Peace of Mind Organizing

December 2022 tiny projects challenge: Day 3

14 December 2022

For this tiny project, I turned my attention to winter coats and accessories. We store most of our winter wear at the top of our back steps. (We live on the second floor of a two-family home and my offices and the guest room are on the first floor.) There’s not a lot of space there and it’s just a 36” rod and shelf and no door. It’s not beautiful, but it is functional.

Except it was starting to get crowded.

Here’s a before photo:

I started with the coats. In just three feet of space, 23 coats were hanging. Fourteen of them were mine and nine were Barry’s. (I was so surprised I had so many!) I focused on my coats and very quickly sorted out seven that I wanted to keep, five that I wanted to donate, and two that I moved to the basement, just in case. That took about five minutes. Barry will go through his coats on his own (I hope).

Here’s how that rod looked after only five minutes of decluttering and another five minutes of moving the donations out.

Then I turned my attention to the hats, scarves and gloves that we store there. Some were in plastic shoe boxes (one sweater box and two large shoe boxes) on the shelf. I knew going in that I would be able to let go of a lot and that I should relocate anything I keep because I hadn’t opened those boxes in probably five years.

Here’s a photo of the shelf:

It was a simple thing to pull the plastic boxes onto the kitchen counter. The sweater was full of hand-knitted (by me) scarves. I took a look and my first thought was, “I can’t donate those. I made them.” And I put them right back in the bin. But I sat with it for a couple of minutes and realized that of course I can donate them. I’m not using them, nor will I. I can always make more (and, in fact, have). So I took all the hand knits except one and put them in the donate bag.

Then I sorted out the other stuff on the shelf, most of it my husband’s, and laid them out on the kitchen counter. (I moved the spray paint to the basement and kept the WD-40 there because that’s where we’d look for it.) On that shelf, there were three left gloves (go figure). We’re going to hang on to those in hopes of finding the corresponding right gloves downstairs. If we find the mates, we’ll donate two of the pairs. Barry let go of a few accessories and we moved a few things to the front door (a project for another day). (Since we walk Bix from the front door and go to our cars from the back door, we store different accessories in each place.)

Here’s a photo of the shelf when I finished. (Definitely a “good enough” finish line.)

But I wasn’t finished, because there were also three baskets of such accessories on the window sill.

On the windowsill, I found the hood and other accessories for one of the coats I was donating (it felt good to put them all together for donation). I also found a bunch of gardening gloves, which I’ll wash and store more appropriately, and a few hats. All I kept were the detachable hood from my current winter coat, the pussy hat I knit in 2017 and, for Barry, one scarf and one hat. I moved a sun hat to the shelf above the coats.

Here’s how the windowsill looked when I finished.

The second part of this project took about 20 minutes. The whole area feels much better and now we can easily put our hands on the items we use. Again, it’s a great reminder of what a half hour of focused decluttering energy can reap! I encourage you to give it a try.

December 2022 tiny projects challenge: Day 2

13 December 2022

For today’s tiny projects challenge, I chose the bulk herbs and spices that were outgrowing the container they were stored in in one of our cabinets. In 2016, we renovated our kitchen and at that time chose a Kuggis container from IKEA to store the herbs and spices that came in anything other than a bottle. (The bottles of herbs and spices live in a pull outs next to the range.)

In order to access the bulk herbs and spices, we had to dig through them, which is obviously less than optimal. Last month, I purchased The Everything Organizer XL Cabinet Depth Pantry Bin with Dividers from The Container Store, thinking it would work well for this project. I was very happy when it did!

Here’s the messy before picture, with the bin inside the cabinet.

And here’s how the bin looked when I took it out of the cupboard and put it on the counter.

It was a simple job to empty the container, throw out old or unloved spices and sort the remainder into categories. I used the new container I’d purchased for four of the categories, plus a separate pantry bin I had on hand. The project took less than 30 minutes.

Here’s the after picture, with all the herbs and spices stored neatly in the cupboard.

(I know that black-on-clear labels for clear bins isn’t standard, but my husband really prefers less obtrusive labels, so it works for us.)

Everything fits into the categories at the moment, but this may take a little maintenance effort in order to keep the categories from merging.

