Archive for Organization
Whole Grain Storage
Posted by: | CommentsI took a nutrition class on whole grains and filled my cabinet with millet, quinoa, couscous, steel-cut oats. And now my cabinet had a bunch of bags of grains.
Before
The same Goodwill that I found the water bottle basket, I found a big, clear plastic tub. Perfect size for all my grains. Now instead of sorting through all the grains in the cabinet I pull down the tub and find the grain I want right away.
After
What needs containerizing in your cabinets?
What Else?
Posted by: | CommentsI had enough of my broken necklace on my desk. So finally I got out the hot glue gun, plugged it in and fixed my clasp. Took less than 10 minutes.
Now I was on a roll, what else needed hot gluing? I hot glued the bird back on the fence of the decoration that is on my porch.
Then there was the piece of corkboard loose on my bulletin board and a rhinestone that had fallen out. I asked my daughter if she had anything she needed fixing. Round the house I went.
After 30 minutes, I had a multitude of items fixed that had been broken for months. And I had so much energy afterwards.
"What else?" has become a habit. If I have a hot glue gun out, I’ll ask what else needs fixing. If the vacuum is out, I’ll ask what else needs vacuuming. If I have the window spray, what else might need spraying. If I am trekking down into the basement, what else can go?
I save time doing it this way and I keep up with upkeep better.
This week, try asking, "What else?"
Are You Wasting Your Time if You Organize?
Posted by: | CommentsI was reading this article that claims yes you are wasting your time if you organize. It talks a lot about creating folders in gmail or just using the search feature. The search feature will save time.
I’ve seen pantry organization that looks like it belongs in a museum it’s so pretty. But, if you don’t have much time you might not want that as your goal. When it is you get stuck on, "My pantry just isn’t as lovely as theirs. I decluttered it and organized it and it still looks like a pantry." If it is usable that is the important thing right?
The same goes for complicated time systems. When the upkeep takes so much time, is it worth it?
I know people that are so particular in their filing that some files only have 1 or 2 pieces of paper in them. Broad categories are usually more efficient.
Where in your life has the quest for organization gotten out of hand? What is a simpler solution?
Wishland
Posted by: | CommentsI woke up this morning with a migraine. Again. I work with many clients with health issues that make it more difficult to simplify and organize. I empathize since I am down for the count about 4 times a month. And I know for many it’s a daily challenge.
I see people get caught up in wishland.
They remember when they were healthy and think, "If only I were well, than I could get things done." They concentrate on that thought so often that they lose energy before they even start on something. When you fight with reality you are the one that suffers.
It doesn’t have to be health either. I remember someone who kept saying, "If only Extreme Home Makeover would come to my home, than my problems would be over." That wish dominated her world and she did little to help herself.
Parents of young children can get caught up in how much more time they had before kids and now it’s "impossible" to get things done.
Life changes. Life can be difficult. But, living in wishland makes things worse by making you feel helpless.
Driving out of Wishland
So how do you get out of wishland?
The first thing to do is watch your thoughts. As soon as you start thinking about how much easier it was in the past or wishing it were better now, stop yourself. (It may help to have an alarm go off every 1/2 hour so you can check in with your thoughts until it becomes more habitual.)
Ask yourself:
- What is my body telling me right now? This morning my body told me to take Excedrin Migraine and go back to bed. I’m behind on my work now, but I can function. If I hadn’t listened I would have plowed through work, ending up with a bigger headache. And out of commission longer.
- What is my current situation – right now? Are my expectations realistic or based on a different time in my life? If you have fybro and it’s a bad day, don’t make your list impossible to do. Be gentle with yourself. If lots of time is taken with caring for an elderly parent, don’t cram more projects into your life.
- What one small step can I take to move forward? People keep emailing me saying how great the declutter calendar is because it breaks things down into such small steps they can declutter without a lot of time or energy. Most things can be broken down. Even five minutes a day can accomplish more than you think.
Make plans based on your current situation.
Work with your challenges instead of pretending they don’t exist or wishing things were different. If you know at 4pm every day you crash, plan for this as recovery time. If you know you only have 5 minutes max to do something because you have young kids, have a list of 5 min tasks on the fridge. If you have good days and bad days health wise see how many bad days you average a week and make your plans accordingly. Don’t plan your day based on an ideal day. Base it on an average day in your current life.
