A Professional Organizer's Real Life

Ahhhh, the Bliss of Organizing

2007-08-18T19:54:00.000-05:00

August is just another blur! Wow! Is it me or does anyone else feel this summer has gone by way too fast?! I suppose time goes by more quickly as we get older. Rats. That means I'll reach 80 alot sooner now. But there's good news to share. I recently organized my office. I love it! I rearranged a few things, bought a new chair (my back wasn't fairing well with the old one), took care of a few stacks of papers, and set up a couple of new systems. Although I liked my office before, it's so much nicer walking in here now. It feels more spacious. The same amount of stuff is pretty much still in here, but rearranging things has made a big difference. I re-organized everything that's in my storage areas so it's much neater and I don't have to move as many things around to get to the items I need more often (didn't I already know that principle of organizing?). My desk has more open space so I don't feel as crowded and cluttered. The same stuff is on it, just arranged differently. The printer is on top of a new paper sorter that I really needed, which gives me more room on the table to work on projects. A great little storage box that's been sitting in storage collecting dust has been put to good use to store an ongoing project's supplies under my desk. I added some glass shelves to the wall above my bookcase for some of my knick-knacks. This makes my eye-level surfaces (when I'm sitting, which is what I do most often in my office) look less cluttered. It's a refreshing place to work in. I loved it before and love it even more now! Ahhhh, what a great feeling a little organizing can do for you!

What a Blur!

2007-08-04T09:55:00.000-05:00

Is it August already? When did that happen??? This summer has truly flown by. I have yet to spend any time weeding my flowerbeds, but then, hubby usually takes care of that. I don't mind doing it. I mean, once the dirt has gotten under my nails I'm lovin' it. But this summer has been full of other priorities for me. Take July for instance. I received an unexpected phone call to appear on a local TV show to discuss organizing tips people can do now in order to avoid stress over the holidays. While I had no trouble coming up with the tips, I had much difficulty narrowing down the focus to just a few -- my segment on the show was to be only 5 minutes long. So I decided to put all my tips down in a booklet that I could offer the show's viewers and have available for sale on my website. I went into high gear to pull it all together and the booklet, with over 200 tips, was completed just in time for the show. Live TV is fun! I hope to do it again sometime. On the heals of the show came some interesting medical news that sent me for a colonoscopy (oh what a joyful experience that was! the prep alone was quite a ride!). Then yesterday was surgery day to fix the stuff the colonoscopy was for (and the prep for that was quite an experience too!). So I'm feeling like the summer, July in particular, has been a blur (or is that the vicodin?). I hope August goes by slowly. I love this time of year: barefeet, the smell of cut grass, breezes coming through open windows, "lightening bugs", real lemonade, and lots of sunshine. Besides, my favorite day of the year is in August -- my birthday!!

An Update . . .

2007-07-21T16:49:00.000-05:00

Okay, I said I would keep you posted as to how the index card system was working, so here it is. Not bad. I keep a set of my colored index cards with me at all times and there's a set on my desk. They are always handy for when I need to make a note of something that has to be done. I've made a note inside the cover of both sets of what each color is for in case I forget (which is a good thing because I've had to reference it several times already). The sets are spiral bound and the cards are perforated so I can tear them off, file them away, put them on my task clipboards, or wherever I need them to be. I love the colors and that helps me to use the system. I like small things and I've noticed that that component is helping me to use the system also. It may sound wierd, but that's the way it is. Anyway, I no longer have a variety of lists all over the place. Neither do I have little pieces of paper with stuff jotted down on them of things I need to remember to do. Instead, I have my index cards. They are bright and easy to see. The different colors signals my brain that I have a certain type of activity relating to my business that needs attention. There's a little tweaking yet to be done but overall I think it's working!

