J. Gordon Lippincott – evil visionary? Consummate consumerist, unapologetic con man of capitalism? Astoundingly Renaissance-Man-gifted artist, engineer and acutely-observant social scientist. I stumbled on Lippincott’s name while reading Garbology (pps. 66 – 68, 292), author Edward Humes. Humes assigns decisive credit to Lippincott for the invention of conspicuous consumption, defined by the online Encyclopedia Britanica…

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Casual Uncluttering Hoarding Situation 2

The ICD Guide to Challenging Disorganization For Professional Organizers, Kate Varness, CPO-CD, MA, Editor This book, written and edited by organizing specialists, ADHD experts and psychologists, is a primer for people who are trying to understand individuals who suffer from particularly complex organizing challenges.  Its primary audience is professional organizers, but it can be of…

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Easy Closets This 2010 publication from Creative Homeowner, authored by Joseph R. Provey, is an excellent reference for anyone considering a home remodel or an addition, absolutely worth getting your hands on somehow. It speaks to the do-it-yourself OR anyone who will be hiring a contractor. Provey hasn’t forgotten a thing, not how to determine…

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Still life with lemons

OSL – motto: Only Serving Love. OSL, initially named Operation: Sack Lunch and now known by its initials, is a critical, resourceful, adaptable enterprise bringing nutritious meals to people in need in Seattle. In 2019 that meant 1,255,477 meals. To children and seniors. To homeless people and shut-ins. Through partnerships in community facilities and at…

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Andrew J. Mellen, once-upon-a-time VirgoMan and now “simply” “The Most Organized Man in America,” began in the organizing profession in 1996.  He’s another of our giants – a little more literally, since he stands at 6′ 1″ – alongside such luminaries as Judith Kolberg and Julie Morgenstern. Luminary is appropriate in another sense – Mellen…

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Yes, even organizers need organization resources.

My everlasting gratitude to Dr. Gregory Chasson, a clinician with too many impressive accomplishments to list here, and The Philadelphia Hoarding Task Force for pointing me to several of these hoarding disorder assessment tools which were unfamiliar to me. I’m pleased to say that several of my colleagues and I pointed him to a resource…

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Cane over chair

Wendy Sloneker, Grief Recovery Specialist® generously wrote this gentle, reassuring and informative essay for me after I remarked to her during a networking event that many of my clients are impacted by grief. I would never have known that so many variants of this emotion existed without Wendy sharing her expertise.   Thoughts on making…

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I attended a conference on hoarding disorder yesterday, 1/30/2021. Some of the materials reminded me of this book: Throw Out Fifty Things: Clear the Clutter, Find Your Life, authored by Gail Blanke and published in 2009. Ms. Blanke, from her book cover, is “a world-class motivator, a former columnist for Real Simple magazine, and the…

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Joe Average quietly walked into his house of worship and began to pray: “Creator, I’ve been a supportive, gentle and loving husband, a creative, playful, good father all my life. I want to win the lottery. It would just be so great. Creator, I’ve never asked You for anything. Please, let me win the lottery.”…

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