Peace of Mind Organizing

Worth repeating: Dealing with extra buttons

31 October 2018

I wrote this blog post five years ago. But it still resonates with me. It speaks so clearly to my mantra, “Let it be easy.” Incidentally, my extra buttons remain in their little Mason jar and I’m pretty sure I haven’t accessed them since I wrote this post in 2013. I could just toss them, but they kind of make me happy.

While I was perusing Facebook this morning, I stumbled onto a link to a post on organizing extra buttons on the Organize and Decorate Everything blog.

You know what I’m talking about, right? Those extra buttons that come (usually in some sort of envelope) with new clothes.

In that blog post, Leanne, the writer, details her beautifully organized and very labor-intensive method of dealing with these buttons: she either uses the original packaging or puts the button in a tiny clear-plastic envelope. She writes a description of the garment on the envelope. She does the same with the extra thread that comes with the garment.

Then she files these tiny envelopes in small accordion file, organized by color. Once a year, she goes through the accordion file and weeds out the buttons that belong to garments she no longer has.

Wow. Just wow. To me, that is a whole lot of work that, in my life anyway, would pay very few dividends. I can’t remember the last time I needed one of the extra buttons that came with a garment.

Let’s contrast Leanne’s method with my own. I have a mason jar that I put buttons in. When I buy a garment that has extra buttons (which these days is pretty rare, since I buy so many of my clothes at resale shops), I take the buttons out of the envelope and put them in the jar. And I throw away any extra thread.

In the rare event that I need one of these buttons, I just pour the buttons out of the jar and and find it. I have the matching buttons on the garment, so I can identify it.

That’s it. It takes no time.

Here’s a photo of my button jar:

These contrasting methods do a marvelous job of illustrating an overriding principle I live by:

Organizing systems should be as complex as they need to be and not one bit more.

I found myself admiring how beautifully organized the buttons in that blog post were, and the beauty of accordion file of buttons sorted by color, and then I realized that for me, anyway, that would be a complete waste of time. And if I aspired to a system like that, I’d probably just have a big pile of buttons waiting to be processed. In the case of extra buttons, I think simple is best.

Ask us anything!

26 October 2018

The podcast I co-host with my friend, Shannon Wilkinson, Getting to Good Enough, is all about overcoming perfectionism so you can do more of what you love. We launched on June 15, and we’ve published 22 episodes so far. (We’ve actually recorded 24—we keep a buffer of two or three episodes.)

We have a feature we call Q & A on the 5s, where each episode that ends in five will showcase questions from listeners (and our answers, of course). We’ve set up the GTGE Hotline (413-424-GTGE) where you can call in and leave a message with your question or comment. We’ll address it on the air in the next Q&A on the 5s episode, using your voice from the voicemail. (You can listen to Episode 15 to see what that’s like.)

On Monday, we’re recording Episode 25 and we need your questions! If you’re a listener of the podcast and have any questions or comments that have arisen while you listened, please call the GTGE Hotline (413-424-GTGE) and leave a voicemail. We’d love to include you in this episode!

If you’re not already a listener, you can listen to or subscribe to the podcast by clicking on the appropriate link at the bottom of the website, or by searching for the podcast wherever you find the podcasts you listen to.

Just in case you don’t know what a podcast is, think of it as an internet radio show. When you subscribe to the podcast (you can listen on your phone or tablet or computer) new episodes will be downloaded automatically into your device or computer (depending on where you subscribed). We publish a new episode every Thursday and the previous episodes (all 22 of them) are available for you to binge-listen right now.

Podcasts keep me company while I drive, while I’m doing laundry or cleaning up the kitchen, sometimes even when I walk Bix. There are so many great podcasts out there; mostly I listen to self-help, entertainment or news-related podcasts. One of these days, I’ll put together a blog post about the podcasts I listen to most often and post it here.

If you’re already a listener of Getting to Good Enough, thank you! Please help us out by submitting a question or comment we can address!

Organizing spices

25 October 2018

Storing spices can be a challenge. Spice collections have a way of growing and it can be difficult to devise a way to keep the most frequently used spices close at hand.

In my own home, I store spices in narrow pull-spice cabinets we had installed when we renovated our kitchen. I’ve divided spices into two categories: sweet and savory. The sweet (baking) spices are stored in the upper spice cabinet and the savory (cooking) spices in the lower spice cabinet. Within the savory, I’ve grouped together the spices that we use together. For example, we make a taco seasoning mix that’s comprised of seven different spices. I store those together on one shelf, so it’s easy to access them when I need them. That works for us and is definitely aided by the fact that we have these spice cabinets.

Here’s a photo of my spice cabinets, so you can see the kind of cabinets I’m talking about:

We recently helped a client whose has a spice shelf mounted beneath her upper cabinets. That shelf was crowded with spices and the overflow spices cluttered the countertop. We went through all the spices and got rid of any that had expired. The client selected the ten spices she uses most frequently. We decanted those ten into 5-ounce wide-mouth spice jars I purchased at the Container Store. I handwrote labels for them. The remainder of the spices went into a small handled pantry basket that was placed in the cabinet above.

Here’s a photo of the spice shelf, along with a close up of a few bottles, so you can see the labels. It’s pleasing to the eye and has worked out really well for her!

These are just a couple of ideas for spice storage. A search on Spice Storage at the Container Store’s website will show you a lot of different products options.

