Home

5 Minutes to a Relaxing Bedroom

Here’s the first in my new series of Five Minute Guides: Five Minutes to a Relaxing Bedroom. This guide gives you easy to follow steps so that you don’t get bogged down in organizing overwhelm. It lays out exactly what you need to do in an easy to understand format that you can read and act on quickly.

read more...

5 Minutes to a Relaxing Bedroom

Organized Oasis

Your home or office is an oasis of calm, creativity and harmony, so you’re free to enjoy life! Overcome your fear of letting things go; that means stuff, but also people and habits. Build practices that give you focus and get things done. Increase flow, energy and clarity so you can be your best. Laugh more.

read more...

Organized Oasis

Latest Blog Posts

Storage Units: Good or Evil?

Posted on by
Reply

Originally posted 2012-02-02 10:48:58. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

My general rule about storage units is this: avoid them at all costs! People rent them and forget ‘em and they often turn out to be filled with junk.

Let’s look at why you really might need a storage unit.

There’s a short list of reasons that are acceptable.

  • You are temporarily living in a place that’s too small for your possessions
  • Your temporary living situation will be so short that it doesn’t make sense to move all your stuff in
  • You’ve inherited a large quantity of stuff that will take time to sort through
  • Your home needs repairs due to flood or fire

Notice that all these reasons are valid only because the storage is temporary. There’s no good reason to keep things permanently in storage.

Just as you shouldn’t live beyond your means financially, you shouldn’t live beyond your space means either.

I read this quotation from a storage industry executive: “People turn basements into home theaters or turn garages into family rooms and they need space for storage.” I call that living beyond your space means.

Of course, it’s much more common to fill up the garage with stuff so there’s no room for the car and to fill up the basement too so there’s no room for a workshop or pool table. People also fill up their spare rooms so they aren’t so spare anymore.

Okay, on to bad reasons to have a storage unit:

  • You moved in a hurry and just boxed stuff up and ditched it there
  • You’ve moved a number of times and keep adding to the mystery box collection
  • You inherited stuff 20 years ago and never got around to deciding whether you even like it
  • The stuff that’s in there is not worth a fraction of what it costs to rent the unit
  • You’re storing things for your children to have when they grow up and your kids are babies now
  • Keeping stuff you’re going to sell on eBay someday
  • Saving clothes you’ll fit into someday
  • Hanging on to an exercise machine you’ll use someday

All these reasons involve unmade decisions or hanging onto stuff for future situations that may never come to pass.

They also involve spending money; a lot of it if you keep paying rent year after year.

The year is still young! Make 2012 the year you make those decisions and start living in the present.

New Year's Resolution Ideas for Getting Organized

Posted on by
Reply

Originally posted 2010-12-27 14:10:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Autumn CycleGetting organized, along with losing weight and quitting smoking, is on most people's list of new year's resolutions. Here are some ideas for resolutions, and three rules for increasing your success at keeping those resolutions.

First rule for any resolution: keep it small enough to be do-able. You want a goal that's reachable soon, even if it seems insignificant. You're setting the stage for the next, bigger goal. Success breeds success.

Second rule: It's all about you. Don't compare yourself to others, especially that more organized neighbor or relative. You have your own unique skills, talents, desires and motives. Work with them, not against them. Start where you are now.

Okay, here are some suggestions. Scale them up or down as needed.

  • I will sort my mail every day
  • I will spend 30 minutes a week decluttering (use a timer!)
  • I will give away magazines before the next issue arrives even if I haven't gotten around to reading them
  • I will keep a shopping bag in my closet to put clothes I'm donating in
  • I will keep my to-do list small and manageable (put it on a Post-It)

The challenge:
How do you remember to do all these wonderful things? Despite your best intentions, you may find it hard to work these new behaviors into your life. Make it easier with reminders that work for you. Use Post-Its on the bathroom mirror; a classic. Programmed, regular email reminders are my favorite. Find a partner to trade reminders with on the phone every week.

Third rule: don't beat yourself up if you get behind. Just start again. Remember when you learned to ride a bike? How often did you fall off before you were able to fly down the street on that thing? Once you were flying, you probably didn't think about the falling part anymore. So, get on the bike.