ABOUT ANDREW J. MELLEN

My mother gets a kick whenever she hears me described as "the most organized man in America." She still remembers telling me to pick up my room ...

I was born in Detroit and spent the first twenty-four years of my life in Michigan (Winter Wonderland and Great Lake State). No siblings but some great friends. I graduated from Northern Michigan University with a degree in Theater and Languages along with plenty of union suits, wool socks and things stuffed with goose down. Those are some long winters in the U.P. (Upper Pennisula).

I put myself through college with scholarships, role-playing in the graduate psych department, and by playing drums in several local bands. After graduation, TV, films and theater work provided a steady income -- I worked throughout the country at regional theaters and Off-Broadway, and was in the film The Untouchables. Patricia Clarkson won't remember me, but I sat directly behind and to the side of her for several days during the climactic trial scene. We chatted between takes.

I also spent six months touring the U.S. performing site-specific improvisational theatre exclusively in prisons and penitentiaries. Ask me about that sometime.

Eventually, I landed in New York and added adminstrative work to my portfolio. That led to being recruited to serve as the artistic and producing director of several theaters and art centers (Shuttle Theater Company, DC Arts Center (DCAC), Alice B. Theater). I was nominated for and won some awards, served on panels and led seminars for The Smithsonian Institution, various Arts Commissions and assorted universities.

I'm the author of several full-length plays, including MY LIFE AS KIM NOVAK and A GOOD LIST, and my first book, UNSTUFF YOUR LIFE! has been published by Penguin (August, 2010).

Today I bring my collective and creative problem-solving skills to individuals and businesses who find that they have too much to do, not enough time to get it all done and more than likely, too much stuff.

Or stated more simply, I help folks to live the lives they choose -- that's what I do.

From failing phone systems to fundraising campaigns, from forensic bookkeeping to finding the perfect gift, from relocating households or corporations, I find there's little that I can't do and even less that we can't do together.

Whether I'm working privately with a client or teaching a room full of people, I am committed to putting real and useful skills into the hands of whomever I'm with.

There is enough time for what's important and my job is to help you clear away any and every thing that stands between you and fulfillment and satsifaction.

So if you're sick and tired of being sick and tired, if you're ready to unstuff your life, if you're ready to live a life with no regrets, please be in touch.

Let's see what we can do to set you free from clutter and disorganization and get you back in control,
once and for all.

HOW I BECAME THE MOST ORGANIZED MAN IN AMERICA

Like most things in life, the path to superhuman organization did not follow a straight line.

In the fall of 1996, I was co-producing an awards ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. One of the awardees was a Nobel Peace Prize-winner. We'll call him Mr. S. When I arrived at his office to collect some photos, I discovered what I like to refer to as "restrained chaos."

Looking through files labeled with various presidents' names, 'Nobel,' etc., it became clear that whatever system may once have been in place, it had fallen apart long ago. In addition, many pictures had been lent out to various institutions and publications and never returned. The small staff found it impossible to track them all down and get them returned. It seems they had hired a woman to do just that -- track them down and then create a filing system. She had apparently worked a half of a day and then never returned. After telling me this story, they turned to me and offered me the job.

My head swam. I'd admired Mr. S. for years. I began imagining the conversations and research involved in tracking down the missing images. I fantasized about a coffee table book of the assembled photos -- literally hundreds of images of Mr. S. with various heads of state and other dignitaries, candid shots of him teaching, with his family -- the possibilities were exhilarating.

It took me three seconds to say "yes!"

We made a date for December 18, 1996, and I took the photos I could find and went back to DC to finish my project. Fast forward to December 17.

Mr. S.'s assistant phones to tell me that an unexpected trip has suddenly come up and that they wouldn't be able to start tomorrow. We book another date for January. Great.

A few days before the new appointment in January, I get another phone call. Another sudden trip and more rescheduling.

We scheduled a new meeting for February and when they "postponed" that meeting, I was told that the assistant would be in touch when she knew something more.

Many years later, I'm well-acquainted with the "enthusiastic disappearing client," although that was my first encounter.

The fear of change plays itself out in different ways. This turns out to be classic -- the client is "crazy" busy and e-mails or phone calls fly back and forth with constant scheduling changes. You do your best to accomodate them but eventually they disappear. Sometimes with the explanation that they have just "a little more work to do" before they're ready for you, other times, it's just a "change of plans." It always makes me smile when they resurface months later, sheepishly requesting a new appointment.

By now, it's familiar and amusing and tender -- then it was just a little confusing.

Regardless, in Mr. S.'s case, I was telling anyone and everyone I met that I was creating a comprehensive photographic archive for him. And I mean everyone.

Soon a friend referred me to her accountant that needed a filing system. That accountant referred me to several of her clients, who showed up with duffel bags filled with years of unsorted receipts and 1099's -- and correspondence from the IRS. And on and on like that. Every client led to three more. Until I was doing this work full-time.

I never did go to work for Mr. S. but I thank him every day -- that original offer and my unbridled enthusiasm created tremendous success and generated opportunities that laid the foundation for the work I'm currently doing.

As "the most organized man in America," I work with clients across the country to eliminate the distractions and clutter from their professional and/or personal lives, so they can get back to what's really important -- whether that's solving world hunger or attending a child's soccer game on-time!