Peace of Mind Organizing

The power of the 30-day challenge

1 June 2017

You’ve probably seen the various 30-day fitness challenges that have made the rounds. (I’ve tried the 30-day plank challenge and usually make it about 20 days before getting distracted.)

I think these challenges are popular because they build slowly and they have an ending point. That ending point is critical, in my opinion.

For the last couple of years, I’ve instituted what I call 30 × 30 challenges for my genealogy research. On my genealogy blog, Organize Your Family History, I challenge myself and my readers to doing 30 minutes of genealogy research 30 days in a row. I announced my June 2017 30 × 30 challenge yesterday. It’s my fifth such challenge and I find they’re very effective in ensuring that I don’t put my genealogy research on the back burner.

There’s something about the first day of the month that makes me want to make 30-day commitments. So this morning, I created a list of things I intend to do each day for the 30 days of June. In the interest of public accountability, I’ll post them here:

• daily exercise (I’ve been trying to implement some back exercises)
• 30-day plank challenge
• daily genealogy research (of course)
• daily effort toward some new products I’m writing and will put up for sale
• four days of blogging per week (I try to do that every month, but want to make a special effort to do consistently this month)
• work on Quickbooks daily (after I’ve caught up with Quickbooks, I’ll just record the day’s transactions)
• clean off my physical desktop daily (I wax and wane on that one)
• be very mindful in my spending in June; each day in June I will think carefully before spending any money

I’ve decided that my key word for June is discipline. Since I know I have to disciplined for just a month (watch out, world, on July 1!), it feels more like an opportunity and less like a sentence.

How about you? Is there anything you would like to commit to doing for 30 days?

Make laundry easier

30 May 2017

I see a lot of clients who have trouble keeping up with the laundry. They may be overwhelmed by the sheer quantity. Or the problem may be that it’s too hard to put it away, so it ends up staying in baskets. Whatever the reason, unfinished (or unstarted) laundry can be a real source of stress.

When I see problems with laundry I know right away that the client probably has a whole lot of clothes. And I know that if they let go of the clothes they don’t love or wear, along with the duplicates they purchased because nothing was clean, their laundry situation would be a lot easier.

In other words, if you streamline your wardrobe, you’ll streamline your laundry. When it’s easy to do something (like washing, drying and putting away the laundry) you’re more likely to stay on top of it. And when you’re top of it, it’s easier to do. It’s a wonderful cycle!

If you’re drowning in laundry, I suggest you take a good hard look at your wardrobe. Start with your closet then move on to your dresser. When you’re through with those spaces, address any piles hanging around in baskets or on the floor. Let go of any garments that don’t make you feel great when you wear them. Donate the ones that don’t fit. If you have any that were purchased more than a year ago but still have tags, let them go. I promise that you will feel lighter and lighter as the donation pile builds.

Once you’ve gone through the clothes and let go of excess (and that includes socks!), organize what you’re keeping by type of clothing and, if you’d like, color. If they don’t all fit in your closet and dresser, take another stab at decluttering. Once your clothes are organized and fit neatly in your storage spaces, your laundry will become easier to do because you’ll be able to more easily put your clothes away. Plus you’ll fewer clothes to wash.

This is worth the effort, believe me. And it can be downright life changing!

The hallmarks of a good task list

22 May 2017

Do you keep a task list? I’m surprised by the number of people I meet who don’t. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that my memory isn’t what it used to be, but I think I’d be lost without my task list. And certainly I’d be less productive.

What’s the best way to keep a task list? If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that my answer is that there’s no one right way to do it. The best way is the way that works for you. That said, I think there are some things that are common to all good task lists.

In my opinion, a good task list is:

• Contained in some way. If it’s paper, it’s in a notebook or pad, not on scratch paper or Post-it® Notes. If it’s electronic, it’s in a single app, not scattered around your phone or computer.
• Accessible. A good task list is kept handy so that you can add to it or consult it easily.
• Doesn’t require constant copying. I like to write down a task once, not multiple times.
• Can be checked off. Because who doesn’t enjoy the satisfaction of checking off a completed task? (Raise your hand if you’ve written down a task after the fact, just so you can check it off)
• Isn’t overly complicated. If you try to get fancy with color coding or categorization, it may become unsustainable. (Of course, if you enjoy fancy, it might be great.)

