Category: Offices

September 28, 2011

Professional Organizer Has Lunch With Alleged Bank Robber

This is one unusual story you'd think would come from out here in Hollywood: It involves a Professional Organizer, a bank robber, the FBI, an innocent lunch date, and an elderly woman "crossing the street."

The Dayton (Ohio) Daily News is reporting a story of Professional Organizer Lori Firsdon working for, and having lunch with, an alleged bank robber.

Lori Firsdon (pictured here, left), heads Cenvertille-based Forte Organizers, a residential and business organizing and professional speaking firm.

Firsdon was hired recently by 42-year old Eric Morgan to organize Morgan's friend. Firsdon was paid a total of $900 to organize the friend's paperwork clutter– was "led to believe" Morgan "had come into some money and simply wanted to help his friend out." How sweet. The group of three (Morgan, Firsdon, and the friend) enjoyed lunch courtesy of Morgan to celebrate the completion of the office organization project.

“I had lunch with a bank robber. Oh my,” Firsdon said.

Investigators are thinking Morgan paid Firsdon between a series of bank robberies in Blanchester, Milford and Sabina and a Wells Fargo Bank in Navasota, Texas. Presumably the funds used to pay Firsdon for the organizing job were paid for by the bank robbery.

“He was the perfect gentleman…”

Firsdon, who is an active member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and NAPO-Ohio, noted that prior to lunch she witnessed Morgan help an elderly disabled woman from her car into a restaurant.

Will Firsdon Be Able To Keep Her Consulting Money?

Firsdon contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation last Wednesday. She was told she "may be able to keep the money Morgan paid her" if he is found guilty (as he will be responsible for the debt).

Read More:

Lori Firsdon – Forte Organizers (Ohio)

Centerville Ohio businesswoman has lunch with bank robbery suspect

Bank robbery suspect wanted in Ohio

What do you think of this situation? Should Firsdon keep the money or return it to the bank? What would you do in a situation like this? Let us know your thoughts!

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September 28, 2011

Demystifying the Professional Organizer Experience, Home & Home Office Tips, Offices, Organizing Industry News
September 27, 2011

Top 10 Online Return Policies – Return Your Unused Purchases And Eliminate Clutter

Whether you are in Beverly Hills, New York City, San Francisco or Miami, we consider clutter to be unused and unloved treasures you once thought you'd have a place for in your home or office.

In our professional organizing business, we often suggest that savvy clients be prepared to ask themselves how often they use things, and the cost of ownership of those things. Along the way we both discover items with tags and price stickers that clearly can be returned depending on the store the item was purchased to. This is where clients can save considerable money by returning their unused items (within a reasonable amount of time after purchase!)

Return policies for brick and mortar and online retail stores are more complex than income tax laws. Buy online (and wanting to return) and you'll spend umpteen hours working your way through phone trees and waiting on hold to talk to a customer "service" representative. If you're lucky, you'll get a refund. Otherwise, it's a store credit from a store you may not wish to patronize again.

Humorously, many of these merchants claim to offer "hassle free" returns. Some retailers, on the other hand, genuinely believe in making the process as pain-free as possible.

FreeShipping did some research and came up with the following top 10 online return policies.

(more…)

September 27, 2011

Business Tips, Fabulous Finds, Home & Home Office Tips, Offices, Techniques to Tackle
March 25, 2011

The Carousel Of Computer Progress
Want to simplify the paper in your life? The technology of tomorrow has arrived today.

When I was 13, a birthday trip to DisneyWorld in Orlando, Florida introduced me to the World of Tomorrow and the Carousel of Progress. Carousel was a popular attraction, an exploration into the evolution of electricity and other technological innovations through the eyes of a typical family.

What really caught my imagination was a computer sitting on the kitchen island counter during the final scenes of the show. As a new teenager in 1981, I asked myself what would you possibly use a computer for in the kitchen? Recipes? You’ve got to be kidding.

Disney's Carousel of Progress attraction showed a laptop in the kitchen, in 1981!

Fascinating innovations have now been integrated into our daily life. Our professional organizing clients have introduced my team to simple-to-use technology solutions, like simple desktop scanning solutions. Much like the home of yesterday, our paper continues to build up today—with less time to tackle it all.

Fortunately, affordable technology is now firmly in place to help with everyday tasks. The question is; are you taking advantage of the personalization factor? I am.

I’ve been on a mission with myself, and willing clients: we’re making smart technology personal by digitizing paper around the home and small office. We started off scanning the obvious — receipts and business cards. But now the list has now expanded. Clients are telling me they are reinventing their scanning and document cloud accounts to hold household papers and everyday necessities. Here's a list of some unusual items to scan:

Scan these items and eliminate clutter:
- Love letters
- Fortune cookie fortunes
- Prescriptions
- Wedding notes
- Old birthday cards
- Children’s artwork
- Maintenance receipts
- Old college papers
- Old pay stubs, direct deposit statements
- Directions
- Take out menus
Now, you may not see a need to digitize all these items in your home, but surely, who wouldn’t benefit from a little out-of-the box scanning? How about scanning your birth certificate, social security card, driver’s license, passport, insurance cards and credit cards, in case your wallet is stolen? And you’ll always have a backup in an emergency.

