OrganizingLA Blog

Rihanna Shares A Devotion To Rid Herself of Clutter

2013-06-17T15:10:48-07:00

Rhianna (pictured left) is pictured here sitting on the couch of Coco Chanel's Paris apartment

As we've mentioned before, using scripture (straight quotes from the bible) is a highly effective way (for some) to develop your goals, and help lead you through the day-to-day activities of life, including clearing clutter and being more effective at home and office. A devotion would include some thoughts to reflect on along with the scripture. For instance, for a religious family, your grandparents may have used to read a daily scripture out loud at breakfast time and then spend a minute or so discussing what the family thought that scripture meant to the group or how they could apply it, making it 'devotion time'.

Singing superstar Rhianna recently shared a Instagram photo from the book Starting Your Day Right: Devotions for Each Morning of the Year by Joyce Meyer referencing a devotion about clearing clutter.

Rhianna shared this photo on her Instagram account. Like her, do you use devotions daily in your clutter clearing?

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”
—Isaiah 26:3 NKJ

Sometimes we complicate our life by taking on things that God has not told us to do. We add stress, confusion, and clutter with the unnecessary things we take on and hold on to. We need to use our faith to let go of whatever clutters our mind and keeps us from peace.

Ask God to show you ways to simplify your life. Take an inventory today, and start throwing out whatever is filling your life with unproductive distractions. God wants you to enjoy your day, so get rid of whatever He shows you to give up.

OrganizingLA is not drawn to an particular set of theories or religious views. Whatever works for our professional organization clients is a personal choice. Everyone gets motivated differently, we just like to have the conversation and the exchange of ideas. How do you feel?

Source: Instagram

Your Turn To Comment:

Do you use devotions or scripture to guide your day? How do you feel about using scripture? Have you ever hired an personal organization expert sourced from Faithful Organizers? Let us know here in the comment section or you can tweet us @johntrosko on Twitter. You can also check me out on Instagram.

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Use the Pareto Principle for Summer Organizing and Decluttering Success

2013-06-15T11:39:16-07:00

The Pareto Principle could guide you to be more effective with your time and your life.

What if you could use statistics to declutter your home, office and life, and keep it organized forever?

The Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule was developed in 1906 by Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist and sociologist who observed that 80% of land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population. Since then, we’ve learned the idea of the 80/20 rule has relevancy in almost every area of our lives: business, time management and usefulness of everyday objects. As as a hands-on professional organizer, we refer to these principles when working with clients. The principles are relevant whether you're organizing Los Angeles, New York City, or Italy!

Impressive statistics:

We wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time;
We read 20% of our magazine subscriptions 80% of the time;
Our shelf space holds 80% clutter and junk you’ll never use;
We spend 80% of our attention reviewing 20% of our mail and paperwork;
We use 20% of our kitchen gadgets 80% of the time;
We clean 20% of the house and it takes 80% of our time to clean it;
We will use 20% of our loose recipes to make 80% of our meals;

The Pareto Principle gives us an excellent opportunity to look at the usefulness of daily clutter in our lives. Just because you have the space to store something, doesn’t mean you necessarily need to keep it. Because according to the 80/20 rule, you may not be using it! You can make the rule work for you by understanding the importance of priorities.

Want to add to this story?

Have you heard of the Pareto Principle? How could you use it to declutter your home and office? Let us know here in the comment section or you can tweet us @johntrosko on Twitter. You can also check me out on Instagram.

image above courtesy Time Management HQ.

This original topic first appeared in an edited version on Perezitos, Perez Hilton's lifestyle site featuring celebrity families and advice from pediatricians, parenting, lifestyle experts and professional organizer John Trosko. Click here to check out the original piece.

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How To Choose (And Use) A Paper Planner Calendar

2013-06-06T21:12:52-07:00

While they don't necessarily provide a lot of writing space, photographic calendars such as vintage old Hollywood scenes add inspiring images to your daily agenda items. Click here.

This article is second in an "organizing for the actor" spring series of guest contributor topics by Kristine Oller, a Los Angeles-based change strategist. For information on the series featured here on OrganizingLA click here.

John's note: call them old-school, call them what you want. Paper planners will always be the calendar of choice for many people. While this article talks specifically about the paper version, the rules apply to digital devices too: use the capturing system you want, but be CONSISTENT.

In Los Angeles acting class, your "scene partner" asks if you’ll go to her stand-up gig on Saturday night. Checking the date in your portable planner, you see no notation indicating another commitment, so you promise to go. Later on, you realize that you just gave away your last free Saturday night of the month. Had you known that, you might have thought twice about attending the performance. Then, when you get home, you discover that, according to the calendar on the kitchen wall, you’ve already accepted an invitation to a wedding shower that very same Saturday night. What now?

