Peace of Mind Organizing

A year with my electric car

10 October 2022

On October 2, 2021, I took a train across the state to Kansas City to pick up the 2022 Nissan LEAF SL-Plus I’d just leased. I then drove it 250 miles home to St. Louis. (I blogged about the car buying (and selling) experience at the time.)

I literally hadn’t owned a new car since 2005. And this car felt newer than new because it has technology I hadn’t experienced before. The trip home became a bit rocky when I discovered that the charger in Defiance, Missouri, that I had scoped out was out of order. Since it was getting dark, I took a room in a hotel in Columbia and headed out the next morning to a charging station in Kingdom City that was, thankfully, operable. (The car dealership, Dream Nissan, paid all my travel expenses!)

In the first month of ownership, until the electrician could get the proper electricity added to my garage, I charged at an EVGO station at my bank, just a mile from my house. Once I had the electricity in my garage and the charging cable that came with the car installed, I was in heaven. It’s like having a gas station in my garage. All I have to do is remember to look at my battery charge level when I pull into the garage and decide whether I need to plug it in. Depending on how much I’m driving, I plug in usually about once a week.

Do I recommend getting an electric car? For me people like me, absolutely. Almost all my driving is local. The range on my car is about 240 miles on a full charge. There are very few places I go that I can’t get to and from without charging. I have one client just out of range and I take my husband’s Honda Accord when I work with her.

I have had to use a rapid charger outside my home just once in the eleven months since my in-garage charging station was installed. And that was because I forgot to charge the night before. Rapid charges are harder on battery longevity, so I’m glad I’m able to do my charging at home.

On the one-year anniversary of being an EV enthusiast, I thought I’d share the things I love about my Nissan LEAF:

• It’s quiet.
• It’s zippy—it accelerates very quickly, so merging onto the interstate is a breeze.
• With zero emissions, it’s good for the environment.
• It has most of the modern technology I like in a car, including Apple CarPlay, heated seats and heated steering wheel
• The safety features are terrific.
• A hatchback, it’s roomy enough for me to carry the things I need.
• It’s the most compact car I’ve owned since my 1998 Honda Civic and it’s easy to fit into my small city garage.
• It’s just plain fun to drive!

There are a few things I don’t love about the car:

• I’m not comfortable taking it on long trips (because of range anxiety), when I would really enjoy driving it
• It requires USB connection to the phone in order to connect to CarPlay (but I took care of that buying this bluetooth adapter).
• Sometimes when my phone is plugged into the USB cable, the audio when talking on the phone is unbearably crackly. That’s a known bug, I think. And the bluetooth adapter (above) has taken care of the problem.

I wasn’t nervous about driving an electric car because my friend and podcast co-host, Shannon Wilkinson has a 2021 Nissan LEAF and heartily recommended it. I learned long ago that I can’t go wrong taking Shannon’s recommendations (hence, the podcast). And then her husband, Mike, told me about the bluetooth adapter that took away my least favorite thing about the car.

If you’ve been toying with the idea of getting an electric car and were hesitating due to the lack of charging infrastructure (which I sure hope will be getting better), I urge you to think about having a charging station installed in your garage, if possible. It’s not a prerequisite, though. Shannon and Mike don’t have garage and get by without one. Also, think about how much you actually drive. For daily commutes it might be just what you need.

Worth repeating: The beauty of vertical storage

28 September 2022

I originally wrote this post in 2019 and I’m still embracing vertical storage. So I thought I’d share this simple principle again.

To the extent possible, I love storing things vertically, rather than horizontally. Think about how files are stored in a file cabinet—it’s much easier to access them than a stack of file folders.

But vertical storage isn’t just for files. I love using the principle all around my house (and with clients). For my office supplies, for example, I have three shelves in my office supply closet where I store supplies vertically (see the photo below). Notice how my Post-it® notes and other supplies are stored vertically using acrylic containers (a divided one similar to this and a 4 × 12 × 3 like this) on a shelf. I used small containers inside a basket so help me store as much as I can vertically on the middle shelf of the photo. And on the shelf, this magazine sorter allows me to store clipboards and portfolios vertically. I repurposed a box from Bare Minerals so store a small collection of handy pouches.

I have some notebooks I like to keep handy on the radiator behind my desk. One of them is the one grab when I’m on the phone on a business call. By using a desktop file holder, I can store notebooks vertically so I can easily (and silently) grab the right one when I need it.

Long before Marie Kondo was telling us how to fold, I was folding my t-shirts in half again and storing them vertically in the drawer. I love that it enables me to see the shirts and just pluck out the one I want. I do the same thing with my leggings—I store them vertically and use this closet drawer organizer to keep them upright.

