How Much is Enough? – Organizing Tip
Posted by Sue on Jul 13, 2007
A long while ago a sweet young Mom asked me HOW MUCH STUFF was the
right amount for her daughter.
At that time her daughter (I’ll call her Sara) was 4. Toys,craft
materials, and children’s books were taking over the kitchen and
living room as well as Sara’s bedroom and it was making the whole
family miserable. These young parents wanted to provide as much
opportunity as possible but knew that something wasn’t working.
We talked about it for a while and my answer became,”How much
sould she (Sara – not the Mom! ) manage well and what does
she REALLY love?”
Working with that as our measuring stick we were able to figure out
what to do.
This has continued to be a key concept in helping folks make their
spaces work for them.
***
Last week a long time friend and I stayed at a lovely monastery for
a brief retreat. During lunch one of the monks asked what I do and
we were instantly into a discussion about clutter – yes, even monks!
Asked for my most important piece of advice, I said, ” If you are
doing what you want to do and clutter isn’t causing problems, then
don’t worry about it. After a few seconds I added, “and less is more.”
There are so MANY helpful strategies. I keep a running list of them
to share with you over time, but bottom line, you have my most
crucial advice right here:
1)If you are doing what you want to do and clutter isn’t causing
problems, then don’t worry about it
2)Ask yourself: How much can I manage well and what do I REALLY
love?
and
3) Less is more.
Wishing you a wonderful couple of weeks. Comments and questions
always welcome.
Joy – a key ingredient – Organizing Tip
Posted by Sue on Jun 28, 2007
What an incredible time of the year… I think it’s about time to
wrap up my current discussion about paper handling – for at least a
while.
What’s been on my mind is how vital JOY is when you are trying to
do ANYTHING! Seems to me that it’s more basic than any specific
techniques.
As in: this morning BEFORE I sat down at my desk, I went outside
into my yard. Mind you, it’s a postage stamp size yard but it was
cool and lovely and there were more birds singing than I could
possibly count. Deep breath- JOY!
There’s plenty that needs attention,in our personal lives and in
the world. To me- the reason for getting organized is so that you
have more time and energy to work on the things that
matter most to you and /or bring you joy.
But it’s a chicken/egg sort of thing. To have the energy to organize
you need to have time doing something you LOVE! And, in order to have more
time for the things that you love you need to have your STUFF and
space laid out so it’s easy to get things done.
TRY IT- in the next two weeks: to get some difficult task done, take
a half hour to an hour to do something you REALLY love- that makes
you feel great. Then set the timer for an hour and dive in to do the
thing you’ve been dreading. See how it goes and let me know!
Your Catalog Overload, etc. – Organizing Tip
Posted by Sue on Jun 15, 2007
Continuing with the mail handling theme – do you know how simple,
(I even find it enjoyable) it can be to DECREASE the number of
catalogs that pile into your mail delivery.
Just call the 800 number (for ordering) on the catalog and ask to be
taken OFF their mailing list. They usually say that it will take a few
months for you to stop receiving catalogs as issues are already in
line to be sent — but that’s okay. It’s a free phone call and will
save resources.
If you are afraid of losing contact with a particularly rare company
you can save one of their catalogs for reference. Or just a page of
the catalog with the number.
Conquering Your Mail – Organizing Tip
Posted by Sue on Jun 1, 2007
I hope this month will bring lots of your wishes. If one of them is
less struggle with all the mail that comes in, read on.
If the avalanche of mail is something you have conquered… bravo!
Give yourself a gold star on this one and skip the rest of today’s
message.
Still here ? Okay… The good news is that I just had the chance
(yet again) to see this method work for a client who has struggled
with mail forever!
Here are the basics:
Assign ONE surface in your home for the mail. It needs to be at
standing height and as near as possible to the door you come in
with the mail.
Clear this surface.(If you have old piles there – put them in a box
to handle as though they too are incoming mail.)
This is now your one and only mail handling center. ALL incoming
mail is placed here. Your goal is to clear this space every day.
(It REALLY is possible and gets faster and faster).
Place recycling & trash bins right there so that while you stand
sorting the mail you can TOSS EVERYTHING that isn’t absolutely
something you intend to act on. Tear or cut credit card offers and
the like into several pieces so they can’t be used.
(Act on = read/pay/answer/or save – either as a treasure or
because you HAVE TO=tax info etc.)