Back to Reality

2007-07-10T20:34:00.000-05:00

Alas the time has come and gone and I'm back from the most wonderful vacation ever. I really hated to have to leave and come home. You might think that "hated" is a strong term, but you gotta realize how intensely I am connected to and need the ocean!!! I finally realized part of why I love the beach so much. It hit me the first day or two while we were there. When I'm sitting there on the shore looking out across the vast openness of the water, listening to the waves and seagulls, nothing else in the world exists. Nothing. Nothing is on my mind. Nothing bothers me. Nothing weighs heavy on my shoulders. Nothing demands my attention. No decisions have to be made, no errands need to be run, nothing needs to be done or taken care of. Now, if that's not paradise on earth tell me what is! I actually teared up Friday night when hubby tried to pry me away from the sand and the waves so we could start packing for the trip home. I just didn't want to leave. The beach is so soothing to my soul. It's calming, relaxing, theraputic, refreshing, and healing. I'm so very grateful I had those precious days there and am already dreaming of our next trip back!

Things are a-changin'

2007-06-22T22:40:00.000-05:00

Things are changing here at home. Again. My son moved out and into an apartment he's sharing with some friends half an hour away, but you would never know it. He's been eating and cooking here, bringing his laundry here, sleeping a few nights here. I don't mind. Actually, I get to still know what all is going on in his life. Now, my daughter will be moving back home this weekend which is all well and good except for one thing. The room she's moving into is the room my son supposedly moved out of. You see, he only took the bare necessities with him to his apartment. I'm trying to picture how we're going to manage this. I was so hoping for at least a week with an empty room so some good thorough cleaning could be done but that's not gonna happen. This will be tricky. This is going to be an interesting weekend, stuff going out, stuff coming in. It'll be nice to have my daughter home again, even if it is only temporary. How long is temporary has yet to be determined. It's great to see my kids grow up and become independent. Great and sad at the same time. They don't need me like they used to. At least not in the same ways. I'm proud of them. But then I pinch myself 'cause there's no way I can be old enough to have kids that are grown! Yep . . . things are a-changin'.

Anticipation . . .

2007-06-12T17:46:00.000-05:00

My vacation is less than a month away and I can already smell the ocean air! I'm so excited to be headed to the beach! It's all I think about. There will be 5 of us going and my parents may join us for a few days while we're there. Lots to pack, but not lots on the agenda besides relaxing. I'm so incredibly grateful I have the opportunity to take a vacation like this once a year but it leaves me yearning for more. So I've decided I'm going to retire to an itty bitty cottage by the ocean. I don't care if it's a one room shack, I'm moving in! Of course hubby reminds me that we would need about a million bucks to buy even the smallest itty bitty cottage if it's to be right on the ocean. I've decided to ignore the facts and enjoy this fantasy retirement in my mind. I just know that I'll start exercising once I have a sandy beach to jog on every morning. I can already taste the freshly squeezed juice that I'll make twice a day with the juice machine we bought ages ago. Once I'm settled in my itty bitty cottage, which will have bare wooden floors and a wooden screen door that slaps shut behind you, I'll be more productive and will finally get around to all those projects I've been meaning to get around to all these years. I'll quilt, I'll write, I'll get the photos in order, I'll spend loads of time with the grandkids, I'll learn to not only cook but I'll love to do it too, and I'll actually enjoy housework - afterall, I'll be living my dream and everything is perfect in a dream. For now, I'm going to start savoring every anticapted moment of my upcoming vacation. It's too precious not to!

This System Ain't Working

2007-06-03T20:21:00.000-05:00

I'm a "piler". I like to make piles with my papers. I don't mind filing, in fact, I do file things away when I get around to it. But for all of those "to-do" items, well, those get piled up in order of urgency. Trouble is, eventually I forget what's towards the bottom of the pile until they are almost obsolete. I've tried using a slanted vertical file folder holder. Interestingly, I never seem to use most of the files this thing holds - even the "Calls to make", "Items pending", and "Decide" folders! These folders are right beside my computer - practically in my face, yet I just don't "see" them. So things continue to get added to the pile to the right of my computer. I want a better system. I'm going to try something new. I've purchased some delightfully bright index cards and a cute little index card box that snaps closed. I'm going to start making notes to myself of things that need to be done on the appropriate colored index card: pink for Immediate Action items, yellow for actions relating to my clients, green for my NAPO activities, and so on. I'll keep a supply of blank cards with me at all times and a set on my desk. I'll file the ones I've written on into categories in the cute little card box that will sit right in front of my computer. I'm considering labeling the outside of my box "My Brain". I can still pile my papers to the right of my workspace but I'll no longer be dependent on those papers alone to jog my memory of what I'm supposed to do. Yes, I've tried To-Do lists. I make several on different note pads and they end up in different places. I think this index card trick might work. I love bright colors. I love things in small packages. It doesn't make me stop my piling habit cold turkey. I'll let you know how it works after I try it for a few weeks.

