Peace of Mind Organizing

Storage solutions hiding in your house

7 November 2022

Next time you’re inclined to go to Target or the Container Store to buy some bins or other storage solutions, I encourage you to take a look around your house and see what you might already have on hand that you can use.

I started noticing all the containers I use to organize my things that initially came into my house for another reason. Here are some ideas:

Vases. If you’re like many people, you have a collection have vases that have come into your life over the years. The sheer variety of sizes and shapes make them an excellent first stop if you’re looking store something. Here’s an example from my home: I ordered some pens from Amazon that (to my surprise) came individually packaged. I couldn’t just put them in a jar as is my custom (see below), so I pulled out a vase. It’s working beautifully!

Jars. I love jars so much. (Especially yogurt jars!) I use them for a variety of things (including to hold eyeglasses), but my main use for them is to hold pens. Here’s a snap of one of the shelves in my office that holds pens in jars and drinking glasses.

I also use canning jars to hold paper clips and binder clips.

Pretty boxes that came with other things. Back when I used to buy makeup, I loved these boxes that (if I remember correctly) Bare Minerals sets used to come in. Now I store card-making supplies in them in my office.

Now that I’m a bullet journaler, I go through journals pretty quickly. Some of them come packaged in nice boxes. I used one of them to store overflow Mildliner pens. The two boxes on top in this photo are awaiting their purposes.

Dip bowls. Years ago I bought a bunch of dip bowls from West Elm that I love. I use them for dips, for decoration, and to hold stuff in my medicine cabinet. I also use them to store my Scrabble tiles. I don’t play Scrabble, but I bought a set of tiles to make blog headers. I have divided them into three bowls for easier access, divided into the beginning, middle and end of the alphabet.

The list goes on. These were just repurposed storage solutions I found without leaving my office! Serving bowls, food-storage containers and cups are all possibilities. I encourage you to look in your kitchen cabinets for items you could repurpose. I hope you’ll be inspired!

Early voting open in Missouri

3 November 2022

If you live in Missouri, I want to make sure you know that a new law allows voters to vote early in person without an excuse, starting two weeks prior to Election Day. (It’s called “no-excuse absentee ballot in person.”) To me, that’s big progress. Two years ago, I became a notary because voters who wanted to vote early without an excuse had to have their ballots notarized and mail it in.

Here in the St. Louis area, there a few central spots where people can vote including particular library branches and the board of elections. Here’s a link to the St. Louis County information and St. Louis City information (scroll down to “No Excuse Needed Absentee Polling Places”).

Yesterday, I went to the Schlafly branch of the public library and voted. (I snapped that selfie right after.) There were absolutely no lines, I was greeted cheerfully, and the whole process took less than five minutes. The technology has been updated so that the individual voter’s ballot is printed on the spot. (I always vote on a paper ballot; I’m not exactly sure how it works for those who choose to vote by machine.) That means you don’t have to go to a specific polling place as in past years.

If you live in Missouri, check out the Secretary of State’s voting page for links to your local jurisdiction so you can see where you can vote. Please note that Missouri now requires a valid, government-issued photo ID, like a Missouri driver’s or non-driver’s license, passport or military ID.

If you live elsewhere, you can go to Vote.org. to see the rules where you can vote.

This election is exceedingly important. I’m delighted that Missouri has made it a little bit easier to cast a ballot.

Selecting my holiday cards

31 October 2022

I love sending holiday cards and I like to give myself plenty of time to write in each one. I send two cards: One from Peace of Mind Organizing for clients and colleagues and one for family and friends from my husband and me.

This year I’m trying to be extra gentle with myself because I’m still not back to normal capacity since my father passed away two months ago. I toyed with the idea of not doing cards this year, which is a completely legitimate option. But I do love the process of sending cards and the connection I feel with the recipients.

So today, I decided to see how easy I could make ordering my business holiday cards. As usual, I went to Minted.com (that’s an affiliate link, which means if you click on the link and place an order, I’ll receive a small percentage). I noticed this year that they had a Business category, which limited my options. (I love limiting my options.) One jumped out at me, so I selected it. In previous years, I would agonize over the choice But this year, to make it easy, I just chose one.

I chose the color and customized the printed greeting. That was easy. Then came the addresses. Minted offers beautiful pre-addressed envelopes. Since I’ve been using Minted so long, many of my contacts are already entered in my account. I simply went through Quickbooks and added the addresses of new-in-2022 clients. I selected my recipients then I was done. I did have a moment of angst over whether to add some handsome slip-in envelope liners that match the theme of the card. I checked my budget, saw that I had enough money and went for it. I know they’ll add a nice touch.

This year, selecting my card was easier than it’s ever been. And I think it was just because I refused to get caught up in it. I am so excited to have this off my task list and I can’t wait until they arrive and I get to spend time writing notes in each one.

