Q: Can you personally come to my house and help me declutter?

A: Many thanks for your inquiry about my decluttering and organizing services.  As you can imagine, since the recent Oprah Winfrey Shows, I have been inundated with people seeking assistance with the clutter in their own life or that of someone close to them.

Unfortunately, at the present time it is very difficult for me to take on new clients. However, I do have some practical suggestions for you.

Later in the year I am planning to launch a nation-wide program of professional organizers who will be trained in my style of decluttering personal spaces. Their focus is to bring harmony and peace though organization that works for your particular needs and lifestyle. This team will be available in most areas of the United States – including, hopefully, your city - and if you keep an eye on my website or sign up for my newsletter you’ll be sure to hear information about this service as soon as it’s available.

If your need is more immediate, and you live in the United States, your best place to find a professional organizer to assist you would be to check out the website of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) at www.napo.net

In Canada – the Professional Organizers of Canada at www.organizersincanada.com

In Australia and New Zealand - the Australasian Association of Professional Organizers at www.aapo.org.au

At any of these sites you should be able to find information on professional organizers in your area that you could speak with who could offer advice and, if appropriate, professional services and support.  I strongly recommend that you interview potential organizers to ensure you are comfortable with their style and approach.  Asking for references from some of their past clients, and speaking with them, is also an excellent way to ensure you are well matched.

That said, there are some organizers in the United States that I would highly recommend if they are located in your area:

For northern California:
Ms. Tamah Vega - Amaree Living.
Website: www.amareeliving.com
Phone: (888) 857-2999
Email: tamah@amareeliving.com

For southern California:
Mr. Steve Skidmore - Transformations
Website: www.organizepro.com
Phone: (888) 434-5772
Email: steve@organizepro.com

For the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex area (serving all of Texas):
Ms. Dala Mulholland – Elite Time Management.
Website: www.youretm.com
Phone: (817) 875-3846
Email: youretm@charter.net

For the Washington, D.C. Metro area (serving all of VA, MD and surrounding areas) and sometimes NYC:
Ms. Dala Mulholland – Elite Time Management.
Website: www.youretm.com
Phone: (817) 875-3846
Email: youretm@charter.net

The approach that I’ve developed and recommend for decluttering is outlined in my book It’s All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff which is available at your local library, bookseller or online at www.amazon.com.  It’s probably the closest thing you can get to having me there to give you a hand!  I strongly recommend you read it before tackling the job yourself or seeking outside assistance.

If you or a loved one is struggling with hoarding issues I’d also strongly recommend Dr David Tolin’s book Buried in Treasures: Help for Compulsive Acquiring, Saving and Hoarding. In addition, the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization has a range of resources at www.nsgcd.org that you may find useful.

My apologies that I am not able to assist you personally but I hope that these ideas are useful.

Q. How can I learn more about Peter and his talks or appearances across the country?

A: You have three options for keeping track of me and learning where I’m next appearing – or just to hear what’s going on in my world.

First – keep an eye here on my website at www.peterwalshdesign.com for the latest in what’s happening, for tips on decluttering and getting organized and for information on my latest projects.

Second – sign up for my monthly newsletter at www.peterwalshdesign.com You’ll get the latest news each month straight to you inbox.

Thirdly – join me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/peterwalsh I’m working hard to keep the most recent news flowing on my Facebook fanpage and would love to have you join me there to hear what’s happening and to share your thoughts and ideas.

Q. I am thinking about a career as a professional organizer - where do I start?

Your best place to start when thinking about a career as a professional organizer would be to check out the website of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) at www.napo.net

There you should be able to find information on becoming a professional organizer, organizers in your area that you could speak with and also, hopefully, a local chapter of NAPO that could give you advice, professional support and encouragement. There are also some great books available about organizing that you may find helpful - some of these are recommended on the NAPO site.

Another great resource is The Ultimate Guide for Professional Organizers that can be purchased online at www.getorganizednow.com

Check out my book It’s All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff which gives an overview of the psychology of clutter and why we find it so hard to let go of things - it's a great starting point for understanding how to deal with anyone with clutter or organizational issues.

Q. Where can I read more of your organizing ideas. Do you have books I can buy?

A. Check out the Books tab at the top of this page for complete details and purchasing information about all my books.

My book It’s All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff in which I pull together all my experience and ideas to explain why people buy so much, hold onto so much and find it so hard to let go of their stuff even when it's causing huge problems in their lives and relationships. The first part of the book tackles the psychology of clutter from a really practical point of view. The second half of the book then shows how the techniques from part one can be successfully applied by anyone to any room of any home. I have seen time and time again that it's impossible to deal with the clutter if you don't understand what's behind the clutter. That's why I wrote It's All Too Much. I'd love to hear what you think! There is now a comprehensive Workbook that accompanies It's All Too Much as well as a young adult version for the teenagers in you life who are struggling with clutter.

Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?: An Easy Plan for Losing Weight and Living More is a book about you and your relationship to your body – what you think about it, what you put into it, how you treat it, and whether you are happy with it. This is a book about clutter – the clutter around you and the clutter inside you that prevents you from living the life you want. Your relationship to you body and your stuff if complex and your problems with both are real. If clutter and disorganization are even a small part of your life, this book offers a way to change your attitude and your life.

Enough Already!: Clearing Mental Clutter to Become the Best You takes you far beyond the clutter in your home and tackles the clutter that fills your head and impedes so may areas of your life. In this book I examine the underlying feelings that create the clutter that blocks the path to who you want to be.

How To Organize (Just About) Everything is over 600 pages (and more than 500 tips) and covers pretty much any organizing question you could have from organizing a closet to pulling together a great holiday vacation for you and your family. Organizing tips for your home, business, the garden, your education and even your career are all covered somewhere in the book. All of my books are available at any bookstore, in your local library or you can order them immediately online. Check out the "Books" tab at the top of this page for more information.

Q. I’ve purchased an audio version of one of your books and can’t locate the PDF files and charts that you refer to – where can I find them?

A. An easy place to find the PDF files for any of the CD versions of my books is on audible.com.  If you go to www.audible.com, then search for the title you’re interested in, on the page of the desired title when you scroll down you will see a link that says “Download the accompanying reference guide.”  Upon clicking on that link, you will be given an option to either open or save the files to your computer.

As for the actual CDs, the PDF files can usually be found on the last CD of the series.  Please be aware that the PDF file is not an audio file but a text file, even though it’s being delivered to customers on a CD, which is also used for audio.  The text file is an addition to, or enhancement of, the audio file.  The directions for accessing these files from the CDs are written out below.

On a Mac:

• Insert CD that is labeled “Enhanced CD”, usually the last one in a package.
• Pictures of two disks will pop up, one that is labeled “audio”, and one that is labeled “data”.
• Click on “data”.

On a PC:

• Insert the disk labeled “Enhanced CD”
• Go to “my computer”
• Click on CD drive
• Right click on “open”