Peace of Mind Organizing

The power of incremental progress

4 June 2026

I just achieved a big fitness goal and I’m thrilled. Back in October 2025 I set a goal of being able to walk from the ground floor of my high-rise apartment building up to my 35th floor apartment. I thought of it as 35 floors, though I realized late in the game that it’s actually 34 to my apartment. So I changed the goal to being able to walk from the first floor to the 36th. (That’s a photo of my building on the left. In case you’re curious, there are 18 stairs per flight for most of the flights. A few have 20 stairs.)

Why that crazy goal?

• The initial inclination was a practical consideration. I wanted to feel comfortable walking to my apartment if the elevator went out. The building has three elevators but there have been times when we were down to one (crowded) elevator. Knowing I can walk up if I need to is liberating.

• I wanted a fitness goal that is achievable with measurable progress toward success.

• I wanted it to be as easy as possible. I didn’t want to have to leave the building to train and I didn’t want to spend a lot of time doing it.

I’m proud to say that on Tuesday, May 27, I walked from the first floor to the 36th floor!

I started with 15 flights. Initially I walked down 15 flights to the 20th floor and then back up to 35. But once I got to about 19 flights, I noticed my quads were hurting from walking downstairs. So I curtailed walking down and focused on walking up.

In January, I was at 19 flights and got serious about a schedule. With the help of my AI assistant, I created a schedule that had me walking the stairs twice a week, adding one floor per week. I was able to add more flights before resting. By the time I got to 35 floors, I was down to two rest stops per workout.

I made a little chart in my Bullet Journal to keep track of my progress. I noted the number of flights, the number of rests, my average heart rate and my maximum beats per minute. I also noted the time of day (and discovered that the earlier I walked the stairs, the easier for it was for me) and how long the workout took.

Looking at the data, my heart rate patterns remained steady as I added floors. And of course, the time I spent went up but the average time per floor went down, partly because I was taking fewer rest stops. It took me 11 minutes, 15 seconds to walk 35 floors earlier this week.

It blows my mind that I can do this. I’m a a 63-year-old dyed-in-the-wool couch potato. I am working out with a great trainer weekly, which has made a huge difference in my fitness. But I think the key to my success with the stairs challenge is the incremental progress.

By adding just one floor per week over the course of seven months, I was able to achieve my goal of walking up 35 flights of stairs without dread.

Now that I have achieved my initial goal, my plan is to keep walking the stairs twice a week with a new goal: I want to walk from 1 to 36 without stopping. Of course, my first interim goal is to do it with just one stop. Then I’ll make my stopping point a higher floor (perhaps one higher per week) until I can walk to 36 without a rest. This week, I walked from 1 to 15 without stopping for a rest. (Back in March, I was only walking six floors until I had to rest and I was taking four stops on a 24-floor trip.)

For me this workout is a complete package that helps strengthen my legs and heart and has a practical application. I can do it without leaving home, without seeing others (except in the elevator down) and it’s less than 15 minutes out of my day.

When it comes to exercise goals (or really any goals), making the activity as enjoyable as possible and making slow, steady progress really sets you up for success. I’d like to apply this to many things in my life!

Podcast guest spot on the role of organization for folks with chronic illness

14 May 2026

I was interviewed last month for the podcast, Life at Pancake Rocks, which is hosted by Christina Schulze, an advocate for people living with chronic disease. Christina has cystic fibrosis and had a double lung transplant almost 20 years ago. Her podcast covers a variety of topics that folks who are grappling with chronic disease.

I enjoyed our conversation and her thoughtful questions around organization and how it can be helpful for her audience. I provided some ideas about keeping a manageable home a little easier (like letting go of “should” and giving yourself grace).

Watch below or on YouTube:

No excuses series (part 3): "It was a present"

11 May 2026

This is the third in a three-part series of posts about the three excuses we hear most frequently from clients for wanting to keep items they no longer use or love. The series originally ran in January and February 2017 and I rerun it periodically. This time around, Part 1 (But I might need it some day ) was published on April 15, 2026 and Part 2 (I paid a lot for that item) appeared April 23, 2026.

