...In The News

In May 2007, Linda was invited to speak to an audience of over 200 people, addressing the topic, "Organized and Downsized, A to Z"

Linda was featured in an article in the Thursday, September 1, 2005 Star-Ledger about organizing laundry rooms. Here are some excerpts...

Even if you don't have the money, time, or space to give your laundry room the full treatment, there are some simple things you can do to make your household's laundry routine less of a chore. "Laundry rooms tend to become a dumping ground because usually there's a door you can close and shove stuff in there," says Linda McHale, a professional organizer and owner of McOrganized in Montville. Sports equipment, hiking gear and God knows what else," often invade laundry space, she says.

For that reason, McHale advises removing any items from the area that aren't related to laundry. Also, be sure you are taking full advantage of your vertical space, she suggests. A stackable washer and dryer free up the floor for sorting. Bleach, detergent, stain remover and the like can be placed on inexpensive shelves from Home Depot, Lowe's or the Container Store.

"Then, hopefully, she says, "the laundry room becomes a more inspiring place where we have to do a dreaded chore."

Linda appeared in a cover story in the Morris Life section of the Daily Record newspaper, Sunday October 15, 2006, written by Lorraine Ash. Here are some excerpts . . .

Tips from local organizers: From Linda McHale, McOrganized!

• Before you buy any item, ask yourself: How does this purchase jibe with my goals? My closet? My bank account?
• Don't keep records you don't need if they're overflowing their space. See what time frames the IRS recommends at www.irs.gov

Professional organizers help clients cut through clutter:Learning to purge

Cheryl Ellis found herself building shelves in the supply closet in her home office in Madison last fall. At her side was professional Organizer Linda McHale of Montville.

When she opens the door today she can tell with one gaze whether she is low on folders or needs staples. "Before the new closet I had things in boxes piled on top of other boxes on top of other boxes," Ellis said. "Naturally, whatever I needed was always on the bottom of the bottom box."

That's not all Ellis achieved when she hired McHale's company, McOrganized! The black leather couch in Ellis's office is clear of piles of papers. Her new filing system is coded by color. To access household records, purged of old bills, she reaches to a drawer and never leaves her computer chair . . .

Ellis's situation, spanning her home office and some bedroom closets, was resolved in 15 3-hour sessions . . . No clothing went to waste. Most of the suits - and 70 pairs of shoes - went to Dress for Success in Madison. "All Cheryl's stuff was in fantastic shape," McHale said, "and it will help women who are struggling to get nice clothes for starting jobs in the business world."

But other clients are not as focused. Emotional buying, bargain buying and just plain mindless buying run rampant, organizers say.

"My clients tend to be very affluent," McHale said. "The people with disposable incomes who hire me also tend to be the people with buying problems. There are many scenarios. One is the lonely wife whose husband is a workaholic. She buys and buys out of boredom. Another is the stressed-out mother who shops as an escape, pushing her carriage down the aisles at a department store and spending $100 a week there because she has no other outlet."

In the latter case, McHale may suggest the mother spend $100 on exercise classes with free child care that will last her six months.