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 The world from a short person's POV - not Australia or New Zealand. |
Random thoughts, pointed comments, and whatever else crosses my mind 
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| "When we clear the physical clutter from our lives, we literally make way for inspiration and 'good, orderly direction' to enter." Julia Cameron I am a very visual person, so my environment is important to me. If my environment is messy, I can't think clearly. I don't like clutter. A clear desk is a clear mind for me. Clutter makes me anxious, unsettled. I can't work on a project until my space is organized and functional. I have worked with people and currently live with someone for whom this statement is not true. They can be highly creative in a very cluttered environment, but not me. So this post is for those of you who are more like me than the others.  Here are some very good reasons to get all those papers under control: Pay bills on time. Stop wasting money on late fees and finance charges. Regain the use of space meant for other purposes like the dining room table. Save time and eliminate stress searching for misplaced papers and documents. The likelihood is that you have papers piled in various locations around the house. The best strategy is to start organizing a designated space that will act as command central then you can incorporate other papers into the system. Use your creativity to utilize found space in your home, especially if you do not have a room that functions only as an office. Closets can be turned into very functional paperwork zones with a little effort and some organizing tools. You might want to check out the DIY or home goods stores for inspiration. You might be able to make a guest room serve a dual purpose by including a desk/files that can be locked when not in use. We are fortunate to have a large sunroom located on the back of our house that functions as an additional sitting/reading/plant room and my command central. The sunroom is one of the main reasons we selected this house over others with the same primary floorplan because we knew we would need the extra space. Since there are only three of us living in this home now, my husband took the third bedroom as his "creative writing" space. However, I confiscated the closet for out of season clothing storage. It's important to make your space work for your lifestyle. Here are some ideas to help you get control of all the paper clutter: Set up a paper processing center by creating an "In Box" file. This is where all the incoming paper lands - mail, receipts, school papers, flyers, etc. For each asks yourself, "what is the next action that needs to happen and when". Next, establish an "Action Box". Go through your "In Box" daily to separate items that need immediate attention from those that simply require filing away or those that you can address at a later time. This "Action Box" should have three separate areas: Do Now, Do Later (by date), Pending. If you need visual reminders, use clear stacking trays. If you are a filer, use a desktop file box with labeled folders. Keep a shredder, recycling bin and trash can in reach so you can dispose of unwanted papers as soon as they enter the house before they hit the "In Box". "Do Now" includes anything you need to act on in the next week, example: bills to pay, permission slips, party invites with RSVP. "Do Later includes items that you need to act on in the next 3 months, for example, vacation flyers, refinance offer from the bank, a catalog containing something you plan to buy. "Pending includes anything you are awaiting a reply, for example, a receipt for something that has not arrived. Anything else is likely something to be filed away, for example, warranties, instructions, reference materials. Every day or two sort papers from your "In Box" into the "Action Box". Act on the most time-sensitive items like bills with upcoming due dates, permission slips that need to be turned in by the end of the week. Look at party invites that require gifts and schedule in time to shop in your daily routine. Once a week look at your "Do Later" file and take whatever actions you can, moving items to other files or the recycling bin. Look at "Pending" and follow up as needed. As items resolve themselves recycle or put in long term storage. Don't let miscellaneous papers clog your "In Box". Use files that can be labeled for inspiration and reference papers from magazines. Categorize them by subject such as decorating, writing ideas, vacation ideas, etc. Use a coupon/receipt folder with dividers that can be kept in the car. This way you won't get caught finding something you wanted to get without the coupon you saved for that item. For your children's schoolwork and art use a lidded box and keep on a handy shelf so it is easy to reach. Collect the papers daily, then plan a time quarterly when you can review them and decide whether or not they are keepers (grade cards, awards, art). When you review either archive or toss. Be decisive, ask yourself if this is something you or your child will consider important a year from now. For instruction booklets and warranties, either keep them in the same room as the item connected to them (manual for kitchen appliances in the kitchen) or in your file cabinet or box. Staple receipts and warranty cards to the cover of instruction