The third common excuse we hear for keeping an unloved or unused item is that it was a gift. This is a tough one. People tend to have a difficult time parting with items that were given to them. (As an aside, this has completely changed how I give gifts, knowing that my gift may some day become clutter for the recipient.)

What do I say to clients who tell me they can’t let go of something because it was a gift? The first question I ask is:

• Do you think the gift giver would really want you to keep something you don’t use, just because they gave it to you? If they knew you were investing time and money in paring down your belongings and getting organized, would they care if you let it go?

Usually that’s enough to help the client release it. If that doesn’t do the trick, I might ask:

• Is there another family member you can pass this on to who would love it?

That can be very helpful, especially when the gift giver has passed away. (I’m the thrilled recipient of some paintings that my grandmother painted, given to me by her nieces when they were decluttering.)

Really, what I find is that often the client just needs permission to let gifts go. So let me do that for you right now: You are not obligated to keep an item you don’t use or love just because it was a gift. I give you permission to re-gift it or donate it. Don’t stash it in a closet. And try not to worry that the giver will ever ask about it. Chances are they won’t.

No excuses series (part 2): "I paid a lot for that item"

23 April 2026

This is the second in a three-part series of posts about the three excuses we frequently hear from clients for wanting to keep items they no longer use or love. The series originally ran in January and February 2017 and I rerun it periodically because we’re still hearing these things. Here’s a link to part 1. Stay tuned for part 3 in the coming weeks.

The second most common excuse we hear from clients who want to keep something they don’t use of love is that they paid a lot for that item. I get it. It feels terrible to let go of an expensive item that turned out to be a foolhardy purchase. But you know what? Keeping it doesn’t make you feel any better. In fact, when you see the item, it just makes you feel worse.

There are two important things to remember when you’re tempted to keep an item you don’t use or love just because you paid a lot for it:

1. The money is spent. Keeping it won’t bring it back. Selling it will recoup some of the money. And donating might get you a tax deduction. Keeping it doesn’t help.
2. There’s a cost associated with keeping items that you don’t use or love, especially if clutter is an issue in your life. There’s an emotional cost (that reminder of your bad purchasing decision); there can be a physical cost if the item contributes to clutter that poses a tripping hazard or you’re unable to clean because there’s so much clutter; and there can be a financial cost if there’s so much clutter that you have to rent a storage unit or you can’t make repairs or do maintenance in your home.

For those expensive items you don’t use or love, I suggest pulling off the Band-aid. Take a deep breath and decide to let it go. If it’s easy to sell it, do so. Otherwise, donate it or make yourself feel better by giving it to someone you love. I’m pretty sure it will be a relief to get that thing out of your home!

No excuses series (part 1): "But I might need it!"

15 April 2026

This is the first in a three-part series of posts about the three excuses we hear most frequently from clients for wanting to keep items they no longer use or love. The series originally ran in January and February 2017 and I rerun it periodically because, believe me, we’re still hearing these things. Stay tuned for parts 2 & 3 in the coming weeks.

When we work with clients on decluttering, we discuss their goals and motivations for letting go of excess. They understand that it makes most sense to hang on to meaningful items, not those that they’re not using. Yet it’s not unusual for a client to want to keep an unused item that’s perfectly good because “I might need it some day.”

We usually push back, particularly if we’re dealing with severe space constraints and the need to let go of a lot of stuff.

Here’s what we say to those clients when we hear, “But I might need it some day.”:

• How likely is it that you’ll need it?
• If you decide to let it go and you do find you need it, are you able to get another one?
• If you keep it, will you be able to find it when you need it?

That last question is important, because if a client is keeping a lot of those “some day” items it may be difficult to organize the stuff they keep in a way that will allow them to find everything.

Here’s the thing about perfectly good items that aren’t being used. If they’re perfectly good, somebody else can use them. Rather than having them sit idle, taking up space, it’s better to contribute to the greater good by donating them and letting them be used. If you hang on to them until a future decluttering session and then decide to let them go, they may be less valuable or useful to others.