These are the categories I created in the divided container:

• dried herbs
• chiles
• bulk herbs/peppercorns (combined in one section)

The separate container holds:

• cinnamon sticks
• vanilla beans

My husband is the main cook in this house the main user of the bulk herbs and spices. He says he thinks this will work well for him. It’s certainly an improvement!

December 2022 tiny projects challenge: Day 1

12 December 2022

During the lockdown in 2020, I did three tiny projects challenges and blogged about them. These were small organizing projects I could complete in about 30 minutes or less that I did for five days in a row. It was a great way to keep busy and I loved the results. I resurrected it in December 2021 and I’ve decided to make it an annual December tradition. Feel free to join me in challenging yourself to complete one small organizing project a day!

Day 1: Decluttering my monitor riser

I thought I’d kick off this tiny projects challenge with a high-impact project: decluttering and organizing something I look at every day. I use a 14” MacBook Pro, which I love, especially when I travel. But when I’m in my home office, I like a larger monitor. So I have my laptop hooked up to a 27-inch HP monitor. I put the monitor atop an Uprise Monitor Riser so that it’s at an ergonomically beneficial height. The riser has the advantage of providing storage space for small items that I want close at hand. That’s especially great since my 25-year-old IKEA desk doesn’t have any drawers.

The storage seems great, that is, until the riser gets so cluttered that becomes a distracting, disorganized mess. That’s what happened this year. Here’s a before photo.

I set a timer for 30 minutes and dug in. I started by emptying everything from the riser into a container. (There were things I didn’t realize were even in there!) Then, I sorted the items into categories, recycled some loose note paper whose scribbles were no longer relevant, relocated a couple of items, and used a shallow box that a journal had come in (plus its lid) to contain the items I really need close at hand.

Here’s the after photo:

Ahh, so much better. I used black Post-it® Notes and a white gel pen to create labels in a jiffy. (And I didn’t let perfectionism get in the way!) I moved the unsightly check-sized accordion file, which really didn’t need to be on my desk, to a nearby shelf. Everything fits nicely and nothing is spilling off onto the desk. Best of all, I can easily put my hands on what I need.

This ended up taking me only about 15 minutes. What a high return for the investment of 15 minutes! It’s a pleasure to sit at my desk now.

I encourage you to take a look around your house for a tiny project. Is there something that’s bugging you that you could change in just a few minutes?

Sign up open for the next Yoga with Adriene 30-day yoga journey!

5 December 2022

I am so excited for this January’s 30-day at-home yoga journey with the fabulous Yoga with Adriene. This year’s theme is CENTER. As always, her adorable companion Benji, an Australian Cattle Dog, will be by her side. (I’m not alone in my adoration of Adriene. Her YouTube channel has 11.5 million followers.)

I did my first 30-day journey in 2018. I blogged about how I got past all my internal barriers to trying out yoga by doing a 30-day journey then. You might also be interested in my blog post about nine things I love about Yoga with Adriene written 18 months later.

Adriene offers hundreds of free yoga videos on her YouTube channel. But the 30-day journeys, which she’s doing for ten years, are special. A new video is released each day of the month and when you do them the day of release, you know you’re doing yoga simultaneously with tens of thousands of people. It’s a fabulous thing.

Here are some of the things I love about participating in the journey (as opposed to selecting a yoga practice from the available videos each day):

• The commitment. I aspire to daily yoga, but sometimes I fall short. In January, I make it a priority.
• The community. I love reading the comments from other users who have just finished the same practice I have.
• The surprise. I never know what the day’s yoga practice will be like.
• The novelty. I have to admit, I’m guilty of doing the same few yoga practices without mixing it up. These are all brand-new videos created for the series.
• The challenge. I don’t ordinarily seek out challenging yoga practices. But I’ll try whatever Adriene puts in front of me during a journey, regardless of length or difficulty.
• I don’t have to choose. I love limiting choices to make decisions easier. In January, I don’t have to decide what yoga video to turn on.

To learn more about the YWA 30-day yoga journey, which is free of charge, watch this announcement video. Here’s a link to the FAQ about the 30-day journeys. If you want to participate, simply sign up here. You’ll receive a confirming email and then come January 1, you’ll receive a morning email with a link to the day’s video. I hope you benefit from it as much as I know I will!

