Jan 15, 20113 min read

Resolved: To Get My House Organized Once And For All

Jean shares her journey organizing with Maeve - read her story! #organizing

Photo: Jean Halloran Monaco and organizer Maeve Richmond

Photo by Andrew Schwartz

RESOLVED!

Four New York City Moms Tackle Their New Year's Resolutions

Thanks to New York Family Magazine for the amazing opportunity to work with busy mom Jean Halloran as she tackled her resolution to get organized, once and for all.

To Get My House Organized Once And For All

By Jean Halloran Monaco

New Year’s resolutions often seem too lofty to me. Let’s face it, if I can remember to quiz my first grader on her spelling every Thursday and get to Long Island for dinner with my mother-in law, things are going pretty well. But I like the idea of setting a realistic goal, and this year I’d like to get my home more organized, so I called in an expert----Maeve Richmond, a professional organizer and the founder of Get Your House in Order. When I found out Richmond would be coming to my house I was a bit apprehensive. Was she going to "scold" me like the Nanny "scolds" the families she is "helping" on television? #goals #intentions #resolutions

I was relieved to find Maeve warm and approachable. After touring my apartment, she outlined her five organizational concepts. “I’m not a rules person—I want these concepts to enable you to make your own decisions,” she said. #5concepts

I was relieved to find Maeve warm and approachable. After touring my apartment, she outlined her five organizational concepts. “I’m not a rules person—I want these concepts to enable you to make your own decisions,” she said.

This was a different approach then I had seen before; it wasn’t the militant “Keep, Donate, Give Away” mantra. Instead, she focused on giving items a specific place to live and giving me time to think about what they mean to me. Also, how often I use something and storage placement go hand in hand (just b/c the zester is a kitchen tool doesn't mean it needs to take up counter space with my spatulas and wooden spoons.) #everythinghasahome

Instead, she focused on giving items a specific place to live and giving me time to think about what they mean to me. #everythinghasahome

And, instead of overwhelming full or half-day meetings, Maeve prefers to work in two-hour session, so we focused on a small space that particularly unnerved me—my bedroom desk. #babybites

Our organization session was very focused. When I was about to get up and put crayons in the bin in the kids’ room, Maeve stopped me, saying that leaving the room would be a distraction (How right she is; I do that all the time when I "pretend" to organize and suddenly, I am checking the calendar, using the phone, or getting on the computer, and the project at hand escapes me). #inthedirectionof

Our organization session was very focused. When I was about to get up and put crayons in the bin in the kids’ room, Maeve stopped me, saying that leaving the room would be a distraction...

After grouping similar items (change, pens, crafts, my husbands’ stuff) we came across $140 worth of unexpired gift certificates. We also found a 2007 calendar in a dusty Filofax and hard disks I used a decade ago. The funniest discovery was a book about organization buried under a pile. #categories

Organizing my #desk may not seem like a monumental change, but I gained a clean, functional and aesthetically pleasing place to work, in addition to Maeve’s great tips that will help me tackle the rest of my house.