Vote now for the winners of the LA Organizing Awards

This week the finalists for the the Los Angeles Organizing Awards were announced! Voting has commenced and is open to the public through December 24, 2010. I'm excited that many of the people, businesses and products that I nominated have made it to the next round. I'm also tremendously excited to be a part of the planning process for this event.

Since I joined NAPO-LA this spring, I've had a chance to work with some amazing people on the Awards Task Force. I encourage you to check out the finalists and vote. In order to do so, you will have to create an account, but the process is simple and quick.

I also encourage you to stay tuned as more details of the Awards are announced. We're so pleased to have Office Max as our presenting sponsor! Office Max's spokesperson for workplace organization, Peter Walsh, will be a presenter at the Awards. Remember, the Awards are Saturday, January 29, 2011, at the Sheraton Universal Hotel at Universal City, Los Angeles. You'll be able to buy tickets soon if you want to be there when the winners are announced!

In addition to the Awards show, we're having a special event earlier in the evening. The Gala Industry Exchange is going to be a one-of-a-kind event where attendees will be able to browse booths and mingle with the foremost members of the professional organizing and productivity industry.

If you want more information on the Awards, the Gala or are interested in becoming a sponsor or placing an ad in the program, please contact me at lelah@lelahwithanh.com.

Lelah Baker-Rabe is a Los Angeles-based professional organizer. To discuss your organizing needs, call her at 818.269.6671 or email lelah@lelahwithanh.com

Behind the scenes of the Los Angeles Organizing Awards task force

I'm a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO - pronounced "nay-poe"), and of my local NAPO chapter, NAPO-LA. The signature event of NAPO-LA is the Los Angeles Organizing Awards, held each year in January to celebrate the organizing industry and to top off Get Organized Month.

This year I've volunteered to be on the task force behind making the Awards a reality. It's pretty exciting. I've never been on a task force before. What's really great about it is that I get to witness my fellow professional organizers in action organizing a huge event. Though we aren't event planners by trade, we have a lot of the same skills and it's fun to see organized planning unfold. We have checklists, templates, meeting agendas, workflow charts, volunteer charts with everyone's contact info and photo, and we're keeping meticulous records for next year. Ahh, the things that make an organized person happy.

And if you are into organization and want to see the big names in the industry come to our glittering city for a glamourous award show, mark your calendars for January 29, 2011, and the Los Angeles Organizing Awards!

Lelah Baker-Rabe is a Los Angeles-based professional organizer. To discuss your organizing needs, call her at 818.269.6671 or email lelah@lelahwithanh.com