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Peace of Mind Organizing

Make space. Find peace. Feel joy.

Articles tagged with declutter-happy-hour

Letting go of sentimental items

19 April 2021 | Comments [2] »

During last week’s Declutter Happy Hour class, we discussed the challenge of decluttering sentimental items. They can be so hard to let go of, even when you’re motivated to downsize.

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Another chance to participate in Declutter Happy Hour!

8 March 2021 | Comments [0] »

Each Wednesday in February, my podcast co-host, Shannon Wilkinson, and I taught a Declutter Happy Hour to a group of 15 lovely participants. It was such a success, we’ve decided to offer it again. The next session of the four-part class will be held April 7, 14, 21, and 28 from 6 to 7:30 pm central daylight time.

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Join us for Declutter Happy Hour!

19 January 2021 | Comments [0] »

If you’re a long-time reader of this blog, you may remember Declutter Happy Hour. It was a teleclass that life coach Shannon Wilkinson and I created back in 2009. We did it a couple of times as a live teleclass and then morphed it into an ecourse before we retired it. We didn’t know it then, but it was a precursor to the podcast that Shanon and I now host, Getting to Good Enough.

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Worth repeating: We all have fear

25 June 2014 | Comments [0] »

I wrote this post five years ago, but it still rings true. Recently, I purchased a greeting card whose front bears this quotation from George Addair: “Everything you want is on the other side of fear.” Distinguishing between when your fear is protecting you and when it’s limiting you can be a tricky thing._

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Got a clutter emergency?

18 November 2013 | Comments [2] »

It can be overwhelming when you know guests are coming and your home doesn’t feel quite up to snuff. (My brother’s visit has me scurrying around taking care of small decluttering projects.)

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Low-cost ways to tap into my expertise

27 January 2012 | Comments [2] »

I love working one-on-one with clients (or supervising a team of organizers to help a client) and we get great results. But sometimes budgetary or geographic constraints make that impossible.

That’s why I’m glad to bring up some opportunities for ways you can tap into my expertise even if you’re on a budget or you don’t live in St. Louis.

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Why resolutions don't work (now with a workbook!)

15 December 2010 | Comments [1] »

Where are you on the New Year’s Resolution Continuum?

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Fear of the unknown

12 July 2010 | Comments [2] »

I’ve had to learn a new skill set. And I didn’t make it easy on myself.

I decided to sell downloadable products of my own creation on my website. By the end of the month, I hope, I’ll have organizing guides and an e-course for sale in a new Products section of this website. (And I’ll be offering a new coaching program.)

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You don't have to do it alone

26 April 2010 | Comments [0] »

Having just spent four days with professional organizers, who are among the most supportive and helpful groups of people I can think of, I’m pausing to think about how important support is.

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When is clutter a problem?

9 April 2010 | Comments [0] »

I gave a decluttering talk the other day and of the audience members asked, “But what if I get comfort from having all my stuff around me?” I told her it’s not a problem to be surrounded by her stuff — unless it is a problem. I asked her whether being surrounded by her stuff was affecting her ability to function. She said yes. So we talked a little about what happens when the cost of keeping stuff is higher than the cost of letting go of it.

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Spring decluttering

2 April 2010 | Comments [2] »

Spring has hit St. Louis. It’s been in the 80s this week. The fruit trees and redbuds are starting to flower. Daffodils are out. It’s fabulous.

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Follow up Friday

5 February 2010 | Comments [0] »

I wanted to update you on a few recent blog posts:

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How's 2010 looking for you?

27 January 2010 | Comments [0] »

January is almost over (already). As I’ve blogged about before, for the last couple of years I’ve been trying to add one big habit per year that will help me be happier and more productive. In 2008, it was clearing my desk at the end of the workday. In 2009 it was whittling my email inbox down to 15 or fewer messages every day. I’m going gangbusters on both of those.

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Why resolutions don't work (and how to get what you want anyway)

13 January 2010 | Comments [2] »

Where are you on the New Year’s Resolution Continuum?

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Highlight reel for 2009

31 December 2009 | Comments [4] »

2009 was a year of ups and downs for me. I’m pretty sure I’m not alone. As I finish inputting data into Quickbooks for the year, I realize that my revenue is down, which isn’t great. I’m chalking it up to the economy. But so many really great things happened in 2009 that I view it as a year of success and progress.

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My favorite blog posts of 2009

29 December 2009 | Comments [3] »

I wrote just over 150 blog posts in 2009. Last week, I clicked through them and picked out some of my favorites to share with you in this post. The first go-around, I selected 24. But I figure that’s more than you care to see in one post. So I’ve cut that number in half.