When you’re organizing in your home, I encourage you to think about how you might integrate vertical storage. I think you’ll find it life-enhancing!

Are you registered to vote?

20 September 2022

Facebook just told me that today is National Voter Registration Day here in the U.S. So it’s a good time to remind you to check to make sure you’re registered to vote. The mid-term elections here in the U.S., which will be held on November 8, will be here before we know it. From the top of the ballot to the bottom, it’s a very important election.

You can go to Vote.org to make sure you’re registered. It includes links to each state’s information so while you’re there you can check your polling place, as well as rules about mail-in or absentee voting. In many places, the rules have changed, so it’s important to plan ahead.

If you live in Missouri (like I do) and plan to mail in an absentee ballot, it will have to be notarized. If you’re in St. Louis I am happy to notarize your ballot for you. Just shoot me an email to make arrangements to come to my porch.

Voting has always been important. But each year it feels even more vital. If you haven’t already, please make a plan today to vote!

Daily exercise for the win!

14 September 2022

My brother, Larry, is visiting me right now. He lives in Australia, so I don’t get to see him often. Our father died last month in Walla Walla, Washington, and Larry made an emergency trip to the U.S. After the memorial service, he came back to St. Louis with my husband and me.

We’re having a great time hanging out and catching up. And we’re even learning a thing or two from one another. One thing that Larry’s really impressed me with his daily habit of doing pull ups. Larry is a slender, strong 63-year-old man. He’s genetically inclined to being slender but he also has muscles. And now I know why.

Every day, Larry does ten pull ups.

He tells me that he started his pull-up routine in 1995. He started with only four, which was very easy for him to do. He slowly increased the number and now he’s up to ten. Along the way, he’s created a few rules for himself. If he can’t do all ten because he doesn’t feel strong enough, he lets himself take a break. He can make up the difference a little later or, barring that, he’ll make up the difference the next day.

When I asked Larry about his daily exercise habit and how he’s managed to keep it up for literally decades, he said,“It’s easy. That’s the beauty of it. I knew that I had to be flexible about it because I’d lose heart if I tried to force myself to do something that was too difficult. I knew that if I could do it every day it would be good for me. And it’s not something that’s impossible to do.”

There are so many things I love about this:

• His goal is realistic
• He builds some flexibility into it
• He allows himself to fall short but makes up for it
• He’s reaping visible benefits from this daily habit

I feel the same way about my daily yoga practice, which has fallen by the wayside due to a variety of circumstances. But Larry’s inspiring me to get right back on it and allow myself to just do a little bit of yoga and count it as a success. I know daily yoga is beneficial. (I didn’t miss a day for over a year during the pandemic.) My promise to myself is that I’ll let it be easy.

Larry is reminding me that when it comes to exercise (and really almost everything) any effort is better than no effort. His daily ten pull ups takes him literally a couple of minutes. (It’s fortunate that we happen to have a pull up bar just like the one he has at home.) And he’s definitely reaping the benefits!

The value of preparing for the end

8 September 2022

My father, Gene Adams, passed away on August 20. He was just a few weeks shy of his 92nd birthday. (I took the picture at left in January 2022. He was such a cheerful and adorable man!) Gene had moved into assisted living three months prior and his passing was swift and peaceful. I’m so grateful I was able to be with him when he died.

As soon as he passed away, the work began. After my mother, Betty, passed away in 2015, I helped my father with these tasks. But this time the responsibility fell square on my shoulders. To be honest, I felt overwhelmed by all that had to be done—it’s so hard to do everything while navigating grief. I was fortunate to have two friends who traveled to Walla Walla to help me navigate this. I’m not sure what I would have done without them!

As difficult as it was, the process was made so much easier because my father and I had planned everything ahead of time. As I wrote after my mother died, I took some estate organizing training back in 2006 and afterward, I took both my parents through Jeanne Smith’s Exit Stage Right workbook.

Thanks to that effort, I knew what my father wanted in his obituary, what songs he wanted sung at his memorial service, that he wanted a private burial following by a public church service, and even what singer he wanted to perform at the service. That service was a wonderful way to memorialize him and I couldn’t have been happier about it.

A very difficult and stressful time was made much easier by the planning that we did. I urge you in the strongest terms to take the time and have those difficult conversations with your loved ones. Also, I encourage you to write down your wishes for your own arrangements. I promise, there will be someone who will be very grateful.