Assign a clear location for each of these categories. This is where
you plan to DEAL with them. (Not on your counter).
If more than one person in your household gets mail – then have an
assigned place (basket/cubbie)for their mail – in the same locale
but not ON the clear surface.
Sort and deliver the mail daily.
This practice can become as fast as brushing your teeth…
don’t believe me???
Try it and call or email me about where you get
stuck or… let me know about your victory - Okay?
That stuff called PAPER! – Organizing Paper Tip #1
Posted by Sue on May 4, 2007
As paper always makes it onto the list at workshops when I ask
participants to name their worst clutter challenge, I’m going to
make paper handling the focus for this months tips.
If paper isn’t on YOUR list at this time … bravo!
If it is, try this:
Tip #1 Stand up when you are sorting your mail or any pile of
paper.
Yes- that’s all. It’s weird how much it seems to help. There’s
something about being TALLER than the pile of paper that makes the
task much easier!
It’s tempting to theorize further and add more details but
I think it’s best for you try this one specific change
to see what happens.
Try it starting TODAY.
What COLOR is your…closet? – Organizing Tip
Posted by Sue on Apr 26, 2007
“What color is my CLOSET?” you may be thinking. What IS she
talking about? And what does THAT have to do with being organized?
No,I haven’t lost it – not yet anyway.
I’m talking about spaces you look and reach into on a regular
basis. Those walls that surround your clothes, or your food if it’s
the pantry, or your supplies in an office closet.
It’s quite possible that you don’t ever think about it. It’s just a
closet. BUT if you would like to have it STAY more organized, the
next time you get a chance to work on organizing any closet type
space try the “take everything out” method and then take a look at
the walls.
Scuffed up white? Sort of like old snow? Inspiring????
And yet those spaces are part of your daily life. There’s lots of
theory about the effect that color has on our lives. Color is a
major player in Feng Shui (as is the location of spaces in your
home – which includes your closets.) For more on that see Karen
Kingston’s Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui.
There are two things about closets that are particularly helpful:
1) they are usually smallish spaces so you can transform them
pretty quickly and 2) they are generally out of the public eye.What
this means is that you can paint your closet ANY way that
suits your fancy!
If you haven’t PLAYED with colors before, a closet is a good place
to experiment. See what happens when you look in a closet space and
the color you’ve always loved is there to welcome you. If you
share a large closet with a companion you might each paint “your
side” of the closet in radically different styles – have FUN with
it!
Even if you are renting and there are restrictions on painting the
main rooms you may be able to get permission to paint the closet.
What I have found is that colorful closets are easier to keep
organized. They become a SPACE that is part of your life instead
of a dumping ground. They feel friendly somehow and You WANT them
to be orderly!
Okay- enough said. Let me know how it goes.
ICE in April – Organizing Tip
Posted by Sue on Apr 17, 2007
If you think that you didn’t get a Breathing Space tip last week
you are right. I was mulling too long and finally decided to wait
until this week.
If you are like me, you have tons of email arriving every day. I
have been thinking a lot about what sort of tips are the best to
send. There are so many possibilities and sometimes I think the
organizing umbrella is VERY wide. Other times I’m not so sure.
So I want to check with you.
When I learn things that seem valuable to me and in some way fit in
my Breathing Space world – is it ok with you if I send them onward
even if they don’t seem purely organizational? What about warnings
about food products? What about ways to do things that are kinder
to the environment?
Sure you can always unsubscribe but I’d prefer to send tips that
you find valuable – ones which make sense to you as fitting why
you decided to sign up for these tips in the first place. I’m sending
you two tips this week and would love feedback. Like one and
not the other? Glad to have both? Want something very different?
Tip # 1 with thanks to Liz Hellewell -
Police across the US are asking that you program this entry on
your cell phone: ” ICE ” signifying In Case of Emergency.
Your cell phone can be a valuable tool to reach your family in case
of emergency. Probably you already have these numbers on your phone
but the police would have to know which numbers to call. If you ALSO
record the numbers of the people you want called with the name listed
as ICE, they can call the correct person right away!
I now have ICE listed twice with two different numbers. Being my
usual non-technical self I had trouble getting ICE as all caps.
Finally I put a space between the letters and got caps: as in I C E.
