ICD's First Public Conference Session Features Minding Your Matters® Organizer

RALEIGH, N.C. -- It isn't about the latest cool organizing gadget. And it's not just a matter of doing it the "right" way. Getting organized is about finding a way to work with your brain, your way. 

Triangle residents learned about chronic disorganization Wednesday in a special session, "Why Can't I Get Organized? Some Causes and Solutions for Disorganization."

The session featured four panelists, including Professional Organizer Janice Russell, CPO-CD®, president of the Cary firm, Minding Your Matters®, discussing the challenges of chronic disorganization.

"For those who have struggled with organization their entire lives, finding a solution isn't as easy as buying the right container," Russell explained. "And not all chronically disorganized individuals have hoarding tendencies or attention deficit disorder. Organizing systems are like anything else: what works for one person's brain might not work for another."

The event was sponsored by the Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD), an international organizing industry association, as part of its annual conference.

The ICD defines chronic disorganization as "having a past history of disorganization in which self-help efforts to change have failed, an undermining of current quality of life due to disorganization, and the expectation of future disorganization."

Among the causes for chronic disorganization are aging and mental health issues, physical challenges and neurologically-based conditions. Some people are chronically disorganized, but others may find their clutter is due to a specific situation, such as a death in the family, illness, divorce, job changes or moving to another location.

Russell was joined by two other organizing experts and ICD members, Mindy Godding, CPO-CD and Geralin Thomas, CPO-CD along with licensed psychologist Dr. Julie Pike. During the first part of the program, Godding gave a talk, “Understanding Chronic Disorganization."

She then facilitated the three panelists' continued conversation about chronic disorganization. The audience was able to ask questions.

One audience member, Jean, said attending spurred her to seek the help she needs to find solutions for her chronic disorganization.

"I was very impressed by the knowledge and expertise of the presenters and panel of local speakers who offered a wealth of information dealing with disorganization," she said. "The seminar helped me understand how people can become chronically disorganized (CD) and that there are many factors that influence it."

In addition to discussing strategies for decluttering and organizing physical items, the panel addressed the fact that CD is also about mismanaging ourselves in relation to time.

"We often forget that there are only 24 hours in a day. We don't allot enough time for the number of tasks we've scheduled in a day. Not organizing time means we often don't have time to organize our stuff," Russell commented.

Attendees also learned methods for communicating with someone who is CD. Some ideas included:

• Resist criticizing
• Focus your attention on his/her good qualities
• Be clear about your boundaries
• Acknowledge incremental progress

This is the first time the ICD has opened up a conference session to the public.  

“It’s part of ICD’s mission to provide information and organizing strategies to the public, and this event was an important step in that direction," Katherine Trezise, CPO-CD®, ICD’s president. "The audience members asked Ms. Russell and the other expert panelists for help with a variety of organizing challenges. The Institute for Challenging Disorganization is grateful to our panelists for sharing their time and expertise with people in the Raleigh-Durham area."

About the Institute for Challenging Disorganization
The Institute for Challenging Disorganization is a non-profit group for professional organizers and related professionals. The ICD is the premier resource on chronic disorganization and strives to educate professional organizers and the public about those challenges and benefit those affected by it. The ICD explores, develops and communicates information, organizing techniques and solutions to professional organizers, related professionals and the public. For more information, please visit www.challengingdisorganization.org.

About Janice Russell
Janice Russell, CPO-CD, founded Minding Your Matters® Organizing in 2002.  Janice’s unparalleled organizational skills were developed and honed through 13 year of experience in the corporate world and the educational arena.  Not only is Janice organized, thanks to her experience as a public school teacher, she has the ability to teach others how to organize themselves.  Janice is a published author and a highly sought-after speaker.  Since founding Minding Your Matters®, Janice and her team have helped more than 250 clients, and were featured on the TLC show “Hoarding:  Buried Alive” in 2010. Learn more about Janice's organizational skills at http://www.mindingyourmatters.com or her seminars at http://www.bringorderto.com/.