You may think you "need" to do more. You don’t like the limits placed on you.
What if you used those limits to narrow down what is most important to you? Recognizing those limits are opportunities to say, "Reading my child a story is more important than finishing the laundry." "This creative idea I have is more important than playing on Facebook." Wishing for a better day has you wanting to do everything even when you can’t. Then you feel badly about yourself and your life.
But consciously choosing what you have the time and energy for gives you an even more fulfilling life.
So at the end of the day, don’t look at what you could of, should of, would of done. Look at the loving moments. The fulfilling times. What you were able to do.
Where are you stuck in wishland? How can you create a more realistic and fulfilling plan for your life?
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Photo by Alice Popkorn
Excuse Me, Your Balance is Tilting
Posted by: | Comments
I broke one of my rules the other day by talking about balance (for your Christmas break). In general, I stay away from the word balance.
The problem is it’s so elusive. How do you know when you are in balance? Do the hours have to match up perfectly? Are you getting everything done you want? Is it balanced every day? Every week? Every month? Who decides when you are in balance?
Balance is another word for perfectionism to me. "If I am thin, emotionally aware, serving, doing great at mothering and/or my work, have outstanding relationships, have a beautiful home then I am in balance."
And we never feel we are doing great at even just one, much less all of them. We are all out of balance most of the time. There is always something different we could or should be doing.
I know when my kids were little that was my main focus. Sometimes the house got cleaned, sometimes we took long walks together. Sometimes I got a shower, sometimes I got food on the table. Sometimes they took a long enough nap to get a project done, sometimes I took a nap too.
People get sick, work projects have deadlines, and life in general is chaos.
So what is better than searching for balance?
Checking in with moments.
Asking yourself, "What do I need right now?" and "What’s the next, right thing to do?"
You can create a check in jar to help you.
When you listen to your inner guidance, you are led to the truer things to do for you. Which may or may not lead to balance.
Fulfilling lives are rarely balanced.
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Photo by: CogDog
Getting it All Done on Break
Posted by: | CommentsSo you want to get it all done this break from work? I suggest – don’t.
Most of my clients have super big goals for this week. So I have had to talk some of them down. Vacation time is not only to get your home back in shape, it’s to recover and to spend time with your family.
Check your to do list, is there a balance? Not perfect balance because that is elusive and doesn’t really exist. But, a simple balance.
Do you have home projects on the list, like decluttering the bedroom or getting through some paper piles? Have just a couple on the list and once those are done you can always add more. After all, I am sure there is already some cleaning up from the holidays that also needs to get done.
How about family activities? Maybe visiting the grandchildren, taking the kids to the movies, or having a family game night. Try to have some family time every day on vacation.
Then there is recuperation time. Do you have any relaxing time on your list? Some reading, extra quiet time to think about the year ahead, long walks, or coffee with friends. Add daily recuperation time to your list.
If you don’t enjoy this vacation time, if you have it, then you will start the new year back at work as tired as you left.
How about if you don’t have vacation?
I am self-employed, so I have work to do. I am trying to work less this week, but there is still work. If you have to work this week too, maybe leave most of the home projects and other projects till after the New Year. Enjoy this time with your family & friends and get some evening recuperation time for yourself.
Off to go to the in-laws to celebrate Christmas!
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Photo by: Michael Cory
Project Files
Posted by: | CommentsOne reason for paper piles, is that we stack papers for things we are working on: the birthday party we are planning, the ideas for the bathroom redo, kids’ schedules. One of the easiest ways to fix this are project files. I keep my project files in my action file when I am actively working on them. When the project is done it can be gotten rid of or put into reference files.
Take a look at your paper piles. Are any of those papers really projects?
And it’s helpful to go through your project files at least once a season. I went through mine last weekend. Gone was the completed time course, last year’s school folder for my daughter, and a financial deal. And I added a file for a retreat I’m planning, a trip to Washington D.C. and clean eating recipes.
I also do many projects almost exclusively online. No paper – yea! But where to put all the info?
I use Microsoft OneNote for my projects. You can cut and paste all sorts of things in there. Other people like Evernote.
You don’t have to have detailed plans, but support info and next actions are important.
How do you deal with projects?
Scarf Organization
Posted by: | CommentsI had a small closet and therefore a small wardrobe. I rely on accessories like scarves and necklaces to change up my outfits. I had been hanging my scarves on an old tie rack that was attached to the wall when we bought the house. But now I have too many and they keep falling off the tiny hooks. I searched online for various ways to store my scarves.
