Storage

Do you remember what you have in your storage unit? Have you visited it recently? Do you know what's there? If you have a storage unit how much a month are you paying to keep things you haven't seen or are never going to use again? Can that money be better spent in your life?

As the economy takes a shift so should you. Think of it this way. You have money in your storage unit, just sitting there. Sell your furniture, your rugs, the china, the sports equipment, the truck or boat. The market for books is also changing due to online books. Take those books you've been keeping and either donate them or sell at second hand dealers. In a few years there may not be a market for them.

If you can't face the job of revisitng your storage facility take a friend or friends to help, hire a professional organizer. It is important that you downsize your 'stuff' when the market takes a hit. You don't want the heavy burden of financial output nor do you need the emotional weight of the stuff you may never see or use.

Make that commitment to yourself to get started. Keep at it until you have downsized by at least 60% and if you can't part with things you can now get a smaller unit to keep your treasured items. You are making a shift in your resources as the global market also makes a shift.

Clothes

What fits?

Now that Spring is beginning to emerge, what new changes are happening in your closet? Anything in there that isn’t being worn, anything been there for quite some time and needing to go?

It is so very important as each season arrives to clear out the old, the unused, the uninspiring.  What makes you feel wonderful when you put it on?  What gives you a lift when you wear it?  If you are unsure check with your partner or a friend and ask them to tell you honestly what makes you look good.

In my years of helping women create space in their closets there are a few little tips that are guaranteed to work.  Here are a few.

Tip #1

Put the timer mentioned in my first blog, on for an hour.  Take everything on hangers out of your closet and put them on the bed. Now, go through and try one piece on at a time, look in the mirror and ask yourself one question “Do I love it?”  There are only 2 answers to this question; it is a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’.  If it is a ‘no’ don’t even consider putting it back. Put it in a bag for donation.

Tip #2

If the answer is a ‘yes’, check to see if it fits you well. If it is too big get it altered, if it is too snug, give it away.  I have never had any client want to wear any of the clothing they THOUGHT they might wear after loosing weight.  They wanted something different and up to date.

Tip #3

Put what you love back in your closet with the hangers facing backwards.  As you wear your clothes put the hangers back the way you would normally place a hanger.  After 6 months or so you can see at a glance what are your most popular items.  Anything not worn after 6 months or so you can then make another decision to purge again.

Did you beat the timer?  If not try again, and consider trying for ½ hr. And remember don’t over-think it!

Relieving Stress

Stress Proof

About 75% of us make lists. It is the one way that our brains help to make sense of our lives. As we cross off items it is a reminder that we are moving ahead, making progress and getting a handle on things.

50% of us jot things down after we've done them! There is such a sense of freedom, space and peace in putting together a list.

If you aren’t a list maker, challenge yourself in the next few weeks to start. The list is not about what you take off. For this exercise it is about what your body/mind might feel like when the list is made.  Your brain can only keep about 7 things in your working memory.  Help it out, put down things as you think about them. You will free the mind to become more creative and productive.

If you ARE a list maker, try something different. Make a list of the things you are grateful for, books you want to read or simply jot things down as they come to mind. No rules, allow themes and solutions to emerge.

TIP:

If anything on your list hangs around for longer than 60 days, it’s not that important. Not worth the
guilt you might feel about it, delete it. #springclean 

Priorities

Often when the process of decluttering and organizing needs to happen we stop before we even get to the gate.  The whole thing seems so overwhelming that we procrastinate.  Our thinking mind works us into indecision and works us into thinking that it isn’t that bad.  We then leave it for another opportune time that never seems to happen.

As mentioned in previous blogs it is really the small steps that work.  The ability to keep in the moment, not project into the future is the key to success.  Too much thinking causes missteps in the clearing process.

If you have had false starts more than perhaps three times it may be time to hire a Professional Organizer.  These men and women have the ability to see spaces, prioritize the needs and work efficiently with you.  Very often you might just need a 2 hour session with the professional just to get you started.

If however you want to do it on your own, here are some steps to help you.

STEP 1

Go into your kitchen and pull out a drawer that is small and needs some help.

STEP 2

Put the timer on for 30 min. Dump the contents onto a counter or in a box.  Now quickly, without thinking or pondering over the items put back into the drawer, anything you want to ‘live’ there.   Recycle the rest.  You’re done!

STEP 3

Find a place or home for the things that don’t belong there.  Put all the elastics in ONE spot, all the twist ties in another location.  And for goodness sake you don’t need 100 twist ties.

Tip:

General rules for sorting through kitchens…keep what you use, recycle or throw away the rest. If you don’t love it or use it, give it away.

Home Office Paper #2

The next level of clearing and sorting paper after getting a handle on the new arrivals is the older stacks of paper or files.