For years I kept my task list in paper notebooks. Now I keep it in Evernote. I have a notebook called Next Week of My Life and one called Next Hour of my Life. (Those names are adapted from a system created by Mark Forster.) I create a weekly note that’s a master list for the week. And then each day I consult the weekly list as I create a daily note in the Next Hour of my Life notebook, with the notion that I will then plan just an hour’s worth of tasks at a time. I use Evenote’s checkbox bullet for each task so I get the satisfaction of checking off the completed task. This system is working well for me.

There’s no one right way to keep track of your tasks. That said, I believe that getting them out of your head and onto paper or a screen is best. I think our brains have better things to do than remember tasks!

Worth repeating: A key to keeping surfaces clear

19 May 2017

Today I’m taking some inspiration from a blog post I wrote almost three years ago. I wish I could tell you that my bureau has only three things on it today, but the truth is there’s a little bit of clutter. This weekend I’m going to clear it off and get it back to the state that is pictured! Then I’m sure it will be easier for me to keep it clear.

If you click on the clean bureau tag to left on this blog, you’ll see that pretty much every year one of my goals is to put my clothes away properly at night and keep the top of the bureau clear.

It’s obviously been an ongoing struggle with me. But for the past month of so, I’ve been doing it successfully every day, with minimal effort. And I think I know why.

I cleared off the bureau when I did my jewelry reorganization and now only three things, my jewelry box plus two small lamps, reside there.

Before, when the bureau was cleared off, many items actually lived there so it always looked a bit junky. Add some dirty socks or tags cut off of new clothes or yesterday’s jeans and it didn’t make a gigantic difference.

But now if I’m tempted to leave something on the bureau it sticks out like a sore thumb. So I take the extra ten seconds to either put it away or toss it down the laundry chute or in the trash, which is right next to the dresser.

With the three items anchoring the space, it’s become really easy to keep this space clear. It’s clear to me that the key is limiting the items that legitimately reside on the bureau top. It’s been only a three weeks or so, but I feel very optimistic.

The same holds true for my desk in my office, which I try to clear each night. If I leave a pile of action papers on the corner of the desk (which I tend to do when I’m feeling lazy), the pile soon grows (and little action gets taken). Once that pile grows, I might start leaving small items in the middle of the desk. After a few days of this, I have to take a few minutes to put everything away except the few things that legitimately reside there.

Based on my experience with my bureau, I think it’s time for me to take a hard look at the things I store on my desk and make sure that they deserve that prime real estate. I’d be willing to bet that I can move a few things to the office-supply closet just a few steps from my desk. And that will make it easier to keep up my clear-desk habit.

My newest favorite iPhone accessory: Loopy

15 May 2017

Photo courtesy of Loopy Cases.

I attended the NAPO conference last month and roomed, as usual, with my pal, Geralin Thomas. Geralin is always turning me on to great things and I’ve learned over the years to take her recommendations very seriously.

This time, she showed me her phone case, which is called Loopy. This case has a collapsible silicon loop on the back, which threads through holes in the case to securely fasten the loop.

I dropped my phone in the garage last month and cracked the screen a tiny bit, so I’d been feeling a bit insecure. Who knew that a loop on the back of a phone case could give me such a sense of security?

Since I don’t have a landline, I have to keep my phone on my person, which can be a pain when I’m wearing something without a pocket. With Loopy, I can securely hang on to my phone with one finger while I’m carrying a bunch of other stuff. I can even hold my phone when I walk my dog, if I want, without worrying about dropping it.

An added Loopy bonus is that when I set my phone face up on my desk, it sits at an angle that makes it easy to read. If I want to put my phone in my pocket, the loop collapses.

There was one challenge that switching to Loopy created, but I’m glad to say I’ve overcome it. My other favorite iPhone accessory is the Bracketron si Dash Mount. It allows me to mount my phone on my dashboard, in easy eyeline, so that I can safely use my phone for navigation. It works by placing a metal plate inside the phone case. The powerful magnet in the dashboard mount attaches itself to the metal through the case. (I blogged about it in March 2016.)

The problem was that the Loopy case doesn’t accommodate that piece of metal. The ends of the loop take up too much room. I was really disappointed when I discovered this because I didn’t want to have to choose between the two accessories. But I found this magnetic phone holder at the Container Store and I affixed the little metal plate to the back of my phone. Now I just remove the Loopy case when I drive and mount my phone onto the Bracketron. When I leave the car, I put the case back on. Problem solved! (Believe me, I heaved a big sigh of relief.)

