The missing photo album (white binder next to pink binder)
I thought this phrase — If you can’t find something, clean up — was a well-known adage. But random people I’ve queried have never heard it. So, I Googled it. Turns out it’s one of Gretchen Rubin’s many Secrets of Adulthood, which she introduced in her bestselling book The Happiness Project. I guess it made so much sense to me when I read it (years ago) that I thought I’d always known it!
Durango, Colorado
(NOTE: It was in October 2012 when I “just returned” from this trip and wrote this post. A worldwide pandemic was the furthest thing from my mind! Most of us have stayed home for over a year, and we’re just now thinking about traveling again as we gradually get our COVID-19 vaccinations. Also new since 2012 is the Org4life Travel Resource Roundup I created for you. Stay safe, and enjoy your travels!)
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I just returned home from a short road trip to Durango, Colorado (from Albuquerque, New Mexico). The brisk fall weather and scenery were wonderfully refreshing. And it was good to be out of my routine for a couple of days. Then, as usual, I was just as glad to return home as I was to leave it in the first place. There’s a reason why we have these sayings:
Home Sweet Home. There’s no place like home. A man’s home is his castle. Home is where the heart is.
Aren’t we all more comfortable at home? And if you aren’t, what needs to change so that you are…?
This is the view from my home office desk.
I think the key to being productive is to be comfortable and happy spending time in your office. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a corporate cubicle; a dedicated room at home with a door that closes; or another space you’ve carved out for yourself.
If you love your office, great! Carry on.
If you don’t, though, here are some tips and inspiration for decluttering your office and making it a place where you really enjoy spending time.
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?
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.
You didn’t think I was finished with Mom’s Boxes, did you? Ha ha ha! Noooo! In fact, I haven’t done a thing on this project since my brother left in December to spend a year in Japan.
←These are a few of the resulting categories: Cassette tapes, Mini photo albums, Grandma & Grandpa’s letters, Ephemera to sell?, Sketch books, Grandpa 1920’s, Negatives, 60’s & 70’s photos.
I twisted my knee last fall. (Note: This post was originally written in 2013, but now I’m working on rehabbing my ankle.) I saw a doctor for knee pain and was already on a Rx anti-inflammatory, which masked the symptoms and made it seem not bad enough to see the doctor again. But a few months later it still hurt, so I finally went to see a specialist. The MRI confirmed some arthritis and a torn meniscus (but not bad enough to warrant surgery). I was prescribed a number of things to do.
WHY do I love chores? OK, I don’t. Not really. But hear me out….
I LOVE having someone else clean my house. But, for the most part, I prefer to clean it myself for various financial and Zen reasons. I’ve often thought of housework and exercise as the cheapest forms of therapy.
Whenever I feel resentful about chores I remind myself WHY I do them. And then I feel better. It helps me to remember that it’s a CHOICE I’m making; that I’m living my life by design, not by default.
My kitchen counter on better days.
← This is my kitchen counter. If you think it looks like THAT at all times — not a bit of clutter; complete with fresh fruit and flowers — you will either be disappointed, or relieved, to learn that it also looks like THIS on a regular basis →
Great Egret
People sometimes ask me why I have a stork for my business logo. Is it my fault that not everyone knows an egret from a stork? Granted, New Mexico is not exactly known for egrets, but I do see one sometimes down by the Rio Grande.
Anyway, the egret that inspired my logo lived in Minnesota. Here’s the story:
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