It is one of those areas that require a consistent effort every day for about a week.   The gift that this effort brings is more space; more ability to move and a lighter look to the visible space that is your office. 

I know it is difficult to find this time and there is certainly an element of procrastination involved but think how good you felt in getting the current paper and files sorted.  This can be better because as you clear out the old you allow something new to enter, to support you, your business and your personal space.

Step 1

Get the timer, put it on for one hour.  Turn off all cell phones and computers.  Have a recycling bag close at hand for paper, a shredder for anything of a personal nature.  If you have more personal files than your shredder can handle hire a professional shredding company.  These companies are a quick and efficient way to remove unwanted documents.

Step 2

Pick a file out of your drawer, open it. Start going through every piece of paper.  Toss the info that is no longer pertinent.  Keep the rest in the proper locations. If there are documents that don’t apply to the name on the file, create a new one or put the paper where it belongs.

Step 3

Don’t put your collected recipes, pictures from books that inspire you to redecorate or current publication articles in files.  These are best put in stacking boxes with a label of what is inside.  There’s such a variety of beautiful canvas or colored boxes you can use to enhance your visual space and make your office more inviting.

Take a break after an hour and do something that brings you joy.  After a short break go at it again.  Just keep at it until you are done.  Prevent yourself from leaving it ‘until later’.

Tip

Keep only current issues of magazines or journals.  Recycle the rest.  Statistics show that people rarely, if ever can put their hands on an article that was read earlier.  Tear out the article if you absolutely need it and put it in one of your beautiful stacking boxes.   

Don’t forget to appreciate what you have done.  This is not an easy task.

Home Office Paper

There is no doubt about it.  Keeping on top of the paper pile in your office can be overwhelming. Probably just reading this brings you up short if you are caught in the grips of it.

Take a deep breath, exhale completely and move forward.  It is not as daunting as it might appear.  Feels like it, looks like it but there are a few short steps to fixing it.

This blog will focus on your new arrivals first.  In 2 weeks I will give you tips for dealing with older items.  For now this is dealing with the current paper that comes in.

 Step 1 

Get a supply of folders and labels. Also purchase a stand-up file.  Make labels for each item you receive, eg. phone, visa, cable, dept store bills etc. (one folder for each).  Take your current bills, open them, and recycle the envelopes and any advertising within.  Put the bill and/or receipt in the corresponding folder. 

Step 2

Decision time…arrange to have your bills sent and paid for online.  This is the most efficient way to eliminate the paper pile. If that isn’t comfortable decide immediately upon receipt of that bill what to do with it.  Piles of paper are small procrastinations.  Take the time every day to deal with what comes into your office or across your desk.  Train yourself to pay the bill immediately upon its arrival. 

Step 3   

Put the stand-up file on your desk.  Place these folders that you have labeled with your bills/receipts in them into the stand-up file.  They are visually available to access them quickly.  

You are now ready…receive a bill…open, recycle envelope and enclosed ads….pay bill…mark the date you paid it…put paid bill in file on your desk.

Once you set up this system it will take you less than 2 minutes to complete the ‘bill paying’ task.

Tip

If you have a home based business send invoices by email.  Eliminate the use of envelopes and stamps.

In preparation for next time do a bit of research, nope, don’t purchase a thing!  Just be aware of what is available in your local dollar store or stationary store for stackable boxes.

A Change

Call those resolutions something different!  Call them intentions.  Intentions are everything! They prepare the field for something new to emerge.  An intention is a subtle energy that even in molecular biology has a direct affect on your metabolism. Intentions are goal-based thinking.  Even the word ‘resolution’ holds the energy of an old belief system!

Want to make a significant change in your life?  Start by changing the language you bring to yourself in wanting that change.

In preparing clients to create something new for themselves as they clear a closet, a room, a locker or garage, I encourage them to bring a different language of support to themselves.  Words like ‘can’t, shouldn’t, should have, wished I had’, negates the self, limits the vision and over time creates a limiting belief of what is possible. 

It is time to get rid of the old belief system, the old paradigm.  Let’s start with ‘resolution’.  You have lived long enough to know that by February 1^st of any year your resolutions are no longer thought of with the intensity they were on January 1^st.   The change you wanted at the beginning of the New Year is lost in old habits.

Here are 3 steps to get you started on that change.

Step 1

Ask yourself what you want. Choose one desired outcome.  Limit yourself to that.

Step 2

Change any habits or patterns that are not in alignment with what you want.  This includes the language you give yourself when you think of your intention.  Act as if it is already achieved and you are the parent of encouragement to the shift.

Step 3 

Stop over thinking!  Catch yourself in your exhaling breath to bring you back into the moment, back into yourself.

Change is a choice.