Eat That Elephant! Organizing LLC

"Organizing life, one bite at a time."

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December 2011 - I present "How to Eat an Elephant" to the ladies at St. Louis Catholic Church in Clinton Township.  Advent was a great time to talk about re-thinking our shopping habits for the new year.  Below are the ladies enjoying putting the SPACE principle into practice.  Thank you ladies for a delightful evening!
Image: 

June - Eat That Elephant wins a Golden Clipboard Award Laughing
   It's nice to be recognized by your peers!  At our annual Chapter luncheon fellow organizers Mary Lynn Badr, myself, Ann Marie Moore & Kathy Tucker were given a "Golden Clipboard Award" for our work in redesigning our chapter website.  We completed the project in an amazing 3 months and are oh so proud of the results.  Please check out our work at www.napomichigan.com.  Our Michigan chapter is proud to be a leader in our field and requests have already come in from other chapters wanting to implement our design.
May 2010: Eat That Elephant goes international
   It was my delight to speak to some of the ladies attending the Toronto Ladies Retreat on "How to Eat an Elephant."  The ladies had a great time and so did I!  They could all truly say that when they left "their load was lighter."  
Explaining how to organize any space
The ladies practice their new skill
It's good to be with friends
April 2011 - more guest blogging
   I was again a guest blogger for the NAPO Michigan chapter blog: www.napomichigan.com and also featured on another organizing blog for the same post: "Does your home need gastric bypass."  You can find it on my blog as well.
March Event - Shredding for Saftey - On Tuesday, March 8th a shredding event will be held at the Costick Center parking lot in Farmington Hills from 10 - 12 am.  You must be an Oakland County resident to participate and you can bring up to 4 paper grocery bags of paper to be shredded.  The program is sponsored by RRRASOC and provided by E-Shred.   The Costick Center is located at: 28600 W. Eleven Mile Road in Farmington Hills (north side of the road between Middlebelt and Inkster.)

Just for giggles....

  Are you a watcher of the A&E TV show Hoarders?  If so, here's a laugh for you.  Follow this link to a cartoon featuring the hosts of Hoarders...and enjoy!  I'm still giggling.
Hoarders cartoon

January & ongoing:  "Walking the Walk"   I begin every new year with a pro bono service project of some type.  To me if you're going to "talk the talk" then you'd better "walk the walk", and this is just one way of doing exactly that.  My service project this year was to help a chronically ill and mobility impaired person de-clutter her home in preparation for a move.  This project involves directing and co-ordinating with multiple organizers from the NAPO Michigan chapter that, like me, believe in walking the walk and giving back.  

January 2011:  I was a guest blogger on the NAPO SouthEast Michigan professional organizing chapter.  Organizers were invited to submit their favorite organizing tip as part of our national GO Month (GO stands for Get Organized) event. 


December 2011:  I received my Certificate of Study from the Institute for Challenging Disorganization (formerly the NSGCD) in Working with Elders.  This is my fourth certificate of study with this organization.

November 2010

  A business goal reached!  Eat That Elephant launched its organizing blog, EatThatElephantBlog, a place to discuss organizing tips, products, books, quotes I love, some of the crazy things I sell for my clients on eBay and the occasional time saving recipe from this non-cook.  But the best thing about the blog is you, your thoughts and questions, your organizing challenges. Won't you join me?
November 2010
   I love speaking to groups!  In November I spoke to a group of over 50 ladies at Trinity Lutheran Church in Clinton Twp.  We spent an hour and a half learning “How to Eat an Elephant”, the first half was spent on an organizing method that works for any space.  The ladies were able to put the method into practice during the class.   The second half covered “donations that make a difference,” resources the ladies could use to responsibly donate or recycle their unwanted possessions.  There was good participation & a lively Q&A discussion afterwards.  Prizes were given and a good time was had by all.
October 2010
   Eat That Elephant was a guest blogger on the National Association of Professional Organizers Michigan chapter blogsite.  www.napomichigan.blogspot.com

September 2010
  I had the privilege of speaking to the Faith, Fun and Fitness group that meets at Faith Covenant Church (14 Mile & Drake Rd.)  www.faithcovenantchurch.org 
My presentation was “Eat the Paper Elephant”, tips and tools for setting up an easy to use filing system.  


