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A.J. Miller
A.J. Miller Quick Facts
Main Areas: Organizing at Home or Work, Simplifying Your Llife, Time Management, Space Design, Clutter Control, Storage Design, Paper/Information ManagementCareer Focus: Professional Organizer, Writer, Business Owner, Simplicity Advocate
Affiliation: MillerOrganizing.com, MillerOrganizing.com/blog/, National Association of Professional Organizers
A. J. Miller is an organizing expert, sought after motivational speak, author and the founder and Chief Executive Organizer of MILLER ORGANIZING, a residential and business organizing company based in NYC. Over the course of her career, she has helped hundreds of busy New Yorkers to get – and stay! – organized.
She is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), the premier authority in the field of organizing. She is a past member of the Board of Directors and past Newsletter Editor of the NAPO New York chapter and the proud recipient of the 2008 NAPO New York President's Award which is given for outstanding contributions to the chapter.
She writes a column on getting organized, clutter control, time management, living more simply, increasing productivity, how being organized reduces stress and other related topics called "Getting Organized" which is featured regularly in Town & Village, a community newspaper that has been serving the Stuyvesant Town, Peter Cooper Village, East Midtown Plaza, Gramercy Park, Kips Bay, Union Square and Waterside areas of Manhattan for over 60 years. She also writes a blog called Don't Agonize. Organize!, which is filled with lots of additional information, advice, tips and tid-bits.
She was fortunate to have been one of 500 woman chosen from a field of 20,000 for entry to Yale University the first year that its undergraduate school admitted female applicants and graduated with honors. She also feels fortunate to be part of a profession that allows her to make a difference and to do something meaningful every day. The most fulfilling part of what she does is seeing the joy and sense of relief clients experience from being organized.
You can follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/millerorganizin and connect with her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/MillerOrganizing. A.J. can be contacted by email at AJ@MillerOrganizing.com or by phone at (212) 228-8375. You can also visit her on the web at MillerOrganizing.com.
Favorite Quotes & Thoughts from A.J. Miller
Organizing is a lifelong, ongoing process, not a one-time event.
Organization is the key to really getting the most that you can out of your space, your time, your life.
Have a place for everything and return it there when you're done using it. If you do, you'll know just where to find it the next time you need it.
Organizing is not a talent; it's a skill that can learned. It comes more naturally to some people than others, but everyone can learn to do it. It just takes willingness and determination, the right tools and a little time and practice.
Getting organized is about living in a way that helps create your best possible life - happy, stress-free, creative, motivated and enriching.
Simple, intuitive, highly customized organizing systems and solutions reflecting your wants/needs, comfort/convenience and dovetailing with the way your mind works are key. These kinds of organizational systems and solutions work best and are the easiest to successfully maintain over the long run.
There is an element of pleasure in using an organizational system or solution that fits harmoniously with your personality and reflects your style.
You are not your "stuff".
It's not about the "stuff"; it's about what you want from your life and how you will make that dream a reality.
If your "stuff" isn't helping you to create the life you want, it shouldn't be in your life.
You should own your "stuff"; your "stuff" should not own you.
Happiness isn't found in the quantity of "stuff" we own, it's found in the quality of relationships that we form. What we own should support and enhance that life not be a barrier to it.
Establish the vision you want for your life/space. How do you want your life and living and working spaces to look, feel and function? Decide what will help you achieve your vision and get rid of anything and everything that doesn't help you reach that goal.
Keep only those things that are useful, beautiful or you treasure for reasons of your own. Let the rest of it go.
There is no one right way to get or be organized.
Store things as close to their point of use as possible. The more steps it takes to do something the less likely it is to get done.
When you take off an item, put it away. If it's dirty, clean it. If you open it, close it. If you start something, finish it.
Be "intentional". Look at one item at a time and make a deliberate decision about it. Do you really want to keep it? And, if so, where is it going to go and how is it going to be stored.
When contemplating whether or not to keep something, ask yourself if you would pay to move it all the way across the country or take it with you on your way out the door if your house were on fire. If the answer is, "No", let it go.
Respect the limits that your physical space places on you. Once those limits are reached, practice the "one in, one out" rule by removing one item from your space before adding another item.
Successful people know that to get ahead they must set priorities, plan and always follow through. They make certain their systems work well for them, minimizing the amount of time and energy they must spend on a given task. They are always looking for ways to do things smarter, faster and better.
Organize it right the first time so you don't have to organize it over.
Change is possible.
Contacting A.J. Miller
A.J. can be contacted by email at info@MillerOrganizing.com or by phone at (212) 228-8375. You can also visit her on the web at MillerOrganizing.com, follow her on Twitter and connect with her on Facebook.
