Peace of Mind Organizing

Finding time to do the things that you love

12 July 2012

For more than ten years, I’ve been interested in doing family history research. I would dip my toe in the water every now and then, but would get overwhelmed and withdraw it. Mostly, I just didn’t feel I had the time to do it properly. So I didn’t do it at all.

Mind you, I didn’t have a lot of time. I’ve been pretty darn busy building my business and fulfilling some pretty major volunteer duties. But now those volunteer commitments are over and I’m under less pressure. So when my scheduled lightened up, guess what I turned to? Yes, the family history research.

I’m enjoying my research so much that I’m kicking myself for not finding time earlier. It’s one those things (like decluttering) that you feel you need a giant block of time to do, so you never do it. (Because, really, who has a giant block of time?) But it’s just not true. You can make progress in little chunks of time.

With genealogy, talking with older relatives is really helpful. So it’s the kind of hobby that’s really beneficial to work on sooner, rather than later. I’m visiting my parents soon, armed with all sorts of questions. I kind of wish I’d asked them ten years ago when my parents memories’ were probably better.

So here’s my point: If you have a something you’ve been waiting to find time to do, stop waiting. Just get started. Maybe all you have is a spare hour, rather than a full day available. That’s okay. Use it. Maybe you’ll have another hour tomorrow. And you can use that. Just getting started can be the hardest part. And it feels so good to get started!

By the way, I’m discovering all sorts of interesting things about my family history and I’m working on a special project surrounding that, which I will discuss here soon.

Lifehacker's list of best iPhone apps

11 July 2012

For three years in a row, the wonderful website Lifehacker has presented its Lifehacker Pack for iPhone list of iPhone apps that help you stay productive, connected, informed and entertained.

As regular readers of this blog know, I love my iPhone. And I’ve just scratched the surface of the life-enhancing apps available to me.

That’s why I’m so excited to dig into this list. I’ve glanced at it, and I have only nine of the 39 apps listed on my iPhone. Those 39 apps are organized in the following categories: Productivity; Internet Communication; Location-Aware; Utilities; Music, Photos, and Video; and Food and Entertainment.

Some of them are sure to make their way onto my iPhone and into my App of the week feature on this blog.

For you Windows app users out there, today Lifehacker released its Lifehacker Pack for Windows.

How long does food last?

10 July 2012

When I’m helping a client declutter a kitchen, the question of how long food lasts comes up a lot. In my own family, the question of how long leftovers keep comes up a lot as well. (My husband and I seem to have differing opinions.)

So I was thrilled to see Real Simple’s Ultimate Food Storage Guide, an online handbook on how to store food and how long it lasts.

The folks at Real Simple interviewed experts, including those at the USDA and food scientists, to come up with these recommendations, all compiled in one handy place. For some products, they used conservative guidelines to help ensure that food would be delicious, as well as safe.

Categories include how to store:

• Meat, seafood and poultry
• Dairy products
• Fruits and vegetables
• Snacks, baked goods and crackers
• Wine, beer and other beverages
• Oils, vinegars and condiments
• Pantry items

It’s a very handy guide that might resolve a few disputes around the kitchen!

Getting rid of my landline

9 July 2012

I’m giving serious thought to ditching my landline telephone. This feels like a very big deal to me. But these days it seems like the only calls I get are from solicitors (I don’t answer) and prospective clients, who get my number from my website. The latter group can just as easily get my cell number from my website. I’m paying over $65 a month for my landline.

Last year, I bit the bullet and ditched cable TV and I haven’t looked back.

I never would have considered this before I got my iPhone in March. But now that I have a cell phone I adore, I always have it with me. (The last ones always languished in my purse.) I’m lucky in that I get excellent reception in my house on my iPhone from AT&T.

My biggest consideration is a great headset. I spend a lot of time on the phone and a comfortable headset is a must. I’ve found one, the
Blue Parrot Road Warrior that I want to try out for use in the house.

