From Piles To Smiles Professional Organizing Services - Organize Your Home, Your Office and Your Life!


Discover the freedom of an organized home and office!

Success Stories

See How Others Exchanged Disorganization for Clarity, Focus, and Financial Gain!

We’ve helped thousands of clients organize and simplify their lives. Even better, with the results we deliver, our clients immediately discover two extraordinary benefits:

	The emotional pain caused by the situation completely evaporates and is replaced with feelings of buoyancy and freedom.
	The financial “pain” of their disorganized office and buried business opportunities is replaced by clarity, the ability to focus on new opportunities, and even financial gain!

Take a moment to review a few of our clients’ success stories.

	No more frantic “fire drills”: Manufacturing company’s leadership team now has time to focus on income-generating projects
	Stay-at-home mom transforms cluttered, frazzled household into an organized, harmonious home
	Manager with home office increases efficiency and effectiveness—clearing the way to achieve a career goal
	Family’s relocation to the Chicago area was fast and “effortless”
	Client with special needs goes from disarray to organized—and completes her doctoral thesis!

No more frantic “fire drills”: Manufacturing company’s leadership team now has time to focus on income-generating projects
The Situation: Somehow this medium-size manufacturing company was able to produce its products, despite a chaotic work environment and last-minute “fire drills” to meet deadlines. The company’s entire leadership team needed to get organized and clear stacks of paper off their desks. Despite reading multiple books about how to get organized, the president was spending too much time putting out fires. Finally, he called From Piles to Smiles® for help.

The Solution: Poor time management was at the root of their fire drills and disorganization. First, we presented a time management workshop for the leadership team. Next, we worked one-on-one with the president, vice president, controller, plant manager, and administrative assistant to implement time-management strategies and set up reliable filing systems.

We also consulted with the team to help the entire company change its fire-drill mentality.

	We developed a questionnaire to help the management team evaluate issues with plant personnel.
	Using the results of this questionnaire, we held one-on-one interviews with the plant manager, quality coordinator, technical manager, and maintenance manager.
	We observed and evaluated the manufacturing process flow and made recommendations for improvement.

The Outcome: The leadership team now has the tools and knowledge to prioritize activities and schedule tasks. What’s more, they have the clarity—and time—to recognize and address opportunities and focus on high-priority, income-generating projects.

The company president shared these thoughts: “When working with From Piles to Smiles, we uncovered project ideas, patent and trademark ideas, and client prospects worth several million dollars that were buried under piles of paper! I no longer waste time looking for files because I know where to find them in the system we established. From Piles to Smiles also taught me how to make decisions about papers when I handle them, so I no longer pile them up on my desk.”

Keep my home organized and get rid of the clutter! Stay-at-home mom transforms cluttered, frazzled household into an organized, harmonious home

The Situation: Julie was overwhelmed by household clutter and frustrated that she couldn’t get her two children to school on time. “Every morning is an ordeal,” she said. “We’re always rushing and flinging things everywhere in a desperate search for shoes, keys, backpacks—you name it.” Worse, Julie planned to make nutritious lunches for her children but never had time. Instead, she gave them money to buy lunch, knowing they might not make healthy choices. When the kids were finally out the door, she faced a cluttered house. She tripped over piles of toys, books, clothes, and dishes, yet never found the things she needed. “I felt as though taking care of the kids and house was my job, and I was failing miserably at it,” she said.

The Solution: From Piles to Smiles quickly determined two root causes. First, many items simply didn’t have a place where they belonged, so there was no place to put these items. Second, Julie didn’t manage her time well.

We evaluated each room to determine how Julie and her family wanted to use the space. Next, we identified the items that belonged in each room and created a plan to provide convenient storage for these items. For example, both children have desks in their rooms but prefer to do their homework at the kitchen table. We set up a study area in the kitchen so the kids can work efficiently, store their supplies, and easily clean up. “Now we don’t have to fight about cleaning off the kitchen table so we can eat dinner,” Julie said.

We also discussed Julie’s time management challenges and guided her through time-management training. We taught her how to prioritize tasks, helped her choose a planner, and showed her how to use her planner to prepare for each day.

The Outcome: “From Piles to Smiles did a great job of identifying the root causes of our disorganization and reorganizing our home to remedy the situation,” Julie said. “They helped me get each room into shape. They also helped me develop a plan that has everyone involved in maintaining our organized home. Now, getting out the door is easy because I have a plan that helps me prepare for the next day. When the alarm clock goes off, we’re able to enjoy breakfast together as a family rather than rush around trying to beat the clock. I’m thrilled with the results. The atmosphere in our house is much more relaxed. We’re able to enjoy harmonious time together as a family rather than being distracted and frustrated by the clutter.”

