NAPO National Conference, San Diego

I'm very excited to be attending this year's NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers) Annual Conference in San Diego next week. This conference comes to the west coast every three years, and I attended it in Reno 3 years ago, Boston 5 years ago and my very first conference was in 2005 in back in San Diego.

I'm proud to be flying down there with two of my organizing buddies from the North Bay Organizers and Coaches group, one of whom I drove down with in 2005, Gina Burdette (Get it Organized). I look forward to getting to know Amy Brueske (Always Organizing) better on the flight there and back. Boy, three organizers in one row of seats!

The North Bay Organizers and Coaches group will be well represented this year at National. One of our members, Angela Wallace (Wallace and Associates) will be installed as the new President of NAPO. Whoo-hoo! I'm also expecting to see Susanne Otteman (Organize This!), Jillian Stocks (Jillian Stocks Organizing), Judy Stern (Organize Now), and Grace Brooke (The Efficiency Specialist).

Now, will I come back with a tan or still be pale from being in conference sessions all day?

Hoarding and Cluttering Conference 3/10/11

Registration Open

Mental Health Assocation-San Francisco

13TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON HOARDING AND CLUTTERING
Pathways Through the Maze: Practical Approaches

Featuring Dr. Christiana Bratiotis, Ph.D., LCSW
THURSDAY, MARCH 10th, 2011
ST. MARY'S CATHEDRAL, 1111 GOUGH STREET, SAN FRANCISCO, CA
9:00AM TO 4:30PM

Over 400 service providers, consumers, friends and family members, therapist, property managers, therapist, researchers, landlords and others who are affected by hoarding and cluttering come together at St. Mary's cathedral in San Francisco, California. The event provides you the opportunity to hear about latest research and treatments to practical tools and topics that you can use in your experiences with compulsive hoarding and cluttering.

Registration is now open.
http://mha-sf.org/programs/hcconfdetails.cfm

NSGCD Conference

Wow, what a great time I am having at the annual conference of the  National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization!

Some highlights

• My Level III student, Janine Adams, received her CPO-CD® pin! Whoo-hoo! If you need a PO (professional organizer) in the St. Louis area, give her a call!
  
  
• And since she earned her Level III, I earned my Level IV! (Thank you Janine for making it SO easy!) You can guess what Level is next, huh?
  
  
• The NSGCD will be changing its name! The committee has been formed, but no new name yet. We've outgrown the name--we are international now (we just signed an agreement with both the Australasian Association Professional Organizers) and Nederlandse Beroepsvereniging van Professional Organizers (The Netherlands).  And we are no longer just a study group--we are doing some research...and we also have subscribers (fancy way of saying members) who are in related fields like psychology.
  
  
• Dr. Daniel Amen spoke--always such great info on the brain. I've read a couple of his books as well as watched his PBS specials. Very entertaining and charming in person, too. He previewed for us his script of his next PBS special based on his next book Change Your Brain, Change Your Body, in which he related his research on the brain to different types of brains and what each person needs to do to help them lose (or gain if they need) weight. He's also doing a study on retired NFL players and dementia...hmmm...can't wait to see that one!
  
  
• Getting to see all the friends I've made all around the country has been very exciting...and making new ones each day. That's called networking, right? But it feels really fun and this is a welcoming, warm, fun (and very smart) group of organizers.
  
  
• Getting to spend time with a very good friend, Kim Anker-Paddon, who abandoned me in Sonoma County to come and live and work in LA, where she is closer to her daughters. She's an extraordinary organizer who specializes in clients with issues like ADD (ADHD), chronic disorganization, and compulsive hoarding. Please call her if you need any help in the LA area!
  
  
• My hotel vegan dinner turned out to be a really lovely polenta (with about 10 cloves of garlic in it) on  a bed of mushrooms and al dente veggies. I was able to request a dessert of berries--raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and a blackberry (there's my brain food, Dr. Amen!) They didn't score so highly with me at lunch. Once again, they just took the chicken off the bed of pasta and gave it to me. At least there were veggies on the side!

Oh...there's so much more, but I've got to go get ready for an early 8 am breakfast. (They had soy milk at the buffet yesterday for the cereal...more vegan brownie points for the Omni Hotel!)

And please forgive my liberal use of exclamation points today...but I am having fun! (oops...)

Margaret

2009 NSGCD Annual Conference

I'll be attending this wonderful conference put on by the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization for Professional Organizers and related professionals (therapists, coaches, etc.).

Learn more about the conference at the NSGCD website.

2009 Annual Conference on Hoarding and Cluttering

This is a wonderful conference open to everyone: those who have hoarding issues, people who work with them (organizers, therapists, social workers, government officials, etc.) and even friends and family members.

Please think about attending this conference in San Francisco if there is anyone in your life living with this problem. Sometimes there aren't answers, but there is understanding.

Mental Health Association of San Francisco

2009 Annual Conference on Hoarding and Cluttering

Save the Date! November 5, 2009.

• This year's conference features Tamara Hartl, Ph.D. as keynote speaker.
  
• Online registration opens August 1st, 2009.

Compulsive hoarding and cluttering refers to the acquisition of and failure to discard a large number of possessions, which appear to be useless or of limited value, in an attempt to decrease stress and anxiety. This serious and prevalent problem can lead to eviction and homelessness. It is often a feature of several psychiatric disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention deficit disorder and major depression, and can be caused or aggravated by problems associated with increasing age or physical disabilities.

MHA-SF holds an annual conference for more than 400 social service providers, medical professionals, landlords and property managers, researchers, family and friends, and people who hoard and clutter.

When Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers) 2008 conference...
Outstanding!

Veggie Food at/during conference...
Mediocre

Veggie Food at hotel...
Very bad

Veggie Food at The Pneumatic Diner in Reno...
Outstanding!

Having a conference in a casino...
Worst idea since ... gee, I can't think of what was worse!