Basically it comes down to a couple of things:

1. Your goals for decluttering and getting organized. If you’re trying to create space in your home and life so that you can find what you want when you want it and live with ease (my definition of organized), then storing a lot of unused stuff might well get in the way of that.
2. A fear of regret. I think a lot of us live in fear of regretting our decisions. If you do find that you let go of an item that at a future date you could have used, you may feel a twinge of regret. But you’ll get past it. Crowding your space with unneeded items is a pretty high price to pay to ward off future regret, in my opinion.

I have seen over and over how living with less makes one’s life easier (and I’ve experienced it in my own life). A great first step toward living with less is letting go of the perfectly good stuff you don’t use.

Stay tuned for parts 2 and 3 of the No Excuses series: “I paid a lot for it” and “It was a gift.” I’ll post them over the next two weeks.

Retiring the New Organizer Guides

8 April 2026

When I created my Insider’s Guides for New Organizers in 2017 and 2018, my hope was that they would support people who were just getting started in the organizing industry. They answered the questions I had when I started my business in 2005. Over the years, I’ve been glad to know they’ve helped new organizers along the way.

At this point, though, I’ve decided it’s time to retire them. I’m no longer updating them, and I’m ready to let them go.

So through April 15, 2026, the full New Organizer Bundle is available for $20 (that’s half the regular price). After that, it will no longer be available.

If you’re in the early stages of your organizing business, know someone who is, or have been meaning to take a look at these guides, this is the last chance to get them.

I appreciate everyone who has supported this little corner of my business over the past five years!

My hands-down favorite bullet journal

2 April 2026

I’ve been bullet journaling since January 2022. I use my handy journal to write down everything that happens in my day. I use it for my task list and to capture any information that I don’t want to forget. (Click here for links to more of my blog posts about bullet journaling.)

I’m so glad I started bullet journaling when I did because it helped me keep everything together when I had to move my dad into assisted living and sell his house. After he passed away a few months later, my bullet journal helped me keep track of all the information about his estate. (I was the executor.) I did not have another system in place that would have handled all that information as well.

I kept on with the bullet journaling and it came through for me again in 2024 when my husband and I decided to sell our house and move to an apartment. My bullet journal allowed me to capture all the information needed to downsize our belongings and move and then renovate and sell our house. I took care of the bulk of that while my husband was in the hospital for nine weeks getting a new heart. I’m telling you, there was a lot of information to keep track of. The bullet journal kept me sane.

When I fill up on journal, I start another. I’m currently on my 20th bullet journal. It took me ten tries to identify a journal that I really love and my most recent ten are all the same (with different colored covers). I wanted to share the details of that journal for the curious because my love for them has not lessened in the slightest.

My bullet journal of choice is the B5 Dotted Journal Pro from Scribbles That Matter. I prefer the 120 gsm paper weight.

Why do I love it? For so many reasons:

• The 120 gsm paper is heavy enough to prevent ink from bleeding through but not so heavy that the journal itself is hard to carry around.
• The B5 size (7 inches x 10 inches) is spacious enough for me to write freely without feeling cramped.
• The subtle dot-grid pattern helps me write in a straight line but doesn’t hem me in.
• It has page numbers.
• There are four pages at the front with a pre-printed form for an index, a critical component of using the journal
• It has a nice leather-like hard cover and opens flat (and stays open).
• It comes in lots of fun colors.

Each of my otherwise identical journals has a different colored cover (though I’m starting to repeat colors) and I put a fun sticker on the cover of each. I keep a running note (in Apple Notes) with a timeline of the journals so I can easily pull the right one (identified by color and sticker) off my shelf.

These 215-page journals are not inexpensive—$35 each when bought on Amazon. But for me they are well worth the cost.

I have not been tempted to look beyond Scribbles That Matter for my next journal. In fact, I’m relieved that my search is over. If you’re a bullet journaler (or an aspiring one), I urge you to give this one a try! If you want more info on my bullet journal supplies, check out this post from 2025 on my other go-to BuJo supplies. If you’d like to learn more about how I bullet journal (everyone does it differently), check out my 2025 BuJo series.