Packing mindfully for a trip

15 August 2022

I’m packing for a nine-day trip to Walla Walla. This time, I’m determined not to overpack. The last two trips I took, I ended up packing way more than I wore.

It’s going to be hot there: At or over 100ºF most days. I get cold easily, so I always have bring layers for over-air-conditioned spaces. Mostly I’ll be hanging out with my dad, who is living in a care facility, so short sleeves will be my uniform.

I’ve embraced a smaller wardrobe for years, ever since I tried out Project 333 back in 2016. Since participating in the Wool& 100-day dress challenge from November 2020 to March 2021, I’ve worn merino wool every day and most days I’ve worn a dress. So for this trip, it’s a matter of deciding which dresses to take. (I have to admit that my collection of Wool& merino dresses has ballooned to 15.)

I made a list of four dresses to take, which should cover everything, even going out to dinner. I bet I can bring one, maybe two, sweaters that will work for all four dresses. I am trying to resist the urge to add more options. I know that I could wear the same thing every day and no one would notice (and thanks to the magical properties of merino wool, I can get away without doing laundry). When I actually pack tomorrow, I’m going to try very hard not to throw in extra items just in case.

Why am I doing this? To see if I can. (And I know I can.) I have felt frustrated with myself in the last two trips for carrying more than I need. This time, I want to write my feelings in my bullet journal, reflecting on whether I feel any frustration over not having more clothing options. I suspect that instead of feeling frustrated, I’ll be pleased that getting dressed is easier. I promise a future post about how it worked out!

Worth repeating (again): Making a move easy(er)

11 August 2022

My work life has been dominated in recent weeks by a helping a lovely family move from a large home to multiple destinations. It got me thinking about the tips I wrote eight years ago in this post that I think are still spot on. Check out Operation: Relocation page if you’re in St. Louis and planning a move. We’d love to help!

A supply drawer we created while unpacking a client

Moving is stressful. There’s pretty much no way around it. Even if an employer is paying for the move and you have the movers pack you, there are a lot of details with which to contend and it’s a hassle. Working with a professional organizer can help, but even so, the process is stressful.

I’ve recently helped several clients settle into their new homes by bringing in teams to unpack and organize their belongings. All of them were packed by the movers. Observing how the unpacking and organizing process went, I’ve identified a few ways to make the move easier:

• Start early. It’s easy to procrastinate on decluttering, packing, and making logistical arrangements. But the more time you can give yourself, the less stressful the process will be—and the more likely you are to avoid last-minute crises.

• Declutter before the move. If an employer is paying for the move, you might be inclined to delay decisions about letting go of stuff until after you see how it might fit into your new home. But believe me, by the time you’re in the unpacking phase of the move you’re going to be tired. And the fewer decisions you have to make when you unpack, the happier you’ll be. Less stuff = easier move.

• Go through the unopened boxes from the last move. If you’ve been in your home awhile and there are still unopened boxes in your storage area, don’t just move them. Open up those boxes and find out whether the items inside merit the space you’re giving them and the effort and money involved in moving them.

• Categorize before packing. If each box contains a category of items, unpacking is much more streamlined, and less frustrating. It can also make it easier to find an individual item before you’ve finished unpacking. If you don’t organize before you pack, you’ll end up with a hodge podge of items in each box, which can create headaches when you’re unpacking.

• Mark the boxes for the destination room. If the layout of your new home is different from the old one, try to mark the boxes for delivery to the appropriate room in the new home, rather than the room it came from. That way you’ll be able to stay in the room that you’re unpacking.

• Try to unpack as much as possible as soon as you move in. I’m typically a big fan of little and often, and if you need to break down unpacking into tiny chunks in order to get it done on your own, so be it. But if you can power through the unpacking process so that you get rid of boxes and get settled, the transition will be easier.

• Unpack the kitchen first. I think it’s hard to get a semblance of normalcy until your kitchen is unpacked. When you can make coffee in the morning and fix yourself a snack, life is better. Eating off of real plates rather than paper plates will make you feel like you’re home.

• Let go of perfection. Don’t get bogged down in the unpacking process trying to decide the perfect place to store items. You can always improve on it later. Just choose a location and see how it works.

• Enlist help. Unpacking a home on your own can be overwhelming. Enlist the help of friends, family or a professional organizer (or organizing team). In the last two unpacking jobs we did, we were able to get the entire homes unpacked in two days. It felt like a miraculous transformation—from a sea of boxes to a comfy home in two days. The clients still had tweaking to do, certainly, but they were able to get in with their daily routines.

Yes, moving is stressful. But it doesn’t have to be a nightmare. With a little planning and forethought, you can make it relatively easy.