These have been exciting times for us.  We just promoted Jamie from Organizational Assistant to Level One Organizer.  Congratulations!

Not only is Maria teaching about Hoarding next week at the Criminal Justice Academy, but she just signed up to teach the FBI at Quantico next month.

And last night we won an Excellence in Business award from the Prince William Chamber of Commerce.

We also found out that we were not only nominated but a finalist for an Excellence in Business award from the Prince William Chamber of Commerce.  No matter what happens, it is an honor to know that we are well thought of, but of course we hope we win.

Maria attended a class on ”Harm Reduction” at convention.  This concept is very important to us.  The basic idea is that even though you’re there to aid the client you can actually do more harm than help.  Psychological issues can really be exacerbated when people get judgemental, critical, angry, etc.  Being firm but gentle and understanding really is the best way to help.

It was good to meet other organizers from around the country and share some knowledge and experiences.  Dinner at La Tasca, a Spanish restaurant at the Inner Harbor, with some folks from California’s bay area was a particularly good time, even though the paella took a lot longer to arrive than the plates of tapas.  It was hard to wait.

The vendor expo was also fun.  There were a lot of new products from established companies, and a lot of small companies that we’d never heard of.  We were even able to buy a copy of What Every Professional Organizer Needs to Know about Chronic Disorganization by Judith Kolberg.  It’s required reading for some ICD exams and we hadn’t been able to find a copy.  Now we have a copy signed by the author.  Cool.

There was a lot of positive energy and good ideas came from the vendors, other organizers and the classes.  Definitely a worthwhile conference to attend.  Now back to work.

There were two particularly interesting points in this article.  The first is Google’s claim that this has been a problem that has plagued other mediums, like the Yellow Pages, for decades.  The second, more scary point is Mr. Baldino’s warning that this could be spreading to plumbers, HVAC, etc.  How do you choose the people you will let into your home, the people you will leave unattended with your stuff?

The only recommendation that I can give is that you seek referrals from trusted people.  Who would your doctor or lawyer recommend?  Who would a trusted third party, like a counselor or an elder care association recommend?  If you’re having trouble with the law, who would Adult Protective Services or Code Compliance offer as possibilities?  And once you have selected someone, make sure that you are comfortable with them.

This competitor came in for a free consultation and quoted a price to clear and organize his space.  He agreed, paid and let them in to do the work.  They cleared his space and rearranged things neatly and left.  This includes discarding some items of sentimental value to the client without his knowledge and consent.  Afterwards, the client wanted to discuss some aspects of the clean up and resolve a disagreement about exactly which areas were supposed to have been cleared.  Unfortunately, the competitor didn’t return his calls.  He had to contact the Better Business Bureau before the competitor called him back.  They will be returning to finish the job to his satisfaction.  Needless to say, we will not be getting involved at this time.

It’s very easy to clear, clean and organize a space when the client isn’t there.  Unfortunately, this means that you need to make decisions without the client’s input and agreement.  It also means that you’ve removed the symptoms without attempting to fix the problem.  We don’t do that.

When Conquer the Clutter comes to you for an initial assessment we spend as much time as necessary touring the problem areas and discussing both the possible causes of the problems and how they are affecting you.  We discuss potential solutions including how to go about clearing the area, how to organize your stuff and how to make more efficient use of your space.  We’re not going to take all day to do this and we’re not going to pressure you about all the detailed decisions that you will need to make along the way, we’re just going over a general plan.  Then we summarize our discussion and give it to you.  Yes, we charge for an initial assessment, but sometimes all you need is an outline.

If you contract with Conquer the Clutter to assist you in the clearing and organizing then we come in on an hourly basis and work with you to determine what you need to keep and what to do with the rest.  We teach you strategies for making these decisions yourself so you may not need further assistance.  If you do want additional assistance then we offer a Continuing Care plan where we can come back periodically to help you maintain your situation, or if you just have questions then we will answer your phone calls and emails for free.

We certainly do work on our own, like when the client has moved or passed on, but if the client is still using the space then we want to work with them.  In more intense situations we will even work in collaboration with therapists.  Our goal is to help our clients to restore an order to their lives that they can maintain.  A very stark difference.

Last week, in the continuing effort to stay current in the field, Maria attended a two day seminar about the brain: its physical parts, and how they work together.  She found out about the class throught her membership in the Northern Virginia Licensed Professional Counselors.  Apparently, new information gets sent to the primitive part of the brain that handles fight or flight responses before it gets sent to the parts that handle higher reasoning.  So, people can get emotional and respond several seconds before they have a chance to realize that something has made them emotional.  No wonder arguments get heated.  No wonder people start collecting things with emotional attachments.  No wonder that breaking a habit, like smoking or hoarding can be so difficult.

The Smoking Gun has an article about an FBI employee who took classified documents home and when caught he pleaded, “I’m a hoarder.”  Unfortunately, there is no credible primary source for this item.  All outside articles point back to the Smoking Gun.  Nevertheless, this article does raise some serious questions.  The American Psychiatric Association has been discussing making hoarding a separate condition in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).  When and if that happens, will hoarders be considered mentally handicapped and protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?  What would “reasonable accomodation” look like?  And rather than firing a hoarder for taking confidential information home without authorization will an employer be required to offer help through an Employee Assistance Program (EAP)?  Will getting help from a professional organizer be covered by insurance?  Will governments be obligated to pay for cleaning up after their poorer citizens?  Hmmm.

Anderson Cooper had an episode, “My Mom is a Hoarder” and in the audience was Miranda, a recovering hoarder who had appeared on TLC’s Hoarding: Buried Alive.  Afterwards she shared her thoughts with the producers.  It’s worth a listen.  Everyone needs help sometimes and it shouldn’t be embarassing to ask for it.  Congratulations and good luck to Miranda, recovery is a long hard road.

Finally, we had a sad news item here in metro DC.  The local ABC affiliate talked about a fire at a hoarder’s house in Maryland and had a bunch of photos of hoarders’ homes from several counties in the area.  It’s a tragic event.  Hoarder’s homes are often filled with flammables, combustibles, toxic chemicals and other biological hazards.  The situation gets even worse as the home falls in to disrepair due to lack of access, lack of funds or an unwillingness to let repairman in to maintain the structure.  A fire can rage out of control despite fire fighters’ best efforts and the home can become practically impassable even without a fire.  We can only hope that people at risk take Miranda’s advice and reach out for the support of their family, friends, and the help of professionals.

     Maria attended a class on Clutter and Hoarding given by the Northern Virginia Licensed Professional Counselors.  She enjoys going to events like this to make sure that she is up-to-date with the current information and techniques being discussed on these topics.  The field of study on hoarding is exploding right now and there are a lot of fascinating avenues being explored.  The entire focus of the research has shifted in the last 10 years from hoarding being an environmentally learned behavior to being a brain function and genetic predisposition.

     Scott attended the Prince William Chamber of Commerce‘s 2012 Tech Expo.  There were a couple of interesting classes being taught, but unfortunately they were at the same time.  Saw all of one and the last part of another.  Got some good ideas from a couple of companies that set up displays.  Also saw the high school robotics team demo.  Wow, I wish they had that available when I was in high school!