If you send out holiday cards, it’s not too early to order yours. Let it be easy! The sooner you have them the more ease you’ll bake into the process!

I'm on the Exactly Enough Time podcast!

27 October 2022

I had such a great time talking with Stacy Julian, family historian, teacher, writer and podcaster on the most recent episode her podcast Exactly Enough Time. I met Stacy in 2020 after I heard her speak at the giant RootsTech genealogy conference. I was in the audience for her class and was so delighted about what she had to say about her approach to organizing inherited items that I rushed the stage afterward to thank her. (I very rarely do that!)

I blogged about Stacy’s approach on my other blog, Organize Your Family History, but I haven’t mentioned her on this blog. If you have a box of family history documents and memorabilia that has you paralyzed, check out Stacy’s terrific approach to dealing with it in her blog post, How to BEGIN with the Box. I’ve used her approach myself and it works for me!

I was delighted when Stacy asked me to be a guest on her podcast. The episode, published today, is called Janine Adams: Share with Confidence. We talked about getting started and staying organized when it comes to family history research. We had so much fun chatting (her enthusiasm is contagious!). If you have an interest in family history and family stories, I hope you’ll give it a listen.

The life-changing magic of merino wool

25 October 2022

In December 2020, I bought my first Wool& merino wool dress and I wore it for 100 days in a row. The challenge changed everything for me.

One year and 10 months later, I have worn merino every single day except maybe a half dozen oddball days. I now own a whopping 15 wool dresses, plus a tunic, two cardigans, four pairs of leggings, two pairs of bike shorts, some culottes and a Moto jacket, all from Wool&. That feels like a lot of clothes, but it’s really all I wear.

I’m in the midst of a 30-day challenge, wearing the cinnamon-and-navy striped Margo shift dress. It’s a heavier dress than the Rowena swing dress that I wore for the 100-day dress challenge and I absolutely love it. It’s so comfortable and cozy; I love the way it looks and feels. (You can get a peek at it in the photo above.)

So what happened? Why am I so in love with these merino wool blend dresses? Here are a few of the reasons I love this way of dressing:

• Less laundry. I do laundry weekly but probably wash no more than two dresses in any given week.
• No smell. Merino wool is odor resistant. I hang the dress I wore on the back of my bedroom door and it sells fresh in the morning.
• No wrinkles. I stopped ironing years ago, so I love that none of these garments require ironing.
• They’re soft. Wool gets a bad rap for being itchy. But, at least for me, merino wool doesn’t itch.
• They’re temperature regulating. I wear these dresses year round, here in St. Louis where it gets both hot and cold.
• I have fewer decisions to make. Right now, since I’m in a 30-day challenge, I know what I’m going to wear every day. But even when I’m not in a challenge, my choices are more limited than they used to be. And I love that.
• The wonderful Facebook community. There’s a great Facebook group called Wool& 100 Day Dress Challenge full of positive energy and support for all body types. It keeps me on Facebook, frankly.
• These garments have a resale value. This isn’t fast fashion. Almost every Wool& piece sells for more than $100 retail and enthusiasts are happy to purchase used garments at near-retail prices because the quality is so high. I have bought and sold many dresses in the Wool& Buy/Sell/Trade Facebook group.

Wool& is by no means the only company that sells great Merino wool garments. I wear wool t-shirts from Woolly and wool underwear from Icebreaker. (I know that wool underwear sounds really uncomfortable to some people, but it’s amazing!) I focus on Wool& because I know and trust them and it limits my choices, which, again, is very helpful to me as someone who is easily overwhelmed by choices.

For me, Wool& dresses have been like eating potato chips. I couldn’t stop at one! But these garments have made getting dressed and feeling good about how I look much easier. And that’s a very good thing.

Worth repeating: What to do before an organizing appointment

17 October 2022

I published this five years ago and it’s as true now as ever, so I thought it was worth repeating.

It’s not unusual for a new client to ask me what she should do before I arrive at her home for the first time. (Most, but not all, of my clients are women.) Most assume they need to clean up the house.

I always suggest that the client not clean up her home for me. Piles and messy spots can be revealing. They reveal where the client and/or her family naturally tends to rest stuff. They reveal the stuff that’s actually in use, typically. They reveal an absence of a working system for handling the mail.

There’s no need to be ashamed of piles and messy spots. It’s why you’re looking for help, after all. (And believe me, I’ve had professional organizers help me in my home, so I understand the discomfort of airing my dirty laundry, so to speak.)

What you can do that is helpful is to spend a little type visualizing what you would like your space—and your life—to be once you achieve your organizing goals. Try to put that into words that you can share with your organizer. Knowing what success looks like is a huge part of achieving it. And being able to communicate that vision of success will really help your organizer.

So I suggest you put aside the notion that you have to clean up. Take that energy and put it into thinking and perhaps writing down what you desired when you decided to call in an organizer. And, please, be kind to yourself. Self-recrimination over a messy space doesn’t do you or anyone else any good.