September 2010 -  ETE Hoarder episode aired on the A&E Network.  
If you missed it you can see the entire episode online after it airs (see the clip.)  There are two stories on this episode, the one I was involved in is called "Penny" and involves a mother and two sons.  The rooms I worked on were the boys bedrooms on the first day of filming and the kitchen & bedrooms on the second day.  "Penny" is shown in the second half of this video clip.
July 2010 -  I was asked to do an impromptu talk on organizing to my fellow campers at Mountainview Bible Camp in PA.  Fortunately I had my laptop with me and we all had a great time.  Best question came from a 10 year old - "I'm having trouble matching the lids & bottoms to our tupperware containers."   Sound familiar?
June 2010 - I receive my Level II CD specialist certificate.  It's now official!  At conference I wrote and passed my Level II exam in Chronic disorganization through the ICD allowing me to be listed as a CD specialist.  There are 3 levels of achievement with the final one being certification as a CPO-CD.  The ICD is primarily an academic group dedicated to educating organizers to better serve their clients. Only 10% of NAPO members have chosen to educate themselves in this way.
May 2010 - Canton MOPS - I had the pleasure of speaking to the Canton Mothers of Preschoolers group and offering solutions to organizing questions they had submitted. 
April - 2010 NAPO Conference - Our national conference featured excellent keynote speakers, technical and business related classes, an organizing expo and the opportunity to meet organizers from all over the world.  Prior to conference I wrote and passed my CD specialist exam.  Please view my photos below. 
This is the main meeting room. Keynotes, full group classes and meals were held here.
Another view of the main meeting room.
This is the organizing expo, where vendors can display and demonstrate new products relevant to the organizing industry.
More expo pictures. Lots of walking!
Taking a break with my roommate and Michigan collegue, Stacy Rafalko. As you can see Columbus is a beautiful city.
Conference is a great place to catch up with old friends! Geralin Thomas & I at a mixer featuring all the hosts of Hoarders (she never takes a bad picture!)
Our awards luncheon. At the podium is Ann Gambrell, one of the founders of NAPO and a funny lady!
February 2010 - Eat That Elephant is featured in the online Detroit examiner newspaper.  
Click on the link to view the article Clear the toybox by sending toys to the troops
Host Geralin Thomas and our NAPO SE-MI organizing team "The Ladies in Black"
Jan. 2010 - Eat That Elephant Films an Episode of A&E's "Hoarders"

   The last weekend of January an episode of A & E's "Hoarders" was filmed in Michigan.  Several organizers, myself included, from the Southeast Michigan Chapter of the National Assoc. of Professional Organizers volunteered our time to help a family reclaim their space and their lives.   I will have lots of before & after pictures but cannot share them or much information until after the episode airs.  So far it's air date has been postponed twice and now A&E is saying it will be part of the September line-up.  Hope so!  I'll send out an email when the date is finalized.  What I can tell you is that there was a lot of drama and trauma but in the end the family was left with the opportunity to make a fresh start in life.  It is my great hope that they will be able to finish what was started here.  

  This picture was taken prior to filming when our organizing team met with Geralin Thomas, the lead organizer for the show and a hoarding specialist.  She is as pleasant off camera as she is on camera and was very gracious with her time and knowledge.  I can now say from personal experience that what we do with our clients is nothing like TV! 
    
NAPO - SouthEast Michigan Chapter
   NAPO - Southeast Michigan Chapter - Governor declares January 2010 GO (Get Organized) Month.
Our chapter was featured in the online Detroit Examiner newspaper - www.examiner.com
Click here for link to article:

Get Organized Proclamation
October 2009 - NSGCD Certificate Awarded
 I received my second Level 1 Certificate of Study from the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD) in Basic ADD/ADHD Studies.
April 2009
NAPO National Conference
Orlando, FL
Pictured: with outgoing president Standolyn Robertson who is a classy lady with a great sense of humor, we'll miss her.  
At the conference I was able to spend 4 days attending organizing classes on a variety of topics.  It's so much fun spending time with "your people."
March 2009
International Home & Housewares Show
Chicago, IL
  I spent two days at the IHH show reviewing the latest offerings in organizing products. 