The other consideration is getting new business cards and getting my cell phone number out there.

So these are the steps I’ve identified to make this transition:

• Find a good headset that’s comfortable and sounds good and will work well with my iPhone. Once I’ve done that, I can move on to the following steps.

• Change the phone number on my website and newsletter template

• Add my cell phone number in my email signature line

• Get new business cards printed

• Let clients (past, present, and future), family and friends know

• Call the phone company and do the deed

When I spell it out like that, it doesn’t seem like such a big deal. I’m very close. And kind of excited! If you have any suggestions or cautions, please feel free to comment!

Do you have four-legged friends?

6 July 2012

If you love dogs and cats, you won’t want to miss this opportunity to purchase really special t-shirts (and hoodies and bags) created by my friend, Sally Brown, of Roll Over Rover Threads.

Sally is one of the most animal-loving people I know and when she created ROR Threads five years ago she melded her great passion (dogs) and great talent (illustration). The result is an ethical, fair-trade t-shirt company that makes clever, sophisticated apparel for people who love dogs (and cats).

Every year, I help Sally tend her booth at a big pet-supply-industry trade show. This year, I’m helping her at three different shows. That’s how much I love Sally and how much I believe in the life-enhancing quality of her shirts.

Sally doesn’t sell direct to the public and while some designs can be found in the In the Company of Dogs catalog, mostly you have to go through pet boutiques to buy her shirts.

Except this week.

Until Thursday, July 12, you can buy a selection of Sally’s shirts—at practically wholesale prices—at the fabulous, design-centric website, fab.com.

You’ll have to register in order to see Sally’s (or anyone else’) wares, but registration is free and worth it: the whole fab.com website is a feast for the eyes. They sell beautiful, innovative products, at great prices.

Remember, the fab.com sale on Sally’s pet-related t-shirts, hoodies and bags ends next Thursday. It’s really a great opportunity to buy some great shirts for yourself or for others. I have a whole wardrobe of them myself!

Two ways to learn from me about habits and routines

5 July 2012

I think creating great habits and routines is the key to the good life. I tell clients that I can help them declutter, but unless they change their behavior—and that typically encompasses establishing new habits and routines—disorder will once again reign.

I offer my clients lots of information about habits and routines when I work with them one on one. Right now I’m offering two opportunities to learn from me without being a client.

In person

I’ll be teaching an in-person workshop, Create Freedom and Ease with Habits and Routines, with my friend and collaborator, Shannon Wilkinson on August 3 in Portland, Oregon. Go to Perception Studios’s website for more details and to register. We had a fantastic time teaching this in St. Louis and decided to teach it again in Portland, where Shannon lives. The cost is $85, but you can get $20 off if you sign up by July 17. And there are a limited number of slots to work with Shannon or me, in person, after the workshop.

Online

For the third time, I’m teaching Simplify Your Life with Habits+Routines, the online workshop I created for my friends at Simplify 101. This session runs from July 19 through August 16.

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 listened to 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. Go to Simplify 101’s website to get more details and to register. The cost is $59.

For your enjoyment

4 July 2012

It’s a holiday here in the U.S. and I wasn’t going to post a blog post today, but this morning I had an email from Playing for Change (whose tagline is Connecting the World Through Music) with a link to this fantastic video of a live performance of A Change is Gonna Come, the beautiful Civil Rights anthem by Sam Cooke. Somehow it seemed appropriate to share with you on Independence Day.

This performance features musicians from around the world, led by Grandpa Elliott, from New Orleans, Louisiana, and Clarence Bekker, from Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Enjoy!

If you enjoyed that, check out this wonderful video of Stand By Me, featuring musicians performing this classic song all over the world, in a beautiful blend of voices and instruments. This video launched Playing for Change as an international music phenomenon. (You’ll see Grandpa Elliott and Clarence Bekker in there among a variety of other musicians.)

You can see more videos at Playing for Change’s website. Don’t miss reading about the Playing for Change Foundation.

Happy Independence Day!