Why being organized can save your sanity…
A week ago my doctor discovered why I had been in pain for the last months – I had been walking around with a hip fracture. Less than 24 hours later, I was in a hospital bed recovering from the operation with pins and a plate to fix my hip fracture realizing that my life will be turned upside down for the next few months as I heal (up to a year for full recovery).
While it’s not much fun to use a walker and rely on my family for help, I am grateful that I live in an organized space as I am “stuck” on the second floor of my home for a few weeks. I am grateful that I have all of my business supplies in my office, organized, so I can easily access everything. I am grateful that I know exactly where all my health information, records, and insurance card is so I was able to bring it quickly to the hospital. I am pleased that I could quickly pack a bag for my several days at the hospital because I keep an extra tote of small toiletries ready for travel and my clothes are in their drawers, allowing me to find what I need efficiently. I am glad that I am efficient with knowing which clients I will need to call and reschedule appointments since I cannot drive for at least a month.
Organization has been my blessing and will continue to be so throughout my recovery.
Laundry – pre-sorting
Laundry – it just seems like it never ends. One weeks’ loads are finished just to start again the next week. Sometimes we can be overwhelmed by this chore simply because the area we work in is filled with clutter and not simplified. Here’s a quick and easy solution to save you some time: regardless of where your washer and dryer are, in that area have either a sorting bin or better yet a dark and white colored laundry hamper/basket. Teach your children and family members to sort their own clothes into darks and whites. Then when you’re ready to do a load of laundry, you can see at a glance what load you need to accomplish first. Simply dump it in the machine with no sorting! What will take each family member an extra 30 seconds a day will save you time while you’re doing the laundry. You could also have a third sorting area/basket for delicates or even hand-wash. What’s your best tips on pre-sorting laundry?
The Container Store
Recently I had the opportunity to go to The Container Store in San Antonio, TX after the NAASM conference in Austin, TX. I loved going through the store seeing new and different ideas for organizing different parts of the home. If you have a store in your area, I urge you to check it out for some fun and innovative ideas for your home. Throughout the next several weeks I’m going to be highlighting area of the home with ideas and products to try. Tomorrow we’ll tackle the laundry room/area. What are your best laundry organization tips?
Goal oops…
About two weeks ago I had posted about finding an area in your home or life to work on organizing, calling it a goal instead of a resolution. Mine is to work on my file cabinet. As I had previously posted, while my files are in the correct folders and filed accordingly, I have not made a positive consistent habit of purging through the files. Consequently, when I go to purge through the cabinet, I am overwhelmed.
Ironically enough, I had said I would post the first small step I am going to take to work on my goal and THEN NEVER POSTED IT!!!! Sometimes life happens (like travel to Austin for the NASMM conference) and we don’t follow through with our intentions. That’s okay though, we jump back on that horse!
Anyway, my first mini step to organizing my file cabinet is to break up the task into small manageable tasks. Because I am overwhelmed by the sheer volume of file folders, I am going to set myself a weekly task of purging through two files each week. Will my steps give me an instantly purged file cabinet? No, but that’s okay. I am going to make it into a positive habit slowly and surely. If I forget or don’t have time one week, that’s okay and the same goes for each and everyone of you.
Have you picked an area in your life or home to work on? I would love to hear from you on your first baby step towards creating your positive habit! I’ll let you know on Friday how I did!
My file cabinet
Here is my goal – I plan on making purging my files into a habit!
Set an attainable goal
At this time of the year, many set New Year’s resolutions. Often the resolutions are set so high, they become unattainable, i.e. vowing to eat no more sweets, go to the gym every day, or lose all the built-up weight from over the years. I urge you instead to break up your resolution into attainable goals. It seems that those resolutions with no leeway are the easiest to break. For instance, if you pledged to have a completely organized house every day and miss a few days you broke your resolution! Instead, I suggest picking one small area in your life or home to make a habit of organizing. Let’s take that area and break up the goal into manageable steps to help creative a positive consistent habit.