Never under-estimate the power of a paper planner. Shown here is a Moleskin, a very popular paper notebook brand.

An actor’s life (or really any creative or sales professional) is a constant whirlwind of scheduling and re-scheduling. People often assume actors and these people are “flakes” because the timing of auditions, bookings and meetings that require frequent last-minute cancellations and postponements. Add to those circumstances any personal disorganization – being late, losing information, forgetting things, double-scheduling – and you are not only reinforcing the stereotype but also impeding your professional progress.

Simply buying a planner and using it haphazardly isn’t enough. In order for a planner to become a helpful organizing tool, you must select one that best fits your style, use it consistently and maintain its accuracy.

See Jane Work offers pretty agendas that are more colorful and attractive. This one is about $20 and available here.

Using a paper planner

A planner has two main purposes. The first is to store details about your activities so your brain doesn’t have to. Relying on your brain to remember and remind you about bits of info and multiple to-do’s generates stress. Is your brain constantly juggling everywhere you should be and worrying about everything you should be doing? If so, I doubt there is much peace or space available in there for you to relax, think and create. The more info you can get out of your head and into your planner, the freer you will feel.

“But once stuff is out of my brain and buried in my planner I will forget all about it!” That’s possible – unless you develop the habit of planning, recording and reviewing your activities on a regular basis.

This vintage leather binder is available from Franklin Covey. You fill it with inserts you purchase separately. Available here.

The second purpose of a planner is to help you make and track decisions about how you use your time. To make a clear decision about how to use your free time, you have to have a clear idea of how much free time you actually have. When you get your planner for the new year, pencil in your existing commitments – your job schedule, your class schedule, your family’s schedule plus special occasions and holidays. Then, at the start of each week, sit with your planner and choose how to fit your professional and personal activities into the windows of time available during that particular week. As the week progresses, keep your planner accurate by recording changes to your schedule as they occur. Regularly review what is coming up the next day, the next week and the next month. Use your planner to remind yourself that you can drop off your dry cleaning tomorrow when you pass by on the way to your voice lesson.

Rather than forcing you to be rigid, your planner enables you to remain flexible and informed. Also, if you are ever audited by the IRS, your planner provides important documentation of your career.

Choosing a paper planner

The goal is to find a planner that best suits you, personally. Test drive a few until you find a good fit, but do not fall into the trap of jumping from one to another on a quest for the mythical yet non-existent “perfect planner.” Trust me — there is no paper or electronic planner that will, once and for all, Organize Your Life. Almost any planner can be of use if you actually use it.

You can have wall calendars to remind you of the date, but, to avoid mix-ups, I suggest you record all of your activities in only one place. Thus, make sure to synch your hand-held with your desktop daily. Plan for the time commitment necessary to become facile with anything electronic. Simple-to-use always trumps bells-and-whistles. Make sure the planner provides enough room to write comfortably and legibly. Should it have pockets or sections for additional materials? Does price or aesthetics matter to you?

Month-at-a-glance is a must-have feature. When you are considering adding something to your schedule, you naturally check to see if the actual time and day are available. Equally important is understanding how each event will impact the overall context of your month: although you are available to help your friend move on Sunday, doing so means giving up your first day off in two weeks. For paper planners, FranklinCovey and DayTimer are standard, but also check out PlannerPads.

Resist the temptation to ignore your planner when life is going smoothly then grab it as a crutch when things get hectic. Be proactive rather than reactive; start fresh in the new year by selecting a tool and crafting a routine that will, in time, help get you where you want to go.

Want to add to this story?

What do you think of paper planners? What elements or functions are important for your business? Do you have several calendars or just one? What are your favorite brands? Let us know here in the comment section or you can tweet us @johntrosko on Twitter. You can also check me out on Instagram.

Kristine Oller is a Los Angeles-based change strategist who specializes in guiding successful people as they transition to their next Big Dream, particularly creative and performing artists. A graduate of Linfield College in Oregon, Kristine was a working actress (SAG-Equity-AFTRA) for a decade. As a successful small business owner, Kristine operated an award-winning professional organizing company for 15 years before "retiring" in 2011 to pursue offering her strategic guidance to individuals and groups full time. Visit Kristine's websites for more information visit KristineOller.com and TheActorsLibrary.com.

Kristine's series is used with permission and originally appeared in Backstage Magazine.

images from freelanceswitch, Franklin Covey, See Jane Work

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Liberace Loved Decorative Excess and His Happy Nappies

2013-06-05T10:40:18-07:00

Actor Michael Douglas plays Liberace in the HBO TV movie

It's no doubt the new HBO's Liberace is creating renewed interest in his life and loves. The TV movie “Behind the Candelabra" garnered a record-breaking 2.4 million viewers and has received great reviews in the press.

