Are you and your clutter ready to “Go With the Flow”?

Woman holding and presenting a copy of Go With the Flow!

Go With the Flow! The Clutter Flow Chart Workbook

 

Looking for a new, fun way to get clutter-free in ’23?

Inn-tro-du-cingg…(drumroll, please)…the long-awaited release of my latest project:

Go With the Flow! The Clutter Flow Chart Workbook

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Selecting a Family Tree Template

genealogy family tree

Family tree template with picture frames

Family tree templates can come in handy even if you’re not a genealogist. For example, many of the professional photo managers I know use them to help with organizing photos by family and by date. They also come in handy for medical, historical, relationship, inheritance, and land ownership purposes. Some saga-writing authors even use them for keeping track of their fictional characters’ lives!

I often get asked what template I recommend.

My answer, as with oh-so-many things in life, is this: It depends!

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Care tasks are morally neutral      

KC Davis and Alison Lush

14 Feb 2023 UPDATE: Look! KC and Alison together on a podcast episode: Gentle Organizing with Alison Lush. (It’s KC’s podcast, with Alison as her guest, and this episode was posted on Oct. 17, 2022, two weeks after my blog post was originally published, but I just found out about it today.) Also, KC has a new TEDx Talk and Alison has introduced a new SMART START bundle.

 

Do you feel ashamed of your clutter?

Do you sometimes struggle to keep up with basic care tasks such as cleaning house, preparing meals, and doing laundry? You aren’t alone! Many people do, including those with ADHD, depression, and chronic illness.

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Think of your big project as a new hobby

icons depicting various hobbies

Lots of activities can be considered  hobbies!

 

Do you have a big project you’ve been putting off?

Is it because you are waiting for the perfect time to devote your entire self to getting it done?

If you try to do too much at once, you risk getting overwhelmed and exhausted. Chances are you’ll get discouraged, go away, and never come back to it.

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Porter Knight’s Happiness Equation

I’m calling this post “Porter Knight’s Happiness Equation” to distinguish it from the happiness equation that has been my mantra for the last several years: Progress equals Happiness. (Click here to read Does Progress Equal Happiness?) Although hers is completely different, don’t worry, they don’t cancel each other out!

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How to Rubber Duck your life

 

Have you ever had a Eureka moment while explaining something to someone?

We could also call it a Rubber Duck moment.

I’ll get back to rubber ducks. But first, a little story:

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How would you rather feel?

Do you have trouble deciding whether, what, when, or how to create a new goal, habit or resolution?

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The holidays are for sharing family photos and stories

Not a holiday, but a family (mine) enjoying a photo album together. This is a newspaper clipping from the Idaho Statesman, in 1965, when the new minister and his family came to town.

 

When do “the holidays” begin and end for you? For me, they start with Thanksgiving and end on January 1st. Halloween serves as a heads-up: The holidays are coming!

No matter what holidays you celebrate, if you are lucky enough to have a family that enjoys getting together (in person or virtually), it’s the perfect time for sharing family photos and stories. It’s also a great opportunity to learn from your elders, share your genealogy discoveries, and create new memories.

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Why my next book would make a terrible gift

Unwanted gift

 

My next book probably won’t be ready by Thanksgiving after all, which has been my goal all year long. However, one of my motivations for choosing that deadline was so it would be available for holiday gift-giving. And it finally occurred to me:

This book would make a terrible gift!

(Unless, of course, it’s literally on a loved-one’s wish list.)

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The Burial Plot Thickens: A Find a Grave Mystery

P. Domenici, 1932-2017, San Ignacio section, Row 9, Space 1 (Image added to Find a Grave by Hazel Thornton on 29 Oct 2018.) CLICK TO ENLARGE

 

From time to time I accept requests through Find a Grave from people who do not live locally and who would like a volunteer to go take a photo of their relative‘s resting place for them.

A few years ago I got a request for Pietro Domenici at Mount Calvary Cemetery here in Albuquerque. I found the marker, which you can see in the featured image. There’s nothing in the photo for scale except grass, but it’s the size of a common brick…that’s because it IS a common brick, with an engraved metal plate attached to it. The plate is maybe 2X4 inches.

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