gratitude Archives – Organized for Life and Beyond

Organizing to De-Stress Your Holidays (all of them)

By Hazel Thornton on November 18, 2019 11 Comments

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.

Holiday stress comes from having unrealistic expectations of yourself and others.

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Categories : Organize Your Holidays, Organize Your Home, Organize Your Mind, Organize Your Time

Tags : clutter-free, family, gratitude, holiday, stress-free

Organizing for Stressful Times

By Hazel Thornton on October 21, 2019 14 Comments

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.

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Here are my suggestions: (more…)

Categories : Inspiration & Motivation, Organize Your Mind

Tags : action, checklists, decluttering, getting back on track, gratitude, mental clutter, organizing systems, S.P.A.C.E., sleep

Organizing to De-Stress a Major or Chronic Illness

By Hazel Thornton on July 19, 2019 23 Comments

Hand coordination ,Multiracial hands holding each other in unity

Don’t be afraid to ask for help!

Illness is stressful. The less you have to worry about, the more you can focus your energy on getting well. And getting organized will help you worry less.

This concept applies to any prolonged medical condition that results in decreased energy and mobility.

Here are some examples:

recovery from a planned surgery
an unplanned medical or health event
a major illness
a chronic condition
depression

If you are not expecting to fully recover, getting organized will help you to enjoy your “new normal” to its fullest.

The less you have to worry about, the more you can focus your energy on getting well.

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Categories : Finding Organizing Help, Organize Your Mind

Tags : Action File, clutter-free, gratitude, illness, organizing system, S.P.A.C.E., stress-free, support system

How Can Less be More?

By Hazel Thornton on October 30, 2012 8 Comments

I have always struggled with the phrase “Less is more.” I suppose I have taken it a bit too literally, thinking, “Less is NOT more. Less is BETTER, in many cases, but it’s not MORE, so why would anyone say that? “

But now, from an organizing perspective, I understand the phrase to mean that the less stuff you have, and the more organized it is, the more easily you can find it, make use of it, and enjoy it. Having access to more of your stuff is better than literally having more stuff buried under other stuff that you don’t even remember you have… right?

LESS stuff makes you MORE grateful for what you have.

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Categories : Inspiration & Motivation

Tags : clutter-free, focus, gratitude, stress-free, To-Do List