Born Walter Valentino Liberace, he was celebrated in his time as both exotic and lovable. But he also lived a life of excess with elaborately decorated homes, jewel-encrusted clothing and lavish gifts to friends and family. The world now in 2013, is in a different place and time. Could you imagine such celebrated excesses as wearing $3million dollars worth of stage jewels and a $200,000 mink coat worn being prominently announced from a stage?

Liberace's Moroccan Room in Las Vegas is an example of his do-it-yourself personal taste. Love it or list it?

Growing up with very little money, Liberace grew into (with much hard work and success) a life of luxury. He played piano gigs as a teenager to help his parents pay family bills, and ended up making an average of $5million dollars per year in his Las Vegas shows for the 30 years preceding his death in 1987.

Liberace had a highly personal and unique knack for design. Among all the furs, all the cars, jewelry and extravagance, Liberace loved to collect knick knacks. Many would say his collections turned to clutter as his loneliness grew and grew. He frequently mixed periods such as Asian, Neoclassical, Baroque, Louis XV, Hollywood Regency, and Art Nouveau styles, according to Architectural Digest.

Liberace enjoyed mixing classic furniture and garage sale finds - Happy Nappies as he called them.

In a People Magazine article from 1982, Liberace's older sister Angelina Farrell talked about her younger brother's lavish unused gifts and cluttered collections.

"[Liberace's] older sister, Angelina Farrell, who has come to visit him from her home in Stockton, Calif., sits in his living room and shakes her head at "this glitter gulch, all these dust collectors." She waves dismissively at a clutter of what Liberace calls his "happy-nappies" on an elaborate Venetian coffee table; the gesture is reflected in a wall of mirrors etched with Beardsley drawings.

"This is his dream world," Angie observes. "All these things. It's because we were so poor. You wouldn't believe all the stuff he bought mother and me, all the minks and rocks and dresses hanging in the closet with the tags still on them. He even bought our shoes, for God's sake. We didn't shop for ourselves for years. He wanted us all to live together, like Mother Hubbard. He wanted to make a world of the past. He's so unlike the rest of us, really. I think he belongs in another century. He doesn't much care for the real world, you know.""

Liberace loved the kitchen and spent a lot of time cooking. He touted he had 7-themed dining areas in one home.

Images from BuzzSugar, Architectural Digest, Bibliolore and Serious Eats.

Now is your chance to sound off:

What do you think of Liberace's passion for collection? Is one man's junk another man's treasures? If it's your money, do you have a right to spend it the way you want, without prejudice? Let us know here in the comment section or you can tweet us @johntrosko on Twitter. You can also check me out on Instagram.

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Can Something Pretty Make You Want To Do Housework?

2013-05-11T12:48:00-07:00

If there is one thing we've learned running a professional organizing business it's that the right tool can get the job done. And an even better tool is one that you can leave out for display, or hang up in plain sight for easy access so it no only looks good, but functions well too.

This week I fell in love with this bamboo ironing board from Welm Elm on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles. If you know me, I pretty much hate ironing anything other than pillow cases, cocktail napkins, tea towels, shams and placemats (anything flat and manageable). But I think this board will want to make me want to iron more and more. And it's a relative bargain at $79.99. If you add a chef's stripe ironing board cover @ $19.00 -- you will have a look that adds affordable functional style in traditional homes, Victorian-style, Spanish Renaissance, beach home, Colonial, Craftsman (you get the point).

West Elm continues to stock great organizing and homekeeping products that they inherited when Hold Everything home organization store closed down in 2006. Check out these pictures.

This stylish ironing board features solid bamboo legs and a Fibertech® top made from natural plant fiber waste.

High quality homekeeping products can make chores more fun!

When working with clients we try to incorporate some style in the client's necessary functional activities and storage. And all the better if we can move away from plastic containers into wood (yea, I am obsessed with wood organizing boxes and storage pieces).

Take for instance my own bathroom. I repurposed these 1970's Maxwell House freeze-dried glass coffee jars in the bathroom to hold wooden Q-tips, cotton balls, cotton pads and wood toothbrushes (the last container was empty so I added some sea shells). The canisters sit on the shelf and they're not only maritime chic, they're are functional (and yes, we had to scrub these jars for an hour, they were previously used in a garage in Sierra Madre to hold nuts, bolts and drill bits!)

These re-purposed freeze-dried coffee canister sit on my bathroom shelves. They're not only pretty but functional too...something important to me personally and when working with clients.

So you can see from my Instagram picture post, when you incorporate looks and function, you might get a bonus: a burst of extra energy to tackle life's little details and complete your ironing (or any little chore) faster. And then we can move on to more important things like friends, family and Spring time fun.

Now is your chance to sound off:

What products do you like to have around you? Do stylish products really help you get the job done more efficiently? Let us know here in the comment section or you can tweet us @johntrosko on Twitter. You can also check me out on Instagram.