books. I came across a great idea for a command central binder from Simplify 101 (online). This is an inexpensive way to keep important papers you will need to have handy from time to time. Use a 3 ring binder that includes folders for business cards (plumber, electrician, doctor, dentist, bank, restaurants or wineries you want to visit, etc.); important phone numbers of family and friends; protective folders for birth certificates, marriage license, insurance certificates, vaccination records; plans for home/garden projects; list of online sites you visit or want to visit later. You can add to this binder as you identify items you need to reference frequently. It is easy to make it your own. Let your family know where you keep the binder so that they can access it if needed. A big help in organizing and getting control of clutter is to keep a calendar in your control central location and make it accessible to everyone in the family. Make sure the blocks for each day are large enough to include all activities for that date. You can color code items by the person responsible for the activity, for example, green for your items, blue for husband/partner, pink for daughter, yellow for son. Be creative and make it your own. Use the calendar to plan your schedule and try to stick to it. Schedules are vital in keeping your life organized when you are trying to juggle home, family, work, and time for self-renewal. This may all sound like a lot of work that you think you don't have time for but if you make organizing and decluttering a priority, you will find that you will actually free up time to spend on projects, do fun activities with family and friends all with less stress . *hart* These ideas should keep you busy for a while. Next on the agenda is tackling the closets. |
| "Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence." Helen Kelleryzed and You've analyzed and strategized, and now you're ready to put on some comfortable clothes, roll up your sleeves, and begin transforming your space. Here is a logical method of approach that can work for any area: SPACE It breaks down as follows - Sort, Purge, Assign a home, Containerize, Equalize. The key is to do every one of the steps, and most importantly, do them in order. Don't let your new found enthusiasm for organizing get ahead of you. SORT. If your space is disorganized, you may have items scattered in different areas of the house, making it difficult to find what you need when you need it. It is also difficult to determine what you really have. Remember when we talked about organizing the pantry. If you don't group like things together, you probably will buy items you already have. So here is where you go through each item and create a sense of order. It is critical to handle everything. Don't ignore those large piles of stuff in corners or scattered throughout the house or office because it may seem intimidating or you think it will take too long to process. As you sort, focus on the following: What is important to you - focus on the items you currently use, love, and that are important to you, not those that used to be important or might be important in the future (unless you know when and how you are going to use them). Group similar items together in related categories that reflect your associations, not someone else's. Rember, this only has to make sense to you; it should be intuitive and natural to you so that you can find things and put them away again without too much thought. Especially, if others will be expected to occasionally use or work with the items, you will need to keep the categories as broad as possible so you or they will have fewer places to look. To achieve the best results in the shortest amount of time, attack the visible first. What's most visible probably is the most relevant and used by you on a daily basis, so sort and categorize it first. Then you can see how much space you will need and where. Next, you can work on drawers and cabinets knowing you only need to keep what is most important to you now allowing the right space for the right item. Don't belabor your decisions; keep moving through your stuff quickly. Focus on identifying items and categorizing them. All those unanswered phone messages, articles you want to read or other started projects, now is not the time to work on them. Put these aside and schedule an appointment with yourself to look at them again later. Don't work back and forth from one room to the other. This is called zigzag organizing and does not produce the results you are looking for. Rather, work on one area or section at a time. Complete one room before going on to the rest or work on organizing your closet with items needed for the current season before dealing with out-of-season items or work on organizing your desk before tackling the file cabinet. If you find something that belongs elsewhere just set it near the doorway. That way you will be forced to deal with it once you have finished the room you are working on. PURGE: Here is where you decide what stuff to get rid of, and how. You have several choices. You can give it away, sell it, store, or repurpose it. Ideally, you would set out bins labeled with these options and start. If you are working on a child's room, I encourage you to include them in the process. You may have to do some negotiating, but this is also helping them learn what is important and what