I traveled by airplane, this week. To get to Birmingham, AL from North Carolina, I had to go through Baltimore…….south to north,north to south. In the process I lost a of luggage. There is nothing like lost luggage that puts perspective on what you value. Underwear lost…….replaceable. My purple sweater I love…….replaceable. Tennis shoes……..replaceable. Boots……irreplaceable. When I realized my luggage was lost I could quickly assess and verbalize what I was most upset about losing. In your own life, can you assess what you would miss if you lost it and identify what you truly value? Being clear about those things allows you to surround yourself with only those “things” that you […]
(photo courtesy of vectorolie/freedigitalphotos.net) Several conversations, over the last couple of weeks and months, have prompted this post. People, as a whole, are looking for a magic bullet. We are all looking for the easiest way to get in shape, lose weight, get organized, feel more peaceful, get through rough times, have the perfect, romantic filled marriage/relationship, raise the perfect, well-adjusted child, the best work environment and a fabulous spiritual journey. I, being the killjoy that others have claimed me to be, am here to tell you a secret…….there is no magic bullet. I do believe […]
This post will be very short and sweetBecause at 11:00 p.m., I am just now off my feet.A long day at work and then a 2 hour driveMade it through, got it done and did survive. The writing for the challenge must be doneEven though right now it is not at all any fun. But competitive I am and stubborn enoughTo do what I need to do, even though it is rough. So for today this is all I could doSo good night, sleep tight, that is all, I am through.
Ok. I know. Not sure I should have used that title but I just couldn’t come up with a more appropriate word. Not sure what that says about my vocabulary but there it is. As a professional organizer I spend a lot of time talking to people about their clutter. We go through all the reasons they want to hang on to it, all the excuses, the rationalizations, and the justifications. In the end, I get to the question of do you love it, value it or need it….really? These are not always easy questions to answer honestly and I get that. I have a few things I have refused to let […]
(photo courtesy of digitalart/freedigitalphotos.net)I think I have messed myself up…..not the first time. I have been looking at some challenges that run for 30 days (sound familiar?). These challenges, on the face of them, seem manageable, important for my health or work goals and necessary. These challenges seem like the answer for me……I can do any of these for 30 days. Let’s go over the list of the 30 day challenges I have hoped to complete.1. 30 day squat challenge…..start with 55…..by day 30 you’ll be doing 245. 2 1 mile walk/run every day for 30 […]
The above photo is from a friend of mine, who shall remain nameless. I received her permission to use it because it is a perfect example of a concept I want to write about today……the next step. Look around your house today and see how much less cluttered your home would be if you had just taken 1-5 minutes to complete the next step or steps. The mail would be in it’s place. The dishes would be put away. The clothes would be in the hamper instead of on the floor. The coat would be hung in the closet instead of draped over a chair. The trash would be in the […]
It is the time of year where everyone is figuring out ways they can do better, be better, and look better. One of the dangers, in this process, is when we begin to compare ourselves to others. It is never a good idea for me to compare this 54 year old body to the 20 something year old body on the workout pictures on Pinterest. Even when I was the 20 something year old, I didn’t have that body and didn’t have the discipline to ever achieve that body. It is never a good idea for me to compare my lived in home to the beautiful homes in magazines. My home […]
I am a Certified Professional Organizer. Here are some truths about me. 1. My house is lived in. Real life people live here so real life needs to happen here.2. I have a few stacks…..stacks of books, stacks of paper, and a pile of shoes.3. I have mismatched, handwritten file folders4. I have dust….more than my fair share5. I have a lot of filing that needs to be done6. I have too many clothes7. My car stays a bit of a mess, not out of control messy but messy8. You are likely to find a few dirty dishes in my sink and a counter that […]
(photo courtesy of stuartmiles/ freedigitalphoto.net) Here it is ….2014. Wow. The last several years have been challenging, to say the least, and I seemed to go through them in a haze and a fog. Towards the end of last year, I began to pay more attention to doing things more deliberately and spending more time with family and friends. This year, I hope to do even more of that. I don’t want 2014 to be just another year. This is my dash! This is the time between my birth and […]
The thought of de-cluttering leaves many people totally paralyzed and totally overwhelmed. I have many clients, surrounded by clutter, physical clutter and emotional clutter, initially incapable of attacking the piles, stacks, worries and problems. One of the first steps I take, when working with a client, is to break things down into smaller sizes. I take a stack of papers and divide them into categories. In the closet we look at only the white shirts or black pants and make decisions about just those. In the box with all the memories, we look at 10 pieces of memorabilia. When looking at life, worries and problems, we look at next steps. Breaking the […]