Peace of Mind Organizing

Kanban for knitting

21 March 2011

Last summer, I wrote about Personal Kanban a visual task-management system that I was trying on for size. It involves using a whiteboard or wall, writing tasks on post-it notes, and moving the post-its from Backlog to Doing to Done columns. An important part of the system is limiting the number of tasks/projects you have in the “Doing” column.

Here’s a photo of my kanban board from last August, taken from my blog post on the topic:

Daily tasks are stashed in the lower right area.

I enjoyed that system for awhile, but I got so busy that my board couldn’t hold all the tasks. I ended up going back to Mark Forster’s Autofocus task-management system and have since moved on to his new SuperFocus system, which I’m nuts about.

I noticed in my web analytics report (I love Woopra) that someone had made his or her way to my website using the search term “kanban for knitting” and that got me thinking.

I realized that the kanban system might be helpful for keeping track of my knitting projects. Right now I’m in a bit of a knitting slump. I have a few projects that are started and stalled in the knitting phase and a couple more that are stalled in the finishing phase (an afghan that has to be seamed and another that needs edging).

I had a lovely, fabric covered bulletin board adorning a wall near my yarn stash and it had nothing on it. So I transformed it into a knitting kanban board, using yarn to create four columns. They are:

• Possibilities
• Knitting
• Finishing
• Completed

I wrote the names of different knitting projects on index cards and pinned them to the appropriate column of the board. This allows me to see at a glance where I stand on projects. I’ll get the pleasure of moving the card along when I start a new phase of a project. The “Completed” column allows me to revel in my accomplishments.

Here’s a photo of my freshly minted Knitting Kanban board:

It makes me happy.

Disposing of old medications

18 March 2011

We all know that the once-popular practice of flushing unwanted medicines down the toilet is a bad idea. Unwanted chemicals can get into the water supply and that can’t be good for us. But what should be done with medications that are expired or no longer needed?

The website SMARxT Disposal has loads of information on the topic, but the bottom line (as illustrated in the video on the site) is that you should:

• dump solid medications (tablets, capsules, etc) into a sealable bag
• dump liquid medications on top of them
• add a small amount of water to dissolve the solid medications
• add coffee grounds or kitty litter to make the bag unattractive to children or animals
• dump the whole bag in the garbage

An even easier way to dispose of your unwanted meds will take place on April 30, 2011. That’s the date of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Drug Take-Back Day for people to dispose of unwanted or unused prescription drugs. Go the the National Take-Back Initiative’s website to search for a collection site near you.

No matter how you dispose of your unwanted prescription medications, be sure to remove all identifying information from the bottle. Those prescription labels can be used for medical identify theft. I recommend peeling off the labels, sticking them to scrap paper and shredding them.

Disposal is a big part of the decluttering equation and I know that many people are thwarted in their efforts because they want to dispose of things properly. This method for disposing of medications keeps the water safe and keeps the pills out of the hands of people who might abuse them.

Secrets of Getting Organized

16 March 2011

I’m quoted in one of the articles in the Better Homes and Gardens magazine, Secrets of Getting Organized. The article I was interviewed for is called “From cluttered to clean: The art of organizing.” This is actually the second printing of the magazine, which originally appeared in March 2010. It was so popular, Better Homes and Gardens decided to reprint it.

Other articles in the 112-page, advertising-free magazine include: Ready, Set, Get Motivated!, Paper-Busting Guide, then six other articles each on a different area of the home. More than a dozen professional organizers are quoted in the magazine, including Peter Walsh, Stephanie Denton, Donna Smallin, Lorie Morrero, and Audrey Thomas. I’m delighted to be in such great company!

The magazine is on the newsstand now. (I just bought a copy at Target.) It’s chock full of organizing gems.

Snatching pockets of time

14 March 2011

The past couple of weeks have been very busy for me and I haven’t been home a whole lot. I did take one glorious day off at home day a week ago Saturday, where I caught up on my TV and did some knitting. I did nothing but relax, which I sorely needed.

Because I’ve been away so much helping people create order in their homes, my own home has gone into disarray. In a big way. I have a very high tolerance for mess, but I find myself looking around thinking, “I can’t wait to get some time to get this house in shape.”

I realize that’s my big mistake. I tend to think I need to wait until I have a large chunk of a day available for cleaning before I lift a finger (beyond the basics). But today when I look at my calendar, I see that free day is almost a week away.

