AIMEE’S FAVORITE RESOURCES

By creating a plan and clearly stating boundaries, you can build a healthy relationship with technology for both yourself and your family!

With all the distractions that come with our phones, busy lives and schedules, it can sometimes feel like we are swimming in To-Dos. Here are my TOP THREE productivity tools that I have been finding super helpful in my daily life. I hope you do too!

To help you start your year off right, Redfin reached out to myself and other professional organizers for our best tips and tricks to make decluttering and sustainability that much easier.

Chronic Disorganization (CD) is a term that was first coined by Judith Colberg (A Veteran Professional Organizer) in 1992. It is characterized by the persistence of severe disorganization over a long period of time. Here's an overview of what CD is and ways to approach the subject and ideas from a professional organizer on how to move forward.

Organizing your finances can be a challenging and multi-layered task. I recently read an article by Tori Dunlap, where she discusses what is called “Financial Fomo” and how it effects our financial decisions and ultimately, progress. Here are some helpful tips I've gathered from her article and how it applies to organizing!

In addition to therapy and working with a Professional Organizer, there are many resources in the Pacific Northwest that specifically cater to those who struggle with hoarding tendencies. The list below provides some of the best resources available in the Portland to Vancouver areas.

The team at Executive Functioning Success has made it their mission to support and educate individuals and families that are struggling with their executive functioning skills. They specifically specialize in working with kids with ADHD and executive function issues.

How long should you keep all of the paperwork and records you acquire from life changes, purchases or those needed to file your taxes?

The ICD offers an assessment tool called The Clutter–Hoarding Scale®. This scale was developed to give professional organizers and related professionals definitive parameters related to health and safety when it comes to hoarding situations.

Through www.Optoutprescreen.com, can choose to remove your list from offers of credit or insurance (you probably think of these as junk mail. Many clients feel overwhelmed by these notices and wish to stop receiving them. Here’s how!

Part of my work as a Professional Organizer includes finding local organizations that accept donations to support our community. Adult & Teen Challenge USA works on a Christ-centered model of drug and alcohol recovery. They focus on wellness as a whole and provide longterm rehabilitation centers for those in need.

Clark County Food Bank is committed to “alleviating hunger and its root causes.” In addition to distributing over 8 million pounds of food and 6.7 million meals a year, they also have a farming and gleaning program that produces hundreds of thousands of pounds of fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables.

Medical Teams International is a faith based organization with the mission of “Daring to love like Jesus.” They provide refugees with medical care, disaster relief to those in need, mobile dental programs, and more. A direct way that you can contribute to their organization’s cause is by donating medical supplies.

Over the months, I collect unwanted glasses from clients and donate them to the Lions Club. Many people living in low to middle income countries do not have the access they need for basic eye care services or corrective lenses. The Lions Recycle For Sight Program provides a solution for those in need.

You can make a big difference in the lives of America’s veterans and their families when you use Pickup Please as a donation resource. By selling your items to private companies through an annual bid, Pickup Please aids in the funding needed to support the local, state, and national programs of the Vietnam Veterans of America.

Caring Closet is a non-profit that is based out of Vancouver, Washington. They accept medical equipment donations such as: hospital beds, wheelchairs, walkers, bath benches and adult briefs and give them to those in need at no cost.

Curb-It is an on demand junk removal service that allows you the convenience to dispose of unused and unwanted things, easily and responsibly.

Soles for souls has built a business model that positively impacts our Earth and community through providing resources for donations of new or gently used shoes.

With locations in both Vancouver and Spokane, NW Furniture Bank provides a place to donate your old furniture to a charitable cause.

Free Geek helps to bridge the gap between digital turnover and environmental sustainability.

When decluttering and reorganizing a closet, you usually toss a lot of old clothes that don’t fit or make you happy anymore. Sometimes your clothing and textiles can be donated or handed down to someone else, but in the case that they are not, it’s important to recycle them responsibly. Here are some of my favorite Textile Recycling Options!

An incredible educational resource is now available to teach kids about recycling. It’s called “Nico’s Quest to Recycle: A Kid’s Guide to Recycling”.

We believe in disposing of your unused items ethically and with the help of Junkluggers, you can get rid of almost anything and they will dispose of it responsibly. They work with both residential and commercial customers who are looking to get rid of everything from furniture to yard debris.

Here is a list of specialized recycling programs in the Portland area that accept those items that are challenging to donate. Includes how to donate electronics, damaged clothing, worn shoes, bras, underwear, ripped clothing, mattresses and stained towels.

Shredding your documents is essential to prevent identity theft and maintain the confidentiality of your private information. Here are a few fantastic resources available in the Portland and Vancouver areas that will help you to responsibly shred and recycle your paperwork:

Earth Friendly Recycling opened in 2011 in Vancouver, WA and is a family-owned and operated business. With a mission to save our landfills from reusable electronics waste and other renewable products, they accept electronics, appliances and packing foam.

Agilyx is committed to taking the chemical process of recycling plastic materials and responsibly reusing that energy resource by converting them into high-value oils and chemical substrate products.