My goal is to work on my file cabinet. I have personal files and work files. My issue is that I am not consistent in purging the unnecessary paperwork and then when I sit down to go through the cabinet after several months of not downsizing the papers, I am overwhelmed by the project. More tomorrow on how I plan to break up this goal into attainable steps. What is your organizing goal? Pick something small and attainable and let’s make a positive new habit together!
Holiday tip – Un-decorating
It’s that time again, time to take down the festive decorations. Before you start throwing your treasures into boxes and haul them up to the attic, take a few minutes to…organize!
Does it seem as if your house has shrunk or number of decorations grew? Maybe you really liked that dollar-store Santa you’ve had since college, but has your tastes changed? Look through your holiday garb. What do you really love? Which pieces are your style? Which bring you joy? Perhaps your adult child or a newly married couple you know would love that wreath that you’ve been dreading bringing out every year. Tastes change, and it’s alright to let go of the decorations. Take a picture if you want to remember it for the future. Consider each piece – keep it or release it! Let your storage facility breathe a little!
Consider decorations that you are keeping. Do any need any repair work? Wouldn’t it be great to use your time now to fix or maintain those adornments rather than realizing you have several items to fix next holiday season? Give yourself the gift of time next year by taking care of repairs now before packing them away!
Now that we’ve gone through the decorations and made necessary repairs, let’s store! How do you store your holiday decorations? Considering moving from cardboard boxes to plastic containers which will protect your treasures from the damp and humidity. I personally find it easy to locate items when they are all in the same colored container relating to the holiday. I also label each container so I know what to pack in it. For instance, we use the same display on our mantelpiece each year, so I pack all those items in the same container, labeled “Mantelpiece.”
While you’re un-decorating, take the time to consider your usual adornments around the house as you return them to their usual place. Just because you’ve had that same picture hanging in the hallway for 10 years, doesn’t mean that you still enjoy it. Consider each piece as you did your decorations: does it bring you joy? Does it match your current style or preferences? Is there someone else in your life who would love to have it in your home?
I really enjoy sending and receiving holiday cards each season, but what do you do with them afterwards? You have many options! If you’ve read and enjoyed them and have no further use, it’s alright to recycle them and release them from your life. If you want to keep the pictures (and you don’t have to!!!), put them in a photo album as you take them down from your display area. You can turn cards into gift tags for the following year. There are many crafts that use holiday cards. If you decide to keep them, have a purpose or a place for them. Don’t let an entire year go by before the cards find a purpose in your home!
Room additon?
Considering adding onto your home because you need more space for your things? Consider this article from the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. I am featured in the article and urge you to think about the purpose of a new room – what is your goal for the room? Do you already have the space available for activities? I hope the articles helps you consider many factors before you make a decision to expand.
Holiday tip – buy less!
I love Kevin Stevens’ article on consuming less for the holidays. So many times the clutter in our lives can be attributed to feeling the need to buy into the latest fads and sales. Just because your neighbor has the entire 100 piece holiday village throughout her house doesn’t mean you need it too! Stick with what you like – don’t buy more to fit in! Consider each purchase, holiday oriented or not, with a question – do I need this or want it? If I want it – do I have room for it? Will it bring joy to my life? Is it worth the space it will take up? Avoid impulse buys – think it over! You may find that you enjoy having your tables not cluttered with knickknacks and a more full wallet!
Holiday tip – storage!
I love to use colored containers for my holiday storage – such as black and orange for Halloween, bright blue for Easter, and red and green for Christmas. It makes it so easy when we go into the attic to quickly get the correct container! (You can also use a different color for each member of the family to quickly locate seasonal clothing in your storage area!) I also use a label maker to label each container with what decorations are inside so we can bring it right away to the correct room. It also makes it easy for taking down the holiday garb when I know what goes in which container! (Hint – holiday decoration colored containers tend to go on sale and clearance right after the holidays!) How do you store your holiday decorations?