Doing business at home? We can help you be successful! Manager with home office increases efficiency and effectiveness—clearing the way to achieve a career goal

The Situation: A regional manager for a disaster preparedness company, Patrick works at the company’s office three days a week and works at home two days a week. Sounds like the perfect setup, right? Well, not for Patrick. His small home office was crammed with personal belongings and his desk was buried under papers. When he did file something, his important papers disappeared into the “Bermuda Triangle” of his unreliable filing system.

Worse, this office situation impacted his productivity, reputation, and relationships. He ran late for meetings, he never finished a project early, and he stayed up late to meet deadlines, missing out on family time. He wanted to become a certified Emergency Preparedness Manager but thought he’d never have time to pursue this.

The Solution: We developed a three-prong strategy to help Patrick form new habits, organize his home office, and stay on track:

	We conducted time-management coaching with Patrick over the phone.
	We helped Patrick create a reliable filing system.
	We helped him create a system to handle incoming papers.

The Outcome: We helped Patrick implement a variety of systems to increase his productivity and reduce his frustration. These included:

	Creating “time buckets” to work on important, recurring tasks.
	Discussing how to use a time-management tool (in this case, a PDA) to plan projects and schedule tasks.
	Helping Patrick schedule tasks according to his peak energy time to increase productivity.
	Sharing innovative ideas to solve his time-management issues.
	Showing Patrick how to convert an endless to-do list into a prioritized action plan that allows him to exceed his job expectations and complete projects before they’re due.

“Your help to organize my office and teach me time-management skills has been invaluable,” Patrick said. “I’m much more efficient and effective now that I have systems and strategies to help me stay on track. Best of all, I no longer work late to meet deadlines. I now plan and schedule important tasks, so I can complete them well before they’re due. Thanks for giving me more time to spend with my family!”

Postscript: Patrick has begun the process to become a certified Emergency Preparedness Manager.

Move into an organized home! Family’s relocation to the Chicago area was fast and “effortless”

The Situation: Relocation is difficult for anyone. But when Elizabeth and Sean realized they needed to quickly overcome several obstacles, they called From Piles to Smiles.

Elizabeth and Sean moved with their two-year-old son from Washington, D.C. to the Chicago area. It was essential that they get settled quickly, so they could both start their new jobs without coming home to a chaotic house. Plus, Elizabeth has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which would limit her ability to help unpack.

The Solution: We met with Elizabeth and Sean and discussed their lifestyle, so we could unpack and place items in logical places. We clarified and prioritized the rooms they needed to whip into shape first.
In just one day, we tackled quite a lot. We:

	Unpacked the kitchen so it was 100% ready to use.
	Set up the master bathroom.
	Completely unpacked their son’s room.
	Hung all clothes in the master bedroom closet.
	Made up all the beds, so the family could have a restful night’s sleep.
During the second day, we:
	Unpacked and set up the den.
	Set up toy bins in the family room.
	Unpacked the two remaining bathrooms.
	Put books, DVDs and CDs on shelves in the living room and family room—organized by category!

The Outcome: “With your organizing help, we started on the right foot,” Elizabeth said. “It was great to have things unpacked and put away so quickly. And your insight into where to put things so they made sense for our lifestyle was amazing. Thanks for helping to make our cross-country move so effortless.”

Get my life organized and help me achieve my goals! Client with special needs goes from disarray to organized—and completes her doctoral thesis!

The Situation: Andrea, a 29-year-old doctoral candidate, has ADHD and suffers from panic attacks. She needed to write her doctoral thesis but found it difficult to prioritize her time and stay focused. On top of that, her home was in total disarray. Her bedroom floor was carpeted with papers, clothes, and trash. She felt as though she constantly was cleaning, but she was simply moving huge piles from place to place.

The Solution: Andrea’s deadline to submit her doctoral thesis kept creeping closer. Finally, she called From Piles to Smiles. We gently discussed why her home was so chaotic and discovered that her inability to categorize exacerbated her problem.

Working with Andrea, we:

	Cleaned the clutter from her bedroom floor, dresser, closet, and under the bed.
	Set up and labeled drawers, bins, and places in her closet to house items by category (e.g., school supplies, jewelry, photos, toiletries).
	Helped her create a realistic timeline to write her thesis. Plus, we held weekly telephone sessions to review her progress, discuss obstacles, and set specific goals for the upcoming week.
	Developed strategies to help her minimize anxiety.

The Outcome: Andrea completed her doctoral thesis and submitted it on time. She is awaiting approval by the doctoral committee. In addition, she continues to keep her apartment clean and clutter free. She noted, “When I let my room start slipping back into chaos, I remember your words of wisdom: ‘Don’t put it down, put it away.’ And those words motivate me to do just that.”

In addition, the weekly phone sessions were a powerful system to help Andrea stay focused and on track with her doctoral thesis. “Whenever I got off track, I just asked myself, ‘What would Sue say?’ and it jump-started me to get back to writing. It feels great not to beat myself up when my ADD symptoms arise. You have helped me come a long way with self-forgiveness. Thank you!”