Radical Changes In Your Space
Posted by Sue on Jul 17, 2008
When did you last make a major change in your home or office?
Having lived in our current home for 4 years this month, we finally solved a space problem by taking a somewhat radical step. It’s worked out GREAT!
Why didn’t we do it before? I think because the idea was too “out of the box”, at least our box.
In it’s briefest telling – what we did was shrink our living room and music room/dining room into one room, making the living room which had been seldom used into our bedroom and making our bedroom into my office. Voila! A) No more renting office space, B) We are relaxing more on the sofa in the living room because it is now central, and C) We love our new bedroom!
From our bed we can look out into the trees instead of at the house next door and the French doors to the porch make the bedroom feel quite luxurious whereas we hardly saw them when they were “living room” doors.
Why am I telling you all this?… Because, I want to encourage you to consider your current use of space. Is there a way to rearrange things to create a space you’ve been wanting? Whose rules are you following? And whose home is it anyway?
Do send news about any radical space changes you make! OKAY?
p.s. Questions? Ask away!
SPECIAL !!! Lovely organizing opportunity…
Posted by Sue on Jun 24, 2008
This is an unexpected opportunity … Just arrived!
Want some really fine help with your home office???
Go to this link http://www.inspiredhomeoffice.com/spaday/
to discover the very sweet offer from Jennifer Hofman.
She’s a gem in my opinion and I highly recommend her tele class!
It even comes with a guarantee.
If you can– try it out!
While the weather is still good
Posted by Sue on Jun 20, 2008
It’s a great time to
1) Relish life …
2) Let go of things you don’t love or use…a super time for FREE
at the curbside or yard sales if you enjoy them! (Or just take
the stuff to your local good will!)
With all best of wishes, Joanna
p.s. Basements are good places to declutter on TOO HOT days – other
indoor spaces at times when it is truly too rainy to be outside. Tackle
a small area with gusto – and get outside again soon!
Flowers & You – Organzing Tip
Posted by Sue on May 22, 2008
I hope Spring has been treating you well… here in Vermont a
hundred shades of green have finally replaced the images
of the long white winter.
Working at my computer I can see the lilacs in the vase on
the corner of my desk as well as breathe in their wonderful
smell. When I mentioned this on the phone to my colleague May
Johnstone of www.delicioushealing.com the other day she said,
” Oh I LOVE them but they always wilt right away when I
bring them inside!”
I told her something I realize now that I learned long ago. She
emailed back,”Aaah, the scent of lilac wafting over my desk! I’m sooo
grateful for your tip. Bet others would be too, how about it?
Sure here ’tis:
Lilacs or any other flowers with a woody stem need more access to
water than they can get via a normal straight cut. The secret is
to mash an inch or two at the end of the stem with a hammer or
mallet. This spreads out the stem and greatly increases the area that
can bring in water.
The hammering can seem a bit awfull but since lilacs are so delicious
and disappear so soon after they bloom – it seems worth it to me to
enjoy them inside your home as well as outside.
All best wishes, Joanna
p.s.FLOWERS are a great inspiration for keeping a table or desk top
uncluttered. When you have something beautiful to look at, it makes
it harder to let stuff pile up around it. Do consider placing flowers
in your daily spaces.
SIMPLIFY SIMPLIFY!!!
Posted by Sue on May 17, 2008
If you are like most of us (me included) there is a TON of
information that comes at you every day – by email, snail mail,
radio, TV etc.
Decrease the volume and you will find it easier
to stay organized.
Mind you, it takes an odd kind of bravery to be able to admit,
“In reality I DON’T have time to read that __________ every week.”
It takes courage to say, “I know enough about that topic for right
now. I can go to the library or re-subscribe when I REALLY need
more info.”
BUT piles of unread magazines or dozens of unread e-zines won’t make
you happier or smarter. I promise.
Once you are clear about that, you CAN (yes- you really can)
cancel a subscription. Sure you can GIVE away the extra magazines
AFTER your receive them, or delete an e-zine but even that takes
time and attention. It IS possible to unsubscribe!
If you feel burdened by the ton of subscriptions piling up… try
cancelling at least one and see how it feels.
How Much is Enough?
Posted by Sue on May 14, 2008
This is definitely a question that comes up often in my work.
A while back 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 I finally asked,”How much can
she (Sara – not the Mom! ) manage well. What I meant was — what can SHE cope with/use and then put away so it isn’t all over the place and what does she REALLY love?”
The answer to that was simpler than either of us expected and working with that as our measuring stick we were able to figure out how much should be available for daily use, what should be tucked away, and what was way too much for any little girl (and her parents) to have to manage.
The question of manageability has continued to be one of the key concepts in helping folks make their spaces work for them.
***
Then 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
and
2)Ask yourself: How much (of _______ ) can I manage well?
Give it a try… and let me know what you discover.
Organizing & Feng Shui etc.
Posted by Sue on May 9, 2008
Amelia Kinney kindly gave me permission to use her email to me
in full – has some great ideas and alternate perspectives!
Thank You Amelia!
I want to also wish you all – a HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! The way I
see it- we all (female and male) take on the mother role at times !
From Amelia:
Dear Joanna,
I’ve been doing massive deep cleaning, sorting, purging and
organizing for some months now. And I’ve been following your tips,
after having hired a Feng Shui specialist two years ago.
In regard to your 3/13 e-tip, I would have to differ. I decided I
could not wait to buy organizing tools, having lived with heavy
chaos for the past 11 years. I purge, sort and organize all at the
same time. I’ve found that having and using organizing tools
before I’ve finished purging and sorting gives me some peace of
mind while tackling the rest of the task at hand.