What was I most impressed with?  Iris' front loading stackable shoe boxes and Whitney designs convertible hamper - stand it vertically and it's a hamper, unzip the side and lay it horizontally and it becomes your laundry basket.  Very handy for sorting and folding the wash! 
Image: 
Sorting it out!

Jan/Feb 2009 - "Where's That Chandelier?"

My GO Month activity this year was a philanthropic one. 

               

Friends at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra had a "prop" room in need of some major organization.  After only one Saturday of work almost everything was sorted, categorized and can now be seen and accessed.  Several possible room plans and product recommendations have been submitted to further increase the potential of this space.  Additionally the revenue potential of this non profit has been enhanced because

 a) now they can clearly see what they have & how much, preventing unnecessary purchases and

b) they frequently rent out their props to other groups, now they know what they have available to rent.

Further work on this project will be done as shelving is purchased and added to the space.  We look forward to a finished multi-functional space that people enjoy working in.

Dec. - Local Organizers Presentation 

Cynthia was one of two organizers leading a guided discussion at our local NAPO chapter on Best Business Practices, a forum for local organizers to compare and share their business practices and recommendations.

Oct. - Elder Law Seminar

What an eye opening class!  This gave me the information on what can go wrong if your estate is not properly prepared and also why, at any age, you should consult an Elder attorney before making estate plans. 

Sept. - "My Mothers Garden" Film Premiere - Ann Arbor

Children of Hoarders support group sponsored the free screening of this difficult to watch documentary on the effects of hoarding and other mental illness on one family.  Following the screening local mental health agencies and the film creator answered questions and offered help to those dealing with those who hoard within their families.  

July - The Organizer Deals with Situational Disorganization

In this tragic month my ever healthy and active father became suddenly ill and after a 5 week hospital stay sadly passed away.  Although I would have prefered to never experience what we did firsthand I can say that this has given me much empathy for those that are struggling with grief and the situational disorganization that accompanies such a major life upheaval.  It also made me much more aware of the need to have all your affairs in order and the difference between "assuming" you (your parents) do and knowing it.

May – ETE Website Launched

- EatThatElephant.com became a reality due to the efforts of my web designer and friend – Thanks Dee!

-“How To Eat an Elephant” presented - Plymouth, MI

This power point program, approx. 45 min. in length was presented to approx. 80 women at Trinity Presbyterian Church.

 

April – NAPO National Conference, Reno, NV

In spite of the American Airlines debacle, ETE made it’s first appearance at the national conference, Apr. 9-13.  Three days of classes on a variety of topics were taught by industry leaders such as Peter Walsh, and Barbara Hemphill.  I also attended the NAPO Expo, a product show featuring organizing products and  participated as a representative for the NSGCD.  

-NAPO/SE-Michigan Board Nominee

I was nominated for, and accepted the Board position of Secretary as well as the committee chair position for the chapter Library.

-ETE Quoted in Research Paper

I was delighted to receive word that one of the dispossession techniques I have used with clients & submitted to Dr. Roster may be included in a research paper on “Possession Attachment”, Catherine Roster, Ph.D., U. of New Mexico.

 

March – International Home Show, Chicago, IL

I spent two footsore days at the show, reviewing organizing & home decor products not yet in stores and also attended workshops on design & color trends in home decor.     

 

 January – GO Month Event at Ikea - Canton, MI

 2008       Cynthia was one of 20+organizers presenting organizing tips throughout the store.  Cynthia was both a presenter and co-creator of the “Kids Spaces” presentation in the children’s dept.

      

-NAPO/SE-Michigan NewsletterEditor

Cynthia accepted the position of newsletter editor for the State Chapter of NAPO. The newsletter is published three  times per year and is sent to the clients of state chapter members.   You are invited to sign up to receive this free newsletter.
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or contact Eat That Elephant today:
248-752-0966
Cynthia@EatThatElephant.com
Farmington Hills, MI