-End Products To Organize Your Closet

2012-03-02T16:47:29-08:00

Closet organizing nirvana can be achieved with careful editing, thoughtful closet shelving and rod placement and selecting a blend of functional and stylish accessories.

Closets are an expression of your personal style, no matter who you are. Why not invest a little more and pamper your Pradas? We've always believed that if you choose your accessories somewhat carefully, your final look will be luxurious and accommodating to the needs of modern man. Here are a few interesting higher-end closet organizing accessories. Can you add any of your favorites?

Bell'occhio in San Francisco offers these Maison boxes shimmering in matelasse' paper with a "snappy" red trim. Petite boxes start at $18 and love letter boxes $34.

Chevron gold metallic drawer liners from Hammocks & High Tea. come in the scene of jasmine and bitter orange. $25 for six 12" x 18" sheets.

Quintessence Paris crafts scented tubes designed to be placed inside drawers and through the hooks of hangers to imbue your apparel with a redolence of freshness and spice. Available for $100 through Bridal Guide.

We've written before about these Clearly Glam luxury shoe boxes from Brazilian designer Gracienne. Stack-able and fashionable, the clear boxes with chic black lid come in packages of 12 for $9.95 each. Available here.

Kirby Allison's "Hanger Project" offers luxury wooden hangers that eliminate dimpling and collapsed shoulders. Kirby is a former investment banker who virtually re-invented hangers using better components and a signature no-slip purple or brown flocking, brass hardware, birch wood satin finish. About $55.50 for 12 shirt hangers.

Lisa Adams, an LA-based high-end closet designer offers these decadent hanger clovers on her website, LA Closet Design. Not only will your clothes be protected from dust, but they'll have the lovely scent of French lavender. $54.00

If all of this is confusing and you just need the basics of closet organization, you can pick up our book: The Experts Guide To Doing Things Faster: 100 Ways To Make Life More Efficient. Or, download it onto your Kindle. We contributed Chapter 9, "How to organize your closet" with a 7-step process to clear the clutter and bring beauty and functionality to your closet no matter your budget.

What products have helped you organize your closet? Do you have any tips for luxury on a budget? We want you to share.

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