Peace of Mind Organizing

You can learn to be organized

28 June 2013

Some people are born organized. I know a lot of folks like that, since I hang around with professional organizers. Other people weren’t born organized, but they’ve learned to be organized.

I’m living proof that you can learn to be organized. Let me tell you a little story.

In May, I was contacted on Facebook by one of my high school teachers. He’d been the advisor to the school newspaper. My senior year I was the editor of the school newspaper. Being in touch with him made me pull out my yearbook (which at my high school we called an “annual”).

I turned to the page in the yearbook that featured the school newspaper staff. There we were, sitting around our typewriters. Next to a picture I was in, my teacher had written the following:

Janine, thank you for helping me make it through my first year as Journal advisor. I don’t think I helped you to be any more organized or any neater—but I tried!

That cracked me up when I read it. I don’t actually have any recollection of being particularly disorganized or messy in high school, but it was apparently my defining characteristic, as far as this teacher was concerned.

Through the years, I didn’t let my messiness get in the way of my success. I read and read about organizing techniques and managed to teach myself to be organized. (All along, I was organized in my mind…it was the physical manifestation that was out of kilter.)

When I got burned out as a freelance writer back in 2005, I decided it was time to teach others what I’d learned about getting organized. And now, I make a nice living doing that.

So I went from being an apparently disorganized and messy high school student to being a professional organizer who’s helped hundreds of people get organized. If I can get that organized, so can you.

Don’t think that just because you’re not organized now, you never can be. If you’re dealing with a lot of clutter, the first step is getting rid of the backlog. Once that’s done, it’s a matter of setting up systems that work for the way you think and then creating new habits and routines to help you stay organized.

If you set your mind to it, you can learn to be organized!

Worth repeating: Just do something!

26 June 2013

While I did finally join a gym, the message of this two-year-old blog post is still worth repeating. Whether it’s exercise, filing, or processing email, doing something is always better than doing nothing.

Some effort is better than no effort. That’s the philosophy I’m embracing at the moment when it comes to exercise. For some reason, I’ve fallen off the exercise bandwagon, despite the fact that I’ve put on a few pounds and so am reminded of the need to exercise on a very regular basis.

I think the monster known as perfectionism has reared its head in this instance. I was sort of getting tired of my Wii Fit Plus exercises and I purchased Just Dance 2. I enjoy Just Dance 2, but didn’t feel like it was giving me much of a workout.

So then I started thinking about joining a gym and started doing a little research on that. No problem there, except that I had stopped exercising as I sought just the right exercise for me. Part of that was because I’ve been so busy. But mostly I was being lazy. And I fell out of my routine, so I would actually forget.

Yesterday I decided to embrace the “Just do something” philosophy. I don’t have to have a perfectly amazing workout. I just have to do something. Because moving my body a little is better than not moving it at all.

This applies to other aspects of life, of course. I’m going to embrace the “do something” philosophy when it comes to my genealogy research, which had gone dormant for way too long. But I’ve gotten started again and want to try to do just a little on a regular basis (several times a week) rather than wait until that block of time that never comes.

Yesterday after my “just do something” epiphany, I advised a client who is trying to work through a paper backlog to set a goal of working on the backlog 30 minutes a day. Then I interjected my new philosophy by suggesting that even if he doesn’t have 30 minutes to work on it he should do it for 10, or even five. Keeping that momentum of daily activity going will help him create the habit and get past the barrier to getting started.

Last night was the moment of truth when it came to my exercising. While I was waiting for dinner to finish cooking, I remembered to exercise. (Remembering was an achievement unto itself.) I decided to ease my way in. I did just two dances on Just Dance 2 and nothing else. (In case you’re wondering, the two dances were to Crazy in Love and Proud Mary. Love those.) Tonight, maybe I’ll do something more strenuous. Or maybe not. It’s okay as long as I do something.

Now open for registration: Simplify Your Life with Habits + Routines

21 June 2013

Having great habits and routines is the key to living an easy life. I believe this whole heartedly and I talk to anybody who’ll listen about how important it is to make tasks automatic by creating well-established habits and routines.