I’m tickled pink by this purchase, so I just had to share the Loopy love!

A few products can transform a space

4 May 2017

This week, I had the opportunity to help a dear friend organize the storage spaces of her new apartment in New York City. Having just moved in, she didn’t need any decluttering, so I was able to get busy while she was at work. After I analyzed her needs, I went to the Container Store website and scoped out some products, making a Wish List.

Then I took the subway to the Lexington and 58th Street Container Store and told them I wanted same-day delivery of the products I purchased. I was given a scanner and I wandered through the store, scanning the products I wanted, using my Wish List as my guide. Then I checked out, went back to the apartment and within a few hours the products were delivered (for a $25 fee). It was fabulous.

I just want to show you a couple of photos of how some carefully selected products made a huge difference in this small space.

In the kitchen, my friend has a narrow (10 inches wide) cupboard in which she stored supplies to make hot beverages, primarily. She also had a little oil and vinegar and some peanut butter in there.

Here’s the before picture.

And here’s how the space was transformed with a few key products.

The game changer was the Linus 9-inch Divided Turntable, which now holds her bottles of oils and vinegars, plus some liquid sugar for coffee and her peanut butter. (I moved the oatmeal to the cupboard below, to live with the rest of the breakfast cereal.)

The YouCopia Coffee Stack Organizer was a revelation. My friend has a Keurig and this allowed us to store all her pods in a small, organized space. She buys them in ten-pod packages and each of the four levels of the organizer holds ten pods.

I used the Linus Sugar and Tea Packet Holder to hold her favorite tea bags (the rest are stored higher, in another cupboard; see the picture below) along with some individual packets of Sugar in the Raw. Everything else just fell into place.

Over the microwave, my friend had a bunch of boxes of tea, along with some pasta and some flavored syrup.

Here’s the before picture:

And here’s how it looked after adding just a couple of containers.

The 8-Compartment Acrylic Tea Box helped coral all those messy boxes. It fit in the space beautifully and held all her tea bags. Heaven.

I used the eight-inch square Linus Pantry Binz to hold her pasta. And I moved the syrups to the skinny cupboard.

I also worked in her bathroom and bedroom closets, which I can save for another post. (I have to get outside and enjoy New York!) It feels so great to be able to help my friend make her apartment so functional!

My strategies for packing light

1 May 2017

I’m in the middle of a fun ten-day trip. It’s bookended by a professional conference at the beginning, a wedding at the end and five days in New York City in the middle. I flew to Pittsburgh, took a train to New York, and will drive from there to Central Pennsylvania (for the wedding) and back before flying home from New York to St. Louis.

That’s a lot of back and forth and I didn’t want to be weighed down by luggage, particularly in the train portion of the trip (you could not check bags on the train I was on).I wanted to pack everything into a carry-on sized suitcase.

Packing light can be a bit of challenge when you need to dress nicely for a decent chunk of the trip. I’m proud say I’ve done it without a whole lot of effort. These are my strategies:

1. I planned everything I would wear each day. No extra just-in-case clothing.
2. I decided to wear the same thing every day while I’m in New York (more on that below).
3. I used packing cubes to pack more into the confines of the suitcase.
4. I can do a load of laundry midway through the trip.

My friend, Dacy Gillespie of mindful closet shared with me that she’d taken a long weekend trip without taking a single change of clothes. I was really inspired by that—I love the idea of not having to think about what I will wear! So I selected a pair of leggings (actually, I packed two pairs: one shorter and one longer) and a lightweight tunic from Athleta as my NYC uniform. I have a poncho if it’s cold and a scarf if I want to snazz it up. I have booties if I want to dress it up and sneakers if I want to be completely comfy and dress it down. I also have flats.

I so enjoy not having to think about what I’m going to wear! It’s absolutely liberating. It’s helpful that I feel great in this outfit and that it’s really comfortable.

As for the dressier clothes, I have two choices of clothes to wear at the wedding, both of which I wore at the conference.

For me, it’s all about making the decisions while I’m packing, rather than while I’m dressing. I know that overpacking just leads to stress for me. I love being really mobile with my suitcase. And I love not having to think much about what I’m going to wear because the choices are limited. (This is one reason I like Project 333 so much.)

I wonder if I’ll ever use a large suitcase again!