When you don’t know where else to turn for information, your local, friendly, neighborhood professional organizer can provide a wealth of resources for issues you have probably never imagined.

Our job is to provide solutions for our clients’ organizing needs. Sometimes this need goes beyond the physical capabilities required while working in people’s homes or offices.

Driven by the desire to support our clients, we provide resources that can be consulted independently. Here we present a sampling:

Unsolicited Phone Sales:
To stop unsolicited phone sales calls (please note that newspapers and non-profits are exempt) contact:
Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services
P.O. Box 6700
Tallahassee, FL 32314-6700
800-435-7352
They will send you a form you submit with $10.00.

or write to:

Direct Marketing Association
Telephone Preference Service
P.O. Box 9014
Farmingdale, NY 11735-9014

Stop Junk Mail:
To be removed from junk mailing lists write to:
Direct Marketing Association
Mail Preference Service
P.O. Box 9008
Farmingdale, NY 11735-9008

Email Spam:
If you are bothered by junk email (spam), the following systems may help. They don’t catch everything, but they intercept a great deal of unwanted email.
Earthlink users can sign up for Spaminator at www.support.earthlink.net. Outlook users can download www.spamnet.net. Both are free and can be used simultaneously. If you use another email provider (Bellsouth, AOL, Juno, MSN, etc), it would pay to look into similar services they may provide.

Recycling Cell Phones:
Who could believe that as popular as cell phones are today, we would be changing them so often and have no use for the old ones? Women in Distress will re-program your discard for women to contact 911 in emergencies. Any Cingular Wireless store will accept your phones as will some local police departments, or by calling TV station CBS4 at 305-577-4404. All donate to WID.

Recycling Computers and Electronics:
A few organizations can make good use of your discarded computer equipment, modems, printers, copiers, fax machines, televisions and VCR’s. The Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC) can be reached at 954-577-4160 or email electronicsrecycling@arcbroward.com for hours and locations.

Another program which donates computers to schools is:
Computers for Schools Programs
3350 N. Kedzie Avenue
Chicago, IL 60618
800-939-6000
www.pcsforschools.org

ADD Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life
This little book by the same name can have a big impact on people diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder. ADD can interfere with their ability to be organized. Judith Kohlberg, the genius who discovered and coined the term “chronically disorganized” has just come out with this cutting edge book. Send $19.95 plus $3.50 for shipping and handling to:
Judith Kohlberg
P.O. Box 691
Atlanta, GA 30031
404-289-1622
fileheads@aol.com

Everyone will get their money’s worth because these techniques have proven just as successful for people without ADD.

Organizing Magazine
Balance Magazine is a brand new, first of its kind magazine written by professional organizers to their readers for getting and staying organized. Using actual clients’ scenarios and solutions, many of you will relate to and recognize similarities in yourselves. Find out more at www.findbalance.com. and subscribe for $19.95 (such a deal), for 6 issues a year. I was so impressed I contacted them and will be a contributor in future issues.

Keeping this information handy in a reference file can save you valuable hours months from now when you may need it. If you need additional resources not found in this article, please contact us and most likely we can lead you to the information you seek.

Diane Hatcher owns Timesavers Professional Organizing Services and can be reached at 954-252-7511 or at www.timesaversusa.com.

Diane Hatcher is a professional organizer, and owner of Timesavers Services in Cooper City. She can be reached at 954-252-7511, or at diane@timesaversusa.com.

© 2002-2004 - Diane Hatcher