Best Results Organizing

I should be mingling, but I’ve ducked into the other room to catch the end of my favorite movie:

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Harry:  I love how you get cold when it’s seventy-one degrees out.  I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich.  I love that you get a little crinkle right there when you’re looking at me like I’m nuts.  I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes.  And I love that you’re the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night.  And it’s not because I’m lonely.  And it’s not because it’s New Year’s Eve.  I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.

Sally:  That is just like you, Harry.  You say things like that, and you make it impossible for me to hate you, and I hate you, Harry.  I really hate you.  I hate you.

“AULD LANG SYNE” continues in the background.  

Harry:  What does this song mean?  My whole life, I have never known what this song means. I mean, “Should old acquaintance be forgot”?  Does that mean we should forget old acquaintances, or does it mean if we happen to forget them, we should remember them, which is not possible because we already forgot them?

Sally:  Well, maybe it just means that we should remember that wee forgot them or something.  Anyway, it’s about old friends.

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This is a time to recall “auld acquaintance”, and as we approach a sparkling new year, to introduce Paper Doll readers to other great and inspiring blogs.  Harry crashed the party Sally attended, so let’s think of today’s post as a New Year’s Eve party I’m hosting, and I’m introducing you to some new organizing friends with whom you can mingle.

First, pass the hors d’oeuvres trays to a few of my fellow OnlineOrganizing.com Blog Central pals.  Janet Barclay writes Technology as an Organizing Tool.  Between the two of us, with paper and tech, I like to think we can help you get all your information organized.  Janet’s a virtual assistant who specializes in organizing the organizers (whew!) so you know she knows her stuff.  Suzanne Babb is a double-delight.  She has not only blogged here about getting over computer fears and Setting and Achieving Goals, her Let’s Talk Organizing blog and podcast really energize a lively but practical approach to solving organizing challenges at work and at home.

Like the decorations at this end-of-the-year party?  (Go along with me here, folks.  It’s a blog!) Most long-time readers know that my posts tend to favor function over form.  It’s not that aesthetics aren’t important; it’s just that I was the gal still making stick figures in 10th grade art class.  For a blog on creative organizing from the visual perspective, Aby Garvey‘s Creative Organizing blog is a superb place to start your new year.  It’s joyous to view, and you’ll learn something, too!

No party is complete without twin planets around whom partiers circulate and conversation flows. Meet the double-trouble of Krista Colvin and Brandie Kajino.  You may know these gals from their hilarious and informative radio program The O-Myth, where they break down that stick-in-the-mud reputation often applied to organizing and those of us who practice it.  They’ve interviewed everyone from Oprah’s pal, Peter Walsh, to Unclutterer‘s Erin Doland. 

What?  You don’t know Erin? (There’s some snippy socialite at every party (though not Paper Doll‘s) who wants you to feel small if you don’t know the person it’s de rigueur to know.  Well, Unclutterer is the blog that must be known!  Start reading now, and catch up by reading the Sunday “year-ago” posts.)   

But back to Krista and Brandie.  Did you know these gals blog, too?  Brandi’s blog, The Home Office Organizer, offers everything the solopreneur needs–organizing advice, money- and time-saving tips and a pixieish cheer that keeps you motivated.  Krista’s Organize In Style is all about keeping it together–the job, the house, the kids, the life–and is a cool introduction to her whole SheBang program.

There’s no band* at this New Year’s Eve shindig, but if you want a little entertainment with your organizing, make time to get to know John Trosko‘s Organizing LA Blog.  It’s fun, a little zany, and sometimes it feels like our industry’s own Entertainment Tonight. To wit, no matter where you reside, see what he has to say about the 2009 Los Angeles Organizing Awards. 

Oh, were you wondering if John’s the lone guy out there blogging about organizing?  Be assured, he’s not, and let’s wander over to the beverage area to introduce you to Scott Roewer of DeclutterYou.com.  (He’s the one who shares my love of diet Coke.) From saving money to saving space, high tech to low stress, Scott’s got you covered, and while I’d never call him cartoonish, he’s been known to get animated.  And we can’t forget Jim Deitzel, chief cook and blogger/bottle-washer of the fabulous Rubbermaid blog, who is so supportive of the organizing industry.

Look who just walked into the party, fashionably attired and trailed by paparazzi!!  It’s Monica Ricci of Your Life. Organized.  Ok, I’ll admit it–she’s the first professional organizer I ever met (all those years ago), and I’m still floored by how she wears success like a comfy sweater.  Monica may be a national spokeswoman, a sought-after national speaker, a published author, a favorite radio and TV guest and so much more, but reading her blog is like going to lunch with an old friend who is so ready to dish the latest dirt to make organizing even more fun.

And who arrived with Monica?  That’s none other than Lorie Marrero!  Her ClutterDiet blog is a charming surprise–like that workout class you sign up for because you want to shed that holiday poundage, but you discover silly friends with whom you’d work out even if you magically had Beyonc’s waistline (and moves)?  Who else but Lorie would tell you about bed spectacles so you can watch TV when you’re lying down?  Who else would retrofit her office to make a treadmill desk?

Every hostess needs friends who turn us on to the best bakeries and caterers.  (Seriously. Paper Doll does not cook!)  Well, for knowing what’s going on…everywhere…a tip of my blogger-hostess hat to Allison Carter, who’s not only my mirror image, creatively Right Brain Organizing when I’m step-by-stepping it on the left), but she’s keeping our whole industry up to date with her Organizer U blog.

At every great soire, someone’s circulating with a camera, making sure that the revelry is captured for posterity.  At this party, that’s Jeri Dansky of the eponymous Jeri’s Organizing & Decluttering News, and she just leaves me awed. Proving that a picture is worth a thousand words, and obviously putting hours of research behind every themed picture-filled post, Jeri is the resource queen of professional organizing.  If there’s a tangible product for storing or organizing, or a service or site to make your life easier, Jeri is the first to find it and share it with readers.  Jeri’s blog rocks–don’t miss out. 

I hope you get to know these great bloggers in 2009, and I haven’t even told you about…  Oh, will you look at the time?  How organized would I be if I missed the main event of my own party?

5!!!…4!!!…3!!!…2!!!…1!!!

*Readers, please write in.  What would be the best band to play at a party of professional organizers and organizing bloggers?  What songs would make up the play list?