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Help for the holidays

24 November 2009 | Comments [0] »

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m really lucky because we never host Thanksgiving dinner, so Thanksgiving isn’t a holiday I have to get ready for. My husband even does the cooking for our contribution to dinner. But I know I’m unusual. Many people are looking around their houses this week, thinking of what they have to do to whip it into shape for guests.

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The novel writing proceeds...

6 November 2009 | Comments [1] »

…which explains why the blog writing has dropped off a little. I’m very excited that I’ve been able to work on my novel-in-a-month piece of fiction each day since November 1.

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Declutter Happy Hour Thanksgiving special!

28 October 2009 | Comments [0] »

I can’t believe Thanksgiving is just around the corner. I love Thanksgiving. And I’m really lucky because Thanksgiving doesn’t mean work for me. We’ve had turkey on the fourth Thursday of November every year since 1988 at the home of dear friends. My husband cooks our contribution. All I have to do is show up and eat. (And contribute to conversation.)

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Stop the stashing

23 October 2009 | Comments [0] »

If clutter is an issue in your life, the prospect of having a dinner guest or houseguest can be panic-inducing. (Flylady calls it living in CHAOS, or Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome.)

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Facing down the fears lurking in the clutter

18 September 2009 | Comments [2] »

As Shannon and I discuss in Declutter Happy Hour, sometimes people don’t want to work on clutter because it’s just plain scary.

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We all have fear

11 August 2009 | Comments [3] »

Recently my husband and I went to a family reunion held at a ski resort in Pennsylvania (it was the end of June and there was no snow). He and I rode a chair lift up to the top of the mountain to enjoy the view. I don’t ski and I’ve only been on a ski lift a handful of times. Neither of us heard the mumbling attendant’s instructions to pull the restraining bar over our heads and lock it in place in front of us. So we were riding up the mountain with nothing preventing us from falling out of the moving chair.

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Another 30-minute miracle

16 June 2009 | Comments [4] »

Okay, “miracle” is completely overstating it. But I was amazed at my office’s transformation the other day when I set my timer and got to work for 30 minutes

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Music to declutter by

15 June 2009 | Comments [3] »

In my newsletter, which goes out today, I mention the power of focus and how by setting a timer for a short period of time, I can get a lot done. (This is a refrain here on the blog too). I also mentioned that sometimes instead of (or in addition to) a timer, I’ll play a playlist of songs that ends after a set period of time.

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Have a Declutter Happy Hour any time you want

11 June 2009 | Comments [2] »

At the end of March, life coach Shannon Wilkinson and I started offering a four-week telecourse called Declutter Happy Hour.

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It should be easy

7 May 2009 | Comments [0] »

In working with my life coach, Shannon Wilkinson, I’ve discovered that my driving force is ease. I like things to be easy. That’s why I love living in St. Louis, where the living is easy (recent highway closures notwithstanding) and didn’t like living in New York City, where the hassle factor is high. Ease trumps excitement in my book.

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It's amazing what you can do in a half hour (or less)

27 April 2009 | Comments [4] »

As part of the preparations for Declutter Happy Hour, the four-week teleclass I started offering with Shannon Wilkinson last month, I’ve been doing a lot of small decluttering projects around the house.

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Why not lighten the load?

22 April 2009 | Comments [0] »

Over at the wonderful blog, Unclutterer last week, guest blogger Gregory Go offered up a guest post on the Seven Benefits of Decluttering. If you had any doubt of the benefits of lightening the load and letting go of excess (and they include financial benefits!), hurry on over there and check it out.

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The vanishing day

10 April 2009 | Comments [0] »

I’m writing this at 6 p.m. Six flippin’ p.m! I usually blog in the morning and when I mess up my routine, things tend to fall through the cracks.

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Can decluttering lead to happiness?

8 April 2009 | Comments [2] »

Gretchen Rubin who writes the blog (and upcoming book) The Happiness Project also blogs for Real Simple (and for Slate).

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Declutter Happy Hour starts tomorrow!

30 March 2009 | Comments [0] »

Our first “Declutter Happy Hour” session begins tomorrow, March 31, at 2 p.m. central. If you haven’t signed up yet but are intrigued, head on over to the Declutter Happy Hour website and check it out.

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The power of 15 minutes

20 March 2009 | Comments [0] »

A decade ago, Flylady told me to set my timer for 15 minutes and declutter. She told all of her followers, “You can do anything for 15 minutes.” I’ve put that into use over and over again through the years. And I blog about it a lot because it’s so true.

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Announcing Declutter Happy Hour!

18 March 2009 | Comments [0] »

Recently, I’ve been blogging quite a bit about how hard it can be to get rid of clutter, not just because it’s hard work that’s difficult to find the time to do, but because of emotional barriers to the work, or unhelpful beliefs that get in the way.

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