Gotta love those shoes!

2007-05-24T21:12:00.000-05:00

I have oodles and oodles of shoes. Trouble is, I don't have enough space to store all of them. I pack away the off-season ones, which helps to some degree. I've thought about getting a big tub of sorts to toss all of my flip flops in. But then I'd always be searching for matching pairs, which wastes time. As it is, there are currently about 15 pairs of summer sandals sharing a cubby (I have small feet). My husband came up with a brilliant plan -- reduce the amount of shoes I own and stop buying more. Gasp! Obviously he was speaking out of delirium and complete ignorance of what it means to be female. I forgave him for his naiveté and thanked him for his help (I mean, he really did think he was actually helping!). Things could be worse, and have been. Once upon a time I had to share my closet with hubby. Now he has his own closet and I have the big one, which is the way nature intended. But I still need more room for shoes! Last I looked they haven't stopped making the cute ones, or the snazzy ones, or the to-die-for ones, or the . . .

Let your pet do the shredding!

2007-05-23T17:00:00.000-05:00

I think my shredder is dying. It had trouble munching through an envelope this morning, both going forward and in reverse. Ugh! I don't want to buy a new one. I recently saw somewhere that there's a pair of scissors now that will do a shred type of cut. That's cool. I also heard on the radio the other day something about having a pet shredder. Have you heard about this? Evidently your pet hamster, or such, is somehow involved in the shredding (can't remember exactly how) and can create its own bedding in the process. Rather than going to that extreme (not sure my incredibly spoiled Maltese would take kindly to any type of forced labor), I suppose I can always give our private shredables to hubby who "likes make big fire and watch grow" -- I guess it's a man thing. Anyway, gotta safeguard against identity theft, so I suppose I'll be out looking at shredders this weekend. I wonder how expensive goats are these days . . .

Household chores we love to hate!

2007-05-20T21:14:00.000-05:00

Anybody out there give good neck and shoulder rubs? I'm terribly sore from ironing today. I hate ironing. But I refuse to wear badly wrinkled clothes. Further, I have too much fun with clothes to only wear those which do not require any ironing. Yeah, I've got that great wrinkle-release spray, but it just doesn't leave a crisp enough look for some items. So I let my ironing pile stack up until I'm in the mood to deal with it. Ha! And you thought us professional organizers always did everything perfectly at all times. I'm telling ya, we pick and choose just like everybody else. If I ironed things as they needed it, the ironing board would never be put away. Now, this wouldn't be so bad if I had room to leave it up all the time but I don't. So I let the pile build and then tackle it. So tell me, what household chore do you hate to tackle? And while you're at it, can you rub my neck a little too?

What in the world am I doing?

2007-05-19T13:20:00.000-05:00

I am definitely not a fan of computers. I've made friends with mine, enough so that I can do what needs to be done on it. But to be totally confident and in love with everything digital/electronic is just not me. So what in the world am I doing with a blog? What is a blog? How did the term blog come to be? But I've heard it's supposed to be the latest craze on the internet these days for communicating all sorts of things: thoughts, ideas, inspirations, and so on. So here I sit writing my very first entry on my very first blog. Yeehaw! Are there others out there in this new century we find ourselves in that are still intimidated by computers? I'm going to give this a go. I intend for this new found blogging adventure, in the wierd world of bytes and giga-what-nots, to be a path of exploring and sharing real life situations - everyday type stuff that affects how we organize ourselves and our spaces. So come join me and share your experiences too!