The truth is that I don’t need a large chunk of time to get started. I can start with a single minute. (Or perhaps five minutes.) Because before I clean I need to tidy. Tidying I can do in very small chunks of time.

I don’t want to spend my first day off in a couple of weeks tidying and cleaning my house. I’m going to make that day easier by snatching little pockets of time between now and the weekend. I’m going to pick up and tidy a little at a time (rather than just ignoring the disarray). After that, I’ll dust and clean a room at a time. Come Sunday morning, I hope, all I’ll have to do is vacuum—that’s one task I tend to do in one fell swoop.

And, of course, once I get this backlog of out-of-place stuff taken care of, the key to keeping things under control is to be mindful of putting items away as I use them. I know this. I teach my clients this. Sometimes life just gets in the way. And when that happens, I just try to get right back into the routines that help me stay sane (and my house tidy).

New Peace of Mind Organizing Facebook page

11 March 2011

After a number of years on Facebook with a personal account, I’ve finally created a business page. When Facebook debuted its newly formatted pages last month, I decided to take the plunge.

While I try not to get obsessed by things like numbers of people who like my page, I would love it if you would check out the Peace of Mind Organizing Facebook page and click Like (if you’re a Facebook user).

When I have a few moments, I intend to ask my fabulous web designer, Nora Brown to add a Like button to the bottom of blog posts and a Facebook link in the sidebar, but today, I’m asking you to make a couple of clicks. Thanks!

One year later: drawer still organized

9 March 2011

Yesterday, I was discussing a kitchen drawer with a client. Wanting to show her a photo of the Rubbermaid interlocking drawer organizers I pulled out my iPad and showed her a blog post I’d written last year about organizing my kitchen utensil drawer.

I encourage you to read the whole post, which shows what you can do in 30 minutes, but here are the before and after photos:

Talk about a hodge podge of stuff.

That feels much better.

As I was showing this to the client, I noticed that the date on the blog post was exactly one year ago. And I realized that my drawer looks the same now. That made me happy.

That’s unusual, though. Things like drawers or cupboards with lots of little items (for example, the vanity cupboard under the sink in your bathroom) frequently need maintenance. Once organized they can fall into disarray fairly quickly. They require a few minutes of attention every now and then.

There are only a few items in my kitchen utensil drawer that are used with any frequency and they get put right back where they belong, so I’ve been able to maintain order.

Something about using that blog post exactly a year later made me want to share today. It also inspires me to tackle another micro-zone in the house! Watch out, medicine cabinet!

A little thing can make a big difference

7 March 2011

I’m going to be 50 next year and like many people my age, my vision isn’t what it used to be. Reading, in particular can be challenging. I’ve been wearing progressive lenses (distance vision in the top, reading vision in the bottom, with a little intermediate in between) for some years.

But I like to read novels. And I particularly like to read while I’m eating breakfast by myself. I found that wearing my usual progressive glasses was frustrating because I’d have to position my head just so to read the page (and keep moving it as I moved down the page). I also found it hard to read in bed with my progressives.

So I bought two pairs of non-prescription reading glasses at the drug store, but I couldn’t find just the right strength. My regular glasses are good for general use, but when it comes to reading a book, I wasn’t having a satisfying experience. And since I spend time reading at least twice a day, that was getting wearying.

So I asked my eye doctor for prescription reading glasses. Big ones, not those little half glasses. And they’ve made such a difference to my reading enjoyment! We have vision insurance, so it cost only $30 and it’s really enhanced my life.

That got me thinking about all the annoying little things I once tolerated that with a small expenditure of time and effort I’ve made much less irritating. Here are just a few things that come to mind:

• I’ve replaced the small bathroom wastebaskets with larger ones so I didn’t have to empty them as often (or let them overflow).
• I clear off my desk every day so I don’t have to search for things on my desk.
• I process all my email every day—I’m still going on inbox zero I don’t have lingering tasks nagging at me.
• I write down my tasks in my Superfocus notebook so I don’t have to remember them (my memory has taken off with my eyesight as I age).
• I pick up the yard after my dog every day (or at least most days). Now I don’t have a nasty chore waiting for me on Saturday (nor the nasty visual clutter that goes with not picking it up every day).

My life is far from free of annoyances, but I’m going to keep my eyes open for small efforts that can reap huge benefits. Do you have any irritations you’d like to let go of? Maybe we can brainstorm some easy solutions. Feel free to comment.