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How To Set Up And Organize A Portable Car Office

2013-04-26T15:18:01-07:00

Don't let traffic slow your career down. Actors and just about anyone can benefit from setting up a portable office in their car.

This article is first in an "organizing for the actor" spring series of guest contributor topics by Kristine Oller, a Los Angeles-based change strategist. For more information on the series click here.

Picture this: You are exiting Samuel French (the theater, film and television old school bookshop). Your stomach growls for lunch. Then-- your iPhone rings: You have an audition in forty minutes! You, however, are on the opposite side of town and unsure of how to get to the casting office. The role in the audition is a “corporate office drone”… you, however, are wearing jeans and flip-flops. In addition to needing two headshots, they want to check your availability for several dates… you, however, are down to your last headshot picture and your old-school day planner is sitting on your bed.

Samuel French is an old-school film and theater bookshop in Hollywood. It's been in business on Sunset Blvd. over 65 years.

Hanging up from the call, you check the time and think, “Hmmm… what now?”

Times have changed in Hollywood. There is no way less turn-around for auditions, readings, and recordings. Where you used to have days or a week to prepare for an audition, you now only have hours (or less).

The most predictable aspect of an actor’s workday is how unpredictable it can be. When these unexpected opportunities pop up, time and traffic often prohibit even a quick trip home to raid your closet and utilize your office. Being unprepared for such good fortune increases the odds that you will squander your energy scrambling, worrying and “making do” rather than conserving it for the audition.

"The key is having a lean, mean, portable version of your office with you on the road. In Los Angeles, that means having an office in your car; in New York, that means having one slung over your shoulder."

Why should actors have a portable office?

First, you should note the difference between “setting-up a portable office” and “having what you need with you.” You may already carry around all of the items mentioned in this article, but are they scattered in the crevasses of your car or crunched at the bottom of your backpack? If they are, you lack the ability to quickly spot what may me missing, easily access items while on the move, and take inventory of what needs re-stocking.

Which low-tech container do you need?

Select a container for your portable office that best suits your needs and situation. You can use a tote bag, a plastic file box, a briefcase, a backpack or a nylon car caddy hung on the passenger seat. Next, assign every item in your office a permanent “home” (a.k.a. a pocket or folder or pouch) where it will live. Store your marketing materials (headshots with resumes, postcards, business cards, performance flyers, flashdrives, demo reels and voice over demo CDs) so that they remain clean and un-tattered. Keep your phone and planner handy. Carry at least one pen and highlighter with you as well as some extra cash for parking fees or cab fare. Have a means by which to charge your phone or laptop (or making charging it a daily ritual) and have access to your vital phone numbers either as a hardcopy or in your phone’s memory.

Really Useful Boxes makes a star-studded array of sturdy, strong storage boxes perfect for the demands of a portable car office. They're available at Office Depot and Staples.

You might also include a small stapler, some thank-you notes and stamps for use during down time and, for extra credit, a geographical listing of casting director addresses (or bookmark the web address in your phone). That way, no matter where the day takes you, you can drop your picture and resume off at an office or two (if appropriate).

Tip: A map is a necessity, I know we are living in our cars and on our smart phones. What would happen if you could not access your phone's GPS? I suggest you picking up a basic street map just in case. Remember, it's about being proactive and organized.

Travel toiletries

Finding “homes” for a comb, a clip to put your hair up, a mirror, basic make-up, an electric shaver, a nail file, wet wipes, tissues, lip balm, floss, toothpaste, a toothbrush, and mints or gum, is relatively simple. Having immediate access to both a “nice casual” and a “business” outfit is a tad trickier.

Change of clothes

Of course, if you have a car, clothes and shoes can be hung in a garment bag or placed in your trunk. In some circumstances, you can stash a change of clothes at your gym or place of employment. Another plan, which I put in place for myself as auditions increased, was to get permission to access the homes and closets of two supportive friends in two different areas of town. In a pinch, I could drop in, borrow the few items I needed and freshen up.

Snacks and being your best

For days when arriving “as is” is your only option, having water and an apple or nutrition bar with you can be your saving grace. Without fuel, your energy and enthusiasm can noticeably lag.

Achieving the success you are striving for depends a great deal on your ability to capitalize on each and every opportunity – scheduled or not – that comes your way. Being organized gives you a competitive edge because, when you know what you have and have what you need, you will remain confident, focused and able to rise to the occasion.

Want to add to this story?

How do you organize your car? Are there certain products that work for you? Let us know in comments, tweet @JohnTrosko, or send an email through our contact page.

Kristine's series is used with permission and originally appeared in Backstage Magazine.

Hollywood Freeway image courtesy RaymoundYu and Flickr

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