A year ago: Gifts, blogs and Clutter Busting

Last April I was celebrating the first anniversary of my blog with some awesome tips for getting the most out of registering for gifts for a special occasion. My favorite tip continues to be don't feel guilty about returning things. 

I shared with you how I came by my wonderful head shots. Since those were taken, I have cut my hair short, so I've been thinking about having them redone.

One of the unused head shots that shows me with long hair.

Earth Day was last Friday, but this round-up of earth-friendly blog posts is interesting anytime.

I reviewed Brooks Palmer's book Clutter Busting and found it to be refreshing and a must-read for people needing help detaching from their stuff. I still read Palmer's blog regular and it always has a thought-provoking take on clutter and our relationship to our possessions.

Finally, I introduced the concept of "A year ago" posts with this first one, detailing my posts from April of 2009. I'll keep using the format as a way for me to remember my past topics and for new readers to get a taste of my archives.

Photo by Sean Paul Franget.

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. Sign up for Lelah's News, a once-monthly newsletter.

April's calendar

If you subscribe to my monthly newsletter, you already know that I'm preparing to attend my first organizing conference, the National Association of Professional Organizers' 23rd Annual Conference and Organizing Exposition, next week. I'm extremely excited about the event and have already started my packing list. If you don't subscribe to my monthly newsletter, what are you waiting for? Sign up now!

Other stuff happening this month that you should know about:

April is Script Frenzy month, just like November is National Novel Writing Month. I will be attempting to write a 100-page script in 30 days!
April 1: April's Fool's Day
April 16: National Stress Awareness Day
April 18: Federal tax returns must be postmarked by this day. Passover begins.
April 22: Earth Day
April 24: Easter Sunday

Creative Commons photo posted to Flickr by anee.baba
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

Organizer's blog digest: Earth Day

From time to time I like to highlight great content found on other professional organizers' blogs. Here are some of the best recent posts on Earth Day, which is tomorrow, April 22.

Christie at SOS Organize gives some statistics on why junk mail is so bad for the environment, and advice on how to stop it from cluttering up your home.

Lorie at The Clutter Diet Blog exhorts us to dispose of hazardous waste properly, and to donate and recycle the waste that gets exposed when we clear clutter. She says "Organizing exposes a lot of waste in our own personal environments."We can all learn from that and try to make a conscious effort not to purchase items that are going to create a lot of waste in our own lives and for the Earth as a whole.

The topic of waste ties in to Abbie at Organizing-Life's recap of her packaging series, in which she examined everyday household items for wasteful packaging. Her conclusions and recommendations are well worth a read.

Vicky and Jen of the podcast What Really Matters post about compost. Composting is an easy and rewarding way to cut down on the amount of organic waste heading to landfills. If you live somewhere with access to a garden, you should compost.

If you want a whole avalanche of "green" themed blog posts, just check out this month's Professional Organizer's Blog Carnival, the topic of which is green organizing.

Creative commons Earth Day photo posted to Flickr by Beverly & Pack
Creative commons raw compost photo posted to Flickr by stevendepolo
Creative commons compost dirt photo posted to Flickr by wisemandarine


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