NBtM + #Giveaway: Hot Mess: A Practical Guide to Getting Organized by Laurie Palau @GoddessFish

Hot Mess: A Practical Guide to Getting Organized

by Laurie Palau

GENRE:   Lifestyle

BLURB:

Most of us have too much stuff and not enough places to put it. Combine that with our hectic modern lives, and you’ve got a recipe for clutter catastrophe. Luckily, help is at hand. Hot Mess: A Practical Guide to Getting Organized can show you how to simplify your life—and get control of your stuff.

In this new guide to streamlining and organizing your belongings, your house, and your life, author and expert Laurie Palau gives you all the strategies you need to clear your clutter once and for all. This comprehensive book offers clever storage ideas and decorating tips, but more importantly, it shows you where your clutter comes from and how to change your approach. This makes it the definitive how-to for dropping all the dead weight that’s been keeping you stressed and anxious. Just follow the hacks, tips, and strategies Palau clearly outlines, and you’ll soon be sipping a vodka martini in your beautifully tidy living room.

Whether you’re naturally neat or a total chaos magnet, this informative and amusing guide takes an approach to organizing that’s as unique as you are. Let this witty little handbook be your new secret weapon in the war on disorder!

Excerpt:

When my older daughter first started school, she would get off the bus, have a snack, and immediately start her homework. That’s what I always did as a kid, and it made sense that she would follow in my footsteps.  I never really gave it much thought until my younger daughter started school.  She would come off the bus utterly exhausted. It was a struggle to get her to unpack her backpack, let alone start her homework. Some days she would actually fall asleep within minutes of walking in the door. Naturally, I wanted her to get her homework done, not just for her sake, but for mine. I fought with her to sit down and do it immediately. I never took into account she had ADHD and needed to decompress after sitting in school all day. Homework that should have taken 30 minutes was taking upward of two hours.

After months of battles and tears (hers, not mine - I preferred wine), I finally had my light bulb moment: I realized she goes into a valley in the afternoon. I never factored in her peak productivity time, only mine. I discovered that if I gave her time to chill out and relax for an hour first, she would come back more focused and less combative.

We all know when we are at our best, and when we are basically just going through the motions.  Decluttering and organizing take both mental and physical strength, so being cognizant of your peak productivity time (and that of those around you) is an important part of the process.

Interview with Laurie Palau

Can you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have planned for the future?

I plan on writing a follow up book to HOT MESS: A Practical Guide To Getting Organized that centers around digital clutter; specifically social media, digital photos, and email management.

How long would you say it takes you to write a book?

I was just having this conversation with someone today!  With HOT MESS, it took me close to 5 years, but that was because I stopped and started for long stretches of time, and was unsure of how to best naviagate the process. Next time around I am hoping that it will be less than a year!

What is your favorite childhood book?

Shel Silverstein Where the Sidewalk Ends

What made you want to become a writer?

I’ve always enjoyed writing, and sharing information to help teach, inspire, motivate and empower others.

Just for fun

(a Favorite song: Jessie’s Girl by Rick Springfield

(b Favorite book: Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren

(c Favorite movie: The Breakfast Club

(d Favorite tv show: omgosh there are so many! Friends, The Office, and most shows from the 80’s like Dynasty, Knots Landing, Facts of Life, and I am a BRAVO junkie and love HGTV.

(e Favorite Food: Pizza, hands down.

(f Favorite drink: coffee or vodka & club depending on the time of day

(g Favorite website: amazon.com

Thanks so much for visiting with us today!

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Laurie Palau is the founder of simply B organized, host of the weekly podcast, This ORGANIZED Life, and author of the book HOT MESS: A Practical Guide to Getting Organized available in paperback and kindle on amazon or Barnes & Noble.

She is a go-to Organizing Expert whose advice has been featured in The New York Times Parenting Section, Family Circle, and Home + Table Magazine.  Laurie can also be seen sharing tips on the CBS Philadelphia’s Morning Show & WFMZ in Allentown, PA. Whether speaking or working with clients Laurie is authentic, relatable, inspiring, and highly entertaining.

When not organizing the world, Laurie can be found at home in Bucks County, PA with her husband Josh, 2 girls (Zoe and Logan) and 2 dogs (Jeter and Oliver).  She loves coffee and Tito’s Vodka (not together), and in her spare time she is actively involved with The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, which raises money for Pediatric Cancer Research.

Visit www.simplyBorganized.com for a complete list of service offerings including free organizing checklists, links to her podcast, blog and social media.

Giveaway:

FREE 30 minute phone consultation to help address specific organizing challenges

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