My favorite definition of perfectionism

28 November 2022

I truly feel lucky that I’m not wired to be a perfectionist. I definitely have a “good enough” mentality, which has served me well. But I do face perfectionistic tendencies on occasion and when that happens, I fall back on this fantastic definition of perfectionism that I learned from Harold L. Taylor when he gave a workshop in St. Louis back in 2011. (I blogged about that workshop in more detail at the time.)

Here’s what Harold said:

A perfectionist is someone who spends more time on a task than it merits.

Let’s face it, some things are worth spending a lot of time on. Many things are not. Being able to differentiate between the two can save you a lot of time and help you let go of perfectionism.

Interested in learning more about letting go of perfectionism? Listen to the podcast I co-host with life coach Shannon Wilkinson, Getting to Good Enough. We publish new episodes every Thursday.

Feeling grateful this Thanksgiving

24 November 2022

2022 was a tough year for me. As I mentioned before, my sweet father passed away on August 20. I had moved him into assisted living in May. I spoke to him every day and he was a big part of my life, so I feel his absence keenly. And, as executor of his will, I’ve been kept very busy handling all the details of getting his affairs squared away.

In addition, as the power of attorney for my aunt (my father’s older sister), in 2022 I was heavily involved with managing her finances, moving her to memory care, then skilled nursing, and emptying and selling her home. All from 1500 miles away.

When I think of 2022, I think of all the effort and loss surrounding my elderly relatives. (That’s a picture of my father and my aunt taken on his 90th birthday, September 11, 2020.)

But there were many, many things for me to be grateful for this year. First and foremost, my wonderful friends, who have been such a great support all year. I was also very happy to be traveling again and enjoyed a wonderful week with my college pals over the summer. One of my brothers lives in Australia and he came to the Washington state for our father’s funeral. Then he flew back to St. Louis with me and we had a fantastic 2.5 weeks hanging out together.

On the work front, I had the opportunity to help a special client navigate a really complicated move. And, thanks to my wonderful employees I have been able to step away from most personal client work while still providing amazing organizing services to my clients.

I have so much to be grateful for. I’ve been trying to express my gratitude daily in my bullet journal and recently, after reading this article, Want to feel happier? Try snacking on joy, I’ve been jotting down my “joy snacks” every morning. It’s so nice to reflect on the little things that bring happiness.

I encourage you to take a little time during this busy time of year to take stock of what you’re grateful for and perhaps keep your eye out for the tiny things that bring you joy. It’s a sure way to put a smile on your face.

Mindful Black Friday shopping

22 November 2022

I’m not a big fan of Black Friday. I hate crowds, so you’ll never find me in a brick-and-mortar store on the day after Thanksgiving. But I do like a deal, so I’m often tempted to shop online on Black Friday. It’s so easy for me (and maybe you?) to get caught up in buying things I don’t really need because they’re a good deal.

I’m at a stage in my life where less really feels like more. And I’m more interested in subtracting physical objects in my life than adding to them.

So I’m trying hard to be really mindful in my Black Friday shopping. This is what I’m doing. If you’d like to resist overspending this week, perhaps it will help you.

• I’ve created a list of items to look for on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. There are maybe six items on it—things that I need that I would buy even if I didn’t find a deal. But I figure I might as well wait to see if I can save a little money.
• I’m carefully looking at the sale emails I’ve been inundated with and asking myself a couple of important questions: (1) Do I really need this? and (2) Where will I store it?
• Since I’m paying attention to my emails from vendors, I’m unsubscribing like crazy to emails from companies whose products I don’t use, to cut down on temptation.

Whether you’re shopping in person or online, I think it’s a great idea to go in with a list and try to resist the things that aren’t on your list, even if they’re a great bargain. Because if you buy something you don’t need and wouldn’t have otherwise purchased, you’re not saving money. You’re spending more money.

But perhaps you don’t need to shop at all. If you find bargains hard to resist and you don’t really need anything, I encourage you to consider an alternative activity this holiday weekend. Find something else to give you that dopamine hit you might otherwise get from scoring a great bargain. And make it something that doesn’t cost you money or create clutter. Maybe you could go bowling and feel the thrill of getting a strike. Perhaps you could take a nice drive to a park for a walk or hike. Maybe you can allow yourself the luxury of binging a beloved TV series or movie franchise.

In my line of work (and in my life) I sometimes see the negative results of bargain shopping. I urge you to be extra mindful with your shopping this time of year!