is just "stuff." (Doing this with my granddaughter over the last few years has created the most organized eleven-year-old you will ever meet.) It can also help to involve a friend or family member who is not invested in the items you are considering purging. Hopefully, they can remind you of what you will gain by following through on this step - making space for the things you really use and love, save searching through drawers, bins, closets to find a needed item, feeling good about sharing items you no longer use with others. For good items of clothing or toys, why not drop them off at the local woman's shelter. If you are removing items from the house, plan to do it within a day or two. Don't think about the items once you have made a decision, JUST DO IT! ASSIGN A HOME: Next take all the items you're keeping and decide precisely where you are going to store them - wich shelf, which drawer, which side of the bed, which closet. Avoid being vague and indecisive about where to put items by giving each item a single, consistent home. This is the key to maintaining your system. You can use the following guidelines in assigning homes: Match the size and number of items to the size of storage space. For example, socks or scarves in a shallow drawer, sweaters in a deep drawer. Don't mix categories within a storage space; it makes it too complicated to remember where a certain item is, much less, ask someone else to get it for you. For example, put t-shirts in one drawer and jeans in another. Be logical when grouping items near each other. For example, scarfs and hats near outerwear, measuring cups and spoons near the mixer, hot pads near the stove. Make items you use all the time easy to retrieve. Don't stack them on shelves that you can't reach without a ladder. If the items are heavy, make sure they are on a sturdy shelf that is easy to reach. For example, if you are short like me you will want to put plates, glasses, and cups on lower shelves, as well as, every day serving bowls. As you put items away, you may discover that you don't have enough space for everything. Your options are either to reevaluate and purge those "maybes" or increase the storage area. If you visit a home store or do-it-yourself center, you will find ideas for expanding storage. Look at what you want to keep and where you need to store it and BE CREATIVE! That is part of the fun of organizing. Containerize: Containers make it easy to keep your items grouped and separated within their assigned homes so that retrieval, cleanup, maintenance are a breeze. This also helps to limit how much you accumulate in any given category. You can only save as much as the container will hold. This is where you can get creative and have fun infusing your system with your style. You may already have containers that will work for certain items in specific areas. If not, make an inventory of what you need to containerize and go shopping (and who doesn't like a reason to shop). You can find different types of containers at the dollar stores or flea markets; they don't have to be expensive. I have used baskets that came as part of a gift to house magazines, doggy toys, and bath accessories. EQUALIZE: About two weeks after you've finished, make an appointment with yourself to evaluate how well your system has been working. Are there any rough spots that a quick review of your needs assessment might help to iron out. Once you have a system that works for you, then integrate a daily, weekly, monthly maintenance program into your routine. "Tune-ups" are essential to keep your system working as your needs, goals, possessions, and priorities change. Since handling all the paper that accumulates in your home/office is a major cause for disorganization and clutter, we will tackle this next. |
A clutter-free workspace can bring a little sanity to your busy day. If you have been following along, you are probably ready for this next step: Creating a Plan of Action. Taking this next step takes very little time, but if you skip it you are setting yourself up for disaster. There are any number of methods and techniques for creating plans, and all projects, no matter how small should have one. Of course, the most popular one now is the Marie Kondo Method that suggests organizing by category rather than room by room. You have probably heard the phrase, "If it gives you joy, keep it, if not say thank you and put it aside." But here is another method that might work for you. It's called The Kindergarten Model by Julie Morgenstern. Organizing is about creating a space so that it reflects who you are and how you want to function in the area. You need to arrange things logically and efficiently so that staying organized will be a snap. Take a look at Kindergarten rooms for example. They are divided into activity zones. This makes it easy to focus on one activity at a time and, everything needed for that activity is right there in that space. With this in mind, you can walk into any room and decide what to do and where to do it. The beauty of this model is that it can be applied to anything: office, home, room, drawer, car. And since one of the major rooms in any home that works best when organized is the kitchen I'll give you an example of how this works. Activity Zones: Food preparation, cooking, dishwashing and dish storage, food storage, and possibly, utility and home info/paperwork hub. As you