Curious about using a bullet journal?

15 October 2022

I’ve been using a Bullet Journal since late December 2021. I played around with it for the last couple of weeks of 2021 and then started officially on January 1, 2022. On February 15, I published a pretty robust blog post about how I bullet journal. Six months later, I thought it was time for an update.

But before I talk about how my bullet journal practice has evolved, I wanted to share a few pieces of advice for those of you who are curious about doing it yourself. It’s really easy to get tied up in perfectionism when starting out with a BuJo. (Episode 188 of the podcast I co-host, Getting to Good Enough, was all about that.) So here are some things to keep in mind:

• There’s no right way to do a bullet journal.
• The beauty of the bullet journal is that it’s entirely customizable.
• Your bullet journal doesn’t have to be beautiful (though it’s okay if it is).
• Don’t let the ultra-artistic bullet journalers on YouTube (there are many) intimidate you.
• You can start your bullet journal one way and change how you do it

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, I encourage you to check www.bulletjournal.com, the website of the originator of the concept, Ryder Carroll. It can give you a great grounding in the concept. Then go make it your own.

Here’s my update on my bullet journaling:

I still love it. I use my bullet journal virtually every day. In the 10.5 months I’ve been using it as my task and project management system, there have been probably three days that I didn’t open it and write in it. That amazes me. It’s definitely my compass for the day.

I didn’t know on January 1, 2022 how much I would need this system. 2022 turned into a year of advocating for my elderly father and aunt with many, many phone calls to people in Washington state. With my bullet journal, I’ve been able to write everything down so I don’t have to rely on my increasingly unreliable memory. It has provided a huge sense of ease and relief, which has been invaluable during this difficult year. It’s also helped me stay on track with my business and my life while living with these external pressures.

The core of my bullet journal is my daily log. At the start of each day, I write a header, usually followed by a gratitude list, and then I start in on tasks and appointments for the day. It is within this daily log that I write all my notes as thing come about. I use an index at the beginning of the journal to note on which page I took those notes so I can find them later. (This is critical.)

Here’s a photo of today’s daily log, taken at the beginning of the day before I actually had much to take notes about. This can give you an idea of how simple my system is:

As I said above, the beautiful thing about the bullet journal system is that you can make it your own. Here are some ways that I’ve customized my journal:

• I don’t use a monthly spread. I keep my calendar electronically, so I don’t see a need for one.
• I do create a monthly highlights and habit tracker page at the beginning of each month (there’s a picture of it in my February post). It’s one of my favorite features of my bullet journal.
• I don’t do a weekly spread, though I do try to create a weekly task list that I refer to throughout the week as I’m creating my daily task list in my daily log.
• I try to write a weekly reflection, and also reflections after big events (like my father’s passing). I also use my bullet journal to record the thoughts I have during my monthly floats in a flotation tank.
• I always draw a table with my rates in my journal (by session length and team size) so when I’m doing an estimate I don’t have do any math.
• I keep a log of each day’s Wordle solution, how many guesses it took me and what my start word was. I know, I’m a weirdo.
• I allow myself to be creative and make my bullet journal pretty, without creating pressure on myself to do so. I only do it when I have time and consider it enjoyable. I try hard not to let a desire to make it pretty get in the way of my actually creating a spread in my bullet journal.

Here’s a picture of my FutureLog, in which I draw a year’s worth of small monthly calendars at the beginning of the journal. I have it span four pages so each page has three months on it. I write upcoming events (and sometimes past events) there. This is about as fancy as I get. In this case, you’ll notice that I messed up the days on the calendar and had to apply a patch with the correct days. No big deal.

I’ve developed some notebook preferences. I’m just about to finish my fifth notebook of 2022. I’ve had the chance to try out a few different types, and have to come to realize that I prefer a dot grid journal, and a stiff enough cover that I can write on my lap. (I did try a journal with black pages, but that lasted only one week and 29 pages because of the front-of-the-book spreads, so I don’t even count it.) My favorite is the Quo Vadis Habana Notebook. I’ve gone through three of them. I like the size and the slightly lighter paper thickness, which makes the notebook easier to carry around. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find any for sale online right now. I do have one Habana waiting in the wings, but I think for my next journal I’m going to try the Leuchtturm1917 B5 dotted notebook I bought when I was in Walla Walla last month.

2025 update: Since writing this post more than two years ago I’ve developed a solid preference for the Dotted Journal Pro Size B5 from Scribbles That Matter. I’ve used these for my last four journals (at least) and I love them.

If you’re curious about using a bullet journal, I encourage you to let go of perfectionism and just give it a shot. Don’t spend a whole lot more time seeing how other people do it. Just get in touch with what’s important to you about using a paper journal, embrace good enough, and go for it. You can always refine it as you go!