Some people like to store their spices alphabetically for easy retrieval. I prefer to store the functionally, which makes both retrieval and storage easy. Do what works for you!

Worth repeating (again): Ten minutes to calm

12 October 2018

I wrote this post in 2014, but it’s as true today as it was then. The items on my desk have changed, but the need to focus on clearing it for just a few minutes hasn’t. It’s amazing the results that ten minutes of focused tidying can produce!

Yesterday afternoon, I sat down at my cleared-off desk (I’d cleared it because the housecleaner was coming that morning), and proceeded to trash it. I don’t know what happened—I think I was looking for something I’d written down but couldn’t find. Plus I’d probably dumped some stuff on the desk when I came home. (Yikes.)

I eventually found what I was looking for and turned my attention to my computer screen so that I could get some work done, but the stuff remained all over my desk.

I didn’t really need to use my desk’s surface—my work was focused on my computer—but I still couldn’t get anything done. The ideas weren’t flowing. I was distracted by my messy desk.

So after an hour or so of spinning my wheels, I decided to do something about the desktop. Good organizer that I am, I took a before picture. Then I pressed play on a ten-minute playlist in iTunes and I started putting stuff away. And throwing stuff away. I made file folders and filed a few papers. I added some items to my task list.

Here’s what happened in just ten minutes:

Messy desk before:

Just ten minutes later:

I’m continually impressed with how powerful just a small amount of time decluttering can be. The trick is to pick a small space and finish in the allotted time—don’t leave it half done. The other trick is to do it fairly often; I dealt with yesterday’s clutter so quickly because it was not very deep.

Take a look around the room you’re in. Is there a little space (a shelf? a surface?) that you could declutter this weekend? Trust me, it’ll feel so good.

I'm a guest on Sustainable Minimalists podcast!

9 October 2018

I was interviewed recently by Stephanie Seferian of The Sustainable Minimalists podcast in an episode called “Decluttering Tips: Secrets of a Professional Organizer” that was published today. We talked about decluttering and organizing, along with the value of a peaceful, organized space.

It was an enjoyable interview and I think it presents some valuable information, including Stephanie’s own nightly routine, which I got very excited about!

I encourage you to give it a listen. You can listen to it on the show’s website on iTunes, Google Play, Overcast, and Stitcher.

Don’t miss the show notes page, which has a summary of the main points, along with a free printable I provided with a step-by-step approach to decluttering.

I hope you enjoy it!

A tiny change that made a big difference for me

6 October 2018

I have to tell you about a quality-of-life-enhancing change I made recently. It might seem like a no brainer to you. But I have to share because it makes me so happy. It involves my house and car keys.

I bought my first car when I was 26. At the time I was living with my then-fiance (now husband), Barry, who always kept his car keys and house keys on separate rings. So I did the same thing. After we got a dog, I appreciated that I wasn’t lugging my car keys along on my dog walks. After awhile, though, we had a dedicated keyring for dog walks with just the front door key on it. But I kept my car and house keys separate because that’s how I’d always done it.

Fast forward (gulp) 29 years. I was given a new, smaller key ring when I was awarded Volunteer of the Year by NAPO-St. Louis. I love this key ring but it’s smaller than my old one and it was harder to find in my purse. I try to keep an organized purse, but I never really had a good spot within my purse to store my keys. Finding my keys in my purse when I needed to get into my house was a frequent source of frustration. Truth be told, that was a problem with the older, bigger key ring too. (Our garage is detached from our house, so the house is always locked.)

I keep my car keys on a carabiner to make it easy to keep track of them when I’m working (team members frequently need access to my keys to get supplies out of my van). One day, a couple of months ago, for a reason I don’t recall, I decided to hook my keychain with my house keys onto my car-key carabiner.

Oh. My. Heavens. That little change has made a HUGE difference in my quality of life. Let me count the ways:

1. I have only one set of keys to grab on my way out the door.
2. After I lock my door, my car keys are still in my hand
3. When I come home, I no longer have to look for my house keys. They’re IN MY HAND.
4. I can remove my house keys from the carabiner when I’m working so that I don’t have such a heavy key ring to keep track of

It’s the greatest. I drive pretty much every day, so this has a daily impact on my life. Even a few months into this, I still automatically ask myself, “Where are my house keys?” when I start to get out of the car. And then I become thrilled that I don’t have to look for them.

Small change, huge results. Is there any tiny change you could make in your life to reduce or eliminate a source of stress or irritation?

Packing light: Fewer choices = more fun (for me)

24 September 2018

I’m leaving on an eight-day trip this afternoon and am just now thinking about packing. I have a packing method I’ve been using for decades that helps me of avoiding overpacking. (I think I invented it.) I detail the method in the blog post linked above, but basically, I jot down and number the items I plan to take and then I write down the days and, using the numbers, I note what I’ll wear each day. I scan the list of things I’m planning to wear and make sure that all numbers are accounted for and each item on the list has a planned wearing. (Of course, I also pack undergarments, jewelry, pajamas and toiletries.) That’s today’s packing list in the photo.

I love packing light. I don’t waste time deciding what I’m going to wear each day. (I can just consult my list!) I love that I can easily fit everything in a carry-on and that I don’t have to schlep a heavy bag.

One of the other great advantages is that it will take me almost no time to pack. And when I come home unpacking will be easy too!