So think of technology as a friend, or personal assistant. When you’re ready, review your paper for its worthiness, scan what is appropriate, tag the file and celebrate that you've halted the paper chase. We now have the technology of the future at our fingertips.

And that’s the real life Carousel of Progress.

What did we miss?

How have you integrated scanning into your everyday life? How do you organize your personal and family documents?

Image courtesy Santa Monica Pier and Great Escape from NJ blog.

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March 25, 2011

Home & Home Office Tips, Offices, Technology
February 21, 2011

Tom Ford: Clutter Probably Doesn’t Exist in the Designer’s World

How many people can say their office is remiss in clutter? Fashion Designer Tom Ford can.

Tom Ford, pictured above, was interviewed in his Sunset Boulevard office last week for a story in the Los Angeles Times about his new Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills store opening this Thursday, across from Gucci. The piece's writer, Booth Moore, made this observation during the interview:

"Every surface in his nearly all-black office is sleek and spotless. There is no clutter. In fact, clutter probably doesn't exist in Ford's world. On a shelf, there are five golden statuettes — not Oscars (yet), but fashion awards."

Ford, who is turning 50 this year, aspires to be a big name like Giorgio Armani, Karl Lagerfeld and Ralph Lauren in the modern fashion world with cross-appeal. He also says he loves wearing suits in very casual Angeles because "I love being one of the only people in a suit in L.A." Regardless, it appears that a ruthless quest to be organized and productive could be key to Ford's focus and success.

So what do you think? Does being organized help gain more in your life? Or, do you think you have to have the Perfect Mess in your office be spur creativity? Let us know what you think.

Read More:

Tom Ford gets personal – L.A. Times Booth Moore piece

Tom Ford is coming to Rodeo Drive – LA Times piece from 2008

Related Posts:

Karl Lagerfeld downsizes his Paris digs (10/2006)

The lost Gucci wallet (10/2005)

Reinvent your wardrobe with Barbra Horowitz and Closet Therapy (9/2005)

Home photo above courtesy NY Times (2004) and topi image courtesy Style By Me.

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February 21, 2011

Celebrity Organization, Home & Home Office Tips, Offices
December 12, 2010

Be the Architect of Your Desk

December is an excellent time for business owners and employees to focus on office organizing.

Incoming phone calls, requests and work seem to slow down. Why not take some extra time to catch yourself up. Better yet, why not spend some extra time in-between egg nog and organize the top of your desk?

Any successful business person will tell you that productivity is paramount. You should make a commitment throughout your career to design and maintain an uncluttered work space. More and more businesses demand it because it sends a quiet, positive professional message to your colleagues and clients but more importantly, it shows you value the work and are a proud contributor.

However, America’s desktops tend to look like a dump-truck. The truth is, it doesn’t really take a MacGyver to put all the pieces together to form a cohesive, productive work space.

Don’t dread the desktop:

If you want to push your productivity, think of your desk as prime real estate. Clear off your entire desktop. Think like an Architect and rebuild the desk top with only the most essential, frequently used items (preferably every day). Don’t squirrel away unnecessary supplies in your desk and only store what you need for 3-4 weeks inside the desk. Avoid using a desk without even one or two simple drawers.

Store non-essential items far away:

Store items that you use on a monthly basis away from your table top work space, preferably on a shelf or a drawer away from your desk. Items you use infrequently, store them in a closet, large container, under your bed, or in the credenza or bookcase across the hall.

There is no reason to be maniacal about your space. Keep your space casual but considered. Everything kept should serve an important capacity. As your needs change (and they will) be smart, review your supplies once or twice a year and clear out useless or duplicate items.

This post is part of a mini-series of professional office organizing tips created for an interview with Men's Life Today.

Photo used courtesy creative commons, Chez Larsson photostream on Flickr

Read More:

Men's Life Today Interviews John on the Basics of Office Organization

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December 12, 2010

Home & Home Office Tips, Interviews & TV Spots, Offices
November 22, 2010

Men’s Life Today Interviews John on the Basics of Office Organization
What does it take to operate an effective, productive office?

This was the question recently when we participated in an office effectiveness interview with Thomas P. Farley, career writer for Men's Life Today. The piece was particularly exciting because the interview was syndicated to dozens of television and news sites around the United States. You can check out the short interview here. So what does it take to form a productive, cohesive work space? Here are some quick tips from the piece:
- Think of your desk as prime real estate, clear the clutter.
- Don't squirrel away unnecessary supplies
- Use a desk with (at least) one or two pencil drawers.
- Store infrequently used items in a closet, large container, under your bed, or in a bookcase.
And there's more, including some deeper insight on the no-always-so-bad "in" and "out" baskets and an essential list of supplies to stock. No matter if you are new to the business world or a seasoned pro, we'd like to think you'll pick up some valuable advice Thomas and I put together.

Men's Life Today is an entertaining, grooming, fitness, lifestyle and career site sponsored by Gillette. Members of the editorial team include professionals who've written for Esquire, Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness and Playboy.

So, how you do you organize your office? Share your comment below for our readers.

Stay Tuned:

This week and next, when we have time in-between working with organizing clients, we'll be posting more of our interview with Thomas.

Read More:

Men's Life Today – How to Organize Your Desk, Expert Q & A with John Trosko

What Manners Most - Site of Thomas P. Farley, lifestyle and manners expert

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November 22, 2010

Interviews & TV Spots, Offices