It’s very clear and if the police try one ICE and don’t reach anyone
they can try the other right away.
**************************************
Tip #2 This worked so perfectly for me that I thought- ah tell my
readers! Please let me know if your reaction is “NOT”!
A SPEEDY way to clean your microwave! From USA weekend …Apr 6-8,’07
Put a bowl of water with a slice of lemon in it in your microwave
and nuke it on HIGH for a few minutes. The good smelling steam makes
it amazingly easy to sponge the inside clean and it’s totally
biodegradable !
******************************************
That’s all for now. If you start doing spring decluttering and
hit any snags or roadblocks email me. If something has stopped you,
it’s probably caught others as well. Feel free to email victories
too.
What about old Computers? – Organizing Tip
Posted by Sue on Apr 5, 2007
A belated tip this week- so I will make it short. I often am asked
what to do with old computers. Here is a piece of great news that I
have discovered with thanks to our local waste management folks.
Go to www.dell.com/recycle to get the full story. Here’s an excerpt!
” Donate
Dell provides consumers a donation option for old computers. When
you are ready for a new system there are neighbors in your community
who could make use of your old one. Through Dell Recycling,consumers
can donate their computers to the National Cristina Foundation to
help disabled and economically disadvantaged children and adults in
your own community. The foundation will pick up your computer at
your door and put it to good use in your community.
Recycle
If recycling your computer is your preference, Dell offers an
environmentally friendly method to dispose of outdated computer
equipment that no longer has useful life.
Dell is happy to accept any brand of computer, keyboard, mouse,
monitor or printer. And Dell will pick it up at your home. ”
That’s what they are promising. Give it a try during your spring
decluttering! And please let us know what happens!
A World of Changes – Organizing Tip
Posted by Sue on Mar 28, 2007
My plan has been to write to you about the library system – what I
mean is – a way to truly SEE the things in your space that you are
keeping because of the warm “fuzzy” feelings they give you.
Last week when I took a palm sized metal bus off the windowsill to
dust it for my client, he said, “I haven’t actually SEEN that for a
long time.” He has a lot of very dear treasures — the little bus
being one of them BUT it had been collecting dust – unappreciated.
So I talked to him about what I call “The LIBRARY SYSTEM” .
This is how it works. What you do is have a safe place for storing
your treasures – someplace tucked away. THAT is the “library”. Then
in your daily living space (such as the kitchen window sill) you place
a few things which delight you. Enjoy them. Have them greet you -
and feel the smile on your face and/or in your heart.
However- WHEN you STOP seeing them- it’s time to go to your “library”
and make an exchange. This way your treasures will truly feed your
heart and soul as you will see them. That’s the tip for this week.
Let me know what happens.
The other size – Organizing Tip
Posted by Sue on Mar 20, 2007
Last week I promised that this tip would be about making SPACE. And
thus it is …about SPACE in your bureau and closet.
I am often asked,” What do I DO with them, there’s a whole bunch of
clothes that don’t fit me anymore?”
Many of us are multi-sized and even if we think we will never be the
other size again we still have a bunch of perfectly good “othersized”
clothes. What to do with them?
NO- don’t get rid of them all. But also- don’t keep them all or you
definitely won’t have space!
Basically, it’s sorting time. Time to look for treasures. Take out a
clump of clothes- put them on your bed or a chair and quickly sort
by size only. Put back ONLY the clothes that fit you now.
Now, sort through the remainder one item at a time. Pick one item up
and see how you FEEL about it.Did you look fantastic in that shirt;
was it super comfortable? Was it a favorite that you would wear in
a heartbeat if it fit now? OR was it just so so and you never really
liked wearing it? YOU are the expert.
*****************************************************************
If you find this difficult, give me a call so we can talk about
possible support and solutions. Early Spring, before garden season,
is the perfect time to work on this project.
*********************************
If an item gets top rating, put it in a keep (for now anyway) pile.
When you are done sorting, pack all the winners away with a label that
gives their size and the date.
If there are several non-current sizes make packets per size.
Maybe you will never fit in these clothes again. Maybe you will.
You might decide to have some of them tailored to your current size
but not necessarily. No matter what, if they don’t fit it’s time to
have them out of your daily space.
Make sure the things you store are truly your favorites.And in the
meantime- enjoy the ease of reaching into a closet where everything
in it fits NOW and there is SPACE!