In 2011 I created and taught a fun online workshop for Simplify 101 called Simplify Your Life with Habits + Routines. I’m delighted to announce that it’s being offered again, for the fourth time. This session runs from August 15 through September 12. You can sign up now and get early-bird pricing (20 percent off!) through June 26.

My friend and colleague, Aby Garvey, owns Simplify 101 with her husband, Jay. They put on a variety of online organizing workshops. (I’m honored to be their first guest instructor.) Believe me, they run a top-notch operation. What makes Simplify 101’s expert-guided workshops special is that on top of excellent information, students can interact with the instructor and one another in online forums.

When you sign up for this workshop, you’ll get three lessons, released a week apart. Each lesson is available to be read on the website, or as a pdf, or as an mp3. (Your choice.) And you also get access to the glorious forums where you’ll not only have the chance to ask me questions but also gain encouragement and wisdom from your classmates. It’s a very special arrangement, if you ask me.

In Simplify Your Life with Habits + Routines I’ll be helping students identify good habits they already have, ones they’d like to create, and figure out how to link habits together to form simple routines. I’ll also be helping students let go of habits that are less desirable.

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you know that I’m all about habits and routines as a way of making life run more smoothly. If you’re intrigued about how to harness the power of great habits and routines, I urge you to sign up for this online workshop!

When you sign up, please mention in the space provided that you heard about the workshop from me. And be sure to say hi in the forums and tell me you’re one of my blog readers!

Worth repeating: Messy does not equal disorganized

19 June 2013

On Wednesdays this summer, I’ll be re-running blog posts from the past. Each week, I’ll pick one that still rings true to me. Here’s this week’s selection.

I’m a messy person. And (clearly) I’m not ashamed of it. You might find it surprising that a professional organizer is messy. But that might be because you think that messy and disorganized are synonymous. Trust me, they’re not.

Messy does not equal disorganized. I may be messy, but I am organized. In other words, almost everything in my home has a place. (And it’s a well thought out place.) I just have a hard time putting stuff away with a great deal of regularity. Things have gotten better over the years, as I’ve developed new habits and routines.

We’re not talking epic messiness, but my surroundings are less orderly than you would expect an organizer’s to be. And that’s okay with me. The biggest compliment people can give my home, as far as I’m concerned, is “comfortable.” That’s what I like to think my home is.

Sometimes I’ll walk into a client’s home for the first time and see that it’s neater than mine. That used to freak me out. But what I’ve discovered is the flip side of the equation: Neat does not equal organized.

Sometimes people who loathe visual clutter will stash things away so their homes look neat. But then they can’t find anything, because things are put away in a haphazard manner without regard for organization. That’s neat but it’s not organized.

Remember, you can’t judge a book by its cover. (And we shouldn’t be judging anyway, should we?)

Where to start decluttering

17 June 2013

Clutter overwhelms many people. Probably the most frequent thing I hear from clients who seek help decluttering is that they don’t know where to begin.

There are three things to look out for when figuring out where to start decluttering:

• Start with storage areas. You probably have stuff out on the surfaces of your living space and, naturally, you’re inclined to start there. But really, you’re better off starting with the storage areas. Here’s why: (1) The stuff moldering in the storage areas is probably less current than the stuff on the surfaces, and therefore easier to part with. (2) If you clear the storage areas first, you’ll have a place to store the stuff you keep that’s currently on the surfaces.

• Start small. Set yourself up for success and pick a small area that you can declutter in one short session. A single drawer, a cupboard, a shelf in a cupboard, a bin on a shelf. You get the idea.

• Make it high impact. If you have a space that you use daily but it’s so full it becomes annoying, that’s a great place to start. Once it’s decluttered, every day you’ll reap the benefit of your efforts. Maybe we’re talking about a crowded kitchen gadget drawer, or the basket where you drop your keys every day.

Remember that there’s no perfect place to start and really the important thing is to just get started. Once you get that momentum going, it’ll be easier to move on to the next thing. So pick a small defined space within a storage area that you use frequently and let the decluttering begin!

My genealogy blog's one year anniversary

14 June 2013

A year ago today, I posted my first post on Organize Your Family History. I’d purchased the domain some years before and finally figured what to do with it.