identify each zone, consider what supplies are needed and what storage units you will need. Unless you are creating a kitchen from scratch, you will have to make your plan work with the existing floor/cabinet design. Look at how your kitchen is working for you now. If an area works efficiently, you can look at other areas that need improvement. Identifying the zone that is most practical for a certain activity will go a long way to getting the kitchen organized in a way that works for you. The food preparation zone is where you do most cutting, chopping, mixing and seasoning. So, the best location for this activity would be along the counter between the sink and stove or between the stove and frig., depending on how your kitchen is laid out. The cabinets above and below should hold the supplies and equipment needed. I have found it most efficient to use the space between the sink and stove for this zone. It is easy to clean the cutting board when using it next to the sink. I keep all my spices in an upper cabinet. In the cooking zone which is around the stove, I keep my pots and pans, etc. in a lower cabinet. I also keep most of the serving bowls in an upper cabinet. Knives, spatulas, slicers are in an adjoining drawer. Bakeware is in an upper cabinet including measuring cups and mixing bowls. Wisk and other small items needed for baking are in a lower drawer. My kitchen aid mixer is on the counter between the stove and frig. since this is my designated baking area. In the Dishwashing/storage zone, I have stored my everyday dishes, glasses, and cups in the upper cabinets next to the sink. Flatware including steak knives and specialty pieces are in drawers below the cabinets. This area is close to the dining room so it is convenient to use for meals and then put used pieces in the dishwasher. Dishwashing products and cleaning products are stored under the sink on a special mat that can be cleaned if anything spills. The counter in this area is used as a serving buffet next to the dining room. I also have a coffee zone next to the pantry. The counter contains two coffee makers, one for my mother and one for us. Coffee supplies are stored in the cabinet below. I am fortunate to have a walk-in pantry where all my food supplies are housed. The pantry is a special area that requires as much attention as the rest of the kitchen. You don't want to open the door and wonder if you have an item or not, only to find that you have duplicates because you forgot where you put the product or it got lost behind other items. My suggestion is to put like items together, utilizing storage containers (make sure they fit on the shelves unless you can adjust the levels.) and that they are labeled or you can see through them. For example, in my pantry, different kinds of pasta are in clear containers next to bottled sauces; can goods are stacked together by type. Flour, sugar, salt, etc. are in clear containers on another shelf. Oils are grouped together on the same shelf. Crackers and chips are in a basket on another shelf. Cereals are stored on the top shelf in clear containers. I periodically review the contents of the pantry making sure like or complementary items are together, removing any items that are past their shelf life. I used chalkboard paint on the inside of the door to the pantry. I keep a list of items that need to be replaced or specialty items for menus there. If you are not fortunate enough to have a pantry in close proximity to the kitchen, consider storing items near where you are most likely to use them. Lazy susans are great for this if you have them. Though I highly recommend finding a space to incorporate a pantry if at all possible. Take a good look at how you want the room to function for you and your family. Give close attention to the counters and storage space you have available. It is worth the time to take a trip to a local home goods store to get ideas of storage containers, racks, and liners that are available now. Most are not very expensive and can add to your overall design. I used tiered shelves to increase the space for seasonings, baskets for snacks, clear containers for sugar, etc., mats and cabinet liners to help keep the area clean, and a divider system for trays and pot lids. While this is a plan for kitchens, you can approach any room or area in the same way. Laundry rooms can be planned out the same, closets as well. Remember, an excess of supplies like condiments in the kitchen or shampoos, lotions in the bath can easily cause clutter. Make sure you are storing like items together and take an inventory before you go shopping. If children or other members have their own items, teach them to do the same. In the next post, I'll write more on organizing closets, bathrooms and a real problem area for most of us: the office. Do you have a particular area that you are having trouble getting organized the way you want it? What seems to be the culprit? Let me know, and I will try to give you suggestions and support. |
