With Maria Spetalnik
Join us on Zoom on the 1st Thursday of each month
from 12 noon – 1:00 pm
We don’t record this series.
This is so attendees can feel comfortable asking questions and discussing the topic with Maria.
You can contact Maria at mail@mariaspetalnik.com
Visit her website at Conquer the Clutter
Maria Spetalnik is a Board-Certified Professional Organizer (CPO®) with over 30 years of experience helping others to establish control of their lives by helping them control their clutter. She specializes in elders and severe clutter as well as those with mobility and cognitive issues.
Clutter can be a huge problem for those with mobility issues. You will learn how to make your home safer and easier to manage by organizing and managing your house’s clutter and systems. Every month we will tackle a new area or concept designed to make the process as easy as possible while allowing you to share tips that have worked for you with the others in the group and get theirs in return.
Professional Organizer
September 3, 2026
Tracking Medication and Medical Paperwork
There is nothing that feels like you’ve been buried by an avalanche than trying to sort out stacks of medical paperwork or explain to someone what medications you are on and when you take them. I’ll be sharing some simple trackers I have made to keep this all as easy as possible.
August 6, 2026
Digital Assets. What are they, do I have any, and what do I need to do about them?
Almost everyone has digital assets these days. Your iTunes, your Facebook account, etc. are all considered digital assets. They need to be protected so Dominique Bragg, esq. will be Maria’s guest. She will explain how to safeguard your property so that you, your family and your heirs have access and control – rather than some nameless company.
Gadgets, Gizmos and other “Stuff”
As we age, we often start needing assistive devices to help us get around and live a happier, healthier life. Maria will be having Chris Poland from Empower Mobility as her guest. He will be discussing all sorts of Durable Medical Equipment and how to know a good product from a poor one.
Chris’s contact info:
Chris Poland, owner- Empower Mobility
703-779-3319
Chris@EmpowerMyMobility.com
EmpowerMyMobility.com
June 18, 2026
Solo vs. partnered aging
Getting older isn’t easy. There are aches and pains, spotty memory sometimes, people that treat us like children and more. Many of us imagine walking into the sunset with our partner, but that doesn’t always go according to plan. Aging with someone else has its benefits and concerns, solo aging has others. Most of us will, at some time, be aging alone. This can be by choice, the need for someone to live in a care community, divorce, or death of our partner. We are going to talk about what you need to think about now and when preparing to solo age.
April 2, 2026
Town Hall
This is your opportunity to ask any questions you have related to clutter. In short – the ball is in your court. Get your questions together and we’ll tackle them one by one. You can ask about something from a class we already had, something we haven’t talked about yet, anything. If you have things you would like me to do a session on you can tell me that here too.
March 19, 2026
Organizing Your Photographs
Seems like the perfect time to start going through all the pictures you took during the past year and get them into shape. What? You have other photos from the past that need a home? What about old 8mm film, old video tapes, etc.? We will talk about all of these and more.
February 5, 2026
Downsizing – Part 3 – Preparing for the move
We’ve talked about Downsizing a couple of times, now we wrap up the series by talking about the final step, making the move to another home. What information about the new place would be important to know? What will make the move easier to manage? We will go into all of this and more.
January 15, 2026
Hiring specialists – non medical
Last month we talked about goal setting. It’s likely that some of you have put on your plan to look into getting your legal paperwork done, consulting a daily money manager and/or a financial planner, meeting with a care consultant or other professionals. This month we are going to talk about all these professions and more. When should you start looking for one? What do you need to prepare in advance? What types of questions should you ask before setting an appointment? What should you expect to happen during a meeting?
December 4, 2025
Goal setting and yearly resolutions
A goal without a plan is just a wish.
Most people set a resolution during the New Year’s Eve party – after the first several drinks. This is not the best of solutions. In fact, most resolutions don’t work because there isn’t an actual plan in place to give it even the smallest boost to getting started. We are going to change the focus from resolutions to goals and will talk about how to make them and some tricks to make them more likely to be reached.
November 6, 2025
Holiday gifting, decorations and “stuff”
The holiday season is here! Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, the Winter Solstice, Christmas, Boxing Day, Kwanzaa and the New Year’s Eve are almost here. These are just the biggies so you may celebrate even more. How can you get ahead in your preparations so you can enjoy the actual events? How can you manage all the decorations, feasts, etc. without losing your mind and how do you put it all away so you can find and use it all again later? We will explore all of this and even if you only try one or two things, this year’s holiday chaos should be a little easier.
October 2, 2025
Paperwork – Part 2 – Maintaining your progress
It has been 6 months since we talked about paperwork organizing in part 1. Getting the paperwork purged and sorted took a lot of effort but it never seems to stay that way. How do we maintain all the work we did? What about digitizing our papers? What’s the best way to digitize them? How would we organize those?
September 4, 2025
Downsizing – Decluttering part 2
We will continue our discussion on decluttering by getting into some tricks and techniques that will help you get the decluttering process started and make it easier to keep going.
Organizing Room by Room – Bathroom
The bathroom is the second most dangerous room in the house, only surpassed by the kitchen. Why is it so dangerous? What can you do to make it safer? What are the most common organizing mistakes people make in the bathroom? We will talk about all this and more and Maria will give you some simple solutions.
July 3, 2025
Downsizing
During this presentation, Maria will give you the tools and tips to help you quick start your process, give you different options on what to do with your items and help you move past the monumental stress of making decisions so you can keep moving strongly into the future.
Are you ready, get set, Downsize!
May 1, 2025
Organizing Room by Room – The Kitchen
Injuries are most common in the kitchen. Beyond burns and cuts, the way the kitchen is organized can make a kitchen more or less safe. We will talk about ways to improve your kitchen to eliminate as many of these hazards as possible.
April 3, 2025
Paperwork
Part 1 – Getting started
Shopping lists, tax documents, medical info, and even your kid’s treasured drawings – The daily flow of paper can be overwhelming! In this session, we will discuss different organization tips and techniques to manage your paper.
To organize your photos, Maria suggested The Photo Managers.com.
March 6, 2025
Safety in the Home
I don’t know anyone who says they’re looking forward to moving into a nursing home or memory care unit. We all want to stay in our home for as long as possible and there are things you can do to make that more likely to happen. In this session we will be talking about ways to make your home safer and easier to live in, even as we struggle with aging, injury and illness. That can enable you to live in your home longer, despite physical changes, even temporary ones.
Please visit our page on Falls at ipmdc.org/falls for additional information and resources.
How to Choose a Medical Alert or Monitoring System by Amy Goyer, AARP
Rent Durable Medical Equipment
Ramps, stair lifts, scooters, power chairs, wheelchairs, lift chair recliners
Grace in Motion, Vienna VA
graceinmotionstore.com