I’ve been working with a client who has lived with her husband in their 2000 square foot home for the past 25 or so years. Career pursuits and busy lives meant that home organization fell to the bottom of the list for years and years, but now they’re ready to purge what they don’t want any longer and organize the rest.

One question I get asked most frequently by my clients is: "So Shannon, have you ever donated or thrown out something you wish you had kept?" And I always answer this question the same way…

I don't usually write too much about my personal life other than my Small Space Stories posts, but today is the fifth anniversary of my dad's passing and I couldn't let the day pass without "publicly" acknowledging him. You see, my dad was a pretty incredible person. Humble as can be, he touched so many people's lives with a smile and a genuine interest in learning about others.

Does your space support you or does it suffocate you? This question really gets to the heart of how you might feel about your home and its contents.

If you're looking for another reason to live with less, how about this: A 2014 study in the Journal of Consumer Research found that people who lived in cluttered environments were more likely to overspend than those who lived in uncluttered spaces. The studies' findings concluded that cluttered environments decrease self-control and increase the likelihood of impulse spending.

My clients, who are big snackers, had a pantry full of canned goods, boxed pasta, dry baking goods, and so forth, but the pantry was bursting at the seams from a plethora of full, half-full, and nearly-empty (and even a couple of completely empty) boxes of individually-wrapped snack items.

As a small business owner, I wear many hats (bookkeeper, writer, editor, marketer, presenter, networker, volunteer, web designer, and, MOST importantly, professional organizer). Plus, I, like most people, have a plethora of items that need to get done at home. The result of this is a seemingly never-ending list of items that need to be completed. But to-do lists are a way of life for most, if not all, of us.

I began subscribing to Success magazine after I picked it up on a whim in an airport a few months ago. Filled with great articles on personal and professional development, it has been exactly what I've needed to read during my "year of balance."

These paragraphs really resonated with me, so I had to share. From John Addison's "The Pursuit of Happiness" article in the February 2017 issue…

How do you feel when you walk into your home at the end of a work day? Does your home feel like a sanctuary - a soft spot to land after you’ve finished a busy day and a stressful commute? Or does it feel like an added stressor that you’d rather run away from?

As your cell phone rings and the television is blaring in the background, you receive a text from your friend who wants to meet you for drinks tomorrow night, but before you can check your calendar and respond, you receive a message via messenger from your sibling asking if you picked up your mom's birthday gift. Meanwhile, an ad for prescription medication drones on and on with an extensive list of potential side effects, and your seven-year-old asks when dinner will be ready, and you realize you haven't given dinner any thought.

When swapping out winter clothing for lighter spring/summer attire, it’s a great opportunity to perform a closet audit. Take a look at which items were never or rarely worn versus your go-to items and determine what you want to hold onto for future use versus what you can give away. Consider which items you love, which you kinda-sorta like, and which ones make you cringe, and sort accordingly.

Have you ever embarked on an organizing project, but midway through the project you lost steam, your momentum vanished and your excitement disappeared, so the project was never completed?

I’ve been taking an online class from Janet Luhrs, a simple living advocate who I’ve followed for the past 20+ years and the author of The Simple Living Guide. The class is full of great information about leading a more simple and fulfilling life.

When addressing clutter, whether it’s paper clutter or stuff clutter, Luhrs uses the following terminology to help one determine whether or not to keep an item:

Does the item energize you, are you neutral with regard to it, or does it make you feel drained?

We're two months into 2017. How are your goals (or resolutions) holding up? Are you still on track?

Last year, my life began to feel more and more unbalanced, so I decided to make this year my year of balance. Each day, I make a conscious effort to ensure I'm filling up my tank with equal parts of physical activity or movement, spiritual wellness or meditation, healthy foods, gratitude, relationship-strengthening, and business-building. By doing this, I'm showing up as a stronger, better, more present organizer for my clients as well as a stronger, better, more present partner for my spouse. (Not to mention a kinder, gentler person to myself and everyone I encounter.)

Last month I was called for jury duty, which meant I was stuck in a gigantic room with 500 other Fulton County residents. What an opportunity for people-watching!

Soon after arriving, I noticed a woman near me digging through her purse. Minutes passed and she was still digging. I could tell she was starting to panic.

Many people store photographs in plastic bags, shoe boxes, envelopes from the photo developing company, and in those old albums with sticky plastic pages. I was no exception, until two years ago when I chose to remove all of my photos from the various photo albums I had acquired throughout the years and transfer them into…

As 2016 comes to a close, I’m humbled to report that my business will be three years old in January. Three years! For the past three years, I’ve been given the opportunity, time and time again, to help change people’s lives and their relationships with their stuff. I’m incredibly passionate about helping people to ditch the stuff that’s not serving them and creating a retreat they will love to come home to.

Have you made your holiday list yet? Have you started shopping for your loved ones? Americans are expected to spend more than $630 billion on holiday shopping this season. Before you buy, consider the impact each potential gift will have on your loved ones.

Since I live in a small space, I need to be incredibly intentional with the items that are kept, especially when it comes to holiday decor. The rule in my house is simple: I only have decorations for Christmas (no other holidays) and, aside from a small, three-foot artificial pre-lit tree, all of the decorations must fit into one large plastic storage bin. That's it.

I recently started working with a client who’s lived in her current house for 30 years and is considering downsizing in the next year or two. For the most part, she’s been really decisive about what she wants to keep and what she wants to donate. However, occasionally she’ll say to me, “A friend gave this to me, but I never really liked it. Do you think it’s okay if I donate this?”