| "A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. It is a catalyst and it sparks extraordinary results." Wade Boggs It probably goes without saying but I'll make the statement again anyway: In order to reach any goal, you have to begin by clearly defining it in realistic terms. Every person's situation is different; it's unique for each individual and situation at the time. Goals can change over time as we grow and situations change. Nothing wrong with that. But you will find that progress is accomplished when you start clearly defining your goals, even for one project or event in your life. So before you jump in and start decluttering or rearranging try this simple personal needs assessment. Use this tool for each organizing project you take on - whether it is your office, closet, kitchen or the way you live your life. According to Julie Morgenstern, there are five basic needs-assessment questions. What's Working: Believe it or not, the best way to design a custom organizing system is to start by identifying what works. No matter how disorganized and out of control the area you want to change is, there is something that is working for you (maybe not for others). But remember this is just for you. This step can save you time and energy. As the saying goes, "Don't fix it if it ain't broke." Too often when people decide to go on a reorganizing binge, they try to completely redo everything, wasting much of their effort in the wrong area. Rember, success breeds success. If you identify one thing that is working you gain confidence that will drive you to tackle another area. What you will see is what works for you, what you like and what you want to replicate. Your answer here becomes the organizing criteria for each new system you create. Identify natural habits and tendencies. See if you can work with rather than against them. A system built in this way will be easier to maintain. What's Not Working: Answers to this question can identify what needs fixing. List absolutely everything that frustrates you. Be precise and thorough; don't edit yourself. Be sure you have identified all the problems. If only some areas are fixed while others remain disorganized your attempt to organize will in time fail. Here is a list of statements to fill in when trying to identify what's not working: I can never find_________________________________________________________________ I have no place to put___________________________________________________________ There's no room for_____________________________________________________________ I am tired of____________________________________________________________________ I can't____________________________________________________because of the clutter The disorganization makes me feel________________________________________________ When people visit, I_____________________________________________________________ This will keep you focused throughout the process and give you a great tool that can be used to measure your success. What Items are Most Essential to You:It is not so much about getting rid of things as it is identifying what is important to you and finding homes for those items. By thinking about what items are most important to your job or life, you give direction to the sorting and purging phase. It's not always simple to identify what is important to us. We live in a complicated world with so many options and opportunities. We can feel pulled in a million different directions making it hard to set priorities or identify what is most essential with regard to a specific project. When all is said and done, what really matters to you, what brings you the most joy, the greatest feeling of satisfaction and the biggest sense of accomplishment? When you go through your stuff, ask yourself will this item, activity help me further my goals? If "yes", keep it; if "no" let it go. Why do You Want to Get Organized: Your goals should tell you the answer to this question. Because no matter how you look at it, organizing takes time, effort and concentration. As motivated as you may feel at the beginning, somewhere in the middle of the process you're bound to get tired of making decisions. Before you know it, you'll walk away and involve yourself in another activity, especially if it would give you a quicker sense of pleasure. Keep in mind that you must be driven by your own compelling reasons for getting organized. Put your answers on a list that you can keep with you as you go from room to room or project to project and use it to motivate you. If you need more help getting and staying motivated why not enlist a friend or family member to go on this journey with you. Just make sure they "have your back." What is Causing the Problems: Look back at the discussion of psychological obstacles, technical errors and/or external realities so that you identify the right problem. Remember that the issues may vary from room to room, project to project, so you need to ask this question of each space you tackle. Next Blog: Creating a Plan of Action |
| Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me. Carol Burnett We live in a fast-paced, changing world that often presents challenges to all of us who try to live an organized life. While we try to keep control of the externals, there are times when no matter how hard we try, we can only get so far. Some external obstacle is blocking our attempts to accomplish our goals and live a satisfying life. A major obstacle can be an unrealistic workload . If you have gone back to work from being a stay-at-home parent or started a new business or experienced downsizing at your place of work, you are probably experiencing this phenomenon. To get an accurate picture of how realistic or unrealistic your workload could be, track how you spend your time for a week or two. Try using a notebook to list all the task you do and how long it takes to do them in one column. Then in another column lists the task you needed to do, but couldn't get to. This log can reveal where you didn't make the best use of your time or maybe there is too much work and not enough hours in the week to accomplish all that is expected of you. What to do about this depends on the situation. Are you a "time waster"? Do you tell yourself that you can't get started on a task until you are in the mood or the creative spirit strikes you or you know you will have an hour or more uninterrupted time to work on the project? Do you get easily distracted from one important task and find yourself wandering off to do something else? Here are some helpful suggestions: Make sure you have clearly defined goals related to the task at hand. Include a time frame for completing the task. Now, in the mood or not, do one thing involved in completing this task. It can be as simple as making sure you have all the supplies needed or that you have gathered the necessary resource materials. If you are not in the mood to write, read a poem or short story or review someone's writing. Identify what easily distracts you. Do other people coming in and out of your area distract you? Why not ask them to find another area or find a quiet space of your own. Don't turn on the TV or radio if it causes your mind to wander. Use headphones to cancel out noise. Tell others that you are working on a deadline and need time to finish your project. You can break tasks down into small bites if you don't have all the time you need to finish something. It is amazing how much cleaning or organizing you can do in 15 min. increments. A routine can really help here. If your house gets cluttered during the day, take a 10 min. walk through at the end of the day. Use baskets to sort items that do not belong in each room. Enlist family members to return items to their proper home. Make it a game or a challenge with rewards. But make sure that first everything does have a place to call home. Make it a habit to empty dishwasher every morning and fill it every night (don't forget to push start). Keep sweeper handy for quick pick-ups. Make a list of weekly chores and assign a time for them to be done. Enlist family members to help. Even small children can contribute and everyone reaps the benefit of more time with mom/dad. Another challenge can be a time of transition.Every time we go through a major change, we experience a breakdown in our organizational system. It is inevitable because we are dealing with a new set of realities. I took a stress test a number of years ago and discovered that even positive life changes are considered stressful. How many of these transitions have you experienced in the last year or so? Common transitions include moving, marriage, children in or out of house, retirement, illness, loss of a loved one, job search/career change, entering or leaving school. When going through a transition, it may be best to wait until you have a clearer picture of your new priorities and needs before starting to organize. If you can't tolerate chaos well, set up temporary routines and systems that can help you feel in control while establishing new goals and priorities. Then, what do you do if your partner is uncooperative or just has a different approach to life? It is so frustrating to live or work with someone who prefers a more disorganized way of keeping their space or living their life. It could be that you haven't explained why and how you need certain areas in your life to function. Encourage the other person to experience the benefits of a more organized schedule, desk, closet or garage. Show them how they can find what they need quicker and with less hassle. Help them see that they can actually get more done in less time if they keep up with projects and activities that are important to them. Help them create systems that work for them. It is just more efficient and less time consuming to handle paper coming into the house in an organized way. (More on this later.) Sometimes family situations can put stumbling blocks in your way. Life is unpredictable; you don't always have control of events, especially those connected to others around you. For example, my life is relatively predictable, organized but when events compound issues for others, I find myself scrambling to regain equilibrium. I am having to segregate emotions from logic to be supportive of others without becoming drained. I am re-focusing on what is important to me and establishing a time to work on writing and remodeling the house/yard. I have determined where I am most helpful to others and then leaving the rest up to others. We'll get into more detail on organizing strategies as we go along. |
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Fire dancers!!! Wow! What fun! You really are in Paradise! So happy you for you! 
But I wish I loved it. That would be SO HANDY! So, I've been working on positive self-talk regarding cleaning. I smile when I say these things and I say them out loud if I'm alone or in my head if I'm not. I say things like, "I love to clean. Cleaning is fun. Cleaning makes me happy. I enjoy a tidy space." Blah, blah, blah...
Sure, it's dumb, but if it works, it doesn't matter. 
). 
I'm the prime example of someone who needed her own advice over 40 years ago. 