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I love nothing more than a clean, tidy, organized home!
But those are three completely different things.
Who is this saucy young woman? Don’t know? Don’t care?
She looks like fun, though, doesn’t she?
What if you found this photo in a bin at Goodwill? For sale on eBay?
Would you buy it? Would you feel vaguely sad that somebody got rid of it, and move on?
What if you found her in your parents’ stuff and didn’t know who she was?
Would you keep, or toss?
Last week I attended a lecture on Chaos Theory. I’d heard of it before, but didn’t really know what it was, exactly. The lecture was my dad’s idea for something to do together. And it turned out to be really interesting! He said he expected it was going to be about The Butterfly Effect. And it was, but who knew it was also going to be about entropy, the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, fractals, and Rosa Parks (whose small act of defiance triggered a chain of events resulting in the civil rights movement)?
I’ve been talking and writing for a while now about organizing for your legacy. This involves doing things to make it easier on your grieving loved ones when the time comes, by preparing for your own death. Activities can range from writing your own obituary and planning your own funeral; to preserving your memorabilia and organizing your family history; to creating a virtual will and downsizing and decluttering now so they don’t have to later.
So, when I announced to my dad and brother, at a recent breakfast together, “Let’s talk about funerals!” they didn’t even flinch, replying in unison: “Whose? Yours?”
THE ODD COUPLE, Jack Klugman, Tony Randall, 1970-1983 (www.hollywood.com)
Are you and your spouse, or partner, or roommate, like Oscar and Felix, of The Odd Couple? (Are you old enough to know what I’m talking about?) Do you need Clutter Counseling? I am not a marriage counselor (or a psychic, or a magician), but I am sometimes called upon to mediate disputes as to what goes where in a home or other shared space.
It really helps to have an impartial professional to hear both sides of an issue and give a practical opinion that will work for everyone. Often my recommendation is something neither person has thought of before!
I want to help everyone find the freedom of getting Organized for Life regardless of where they live, or how much money they have. But there’s only one of me, and I need to make a living too. Too bad I can’t work directly with all of you for free.
There are lots of ways I can help you, though! In this post I’ve listed some options for getting organized, in order of affordability. Let me know which ones you need and think will work for you.
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Socks: Just right? Or over-organized?
Clients are always amused and relieved to learn that I have my own organizing issues to deal with at home. I tell them, “I’m organized, not perfect! Whoever said I was perfect?” If you and I both have a pile of clutter on the kitchen counter, the difference between us is that I know it’s a temporary situation, and that I have a reliable system for getting it back under control. My home is relatively tidy, organized, and clean… but don’t open that one door down the hall, or get out your white gloves!
What fascinates me are the people who are surprised (if not horrified) at some of the things I choose NOT to organize. These are usually friends and family who visit my home and notice things for themselves. They can’t understand why a professional organizer would NOT organize something that CAN be organized.
My client wanted to fold her t-shirts the KonMari way. And why not? Some people like to do it this way and can maintain this system. Marie Kondo popularized it, but she certainly didn’t invent it.
My Kondo-lences to those who are as Kondo-ed out as I am — no offense to the media darling herself — and sincere Kon-gratulations to Marie and everyone who has found inspiration in her new Netflix series — Tidying Up with Marie Kondo – which premiered on January 1st.
My news feed has been saturated with articles praising, trashing, and poking fun at her series and her methods. So, why am I adding to the noise and Kon-fusion? Because I get asked daily what I think about it. I decided to e-Kondo-mize – wait, no, I’m leveraging — my words and energy by gathering together my previous related blog posts here for anyone who is interested.
Do you hate making resolutions?
Do they seem like a colossal waste of time because you figure you will probably just give up on them after a few days or weeks? Well, you’re not alone, and you’re probably right…that is, if you only make them impulsively after a few drinks on New Year’s Eve!
I’ll tell you my focus word, if you tell me yours!
I’ve written a lot about resolutions and goal setting in the past, but last year I finally jumped onto the focus word bandwagon with my selected theme for 2018, CONNECT. I find that a focus word, or theme, helps to shape my thoughts and actions in a way that does not require sticking to a specific habit that can easily be abandoned. The word can apply to one’s personal life, work, or both, and keeping it in mind can lead to discoveries and new habits that were not foreseen on January 1st.
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