There was the shower curtain ring method
Using tension rods
On a hanger (with or without shower curtain rings)
In a drawer if you have more drawer space
And of course you can buy scarf organizers
All of these are great ideas. Then I found an old belt organizer I’ve had for years. At least I think it’s a belt organizer, maybe it’s a tie hanger. It looks similar to this: http://www.organizeit.com/axis-chrome-tie-hanger.asp
It worked perfectly. I loop the scarves around so the higher ones are behind the lower ones and I can see them all at once. I also used the center area. I can store a lot more than with most of the scarf organizers in a smaller space. The scarves don’t get creased and wrinkly. Most importantly, I just re-hang the scarf when I am done – no rings, folding or maneuvering.
You can see what the holder looks like here, where I have taken off some of the scarves:
and here is how it looks with all the scarves on it:
Do you have any great tips on storing scarves?
Simplifying Information
Posted by: | CommentsI love to learn. Information is like catnip to me. So in order not to drown in information, I have had to systemize things.
Library Books
For instance, when I get library books, I look at how many pages the book is and how many days I have before it is due. I divide how many pages by how many days to find out about how many pages I need to read a day. Then I write that number on a small piece of paper, which becomes my bookmark. I don’t necessarily read that exact number of pages each day, but I try to stay close or I know I won’t finish the book on time.
If I do the calculations before I get the books out, I can prevent myself from getting too many books out at one time. Sometimes I’ll bring home a nice stack of 6 books I am curious about and I find out there is no way I can read them all.
Books
I keep a stack of 5 books that I am reading. I can’t get out a new one to read, until at least one in the pile is done. If I don’t do that I have a lot of half-finished books. I already do from before I implemented it, so I am using this system to go through the back log,
However I don’t force myself to finish any books I don’t find interesting. If I don’t want to finish it, it will move to my give away pile.
E-books and Courses
I also like reading things online. Once a week on Tuesdays I take about 15 min to an hour to read an ebook or do a course. I take notes so I can delete the book when I am done. I only keep a few on my hard drive.
Email newsletters
I keep a separate bulk mail folder in my gmail account, so the newsletters don’t distract me from work by calling to me from the in-box. Once a week, on the weekends I can read the newsletters.
Implementing
With so many great ideas, I need a place to store them before I try them. I have a file folder called Implement that has ideas from magazines, pinterest, book notes, etc. Then once a week or once a month I pick one or two ideas out to play with.
Do you have any ideas that have helped with too much information?
How You Get Good Family Stories
Posted by: | CommentsThis past weekend, my husband and I went searching for tracks to drive on in our new, used Jeep. We came to one extremely bumpy dirt road with deep grooves. At the beginning I braced for each bump. But, quickly found out that by tensing my body I made it feel worse.
Instead, I loosened my body and let it flow where it wanted to go. My head bobbed, my waist danced from side to side and I didn’t feel nearly as clobbered.
(Not our Jeep, but you get the picture)
This is a good way to look at the upcoming holiday season. Turkeys will burn, toys will be sold out, you’ll forget to send a card to someone. Expect that things will get screwed up. And go with the flow. They aren’t the disasters we make them out to be when we are over-stressed. In fact they are often the stories for future holidays.
Remember when mom got strep throat and we ended up eating turkey pot pies for thanksgiving? Remember the snow storm where we slept in a gas station parking lot because all of the hotels were filled? Remember how badly you wanted tickle me elmo? And they were sold out, but you got so excited a month after Christmas when you finally got it. (All true stories for me)
What if this year you relaxed? If you didn’t get worked up over the little things? I want you to really be happy and merry this season.
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Photo by: W Silver
If you want a Simpler Holiday plan:
Do you want a holiday plan that doesn’t have you do a million things you just don’t have time for?
I’ve tried the holiday plans that are online. But, I never finished them. Having simplified my Christmas I didn’t use many of the parts of those plans. And they just made me feel guilty.
Would you like a simpler holiday plan ?
I created a plan that I use to keep my holidays organized without overwhelming me.
Bundle it with the Simple Annual Plan to help plan your year ahead.
Simple Holiday Plan PLUS the Simple Annual Plan Bundle
Or get the holiday plan alone: Simple Holiday Plan
