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was overwhelming at first for me, but Montali
quickly developed a filing system tailored to
my needs.
Then, she started deciding which categories
of items should go in which desk drawers.
While I sorted papers, she moved my
stationary into my drawer of desk supplies
and arranged everything neatly. At one point,
I looked over to find that my drawer of electronics
was now filled with neatly coiled and
rubber-banded cords instead of a tangled,
overflowing mess.
While we worked, I asked her what her favorite
part of her job was.
“I love afterwards how people realize how
46 JANUARY 2 0 1 8
life-changing it is,” she said. “I did some research
on how much time organizing saves:
in an article I read, it said we waste a year of
our lives looking for things. In a year, I could
travel the world. I love helping people save
time. You can do something so much more
fun with that year.”
Montali also loves that her organization
helps de-stress people’s lives.
“When you wake up and you’re in a cluttered
space, that physically can affect people,”
she said. “It kind of puts your day out of wack.
You might not eat right because of it, or you’re
stressed because of it, or in the back of your
mind, you can’t do XYZ because you have to
go home and clean. And then you go home,
and you’re too overwhelmed to clean.”
My appointment was on Jan. 2, so we talked
about how people could best keep their
New Year’s resolution to get organized.
“I think in the new year with all of the New
Year’s resolutions, people get overzealous
or ahead of themselves at first. When you
start this, if you’ve never decluttered before
or never organized before, start with one
category. Go through all of your books.”
That means you shouldn’t target one cabinet
that might have books in it; instead, go
through all of the books in your apartment
or house at once. Categorizing your things
BEFORE
AFTER