Peace of Mind Organizing

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!

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.