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…)
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:
If you are not expecting to fully recover, getting organized will help you to enjoy your “new normal” to its fullest.
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 →
Do you have a creative mess? Do you feel inspired by it…or overwhelmed?
I have helped clients organize their quilting and sewing rooms; scrapbooking, jewelry making, painting, and glass art studios; and elementary school art classrooms. Their respective supplies and equipment all had different storage requirements, but the clients all had these things in common:
As part of my 10-year celebration of being in the organizing business, I thought I’d revisit this old blog post and see if I still agreed with myself. I do.
Don’t believe everything you think! Here are the top 10 organizing myths, along with the truth and some helpful links to related blog posts and flow charts.
Organizing Myths #1 & 2: Neat equals organized. & Messy equals disorganized.
Truth: Not necessarily!
Home Office AFTER
How does your home office make you feel? If you have the sort of business where you have clients in, are you embarrassed to let them see it? One of my organizing and redesign clients said, about her cluttered, drab room, “I feel like I’m going to prison every morning.” Oh no, that’s terrible! Depending on how you use it, you might be spending more time in your home office than you do sleeping in your bedroom! (Which, by the way, is the other most neglected room in the house for décor, but that’s another story.)
So, what can you do? Here are 3 steps to falling in love with your home office:
Living and working BY DEFAULT means choosing the easiest path, either by unconsciously resorting to bad habits, or by maintaining the status quo. Sometimes we seek to avoid the conflict that can come with making a change. Sometimes we feel we have no choice in the matter. But I’m with Henry Ford, who said, “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you are right.”
Those who live and work BY DESIGN notice when things aren’t going well, and make adjustments accordingly. They live more calmly, purposefully, and mindfully.
Here are some examples: (more…)
My friend Jane (well, one of them…I have more friends named Jane than anybody I know…) is de-cluttering this weekend and texting me periodically with her progress. She writes: “So glad you taught me the photo trick. If not, I would be crying with frustration rather than feeling pleased with my progress!”
The “trick” she refers to is not actually something I had even tried to teach her. But it’s something I do with every client, which she has picked up on and is doing for herself. So what, exactly, is “The Photo Trick”? (more…)
S.P.A.C.E. is the system I use to organize anything and everything — a room, a closet, a junk drawer, a calendar — you name it! This acronym was coined by Julie Morgenstern, whose book Organizing From The Inside Out is such an industry classic that I often find copies of it in my clients’ homes!
Here is a brief summary of the S.P.A.C.E. organizing model (in my words): (more…)
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