I’ve contributed a lot to this worthwhile blog carnival!
As part of my celebration of 15 years in the organizing biz, I’ve put together this list of my 15 best blog posts for you. (Oops, I already couldn’t resist sneaking an extra one in with a link!)
What makes a blog post one of my “best”? Well, I chose them all for different reasons, but it could be that… (more…)
Curious George looking to see where I went. (I had gone outside to talk with my neighbor, Lonna.)
George was my constant companion for 17-1/2 years.
Social media friends got to see a lot of him.
He had his own Pinterest board.
And a Facebook photo album.
He died in December from multiple health conditions (OK, I had him euthanized, ugh!), and I miss him terribly. I know many pet owners who can relate, and I so appreciate those of you who expressed your condolences on Facebook, and those of you who sent cards to my home…!
Please join me in celebrating 15 years of helping clients to declutter, simplify, organize, and refresh their homes, offices, schedules, and lives…and helping them discover their roots and tell their family stories, too!
And what’s an anniversary without gratitude, a few selected highlights, and a crossword puzzle?
FOCUS on 20/20, er, I mean 2020.
As I shift my focus from 2019 to 2020, I have chosen a focus word for the new year. It is….wait for it….FOCUS.
Either that, or VISION.
Whatever. They go hand in hand, don’t they?
I can’t be the only one who picks FOCUS or VISION for 2020, but that’s OK. It’s not a competition.
Internet photo of the luminarias at the cemetery next door (Mt. Calvary).
(This story was originally posted in a Facebook Note on December 24, 2012.)
Luminarias are one of my favorite family holiday traditions. It comes from my mom’s having grown up (from the age of 10) in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
But… in the cemetery? Let me explain.
One never knows what will happen when you pass a family keepsake on to the next generation. Will they love it? Or, not so much? There’s only one way to find out….if your kids are adults now, ask them!
Keep reading to find out what happened when I offered my mom’s good silverware to my niece Vinca as a wedding present.
What are “holidays” and why are they so stressful? A holiday is any special occasion, all year round, which involves extra preparations; extra time, money and energy; and extra people, families in particular. Examples include birthdays, weddings, religious holidays, and secular holidays.
Holiday stress comes from having unrealistic expectations of yourself and others. Sometimes it’s the family getting together that contributes to the stress, and sometimes it’s the fact that you’re not getting together, or can’t, whatever the reason may be.
If you can relate to this definition, keep reading for some tips that will help you reduce holiday stress in four major areas of your life.
Photos found in donated books (click to enlarge)
Have you ever hidden anything in a book? Maybe used a photo as a bookmark? I don’t recommend it as a way to save your photos! Here’s why:
I volunteer weekly for my local Friends of the Library. We price and sort donated books for our monthly used book sales (at which I also run a cash register), and we have a lovely used book shop in the Main library downtown which is open six days a week. We raise around $200K every year for library programs such as the Summer Reading Program for children.
Calendar bird photo by Ann Strober.
I hate to be a party pooper, but I just don’t believe it takes 21 days to create a habit. Or 30 days. Or however long people are saying. It’s true that you can’t simply do something for only 3 days, or 10, and expect it to “stick”. And the effort required to create a new habit is well worth it! But I think there are too many factors to pin it down to a specific number of days for all habits and all people.
These are stressful times.
And I think we’re all feeling it one way or another.
(I originally wrote this post during a specific national crisis, but really, every day is stressful for someone, isn’t it?)
Are you remembering to take care of yourself?
I forget sometimes, so I’m writing this for myself as much as for you.
Organizing for stressful times means planning what you will do for yourself when, not if, those times occur.
Here are my suggestions: (more…)
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