I began my creating order odyssey with my smallest room, the
bathroom; it happens to fall in my Wealth Gua. And I knew I needed
money or wealth to complete the rest of my home. I organized and
painted the bathroom so well that magical money and resources
landed in my lap that enabled me to go back to school and start my
own business. I didn’t even have a car that would drive me back &
forth to my school. But the car happened, too.
I was tackling my work desk the other week and I realized that in
order for me to keep my sanity and to keep up my motivation to
continue purging, sorting and organizing I had to use organizing
tools as I went along–not at the end. Even if only one corner of
one room is clear and organized, that space provides clarity of
mind. In fact, as I think back, I began my efforts two+ years ago
with clearing the kitchen table, that is, taking everything off of
it and wiping it down. A clear kitchen table: just that amount of
external clarity provided enough internal clarity not to be
overwhelmed with a whole houseload of chronic and severe chaos.
I also hire a friend from time to time to help me keep up with the
basics, like doing dishes and vacuuming. When I have no money I
barter services or goods for services. In the beginning, in
exchange for an hour’s cleaning I would cook a complete homemade
dinner. That way we both ate and my house was clean–if still
cluttered.
Get a paper shredder. I got mine off of Freecycle.com
Getting bookshelves was a very important event for me.
If you’re are like me, make sure you date boyfriends or girlfriends
who like to clean and organize. That helps immensely. Myself, I
hate cleaning, sorting and organizing. It’s just not where my
aptitudes lie.
- The past is the past is the past: when in doubt throw it out.
- When shopping for new or recycled things: when in doubt, leave it out (don’t buy it).
Sincerely,
Amelia Kinney—Yes, you can use any of my suggestions!
Your “Spare” Time & STUFF!
Posted by Sue on Apr 18, 2008
I haven’t forgotten you though last week’s TIP DAY went right by
without a peep from me. In fact( in my thoughts) I was talking with
you most of last Sunday while I sat on my living room floor weeding
through ancient papers. And ever since then I’ve been having an
ongoing “conversation” with you about time,energy and STUFF!
Here’s a short summary…
Luckily Sunday was cold so it wasn’t so bad spending the WHOLE
afternoon and evening – NINE HOURS- inside reading old letters etc.
There were a couple of sermons my grandfather wrote in 1915;letters
my mother wrote to my grandmother in 1944 – and letters I wrote
in 1955 and so on. Yoiks! Reading those letters corrected some
of the “facts” I thought I knew about my life. But do they matter?
Here’s the thing — the plus and minus of stuff.
There are current activities I really care about…the El
Salvador scholarship project, learning Spanish, time with my family,
my 91 year old dad and so on.
I think there is a real questions about the importance of old papers
(sorry historians). If my mother hadn’t held onto those boxes after
my grandmother died and if I hadn’t kept them when my Mom died –
would I be any worse off?
I think of my dear friends in the little village in El Salvador who
have NO boxes of old papers — does that make their life worse or
better? And their kids have no toys or at most ONE…yet they play
joyfully.
I’ve agreed with my daughter that I will keep a SMALL sampling of the
old papers to pass on to her- ONE BOX. But I really do think that moment
by moment or day by day it comes down to a decision of HOW DO I WANT
TO SPEND MY TIME? What matters most to me- TO YOU?
STUFF definitely uses up time.Today I leave you with a QUESTION.
How do you want to use YOUR spare time?
40 years ago today…and priorities
Posted by Sue on Apr 4, 2008
Today MY office needs a professional organizer — I am seriously thinking of calling one of my colleagues and asking her to come help me – there are so many things that I REALLY want to be doing and my office has gotten out of hand. That is the reality.
But at this moment — I am going to write, surrounded by my chaos, because this seems a higher priority.
Below is part of an email sent out by http://political.moveon.org/ . I quote them here and hope that you can and will take the time to go to the youtube link and hear Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His speech could be given TODAY — just replace one word: “Vietnam”
*******
40 years ago today, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and this nation lost one of the greatest leaders for peace and justice that we have ever known.
All morning, the staff here at MoveOn have been sending each other his quotes and speeches – words that, decades later, still inspire new generations of folks to action.
We were so moved that we really wanted to share some of them with you, as a celebration of Dr. King’s legacy and a reminder that his words are as important today as they were 40 years ago.
* * *
“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.”
* * *
Letting Go – Try it!
Posted by Sue on Mar 28, 2008
With Spring arriving – slowly in Vermont- more quickly further
south, I am beginning to hear lots of conversations about SPRING
CLEANING and have decided to take a moment with you to consider
the touchy subject of LETTING GO. I know personally, as well as in
my work, that it isn’t so easy!
What about one client’s photo albums from 30 years of teaching?
What about the Doonesbury cartoons from the ’70s? For me – it’s what
about all the letters I’ve saved? And what about the 12 years of
newspaper articles on organizing?
The spaces I currently have for storage are full and I have NO desire
to create additional storage. I know by experience that at some point,
someone will have to deal with my stuff. So what to do?
If I want to declutter I have to take some time to consider my
personal reality with questions like: When I have free time how do
I truly choose to use it? Is that likely to change radically? If I
couldn’t go anywhere (due to physical challenges) how would I
actually spend my time? What IS this stuff all about for me?
I know that the Doonesbury books were taken to a used bookstore
where you can put credit on an account for future book purchases. I’ll
let you know what the teacher does with her albums.
And me? I’ve decided to do a major paper sorting in the next month and pare
way down. I’m not a historian and have no desire to be one. So I’m
going to try keeping SAMPLE letters and SAMPLE articles and see how
that goes. I’ll also follow my own advice to write the date of when
I make the KEEP decision – on each item. Then on down the road I
can see how long it takes me to look again at the things I’ve kept.
What is the STUFF that gives you trouble? Want to make April the
month for dealing with it? I’d love to hear what you do! And if
you get stuck, feel free to email or call.
