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www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, February 17, 2010 · 14 Artscene By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Sign up now for guitar, bass, drums, and piano OAKVILLE'S MUSIC STORE · WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2010 TV host picks up award for conquering clutter work. Hellen Buttigieg, who's most recognizable for hosting of the television program Neat, received the Best Book Award at the 2010 Los Angeles Organizing Awards last month. The award was presented by the Los Angeles chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO). Buttigieg co-authored the 105-page book titled Organizing Outside the Box: Conquer Clutter Using Your Natural Learning Style. She wrote it with Sari Brandes whom she met a year before at a NAPO conference. "It's a huge honour. There were several amazing books in my category and I was the only Canadian nominated for best book," Buttigieg said of the award. "To be recognized in your industry is a huge honour." Buttigieg is a certified organizer by the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization. Her book aims to educate people on how to become organized depending on their own personal traits. "So many people have been frustrated. They've read the books, they've watched the television shows and they think it's their fault that they are disorganized. But they're not. It's just the systems they are using are not necessarily a good fit for the way they learn." She added, "I think it's important for people to embrace who they are rather than think they have to change to get organized and that's the new message." Buttigieg had already begun working on the book when she met Brandes. However, when the two met they realized they had a similar A n Oakville professional organizer and life coach has kept a busy year and now she has been recognized for her hard NEAT AWARD: Professional organizer and host of television's Neat, Hellen Buttigieg has now received a Best Book Award for her new book about ... organization. idea for a book and a similar expertise. That's when they began working together. They worked for about a year communicating via telephone calls and through the Internet. She said organization is very important for people. "Having clutter in our space very often creates clutter in our minds and holds us back from achieving all that we can achieve. It affects our health, our relationships and our careers." She hopes the book can help people overcome their organizational problems. "The award really increased the book's profile in the U.S. and internationally," she added, hoping more people might read it. Though this is her first published book, Buttigieg is not new to writing. She pens columns for magazines like Home and Décor and Home Digest and for various newspapers. Buttigieg has been a professional organizer for about 10 years and runs her Oakville-based company We Organize U, which she started in 2001. "I have a few hand picked associates and they are all very carefully trained," she said of her staff. Buttigieg then went on to host a television program that aired on HGTV Canada for three seasons for which she received a Gemini Award-nomination. The show was in production until 2006 and is currently rerun on Global Television. She's looking to return to television, however this time it would be on a different show. She has a diploma in Radio and TV Broadcasting from Seneca College. Organizing Outside the Box was published by BPS Books and is available at major online outlets such as Chapters and Amazon, as well as locally at Cards n' Such on Maple Grove and Lakeshore Road and Bookers Bookstore in downtown Oakville. It sells for $16.95. For information, visit www.weorganizeu.com.