This was a DIY Wordpress blog, which turned out to be a little more challenging than I’d anticipated. But I was smart: I purchased the Site Setup Kit from Wendy Cholbi and Pamela Wilson and it stepped me through the process, gave guidance on issues like colors and fonts, and provided me with a choice of ten different pre-designed styles, one of which I adapted for Organize Your Family History. It also provides an online forum that I still have access to. For me, it was a great investment for under $300. (And right now, through June 19, they’re offering a $49 discount with the coupon code 49OFF.)

Anyway, the blog has been a really nice way for me to help give my genealogy research a higher priority. Today’s post, Happy Blogiversary to Me!, talks about a huge side benefit I’ve received from the blog: connection with cousins I’d never met.

If you have interest in family history research, I urge you to check it out!

Worth repeating: Don't give your mom clutter

12 June 2013

Father’s Day is on Sunday and it brought to mind my message about avoiding gifts that create clutter. I’ve been writing about that for years in terms of Mother’s Day gifts, but it’s just as true for Father’s Day. Your dad (or husband) probably doesn’t need another tie or bottle of after shave. I thought I’d repeat a post I created last year for Mother’s Day, which actually reprints a newsletter article I wrote in 2007. I’ll share a little secret (because my father doesn’t read my blog): I’ll be giving him cut flowers, like I have been for some years. They brighten his day and and he doesn’t have to find a permanent home for them.

Mother’s Day is just around the corner. Since moms tend to want to hang on to gifts their children give them, I urge you to consider giving her something that won’t become clutter.

Way back in 2007, in the very first edition of my monthly newsletter, I wrote about clutter-free gifts. I think the info bears repeating!

Clutter-Free Gift Giving

So many of my clients develop attachments to inanimate objects. Those attachments make it really hard for the client to part with the objects. And what happens? Clutter happens. I’ve found that clients who tend to get sentimental about stuff find it particularly difficult to part with gifts that have been given them.

This has certainly changed the way I think about gift giving. I personally believe that once I’ve given a gift, the recipient is free to do whatever he or she wants with it. My feelings won’t be hurt if the gift is given away or even thrown away. But I don’t want to clutter up anybody’s life. So I try to give gifts that won’t add to clutter. And I encourage you to think in the same way about gift giving, particularly if anyone on your gift list has a problem with clutter.

Here are some of my favorite ideas for clutter-free giving:

Fresh flowers. A beautiful arrangement of cut flowers livens up any room. After the flowers have died, they can be tossed guilt-free. I try to avoid including a vase with the gift—I’ve seen many a home cluttered by florists’ vases! An easy website for ordering flowers is 1-800-flowers. I’ve also used Proflowers with success. Sometimes I’ll call a local florist in the recipient’s town, if I know of a good one.

Pampering. If you have a friend who would enjoy a little pampering, consider a gift certificate for spa services. Many cities and even towns have day spas. A massage or facial (even for men!) might be something your gift recipient wouldn’t do for him or herself. To find a spa in your gift recipient’s community, try Spafinder.

Services. Give someone the gift of time by offering to perform some needed services for him or her. You could offer a few hours of babysitting, offer to shovel snow, rake leaves, walk dogs or even clean house. If you’re a gardener, offer to do some landscaping. If you’re good with computers, offer to set up a wireless network or make their computer more secure. These gifts are clutter-free and really very special. You can also give a gift certificate for organizing services if you’re sure that the recipient would love to work with a professional organizer.

Clutter-free subscriptions. Giving a magazine subscription is a nice year-long gift, but many people let magazines pile up. Instead, consider giving a subscription to a services like Netflix or Blockbuster Total Access, which send rental DVDs right to your recipient’s home. If your gift recipient likes to listen to the spoken word, a subscription to Audible might be just right.

Edibles. Give something perishable to eat and you know it won’t linger in your gift recipient’s home. You can make homemade goodies, or send a gift package from a place like Wolferman’s, which sells English muffins and specialty breads, or Harry & David for fruit or other editbles. In 2006 Food and Wine published a terrific article on giving edible gifts.

A side benefit to giving an intangible gift is that you don’t have to go out shopping! Let your fingers do the shopping online. And give yourself (and your gift recipient) the peace of mind of not adding clutter to a cluttered world.